walkthedog

Oh, Dodge, beautiful boy!! this is such a shock, with him so young and full of life and energy. feel so sad, for you Simone, and your lovely family.

It is very sad that we only have our dogs for such a short time. Jessie, 11 y.o. (well, maybe) German Shepherd, was my first foster, and she was amazing. So beautiful, so smart, and loving and wise. She was the poster child for older dogs. She had her photo on the Save a Dog website, a beautiful face with a grey muzzle and I fell in love. When she had no takers, she came here and could have stayed forever unless the perfect person came along for her. She was here for a couple of months then met Rita, a lady of about the same age ;) It was love at first sight there as well! Rita asked me later, how I was so comfortable about letting her have Jessie and I had to think about it. Was it her soft and gentle manner? Her love of her late old GSD, as we sat and looked at his photos? Well yes, but it was Jessie herself who accepted Rita immediately (and she was careful with people). Rita sat down and immediately got a kiss on the nose, a wag of the tail and a little happy dance. Jess went to live in a life of luxury on 3/4 an acre of garden, a bed inside and a bed outside, a morning garden and an afternoon...... well, you get the idea. Jess died of old age, her liver and kidneys were going, and she was put to sleep with Rita holding her, and in the care of Tim, the SADS vet, who, Rita has said, was marvellous and kind with them both.

she says the fleas go 'ping'

I have a neighbour who says she vacuums her dog!! gets the fleas out too, she says. My boys don't have heavy shedding so I'm not tempted but just wondering if anybody here does this.

Dear Katey, so sorry to read of your losses. How sad you must have felt, not one but two babies, now Maya. Reading this has given me a kick up the behind, I have had the miseries, my son's birthday coming up 1/12, have not seen him for so long I forget (18 years? 19?). Through my grandaughter I have seen photos of him and his little son, now about 2, so beautiful, little J has a Japanese mother whom I have never met and they live in Japan. he doesnt want any contact at all with me, dont know if I will ever see his little boy. but mine does not compare to yours, so am off to garden then walk my dogs. thinking of you, maybe someone here can help with coping with grief, I hope so.

Sam the golden retriever is prone to rashes at times, I then put him on Farrels Kibble and bones only. I use Advantage for fleas etc. Am not sure if some of the dry food has food colorings that he is allergic to, its a bit of hit and miss with some of them. It was a bit of a worry when I couldnt get Farrells a while back, but now have found a new outlet, thank goodness.

send them all to me!!!! ;) Axle: have you changed your routine of late? is he picking up on something?

how about a nice little rescue doggy friend?? ;) for company

send him to Aunty Dawn! ;)

such an interesting thread, and important, as we all seem to be experiencing threating behaviour by having our homes/yards invaded by someone wanting what? anything it seems. I would have thought I have nothing that anyone would want, but still have been broken into here 3 times. The first time he had to walk over the dogs in the laundry next time blocked by the new lock, but the last time Sam, my rescue Golden Retriever, bailed up a young guy in my garage. with him so woosy, so afraid of thunder and loud noises and anything new, my hero barked loudly and furiously and thus frightned the little shit so much he was clearly shaken, and he took off over the fence, with me holding Sams collar. But you have to feel safe in your own home. When I had Jessie here (foster german shep) I FELT safer, and maybe this is the key. Unless the dog is trained to act, you do not really know how they will cope with this situation. Sam has since taken his role very seriously - he would never attack, IMHO, but noone comes to the door or walks around the fence perimeter without him notifying all and sundry.

a couple of drops of dettol in 20 ml of baby oil can be used for both animals and us.