PossumCorner

Not exactly dog-relevant, but most people bottle-raising multiple orphan lambs through winter have them in the house. In nappies. With a hole cut for the tail. Aldis nappies seem to get a good wrap from the lamb-raising people.

Running from thunderstorms is impossible to manage once they are out and away. Neighbour's sheepdog got loose in those storms last week, went an extraordinary distance running frantic and was luckily found alive and well aside from exhaustion. I'd have said crate training was the best option til you said why you prefer not to. Most I can say is that it does give them a wonderful sense of safety and security. We have lost two of our dogs at age 16, Piper the rottie to bone cancer and little Frodo to a cumulative overload of issues. I was worried that Rheneas would not cope well, but after a very brief time of mild confusion I think he much prefers being the only dog and enjoys undivided attention. He's also 16 and has finally given up chasing thunder and lightning (he'd always run to it in excitement, never away from it in fear). I always leave the TV on for Rheneas, the constant change of light and sound I think reduces any 'home alone' feeling just a whisker when he wakes up from a snooze.

Alpacas in Australia are vitamins A&D deficient. They need supplement injections twice a year, and a lot of owners won't or don't because it's all too difficult (and that shot, Hideject is the best, should always be accompanied by a CophosB or similar vB shot to enable uptake etc). The lying flat is to expose the greatest surface area to the sun for vitamin exchange in their system, it's a survival thing, hardwired to do it. (For those not supplement injecting, Anitone is the best oral supplement, it was formulated for camelids and is a good second-best treatment). The humping is another issue though: a lot of sheep are killed by alpacas doing this, it's just a management thing as in never run an entire male with ewes, and watch the castrated ones: especially singletons - that's like keeping a chimpanzee alone and not expecting aberrant behaviours with other species, generally with some aggression. Sheep anatomy can't cope with alpacas humping, both the weight and biological equipment, so they can have their back broken or internal rupture or both.

Unlike Rose, who is still tiny, with a thing about closed gates, gotta get through first at any cost. Harley is much sweeter and cares about others. Harley: Mith, are you dead? Mith: Piss off Harley. Your good pups make my lot an embarrassment.

Talking about rabbits with a coloured past. This one is a dark coated with a ginger hint, and if I hold my head right I can find some white, not quite a stripe and spot, just almost. Bunny of the Day 49/52

Oh yes. Beautiful to the eyelashes, lovely shots.

Welcome home, happy birthday, love your work, smaller gaps between would be better, and as the last of the '56 rockers do love Dodge's channelling.

I do love Smoke, could have been in the movies, has the look. But Dagwood is a sweety.

So good to see George back (and you Scottsmum). Bunny of the Day - waiting for the rain 46/52 Another white Moon in a blue sky, 2 days ago 47/52 Driving home last night, missed the lightning bolts, still a spectacular sky to see 48/52

We all here, just need kickstarting or rebooting or something like. Gorgeous wagtail, and love its perch: which for one moment I was "what the hell have you done to Rudolph??" Been over time-outed here, hand was too iffy to use camera, stitches out now and all good, well acceptable anyway. Some nice chicks hatching, must immortalise them here before they go from cute to ummm less than cute in the gangly awkward months. Your double rainbow would be hard to beat, lots of atmosphere there.

Nice shot Gane - is there any background explanation or information to go with it?

Pet-care with most of these franchise type outfits is a gamble. It's underpaid work and does not attract people who could do anything 'better' like run their own business. It is comparable with letter-box-dropping which brings in new droppers til they realise they are working hard to earn less than pin-money and resort to dropping their pamphlets in a waste bin and claiming to have delivered them. It is a flawed system and brings out the worst in people (in both cases) because it is a classic churn and burn business like telemarketing - throw them out and get new ones when they can't make their quotas. Why are pet owners fixated on using these franchises when there are good pet sitters working solo who take a pride in doing a good job to build up a regular customer base for their own business?

She's beautiful, so is the background: the feral cats ate all our wrens, I was totally devastated: and our feral/pet lambs ate all my lavender, not amused on that one either. (Only a few roses survived the lamb attacks, the yellow one isn't perfumed, old-ish though, around 20 years we're told). Put a clutch of newly hatched chicks in the brooder today, these were incubated - not hatched under a hen. Nice breed, Vorwerks, they are fairly new to Australia not a lot of them around yet. 44/52 45/52

It's all quiet here isn't it, spooky, where is everybody? All of us busy coping with life: I hadn't even noticed the roses appearing til this one near the door hit me in the face. 42/52 and driving home yesterday afternoon stopped to look at this group, there were about 30. Bit embarrassed that the ute has a jammed side-window button, so this was through a super-dirty car window (with a touch of anti blobs and blurs magic from Photoshop). 43/52

Not being dismissive of risks or commonsense avoidance of them - but many more dogs get injured or killed out of doors than indoors when alone (without making the news the way housefires do). Sometimes it's less stressful to just not cross the bridges til we come to them.

There have been a few threads on this topic - maybe about a year ago - they should come up using the search button with a bit of patience. I think they talked about where and when training would be, compared methods and whether it was all legit (or not) and benefits using real de-fanged or whatever snakes or just rubber snakes. I can't see it being much use unless the owner were there anyway to recall the dog - something like taller bench-surfing dogs won't check out the kitchen bench tops while owner is home, but home alone the rules are put aside.

We always have a rat population visiting from the silos, I so dislike everything about them. Can't get another dog while we have Rheneas, he couldn't cope and I wouldn't cause him any stress at his age. Two Jack Russels would be my choice, seen it work well. But not same sex, and not puppies - I'd like dogs that are already proven ratters. Imagine getting terriers for the job, watching them chase rabbits then saying as they ignore the hay shed "Meh, we don't do rats, only rabbits". (Cats are effective but generally good hunters also target native birds, so not even considering that option).

Rose: Stupid chain is off, stupid gate still won't open. Harley get Arnold here, he knows stuff. 40/52 Arnold: The blue stuff is holding it, I can't reach it. 41/52 Rose then has a tantrum: WILLSOMEONEOPENTHISBLOODYGATE!

Like Grizabella's Attila, tiny Rose has so much attitude, it's her world and she is the boss of everybody. Two young alpaca crias a bit nonplussed as she explains this to them. 39/52

Rheneas is part-Pom, he has lost 2.5kg probably a bit quick since his near-death vestibular episodes. I'm feeding the same, just keeping him in the house except for short walks plus toilet breaks. So he isn't snacking and grazing on goose, chook, pony and sheep poo (not to mention his own) which had become an obsession habit in old age. And no unseen forays into a feed shed hoping to find a wheat or pellets bin open. Difficult for both of us as he was an inside-outside dog at will. Just difficult to manage overweight ageing dogs whatever the circumstances: friend has an obese choc lab that is like a beachball with feet, she is beside herself trying to normalise it - the dog is a confirmed sheep chaser so also has to be confined, gets insufficient exercise and is a food frantic. I suppose recognising the tendency before it escalates is the trick, and thinking/acting sooner than we do.

Twitching nose is sweet. He really is special.

The bitey-face games are getting more full-on for the alpaca boys: so they are off for the snip this week. Pity as they are good breeding and one of them is extra nice - but I don't want playfight to escalate into warfare in case someone gets hurt, including me. 38/52

Not seeing any this year, could be the weather, too cool so too early. The plus - still no snakes about to be seen either. Young crested dove about to launch into the unknown - I'll just jump off and fly like a bird: 36/52 Or maybe not - I'll just think about it for a bit: 37/52

Very the same with poultry. Yesterday I bought a pair of ducks, seller would only meet at a park for handover. I don't have randoms come to my house either to buy chickens - for-sale ads price includes delivery within x kilometres of y. And for balance, two poultry hobbyist breeders were targeted this month, thousands of dollars worth of birds stolen as well as equipment etc. Dog breeders have every reason to be cautious (just as the stolen sheep business is alive and well).

Well I did til you explained, the preening looked bitey/pushy. Interesting - the crested doves use a nursery tree also, a spreading very old apricot tree - also never use it to nest or roost, just take the kidlets there for the daytime after leaving the nest. Likewise corellas drop the babies off in our gums at the front, disappear all day then pick them up to take home wherever to roost.