Christina

Its all quite interesting really :) But its getting nasty. My rather ironic thought was about the working versus stay at home mums debate. Many do actually choose not to stay at home with very young babies, as opposed to those struggling who have to work, so many wouldn't want to stay home for a puppy would they ? Not exactly the same as obviously babies can't be left home alone but some of the consequences & results are being compared. As in childcare versus home & socialising etc. That discussion always causes riots. Having always had a large family, someone at home at most hours, only ever worked full time at night my dogs were hardly ever alone but its different now. I wouldn't have a dog if I worked full time long hours & wouldn't breed as I would be too scared of anything going wrong if I wasn't there but many do. Guess a sensible compromise & consideration of personal lifestyle of potential puppy home is the way to go. Must say though not in my particular breed so much but with larger dogs many are re homed, returned or taken to pounds because people do say they haven't got enough time for them & didn't realise this when they got them. It is a reason often given.

Hope it all works out ok & it may do & the dog will settle fine with new owner & any other dogs around. Behaviour & its reasoning can only be assumed on noted observation & experience however until dogs can talk in human language there can be erroneous assumptions & exceptions to the rules too. No one knows for sure exactly why the trouble started, whose fault it was, who decided to keep the war going or that the dog will be a pest forever. Sometimes the prognosis for these behaviours gets a bit over the top prophet of doomish. Good luck with it all. IMO you did the right thing & returning dog to RSPCA or AWL does not usually mean it goes out to another home. It usually ends up dead.

This is a question you won't even need to ask in about another 20 years. There won't be any pure breed registered breeders. There will be government approved large scale breeding facilities that breed anything to anything & put out designer mongrels & the pounds for the dumped mistakes or those whose owners die. The choice of place to get any dog will be puppy farm or pound.

Irish Wolfhound. Most people won't mess with them because they are so big.

Of course. It is a huge multi billion dollar industry now to guilt people into feeding their dogs certain brands of food. When one looks at the content often there is little or no difference or not any difference that may be better. Chicken may mean the same parts of a chicken in a brand at both ends of the price range. It was interesting once seeing peanut butter being made in a factory & then poured into jars with different company labels on. It was all the same batch & home brand was the same as known brands. 5 different labels for the same product. The best diet is the one that your pet likes & thrives on & this can be variable. Cats seem more sensitive to food than most dogs. Those with skin issues probably have a predisposition anyway & adjusting diet may help. A few do have genuine allergy. Dogs do seem to have more weight problems now than they used to.

The 1st question is Are they desexed ? If not that may be a large part of the problem. A bitch on heat anywhere within about a 5 kilometre radius may kick them off by sending their hormones into overdrive. Sometimes who is boss is not always sorted out until this age too. If not desexed get then both done asap then seperate for about 2 weeks to let the hormones die down & introduce with them both on lead & hopefully gradually they may stop trying to kill each other. Takes time & patience though. If they are desexed you either need some expert help or one will need re homing. As you don't know who is the aggressor & both welfare places are almost 100% likely to euthanise a returned dog, especially at this busy time of year that's not a good option. If you choose to rehome I would decide which one & then start taking him out on a lead to see how he reacts to other dogs on neutral territory. He may be fine & therefore suitable to be an only dog for someone else. May not always be a ferocious fighter. Either dog may be different in a different environment.

Puppy millers don't generally import dogs. But they certainly export! Multiple litters sold to overseas pet shops. Yes. While I don't support all the proposals by this mob if their info is correct Australia should be ashamed of its lack of compassion & treatment of our dogs overall. Some statistics on this link. Especially Victoria with its ultra strict rules. http://www.oscarslaw.org/Export-Puppies

Exactly. Nature & hormones usually equip mother with a heap of maternal instinct. Not always foolproof I know but generally overall. 6 times my singletons have been fine & raised by their mothers. I never had to supplement feed them either. One dog once had 2 pups that both died at a day & 3 days old. It was heart breaking watching her searching around for them & she did get quite depressed for a while. They are not machines. Intervene if things go wrong by all means but they may not. Other maybe could occur. Pup is put with other litter & either rejected or squashed. Not an impossibility either.

I have had 3 singleton pups & 3 singleton kittens in the last 10 years. 2 Kittens were ceasarian. All stayed with their mothers. Didn't have any issues or problems in either mothering areas or socialising areas. No problems when they left or grew up either. They do get more attention & tend to be very people orientated. There are other cats & dogs here which probably helps more than if its a single animal household. Personally I wouldn't just whip a pup away from its mother when there may be no need to at all. Having a single puppy isn't always a problem with birth or raising. With ceasarian not sure if she would know it had gone but with a normal birth she will know & fret & look for it.

My daughters chihuahua died aged 16. He had his first seizure at age 3 years. Was out with me gardening & keeled over & was out of it. Thought it was a spider bite & dashed & put him in the car & drove to the vets but when we arrived he was fine as though nothing had occurred. He had seizures spasmodically with no set pattern. Sometimes he would go a year or more with none & them maybe get 2 in a week. The vet said it wasn't severe or regular enough to need medication. I did notice the few times it happened my doberman bitch was on heat & he was grumpy & frustrated. Maybe coincidence or a trigger, not sure. Its not always severe & is manageable.

The dog has to know what you want it to do. Does she understand the word stand & stay ? If not teach her these first. Then try a table. A very experience show person once told me with pups, but guess it would work for any age, is to stand the dog at the back of the table, not the front. To place the back feet on the edge & demonstrate to the dog that if it moves back there is nothing behind it so it will fall. Seems this works better than standing them at the front. Once they stand & stay stacked you can move them to the front. May help & will stop her falling on her head or jumping forward.

The monthly canine magazine lists dogs exported but guess it doesn't cover them all & certainly not non pedigree dogs, but doesn't list imports. Hard to find out. I would also be interested in how many are exported too. About 10 years ago there was a national export list for pedigree dogs online. It gave breed, breeder & who dog went to & into which country. Can't seem to find anything similar in recent years.

4 of them doing it here today & washing each others eyes. No idea why unless its the odour of those fresh, smelly roo tail bones they all had for breakfast. Yuk.

Changing diet soon after getting a pup may result in tummy upsets. Feed the same diet & introduce new foods slowly & gradually mixing new in with old. Alone in a yard while you are out is unsafe for a young puppy. Its heat wave weather, snake season, silly holiday season, high theft time & inside if you are not home is safer. Some eat poo & some don't. No one is really sure why. It may stop. Early days yet. Move it as soon as you see it & can.

Saw this ad for the 1st time tonight. The no puppy farms statement was a little misleading I felt as many of the cats & dogs available do come from these kind of places or from poor conditions with little known background, known environment, health tests or recorded ancestry. Still suppose if it gets more adopted & lowers the euthanasia rate then it doesn't matter so much.

Personally I wouldn't fly an animal at this time of year however if it is unavoidable be sure to choose a late or very early flight on a cool day. Trouble with last flights though is that if they miss it they are stuck there. Dogs only need to be booked in a day or so in advance & the long range weather forecast can be checked well in advance so arrangements can be flexible & changed if weather changes. Over 32 degrees in any of the states it goes through & lands & I wouldn't do it. Phone Melbourne animal freight direct & ask where they hold the dogs. The above story is tragic & obviously someone has been both stupid & negligent but this isn't the usual thing. Hundreds of pets are flown around Australia & most are fine but you must choose the time & day wisely too.

May just be irritation if they have clipped a bit close or used a hot blade. Some ZSC powder, from the chemist for baby bums, may soothe her. Worth a try for a day or so then vet if it persists.

Due to the lovely 45 degrees here I left the kitchen window open a little to let the 2 cats in the enclosed verandah come in & out as they pleased. These 2 girls are excellent at letting me know if anything is around that shouldn't be, like the tiny lizard tearing past yesterday, so when it got cooler & I shut the window locking them outside while I cooked. I was suprised to hear them making noises soon after. Looked out the window & they were both facing the same direction & peering intently. Shoes on & out I go to look. They were looking at something & meowing a lot . Worried & carefully I approached the door thinking I will have to go in there & investigate. Then up it came. Angie. One of my toy poodles. Bloody twit had jumped on the work surface & gone out of the window after them & was shut in the cat run :laugh: Oh the sheer relief. Was so scared.

Oh no. Next thing Chihuahuas will be on the banned list I do wish they would stop these kind of studies.

You haven't done any damage by clipping. The hair grows from follicles deep in the layers of the skin. Clipping only chops it off on the surface & cannot affect the follicles or growth at all. If you like it clipped & find it easier then clip it. Of course it will be cooler.

Having kept Wombaroo on hand which is horrible to mix last time I got Animalac. So much better for storage due to the proper container, instructions for mixing tiny amounts & mixed well & easy. Gave it to some kittens when weaning & they loved it.

Yes that is what I was wondering too.

Sounds like the baby may have been unconcious when she hit the floor, or before. If the dogs had killed her or she fell & was hurt she would have made a hell of a noise crying & screaming, one would assume. As neither the father or mother heard her & even in another room the mother would have been tuned in to the slightest whimper it may be the dogs were trying to move her not maul or attack her. I hope so. All too sad & horrible. More media hype & shock tactics before thorough investigation is completed.

Fixed this once with an adolescent boy, quietly watched him eat then go to girl's dish, raised the leg..................bugger it, a bucket of water thrown over his head.................I didn't say a word and he never did it again......just a boy being a boy Too mean. Would not recommend that Its a dominance issue. One of my girls who is low in the pack started this a few months ago. I try & watch them eat then remove dishes immediately. No easy fix for this.

Pleased it is going well & things have improved. Great that Leroy is still with you , not fair to shuffle a dog around to too many homes if avoidable. Seasons Greetings to you too.