Christina

One of my older girls has occasionally come in early at 4 months, about 2 or 3 times in 7 years & doesn't swell up much at all. I never see blood. Absolutely no problem conceiving or whelping & is an excellent mum. She had 4 pups once by a 10 second slip mating. A decent size litter for a toy breed. They were next to me & I told the boy to get off & stop being bossy. No idea she was in season

I have also heard that giving the kennel cough vaccine to toy breed dogs under 3 months may cause some face swelling. No idea why. Mine get a C3 at around 10 weeks & have never had any problems.

Sometimes a short course of Prednisolone can give temporary relief if its driving the dog insane. Not safe for regular or long term use but a low dose 10 day course won't cause damage as a one off. Ask the vet about it. Its usually a tablet for 5 days then progressively lowering the dose by halving & or alternating days for the next 5 days. Works like magic but not a cure, only a break & less stress for the dog. It could go crackers if its really itching & is stopped from scratching. Imagine it yourself.

It doesn't take weeks for allergens to leave the body & it doesn't take weeks to show a reaction. A person eats something & is allergic symptoms occur between instant & about 48 hours at the longest. My whole family was plagued with severe food allergies before it became the modern fad & we were under strict medical guidance when finding the culprits. Yes veterinary guidance is a good suggestion but that is the surest, fastest & most accurate way to find out rather than messing about with various & several things at once.

I find many fodder stores have an excellent variety of teats or can get them in. I like the tiny ones they use for native wildlife & marsupials. They are a long narrow teat & come in minute sizes. Price about $2.

There is nothing that will cure an allergy or make it better. The allergy is still there no matter what supplement is given. Alleviating sore skin doesn't affect the allergy. The only cure is avoidance. The only way to find the allergen is to give one thing at a time. If you give a meat & sweet potato lets assume you suspect the sweet potato so you swap to carrot. Still as bad so you assume it must be the meat. It may be the carrot & the sweet potato. I would try the same food for 2 days straight & change every 2 days & keep a diary noting any changes for each food. If there is no change after 2 weeks may be its something in the environment. This means it can still be the food as well. Its so complex. Easier to start on the house & more likely. Knock out cleaning products & sprays/polishes. Use white vinegar & water for cleaning & all floors. No carpet fresheners/air fresheners. Remove any plants. Put a couch cover on. Wash bedding in soda & borax. Keep her off grass & out of shrubbery. Don't wear any perfume. Try & keep your sense of humour & sanity. Oh & no fleas products.

It works like magic & is only needed short term. Antibiotics are used for many conditions anyway & info on even the common ones in use is quite scary on some sites. I wouldn't take 99% of the prescription drugs I have taken if I read all the product info, its horrendous especially for such things as anti depressants which are dished out like lollies now. I found this product excellent after trying everything from flushing procedure to over the counter products when I had a white dog. Lots of stockists if you google.

So if the vet gave this at a consult & the owner made the same mistake giving 4 times the dose who would be responsible ? Bear in mind that 4 times the dose of many drugs could be lethal to a cat.

I would groom it & put it back in its yard with a note on its collar. Please groom & look after your dog. I have done it for you this time. They will probably blame Kirty Disgusting idiots.

What about your user name ZharaBelle it sounds lovely. Otherwise what about a french theme ? Google for french names, surnames or even towns, lakes, rivers etc for ideas.

Sometimes I give in to sad eyes. Not always though. They get a tiny teeny piece occasionally like with toast or a roast & then its no more. Its not the end of the world to share with a dog that isn't fat but it may be the end of the dogs world if it is fat & keeps getting snacks.

I would get another Pet Loo & put it outside the pen in whichever room he is playing so that way he doesn't have to go back in the pen but at least knows to use the pet loo. He is still only a baby yet & may forget when playing or not have enough warning sign that he needs to go to have enough time to get back to the playpen. Toilet training can take time & seems longer with smaller dogs.

I think the dogs owner should be fined for having the dog out loose or off lead & not under control but nothing more. If peoples let their cats roam loose they know it is at risk of all sorts, not just loose dogs. Cat owners fault too. Not feasible to have other pets with a dog that kills & many do, unless you can guarantee 100% foolproof seperation. I don't think it makes the dog dangerous at all. My doberman was incredible with children & people but killed anything that moved if it wasn't a dog. She got the pet rabbit at a few months old & it wasn't just dead when I found it, she had ripped its guts open I knew instantly that I could never trust her with other species after that & I didn't. She got an odd bird or big lizard though when in the garden. For some dogs this is just dogs being dogs. Only makes them dangerous to the rabbits/rats/birds etc.

Most dogs do so need a little less food, adjust if you see him getting podgy. Very responsible thing to do & better for him too. No humping, peeing on things marking his territory, whining after entire bitches close by or trying to escape to find them. He will be a big boy as you expect this breed to be.

Fine to put him to stud if he is a good quality dog & a worthy specimen IMO. Not everyone likes or enjoys showing & it is unfeasible for some for other reasons. The dog may be great but not like it either. No idea how to advertise as my boys are not put out to stud. If you have your breeder details on here it can show that you have a stud dog in your advertisement. Guessing there are not so many mini poodles in Tasmania.

Oh no we do not need any more rules or laws or to be like any other state. I keep saying we have enough laws & rules to ensure animal welfare if they are used. What we seem to be getting is something like police states where owning or breeding pets is being treated like a criminal activety or a revenue raiser. Many of the proposals are ridiculous, not conductive to good animal husbandry, a total invasion of peoples privacy, make no sense & will not make dogs & cats lives better or lessen the numbers in the pounds. What it will do is make small dedicated registered hobby breeders give up & encourage large scale, government approved breeding business facilities. What point is there in Dogs SA giving them access to their database ? The members aren't the biggest part of the problem by any scale. Puppy farms, pet shops & irresponsible members of the public are the main concern.

The final report of the Select Committee on Dogs and Cats was presented on 3rd July 2013. It was laid on the table in the House of Assembly and ordered to be published. So when & where will it be published for public viewing ? ETA meaning when can I see it ?

The final report of the Select Committee on Dogs and Cats was presented on 3rd July 2013. It was laid on the table in the House of Assembly and ordered to be published. So when & where will it be published for public viewing ?

Many things have been suggested but it doesn't mean it has happened. No results reported yet from the Parliamentary Select Committee yet that met last December. This is just a proposal not a law ? Compared with most states SA is fairly sensible & flexible in its attitude. Lets hope this continues.

Haven't got a copy but this programme is starting to piss me off. The precious family pet was a 20 year old cat on medication that the owners left out in the front yard, with the gates open, while they went out. They checked the front security tape a few days later & saw what had occurred. The cat was seen wandering out of the yard onto the street. Someone paid attention to the cat & then later legs were seen & the cat was put into a carrier box. No clue as to if it was the same people. The follow on story was that someone picked it up thinking it was a stray. Kept it for a week & then took it to the vet. The vet euthanised the cat. Why the hell would anyone let this old cat that was not well, would have to have failing eye sight & hearing out alone ?

Always keep adult dog & new pup seperate unless you, or another adult is there to supervise. You can't bring a new pup into resident dogs territory & expect the dog to accept it instantly. Go slowly & have seperate place for pup when you are busy or out.

One of my girls had a stricture too. She had an AI by the vet & the stricture wasn't noticed. She didn't get pregnant. Next heat my very experienced stud could not enter so off to the vets we went. She was given a short aneasthetic & the membrane was broken through. The next mating the stud also had trouble entering, she was very tight but he did manage to after many tries & a few slip matings. I was scared he would injure himself but he seemed sensible & I didn't let him exhaust himself. The birth was fine & she has had 2 litters since with no trouble mating or giving birth. It can be common in some breeds, not in mine usually. Check with the vet re the birth I don't know if it will break or block. They will know more & may examine to find how tight she is. If she doesn't get pregnant from the AI get the vet to break it. Its a quick & minor procedure.

I think that telling children they are illegally trespassing & breaking the law & will be punished if they go into anyones back yard is a good way to start. While entry to a front door should be clear of dogs & safe people should be allowed the privacy of their own back yard & if it includes containing a dog in there, that can not escape, that is their right. It is their property & no one should be intruding uninvited. If they are they should have to accept the consequences. It may be a hard lesson for a child to learn that if you go in uninvited the dog will scare you but it needs to be learned. Then maybe they would keep out of where they are not supposed to be. When I was growing up going into anyones back yard without asking may have resulted in a clip around the ear from the owner too. We tended to keep out.

Dogs are supposed to bark & be scary if someone enters your garden or yard. So if the dog barks, the child says scared, the dog is gone ? Insanity. Some children are more frightening than some dogs Dog & cat ownership will die out in the future as it becomes too difficult to own them or even to breed them.

Yes had similar with kittens. Fortunately never occurred with pups. The couple of kittens were absolutely fine & showed no after effects of their shaky start.