Christina

My friends dog got heartworm about 14 years ago. She was living in the metro area of Croyden in Adelaide. Quite a shock when the vet found out the problem. Only 1 of her 2 dogs had it. He was successfully treated but it took ages & cost an arm & a leg.

Nice to see some of the profits going to good use.

Used to do heartworm but not for the last few years. Regularly worm everything with Ambex every 3 to 4 months as I feed raw meat I feel its worth the precaution. Pups & kittens & nursing mums have the usual & recommended worming treatment with a mild puppy/kitten syrup. No flea products used at all. Never had them. My dogs get vaccinated yearly but my cats, which are inside only or safe outdoor enclosure, get done 3 yearly unless any are being shown. Then its higher risk so show cats get done yearly as needed. I agree that too many strong chemicals are used. Its for the $'s but use may be necessary & adjusted depending on your location & circumstances.

Its a good move what they are doing. Now if only they would refuse to sell animals altogether. Have to wonder if it is a self promotion for their business though ? If they really objected to the many dumped they would stop it altogether. Guess it will be back to the usual after xmas.

Build him an outside run so he can have his own space. He may love it & relax in there. He doesn't have to be in it all the time but he may feel safer not competing with the others all the time & stop the spraying.

It seems the answer to the original post is that it is not so painful, uncomfortable or devastating for a dog to be debarked by a vet. When I first heard of this procedure my instinctive reaction was how awful & how cruel it sounds. Then thinking about the alternatives, when all else has failed, they are seizure by the council, neighbours that hate both of you, prosecution & death for the dog. That is more cruel. Check obscene Victorian legislation first & go ahead.

It would be so good if one of the registered dog breeders could get this position. May put some common sense into the whole matter. More rules that don't work are the last thing we need.

Are any of the members of the committee involved with animals in any way ? Will Dogs SA let us know if & how they respond to this ? Are there actually any accurate stats or info on what percent of the cats & dogs in the pound come from registered breeders & have a pedigree ? What percent are actually a pure breed & not a guess, it looks like a labrador or whatever. Some of the dogs advertised from pounds as a breed don't look like they are that breed. Like the way you are both thinking Reverend Jo & Leema.

They sure can. On vet advice I gave my cat the recommended dose of serapax when she had a lull in labour in between kittens but was very unsettled,late at night. She went ballistic Attacked my legs & barred the door every time I moved, I couldn't get out of the room for ages. It was so scary. She was not having contractions or struggling but the drug sent her crazy. When I managed to get out using a pillow to guard myself I had to check her through the window. She gave birth to a big, dead kitten the next morning. I tried giving her the first 2 kittens back, which I had put with another nursing mum & she was aggressive with them too so I took them off her. This cat usually has the most beautiful, friendly & loving nature & has been a good mum before so I can only conclude it was the drug. They don't always have the expected or desired effect.

Not safe or advisable for a young or small breed puppy to be outside all night. One snake, even a small one, attracted by his warm body or anything would be the end of him. Rodents, flies, bugs etc may be a trial too. The pup is a companion breed as well & would be miserable. All my pups are toilet trained on newspaper. I have never, ever had even one puppy that has gone to a new home or any of my own continue to toilet on newspapers that I have put down on the floor or lounge when I have been busy & left them there. Toy breeds cannot always hold on overnight when young. Tiny bladders obviously.

There is a notification in todays Advertiser in Public Notices advising of this committee which has been established by The House Of Assembly Of The Parliament Of South Australia. It lists various issues they wish to address & asks for submissions re companion cats & dogs My slow computer will take too long to go to their website to find out more info. Does anyone know who this committee are ? How they were selected What they intend to do ? Hope there is no intention to follow Victoria's lead & implement their regulations here ? I think its important that we know quite clearly what is going on beforehand, as opposed to after when they may have done whatever. The whatever may be something no one wants.

There is absolutely no way of getting an exact or even realistic figure. Some will go through the books, some will be cash deals & some will not be sold. Just disposed of if no one wants to buy

I have also used Ambex for all mine for about 7 years. Never seen or suspected worms so it must work ok.

Have you seen how tiny little dog poo can be ? Unless you see the dog go you may not spot it instantly. No idea why some dogs do this but its worse with cat poo. A dog near a cat litter tray is like a woman with a box of chocolates Hopefully its a passing phase.

Sawdust is messy & they may eat it. Fake grass is horrid to clean, I have it in one cat run, everything sticks in it & I have to use a vacuum & a slicker brush to clean it. I have a big tiled area that I pen for pups. I just put a blanket down for them & some beds in there however my dogs are not in it all the time. Its only short times when I am out there with them but they are too young to run loose. I would do this on the concrete & hose it.

I don't see the point of confinement to the toilet for the bed jumping. Why not just keep her out of the bedroom or train by removing & saying no, down, ahh ahh or whatever word to denote no jumping on the bed. I do this with my small pups until they are around 6 months old to keep them from injury however they have to be watched because if I leave the room they will try, some of them. Re the feet, its a play thing & will pass. many kittens & pups do this.

Trim the hair a bit.

Go & buy a couple of new fans from Kmart. The pedestal fans are only about $10 or $12 each. Aren't you worried about snakes under the house ? They are out & about heaps here now.

great job. That's exactly what I do when they are tiny. Nice to see a decent size space, hate anything crammed in a cage.

Oh he is so very cute :) Perfectly normal for him to cry. He is in a strange place & without his mum & litter mates so he will be feeling upset however he will settle in time. Re the climbing out. I have had 4 week old toy poodle pups climb up the corner of the pen, to the top you need to put a lid on it or leave him in the crate, only for short times, if you can't keep an eye on him, until & if he stops. Don't try & put him down & tell him off. I did that with my Katy. I put her down & said ah ah, no. She thought it was a great game & as soon as I sat down she did it again :laugh: & again. The lid/panel on the top fixed it.

The nature versus nurture debate is always being thrown around. Nature is not always predictable. One can have a family of say 8 children who are different in personality & nature although being raised together by the same parents they may have similar habits, or maybe not. Same in a litter but the nurture part is not so set as it is a short period usually. I have known ratbag dogs from lovely parents & the opposite, same with the way they were raised too. Its bits of everything. To be on the safe side I would not take an aggressive puppy but I may take a timid/shy one as often, unless it is absolutely extreme, this can be a temporary thing or just the kind of day the pup had when you saw it. Although they may never be the bravest dog that often isn't a really big problem depending on your expectations. So the answer is sometimes they do inherit it & sometimes they don't. No help really is it. ETA I have just gone & read the thread Could People Think You Abused Your Dog :laugh: Read it & that will tell you about nature versus nurture, not.

Add some Nutrigel too.

If your bitch is getting a good general diet I doubt that this is the problem. Sometimes this just happens. The trick is to keep them feeding from mum to stimulate her milk to come in but to make sure that you are feeding only a little extra to keep their weights up. I would not let her out for 90 minutes a day or let her mix with the other dogs at all while the puppies are this age. I would only take her out for toilet breaks & a quick stretch her legs several times a day. Most dogs don't want to spend that long away from week old pups so she may need to be encouraged to stay with them more. Wombaroo through the dropper should keep them going until her milk is more abundant. My girl had hardly any milk last time & I had to feed round the clock although she nursed them. Only 2 pups. Milk came in abundance on day 6 thankfully, its tiring. Good luck.

My first thought about whippets was that they are speedy dogs so Gonzales came to mind automatically. There are thousands of dog names if you google. Try typing in a theme or country you like for some more unusual ones or maybe something like names of volcanoes.

Working people raise & socialise pups fine however sometimes it is threads like this that make me hate this modern thing of crating. We & pups used to survive without them. Those hours & being crated all night too, no matter whether anyone is there or not is far too long IMO. Even spending 3 hours before work does not compensate as a puppy this age cannot move continually for 3 hours. It will play then sleep in short bursts. Animals & especially when young need to move & have space, physically & emotionally. I have a mum with just one 3 week old kitten currently. The pen is 7 foot long & baby is roaming already & will be moved to a larger space soon. Mum is in & out as she likes so I cannot image a large puppy in a small crate. I would advise that you try & pick up a second hand aviary for outside or put a barrier across the kitchen door, tie up all the cupboard handles & move everything high up & leave pup in there with food, bed & water at one end & toilet area at the opposite.