Christina

I would go out every day, without daughter or dogs,until I found who this person with these dogs is. Someone will know who has a white ute & 2 dogs like this. I would also offer a reward for info. Despicable & stupid person needs finding & to pay.

Of course breed makes a difference. One is hardly likely to get in a big panic about the psycho chihuahua or bichon carrying on because although they can be a pain you have a chance of controlling the little devils, one kick, just a move it with your foot gesture, & its all over. With some breeds one kick & a hefty one, is like a fly batting against them. Perfectly normal to react that way, depending on breed, to a dog hassling when you have 3 on lead or even one.

Take the pup to the vet for a check. He may need blood tests to see what is going on. Doubt it is anything to do with his diet at all. Everyone has their own best diet but pup should not be that thin on what you are feeding. It may be as simple as the wormer you are using is not working on him & you don't realise. The vet can pop a poo sample under the microscope & check in seconds so take a sample with you when you go.

guess that is ok if they have broke a leg or something. People have such varying opinions on what is ok. To be honest if a puppy buyer asks me questions about how long they can crate a pup & crating in a small space for toilet training they do not get a puppy from me. To the original question posted I guess it boils down to what you personally feel comfortable about doing & it sounds like crating for long isn't your thing.

Yes seperate for sure. I never leave pups unsupervised with adults no matter how nice my girls are. Leave some puppy dry biscuits out for lunch & puppy will be fine.

Agree with above. I have never owned a dog in my life that slept 20 hours a day, even when they were old they were awake for more than 4 hours. For 5 hours or so a large crate is more acceptable than risking getting shot, as a temporary measure if no other option.

Poor dog but I have little sympathy for the owner. Her attitude is appalling. That is also a huge dog to have wandering at large & people will be scared more than if it was a small dog. If there are no fences the dogs should be put on a lead several times a day & taken out to go to the toilet. Obviously she can't be bothered. Chaining them with people around & no fences would be stupid too. It leaves the dogs at risk especially when she goes out. She was warned so why did she let them out again knowing there was a gun happy person annoyed at the situation & put them in danger on purpose ? The family & dogs sound like they will be a load of trouble for the area in years to come due to gross stupidity & lack of control. I hope the council have a word with her because I think they will be wandering at large again soon.

Try not to panic. Everyones imagination is running wild here & it is all speculation. Yes it is strange & it would be frightening but it may be some harmless twit that is homeless or down on their luck that didn't know the dog was there & hoped there was food in that freezer to distract it. You don't know why the man was there but if he was a violent criminal & wanted to harm the dog & then break in he would have done. Instead he fed the dog & left so he sounds like an opportunist who bumped into your dog. The police don't seem to think he was the hacksaw serial killer or the organiser of a mega dog stealing ring & they would have some clue if this were so. Put some security up for future safety & to ease your mind & be concerned but try not to be scared by imaginary scenarios.

Food up on an old table or chair, in the moat bowls & put some Coopex around the outside of the aviary. It kills anything that crosses it for 3 months. Dilute in a watering can & sprinkle around, easy. Get it from fodder stores. Around $12.

Find another vet. Its outrageous to charge so much. The costs quoted are ridiculous. There is no way on earth a microchip can cost $75, beside the rest of the costs. For rescue there is not supposed to be a profit. It is done because you want to help & rescue. Certainly to charge what it costs them I can understand but to add on profit for rescue I cannot. This is make more money not save a life.

I have no idea but based on the instructors manner & the other dogs being trouble I would go to another place. They are not going to take your concerns seriously at all.

Not mandatory in SA for cats or dogs but yes registered breeders cannot register the litter unless they are microchipped. That is a Dogs SA rule not the councils. I get breeders rates & I desex, vaccinate & microchip so its a lot cheaper. There are some qualified microchip implanters in SA that don't charge so much. Guess it varies from vet to vet. Basically they can charge what ever they want for anything, its free trade & no use having everything controlled. Shop around.

Sounds like this is personal & specific. Are your dogs barking & annoying anyone that you can think of ? Night/shift worker trying to sleep in the day for example ? Do they bark a lot when you are out ? Can you find out ? I would not leave my dogs out when I am not home & in your shoes would never, ever do it again. Hope you catch the bastards. I would hide my car around the corner & sneak back home round the back if possible & watch.

Let the breeder know. It may be a new mating for them so they need to know. Also the vet should have picked this up & the breeder should have told him, unless it has gone like this as the pup has grown, which can happen. Hopefully its merely cosmetic, which is the usual. Shouldn't be a health issue unless it goes extreme.

Watch her overall body language. This does not sound like its aggression at all. They should be fine together with you supervising. Maybe keep one of them on your lap until you & they feel comfortable. This is what I do or pen them until they are used to each other, I breed cats & dogs. My dogs scare the kittens at first as they are so excited & love them & they do get over enthusiastic but they soon make friends. I never leave dogs & kittens unsupervised for the first 5 or 6 months even though they are friends.

Some males are better when they can see the girl & others are worse. Trial & error on that. Try some Tranquil Paste on your boy. I find it helps sooth them to a degree. It certainly can't do any harm. You can get it at fodder stores.

What happens to the dog if he goes back to the shelter ?

Check out this site for testing. http://ingen.bs/ You can do your own swabs or get your vet to take them, which is as good as certified. The price difference is incredible & there is a $25 voucher for 1st time customers so it works out 2 dogs for less than $100 using this. I was recently suprised when sent a GTG PRA certificate copy for an adult dog I was considering purchasing ( I didn't purchase ). It had no microchip number on it, no pedigree registration number on it & where it said certified result it said No. I did not think they tested dogs without all this info & thought all results from this lab were certified but guess I am mistaken ?

Its a pity they can't do something like this, & more, in that community in the territory that is posted about in the general forum. Seems like responsible dog ownership & dog laws only apply to certain parts of Australia. I often wonder how much dog involved stuff councils & governments get involved in in other countries. ?

Same thought here persephone. It seems that they can shoot cats in the pound but can't shoot this poor dog that needs it. I cannot even imagine the way the people or animals live & don't ever want to see it.

Maybe the percentages are not exactly accurate in relation to how everything comes across but I agree that face to face is so much better. I do sometimes wonder if people actually recall what they read when I see some of the replies that miss a very relevant point in the original post. Also when things turn to anger over some misconstrued statement or the opposite when people think something is ok but looking back over the info it clearly is not. People can also get stuck on one point & forget all the rest. Headline example 30% of all crime is committed by black youths. Amazingly many people did not even think about the fact that it means 70% were committed by white youths. Some people can't express well in writing. I always get so much out of body language & facial expressions. Often people on the internet are so different when you actually meet them. It sure can go haywire & wild on forums sometimes.

When I read the title I had a vision of a chicken running around & smelling the dogs butt every time it did it Sorry no advice but many will have some.

Yes all mine throw their heads back & howl at any siren sound but at least they don't sit in a circle to do it like my old dogs used to. That was spooky but funny, 2 chihuahuas, 2 poodles & a great dane. What a sight.

I wonder what research & info there is on any side effects. Long & short term.

I had a necrotising spider bite on my leg a few years ago. Looked like a blister, burst & then went black. Treatment was antibiotics plus a cream to apply 3 times daily, think it was an anti fungal but cant remember now. Had to have it checked every 5 days or so & it took about 8 weeks to heal. I would also get a 2nd opinion fast. Red back spider bite on my dogs leg made her limp, vomit & have a small fit almost instantly. Nothing like what you are describing.