Christina

I think Farmer Dave is a nom de plume for Don Burke. Sound so much like him.

Well done mummy, that is a good size litter. You can relax now but I bet you won't sleep through the night. Hope its all plain sailing now. Baby pics in the poodle thread please when they are photogenic. Mine always look like blobs at first

Hope to see you posting some good news very soon

This is a favourite photo of mine. Shows them hunting in a pack. I filed it in the computer under Snake Killers.

The above quote really suprises me. All my kittens are desexed at a kilo minimum weight at around 10 to 12 weeks old & most of the cat breeders I know also do this. I also have my toy pups desexed early. Never heard of any that have died while being desexed. For the males especially they are out knocked out for a really short time frame. A healthy young animal should survive a short anaesthetic without a problem generally. Maybe the problem in the pound dogs is that they are not healthy & robust or that corners are cut & its rushed ? I would not factor fear of death into this decision, it should not be common if all is done well & correctly.

These kind of surveys are often done with not enough dogs to make it relevant. When a small number is used, say 300 the results may show up to be vastly different on the next 300 so I would want to know the number of dogs used before I believed this to be accurate. If it was in the region of thousands it would be credible.

Those spirals are evil. I use the plastic garden tie things or sometimes those metal clips ( what are they called ? ) office use things for paper etc. They have 2 things you squeeze together to open. Cut the ends off the garden ties though the cute little buggers sometimes chew them.

Considering the huge population there & the obviously high number of dogs the amount of attacks is probably lower, in proportion, than we get here in Australia in many places. Doubt that many would take this silly offer up. They are reasonably dog tolerant in general & at least some idiot breaking into your home who gets bitten by your dog can't sue you. 3 of the dogs on the banned list are not dogs most people would ever own anyway. Rough on the other bull breeds though as usual. This stupid idea will fade away.

There is not much you can do except to advise her to get a vet check, vaccine, worm & flea treatment if needed. At least she did not pay a pet shop $795 or an equally stupid amount for this pup. On $50 they are not likely to be breeding & churning them out for the money. The dog may be weird or cute, cranky nature or great & may be fine. Lucky dip. Hope its lucky.

I just read this & thought of you. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience Not helpful I guess but I also have to say what a joyous & beautiful photo of your dog & daughter.

Never thought I would say this but here goes Its a dog & you are putting your feelings, emotions & anxieties on it to explain & excuse its behaviour. Start seeing & treating it like a dog, it is not a person & thinking like you are. Not suggesting making it sleep in a kennel & not letting it sit on the lounge with you etc, my own dogs are very spoiled, but they know they are the dogs & I know that too. Re arrange your perception if you can or your dog will become & big problem but not sure if you will recognise this

Although giving calcium during pregnancy & birth used to be the done thing new research shows this can actually interfere with the bitches natural calcium levels & production so it is not recommended now to give any extra calcium until all the pups are born. Do an internet search on this subject, much info available. Worm before mating not during pregnancy unless you know that your dog has a worm problem while pregnant. If not do not worm. If you do need to worm consult your vet on which ones are safe. There are wormers specifically for puppies only & these are the safest.

If you are considering medication like Prozac, anti depressants I suggest you try it on yourself first I had one & the effect was absolutely drastic. Up to the individual, many swear by it but I would never. Maybe a low dose of sedative may be kinder & less intrusive chemically if you are going to use drugs.

All ok then, misunderstood

Luxury boarding for small dogs only & cats. Very nice but you must check it out. http://www.bedbiscuit.com.au/index.html

Locking a dog in a crate outside while you go out is not a good idea. What is the dog supposed to do if a snake gets in ? Or your house goes on fire & there is thick smoke or flames if it is close to the house ? Weather suddenly gets really hot ? If you want to leave the dog outside & contain it rather than let loose in the garden then a larger pen/run away from the house is safer.

I see from your post that you have already had a small dog & a young child before your son was born & a cat so assume you know what you are doing & have some experience. As your child has not been assessed yet it may turn out that he is not autistic. Hope that turns out to be the case. Many things including allergy can produce all sorts of symptoms. I used to mind an autistic child several times a week from a few months old until he was almost 5. He was fantastic with dogs & all other animals too, much better than many children without his problem. With a sensible parent some small dogs are fine with young children. Maybe choose a more robust breed with a bit more substance in build. Some are fragile & not suitable. I would not go for an older/rescue dog. Nice thought but you have no guarantee of what is in their past. Ok for older children but I wouldn't chance it with a toddler. The lady was entitled to her opinion so no point in getting upset. You are probably feeling quite vunerable as you are so worried about your son. You know him best & sound sensible so you will sort it out.

No & you need to get her to a vet. Maybe a different one than you used before, if possible. None of any of this is normal.

Go for a walk without your dog. It will be interesting to see how her dog reacts towards you then. Have a chat with her & ask her where she got the guide dog from. You may have to be a bit subtle & general on how you bring this question up. When you find out get onto them & if you can't get an appropriate response then maybe have a chat to the ranger. I don't like people rushing in complaining about a dog that's a pain if it is on a lead & controlled but this is not safe for her especially let alone others.

For 14 years I used to live 5 minutes drive from Semaphore before I moved rural. At least 4 visits a week to the beach with the dogs, its lovely. Lots of people walk their dogs there & many would often chat & say hello. There is a path from jetty to jetty as far as Largs Bay so if the weather is bad for walking on the sand the path is still a nice walk. Cafes along the mains street used to be dog friendly many bringing a bowl of water out for your dog along with your coffee. Hope its still the same. I miss the beach.

Absolutely correct. Unless your friend hands over the dog there is no way this person can take it back without going to court. So tell your friend not to open the door if she is scared. No point in any discussion as it won't be of any use or productive. Except to say you are not having the dog back. Sad situation.

You can own a prefix with Vic dogs and never breed a puppy or you can breed cross bred puppies or you can breed cross bred and purebred puppies . Lots of people who breed cross bred dogs have a Vicdogs membership and are therefore exempt form all things other Vicdogs members are exempt from. Vicdogs can only say what you can do with your registered purebred dogs not what you can do with your unregistered dogs. The codes of conduct only cover what you can do with your registered purebreds and you dont need to show whether your dogs are registered purebreds to be exempt - you have to have Vicdogs membership and not own more than 10 fertile bitches. Of course, I forgot about all that other stuff Got me to thinking now Why am I registered with a canine association

No experience of this however wishing you the best of luck. Questions I wonder about when these type of things occur is Is it worth breeding from a mum like this again & is this likely to be hereditary in her offspring ?

They may well be registered breeders. That is registered with the council. Unless you can actually visit the property & see the condition of the dogs & how they live there is no evidence for complaint about laws being broken etc. The welfare issue is debatable. They may be very well cared for, although the picture painted does seem to suggest something odd, as one never knows what goes on behind closed doors with any breeder regardless of anything. Its not illegal to cross breed or keep many dogs. The vaccine thing & age of sale are regulated & that's about it. There is nothing you can do. Some people don't care where their puppy comes from. It cute & I want it is about all that concerns them.

I guess & hope they start with the part that says the puppies were being walked on a lead. That settles whose fault it all was for me regardless of what any dog had done or how they have behaved before when running loose. How absolutely horrific for them all.