Christina

Go to Pets Domain. They have the Hills & other premium foods on special every second week, big savings. If not in stock they may be able to get it in for you. One at Gepps Cross, Gawler & not sure where else, google ?

Old age can be so sad. All sounds ok & the usual but maybe take a urine sample to the vet for testing. Maybe a bit of cystitis or similar as it is a bit cold for an old dog to want to go outside in the middle of the night.

What a dreadful freak accident, last thing you would even think of. Hope he makes a swift recovery. Have a large brandy, its good for shock & you sure got one with that.

It is very sad what happened with your puppy. The breeder did the right thing by offering you a return & refund. I have to admit that given the problem & the amount you have had to spend, with a not very good outcome I assume ? I would have also euthanised this puppy. It is the breeders choice what they offer. For a health problem that was genetic & had an averse but not devastating effect on their health & daily well being I may refund the money & let the person keep the dog however the saddest part is if the breeder continues to breed with the affected dogs/lines. That would piss me right off more than anything. Genetic problems can crop up out of the blue despite all precautions & care. You just have to chalk this one up to a very bad experience & please not think that all breeders are the same. It is a variable thing, like anything in life. to your dog.

Just great So I have 3 fertile female dogs & 3 fertile female cats. 1 dog is 3 & never had a litter. 1 cat is 19 months & never had a litter. Another cat has had 1 litter. So how am I supposed to register as a domestic business when I don't make any profit ? Hello I don't even cover keeping them, vet fees & related expense when I do have a litter, that's if I decide to have a litter say that year. I thought that if you did not expect to make a profit you could not even register as a business. Stop inhumane treatment & cruelty yes but that is not determined by owning 5 fertile females. My dogs hair gets more attention than my own. It takes me longer to make the animals breakfast than my own & its more varied & nutritionally balanced, they have more bedding & toys than I do Now what about all those idiots with 1 cat or dog that is matted to the skin, fleas, worms, those that are starved, not given vet treatment when needed etc ? Yes this is really a good plan

They do it as a primitive thing. They are getting ready to eat you after you have been mauled My cats as well as the dogs always find even tiny scratches & want to lick them. after eating raw meat, washing their bums & sticking noses into any smelly thing they find I doubt it would have much healing power. Betadine is a better option.

Only one experience of this & never again. When I lived near the beach walks there were regular but never off lead. Too many risks for toy poodles with big dogs loose. One hot morning I went there at 6am, Not a soul in sight so for the 1st time ever I let them loose & paddled along the waters edge. Aged about 5 & 6 they were very obedient dogs. They swam out & out & out. Yelling & screaming for them to come here they either couldn't hear me or chose to ignore me. I had to swim out to them fully clothed & grab them both. The sea was up to my neck & I doubt they would have stopped & turned around. That was the end of off lead for them 2. Very frightening.

Yes that sure gets rid of the undesirables. Mine are desexed before they leave me. Also to find out if they do BYB you can type their email address into a google search, you would be suprised how many can come up in puppy ads. Or type in Ads by then their email. A good sign is if they have had the breed before & their dog lived to a good age & they are ready for a new baby. So many of my enquirers have had a poodle before & lost it to old age The rest is asking questions but some get good at giving you the right answers & gut instinct, which is not fail safe. It sure is hard whether with 1st or 5th litter. We want to get it so right. Good luck :D

Some people don't let their ethics bother them & others do. This bothers you or you wouldn't have posted. One thing I have found in life, I am a lot older, is that if I work somewhere where their practices are against my ethics I don't last long & become very miserable. I think that when you find out more about what goes on under the surface about puppies in pet shops & the whole trade behind the scenes you will become very upset. If I were you I would not take this job. In life it is an old saying that as one door closes another door opens. You will find this out & hopefully another opportunity will come along soon

:p how beautiful

Its not clean dogs messy house that gets to me, its me. The dogs hair looks better than mine most of the time & gets far more care & attention.

OMG I must be full of it Are the symptoms being prone to fits of giggles & eating a lot when its cold ? Your children would be more at risk of this by mixing with other children & eating take away methinks.

Yes this can happen. Causes are variable. Failing eyesight can be a reason. Illness that you don't know about yet can also cause changes. Vet check before behaviourist. Senility may be starting, no way of knowing until there are lots of odd incidents. Other causes too just can't think of more right now.

It is much easier for flights within Australia to just phone the airline, make the booking yourself on the flight you want & take your dog to the airport. That way you know it has got there, which flight it will be traveling on for sure & they have your details in case there are any hold ups/cancelled flights etc. Being told Dogtainers were cheaper I booked through them once. Only the flight, I was to take the dog to the airport. Not sure if they were cheaper but I found them to be rude, not efficient & they did not call me when they said they would. Had a hell of a time getting them on the phone with answering machines & mobiles going to message bank. Easier to do it myself. Hope your puppies are ok. Not impressive & very worrying for you.

I cannot understand why the RSPCA should be funding this at all. Constantly saying they are short of money, short of staff etc & many cases of animal cruelty get left or overlooked due to these issues surely they would be better putting their money & resources into more inspections of puppy farms, abuse, cruelty & neglect cases & dealing with these. They are supposed to be there for this purpose. While study into these particular issues are important I think this is a minor issue in their role, mostly dealing with & euthanising cross breeds & cruelty cases. Sounds like another Lets discredit pedigree breeder thing.

There should not really be little scars but maybe they were removed at a later age than the usual. I don't know the breeds or reason why some are removed but with my toy poodles & some little fluffy breeds the reason is that dew claws are often overlooked & not trimmed. Then they can grow around & pierce into the skin resulting in pain & infection. My preference would be to leave them on, I don't find they catch on things & have done on some of my own dogs, however I have also seen many left overgrown & it is not nice. Better safe than sorry I guess.

The pup has to weigh 2 kilos to be desexed. That is for my toy breed, may be more for larger breeds. My pups have 1 stitch, my male kittens don't have any stitches & they get done too. The stitch is usually ok removed by about day 7, healing is very rapid. No reports back of early incontinence, or any other problem, in 5 years of doing this & many cat breeders I know have been doing it for longer. The debate goes both ways so personal choice on this however they certainly bounce back in no time at a younger age & show little sign of any surgery being done at all.

No one can guarantee 100% that a genetic issue will not occur however registered breeder is the way to go. Choose a breeder that has had the genetic tests done, that are possible for the breed, & can show you the results. Ask what health guarantee is given. It is usually quite good. There is a code of ethics & someone to complain to if it is needed. Visit the breeder & be sure you are happy & confident with everything. A pet shop puppy can come from anywhere & have been raised in any conditions. You have no way of knowing. The parents may be purebred or have a bit of some other breed in there but look pure. You have no way of knowing. Genetic tests will not have been done, neither will they have kept track of litters & researched pedigrees & breeders before breeding the 2 dogs. You may have a 7 day health guarantee. No code of ethics & you deal with the shop if things go amiss. Good luck there. Not all puppies from registered breeders that go to pet homes are not worthy of showing or have a fault. It may be the breeders preference for a pet home & to just retain what puppies they want for themselves. My puppies go to their new homes desexed & many are worthy of show, my choice. You have the choice but must see that pet shop is not the best. For every puppy sold it promotes the trade & many puppies are sourced from places you would not believe. It is a business so they will not tell you. If you are not happy with a breeder you just say no thank you & find one you are happy with. There are some great breeders out there so go check some out & post a photo of your gorgeous new puppy for us.

;) not at the posters problem but at the way this forum can sometimes go all over. Its gone from 2 dogs fighting to Ceasar Milans training methods & now to OH & moving house :D Oh dear Poodiful With losing your dad recently its not a time for making decisions & losing anything else. Wait until your head space is in a better place, seperate the dogs for now, even if it means crating & swapping or alternating rooms with them both & see how you feel in a few weeks.

Poodle coats do vary tremendously. There is no way that you can tell coat texture from a photo, you need to put your hands in it. Good or bad grooming & style can be make photos quite deceptive. There is the ideal very thick & fairly coarse textured coat that stays in place & shape when groomed but it can be difficult for a pet owner to look after & sometimes a softer coat is easier. Some coats are very profuse & thick but soft to feel & get tiny sort of pin knots in quite quickly, which are a pain. Coat should not be ever be sparse but like in people the texture can be so variable. Puppy coat is not always a predictor of what adult coat will be. You need to ask the breeder & hope for a straight forward answer.

Assuming dogs are outside or have access through doggy door ? If so keep inside. Try some tranquil paste from fodder stores or rescue remedy & maybe wear an old T shirt or jumper for an hour before you go out & give it her to sleep on when you are out. Go out into your yard with her every time for a few days & if she starts barking at your neighbour teach her to be quiet & if your neighbour likes dogs take her over to the fence to make friends with her. Some just do this whatever the reason it needs stopping. As the neighbour has spoken to you obviously it bothers her.

The fighting probably won't stop. Its the dominant male thing & once it starts unless the other dog completely knuckles under there will be occasional fights & there is no predicting when they will occur. It may be once every few months or every week. My eldest dog is 8. Bottom of the pack as a baby coming in last but as the older dogs I had then died he got very dominant with others. Not too bad with the bitches & can turn on the charm & be so nice at mating time. When my last male got old & a bit senile & odd he did pick on him & had a hard time breaking it on command as always previously obeyed. As the oldest dog now he is very bossy. Solution now is to keep him seperate unless I am in the room. 7 is a hard age to re home a dog. I don't know that I could do it. If you can & he will be happy it may be better for him being the only dog & getting all the attention. Chemical castration may help but I would not be 100% sure of it. Only way to find out is to try it. If not successful you can re home or rearrange the house arrangement for them to have turns each in time spent with you.

Why is it about $270 for dogs ? Found out, much to my suprise, today that cats can have PRA too & the DNA test is available at this low cost. Can anyone make sense of this ? Huge price difference.

Cats have had all kinds of persecution & weird things attributed since time began from the bizarre to the ridiculous. Campaigning for desexing should be based on the welfare to the cat. The most destructive species on the planet is human beings, in every form imaginable. How many of this dreadful species can one mans sperm produce ? Should we desex this species ? All rather ridiculous really.

Some people just cannot spell. I don't understand why really but it does not mean that they do not look after their animals overall. Sometimes just because a person is educated & highly literate does not mean that they are always the best. They will have more chance convincing people they are though. I have also seen many spelling mistakes from good breeders & posts on this forum, probably made a few myself, but not that bad Because the persons spelling is bad does not mean the dogs are inferior, badly fed etc & the pups are vet checked & microchipped. They may be very nice & the illiterate breeders too. Dyslexia & being unable to read & spell does not always mean stupid. It's just hard for those of us who find it very easy to understand it. Does not give the best impression I agree but impression is not all there is to it.