JimmyTheHuman

Thanks for the considered post, we took note. Thought i would provide an update. Since posting he had a scope and they said, yep, Lar par, but bearable see how long can go without surgery. Recently it got very bad. On Walks it would almost close and his tongue would go blue and clearly couldn't breath, on the couch he was heaving to breath. So we rang them back and they gave us two options. 1 was with them and another was a more specialised place but double the price. Luckily the more specialist was happy to talk to our vet and us and give our vet and us guidance when he knew we couldnt afford double. Fairly generous actually Had tie back surgery last week and other than 24hrs of grogginess he is brand new. easy relaxed breathing, can drink water easy and we feed him meat balls and swallows them like oysters so very little risk of aspirating food. We have a big yard, he doesnt chew sticks etc, but if he finds a juicy dead bird or something he will be into it...not much we can do about that He is more agile and can easily jump on the couch, he was really struggling before. He has lost a LOT of bloat around his chest...i think he was holding a bit of fluid there or something. Today (Sunday) will be his first walk since surgery Thursday. Hopefully this gives him a few more years of easy living that includes walks. thanks for the tips and advice.

I was deliberately mouthing off about stuff i have no idea about to make a point...i failed.

I dont, just nitpicking and assuming we're all doing the wrong thing. Anyway, now i am whinging! Go ahead and delete these posts if you like. Thanks for the links, i am building the pen Sat, then make it inescapable...i am predicting his tunnelling skills...then i will make it exciting!

Yep, maybe the form needs some thought. Because sharing that much personal info is simply not safe. Plus there is no way you can learn enough about a families suitability from filling out a form. It requires a discussion at least. But i know that can use a lot of time...i just think a better balance could be had. I did try quite a few rescue options, organised a puppy from a breeder and continue to try for rescue until puppy time. So i did what i could.

He was like 7 weeks and 5 days. PLEASE forgive my rounding. I think this is an excellent way to create a quiet and unpleasant forum. There is NOTHING poor about this pup or my older dog. We lived as a family 5 (4 people and the dog), his picture is on the wall next to my kids, we do everything together. My dogs live like Kings! Best food, regular holidays together, regular vet, big yard, inside with us a lot, plenty of exercise, obedience and training, the beach. With the pup My wife and i are on shifts and take to toilet all night to train him to go way down the back, he could be in a pen on a chain...nothing poor or lazy or ill considered here. These comments are as silly as me saying, your white pitbull in your profile pic is a killer breed and shouldn't be allowed. Why are you so careless?

I tried exactly as suggested. In order to chat with anyone about anything you must fill in the form. When they reply, DENIED i contact them and say, would you mind chatting with me or helping me understand why...you get told some silly BS about wasting time. The form and details they need are not safe, the process is waaay too out of date...it's a shame...our current dog rescued from this forum in 2007 has lived the life of a king.

My current dog slept outside for 10 years on his bed...he would drag his bed out of his kennel. He just preferred it. Last couple of years we've let him sleep inside as he is getting old and he very trustworthy and next level obedient. New pup is in crate next to old dog inside. He is 7 weeks. WAY too young to leave outside over night in melb winter. I have enclose outdoor area and his crate is going out there during the day...he is fine for next month. I am trying to get him to to love his crate. Then i was going to do what did last time, kennel and dog run until he grows out of the escape and dissappear age and will reliably stay home even when gate is open. eg my current/old dog can be told to sit on front door matt i can go out for hours and come back and he will be sitting there...though i dont test this anymore. He wouldn't go out our gate without being released even if other dogs walked past. I aiming to repeat this

You're right this is THE big question. I have agonised over this and our pup has been here for 4 days and i am still thinking, crikey what have i done! I am lucky/unlucky enough to be working from home for the first 3months of its life. Plus i have 'adult' children at home until Feb next year as the uni is 100% from home until then. This will be our last child/puppy in this lifetime so we are very into it, and this is possibly the most time we will be at home until retirement/retrenchment This is the time for us. However its winter, but our yard is all grass. No mud. We are working, even now on training and playing for calm, we want him to be inside and cuddly and calm as much as possible. We dont want to use chain or pen but reality is, there are times when the puppy needs to learn to be on his own and our 1 acre yard is dog proof, its still to big for him to wander for hour/s without supervision for now. So i think i will build a pen from mesh fence panels. Make it into a dog disneyland with heaps of creative play stuff and a kennel and shelter from the weather and get him used to being separated and playing on his own in there. What do you think? Wife and i are debating about whether to build close enough where he can see us inside or better its we are out of sight?

Not exactly our first puppy, but keen to start at the start. Not about behaviour, theres endless content on that. Ours is a Kelpie puppy. I am curious about pens, play areas. What does a day look like for a 12-24 week old puppy look like. how to safely leave him at 2 days a week. dog runs, vs chained to kennel. how long to use chains and runs before alone in the yard. Any good guides or discussion on this? i cant find anything.

I have a new kelpie puppy arriving in 2 weeks and i want to follow an entire course if possible. I trained my current kelpie myself, using smart and dumb tactics. He is amazing and so well behaved, no bad habits and can go anywhere. But I really want to just focus on smart this time, but i want to follow something proven to be effective. What is the best online/dvd type training to learn all of the key elements of well behaved, intelligent active dog.

Pawperfect is another organisation with a form that was made by a well meaning volunteer...why would they need to know my occupation? I'm Lawyer or a Bricklayer - which best for owning dog type A, B or C? No talking to anyone unless you fill in a form. It deters a lot of people i have found out since i've started trying to rescue again.

Thanks, Charlotte is absolutely gorgeous! So is Izzy. I really wanted a dog. But will send them a message and see what the process is. thanks!

Yes thanks...that organisation is actually one of the ones deterring me. They want too much info at the start, they say no in a 1 sentence email and then they share you private info in an insecure way - i get they are busy and volunteers - but sharing that much info isn't safe from a privacy and security perspective and the 8 word 'no' email isnt enough to let you know whats happening. But i do understand its volunteer and limited resources. When you then compare the cost of a puppy with full pedigree and warranty from a known and reputable breeder is a little less than adoption, the whole system then relies entirely on my willingness to participate and really want to rescue, even though the experience is kinda crappy. You can see the circular nature of the problem. So I am not to trying to criticise, i know they are trying to do their best, but its flawed (in my opinion). When i rescued through this site in 2007 the experience was quite personal and the foster carer and i were able to chat directly and it really has worked out for the best, Jax has lived the life of a king as far as dogs go. Since posting i have found a couple of breeders who have litters. I really want to be able to rescue...but not sure what to do.

We are going to get a second dog. we're at home for 6 months, now is the time. We want a small/fine/smoochy kelpie. not a cattle ready working version. We have 1 Kelpie, he is getting on, but still ok and we have 1 acre of land and we're outdoorsy and keen to train etc. We've tried a few rescue apps on petrescue. but i wont be doing that anymore. I dont like sharing so much info and waiting for days for an email saying "we dont feel you are the right fit" based on filling in the worlds oldest online form. I understand why they are like this...i imagine how many wierdos they have to deal with. but its not a great experience. So. We rescued our current dog through this forum in 2007! But they dont seem to be doing much here anymore? is there a secret way of rescues...or is petrescue it now? As we have a small window of opportunity. we may have to consider breeder over rescue. Any recommendations for reputable breeders in Vic. Esp black n tan for companion quality kelpies? (we already know beloka and they may or may not have something)

Thanks, we will switch the harness. The lady Vet said operational is possible, but it's invasive and has side effects...so only consider if the issue is really impacting him. It's certainly impacting him...but probably not enough to warrant a big surgery and long recovery etc.