sandgrubber

Yep, this ^. Only small dogs are allowed in retirement villages. NOT NECESSARILY!!!!! Don't self-censor! Do put pressure for broader tolerance. If you believe it's true, you make it true! There are several thousand 55+ residential developments in Australia. They are not all the same. For example, I'd expect many retirement villages have had experiences with assistance dogs, and have developed tolerance of Labradors and perhaps also goldies. If a dog is proposed as a companion/service animal, eg., to provide emotional support through the transition to retirement, and the pup is sourced from a kennel that specializes in assistance dogs, I would guess many places would set aside prejudices against medium to large dogs.

I believe that most believe the science that they want to believe . . . no question that there are health and social arguments both for and against spey/neuter. Having lost a bitch at 9 years to an aggressive uterine tumor, I favor doing a spey at six or seven years. Repro system cancers are often late onset, and many would be prevented by a spey (or neuter? not sure if testicular cancers tend to be late onset?). In dogs where testosterone is a problem, I'm in favor of early castration (too bad they don't do it for humans with testosterone management problems).

Lifestyle village can mean 55+ independent living communities. Quite a few of these allow dogs. I'm pretty sure some allow larger dogs. Probably more common for communities where you buy in than in communities where you rent. It was in the US, not Oz, but my mother lived in two such places. Both allowed her to have her Labrador . .. and when the Lab went over the rainbow bridge, she got a GSD X. They required only that she have a plan for someone to care for the dog if she was unable. Of course, there would have been big trouble if the dog wasn't well behaved . . . but in general, everybody loved the dog, and a lot of people who didn't have their own dogs delighted in having Mom's dog around.

As an older woman (I'm 65 so you can say 'older') who prefers large dogs, I'd suggest one of the smaller hounds. They tend to be ok with a small yard and very sociable. Robust with kids. Noisy if left outdoors at night, but otherwise not bad (not yappy). Beagle, basset, grand or petit basset griffon verdeen, maybe even fox hound. Most hounds will wander, but small units generally have good fences. They're adaptable to a variety of activity levels.

50 is NOT elderly!

The right to confront your accuser has deep roots in common law. For good reason. If someone complains about your dogs, you would want to know who it was to decide whether the complaint was justified, or whether it was based on some grudge. Even more so if the charge was theft or something carrying heavy criminal penalties. If such matters become serious, and the person against whom the complaint is lodged faces serious penalties, I'd guess there's a good chance that the complainant's name will be released.

US goes to extremes on both ends . . . lots of teacups and mini's around. Mini potbelly pigs are increasingly common. Then there are pocket pets = sugar gliders. I've never heard of a pitterpat . . . googled and, you're right, they've been around for a long time . . . I guess that name doesn't catch on here cause it's too cutesy and the pit crowd goes more for spunk.

Here's a review of the active ingredients in many flea treatments. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2111&aid=598 Ivermectin is most commonly used (with dogs) for heartworm treatment, not for fleas. There are dozens of alternatives. If you want something natural, you might also try diatomaceous earth, which is not on this list.

I wish I had room for another dog . ..

I meant this tongue in cheek! Sort of like pointing out that if poodles and poodle crosses were banned, there would be less worry about 'oodles. Can't imagine BSL catching on here cause the #1 target is part of daily life, as much as the SBT is in Oz.

I wouldn't worry about it. My dogs, especially the puppy, eat almost all vegetables, including capsicums (for some reason they give the jalapenos and Haberneros a miss) and will eat large quantities of not-so-good veg when I'm canning. I would worry more about the garden than the pup. Getting the zoomies in a garden can do a lot of damage. I put a low electric fence around my garden so the dogs don't graze or play there. Onions are the exception . . . in any quantity they can be toxic.

My breed bias . . . Labrador, goldie or flatcoat. All tend to be easy going, friendly, tolerant, easy, home-centered dogs. Btw., all dogs are not equally prone to wander. My dogs won't go out the gate when it's left open, unless a deer or another dog comes by. They don't think of digging out, though they could easily. Selection within the breed is probably more important than the breed itself. Look for a breeder who not only says they breed for temperament but who will tell you what temperament they breed for. And make sure that is the temperament you want. Ask direct questions about the temperament of both the sire and dam. Find a breeder who temperament tests the pups and is confident they can pick the right one for your situation. Someone who places pups with Guide Dogs is the right direction . . . as they want bombproof, trainable dogs that bond well with people. Field work may be the wrong direction. Many people who do competitive retrieving like high drive, and it doesn't sound like you want a fetch-a-holic. With Labbies, there's more demand for girls than boys, so you'll get a better choice if you go for a boy. If you're not prepared to cope with a puppy, consider looking for an older dog.

Thanks for replies. Guess I'm feeling horrid guilt cause, in a way, I ran over my puppy, and it seems like the least I can do is take her for a vet check. So it's my drama as well as hers. Rationally, she continues to get better by the hour, and I think you're right, it really doesn't merit a vet visit so long as the trend is strong improvement. Good to have confirmation that I'm not just rationalizing.

I was backing up the car yesterday and heard the dreaded shriek. Patty (7 mo old Labrador) must have been deeply asleep underneath cause she usually gets manic with hope of a ride when the car door opens. She emerged very wiggly, but unwilling to put weight on her front right leg/paw. I do a careful feel up. She doesn't show pain anywhere. She allows me to manipulate all joints and feel over the little bones in her foot without indication of pain. I'm uncertain whether she was actually run over or just got a little pinched and screamed as much in fright as in pain. No obvious swelling. No lacerations. I sort of doubt she got the full weight of my car. It's a Prius and VERY heavy. I'd think really running over her would do serious damage. She seems to be enjoying the attention. Murphy's Law, this happens at 1 pm on Saturday. My vet closes at noon. I don't like the local emergency vet service. It's at the University. They tend to use emergencies as an excuse to try out expensive techniques, and you never know what vet you're going to get, or how long you may wait cause the vet is tied up with a more urgent case. So I give her a tramadol and keep her restrained with the idea of seeing how it goes.. Not hard to restrain her. She isn't enthusiastic about moving. Sometimes she sleeps with the injured leg up, sometimes with it down. Tramadol can act as a sedative, so this may be the drugs. It's now Sunday morning. Patty is now putting a little weight on the paw. My guess is that she pulled or wrenched something and it hurt a lot. The pain scared her. But whatever it is is healing rapidly. Expect to find her only limping slightly on Monday. Question: If the trajectory is steady improvement, should I take her to the vet on Monday? Do I continue to restrain her, or let her take exercise when she chooses to do so?

Yeah makes you ask what people think is in poo - most dogs love eating that too. My theory is that they've been reading about fecal transplants and, in order to achieve more perfect digestive systems, want to gain micro-organisms from as many species as possible. The idea of probiotics for dogs amuses me. All the dogs I've owned are aggressive in searching out additions to their gut flora (much to my disgust). Vets tell me that healthy dogs over 4 mo can cope with Salmonella . . . so concern over freshness of eggs is unnecessary, except for pups.

1. that dog does not look like a pit bull . . . or like the dogs that everyone calls pits in the American South. Too rangey. Chest too narrow. Not enough bone. Ears almost floppy. Muzzle too long. 2. "she described Dante as 'an absolute honey' who loved being cuddled and playing with her two kids, Fury-James, 4, and Lahtezia-Lust, 5" is absolutely in pattern for pit bulls. Their owners almost invariably describe them as affectionate toward family members, and ignore their reaction to other dogs. 3. hard not to be judgemental toward someone who would curse their kids with names like Fury and Lust, and their dog with Dante the Infernal. Conclusion: Sick idiot owner ought to be locked up and should not be raising children, much less dogs. This has nothing to do with pit bulls and everything to do with idiot owners who like ferocious dogs.

Your 'proper' way is only rational if you place a low value on your dog's life and/or don't find it awful to have your dog impounded and having to employ lawyers to get your dog out of the pound. Sadly, right does not make might.

In my kennel management days, one of the Australian vets we worked with said cooked rice + small amounts of meat and supplements could be prepared as a substitute for Hills. If you do some vet shopping you should be able to come up with a vet who can provide recipes for an equivalent diet . . . maybe even one that the dog likes.

For once you all in Oz can feel grateful you have BSL. I live in an area where pit bulls are the generic working man's dog. They come in a lot of sizes and shapes and temperaments. Some are nightmares. Some are sweet, hardy waggy dogs. Many are a bit dog aggressive and hit the fence, or the end of their chain, when you walk your dog past. Only a small fraction have registered pedigrees. In the local Craigslist -- the equivalent of Gum Tree -- there has been a sudden appearance of ads for 'pocket pits'. Theoretically these are a Patterdale x APBT cross, but in practice they seem to be pit x some small terrier or terrier mix. I hope Oz is able to avoid some equivalent sickness. Somehow I can't see a 'pocket staffie' catching on.

Great video. Thanks for posting. Now I know why their tongues are so long! I had no idea that they curled backwards to scoop water. Next time I mop up the slop around the water bowl, I'll have an image of how it got there .

Nice try, but if it means your dog gets seized, not worth it. I don't think anyone whose dog has been taken, and who has either had to go through a whole legal process to get the dog back, or who has lost and had their dog pts would agree that 'they' don't have power. If you could get hundreds of thousands of people to march with dogs in hand, as in the classic civil rights demonstrations or Gandhi breaking the Salt Laws, you might succeed. But the anti-BSL community has seldom shown the numbers or the cohesiveness and resolve to be politically effective.

Similar here. When I had a boarding kennel, I encountered quite a few dirty desexed dogs and bitches. And lots of chronic humpers who had been castrated (including a few speyed bitches).. HOWEVER, the stinkiest pee, hands down, came from entire males. Not all of them. But we had a few who really reeked. This is unlikely to be a problem in a home situation, unless the owner is into indoor dog toilets.

+1 As a kid I used to tease my mother's Labrador, who would eat most anything, by tossing her things I thought she wouldn't like. No one told me onions were poisonous to dogs. The dog wanted nothing to do with onions . . . one of the few things she wouldn't even catch, much less gnaw on.

My dogs, who sleep in the bed, do the same rolling thing, sometimes on top of me as well when I'm in the bed. It looks just like the gesture they use when they find something fragrant on a walk. I wonder if they're being affected by human scent. Pheremone driven behavior????

Yes. <div><br></div><div><br><div>p.s. it's the exoskeleton that gets stuffed. In answer to Rural Pug's comments, diatomaceous earth is probably bad for a wide spectrum of arthropods, but because it is heavy and settles rapidly to the ground, it's unlikely to affect flying insects (bee safe) and because it mechanically affects exoskeletons, it's unlikely to have effects down the food chain, ie, on predatory insects, birds or insect eating mammals. </div> </div>