piperspal

Glad that you had a good time, where are hte photos?

Another vote for the toy poodle, mine will outrun the big dogs when we are out and about, and it she gets tired (she is 7 yrs old) then she just comes back to me and I carry her for a while.

So sorry to hear this, I loved hearing your tales of the gang and what they would get up to.

Bugger, i did not see you Was I busy, or just the usual vague? I was the one walking with only one leg working properly, crashed the motorbile last weekend. Saw Erica but not you, although we were only there for a couple of minutes, I needed to go and sit down. lol

Went and had a look at all the dogs yesterday at the Alice Springs Show, it was amazing to see the different ones in thier crates all calm and happy. My stepson wants a bulldog, he always has and I was finally able to show his father what they looked like in real life. I asked him what he thought and he went 'Not a chance in hell', LOL. We already have 4 dogs who are active ones, so a couch potato wouldnt work with us, at least at the moment. The best bit was watching the agility, there was a little jack russell who was having a ball doing the course.

I love it, where was this taken?

Is there anything those of us who haveno material can contribute, happy to sling a few dollars across for some goodies for her recovery if required.

Here is the link to the article http://www.news.com.au/national/dog-kicked-2m-into-the-air-in-brutal-jan-juc-attack/story-e6frfkvr-1226069864041

I think it is a wonderful idea, let me know if you need any thing contributed towards it.

So sorry to hear of your loss.

I take the dogs out at 5am, although lately that has been getting harder (at least until we warm up). There are a lot of people that walk thier dogs in the afternoon, as I take 4 at once its easier and less stressful to go in the morning, they get some off lead time and get to toilet and run around like loons in relative safety. However, in saying that, it seems the colder it gets the more people are out and about at that time, we never used to see anyone but now I have to keep an eye open. Plus 3 of mine are oldies (10, 8, 7) so they get thier walk then the jackets back on immediately we get home. They are more inclined to go out before its light, once the sun is up they just want to lay in it. The only down side is when the lights are out in any of the areas, damm its dark!!!!! At one stage I was having to cut the walk short as the streetlights were out for about 8 poles around a bend. I wasnt worried about humans being around at that hour, but we do regularly run into a dingo that comes into the edge of towm and I didnt want to come across him or someone else with thier dog if I couldnt see them coming. I work with some of the poeple in my area and they asked one day if my dogs had been barking in the mornings, they rekoned that there was someone creeping around at 5.30am to see what houses they could break into. I had to laugh and apologised and let them know that was me and the dogs coming down a different street. I have also got to the far end of the walk and had the power go out in the area. It was cold, drizzly with rain and bloody dark!!!! I let the big dogs off the lead (so they could get any boogymen that wanted to eat me) and we used my torch on the Iphone to find our way home. I now carry a regular torch...... I used to walk in the afternoons, but to be honest, it was to easy to make excuses at that time. Plus, I need to be out the door and walking before my brain realises what I am doing........

Try the Guide dogs association, they have things like cups etc, but also place mats, towels etc. Also ebay, as long as you can narrow it down.

Dont forget there are also scorpions, centipedes etc. We also have some cockroaches that will squirt a foul liquid out thier behinds, if it gets in his eyes you will know it. Other than that, we are pretty safe here!!! Could you get him a runner or something to secure him with, like a lead on a long wire, so he gets the feeling he can leave but is still restricted. Just for your peace of mind. Keep in mind at this time of the year in Central OZ we are donw to 2 degrees overnight, so he might want a jacket to keep him warm. The temp is still dropping in Alice, we have just reached 17.7 degrees for the day!!!! Its predicted to statr hitting zero overnight in the next few days. (I really shouldnt check the weather like I do, it scares me)

As others have said, Crocs and Dingos are a couple of things to be wary of. Another thing is to check the properties you will be driving through, as sometimes they have spread 1080 bait around to kill the dingoes. Should he pick one of those up, its just a lump of meat soaked in the poison, he wont have much of a chance unless you get him to a vet in a hurry. I have seen dogs go absolutely mad on those before they die. They usually sign the area before htey spread the bait, but dont rely on that. Is he entire? Dingoes will use a bitch in heat to lure dogs away from campsites, so while you may trust him to stay, he is a dog and will go and check the smell. Watch out around some of the towns, as the camp dogs roam loose and can be in big packs around the rest stops. They are usually wary of humans but another dog would be a different story. They also carry fleas, ticks and mange, so make sure you have treatments for that. How big is he? If he is a big dog, no worries, but smaller dogs can get taken by wedge tail eagles if you are not watching. Just something to watch out for. Other than that, just the normal stuff like burrs, grass seeds etc, and remember to have some fun and we want photos. if you come through Alice let me know.

Very nice, nice to have some good reports about places every once in a while. Do they have a website?

Magnum loves to have cuddles, but at 46kgs, he's getting to be a bit on the big side. But he will lean into you (esp if you are scratching his ears, that makes him groan in ecstacy)and then wrap a paw around your arm to hold you there. Only problem with that is they are big paws with big claws, and they leave great bruises. My work collegues have given up asking if the OH had been beating me again every time they see the marks the dog leave they didnt believe me so I bought the dog into work one day and they had a cuddle, they soon worked it out!!!!! The next smallest, Addy, she loves her cuddles and will get in your lap if you let her, but she then sticks like a limpit and you cant get her off!!!! But she is the most smoochy dog, you dont even have to move, just have your arm over the edge of the chair and she walks back and forth like a cat. Piper, toy poodle, is a lap dog, as long as you have a cushion on your lap she's there. She also does this thing where she will walk her front paws up your chest while you are on the couch, then lay the front half of her body down. Her bum stays in the air with the tail wagging, this puts her head next to yours, she wont look at you for a couple of seconds , then she turns her head and does the "Oh Hi!!!" and has to give you kisses. Milo, the smallest, is a dangerous smoocher. He will jump up on your lap to have a cuddle and throw himself backwards to have his belly rubbed, which is great if you are expecting it, if not he is just as likely to throw himself off the couch!!!!!! But he cuddles in and grunts in satisfaction. Its so cute. Just so you understand the sixe of the dogs......

I was just 498.....

Mine will howl if another dog around the area starts up, so he may be answering another dog somewhere, it may be too soft for you to hear it.

Need photos, you know :p preferably with dogs :D

My guys get the 'Oh my god its YOU!' thing happening, the big dog will wrap a paw around my leg and hold me still until he has finaished sniffing to see what/where/who I have been, the middle dog jumps up and stretches up as far and she could so she can get in first, the two little ones wait until I get inside and the th poodle will jump up for me to catch her, she then sucks on my ear lobe (which gives me delicious shivers). The new little one has just started to jump up for his cuddles as well, but he has short legs and I always joke that'he jumps like a brick'. But he will have a cuddle as well, then they both go and bring toys over for me to throw for them........ sigh,. Its nice to be missed, even if it is only because I am useful to them :D

I keep birds as well and subscribe to Australian Birdkeeper magazine. There was an article in there that described how animals winking is actually a sign they are secure and happy, ht author had noticed one of his birds would deliberately wink at him. He described how he started to wink at his other birds and they would all relax when he did it, like a non verbal 'It's OK". I started doing it with the dogs at home and it had the same efect. I had to do it a couple of times but now they wink back. I have found when they are getting stressed and I say thier name, then wink, they will often give a big sigh and lay down and sleep. Interesting article.

I groom my toy poodle at home and use the Andis clippers, the only complaint is that the blades tend to get hot so I do it in a couple of stages, she usually gets a #10 blade all over, but we are in Alice Springs so it gets really hot out here and I find that she stays cooler. The other thing I do is go against the hair under her belly and between her legs so she has the maximum skin exposed and can cool off quicker. Now its getting colder I will let the hair grow again. I dont use the combs at all.

Sid is so cute, he reminds me of Stitch in "Lilo and Stitch", just so hugable!!!

Have PM'ed you

I live in Alice and as far as I know, Parvo is pretty common here. that being said, so is mange, esp with the camp dogs. I must say that I havent seen as many camp dogs around lately, since a couple of people got eaten they seem to have put more of an effort in to keep the population under control.