It's a Dog's Life

We have a pack of dogs living at our place. One female schnauzer, one male pharaoh hound and two female pharaoh hounds. None of the dogs have been desexed, but none of them are going to be used (again) for breeding.

I say (again) because the schnauzer and the older pharaoh hound have both been mothers. If a thousand dollars or so fell into my bank account I'd certainly take the two oldest girls off the the vet to have there breeding ability fixed for good. This hasn't happened, so we'll have to continue on as we are.

Having undesexed bitches in the house with a male dog has some issues that must be dealt with. When a bitch is in season, it's messy. It's hard on the male dog, and it plays havoc with the hierarchy of the pack. We find it works best to keep the girl in season safely confined, and the male dog kept where he won't be too distracted.

It's funny sometimes to watch our pharaoh hound boy pining for the schnauzer, but it's not so funny when the bitches decide to try to sort out the hierarchy with a fight. If the girls have been fine together, we can let the three loose together in the house. If one's in season though, it's not work the risk.

The pharaoh hounds are mother and two of her kids. The boy's from her first litter and the girl's from her second litter. The pharaoh girls are always OK together, and the boy's always OK with the other two pharaoh hounds, unless the girls are in season. As you can imagine, it gets a little bit tricky around our house sometimes.

When one of the girls are in season and are around the time they're ready to be mated, the boy pharaoh goes completely off his food. The pharaoh hound isn't the kind of the dog that tends to be fat anyway, so it's a little bit of a worry for us, having him not eating. Once the girl's 'safe' again, his appetite comes back, fortunately.

Living with more that one dog in your house is extremely interesting, watching how they work things out. It can end up with a trip to the vet though, if we get it wrong. It's possible to let the dogs go, to sort it out themselves, but sometimes it's easier and less painful if the humans take charge.

When a person brings dogs into their life, it becomes their responsibility to look after the dogs as best they can. So, if you want dogs, you have to be the boss, the chef and the mediator. Are you up to it? I hope so, for your sake and for the sake of your dogs.

The Dangers of Canine Obesity

Dogs can suffer from the same things as their owners, this great guest post will help you if your dog loves their food a little too much!

A Guest Post by VetDepot

As a loving and responsible dog owner, it’s hard not to spoil that sweet pup of yours.  However, it’s important to not let those extra treats and table scraps lead to too many extra pounds. Unfortunately, canine obesity is all too common and contributes to numerous health risks including heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. Prevention is your best bet when it comes to avoiding the health complications associated with obesity, but steps can be taken  to achieve a healthy weight if your pooch does manage to pack on a few extra pounds.

Causes of Canine Obesity:

Just like people, dogs become overweight when their energy intake exceeds their energy expenditure. The excess energy, or calories, is stored as fat. Sometimes, a medical condition may be to blame for your dog's weight gain. Consult your veterinarian if your dog eats well, is physically active, and is still putting on weight. The underlying cause of your dog's obesity might be hypothyroidism, insulinoma, hyperadrenocorticism, or another condition. Treating these diseases with the correct pet medications as prescribed by your veterinarian may help your dog get back to an ideal weight.

Treating Canine Obesity:

If you have concerns about your dog’s weight, visit your veterinarian for a full physical examination and weight assessment. Your veterinarian can determine whether your dog is overweight by feeling for his backbone and ribs. In overweight dogs, the waist is not defined and a layer fat covers the backbone and ribs.

If your dog is overweight or obese, your veterinarian will work with you to develop a diet and exercise plan to improve your pet's health. Dietary changes may involve increasing the amount of fiber in your dog's diet, cutting down on portion sizes, and eliminating or reducing treats. If your dog suffers from diabetes or another health condition, more intensive dietary modifications may be necessary. Regular exercise is essential to burn calories. If your dog isn’t used to too much exercise, a gradual increase in activity is important to prevent injury. Dogs with arthritis may need some assistance in becoming more active.

In addition to changes in diet and activity level, any successful weight management program for dogs involves changes in the owner’s behavior too. Your dog did not become obese on his own, and you will need to modify your own behavior to ensure your pet's weight loss efforts are successful. Begin by removing your pet from the dining room when your family eats dinner, and resist the urge to offer frequent snacks and treats to your dog. Acknowledge your dog’s good behavior with non-edible rewards, such as playing or petting. It’s also important to keep all of your dog's veterinary appointments and work closely with your vet to ensure weight loss success for your canine companion!

Weather Extremes - Remember Your Pet!

When the weather is too terrible for you to go or stay outside, don't forget your pet. Most pets can suffer too, when Nature gives us extreme weather. 


At the moment, South Australia, where I live, has a forecast of 39 degrees celsius, with rain expected in the afternoon and evening. 39 degrees celsius is 102 Fahrenheit, that's too hot for me and for my dogs! So at the moment, I'm staying inside, and so are the four dogs. 


Our other pets are goldfish. They live in a deep pond outside, with shade. If it's too hot for them at the top of their pond, they have plenty of cool water further down. I know they'll be fine out there. Some fish aren't so lucky, if your fish are in the sunshine on a very hot day, and they're in a shallow pond, it can get extremely dangerous for them.


Pet owners must realise the responsibilities they take on, when they get a pet. If my dogs were outside, and they didn't have shade and water available, it could become life threatening for them. I'm a responsible pet owner who cares, so I keep my dogs inside where it's cool, and I make sure they have water to drink if they want it.

Hot Day Again Today

Today in South Australia we're having 40 temperatures again. The people in the house are staying inside, apart from visits to the swimming pool as needed.

And the dogs? The dogs are all staying inside, and loving it. We have our evaporative cooler going and the dogs have water available in the house if they need it.

I hope nobody is stupid to leave any dogs inside their cars today. The temperature inside a parked car can go from OK to lethal more quickly than many people realise.

If you have a dog and it's outside, why not bring it inside with you? It's the kindest thing to do. The same goes for the opposite weather extreme. Dogs may be better off than humans outside in freezing weather, but still, if it's too cold for you, maybe it's too cold for your dog as well.

When we bring a dog into our life, we have a commitment to bring that dog fully into our life. Your dog loves you unconditionally. Do you love your dog that much too?

One of the dogs is sick

It is so hard having living creatures in my life sometimes. They love me like no plant ever can, and when a plant gets sick, my heart is not involved in it. I don't care about plants the way I care about our dogs.

La De is flat and doesn't want to go outside, he's happy to just lie down and sleep in his bed, and has been happy doing that for most of the day. It's Sunday today, and I doesn't seem to be suffering that much, h just isn't his usual silly and active self.

I don't know what is wrong with him, but tomorrow is going to involve a trip to the vet I suspect, unless La De gets up and races around like normal tomorrow. It may be a tummy upset, after all this dog eats almost anything, food or not. He's very fond of stones, and dead things are delicious to him (to most dogs). Dogs have stomachs that are different to human stomachs and they can eat things that would not be at all good for a human being.

His eyes were a bit weepy, and he's flat - I know if I rang the vet know I'd be told they couldn't do anything, and I'd have to bring him in. So, tomorrow, when I won't get charged premium rates, La De and I have somewhere to go.

Top Dogs in America

This is the list for 2008:

AKC Top Ten Dog Breeds

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle
6. Boxer
7. Dachshund
8. Bulldog
9. Poodle
10. Shih Tzu

Of particular for me, as a breeder of Standard Schnauzers, is the Miniature Schnauzer not being on the list. I always thought they were up there in the top ten list, but no, they're not. I looked further and found them, at number eleven.

The Standard Schnauzer is somewhere lower on the list, and that's fine with me. When a dog breed gets too popular, people start breeding for the wrong reason- money rather than for the betterment of the breed.

That is what registered dog breeders are supposed to be breeding dogs for, 'For the betterment of the breed'. The reason you pay top dollar for a puppy from a registered breeder should be to get a top quality dog, a fine example of its breed. If you're not buying from a dog breeder whose main focus is breeding for the betterment of the breed, you're just getting a dog that cost lots of money, no indication of quality.

If you are going to get a particular breed of dog, you owe it to the breed to get one from a breeder who is breeding for the breed, not themselves.

Doggy (Mis)Behaviour

In our household, we have a range of doggy (mis)behavious on display. Last night we had the throwing up on carpet scenario, caused, I feel, by Rangler having something different for tea.

When one of our girl dogs is in season, we have the (mis)behaviour of randy whining at the door, combined with making inappropriate choices. That's mostly Kharis, sometimes La De as well (just need to clarify something - La De's full name is Holkschter La De Da, and as you can tell, some of his behaviour is far from La De Da, it's downright dirty!)

The constant (mis)behaviour we all have to guard against, every day, is dogs not getting on nicely. Ananaka and Nena, both girls, want top bitch position, so in the interests of peace, and no extra vet bills, we don't have those two running together. The time Ananka tried to get in with Nena and her puppies was ugly. It could have been worse though. Ananka cut her foot when she tried to bash through the window, and then lost interest in Nena and the schnauzer babes with the pain of it. Trip to the vet, a bill we didn't want, and lots of mucking around keeping the bandages dry. It all could have been so much worse. It was raining! Hard to remember that, although it did rain a bit yesterday - it's still dry round these parts.

We also have issues with letting father and son (Kharis and La De) run together - they used to be fine, until La De discovered he was an adult male, and had something to prove!

It's all interesting to watch, and it's mostly all good - A little bit of excitement every now and then, but there haven't been too many trips to the vet. Usually the dogs seem happy enough to have the action nipped in the bud by the humans.

And of course, La De is the dog who most often misbehaves. He still doesn't realise that we don't want him digging up the lawn, even though we've yelled at him, chased him off and hit him. I very much think he has obsessive compulsive disorder on the digging thing. The lawn wasn't looking that good anyway, with the drought and all, but still! If we could harness his ability and hire him out, we'd be set for life.

I'm becoming quite the Animal MisBehaviour Expert!