| Archive for The Potting Shed A forum to discuss Crafts, Cooking, Gardening, Countryside, Livestock and Pets |
| Cabbagepatch |
Sad dog?When Kaizer the GS passed away a few months ago, terrier Toffee was a bit out of sorts for a few days but then seemed ok.But now she seems more nervous although obviously she hasn't got a great big dog to a) protect her, and b) to beat up whenever she feels like it!!! She is spending a lot of time washing herself, particularly licking her paws. I often wake up at night and can hear her fussing about. Far more than normal dog grooming activity I think. Could this be lonliness/anxiety behaviour? |
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| mc55 |
we had two dogs and when one of them was put to sleep the remaining dog became very anxious and fretful. We ended up having to let her sleep in our bedroom and change our routine as much as possible to try and give her comfort.
Would she take to a small stuffed toy that she could cuddle up to ? |
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| Cabbagepatch |
They slept in the snug together but since then we couldn't leave her on her own so her bed has been upstairs in our bedroom. She sleeps in her bed unless she can sneak up onto ours without "us noticing". | ||||
| Jojo |
Oh bless, have you not thought about getting her another friend,or walking someone else's dog with her? | ||||
| nanny |
sounds like seperation anxiety to me
you need another dog till then you might have to spray her feet with bitter alum or she will get herself in a loop a retired greyhound is what you need....... dependable, loyal, doesn't eat much, doesn't need much excercise the perfect dog for working people..... |
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| Cabbagepatch |
We do agree she needs a friend..... 
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| nanny |
goats don't count by the way.................. |
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| Jellycat |
Yup, another chum is what she needs...we've seen similar behaviours in both the dogs we've had that have lost their pack mates. | ||||
| browneyes |
my daughter had two doga both 13 years old,she had to have the Jack Russel put to sleep because she had cancer,the Westy wonderd about for a few days with her ears down most unhappy,she wouldnt eat,or drink and died within a week,we are pretty sure it was bacause she missed her friend,my daughter was heart broken. 
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| Cabbagepatch |
We are thinking about another terrier or a greyhound/lurcher.
But is it true that greyhounds are more prone to chase cats than other breeds of dog? |
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| Jellycat |
Allegedly.
We had two cats when we got Penny-The-Bonkers-Lurcher and they all more-or-less ignored each other, but then the cats were so old they wouldn't run anywhere anyway....I guess nanny would be the one to ask, what with her having three greyhounds and seven cats.... 
How about a Bedlington Terrier - personally I wouldn't have a terrier but they are very cute.... |
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| kaz |
I don't think that we have ever only had one dog  .
We lost our 2 old lurchers within a month of one another, Freya had cancer and we kept her until she was ready to go and poor Jim faded away for no real reason within a month
We are back up to a happy family of 5 now - 3 terriers, a lurch and a new la pup and to be honest I can't imagine having another terrier in the future, I think I'll stick with bigger dogs. Let us know what you decide |
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| browneyes |
Did i tell you all that my daughter now has two more dogs? shes got an 8month old yorkie and a 8 week old Jackrussel they get on realy well so they have a happy house again 
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| Cabbagepatch |
the menfolk here are now considering a doberman...... | ||||
| Becki |
No!!!!!!!!!! | ||||
| nanny |
a joke comes to mind....
what has 4 legs and one arm? a doberman.......... have a greyhound, it's much safer.................. |
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| Cabbagepatch |
reinforcements needs. i fear i am about to be out manouvered 
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| nanny |
you want me to send the boys round? |
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| Cabbagepatch |
Visited Bath RSPCA this afternoon. Got a bit lost so arrived 20 minutes before they closed.
Not too much time........within 2 minutes I saw Arnie, a black/white jr/x, lovely boy and I would dearly love to bring him home. Also Scout a Fox terrier although I think he may eat cats! Lloyd likes James a Dobbie x. We were there for such a short time before they closed, heartbreaking to see all those animals needing new homes. 
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| nanny |
well you can't have them all what were they in for? in paricular the doberman cross.........be afraid, be very afraid............doberman is a one man dog and may not accept other dogs in the house................. wouldn't touch it if i were you have a greyhound............................... only 10,000 a year needing homes, plenty of scope for you to choose..................
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| Kathy |
I've met quite a few dobermans at the dog training class and have to say they aren't the friendliest dogs I've met, I keep Rosie well away! If you want a family dog that will get on with the rest of the animals I agree with Nanny, a doberman might not be the best choice.
Tell Lloyd that greyhounds will catch rabbits for him........................ |
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| Cabbagepatch |
Nope, those terriers need a good home and nothing else will do...... | ||||
| Kathy |
Sounds like you've made up your mind then.....................
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| Libby |
do they do a home visit first? | ||||
| Cabbagepatch |
Yes Libby, there is paperwork to be filled in, a home visit and we will take Toffee along to meet any potential companion for her. No point finding a friend and they hate each other! | ||||
| nanny |
thank heavens you didn't go for the doberman
now all you have to worry about is the terrier getting through the fence and down rabbit holes and biting the neighbours ankles and chasing the chickens and oh well.................. |
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| lloyd |
Okay it looks like Her Toffeeness has a new bloke: Barney a 4 month old Springer pup, he's a rescue, he's intact and he's reserved with our name on him until we can visit. Visiting is teh problem as he's in Ceredigion, mid West Wales. A bit further on than Nanny. Hoping to go next Sunday, although I may go for a sneek peek Tuesday.
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| Becki |
Springers are the best!!!! | ||||
| nanny |
oh well ceredigion is a lot further on than me and further on than bovey shall i put the kettle on then? or rather should i refill it as it has been on for about a year |
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| kaz |
How can you go for a sneek peek and not bring him back with you.......go on...plan for Tuesday not the weekend
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| Cabbagepatch |
I have to confess to being a little bemused. I thought we were looking for a steady older companion for her Toffeeness, (preferably for me a scruffy terrier type).
Seems Lloyd has put our name down for a 4 month old Springer 
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| Kathy |
I really daren't tell Coco, she still doesn't have her springer. You could always get 2 dogs CP, a companion for her Toffeeness and one for Lloyd......................
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| Becki |
Let me see, what were the words I heard when I last saw you?
'We don't want a young one, think of all that training' um er um...........
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| lloyd |
Barnabus isn't young....he's 4 months old!
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| Cabbagepatch |
I'm just thinking of all the extra exercise and weight loss!! | ||||
| lloyd |
Here's a pic......
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| Kathy |
He's a beaut!
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| Becki |
ahhhhhhhhhhhh
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| lloyd |
Most probably Nanny. Looks like we're going up so will almost certainly stop by to say hello on the way back down with an extra woofer in tow.....No promises mind, don't polish your tiara or anything. If we're stopping I'll ring you once en route. |
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| Jellycat |
Awww - he's very cute!
I saw one very like that this morning having his morning walk - he looked like he was being propelled by his waggy tail
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| lloyd |
Gawd, the rescue centre are trying to put us off now.
Highly energetic breed............... Easily bored and frustrated............... Are you sure you have the time necessary............. How many hours excercise a day will he get?............. How will you keep his brain stimul;ated?..................... He should really be a working dog................. Making me wonder if he's right for us. They've suggested we have a really long and hard think. 
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| Kathy |
Would it be Many Tears Rescue by any chance? They are really really strict.
Look here if you want to change your mind, all the rescue centres around Britain are here. http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php |
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| Cabbagepatch |
So, after they said yesterday that we could have Barney they have just phoned and said they are happy for us to adopt any one of their dogs but not this one. so back to the drawing board 
oh well, obviously wasn't meant to be. |
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| Becki |
Why not that one?
I havn't had that many problems with my 2. I just so pleased they are ab fab with the kids, that everything else goes by the wayside
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| Cabbagepatch |
Don't know becki, he must have some history that they didn't originally tell us about Bit fed up this evening.
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| nanny |
how strange
get a greyhound like wot i suggested it is meant to be does this mean you're not coming then? i shall turn the kettle off |
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| lloyd |
Best turn the kettle off, Nanny.
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| nanny |
oh well never mind
we are clearly feted never to meet up unless you have a greyhound from the place we got jack from of course..... she has one or two that need new homes......you can mention my name and she won't hang up on you |
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| Kathy |
You may as well give in Lloyd, you know what Nanny's like when she gets the bit between her teeth! | ||||
| lloyd |
I've had one before, but CP doesn't like the cut of their jib. So I reckon stick more shaggy hair on, call it a lurcher , and Bob's yer Uncle, Fanny's yer aunt! 
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| Jellycat |
A bit like this ridiculous article?
and from the back.... 
She is the scruffiest dog in Northumberland.... |
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| lloyd |
Here's our new family member....
6 month old rescued lab retriever bitch, with as yet no name............. 
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| Aqui |
aww - she looks like she's made herself at home! Labs are lovely - I'd love one when J is older.
What does Toffee think? |
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| Jojo |
Lovely dog lloyd, why was she a rescue dog? Have you got a name yet? | ||||
| Kathy |
Aww, she looks just like my Cher (she was a rescue too), we lost her a few years ago.
In a few days it'll feel like she's always been there.
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| lloyd |
Not got a name yet, and no real idea why she was a rescue. She's so friendly, exuberant, eager to please and so on, maybe her first owner just wasn't equipped to bring up a puppy properly or something. Names will be the hard bit..........
Need to learn how to train a gundog now too.........
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| nanny |
congratualtions lloyd and CP she looks lovely if a bit of a far cry from either a terrier, a lurcher or a springer spaniel are you looking for suggested names or are you going to wait till she tells you? if she is a gun dog she should be instinctive....unless of course that is why someone else got rid of her........ |
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| Cabbagepatch |
Whatshername has been retrieving balls from the garden within an hour of arriving here. She has also fallen in the pond twice!
She and Toffee seem to be getting on ok, not chosen a name yet, sure she will tell us soon enough...... she seems to have wind this evening
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| kaz |
We've got a few like that and we can tell which one it is by the direction that the smell is spreading
Blame it on the new food. (Is Toffee a little lady that doesn't 'do' wind?) |
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| lloyd |
Toff has never parped in her life. Maggie is non stop so far tonight. Wish I knew her secret! | ||||
| Jellycat |
I think that might be a clue as to why she was in rescue
She does look lovely, and very shiny and healthy - well done you for taking her in and I hope you all have many happy years together
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| Becki |
Lovely. Is the name Maggie then? | ||||
| Libby |
Awwww! love black labs
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| Cabbagepatch |
I like the name Bramble
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| kaz |
This sounds as though it's going to be a long-running discussion
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| Libby |
I am funny about names as I believe a dog replicates its name..... my friend has a black lab named 'Thistle' she is a prickly character and not your normal soft lab!!!???? | ||||
| Cabbagepatch |
Can't think what you mean kaz
Actually the rescue home had been calling Saffy and as she is as bright and sparkling as a saphire we are going to try her with that for a day or so. Or after the nutcase in Absolutely Fabulous................ |
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| Kathy |
Hello Saffy.
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| Libby |
Oh Excellent choice, hi Saffy! | ||||
| Barbara3d |
I like that name. I am hopeless when it comes to choosing names for animals. Well done. | ||||
| Aqui |
I like Bramble.
Or you could compromise and call her bramgie or Magble. hmm maybe not! |
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| Jojo |
I like Mollie,but saffy is nice as well
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| TheGirlsMum |
Our Collie is called Mollie
Im not very good wih names either, did she come from the place you were home visited by? |
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| nanny |
she is a labrador it's what they do best that and eat absolutely everything in sight they have the digestive/wind capacity of elephants..... and the appetites to match bon chance mes amies |
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| kaz |
I wish that someone had pointed these things out BEFORE we got a lab
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| Kathy |
I can verify all that, just don't leave her alone with the kitchen bin................. |
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| Cabbagepatch |
STOP IT STOP IT.
This is going to be a positive experience for us all. Saffie is going to be a good girl. She is not going to chew the house to dust. She will not eat the bin. Or the cats. Or the chickens. Or Lloyd's favourite shoes...... |
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| TheGirlsMum |
My friends black Lab has eaten a whole bulb of garlic, gas masks were required... | ||||
| Libby |
One of my labs was so good and never ate anything except what we gave him, and the other, well talk about pong!! Charcoal biscuits, thats what was needed!! | ||||
| Jellycat |
My ex-boss had a gorgeous yellow lab who used to come and stay with me for his holidays.
On one occasion (not when he was staying with me, thankfully) he raided every dustbin in the village and had to have an injection to make him sick - he very nearly ate himself to death Luckily, the boss's wife is a vet....
I'm sure Saffy will be a paragon of virtue at all times....
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| Kathy |
My Cher was like that, she'd eat herself sick and frequently had a little excursion around the street's dustbins. Having said that I loved her to bits and still miss her. When I picked her up from the rescue she'd been kenneled beside alsations who were recovering from drug abuse (there's some strange folk around). She climbed into the car, onto my knee, let out a huge deep breath and fell fast alseep, just like she'd always been there.
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| Libby |
You can't beat a Lab, one of these days I'll pluck up the courage to get another one! | ||||
| kaz |
You can have ours and bring her back when she's about 3 years old
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| Cabbagepatch |
kaz, i was relying on you for enthusiastic and positive feedback..... |
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| Libby |
Mine didn't grow up till they where seven!!!!!!!! |
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| kaz |
Sorry CP 
....but she's an adorable monster who is getting too big to pick up and cuddle. |
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| nanny |
our labrador ate a hole in a flat plaster wall, chewed through the cable on the washer while it was running, ate a metal incinerator and then raided the shed in which we had a bag of sugar beet nuts for the pony we had and the dog just ate and ate and ate till she couldn't eat any more
trouble was that of course they started to swell up in her stomach.... we thought she was going to explode but she just chucked up all over everywhere till she got rid of it next day, stap me vitals if she didn' try to get to them again.... i told you to get a greyhound............ |
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| Cabbagepatch |
smelling salts. where are my smelling salts............ |
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| nanny |
she's probably eaten them........... |
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| Cabbagepatch |
Clearly you have no idea how to train a dog.....................
ahem, going for a walk now.....
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| nanny |
i have to say that most of the aforementioned damage was done when the lab was left on her own while i was in the hospital having a baby and really nothing can compare with merlin's damage of daddy's bang and olufsen stereo speaker.......................... that was a triumph really |
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| Cabbagepatch |
See, it was not the labbie's fault. He/she was clearly missing her mummy while she was away and daddy didn't give her enough attention. Always the man's fault
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| nanny |
in merlin's case i believe he was bored out of his gourd and only 6 months old
labradors are about the worst for eating things they shouldn't i have to say and as you doubtless know it takes time for a dog to settle in if it has to be rehomed though you wouldn't know it looking at jack i am sure that maggie will soon realise she has fallen on her paws like all my dogs have........... |
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| Cabbagepatch |
Saphie's Tuesday evening. Bless her cute little paws
Pull mummy's favourite water lily out of pond and leave in shreds around garden 
Catch a frog, proceed to shake it to death. Leave bits of frog scattered around garden
Dig up pond pump electric cable and try to cause death by electrocution by chewing aforementioned cable
Tread in dog poo and run around house spreading aforementioned dog poo everywhere
Saphie was very pleased with herself and thought she had been very entertaining
Mummy cleared up and went to bed with her smelling salts
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| kaz |
She sounds just what you needed to brighten up your life
A boring little, old, sleepy terrier wouldn't provide the same entertainment
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| Libby |
excellent
you reminded me of the reson why I decided not to get another dog, thank you |
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| nanny |
did she swim in the pond as well?
she is a water dog after all you remind me of why i wish i could have a puppy again but am glad i don't dear little saphie butter wouldn't melt i am sure and just think, they don't really grow up till they are about 4 we think jack has started to grow again................. |
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| Becki |
I hate frogs, bring her round here
Is Toffee any happier? |
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| Barbara3d |
Aw Bless. Sooo Glad I have cats! | ||||
| nanny |
oh yes much better they claw the stair carpet throw up everywhere leave paw prints on all surfaces after flicking the water off the paws onto the white towel you left hanging over the back of the chair jump on to your lap and hook you in the process beg for their dinner and then look at it in disdain before dining out for the evening so much easier than dogs................. |