B!nd!

I usually have a healthy supply of books on my chosen pets, but I have only just gotten into ferrets.

I have just ordered 'Ferrets for Dummies' over the internet- I think that it will have a good amount of info in it but are there any other ferret owners out there who can recommend any good, informative books on keeping ferrets as pets?

Thanks :)

Probably gonna open up a can of worms, here.

But I just got my first Ferret a couple of days ago, and I'm a little unsure what to feed him as far as dry foods go.

I live in Australia, so commercially prepared ferret foods are not easily accessible.

At the moment he is being fed on supercoat for cats, but I want to get him a higher quality food.

Was thinking of Felidae grain free- but there is a small amount of fish meal in this mix so i'm not sure if it's ideal- but it is also very high in protien and fat, and low in fibre compared to any other cat food I have looked into.

Does anybody else feed their ferret this? If not, what do you feed your ferret?

(Bearing in mind I can't import ferret food)

I am also going to suppliment his diet with fresh meat daily including mince, chicken necks, and frozen mice/rats.

Just wondering what other American Bulldog owners use for muzzles.

I really like the clear plastic Jafco muzzle- im just a little concerned about the sizing for my dog.

Dolly has a nose cicumference of 32cm and length of 7.5cm, so ideally I think the female Rottie sized muzzle would be the best. Just concerned beause the Rottie muzzle is designed to be breed specific- im just wondering what the big difference is.

The only other alternative is the size 4 which is 11.3cm long and 40cm in circumference- and I think that is just going to be way too big for her. I already have 2xl plastic muzzle for her that is too big and rubs her nose so I am wanting a good fitting one this time that gives her room to pant.

The only difference I can see between my dog's nose and a Rotties nose is that the Rotties noses tend to be longest at the nose, whereas with the Bulldog and Boxer type dogs the nose is longest at the end of the jaw. I don't know if the muzzle tapers down or not- that is the only reason I could see it not working.

This is the site I would like tp buy he muzzle from- it has the sizing guidelines.

http://www.k9pro.com.au/products/Jafco-Plastic-Muz...

Anybody got any ideas?

My partner's 7 year old cat has just been diagnosed with Diabetes and Hyperthyroidsm.

I cant help think Zombie has won the genetic lottery, here- what are the chances of getting two endocrine disorders at the same time?

Could this be because he is a tortoiseshell cat? Which is already a genetic mutation?

We have already decided that we dont want to treat the Diabetes, as we treated my old dog for a year before she finally succumbed to the disease, and I would never want to put another animal through it.

We were told by a vet this morning that Zombie could live for another couple of years (without treatment), or it could be a few months.

I would prefer to have him euthenased ASAP, rather than put him through the pain of slowly starving to death, but my partner and his family would prefer to wait until he is really sick- I just dont want to put him through that.

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

I'll try to keep this as short as possible. Sorry for the lack of spacing, but im typing this on my phone and there isnt an enter button :s. About 6 months ago, i surrendered my 2 treasured parrots to a bird rescue in melbourne. I felt guilty because i was living in a house where they couldnt get out of their cages, and their quality of life had changed dramatically. I was not sure how long i would be in the house, and i made the regretful decision to surrender them to a shelter where they could be properly cared for, rather than keep them where they would not be as happy. It was made clear to me that the people would be keeping my fids as pets and i could readopt them when i found a place of my own. I asked if it was possible to board them, but they never offered a service. 6 weeks later i amazingly found a place of my own- got in touch with the shelter and they told me both birds had been rehomed. Naturally i was heartbroken. Last week, i happened across the shelters adoption site and found both birds avaliable for adoption. Although they had apparently been rehomed seperately they had come back at the same time. I got in touch with the shelter, who said she was having family troubles and required an adoption fee of $500 for both birds. Considering this is more than the price of a baby hand reared gcc and blue quaker combined i thought it was a bit much. Didnt have the money, asked to borrow some from family and friends who all told me it was a scam. The lady has since admitted she does offer a bird sitting service, that she lied to me about the birds being adopted, and that she needs the money to support herself. Is it just me or is this completely unethical in every way? It feels like she is blackmailing me for my pets, and she clearly is not concerned about their best interest. I have contacted consumer affairs of victoria and am awaiting a reply. Is there anything else i can do? I wish i had never entrusted them to her- she has lied to me repeatedly and completely broken my trust. I honestly thought i was doing the best thing for my pets and am devistated by this outcome. What else can i do?

I know this sounds crazy- and I am not a troll- this is a legitimate question.

I have two desexed dogs who are very much in love with each other. Nelson is 2.5 years old and was desexed at six months of age when he was adopted from the pound.

Dolly is 18 months old and was desexed at 15 months when she had a prolapse. She had never been in heat prior to this.

I got Dolly a couple of months ago, and the dogs are very attached to each other, they kiss each other and play together all of the time.

Weird thing is we have witnessed the dogs having sex.

First time I saw it I wasnt looking too closely- I thought Nelson was just 'humping' Dolly like a dominance thing, but my boyfriend caught them at it yesterday- and apparently there was penetration involved.

Is this normal? I didnt think dogs did this kind of thing, and I cant find any info. I have never heard of this happening. Has anybody else witnessed such an event?

Late December, I took on two new cats. They are my friend's pets- both 6 year old Burmese girls (sisters) they have been together their whole lives.

My friend is retired, and he is now living it up, and feels bad leaving the cats in catteries and thinks they would be happier in a home environment with people around most of the time.

I love these cats- I have known them since they were kittens, cat sat for them when my friend has been away, etc- so I was quite happy to take them.

I have had them for a month this week.

While one cat (Crystal) has settled in well- gets along with our other cat Zombie, tollerates the dogs, and is quite well adjusted and happy in her new home, the other cat (Esmeralda) is not coping so well.

She is scared of Zombie and the dogs. If the dogs are in the house, she generally wont come out of the bedroom. She will come and explore a little when the dogs are outside- but is still quite stressed in doing so.

She no longer likes being handled, she doesnt play with Crystal like she normally would, she talks much more than she normally would.

She really isnt happy. I can tell that she is trying to be- she does try to find people when they come over, she will come out into the kitchen, now, and she likes to sleep on me.

But whether she will settle in or not... she has been like this for weeks, and I havent really seen much of an improvement- especially compared to Crystal.

What is everyone's opinion? I love these cats, and I would love to keep them, but I dont want Esmeralda to be unhappy. The cats cant be parted. I honestly think that they would be better off in a home with no other pets. How long does it normally take for cats to settle in and do you think she ever will?

This morning I woke up at about 6:30am to let the dogs out to the toilet, about 15-20 minutes later I have a knock at the door.

Its the police- who ask for me.

Apparently, my dog Nelson has jumped two fences to get to the Neighbours backyard, and has proceeded to kill their chooks- maybe 6-12 of them.

They have the dog in custody.

I ask them when he was supposed to have done this- because he cant jump the fence (he did for a bit- but only because he was using a pot to get over the fence- we moved the pot and he hasnt done it since) and they tell me it happened about an hour ago.

This puzzles me because I only let him out 20 mins ago. Check with the bf- nope- hes been inside all night. The only reason I got up was because he jumped off the bed.

I check the dogs in the backyard and they are both there. I have to show the police that both my dogs are here, and then they take down their details, and their registration numbers.

It wasnt Nelson. It couldnt have been. For starters- he is terrified of chickens- so he wouldnt actively seek them out, and besides- they have the dog that did it, and he was inside when it happened.

What irritates me is the fact that this neighbour knows us. He knows Nelson. He has met him several times, and we have talked at length about him. They own the local pet store- I was friends with the old owners and these people have screwed them around a bit as well.

He was certain that it was Nelson who committed the crime, and led the Police straight to my door.

What should I do now? Should I confront the neighbour and explain that it wasnt Nelson who killed his chooks?

Would the Neighbour be annoyed at me because "my dog" has killed his pets?

Should I get angry at sending the police over to my house at an hour when most people would still be asleep in bed?

I really dont want to be fighting with the Neighbours, seeing as we have only recently moved into the house...

What would you do?

Ok, now I know that this is fairly normal for dogs, but here goes:

I have a 2 year old American Bulldog x Great Dane, my boyfriend and I recently moved out into our own home, and we decided to adopt another dog.

Nelson is a very dog orientated dog- he loves playing with other dogs. We moved in about a month ago, but he still hasnt completely settled in the house. When I work, I take him to my partner's parents house for them to babysit him, which might account as to why he is not completely settled.

An ad came up for an American Bulldog free to a good home, and I decided to respond. The dog was relatively local, she is one year old, desexed, and has a good temprement. The owner broke up with her boyfriend, and now she is left home alone all day while the owner is at work, which she doesnt think is fair.

We met the dog and owner in the park- the dogs seemed to like each other, and the dog was friendly towards us, and quite obedient.

We have decided to take her for a week to ensure that she settles in before we make any decisions.

Nelson is being very good about this- there are many times where the new dog 'Dolly' has crossed his personal space boundaries- and he just submits to her.

The dogs were both fantastic in the car, but when we got home it was another story.

Dolly is terrified of coming inside (apparently she was a mostly outside dog- but she has been housebroken and was allowed inside on occasion) we ended up locking her in the back room of the hhouse (which is basically an enclosed verandah- the walls are shade cloth) she hates the doors and freaks out when one is open (wooden doors- they stick and make a bit of noise- so I can see why she might be scared)

We coddled her a bit on the first night to try to entice her into the house- and then just gave up and left her out there with blankets and food and water and checked on her during the night.

In the morning I managed to coax her out of her hiding place and she settled into the room a bit better, then we all played in the backyard together.

I took her for a walk just with her and me, and she was much happier.

My boyfriend wanted to take her to his parents place to see how she got on with his family and their pets (they have 6 cats and 3 dogs) I really didnt want to push her so far so quickly, but ended up relenting and took her there.

She settled in really quickly, and we even managed to get her inside and she was happy to sleep on the couch with everyone.

Completely different dog, there.

Once we took her back home, however- it was a completely different scenario- and she got spooked again. She hates beign confined- but if I leave her in the backyard she usually sits by the gate at the side of the house- it was raining yesterday and we went to the movies to see New Moon- so I left both dogs in the back room while we were out. They both behaved themselves, which is great- but she is still very nervy and unsettled there.

I am not sure what the difference is in houses that I am not seeing, here.

Nelson was avery nervous dog when I first started working with him 6 months ago, but now he is complately different, and much more confident around people. I know I have the skills and experience to help rehabilitate these kinds of dogs.

But I am unsure what is going on with Dolly- she is a confident dog, she is a confident breed of dog and has been well socialised. She loves going for walks and is quite happy everywhere, it seems, but at our house.

I am starting to think maybe the house is haunted and she is spooked by something that I cant see lol.

Does anybody have experience with a similar problem, or any advice?

I will eventually have to resort to flooding her and bringing her inside the house to try and make her less nervous of it- but I want to leave that as a last resort.

We still have plenty of time to let her settle in. I just hope that she can settle, and that she and Nelson will be firm friends.

I swear they never used to be called English Staffordshire Bull Terrier- it was always Staffordshire Bull Terrier!

Over the past year I have started seeing EVERYBODY calling them 'English'

Staffordshire is in England- these are the original breed- the name should not change! It was always Staffordshire Bull Terrier before- why are people calling them English now? Its driving me crazy. Sure, there are Amstaffs now- and they ARE a different breed- but there aren't English Cocker Spaniels and American Cocker Spaniels- its just Cocker Spaniels and American Cocker Spaniels.

Ok so we dont have flyball at our local club.

My cousin is the proud owner of a flyball champion and thinks its a great sport to get my dog into- he is very active and a very fast runner!

He is two years old and is in obedience at present.

She told me to make up my own hurdles, but I would like to get them as close to the real deal as possible.

I know the basic idea of how to make a hurdle, but I would like to know how the pegs are spaced to alter the height of the hurdle, how many I need, how far apart they have to be, and what height they should be at for different sized dogs. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know a Great Dane crossed with an American Bulldog or a Boxer?

We are pretty sure our dog Nelson's dad was a merle Great Dane, but there is still some doubt over what his mum was. I think Nelson looks like a leaner American Bulldog, but a lot of people think he is a purebred Boxer (which I think he looks nothing like.)

this is what he looks like:

http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z30/mischief_ma...

Is there anybody out there with a similar mix?

I would love to see some photos!

We love our dog either way but I would still like to see some other mixes out there and see what the similarities and differences are.

My boyfriend rescued his dog, Nelson, from the pound when he was a six month old pup about 18 months ago.

He was in there with his brother, but the owners reclaimed the brother, and left Nelson behind.

We are pretty certain that Nelson's father is a purebred merle Great Dane, but his mother was a 'wild dog' apparently.

He is registered as a boxer X, but I dont think its boxer in him.

To me he looks like an American Bulldog X- he has similar features, and perfect bulldog markings.

Nelson is a loveable goofball- but because of his shady past he still needs a bit of training so that he isnt so nervous around new people and dogs.

He is a large dog- but hes not huge- smaller than our german shepherd. Any Ideas?

http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z30/mischief_ma...

hope the link worked- its Nelsons whole album.

Ive been having this argument with my housemate because she insists on leaving the food she cooks for dinner out, uncovered, sitting on the stove top until she gets home from work the next day.

I think this is disgusting. My friends and I have all done food safety courses that say that you shouldn't leave cooked food out for any longer than necessary between certain temperatures.

But my housemate has been trained by a really good hospitality school and she says that you can leave stuff out for 24 hours as long as there is no meat in it (mind you- she still does it with meat dishes.) I think this is crap.

I feel like calling up her school and asking them if its true.

Do I have a leg to stand on here? Or is my housemate right?

I'm always seeing these questions up here, so I thought I would play this game, too!

This is my dog, Pepper.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z30/mischief_ma...

She a very loving, loyal, happy, active dog.

She is a purebred.

Sorry- the photo is not the best I have of her but I cant upload pics from my camera just yet...

First Person to get it right gets the 10 points.

Im hoping someone gets it right pretty quickly!

Good Luck!

I am the proud owner of a beautiful green cheeked conure and a blue quaker. I would love to get a dog in the future, and would really like a cat along with the dog... and now we come to the problem. There is a beautiful cat up for adoption at the vets- it has the best personality. I have taken her home for the weekend to trial her to see what she is going to be like with the birds. I live in a small, open plan house- and my birds are very spoiled and spend most of the day outside their cages. Kitty is very interested in the birds. My gcc has never seen a cat so he isnt reacting too badly- but apparently my quaker knows exactly what kitty is and is getting a bit nervous... which only makes her more interested. I am squirting her with water when she gets too close to the cage- is there anything else I can do to try to teach her not to get the birds over the weekend. I would love the opportunity to have a cat- and have read in a parrot behaviour book that it is easier to train cats not to eat your birds than it is to teach dogs!

I have been fascinated by golden shouldered parrots for years- and would love to keep them in an aviary and breed them in the future. Just wondering if anybody has tested what they would be like as a pet? I know they probably wouldnt be able to talk- but they are pretty little birds so it strikes me that nobody has tried.

I have had lucid dreams almost every night since I was a kid- but I have heard that having lucid dreams is rare? and that now people are training themselves to do it.

Also my dreams always seem to take place in the same settings- there might be 10 different scenarios I visit (some have come and gone though) but I have visited them for years and can always pick up where I left off in the dream... is that normal? can anyone else do it?