[shankar.balan]

This 2018 the Year of the Dog.
I have lost both my lovely dogs. My dear old friends.
My adopted Lab Daisy passed quietly on 5th Feb. She would have been 14 this year.
My dear Alsatian Cassie (also adopted) passed on 25th June this year. She would have been 12 in a few months. She could no longer walk. Hip Dysplasia.

Now we are taking some time before bringing another dog home.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

This 2018 the Year of the Dog.
I have lost both my lovely dogs. My dear old friends.
My adopted Lab Daisy passed quietly on 5th Feb. She would have been 14 this year.
My dear Alsatian Cassie (also adopted) passed on 25th June this year. She would have been 12 in a few months. She could no longer walk. Hip Dysplasia.

Now we are taking some time before bringing another dog home.

Attachment 1812765Attachment 1812766

Sad to know Shankar. I also have a Lab who is 13.5 years old now and age has caught up with him and he is barely able to walk as his hind legs have become very weak.


Hip dysplasia is really very painful for them as well as for us to see . I got a wheelcart made for him but we use it only when taking him for a walk.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by blackasta

BTW the female dog that has taken refuge in our garden had given birth a few months back somewhere else, and I see only a single pup.
Here's the little fella (he's yet to trust me fully) - he's learnt to eat solid food and likes Parle G biscuits, but can't chew pedigree yet. Thinking of getting him vaccinated.

Attachment 1726743

Well, time flies and here's the little fellow all grown up now - a she BTW !



Her momma gave birth again a month back - this time it's a litter of 7 pups



Here's more



Here's one of the newgen pups close up



Have to quickly get the birth control measures taken after the festivities for the mom and gen 1. The newgen can wait till next year.

[pdma]

The heartbeat of the family turns 2 today.

Last year, he had access to tons of outdoor activities.
He is used to lot of traveling and has covered about 5000km along with us.

Now the best part, he lost 10kgs and got back into shape, he is more agile and energetic than what he was some months back 🙂.
The diet changes and the exercise routine helped a lot. He just loves walking miles on loose engagement during our every weekend outings, understandably he does not show the same enthusiasm when we put him on leash during his walks around the neighbourhood. He is absolutely mad about water and can stay in the pool or natural water bodies for hours.

https://youtu.be/-XjyfAouix4

Cheers,
Pradeep.

[digitalnirvana]

Posting here as your pm box is full. If you want to talk, please let me know.
---------------------------------

Hi Shankar,



Sorry to hear about your loss of Daisy and Cassie they are absolutely adorable and clearly well loved. You are a good person for taking them and giving them a wonderful life. Bless you and them. I hope you get to meet them again someday.

I live in that hope too. Perhaps wishful thinking, at least for me.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Well, time flies and here's the little fellow all grown up now - a she BTW !

Attachment 1812775

Her momma gave birth again a month back - this time it's a litter of 7 pups

Attachment 1812776

Here's more

Attachment 1812777

Here's one of the newgen pups close up

Attachment 1812778

Have to quickly get the birth control measures taken after the festivities for the mom and gen 1. The newgen can wait till next year.

Lovely captures there, blackasta! There was never a better truism than the old chestnut -"All babies are adorable except tarantulas, scorpions & centipedes"

And pups lead the way in the cuddle-quotient! I have posted captures of our Daisy's litters earlier on in the thread & your photos led the way to nostalgia!

[blackasta]

Sadly one of the pups got out on the road inspite of the wire mesh fencing, and went under a speeding vehicle 2-3 weeks back. The litter size is now reduced to 6.
Last night again something similar happened, but this time it's only an injured foot. Have to take that pup to the vet tonight.
The pups constantly devise new ways to escape the wire meshing that I have put in all probable exit routes, and end up on the busy road in front of our house. There's a cage to hold them when the garage gates are opened to use the cars, but holding them in a cage 24 x 7 is unjust IMO, plus neighbors would surely complain with the whining and yapping.
Sadly they have not yet learnt that cars / bikes are dangerous and can be fatal.

The elder (1 yr+) female had gone into estrus a week back, and the neighborhood males went crazy. So got her sterilized a few days back. She's recovering well.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Sadly one of the pups got out on the road inspite of the wire mesh fencing, and went under a speeding vehicle 2-3 weeks back. The litter size is now reduced to 6.
Last night again something similar happened, but this time it's only an injured foot. Have to take that pup to the vet tonight.
The pups constantly devise new ways to escape the wire meshing that I have put in all probable exit routes, and end up on the busy road in front of our house. There's a cage to hold them when the garage gates are opened to use the cars, but holding them in a cage 24 x 7 is unjust IMO, plus neighbors would surely complain with the whining and yapping.
Sadly they have not yet learnt that cars / bikes are dangerous and can be fatal.
The elder (1 yr+) female had gone into estrus a week back, and the neighborhood males went crazy. So got her sterilized a few days back. She's recovering well.

That is one of the awful possibilities of raising a litter in the urban setting. When Daisy had her litters, we were fortunate that our house in Lucknow has only one exit, the main gate. This one had a gap of about 4 inches at the bottom, through which the pups would wriggle out. We quickly put wire meshing to cover this gap before any disaster occurred.

And not just cars & bikes, the shikras in the neighborhood have also been observed to swoop down & pick up new-born stray pups as they were crawling & mewling about on the road after a rain-storm and before the mother could find an alternate shelter for the pups. As I said, heart-break lurks just around the corner for stray pups. Fortunately the shikra menace seems to be over (after outraged residents shot & killed a couple with air rifles - which was a pity, since they are fabulous birds otherwise) for the present, but the 4-wheeler & 2-wheeler population has exploded here & the danger has multiplied.

[Thad E Ginathom]

... kitten heartbreak too.

Lost two of my family, this year, to Street-dog attack.

[esoticoreventon]

Hello all. I'm taking Caesar, my golden retriever on a single day trip. Would have preferred to leave him at home, but I can't leave him so taking him along. I'll just be traveling from Chennai to Ambur and back again and the round trip would be around 300 Kms. Any precautions to be taken? Will have to buy the doggie seat belt tomorrow. I'm planning on taking a break every 90 minutes. The weather shouldn't be too hot as it's December. He has arthritis and has been adviced rest, but he is improving a lot. Please suggest any other pointers.

[digitalnirvana]

Plenty of stops on the way which you have already covered, preferably windows partly down for ventilation. Limit food and water intake for a few hours before the travel. And carry usual medicines and probably a few toys that he loves, probably a blanket to cuddle up on.

I think that's all. I never had a chance to take Cherry, our golden on a trip before I caused her death. I would give everything I have to have her back.

[isldhn]

Hey Team. Just wanted to enquire if there is a golden retriever ( preferably male ) up for adaption anywhere in India. Am getting options of buying a golden retriever from Punjab but am being quoted pretty high prices in the range of 50K for the same.

[digitalnirvana]

If you have already decided on a golden then congratulations on an absolutely wonderful breed. Though I am biased because we were graced by the presence of one. Cherry is the best thing to have happened to me, my daughter. I killed her.

Once again apologies for repeating myself, please adopt and do not buy. Facebook and olx will have several cases of middle aged females who are being unceremoniously discarded after they have served their purpose as breeder moms. Please scout around and give one or more of them a good and loving home.

If you do want a male and must buy, a non showline puppy should cost considerably less. Ensure to buy from a reputed kennel and insist on hip dysplasia report of the parents.

Best of luck.

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by isldhn

Hey Team. Just wanted to enquire if there is a golden retriever ( preferably male ) up for adaption anywhere in India. Am getting options of buying a golden retriever from Punjab but am being quoted pretty high prices in the range of 50K for the same.

Last i checked, KCI registered golden retrievers were selling in the range of 25-30k. 50k seems to be on the higher side but it may depend on the bloodline also.

Though i bought a Beagle pup 2 years back, I have decided not to buy puppies from a breeder, will adopt as there are a million dogs which deserve a better life.

In case you decide to buy from a breeder, stay away from those selling at a cheaper price, insist on vaccination given and check on the history of the father and mother.

Goodluck.

[ninjatalli]

So what do you do when your cat brings an alive squirrel baby (teenager sized) that escapes from it inside the house and just about to be toyed around before being eaten?

Well I picked it up; didn't have a scratch or wound, took it outside and let it on a tree. Couldn't hear any (mother) squirrel making noise nearby, so took that call.

I wonder if I did the right thing for the poor baby. It literally stood on my palm for almost a minute before climbing onto the tree.