It's Dogtober!

Dogtober is the month dedicated to celebrating your dog and all dogs around Australia, as well as raising much needed funds and awareness for Assistance Dogs Australia.

This Dogtober, the Assistance Dogs in training (otherwise known as the Super Pups!) want to raise $500,000 - enough to train another 20 pups to help people with physical disabilities.

So why not join in and create your own event or sponsored challenge? Just as all dogs come in all shapes and sizes, so too can your event or activity.

You can do it alone, include family, friends, colleagues, school pals or the whole neighbourhood if you wish!

To register and join in the Dogtober festivities please visit www.dogtober.org.au

We Want To Hear From You!

G'day Dog Lovers,

We want to know what you think are the most important and controversial issues in the canine world. What issues and debates are going to have the biggest influence on the future of dog ownership in Australia?
- Should puppies be sold in pet shops?
- Is breed-specific legislation effective?
- How can we stop the growing number of abandoned animals?
- How do we tackle the growing problem of pet obesity?
- How can we eliminate puppy mills?
- Are purebred dogs being bred with genetic health problems?
Write to us and let us know what you think. Your opinion could be published in a future issue of Dogs Life and help shape the future of dogs in Australia. Email your views to dogslife@universalmagazines.com.au

Secondly, we also want to hear stories about your dog. What’s the cleverest thing he’s ever done? What’s the silliest? Has he ever done anything brave or do you have any stories of funny doggy mischief? We’d love to hear from you, and your story could be published in the magazine. Email your stories to dogslife@universalmagazines.com.au

Soccer Dog

G'day Dog Lovers,

Late yesterday afternoon I was playing in a soccer semi-final. The atmosphere was tense, the score was close and every possession was being fiercely contested. Everyone was getting a little hot under the collar and tempers were starting to flare...but then, when things were just starting to get really heated, the game had a bit of an interruption. In the middle of the game, a Jack Russell ran on to the field and started attacking the ball.

Immediately, all the players on both teams just burst into laughter. The dog was leaping at the ball and yelping excitedly as everyone watched on. When a couple of players tried to shepherd the dog off the field, he thought it was all a game and wanted everyone to chase him. Eventually the dog ran off and the game got back under way...

Only to be stopped again about 10 minutes later when the plucky pooch returned for round two of his bout with the soccer ball. By this time everyone realised that no-one knew who owned the dog. He had a collar and looked very fit and healthy, but his owner could not be found in the crowd of spectators. After another couple of minutes the dog ran off again and never returned. I certainly hope he was reunited with his owner...and that that person manages to keep better control of their pooch and not just let him wander off.

Whoops!

G'day Dog Lovers,

I thought I'd tell you about a funny thing that I saw over the weekend. I was playing a game of soccer on Sunday morning and one of the spectators was sitting on the sideline with her dog. The dog looked to be about one year old and I think was a Labrador cross - very cute! The woman was sitting on a camp chair and had her dog's lead tied around the base of the chair.

Anyway, the soccer ball was kicked out over the sideline right past the dog. Forgetting that he was tied up, the pooch took off at top speed after the ball and tipped his owner off her seat. It was like something you'd see on Funniest Home Videos. The poor dog owner was very embarrassed as about 40 or 50 people had just seen her take a tumble, but her dog apologised by giving her a few licks on the face as she lay on the ground.

Has your dog ever made you look silly?

Who's causing trouble?

I love all dogs - no matter what breed or size. But I must admit, I have a special place in my heart for big dogs. I grew up with big dogs - my family has owned German Shepherds, Labradors, Anatolian Shepherds, crosses of all sorts of big dogs - and I now own two Dobermanns.

Some people are afraid of big dogs or simply find them a 'nuisance' because they bark loudly and scare off smaller dogs. How ironic, though, that yesterday evening when I was walking my big, boisterous, 'loud' Dobermanns, the only noisemakers in our neighbourhood were the smaller dogs who were jumping at the fence or scratching the windows from inside their homes, barking in a frenzy.

We passed by a teenager sitting on a wall with her little dog - she pulled her dog closer in her lap, probably afraid my dogs would eat the little ball of fluff. Her dog made so much noise that the neighbours came outside, expecting to find a dog fight!

Funny thing is, my dogs stared at the little dog and walked by calmly without a single growl. Who's the 'public nuisance' now?

Naughty dogs!

My family has been visiting for a few weeks over Christmas and New Year's and therefore, I have not been able to spend much quality time with my dogs. It seems Logan and Chase have had enough of my busy schedule!

Over the weekend, we returned home from a night out and discovered a mess all over the living room floor. Logan, my eldest Doberman, was standing at the kitchen door - as if spooked - with his "wasn't me" expression. Chase was "sleeping" on our bed; he didn't come to greet us at the door. Hmmm. Hubby and I both knew there was no point in scolding them. We had to have caught them in the act.

I was so surprised at their behaviour, as this is really not like them. What shocked me most was that my dogs' destructive 'message' was directed at me. I believe this because the item they tried to destroy was my camera bag. Why hadn't they gone for hubby's laptop??

I don't know if they actually tried to destroy the bag. I mean, it could have been a simple tug-of-war game. Or had a cockroach tried to get into the bag?! Logan hates cockroaches - he chases them and then kills them with his teeth! YUCK! The culprit could have been Chase - Mr Pig - trying to get at some liver treats I may have forgotten in the side pockets of the bag.

Whoever was involved in creating the mess, thank goodness nothing happened to the camera, nor to the leads and cords that had scattered across the floor. The bag has some teeth marks, but nothing serious. The bag was in worse shape when two dogs competitively peed all over it during a photoshoot!

When I went to bed that night, I sat on the floor, pulled both my furry boys close to me and hugged them for awhile. I promised to pay more attention to them and that I appreciate their friendship. I will need them when I say goodbye to my family next week when they return overseas.

Then I made sure the camera bag was out of paws' reach!

A Doggy Christmas

I hope you had a good doggy Christmas!

I'm still recovering from eating so much food! I don't know who ate more - me or my Dobermann, Chase, who has a bottomless pit of a stomach!

My older Dobie, Logan, was such a gentleman - unlike Chase, Logan ate delicious doggy treats without snorting or making any slurpy noises and scattering crumbs around the floor. He even said thank you with a friendly wag and gentle lick of his lips before settling down in front of the Christmas tree for a nap.

We are still cleaning up after Chase!

Doggy wants attention

Chase had surgery yesterday to remove a lump from under his arm. He's now under close supervision for the next couple of days so he doesn't pop his stitches. I made him comfortable on his bed, brought him water, food, some treats - whatever he would need to keep him happy and resting throughout the day.

Logan didn't seem to be amused by all the attention his Dober-cousin was getting. He stood in the corner and watched me pour all my love and attention to Chase. Then all of a sudden, Logan started limping. I checked under his paws, in case he had something stuck and found nothing. Soon, he started holding his back leg up off the ground and then refused his dinner (which didn't surprise me as he has always been a fussy eater). I checked his pads again, gently massaged his legs and decided to give it another day before calling the vet. This morning, he continued limping in front of me.

But the funny thing is, hubby said Logan walked fine when he saw him. Hmmm... was Logan faking an injury because he was jealous of my extra attention to Chase? I decided to test it out - I watched Logan slowly limp across the kitchen and out to the backyard. I then sneaked upstairs and looked out from the window. Surprise, surprise - Logan had not only stopped limping, but he was also happily chasing the birds off his kennel! But wait, there's more - I called him from the window, he looked up and saw me, and then limped to the kitchen door!!

Dogs and dirty diapers don't mix

It’s hard enough to raise kids; it’s even harder to raise kids and dogs! Especially when you have a three-year-old with diarrhoea and a Doberman who likes to stick his nose into everything – you get the picture?

I know it’s a yucky subject, but that’s reality in my house. And I got a big dose of it last week when I forgot a heavily-soiled diaper in the bathroom and found it shredded generously all over the bedroom carpet, hubby’s side of the bed.

A lot of very bad thoughts went through my mind as I stared down at my four-legged culprit, who realised quickly that Mummy wasn’t happy. Mummy was furious. Mummy wanted to cry. And – to my husband’s surprise later that evening when I told him my tale of ‘stinking’ horror – what I ended up doing was not to put my dog up for adoption, but to go through backissues of Dogs Life magazines for cleaning products and advice, and then the garage in search of the miracle cleaning product.

The bedroom carpet is clean now and the smell is gone. I know it’s only a matter of time before I discover another mess. As long as it’s not on my side of the bed!