BilRed

My vet recommended half an aspirin.

At the moment it is only 'mights'. One way or another I have over the years been in similar positions where it looked as if the place I walked my dogs was not going to be available/accessible anymore and it has always worked out OK. The Foot & Mouth crisis was a case in point, living in a rural area with a young energetic dog I didn't know what I was going to do but once I put my mind to it, it was fine and I discovered many great places to walk that I would have never known about otherwise, and my dog is much better trained and socialised than he would have being otherwise to be honest. What I am saying is don't make yourself miserable imagining the worse before it has happened, use that time to work out how you can cope if you need too.

I'm happy to have rescue dogs, I don't know why, I just am. I could bang on about rehoming, dog welfare etc but the truth is I just like rescues. I suppose I find them more interesting, you never know what you will get to choose from, whereas if I went to a Labrador breeder I would know exactly what they are going to look like and in a broad framework what their personality/behaviour is likely to be like. I don't like the reverse snobbery that sometimes goes with having a rescue, any more than the snob value some people get out of having a pedigree (although to be fair I think it is often really just an overload of pride and love). I think if someone wants to get a dog of a particular breed from a breeder that is fine. A dog is a big, long term commitment and you need to be in it heart and soul so I don't feel dog welfare is ultimately best served by people getting a rescue if what they want it a certain breed. There are people who like agility or showing or obedience and I think room for it all, if it is someones bag to get a particular breed with particular bloodlines etc then that is up to them, as long as they love and care for the dog that is fine. If no one bred dogs there would be no rescues, no working dogs and no pet dogs either.

Just had a link and found this; http://www.zen35103.zen.co.uk/cablebitz/barkstop.htm It is the type of device I meant. I don't know if anyone else feels that it might be harmful but I would use one if I had the need although strictly speaking it is an adversive technique. I would just check that the dog is not going to have a really bad reaction to it before leaving it on while I was out.

You can get a device that you put on the wall of the room the dog is in and when it detects noise it emits a high pitched noise that dogs don't like until the noise stops. I don't know what it is called but it sounds like it might be the answer to your problem. I knew someone who used one with great effect.

I love the last picture of Monty the Headrest

I've never seen a single one of these pictures, I would quite like to but I just don't have the patience!

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree. Now Men... Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the s**t out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with. Shamelessly stolen from another forum.

What a nasty, mean faced tw*t, thank god he doesn't want to keep the dog.