Growing Food and Animal Husbandry, Including Pics!

['thul]

Most likely not. Retrievers have a tendency to easily get hip problems, but the one in that dog was only recently discovered and may have been there for most of its life...

[Mervi]

I know we're way off-topic here and I'm not sure how to put this without offending anyone (I know no advice was asked so it's not my place to give it). However, I want to mention this "in general", because a lot of it was new information for me too just a few years ago. Vets' knowledge of older pets has increased a *lot* in the recent years and there's lots that can be done to make an old dog's life comfortable before it's time for that one final visit. Regular check-ups (twice a year) are usually recommended, even if there are no visible problems, because it's easier to prevent things or slow the progress of many conditions when they are detected early. For example, there are simple injections that help to "oil" old joints that can be administrated at home once the vet has shown how it's done (no need to locate veins and it's not used daily), there are pain meds that can be given safely over long periods of time and there's huge amounts of information about what part nutrition plays in problems like arithritis.

['thul]

True. Veterinarians knowledge of aged animals has indeed increased. These beings do not know how much or what is being done for that dog, but for now it has not been put down.

[Nuytsia]

I know we're way off-topic here

It could still fall under 'animal husbandry'

['thul]

Its off topic when it finally goes to discussing the best ways to slay zombies...

[Mervi]

Don't you mean best ways to slay mosquitos?

['thul]

if it works to kill that zombie, then it will certainly kill mosquitoes...

[Farseer]

Just out of interest, is the hip problem merely from age, 'thul? Or is it due to having had a previous hip condition eg Perthes Disease?

I ask as two of my three children have/have had this hip condition, which is also quite common in dogs and horses apparently. As an aside, it is said that while it is hereditary in dogs and horses, it isn't in humans......!

My eldest son no longer has 'the condition' but does experience the pain that comes from having had it, especially when driving, and arthritis is assured for later on in life (as well as a hip replacement etc).

As for tomatoes, our Jack Russells have acquired a taste for them. First they were playthings but now they have become just another part of their diet...thankfully we have some plants they can reach (which are now just for them!) and many others (just for us!) are in the vegetable garden protected from them by a fence.

['thul]

These beings do not know whether it was from disease, heredity or something else. There is no known incident where the dog was injured, so that at least isn't the cause...

As for the tomatoes... Is the fence stout? is it some distance out from the plants and has openings considerably smaller than the head of a dog? Is the fence completely sealed, or might a sneaky dog sneak past the edge?

The dog these beings have had experience with managed to sneak in, but not out of the enclosures... and on occasion got its head hooked in the fence...
The strawberry field was surrounded by a fishnet weighed down by chains, but it still managed to get in (but not out)

[Farseer]

Nuytsia, I am sure you are already doing this but, in case not, make sure you keep your chook manure as it's the best thing EVER for your tomatoes and other vegetable/fruit plants. Put it straight on and then water in or dilute it in water beforehand to make a liquid...whichever way you like, it's all great nutrition. I was thinking of you/this as I was feeding my plants this afternoon!

I love the alert we now get when someone makes a post while we're typing (in this case it was the 'thul beings )...such a feature would have been handy when we were working on our three word story here...I'd always be typing my three words in only to then discover, too late, that someone had already done it!

The fence is quite stout 'thul, and is made from chicken wire dug deep into the ground so that rabbits can't get through either, though the little ones have been known to squeeze through from time-to-time (it was those little critters who attacked my strawberry plants!)! Of course, the fence is not quite stout enough to stop the bulls getting in over the top when they feel like it...!!

The plants themselves are well away from the garden boundary, growing up sections of mesh attached to steel pegs to keep them off the ground and give them something secure to latch onto in our strong winds (if they were not so secured, they especially would have all been lost in the recent cyclone).

For our chook run, we also use chicken wire but we cement around the bottom edges, as well as dig the wire deep into the ground, to ensure our dogs, as well as visiting foxes, dingoes and goannas, don't get to enjoying a poultry dinner!

Having never seen a zombie, I am unsure as to any slaying tactic, let alone the best one...