persephone

and one of the wonderful things about dogs is that they do not have the burden of thinking in this manner ...so what weighs humans down as a concern ... a fear of future happenings... is not detracting from a dog's 'day-to-day' Toffee would have been with her owner , and reacted to that deterioration in health , for sure .It would have been hard . A lot of routines etc would have changed, and their working relationship was no more. Toffee would have had to adjust ... Then, presuming Toffee was given a final vet appointment , my guess is that Toffee would have gone along with some trepidation ..as her owner was no longer around ...but I choose to believe she was not suffering due to what was about to happen , and therefore nothing was done which could be classed as cruelty knowingly inflicted. We all obviously view this with very differing Points of View , and , if Toffee has left a legacy , it is one of people now being made more aware of their pets, of plans for the future, and of what they may do to make transitions the best they can for everyone. Hopefully now, more folks will put thought into what their dog/cat/ pet will have to cope with should they fall ill ..and where that pet will finally end up.

Hahaha. They're so smart yep.

Makes sense ..until you come across that canny dog who finds that a hard poke with a wire muzzle will work like a nip ;)

kennelling is a neccessary evil .. and I often think of designs which might make life more interesting .. Has there been (I guess there has) examples other than wire rectangular pens ..kennels/sheds/grassed quadrangles ...?

I think it's law that dogs working in those situations are muzzled .. to decrease bruising/punctures in the meat ....

S Just a bit nippy .... sometimes too , a large mob belonging to neighbours is great for teh more inexperienced dogs ...except sometimes they get a bit frustrated /tired , then tend to take shortcuts, grabbing long wool is one such ... with our sheep we can wear the occasional grab , as it's never anything serious ... but when working someone elses's stock it is preferable to allow NO chance of it happening ... we have greyhound muzzles, one of those square 'working dog'muzzles , and various sized basket muzzles . :) The older dogs know when P says "come & put your helmet on " ..and they resign themselves , & poke their heads in ....

This lady needs to do her research, methinks.... A couple of my Bros' yard dogs are muzzled when they work on other peoples' property .... and they wear the muzzles pretty much all day with no problems .Basket muzzle and greyhound muzzle ....

There are exceptions though . My household used to have mice/budgie/cats/dog Under supervision I would watch TV with mice on my knee , and cats close by . Mice lived in an open topped tank for some time, (un touched by my cats) ..UNTIL the free range budgie took to grabbing them by the tail ! Interspecies harmony can be done ....sometimes though, the animals themselves need to set the rules.

maybe I have it all wrong .... when puppies are small , and they go near mum's food ..she will eyeball them , then growl..then snap and/or push them away hard ,with her nose. They get the message . is the Bitch being aggressive? Our dogs have taught the cats exactly the same way ..... a warning ... then some action .It usually only happens once, and teh cat gets the message .If the cat did NOT get the message ..I guess I would be using a water squirt bottle on the cat , but I've never had to , luckily , and nowdays everyones is kept seperate.. Glad you have now corrected the cat , and I hope your pup is doing well.

Nice :) it's good for dogs ....just slow & steady ....

It is a scary time.... and they dont spit it out ,either !Glad hes ok :)

: ) That sounds promising ....

A young adult female has been bought from a breeder ... pedigreed apparently, but not good enough for showing- that's all I know . Everyone seems happy so far ! :) Thanks folks for the help.

yes...it all helps :) many years ago I got a lab like that for Mum ... and she was terrific :)

Y No :) Just that if they were too be sympathetic or seen as condoning the idea ..public would not be impressed . I and I agreed :) I've done it myself, many times.

Oh, yes - their donations would dry right up if there was a hint of them condoning the death of Toffee I *nods* ...I don't envy the management /P R people.

Pebbles ..I have something similar for my animals ...

I feel so sad on reading comments like this ... the family have lost a woman to cancer , they honoured her wish ......no doubt the woman died a long and painful death , maybe it was selfish...but , facing death perhaps the only comfort she could think of was that her dog would be there with her at the end, and forever... Perhaps it is a waste of a resource to the vision impaired community .... I very much doubt the dog was taken out the back and bludgeoned to death..so do not see it as being 'cruel' to the dog ... Sure it is not an ordinary thing ...or something most of us would even consider ...

??? Just pointing out that some people believe their dog could never be rehomed and sometimes they're wrong about that. Shame a dog had to die when it could have gone on enjoying life and making someone else really happy. I think it's a selfish act. Ahh, Fair enough.

???

I am so hoping the last little one will be located soon ..what a horrific experience for those dogs ..and the humans!!

We do not know what this dog was like - how fit it was, or how solid its work was . "back in the old days"....not all dogs of that age were re-issued that I remember ... many just stayed with a family ..; if they were healthy and temperamentally sound ,some went out as therapy dogs , some were sold as pets. A dog of around 5 has had possibly 3 years working with this owner ..and lord knows what ingrained habits were there :) During the hundreds of hours together ,so many little things get wired in which are perfect for (or ignored by) current owners, but which are very ,very difficult to retrain around - remembering that someones life depends on the dog's reactions and decisions . Some dogs do not settle at all well after losing an owner ...then there is often time spent in a get-fit /lose weight program ;retraining ...and , obviously a much reduced working life.... Obviously the lady did own this dog , she wanted them to be together forever ..and now they are ....

puppies, like little kids get cute soft moist paws when they're playing/running :)

had to have a tiny smile ..... Drat ...says Roo ..THAT worked last time ...... *chew/dig/swat/puff* Oh, Bother !!!