Sue

I wonder how many of these dogs have been exposed to drugs during their development- in womb and as neonates. Pregnant bitches and puppies absorbing the likes of P or whatever toxic drugs are within their environment from surfaces and from the air. It’s noted in schools that children effected by P during gestation and no doubt continued expo After birth are more difficult and aggressive than children effected by alcohol. it would be good if dogs involved in these terrible incidents undergo testing to look at levels of toxins in their systems and possible brain abnormalities.

The only good possum is a dead one! When I was a kid, it was common for boys to go out and trap possum or poison them, then skin the carcasses and sell the pelt to the buyers. It was a good income for a young boy. Nowadays the possum carcass is plucked using a machine. Possum fur products are lovely and warm. Nothing better than a pair of possum fur lined ugg boots to keep the chill away. Possums are a huge pest in NZ, very much as unwanted as foxes are in Australia. They prey on our native birds, strip our forests and can spread TB amongst dairy cattle.

The South Taranaki District Council (NZ) did this at the end of the season this year. All three pools in the complex were open, from a toddlers paddling pool, learners pool, and the main pool. 80 dogs turned out, from little poodles, Rottweilers, bull terriers and of course Labradors. Most of them were offleash and had the most incredible time. No aggression between any of the dogs. It was such a success the council is planning to make it a yearly event at the close of season.

Thanks everyone. I'd hate to think that she has been shocked.

No, she's not debarked. The short hair is from her current collar rubbing. I can't take it off to let it heal as I need to be able to grab her quick if she decides to play up. She's not very well trained. She has aggression issues with other dogs and I thought possibly the owners had decided to use a shock collar to "retrain" her. If they did, it hasn't work, lol.

Hi. They look to be three to four cm apart. Sorry I can't find my ruler.

Sorry had trouble with uploading. This one shows one of the scars close up

This dog is in rescue in NZ and I have just noticed that she has these two scars either side of her windpipe. She didn't have these scars 12 months ago. To me they appear consistent with the use of something with prongs. I guess they could be from a badly fitting collar where the buckle has rubbed as well? Photo one shows one o the scars close up and the second photo shows both scars.

Schedule 4 (the one which bans importation) was only added to the dog control act in 2006ish after an attack by a crossbred dog of a young girl in Auckland. The breeds were here way before that. The Perro de Presa Canario was added later, after the death of the woman in the United States.

There are APBT's and Dogo Argentino's here. Apparently there were a couple of Fila's at one stage that were show dogs. The other breeds apparently do not exist in NZ. No, the breeds specifically named in the schedule of the Dog Control Act cannot be imported. Australia has a similar ban on specific breeds entering its borders.

Not seen it but have skimmed most of the thread. The five breeds banned from importation are also classified as menacing automatically, meaning they must be muzzled and leashed at all times when in public. If the local authority has enacted section (blah blah, can't remember the clause and part) of the Dog Control Act, then those breeds must also be desexed. It is these breeds that the Auckland City Council is targeting. I'm guessing once the amnesty is over, Council will be going door to door seizing unregistered dogs.

I don't think calling the purchaser dumb is warranted. She wanted a specific crossbreed, searched for it, and when she found one advertised, went and purchased it. Not everyone wants a pedigree dog, for what ever reason. She was right to sue on the results of the DNA test which she feels proves her dog isn't a cross of the breeds he was claimed to be. The test may or may not be accurate. I'd lean to not accurate given the results I've seen from other tests. If only more duped purchasers of purebred, pedigree and crossbred puppies would stand up and make the breeder/seller responsible for their lies. All power to her, but the payout should have been the full cost of purchase.

Have to agree. A barking, rushing bullmastiff is enough to scare anyone. I'm sure the police weren't there to hand out lollies.

Bull Terrier worst for a lazy teenager? Bull Terriers love sleeping in the bed with you all day. Sure they love a good walk as well, but are just as happy to sit with (on) you and watch TV, or snore under the blankets.

:laugh: Yes, she would be. Happy to send all our possums back.

The video says that the cat and dog were adopted together from a woman going into hospital. Nothing about the cat being a stray.

Carbon monoxide is only painless when at specific levels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning. Animal control units also use carbon monoxide to gas unwanted cats and dogs and when not used correctly causes immense pain to the animals prior to their death.

Your debate is very simplistic. You haven't taken into account owners who have dogs who do not get on together, owners who have neighbours who will tease/abuse or complain about dogs left in runs outside, and dogs that are destructive. Whether the dog is crated, locked inside a house, locked in an outdoor run or free in a fenced backyard, the dogs movements and ability to do doggy things is still restricted in some way. Lucky you having a farm for your dog to exercise on. If urban dwellers are lucky, there might be a safe park within a few k's to take their dog too.

I breed a deaf puppy and rehomed him to a friend when he was about 16 weeks old. I was quite prepared to keep him myself and train him, but she fell in love. He is now 15 months old. Dev is great at obedience - far better than his hearing brother. He is quite a character though and if he's had enough he will turn his head away and refuse to look. He lives a full life with two other dogs and a variety of farm animals and misses nothing. He is friendly to all and has never "turned aggressive" because he was touch when asleep or unaware someone was behind him. In fact he doesn't react at all to being touched or woken from sleep. He doesn't know he's any different to any other dog. I refuse to kill a perfectly happy and healthy puppy for other peoples gratification. This is him and his brother out on the local walkway. His T-Shirt reads 'Deaf As - but my owner still [heart] me"

I always liked this story about the Bull Terrier. :laugh: Haven't we all been asked this question many times? Yes, if raised with children, a bull terrier is a perfect companion; gentle and aware of the child's fragility. Haven't we all watched a great lump of dog play quietly on the floor with babies, then without warning hurl itself upon an unsuspecting adult with sufficient force to practically land him in the intensive care unit? So I would like to ask this question - Are Bull Terriers Good With Adults? Not one of my dogs has ever laid a tooth on me, but the damage to my person has, over the years been considerable. One rainy morning I was standing in the driveway watching my husband back out the car when Muffin came flat out around the corner of the house carrying a length of 2 x 4. What she was intending to do with this piece of lumber has never been determined - it is possible that she was becoming bored with the demolition trade and was about to enter the construction business. Turning at her approach, I received the full impact of the wood on my shinbone and was knocked to the ground by the force where I lay screaming with pain and fury. Muff observed this odd behaviour for a moment, then deciding that she had heard all those words before (usually directed at her anyway), she retrieved her wooden weapon, and spinning it around with the grace and agility of a baton twirler, connected neatly with the back of my head as I was attempting to get to my feet. The impact returned me to my previous horizontal position, this time face down. My husband, who witnessed the entire performance informed me later that the timing was superb - worthy of the best Keystone Cops or Marx Brothers. But he delayed his departure, herded the menace into her kennel and inquired through his merriment if I was hurt. Stating I thought I might live long enough to murder the wretched bitch, I was helped to my feet but found I could not put any weight on the injured leg and my scalp was cut and bleeding - so a trip to the accident room of the local hospital was thought advisable. Being my first visit for emergency treatment, I was not prepared for the volume of information required. Name, address, occupation are routine - but how, when and why!....(I am an obstetrical nurse and our patients are admitted onto the floor with a minimum of questions. We know why they are there, and we know how it happened and we assume the patient knows too, although sometimes one wonders)! The admitting nurse was efficient and thorough. Vital statistics dealt with came unexpected questions. "Now, how did this accident happen?" "Well," I said, "You see my dog had this big piece of wood in her mouth and she hit me with it." "Your dog?" "Yes." "I see, - and the head wound?" "Well my dog did that too." "With a piece of wood?" "Yes, - it was the same piece of wood actually." "I see." "Well," I said, coming quickly to Muffin's defence," of course she didn't mean to, she sort of spun around and she had this piece of wood in her mouth, you see - and, well-she hit me with it - I was sitting in the driveway at the time..." Our local hospital does not have a psychiatric floor but I could see by the expression on the nurse's face that she was aware of the desperate need for one. I was X-Rayed, treated amid controlled giggles from the staff, and released. The next major incident followed swiftly. (Minor ones occur almost daily.) The paddock gate is, of necessity, sturdily built of oak and heavy. It opens inward. Every day I collect each dog after his play period. I call them from whatever act of mayhem they may be committing, push open the gate and bend down ready to snap on the lead. For three hundred and sixty four days of the year Bloody Mary had galloped to the gate, come around it, and been leashed in the usual fashion. On this particular day, whether due to a whim, or perhaps because the moon was in Aquarius she chose to project herself at approximately the speed of light from the far corner of the paddock, and instead of coming around the gate, she leapt at it with all the force of her fifty pounds of muscle, slamming it shut on my head. I went down like a pole-axed ox, and remained down and out long enough for the murderous beast to remove and eat the bait-biscuits from my pocket - she also removed and apparently ate the pocket. A small hairpiece I was wearing has never been seen again - presumably it was quickly killed and buried. Staggering into a lawn chair I sat holding my head and considering an early retirement from dog breeding, while Mary amused herself by eating the geraniums. This pastoral scene continued for awhile until my neighbor drove up, took one look at me, and insisted - yes, you guessed it - on a trip to the Emergency Room. The last thing I wished to do on this earth was return to the hospital where, after the Muffin episode, there exists some doubt as to my sanity - I am known locally as "that kook who lives up on the hill with those funny looking white things she says are dogs". But feeling too sick to argue or resist I was firmly placed in the car and hurried off to my fate. And so it came to pass that once again I presented myself at the local Emergency Room. Of course, the admitting nurse was the same as before, the staff also. Approaching the desk in embarrassed misery - torn clothing, wild hair, a great lump on my forehead and eyes blackening fast, I am greeted by an obviously wary nurse - "Goodness, Mrs. Arnaud, sit down. Whatever happened to you now?" I take a deep breath, (Oh God will get you for this Bloody Mary) and with visions of padded cells looming large in my future, "Well," I said "you see - my dog..." Are Bull Terriers Good With Children? Oh yes. They are lovely. Are Bull Terriers Good With Adults? Well I am an adult and they are not good with me, and I have the scars - my body, my furniture, and my psyche - to prove it. Acknowledgement COLKET - 1976

Number 20 is a let down. They could have stuck to the story and used a Bull Terrier!

Poor dogs. Glad they have been discovered and helped. (And ... gosh that newspaper needs an editor!)

So the father knows these two dogs so why not just send the police/animal control around to the owners address. After all, too know that the dogs are trained means the father intimately knows them.

Chicken meal and chicken fat appear to be the only animal products in it. I wouldn't feed it.

Lol, Sandra, you don't even have Bull Terrier's but you know the real history of the breed. Pity the same old "fighting" tripe keeps getting bandied around by the press and uneducated people.