Sue

Ringworm, tapeworm, salmonella and mange are the things to watch for with hedgehogs in NZ. And really unless your dog is ill and surrounded by mangy hedgehogs the most they are likely to suffer is tapeworm if they eat the innards. Which is what my lot do, lol. So as a precaution I would worm the dog. Hedgehogs, while cute, do a lot of damage to ground nesting birds so I wouldn't feel too sorry about ones demise.

This has just been on the TV news in NZ. The puppy was described as a Ridgeback x. Poor thing was looking very frightened and in pain on the vets table. What a sick thing to do to a defenceless animal. Lets hope she gets put away and desexed as well. If she would do that to a pet, more than likely she will have a poor attitude to any children.

So anyone who breeds less than 20 puppies per year is a byb and will be penalised or hunted down. But if you breed more than 20 puppies per year or own more than 9 dogs you are also under fire. Effectively what is happening is the county wishes to stop all breeding within its borders.

You did, but you don't seem to think giving a dog an occasional hiding is abuse. Not sure about Australia but giving your kid a hiding in New Zealand will see you before the courts, and rightfully so.

Giving a bully an occasional or more than occasional hiding has no benefit at all. People say they are tough and do not feel pain or fear, but they are in fact extremely sensitive to abuse. Food and positive rewards do far more good with bullies than punishment. Getting the FIRST six months right with a bully is far more important than any other time in its life. They do need a lot of socialisation with other animals when young and that should be in the form of controlled play. If the dog is too rough then take it away until it calms down. Teach the puppy to leave on command and to recall. Food is your friend here. No point beating and being aggressive to the puppy when it is already over excited or "aggressive".

That's just weird. I find it disturbing that a dog is disgusting because it has what nature gave it. If it's meant to be funny or informative then it misses on both counts.

One down, one to go! I hope Diva is found very soon.

I went to the Hamilton NZ one, and was lucky to have front row seats. I really enjoyed the show and came away with some new ideas. The Q&A session was very sad indeed. I am glad to hear that we weren't the only place to have less than intelligent questions asked. I was a bit embarrassed by it all actually. While I would pay for good seats again, I wouldn't be wasting my time staying for the Q&A session. Overall, a highly entertaining night and one which really reiterated that the more we humanise out pets, the worse they become.

Bumping back to the top. Hope these two minis are returned home soon.

Having recently breed a deaf puppy it would be very hard for a breeder not to know that a puppy was deaf from a very young age. I picked mine out as soon as the pups eyes opened. The "breeder" doesn't want the puppy back because they wouldn't be able to recoup the lost money. Pity that paper didn't name and shame the so called breeder. Well, if this is so true why not keep the puppy herself. Oh that's right, they only wanted a guard dog, not a pet. Hate to think what would happen to any dog that got to old to guard. Hope the pup finds a wonderful and caring home.

Oh I hope he does the same for his NZ seminars. Can't wait till he comes.

have a look at http://maf.govt.nz for import requirements. Hope she enjoys being in NZ!

My dogs are listed on the offa database for pll

The Bull Terrier was never designed as a fighting dig. It's maker, James Hinks, wanted a dig to compete in the new sport of dog showing. He took the old bulldog, various terriers and the dalmatian to create a dog that could win in the show ring. His design was for a pure white dog that also filled the need as a gentleman's companion - hence the name White Caviler. Would someone designing a dog for fighting really care about coat colour, and why use predominately non fighting breeds in the mix. But I so agree that the general public couldn't identify one if it jump up and bit them on the butt as the saying goes.

Unless the pup is for show and you require a specific type for future breeding then save your money and purchase a pup from a reputable breeder in nZ. The cost of transport and blood testing would set you back around $2000 alone and then you need to add the cost of the puppy itself. Whichever way you go ensure you see sire and dams health testing and have the puppy vet checked before it leaves oz.

Haha, great pics. Had 3.5 inches here in central Taranaki. The dogs refused to step foot in it.

My next door neighbor was the local dog catcher. His lab bitch had a litter of seven pups before she was a year old. Middle of winter no bedding at all in the kennel. At two weeks old he killed the last surviving puppy because it wasn't running around yet. Oh and he also believed that my then dobermann would turn because that's what they do. My other neighbor was an ex school principle who wrote to council about how my bull terrier would savage him oneday because certain perfumes make dogs vicious. Why he wore perfume I don't know!

Aren't neighbours wonderful beings. The unfortunate things is if your dog hurts them you will be in big trouble. If only you could run an electric fence along the inside of the fence, just below the top to stop your dog jumping up. One designed to keep bulls in which connects to the mains would be best. Place it high enough so when the children learn over next time they get more than they bargained for. Be sure to film it! But probably the only legal thing you could do is place security cameras facing the fence. Make a big deal of putting them up, make sure the neighbours see you adjusting them so they are "just right". That may deter them. Another idea could be to approach the children's school and see if they could run a course on how to behave around dogs. Good luck. Been in that situation and chose to sell up and move to the country.

That's the same question that came to my mind.

Would the DNA from a food of a raw feed dog interfere with the results?

Puppy killer jailed Link includes photo of owner. A Te Kuiti man was today jailed for 18 months for bludgeoning to death a six-month-old pup with a golf club. Mathew George, 44, appeared this morning in the Te Kuiti District Court for wilfully ill-treating an animal, possessing an offensive weapon and threatening behaviour. He was sentenced to a total of 28 months in jail, 18 months on the cruelty charge alone and a lifetime ban from owning a dog. Police arrested George at his Te Kuiti Rd house in March after reports he had attacked a six-month-old boxer-cross with a golf club. A 35-minute standoff ensued during which George threatened officers with a shovel and an axe. Threats of the use of a taser were unsuccessful but George eventually surrendered after armed police arrived. Outside court, Te Kuiti/North King Country SPCA president Sandra Squier said George's attack on the pup was one of the most extreme cases of animal abuse she had seen. They were happy such a lengthy sentence had been imposed.

What a beautiful story! Well done to you for stepping forward and giving Rennie the help she needed.

lol, that's great. They look like mine after they stole the icing sugar.

Full story here A Crufts-winning mother and daughter have been sentenced for “appalling and shocking” neglect after a total of 104 dogs were found at a Bradford house.

Possibly it was someone who thought the dog would be better off without such a "contraption" and it was their way of telling the owner the dog was better off being PTS.