Diva

Absolutely. Make the fines large and impactful, and up the enforcement resources significantly. Enforce the registration and leash laws that exist rigourously and treat reports of loose dogs, unsound fencing and attacks as serious. It isn't the whole answer, but it is a start that requires no new legislation, just enforcing what is there.

Yes I know what bullbreeds are, thanks for that. But saying that complying with new restrictions would be no problem is ridiculous, do you know what they would be, or how I live my life? Of course not. And BTW I didn't say mine were well behaved, although they are. I simply said they have never hurt a dog or human, and were not capable of savage aggression towards people - if that is the new standard for 'so well behaved', then God help us.

I have owned large and very large dogs, sighthounds, for decades. They have never harmed another person or dog. I get really annoyed at the idea I might be further regulated or restricted in their ownership because of twits that can't control their bull breeds. I know what my large dogs are capable of - and it's not savage aggression towards humans. Even back when I owned shepherds and I knew they could exhibit terriorial aggression towards trespassers, they weren't capable of anything like this mauling. Not all dogs are equally likely to bite, no matter how some people would like to believe it. And for most dogs, if they do bite someone, they don't maul and they don't seek to attack random people on the street. That takes a particlaur temperament that used not to be common, but increasingly seems to be, just like the dogs that attack other dogs on sight in the street. Where the hell do dogs that behave like that come from, because we don't need them in society. That poor man, my heart goes out to him. Horrific.

This bit may hold your answer methinks... T. Yes I know, but how do I fix this? 1 on 1 time? Different activities. I think they only play up when I'm home. If they only play up when you are home, you are the catalyst. If you don't know how to behave to fix it you may need professional advice. It is natural for the younger one to assert her position as she reaches social maturity but it doesn't have to play out in open conflict. My rule is that any pushing of each other for my attention means all attention is removed, no-one gets to say who I pat or who I play with but me, any attempt by any of the dogs to control access to me means I walk away. Play nice, or no play. For what it is worth, I have run multiple bitches entire and desexed together for decades and never had a serious argument between them. re the desexing question and why it can make things worse, sometimes desexing makes an agressive bitch more aggressive as it removes influence of the female hormones - not just my view, it has been researched, I just don't have the papers at hand. This may have been the effect huski was refering to. In this case I doubt that will apply as the younger one doesn't sound like she is a high aggression bitch, but of course I don't know them.

I love my current 2 dogs equally and unconditionally, they are quite different in temperament but both very sweet and funny, and complement each other well. The cat is a demanding little devil, but loved and loving, lol. None are as dear to me as my heart dogs and cats were, but probably just as well, when those animals passed it was devastating. I have coped much better with the losses since then, maybe we hold back a little to avoid that unbearable loss.

So sorry this happened to you. It has happened to my dogs several times in recent years and I know it can be very upsetting. I hope your dog is not too traumatised.

I agree its VERY bad regulation - best practice is much more about outcome-based regulation, customer focus and cost-effective compliance. Not this tick-the-box input-based crappola. It reads like they want to be able to prosecute anyone at any time, so put a lot of detailed requirements the average person will not keep documentation on - where are your dog feeding receptacles and disinfectants stored? dogs in house? - where is your last carpet cleaning receipt? why wasn't your dietary plan reviewed and signed of by a vet according to schedule? It's rubbish governance, anal-retentive, inefficent and ineffective. love this turn of phrase.

I wonder if the RSPCA educates their officers on the body structure of various dog breeds.. I can imagine what an RSPCA officer would say at some of the photos posted here and you'd have a hell of a time getting the dog back if they decided to seize it Made me a bit worried back when my Weimaraner went through her skinny stages around 12-18 months, even though she had good muscle tone, some of her vertebrae were visible, along with most of her ribs and the top of her hip bones... She was shiny, healthy and well fed and gained more weight eventually (as per the photo I have posted in the other thread) but it certainly makes me twitchy every time somebody comments on her being skinny even though she is no longer ribby 12-18 months can be a skinny time, the way their metabolism changes is interesting. My chiro-qualified vet has an expert eye for proper condition and pulls me up hard when mine gain a pound or two, quite rightly. A local general vet who didn't know what she was looking at did try to tell me my good-weight dogs were too thin and my old fat girl was OK - I just told her she was wrong and to feel for the muscles, and she changed her mind when she put her hands on them. I think groups like the RSPCA do generally understand sighthounds are meant to carry less weight. But it is a risk given the number of people who think all dogs are the same and that they are qualified to judge a dog's welfare just by looking at it, when in fact they are just deeply ignorant.

To me sighthounds are lean, have long flat musculature, tight skin, minimal body fat and some visible ribs unless hidden by coat. I am less bothered by one that is a little too thin, especially if is a youngster, than I am by one that is too fat. Muscle tone, coat quality, and energy are much better indicators of good nutrition and health than body index in animals born to be thin. I have been told at times by 'the man in the street' that my dogs are too thin, usually as teenagers. My response is simply 'You haven't got a clue mate'. I am not going to let someone's ignorance influence me to keep my dogs at an unhealthy, fat, weight.

There is no ideal that has all a dogs' bones showing. However, some breed standard require a dog to be shown in working condition. "Working Condition" for a dog breed developed solely for speed and to bring down prey is not going to be the same as "working conditon" for a dog bred to break ice leaping into water to retrieve ducks. Many would argue that the overwhelming majority of show dogs have too much condition on. Sometimes it's a matter of getting your eye in. Sighthounds are very different in structure, fat and muscle distribution to other breeds. That does NOT mean your average show dog is emaciated. They are simply not bred to carry weight. To me a fat sighthound looks horrendous. From those photos, and assuming she is about the age I think she is, I'd like a little more weight on that Ibizan but not a huge amount. It is not a show standard calling for them to be thin, they just are. I judge how well nourished a sighthound is by their muscle tone, energy, and coat quality not some generic body condition index that suits a labrador or a staffy. Sighthounds as a rule have less body fat than other groups of dogs, it is why they don't handle some types of anaesthesia as well. Imposing a generic dog view of how much padding they should carry does them a disservice. You'll do more harm to a sighthound by making it fat than you will by letting it be the shape it is born to be. efs

Err, what possible role would Customs play here? It was an export, and even with imports they don't unnecessarily delay animal cargo clearance for this sort of reason. MASKargo has airconditioned premises in KL where a lot of the dogs transit. Don't know why they don't in Sydney. The customs reference threw me too, why on earth are they considered responsible? Holding areas for animals at airports should be airconditioned in our climate. Amongst all the ill-designed regulations they want to bring in for dog breeders maybe that pretty basic one could be considered for transport companies and airports.

Depends if she was setting up a club as per the opening post or getting a team together as per one of the later ones. Sounds like she was looking for a height dog for a team and was misunderstood.

I had a 10 yr old Groenendael survive this. He was diagnosed early, no thanks to the vet who tried to send me home saying there wasn't anything wrong with him, but I knew in my heart he was unwell and insisted on a blood test. He was on cortisone for several weeks at home, and lived another 2 years in good health until he died of a hemangiosarcoma on the heart. I have sometimes wondered if they were related conditions.

That's great

Maybe a Schipperke? They can be stubborn, but all the ones I have met have been very robust and not bothered by much.

I wouldn't say mine are fussy, but they definitely self-regulate and don't eat just because there is food down. They will only eat as much of a meal as they want, and they will skip a meal occasionally, especially if their exercise has been less than normal that day. Not unusual for some of the sighthounds.

Thanks! I honestly thought i wouldn't be bringing her home. If you haven't seen it before, it looks terrifying. Very stressful to see them like that.

My elderly Belgian Terv developed it. It took her several weeks to recover, but she did, just needed some help getting about initially. It sounds like Lily has recovered really well, :)

This story has been circulating since 2011 with a different city each time. The photo is identical to the one on Snopess Please delete the thread to avoid panicing people over nothing. Yet a good reminder about teaching your dog a good "leave it" and not letting them pickup random items from the ground. And an even better lesson in not believing everything that comes by email.

This story has been circulating since 2011 with a different city each time. The photo is identical to the one on Snopess Please delete the thread to avoid panicing people over nothing.

yes, what harm can it do if the rarer breeds die out in this country because people are peer-pressured into believing that buying a pure bred dog that suits you is an unethicial thing to do, we shouldn't care about that should we.

Isn't discharging a gun right next to a road illegal? If it isn't, it should be!

Well you could ring and ask, but I would probably send both at once. Or if possible drop by the office on a Tuesday or Friday when I think both staff are on and they might be able to do both on the spot. Canberra is pretty user friendly I have found.

Can't think of a more likely way to spread Kennel Cough if its about. Not a great idea from where I sit. Not something I would go along with either. I would not hire a dog walker who did this. I have used walkers before and would again. But I pay for full attention on the job at hand, which is the care of my dogs.

They don't need to be awake and reading, this will all still be here tomorrow. And I have no doubt that both the breeder and those who commented on the pup could recognise who you are from your description of your situation. Take a deep breath, calm down and phone the breeder tomorrow. If you do decide to go to a vet with your concerns, get a recommendation for a good one first, before going down the x ray route.