poodlefan

I know this will be a challenge but try really really hard NOT to hover around the food... it might increase his anxiety. Indi and the pork steaks reminds me of that wonderful scene in the movie Shirley Valentine with the bloodhound? and the steak.

I'll say that I think its totally the dog owner's responsiblity to keep his dog safe. No, its not his fault the dog got stabbed but he had the power to prevent it happening. No dog running up to another person - no possiblity at all that this can happen. You just never know how people are going to react. I can never figure out why people think their dogs should be allowed to do this

Do you think he'd have stabbed the dog if it had left him alone? There are plenty of people out there who are scared of dogs. This wasn't a small dog. Why make your dog a target for any human aggression by allowing it to approach stangers? Playing the legal arguments out, if this dog "rushed" the person, that's technically enough for a DD declaration. All TOTALLY preventable. That's the point I'm trying to make.

Yes. If people are looking for trouble, then why provide it for them. No dog running up, no issue.

If you want to protect your dog from this kind of behaviour, then you don't let your dog run up to strangers. Lets face it, there's plenty of folk out there who are scared of dogs. Yes, knifing is overkill. So is kicking but who, other than the dog's owner IS responsible for keeping it safe?

Link to report Not when their owners are exercising effective control they don't.

Done! I still think some folk are faces because of the quality of dogs they exhibit and/or their superior handling skills. Not all, but definitely some. Ooh - good poll feature. If you want to change your vote, you can delete and revote!!

Here we go folks. Our own DOL poll on the issue of face judging. Best I define the term. By "face judging" I mean judges who will put up any dog shown by a particular exhibitor, regardless of its quality. Or where quality is fairly even, will favour a particular exhibitor's entries over others.

If I load a survey question appropriately, I'm sure I can get the response I want too. Perhaps a more objective poll might be an idea. I might start one.

I'm only doing Friday but haven't received anything yet.

I'm really disappointed she didn't come to Adelaide - it would have been soooo interesting to hear her. Hopefully she'll do a Dame Nellie Melba act and embark on another "farewell tour". Fingers crossed. If she comes next time, I'd travel to see her. Dr Christine Zink is coming to Brisbane this June - she's awesome too! I travelled up there to see her last time she came. Hopefully if she comes again I'll be in a position to be able to travel to see her - I'm just not able to travel at the moment and getting one day off work for Melbourne Royal was hard enough! If you've not thought about buying her book, I'd think you'd get a lot out of it.

I'm really disappointed she didn't come to Adelaide - it would have been soooo interesting to hear her. Hopefully she'll do a Dame Nellie Melba act and embark on another "farewell tour". Fingers crossed. If she comes next time, I'd travel to see her. Dr Christine Zink is coming to Brisbane this June - she's awesome too! I travelled up there to see her last time she came.

Club officials would always know who the judges were, whether their names appeared in a schedule or not. I don't have any issue with club officials at regional shows showing their dogs or having their dogs shown. They're the ones putting in all the effort to get the show run, why should they be penalised by not being able to show at their local grounds? You're never going to be able to remove the possibility of face judging. After all, the faces will still be there even if the judge wasn't announced beforehand. My personal view is that exhibitors are the ones best placed to select what shows they attend based on who is judging. I've yet to see any evidence that many exhibitors are concerned about face judging at many shows. You might like to start a poll about it.

Fantastic news - keep up the activities that make him excited and happy. Anything that triggers his brain to produce serotonin is going to help with the grief.

If you want to improve the standard of judging then I'd suggest you ask for ideas on how to do that. Withholding a judges name doesn't make them a better judge. It just makes who the judge is a lottery. I can't think of a faster way to reduce entries than to make people drive hours to find they're being judged by someone who's opinion they don't respect. Besides, some folk will know who the judges are anyway. There is no way you can ensure that every handler has an equal chance at winning. We don't all have the same standard of dog, of grooming or of handling. I keep hearing that show entries are not what they used to be but I've yet to see evidence that it's judging that's to blame.

I'd recommend you stop thinking about breeds for a while and do two things: 1. Sit down and work on a list of desired characteristics that don't involve appearance. See what you can agree on. 2. Decide what training and lifestyle the dog will lead. 2. Go to a dog show and have a good look around. My guess is there may be breeds that you haven't considered that might be closer to what both of you want.

What sort of last moments do you think they have in the kill room of a pound? A dog that is not used to being inside or being handled by strangers cannot be calmed. I think its shameful that there will be dogs that have no trust in people because they've never learned it but that's a whole other issue.

I can't recommend a book but I sure can recommend a website: The textbook here is awesome

Sounds like you are being very sensible. Bear in mind that obstacles like weavers are VERY demanding on a dog and watch for signs of soreness. God bless them, most dogs will keep trying when they shouldn't have to.

I was paying attention when folk said what a great venue and shows these were. Howie and I will be there.

I know it's not what you want to be thinking about right now but I wonder if a new pup or a foster pup might help bring him round. No many dogs have a stronger pack instinct than Sibes.

Does he like other dogs? Can you "borrow" one for a while?

They didn't used to in Qld (was ok in other states) but Qld do now! You need to register here as an Associate with the ANKC. I would not do any agility or flyball with a dog with knee issues. The stress of training is much the same as the stresses in trialling - you just don't do it as often. It's too big an ask on an unsound dog IMO and is likely to lead to further soundness issues. Have you considered a surgical correction for your pup's knees?

Whatever.. you just have to love it when we get down to the "I'm waaay more sensitive than you" level of argument. While we're recommeding learning, I suggest YOU research Godwin's Law. ;) Muttaburra: Who said that?

In all the time I've walked my dogs, I have never had to shout at anyone to stop them patting my dogs before I was ready (owners of dogs pulling them towards my dogs are another matter). You don't have to be rude to get the message across. I genuinely don't understand how people can suggest they are helpless to stop their dogs jumping on people. I can tell you that no dog can jump if you're standing on its lead or have the lead tight for a start. Perhaps I'm hypervigilant - people don't tend to sneak up on me. I never walk my dogs wearing earphones and I read folk from a fair way out