WoofnHoof

Wow I wish my dogs' op had only been $1100! I can understand if it's a massive sum and you have no access to credit or anything but in this day and age that's not exactly an eye popping figure. I think a lot of people place more emphasis on money than it deserves, in my experience money comes and goes, the joy you get from having some of it is short lived, the joy you get from an animal renews itself every single day Having said that it is a very individual sort of thing, my experience means that I think it's worth the risk because for me the risk paid off, it was a tough road to a diagnosis for my dog and so once I had a diagnosis and a treatment option it was full steam ahead for me even though the op was high risk with no guarentees of success, 50/50 chance of working and a 30% chance of fatal post op complications so not the best odds in the world. Had the risk not paid off I don't know how I would feel about it, although knowing myself as well as I do I doubt I'd change anything

My sibe gives me a very excited bouncy hello when I get home, doesn't matter if I've been out for 10 minutes or 10 hours the greeting is the same, sometimes he's up for a play but most of the time he's happy to say hello and go back to his spot on the lounge

Good to hear

Honeybear huskies have many wonderful qualities, it's hard to describe but they are so very different to those other breeds you mention it's impossible to compare. They don't always have to be cooped up you if you have access to a large well fenced area they can have a great run, if you like running they will run for ages if they (and you!) are fit enough, and you can always do what they were bred for - sledding! There are sledding clubs in Australia where the dogs can get out and run and they absolutely love it. ETA when I first got my husky I read all the stories and thought "oh no I will train mine well and it will go everywhere with me and wont be penned up so therefore wont be so excitable when let off the lead" I was sooo wrong I let him wander around and when he saw something he would take off just as excited and full of beans as if he had been locked up all day - and he would nick off over the hills and far away chasing roos till I finally learned that I was doing him no favours whatsoever - I just take him for nice runs now.

Horseland stock them the best time to buy is before/after Christmas when they are clearing out the last season's colours I got nice rugs for $15 that had been $40-$50 in winter. I find them heaps cheaper at the horse shops than they are at the pet shops generally.

I'm not really a fan of using animals in war situations.

I agree play is important but I also think that as owners we often fail to engage our dogs in play. I see many owners who have no idea how to play with their dogs or engage them. Play is not just about playing with other dogs but also with us, their pack leaders. Although I think play is important I don't think that translates to letting your dog play with every dog they come across nor do I see the benefit in teaching them that playing with other dogs is the best thing in the world. I agree my comment is more in general terms so that people don't think that allowing their dog to play is some kind of anthropomorphic projection of our own enjoyment of it, and so people can see that play is a part of dog behaviour just as much as any other behaviour.

Play serves many purposes in other species as well as humans, whether or not someone thinks it's frivolous doesn't change the fact that it is a valuable social behaviour that has evolved for a reason.

Yep at the moment the RSPCA can say whatever they like and no one is challenging them on it, if the ANKC wont defend itself against an attack against it's very existence what are they there for? And I know many will just jump up and say they are just a registering body that keeps the pedigrees but their own mssion statement says otherwise: If the ANKC wont step up in response to this blatant attack by the RSPCA perhaps there is a need for a seperate purebreed advocacy group?

Aww poor mr bucket head Good to hear he didn't get into trouble

Wow he's pretty darn good! What sort of distance would that race have been over? He looks very fit

I'll have to watch it tonight, I better not watch it at work I'd have a hard time explaining Nothing like a sibe or mal in full voice it cracks me up every time although I'm sure my neighbours think someone is getting strangled

Ahh, yes, of course. What was I thinking??? I can remember the RSPCA coming out to our first ever race here in Canberra because they had been told that we 'made' the dogs run and that it was cruel and inhumane. They took one look at how happy the dogs were and never bothered us again! Lol might be a bit different if it was OH&S people though, I remember watching a video someone put up in the sibe thread showing the dogs waiting to be allowed to run - serious chance of eardrum damage for the humans there!

Lol maybe wheaten breeders can bring in two - the before and after :D

Yep then they can see how big they grow, what their behaviour and manner is like once the playful puppy has grown up - and with sibes etc it would be handy to bring one in when it's blowing coat so that the full impact is disclosed :D C'mon SA breeders how bout giving this a go? You don't have to have a litter on the way just refer people to the breed club or other breeders or put them on a waiting list

I recall putting forth an idea such as this a couple of years ago it was fairly well shut down because no one wanted to have an affiliation with any pet shop, nice to see that people are no longer as keen to tar all pet shops with the same brush I agree with you, that the pet stores which have Adoption Centres for ethical rescues, might have changed perceptions. If those with a genuine welfare policy would also host a Purebred Info Service, it would help prevent dumping. Evidence is that the puppies coming from registered breeders are less vulnerable to being dumped....& the breeders produce far fewer accidental litters. But I could understand registered breeders not wanting their puppies actually in any pet store ....& worst of all, being next to puppies sourced from puppy farmers. And would agree. It should be an info & awareness service only. Maybe we can keep plugging away. I can understand breeders not wanting pups to be in the store, at the time I suggested that if there are available litters take some video of them and the parents and have it playing in the window as part of a breed display, and breed feature days would also be terrific if breeders could take in an adult and that way people can see the adult size and ask questions. Most people don't go to dog shows and being a show breeders don't always have the time to spend answering questions or letting their freshly groomed dog get cuddled by all and sundry so there really aren't that many other opportunities for people to be exposed to the adult dogs of the breeds they like. Personally I feel that the accessibility of the pet shop has a lot of positives, going to a shelter is difficult for a lot of people (myself included) because the pressure to choose one needy dog over other needy dogs can be too much. Going to a breeders house can also put pressure on people if they have travelled and imposed on the breeders time sometimes they feel they should buy the dog because they are there and have spent so much time, I know most breeders are happy to spend the time but it seems to be a social thing, my mum will go into a shop and spend ages talking to the owner then buys something just because she feels bad if she doesn't! Casowner I think it would be awesome if you could have breed feature days at your shop I hope you can get some breeders on board

Sounds like a good plan, he shouldn't get into too much trouble.

I had to leave Sonny with his bucket head a few times and he was fine, I did have to leave the door wide open though because he couldn't fit through the dog door! It's a worry though luckily I was able to dash home at lunchtime a couple of times to check on him. Leave him in an area where you can limit the potential for getting stuck or jammed in/on/under things if you can, that's about all you can really do.

I recall putting forth an idea such as this a couple of years ago it was fairly well shut down because no one wanted to have an affiliation with any pet shop, nice to see that people are no longer as keen to tar all pet shops with the same brush

Just a thought do you know if there is any reason a pet can't be buried in a human cemetary? I mean if you pay for a burial plot theoretically you should be able to bury whatever you want there, maybe you could buy the plot for yourself and bury him there? I don't know there are probably rules against it though.

She's looking great teekay You are in QLD so you can use an electric fence, rig it up to run next to the fence so that she can't get near the fence without zappig herself, I prefer them to have to the invisible fences because they reinforce the existing visual barrier.

I *think* there was a news item about a month ago that said the first animal welfare laws in China are being drafted so that's a step in the right direction.

However new methods of containment have impacted on the suitability of many traditional livestock breeds - notably chickens and pigs. Not all cope with close confinement in large numbers.. and I prefer not to buy meat from such sources. Oh yeah factory farming is a whole other can of worms, I'm mainly talking in general terms those few food species we utilise are much more suited to handling, transport and penning practices, in general terms you can quietly load a mob of cattle onto a trailer far more easily and with far less injuries and stress than you can a mob of TBs, and a hundred times easier than you can load a pack of dogs. In this way species is relevant some are more tolerant to this treatment than others, sometimes too tolerant.

Exactly, although the species does have an impact on how well it copes with being treated as a food animal, particularly if they are not selectively bred for the meat trade. Take thoroughbreds for example they are bred and raised to have extremely strong flight responses which puts them at a distinct disadvantage when being loaded, transported and penned in groups which they often are for meat. Similarly dogs in china are penned in cages together regardless of whether they are male or female or compatible in temperament, in order to prevent fighting and biting they have tin cans put over their muzzles so they can't damage each other in transport - of course the damage the tin can does is immaterial to the handler because it's on the head. There are often very good reasons that the majority of our mass produced meat animals are only a few species because they are the best suited for the purpose, and have been selectively bred for that one purpose for hundreds of years.

It might be unsafe but it's not unhygienic.