WoofnHoof

Took this today they are so cute when they are sleeping I'd never get around to taking pics if not for my trusty camera phone

This is what I thought would be a likely scenario too. Souff I know what you are saying and I don't think anyone has really said that the dog owner didn't have responsibility for this happening, I think that the poor dog should have been protected from the situation. Personally I feel that a dog shouldn't have free run of the entire premises, it should have been behind a barrier at least. I think I just feel that the dog should have been allowed to live if it were possible for the owner to effectively contain it since with the scant evidence there is I'm not convinced the dog is a vicious psycho it was just in a bad situation it shouldn't have been in. I do think the owner needs the book thrown at them to emphasise their duty of care to the public, and their sheer lack of common sense. I think the parental supervision issue is an important one even though it may not apply in this specific case I think people are just expressing their frustration at the general lessening of parental supervision responsibilities these days where it feels as though everyone is under some obligation to look out for everyone else's kids all of the time. In my area in the last few years there were several dam drownings of young children, tragedies that could have been avoided with effective supervision, I had one woman tell me that it was ok that her partner had guns behind the front door because the child (who was crawling at that stage) never went there! It's like when people tell their children to be careful with guns and train them well and are left wondering how little Johnny accidently shot his brother. Too many people expect their children to behave like little adults and I think this thread is just the expression of people's frustration at the senseless losses and injuries suffered by kids at the hands of irresponsible adults.

Given that it looks like no animal behaviour specialists were there to analyse whether or not the dog had any provocation it's hard to say, I find it odd that a dog which has been fine for years suddenly attacks for no reason. I don't really think that euthing is 100% necessary in all cases, if the owner is committed to keeping the dog secure and away from kids they should be allowed to do so. I can't guarentee my dog wouldn't ever do something like that so I aim to keep him under strict control when around kids and since I don't really have kids around it's quite easy to do.

My sibe is very much the same, everyone is his new bestie

I disagree.

I agree with Ashanli, I spent waaaay too much time in a family day care household with 4 kids under 4 much of the time and if there is an opportunity for a kid to hurt itself it will, it's like putting your prize thoroughbred in a paddock with barb wire fences and trusting that it will have the good sense to not entangle itself! Kids and horses can get themselves injured quick as lightning without the added risk of a feeding dog. It's funny because there was a backlash against kiddy harnesses and leads years ago, some new age carry on about restricting a child's freedom or damaging their mental state or something, now the kiddy leads are coming back as commonsense slowly returns

My yard is really small but my husky has the run of the house as well, I always know if I've been too slack walking him or keeping him occupied because I come home to a messy house as he pulls things out to keep himself amused.

Canopies are great Otherwise just do what I do and put them in a cab, I just got an extra cab and the dogs get the back seat I will probably try to get a canopy for it later anyway they are very handy to have.

No, i refuse to put the dogs in the cabin anymore. They destroyed my last car doing that. This time i went out and spent close to $2800 on a canopy, on top of the cost of a new ute, and he still carries on like a moron in the back. I want to upgrade to another ute now, but i really don't want an ugly canopy on the back. I just don't know how to calm him down. I feel like an idiot driving around with him acting like he does everytime we take off from lights or a stop. It's also not a good image for the breed. OMG wash your mouth out canopies aren't ugly! Get a carryboy they are really good looking canopies

Horses can be cremated, this place in WA does so I'd imagine that others do as well, not cheap no doubt but possible at least.

Signed, hope he gets the maximum jail time there are way too many people like this being allowed to walk.

Good to hear he's still fighting, he may tire more easily than he used to which could be causing the seizures. My dad was left with epilepsy from brain tumors and he tires very easily and has more seizures when he is tired as well so it could just be that his walks may be tiring him more than they used to I would try making them a bit shorter and make sure he gets plenty of rest.

Is it possible to do it under heavy sedation rather than a full anaesthetic?

Awww she looks so sweet in those pics! Poor Mish looks a bit long-sufferring

That's fantastic news! Everything crossed here for a successful op

I'd probably fall over if I tried to kick a dog, I'm a bit unco! Seriously though I've found that they will either stop if you really growl at them or nothing will stop them, I doubt my flailing foot would make any difference at all to a determined dog.

Extra supplies which they will not be paying for. Sorry but I disagree completely with donating goods or money to the SPCA for these dogs when all their expenses are going to be met by an agency other than the SPCA. Practical help - go for it but even volunteer groomers I would think twice about since surely this cost will be paid for for those requiring it. As it would probably get the dogs groomed and comfortable more quickly then perhaps yes but not with the thought that otherwise it won't happen at all. My understanding is that BQ will only be paying food and veterinary costs they aren't supplying goods as such, they actually sent out an email asking for donations of stuff as the agreement doesn't cover collars and things.

Thanks I will have to look into getting him some glucosamine as he gets older

That is great news toydogs In your research have you found that patella luxation can be affected by diet? I wondered about this because my little one had early signs with a bit of hopping when running when he was 3-4 then I changed his diet to mostly raw human grade with good quality kibble and I haven't seen him hop for a good couple of years he is 6 now, although I haven't had a vet look at it since it improved though so it's just my observation only.

Thanks It is great having a healthy dog after all those dramas I wouldn't wish it on any person or pup either.

Hope you don't mind me answering these questions I have a sibe who had a liver shunt so it has been a steep learning curve for me. What is liver shunts? A liver shunt (also known as portosystemic shunt or PSS) is when a blood vessel bypasses the liver so that blood does not get filtered by the liver, the two main types are congenital (from birth) and acquired which often arise as a side effect often due to some other liver problem. My boy had a congenital shunt which means that the shunt which normally exists in all dogs in the foetus failed to close after birth. What are the symptoms? The symptoms can vary greatly but the most general symptom is failure to thrive, my boy was very underweight, was often off his food and had intermittent periods of diahorrea and vomiting, at around six months he started showing neurological symptoms of pacing and headpressing which escalated rapidly to coma and seizures. Do most breeders test for this? I didn't come across references to Samoyeds in the papers I read at the time so I conclude that it's either not a widespread problem or it's a recent thing, hopefully some sammy people can elaborate further Re testing the mode of inheritance isn't clear as far as I am aware so in the breeds where it is a problem the pups are tested and affected pups are PTS, I would assume that ethical breeders would rethink repeating the pairing in those breeds where inheritance is suspected. How do you know breeders test for this? Do you go on face value or is there some paper proof? It would be possible to get test results for individual pups it is a simple blood test. What other breeds are know to have this problem? In my research the breeds most often found to have this problem were Irish Wolfhounds, Yorkshire Terriers and Maltese, there were other breeds as well but these are the ones with the most data available to my knowledge. Is it hereditary? If it is, is there any proof, or is hereditary just something just to blame it on? In some breeds it is generally accepted to be hereditary due to the high incidences of it but as the mode of inheritance is unknown (or at least it was when I was reading about it) it is difficult to isolate and it is believed there are a number of genes involved. It is also believed to be something that can occur as a simple developmental defect without necessarily a genetic component so you would have to look at incidences in the breed to decide whether it is a genetic problem. Can something else cause this problem? As above it can be a developmental disorder, acquired shunts can occur due to liver disease etc. How do you test for Liver Shunts? Usually a blood test for liver function is the normal procedure to test for a liver shunt at the early stage, if tests show a shunt is suspected the patient is usually referred to a specialist for ultrasound diagnosis to determine the location and type of shunt. What age do you test? I think breeders can test at around 6 weeks onwards. Can it be cured? Depending on the type of shunt, medical and dietary management can reduce symptoms but the only way to cure a shunt is to operate and physically close the blood vessel and redirect the blood back via the liver. Very costly and risky whichever way you go. Another important factor to note is that there are two different types of congenital shunt, intrahepatic and extrahepatic, intrahepatic means that the shunt is located inside the liver and as such is much more difficult to surgically fix than extrahepatic which is located outside the liver. Intrahepatic shunts are more commonly found in larger dogs while extrahepatic are more common to the smaller dogs. My boy's intrahepatic shunt was surgically repaired at around 10 months of age and is now 3y/o and is completely free of symptoms

How do you test whether a dog will protect it's owner if the owner is not themselves feeling threatened? I have always been under the impression that most dogs will react to the reaction of their person, if the person is showing fear and dislike to the 'attacker' then the dog is more likely to guard against it, I would think that would be a difficult thing to test as if the owner knows the person 'attacking' is only pretending they wont have the level of emotional response that might trigger the correct reaction in the dog?

Got everything crossed here for your boy it's terrible for both of you to have to go through all this You can create a photobucket account (it's free) then use the upload button to browse for the pic which will then upload to the site then once you are there you copy the url and when you post here click on the little picture icon it will ask you to paste the url and hopefully your pics will show in your post

Good to hear she's fine I've read that dark chocolate is the worst it has the highest level of the toxic substance whose name I've forgotten Sonny ate nearly a whole block of white chocolate the day before he was due in at the vets when I got there they said not to worry as white chocolate is the least dangerous.

Thanks missymoo my boy is going great, we had the last bloodwork done back in August 07 which came back perfect and since then he has really grown into a very healthy dog, no one can guess that he had this problem his growth didn't even appear to stunt as he is a steady 27kg and you can't see the scar unless you are really looking for it. All in all you couldn't have wished for a better outcome I posted a bunch of pics of him in this thread you can see he is about as normal as it gets for a sibe ;)