Aussienot

The place that you mentioned is breaking the law by releasing a Pit Bull. Legally they cannot re-home a dog of that breed to anywhere regardless of nature. You might want to edit your post to remove the name of the place and take out the breed reference to protect them. I support what they have done, think the law is wrong, but it's still law.

I feel like I just wasted my time, didn't realise until I got to the end was only to promote the yearly heartworm injection. I am not a lesser dog owner because I give tablets, even though they think so.

So no other dog has ever walked on your street? It's not just active exposure, germs and viruses can live in the environment too. It's generally safest to keep your dog on your own property until 7 days after the second vaccination - unless he's on a surface that can be disinfected, such as in a puppy class. (Hint, hint)

You have no idea how much your visits will enrich the lives of the people in the hospital. From just bringing a smile, to giving them something to be excited about, and providing a destraction from their condition. The benefits of animal therapy are medically proven and that's why hospitals allow the dogs in. Bless you for volunteering your time and congratulations to your dogs.

The street where my dog daycare is located also has a few fitness places, and frequently there are people running up and down the street and nature strip, passing within a cooee of dogs on leads. Too oxygen depleted to realise you do not run directly in front of a dog, I guess. Almost any dog has the potential to chase a moving object. I have no human aggressive dogs in care, but a fair few with some prey drive. Of course, I move away anytime I see one, and try my best to tight leash and control if I am suddenly surprised from behind. A couple of times it was a close call. I do my best to get walks out of the way in mid day, when there usually aren't many around. I would take full responsibility for any incidents, and be glad I have insurance. Sorry your friend was injured, and the dog owner did not act responsibly. I hope she recovers quickly. If joggers took some defensive action, perhaps fewer of these type of accidents would happen.

He certainly seems to have lifted a lot of Cesar's ideas and lingo. And has a good web developer.

People with more money than sense, and their spoiled 'fur children'. Nope, not fun for me or my dogs. Possibly my cat would like it. . .

Not sure I understand the point. It's not against the law to produce a large volume of puppies and kittens. If the animals are feed, watered, have shelter and get vet care when needed, there is no violation of current POCTA regulations. I think many people object to puppy mills on moral grounds, which are not a justification for RSPCA intervention. In a perfect world, the situation you describe would be actionable, but in the real world it is entirely legal. Hopefully, they didn't get council approval to be a boarding kennel. Maybe check with the council?

I am guessing that the shonky merchant who sold you the puppy will not take her back, since anyone who would sell at puppy at 6 weeks is only interested in pumping out a product to make a quick buck. Hopefully you will know better next time. I'll be one more telling you to keep them totally apart at all times. Whatever you have done before was not separation. They must never be physically together again. Never. There must always be at least one barrier between them, and better if it's two. I've lived with two incompatible dogs, and it's stressful, always being careful. You're always afraid of what will happen if you make a mistake. You're not one house with two dogs. you have to give each dog half of your time. Wouldn't recommend it. Not the ideal way to live; but if you really "love her like a child' you will do what you have to do. Of course, your son and husband will have to obey the never together rule, and the other dog which you describe as theirs will not live the life she did before you got the second dog. She's the one I feel sorry for. From what you have written, I don't predict a happy life for your younger dog. Re-homing is out of the question. It would be good to get the opinion of a experienced behaviourst who would have dealt with similar situations to talk you through your options. You've expressed scepticism that a behaviourist is required. If you do decide to keep both dogs, a good behaviourist will make your life easier.

I do think this is a timely reminder for all show committees to brush up on the fair handling of aggression complaints (thanks poodlefan). The Bega team tried, but seemed to be a bit unprepared. The actions of the trial committee may only be a preliminary filter, but if they do their jobs right (due process, fair treatment, documentation), it makes the Kennel Club's process easier. There are some massive egos in the show world, so kid gloves should be in every show committe's toolkit.

When working at the animal shelter, I was constantly surprised at how disinterested and casual some owners can be. You'd think they'd be over the moon that their missing dog is safe and couldn't wait to be reunited; but . . . . Some people know the dog isn't going anywhere, and take their own sweet time to fit the pickup into their busy lives. Three or four days later, you might still be holding on to their beloved pet.

tool, tool, tool Can't wait to read the promised upcoming article "Using a Guard Dog to Protect You from Prostitutes' (Under Read this First, on the article page, in case you think I'm making it up.)

Noises - car alarms, beepers, door slamming etc. Movement - handler or others running, dancing, skipping Birds Rabbits

If after reading this you still want to use the dog park, go yourself and leave your dog at home. He is clearly telling you that he doesn't want other dogs coming up to him. The reason for that behaviour could be medical, and a thorough vet check has been recommended. Or it could well be behavioural. It is most likely that since reaching sexual maturity, his enjoyment has been declining and his frustration has been growing, and you have not been aware of it. He has learned that you won't keep strange dogs from running up to him, so feels he needs to growl to keep a protective barrier around himself. So, who are you pleasing by going there, yourself or your dog? If you want to work on his doggy social skills, do it with a skilled trainer or behaviourist, but the dog park is not the place for him right now.

Out on a walk last week, minding my own business, I got approached by two men who were determined to use Cody, as he was "perfect" for their female shepherd who was in season. They even insisted on showing me a photo of their 'pretty' girl. Who goes trolling through a park looking for a stud dog? I wonder how often these kind of approaches get a 'Yes' response. Make me shudder to think about it. My polite No's were not doing the trick, so I told them Cody usually gets $10,000 per breeding. Fortunately, they lost interest when the money came up. Can't believe I said it with a straight face. Cody is desexed, by the way.

I'm not sure you have a behaviour problem. I agree with the others that your expectation that your dog won't need to toilet in a 12 hour period is unrealistic. Try to find a way to contain her in a kitchen (using baby gates maybe?), bathroom or laundry where the flooring won't be difficult to clean.

I am very disappointed that so many people think basic obedience classes need to be boring. Even in the very first class, you can play a game, make the handlers do something silly so that everyone loosens up a bit, and try to instill a sense of fun. Do a best tail wag competition to encourage effective praise, do a quickest sit and also reward the slowest sit. I ask people how often they can spend 40 minutes doing nothing but focus on their dog. What a luxury. Set them up to use the time to make the most of their dog and its needs. An instructor who cannot create a lesson plan for a range of ability is not trying hard enough, IMHO. In most beginning classes, some dogs know how to sit, some dogs don't, some dogs pull like freight trains, some dogs don't, so from the first week you are dealing with superstars and underachievers. It's life, deal with it.

At a dog park you are very likely to encounter a situation that will make him worse. An alternative is to find one or two dogs who are friendly and willing to play with him, and organise play dates just with those dogs. He is past the puppy stage, and it's not critical to his social development to continue ad hoc play with random strange dogs.

Living with a compulsively barking dog is 'torture'. Luckily, my high horse died a few years ago, possibly harrassed to death by a barking dog.

Sheridan, how much Round Up did your sister's dog consume? Did he get into the container, or was it exposure to sprayed weeds?

I would interpret it to mean: Leave your dogs home the next time you go visit these friends. A hard stare is not a welcoming behaviour.

Several years ago, I was training my dog in the yard. I saw two JRT's running loose in the National Park which is behind my house. They were headed straight towards a lot where two large, dog agro dogs live. So, I put my plans on hold. Put my own dog in the house, lured the jacks into my fenced yard, and called the mobile number on the tag. Several hours later I get a call from the owner, who was visiting in the area, and thought, this would be a good place to let my dogs run loose and unattended while I go to the pub with friends. Sigh. I didn't really want to give them back, but of course I did. The first thing he did after retrieving them was let them loose again. A few hours later the female dog got run over and killed. I tried to do the right thing, but being a good example is no match for someone determined to be a jackass.

I think there are a lot of experiences that you can dabble in, try on for size, take a flyer on, and see if it suits you. Breeding, the creation of new lives, is NOT one of the things to experiment with. It is a serious undertaking not suitable for amateurs. Best possible case, your litter will be expensive, hard work, and time consuming. There are far worse outcomes possible, up to and including the loss of your dog. Please don't join the plague of backyard breeders. Casual breeding for the wrong purposes has already ruined too many breeds.

I was talking to someone about Cesar's methods, and mentioned a criticism on how every fearful dog on the show was treated with flooding and it always worked. Suddenly the penny dropped in my head, and I realised that of course he only showed the flooding successes. When it works, it is quick and dramatic - ie, good TV. Gradual desensitizing is a slow process, and boring as bat poo to watch. I am sure that off camera he used other methods. I bet he has a fair few flooding failures that never get shown, too. World's greatest trainer? No. Complete evil? No. Somewhere in the middle. What he does really well is communicate to the average pet owner in simple messages. He's done more to get dogs out of back yards on walks than any other person I can think of. He has popularised having and enforcing rules. He has helped people understand their dog better, and for that alone I think he's good for pet owners.

My take from the information that has been presented: Good intentions and meaning well is not enough. The rescue group would be less open to "abuse" if they had more solid, documented processes. Getting documented identification on the person handing over the dog should be a standard practice. The group also needs a surrender form that makes the person sign that 1) they are the legal owner of the dog and 2) that they are irrevocably handing over ownership to the rescue. This would have made them legal owners, and the person who took the puppies back could be rightfully stopped. This group also needs to think about privacy and protection for their foster carers.