Souff

You have one more thing to do Willow - put that letter in Tiny Dog's owner's letterbox! Souff

Well said Sandra777. The critic of this University is a hypocrite of the highest order. He was head of RSPCA for how many years? The same organisation that has put hundreds of thousands of unwanted dogs to death, with nothing useful ever being learned before they died. They ended up as fertiliser. :D ;)

Thank you for raising this subject. It is important. Our old fragile dogs do not do so well in a kennel (even though the kennel staff will tell you otherwise) or anywhere else for that matter, when we go away and leave them, I know that. But there are times when we have to go away dammit, so what do we do? Younger and middle aged dogs cope a lot better and are not a neurotic, demented bag of bones when you get back. But the elderly dogs who are just plodding along that final path to doggy heaven and enjoying the extra care you give them, well, they go downhill seriously. This has been my experience anyway. We have had dogs that loved kennels (and thankfully still do in their senior years), we have had the dogs who hated kennels and needed a familiar face or environment. We have used kennels, sitters, friends, neighbours, rellies, and strangers who love to have dogs in their home. I really don't think there is anything that we haven't tried. For the ones that hate kennels, please, please get somebody into their life who loves them as much as you - well almost as much. Have this angelic person meet them and greet them about a year before you go away. While you are at work, or out shopping, this angel has to come and visit them, play with them, take them to the park and do all the good things in doggy life. They will adore her/him and look forward to every visit ... and the overnight stays at the sitters home. By the time you go away you will find that it is no drama for them to spend a few weeks with this person. And yes, they will still love you on your return. We used to have one of those angels in our lives, the best friend of the kennel-hating dog, but life has a way of changing and they are now not around. That is how life is sometimes. So, on this last occasion we said our final goodbyes the day before flying out. Kennelling was just not OK for this one, fine for the other dogs but not this fragile one. The health issues were chronic and this was now a palliative care pet, and the cleaning up was definitely not pretty. We knew that this time was different and we knew what we had to do. On our return we collected the ashes and when we were ready, we took our old friend to his favourite park. The council had recently planted some brand new trees, which he would have duly watered for them, and we surreptitiously rearranged the woodchips and placed his ashes there, and then put the woodchips back in place. We think it is a spot that he would have liked. Now, I am not advocating that everyone turn the local park into a burial ground but it was appropriate for this dog and I think a ranger might have understood if he had known the dog. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The ranger could have dragged Souff to the local court, I would not have cared. But I digress. How was it going away immediately after that? Damned awful. Sadness is sooo heavy to carry around, tissues were needed, but as there was a lot to do in strange places and you have to be on the ball to stay safe when travelling, sadness gradually gets pushed to the back of the mind for a while. I know that we had chosen the better option but gosh it was hard. There are now 2 gaps in our lives. Our very old canine friend ..... AND that special friend who can be a substitute for us when we have to go away and leave another aging pooch. Sorry to be so melancholy, but the hard lesson learned here is that we MUST have somebody there for the old and fragile dogs. Somebody who has been their trusted friend for a while, no surprises, and who are there for the old dogs when we cannot be there for them. Terribly important. Don't leave it until you are ready to go away, start a year before and stress that you need commitment. This is a long term affair! When you have that person in place, you will know then that you can then go away and the dog is fine. Cost? Less than kennelling. Peace of mind is a beautiful thing - especially when you are travelling. Souff

Hope somebody knits the poor little thing a COAT

He does have excellent taste. Not my favourite either.

Now that is VERY sneaky. Mine would have knocked the boxes on to the floor, eaten almost everything, and then greeted me with, "Gee thanks for getting us pizza!" Somebody mentioned the death stare when you get back to the car. Yes, I can relate to that. It lasts until the window is wound up again, and then she gives a loud sniff, before curling up smugly again. How very dare I put the windows down a bit and let a cold draught of air into HER warm car! Nanny laws like this one are idiotic ..... just ask the dogs. Dog owners who travel regularly with their dogs use their brains - pity some of the sniffling onlookers don't. Souff

They were indeed and I am very glad that they are trying to get those genes back again. Souff

Agreed. But an undistressed dog enjoying autumn sunshine in his owners car for a short time on a mild day in Dunedoo (where the max temp for the day was probably less than 18), with the windows opened to let any excess heat out, is a very long way from a baby/child in dire straits. Children should never be left in cars alone, under any circumstances. Souff

Yep, that's a well known and inarguable fact!

Thank you PF. I am fed up with people putting unrealistic expectations on dogs. They are DOGS! Dogs are ANIMALS! They are not stuffed toys that do not react to instinct. And they WILL KILL small animals. if the opportunity presents. PF & Souff Yes I completely agree. I own Gordon Setters, not terriers, but I can assure you that any one of them would kill a guinea pig if they got hold of it and I can tell you exactly how they would do it because I've seen them kill other small animals such as rabbits and possums and once (RIP), my kitten. They grab the animal on the back of the neck and close their jaws and the animal is killed instantly, other than a bit of slobber the animal appears completely unmarked. It is very quick, I've seen one of my bitches grab a possum and kill it in less than five seconds. Once the animal is dead they'll guard it for a while and then lose interest unless it's a rabbit in which case they'll eat it. If you're going to keep small prey animals as pets don't use chicken wire, because a dog can break it easily, use heavy duty wire and place the hutch or enclosure out of the dog's reach if possible. It's unfortunate that your pets were killed, but the dog was only obeying its instincts. I think Gordon Setters and English Springer Spaniels use the same modus operandi on hutches, because of their strength. However, unlike a terrier or Gordon Setter kill, the victims of the 2 ESS were eaten, with very few body parts left behind in the bloodied carnage. The dogs returned to the scene of the crime the next day. Owner of dogs was in denial :D but it is noteworthy that the dogs were never again seen roaming the neighbourhood after that incident.

Muttaburra I have seen a hutch that was made out of sheet metal and aviary wire be ripped and bent into an unrecognisable shape by a pair of beautiful pedigreed dogs that decided to get to the guinea pigs. The hutch was very well constructed but could not withstand what can only be described as a frenzied attack. Dogs can rip through aviary wire. Dogs have been known to gnaw through the wire of cyclone fencing and through doors, when they had a mind to do so. Souff

Thank you PF. I am fed up with people putting unrealistic expectations on dogs. They are DOGS! Dogs are ANIMALS! They are not stuffed toys that do not react to instinct. And they WILL KILL small animals. if the opportunity presents.

Leelaa, I do a lot of driving with dogs in the car, and often solo. En route, I have to go to some places where I cannot always take the dogs, like toilets. Those cubicles are just not wide enough for me and a few dogs. So, I have to flout that law that says "Thou must not leave a dog in the car". I leave the windows down about 2-3cm MAXIMUM. Heat rises, and when it meets a gap at the top of the door, heat escapes. The temp in the car is NOT excessive. Now, why don't I put those windows down a bit more, so my dog can stick its head out the window? 1. In some breeds, if a dog can get its head out of the window, it can get one shoulder out, then another, and amazingly the rest of the body can follow. Believe it or not, it is true. The last thing anyone wants when they are travelling is to have their dogs loose in a strange town. 2. Idiotic humans can put their body parts through the open window and I do not want them doing that. On one occasion I parked the car under a nice shady tree and looked out of the window of the premises I was in, just minutes later, and here was a long armed youth with his arm fully in my car. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, the dogs were in their crates and could not take his bluddy arm off! I was enraged and vowed that would be the last time I put the windows down more than 3cm. 3. I share your concern with other humans touching or feeding my dogs, if they had that much access to them. Not all people are kind and sensible dog lovers. I do not leave the dogs for any length of time and in the hot weather I always have somebody else in the car so we can share the care. However, in the cooler months, the dogs enjoy the warmth of the sun through the glass. Hope you enjoyed your time in Coona. Getting a bit chilly up there in the evenings now but the days are lovely. Souff

Shhhhh, I think I want one! Souff

Bang.

There is a very special section on DOL just for this subject and it is better than putting it in the General Discussion section where it will just get lost in all the other posts. "Rainbow Bridge Share the memories of your loved companions now gone here. " Souff

His coat may not be as thick if he is going through the end of summer moult. He is a mixture of two completely different types of dog so it is near impossible to predict what effect this would have on his coat. Souff

Kennel blindness is real Shortstep. Many people either dont know or dont want to know about the importance of good hindquarters, from the hocks to the hips and turn of stifle and patellae. I think most of us have seen a dog in the ring that is not up to scratch in these areas. Nobody checks for soundness before the dogs go into the ring and many newbies don't know their dog has a problem until the problems are pointed out to them. Not all judges comment on what they see. And anyone else who points out a likely problem is often not thanked for having burst their bubble about a show dog. Sigh. Souff

You wont get any howls of outrage or derision from Souff ;) But like Lilli, I think you can include ALL breeds in that lame statement. If a dog of any size is not able to walk normally on all 4 legs because they have dysfunctional patellae or east-west feet or other congenital deformities in the legs and feet, then they should be regarded as LAME. It is not just about hip problems. Souff

Change HAS to come for some breeds because genetic diversity is disappearing rapidly. It is as simple as that. And you are right, no system will please everyone. But it is not a situation that needs to be applied to every breed. Souff

I would wait until your Lab is around 2 years old before introducing a new puppy or introducing a rescue dog. Enjoy his adolescence ;) and train him well because he will be the teacher of the new dog. In the meantime make sure he is well socialised with other dogs at the dog park or wherever. Souff

;) :rofl:

First time Souff has ticked all boxes in a poll! ;) For the "please explain" : There are so many situations where I have used and recommended crates, and the overriding reasons are all about keeping puppies and dogs SAFE. For travel, keeping dogs away from poisons, keeping male dogs away from bitches in season, dogs recuperating from an injury or op, relocating in emergencies such as bushfires or floods, leaving them somewhere strange because of a human emergency situation, all sorts of reasons. PUPPY TRAINING SHOULD ALWAYS INCLUDE CRATING! At the age of 7 or 8 weeks puppies can sleep in individual crates, with a nice big fluffy toy that has been rubbed all over Mum so that the toy smells like Mum. If there are 4 pups then there are 4 crates all facing each other and placed in such a way that Mum can see all of the pups and they can see her. Mum can sniff the pups through the crate and they can see and sniff her. These are pups that are weaned, have been well fed and toileted before going into their crate for the night. At 5am there are screams of "Let me out, and let me out now, we all want to play!" and some sleep muddled human goes in and lets them loose and the puppy mayhem of the day begins. Now why would we put little puppies in a crate all by themselves? That is sooooo mean you say. Ha ha! It is NOT mean and the new puppy owners are very grateful that this practice is employed BEFORE the pup comes home and has to spend the first night terrified because it is all alone in a strange place. These pups are CONDITIONED to sleeping alone, BEFORE they go to their new homes. If they are flying, they are going to be ALONE in a crate in a strange and often noisy airport. Guess whose pups greet their new owners happily at airports and look as if they have just woken up from a sleep in a very familiar bed, and are now happy to get on with life in their new home? Plane ride? What plane ride? They are NOT terrified and whimpering in the back of the crate, they do not piddle nervously because they don't know what the hell has happened to them - and the reason for this is that they have not been shoved in a crate for the first time in their lives. They are relaxed and happy. Crates should be part of all puppies training and they should be a HAPPY part of a puppy's training. Prop the doors open by day and let them drag toys and rugs in and out of the crate. Put the pup in the crate with a large juicy bone. Let a whole bunch of pups fall asleep in one crate with the door open, if that is what they want to do, by day. But by night, it is solo crating here. Yes, there will be often be one that wants to be a soprano at 1am. Pillow gets pulled over owners head. On occasion a sleepy Souff has been known to get said crate and put it beside Souff's bed, so Souff can get some sleep. But puppy goes back to the rest of them as soon as it is daylight. There are many times in their lives that dogs are going to be put in a crate, by necessity. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting pups used to crates early in their life and with Mum present. If your puppy has just come from a place where this has not been done, then start the process yourself. Make the crate a happy and secure place and your pup will LOVE their crate. At their new home, many pups feel more secure in an enclosed crate than they do in an open bed. I suspect that this s a primeval instinct kicking in - a wild dog would not be found sleeping out in the open if there was a cave or a hollow log available. It would much prefer to be in one of those places, because it feels SAFER - and is less likely to be spotted by predators. It is also out of the weather. A covered bed is a natural choice for dogs. A crate is a covered bed. If your puppy or dog is crate traine, you can take them almost anywhere safely, and this is especially valuable for holidays (except to National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries) because many places will allow you to bring your dog IF it sleeps in a crate. Every time you leave your dog at a vets for an op or observation, guess where it will be? Yep, in a crate. Sometimes your dog will be in a crate out the back even before you have left the premises. TOO MANY PEOPLE DO NOT CRATE TRAIN THEIR PUPPY. Please, do the right thing by your pup and buy a crate when you buy your puppy. If the crate is too big in size, throw in some large stuffed toys and a blanket. It is terrible to see a dog terrified of being in a crate for the first time in its life, when by necessity it must be in a crate, when the same dog could have been happily conditioned to the experience much earlier in life. Souff

I do agree that the limit register has been used the wrong way. It was originally intended to stop dogs being exported by dealers without the breeders consent and to stop anyone breeding with dogs with obvious faults, like undescended testicles, blue eyes in breeds that don't allow it, or dogs with bad conformation. The intention was never to prevent any new breeders entering the world of purebred dogs. Any litter that is all limit registered is a wasted litter, contributing nothing to the future of the breed, yet there are constant ads on DOL for breeders that buy all their breeding stock, only sell dogs on limit and never seem to keep anything themselves. These are not the type of breeders we need for the future. In some litters there will not be any dogs worth breeding with, most litters will have at least one stand out and some will have a few worthy breeding candidates, so it would be hard to set any sort of number that should be main registered. The rule of thumb for improving a breed is to only breed with progeny as good or better than the parents. If only we could mark microchip records with "not for export" and large scale puppy farms were outlawed then breeders may again feel confident about selling puppies on main again. Even here on DOL if any new person expresses an interest in becoming a breeder, they are jumped on and interrogated, told all the negatives and never given any encouragement. The majority of registered breeders only ever stayed "in dogs" for about 5-10 years, showing a few dogs and breeding just a few litters. Without new breeders constantly coming into purebred dogs the numbers will continue to decline rapidly. It is just all very depressing, it has all been predicted and it was avoidable. If some of the affected breeds were native animals, there would be screams from the rooftops in some quarters and charities set up to "save them". But try telling somebody that it will be impossible to buy an Australian bred pedigreed cocker spaniel, or a doberman, or a maltese, in 5 years time. They think you are nuts or just exaggerating. It is surreal ... the stats show the story, and there is no exaggeration. Souff

COLLIE, ROUGH: 1986: 2572, 2010: 417 BEAGLES: 1986: 1232, 2010: 819 COCKER SPANIELS: 1986: 3431, 2010: 1489 FOX TERRIERS (SMOOTH) 1986: 800, 2010: 264 Does anyone have similar stats from other countries?