Souff

Yes, a lot of things have changed, both in the UK and in Australia. Some of the problems are now worse than ever, despite all the good ideas of well meaning people, and despite all the money and the donated food that has been thrown at the problem. Souff

Now that IS interesting .... I wonder where all my sparring opponents from the "dogs came from wolves!" faction are today .... Science is truly a wonderful thing .... it is just a pity that humans have to be involved in it and put their own spin on it. Souff

Salukis Beautiful, elegant, regal dogs. I am glad that they, and their history, are highly valued. Souff

Well I am very pleased to see that somebody somewhere has finally woken up to the reality. Shelters and pounds are seen as the easy way out of dog ownership. Walk in with a problem, walk out without the problem. The problem then becomes somebody else's problem. You dont have to see the dog die. You dont have to bury the dog. Somebody does all of that for you and all you have to tell the kids is that the puppy will get a new home. Then a few weeks later its off to the pet shop or wherever to get a "better" dog, because they miss having a dog and the cycle starts all over again. Its been too easy for too long. Time to get tough. If the owners of these dogs had to sit in to see the dog die, then perhaps a message might just get through. Souff

Why not add Part 4? How NOT to DUMP a dog at the pound when you are sick of it? That it is a DOG for LIFE. I would have thought that would come under responsible pet ownership. Nope. You are way off the mark. Dumping of dogs at pounds is about getting OUT of being a responsible owner. Going to the pound to get rid of the dog is the time when the "ownership" bit finishes and finally being rid of the problem dog is on the horizon; those who have this in mind see the dumping of the dog at the pound as another process altogether. The problem dog is no longer theirs and the problem dog becomes somebody else's problem. They are finished with playing the responsible owner. In their eyes the pound is there specifically to take unwanted dogs to - why else would it be there? It is a place to solve problems. They walk in with the problem, and walk out without the problem. Society has put this convenient place there for them, and they don't have to give the dog the needle and see it die. They dont have to bury the dog either. They are not asked to stay and watch. They dont have to bury the dead dog either. Perhaps if they were told that they had to stay and watch their dog die, they may think twice about getting another dog. Harsh? You bet. But it is only by toughening up as a society that we can get the message across that is not OK to get rid of a dog that you made a commitment to keeping. Puppy farm hysteria is a smokescreen that hides the real reasons why so many dogs are dumped and PTS. Anyone who is serious about the problem and not looking for donations for their animal libber cause can see that. Souff

Gosh, you are a surprise. Some people have regretted inviting Souff to come back and post some more ..... :D Dont worry about Lilli, she had probably just finished cleaning out a messy puppy area ..... Lordie do you know just how much poopy MESS that pups can make? Having poopy puppies around sometimes makes dog breeders get a bit toey after a few weeks of it, good thing we dont breed every season. And she has those very LARGE poopies to clean up after. Urrrrrrgggghhhh, she is much braver than Souff. Did you know that her kids ride a dog to school and all the traffic in the alps gives way to them (because if they didnt they would be over the side and end up in the icy river below). She is a brave girl is Lilli with all those big dogs. Dot worry about her .... she will be all good again soon .... she might need a glass of something first but she'll be right. Hooroo! Souff

Great, looks like you have your storyline all set, now you just need to conjure the screenplay. I can't quite tell if you are being rude and sarcastic or not, but if so then maybe you'd like to be a bit more civil. I very much value the points you are making and am considering them thoroughly, there is no need to be rude. If i was already set on exactly what I wanted to do, why would I be posting here asking for suggestions for ways to go about things and ideas? I think that every point you've made is very valid, however you run the risk of people switching off with that know it all, holier than thou attitude. Luckily I am not hat kind of person and am taking everything you are saying on board. Apologies if that was not your intent, but it is coming across that way. Melzawelza, I suspect that Lilli also knows the agenda of some of those who have given you advice earlier in this thread. Their agenda is not the agenda of responsible dog breeders who use this forum which was in fact set up for breeders of purebred dogs, it was not a forum set up for the animal libbers but they are now here in their droves but they dont identify the organisation that they are from. Its a secret you see. If you want to make a doco that will not just be the same as the rest, you would be well advised to set up some dialogue with people like Lilli. At the monent you are actually coming across as haughty in your response to Lilli. I hope you can make a doco that is more to the truth of the matter than many of the docos have been in the past and that it is truly reflective of the Australian scene. By doing that you might be doing the dogs a favour. To be sucked into the mantra of the animal libbers in this thread you wont be doing the dogs many favours at all. Best of luck with your doco Souff

Some of them giving the advice here are from the groups you mention Lilli so the bias and the tainting is already in place. Souff

Why not add Part 4? How NOT to DUMP a dog at the pound when you are sick of it? That it is a DOG for LIFE.

Good ideas, but you will probably only get half the story because many people don't tell the whole truth, and others don't like to admit failure with a dog they thought they could "fix". If the DUMPERS were interviewed by a skilled interviewer you would have a better chance of getting close to the truth. "Fido is not cute any more" wont be the reason for surrender. It will be because he is supposed to be vicious, a biter, or continually breaks down fences - all very compelling reasons on paper. In reality the truth is more likely to be because the neighbours are sick to death of putting notes in the letterbox because they are sick to death of hearing a young juvenile dog barking and whining when he is alone in the backyard hour after hour, day after day, because the kids are at school and the adults are at work. He is a pack animal and doesnt understand that it is not alright to do this when the rest of the pack are no longer around. He probably pulled the washing off the line and bailed up the neighbour's cat and dug up the flower bed - any of these things can start his trip to the pound and probably the staff there could be told that he is an escape artist, or that they are moving into a unit. Staff are unlikely to be told that he is just bored and lonely. Occasionally people are truthful and that is refreshing. But admitting that buying a dog was not a good idea for them at that time of their lives seems to be a hard thing for many people to confess to. It is the story of lack of responsibility on the part of owners that needs to be drawn out. More often than not, this is the real reason that dogs end up in pounds. There is far less impulse buying now than what there was say 10 years ago (yes, you are talking to an old hand) yet there is still a high rate of dumpage. So perhaps it is time to shine the light on other areas. Looking at that part BETWEEN PURCHASE AND EARLY DEATH will give you a much more realistic take on the problem. As the previous poster said, talk to animal trainers and animal behaviourists. They get to see some of the dogs that are on Pound Road and with good owners these dogs can be taken off that road. But if the owners dont seek help for the problems, and many don't, then the dog is on the fast track to Pound Road. We have heard all about the puppy mill sagas .... and some people tend to cry "puppy farm" when it is not so the more realistic amongst us are no longer responding. Many others are feeling that way too so make sure you do your market research before marketing. Many members of the public will see nothing wrong with kennels where there are lots of dogs, particularly if the dogs are healthy and clean and bouncing around or looking cute. Vets can own puppy farms so the idea that all puppy farms are full of unhealthy dogs in squalid conditions could be a long way from the truth. How many million dog owners do we have in Australia? And there are an awful lot of REPEAT DUMPERS amongst them. And where do they bring their unwanted dog to? The vet or the pound. Think about it. Souff edited cos some things were repeated ... grrrr

Totally agree Lilli. There is probably enough footage about puppy mills/puppy farms to wrap around the whole of Tasmania, but how much footage is there of the people who are surrendering their no longer wanted pet dog to the pound? Zip. Too emotional. Too hard. Cant have people asking "Why are you leaving your dog here today?" much less filming at that time. Not nice, Lilli, not nice. Souff

Something was bothering me so I went back and had a second read of the interview .... "RACHEL BALLINGER: I think the ultimate goal is to stop so many animals being euthanized. I think the figure is astonishing. So yeah to bring those numbers down and to stop cats and dogs being unnecessarily put down that would be great." What does "unnecessarily put down" mean? Dogs are put down by vets and pounds because of necessity - they are often not dogs that can be re-homed. Souff recently took a dog to a vet for euthanasia .... owner had come to realise that the dog they inherited was totally unsocialised , had a lot of issues, and could not be trusted in the new environment. It was NOT a dog that could be re-homed and by necessity euthanasia had to be done. The dogs that the RSPCA cannot rehome are put down. The dogs that other agencies cannot rehome are eventually put down, with a few exceptions where they are palmed off to naive new owners who eventually have to bite the bullet and have the dog PTS. All of these dogs started out in life as normal puppies and their lives were changed (read stuffed) by humans. As I see it, therein lies the real reason as to why so many dogs are PTS ..... I am not condoning puppy farms, but these two good people seem to have the wrong end of the stick imho. Start educating people that A PUPPY IS FOR LIFE ...... and make sure that owners know how to make that a GOOD LIFE for the puppy. Then you wont have so many dogs on death row. They dont come straight from breeders to death row .... the places that they have been along the way are real reason why they end up on death row in many cases. Oh and yes, the other reason is that some people just get tired of being the owner of "that dog". It is too easy to get rid of a dog. Just take it to the pound or dump it. We cant do that with our kids, we are stuck with them in most cases, bless their little hearts. But the dog? It can go tomorrow if we want. Death row is available. Souff

A very noble cause indeed. Just one problem that I see - in Australia many people don't seem to know what a puppy farm is. People have erroneously been described as puppy farmers when they had only a small number of breeding dogs and a larger number of ancient dogs that nobody else wanted. The description given in the interview sounds like something from an American website about puppy mills. Easy to say. Souff

It is not a case of "which breed is best". It is a case of the owner knowing their dogs and putting the time into training and discipline. Souff has seen the most wierd and wonderful combinations of purebred and mixed breed dogs in pack/team situations that are working well. The most important thing about these dog teams is that they KNOW who is the leader of the pack. It has very little to do with breed. It is about good temperament and good training and abut having respect for the leader of the pack. You can put a small terrier with a gun dog and add a corgi for good measure. You can have a dachshund with a chihuahua and their best friend is a great dane. A JRT with a Rottweiler and a Staffy cross (and a few cats as well) is one of the more curious combos that I know, but of course the JRT is always first to eat and first in line for everything, and the others are in agreement that that is how it is. Forget the breed, it is the quality of the training and discipline in the early stages that counts. Souff

Oh, Dr Valenzuela, so you haven't done that research yet .... yet you and Dr McGreevy are already out there talking to the press about your unfinished project ? Smacks of spin, Dr Valenzuela, smacks of spin ..... Souff

And that, my friends, is the most dangerous part of all. And only by writing poligtely and firmly to your State Member of Parliament will you have any chance of seeing commonsense and balance being taken out of the cupboard and used on this one. Nobody is going to do it for you and get an effective result. Souff

You were very lucky not to see any. Souff has walked through doggy minefields in the 2 cities you mention, though sometimes it drops into the gaps between the cobblestones. The worst places in Italian cities are in the smaller side streets where there are a lot of outdoor cafes at night ..... and at night you don't see it until you step in it ..... I wish more people could be responsible about their poo duties but they are not and some non-doggy people get really ticked off when they have to clean it off their shoes. Souff We must have been then Because hubby and I were so impressed, thinking, wow, all these dogs, and no dog poo anywhere, what a great advertisement for it. I actually saw heaps of them picking up the dog poo, We were there for 4 weeks as well, so lots of walking the streets, and seriously, didn't see it.... One of the worst areas we saw for dog poo was, believe it or not, in the chic Garibaldi district of Milan. On a lovely tree lined laneway leading to an apartment block (in the evening twilight) sonny boy thought they were mounds of small pinecones .... until he stepped on one! Souff

a teacup on steroids! Oh, but wait, I thought there is no such thing as a teacup dog ...... ;)

Tilly, I would love to say that a bit of electric fencing would solve the problem but the little brats might get a kick from it and then you would be in more strife. It is hard to get the message across to some parents - they think their kids are so good with all animals - they just don't see it from the dog's perspective. We had one at the back fence the other week (in the school holidays) , laughing at my dogs going berserk and with one of the kids poking a stick at the dogs. I felt like turning the hose on the whole lot of them. ;) I am totally over these idiots - I just might set the hose up in a convenient place. Souff

It used to be said that having those signs is admitting that you own a dangerous dog. ;)

Some public aviaries have signs saying "These birds bite!" and that message is obviously aimed at the young and the stupid. Can you put a "DO NOT ENTER" sign on the fence and gates? Wonder if you can buy signs with snakes on them "Poisonous snakes are behind this fence - DO NOT ENTER!" ;) Souff

You were very lucky not to see any. Souff has walked through doggy minefields in the 2 cities you mention, though sometimes it drops into the gaps between the cobblestones. The worst places in Italian cities are in the smaller side streets where there are a lot of outdoor cafes at night ..... and at night you don't see it until you step in it ..... I wish more people could be responsible about their poo duties but they are not and some non-doggy people get really ticked off when they have to clean it off their shoes. Souff

Definitely. I would love to be able to take the dog for a walk along the beach, or to the dog off-leash park and then have a coffee afterward. I think it'd be great to meet with a few people, let the dogs have a play together and then have a drink together. As long as cafes are placed in the right areas, I reckon they'd do really well. Doggy friendly cafes are already around and they do do really well, specially if they are situated near a park. Problems are that people who cant stand dogs also frequent cafes and the other great problem is those doggy owners who think that their dogs poo can be cleaned up by somebody else. And then there are those really naughty little dogs that lift their leg on the table leg Souff

uh huh .... sort of like connected to a colourful sweat band, or something with velcro for easy zip-on zip off access. Adjustable for any size bone ..... Cant have b one holding utensils cluttering up their legs when they are running. Ye Gods, this is scarier than I thought, too easy ..... bet ole Shonkypaws will be on to this one too!

Souff was driving along happily today and voila, there was the sound of Dr Peter Higgins from Dogs NSW coming through Souff's car radio speakers. Talking about how Australia is behind the times, well behind Europe anyway, and that more restaurants should let dogs eat in their restaurants. Being fed food by hand from their owners. Yo go boy Pete, this is good stuff, says Souff. Next thing Souff hears him say "Dogs dont use utensils" !!! After almost running into the boot of another car because of laughter, Souff suddenly realised the seriousness of the matter. You know what, once people said that dogs didnt wear pyjamas. And they said that dogs didnt wear nail polish and jewellery. Well all that has changed hasnt it now ..... Hey Dr Pete, watch this space, there will be somebody out there dreaming up what sort of doggy cutlery they can make their dogs use soon. No kiddin'. This is a very real prediction! There is another small problem. Souff has a dog that would go from table to table, begging to be hand fed by the other diners. He is very good at it, is well practiced and has big brown bootiful pleading eyes that just make any person who is eating feel like a criminal. Souff