Souff

Whoa!!!!! :D Have you ever heard of the emotional damage that is done to foster children who are in the care of the state, when they are moved on from one foster carer to the next, throughout their childhood, and often back and forth to their family as well? A system that provides second and third and fourth homes is extremely damaging for children and EXTREMELYmDAMAGING FOR DOGS. If you are going to work in this area I suggest that you start thinking about this aspect VERY VERY CAREFULLY. Souff is one of the many people who has to pick up the pieces when naive and willing owners take on a dog that has "a past" of having been rehomed multiple times. Dogs feel rejection; Dogs dont have a memory that can be wiped BLANK every time they are re-homed ....... for whatever reason. I have been working with a family today who have had their new dog for 3 weeks. The new dog is a 10 month old pup, already at its second home. Up until yesterday, only 1 member of a family of 4 could handle this pup. Yesterday, the heater on a cold day brought a breakthrough, the pup snuggled down on No.2 family members lap. His new family are very good with dogs, but this pup is already a "damaged dog". The previous owners apparently have a track record of buying pups and then telling their vet that the dog is aggressive, just months later. With help, and a lot of patience on the part of the family, we are working to ensure that this pup's home will be his last home. That it will truly be his forever home. If it does not work out with this family after a few months, this pup will be put to sleep humanely at a vets surgery. No shelters. No being put at the mercy of the welfare roundabout. Human beings have already done the wrong thing by this pup and I will be damned if they get a another chance to do more damage. Nine times out of ten, it is not the fault of the dog that he/she ends up in a shelter - life is a bitch and some people are mongrels. But ...... IT IS ANOTHER FORM OF ANIMAL CRUELTY TO MOVE A DOG TO HOME AFTER HOME AFTER HOME. The number of saints, who can take in a damaged dog and rehabilitate the dog successfully, are simply not around and a reality check needs to be made. Far better to work with people to get it right the first time, and the second time, but on a very conditional basis. Humans have too greater a capacity to screw up animals, particularly those dogs that are already damaged dogs. Souff

Spina bifida puppies do not grow into big healthy dogs like Rex in the photo above - they are pts at birth. Dogs with natural bobtails were first documented by monks in England in the 9th century. Had spina bifida been a critical issue for the dogs with the bobtail gene, it would have wiped out those lines a very long time ago. Souff

Sorry Jules. And to the original poster, yes, stress like this on a dog can change a lot of things very quickly. I hope you can help some dogs in your volunteering work, but please accept that there is often not a second chance for dogs. Please try to tell every puppy and dog buyer that "a puppy is for life" - they are our responsibility as owners and it should not be so easy for us to hand the responsibility of ownership to another person or organisation imho. We are stuck with our relatives for life, and so it should be with the dogs when people become dog owners. Souff

The only time the canine crew here want to eat grass is when they want to chuck.

Souff might need to find the flame suit for this one ........ So ...."Rastus" arrives at the concrete and steel shelter that probably smells slightly of other dogs urine and doggy disinfectant. An unfamiliar and rather threatening place to a confused dog and it is definitely not his territory. Familiar faces are nowhere in sight, and the familiar faces dont come and take him back home either. They have a new life to get on with, without Rastus. He is not likely to trust anyone here and he behaves in a threatening manner towards them, unable to understand that they would like to help him and find him a new home. It could be said that he is his own worst enemy. He is not unique. There are hundreds and hundreds of large, mixed breed dogs who find themselves in this situation. And where are the good fairies who will take this dog into their life and love this dog forever? Well. truth is, they are usually not around. So there are choices to be made: 1. Leave this fearful and savage dog in a shelter pen until the day that he snaps out of it and trusts them and behaves in a manner that will allow him to be put up for adoption; 2. Leave the gate open (neither legal nor humane) 3. Sedate him, tell porkies and get him to somebody elses's place ASAP 4. Give him a needle and say "Sorry Pal", ensuring that he does not become yet another victim of changes in peoples lives and of the welfare roundabout. Spare a thought for the people who have to make Choice 4. Souff would not have their job for quids. Souff

Moselle, they tend not to say it that way. They dont like the sound of the word "dump". The dog becomes "bad". It becomes "unsuitable". It becomes "naughty" or even "vicious". It might also have become "an escape artist". Or it might have all been the neighbours fault. So, the dog goes. After the new model is installed it was only because "the children were so upset at not having a dog" ... "we missed having a puppy sooo much". All socially acceptable terminology. But dump and replace a dog? Never let it be said.

It was Beau's special friend Molly the calico cat who was found 2 days after the fire, sitting in the pantry, filthy but unscathed. Special thanks too, to Toohey, who gave a week of her life, took holidays from work, so she could spend all day every day with me in hospital, from the day I emerged from ICU, mentoring me, and thanks to those who assisted her to do that. It can't have been much fun, but it made a huge difference to me and my emotional wellbeing. Glad to see you are around - things were getting pretty dreary around DOL To Toohey and all the others .... Souff

well, Souff met a couple of these Rotti "fallacies" a few years back .... I think there were 2 in the litter. Have not heard about the gene being linked to Entropin .... that sounds more like ST or SG to me Souff

Sorry, Souffie babe that I wasn't around to help out (the Jedster must be resting up, as she should!!). So, in case you are beset by options again tonight, I suggest starting with the merlot... at least until it becomes empty (the bottle, not the glass!) then followed by the Kahlua. It is important to drink all the of the merlot because it is rich in antioxidants. So says I. Sags Oh Sags, thank you so much for reminding me about those antioxidants, and for the suggested order. Very wise. Might have to finish this stuff for the accountant first though .... Souff

but of course! Trash the garage and then throw up in the car when your obedient servant is seeking help! Kirty, you need to talk to Nekhbet methinks... soon Souff

Great to know you are back ..... sheesh, Souff put out a call for urgent advice the other night and you werent around .... Souff had to make the decision alone! Lots of healing vibes coming your way Jed. We know its been hell and we cant change that, but you have reminded many of the things that are most important and I for one am humbled and grateful. Souff

This thread is a riot ... Poor Caesar! ;) :D

OK, I have to confess that I howled with laughter at your first post, but boy, did I hear where you were coming from and I really do feel very very sorry for you, and now the bluddy dog has gone and given himself bloat....... Others may not agree with me but I would probably try and find a way of giving this dog one helluva fright ..... something that is ONLY connected with the garage .... so that he NEVER EVER EVER wants to get into that garage again. I will not make evil suggestions online because it would no doubt create a hullabaloo with some people. Yes, I know, Souff is evil, but there is a message here that needs to get across permanently. Hope the little wrecker is OK Souff

+1 +1 other Souff

Hmmm, that is a point. But personally, I dont have that big a problem with pet shops selling fish, because out in the wildwaters they are going to get gobbled up by some bigger fish or creature anyway. Cas, Souff is not really into watching vegies grow anymore. My enthusiasm was killed off by possums. Every vegie or fruit I tried to grow, well, those rotten fuzzy brown creatures would sneak in and have a nighttime feast just before things were ready to use .... they even had the gall to leave me the peeled skins to clean up!!!! I am still trying to think of the most suitable revenge. I did have some ideas about growing things under glass, so that the possums could walk all over the glass, see all the goodies under the glass, drool all over it if they wished but not be able to touch a bluddy thing ..... hehe, yes, that idea still sounds like a goodie. It is on Souff's Project List .....

In some schools that have an agricultural focus, the breeding of livestock is a normal part of the curriculum. Teaching good breeding ethics is not new. I believe that responsible dog owners who want to own a top quality purebred dog should be encouraged to be part of th FULL LIFE CYCLE of that dog or bitch, but not on their own. Breeders and owners working together, sharing the dog at those times in the dogs life when the sharing is going to result in improvement or sustainability of a breed. Not putting 2 lesser quality dogs together just because they are of the same breed, and that it seems like a good idea to have a litter of pups. Call me an elitist if you will, but breeding of dogs NEEDS to be about the breeding of GOOD DOGS. There are hundreds of unwanted mutts put to sleep every week in Australia and that pile does not need adding to so there is a place for desexing. The phrase "responsible dog ownership" is widely used and promoted, yet when you look at what is actually look at what is happening within this terminology, there is nothing about the future of the dogs. "Responsible dog ownership" as we know it is mostly about keeping the humans in our "contemporary community" happy. Perhaps "Responsible dog ownership" could have the same holistic approach that is applied to other species of animals and birds. Responsible dog ownership needs to be about ALL of the natural aspects of a dog's life cycle ... there is a lot more to it than desexing a dog and picking up the poo. We are encouraged to put breeding boxes out for possums and some councils string up tubular rope ladders across roads for the possums to use instead of becoming roadkill, so important is the life cycle of a possum; we can pick up glossy brochures at hardware stores telling us on how best to treat and breed garden worms for their entire life cycle; and I can read how the world is coming to an end because we are not caring about the life cycle of the frog as we should and they have all disappeared (but if the writer were to dig a metre downwards in dry weather they would probably find the missing frog hibernating until the rain came) .... No, it is time that we got serious about the life cycle of good dogs and worked towards a future of good healthy dogs, and encourage responsible dog owners to be part of the project, or face a future where the buyer's choice, and the health, of Man's Best Friend will not be as good as it is now. Souff

Souff's telly has a wonderful little gadget on it and I would have never have bought the set without it. It is called the "Off" switch and probably will be the first thing to wear out because it is the part that gets the most use! Oh and no thanks, I really dont want to see "real"vet action in my living room .... Souff knows what a total wreck a person can look like in the middle of the night when assisting with an emergency C-section! :rolleyes: Then again, I suppose they could show those shots of vets trying to find a tiny microchip on the floor, after it had popped out of the folded skin. There would be a pile of scenes that some vet staff would like to see shown about their bosses, I suppose ... interesting thought actually TV is an illusion and an advertisers cash flow .... get rid of the box and get a fish tank instead! Souff

I actually went with the Kahlua ..... it was the healthy alternative with all that calcium :rolleyes:

Must be another slow news week in SA Wonder if they can run a program telling us how much our individual kids will cost us before they finally leave the nest ......

Truer words were never spoken. In recent years there has been a trend for new brooms to think that they can solve all the problems of the world by slavishly following what appears to be a good idea. Yet often these good ideas are lacking in commonsense and durability. If those who see themselves as reformers took the time to learn from the people who really do know what is best for animals and our relationship with them, the people who think about the future of animals, as well as the present, and have learned from the past ... then ultimately dogs will be better off in the longer term. The cries of "Ban it!" will not help the animals in the longer term. The cries of "De-sex It" when you are looking at animals that are carrying some of the best genes from fastly depleting gene pools, is a form of animal cruelty in itself. The genes of good dogs of the affected breeds should remain in breeding programs imho, and shock horror, an embargo on de-sexing may need to be applied to some breeds in the near future. Many people do not seem to stop and think ..... before they speak, and before they hit the keyboard. Some have "a cause", some see their cause almost as a religioin, but seem to have lost sight of a few basics. They do not think carefully about the FUTURE of dogs (purebred or mixed) as a species. In efforts to "make things better" they could in fact be condemning dogs to a genetically catastrophic future. The convenience of the lives of owners, and the ideas that our "contemporary community" might have about comfort and fashion, should not be leading the charge to "help" dogs. Instead, we should all be aiming to ensure that dogs physiological and mental welfare needs are met and these aims need to be consistent, and we should be aiming to ensure that ENOUGH good quality specimens of dogs are kept for breeding, and not sold off as pets to be de-sexed. This can only be done with education. Councils and governments collect the money for registration of dogs, and have all the details from the microchip stored away, yet do very, very little in the form of educating the very people who live with those dogs every day of the year. Who knows were most of the dogs in this country are? Government bodies. Who knows where all the pet shops are? Government bodies. Who has the money to run education programs? Government bodies. Who has the power to create and enforce legislation? Government bodies. Whether councils/govermments work with organisations in the delivery process, or whether they work directly with dog owners, EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO MAKING A BETTER FUTURE FOR DOGS and a very simple fact is that education of this nature takes both money and authority to be applied successfully. Dog registering bodies and other doggy related organisations do not have the authority that councils and governments have and while they do a great job in many areas, they will never be truly effective in this field. Souff

Nope, wording like that could not be used in legislation as it is subjective and does not speak to the issue of breeding puppies at all. btw, Souff has been in animal rescue places that fit that description; the back room of some retail places also fits that description, not to mention private homes of some "animal lovers" ...... but no, they are not "puppy farms". Souff

Question: How would you define a "puppy farm" in such a ban? Souff

Can't say that I see black market mongrel dogs as a lucrative sales potential in general terms. Banning of pet shop puppies would certainly reduce impulse buying as the availability on hand is no longer there. Anyone wanting a puppy other than from a registered breeder is more difficult to scource and takes effort that the impulse buyer I don't believe will take that initiative. Personally I think it should be illegal to breed and sell puppies period unless you hold a breeders licence/registration. Cheers Nev Replace "black market mongrel dogs" with "non-allergenic designer dogs" and sadly you have wording that has been proven to be very lucrative. Impulse buying would be reduced, but not totally eliminated because people can still make stupid snap decisions when they are around cute fluffy puppies and dont always consider the long term care of that puppy, particularly in school holidays. Kids go back to school, Mum and Dad go back to work, no time for training, and within weeks they can have "a nuisance dog" that they no longer want to keep. Souff

Decisions, decisions .......

Aw gee, dont be so rough on poor Dr Chris ...... He went to a PET shop to buy a PET didnt he? Anyone reading a sign like that outside a shop that said "PetShop" would think it would sell PETS ...... wouldnt they? To change the culture, you might have to start by changing the name that the shop is called. And as for giving vets a bad name, well Souff has got news for you kids .... some vets have owned pet shops (and probably still do) and others have been involved in breeding establishments that supply pet shops with animals to sell. At least the lovely Dr Chris hasn't bought his own pet shop yet. Can you imagine what a media mecca that would be? Sigh..... Souff