tdierikx

Lots of Staffy or AmStaff crosses around here... also SWF's of varying description. Not a whole lot of the purebred type of dog here at all - but you see one or two now and then. T.

Oh, and you are MUCH more likely to see small dogs running about offleash or on those stupid extender leads where the owner has no control of them whatsoever - but it's the larger dogs that get the bad rap because "small dogs don't do as much damage"... yes they bloody well do! T.

No - I live in NSW... but let's not kid ourselves that BSL doesn't exist here. If it's large and bull breed, it's viewed with suspicion everywhere... thanks to the media telling us at every opportunity that all bull breed mixes ar Pitbull and want to eat your little dogs and children. You are playing right into the hands of the people who want to nationalise BSL by your actions and reactions stemming from the bad experience you've had... and if that's OK by you, then I don't think we can come to any agreement in this discussion. I love my dogs with every fibre of my being, and they reciprocate in myriad ways... and I will defend my right to love and be loved by my large dogs vociferously. T.

Ok I'll make a deal with you I won't repeat myself as you all know where I stand. Lets not forget I've been called crazy and it's even been alluded too that I've made everything up. I had a very traumatic event and because I live in a semi rural community there seems to be quite a few loose dogs. I'm not sure why we attract rushers, my dog is very well behaved on leash, perhaps that makes her weak and a target, can't really do much about that can I? Off leash she mixes very well with friends dogs and at the kennels, where she's described as easy going but doesn't submit readily to other dogs but is not aggressive. I readily admit I die a thousand deaths when I see an off leash dog and imagine all kinds of horrors that never happen. Being made to feel vulnerable makes me cranky, you may have noticed that bit. I have never lost control in a forum thread before - and you have made me do it in this one... congrats... As a large dog owner, I get cranky when people insinuate that my chosen types/breeds of companions are all killers waiting to eat their little Pookie... and that's exactly how your posts come across from my side of the equation. Unfortunately you are not a silent minority - and MY enjoyment and time spent with MY dogs is being legislated against to the point where I don't feel safe taking them out in public in case they sniff the wrong fluffy butt, or look sideways at the wrong person walking their yapping littlie. How the hell is that fair to them or me? T.

We've gone bloody wrong when the vocal minority scream blue murder to have EVERYONE and their darned dogs legislated against to the point that it's freaking impossible to take them out to socialise properly... FFS, can't anyone SEE that? No - let's just stamp our feet up and down and legislate to the lowest common denominator and royally fark it up for EVRYONE... that'll fix it, right? T. I haven't been to an off leash park (only a beach for small dogs and not many of them) can't dogs socialize there, or is that not what you mean? Just go and look into a designated off-leash park Trudy08... and tell me if you'd like to let your dog run there with all of the others to "socialise" with... The problem with most off-leash parks is that they are few and far between, and likely to be highly populated with dogs who aren't ever allowed out anywhere else... and thusly generally running amok like loons... Yeah - I'd love to take my pup there for some socialisation... NOT! That said - there are a few off-leash parks where there is a reasonably high proportion of genuinely decent owners with well socialised and friendly dogs... but it's a hike to find one like that at a time that fits in around working for a living. Quite frankly, I just keep my dogs at home - more because they are large dogs, 2 of which are bull breed crosses - and hysterical people like yourself make taking my dogs out for a walk a very unpleasant experience... even though they are on lead and very social dogs. T.

We've gone bloody wrong when the vocal minority scream blue murder to have EVERYONE and their darned dogs legislated against to the point that it's freaking impossible to take them out to socialise properly... FFS, can't anyone SEE that? No - let's just stamp our feet up and down and legislate to the lowest common denominator and royally fark it up for EVRYONE... that'll fix it, right? T.

Trudy08 - I think we ALL know exactly where YOU stand on the issue... 160-odd postings saying pretty much EXACTLY the same thing, and berating anyone who disagrees with your viewpoint, tends to make YOU look a bit overzealous (to say the least)... Yes - you have had some traumatic incidents occur - no-one is denying that... but I think you may need to step back a little and look at the issue from other people's side of the "argument". Not every off leash dog is going to turn rampaging killer as soon as they see you and your little dog... and if that IS your experience, you may need to start looking into WHY you and your dog seem to attract much more negative dog attention than the law of averages suggests you should. Just sayin'... T.

Who's said they don't want their dogs interacting with others? Yes, you did say only 'some'. :) I posted earlier that I welcomed the opportunity to gently socialise the dogs with those of other reasonable people we met on our walks (in an on-leash by-law area). We tend to look at the past with rose-coloured glasses. Our own dogs way back then.... kelpie-types & border collies .... had a pretty free rein. With results that didn't worry people too much then, but would now! Life generally was much simpler.... which is your point. Now populations are greater, denser urban living, even a wider range of dog types, lifestyle habits are different (dogs took themselves for a walk!). Changing times & conditions. So different rules to live by. I think it's become more of a case of who's going to sue for whatever "transgression" nowadays mita... too many "rights", and not enough "responsibilities" nowadays... and I really don't like what we are doing to our society at all - but that's a different topic, isn't it? *grin* T.

Yay for Eddie!!! What a hunk! T.

When I was a young'un, roaming dogs were looked upon as playmates for all of us kids in the area... what the hell changed over the years? I lived in a lot of places (including Alice Springs and PNG) and neighbourhood dogs were just that - neighbourhood dogs... we ALL shared in the enjoyment of them. Everyone knew which dog belonged to which house, and we kids made sure said dogs got back home when we were finished playing and had to go in for our dinners... dogs were rarely seen as dangerous or narky - and all loved joining in the games of footy or cricket we kids were having. When a neighbourhood dog had pups, all of us kids were there like shots to play with the pups - and invariably a few of us would end up with one for ourselves to take home (with parents' permission of course). Dogs in general were a HUGE part of every neighbourhood child's upbringing, and none of us had any fear of them at all. Occasionally if we got bitten for some reason, we were asked what WE had done to deserve it - rather than branding the dog a vicious nasty thing that needed to be destroyed. We learned how to co-exist with all manner of dog types and breeds - and it was FUN! And the biggest difference back then? If 2 dogs were "tussling" together, they weren't fighting... more likely mating... *grin* Nowadays, dogs are becoming increasingly ostracised from everyday life - we can't take them anywhere to just hang out or play (like the beach or the playground). If we do take them out, there are so many restrictions on where and when and what we can do with them once we get there - it's all just too freaking hard now - so it's just easier to keep them at home and not let them interact with anyone or anything outside our own family. Is it any wonder then that some dogs, once free of their yards, are going to run amok? And some of us have gone the complete opposite way as well. When we do take our dogs out, we don't want them interacting with others - human or otherwise. How can that be healthy for either the dog's state of mind, or their human's for that matter? I want to go back to the "old days" - life with our dogs was MUCH better (and simpler) back then! T.

Hahaha! She needs to watch where her own body parts are when in a scrap... That last pic is a framing candidate for sure! T.

Is it me or is Boy#1 lighter coloured than Boy#2? Looks like they really enjoyed their day out in the grass... T.

He sure is a pretty little spider CC... T.

The beautiful Horse Puppy is a turd when it comes to pulling out my camera... apparently it looks tasty and she has to try to eat the lens... grrr! Well - when she's not playing zoomies like a loon with Pickles and they are moving way too fast for the camera to catch anything but blurs anyways... *sigh* T.

Awww... look at little Smudgie... ain't she purty? T.

OK - photos are up on my Flickr... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ Here's a taste... 14-09-2013-symbio 175 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 202 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 473 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 689 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 1067 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 1122 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 1205 by tdierikx, on Flickr 14-09-2013-symbio 1523 by tdierikx, on Flickr Enjoy! T.

I was told I had free entry today - they wouldn't take my money... *grin* I got lots of nice photos - including a joey peeking out of it's mother's pouch... yeehaaa! Just sorting through them now to select the nicest ones to upload to my Flickr - be back a bit later to post some here, OK? T.

Awwww.... that has to be one of the sweetest moments caught on camera Kirislin! Beautiful! T.

well if you like long legs Luka is the guy for you :laugh: he does have two different coloured eyes Well - if he has 2 different coloured eyes, he must be Harper's twinnie... Harper's eyes are one grey and one grey/green... I think they are pretty... T.

I have a selection of zoos here in Sydney FM... very lucky indeed! T.

I'm more of the opinion that if everyone obeyed the law and kept their dogs leashed as they are supposed too, then none of this would be an issue Don't you think being rushed by unfriendly dogs only twice as you said, is twice too many times, what if your dog had been attacked and killed on one of those occasions, would that have been ok because it only happened twice. I know what would happen your posts on this forum would be very close to looking like mine for a start. If you think the amount of dog attacks isn't that bad then you haven't been paying attention at all, only a few weeks ago two elderly ladies were attacked in separate incidents, one is still in hospital, then their was the lady who was attacked while pushing her child in a pram, they may be isolated incidents but they feel pretty bloody disastrous if they happen to you or someone you love. If you still feel its ok and in fact beneficial for everyone to have the experience of meeting off leash dogs, you should have realised from reading the other posts on here today that you are in the minority. Seeing as the rest of us aren't as enlightened and downright superior as you and Razor, please go and live on Razors desert island (I suggested he bought one for himself) and have a blast off leash there, i do hope Toby likes your dog or you could have a problem. Defensive much? Please point out where I said I was walking MY dogs offlead? As for my experiences with 2 unfriendly dogs - one was a very large Rottweiler, and the other was a small fluffy... guess which one actually frightened my dogs the most? Do you hear me ranting on about either breed type and calling them "wolves" or the like? They were 2 ISOLATED incidents - either of which could have ended badly if I had over-reacted to the threat... I'm not claiming to be any more enlightened or superior to anyone else here - but maybe, just maybe, my being calm and rational and standing my ground when under threat might be why neither incident escalated to a full blown attack by those dogs. In the case of the small fluffy bailing up my Dane cross and scaring her witless - that little dog was nasty - it went for me when I stood between it and my terrified "horse-puppy" - but I calmly asked it's owner to please come and secure it while we went past... up until that point the owner of the off lead fluffy thought it was extremely funny that their little dog was attacking my dog and myself. Maybe it was the tone in my voice, but they quickly secured their dog and let us pass without further incident - but I could hear them passing snide comments and laughing at me and my huge "scaredy-cat dog" as I walked off... *sigh* As for the Rottweiler - let's just say that at the time I was walking my own 2 Rotties - both of whom hid behind me when the strange one tried to bail us up. Rotties don't frighten me (funnily enough), so I just raised my voice and put some growl in it, and firmly let the approaching dog (and it's owner some distance away) that I meant business. The owner then called their dog away before I did something to it they weren't going to like. I will also admit that I have been trained in handling dangerous dogs - so maybe my reaction to perceived threats by dogs is a bit different to some here... which doesn't mean that I'm poo-pooing your reactions, just that I think they may be a bit more over the top than my own. That said, I've long held a fear of small yappy/bitey dogs - Pembroke Corgis in particular frighten me stupid - go figure? T.

He has lovely long supermodel legs... I like a guy with nice legs... *grin* I think his eyes are still both light blue Kirislin - just the angle and the lighting make one look a different colour... T.

I have 4 big dogs... plenty of bed warmers here! But.... couch cuddles are MUCH better when both you and the dog can fit on the couch together... yes? T.

2.8 is stable apparently and has a number of bug fixes... I'd go for that... T.

I'm more of the opinion that the more nicely behaved off lead dogs the average Joe sees/meets, the better... Seriously though, if you have a highly reactive dog, is it fair on them (or you for that matter) to be taking them to areas that may be crowded with people or other dogs? Wouldn't that be more likely to heighten their tension rather than being an enjoyable stroll for you both? Also - if YOU are on edge whenever you see an offlead dog - don't you think that your own dog will be picking up on that tension and thusly be transmitting their own? Surely the number of offlead and aggressive dogs out and about isn't the epidemic that some would have us believe? I've been living in this area since 1999 - and have only been rushed at by unfriendly loose dogs twice when out walking my own. Plenty of smaller territorial dogs making noise from their front yards, but nothing that has been seriously "menacing" or of any concern to me or my dogs. I live in an area where we have a very high number of people living on government assistance, and have all manner of the staffy or mastiff crosses as pets - but the unfriendly ones have definitely been a very small minority from my experience. T.