megan_

The owner needs to be charged and jailed. Then sued civily by the family. Then the bogans who have big, strong dogs and don't look after them properly might think twice. Education won't sway these people. I hope they look into legal action against the council too - I know my council don't enforce dog laws at all. If the existing laws had been adhered to, this incident would never have happened. I agree we need to move beyond "blame the breed", but something needs to change. Saying "blame the deed" is too reactive - the deed has already happened. Personally, I'm in favour or all current dog laws being PROPERLY enforced, with fines dramatically increased. If you walk your dog off lead in an on lead area, if your dog roams etc, you should face a huge fine. Then people would actually start to obey the law. Educating someone who thinks the laws don't apply to them doesn't change anything. Hit people where it hurts - their hip pocket.

Has he ever had any condition treated by a vet ever? Because those things will be excluded from the new policy. One of the only things that stops me from changing....

Hi Murve, This is for Action Dogs? They usually send a list of what the assessment entails. From memory, sit/stay, recall, show a trick (can be very basic, I did targeting my hand with his nose), walking past other dogs at close range and playing with the owner (it is okay if your dog isn't tug or toy obsessed though). They also send the dogs through a small tunnel to see if the dog is fearful etc. Tell her not to worry! I was so nervous that I send all sorts of vibes to my poor dog but we still got through. aussielover - they only take 10 dogs so that people can get adequate training time and help.

I recently got rid of a lot of crates and have just kep the two wire ones. They could unzip the soft ones too easily and I like having some floor space again.

Every puppy school I have been to has been on grass? You can carry in parvo on your shoes. I wouldn't worry about it being outdoors. The only way to 100% protect your puppy is for you both to remain locked indoors for 16 weeks - no way to live. Some schools ban breeds because their insurance won't cover them. They could get all-breed cover at a significantly higher cost, but that would send some schools out of business I'd imagine.

Mine is pretty close to RSG's - thing is I only have two small ones!

We play a game of stay with a favourite toy or tug. I put Fergs in a stay and get the toy/tug, play with it, waggle it around him. I can see the anticipation build, he really wants to get it but he always holds. Then a release and a big game of tug/play with the toy. My girl is really food driven so I put her in a stay then lay some treats on the ground. When she focuses back on me I release her and she wolves the food down.

The issue is that the regulations for breeding dogs and keeping puppies are really slack. I think the minimum exercise requirement is something like 15 mins a day? Easy to comply with and not good enough for the vast majority of dogs. I don't care about who is breeding PB bs DD, I care about the welfare of the animals. The statistics that"prove" there is an undersupply of dogs are dodgy too. They don't take into account the fact that there are many merry-go-round home -swapping one dog for a new pup. They don't take into account the quality of the homes (I'm not talking about DOL standards either, just basic stuff like walking the dog. A recent survey in Melbourne showed that over 50% of respondents never, evervwalked their dogs). And what are we meant to do with these dogs while they wait for new homes- long term kenneling? the non-existent foster homes? Back on topic :-). Because puppy farms are hard to define and because genuine breeders are worried they'll be unfairly impacted it seems the dog world - including the MDBA - seems to just want the whole thing to fade unto the background. The irony is that there is a great opportunity to step up and be the leader in all of this (including framing regs). This would also be great PR for whichever group led the change. The tide is turning and isn't going to stop. "normal" people now know about puppy farms. The response from the dog world is not good enough. I have sleeping next to me my "Lucy", rescued from a puppy farm by the good people of the schnauzer club. The guy who abused her - never hit, but she suffered from severe sensory deprivation - was never charged. Not good enough.

Hi jrm88 you have to do a email register through their web site it has all the info there that you need to know, only the top 8-10 dogs will be selected to join :D good luck, this what had to do here is the link to the site http://www.actiondogsvic.com/membership.htm I train at Action Dogs. I *think* I was on the waiting list for 12 months, but it varies. Best bet is to put your name down for a few clubs and then wait (or, if you're really keen, train some foundation behaviours). When your name comes up, you get invited to a 'test" day - you don't need to have any agility skills to pass it. It is about testing your dog's recall (important because we start training off leash on day 1), how he/she copes around other dogs, drive, ability to learn (ie demonstrate a trick) etc. I was very nervous but there is no need to be. They normally only accept up to 10 people but there were 12 in our group and we all got through (that isn't the standard though).

yipe - and you can put your name against it so that if no one comes forward you can get it.

He wouldn't be allowed in my house. As for unsolicited advice, I listen to it and if it has merit I take it in. Otherwise I hit the "ignore" button.

The worms I would worry about are hyatid (sp), because they can transfer to humans and are nasty things which, if left undiagnosed, can lead to death in extreme cases. I *think* they can live in poo.

He doesn't look like he wishes the rain would stop. I love the photo of him with Dusty - she looks so elegant and he looks like a goof :-)

Lucy's one had no effect :-(.

I am usually very tolerant and willing to offer advice but just get so sick of new puppy owners who do no research on how to raise and toilet train a puppy BEFORE a getting one. If you don't know at least the basics of how to raise a puppy, don't get one. The OP has admitted she has never raised a puppy before but has these stupid and cruel ideas about how to do it and will not take the advice offered by many experienced dog owners on here. Anyone treating a puppy badly makes me very angry. This puppy would be far better off returned to the breeder who should also be rapped over the knuckles for selling a puppy into this situation in the first place. thing is there is a lot of different advice re: crate training. Some sources do advocate locking the puppy in the crate whenever you aren't directly playing with it or taking it to the toilet (I think even Dunbar advocates this? Can't remember who but a very prominent trainer). Some say you should lock the dog up every time you are out (without realising that many people are out at work for 12 hours a day...). Now I'd never do this to my dog but I understand why newbies do strange things.

Can we please refrain from using angry faces when someone is asking a question? Way to make someone feel terrible and just stop asking... The pup could be crying because it is lonely or wants to go to the loo. When they're tiny you need to get up a few times to let them out - do this before they start crying, otherwise they might think you're rewarding the screaming. Feed the pup in the crate and treat/praise when they go in there. Don't always close the door.

I don't understand why people don't book direct with the airline? No overhead...

They could measure the cortisol levels in the blood - before, during and after a correction. Cortisol levels rise when very stressed. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on physical punishment, but there are other forms of "punishment" that are a lot more cruel - exclusion being one of them. Not every dog is a delicate flower that is going to be harmed by the use of a prong collar (along with lots of positive re-inforcement) - Zero is living proof of that.

There is nothing wrong with people giving an alternate opinion.

Ruff lough is almost impossible if you work full-time - I'm not willing to have my dog crated for 12 hours. Sensory deprivation IMO.

You're lucky Kiesha. Shell saw three PP behaviourists (qualified ones), they all said that PP couldn't help this dog and should PTS. What should she have done? No one is saying you can't fix ingrained issues, and Shell used a lot of positive rewards from her description, but she also used a prong collar for a short period of time. Were her behaviourists incompetent, including the Delta qualified one? ETA: I very rarely (maybe once a year) use a correction on my dogs. That said, I'm not going to want them made illegal simply because they don't suit my sensibilities. Sandgrubber had it right when she said that one of the biggest forms of abuse in this countries is social neglect. I remember reading a survey that said something like 50% of Australian's don't regularly exercise their dogs - now that is criminal.

If the dog is fearful you need more than training - you need a behaviourist (Erny and Cosmolo are, don't know about Nekh but I'm sure she could handle it). Purdie - there is no guarantee that training from day 1 can help a fearful dog. I have a very obedient, well trained girl with extreme fear issues.

What do those opposed to the collars want instead? Should ~*Shell's*~ Zero be dead? After all, she tried many methods with many trainers (including Delta ones) and nothing else worked. I believe she was advised by some of those trainers to PTS? Sero is now a therapy dog! People seem to miss the fact that these are not meant to be long term tools, but short term tools coupled with behaviour modification - which is why I believe peope should only be able to get them when they've had a proper consult. I am a very positive oriented "trainer", so I don't support prong collars lightly (to clarify, I'm not a trainer but this is how I train my dogs). However, as a last resort, after trying other methods, I would use a prong collar on a very aggressive dog because the alternative is a dead dog. The people who throw stones often haven't lived with a genuinely aggressive dog.

You cal also contact Erny on this forum. I agree you need professional help ASAP.

I'd like them to be available only through limited, qualified trainers - and someone should have to have a 1:1 training session before they buy it. That said, I feel exactly the same way about correction collars and even gentle leaders.