megan_

This is not a sensible suggestion at all. This type of thinking creates an us and them mentality between owners of large and small dogs. It's as bad as someone suggesting that eveyone own small dogs as they are unable to cause as much damage. If you are prepared to acknowledge that your little dog can be easily killed in these situations and accept the loss of a pet as a result then my suggestion may not be sensible I agree. However, if you prefer your dog not to be killed and have a fighting chance if faced with a situation like this, a bigger dog makes a lot of sence in risk management, in fact, a bigger dog will often prevent a like situation occurring in the first place as they don't present the prey trigger that a small dog does. Well following on from your suggestion, why do people get large high prey drive dogs? Maybe those should be outlawed too? Cosmolo - great post. The problem is that the vast majority of people have no idea what prey drive is. I was doing some jumps training at the park yesterday, and a large bullbreed dog (who I know) was playing in the distance. He suddenly went stiff, focused on my dog and dipped his head. To me, classic prey drive. I put my boy on lead, pulled him into me and we calmly left the park then and there. The owner of the other dog thought I was being silly - he had no idea what prey drive was or what the consequences of it could be for my boy. There are a few high prey drive, large breeds that frequent my park (huskies, GSD's and malamutes) and I won't take my dogs there when they're around. Most people think I'm silly because of it. I have no issue with these breeds, but in my experience most dog owners don't have a clue about prey drive, body language etc. They think only "bad" dogs attack.

Good call! The "parkland" in Docklands is tiny with no room for off leash running. The person would need to get into their car and battle terrible traffic twice a day to even begin meeting the dogs needs IMO. My dogs stay inside due to a recent robbery. They seem happy, but I think dogs just get used to the status quo - it doesn't mean that their lifestyle is actually good for them. I am curerntly working out how I'm going to better meet their needs without risking security. It is much harder to meet their needs as I need to walk them twice a day without fail. This means getting up at 5am on weekdays, not being able to go out on weeknights etc so their needs are met. It means planning ahead for 40C days, and walking in the rain. It means driving up to 1hr plus so that I can take them to new, varied places (the same street walk every day would be a form of sensory deprivation IMO).

I agree with Stormie. I don't like it but I wouldn't want to use any product on my dogs that hadn't been tested on other dogs.

deer antlers being sold by Sway

Will these conditions be excluded from your policy next year?

I wouldn't leave this on a dog while I went to work though. If it dried up it could be making her hotter. Fran - she is young and healthy. I'd freeze some iceblocks on the really hot dogs, but otherwise I wouldn't worry. She'll find the coolest spot and chill there. Ny trying to interevene, you may actually make her hotter, especially since you are in a humid climate.

This is the reason why I went with PetPlan. If your pet has a long term illness this can be a lifesaver! When my boy was sick and I was putting in the claim form, the vet nurse commented that some of the other companies, although cheap, are really tight when it comes to paying up.

Aren't the back seat buddies about $300? And they don't come with a hole so the seat belt can be clipped in? I have a $40 seat cover that I bought from the pet shop that is water proof etc, and my dogs can have their restraints clipped in. What is so great about the back seat buddy?

I don't have kids but feed my two in their crates so that they can't disturb each other. Soooo easy and they now love their crates. I can take food from them but I wouldn't trust them with a child. If I had kids the dogs would definitely be fed in crates - so easy and makes it so much safer. The stupidity of some parents is mind boggling. siks - I have an MS with fear aggression issues. She was abused and is weak nerved (other dogs who were in the puppy farm with her don't suffer from her fear issues). Despite what I tell myself sometimes, I AM a good owner - better than most out there. It isn't as simple as good owners = good dogs, bad owners = bad dogs. As Greytmate points out, genetics plays a big part in how a dog will react to a certain situation. Good ownership is about recognising that and carefully managing the situation.

I totally agree. It doesn't matter who let the dogs out. Unless the owners can guarantee that they will be enclosed 27/4 in the house or in a fully enclosed dog-run and only allowed off the property wearing muzzles, they should be PTS. With this one incident they have proven that they are a danger to other animals and are not suited to an urban environment (and indeed a rural environment where a neighbour would be entitled to shoot the dogs if they threatened livestock). I think every situation has to be dealt with individually and sadly there is no clear cut way to address these incidents. The owners may well be very responsible people and to have their dogs let out by someone else is NOT their fault. We live in an area of lots of roaming dogs and dingoes, and if many of the dogs in the area were let out of their yards could pose a threat to other dogs, especially if their is 2 of them. My friends dogs were let out by school kids walking by!! "Such acts of aggression" are sadly what all dogs are capable of even nice family pets, when people understand that every one will be safer. A very sad situation. If you have a large dog with a high prey drive, then they need to be kept securely - that means high, high fences with locked gates. If that isn't enough, then secure dog runs with concrete floors etc. If school kids could let your friends dogs out, then they weren't very secure in the first place. I own a dog with issues. That means that I need to be 10000% more responsible than the average dog owner. All walks need to be planned ahead. My dog gets securely crated before anyone comes into the house. I have a two-gated front door so she can't accidentally get out etc. And she is a mini schnauzer who couldn't do much damage if she tried. If people want to own dogs that can do a lot of damage then the need to step up to the plate. People seem to think that PTS is all about fault and punishment. Sorry to say it but some dogs just aren't cut out to live in suburbia with many people, dogs, cats etc living in close proximity. It isn't always about fault but the safety of the community. A kid could have been hurt if they had been walking their JRT and tried to save it. I agrew Wineterpaws - if an offleash dog ever attacks mine then I will make sure that the owners spend a lot of money and time on lawyers - even though I have a low chance of getting any $ out of it.

I don't think I can handle the poos that long! The odd thing is that my boy used to do so well on EP Holistic, but I think they've changed the formula.

Thanks. I'll take it back and get my $ back. I was very excited to see the EP back though. I had the same issue with Artemis - poos where weapons of mass destruction!

My two are normally fed Nutro, but our local PetStock was out of stock last week, so I got some EP Holistic (the salmon variety that has been out of stock for ages). My boy was fed EP Holistic until he was about 18 months and did really well on it - nice poos etc. We then changed to Nutro and I got Lucy and again, they both do really well on it. I have been feeding the new EP Holistic since Sunday but their poos are still soft and oh-so-smelly. I know that this can happen when you change diet. How long should I persist before I give up on the EP and go back to Nutro?

My MS girl loves to chase a cat toy - it is a small mouse on a rope, attached to a pole. Cost $3. The trick is to flick it around in a "life like" fashion and move it away from them. I've bought a proper dog grade one from Karen Prior - just waiting for it to arrive from the states. I struggled to get my MS X boy to tug. I was telling Erny how he wasn't interested. She got out a tug and he played with it with gusto . The trick is not to shove it in the dogs face and trash it around. Keep it about 30 cm from their face and try teasing the dog a little with it (small movements slowly, then a sudden movement away etc). Both he and my girl love tugs made out of real fur. Their favourites are a bunny tug from sas, and a sheep skin tug from Clean Run. They also like tugging with dirty socks.

Great post deelee. Yip, certain breeds have certain tendencies, we shouldn't hide from this fact and call it "breed bashing". I don't let my dogs play with any strange dogs that neither I nor they could take care of. Given that they're mini schnauzers, that rules a lot of dogs out!

The OP didn't say all staffies were evil. They said that past experience has made them wary. That is perfectly normal. Sheesh, you can't say anything that could possibly be construed as negative about ANY dog on DOL these days lest you be accussed of breed bashing. Guess we're lucky that the OP wasn't worried about a lab...

Have you tried the slanty pole method (I don't know the technical name for it!)

Nah, waltz in early and take the best spot! Why should bullies be able to intimidate people this way? It is a dog show after all, not prime tickets to a mars landing.

I thinkt he big issue is that you can't walk your dog in an on leash area without being hassled by off leash dogs. It isn't as simple as "avoid dog parks". FWIW, There are no dog parks in Melbourne - all parks where dogs are allowed off leash are shared spaces for the whole community. I used to love my local off leash park. Kids played footy, people jogged and rode bikes and the few dogs that frequented it were happy with this arrangement. I could walk my girl on her long leash. People knew that she didn't like being rushed and would give her space. Unfortunately, a few guys have now bought "muscle" dogs (who they have no control over) and go there every night, so it is now on the "places to avoid" list. The list of places that I can take my girl to are getting less and less.

It isn't funny to poke fun when someone has a serious issue. To the OP - get a professional in. Sometimes young 'uns attack the oldies because they can sense their decline.

I appreciate the predicament. Unfortunately there's nothing much that can be done. You can report every dog that rushes up to yours, but my guess is it won't do you a lot of good in the long run. I am always wary of making enemies. I have opted for avoidance. Far less stressful for everyone. So have I, but we do need to get out of the house and people walk their dogs off leash on the street. Not much I can do but smile nicely and tell them to F$** off with a sacarin grin.

I agree Corvus. Unfortunately some of us have dogs that have suffered years of abuse, or who have been attacked before, so teaching them this isn't simple. But I agree, staying nice and friendly when you want to hit someone is much better for your dog - they do pick up on our stress and react accordingly.

I think the wording is deliberately offensive because when something is written politely most people ignore it. I have no problem about dog-free areas - not everyone likes dogs and people should be able to visit the beach without being scared.

As per the title, are there any? I'm willing to travel if need be....

Depends on the state. Victorian RSPCA can't enter without evidence. Also, they are answerable to the minister, no? Saying they are answerable to no one implies just that - there is no higher authority than the RSPCA and that isn't true.