megan_

pretty sure the vet will check the microchip first, realise you aren't the owner and then not desex - I'm pretty sure they're not allowed to operate on dogs brought in by people who don't actually own the dog.

I started a thread of things to do with reactive dogs to keep their minds and bodies active when off leash possess problems-I'm on my phone so searching is hard but I'll try to find it tomorrow

OT Kirslin but is it busy early on the mornings on weekends?

Thanks!

I'm going to Mia's seminar tomorrow and I've lost the address! Does anyone know it?

yes - but I'm going to try to do more of it. It is hard at some venues due to limited space.

I agree that they should consult a professional, and at least try before PTS, however I have seen on DOL many times people say that if you're 100% committed aggression can be cured.

Hopefully that's the case Jules. I'm still going to see Ray "just in case" and I'd rather waste some money to be told that he's okay than have something niggle at him and for him to land up hating agility. I don't think I've been warming him up enough so I'm going to put more emphasis on this and maybe get him massaged at regular intervals just to make sure that everything is nice and loose.

kelpiekay given that the dog has bitten the owner, I can't see that supervision is the answer? It bites when supervised! I crate my girl when someone visits and she is learning to go to her crate when the door bell rings. If my sister's kids are staying overnight then she goes on special holidays to Cosmolo's house. She was muzzled around adult strangers that she knows very well, however she went for my sister on Christmas Eve even though she knows my sister very well and was completely relaxed with her for a few hours before. I don't want this to become a pattern and it was very scarey for my siter so Lucy be crated when she's around in the future. She is fine with her trainers and dog walkers in her territory and doesn't display the same level of aggression outside the house (can be fear aggressive on walks, but this is very well managed and she has never actually had a go at anyone outside the house). She is fine at agility and obedience. Happy, sweet and relaxed. People think she's an angel! That said, she has never shown any aggression to me, even when I've given her a big fright or picked her up. She might hit the deck for a second and then wag her tail: "oh, it's you!". We can criticise the owner all we like and say "it can be fixed by seeing a behaviourist" but it doesn't just take effort to "cure" and manage aggression - it takes a lot of skill, nerves of steel and a fair whack of money - not everyone possesses all these things. I believe something isn't right in my girl's head (she was a breeding bitch ona puppy farm and has spent most of her life in a small cage). She can know someone for years, be happy to see them and then - out of the blue - be scared around them, even in the same context (ie same location, same time, same activity). I will continue to work with her until the day I die but I don't have kids and I don't have many financial obligations so I can afford to spend up on experts, socialisation classes, walks with a trainer etc. If I had children then I couldn't risk their safety with Lucy and she would have gone to heaven a long time ago. So the point of my long rambling post is that, while the owner appears to have let this dog down, I empathise with her. It is heartbreaking, stressful and so time consuming when you deal with a dog with aggression. It is easy to sit on the other side and say "see a behaviourist". If it was that simple, Lucy would have been cured years ago.

A little update: We're booked in to see Ray Ferguson on Tuesday and we saw the Bowen Therapist (like massage but very gentle) yesterday. Fergus was very good and relaxed and was lying down, happily being massaged. When she got to his right hind quarter though he started furiously licking her hands (his "that's sore" tell). She said she could feel the stiffness there and started to work the area, all the way down his leg. I touched the area this morning and he didn't react at all, so hopefully it is loosening up. We will go for a follow-up treatment in a fortnights time just to check on progress, although she said that dogs don't often require a follow up and they respond to treatment very quickly.

Thanks showdog - I'll be there

They were bred to hunt lions many years ago. They are now bred as pets. Given that most breeds were originally bred to have jobs, should we only have pets that thatwerent bred 100 years ago for a job? Should we only have pugs and cavs? I must say that the breed knowledge shown on this forum sometimes is astounding!

Thanks

There are massive variations within breeds. People need to ensure they get the right dog - not just breed. Case in point, two family members have standard schnauzers that deal with 4-30 children every day. It is organized chaos and they don't flinch. They are calm and confident in the mayhem and yet many people (breeders included say that standards arent suited to homes with small children, a combination of breeding, correct selection and socialization mean that these dogs are well suited to their homes. That is why sourcing a dog from a reputable breeder or recur is imperative. I know people who wanted to get a "soft"'dog because they had little kids, but a fog with "nerves of steel" would have been much better.

can you explain what "smoke ya" is stonecutter?

oops, meant to say that some dogs should never be left with children - supervised or not.

Given that she is a nurse she might know a thing or two about nursing. When did people become so obsessed with germs that someone touching something *with bare hands* was such a drama? No wonder infections are running rife..

WE don't know the details and we can't speculate. She could have been 1m away from him and still needed to rescue him? Dog attacks happen in nano seconds. I think the supervision mantra has lulled people into a false sense of security - some dogs should never be left alone with children. I grew up with dogs that played with us unsupervised and we never got bitten - they had the right temperament to be playing with kids.

If I suspect that something might be wrong I take my dogs to the vet. No way would I want them to suffer to save a bit of money or because I'm germ phobic. There are germs everywhere and most dogs don't die because of them. You can carry parvo into your home by walking from the train station to your house for goodness sake. I have a small dog and I walked him into the vet when he was a puppy. I didn't take him to dog parks but I certainly didn't carry him around everywhere - he certainly wouln't have enjoyed it and IMO that isn't adequate socialisation (because he is being held and isn't seeing things from the ground up). There is a risk in anything that you do with a pup. The risk of parvo in my area is pretty low. The risk of a fear aggressive/unsocialised dog is much greater.

The biscuit recipes are for treats only though, they are not a complete diet for a dog. When food is cooked the nutrional value is decreased. Also, dogs need calcium from bones and you can't feed a dog cooked bones which is why you'll find it very hard to find good cooked dog food recipes. It isn't about convenience, it is about nutrition. You could also give Vets All Natural a go - you soak the mix in water o/night and then add it to fresh meat. I think there is a thread in the Health section at the moment. They are also an advertiser on DOL so you can click on the banner ad and get taken to their store.

Also, please check if your breed has any exclusions. From memory there are a fair few exclusions for some of the giant breeds - worth checking out.

I read it as: * yes - I agree to pay the first 25% of any bill ($1000 bill, you get 750 back) * no $100 excess - I agree to pay the first $100 only ($100 bill, you get 900 back) etc. There is no excess + pay the first 25% option.

Can you please explain how this is bad? Other than "anything that the RSPCA does is bad" which seems to be a common DOL matra.

Thanks. Nothing makes my heart soar as much as when I see my dogs running flat out, having a ball!

Thanks BD - I'll PM the secretary. I have seen a fair few BRT's at shows (which would surely be more rare than Giants), so it seems really odd that there appear to be none in Vic