Tempus Fugit

You wouldn't be able to get a GPS dog tracker into an implantable RFI chip because you need a device on the dog with enough power, which means a rechargeable or replaceable battery, and sufficiently sized antenna to transmit the dog's GPS coordinates to a remote receiver, depending on type, a special handheld receiver or a mobile phone tower. Also the dog's device needs to be able to resolve the weak signals from the GPS satellites, which again needs are larger antenna than what can be put into an RFI microchip sized device. (Remember a typical RFI reader needs to be very close to the dog to read the data - since the RFI chip doesn't have its own battery, the reader needs to supply the power to the chip so that it can transmit its data back to the reader). You can get short range wristwatch sized locating devices to put on children that might wander off at a picnic ground but that is about the smallest. Because of the short range they wouldn't be suitable for dogs. GPS dog tracking collars have been around for a number of years and are commonly advertised in hunting magazines. You can also Google on them. The most popular brand appears to be Garmin.

Don't forget ACT night-time temps often get below zero this time of year. In a worst case scenario you will be chipping ice out of the dog's water dish in the morning. For a grey, a warm coat might be advisable.

You may like to add this publication to your website links page: "Bush camping with dogs"

Reading the judgement, CAA and earlier posts: I am confused as to what is a vermin animal: wild pigs apparently are not vermin; rats and mice are; so what is the case with wild rabbits, cats and foxes? Are they small enough to be classed as vermin? If not, are livestock protection dogs that kill say, a fox, at risk of being declared dangerous? - It would appear that whilst the CAA protects a dog owner from being sued for damages if their dog attacks a trespasser, the dog could still be declared dangerous by a ranger or court if they chose to do so?

From the Wagga council website: There are six designated off leash areas around Wagga Wagga, including an enclosed agility track. These are the only areas dogs are allowed off leash in public. Existing fenced dog run area located at Narrung Street on the southern Boundary of the Wiradjuri Golf Centre driving range. Eastern side of Wilks Park North Wagga Wagga, area bounded by south of Parken Pregon Lagoon - east of Hampden Avenue and north of Central Island Road. Boat Club Reserve Lake Albert, between Plumpton Road and Boat Club Carpark on the southern side of Nelson Road. Willans Hill, area bounded by east of Captain Cook Drive - south of Beauty Point Avenue and all of Willans Hill Reserve south of Leavenworth Drive. O'Halloran Agility Park. Forest Hill; The area at the intersection of Cypress St & Kurrajong Ave & adjoining the western side of Wagga Wagga RAAF base. West of Wagga, on the northside of the Sturt highway adjacent to a rest area is the Berryjerry State Forest. At Hay,off the Sturt Highway heading west, before the roundabout, turning right at Shiel St leads to a regional park beside the river, (although last Christmas it was under water with lots of mozzies). South of Balranald, if you keep an eye out, there are some areas where there is a wide reserve (stock route?) between the highway and farm gate.

If you are willing to buy from overseas, Dog sport gearand All K9 have harnesses with handle and you can also get 'in training' and 'do not pet' patches that velcro onto the harness.

If you want to read more on the incident that is the subject of this thread google on 500只狗狗屠刀下的救助 . The website at news has some more videos and pics of the incident.

If you want to know more about chinese meat dog farming google on the chinese characters 肉狗 (edible dogs). A number of meat dog farms have websites: Fankuai Yalongquan Henan Xiang Oron Yongxing Beacon Bishan

For me the issue is not so much about pig hunting but firearm safety. As a child I used to go bushwalking with my dog along fire trails in what is now the Kosciusko National Park. As I grew up, more and more national parks were created. Since national parks are closed to domestic dogs that leaves state forests where one can enjoy bushwalking with one's dog(s). (Frankly I dispute Gwenneth1's assertion that 'state forests are locked up from public access'. I think the only people who would want to promote that idea are those that use the forests for their cannabis plantations). However since Morris Iemma & Co opened up state forests for unrestricted hunting in order to kiss the backsides of the Shooters Party MPs for their electoral preferences and votes in the Legislative Council, (as Curlybert mentions), when going into a forest I am apprehensive about either my dog or I being fired at by a bullet from a high-powered hunting rifle or even an arrow, thereby getting into a "Deliverance" style kill or be killed situation, since you wouldn't know whether the shot was accidental or deliberate. Obviously projectile weapons must be dangerous since services such as the military and police have very strict rules about handling weapons and civilians are not allowed to go wandering around firing ranges, which are delineated by flags and warning signs. On private properties, no farmer would want hunters coming onto their land unannounced without agreeing with the farmer where and where not to hunt, yet in state forests there is apparently open slather. Given that state forests are supposed to be a primarily a resource for timber and secondly a recreational facility for all citizens, then for safety's sake hunting with projectile weapons should be restricted to specific periods when the forest is closed to the general public with warning signs and flags erected, as for a shooting range. As to the purpose of the hunt, Sandra777 said "feral pigs should be exterminated". Tim's Mum said "how can you support their (wild pigs) continued existence as a feral animal that.......has no place here in Australia" Well, supporting the continued existence of exotic feral animals is precisely what the 'conservation hunting' mentioned by Katrina M is about. The aim of 'conservation hunting' is not to eradicate a species, but to maintain a healthy controlled population for sport hunting, in the absence of natural predators, e.g. in Australia we don't have wolf packs to control the wild deer. (In America they killed the wolves as well in order to provide enough deer for hunters to kill). Anyone who thinks sport conservation hunting is going to eradicate feral pigs, deer etc is in cloud cuckoo land. "Conservation hunting" continues the work of the 19th century Acclimatization and Game Societies mentioned by Eric Rolls in his 1969 book on the history of exotic feral animals in Australia, "They All Ran Wild" (Angus & Robertson). Sure, I would not like myself or my dogs attacked by a wild pig in a state forest either but: a) let us have hunting and firearm safety policies, b) if feral pigs have no place in Australia, let us hunt to eradicate, not conserve.

Could the dog have been a blond Hovawart rather than a goldie? The two breeds look similar.

I think raising the issue of a dog's health is a red herring as far as this thread is concerned. In regard to behavioural assessment would the present Protocol for assessing aggression in dogs by veterinarians on behalf of animal welfare groups apply? In respect of imported ova/ semen, how would you get the sires/ dams tested to this standard? Is any dog or their sire/ dam with proven ability (titles) in dog sport (Schutzhund, French Ring etc) having a protection component going to be regarded as dangerous, (based on existing Victorian law)? What about livestock guarding breeds?

Wait a moment - are we going off half cocked? According to this AVA web page we are talking about an AVA policy that was ratified by the AVA in January 1997? Is this policy something the facists in the Urban Animal Management movement (an unholy alliance of vets and dog catchers) are now trying to push through the Federal Minister for Ag, Fish & Forestry or is the 1st post a furphy?

If I understand the policy correctly, assessment would not only apply to a dog/ puppy being imported, but also to the foreign sire/dam? Such standards should also apply to any genetic material imported with assessment of temperament of donors of semen, ova or embryos. Given the anti-schutzhund law in Victoria, would the proposed AVA policy mean that any imported puppy or puppy born locally from the semen/ ova of a dog/ bitch with a Sch title would automatically be banned or import restricted? If exceptions are to be made, e.g. for guard dogs, defence dogs and drug detecting dogs, then special conditions should apply to the release of those animals into Australian territories and these animals should be identified as dangerous individuals, in keeping with local state or territory laws. I never realised drug sniffing dogs were aggressive.

I was bemused by the scene where the litle girl eats a pack of potato crisps next to the dingo.

Try doing a search on this forum as the topic of containment systems has been discussed previously. I believe the weight recommendation is because the stim from most containment systems is a 'one size fits all' so when the dog goes up to the fence it gets the same level stim irrespective of whether it is a big dog or small. For a dog under 5 kg the stim therefore would generally be considered too strong. Also you should never leave an e-collar on a dog for longer than 10 hours max, otherwise you will get necrosis of the skin under the electrodes - probably shorter in a hot humid environment. For a bark collar, a citronella spray collar that works on vibration may be better if it has to be left on for long periods. An alternative is an electric fence type system called a 'Pingg String'. Try this site: Sureguard

I recently discovered that in NSW, along the Murray and Murrubidgee rivers, many former state forests, where one could take dogs, have been turned into either 'National Parks' or 'Regional Parks'. While both are administered by NSW National Parks, you can still take dogs into a 'Regional Park', which incidentally, are also free from hunters and shooters.

Don't forget the risk to the dog from an air bag going off in a minor collision, especially in the front passenger seat. Such air bags are designed to protect adult humans only.

Not so in the USA, where there is now a website dedicated to MWD adoptions. To the best of my knowlege the change in policy came about after a long campaign following the withdrawal of US forces at the end of the Vietnam War, when of roughly 3000 dogs sent to Vietnam, only about one tenth were ever repatriated. There was also an outcry over the practice of using retired MWDs for training US army medics. The dogs would be aneasthetised, hung in a sling and shot, then used to train the medics in treating gunshot wounds. (I think nowadays they use sheep or pigs). If you search the web, there are a number of sites related to MWDs.

Same sort of parents that allow their kids to particicipate in calf riding at rodeos.

Are you referring more to these races:

An observation I would like to make is that if, as a society, we cannot prevent motor vehicles, which are mere machines, unable to move without a human controlling them, from killing and injuring hundreds of people each year, then we are not as a society, easily going to prevent 'accidents' with an animal that is a predatory carnivore, with a mind of its own thereby able to function autonomously.

I am pretty certain these are illegal in NSW. Section 16 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 No 200 states it quite clearly: Schedule 1 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (General) Regulation 2006 list the devices that are illegal. They include: However, I am sure a lot of people still use them in NSW. I am not personally against them. But I wouldn't use them if they are illegal. Odin-Genie has not quoted the full text of Shedule 1, Whereas the remote control e-collars are therefore illegal in NSW, the ones used for invisible fence collars are allowed under Schedule 1. Collars are available that can be used with both a hand-held remote control and buried wire. I am not sure of the legal status of these.

Another hazard for dogs: SMH story

To protect our beaches we should eliminate all marine life, especially whales. Whales are much bigger than dogs and with bans on whaling their population is increasing annuaally. Can you imagine the amount of poo that emanates from a pod of whales? Then we need to get rid of seals, fish, seagulls etc, all of which crap in the ocean. On land we need to get rid of all feral animals, especially birds, which crap wherever feel like - I have seen sports grounds where kids play covered in bird droppings.

I would have thought a PD's main value is to find a hidden suspect or track/ catch a fleeing one. For close in work police should be able to use Tasers if deemed appropriate instead of firearms. There also seems to be quite a few publically acessible websites out there showing how to overpower and kill an attacking dog such as a PD or MWD. You wouldn't know whether the person you are sending the dog against has studied these or not until it is too late.