Tempus Fugit

So is the road toll, so is domestic violence, so are the human on human attacks that occur with monotonous regularity. I don't put much store in Sky News. At a motel, an unsupervised child so young could easily have been killed by someone backing their car out of a parking spot or have he could have run onto the road and been hit by a passing car. The incident brings to mind an earlier child death https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/girl-brutally-killed-by-dogs/news-story/f81cde69dcd7290c72921f3363e2a682. As for the meter reader, it appears the meters on the subject property had been read numerous times in the past with no incidents, the dogs being contained behind a fence, so it would appear there was an agreed protocol in place. Why there was a breakdown would be the subject of an investigation by OH&S authorities and the coroner. The fact that it happened on a Saturday rather than a normal Mon-Fri workday could be a factor.

I think you will find dogs used for pig hunting in Australia can be a mite agressive. Overseas there are quite a lot of breeds used for hunting large animals or livestock guarding that could potentially be imported to Australia. The latter need to have the gameness to fight predatory wolves, lynxes etc.

Don't forget BSL doesn't necessarily involve a complete ban on owning a breed. In Ireland for example BSL means you can't take your gsd or rottie among certain other breeds in public unless muzzled. Other countries like Denmark & Iceland have similar BSL restrictions. Interesting though to compare with the campaign by greyhound rescue groups in Aus getting muzzle restrictions on retired greys removed. However muzzle-in-public laws are no use in preventing attacks by unmuzzled dogs that escape from their owner's premises as in the case of the cattle dog mentioned by ASAL. Theoretically such dogs need to be classified as a "Dangerous Dog" requiring special containment. Also, as other posts have stated, there are dozens of breeds that are candidates for BSL if you are going to have BSL as a control measure. Apart from pitbulls, I have never been able to fathom why Australia's BSL only involves four breeds.

I wouldn't leave my dog tied up outside a pub or restaurant to have a lengthy meal, but travelling solo with my dog in warmer months, staying at a country town caravan park, I have tied my dog up outside a shop briefly in order to buy takeaway food, newspaper etc. If I'm not allowed to leave my dog locked in a hot van, what other option is there? In bygone times, drovers used to tie up their horses & dogs outside country pubs.

Is this for real: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11093871/cavoodle-breeder-reveals-huge-profit-makes.html?fbclid=IwAR1MspA_-J-gL1D9hdcCl2E1Vjw0eZE7PYOkNTk-zxwnL6T2xWrThG81lWs?

Another issue for elderly owners is what arrangements are there for looking after the dog if you suddenly had to spend unplanned time in hospital.

Another take: https://smartagain.org/2022/04/28/humans-cant-quit-a-basic-myth-about-dog-breeds/. I agree with Diva's bell curve (gaussian distribution) comment. This is necessary for the evolutionary process of natural selection in all species. The curve can be shifted by environmental factors or deliberately through selective breeding, as shown by the Russian fox experiment where one group of foxes were bred over time for docility and another for the opposite trait. As an example look at the way German shepherds have changed such that Malinois are now the favoured working breed. Thus the pitbull breed which is supposed to be predominantly a 'game' fighting dog could be turned into a predominantly 'nanny dog' with only a small number of the population showing 'fight gameness'

I guess you would draw inspiration from these American orgs: https://www.thecavalrygroup.com/ https://protecttheharvest.com/ http://www.naiaonline.org/

Is this another case of RSPCA overkill or were the dogs really so mentally damaged they couldn't be rescued? 9 News Adelaide A Border Collie breeder is standing trial, accused of damaging her dogs’ mental states so badly that some had to sadly be put down. The RSPCA says she ignored repeated warnings to clean up her "faeces-ridden" property and provide adequate food and shelter.

How about these? https://www.theland.com.au/story/7529495/kelpie-female-to-24000-in-the-working-dog-challenge-auction-photos/?cs=4941

Came across this on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/301829757143596/permalink/895305331129366/. Might be of interest to some DOLers.

Wondering if this is true or an exaggeration?

Certainly not the first time an infant has been killed by the "family pet". I dare say a small minority of dogs get emotionally unstable and commit infanticide just like humans. Incidentally an 8 year old girl in Belgium has also been killed by a staffy in the last few days: https://www.newsweek.com/dog-fatally-mauls-8-year-old-girl-american-staffordshire-terrier-belgium-1609288. And so it goes: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9785955/Staffy-killed-five-week-old-baby-Central-Coast-viewed-infant-prey-experts-warn.html?fbclid=IwAR0xL0OGBx_Dnm29IfrbOO117Wg0V5vJQNrhSy-BLytleRDMutU_v6694Oo

This article from the USA is a worry, especially when a tick repellant is required to prevent Ehrlichiosis; Popular flea collar linked to almost 1,700 pet deaths. The EPA has issued no warning : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/03/02/seresto-dog-cat-collars-found-harm-pets-humans-epa-records-show/4574753001/?fbclid=IwAR3dbEqWSJki1d_f1ehjckSJJ6ZN26SLVa__jDWtEB84J3I8xJx7oYP5_cI

https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/2021/02/10/diet-reduces-dog-droppings/

Expensive sheep dogs: https://www.theland.com.au/story/7100910/puppy-love-comes-with-a-world-record-11000-price-tag/?cs=4941&utm_source=The+Informer&utm_campaign=8d8792e3f9-THE_INFORMER_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94698b0879-8d8792e3f9-68377701

Lots of dogs were used to provide motive power prior to the industrial revolution. Just Google on "dog-powered". Apart from cart dogs, dogs were used to run on treadmills to operate butter churns etc.Dogs were also used in coal mines where tunnels were too small to accommodate pit ponies - replacing children after child labour laws were introduced.

Am curious whether any of the study used strong distractions e.g. feral deer & foxes, during the training exercises, especially where the dog had previously self rewarded by chasing prey species.

Why would you cross a wolfhound with a bull mastiff if it wasn't for the purpose of breeding a hunting dog? Also if the DAS rangers are involved I suspect the issue is not merely agressive display but there has actually been a reported attack.

Apparently it's only a draft law at the moment. I believe there has been previous draft animal welfare legislation in China which has come to nothing. I believe the subject draft law is more to do with human health than animal welfare. Dog fighting as entertainment is still legal (although betting on a dog fight is not) and there are no welfare provisions for sleigh and cart dogs.

Here we go again: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-25/rspca-called-out-for-how-it-euthanases-animals/11899682

If you support PTH you may as well support this mob as well: https://thecavalrygroup.com/

Has anybody in Perth, Sydney or Canberra been prosecuted as a result of this person being busted?

In the light of the current horse slaughter controversy the number of 0 routine inspections is interesting.

And this is what we end up with https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7536487/South-Australian-man-sentenced-tied-German-Shepherd-dogs-snout-shut-CABLE-TIE.html#i-3cd97e3320219cc7