Lady Flying Furball

:D What a funny scene ;) Yes, the world of the dog is very mysterious sometimes :p

Surely they'd be sure if they were announcing it... Do hope she is found. It always gets me when I hear about lost dogs

Yes true - I guess that's a tough call because if she's not caught and the dog continues to do it there will be more innocent dogs harmed and it's likely to end up in the news anyway. At least if you and your Aunty are involved in getting it into the newspaper you have a better chance of focussing the story on the owner and not the breed of the dog. But yes, difficult call. I'm afraid that blaming the breed here is a risk however as spotty chick said there are ways to put forward the side you want emphasized.

I agree!! Council and police because this woman should not be a dog owner. I hope the little ones aren't scarred for life psychologically...those pictures really bring it home. I hope this woman is found and I would encourage your aunt to go all the way INCLUDING recovery of costs.

Yes, it seems to be true...same here in Eastern suburbs of Sydney. Lifetime rego is so super smart for keeping dogs safer!!

I also have a friend's mother who has come and stayed in my apartment with Tonka for weekends. She is so thorough and also caring of your place. Once Tonka had his leg bandaged as he pulled his claw off and she had to give an antibiotic tablet everyday...no problem. She may be available if you go for a housesitter... BUT i have to say I have also used a kennel (Hanrob) for longer trips and felt relaxed because he was really safe, no escaping, and had lots of doggy company as there they share a run with a roommate

That photo is gorgeous. They are really bonded!!

Gosh, that's awful

Unfortunately, Hetzer, the dogs who live with us in our human 'civilised' world aren't "in nature". They don't have the daily freedoms they used to have, to wander and mix freely with other dogs as they used to in my childhood days, to self socialise. And what that means is that there are many dogs who aren't always 'stable' in themselves, so to allow your dog to wander freely using off-lead parks for the purpose is not something that will assure you your dog will learn appropriately or fairly or sufficiently, because those dogs themselves have not necessarily learnt appropriately or fairly or sufficiently. By comparison to the UK, for example, our dogs aren't as settled as theirs seem to be (generally speaking). In contrast, our society regards dogs in general as something that is anti-social to be around. In the UK, they have the freedom to travel and mix with humans in their day to day lives outside of their homes. Here, we've battled laws that suggest they shouldn't be in outdoor cafes for fear of a dog hair floating and making its way over to someone who might be eating. , to name just one. Here, the push seems to be to isolate the dogs more and more from 'life', yet somehow miraculously expect the dogs to be completely comfortable with 'life'. Which means that after generations of dogs not learning well enough themselves, we have many enough who are bad teachers. So, to suggest (which I think you were) that it is a better thing to let your dog run up to other dogs (whether that be because you allow them to or whether that be because you have no control to stop it) ...... I'm afraid I can't agree. Hi Erny I've had a think about what you wrote and I you're right. I guess a dog park can be a bit like a prison yard on occasion where you don't want your dog, especially a younger impressionable one, to be at the mercy of bullying dogs of unknown psychology. As Kavik mentioned to me, the element of human control and supervision is important. However in off-leash zones, it's hard to please everyone all the time. In such a zone, its a bit unrealistic to expect that your dog will not be approached by another dog. That's why, in this threads example, I find the SWF owner's comments and attitude really irritating. Given the choice, I'd much rather have a playful Lab run up to say Hi than a fear-aggressive SWF and human combo. Can you be more specific Hetzer abouyt which SWF owner's comments you find irritating. I just read thru this whole thread again and I think it is a robust discussion where owners of differnet types of dogs talk about the realitites... So I would be really interested to know exactly which part is irritating,, and not only that "really" irritaing ETA: is it my comments??

Yes you did you little chocolato fido...naughty ETA: ...and that Humpty fellow behind you looks like trouble too

KG, I totally relate and have had the same challenge with my papillon boy... I had to really take responsibility in where I took him at a certain stage, avoided other walkers and dogs for a few months... Now it is much better and mild as anything, but he still makes noises at other dogs. It is hard when people make offhand comments about SWF or yapping little dogs in such disparaging tones as seen in this thread.

You're not serious? There is a very HA and DA lab down the street from me - people cross the street when they see it approaching (on leash). Most labs also play very physically. They can easily hurt a small dog even if they didn't mean it. I'm deadly serious! Who could be scared of a labrador?! ;) They're known as the world's friendliest and most family orientated dog! I would never cross the street if I see a labrador on a leash. If I see a little yappy thing, then I cross the street! Seriously, in a recent media interview about the very topic of seeking to nominate "dangerous breeds", a vet who had worked in the US said that the worst dog attack they had ever seen was a lab!! Having been bitten once by a dog in my life, a lovely smiling, wagging tail lab nearly bit my bloody hand off when I was nine! I'm tired of small dog bashing. Obviously small dogs make big noises to protect themselves...get over it please people.

Well your dog was "going for " their dog, even if to play. And it is such a classic thing to say "don't worry my dog is gentle." The point is that their dog obviously wasn't tolerating another dog approaching. You have to respect boundaries and requests around other dogs and owners, and not take it personally. When my dog wasn't tolerating other dogs approaching him, it really f@###ed up my training when others let their dogs run up despite my requests they call their dogs away

What a pity! Sounds like the wife is very customer friendly and helpful...no doubt she is smoothing over things with customers a lot. No business brains in that fella, a bit temperamental, and maybe you can be thankful that you are not in that marriage

Love the first picture!!

great news Hope you have a nice "winnie-inclusive" celebration

Have a look at the post in General titled If You Have a Few Spare Minutes. It shows a video of orthopedic devices for dogs with joint problems It looks really fantastic and the minute I watched it I thought of you and this thread which I had just read!! I'm sorry you have this renewed worry and your dog, the pain. Wouldn't it be good if it was just the colder weather. All the best and let us know if you watch the video, what you think??

How fantatic Thanks for posting...what an obvious idea

May I compliment you on wonderful breed taste. You have two lovely stunners there!! Now going to look at those new piccies...post #38

So what did you go with?

Any news??

Awwww!! How cute. I love the other dog looking at her ...looks like a cherry snack

What a disturbing predicament. Sounds quite a different scenario from Outkasts's original post as the neighbour is demonstrating some agro, potentially violent behaviour. Lots of people have suggested to OK to go and speak to his/her neighbour regarding the dog but that doesn't sound like such an option for you. I know that it is police that deal with neighbour noise and council with pet noise. In the past I have talked with the police about a problem in my apartment building (an old lady going demented and paranoid) and here in Sydney they have "community" police officers. It was very reassuring, no action was taken, but I received some advice about handling it and felt understood and better. Why don't you have a talk to the police and express your concerns. Wait and see how it pans out as moving would be a pity!

I have floorboards and had them polished and a gloss coat put on that I was told was hard wearing. I have a small 3.5 kg dog. In retrospect I would of used some rugs to protect the most used areas: hallway and lounge room, plus, more importantly, I would never have started playing fetch inside ;) All the very fine scratches are from Tonka scrambling to get the toy. I think otherwise it would have been fine.

I think Daisy had a good easy idea. Go toTarget or Kmart and buy some cheapie thick cotton tshirts that will fit him and then you can change and wash them each day and throw them away if they get too bad...plus will allow the dogs skin to breathe. I would do that.