jacqui835

In my case I know the answer is no. If my OH doesn't put his gardening gloves away, the dog barely seems to notice them. If he is the one who moved them, he won't even go near them. I don't have to know what's happened - I can tell from the dog! (OH will lie lol but poochy doesn't seem to be capable of that)

This is exactly like my dog - cheeky buggers.

I think we've had this discussion a few times before and my opinion is changing. The first thing though is that I think some dogs are a lot smarter than others - smarter dogs make stronger associations and have better memories. This is relevant because I think this is why my dog appears to be guilty when he's been naughty. I know in my case that it's not my tone or body language, because when I get home from work, my dog is either waiting for me at the back door if he's been a good boy, or cowering over in the middle of the lawn if he's been naughty. If he's been naughty, we can tell from his body language how close we are to the scene of the crime - he will start to lag back, and practically lie down with the most pathetic (and cute I might add) expression on his face. I don't know if he feels guilty as such - ie remorse for his naughty behaviour, but he does know that he has done something that will make us upset. I think because I have a smarter dog, he has learned to associate particular behaviour - such as pulling clothes off the line or stealing gardening gloves etc, with our disapproval, and because he's clever and remembers tricks after one session, he remembers these associations and so knows what's coming after he performs these acts. I just want to add that we don't hurt our dog or anything like that. His punishment consists of being told that he should be ashamed of himself and that he's been a bad dog in an angry tone, and then me walking away from him (ie no pats or greetings from coming home). So in closing, I am starting to believe that there are 2 factors that determine how likely your dog is to appear 'guilty'. The first is intelligence - they need to be able to make connections between particular behaviours and human responses and have good memories. The second is sensitivity and how much the dog is upset by your disapproval. If they score highly in both, you will probably have a dog that seems guilty after committing crimes.

Hmm will have to wait and see. I hope they do give us a chance. My dog has never worn a muzzle but if we needed to do that well I think it would still be worth it. He would spend all day every day chasing rabbits if he could - and I think this could help to satisfy some of his urges. I am also curious to see how fast he really is. We have clocked him at over 40km/hr on a bike (my partner has a race bike with a spedo) and he wasn't even really sprinting like he does after a rabbit, but I don't think it would be sensible to try and measure his speed from a car. On Sunday when I next speak to Judi, I will make sure I ask and get a list of all the things we need to do to prepare ourselves and our dogs - she seemed very kind and supportive but we'll soon know what's on offer I suppose.

This is not a story per se, but just something that occured to me the other day. When I was younger, we owned a male entire terrier cross. One of my best friends who lived across the road owned a purebred male entire staffy. It never even crossed my mind that staffies could be dangerous, my friend and I used to go for walks all the time and took our dogs everywhere with us. We spent a lot of time in parks with the dogs off-lead together, and not a single issue... I just thought it was cool that their staffies could hold themselves up by their mouths and they used to have tires hanging from the trees for this purpose. The thing is, I'm a bit scared of staffies now. They weren't as popular a breed back then I don't think, and the people who owned them knew what they wanted and what they were getting. These days, everyone owns one and because of the combination of unscruptulous breeding practices (profit seeking breeders) and the new class of owners, well I kind of avoid staffies now. (My dog has been attacked 3 times, unprovoked and all 3 times it has been impossible to calm the staffy down). I know it's not the breed, but truth is I'm wary of any powerful dog owned by someone I don't know and particularly members of the bullbreed family because I know they could kill my dog (I figure my dobie has a decent shot at survival against other breeds). There is a place for these breeds though. There are no other dogs like them, and so in the right homes there could be no other breed.

Also I should add it's a straight fenced track, so as long as we get our dogs to the course and they want to chase the lure, we should not have any trouble with lost dogs or escapees. I assume the greyhounds don't all have amazing recall either so we should be ok. My boy is not so bad, I would say his recall is about 99% and even then, he will always stay close to me. What I am most worried about is how he will react to the lure. Does anyone know what happens at the end of the course? I can imagine my dobie trying to pull the machine apart to get to it :s

Good news guys I have just spoken to Judi Hurley Executive Officer (Australia-wide) Australian Federation of Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers Associations SA Greyhound Racing Federation and she has very kindly agreed to speak to the track owners on our behalf to see whether it would be possible for us to use their facilities. They have a race and training this Sunday, but the following Sunday she said there was a good chance we would be able to use the straight track :D She is going to speak to the course owner and give me a call back this Sunday night after the races and so of course I will keep everyone posted. Time to start the training...

Ok finally home and have a few minutes before dog training tonight, so I was thinking... If everyone who has a bit of spare time compiles a list for me of the known potential lure courses I could call that would be very helpful. I don't mind making phone calls and should be able to during my lunch break tomorrow - and hopefully the places we know can either help us or refer us to places that can. I think at this point we have at least 10 dogs interested which is awesome and definitely worth pursuing. We could hold competitions for speed, enthusiasm, greatest poses adopted while sprinting - like the ears of the deerhound etc - I can't wait!!

Apologies guys, work is crazy right now and I don't even have time for lunch so I won't be able to call around today. If anyone else would like to, feel free, otherwise I will do it tomorrow.

Ok I will try calling those places today at lunch and see what I can find. I'm so excited! My dog is not a sight-hound either, but he loves chasing bunnies and he seems to be quite fast so I think this might be a good sport for him.

Ok that's 6 + the little guy (who of course is welcome). Now we just need to contact all the existing lure coursing set-ups and see whether they are willing to accommodate us. I am happy to call; are there any others that anyone knows of, aside from the Jack Russel one?

I think the first step is to make a list of all the existing lure courses in Adelaide, because I think we should confirm that we can't use any of those before we try and make a new one. Also if we can have a list of everyone who would be interested - perhaps state your name and the breed of your dog/s. Jacqui: doberman cross

more from that day here. If you cant find anywhere to course your hounds perhaps you could form a club, or at least get a group of interested people together, buy yourself a drag lure, or if someone is clever enough, make one, and organise your own days. Your dogs will love you for it. I'm certainly in

I wonder if like we could pay, and they would let us use their course? If anyone knows who they are, I would certainly at least give them a call and beg to use their facilities lol

Hi guys, there was an old thread on this topic, but it was never really resolved and it's over a year old so I think I have to make a new one. I have a dobie cross, who today proved he can easily outrun rabbits on the flat. He can also outrun whippets and he loves to run! We do agility and obedience and he loves and excels in these, but his favourite thing in the whole world seems to be chasing things, and having heard of lure coursing, it sounds like the perfect sport for him. Does anyone know where I could do that in Adelaide?

It does sound unusual to me - I have known plenty of dogs who have been demonstrably less energetic after desexing, but never one that was more so. Additionally, of course I couldn't be sure for dogs, but I know that in the case of humans, eunuchs can still experience sexual frustration if castrated after puberty - they just can't do anything about it.

I believe that as a breed 'group', the terriers are more feisty on the whole and do have a stronger urge to kill. I have personally owned a terrier cross, and he killed many wild rabbits, rats, mice, birds etc and would try to attack dogs much larger than himself. Admittedly, I was the main trainer of this dog and when we got him I was 7, so he did not receive a whole lot of it. He would bite if provoked, but it was more of a bite and run/fear thing. Perhaps that was because he knew people could fight back - plenty of people in my family/friend group had no issues with giving him a boot up the backside and he was only 9kg. I imagine that if he'd had 30+kg to work with, he would have been a dangerous dog. I now own an entire male dobe cross rottie, 40+ kg and he seems to take his job of protecting me very seriously - see my other threads if you want examples. That said, if I had to worry about him killing a child should he somehow end up in their house, I would put him down today. I don't think you should be allowed to keep a dog that will kill someone given the chance. Fact of the matter is, muzzling it, caging it - what sort of life is it living anyway? And living like that with no socialising is going to make the situation worse. And the risk imo is too high. It only takes one time of you leaving the gate open or whatever, and someone is dead. Gosh we didn't close our gate properly one day, and our dogs took themselves next door and were playing with the children. Now that's a terrible thing and we maybe should have been fined, but like I said, if I had any doubt in my mind about whether my dogs would hurt someone except under very particular circumstances (eg protecting me), I wouldn't keep them in a developed area (if at all). I don't really care what breed your dog is. But if you know the only thing stopping your dog from killing or seriously hurting another human being is a muzzle/lead/cage, I just don't think there's a justifiable reason for keeping those dogs around.

I would beg to disagree. You don't "rescue" a dog if you're condemning its parents to misery. Calling a BYB or pet shop pup a "rescue" is a salve to the owners conscience and in no way a reflection of the reality of a commerical transaction. It also makes light of the efforts of "real" rescuers. Well actually you do rescue that particular dog. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you think the consequences of your actions (everything discussed such as the plight of the parents and sustenance of a dirty industry) are justifiable because one dog will have a better life. You could also ask yourself, does that particular dog in the petshop not deserve a good life, should it have to bear the consequences of the industry its unwittedly and through no fault of its own a part of? Is there a right answer? I don't know. The industry has to go, but what is the most humane and ethical way to do it? You could argue both sides

I'm the same. But I know it would be bad. My beautiful dobie loves to eat whole raw chickens, so he gets one a week (about $8). I think they need some human grade mince through their biscuits, so we buy a packet a week of that (about $10). The dobie eats a predominantly natural diet now, 2 days costs $5:30 + premium biscuits. He also likes his lamb necks, 3 per week which are about $10/week. Our little shepherd likes raw chicken too, so she has maryland pieces. The dobie manages to lose his id tag on his collar about once a month at least - so that's an extra $17/month. The young shepherd has a lot of vet visits - $120+ each time. Also worming etc. And indirectly the amount of fuel I burn trying to find new parks to take them to... We wash them both twice a month,$10 each per session so $40 a month there. I think I save in the long run though, healthy teeth and healthy dogs.

I don't know. I would act one way if I found a flea infested, anemic very young kitten, and another if I found a well-fed, healthy looking animal... In fact I have found many obviously loved pets, and always taken them straight to the vet if they don't have a number I can ring on them. But if I found what would appear to be either a stray or a victim of abuse (or perhaps extremely unlikely circumstances such as being stolen and escaped - is it some sort of rare pure breed even?), well I would say I think it's been through enough and it's time to start a nice life. The last thing a tiny young kitten needs is months at the pound...

Oh the obedience and also how fit and agile the lab was. If you compare the video to one with a malinois you can see the bite work isn't there but it's just nice to see what can be achieved if you try

Thanks sorry not sure what happened there.

My dream is to one day get here with my own dogs - first lab I've ever seen competing, and doing very well to boot. My link

Walking with a dog I think is a good way to maintain and improve the relationship, but if you're trying to build one where there isn't something there already, I find walking can actually make it worse - just because you realise how out of sinc you are etc and it can make you feel frustrated with the dog. I find training and playing can work wonders though - and have personally had great results.

I now own a doberman and a german shepherd, and whilst there are similarities, I have noticed a few real differences. Disclaimer: this is but one doberman and one shepherd, and the dobie is a boy and the shepherd is female - so how applicable this will be I don't know - hopefully it helps. The doberman (at least in our case) is a bit more of a one person dog, and has higher drive. He will do anything for a toy and is very athletic. He doesn't fetch, and whilst he wants He is a person guard - ie you can sometimes sneak into our house without him noticing, but if there is a person at home, you can't sneak up on them. He is more of a low growler, watch intently rather than a barker. He doesn't have the doggy smell. He does shed, but it is nothing, I repeat nothing compared to the shepherd. He can run at over 40km/hr and leap over sewer/river things - it's quite amazing. If we are cold, the dobe is cold - his coat does not seem to offer much protection or warmth. He is amazingly tolerant and bomb proof. We have had strange kids literally jump on him at the park, and he just wags his tail. You can sit next to him and play with his ears, pull on his hair and tail and he's fine. The shepherd loves both me and my partner equally and seems to be more pack oriented (whereas the dobe seems more partner oriented). She barks a lot if she sees anything she worries about. She seems to be more of a property guardian - she is as concerned and focused on property defense whether we're there or not. She has been much easier to teach to walk on lead and toilet train. She doesn't have the same 'ego' as the dobie and is less dominant. She stinks by comparison to the dobe - smells like a dog. She carries her tail lower and it never seems to hit us or destroy the house (the dobe has caused many bruises and dollars of damage with his). Her coat is a good insulator - she is never cold and in fact is often hot. She can run at probably between 20-30 km/hr and is not really in the same league as the doberman for athleticism. She can snap - you don't push her or tease her the way we can with the dobie. She is less intense and energetic. Two quite different dogs, but a good match for each other. She doesn't take any crap from the dobe and will snap at him when he goes too far. The dobe is so fast and so agile that when she annoys him, he can easily evade her. They are both about equally clever, and both were protective from a young age.