Muttaburra

Yup! proud owner of 2 jrts, one of which has been training me for years, with a highly motivated and persistant dog it's surprising how easily this can happen.

Hi Jill Are you using this link to get in? http://www.petrescue.com.au/groups/10379

There's nothing wrong with children (of course) They can pose a problem to dog owners if not properly educated. I've had children run up and slap my dog for no good reason, luckily he was not reactive to this kind of approach. For me the bottom line is, if your dog is not proven to be "child-proof", don't expose them to this kind of interaction. Many dogs can be child proof, some are sensitive, so need some help/training if that is not possible then keep your dogs away from any situation where they may not cope.

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Sorry if I've paged ahead of all comments, just want to add that as I understand it a "good K9 citizen" that is tethered in a public place should allow a Ranger to approach and check the tag etc. etc. Not a good idea to leave a dog in that situation if it is likely to bite, or fear aggressive etc., that is putting the dog in jeopardy and ignorant people who approach it. However if an owner is at hand, and the dog is on a leash, they should be asked whether the dog is approachable. If the dog is not approachable the owner should turn quickly and walk away. The dog however should be under control if in public, even in that situation. It is ignorance to allow a child to rush over, or extend a hand to a dog without asking first, small children are especially unco-ordinated and can frighten dogs. Both my dogs were raised with children and luckily they are very good with them, even so I usually crouch down to the dog and child's level, holding the dog firmly near the collar so that it can't jump up, then supervise any contact carefully if the parent has asked if the child can pat the dog. I believe it is a community issue and children and parents should be educated.

Glad he has found a good home. My mind boggled at just what a Lab x Pei would look like, and amazingly, he looks both unmistakably Lab and Pei!!

Good luck with it all, it may be out of date, but I heard the AWL up that way were always short on smaller breeds to adopt out?

Excellent point!

How amazing, they look so uniform in appearance. Good luck with them.

Add to that, "the Easter break is coming up", gosh what a coincidence. (the powerboat, caravan and all parked out front and ready to go).

Oh no, please keep us updated, hoping for good news.

If there is good reason for it and the dog is comfortable, it's not about what people think, because I am sure a dog doesn't primp in front of a mirror. I've seen very ordinary "knife and fork" haircuts on dogs, done to make them more comfortable, wouldn't do that myself, would get proper trimmers, however, the dog with the bad haircut was better off than without it.

That sounds dreadful, and it makes me wonder that other than hot pavements, sometimes it seems a bit hot for dogs to be out. I always wait for the cool as much as for my own sake as the dogs, if it is not comfortable for me, it probably won't be optimum for them to enjoy a good exercise.

I agree you may be on quite a learning curve, and while keeping 2 male JrTs together is not impossible, it is generally not recommended. Great advice given here and certainly Jill from jrtrescue might have some advice too. In the meantime you might consider keeping them separate when you are not around. Also do not allow either of them into the kitchen or food preparation area - while dogs are settling in to new homes they can display "resource guarding" due to the insecurity of being rehomed. This "resource guarding" can also apply to the humans in the household, bones or toys lying around, a favourite chair or couch and so on. Jack Russells love a game though, so regular play times with balls, tugs or toys is a great way to help them bond with you and settle down. When the games are over, put all toys and balls away for next time (this shows them that you are in control) During the playtime you can extend their training as well by training them to drop the ball and sit before the ball is thrown, etc. etc.

Great post. The notion that "all dogs are the same" is very over-simplistic on a number of levels. Dogs were bred to display or accentuate different canine attributes and behaviours, so the setter sets, the retriever retrieves, the sight dog runs and sees into the distance, the flock guardian guards and so on. Even though dogs can often be trained to do tasks that they were not specifically bred for, mostly you will find that, for example, the cattle dog is best for herding cattle and often show the herding instinct from an early age. Any individual from any breed or mixed breed can have congenital physical or neurological issues. Having said that, the attitude that "all dogs are normal" is probably a good starting assumption when applying training techniques to modify a dogs behaviour, then only after trying out the training, a decision can be made as to whether the dog is not "normal".

Very funny to see people fearful of a lizard that evolved to move at the speed fast enough to catch a snail. Lovey to see the way that guy tenderly handled the blue tongue, must really love his reptiles.

I don't know exactly where the line is between racist comments and criticism of another countries cultural practices, though in my opinion, sadly, there are posts in this thread that seemed to have crossed over racist vernacular. There are mistreatment of animals all around the world that are cruel and abhorrent. A couple of hundred years between cultures isn't much in the evolution of humankind, and while "officially" most animals bred and slaughtered for food in Australia must adhere to some form of regulations regarding humane treatment, there is plenty of animal cruelty in Australia and other developed countries. Less than a hundred years ago, European settlers almost drove the Koala to extinction. Koalas and European settlement "The loveable Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) of Australia, which never recovered from killing by the fur trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries that nearly caused its extinction" "Beginning in the 19th century, Koalas were hunted mercilessly by European settlers for their soft fur pelts and were entirely helpless in the face of guns and dogs. The major means used by professional hunters were poisoning and snaring, and by the late 19th century, 300,000 Koala pelts a year were being shipped to the London fur market (Phillips 1994). By the early 20th century, they were almost eliminated in the southern half of the country and became extinct in South Australia in the early 1930s. In 1898, legislation was passed in Victoria to attempt to stem the killing, but it was not enforced (Phillips 1994). In 1908, 57,933 Koala pelts were exported, and hunting spread to Queensland; beginning in 1915, year-round hunting was allowed (Phillips 1994). The U.S. fur trade sold millions of Koala pelts during the 1920s; from 1919 to 1921, 208,677 Koala pelts were sold in the U.S. fur trade, along with more than 7 million Australian opossum and wallaby pelts, according to a study by two American Museum of Natural History biologists, Henry Fairfield Osborn and Harold Anthony (1922). After signs of depletion and public outcry, the Queensland government closed the hunting season in 1921, but commercial pressure resulted in a re-opening of hunting five years later. In a one-month season in 1927, 584,738 Koalas were killed and their pelts sent to the United States (Phillips 1994). This was the last year of hunting. The U.S. market was finally shut down at this time when President Herbert Hoover, who had worked in the gold fields of Western Australia, signed an order permanently prohibiting the importation of both Koala and Wombat skins, an order that remains in effect today (Phillips 1994). " http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/trade_koalas.php and the impact of European settlement in the Americas "First, there was the greed factor. For a good part of the 1800s bison were considered to be in limitless supply. For non-native buffalo hunters they were the equivalent of a gold mine on four legs. This group hunted bison from trains and horseback for their tongues, hides, bones and little else. The tongue was, and still is considered a delicacy. Hides were prepared and shipped to the east and Europe for processing into leather. Remaining carcasses were, for the most part, left to rot. By the time nothing but bones remained, they too were gathered and shipped via rail to eastern destinations for processing into industrial carbon and fertilizer. By the 1890s with numbers nearing extinction, the bison 'gold rush' was over. At the same time, the American government openly encouraged elimination of the Plains Indians' primary food source, the bison. In so doing, the Indians would be forced into relatively small areas, or north into Canada. In either situation, food sources were either scarce or non-existent. The results were starvation, and high infant mortality amongst the Indian populations. In the end the west was open to European settlement and the start of the western beef industry." http://www.bisonbasics.com/history/past_future.html And who could ever forget the Dodo?

The thing about small breeds, especially Mini Foxies for example, is that sometimes they do have fine bones and are not so sturdy in consideration of interacting with a child under five years old that might be a bit clumsy (as many are). So I can understand the concerns of any dog breeder (of small breeds) in this situation. If you could extend yourself to a larger breed of dog, really, a golden retriever breed might be worth considering. They tend to be very affable, and sturdy with regards to children. That is not to say that a suitable variant of a Jack Russell Terrier would not be a good match, in fact I own two JRTs that are almost bomb proof with children, it's just that not all small dogs are.

That is so funny. I think dogs react to certain sound. Maxi used to go all funny when the Mighty Mite (vegimite clone) advert was on the radio, it had all sorts of squeaky sounds on it.

The case I wish to present here is for an example I am a follower of a particular member of facebook Another follower posts an appealing picture of a dog so I look at their album. I am then presented with a photo of a dog being skinned alive in China. Now for the record, I suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, so now, after viewing such appalling imagery, I have a pain in the back of my head like I am about to have a stroke. My whole day is devastated by the image which I have not subscribed to, days of nightmares follow. Nor would I think any children or very young people need to be traumatised by this, yet the site I subscribe to does not show such images, it is another subscriber that gets to have it's post showed because it is "liked" by my subscriber. Frankly I call this "hijacking" and very unethical, no matter how worthy the hijacker feels their cause may be, they are piggy-backing on the efforts and popularity of the people they follow, and not on their own steam. The big impetus for me to help (via support with the website) of Jack Russell Rescue, was the love of the breed and the need of so many Jack Russells in pounds. I did not need to see graphic images of dogs dying, just the statistics of dogs euthanaised in Australia was enough to prompt me into action. I believe that "graphic warnings" should always be given if someone wants to post distressing material. A "picture may be worth a thousand words", however for some a few words may be enough.

That is just so wrong, it's all bluddy wrong anyway.

I am sorry for your loss. Dogs can develop bad habits I know. Our own family labrador chased me once when riding by on a bike, didn't realize it was me, but quickly did when I shouted his name. Easy solution, good containing fence, keep your dogs in, keep them safe. Dogs will learn bad habits, chase cars, will want to chase bikes, natural instinct. Very sad your dog was PTS, hope others can learn from our experience and provide escape-proof fences to keep their dogs safe. That is the best way, your dog was just exhibiting natural behaviour.

Yep, all the idiot dog owners can congratulate themselves, owners with dogs on leads walking through the suburbs have been duly intimidated. Nice work, for dog ownership and breed representation - not. My territory for walking my dogs on leads is continually reduced by people that can't understand the value of keeping their dogs contained. Nice work!

Oh yeh, he's da man alright!! You have done a wonderful job, just to think that a neglected dog can have some quality of life, no matter how long that may be, and I am hoping he may surprise you yet, but yes he is old, I know. Good work Cathy, Mack looks amazing.