melzawelza

Pretty terrible. I hope the dogs were destroyed. Sounds like both housing and DAS (if, indeed, it was reported to DAS) have some blame to bear here.

Showing is supposed to be dogs competing in prime condition. Fact is that fat dogs are not just being exhibited, they are consistently winning in some breeds. That's pretty appalling.

Great update. Thank you!

Sounds like common sense prevailed. Obviously the enclosure requirements for DD must be less stringent in QLD than in NSW - in NSW the dog has to be in a roofed run fixed to sealed graded concrete, with a lock on it. NSW is complete, ridiculous, overkill though.

Raw fed - once per day (breakfast). We do fast days here and there, too (mostly when I haven't had the chance to get to the butcher in time before I run out!)

I remember the thread, too. And the ridiculous excuses made for obviously obese dogs. I'm actually surprised it's only 1/4 that were assessed as overweight. I find it embarrassing to see the condition some dogs/breeds are shown in. I hear you! This is rife in rottweilers as well, brags about how heavy the sire and dam are, although moreso in BYB litters than registered. I actually had our vet comment on how nice it was to see a rottweiler at correct weight when I took Nova in a couple of weeks ago. They're a working dog, they can't work if they're fat and sloppy! Beautiful!

I'm gone from 7am-6pm 9 days a fortnight and she goes in to the backyard. She sleeps, chases lizards and entertains herself. Once I'm home she's in with me all night. If I ever go out in the evening she's kept inside. I'd happily give her a dog door as she's not destructo at all, but I've got indoor cats so it's not an option.

There's been lots of studies that show that visual breed ID of mixed breeds is completely unreliable. The rescue is doing the right thing by listing her as simply 'mixed breed'. Cross breed dogs cease to become members of any of the breeds behind them, and all dogs are individuals, so if you adopt her just focus on her as an individual and you will be setting yourself up for a good start :) Check out this great infographic on the topic: https://animalfarmfoundation.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/a-closer-look-at-all-dogs-are-individuals-infographic/

The owner of the property is also his father-in-law. Hard to imagine he wouldn't know it was going on.

Any animal professional could have reasonably foreseen a high level of risk in a small dog running loose with a group of large dogs. Not even from attacks necessarily - a large dog without the spatial awareness of small dog could seriously hurt them if running in to/over them. Accidents happen in any kind of animal care situation, even with the best of care, but this wasn't the best of care.

I love everything about this article. This is an enormous problem in the rescue/shelter world.

Supreme Court sides with Izzy, Knox council up for $400k in legal bills. IZZY WINS HIGH COURT APPEAL

How did you know after sitting in on a few minutes of a puppy class that all these people bought puppies that were unsuitable for their lifestyles?

I put a cat flap in my laundry door so I could close it but the cats could still get in there. She still has a sneaky snack if I leave the door open accidentally though...

Now that she knows she can it's unlikely she'll stop. They're butts like that :laugh: If it were me I'd hook up a Pingg String immediately. A whack or two and she'll never try it again, especially if she's only succeeded once before and doesn't have a long reward history behind her.

Willow if your profile is correct and you're in NSW, there's no pet limits within the whole state. Our legislation doesn't allow for it. Individuals can be given an order under the local government limiting the animals in their care but that can really only be used in hoarding cases or where there is huge nuisance issues etc.

Yeah it's really disappointing, as I'd always had good experiences with them!

I always had great customer service from them, too, but recently found out something that has made me discontinue purchasing from them. I initially started buying food from them a couple of years ago now because they formed a partnership whereby a donation would be made to Fetching Dogs for the first purchase should you enter a code. I know lots and lots of people also started buying from them in order to support FD, and FD advertised them a lot. Just found out recently that FD never received a cent from them, despite following up many times. They eventually gave up. A few customers emailed them asking for an explanation and got very much a 'brush off' response. So unfortunately despite the fact that I've always had good customer service, I won't be using them again. I've always found Stefmar to be great and good prices, too.

I agree here. Unless there is a health issue associated with the colour I think it should be irrelevant. Absolutely. Many breeds are in danger genetically due to closed gene pools and silly DQs. Allowing colours that aren't associated with health problems would go some way to helping.

It's a huge problem in the industry, and it's partially fueled in my opinion by the idea that 'if you love animals you'll work tirelessly day in day out for no financial gain, cut off everything else in your life and focus completely on rescue'. It's not healthy and it makes it so hard for people to say no or stand up for their own emotional wellbeing and self-care. Team Dog is looking to run some compassion fatigue workshops for the rescue/shelter community hopefully this year. I can pop back in and update the thread with the info when it's organised if anyone is interested?

Bugger! I guess there's a limit to how many dogs you can fit in your home :laugh: As far as boarding kennels go the only one I'd recommend would be Pet Resorts Dural. Glenn that is the Ops manager had a beautiful Frenchie boy until he passed away recently. He has a big soft spot for them. They're a bit of a hike from the shire but they do do pick ups from vets around sydney so there might be one closer that you can drop him to/pick him up from.

Thank you, I will definitely give her a call. Sounds like exactly what we are after! No probs - I'm sure you will be very happy if you use her, I've got quite a few friends that have sent dogs to her (and do so regularly as she also does daycare), and just have nothing but praise.

Ex staff member at Hanrob here. I would never board my dog there. It HAS been a few years since I worked there though so could have improved. If you're in the Shire give Marie Stack a call on 9521 8296 - she's in Kirrawee and looks after dogs in-home. She's a trainer and it's all very well run and organised, all dogs are assessed prior to boarding for suitability as the dogs do all get to hang out together for some of the day(supervised). They have their manners kept in check and all have to go and chill on their beds in the afternoon like a child daycare :laugh: She's seriously great though and it means your dog will get to stay in a home environment with someone knowledgeable about dogs rather than at a kennel where his issues may not be picked up on.

I don't know where this idea that Australians don't care about pets being killed in pounds is coming from. There was such enormous public outcry as to the Lost Dogs Home kill stats in Victoria that the Government announced a formal inquiry into them, their CEO and Shelter Manager were sacked and the person that has been put in their place has already started implementing life saving strategies. Similarly, Team Dog has run campaigns for individual dogs in shelters and for shelters themselves to improve their practices (when collaborative efforts have been ignored) and seen thousands upon thousands of people respond, resulting in great outcomes for the animals. Five or ten years ago I would agree with you, but there is huge scrutiny of shelters and of euthanasia of healthy and treatable pets around now. Hence why the Greyhound industry is getting so much scrutiny now after so many years of doing exactly what they've been doing.