melzawelza

:thumbsup: She's an example of the ever expanding label of 'Bull Breed' too. What a sad face she has. Lovely to see she has so many donations and offers of assistance though - hope there's someone who can take her on.

I think this is just one of those situations that happen sometimes, with both parties contributing. Your dog shouldn't have rushed over but they were equally a bit silly to take a reactive or aggressive dog, on leash, to an off leash park. There is no such thing as an aggressive breed :) Each dog, even within a breed, is an individual. You can't say that this dog's behaviour was, or wasn't, aggressive because of it's breed.

This dog wasn't a restricted dog either if it was unmicrochipped. The pound had no obligation to kill this dog and did not give the dog the options it deserved. A good deed for one dog does not negate their failure to this dog because it had a red nose.

I specified that I was talking about NSW.

In NSW cats are allowed to wander and if a dog kills one on public property, even if it's on a leash, the legislation sees it as the same as if it killed another dog. Sad but true. Personally, I think it's unlikely we'll ever end up with containment legislation for cats so in that case I'd like there to be a clause that if a cat is killed in public while wandering by a leashed dog, the onus is on the cat owner, not the dog. And I'm a cat owner, but mine are contained. It'll never happen though.

The legislation in NSW has 'except vermin' in all of the definitions of attack and dangerous dog. The real question would be in the definition of that though - if the rat is someone's pet, is it still considered vermin? That would be up to the individual Council to decide on if such an attack was reported. I had an attack reported where a dog escaped and killed someone's rabbit on their own property. I called the DLG for their impression on the word 'vermin' and they stated that someone's dometic rabbit is not vermin, but a wild rabbit would be considered as such. The dog obviously can't tell the difference so it is up to the owner to prevent it happening. It does frustrate me when I have attacks on cats reported. Of course it is completely unacceptable if a dog kills someone elses pet without provocation however I always end up with the whole neighbourhood ringing me and saying 'what if it's a child next time?!?!'. I have to try and gently explain that prey drive to a cat does not = human aggression, and that the dog is not a vicious beast, it is a normal dog that was mismanaged by it's owner. I usually manage to get someone's back up that thinks I'm defending the dog or not taking it seriously, which is never the case. Dogs aren't allowed to be dogs anymore. I went to the RSPCA ACT doggy olympics day a few years ago and someone brought their miniature pig, which at that point was a baby and about the size of a cat. My dog lost it as did many others and I had to spend the whole day managing her to ensure she didn't eat it. The owners were oblivious to it. I couldn't get over the fact that people just don't 'get' how risky this is to their pet.

Links don't work for me unfortunately. I think it's a good idea to find her a lovely home. Two puppies together are a nightmare. Two bull breed puppies even more so!!

How terrible for both dogs and both owners. I also feel very sorry for the attacking dog and its owners as others have said.

Good choice Lisey :) I occasionally foster for them and do all their photography and I highly recommend them as a group to get involved with :D I follow a few rescue groups on facebook and Fetching Dogs are my favourite. Nothing is ever put up just to get an emotive irrational response from followers . I love how they've recently changed from listing dogs as 'insert breed x' unless it's actually known what they are. It just makes sense. And chances are I will be moving to Sydney next year(ish) so I will definitely be getting in contact with them then. I'm also an occasional foster carer and helper-outer where I can for FD, and can also say you've made a good choice!

Wonderful photos, thanks for sharing!

Yep the 5-10 minute thing is the way to go! My last foster didn't eat for four days until she realised I wasn't giving in, then she ate well from then on :laugh: Sounds like you guys had a blast! Just be careful not to over-exercise him at this age, he's still growing and his joints can only handle so much. Isn't it great when they're tuckered out and SLEEP!

Horrific, and completely unacceptable behavior from the owner too. It is really concerning that even though her dog was on a leash she couldn't control it at all. Love how the police say they are now investigating whether the dog is a banned breed. Who cares?! Deal with the individual dog and the individual owner and the individual attack. What a waste of time and police resources.

That's great. Do you know what your council rules are, regarding numbers? Her profile says she's in NSW which means there will be no pet limits :)

Look in to crate training - for me nothing beats it for getting toileting under control! Basically it means he is confined when you are unable to watch him like a hawk - he won't toilet in the crate, and when you let him out you take him straight outside (and reward like mad!). Crate training now while young is also very useful for if he ever has to go to the vet for long periods in the future (he'll be crated there), or if you need to separate him from guests/other dogs in any context. He will learn to love his crate if you do it properly (my girl is in hers by choice all the time!). Cheapest place to get one is www.vebopet.com.au. If you're in Sydney you can save postage and pick up from the Belmont store. In absence of the crate you need to monitor him non-stop to prevent accidents. Take him outside every 30 mins, after eating, sleeping or playing. Tether him to you with a lead otherwise. Crating is easier :D

Great start! Just remember that puppy school isn't the end of the road - that's like sending your kids to Kindy and then never following up with regular school. So once you've finished puppy school look for an obedience club in your area where you can continue to train him as he grows and goes through the teenager phase! :laugh:

In NSW with that colouring he'll probably be fine. They also can't just take him from you - if a Council suspects him to be a restricted breed you have the opportunity to have him breed and temperament tested. If you ever have any issues jump on here and people can talk you through the process. I'd be surprised if you did though.

Amstaff and APBT DNA is identical so no point there. Red noses can crop up in Pedigreed Amstaffs but it is exceedingly rare, particularly in this country. He's not a pure bred anything but he's a lovely boy. Work hard with training and socialising him and he will reward you tenfold. :)

What really angers me about Dougie was that he was seized at six months old and kept in a pound (Lost Dogs Home no less...) for fifteen months. How much catch up training are these owners going to have to do now!? Hopefully he hasn't developed any behavioural issues but I would be surprised if he came out of that unscathed. I would be absolutely furious if my ability to raise the best possible dog I could was ruined by this idiocy. The Council should have to pay for a few visits from a behaviourist.

And quite a few ready to buy into spreading the hysteria that such threads create. If you think carefully about this story, you can drive a truck through the logic of nailing (??) ribbons to gates to identify dogs. As someone has already said, texting is easier and doesn't signal to anyone that a theft may happen. It simply doesn't add up. Lock your gates, keep your dogs behind your house when you're not home and DESEX your pet bull breeds. I queried the veracity of the Hills district story last time and copped it. Now it's been proven to be shite. Don't buy in and don't spread this rubbish. Just as many people get their jollies scaring the shite out of pet owners and threads like this help them. Well said.

The coroner's attitude seemed to be that the dog was a pit bull (at 40kg mind you), therefore it's totally normal for pit bulls to be happy friendly dogs one minute and kill children the next. The idiocy in that coroner's report was mind numbing and made me so angry for Ayen Chol and her family that the TRUE reasons into why this tragedy happened were completely brushed aside. Criminal.

Sure, but I'm just highlighting that its maybe best not to make very generalized, mostly negative comments about he entire breed when you've only met one dog (that was a rescue at that so no idea on it's prior experience). Better to just say that was your experience with one dog. There is huge variations within breeds.

That's a very negative write up generalizing an entire breed due to an experience with a single dog.

Such a brilliant ad!

Indeed, and again the idea that stolen dogs MUST equal dogfighting. Even if dogs were actually being stolen and the ribbons were real, there is still no evidence for the reason of why the dogs were stolen. To suddenly jump to dogfighting is illogical and very upsetting for anyone who has lost their dog.

I bawled too Mita