melzawelza

Agreed. Steph is clearly doing all her research and has breed preferences like all of us do. Nothing she has said is offensive towards large breeds.

Thank you for caring and looking after this sweet little mite. Whatever decision you make, will be the right one.

What a horrible experience. Sounds like the Ranger has gotten onto it quickly and is taking it seriously though which is great. No, not really. Dog aggression does not correlate in any way to human aggression. Just because this dog has attacked another dog does not mean it's a risk to people.

Go out the front and call her as crazily and excitedly as you can. You might find she shows you exactly how she's getting out :D

Graeme McEwen of the Barristers Animal Welfare Panel: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/dangerous-dogs/4222100 Peter Walsh: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/peter-walsh-interview/4222096

Dogs NSW are directly involved in BSL in NSW. Their dog show judges are the ones who assess the dogs and decide if they are restricted. They collect $25 from every breed assessment. The assessor gets the other $25 for their time. They make money from BSL and have been advertising a course on identitying restricted breeds for ages (but haven't run it for quite some time). Seems like DOGS VIC are following in their footsteps.

I know AWL NSW have done this with some dogs.

I don't think the Friday night 7.30 report is nation-wide, they have state-specific programs. I would think it will be available on line though. Ahhh thanks for letting me know, I'll look out for the online link!

I agree, except I would say every Australian. I'll be watching.

I admit to thinking the same but not a puppy, can't raise a greyhound puppy properly in an apartment. Agree! An ex-racer would be the go. Plus the OP said she wanted to rescue but didn't want the unknown of the risk - that way she could rescue but still have a very predictable purebred that would suit her circumstances perfectly!

One of the best breeds to have in an apartment is a greyhound! If you aren't set on small size one would suit you perfectly.

That is a completely moronic assertion. Does someone speeding make all car drivers in general look less responsible? You are not only failing to support law reform, you are an active obstacle to it. Civil disobedience, has been and continues to be one of the most effective methods of instigating law reform. Go argue with Martin Luther King Jr, Thomas Jefferson, Thoreau etc... I'll leave you with some of their ideas to ponder. Exactly. I guess we should all sit idly by if certain races are discriminated against as well because 'that's the law'.

That is a completely moronic assertion. Does someone speeding make all car drivers in general look less responsible? You are not only failing to support law reform, you are an active obstacle to it. Civil disobedience, has been and continues to be one of the most effective methods of instigating law reform. Go argue with Martin Luther King Jr, Thomas Jefferson, Thoreau etc... I'll leave you with some of their ideas to ponder. Exactly. I guess we should all sit idly by if certain races are discriminated against as well because 'that's the law'.

While I understand your sentiment, this summary of life as a restricted breed isn't true. The dog is allowed to play in it's yard if you're there. They don't need to live in a cage and can stay locked in their house when their owner is out, providing that it meets security restrictions (ie you can't leave a window opening that the dog can fit through). RB dogs can go to training, can meet other dogs and people etc, they just need to do it with a muzzle and special leash. It's not the life I'd want for my dog, but it isn't condemning a dog to a life of misery either. Whilst that sounds reasonable, a Council can make up their own rules. The legislation allows for it. The legislation also allows for a Council to refuse to renew a RBD's registration if they so desire. This is a very good point. I will be surprised if Ballarat Council allow his registration to be renewed next year.

While I understand your sentiment, this summary of life as a restricted breed isn't true. The dog is allowed to play in it's yard if you're there. They don't need to live in a cage and can stay locked in their house when their owner is out, providing that it meets security restrictions (ie you can't leave a window opening that the dog can fit through). RB dogs can go to training, can meet other dogs and people etc, they just need to do it with a muzzle and special leash. It's not the life I'd want for my dog, but it isn't condemning a dog to a life of misery either. In NSW a restricted breed can do none of those things. They must be kept in an enclosure that costs thousands to build with a concrete floor, walls and a roof, and they cannot be outside of that cage without a muzzle or leash, so they cant even roam freely without a muzzle in their own house. I'm not fully up to date with the ins and outs of the provisions in VIC, sounds like they're less stringent which is good at least. I would think the other worry for people registering their dogs as restricted breeds is the anticipation of the day they may be outlawed completely and your dog is like a sitting duck. Don't come complaining to the rest of us when that does happen If you're going to be supportive of breaking the law, you can't be surprised when governments bring in tougher laws to fix the problem of lack of compliance. I'm not saying I necessarily condone it but I completely understand it, and I think think you and others may behave differently if your own dogs were at risk. I also find excusing the government and the restrictions quite disturbing. There is masses of evidence that these laws don't work. There is no excuse for them to exist, whether it's to fix 'non compliance' or not.

While I understand your sentiment, this summary of life as a restricted breed isn't true. The dog is allowed to play in it's yard if you're there. They don't need to live in a cage and can stay locked in their house when their owner is out, providing that it meets security restrictions (ie you can't leave a window opening that the dog can fit through). RB dogs can go to training, can meet other dogs and people etc, they just need to do it with a muzzle and special leash. It's not the life I'd want for my dog, but it isn't condemning a dog to a life of misery either. In NSW a restricted breed can do none of those things. They must be kept in an enclosure that costs thousands to build with a concrete floor, walls and a roof, and they cannot be outside of that cage without a muzzle or leash, so they cant even roam freely without a muzzle in their own house. I'm not fully up to date with the ins and outs of the provisions in VIC, sounds like they're less stringent which is good at least. I would think the other worry for people registering their dogs as restricted breeds is the anticipation of the day they may be outlawed completely and your dog is like a sitting duck.

The requirements for a restricted breed is much more than just muzzles. They essentially cut the dog off from all socialisation with people and other animals and have the dog living in a cage.

Who's to say Butch hadn't been registered previously as a non restricted breed and it had only just lapsed? Can't say for sure if that's the case or not. They tried to do the right thing and register before the amnesty ended but were given false information by the Council. And if he wasn't registered all along, maybe they felt that was the best thing for their dog rather than keeping him unsocialised and secluded away from the world. Obviously when the alternative became death they decided that registering as a restricted breed was the best thing for their dog and tried to do so. I can't blame them for wanting their dog to live the life of a normal dog and enjoying all that that entails.

If my memory serves me correctly Butch's owners tried to register him as a restricted breed (and were willing to comply with all the keeping requirements) the day before the amnesty ended. They didn't realize the cost to register a RB is so much higher and didn't bring enough money with them. They were prepared to go home and get more but were told not to worry about it -just come back tomorrow. They turned up first thing the next morning and were told the amnesty had ended and they were not allowed to register him. The officers immediately went and seized him. Butch doesn't appear to be a young puppy - why didn't his owners register him as a RB ages ago??? Would have saved ratepayers a stack of money and avoided the distress they caused to their own dog. Maybe because they didn't want their harmless dog who had done nothing wrong being forced to live in a cage and be muzzled and leashed at all times in public? A lot of people feel that would be very detrimental for their dog and it's socialisation with the world and could possibly create issues where previously there were none. Love the victim-blaming mentality.

I was so happy to read this this morning and simultaneously disgusted that $100,000 or ratepayers money was spent in this! YAY Butch!! If my memory serves me correctly Butch's owners tried to register him as a restricted breed (and were willing to comply with all the keeping requirements) the day before the amnesty ended. They didn't realize the cost to register a RB is so much higher and didn't bring enough money with them. They were prepared to go home and get more but were told not to worry about it -just come back tomorrow. They turned up first thing the next morning and were told the amnesty had ended and they were not allowed to register him. The officers immediately went and seized him.

I worked with a woman who thought all pit bulls and American staffies should be shot because one of her dogs had been a beautiful, exemplary dog for 7 years and then her behaviour slowly started deteriorating and she then severely attacked her other dog. I asked her if she had an autopsy done after she put her to sleep, she looked at me like I was insane and said she hadn't. She'd instead blamed her very odd behaviour (that is almost identical to what is described by many owners with dogs that develop brain damage/tumours) on the dogs breed and didn't bother. She'd then spent the next ten years hating all bull breeds and disregarding the beautiful 7 years she'd had with the dog prior. It really upset me and still does that this dogs breed was blamed for her behaviour which is very likely to have been a physical problem. No one will ever know as she didn't bother with an autopsy - breed explained the problem in her mind. I find a similar approach by society when dogs (particularly bull breeds) attack like this. It gets chalked up to 'bad dog' or 'bad breed' and the whole situation is never studied in a way that would give us an understanding of WHY, which in turn could help us prevent it happening again.

Stranger things have happened. I read Someone say elsewhere (so unconfirmed) that she was minding one of the Presa's for someone else. If that was the case, particularly looking at the breeds involved I think it's pretty likely the new addition unbalanced the pack, a fight started and she bore the brunt of it trying to intervene. No matter what happened its just awful

Bloody horrible. That poor poor girl. Wonder if the dogs were fighting and she tried to break then up?

Haredown, as I said before, I haven't seen anyone in this thread condemn the cop for his actions or say he had any other options. We are simply discussing if there is a way situations like this can be dealt with in the future that results in a better outcome. Maybe the answer to that is no, but it's worth discussing surely?

I don't know about this. The instinct in my 'show' border collies is pretty strong despite their ancestors not working for years and years. It is something that has always surprised me. Same with other 'show' breeds that I have seen herding. I agree. Guide Dog and assistance dog retrievers (labs, GRs and crosses of the two) are still very mouthy in general which is a trait you would think would be undesirable in a service dog. Of course retrieving ability/desire also correlates quite highly with success rates as a service dog so that may be why the trait is still present. I am also surprised at the number of show and pet bred herding dogs that still show some form of herding instinct. Even my aussie who didn't have a working dog in her lines for multiple generations showed some instinct and ability when tested. Is there a link to a study for the claim that heritability of DA is 20% ? Yes: http://s3.amazonaws.com/publicationslist.org/data/pv1peguj/ref-7/Heritability%20of%20dominant%20aggressive.pdf This was specifically in English cocker spaniels but nonetheless, it's the same genes at play Backed up by this study that showed that 'pit bulls' had a 22% incidence of dog-dog aggression (and very low on the other types of aggression): http://www.greyhoundpets.org.au/publications/ResearchArticleWhichBreedsareMostAggressive.pdf