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Lisa Tomkins presentation now up: ( )still to come: Paul McGreevy Cheers ;)

More presentations posted today: Kate Mornement - ( )Vanessa Rohlf - ( )Kate Schoeffel - ( )Mia Cobb - ( )still to come: Paul McGreevy & Lisa Tomkins

Here are link to the talks up so far - more will be psoted over the course of the weekend. As YouTube won't post segments greater than ~10min's duration, most talks comprise more than one segment. Click the 'more info' link to the right and a box with the talk's abstract and link to open the following/preceeding segment for that speaker. In the order they occurred on the day: Introduction - Paul Hemsworth - ( )Pauleen Bennett - ( )Tammie King - ( )Mike Goddard - ( )Will post the others as they go up. Cheers

Hi there, lunch was provided by the Petcare Information and Advisory Service (PIAS), who often provide such support for the AWSC's activities about companion animals. The rest of the costs were covered by the Animal Welfare Science Centre who regularly host these kinds of seminars (as you can see here: http://www.animalwelfare.net.au/new/new.html) As previously mentioned, there was no hidden agenda here, and there were no deliberate exclusions. If anyone wishes to register their interest to present at a future AWSC seminar, they are very welcome to and can do so by contacting the AWSC's executive officer Jeremy Skuse at [email protected]. Cheers

Good point Steve - and I'll definitely clarify that nor am I suggesting anyone's breeding programs should be altered based only on my research project! Most science is about baby steps towards building a bigger picture that informs us. Whilst we can control many variables in our studies, there will always (particularly when studying companion animal in realistic settings [ie. not in a laboratory population]) be things we can't control for. These form the limitations of our studies and should be acknowledged when we draw our conclusions. Things like gender bias in online surveys (we nearly ALWAYS get 80% females / 20% males) mean we need to acknowledge the survey results are biased, but they do still provide us with SOME information - a baby step toward the bigger picture, more information than we had before, and perhaps enough information to suggest a future study or new direction the research can take in the future. Science isn't "quick and dirty and here's all your answers", it's a process. One I really like

Thanks for your interest in my research and sorry I was running about flat chat most of the day and not able to spend much time chatting - the day absolutely flew past for me! I'd be more than happy to catch up and chat further any time you like Steve I have some journal articles about dogs kept in backyards from Amanda Kobelt's PhD research several years ago. Happy to forward them to you if you like? Email me at: [email protected]

I think waiting for the talks is a great idea. Not one of the speakers said anything about only or always selecting for a stable, 'amicable' dog no matter the breed or job. Not one. I think everyone would be far better saving their energy until they have heard the presentations. :D

Hey there, just reiterating my post from yesterday - we'll be posting the link to all presentations once Monash release the files and we've edited it into individual speaker's (plus question/answer/discussion sessions) - sorry for the delay, but this is likely to take around a week. Everyone who registered would have received the full day's speaker abstracts (including recommended further reading for most talks) - if you didn't go but would like to see the abstracts, you can email Jeremy Skuse at [email protected] and ask him for a copy. Cheers,

Hi everyone, thanks to those of you who came along today - it was a really good day (with a couple of feisty moments and a couple awkward ones), but I'm really glad so many people turned up and took part. For those of you who weren't able to make it, we should have the recordings (real time powerpoint presentations with the live audio - including question/answer sessions) online within the next week. It takes a few days for Monash to release it, then we'll need to edit into individual speakers and get it hosted on a site. I will be sure to return to this thread to post the presentations once it's online. Thanks again to everyone for their input and feedback. Cheers, Mia

sucks when your thread gets hijacked and turned into a circular rant, eh Elfin?

Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding by Patrick Bateson Full report available here: http://dogbreedinginquiry.com/publication-of-the-inquiry-report/

Jed, I'm sorry you think that. I really don't have a hidden agenda. My 'motivation' is genuinely just wanting to extend an invitation to everyone on this forum to attend a day about dogs because you're doggy people. Truly. I've extended the invitation and attempted to respond to the concerns and questions raised. If anyone has any further enquiries or questions about the seminar, they can email Jeremy Skuse directly at [email protected]. I do hope to see you at the seminar and would encourage all of you to come and be part of it. Cheers

I think the point was that this seminar day is about dogs and their welfare. All dogs. All of the presentations on the day will contain information relating to (all) dogs. It's not a pedigree specific day and it's not a cross-breed specific day, it's a day about dogs. It's not an anti pure bred day or an anti cross bred day, it's a day about dogs. I was objecting to you lumping all presenters together as anti pure bred - not offering to find you links! I haven't met or spoken to all the presenters in person, so I can't quote their personal opinions. However, I do know that a couple of them who (as I've mentioned previously) are pure breed breeders/owners/showers/VCA members and clearly not anti-pure breed which is why I objected to you calling them such. I'm sorry, I'm confused. What's your question? This day was never represented as being a day about the welfare of particular types of dogs. It won't be presenting a 'view' (balanced or unbalanced) about pedigree dogs. All the presentations relate to (all) dogs and what we've learnt about genetic and experiential research to contribute towards improving their welfare. The post was about inviting people to attend a seminar hosted by the AWSC. Take it or leave it. I never anticipated it would elicit such a response. It's fantastic how passionate people are about dogs - I think it's brilliant!

Hi ijdavis, I know you are all experienced and intelligent people here - that's why I reckon it's important for you to come and be involved in this seminar day! You can be sceptical, but I really believe there's no 'hidden agenda' or 'multi-point' plan in action here. Just researchers from the AWSC wanting to share their findings and engage with stakeholders. It's about dogs, we've got information to share, we're keen to hear from you too and we'd love you to be there. That's pretty much it. I don't intend to convert anyone's point of view. I'm not against pedigree dogs, breeders or owners. I don't believe this seminar is either. I'm just trying to respond to points asked about the day and to offer information when it's sought in response to my original post. Cheers

Another conference and international group that you might be interested in is the The International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). Details about the upcoming conference in Stockholm this year are available on their website here.