aussielover

Many species will fight to the death, especially over mating rights.

There are different interpretations of breed standards and the show world interpretation is not necessarily the only or most correct interpretation. Without wanting to get into the whole show vs working debate, I believe that there are breeder of working line dogs that believe their dogs at least fit, and in some cases are the more correct interpretation of the breed standard. It is a matter of opinion. I don't see a problem with breeding a dog that is conformationally and medically sound, fits the breed standard relatively closely and has an excellent temperament for the required purpose, even if it is not a show champion.

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% ?

HOw old is the dog? In younger dogs (under a year) the sacs usually just shrink up but in older dogs sometimes the scrotal sacs won't completely shrink down. Sometimes a scrotal ablation may be performed in older dogs either for cosmetic or health (testicular cancers etc) reasons.

My dog is very good with other dogs and will generally respond to the other dogs body language rather than breed eg. she'll happily play with a friendly playful kelpie but is wary and submissive to a very similar looking one showing different body language (such as one very focussed on the toy/ball or a reactive one). She does seem to have a certain love for retrievers and always gets very excited to see another lab or GR. So I think dogs so recognize their own breed.

I'm confused. Is this group simply a misguided, irresponsible "resuce" who wants to save all animals at any cost? or are they actually making some sort of profit from the donations they receive for dogs not even in their care (and are therefore operating some sort of scam)? Surely if its the latter there are processes by which they could be reported or shut down? Do rescue groups actually receive any of the donations that PR collects?

I agree with Vickie. I know that you probably just want reassurance that your puppy is "normal" (which he most likely is :)) BUT none of us have ever seen your pup so we can't really say whether it may be a serious issue or not. If you do think it may be an issue and you've noticed that he is more nervous than other puppies his age, then have him assessed by a professional.

Bullcrap. With ANY dog comes great responsibility. Every breed should be responsibly owned, regardless of power. Maybe then we won't be seeing so many unsocialised, untrained, yappy, aggressive, fearful dogs of all breeds. I agree every dog should be responsibly owned. But in the real world, having a large dog does come with more responsibility due to societies expectations. A big dog, even a labrador would not get away with lunging and barking aggressively at other people or dogs in public, yet plenty of small dogs do this regularly and without consequence (apart from the occasional dirty look). A large dog, especially a "tough" looking dog would likely be reported.

You poor thing! Hoping for a speedy recovery for Melton! It is difficult to tell with tick paralysis cases. Especially when they get to the stage where intubation and mechanical ventilation is required. Unfortunately, for a lot of people the treatment/supportive therapy becomes cost prohibitive and they just can't afford to continue. However, if you are able and willing to keep going, I know of dogs that required days of mechanical ventilation and intensive care that have made a complete recovery.

Maybe just get a dog door? You can get portable ones if you're renting etc so no alterations to the existing door are required. http://www.portablepetdoor.com/ Dogs often need to go out more frequently as they get older. Same as older people... Would also advise a vet check just to make sure he is ok. Arthritis may be a factor in why he doesn't like walks any more.

It ran onto the road because it was being attacked by the other dogs. So they are directly responsible for the dogs death. The only thing sensational about the title is the reference to pit bulls. The headline actually says "Guide dog killed after being ambushed by pit bulls in Bellfield in Melbourne's northeast" This is true, but what if it was something else that had startled the dog? It wouldn't even have made the news then. Say it was a windy day and there was a tarp that suddenly moved, the dog startled and jumped into the road. My dogs have almost done this on several occasions. What if it had been a golden that suddenly jumped out from behind a corner and startled the dog? Other than the pit bull type dogs involved, it's not even worth reporting. True, but the guide dog was not startled by anything else but 4 dogs, pit bulls or other breed, it doesn't matter what. The fact is that these dogs attacked and mauled a cocker spaniel and then chased the guide dog onto the road. What would have happened if the blind owner was with the guide dog, and not his brother at the time? Why are you making excuses for these brutes whatever their breed happens to be? maybe it was their dogs that did the "startle" ? The behaviour of the 2 attacked dogs is irrelevant. They were on lead, the attacking dog were off lead. The responsibility lies with the attacking dogs owner. Are you saying that the guide dog and the cocker were "asking for it" somehow?

This story really has very little to do with BSL. Why does every dog attack story have to turn into a BSL discussion. Pitbulls are just as capable and likely as any other breed or breed cross to be involved in a dog attack. You would think that some people here believe that pitbulls are incapable of being aggressive at all. I do not see the point in defending or trivialising the actions of the dogs involved. Obviously they caused injury to the cocker and were serious enough to scare a highly trained assistance dog into fleeing onto a road. All dogs, especially DA ones have no business being offlead and roaming in a public street. The whole incident could have been prevented if the owner had kept the dogs on lead and under control

I don't know where you got the impression that the guide dog having a leisurely walk was unusual? I know plenty of guide dogs who get walks and taken to the dog park when not in harness. Many of them would require some off lead or relaxing exercise- we are talking about young, active gun dogs or other working breeds here. My dog plays with several working guide dogs and they don't seem to lack energy or be " too tired" from their normal work. Sometimes volunteers or friends will take the dog out as well. When my dog was in the guide dog program I was assured that most working guides do receive off leash exercise and extra walks every day.

from the herald sun: Matilda's blind owner Andrew Close, 23, is devastated and said she was his "perfect match". "They have killed not only my best friend, but she was my eyes, my independence," he said. "I took her to watch Essendon play each week and we gave her a treat every time they scored a goal. "She led me around TAFE and would put her head on people sitting on trains so I could sit down. "It could take years to find another dog like Matilda - she was a key member of our family," he added. How sad Matilda sounded like an amazing dog.

Where about do you live? Perhaps people could recommend a good vet for you? Are the welts itchy for him? Are they red? do they feel hard or "squishy"? Welts suggest to me an acute allergic reaction or possibly an immune mediated reaction although it is hard to say without seeing them. A biopsy of the welts would potentially be more helpful than swabs (which can really only tell if there is secondary infection). I've seen a few dogs with "hives" from food allergy. An actual food trial would involve feeding a novel protein (ie one that he has not had exposure to before; typically roo meat is something which most dogs haven't had much of but you can also use fish, goat, rabbit, horse, venison etc as long as they haven't had much of it before). Chicken and rice are not good choices as most dog foods are full or chicken byproducts etc (the same goes for beef). The reason a novel protein is used is because the dog's immune system would not have had the exposure and thus time, to develop a reaction to it. You also feed a carb like potato or pumpkin. This diet must be carried out for 6 weeks with no treats and no deviations from the diet. If during this time, there are no further reactions, then food allergy may be likely. The real test comes however, when you reintroduce his normal food. You should see a reaction within a few days if he is allergic to his food. Other possibilities include insect bites, shampoos, grasses etc but these would need to be identified with intradermal skin testing. A biopsy can be helpful to divide the cause into broad catergories like allergies, immune mediated or cancers etc but can't necessarily pinpoint the exact type of allergy (if it is one)

It ran onto the road because it was being attacked by the other dogs. So they are directly responsible for the dogs death. The only thing sensational about the title is the reference to pit bulls. The headline actually says "Guide dog killed after being ambushed by pit bulls in Bellfield in Melbourne's northeast" This is true, but what if it was something else that had startled the dog? It wouldn't even have made the news then. Say it was a windy day and there was a tarp that suddenly moved, the dog startled and jumped into the road. My dogs have almost done this on several occasions. What if it had been a golden that suddenly jumped out from behind a corner and startled the dog? Other than the pit bull type dogs involved, it's not even worth reporting. They did land the other dog and the two dog's owner in hospital Exactly. Did you even read the story? The 4 attacking dogs mauled the cocker spaniel, the guide dog and the owner before chasing the guide dog onto the road. It is much more horrific than the guide dog simply getting a fright and running on to the road. The guide dog was on lead so even if a tarp or something had just "startled" it I doubt it would have been able to run onto the road. I think the guide dog only escaped and ran onto the road because the owner was himself being attacked and must have dropped or released his grip on the lead. I don't know why people are trying to deflect the blame from the 4 attacking dogs and their stupid owner?

Glad to hear your pup is doing ok! I don't see a problem with using a dog walker? I don't think the risk is generally very, although as you have sadly found out, accidents can happen Hope she makes a quick recovery :)

It ran onto the road because it was being attacked by the other dogs. So they are directly responsible for the dogs death. The only thing sensational about the title is the reference to pit bulls. The headline actually says "Guide dog killed after being ambushed by pit bulls in Bellfield in Melbourne's northeast"

The dogs didn't just startle the guide dog- they mauled both dogs and then chased the guide dog onto the road. They also bit the person walking the 2 dogs. RIP Matilda How devastating for her owner Obviously the dogs were some sort of bull breed, but really breed is irrelevant here. 4 aggressive dogs should not be wandering around off lead and attacking others. I hope the owner of these dogs is found and severely punished.

Ask your regular vet to contact the specialist before you can go see them. Most of the time the specialists are happy to give advice. For allergies ost require that you at least complete a Food allergy trial (they will recommend a home cooked diet such as roo and potato/pumpkin) and a strict flea control trial (2 weekly spot on treatments etc). Some will also ask your regular vet to put your dog on antibiotics and anti fungal drugs to clear up any infection before you see them. A lot of time can be saved if your regular vet just finds out what can be done before you see the specialist. There are also drug witholding periods if you wish to have skin testing done eg. they must be off any cortisone treatments for at least a month, off antihistamines for 2 weeks etc.

Most emergency/24hr vets and specialists will require an upfront payment of around half of the estimated cost. Its usually good to be able to have access to a couple of thousand dollars in case of emergencies (easier said than done i know!!!). There are also emergency credit options such as Care Credit etc although the interest rate on these is very high. I now believe having accident and emergency illness cover is worth it. Most people can afford a few hundred dollars a year to cover pet insurance, but few would have immediate access to $5000-10000 for a serious accident or illness.

I hope they are both ok. What was abnormal in the blood tests? The vet may be able to give you some medications to help line and protect the stomach as well as reducing acid production which can exacerbate ulcers eg. sucralfate (Carafate is the brand name I think), omeprazole (Nexium).

I agree. But she was still a dog that showed fear aggression so there is always the chance that she may show aggressive tendencies again if placed in a fearful/stressful situation. I think fear aggressive dogs, even if "rehabbed" should be placed only into experienced homes where the new owner has full knowledge of the history. As far as we know this dog never actually bit anyone, but any dog that has actually seriously bitten a human would be a very serious risk to rehome no matter how much work went into it imo. The pit was a real sweetie, I'm glad she had a happy ending.

Really? I am surprised that so many clubs seem to be only for "serious": competitors. Most of the Sydney clubs couldn't really care if you trial with your dogs or not. I am a member of 3 different groups and none of them have put any pressure at any time to trial, except to tell us that it is a lot of fun. If you think your dog won't enjoy the trial environment that is totally understandable- it can be a bit full on and a lot of sitting around and hanging out with other dogs etc. ETA= I am sure there would be someone in Canberra who would do private lessons. I hope you can work something out KTB!

Obviously rehoming a dog with a serious behavioural issue like the ones mentioned is undesirable and should not be done. Most of these are behaviours that would become evident in an experienced foster home, but there are some that go undetected despite foster care, behavioural assessment etc. I think separation anxiety is a problem which could quite easily go undetected in a foster home or at the pound. We have had a few cases where the dog has been fine at the pound or in foster care as they are surrounded by people and/or dogs most of the time anyway. Unfortunately the new owners have had to fork out $1000's on medications and specialist behaviour consults etc. In some cases the rescue group has agreed to cover these costs. Even dogs without serious behavioural issues need a lot of effort to find a suitable home. I also think some groups need to make more effort in placing dogs into appropriate home. There was a family that asked for a "cuddly lap dog" and was given a young, active kelpie??? A young active woman wanted a highly trainable, obedient, jogging companion that could be taken to dog parks and the like and was given a dog aggressive greyhound ??? Clearly the needs of dogs and owners were severely mismatched in these cases and the dogs ended up being rehomed (no help from the original rescue) and the owners put off owning another dog due to the trauma of having to give up/ rehome their previous dog, which even though was unsuitable, they still became attached to. I do not agree with the attitude of getting dogs into new homes as soon as possible no matter the suitability to the new home It doesn't do the dogs or future owners any good.