Beaglelover:)

All I have to say is that the Bionic Vet shits all over Bondi Vet! Why cant we have a crazy passionate Australian vet that truly wants to make a difference, rather than a surfy vet from Bondi that has no clue on education and making a difference!

Very poor wording then, I'd expect more care from a supposedly reputable source. I can tell you the average age of dogs in this house. It means nothing in terms of their lifespan. As for the RSPCA telling you the average age of dogs pts, at best they could only tell you for the surrenders. For the unchipped/reg'd strays, they can only guess. I am sure the RSPCA would have a rough record of the age of dogs that go through their doors. I am sure out of the 250,000 dogs and cats that get put down in Aust each year, most would be under 4 years old. Even if I could find stats on this, I would be happy to use this instead.

I guess it is the 'shock value'. Putting an average number to the story has a lot more impact than just saying Aust dogs die too young. I just want to make sure it has truth in it.

If it said average age at time of death I would take it to mean average lifespan. But it doesn't say that, it just says average age. I don't think you can draw any conclusion about lifespan at all from the way that is written. You'd just have to rely on the assertion that most dogs don't live to their full age potential. Surely she has some raw data behind that. Yes I thought it was strange that she couldnt back it up, but yet she does have a lot of experience and wouldnt just make that up. I have called the RSPCA to get the stats on the average age of dogs being pts, which will also suggest that dogs are dying far too young I just added in my above post, that I confirmed with Kersti Seksel that she is indeed referring to the average lifespan of the Aust dog.

I have just spoken to Kersti Seksel and she can not supply the data findings to support her statistic. Reason why I ask all these questions is because I am writing an article about the results from lack of training, preparing, education, socialisation etc, and I believe this stat needs to be known. It will at least get people talking, as it is so shocking. Kersti said I am more then welcome to say the stat has come from her. Do you guys think this is enough to base my article on? Sorry forgot to add, I confirmed with her that she is referring to the 'lifespan'.

Hmmm must be just my computer. I will check again later. Thanks for the link

This is the paragraph... "The largest cause of death of puppies under one year of age is said to be euthanasia due to behavioural problems. Indeed, most dogs do not live to their full age potential with the average age of dogs in Australia estimated to be only 3.5 years. In fact, behaviour problems are now considered to be the number one reason for euthanasia in pets, regardless of age" I might be reading this wrong, but I take this as the 'lifespan'?

This would be interesting to read, but their home page is the only page working...

I guess it is just the 'average age' so it would vary a little. God, that is very sad! When you factor in Puppy Farms, homeless dogs and lack of knowledge it does make sense, but it is hard to believe it is only 3.5 I guess the plight of cats would be worse.

Came across this scary fact on Petrescue written by Kersti Seksel, that the average age of a dog in Aust is only 3.5 yrs old? Are there any studies to back this? I know that 250,000 dogs and cats get put down yearly in Australia, so this would add to the above statistic. Kersti Seksel is a well known figure in the vet and dog behaviour industry and I can't see her saying this without research. Are there any other studies conducted on the average age of dogs in Aust to say this is indeed true? What are your thoughts on this? If this is true, wow...how sad

Dont know if Hanrob is owned by a vet, but they are a family run business that has survived for 30 + years, so they must be doing something right. The one thing I do know is that anyone at anytime can walk in for a tour (between business hours of course), which says a lot about a boarding and training place. When I go their for their obedience classes on Saturday, the staff are always welcoming and never to busy to answer questions. All you can do is go in and have a tour of the places you like. Do not tell them you are coming, just pop by to get a true indication.

Yes, we have two cars one for human outings (nice and pretty with no dog hair) and one wagon for dog outings. Is it saying something that we use the dog wagon more then the human car!

what about...you know you are a crazy dog owner when someone rings the door bell and it sounds like a kennel and you need to push through the fur bodies to open the door!

Ohhh soooo very true!! For the love of dogs!! Here Here!!

love it!!