Mrs Rusty Bucket

I cannot figure out if my dog is really smart or really stupid. She knows sit, but won't do it when I ask - for her to get out the back door. But if she's busting to get out to explode, she will sit at the back door and start quietly with the talking and barking gradually getting louder and L O U D E R until I let her out. And I usually let her out at the wooo oooh oooh stage. And she usually explodes somewhere down the back. Smart dog. But she has yet to connect her need to explode with that bad sea creature she ate at the beach that morning. Stupid dog.

It is illegal to leave a dog tied up and unattended in a public place in SA, NT and NSW as far as I know. Loads of people still walk their dog to the local shops and tie it up while they go in. I'd rather hand my money to a stranger and ask them to make the purchase for me, or yell my order through the door... pretty sure the bakery would cope. PS the news article is completely vague on details like were these people trying to pet or provoke the dogs, and how did anyone know they were "brown pitbulls" and not boxers or something else.

I find club obedience good for social skills for my dog, and sometimes me. I found the beginner classes insanely dull. I used to run, to keep my dog interested. Grade 1 was heel and sit (and you said "sit"). Grade 2 was heel and sit and stand - and we failed the first time - argh. After that I went to class graduations in the morning for one grade, and if I passed, I'd go again in the evening for the other grade. Although we did spend quite a few months in grade 4 and 5 (crappy stays and unreliable recall). Paddock bashing is boring. We've been learning doggy dancing moves - how to teach your dog... for the last couple of weeks and it really puts the fun back in. Eg basic heelwork to music involves walking on both sides of the dog and backwards facing your dog moving forwards and transitioning between while moving. And doing all that - keeps the dog's attention because you're less predictable. Given how much time I've spent re-inforcing the heel on the right, that part was easy. For agility and because for some reason she prefers that side in ordinary walks, surely not because the treat bag is there? Or because I'm more co-ordinated at treat dispensing with my right hand? And for some reason me running backwards with dog chasing me was easy too. Not so easy to get her to go backwards in a straight line though we do work on that as part of body awareness for agility. I think the best body awareness training she gets is running and wrestling with other dogs. So I much prefer agility to heelwork/obedience. I don't think the dog cares as long as there is plenty of food in it, though her fav game is chasey - so maybe agility is prefered. She does like getting up high too - so never had any trouble with the basic agility equipment like dog walk and scramble - main problem is to slow her down.

Corvus I think I got lucky with my evil hound. And I just encouraged the friendly side of her but it was there from the first day I had her as a 10 week old puppy from the AWL! So much for pound dogs being basket cases. Though she is a basket case around busy roads - terrified. And I haven't tried to desensitize her because I'd be happy if she stayed away from them. Inevitablue I think ACD have kelpie and dingo in them. Dingos definitely have had thousands of years to hone their problem solving skills... Previous ACD I've lived with have not been so friendly with other dogs, tho one that was a kelpie x heeler was pretty good. Mine is developing dog park agility too. She turns these really tight circles like the Red Baron doing loop the loop to get behind the other dog that was chasing her... Only the jack russells can manage that, but they don't have the straight line speed... And it's so cool when you see a dog run just fast enough to keep the chasing dog interested. Whippets love being chased but haven't mastered the art of keeping the other dog interested. Mine is a big tease. However there are some dogs that want to play with her, and she just blows off. Often the over the top little oodles. A few of them she's tried and after all their play bowing and stuff, they turn tail screaming if she says "lets go for it". A bit unfair.

Coolies as a breed are not yet recognised by the ANKC. Breeders can't even agree on how to spell the name of their breed. But if they do want to get recognised the breeders need to keep records of their breeding. As things stand, coolies can be outcrossed with anything a breeder likes to try for more of one trait or another - usually herding ability. And this leads to loads of dogs of different shape and size. And they're all coolies. So they're farm dog bitsas - just like my dog until there are some standards and written breed history not just anecdotal "I know all the generations"... The best farmers I know keep written records of what they're breeding and how it turns out - so they can recognise improvements or setbacks in their product. Koolie breeders - only some of them are just starting to do this.

at the moment, kennel club papers are all we've got as far as proving a breed goes. So if dad and mum both have papers, an ANKC registered breeder is required to register all puppies from the litter. If mum and dad don't have papers either, they're not pure chi either.

Special needs? Best if she doesn't go scuba diving as that isn't compatible with PFO's (holes in the heart - that can sound like heart murmer). It depends how serious it is. If she gets short of breath after exercise, you might want to put a limit on zoomies and wrestling. If a dog has a dodgy heart what treatment options are there? is it worth it? (ie will all that trauma improve quality of life for the dog). Would you want your dog to have doggy heart transplant or valve repair or pfo repair if it was available? Are you freaking out because the dog might suddenly drop dead and there's nothing you can do about it? Um. That prayer - "help me accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can, and have wisdom enough to know the difference".

She come with ANKC papers? No? Then not pure chi. I'm not a chi expert either but she looks a little stocky to me. If you're "in love" and you can afford huge unexpected vet and behaviourist bills, then why not? It's not encouraging anyone to do the wrong thing by ethical dog breeding standards? is she microchipped? Apparently that is mandatory before sale by QLD laws. Pay by credit card, and get a receipt...

The way I see it... and I suppose it would have to go to small claims (which seems to be designed to encourage people to find another way)... That they didn't tell her the puppy was unhealthy or lame. They reasonably should have known. She bought in good faith a healthy puppy but it isn't. Ie it has been misrepresented. If they had told her up front it would be expensive crippled puppy then she'd have no claim but I'm willing to bet they did not. All the same - what they're doing is horrible, and cruel and they should be stopped. I wonder if Ms 20 something would be up for a media interview. The current affairs shows like mutant puppies. Ie cute with outrage and emotion.

I thought fraud and animal cruelty was a police and RSPCA matter. If those people are not stopped, they will do this to other poor unsuspecting people. If she paid for the pup with a credit card she can write to the credit card company and state she did not get what she paid for ie the goods are faulty and the vendors will not refund.

My dog does all these things - except hassle the submissive dog - because she is the submissive dog. What my dog does that makes her so popular is match her play style to the other dog. If the other dog wants their ball back, she drops it immediately. If the other dog wants to be left alone, she does. If the other dog likes body slam, so does she. If the other dog says stop/had enough - she does. And yet there are some that are too rough for her, and they don't stop when she says she's had enough. Fortunately for me, she comes back to me when this happens and I sort the other dog, and owner if need be. Most owners will deal with their dog if you ask them to come and get their dog off you (and your dog), but I feel some things are obvious and I shouldn't have to ask a stranger to get their slobbery soggy labrador off me, or to stop their too rough malamute harrassing my dog.

I'm norty when it comes to no food... I show up, I'm starving. I make sure my food is in a container with a lid on it so the dogs can't help themselves. And I did have to move it from the table (my dog decided was for agilty practice WTF), to the bbq that nobody was using. I didn't bring any zuccini slice. I do like to share. I do think tables full of human food with no or little protection are stressful. Ie there are so many dogs willing to help themselves, that the food would require constant guarding and if we're not prepared to do that, then probably shouldn't have food.

Most state laws say that you cannot let your dog rush up to or harrass other dogs. Doesn't matter if its an on lead or off lead place. It is up to you to negotiate with the other owner... I had exactly this conversation with another dog owner today. I saw a staffy on lead enter the far side of the park which allows dogs off lead but unfenced. I tried to catch my dog and I kept her from saying hello to the staffy (even tho she was being quite contrary and I couldn't catch her straight away). The other owner said she didn't need to keep her dog away from the staffy on lead because her dog was friendly. I said she doesn't know if the staffy is friendly or not. I said there are two sorts of dogs on lead - the friendly but no recall sort, and the aggressive attack sort. So it's never ok to let your dog near a dog that's on lead without having a discussion with the owner. Ie this person's dog might be friendly but allowing it to approach an on lead dog without discussion can result in an attempted mauling. And it would be the friendly dog's fault. Ideally you don't let your dog greet dogs off lead without talking to owner either, but I usually go by how the owner and their dog is reacting to the approach of my dog. She usually parks about 20m away or further and lies down, and then depending what the owner and other dog do, I let her greet, or I call her away. She sometimes looks like an ambush dog, but her greetings vary (depending on the other dog) including springing the ambush, crawling to approach and rolling over. Or standing up and doing a "dignified" sniff fest with the other dog.

In NSW and SA - you have to be over 16 to be responsible / in control of a dog. In QLD parents or guardians are responsible for minors (how hold is that?) in charge of dogs ie I think you can infer that the parent is responsible for the dog so no unsupervised dog walks with children. Can't be stuffed figuring out WA or Vic or the rest.

madwoofter You got off easy. Frosty still insisted on her afternoon walk, and carried on like a pork chop before and after dinner and has finally settled now, hogging the heater. She's toasty and I'm cold. Sigh.

For Sparky Cat. It's good for you, honest. And it works with vegan ingredients. And I put half the sugar. Date and Walnut slice from p18 of St Peters Tea and Trading tables book with useful information added - like cake tin size etc. Ingredients 125gm (4oz) butter 175gm (3/4 cup or less) sugar 1 cup (seedless) dates - chopped 1/2 cup walnuts (probably optional) 150gm (1 cup) SR flour (wholemeal ok) 1 egg optional flavours - vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Method. Get all the ingredients out first. Turn oven on to 180'C (Medium, 160'C for fan forced) find a large ceramic mixing bowl, and a 7" x 11" cake? tin chop butter and put with sugar into large ceramic mixing bowl, microwave in short spurts until soft. Mix each time. chop dates and walnuts. Walnuts may need to be chopped very fine for texture senstive kiddies. Actually chopping might be optional - not mentioned in original recipe - but I like it medium chopped. add to butter-sugar mixture. shell egg and beat well, add vanilla optional. check that butter mixture is cool to touch, then add beaten egg. If mix is too hot you make scrambled egg, date and walnut. add chopped date and walnuts optionally add cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg mix in the flour a bit at a time. Try to be quick at this stage, the longer you take the tougher it will be. Pour mix into greased 7" (17cm) x 11" (28cm) x 3cm deep tin and spread out to the edges. Put it into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes - a skewer stuck into the centre should come out free of cake mix. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before removing from tin. Is good with custard. Tastes reminicent of sticky date pudding.

Our RSPCA won't take a dog unless it's been reported to council first... I don't think you have to live on the street to report a stray dog. So you could make up an address or say you walk your dogs that way but you live somewhere else. Tempting to give the address of the local football club.

My evil hound has a neat trick for getting herself off the lead so she can go sniff... She says to me, she really really wants to play with this dog here, who is also making play bows... so I let her off. And she doesn't play - she puts her schnoz on the ground and nicks off ignoring the other dog. Sigh. She also tells me some mornings that she's busting to go outside, toilet, so I let her out, I go to my toilet, and when I'm done, she's swiped the warm patch on the bed, and hasn't even gone out on the grass and gotten her feet wet let alone done her S&P. I'm wising up to both of these moves. The dogs that just snap - you can usually see them get a bit anxious. I just figure they get scolded for growling or barking at other dogs. I saw a giant beared collie or Old English sheep dog being walked today. It had a rear-attach harness on it and two leads with two frazzled adults attached and it barked and lunged after my dog and they scolded it. They scolded it for lots of things. Meantime I persuade my dog that it's not a good idea to go say hello and we work our way along the beach doing obedience tricks for treats. Show off what? Just trying to get across the message about - reward what you want, don't scold the dog for "being naughty" when it has no idea how to be good. Sigh. Sometimes I want to scold and slap the owners but that makes me the same as them.

lovemesideways Nothing like a misplaced or absent bit of punctuation to change the meaning of a sentence entirely... Wombat eats roots and leaves. And the British Media failed to get the joke when a particular prince refered to himself as "Willy Wombat".

Phone the council, and follow up with an email. Ie following our phone conversation at this time on this date with this staff member, re stray dog causing traffic problems and harrassing other dogs, I would like to know what is being done. If nothing is done (ie you don't get a reply inside 24 hours), forward the email you sent, back to the council, cc it to your local councillors and the CEO (find their email out and send it to them as well). And ask again why you haven't heard back and why the dog is still out on the street harrassing people, dogs on lead and cars. My council has a policy that all emails are to be answered in a meaningful way (ie more than "we got your email"). I get good action if I forward the unanswered email to the right people in council. And sometimes I'm sure the reception staff that answer the phone get distracted by face to face customers, and don't pass on the message about the dog/graffitti/weeds/broken street signs etc. So an email is an easy way to track what is going on. I have been known to take the "Stray dog" home and call the ranger to come and get. Get good response that way. They may not find it easy to deal if the dog retreats onto its own place or disappears before they get there.

That is excellent work from both of you. And a happy ending. Well done.

Do you think dogs have supernatural powers? - no. There are times I wish I could communicate telepathically with my dog, life could be so much easier for both of us. Do I think dog can sense things that I can't - yes. Can I sense things the dog can't - yes. Dogs have been used to find termintes, cancer, drugs... all these things have a distinctive smell. And my dog is very good at reading other dogs, but sometimes she chooses to invite play when all I can see is trouble and I'm usually right not her. I can also see and recognise things from further away than she can, but I don't know if this is because I have a height advantage. I usually spot things like horses, possums, cats, etc before she does. But sometimes she spots them when I haven't. Sometimes she's just getting all excited about where they've been. It can be hard to tell the difference. She is a crap pick pocket. I always know when she's trying that trick.

Inevitablue I have similar disagreements with an instructor that owns a GR. But I argue more about training techniques than dog breeds. I find BCs as breed can be quite breedist. Not all but a noticable number including a few at my dog club prefer to greet and play with other BCs and completely ignore or warn off other dogs. I have to make an effort to remember which ones, cos my dog just loves to say hello to everybody and every dog and sometimes ignores the back off signals until they get to a lunge-snap. And then she backs off at high speed. But me and the other owner would rather it didn't get to that stage. Henrietta I've had whole conversations about dog greetings across roads. And sometimes we get to say hello and sometimes we don't. Almost always get a laugh as a result of grovel dog's grovelling though.

inevitablue Don't judge a whole breed by one idiot instructor. Or instructors either. There are great and appalling examples of both out there.

Check out Auntie Staffy's ears. They're not pinned back (unhappy/aggressive), or straight up (looking at prey), they're skewiff, one that way and one the other way. Ie friendly play. At least that's how I'd interpret it. There's a hint of "my rules apply" but no sign of concern with Quinn. Quinn's ears are back but not flattened, and Quin is smiling but not grimacing and Quinn is in a semi-play bow ie anything I do next is just pretend/play. I could be wrong. But I get to see it a lot with my dog, the Quinn pose. And it leads to play if the other dog is willing to chase. Alexandra Horowitz has written some papers about it (read the pdf). http://crl.ucsd.edu/~ahorowit/dogresearch