Simply Grand

What do you mean by you didn't want to get bitten and be responsible for more doggy lives being lost? Do you mean bitten by those particular roaming dogs? Not saying at all that you should risk being bitten but as far as I understand it the whole point of deed not breed and anti-BSL is that if particular dogs do inflict harm the dogs and owners should be accountable so if these dogs do seriously injure someone and have an owner who continually lets them out maybe their lives should be lost (i dont say that lightly) BUT just because they're pit crosses doesn't automatically mean they're dangerous. Totally agree that people who are aware their dogs roam and don't stop them are idiots but I'm not clear what you're trying to say here.

How very interesting fuzzy! I wonder why that culture of dog ownership and breeding has developed/endured. Have dogs never been sold in pet shops? Does that mean people need to deal with a breeder so they 1. Can't buy on impulse; 2. Get given more information about the requirements of the dog; 3. Have to demonstrate to the breeder that they are a suitable home for the dog etc etc so maybe dog ownership is seen more of a privilege and responsibility by people in general than by many people here in Aus. Just thinking out loud

Heehee that was so cute! Riley got up, came over and head tilted through the whole thing. Saxon lifted his head and stared at me for a while, then checked the tv to see if there was a dog on there making the noise, then went "meh" and lay down again Wish I had a piano to teach Saxon to play!

Oh D, it sounds like you're trying to stop your friend buying into a problem! You are doing the right thing. Of course it would be way way better for your friend to get a pup from a better source. But if she does buy this dog, goes straight to the vet for vacs and check up and is willing to pay for whatever (which could be alot!) is required in future, she could have a good pet. Like PF said though, likely to be difficult, but hopefully worth the effort to your friend. If I were you I'd keep on with advice such as "So, do you want the name of my vet, they're great?" "How are you going with training, want the name of my puppy/obedience school?" "How often do you brush your pup? Are you going to groom it yourself or take it to a groomer every couple of weeks?" In my experience you can sort of show people what they at least need to think about without coming straight out and saying you're doing the wrong thing... not always of course but at least sometimes enough to keep the dog in general good health...

When I worked at McDonalds quite a few years ago they always used to make me order take on drive-thru during busy times. It was the most boring job and I always wanted to be at the other end getting the orders together, much more fun! BUT they had a saying, "Aces in their Places" meaning that during busy times they put people in the jobs they were best at so that things got done effeciently and effectively. Maybe wolves have the same philosophy? The ones that do all the hunting are the ones that are best at it and the "freeloading" ones aren't as good at it so they have to do other jobs that they're better at (like boring order taking) :D

I took a week off with Saxon, my first puppy. I'm glad I took that time, it was great fun for me! I think it was good for Saxon too but he was only 6.5 weeks when he came home and stuck very closely to me. He seemed like such a baby Having said that, he was totally fine when I went back to work the next week. The first couple of days I popped home at lunch time to check on him but he was just fine so then I just left him for the day. He did sleep on his own in the bathroom then the laundry from night one with no problems and didn't have any problems when I did go out during that first week, so who knows, maybe he would have been fine on his own anyway With Riley I just had the weekend and went straight back to work. He was 8.5 weeks though and seemed much more grown up and independent than Saxon. I left him fenced off in his own area in the house for the first week I think, as he and Sax got to know each other, then left them together, they were fine.\ Next time I'd prefer to be home more than I was with Riley because of toilet training! I couldn't give him consistent training while he was settling into the house and routine, being at work, so it's been a slow process. No big deal though

Hmmm, just read more posts - maybe I will make it $20. Neva, I know you were kidding about the vacc cert, but actually I'm not at all sure her vaccs are up to date . My dogs' are though so they should be ok shouldn't they?? I will ask her to pay up front. Though the money probably won't be needed for actual day to day expenses, and won't make much difference to my overall finances, I will need it if I have to take her to the vet.

Thanks for the replies everyone I'm thinking I'll tell her $15 per day, well per night I suppose... if she offers more though I'll take it! I wouldn't really expect to charge what a kennel does as I don't have the expenses they do of course. The only actual financial costs will be food (she may provide some, she does sometimes) and the cost of washing the dog and/or bedding if needed. The dog will be at my house and will be treated basically how I treat my dogs so it's not a huge inconvenience - well hopefully, I haven't had her stay since I've had Riley so I hope there are no problems. For her sake (and also because I'm a bit of a conflict avoiding wuss ) I find it really hard to say no to taking her if I don't actually have a reason to. ETA - the rest of the post is more venting She's been staying with me on and off for nearly half her life now (she's 4) and most of Saxon's life and I've done done training with her, tried to teach her that good behaviour will get her more attention than bad (at my house, not so much with her owner sadly ) and tried to help her feel more secure around other dogs (she's had some fear aggression issues IMO). She really is a nice little dog, she just isn't treated how I believe she should be by her owner - although she's at least had her owner's flatmates past and present, and friends (me!) around to ensure she does get food, water and some attention every day. How someone treats their dog, within reason, wouldn't normally be any of my business, not everyone has to treat their dogs how I treat mine, but seeing as she's involving me, making her pay some money is my way of making her take some responsibility for her dog in making decisions in her life. Every time she makes her plans, then thinks "oh what will I do with the dog?". Like you say Mjosa, I don't really know why she has the dog. She was given her as a puppy by her ex when their relationship was on the rocks (I know :rolleyes: ), I think she liked the "cute little puppy", then the puppy grew up and the novelty wore off. Now I think she keeps the dog because she doesn't want to look bad for giving her away and she gets away with not having her life too inconvenienced. Sigh... In all fairness I think she does care about the dog to some extent, she's just caught up in herself and doesn't think about the dog's needs.

Oh sorry, she's a 6kg pug x

A friend of mine (who to be honest I've been having some issues with lately, well for a while) has just asked me to look after her dog for 10 days (in a round-about way that started off as though she was offering to do me a favour :rolleyes:). She's going away on a placement for work. I used to look after her dog for her quite often for various reasons (I've posted about her before) and eventually kind of told her I was sick of her dumping her dog on me just because she wanted to stay at her boyfriend's house, or go away for the weekend, or go visit her mum (who apparently doesn't want the dog to stay there). Then I got Riley and told her (nicely) not to ask because while I had the puppy settling in I couldn't take her dog as well. She moved into a share house around the same time with another girl who had a dog and apparently they agreed they were happy to look after each others' dogs if need be. Since then my friend has gone away for a month already for work and has gone away weekends quite a few times. Apparently she has been leaving the dog at home for the housemate to look after and now the housemate is jack of it. Hence her asking me to take her this time (after she's already accepted the placement regardless). Anyway, she's said she'll pay me - that's how she started the request - text saying "So how would you like to earn some money for about 10 days?" I'm not working at the moment for reasons she knows I am stressed about, and she knows money is tight so I'm annoyed that she's done it like this In practice I actually don't mind looking after her dog, she's quite sweet and willing to fit in and do things my way when she's here. She can be a bit difficult sometimes but as I've posted before, who can blame her when her owner passes her from pillar to post, only spends time with her if she has nothing else to do, has "trained" her by hitting her, etc etc so I've agreed to take her. My friend has offered to pay me for looking after her when it's been more than a few days before and has ended up not actually getting around to giving me the money. This time she's going to have to. So, before she brings it up, how much roughly would it cost her to kennel the dog for the 10 days? I want her to pay me a fair price! Sorry, this has turned into a long and whingey post, feel free to ignore the whole thing except for the actual question unless you'd like to join my vent Thank you

What a stunning girl! Happy birthday gorgeous Daisy

Reads to me like the author of the article in the OP is taking the p*ss out of the reported findings from the study... As in pointing out that human-type motivations and behaviours were being attributed to wolves, who clearly have their own way of operating as a group. "lazy wolves fooling human researchers..." Kinda funny I thought

Steve, you are doing an amazing job of continuously presenting a rational and law-based argument on this emotive topic! I so admire your persistence and patience! And I think (hope) your point will get across in the end... Actually I suspect there are many many people out there who totally agree with you but don't have the knowledge or eloquence to say it. I'm one of them! Erny, what you said was just was I was thinking, if I'm going to rescue a dog I'm willing to take on whatever medical or any other conditions they might bring, I wouldn't need or want them to be health tested. Nor to be put down if there was a potential problem without the chance if rescue being offered.

Argh hate trying to edit on iPhone! ETA to previous post - real evidence doesn't include anecdotes about nice dogs of particular breeds - Although I could give you many from said dog park

I'm so frustrated that I can't seem to watch the video! It's my ISPs fault. Anyhoo I was reading the thread this morning and thinking about it at the dog park this arvo... I actually was wishing I could film to post but didn't want to film others dogs and put them on the web without permission so didn't. I really see our regular dog park as a good one (PF this is the one in Belconnen ACT where that attack was recently reported). In my experience over the last 2 years (the park's been there about 3ish years) visiting on average at least twice per week, often 5-6 times per week, problems are rare. HOWEVER IMO the reason it works well is that there are many regulars, human and dog, who know each other, know their own dogs, know each other's dogs and manage appropriately. Having said that, I also dont know that dogs interacting well together in a public setting is related to BSL. I think effective argument against BSL requires factual arguments about its lack of effectiveness... Of which I believe there are plenty.

Oh tlc how very scary! So glad to hear that Tully has been ok since, let's hope it was just a one off, freak thing and that she continues to be fine. Interesting to hear that similar things have happened to quite a few other dogs.

Aaaahhh! Monah, your human child ate them?!? That's so much worse! But you can embarrass her with it for the rest of her life Because I'm so grossed out by the snails I've closed the dog door and am only taking Riley outside supervised so he doesn't get them. Hopefully he doesn't catch that worm from the ones he already munched. wuffles, very glad to hear Ava grew out if it! I hope Riley does before the next bout of rain.

It's been raining for a few days and obviously the snails are out. Riley keeps bringing them inside and CRUNCHING then if I don't notice in time I can handle most things (i've become very blase about disposing of dead mice and rats the cat brings in, and can just about handle the odd cat poo eating from Riley) but I HATE snails and slugs. They're bad enough just crawling around outside minding their own business but sliming around on my lounge room floor!! or crunched in my puppy's mouth... too much

Might be too late now but I'm in Canberra, can provide overnight accom on Friday if needed.

Riley has the same at the moment, top and bottom teeth. None of the adult canines are all the way through yet so I haven't been worrying about it. He's just over 5 months. Glad to hear it's ok to wait and see for a while yet.

So so glad to hear that Mindy is ok and back home Luckily her huge scar won't show when her fur grows back and she'll still be beautiful!

Ah haha I am very familiar with this! My 5 month old Sheltie is quite the barker. I've worked on it by looking away and freezing until he's quiet for a few seconds then calmly looking back, telling him he's good and continuing with what I was doing. If he barks again repeat. Takes patience and consistency but it's working. Re jumping on the bed, i'd start off with the ignoring and if/when the paws hit the bed I'd give a firm growly NO then back to ignore and freeze. She may be a bit young to fully understand what you want from her so is still learning purely from your reactions so it's important to be consistent, firm but not angry or scary.

Also don't blame yourself, we feed dogs bones, that's what they eat. Bad things just happen sometimes

Come on Mindy, keep fighting, you can do it! Thinking of you Aussielover xx

Oh no Was it definitely him, not a fox or a cat and he found it?