slk

They have actually applied for a permit. I think the only reason is because council are exercising all their powers on them at every opportunity. They have been issued with infringements notices for many offences which in the past they ignored, but the council issued summons and hello, infringment notices all paid, dogs desexed and presto - registered. So yes, council have confirmed that they have paid the non-refundable $107 application fee for a permit, the forms will be sent to not only immediate neighbours, but every resident who has lodged complaints about existing dogs and, if I can quote my council man, "they don't have a hope in hell of getting a permit". I really do feel for the pup though. And I'm sure that this dog is not unique - there would be many animals affected by this silly procedure. They don't have to apply for the permit until the dog is 3 months old .... the whole application process takes about 4 weeks - and then, at around 16 weeks+ puppies are looking for new homes Stupid.

I have spoken to our council. They need to get the dog, then apply for the permit (2 is the limit, this will be their 3rd). To me that seems a roundabout way to go about it .... poor dog is going to have to be rehomed if they don't get the permit - surely you could apply for the permit before you get the dog?? But no, need to have the animal first. Then, it taken into consideration - neighbour appoval is requested via the council and each case is then assessed on it's merits - ie no prior complain history. There is NO WAY they are going to get a permit give their history - their file is thick, from everything from dog at large to failing to register, court summons, etc. Frustrating to say the least. Oh, and poor pup, will be looking for a new home soon.

I am currently having issues which have been ongoing for a few years now with the neighbour 2 doors up. They have two white fluffy dogs (don't know breed) which are aggressive. They have rushed us countless time. They have been fined countless times for not registering their dogs, for their dogs being at large, for their dogs rushing the postman - the list goes on. I registered a complaint, and my husband signed a statement when they rushed my 2 year old son, and came within inches of biting him. It was the last straw for us. I was told they were going to be issued a summons to appear in court and we made it very clear that we were happy to stand up in court if that was required. They now have a new puppy (haven't seen it, but it apparently belongs to one of the teenage sons so I doubt it's going to be white and fluffy!). So now they have 3 dogs. How does someone who has this kind of history be allowed to have yet ANOTHER dog???? Believe me, I'm ringing local laws this morning - but is there anything else I can do?

Max gets 125g tin of sardines mixed through is kibble every night - he looooooves it. Is it too much for him, too often?

I also have a puller when out walking and the sporn harness is brilliant, no pulling whatsoever and I would highly recomment it. Re the cords rubbing the armpits, I had this problem also. Go to a saddlery and ask for some sheepskin covers for horse halters. These will slip on to the cords easily and you will have no more rubbing. I put a stitch in each end to stop them slipping. Great minds!! Max is on a sporn harness (love it!) but it rubbed under his arms. So I got a leftover over from baby day's sheepskin cot underlay, cut out panels and stitched them into tubes which I then slid over the cords ....... hubby just rolled his eyes and said "that dog is treated better than the kids" Worked an absolute treat but your idea is easier .... going to keep an eye out for when mine wear out

Max the Wonderdog tripped me over this morning. We were ambling along in the dark, me listening & distracted by the 6am news report when a cat (I think!) dashed from a bush and darted across the road - Max, who was walking nicely next to me darted after it and rather than dashing in front or behind me - he decided to go straight through me and knocked me over like a skittle! I landed fair on my hip and am not in a lot, lot, lot of pain - and I think I'm going to have a fair sized bruise by the end of the day Thank goodness it was on a dark stretch because it must have looked quite a sight

Who know why our kids are suffering more today than they did even in my childhood. Personally, our specialists can't give us any answers. There's lots of theories, and one that I tend to agree with more than others is that our food today is so full of additives and so overly processed. Who knows - but they are very real conditions, affect peoples lives, take peoples lives and I can't believe the tone that's been used towards them in this post. Edited to add - my daughter has a list of allergies as long as my arm (only 2 are life threatening) but the ONE and ONLY allergy she has grown out of in the past 5 years is her allergies to dog dander !!!!! How happy is she as she is my true animal girl

and.......this is relevant how - just another putdown for the evil kids of todays society. Heaven forbid your child ever have a life threatening condition. I have a 7 year old with a severe peanut allergy (and kiwifruit, jeez, she's super abnormal). She eats peanut or kiwifruit - without medical intervention - she dies. Simple. Yeah, these evil kids who are a bit different than your normal kids. What a pain in the arse they are. I can't believe the hate in the tone of some of these responses - seriously, they make you worse that the "evil kid" because you're all adults who should know better!

Max was his pound name. And we thought we would pick a new name for him but as my middle daughter was up in Queensland the week we got him we though we would wait till she came home before we decided (he was a secret from her, a big surprise on her return !!). Anyway - spent the week calling him Max and we realised .... he is Max We couldn't change it. He also gets MaxiTaxi .... Maximum .... Maximilleum .... Maxy .....

Harsh.

I nearly got the easy walk harness, but our vet put me onto a sporn harness and I have to say - for our Max who is a shocking puller - it worked an absolute TREAT! From the first walk he went from a choking, gagging, pulling nightmare of a dog to a dream who just trots next to you on his lead! We've been using it for a week and this morning, while fumbling around in the dark I couldn't find his halter to I just clipped to his flat collar and off we went - perfect! He didn't pull once It's it's a sporn harness for us all the way

I don't like making sudden changes - I know there is more than likely no harm done if I do, but I don't like to do it - not with the dog, cat, hubby or kids I'm increasing the kibble, decreasing the tinned food and adding something in most night - either a tin of sardines, an egg or sometimes a little bit of our leftovers (not much though!). He seems happy enough - so I'm sure in the next few weeks he'll be eating kibble + an extra (chicken neck, egg, sardines, etc). Thanks for advice guys ;)

Personally, I would give any untethered dog that had access to me a wide berth. Not everyone loves dogs. And as far as I was aware (and I know it's law in my council) dogs, even in their front yard - need to be secured to the property (fences) or on lead unless it's a non-lead area. Just because you know your dog is safe (and do you always 100% know this, the unexpected can happen) doesn't mean people walking past your house know this.

He's on Optimum tinned and Hills SD kibble. I'll continue the Hills, we seems happy on it and I've always been happy on it. Can I go cold turkey onto a kibble only diet or best to wean him (decrease the wet while increasing the kibble?).

That's a good idea PF. I'll need to wean him onto his kibble straight - he's a wet food fan - but I could mix through sardines or the like through his kibble to entice him and just cut it down over days. I personally don't like the tinned food but it's what he's been fed to date and when he came to his new home I didn't want to upset him by changing his diet too dramatically - but I think he's settled in enough now to deal with change

Max is still on puppy food. I'm feeding him Optimum, and a mixture of tinned and kibble. Occassionaly I stir through a tin of sardines, or a raw egg for a bit of a treat. He also has bones to chew on as well. My questions is this - they say kibble is good for their teeth - do they get the same benefit if it's mixed in with the wet food?

As a mother of young children - I always tell my children not to run towards dogs (even our own!), not to pat strangers dogs without asking the owners first, etc. But, as for children being impulsive, boisterous and just noisy - well, that's kids for you. They have jerky movements, they are sudden in their movments, they often make the wrong choices. They are finding their way in the world still. I think it would be easier to control the dog than the child because it's jus how children are designed to be. If I had a dog that I didn't trust around children then I would keep then on a very short lead and I would also avoid places where there are a lot of children.

And I apologise to the OP for going off topic slightly. My intention wasn't to hijack

but surely even when training a dog you are allowed to be slack every now and again? Like when I let the kids hold the lead. I want my pet to be well mannered and part of our family - I'm not training him all the time. All I want is for him to sit when asked (and he has to sit for everything!) and not gag on his lead when walking. Sometimes, we just walk side by side and watch the world go by - or we wander off left and right on a longer lead - sniffing and going pretty much where he wants to go knowing that he can't just bolt off if something takes his fancy. And when he's on his normal LOOSE lead - he has a range within that LOOSE lead - he may not be pulling it taunt but he walks ahead slightly - this is no different - he's just got a longer range. I don't see the difference between this and a lunge lead?

We don't use a head halter. We do our daily walks on a normal lead. No, he's not perfect but he's getting there - we have had massive improvement from when we got him - just persistence & practice really. Our retractable is not for walking, its for in the park. He doesn't pull on it and if he reaches the end he turns around and romps back. I suppose I could just use a really long lead but this works for us. Not justifying what or why I use it - I get that it's not for everyone - but it was said don't use a head halter (which we don't) and that it is bad for teaching them to walk nicely (and we don't use it for 'training'). I suppose you have to be veeeeeeeeery careful how you word things around here

I agree with the retractable lead around other dogs. That's why I made sure when I got the lead that it's a flat, nylon lead (not a chord one) and I engage the lock and use it as a normal lead when around other dogs - I have it shortened to normal lead length. I only use the in & out function when it's just us in the park - lets him have a good sniff around and stretch his legs and I have peace of mind he won't run off. I won't even use it walking down the street as a retractable because I'm worried he'll dash off after a car (he chases everything!) so it's only for wide, open, lonely spaces

Thanks Megan I learnt my lesson the hard way. I was thinking it would be quieter on a week day morning, say after 9 (earliest I can get there with drop off).

This is really just a bit of a whinge, I haven't quite figured out the tactful way to address it. Max comes to school pick up with me every afternoon. I do it because of a few reasons - he loves the car trip - he loves the big romp in the park opposite the school for half an hour before and he looooooooves seeing his human kids and their friends for pats and lots of excitement. And the human kids loves seeing him too. There is a mum who walks her dog in the same park - probably for the same reasons as me. Except hers isn't on a lead. She takes him there to throw the tennis ball (she has one of those throwing stick things). But he is so distracted by Max that he is constantly with us. My problem. Max is dominant with other dogs. He is a real stand up in their face, boisterous boy. Now - he hasn't displayed any signs of aggression but other dogs have towards him - their way of saying back off I guess. And that's why he's always on a lead, under my control and when we walk with him I keep him close. I am addressing this, we are looking into starting training with him next month to work on his 'socialisation'. I've told this lady a few times "please grab him because I don't want them to snap at one another" but she just laughs it off and says it's ok - he's fine. And the flip side - because this dog is bouncing all around Max, Max is really distracted and it's just not the enjoyable outing it should/could be When I pull up now - I am so happy when she's not there because we get our walk/play, say high and have supervised plays with our on lead friends - but the whole atmosphere changes when this duo turn up, running amok. Vent over. I'm pretty sure that the park is a lead only area - I've a good mind to ring the council and say just send an officer down at 3.30 and perhaps she'll listen to someone with more authority than me

So pleased to read this because I had the exact same question. We took Max to the off lead beach at Brighton a weekends ago. We kept him on lead (retractable, and we had him under good control) and we got a number of comments. I thought I had done the wrong thing and have been too scared to take him back. We went on a Sunday and it was really busy, next time I will go during the week when it's quieter. But yeah, he had a ball playing in the sand and water and sniffing all the dogs ..... I know he doesn't have recall and I wouldn't have effective control of him off his lead so it seemed the right thing to do.

Oh, that's an awful walk Cuchulain.... but keep it up, don't be put off. I walked Max this morning in dark and drizzle .... can't say it was that pleasant for me but Max liked it ..... looking forward to the weather fining up again on the weekend for more pleasant strolls.