mita

https://www.facebook.com/tibbierescueaustralia/?fref=photo What would you think of what the 2 Tibbie clubs have done to help people searching to adopt a rescue tibbie & also rescues that have a tibbie for adoption. Their Facebook page is a connecting place for both. Any person can post (or message) that they're looking for a Tibbie, or any rescue/shelter can post they they have one. It only shows on the Timeline when approved by an administrator. But the whole purpose is about making connections. I recently was asked to bring my own Tibbies to a meet-up in Brisbane for a lass who'd connected with the site, saying she wanted to adopt a Tibbie but her husband had never met one. So could we show him some. Sure works for a breed label (or a close mix). I don't know how such a 'connections' site would work for the distinct mixed breeds who equally need all the help they can get to be connected with people looking to adopt. Sure to be a way!

All fantastic! Thanks for posting them.

Thanks, Lisa. Shall go find Frankie & get his details put on the Tibetan Spaniel Australia Rescue Page. https://www.facebook.com/tibbierescueaustralia/ I found a local newspaper article which seems to say Frankie is owned by the lady from the rescue group. http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/3826193/calling-heaven-pets-feature-on-new-pok/hone-bo Mita, Frankie is not a Tibbie - there may be something way back in his history, but definitely not a Tibbie. He is however, an awfully nice dog! Thanks for that. Only pic I could find was from that newspaper &, for some reason, it was too dark for me to see clearly. Couldn't get the actual Directory photo to come up, either.

Thanks, Lisa. Shall go find Frankie & get his details put on the Tibetan Spaniel Australia Rescue Page. https://www.facebook.com/tibbierescueaustralia/ I found a local newspaper article which seems to say Frankie is owned by the lady from the rescue group. http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/3826193/calling-heaven-pets-feature-on-new-pok/hone-bo

That is a lovely idea! A Coles store near us had a 1 month project where there was a big bin that shoppers could drop in items for pets with a particular local rescue. When I was shopping there the other day, a number of customers were asking staff what's happened to the rescue pet bin. Sounds like a vote to make it permanent.

The Brisbane Yellow Pages for 2016 have Pet Rescue information & big pic of rescue dog, Chancey, on the cover.

That's a great example of what happens when there's no careful screening & matching and no home checks. It doesn't rate being called 'rescue'.... should be called 'dog endangerment'. As it puts a dog squarely at high risk for bouncing back into a rescue/shelter or pound & at worst case scenario, being put down. Fair enough that even with the best adoption processes, the trial period might not work out for some. There's always some risk .... but your example shows when the risk goes thro' the roof because of plain laziness & lack of foresight for the dog's welfare. Not fair to a well-meaning adopter, either.

The police have posted an update, 'Sniffers Wanted this Sunday!', with an even fuller list of all the organizations, activities, food & drink... that will be there. http://northbrisbane.nhwq.org/2016/04/11/crime-sniffers-wanted-this-sunday/

SG, what a shame you're car-less at the moment....it really is a fantastic event. No wonder there was popular demand to hold it again. Even tho' our tibbies went & got their police tags last year, we're going again. Shall keep an eye out for Stacey Photography stand.

The point, Steve, is that the Norwegian Kennel Club which has issued that position re conformation of brachy breeds .... is informed in what they do via close cooperation with bodies that gather actual evidence, like the Veterinary section of the Norwegian University & their country's Veterinary Association. Which explains why it's an objective one, based on tested reality... not on ideology. That's the story behind that statement. The NKC takes that approach, generally. It's not only brachy breeds. Because my own breed has big numbers in Norway, I've kept tabs on what's come from there. Fortunately, significant ones have been written in English. Like, there's an excellent, longish position paper co-authored by the NKC & the Vet Dpt of their University which just as objectively & honestly looks at health & welfare issues generally in breeding purebreds. That's the culture that needs supporting here .... & registered breeders have shown willingness to contribute. When an animal welfare organization like our RSPCA talks of 'risk' associated with brachy breeds, they need to be invited to the table to see (& support) what is being done to acknowledge & prevent health and functioning problems. When it comes to animal rights groups, they tend to take an extreme ideological stand that reason doesn't change. But if major organizations like the Kennel Clubs, Vet Association, Research Centres & welfare organization have some point of agreement .... that will be a stronger influence (hope springs eternal!).

Mel, posted: In an extremely strong statement regarding brachycephalic health, the Norwegian Kennel Club (NKK) has today admitted that the breeding of short-faced breeds has gone "too far" and has pledged to reverse the damage. And was, rightly, impressed with it. What is even more impressive ... but not made clear in that summary .... is something that is key to managing risk in the breeding of pedigree dogs. That is, the Norwegian Kennel Club works in cooperatively with one of their major universities in looking at genetic & functioning problems among pedigree breeds. Breeders allied with the NKC make their dogs & histories available to scientifically constructed studies & survey, How do I know this? My breed of interest, Tibetan Spaniels, are not only a milder version of a brachy breed, but bred & kept as pets in large numbers in the Nordic countries (shades of Tibet!). A genetic tendency towards an eye condition has been studied by the Norwegian University .... with full cooperation with the registered breeders. Results were immediately made available .... both to other researchers & to the registered breeders. They were faithfully passed on to registered breeders internationally via their Tibetan Spaniel Health network which has contact people in most countries. Yes, we have an Australian member so the information came thro' here. Reassuring for pet owners/buyers like me! Other British researchers extended these findings to produce a screening tool.... again with full cooperation of registered breeders. Steve made a fair point in posting our (national) RSPCA's comment in talking about 'risk' in relation to brachy breeds. However, 'risk' is not something determined, set in stone. 'Risk' is something to be managed. Which is not limited to dogs.... our world is full of measures developed to minimize or eliminate 'risk'. Like women in pregnancy taking folate. A welfare organization like the RSPCA tends to see & focus on the blunt, nasty end -products of human intervention choices along dogs' lives. What they need to acknowledge is that measures to understand & manage risk for dogs form the other half of the equation for health & welfare. It'd be good to see Australian Kennel Clubs & the RSPCA working cooperatively. Just like the Norwegian Kennel Club do with their university. Yet, the same thing has been done here.... but getting very little public exposure. Registered breeders from the Australian Cattle Dog Club of Qld worked in with the University of Qld on research relating to incidence of deafness (results of which helped humans as much as dogs). Also registered breeders, generally, cooperated with UQ to look at 'raising puppies' practices & any links with later behaviour problems (or not). Behaviour problems are the biggest reason for dogs being dumped. Results showed that registered breeders tended to socialize their puppies/dogs better, leading to less later severe problems. Both above are very good reasons for our national RSPCA to be interested & supportive of measures designed to lessen or prevent certain risks for dogs' health & welfare. And looks like registered breeders have shown a willingness to be involved in productive partnerships. Should be more of it!

That's the heart of this matter. In any other field where human intervention determines quality or not (cars, electrical equipment, whatever), we don't ban all because some produce poor quality examples. In fact, emphasis goes on identifying who, where & how quality is produced & setting that as the only acceptable standard. For dogs, as you point out, it's likely to be registered breeders who abide by a breed standard that rejects variations which cause health & functioning problems. The Australian Consumers' Association (CHOICE) used to have a subtle hint on their web page about buying a dog/puppy, which pointed in that direction. Maybe it's time to spell this issue out more strongly to the public.

Same here.

Well said, Cosmolo. Dogs' learning follows the same principles as human learning.... where a certain principle will be applied, by a parent/teacher/counsellor/ therapist according to an individual's current stage, context & needs. Ethically & humanely. Which, when applied to dogs, you've neatly summed up in your first paragraph! The light bulb went on for me when we had a year old Sheltie with severe.... what I came to learn from a behaviourist vet.... separation anxiety. Up to then, I only thought we had a desperately unhappy dog who just needed heaps of cuddles & hugs. But, when the behaviourist vet explained the mechanisms of precisely what she was doing in her case, where the source was, & how to set up 're-learning' .... the light went on! 'We follow the same principles of assessment & intervention & individualization ... ethically & humanely with children!' In fact, I taught management of children's learning & behaviour problems in another part of that university. Yet, here I'd been, with a dog, doing the total opposite.... like failing to set up situations where I could promote desired behaviour & reward it....but rather rewarding the undesirable behaviours. I've always followed your posts & appreciated how your dog assessment/management practices fit in so neatly with good, evidence-based learning theory.

That's a good point.

http://northbrisbane.nhwq.org/2016/03/23/raise-the-ruff-dogs-on-patrol-is-back/ Qld Police & Neighbourhood Watch will hold a Dogs on Patrol afternoon at Roy Harvey Park Stafford on Sunday 17 April from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. People are invited to bring their pet dogs to learn how to be watchful when out walking. Each dog is given for free a blue Dogs on Patrol tag, engraved with their name & phone number for their collar. There's lots of other activities, stalls, treats, food & drinks, too. We took our tibbies to the event when held last year. The police expected about a hundred to attend but stopped counting at 500. Everyone & their dog had a fantastic time. There were dogs of all shapes & sizes & were well socialized and on leash, no argy bargy . My small dogs loved it! And now wear with pride their blue Dogs on Patrol tag that says 'Initiative of Qld Police Service'. By popular demand it was requested to be repeated this year.

Love how you put it! So spot on. :) Exactly the same when we had a female & a male sheltie, the boy was nicknamed Saint Danny & the girl The Mouth from the South. Since then we've always had 2 female tibbies at a time & they've been good with each other. Only tibbie girl who was bossy with the other, at first, was one the breeder warned us considered herself Queen Bee. A few strongly said 'Downs' fixed that.... not because we were brilliant trainers... but in a pet situation, she loved affectionate human attention & not stern words. Best thing, tho', was she kept up her whip paw for the tibbie boy next door who teased the girl tibbies ... like pulling them up the garden by the tail just for fun. He tried once with the bossy girl... she tipped him over & stood on him with a look that said your life won't be spared next time. From then on, he was terrified witless of her & she didn't even have to do anything.

The dog doesn't even have to die. I have a friend of grandmother age who's still traumatized from seeing the original Lassie Come Home movie as a little girl. She says it was the bloody pawprints on the rocks as Lassie struggled over rugged terrain to get back to her original owner... that did her in & remains in her head.

OP did say can't renovate - or words I took to that effect Notice I started my post , 'speaking only for myself & not telling anyone else what they should should do'... & then described what I'd been able to do. I finished my post by underlining the point .... 'it comes down to the individual circumstances'. Thereby leaving any judgments off the OP who has to look for other options.

Speaking only for myself & not telling you or anyone else what they should do ... if the present house is too small, I'd build on so both humans & dogs can be accommodated. We've done that over recent years & have friends presently doing it now. But, like all things, it comes down to the individual circumstances.

Tell your friends to take the male Boston with them as they search in areas where there's sightings. Lost, frightened dogs will sometimes come out when they pick up the scent of a dog they know. Also tell people who see her to get down as low as possible when calling her. Makes them look less intimidating to a frightened dog. Poor owners must be so worried & anxious.

It's fair enough that people will raise what they believe are issues for Pet Rescue operation. But have they asked Pet Rescue directly to clarify? if PR is a registered charity of considerable size & income now, would they have to produce an Annual Report that spells out the specific activities it was set up to do via a Mission Statement & how these were carried out during the year? It could be checked if carrying out rescue themselves, with fostering, care & rehoming (with costs being met by PR donations) is included. If not included, it would need to be written in, if they intend to do this work. as opposed to the occasional due to unusual circumstances. I'd expect that would attract feedback (pro & con) from donors/ supporters. Otherwise, such rescue would be a privately funded matter by whoever at PR is doing the rescuing, which would put them on the same footing as the rescue groups who use the advertising platform but don't get funding from PR.

Bit OT, but I'm so glad you support this group (among others). They not only take in Chi's & Chi crosses of all ages, including the elderly, but also what they call Honorary Chihuahuas. They presently have the cutest, tiniest elderly bloke who makes a milk carton look big. Name, Archie, who's some kind of Yorkie X. Recently they had a Sheltie, They have vet nurses in their management, so dogs rescued in awful condition are nursed back to health amazingly. I do a happy dance if a Tibbie gets into their hands. I follow them on FB, Mita, where I have often stated that it is a very good thing I live in Sydney as I'd probably have far too many dogs than is good for me or them :D :D Ah ha! So you'll know Archie! Bet you're doubly glad you live in Sydney after one look at him. :) Another good thing about Chi Rescue Qld is that they take little ones in dire circumstances from places interstate where there's no other immediate help. Like dear little creatures from Alice Springs, Darwin & northern NSW. But you'll know that from their FB page.

Bit OT, but I'm so glad you support this group (among others). They not only take in Chi's & Chi crosses of all ages, including the elderly, but also what they call Honorary Chihuahuas. They presently have the cutest, tiniest elderly bloke who makes a milk carton look big. Name, Archie, who's some kind of Yorkie X. Recently they had a Sheltie, They have vet nurses in their management, so dogs rescued in awful condition are nursed back to health amazingly. I do a happy dance if a Tibbie gets into their hands.

Inclined to agree. The $1000 dollars makes sense when the two things said are put together. First, the costs of raising/caring for those particular kittens & second, what's extra will go to the usual needs. So it doesn't seem so much conflict of interest IMO, but rather an object lesson in what rescuing is about. Pet Rescue is modelling what they promote. BTW thank heavens for the good thinking & hard work that went into setting up PR.