Brucebriz

LOL, absolutely!

I haven't read all the responses but in the case you describe it might be argued, under the Companion animal Act see below, that the people going into the yard were provokng the dog, esp if they knew the circumstances to be as you described. It would require a lawyer but can be defended. The fact that the "friends" are reporting it seems to say to me they aren't friends. Offences where dog attacks person or animal (1) If a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases any person or animal (other than vermin), whether or not any injury is caused to the person or animal: (a) the owner of the dog, or (b) if the owner is not present at the time of the offence and another person who is of or above the age of 16 years is in charge of the dog at that time—that other person, is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: (a) 50 penalty units except in the case of a dangerous or restricted dog, or (b) 300 penalty units in the case of a dangerous or restricted dog. (1A) The owner of a dangerous dog or a restricted dog is guilty of an offence if: (a) the dog attacks or bites any person (whether or not any injury is caused to the person), and (b) the incident occurs as a result of the owner’s failure to comply with any one or more of the requirements of section 51 or 56 (as the case requires) in relation to the dog. Maximum penalty: 500 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both. Note. Conviction for an offence under this subsection results in permanent disqualification from owning a dog or from being in charge of a dog in a public place. See section 23. (2) It is not an offence under this section if the incident occurred: (a) as a result of the dog being teased, mistreated, attacked or otherwise provoked, or (b) as a result of the person or animal trespassing on the property on which the dog was being kept, or © as a result of the dog acting in reasonable defence of a person or property, or (d) in the course of lawful hunting, or (e) in the course of the working of stock by the dog or the training of the dog in the working of stock. (3) This section does not apply to a police dog or a corrective services dog.

I wonder if any of the dog rescue/adoption/welfare groups have actually engaged with the issue of dogs being abandoned by OS students? Also as owning a dog is like anything else, subject to cultural norms, is there any outreach to OS students about positive dog rearing/training/care etc. I mena when you see dog ownership culture OS it is pretty different to here IME ...

I reckon you would be right mate. Too many consumer Aussies getting dogs as a form of retail therapy then throwing them away like the wrapping paper their other material conquests come in. Don't give up just because of your bad experience, like I said earlier and others have, get involved in fostering and look into the adoption to go over seas option. There is always a need for foster carers and you sound like you would do a good job.

It wouldn't stop people dumping them. If the government were to look after them, as you suggested, then people would still dump them, because "someone else will deal with them" whilst in the meantime the numbers in shelters and pound builds and builds an builds, because some dogs will never be rehomed, but neither can they be PTS, so they live in a hrrible state of limbo for years and years until they die of old age...... Sometimes euthanasia is not the worst thing that can happen to a dog. It's not the governments fault people dump dogs. I think that removing the euthanasia option would make a big difference to what we have now " If government had to do the humane thing and look after all dumped dogs then policy makers (and voters) would be forced to come up with a much greater level of accountability for owners" especially if a system was introduced to regulate ownership and the companion animals act was given more teeth and dog owners were made to be accountable for their dogs welfare. A bit of a pipe dream at this stage but death rowing healthy animals sickens me and there are much better options available as dogs on death row is as bad as it gets IMO.

I agree Rebanne it is great but a bit of a double standard that we can help ourslves to dogs OS but not the other way around. I don't think the RSPCA worker was being racist but there is an argument that the system has perhaps unintentional racist outcomes. I would like to suggest also that I think/believe very strongly that we should outlaw the euthanising of dumped dogs and cats etc,. completely. It is a barbaric practice and just engenders more irresponsible treatment of dogs. It allows us at a societal level to keep acquiring and discarding dogs etc like they don't matter. If government had to do the humane thing and look after all dumped dogs then policy makers (and voters) would be forced to come up with a much greater level of accountability for owners and there would be far less "out fo sight, out of mind" that I think operates too much here in Australia to the detriment of our society. Of course serious suffering and health and serious aggression would have to be exceptions on a case by case basis.

So glad to hear it is all settled. I was thinking about how some people are not morning people and wondering if that gets worse with age or is it just marriage :)

There is something quite pathetic in the behaviour of the RSPCA worker.. Obviously you know dogs. It couldn't be that hard for them to work with you to get what they consider an appropriate outcome. Maybe if you were to approach a rescue kind of group and get them to get the dog and you become a foster carer with them and when it is time to go make arrangements to take the dog with you. The CEO of Animal Welfare managed to take dogs from Korea and heaps of US and Aus citizens bring "strays from india and bali back here. I can see why you are peed off.

Glad he is alright :) I have a tentative suggestion that is part question as well. In my somewhat limited knowledge of dogs, through not having had a lot, I have noticed that they have very good memories (some almost elephant like) and wonder if it is the case that in the early days of your dog's life with you whether you approached training commuication from a domineering angle with the dog or you followed the positive reinforcement approach. In asking this I am not implying at all that you have abused the dog but am curious if the dog expects to be "made" to move as they might have been in puppy and younger days or if when they have been moved in the past they were encouraged and at least made to think they wanted to? My hypothesis is if they are sore and are not expecting to be approached in a manner that they feel they have leeway/time to organise moving etc or maybe they can negotiate staying put they may exaggerate their response accordingly? I have had dogs in the old days where as kids we seemed to think demanding certain behaviour was appropriate as opposed to what I do now and that is convince my dog that they want to do things too by making it fun, we are a team, so to speak. I am not qualified to draw conclusions either way in your or any other cases but I am wondering if the dog, with the age related and health related issues, is possibly responding to an earlier pattern or sets of experiences of being woken up and because they aren't feeling well respond as if they have been approached the way they are used to/remember...I hope you get what I mean. My boy has such a memory that I am convinced I have to cross my Ts and dot my I's in preparation of his old age :) Just curious if anyone thinks this might be at all a relevant avenue of inquiry or a possibility? If there is hip pain greenlip muscle powder, condroitin and glucosamine work great in conjunction with Cartrophen etc. Green lip is great anti-inflam, chondroitin is good for slowing degeneration of cartilage and glucosamine is good with repair of cartilage. Need to watch dose though

That is a very interesting way of looking at the situation, especially as you have stated it in a manner that allows for different possibilities like less desirable traits vs more desirable traits...very refreshing relief from the (excuse the pun) dogmatism with which I have been told about red/pink nose aggression out in "the park". Fingers crossed I hope the nose colour is only a matter of diligent sunscreen, perhaps zinc (?), application when outdoors. For those interested to know, yesterday evening shortly after I had posted this thread, the pup in question set about playing with the resident cat and shortly into their play session drew my attention when the cat let out a reasonably loud meow (in pain) noise, when I told pup to stop, he trotted up to me to sit at my feet looking very sorry for himself and a little guilty, he had a large tuft of cat hair in his mouth...needless to say I was somewhat taken aback and doubly concerned about aggression and left him to sit at my feet for close on five minutes before I verbally released him to play again...t The cat's attempt at revenge later on was similarly halted and both separated for about half an hour...today seems to be going fine. Cat and pup are as bad as each other when it comes to provoking the other to play so discipline must be meted out equally when fun and games turns to tears...

I am much reassured by the complete absence of anyone else hearing about pink noses being a pre-disposition towards aggression . I appreciate the point re "park-ology" in temrs of a place for garnering info about dog behaviour and dog health. In terms of training is there any specific action or technique that is useful in managing/discouraging aggression and or any signs to look for beyond: 1. always make sure hands are gentle (use voice tone to express disapproval only) 2. discourage through stopping play (and if appropriate saying ow!) if biting is happening 3. watch for dominant behaviour, like humping, hackles and more than playful biting when pup is playing with other dogs 4. distract pup away from other dogs that might be behaving "badly" (too rough or dominant) without making a big fuss about it. Sorry for all the questions, I am not trying to by pass seeking out professional training like obedience classes etc, but I am just interested in trying to work out what is best to do between Puppy finishing puppy pre-school (which is next week) and starting obedience training whenever he is old enough to do that (hopefully not too far away).

Thank you both for the reassurance. I do take him out every morning to meet other dogs at the end of our street and he is eager to meet and play with anything from a Maltese or Shitzu to Great Dane (the range thus far) and the only time he has exhibited aggression is when he and our cat are wrestling eachother and if I tell him to stop (and when necessary the cat to stop) they both oblige...will focus on training. Unfortunately I didn't meet the parents.

Recently I became the proud owner of a puppy. He has a pink nose and since taking him out a number of people have commented that dogs with pink noses are inclined towards aggression. I have heard of cherry nose pit-bulls that are said to be more aggressive than other ones but had never heard of the nose colour being an issue in other breeds. Does anyone have any experience with this issue...?