~Anne~

People have their negative opinions on anything confirmed by anything at all. That's why it's called confirmation bias. Seriously, people will go out of their way to find evidence that confirms an already held belief and they actively avoid any situation in which they might find evidence to refute an already held belief. They will even find evidence to support a belief from things completely unrelated to that belief. Read, a video is not going to change anyone's mind about pitbulls no matter what the content is, how the dogs are portrayed, what they are wearing, who they are hanging with or what they are doing. So this whole argument about image is pointless. I have a mate who used to be a manager for the RSPCA. When the pitbull legislation was on the table, a bunch of RSPCA shelter employees made a video with a pitbull who was doing therapy and stuff with kids and all sorts of ambassadorial things. They sent the video to the people they had to convince in the RSPCA and none of them even believed it was a pitbull. They said it couldn't be because of the things it was doing. Pitbulls can't do that because they are too dangerous. End of story. They were not convinced and they never will be, maybe not even if they experience it for themselves. They are not blind or stupid. They are just humans deep in the clutches of confirmation bias. A video may help make up the mind of someone sitting on the fence, but who knows how they will interpret the video. It is tried and tested in marketing. That is one of the areas of marketing and one of the primary objectives of marketing is - to alter perception. What you have done above is taken one situation and generalised it as well. Every major product in this country is marketed in a particular way to give an image of that product. eg Coco-Cola gives a lifestyle image. The ads are always big beach balls, bike riding and outdoor fun and activity. The image they are portraying is lifestyle. Another brand might choose to use celebrities to show the exotic and another might choose to focus on an image of stability and trust. I can recall another one that was a porridge ad not long back, it migh thave been Uncle Tobys, and they were obviously trying to portray an image of warmth, stability and good old fashioned hearty and warm breakfast and they had a Grandma is a big puffy dressing gown cuddling her grandson as he sat down to eat his porridge. Image perception is a major issue with the Pb. It needs a massive workover.

The nasal cavity is not normally that affected. Your Vet is possibly operating on the nares and resecting them. A canine's nostrils should be round and open, but with brachy breeds and poor breeding, the nares block this opening and it looks more like a slit. Part of the excess skin is cut back to open the nostrils up and allow air to flow easier. On eof the critical issues with brachy syndrome is that it weakens the parts of the respiratory tract, including the laryngeal walls. This is a blog piece I wrote on the subject a few years ago;

I'm genuinely shocked at the number.

Image is EVERYTHING when the current image the breed has is one of a vicious man killing powerful dog that is owned by undesirable types in our society.

Re photos. I just lost Miss Molly, my old moggy. She was my mum's and it occurred to me today that I would have loved a photo of mum and Molly together, but I don't have any. I then realised that even though she has been with me for the last 12 years, and I have loads of photos of her, I also have none of me with her. Remember to take photos of both you and your pet together!

In 10 years? Surely not? Where are these stats from?

All Vets do different things. When I worked in Fairfield in Sydney, the animals were collected by Council. When I worked for a Vet at Chipping Norton, we stored them in a freezer before taking them over regularly to the RSPCA's furncae at Yagoona. When I worked for a Vet in Liverpool, we took them to the local tip, and they were not placed in any specific medical waste area.

Do you actually need 'clearance' though to quote someone? I wouldn't have thought you did, particularly if the quote has already been 'quoted' and taken from another article.

Yes, anyone can go and you can wander around as much as you like.

Really? They are like bums these day's. Yes, totally agree. As I said, I have a couple myself. Still, in the world of symbolism, they are not thought of as wholesome, family orientated images regardless of what you or I think of them and they are best not linked with a breed that currently is not thought of in a postive light. Marketing is largely about perception.

Tattoos are still associated with defiance, non-complaince, a rougher edge. When linking things with a subject that you want to give a softer edge to, you don't select icons that go against the grain. For example, when you think of the great outdoors and summer, you might picture a bbq or the beach. You might picture a swimming pool or a balnket under the shade of a tree. You wouldn't picture a snowman or blustery winds. You wouldn't picture a thick coat and a scarf. If you want to convey a black box as something sweet and tasty, you might have chocolate or creamy custard filling the box or display images that relate to things that are sweet.

Keira, I am aware that large numbers of people have tattoos (although I would seriously argue 50%) and I myself also have a couple. However, as I said, from a marketing point of view they are seen as a negative.

It would depend on 'why' I didn't like them and how much I disliked them.

I am not sure it showed anyone was failing to abide by legislation unless you have information on the dates the pictures were taken?? However, from a marketing viewpoint, it sends mixed messages and will not help promote the breed I wouldn;t think. The picstures of tattoos (still considered largely unacceptable in the general domain rightly or worngly) and the images of fighting and reference to this in the breed developemt will only count against them. The pictures aside from the above were lovely and told a warm and caring story. I thought they were fabulous.

I've owned Pugs all my life and I have never specifically sought out a "brachy specialist", just a good all round knowledgeable Vet. There are many such Vets around. Sorry I can't help specifically with Brisbane Vets though. I am sure soemone will recommend one.

There is a woman in Kiama who takes 3 dogs at a time only and privately boards them at her home. As I understand it, she has kennels and runs, and also allows them house time if she is able to. If this is of any interest, let me know and I will pm her details to you. There is also Hanrob at Sutherland.

I just caught up on the "dob in a pb" hotline idea. How tragic. I can't fathom just how disastrous this hotline will prove to be.

I can tell you for a fact that it pales into insignificance compared with deaths and injuries caused by bicycles. Lets ban those too shall we? ;) I am sure it would pale into insignificance, however, are there stats to show it is increasing anywhere that anyone is aware of or is it just my perception?

Does anyone know if there is an increase in the numbers of humans killed or seriously injured by dogs? My perception is that the issue is ocurring with more frequency, but this may not be the reality.

Way to go Shmoo!!! To those who may not have purchased their copy of the book, I can only say - do it now!

I cant answer the poll. It is such an individual circumstance thing. I look forward to the poll result to see what the general opinion of those who respond is.

Yeah and even then they don't eat pet dogs so it was a silly comment to make. As surprising as it is people in Asia who eat dogs can also own them as pets and manage to differentiate between the 2. Crazy, I know! It's like they're like, normal human beings or something! And that is it in a nutshell. They distinguish between food and pets and it is only peopel who are practising the 'old ways' that are still eating them. Granted, China still has a lot practising the old ways but this is changing at a rate of knots. The China today is not the same as the China of 10 years ago even. SHanghai , in particular, is becoming very, very westernised. I was dumbstruck by how westernised it is. All of the dogs I saw in China looked incredibly well cared for. Most were wearing little outfits, snazzy collars and the like and were all on lead or being carried and cuddled.

I found it.

I had a dog stolen from my yard by people who claimed she was theirs. The police didnt want to know about it. If it was a boat or car they wouldnt have done something. In their words, they had no facility to hold a dog until rightful ownership was established. I had papers and everything to prove she was mine but possession in this case was 9/10's of the law. I never saw my dog again. i was devastated to the point I moved house because everytime i entered the building I expected her to be there I still have her rego tags, bowls, toys etc.. Even the council didnt want to know about it, everyone kept passing the buck. As much as it is wrong and irresponsible, I would have taken the law into my hands in this example. I would have retrieved her using force.