Stressmagnet

Kinda off topic, but: So this thread actually made me go and google " greyhound racing in Canada" and I was surprised to find it's actually NOT illegal. Just (and even worse) unlegislated . That's a whole other very scary (I suspect) discussion but I come back to the fact that, growing up and living there for 30+years - I'd never heard of greyhound racing (except on the TV from the States). What struck me when I arrived here, is the madness you Aussies (blanket statement alert) have for gambling. On anything. So I guess it makes sense that it is popular. Canadians don't gamble, it's illegal except on the Native People's Reservations and that's all casinos. You couldn't bet on a football game or anything else (legally) until about 20 years ago. There's not a culture of gambling the way there is here with pokies (dunno how those even work) in bars . Which goes back to answering my initial question, which you answered, that it's all about money, and lots of it. I'm not sure banning is the answer either, despite my initial horror, because banning anything never works. I'd love to see better legislation for it in the books though. I think my next dog will be a grey (when Ernie's gone) as the amount of rescues is simply staggering. Okay, sorry to derail your discussion.

Um. Me too. It's why I clicked on it. And to think I parent children and model good character. *sighs at her inner 12 year old and shakes her head sadly*

I was trying teach Ernie last night (his 20 mins of brain work) to go and get his Squirrel. He loves the thing - it's actually just a squeaker mat with a head and a tail. I mean he LOVES it. Until he remembered where we keep his grooming stuff and found TENNIS BALL. After that, it was game over. All he kept doing was going and finding another TENNIS BALL out of the bag over and over again until I'd removed 6 from him and given up.

Then why, in the name of God - is this sport not banned?!?

YES TO THIS. Thank you.

I'd never even realised that Greyhound Racing was a 'thing' till I moved here. In Canada, you don't see it. So I for one would love to be better educated about what happens to dogs that don't make the grade. It worries me that there is so many Greyhound rescues. Gosh, they're lovely dogs.

IMNSHO, puppy classes = waste of time. If you are good with dogs, you can teach them the basics, socialise them in a controlled manner with solid older dogs and take them around and about -- then enrol the pup in an 'advanced puppy class' at around 5-6 months. Usually the one in those classes have owners with pups they've spent some time on, so the puppies are slightly better behaved. Of course, that's just my exoerience with the pups I've owned on the coast (AmStaff and Lab). You will still get nonsense in the class, but advanced usually means better behaved. Not always though.

Back away from these groups, folks. You can't win. I've tried. And I'm a member of a Lab group which meets fortnightly at a dog park. Ernie loves it. The last time we went, I saw THREE labs his size that had to be 50-60 kgs. To me, that is abuse. I was so angry watching these dogs heave themselves around for 5 minutes and then flop down because they were exhausted. Ages? 3, 6 and 5 ½ . Argh. And then there's me, with Ernie, watching him, thinking 'hmm he's looking a tiny bit porky from training treats must cut back on his food' and one of the large lab owners asks me IF HE IS PUREBRED BECAUSE HES SO SMALL. Wtf. Ps. Ernie's almost 10 mos and weighs 24 kgs.

Yup. All defensive and ALL CAPS. Yuk.

Thanks everyone. I'm madly scribbling down titles.

Thank you for the cheering stories. I think Jasper just broke my heart.

Wow. Judgemental much? Yup. I've send this stuff before near where I live. Judgemental? I can live with that. I stand by my comment.

Hey folks Before I drop a bundle on Amazon, I'd like to ask what you'd recommend as the best books on 'reading' your dog - written for someone who can understand big words, but often falls asleep in the middle of them. Illustrations would be a bonus - and something written in the last 10 years, I think. Thanks. Edited to say: I'm not looking for a training manual but more insight into how dogs communicate and what they are saying. And I'm not a huge fan of dominance theory, though it has its place.

There are some seriously well written scathing comments nestled amongst the 'oh but think of the children' waffle. I'm sure she'll feel compelled to write a mealy-mouthed apologia which is really masquerading as 'people don't understand meremememe' Blergh. Makes me want to slap her. Hard.

Yay! Happy way to end the week.

I agree with all of you here. That woman is a selfish ass and I'm not so convinced someone who treats her dog like that is a great parent either. Really, she sounds angry at everything. But. When my first daughter was born, she was, what they tactfully call 'a difficult baby'. She slept 40 mins out of every hour - 24 hours a day. The rest of the time she screamed or puked. She got expelled from the Sleep Clinic. I was a wreck with an unsupportive husband (women's stuff') and got diagnosed with both hyper vigilance (couldn't sleep in the 10 minutes I got) and post natal depression ('what the heck have I done to my life?'). We also had Katie, our bouncy 1 year old Kelpie. I will admit that for the first 8 months of my daughter's life - Katie the Kelpie got a raw deal. She got relegated to a distant second place in my heart, she got fewer and fewer walks, I kept her out of our bedroom and away from the baby. In short, for her, her life went from being a delight to despair and she hadn't a clue why. She hadn't changed, the world around her had. But about the time my first started sleeping and I settled into motherhood, I realised why I'd been doing to my former best friend. And I smartened up. Anyone can have a dog (unfortunately). Anyone can have a baby (unfortunately). But true adults MAKE it work. They own their mistakes and make it right. Katie started coming back on walks, I got less freaked out about 'dog germs' and she was welcome back in our room. We all went to the park - me, Drama Diva and Katie. DD learned how to throw a ball with Katie's help. Because of Katie, DD learned to be gentle with living things. Katie lived to the happy age of 12, being dressed up, being fed broccoli, being used as a horsey and a leverage to get up on first unsteady feet. I like to think - with the exception of those shameful 8 months, she had a pretty happy life. I get that the writer is focussed on her kids. I get that her life has changed. But she could change herself. She's surely not so hardened that she won't - she seems pretty aware of what she's doing. It's not her dog's fault she's a self absorbed jerk. Edited due to autocorrect

He has his 'place' which he runs to and lies down. Reward. During the night, if he's on his place and chewing his bone or being quiet, I drop the odd reward from the sky. Couch: knows 'up', knows 'off'. Rewarded. Knows Leave It. Will iignore a meatball purposely dropped. Will not nose around snacks on coffee table near his place. But. Ermahgawd when he's in his puppy mood - 10 secs is all it takes to destroy something or run around the house with knickers or toilet paper the whole house. At that point, he's not listening and just bring a silly pup. I might try growling and a time out - not crate tho, cos he loves his crate and will go in there happily.

Ernie gets 'uh-uh' and will immediately stop whatever he's about to do but that doesn't cut it when he's sitting in the middle of 4 feather pillows (and yes yes my fault, should have supervised better but didn't realise how FAST he can get up to mischief!) I'll try growling. My kids already reckon I'm certifiable - they'll be rubbing their hands with glee.

Okay. Let me preface this with I love love Ernie. He is the happiest goofiest puppy ever. And he's one of the best behaved 9.5 month pups I ever seen - let alone owned, and I've owned 4 dogs since I was 20. I get complimentss all the time when I'm out. So I have an odd oroblem. I will NOT smack or hit my dog when he misbehaves. .For discipline in our house, I use my terror inducing voice, which has my kids scurrying for cover and buying me flowers to make up for whatever wrong doing has occurred. The girls call it my 'Napalm Voice' because the sound and tone can make plants wither and die. Not Ernie. He can jump on the couch; surf the kitchen counter; tear up a pillow - and wag his tail and jump for joy at the 'Napalm Voice'. The boy does NOT get that I'm Unhappy with him. Short of using a megaphone and muppet angry brows, I'm not sure how to let him know he's just messed up. He's just happy happy happy all the time. No sense of shame, no awareness that he might possibly have messed up his manners. I've tried ignoring him as well - but he just wags and licks and smiles the most endearing grin NO MATTER WHAT. What to do folks?

as a cancer patient, I hear all sorts of news about 'secret' remedies and the evils of big pharma. While I am not so naive as to think that pharmaceutical companies are in the business merely to save lives, I'm really tired of getting emails with links to remedies that make spurious claims, at best. Give me something that has some scientific studies behind it (cannabis oil for example) and not just loads of unverified stories from John P in QLD and Vera M in SA touting the benefits of some herbal/natural remedies. I've had friends reject chemo only to die long painful deaths following a remedy that 'big pharma' want to hide. Science, people. It's not hard.

Some people have no idea, and ARE TOO STUPID to be educated :(

My amstaff was desexed at 8 months and became incontintent almost immediately, it is common in bitches. I had her on Propalin which helped some.

I need bed socks please. I'll knit you a ball gag :D

Hate Godaddy. Those Bud commercials always make me cry. I'm turning into a sentimental old woman, dagnabbit. I'll be knitting soon. *cowers from all the balls of wool being thrown*

I used to buy the big jars of fish oil at Chemist warehouse and give my dogs 3 a day as a treat. My kelpie was a rocket until she died suddenly of a brain tumour at 12. I give Ernie cheap sardines in his dinner and fish oil capsules as treats.