Aetherglow

That is very sad. I'm glad there is a forum like this where people can pick the brains of others to find out about what's best for our dogs, but sadly sometimes awful things happen no matter what we do

Ooh, I only just saw this - is there a prize? Lol, yes - a free Melbourne Trapdoor Spider. Just PM me your address and I'll send it off in the morning. I live in Melbourne, so I've probably already got one around somewhere :laugh:

Ooh, I only just saw this - is there a prize? Before my house mate moved out, I, the girl of the house, was the official spider remover. My house mate was a definite subscriber to the "burn the house down" theory of spider removal, which I found quite hilarious. He had his own personal can of insect spray specifically for any spiders which came through his bedroom window. I think I have read that the spider shape is one of those that we have an instinctive reaction to, in the same way that we instinctively react to snake-like shapes. I'm fine with small furry creatures, fine with pet snakes I know to be not poisonous, can admire venomous snakes from a distance or on video, and would rather leave a spider alone where possible. The photos you took were fabulous, but made me go ick just a little bit! I like huntsmans, orb weavers and the little jumping spiders, but whitetails and redbacks get the shoe around here and the others are ushered out of the house if they try to move in. Spiders don't trigger my ick reaction anywhere near as much as cockroaches, even though the ones we get around here are harmless native bush cockroaches. I once had a dog which would stamp on spiders with her front paws to kill them. As far as I know, nobody taught her to do this.

A friend of a friend has a Murray, and he's a lovely handsome dog of the longer legged type, with a very nice nature. I think many of the people who have had them over the years have just not been interested in having them registered in what is seen as mostly a "show" registry by some working dog people.

There's a study which has verified modern wolf mDNA in some Finnish Lapphunds, including one which is in my girl's pedigree not too far back (no idea how far back the female wolf was, though!). There must be several other breeds with relatively recent wolf blood influx, introduced deliberately or accidentally, and there's several breeds which howl instinctively. My tiny-bit-wolf dog likes to herd cats, not eat them :D

If it's a Victorian Funnelweb it's an unusual colour and far away from its known range, which is around the Dandenong Ranges... Maybe a Melbourne Trapdoor Spider? That seems to match the description and drawing here: http://museumvictoria.com.au/spiders/detail.aspx?pid=9&pic=1 If it's one of those, then the bite can be deep and painful, but not particularly poisonous. Edited for correct use of apostrophes :)

The guy was arrested in early September, according to the article update.

I saw a very similar scenario a couple of days ago - a busy road with a very wide grassy central divide and a walking path close to one edge, girl on the path walking one dog on leash and throwing a ball for a second, off-leash dog. There's a huge park just up the road where that game could be played away from traffic. At the very least she could have directed the ball into the centre of the divide, away from the traffic, but no she was throwing it along the path so the dog was constantly near the road. All it would take for an accident to occur is one misthrow, say, if the on-leash dog were to be startled by something and pull at an unfortunate moment or something similar.

Would it be to do with the shape of the toes and therefore the angle at which the claws naturally sit? Whippets have longish feet, which I seem to recall once being told was an advantage for speed. The comparison I had at the time was boxers, which should have 'cat' feet with very compact toes. That's an amazing photo Kirislin, I always like to see your racing shots :)

Yep. Tarja likes to pick things up and if they are particularly special, take them to her crate to treasure ("that's going straight to the pool room!" :laugh:) I have to watch her on walks because she will pick up anything from stones to abandoned shoes to dessicated bat's wings. In the house it's hair ties and socks. I have her convinced now that she has to bring things to me to check, which is all very well until she presents me with a dried cat poo She's also pretty good with "leave it" within the house or on lead, but on a long line or off-lead, not so much.

My Lappie did get a tummy upset and bad diarrhoea even with a very gradual change from Advance to Black Hawk lamb (I tried twice with the same results). In general I'm of the "ain't broke, don't fix" school, the only reason I tried was because Tarja was starting to indicate she wasn't all that fond of the Advance and often wasn't cleaning up her dinner. In Tarja's instance I suspect lamb is the problem, as she has also vomited with fresh lamb meat and lamb bones. She's now on Proplan with no problems, but I'd potentially try the chicken Black Hawk at some point. Like all foods, it's a good idea to transition slowly.

Gorgeous! I love her expression - she looks like she's plotting something naughty :laugh:

It really depends on both your dog and your cat. I have done the road trip with a nine month old puppy who wasn't used to long car trips and with an adult cat, and I've flown a 12 week old kitten from Melbourne to Sydney. I found stopping every two hours was far harder and more tiring on me than just driving through and stopping only once or twice, it was disruptive for me and the puppy and she would have been fine if I'd just let her settle and sleep in her crate instead of getting her out all the time. She would also have been fine with an overnight stop, but it's not really necessary. The cat my sister and I drove was completely traumatised, the kitten I flew as checked baggage handled everything like a total pro even though the longest he'd been in a carrier was an hour and he'd never been in one without at least one of his littermates before. That was partially because of their personalities, but if I ever had to do it again I'd definitely fly a cat. Much better for them to get it all over and done with quickly, and it's a short flight even if they have to go through with a freight company. Going as checked luggage is even quicker as you can check them in and collect them in the terminal yourself.

I stopped going to both to public group obedience and private classes for a variety of reasons, including inconsistent training in group classes with randomly changing trainers from week to week, seeing a dog with obvious kennel cough allowed to participate in class (and my dog getting very sick a week later - I didn't move fast enough!), cost of one-on-one lessons, and seeing a dog abused by the private trainer I went to (jerked off its feet and dragged crying across the training arena using a correction collar). Due to both my health and the nature of my work I can't always guarantee I can be at a class at x o'clock on a given day and may only find out at short notice, which means that a block of classes with a minimum attendance requirement within a certain timeframe is a waste of money for me without a certain amount of flexibility being available, such as being able to go into a later class if I can't make it to the one I'm normally in. I have yet to find a suitable alternative to what is available locally. I did get results with training classes, and would love to get back into it both for my sake and that of my dog. Tarja, who is my first dog owned solely by me rather than being a family dog, has far better training than any dog my family had. That's not saying much, though, and she and I have huge room for improvement. We do still work on things at home, but I'd like to go to classes as well to improve my own training techniques and correct anything that I don't know I'm doing badly. Ideally, I'd like small group training fairly local to me (within, say, half an hour's drive or so), which can cope if I miss the occasional class, have modern training techniques which can be adjusted to the dog and handler's needs, and where I can work towards a goal such as training to a competition standard or even a specific behavioural outcome in consultation with the trainer, rather than bashing around a field with a bored dog and 15 other people having one word commands shouted out at us for an hour and no individual attention or real instruction.

Doggie parkour. You need a track setup with plant pots, garden features, outdoor furniture, fences etc, and all obstacles must be touched on the way to the line, with points for stylish or novel ways of getting over/under/around/through.

They couldn't, under the laws in place at the time. I also wonder if he was perhaps not a suitable or even a willing carer for a large strong dog, just convenient for his son who was the actual owner. No way to tell without the details that will never make it into press, but it sure seems that there was a lot of irresponsibility and/or ignorance going on there. What a horrible set of circumstances, and most horrible of all for people who didn't have anything to do with making the decisions about this dog's care and containment, the Chol family. Remorse and a fine seem so very, very inadequate.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-30/man-fined-over-fatal-dog-attack/4163046 A Melbourne man has been fined $11,000 over the death of a four-year-old girl who was attacked by a pit bull terrier last year. Lazor Josevski, 58, of St Albans, pleaded guilty to four charges over the death of Ayen Chol, 4, who was attacked and killed inside her own home by a neighbour's pit bull terrier. The dog, which had no previous history of being violent, escaped from the backyard of Josevski's home when the roller door on his garage failed to close. The animal attacked three people outside the house and was beaten off with a handbag. But it followed a young child inside and mauled Ayen Chol as she grabbed her mother's legs. Josevski pleaded guilty to charges of owning a dog that attacked and killed a person, two counts of owning a dog that caused serious injury and owning an unregistered dog. It was the first time Josevski has appeared in court to face the family. He was minding the dog for his son, who was overseas. The magistrate said it was an example of how a relatively minor breach of the law can have enormous consequences. He said the tragedy was beyond imagination and the family's pain was vivid. The magistrate accepted Josevski's remorse. Josevski was fined $4,000 for the death of the child, $6,000 for the two charges of causing injury and $1,000 for having an unregistered dog. In a victim impact statement read to the court, the child's mother Jacklin Ancatto, described the terrifying attack. She said the dog bit the little girl's face and dragged her away refusing to release the child despite being hit and kicked. "Witnessing my daughter being killed by this dog was the worst thing that ever happened to me," she told the court in a statement. Her father Mawien Chol Monjang told the court in his witness statement that he had never even heard of a child being mauled by a dog before. Josevski's lawyer, Rob Stary told the court his client had written a letter of apology to the family before he was charged in which he expressed his sadness and regret over what he called a "horrendous" situation. Under the Domestic Animals Act which was in place at the time of the death, Josevski can only be fined. The law was changed in the wake of the death but was not made retrospective. Now the maximum penalty for owning a dog that causes death is six months in prison.

Maybe your dad might like to consider a dachshund or mini, if he has had a cross before? Or a Jack Russell? They are pretty full on little dogs though, so a puppy may be a challenge. Dachshunds can also be quite stubborn and feisty, so it depends on what temperament your dad wants and if he is prepared to work with that. Cocker spaniels are lovely, but are very energetic and really need a lot of exercise. It sounds like a Cavalier may be more suitable, or, yes, a greyhound which has been tested with poultry. It may also be worthwhile contacting the state breed club of any breed you are interested in, once you have narrowed down your requirements, as they may know which members may be looking to rehome an older dog, or even run a rescue service for their breed. Or, as Holly's mummy said, a good rescue group should be able to match your dad with a dog which has been assessed and fostered in a home to learn the basics if you want to go the rescue route. No matter what, some training will be required as the dog will need to learn the rules of the new house.

Hi Kezzi, Condolences to you and your dad, it must be a very sad time for you. The first thing to check is whether your dad actually wants a dog. Has he said he wants one, and if so, is he ready at this particular time? It's not a good idea to get a dog as a companion for someone if they are not the instigator of the idea and ready and prepared to take on the responsibility. Next step is to find out what he wants in a dog. Has he ever owned one before? If so, what sort? Does he like long or short hair? Bigger or smaller? How much is he thinking of spending on food, grooming and vet fees? Is he willing to groom, and if so, how much? How much exercise is he prepared to give the dog? Can he go to training or does he have previous experience with training a dog? An adult ex-breeding dog may or may not be well versed in what it takes to be a good companion, but even if it was a house dog previously your dad doing some training with it will help him bond to his new friend and get the dog used to the new rules of life. It is therefore a good idea to be prepared to do some work in this area, and at a minimum an adult dog in a new situation may need some reminders of house training or even require complete house breaking if it was an outside-only kennel dog. Until some of those questions are answered it's a bit hard to recommend breeds. They are good to think about, though. Good on you for asking questions and not just rushing in :)

No, I don't have to spend heaps of time grooming my lappie. No, she doesn't get too hot in summer.

What about Victoria then, where almost all councils have a 2 dog limit (certainly in the Melbourne metro area) and there are over 700 dogs on Pet Rescue?

I don't envy anyone trying to learn Finnish or Sami. We were there earlier in the year and despite our best attempts at learning at least the basics, we left not knowing any more than when we arrived!!! We visited the house of a Sami family and boy was that confusing (but useless fact, although both parents speak Inari Sami, Finnish and English, they are only teaching their children Inari Sami, until they are 12 when they start learning English... want to preserve the language and such). I have a good friend who speaks some Finnish after living there as an exchange student, unfortunately he lives in Sydney so practicing with him is not that practical. He did try to teach me the different way to roll your R's in Finnish, and given that I had enough trouble learning one style of rolled R for French I'm not sure how I'd go with four! Apparently there are some people who are genetically unable to produce some of the R sounds, and Finnish children are taught a little mnemonic to practice it, so presumably it's hard for them too! He's good for silly name suggestions for puppies, though, tried to convince me to call my girl Kala, which means fish. I'm not sure why Saffioraire, I think I'll be looking into at least learning how to read Finnish, if not speak it. There's a lot of Lappie info out there that's only in Finnish. I'd be okay with German, or at least more okay than with Finnish, as I studied it for four years and my sister majored in German at uni. I'd probably be mostly ok with French, too. Hmmm, maybe I should get a WSS, they speak French and German in Switzerland!

I don't speak any Finnish, and I'm fairly certain that finding someone who speaks any of the Sami languages of Lapland in Australia would be extremely difficult! Maybe Santa Claus, he lives at the North Pole, and visits Australia at least once a year, but he's normally fairly busy then...

Sometimes a dog could be a homeless or otherwise distressed person's only source of comfort. Not that I like to see a dog kept badly, but I don't like to see people kept badly, either. I've been known to buy a homeless person an actual meal, rather than give cash - maybe find a local shelter which feeds the homeless and suggest to them that having some good quality kibble on hand might be a good idea? Or even donate some if they have regulars who have a dog? eta: Steve, you beat me to it. Yay Pacers!

I suspect a LGD breed suits my image - a quite large and tall, independent dog with lots of wavy hair, not too obsessed with presentation and not a social butterfly. I have no idea what a Lappie owner should be like!