mac'ella

The original argument here wasnt directed at any type of breed but at the media for not getting their facts right, as usual, before printing articles that can be misleading,in this case blurting out the word bulldog which would have people thinking of british first,and then going on to bullmastiff cross.This is what they do for a wage. I dont think there is any breed of dog you could say is 100% bombproof and anyone who thinks this is wrong.If owners take precautions the incidents would decrease but never cease as there will always be a dog somewhere which will do the unexpected and take the owners by surprise. Dogs will associate a bad experience when young to a similar situation later in life eg my boxer who was attacked by a black and white border collie as a pup and was always defensive with them later,so I had to avoid them where possible and after a while he met others which were friendly and he was ok. Its the same with owners some have no idea and will let their dogs charge over to a strange dog and then get very indignant when that dog goes defensive.The complacent owners are the more dangerous factor in a lot of occasions. On one occasion I had my dog in a fenced oval when a woman opened the gate and let her standard poodle (no offence poodiful)run straight over,there was no problem he was so friendly and playfull, but if there had been would it have been the boxer's fault because he's a bully type breed? I've also had people turn up at the dog park with 3 poodles stating that 2 were ok but 1 wasn't, thats 66% in poodles favour, at least they were up front. There are good and bad examples in any breed so I wouldn't bad mouth any of them.

what about animal welfare league? my daughter volunteered there for her duke of ed course, its not far from holsworthy

When the aussies were still a novelty I remember Don Bourke doing a spot on his show about them saying they were bred to reduce the probs associated with british (as dobesrock stated)So you can see where a lot of people found out about them he also promoted labradoodles for the right reasons,but then there seemed to be an influx of designers . Maybe the original intent was good I have only seen a few of them they are neither here nor there with me I think that Don is a big fan of designer crossbreeds but maybe he should have stuck to his nachi pears and lemonade trees. To me anyone who breeds in this way (large dog to small bitch) is guilty of cruelty and should be put in the same class as anyone who mistreats a dog in any other way,if a responsible dog owner had this accidentally happen to their bitch would they let the pregnancy develope?

Hi Staffyluv I just read this post and am interested in this anti cancer diet I have a 12 yr old boxer who had a spindle cell removed last year and similarly could not remove a safe margin as it was in a joint.So far so good the tumour hasnt regrown but I would like to try this diet with him. Could you please give me some more information. Mac also picked up kennel cough earlier this year,took me by surprise also I was worried that the cancer had emerged in his lungs so it was good news in a way he got over it fine as will Ollie

Too right I am an SES member and trained for floodboat and swiftwater I think there is a big difference between being isolated and riding it out or being in danger of drowning, people can make irrational decisions in an emergency as in the case of housefires where they have gone into a house to save their pets and died while the pet has escaped anyway.The same goes with floods, predicting how high they will rise is always a guesstimate and we have copped flack previously for evacuating early then when the water didnt reach that high the critics came out in force. I can still remember listening to a terrified family who had stayed and were trapped in their roof cavity at night it was too dangerous to take floodboats or the helicopter in and only by good fortune were they rescued by an RFS tanker which had a brief window of opportunity to get them out. Its a lot easier alround to think early with a clear head than at the last minute.so as a lot of people say that they would die for their dogs, why not if they love them so much not put them in danger in the 1st place get them to a safe place before the decision is taken out of your hands.

Think about how many lives this dog and many others have saved detecting drugs previously. Without them the police have no hope of finding concealed drugs in a lot of cases. As for who to blame there was a lot of factors brought together to create the result the only ones totally not at fault are the boy and the dog, why should it suffer for the lapse of concentration by the police and the greed of drug dealers?it was put in this situation and reacted how it was trained.The boy was rushing in,its reaction in a different case may have saved a life.

I'm glad I dont live in one of these areas so the situation probably won't eventuate but if it did leaving my dogs would be the last resort. I wonder what the situation was?was there time ,room,others in danger? If there was a chance of putting others at risk you can understand a hard decision has to be made. If they can see you would be safe staying then the choice is yours,could you imagine the guilt if the rescuers took time to rescue a dog and people drowned as a result? I hope none of you are put in this situation,and if you are in an area where it could happen why not plan for the future,don't wait till it happens. Talk to the SES look for a kennel in a high location if you dont have other options,there was a fairly advanced warning of these floods but if you are new to an area it limits the time to plan. To anyone in the flood areas I hope you stay safe.

Well said Kirty but you arent the crazy one. It was a bit close to home for us,next suburb,we have a 15 yr old cat which can access the back yard but cant get out the front A 17yr old cat that has been going out at night all its life would be hard to keep in, its a shame that most cat owners think its the norm to let their cats out and ignore the problems they cause to others. I feel sorry for the owners, such a sad thing, but then again what will happen to those responsible if caught?not much at all.

there used to be palm squirrels running around free in Taronga zoo but I think they got rid of them to stop them transfering diseases.

are you talking about cysts in wild caught rabbits? if so this is probably Hydatids and if so could be in any rabbits in the area at some stage of developement, best not use any others and don't let dogs eat any offal

I certainly have! I even looked for some ferreters, but couldn't find any local. I don't know anywhere around here that would have lots of rabbits. We live in an area that has lots of bush and rocks but not a lot of open grassy areas. And lots of National Parks where I wouldn't be able to take ferrets anyway. And I realise it's probably more labour intensive than looking after a handful of bunnies. I've even thought about getting myself a rabbit-hunting dog. :D Thanks for the info, guys. They don't take a lot to look after and are actually good pets even if used for hunting,around our area of sydney there are rabbits every where I think I could just about feed my dogs on ''fresh'' roadkills in the local industrial area if I was that way inclined

I havent ferretted since I was a kid but back then if you had a ferret which killed in the burrow you could actualy muzzle it,the main reason being that they tended to take a nap after a feed and you had to dig them out. I didn't know it was now illegal, when did this come about? the only thing I knew was you can't keep them in some states.

Ever thought about buying a couple of ferrets and nets.theres plenty of rabbits around if your not sure you could probably wrangle an invite from a ferretter that way you can learn the ropes and get used to the dispatching plus its good getting out inthe fresh air.Then you can catch a few and freeze the excess.

thanks for the replies the treadmill sounds good so Ill ring them on the weekend,it will be a better drive on the weekend, once summer gets here I can take him to the river again but I don't think the water temp at the present will help much with arthritis even though its not bad. He goes back for more chiro on sunday,his foot reflex is almost back to normal and he is actually striding out more. The chiro wants a bit of weight off to lessen the strain on his back so swimming is the go.

Hi I need to swim my boxer for rehab and need to find a heated dog pool. can anyone recommend one in the south west sydney area preferably,and with a shallow to deep layout.

our dog chiro sold me joint ease by eagle I have just started my dog on it theres a site on google and its for sale online

Agreed get her straight to a chiro or ''animal holistic therapist'' as they can usually pick the problem just by watching them walk,they use laser and accupuncture.Mine also uses Eagle joint ease. If you cant find one in your area try the local breed clubs or greyhound trainers

I once aquired a pup for my sister in QLD and flew her up.they recommended the latest flight possible and this was in winter and a short flight.I guess its easier to keep the cargo hold warm than cool.

taters and smooch ''sounds like a movie''cavNrot and mita Good to hear all of your dogs made a good recovery and that you were willing to put the effort in to help them.Funny tho about the pooing bit Mac has done this since a pup, I call them scatter bombs, but its a pain with the poo bag and pre-mowing preparation in the back yard you always seem to miss a bit. I took him for a light walk this arvo he was prancing like a pony and I had to hold him back wasn't game to let him off so hopefully he will get back to his former self and will lose a few kilo's to ease the load on his back. with our staffy she wouldn't eat lost bladder and bowel function and had one fixed and one dilated pupil this deteriorated from a slight limp in one leg over two weeks and she didn't respond to any treatment and in the end seemed to not recognise us I think back and there were subtle signs like indifference to her food and personality change which seem to add up now.

Not every breed has a breed club and some breed communities are so divided that neither side could be trusted to be objective about the other. Too true Sheridan and that creates problems for themselves but I think the issue is to weed out those who are breeding numerous litters without any thought of maintaining the standards and show no interest other than money in the breed.there are also the ''pioneers''who want to import a new breed,but these would probably have been involved with other breeds or with that breed in other countries,so would have a reputation good or bad and Im sure theres a lot involved,also with the less popular breeds these wouldnt be targeted by puppy farmers and it would be near impossible to buy undesexed dogs to breed with its more the ones who cash in on the breed of the moment and designer dogs, Years ago our family bought a giant schnauzer out of the one of the first Australian litters these dogs had great temps and were very healthy others imported later in other states had bad temps which may have been either bad luck or bad choice but it could have destroyed the breeds reputation in Australia.

Yes, that's why I think a myelogram is a good idea. It leaves no doubt about the source of the problem. yes thats how the cancer was diagnosed without that she may have gone through an operation for no reason,the sad thing was that she had been in perfect health all her life.

I can see some good ideas coming out now. No one I feel is lumping ethical breeders in with puppy farmers the question is how do we separate the high volume registered breeders from the hobbie and show breeders and then the straight out puppy farmers.I think that the breed clubs should have a large say in who obtains and keeps a licence.I visited a few ''licenced'' breeders who would not allow us to view the parents or the story of the pups are only kept here to sell cos we dont want dog fighters dognapping our dogs mmmm maybe.They could all rattle off the names of other breeders who their pups descended from, if this was true I think this is a good reason to sell only desexed dogs to anyone who is not recognised by the breed club.This could also reduce the cross breeders as well,the limited registar does not stop them. With micro chipping, if dogs from any breeder turn up at pounds or with unsuitable owners at a high rate they should be deregistered that way the good ethical breeders who vet their prospective buyers will survive which will in turn keep the breed standards high. Pet shops and (especially market stalls) should be banned immediately from keeping pups in the ''shop'' and only recommend available breeders, both for health reasons and also for the fact that litters are suddenly taken from the mother usually at only 6 weeks and gradually reduced to the last pup which is left alone overnight.Take a look at the reptile system you cant buy them in shops, only from the breeder and I dont think reptiles suffer from anxiety and separation issues. People who go looking for the cheapest pup are more likely to refuse or can't afford to pay for vet care in my opinion they therefore cant afford to own a dog.

It had me worried as he had spindle cell carcenoma in his front elbow joint 12mths ago and because it was in his joint the vet couldn't remove it completely.His prognosis was that it could spread anywhere, we also lost our 6yr old staffy to a spinal tumour just prior to that and her symptoms were identical and first diagnosed as a disc problem.

thanks for the reply tatersI took him to the chiro this morning he still shows some signs ''toe curl reaction'' and he has a small spot of arthritis in the lower spine which may have triggered it. Chiro says it may take a while to absorb the blood clot and not to let him jump around and twist if possible. Did your dog recover fully with no recurrances?

Has anyone's dog suffered from a spinal stroke? My12yr old boxer suddenly went in the back legs for no apparent reason.I had worked late so have no idea how long he was down but he had been running around the day before and was playing with our pup in the afternoon.when I found him he was laying in the shed outside his kennel and couldn't use his back legs,my 1st thought was a tick as he would just collapse if I stood him up I searched all over him till midnight but couldn't find any plus he is on preventative and we aren't in a tick area.By that time he could stand if supported but couldn't walk so I made him comfortable and kept checking him he went to sleep so I thought I maybe a pinched nerve and would take him to the vet in the morning got up at 5 and he was laying in the back garden so he had to have walked there.carried him inside and he was much the same, the vets would be there about 8 so rang the boss told him then walked outside and tried standing him up again this time he started walking but was dragging his feet but improving all the time.My wife was home that day so I went to work and booked him into the vet for the afternoon when I got home he was fine apart from a slight limp. the vet couldn't find any thing wrong and thinks it was a ''SPINAL STROKE''which has no ongoing effects.This is all new to me so I am asking if this has happened to anyone else and did it happen again?.