Remarkabull

I hate it how people can do stuff like this and then expect the rest of us not to feel angered by it. They don't deserve to be protected.

A friend of mine posted this on FB a few days ago. Am I the only one that thinks that all the time spent up on it's hind legs could be damaging? Including all the time learning and practising and now performing I wouldn't think that it would be overly beneficial to the dogs joints and muscles.

Well, I couldn't help myself and just brought a second one. These dogs rule my life and my bank balance.

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The more I hear about the things some people are capable of doing the more embarassed I am at being a part of the human race. The legal system we have seems to protect the guilty and punish the innocent. no doubt the parents of thses kids would defend their behaviour, you know the 'they are just being kids' and 'it's only a dog'. Honestly the s*#t that comes out of the mouths of the parents is amazing. My sister is a teacher and the stories she tells me are unbelievable.

Just from my own experiences I would have to say JRT. My girl is a crazy thing when after something. She screams like a banshee while hunting things, not just mice either, she will 'hunt' almost anything. Flies, moths and any kind of beetles are favourites and birds will almost send her over the edge! She gets fixated and cannot be distracted from the hunt. Edited cause i can't spell tonight

Doggies: pip1981- Dakota and Tika dobesrock - Acheron & Odie Yummies: pip1981- plates, cups, cutlery, condiments, marinated chicken wings, pasta salad and more... dobesrock- bread rolls and cheesecake (will definately bring it this time!) :D

My dogs eat 60% raw (meat, bone, offal, sardines, veges, yoghurt and eggs) and 40% holistic dry food. I must admit to being just like my daughter when I was a kid. I am a bit anal about the house being clean and tidy but dog lick is just a part of our lives and I'm not too fussed about it. We are all very healthy and my kids have no allergies or illnesses. I think balance is good. If you are too clean and hygenic then how can resistance be built up to germs?

If that was the case then my whole family should be sick or dead! I have always been a dog 'kisser' (on the nose) and my dogs are lickers but it is my 9 year old that takes it to the gross level. She has been seen letting our dogs (one in particular) lick her face and mouth. She gets told off for doing it but it still happens. She always says that Jazz (the main culprit) loves her so much and thats why she does it, I tell her it's because she must have stinky breath as dogs love smelly things! ETA a pic of the culprits

I'd love to come again! What date is it this month? Also, can I bring a friend this time and her dog? (Is actually Acheron's breeder and his sister)

I am also like this. Even though everyone loves my dogs, most people ask how I can stand them being in my face all the time. Hubby often gets jealous and annoyed at how much time and affection I give them. I have 'chosen' every one of my dogs and in every case there was an immediate bond with them. They all have different personalities, likes and dislikes but they all clamour to be near me. I rarely get to go to the toilet or have a bath or shower alone anymore! Don't know if it's just me but I think that male dogs are usually more likely to be 'needy' and less independant that the females?

To be honest, I think you sound like you have a balanced and well adjusted idea on the issue. Thank you Anne. I was getting frustrated that I wasn't able to make my pov clear to everyone. I'm glad that you 'got' what I meant.

I do see your point, but if you are shopping there, even just for pet supplies, you are supporting a business that sells puppies, by giving them your money. Of course its not going to stop if people keep supporting these businesses. If you don't condone it or support it, why shop there? I don't shop there anymore. A bit hard considering that it's in NSW and I'm in VIC. I shopped there because when I first moved to the town they didn't sell puppies or kittens (only fish) and they ordered in the dog food I wanted. The only other pet shop in town (at that time) was a small, grotty little place that sold tons of puppies. During the years I was there a Pet Goods Direct store opened up and there was no way I was giving them my money and I think thats why she started to sell pups. PGD was taking alot of her business and people were going in there asking for pups so she got them. Not long before I moved a Petstock opened up and the small, grotty shop closed down (a good thing). I would assume, seeing as this shop is a family owned and run business and they have been there for 20 years that they made the decisions they did to keep their business going. BTW I now purchase my dry dog food through a registered breeder and most of the other pet products come from online.

Maybe I'm not writing it correctly but I DO NOT agree with animals being sold in pet shops. If it never happened again I would be thrilled. However, it is not something that is going to stop happening just because we don't like it (not in the immediate future anyway) and what I am saying is that if animals are going to be sold in pet shops I would at least prefer the shops to be run like the one I knew of. Surely you can see my point. I'm not promoting, condoning it or saying it's great but is a lesser of two evils and in a lose, lose situation it is IMO PREFERABLE to many other pet shops.

I may be a 'newbie' to this forum but I'm not a newbie as far as animals are concerned. Just because I am not a breeder does not make me clueless. I have worked in the pet industry and if you read my posts you will see that I said I DON'T agree with animals being sold in pet shops, HOWEVER seeing as it's not something that is going away atm I would prefer it to be done by businesses like the one I referred to. The owner is not a friend of mine, I only know her because it's a small town and I frequented the shop for pet supplies. We had many long discussions and based on what I saw and heard I think that she does what she can to make sure that the animals are going to a good home. I have no doubt that the reason she chose to sell animals was to increase her profits and attract more clients but that's the nature of having your own small business and as far as pet shops go this one is definately one of the better ones. I can guarantee that she has refused to sell animals to some people. I have heard them whinging about it afterwards. Not to say that all the people that buy pets form there are going to be great owners but nobody can guarantee that, not even breeders. I know of a lady that purchased 4 dogs in less than 2 years (2 from registered breeders, different breeds, and 2 from rescue) and all 4 of these dogs are now dead. They got "too big" and they were "too hard to walk" or "they keep going to the toilet inside" and many more reasons why she dumped them at the local RSPCA and they were pts. Apparently she now has 2 new dogs and was refused another at the pet shop I mentioned. Again, I'm not saying that I agree with it, but if it's going to happen anyway then better it be somewhere like that than like many others.

fantastic pics. the first 2 shots look like some sort of sea creatures!

Oh I agree PF. I would love to never see another puppy or kitten for sale in a pet shop. There are many reasons why I think it's a really bad idea, I was just stating that if there had to be animals sold in shops I would prefer them to be like the shop I referred to than like the majority that are doing it now. Unfortunately there are some (wont mention a name, but you know who I mean) that are only interested in the sale and how much was made from that sale than the welfare of the animals. The staff actually get their name in the monthly pamphlet gloating to all about how how xxxxx from xxxxx store sold a pup and then proceeded to sell another $1000 worth of products to go with it! They make me sick.

This is definately a 'agree to disagree' subject. Personally I don't like puppies/kittens in pet shops, however I know some people that own a pet shop and sell puppies/kittens there. This shop is in a coastal tourist town in NSW, the owners are very knowledgable about animals and animal products, and although I don't always agree with them about everything the animals are kept in large, clean cages. They are taken out of the cages a number of times every day and are excercised and played with. Customers are not allowed to pick up or pat the animals unless they express an interest in possibly purchasing them. The owner has refused to sell animals to people if she feels uncomfortable with them or suspects they cannot provide them with a caring home. She gets most of her animals from BYB, that she knows personally or knows someone that does. She will not buy just any pups off anybody. Alot of the kittens are from registered breeders. That I am aware of, she has had 2 pups that haven't been able to be sold and she kept 1 herself and gave me the other. I am not advocating what she or Goofy does, however if all pet shops that sold live animals were run like these 2 then maybe there wouldn't be as many animals in need of rescue. There is always going to be pet shops that sell animals as long as there is a demand for them and I would rather that they were more like these kind than the PP kind.

Has this been resolved yet? Are the dogs home?

I have in the past fed my dogs Natures Gift dog food from the supermarkets and to be honest I thought it was great. My dogs loved it and they looked great. If you read the ingredients it's better than some of the 'premium' foods and is a hell of a lot better that Pal. The only reason I don't feed it anymore is because I recently brought a Dobermann pup and that brings the count up to 5 dogs! Natures gift doesn't come in big enough bags to make it worthwhile or economical for me. i now feed half raw and half Black Hawk Holistic kibble.

I don't think that we (Australia) are tough enough on people that commit crimes against animals. I would get into more trouble for speeding than from beating/starving/abusing my dogs. The magistrates seem to be letting people off with a slap on the wrist, telling them they are very bad and shaking their finger at them. It's a bloody joke.

One of the vets I worked for was a country vet and the others were not exactly in city locations either. There is NO way they would've let a client in while performing surgery. We did actually have people ask if they could and they were always refused. They were told that they could sit in the waiting room if they liked and we would keep them updated. Indigirl you are very lucky to be allowed to be in the room while surgery is taking place, I do know of a number of vets that will allow it with certain clients and depending on what the surgery actually is, however it is a big risk on their behalf. could possibly create legal issues for the vet or clinic, probably wouldn't pass any OH&S laws either! Also could be very distracting for the vet and/or nurses involved. I suggest that if you don't trust the vet to do the surgery then find another one you do. Being in the room with a 'bad' vet or having something go wrong during surgery isn't going to make the outcome any different than if you were not in the room.

I am for my Dobe and my Shih Tzu X Maltese and my JRT X (all male dogs). My 2 girls (Amstaff X Ridgeback and JRT) are much more independant and will happily go to anyone offering up hugs, food, love etc. Even if there is food and fun activities in a room if I get up and leave it all the boys will follow me. Big sooky la la mummas boys!

Not sure about all pet shops but one i went to regularly (they ordered the food i wanted for me) had a puppy that was bigger and older than all the others (he was 6 weeks older than them). For 4 weeks I saw him stay there as all the other pups were sold around him. One day I asked why and was told that customers didn't like him because he was black (and silver, has markings like a Schnauzer), they wanted white fluffys, not black ones and they all though he was going to be too big based on how much bigger than the other pups he was (as I said, he was twice their age). Anyway, even though I was drawn to this pup right from the first moment I laid eyes on him there was no way I was going to buy a dog from a pet shop and I always swore i'd never have a fluffy dog. About a week later while OH was getting fish stuff the owner approached me and asked if I would take this pup as it was only going to get harder to sell him. He had started cowering in the back of the cage when people approached and was growling at the new puppies being put in with him. Wrong thing to do I know, but I just felt so sorry for this little guy so I said yes. Nearly 2 years later he is healthy and happy with us. He does however have separation anxiety and is still terrified of strange adults (particularly men), but likes children and is good with other dogs. So much for him being big though, he is just over 5kg and won't get any bigger and everyone thinks he's the cutest thing ever!

Big vet clinic chains are already all over America. I hope they don't end up over here. I spoke to a new grad vet who went over to work in one of the larger American vet clinic chains as her first job after graduation. They had a friendly recruitment person who came to the uni & signed up final year vet students, with promises of great wages, high tech facilities, etc. Turns out they treat the new grads like crap, work them to the bone, get them to milk the customers for every last $, and don't let them use their brains to do proper medicine - after studying 5 years to learn how to be a vet, she was supposed to forget all that and follow the flow charts on the wall to decide what medicine to give. She absolutely hated it, and came back after 6 months. Not somewhere I'd want to take my animal (or somewhere I'd want to work myself). Haven't we already got one here? I have seen one advertised during Funniest Home Videos. Can't remember the name but am sure it has the word 'green' in it. Green Cross maybe??? Edited to remove a quote from another thread??? Don't know how that happened!