BlackJaq

Yes I saw this on fb. Bad parenting aside this is not that unusual, not just for dog's in general, but for pits in particular. There are heaps of stories of pits saving their owners from various dangers, from burglars, to life threatening accidents due to drunkenness ll the way to alerting them to medical issues. I am glad of each story that highlights the breed in a positive light though, they are actually fantastic dogs and to be honest, I am at a loss as to how exactly this breed ended up with the terrible reputation they have. They are and always were, a people dog and even with the fighting pits there was an emphasis on lack of human aggression. The dogs were supposed to be able to be physically handled by not just the owner, but also the judge and the opponent's handler during a fight.

Haha I am getting one, too ;)

Foxy did huge one on my lap once... I was wearing shorts so she got it all over my bare legs... Needless to say I nearly passed out and being big dog it was pretty much a puddle. In that first second before the stench hit me I thought she peed on me...

I found many council people to be incredibly badly informed. I was asking for information on exceptions such as working dogs and when I mentioned the dog in question was a working Maremma the woman in my council office told me he is not exempt. Apparently I have to write a letter to my ranger explaining in what capacity my working Maremma Sheep dog is working so that they can deliberate on whether or not to grant the exemption.... Meanwhile, I am reading the brochure she gave me that clearly states that any dog used for herding or protecting stock is a working dog and therefore exempt. When I pointed this out to her she was very insistent that a dog is not a working dog just because I do not keep it as a pet and no, a Maremma Sheep Dog is not exempt.. Nowhere in the brochure were any breeds mentioned btw. In the end I walked away wondering if she was maybe a little retarded or something and hence could not grasp the concept of a working Maremma Sheep dog guarding sheep and poultry full time....

Good! I also had the teenager/horse problem.. Boy did that fence do its job!

I would get him onto a regular worming schedule if he is not already on one and then I would change vets, so somebody who knows what they are doing can check his anal glands. I can't believe your vet just shrugged that off, anal gland issues can be quite uncomfortable or even painful!

Actually, I've thought of that one! The dobermans usually walk early mornings, the mastiff late arvo, that maremma is usually on the lead now (that was a mongrel!). But... they vary a lot. I keep waiting for the horses to stomp invading dogs, but the girls in the closest paddock are good. They mostly just look. I guess my reply is a bit late, but I would install an offset strand of electrified high tensile wire on nose height on the outside and really juice it up. Like bull strength. Don't forget one of those little yellow electric fence signs ;) Cheap and, in my experience, highly effective.

I second the Maremma. Have had one for my poultry for a few months now and I now sleep like a baby since I'm not constantly listening for birds in distress due to foxes anymore! If they were my sheep I would probably hang a leg or skin of one of the ones you had to destroy off a tree somewhere where there has been a kill or an attack and then Mr .308 and I would stake that place out until we met the culprit...

But as you said, not with children. Dogs can often be confused as to the standing of young children in the house hold and the most recent dog I know of is a GSP... Who apparently has been snapping at 8 year old kids over food... Not "has snapped" as in once.. It happened repeatedly... How did the parents not learn their lesson that first time? This dog was even snapping at the handler over food! Amazing! These kind of problems are often self created when people who don't know what they re doing keep interfering with their dog during meals and as we know, familiar dogs are often the ones to hurt or kill children, rather than strange dogs who attack for no reason on the street...

I think from here on it's going to be Weimaraners. I had no dogs growing up, but owned a variety as a young adult (BC, Coolies, Staffy type, which I still have). I now have three dogs, one of which is working LGD for my poultry and am looking to get another LGD puppy of a different breed, also to work with my stock. Fatty my bully mix is from the pound and whilst I love her, I think it is going to be all peds from here on out. Foxy my Weimaraner is my second heart dog, after Dude, who was a Coolie. He was impounded while I was overseas and then supposedly stolen from the pound, never to be heard from again... I was devastated and ended up with a sister of his, but it was never the same and a few years ago now she was bitten by a snake. I don't think I want any more sheep dog types after this and I find Weimaraners to suit me much better than bully types, so even though I will probably continue to have LGDs as companions and workers as long as we live on a farm, I never want to be without a Weim as long as I am physically able to keep them happy. After that, who knows, I'll probably get a stuffed dog maybe :laugh:

Wow what a great update! It is good to her that she has improved so rapidly, makes me wonder in what kind of isolation she was kept in before as she has obviously started to become attached to you fairly quickly and is even out and about walking without completely shutting down? Good on you for sticking with her!

I feel it especially bears pointing out to parents that food + children + dogs = disaster, especially when they re not closely supervised. Just recently I have seen several dogs being rehomed after it has come to incidents between the dog and children over food. How this is not obvious I don't know, but some people even actively encourage their children to stick their hands in Fido's food bowl to "teach" the dog that it must allow people to handle its food... No better way to guarantee the dog will try to guard its food against kiddo next time... Where do people get these ridiculous ideas from?

I have found actual news articles on this now, looks like not all the pigs actually died, which is good, I suppose. The two articles do contradict themselves on the number of fatalities and the number of dogs who were actually involved, which is a little confusing... http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/news/pet-pig-killed-in-dog-attack-mini-pigs-leyburn/2037536/ http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/mini-pig-breeder-heartbroken-dog-attack/2037483/

Well there we go. I don't think it should be illegal to tether your dog while you run into the newsagent's to get a paper as long as the dog does not harass everybody. The reason we have all this shitty dog legislation, including BSL, is people trying to punish everybody for the mistakes of a few. Maybe, before yelling for more ridiculous legislation, consider how it might affect you one day. Soon no dogs will be allowed anywhere in public...

I would also leash the puppy and correct her right away as soon as she ignores any verbal reprimand. I would always keep the puppy leashed around the older dog and not leave them alone ever. Young dogs can and will kill older, weak dogs. Both your dogs my even gang up on the older one if she has no way to defend herself. Very old and sick dogs are often at risk from other dogs, even their own pack, even when all dogs are usually sociable and dog friendly or previously got along.

Bull Arab people are actually looking at getting the breed recognized. To me they don't seem much different than Coolies or other breeds that are not recognized here (APBT, too) Just because KC in Aus does not recognize the breed and you don't know much about them does not mean it is not a breed. ETA: Actually APBT is a great example because the type there also varies widely. Performance over appearance and all that...

I also vote for something nasty left on the counter. A pringles jar three quarters full of coins is tall and easily knocked over and makes a fair racket. Motion sensor water spray for cats might work, too... Foxy got a big mouth full of balsamic vinegar when she had her first and only go at stealing something off the table. She must have thought only delicious things come in big metal bowls but this one turned out to be an almost empty salad bowl... I think she didn't stop sneezing and spluttering for 15 minutes at least

Damn right they are! I had an older guy who may or may not have been drunk, advance on me once during a road rage incident (we were getting lunch at a cafe and he followed us and got out of his car).. I had Foxy with me on a lead and she saw him coming as soon as he got out of his car and she was burring up at his body language, raising her hackles and growling and when he kept coming she started all out snarling at him and leaning into the lead until her front legs were raising off the floor and yet this idiot still kept coming. When I yelled out for him to stop or she will bite him he shouted back all undignified that she shouldn't be in public then because dangerous dogs aren't allowed in public.. What, did he think a Weimaraner would just stand by and placidly watch him do whatever he thought he was going to do? I do believe he would have walked right into her range if I didn't shout at him and then who knows what she might have done... I wonder how some peole get as old as they do sometimes

Wow, I think I'd be bitch slapping that mother so hard... Verbally.. Of course......

I saw it on the news, too and the dog did not look like a BM to me. They only showed the head in the back of a car, but it looked like a big-ish Heinz variety bully mix to me :p A BM head is pretty characteristic after-all.... Either way, this article also says the child "tried to play" with the dog and the dog didn't like it.... http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-boy-mauled-by-neighbours-dog-20131005-2v0e2.html I wonder if people believe that "supervision" ends after 20 minutes without incident? Or being in the same room is sufficient? I really hope this dog does not have to pay for the foolishness of these people.

I don't think he makes them.. Just posts about the Top 10 of Anything and Everything.. About as useful as tits on a bull...

Wow that Mutt thing really got my goat, too. If wiki said that Cockers are ferocious fighting dogs, would he post that, too? Because wiki says...?

Foxy doesn't like it either and you re right, most men will still try, despite her dodging their hand and me trying to tell them what she does like *sigh*

Mmm yes, some people certainly seem to think that any dog had better like anything they dish out... It seems dogs need to be truly idiot proof these days... I probably look like a crazy dog lady, too, when I push the dog behind me due to an imminent inappropriate interaction, but I don't really care, because those people are the nutty ones, not me :laugh: I'd never rub my face on a strange dog, yet lots of people don't seem to have that sort of dog sense and I don't want my dog to be the one to pay the price. I try to explain what part of the interaction bothered me and if they don't accept it then I just go on my merry way. If I get upset over it, it seems to affect the dogs a lot more than the inappropriate interaction so I choose to walk away, so far so good.

For me it depends on the dog I have with me, too. Foxy doesn't like young children, so I only let adults and older children (8+ yo) pat her and I give instructions if they try to pat the top of her head because she is not a fan of that move and will dodge them and try to sniff them instead... She prefers being rubbed under her chin and round the neck, a bit like a cat. For Fatty pretty much anyone can pat her, except males that come across to brusque.. She finds them a little creepy and will retreat behind me... The Maremma loves everyone, especially all manner of children but he does not like to travel nd will crap all over my ute if I take him anywhere, so he only gets to love on people who visit. I don't mind when people ask about the dog or ask to pat. I actually enjoy chatting to a lot of the people I meet with my dogs. Foxy gets a lot of people grabbing at her head as they walk past but she is a pro dodger now so they don't usually connect unless they smell like weed. For some reasons she loves anyone who smells like pot and will even try to nuzzle/poke them if they walk past within reach... Most people find it endearing that the dog is trying to initiate a contact, not knowing why she chose them, but since I know why I usually get a good laugh out of it. No idea why she loves pot so much... We used to have some close friends who smelt like it a lot when she was a puppy so maybe it reminds her of them? I don't know for sure ETA: I get inappropriate stuff like that sometimes, too, but the positive usually outweighs the negative. I generally try to tell people what the dog likes and I strongly discourage them or take away the dog if they make moves to get down low with the dog.. I have gotten pretty good at spotting the signs when stupid shit is about to happen lol