BlackJaq

It seems the RSPCA has an army of unqualified "experts" at their disposal. How is it that officers do not need to have any kind of qualification regarding all the different kinds of animals they deal with? How can somebody who knows diddly squat about a breed determine how that breed is to be maintained? Why is there no obligation for them to go educate themselves before making judgements?

Lol THIS! Youtube comments make my eyes bleed.

Do you know why the neighbour is complaining about you? It obviously is not a real issue, sounds to me like they are trying to cause you trouble. I see you have Staffords, could it be somebody who simply doesn't like the breed? Or maybe is scared of them? Do you have any new neighbours? If so, it may be worthwhile meeting them and inviting them to meet your dogs? Sorry, I don't know what council will do from here but if there is no actual issue then I would hope they will tell the person to p*** off :p Hate nuisance complainers, they make life hard for everyone! ETA: Until you figure out who and why they are complaining I would keep the dogs inside when you are out, if possible. Some people will go out of their way to encourage dogs to bark or even bait them for no reason other than they don't like the look of them

Here is the original clip without all the horrific editing ;) http://youtu.be/kHHDKvuJFSA

What is a "Mama Dog"? I didn't see any puppies? I also thought the child looked to be trying to "escape" the dog and kept on pushing its paw off himself. If it was a child cornering a dog like that there would be an outcry :p ETA: I just read the clip description on youtube and I gotta say, they are doing a really great job of projecting their own emotions onto that dog!

How sad Not sure what to do about it but I honestly think we need more ethical pure bred breeders. It is said that you are not supposed to breed "just because", but only to better the breed, but pet dogs will have to come from somewhere and if the registered pure bred breeders do not supply them, then puppy mills and BYB and "one off" breeders will. Rather than swinging the "overpopulation" stick at breeders, maybe people should realize that there is an oversupply of "unsuitable" dog, rather than dogs in general. I do realize that on DOL I am pretty much preaching to the choir though :p So... Please breed more well bred, health tested, well socialized pure bred litters? lol

Please let it be NSW, please let it be NSW

I would also check with council first. Cats are an iffy issue, every council seems to deal with them differently. You are lucky if your dog is not a bull breed but I would still enquire as to how they deal with these circumstances. I have heard of a dog being declared dangerous for injuring and killing cats that entered its yard. Alas, the dog owner were A**wipes so the dog ended up dumped at the pound and PTS since they did not want to foot the bill for the DD set-up. Not saying this will happen to your dog but you can never be too careful in protecting your own dogs. I would also enquire anonymously... ETA: I just found the second page. Maybe saying nothing would indeed be the best course of action.... Not nice but better than the alternatives IMO

I think a lead on the puppy sounds like an excellent idea, that way you can intervene without having to "catch" him first.

I think they are talking about the Kim H. hate group on fb

WTF, please excuse my French but WHY would they insist on the horses being "disposed of" at all, not to mention before a trial can take place??

There was an official document somewhere that detail their powers.. Somebody posted it on DOL at some stage, I will see if I can find it.

Also, that horse looks to be in fine condition? I guess they could bankrupt her by seizing all her horses and performing fecal and blood tests on each one and then billing her. Maybe they are hoping for this to happen so she will be unable to afford a lengthy court battle? I agree, using the media circus herself would be no different than what has been done to bring this situation about in the first place, perhaps she will be more successful in defending herself this way? Sad, really, that it could come to this but there really seems to be no other way to defend oneself against the RSPCA since they supposedly have zero accountability to anyone but themselves. Only pressure from the public might bring about some kind of change and prompt a review of their (enormous) powers.

Ah, that clears that up! Yes, officially they only hold the pig but of course nobody can police this out in the sticks. I think I'd better go find a relevant thread for my questions now, sorry for hijacking this one!

I agree, the huge amount of uninformed supporters is scary. It is fairly easy to make anything we do with animals look inhumane or even downright cruel if you use select images and apply emotive and overly dramatic language, add to that some sad music and BAM, even shearing sheep can be made to look like torture :p The public does not seem to question much of the rubbish they are fed and simply respond with emotional outbursts and donations to whoever is "exposing" these things to them...

Wow, this is really interesting! I am surprised that coursing live hares is not allowed but pigging with pack of dogs is ? (Correct me if I'm wrong, many people seem to do it anywways). Is it because the pig dog handler is supposed to make the kill even if the dogs are the first ones on the pig whereas with hounds and hares the hounds make the kill? Also, what about ratting with terriers? Is that still allowed?

Ah, I saw those but they are like $450!! Lol what did they do back in the days before they had those? lol

Ah, thanks for clearing that up! I am sometimes amazed myself at the amount of self control the dog has in just freezing and pointing. I am still having trouble having her hold when the animal makes a break for it, but it can be done as long as I am not slow to react. I can't believe a dog can actually run down a rabbit, Foxy has tried and has no hope :p And the foxes are just plain too clever, they run behind an obstacle, wait for the dog to get close enough to have their vision blocked and then break into a different direction out of sight o the dog. We have not done any scent work yet so Foxy does not know to use her nose to find the trail, she just runs straight haha How do you find the dog if it does not return? Also, are you still allowed to hunt using coursing hounds or is it guns only now?

Ah well yes, I suppose if they were close enough that they think they could get it they might. I would have thought sight hounds would be very similar to gun dogs, but I have no experience with them. And of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Lol stans mum, that sounds like a pretty good catch! Foxy has caught things when I did not pay enough attention but I am hoping with training she will resort to pointing and wait for me and the gun to finish the job :p

I find it interesting that people are describing the prey drive as lunging and barking. I actually find that most gun dogs or dogs that actually intend on "hunting" an animal will freeze and focus, not lunge and bark as this would startle the animal into running. My Wei and I are currently practising a nice, steady point and at no time has she been noisy or lunging, quite the opposite, she will crouch/squat and smoothly walk/glide closer, ears flat and down and eyes huge and focussed. That is, in my opinion, what a hunting dog's prey drive looks like and is quite easy to recognize. Of course I am trying to train her to stop and point, not inch closer and closer lol Only when the animal breaks/makes a run for it will the dog "lunge" forwards.

I guess stock horses will be next then, especially camp drafting and cutting, since they chase cows around at speed.... I like the idea of the RSPCA folks doing the dogs' job for a week, maybe they will rethink their position...

Whose idea was this anyway? Is there somebody in the RSPCA actually admitting to this being their idea?

What is the issue with the Dobes? Does your daughter not like them or are they too difficult for her to manage? If they are too difficult to manage you will need to consider this in your choice of breed and perhaps go with a smaller, easier to manage breed, rather than a dog of equal size but different breed.

It's amazing that the media and social networking sites have this kind of power now. Makes me think that even farting out loud could draw attention to oneself and bring the whole circus crashing down on your butt....

Sounds to me like the RSPCA are getting ready to phase out dog ownership, just like PETA has been advocating :p So far I am only kidding but if people who do not even own, not to mention have ever worked these animals or even seen one up close before get to make up the rules then I am sure they can find reasons that sound good on paper. Are any of the RSPCA head honchos in any way associated with PETA? :p