Alkhe

How do people live with animals with fleas?? Don't they get all in the bedding and clothes etc? I couldn't stand it!

Yep, not sure where those figures come from. In 2010/2011, they euthanised the same proportion as were adopted out (18% euthanised, 18% adopted) and 57% were reclaimed. Those are figures for dogs. Granted, the 2010/11 figures are better than the previous year, when it euthanised 26% of dogs. For cats the story is worse. In 2010/11, 86% of cats that entered the LDH were euthanised. They also made a profit of $978,823. Those figures are all from their annual report, which is publicly available. I'd love for them to have turned around. But we're not there yet.

Yep, reminds me of that 'he just wants to say hi article'. Nope, he's rude! That said, I did apologise to someone today because my dog started barking at a woman's leashed dog. I apologised and said she's being a sh*t cause he's on lead - which is true! But .. still, not her problem. And my other dog had just been stung by a bee (I didn't know what it was until we got to the vet, but she was clearly injured) so I'd temporarily turned away from Maggie to tend to Mim. I actually thought of this forum while I was scrabbling around with an injured dog in my arms, a bag full of poo and Maggie barking! And how I was exactly the kind of person at that point who would be the subject of someone's vent thread on here... :laugh:

My boyfriend thinks everything with black and tan markings is a Dobermann, or 'must have some Dobermann in him', even if it's Chihuahua sized. It doesn't matter how many times I've shown him pictures of CKCS, kelpies, .. myriad breeds that can be black and tan, he won't learn! I do think it's funny when people are trying to work out the breed composition of a rescue or something, and decide that it must be a Dandie Dinmont cross or something. Yeah, cause they turn up ALL the time in pounds, that's a far more likely explanation than some variation of SWF. Occam's razor, people. Bah!

Yep, agree with all that. And also, picks up their poo. No brainer, but whenever I see someone's dog pooing and the owner not picking it up, the first thing that crosses my mind is "IRRESPONSIBLE!!!!!" :laugh:

At this stage I can do any of them, I go to mum's place on Sunday nights for dinner anyway, so mother's day is fine. Though it looks crap for everyone else so .. that's probably irrelevant :)

I use Drontal for worms, in addition to Advocate. Though it's a good idea to change brands every so often, I believe :)

You're right, we don't know. You get very little from an article like that. My logic, however, is that cruelty charges tend to be laid less often than they ought to, in my opinion. When they are, I trust that they are warranted, given the things that people get away with, and charges people escape. If something gets to that point, it must be serious.

I prefer books too, actually - I just bought 'In Defence of Dogs' and by John Bradshaw and so far am absolutely loving it. I'm forcing myself to read it slowly cause I never lash out on hard backs but I had to for this one :laugh: Other books I'd recommend are 'Don't Shoot the Dog' and 'The Other End of the Leash'. I also read lots of dog blogs.. I guess that's really what fills the magazine void. I get the Dogs Vic magazine though, as a result of being a member (I can't remember what it's called..) but it doesn't really hold my attention. I like oogling the pictures but I'm now a showie or breeder and much of it doesn't mean much to me :) If you're into learning more about those worlds it might be more interesting though? I'm sure each state's kennel club has a magazine.

I've often wondered if it was a dominance thing. I've met a couple of dogs that wee on people as a matter of course. One in particular is a desexed male who lives with a man, and only wees on women. He sometimes comes to my park and pretty much goes around weeing on each woman in turn, but never wees on men. His owner is gay and jokes that his dog just hates women and only likes gay guys, and I actually wondered whether it may have something to do with the dog just not really associating much with women. But that seems.. stupid.. it's perplexing, though. Interested to read others' replies.

Yeah, she must have been keeping them in there, rather than just confining them for periods.

If I wasn't in a relationship with someone as into my dog as I am, I would totally do this!!

Wow. I'm sure there are some dodgy breeders out there who would be mighty interested in isolating that defective gene! The American Bulldog and APBT come to mind - I've seen some shocking youtube videos and websites of breeders who seem to aim for that look.

Hi Tracy The first bit in bold is wrong - at least in Victoria, the person in whose name the dog is registered must sign the transfer form. It doesn't matter how old the dog is. I got mine at age 3 and her breeder signed the transfer form, I went it in to Dogs Vic and they sent me a new copy - that's what should happen. However, as she's been quite un-cooperative so far, it looks as though your chances at actually getting this to happen are slim. Unless you physically go to her place and put a pen in her hand ... Do you know the name of the vet that had vaccinated her, or are you able to trace that from any documentation you have? Eg, when I got my dog, I had a few receipts from the vet, for vaccinations but also her desexing. If you know which vet it is, you could give them a call and see whether they are able to send a vacc certificate, or at least tell you the date. The only other option would be to get her vaccinated again and just start from scratch, which is obviously undesirable. If I were you and I didn't have anything with a vet name on it, or a way of tracing their contact number, I'd give the breeder one last call. And avoid the middle man, who seems horrible! Do you have anything that has the microchip number printed on it? If you do, you may be able to log in through the central animal records (or whichever company/org she's microchipped through) and change your detials there. I didn't have to sign anything to be able to do this, though different states and companies operate differently, and I'm in Vic... It sounds like a complete nightmare and I hope you get it all sorted! The only other thing is - is it problematic not having her registered in your name through the canine council? I did it just .. because it seemed like the right thing to do. But it doesn't seem necesary if you're not intending to show or breed. It's useful to show ownership, but council registration is probably all that is needed for a pet. Assuming you're not going to show or breed, etc. Can anyone else shed any light on whether it's particularly important to transfer ownership?

I'm still not exactly sure what treating dogs like replacement children actually looks like in practice.. A lot of people in my life call my dog my child, and as I was taking her home from her breeder the first day, she said 'Ohh look, she's like your baby! You're so perfect together!' :laugh: I don't think I treat her like a human child, but I'm sure by many people's standards, I do. But I think DOL standards and average joe on the street are quite different when it comes to dogs, and what fulfilling their needs actually looks like and means. I feed her human grade meat, which is without fail always the most expensive item on my shopping list. I rush home from work every day to take her out, have pet insurance, and think about her all the time. I feel bad if I have to go out and do something immediately after our walk at night, because she's been inside all day and evenings and night times are when we go to the park, play and just.. I don't know, she hangs around me, sitting on my lap watching TV or at my feet as I study, etc. But I know when I'm anthropomorphising and that she'd actually be fine if I spent less on her food, and spent less time playing with her and hanging out with her. My boyfriend and I call each other her mummy and daddy but we're not SERIOUS about it. And yeah, I hate the word 'furkid' too, but because it kind of makes me think of paedophiles.. :laugh:

Great video! He's very handsome and FIT! A FIT LABRADOR! His voice only cues are so impressive too :)

I'm so sorry that your experiences have been so awful, and that you had such a traumatic experience with Percy. I have heard awful things about after hour vets, and my own experience was pretty unmemorable except for the outstanding bill. I currently go to a brilliant vet clinic that I love; I completely trust them and genuinely believe that they have my dog's best interests at heart. I first visited them when I had a foster greyhound in my care and he needed to have some grits removed from a pad in his paw. The vet accomodated us late in the afternoon, ended up leaving much later than they closed, and was fully prepared to stay as long as necessary to get teh stuff out of his foot, were it going to need a general anaesthetic. They're a bit on the expensive side but I'm prepared to pay because of how gentle they are with my little dog, and how dedicated and lovely they are. There are times in your dog's life where you will need a vet, as others have said. My last requirement was when my dog ate a rat that had been killed by mouse bait, and I had to take her there. Things like that, or dental problems as someone mentioned, you really NEED a vet. You can't rely on yourself because in the case of poisoning, even waiting to locate a vet can be the difference between life and death. Having somebody to hand who knows you and your dog and their history can be very reassuring and invaluable. Perhaps people could suggest a caring and well respected, trusted vet in your area, if you give a general idea of where you live? I live in Brunswick East and am more than happy to recommend a vet or two if you would like :)

Hi Pookie - I'm so so sorry to read this also. In answer to your questions, I agree with Leema. Unfortunately due to new Vic legislation, the council can declare your dog a 'dangerous dog' and have him put to sleep. As Leema also said, this is very new legislation and to my knowledge has not been tested more than a handful of times. I'm aware that there is currently a case going through the system where a couple are resisting a council's determination that their dog is a Pitbull (or cross, I can't remember). This situation is different though as, to my knowledge, the dog was not involved in any incidents. I could be wrong on that though. The American Pitbull Club of Australia (APBT Club) recently posted on this forum saying that they would like to assist people going to VCAT - The link to this thread is here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/235262-going-to-vcat/ Perhaps contact them and see whether they are able to provide you with any advice; I'm not sure what kind of help they are offering, but they may know lawyers who are familiar with dangerous dog legislation and/or sympathetic to the cause who may be able to give you some advice or if necessary, legal representation. My suggestion would be to contact a free legal service and see exactly what the process is from here. http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/ has a phone service; they may be able to put you on to somebody better qualified to advise you, if they can't. Unfortunately, however, my opinion is that as you were not there to witness the incident, you are in a very difficult situation. My understanding of the situation is that regardless of your dog's breed composition, if he was involved in an incident as described and somebody either wrongly interpreted Pookie as rushing at them (regardless of what he did or didn't do, and what his intentions were etc), their testimony is going to be very powerful. Their reports to the council will be taken seriously (as obviously they have been), and I wouldn't think that Pookie's breed is relevant. I am so sorry to say that, but it's my objective opinion based on reading the thread. However, since Pookie didn't actually physically attack anybody or thing, you may be able to simply have him declared a menacing dog, and comply with various regulations that that entails. From memory it is being muzzled in public, not allowed off leash in certain areas (or perhaps all?) etc. However it doesn't require him to be put to sleep by default. A lawyer would be able to give you more detailed and accurate information than that - I'm merely a law student regurgitating things from memory and my own impression/understanding. Edited because some of what I had said may have been incorrect. Sorry!!

I bought a sampler pack from PetStock a month or two ago and my dog + mum's dogs love it, if that's anything to go by? I find it hard to provide decent recommendations to things like this cause I have a dog that eats anything put in front of her, regardless of how edible it is, and no dietary or other requirements or problems. But mum's fussier dogs have been hoovering it up :laugh:

It's ridiculous, and obviously OP's daughter has done a misguided thing. But I don't know how this would help at this point; short of taking the pup back, which I doubt she would do because that's basically an admission that you're wrong. That's a bit psychoanalytical I know, but it does seem that if someone's going to act agains their better judgment and lie about it to their mother to boot, it's unlikely that they'll suddenly admit they're wrong.

I agree; I think you just have to ignore it if you want to maintain a good relationship with her. I completely understand your frustration though. My boyfriend's sister just went and did something similar, though now has 2 cavoodles. And a family friend bought 2 CKCS from a pet shop because they felt sorry for them, despite having been trawling petrescue for weeks. You just have to let people live their lives and help them where you can. Point them in the right direction, and provide constructive help now, even though the damage is done.

I look at the whole body of the dog to read their body language and for that reason found it kind of hard to form a view based on that clip. Things like their stance and how rigid they appear, their tail, hackles, ears, eye movements.. and get a whole picture. Many people I know (I'm thinking people at my dog park, the majority of whom have small dogs) would see that dog and think uh oh.. but in my opinion, it's just a lack of familiarity with the breed and how they play. Barking isn't aggression. Doh!

I tend to agree with this, based on my own experience. I'm trying to think of times that things like Oodles have rushed towards us, but they tend to do it in a more 'laid back' kind of way (for want of a better word). More bounding over than full on running. I also think dogs that have less visible hackles tend to look less menacing anyway- any dog that is running towards other dogs with hackles raised looks more 'threatening' than a dog with a shaggy coat, just because shaggy coats don't show hackles! There's one new staffy type dog (I actually think she's an amstaff x or something) at my park and lots of people are terrified of her because she just has a mean look about her. I know that sounds horrible, but she is VERY muscular, and has small eyes and scars on her ears from where another dog grabbed her while both were on leash. She's a gorgeous dog though, I just wish people would give her a chance before pulling their dogs away as soon as they see her. She plays like all the other staffords that people know and are used to. Sigh.

I just remembered my boyfriend's housemate - she has 5 chickens, all called Michael, all named after a different Michael..

Oh god, that had me bawling. That poor, poor little thing.. so glad I kept watching to the end - I almost thought I couldn't :/