MuckyPug

Thanks you all. I think he has very bad manners. He's like a blinkin' teenager at the moment. Something he does is steal teddies from the kids room and plays with them (roughly!) so I sternly tell him no, take the toy and then send him outside (figure he can run his energy off out there) - he stands outside his doggy door looking in, barking at me! Okay, I'll take it all as attention seeking behaviour and only reward his good manners and ignore or redirect his bad. He's just 2. We got him from the pound at 10 months old so I'm not sure how he was played with as a pup. This place is a wealth of info

I think he's displaying dominant behaviour towards me, I could be wrong but either way it's behaviour I don't like but he just won't listen to me. Here's a few of his 'habits'. - when he want to play, or even when he's sitting next to me he pushes his face (nose) against my thigh (if I'm sitting) or my calves if I'm walking, and pushes me. It's really irritating. - he jumps up on me, no matter how many times I tell him no he just keeps jumping. - he is bitey with my hands when he's playful, not hard bites, very playful, but I don't want him mouthing at all and it seems no matter how many times I say no he just doesn't listen. I suppose my questions is, why won't he listen to me? He doesn't do any of this to my husband. He just has to growl at Max and he knows to stop. He will do as I ask him when it comes to sitting for his dinner and waiting for me to give him his permission to eat, he sits when I ask, he rolls over, etc - but he has such terrible manners.

Definitely red tailed. Not "against" caged birds, would just prefer to see them free, that's all.

I agree Pheebs. The average joe can be annoying ;) I just get cranky when all children are tarred with the same brush - just as some breeds get tarred with the 'aggressive' or 'dangerous' brush. I agree that you should have complete control. We are working on that and that's why these off lead, fenced areas are great for practicing because the dogs need to learn somewhere safe. But if they are not socialised AND have no recall/control - then that's a bad mix. Max has reasonable recall - but if he's in full chase mode, or being chased, his pug ears are pinned back and he's off..... take a fair bit of "max come" - and loud!

Quick google and can't find anything to say you can't sell them. You did require a "full permit" and there were different levels of permits for various birds there so I'd say it's all legit. The are a pretty big, high profile pet shop so I'm sure they wouldn't be doing anything overtly illegal, especially putting him in full view. Beautiful bird though.

Supermarket don't have the collar I needed, I normally order it online but I need for tomorrow as his has a split in it (bad organisation on my part!). It was most certainly a red tailed black cockatoo - $2800. I spent about 10 minutes looking at is, it was so remarkable. I'm going to investigate if you can sell them.

I sometimes get a bit peeved by people banging on about the perils of children around dogs. But I'm used to it now. I have 3 kids, an 11, 8 and 4 year old. And they are great around animals - because they are taught. And they love coming to the dog park. And here are our rules, which they are reminded about before each visit, and i have never had to reprimand them for forgetting. 1. no running, yelling or screaming 2. no touching 3. if you want to pat a dog, approach the owner first, and if you aren't comfortable doing that, ask me 4. watch were you're walking ;) 5. don't go near the gate unless me or dad are there. Then, we find patch of the park where it's a bit off to the side, and our youngest can potter completely out of the way of the dogs. And we don't go when it's hectic busy either. And we have had some lovely times with the dogs, and most importantly the kids are learning. You can't just expect them to be good with dogs (or any animal) with no exposure. And if want the love and expertise of dog ownership to continue past our generation then you have to include your children in what the joy of owning a dog can be. It includes teaching them the responsibility side too. And just as there are some irresponsible parents, there are just as many irresponsible dog owners in dog parks who let their dogs bully and get aggressive with other dogs. No difference.

We're lucky - Max is EXTREMELY fussy with his balls (the tennis variety, he doesn't have the other ones!). At home, he has a rather grand selection of tennis balls. When we go outside, he brings us one and we chuck it ... over and over and over we'll repeat this and sometimes it gets lost in the bushes. And he'll spend however long it takes to find that same ball and if we show him we have another from the pile, he'll look at it and 'nope' back to finding the one he lost. So at the dog park he isn't interested in anyone's ball - only his. And he's also not protective of his ball so if another pooch picks it up he'll race back with it and wait for me to throw it again once I've retrieved it from the other dog. So if you were there with me and Max and your dog wanted to play too, we would have no issue, and if it got to the point that it looked like one or the other wasn't having fun then easy fix, stop throwing the ball. In relation to dog parks, it seems to me such a shame that we can't all just follow very basic etiquette and manners. It really is just common sense ... watch your dog, be mindful of your dogs body language and other dogs body language, be prepared to step in, communicate with others in your vacinity and listen if they give you a titbit on their dogs behaviour. I believe that all dog owners should be able to safely and freely use off leash areas, not just bully dogs and bully owners taking over with their bad manners which have rubbed off on their pooches.

I needed to get a collar for Max by tomorrow as he is going to Oma & Opa's while we go away for Easter (oh, he will be one spoilt rotten pooch this weekend!). So, loaded up the kids and went to the closest shop that sells collars - a pet shop. An animal selling pet shop - and it's big. They have the normal selection of dogs, cats, rabbits, mice and fish ... but they also have a massive selection of birds, snakes and frogs. I always feel for the dogs, caged and never looking or smelling over fresh & healthy. But today it was the birds that saddened me. There were some magnificent birds. There was an incredible black cockatoos with a striking black tail. Just some lovely birds. And as I sit here, watching some mad Corella's destroy the trees that line our street I think 'at least you guys can fly away'. Hate seeing those rows and rows of cages.

I would assume it was an accident ..... but it makes me laugh thinking of some random person in a dog park pegging balls at people!! Actually, I threw a ball for Max the other day and this poor chap on a mobile phone looked up just in time and stood to one side to miss copping it *blush* I was VERY apologetic and he laughed and said no worries .... I think he knew it was an honest mistake and realised, after watching my subsequent 'throws' that I am a somewhat challenged thrower at the best of times and couldn't have hit him if I was actually aiming !

it adds to his mystery, yes.

Having to had surrender a dog for biting one of my daughters on the face, I can really empathise. I would be so worried about him not letting your 2 year old approach you, to the point that I would actually not be comfortable having the dog and the children together at all, ever, until I had the dog assessed. It's an awful predicament. You must protect our children, and you are driven to protect you dog also. But if aggression is an issue and you have a 2 year old in the house, there are tough decisions to be made ;)

;) I will never know will I.

What a beautifully sad story. RIP Blind Billy.

Well, given my previous post you probably know what I think! I think they are all unacceptable and it annoys (because I don't want to swear!) me to tears. You know what, some parents are the same! I have similar complaints about playgrounds/play centres for children - irresponsible parents who don't control their children, watch their children or mediate their childrens inappropriate behaviour. My kids end up getting hurt because of stupid parents raising stupid kids. I think I'm becoming a grumpy old woman early, but man it peeves me when people just don't take responsibility!