Weasels

Could you just grab a couple of rolls of 'dog fence' and some star pickets from Bunnings and fence the area off?

It really is wantsapuppy :laugh: I've been home sick this week so following the story to pass the time. Adding to the confusion, it seems the victim's description of his injuries is far more dramatic than the hospital report, and he's planning to sue the owners on the side. Although he did have puncture marks so it appears teeth were involved.

More information - Link Seems the dog was also unregistered and the owner wasn't even present at the time of the incident.

If your dogs aren't so keen on veggies (mine aren't) i've found boiling in chicken stock or with some old chicken bones makes them just as appetising as meat :)

Oooh so tempting

My kelpie girl doesn't really like any dogs (including our other dog) but she isn't aggressive so I taught her that if she isn't comfortable to come to me. At the first sign of any stiffening, raised tail etc. on her part I call her in so she doesn't escalate to growling. All she really wants is to hang around with the humans anyway, so this way everyone is happy.

No help here either, but I have visions of little Zora with bitch pants at one end and an Elizabethan collar at the other Poor little mite

I like it. It has the whimsy.

For a while I tried to resist referring to other owners as a dog's 'mum' or 'dad' , but then i found myself using the phrase 'fido's female/male owner' which is just way too cumbersome so I gave up. My parents always ask me to pat the "fuzzy grandkids" for them :D

Yes it seems a bit more convoluted than it first appeared. It looks like the destruction order is only if the owners refuse to show up to court, otherwise it's just a fine. And local rescue organisations have been trying to get in contact with the family to assist but noone can get in contact with them. Hard to know what the truth of the situation is.

Here's another side to the story - link ROYAL OAK – As he got closer to two Doberman pinchers outside of Fresh Approach, Kevin Seagraves of Warren asked a woman holding the leashes of the dogs if they were friendly. She said yes. He said he continued to pass the dogs on his way to the door of the store on Campbell Road. “… and then before I could do anything I was attacked by them and bit in the nose and chin and was pushed back two or three steps,” Seagraves says in a written statement to police about the Oct. 15 incident. Bleeding from the injuries, Seagraves went into the store for a paper towel then to Beaumont Hospital, where he told police he learned his nose was broken. What should happen to the dog that bit him -- a 5-year-old rescued animal named Heidi that belongs to Janet Spalding, 59, of Royal Oak? Spalding was issued two tickets: one because her dog bit someone and the other because her pets weren’t licensed with the city. Both offenses are misdemeanors punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine or both. Spalding is fighting the tickets and to keep her dog next week in 44th District Court, according to her online petition campaign “Save Heidi.” The website shows a series of pictures of the dog sleeping under a blanket, curled on a dog bed by a desk, and wearing green and red ribbons for Christmas. Under the photos is a plea: “Help save Heidi: Stop her destruction by Royal Oak.” “That’s completely inaccurate,” City Attorney David Gillam said Thursday as links to the website were tweeted and shared on social media ahead of the Feb. 9 court date. “We are getting bombarded by calls from people getting their information off Facebook and a lot of it isn’t accurate. We got a phone call from Nova Scotia and an email from China.” Gillam disputes claims that Royal Oak is out to destroy the dog. He said the city did present two options: euthanize the dog or move her outside of Royal Oak. However, the issue could be resolved by sending the dog to obedience school, muzzling her whenever she is outside the owner’s McLean Avenue home, or some other action. “I wouldn’t say anything is off the table,” Gillam said. “We’re trying to make sure the owner takes steps so the dog doesn’t hurt anyone else. A fellow was bitten in the face.” Seagraves couldn’t be reached for comment. His attorney, Harold Perakis, said Seagraves had one surgery and needs another. “When this dog bit my client, he ended up with marks from its teeth and a broken nose,” Perakis said. “He can only breathe out of one nostril. It’s a problem.” Seagraves feels bad about the whole situation, Perakis added. “He has no say in what happens to the dog,” the attorney said. “Each city has different remedies for dangerous dogs and it is the legal obligation of the city attorney to follow up. It’s very true that a dog gets one bite. That’s the reality of it.” At SaveHeidi.com, an account of the incident under Spalding’s name says the victim “approached suddenly wanting to pet her (Heidi).” “Startled and in her excitement, Heidi popped up at the same time that the stranger bent over to pet her. She collided with his face,” the website says. “He has claimed this resulted in a broken nose and reported the accident to Royal Oak Police. Royal Oak is now prosecuting this as a dog bite/attack!” Gillam said photos taken after the incident show the victim with two puncture wounds on his nose and two below his lip. The city attorney refutes website claims that the victim’s nose was hurt when he bent over to pet the dog as the animal jumped up. “This was no head butt,” Gillam said. “The victim was bitten and medical records confirm that.” Heidi remains with her owner who lives on McLean Avenue, but her future is unclear. Next week’s court hearing is a pre-trial conference. A settlement could be reached or a trial scheduled. The dog isn’t in danger of being euthanized next week as the website says, according to the city attorney. “The fate of the dog is not an issue at this point,” Gillam said. “We are simply looking for assurance the owner will do something to keep someone else from being bitten by the dog. What kind of reasonable guarantee can we get this won’t happen again?”

Agree with this too, I think the worst thing I did was stop the trimming session when Weez got nicked. Since then when clipping the Foxdog whenever she has a little yelp I make sure I clip at least 2 more nails before ending the session, and she is still fine with the clippers (although she's also a much braver dog generally).

While I agree with Becks to an extent, I worry that if the OP's dog is mouthing already that pushing the dog out of it's comfort zone too far could lead to a nasty bite. Especially in the hands of someone who I assume isn't a professional groomer. This sounds like for whatever reason the dog is a bit traumatised by it, and it only takes a minute a few times a day to build a positive association with having his feet handled. I have done less conditioning with Weez and the dremel because he wasn't already afraid of it, and we will just hold him down and get on with it, but if I were going to go back to the clippers which he is already afraid of, I would be a lot more wary about making his fear greater with each session.

My girl dog looves to jump for the ball too I let her go her hardest at the beach where she has a soft landing but try to throw the ball a bit lower at the park. I use a very bouncy ball though so sometimes it gets away from her. I don't have any answers but it's something I worry about aswell

does he do a 'shake' or 'paw' trick? you could start with that, treat for touching his paw to your hand, then gently hold his paw for a second then treat that, then slowly build up the time. Then repeat with the clippers in your other hand, then treat for just touching the clippers to his paw etc. It will take time and patience though :) Also if you do regular pats or massage, include his paws in the pat in a casual way. I did this with my girl who hated having her ears cleaned, I would scratch her on the top of the head, behind the ears, then poke inside her ears and then keep on scritching the rest of her head, so it just became routine. I actually gave up on my boy and clippers because he already had a negative experience and bought a dremel. I am happier with this too because he has black nails and I don't fear using the dremel as much as clippers. Which means I now clip one dog's nails and dremel the other :rolleyes: but they seem happier.

:laugh: Or a support group :p TigerJack that's a good point, when we meet other kelpies they often fall into the same pattern, so it probably isn't too unusual. All of Weez's training rewards have been either food or sheep access so far. I've tried to use Fox as a reward but it can be a bit awkward, and she gets bored in a downstay if he's taking too long to do something.

Mason, no, that's how he is everyday :laugh: It could be that he is happy doing that since he's a good little herding dog, but I'm not sure if I should be encouraging him to play more 'traditional' dog games like fetch and tug. (he will play tug in the house, only sometimes out of the house)

Sorry to hijack, but I have been wondering about drive satisfaction for my boy too. When we go out, I throw a ball for the Foxdog and Weez just chases her. He is very focussed about it and doesn't look at the ball at all, but I worry there is no 'seize' moment for him like there is for Fox when she gets the ball. When I take him out alone he will sometimes chase a football but mostly 'herds' it and rarely grabs it with his mouth, just stares at it until I kick it again. Do people think this is something I should worry about or is the herding action enough to keep him happy? Again sorry dwilds for going OT

Weez looked at the computer a lot and tilted his head every time they started up. Eventually got bored and went to harass the foxdog. Fox may have looked over, but didn't really care, and was more excited that I was looking at her so went to get a toy in case I fancied a game. They will both react to cat noises on the TV though!

I think this too. I apologise and pat my dogs if I trip over them, so they know I wasn't punishing them for anything. Like Baileys mum said - they probably think it's worth it just for all the fuss afterward :laugh:

I just throw old quilts and blankets on the floor

Unu Paw Prints pet training also do training classes at Murdoch. I think their first round of classes are booked up but if you google them you might be able to get more info.

Unuscornu we got ours at Bunnings, I think about $13?

Me too :laugh: Diesel really does get called Weasel most of the time, I put Fox in my sig mostly because it amused me to make them sound like a British pub

Same here, I like watching them figuring it out :D I just loved the look on the foxdog's face when she went to bat it with her paw and accidently broke it open. Surprise, followed by greedy excitement :laugh: