Greyt

Thank you for posting. A beautiful story, a wonderful man and two fantastic dogs. Hope is such an apt name for the white one that looked none too pleased about having to wear the stupid costume for the parade.

No responsible rescue group would rehome a dog with that history. It is highly unethical to rehome dogs that are fence jumpers or who have such a high prey drive that they will kill other dogs. Best practice in rescue is to take the history of a dog and to use that as part of assessment, and so this dog would instantly fail any proper assessment. The best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour, and so if an organisation did sell this dog or place it in another home they would be found liable if ever there was trouble. It doesn't matter whether the behaviour is inherent or learned, the fact is that this dog is highly unsuitable to be sold as a pet and can never be trusted. It really is a case of a tragedy upon tragedy here..... .RIP Sarge AND it breaks my heart to consider the future for the Husky who was probably never given the opportunity to be a stable, relaxed dog.

I have a thing about front yards in general - I don't like dogs in front yards at all because in my experience, dogs are more likely to get riled up to the point of wanting to attack passers by or their dogs that I think it is just a bad idea to keep any dog in front yards. I have a whole block near my house where dogs literally try to jump the fence to get at us. Luckily, we have a great dog park nearby with awesome owners that look out for each other so I have been around that block exactly once. Notwithstanding other legal considerations, most councils will have some by-law relating to noise and having a dog barking at others as they walk past, in my view can destroy the neighbors amenity. I have seen a lot of small dogs "patrol" their fence line but never move beyond it, and if challenged, quickly retreat. And in the OP's case, I definitely think it is wise to keep moving away from the source of anxiety asap. As a general rule, having any dog in a front yard without adequate fencing is just a recipe for disaster. As much as their are risks taking my dogs to the dog park, I thank goodness that I do not have to walk them around the neighborhood because I think it is much more scary for them overall. FWIW, here are my local ByLawas 22. (1) A person who keeps an animal must:- (a) construct and maintain a proper enclosure to keep the animal on the person's land and prevent the animal from wandering or escaping from the land; and Gold Coast City Council Local Law No 12 (Keeping and Control of Animals) 9 (b) ensure that the animal is kept within the enclosure at all times. Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a proper enclosure is a fenced area as required by local law policy. (3) For avoidance of doubt, a local law policy mentioned in subsection (2) may treat buildings or structures (other than fences) which effectively contain an animal as forming part of a proper enclosure. (4) If an animal is found:- (a) wandering at large; or (b) on land which is not a public place (including land on which the animal is kept), but not within an enclosure on that land and not under a person’s effective control, the keeper of the animal is taken to have committed an offence. Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units P.S Megan, I am glad that you and your dogs are OK.

Those pictures are O-M-G:-) Thank goodness that dog is not in a pet store as Matilda would be snapped up, probably by the wrong sort of buyers in <5 minutes. If you are only starting to "get" Kelpies now, what until they are grown up and they literally only have eyes for your next command to the exclusion of everything that is going on around them. Amazing dogs and Matilda is so cute.... my guess is that she will be playing with scary dog in no time.

Incredible pictures. Diva looks a treat.

Goodness, that is a horrible thing to say. The cause of the problem is the dog owner. The OP is caught up in a situation not of their choosing that is obviously causing a great deal of distress. To the OP, my feeling is that it is time to report to the Council now, regardless of how uncomfortable you are that you will be identified. I would also carry a big stick with you so that you can better keep the aggressive dog away from you and your dogs. Most councils are far more pro-active than german_shep_fan's. In their case, I would have written to the CEO/Mayor and maybe the newspapers to remind them of their liability should an incident happen of which you had previously reported and they had done nothing about.

Have you thought of an older dog? Most large dogs do not like missing their daily walks, even greyhounds. An older Grey that needs rescuing might fit the bill?

Take a piece of paper and write down your goals. 1. Make sure Tonka is appropriately cared for. 2. Have a worry free and fun time on your holiday 3. Be there for your mum when you return 4. Make sure Tonka gets medical treatment. Now, go through each one and break it down into small steps. Work through each one step at a time. Do not try to work on them all at once as it will become overwhelming. If you could get foster care from an experienced owner or breeder between Toowoomba and Brisbane - somebody who knows the breed and has the time for Vet visits - and somebody you could pay the equivalent of a boarding fee - then you could put your mind at ease as you would cover most bases until you return. If you bought a suitable crate, this could act temporarily as outside shade until you can figure better options out. Personally, I would be mindful that many ex's do things out of spite because they harbor residual resentment and/or anger etc.... Also, ex will now be focused on relocating, new job etc which is probably a lot to deal with. I would try to remove Tonka asap if it were me, but not until a suitable carer was found. Good luck and know that you will be further along the road to meeting this challenge tomorrow than you are today!.

Ha ha Megan... But I see four dogs that were never meant to stay in one spot for half a second photographed together....stroke of genius!

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/106751-pug-stuff/page__st__12060

If you do not buy locally, Ebay is your friend. They also have a very good selection of Martingale collars hand made in the States starting at about $20.00. Obviously, you pay much less for postage if you buy from the US.

It is such a good venue that would lend itself to having a treed or hedged area for the littlies without there being a "racing up and down the fence" scenario that some divided parks have. Good on you for thinking of a practical approach to protect your dogs. So many people get caught up in what "should" happen only to find repeatedly, what DOES happen is very different. I find the owners there, overwhelmingly, to be very supportive of each other and dog welfare be it their own or others but many are uneducated about responsible socialisation so it pays to be proactive yourself in protecting your and others dogs. I also really worry about tiny kids in the park and have asked parents to pick their children up in some circumstances eg, 3 dogs chasing each other with a baby crawling around.... it horrifies me to think what could happen.

I think it is really dangerous there for dogs so small. At the moment, there are a lot of very exuberant youngsters that play with each other and the older dogs. Whilst they are having fun, it would be very easy to see a time where they could unintentionally severely damage dogs as small as yours, simply by crashing into them when running. As well, there are a lot of overly friendly staffies there all of the time and whilst they just want to play, their weight and momentum make them dangerous to small dogs. I would pick my times until your dogs grow and harden up a bit, go during non-peak times if you can, or go to the parts of the park that are not busy - then you can pick and choose who you want your dogs to socialise with. To the OP, I put my dogs behind me and walk assertively toward the offending dog yelling at them. I have often wondered how this approach would work with 2 or more dogs at "their" fence line.

The stats will move around and <3% PTS will probably not be achievable in the medium term. The important thing is that there is a new, life preserving culture and this will give life to thinking of and executing on programs, practices, policies and procedures being put in place that will minimise the the PTS ratio.. This in turn will put pressure on other facilities around the country to adopt live preserving practices. Well done GAWS.

The Article NEW YORK CITY -- The latest chapter in the saga of Mitt Romney's Irish Setter Seamus -- who was famously strapped, inside his carrier, to the Romney family car roof on a trip to Canada -- took place today at outside the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, when the groupDogs Against Romney called for a protest to raise awareness of the incident and its dislike of the on-again, off-again GOP front-runner. A half-hour into the gathering, protestors were nearly outnumbered by CNN's resident weird-chaser Jeanne Moos. Is this, like, well, you know, for real? I asked Alan Charney, an organizer with the progressive federation USAction who helped to put on today's event. It is, he said. "I'm shocked by how deeply this is felt amongst dog lovers," he said, as a handful of protestors eventually showed up. "They think it reveals a fatal flaw, that he lacks a sense of empathy for creatures human or otherwise, that there's a mechanicalness or coldness to Mitt Romney. For some people, it's his comments about not caring about poor people. For dog lovers, it's what he did to his dog." Eventually the protest got going. A dozen or so protestors milled about, carrying signs reading "Dogs Aren't Luggage," "Mitt Is Mean," and "I Ride Inside." "It's a little hard for me to understand -- I'm not a dog owner. But it's a perspective that needs to be put out there," added Charney. Veronica Cedeno of Weehawken, N.J., owner of a Scottish terrier, agrees that what happened to Seamus speaks quite poorly of his owner. "I'm just so strongly against what he did," she said. "If we know that he has so much money, why did he have to resort to putting his dog outside and his luggage inside? He couldn't have gotten some sort of mobile carrier, or another car, even?" So, your being here isn't tongue-in-cheek? Not even a little bit? "No," she replied, all sincerity. "What he did is just not very thoughtful. If he doesn't care about the goodness of dogs, is he going to care about the goodness of humans?" Dogs Against Romney dates back to 2007, and digital political strategist Scott Crider claims founder's rights. In a way, today's event is a test of list strength. The Dogs Against Romney Facebook group has grown to 26,000 members. Some two dozen people RSVP'd their intention to attend, and, is normal with these sort of things, about half turned out. "I'm happy three dogs showed up," said Charney. Behind me, I overheard a passerby say, "I don't know...does Mitt Romney hate dogs?" I turn to explain to two female onlookers Seamus's en plein air voyage north. "Was it recent?" Early eighties, I said. "That wasn't the right thing to do," said one. "But...that's really digging." They continued on their way. There's stronger dissent, too. Joe Munna, raised in Queens, has happened upon the scene. Spying my notebook, he explains how New York City has some of the worst dog owners on earth. "Their dogs are depressed because they're not allowed to be dogs." He demurs on the Seamus issue. But Munna will diagnose the bigger problem: the country has gone too far, and now neither dogs nor people are allowed to roam free. "These people have got to have something better to protest than Mitt Romney's dog," he said. His alternative: go after the corrupt fools over at the Port Authority, another transportation hub in midtown. Charney made a final attempt to put the essence of Dogs Against Romney in perspective. "The right likes to talk about character," he said. "They're always talking about integrity. Well, their presumptive nominee has a character flaw. They started it. We're just bringing it back to them." He smiled, then shrugged.

And here is the teaser they used to generate interest in the game day commercial (above) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w

Alice is more than a little stunning! Congratulations.

Also include that it's guarding behavior is becoming bolder and whilst it is good that her dog can provide security for the home and family.... it could result in an incident that in turn could lead to the dog being seized and PTS. And if they love their dog like you do yours, you would hate to think how that would affect them etc.

My foster Grey remains a fussy eater after tasting TOTW Salmon... his modus operandi is to enjoy new taste sensations for 3 or 4 days and then stop eating it.... well at least the Whippet will get through the remaining 12 or so kilograms...although it may take a while.

Congrats... can you post another link? I can't see yours.

Bulletin Link VETS have issued a warning over the killer disease parvovirus, which has reportedly killed seven dogs in one Gold Coast street. The only prevention against parvovirus is vaccination. Best Friends Rescue, a non-profit group dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats on the Gold Coast, said news of the outbreak at Upper Coomera should concern all dog owners in the city. President Linda Richards said parvovirus was a "nasty, horrible disease" and puppies were the most vulnerable. Have your say on the feedback form below "It spreads so quickly dogs can become dangerously sick within hours and puppies rarely survive," she said. "Vaccination is the key but once your dog or puppy is vaccinated you must continue to quarantine them for 14 days no dog parks, no walking. "The virus stays in the environment for up to 12 months. You need a highly concentrated bleach to get rid of it." Vetcall Ashmore vet Mark Kropp said the virus was prevalent in suburbs where there were more stray dogs, which were not vaccinated . "The virus comes from unvaccinated dogs," he said. "Faeces of infected dogs are ingested by other dogs who are not vaccinated and it goes straight to their guts and invades the intestinal wall." Your Say "Is the fact that dogs are unvaccinated and the number of strays a reflection of the socio economics of the Coomera and Upper Coomera area. I live in Upper Coomera so is extremely concerning for me despite having a fully vaccinated dog. So many dogs dying in the same street is also very concerning. There is clearly a link with an infected animal. Vaccinate your pets for around $80 for the peace mind and help elimate the parvovirus."<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Jason Dr Kropp said three vaccinations at an early age would virtually protect dogs from contracting the virus. "Dog owners should not be complacent but stop the spread of the disease through vaccinations," he said. Symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever and diarrhoea that usually contains blood.

You will not allow any non-researched food into the dog's diet and feed only super premium.... while happily taking your kids to McDonalds

Well, that looks as if prong collars could be banned across Australia if national standards are adopted. Pollies like to take the easy way out where possible unless they are absolutely passionate about an issue. Given most politicians wouldn't be passionate about prong collars, it is easier to ban them and never be accused in the media of promoting cruelty (no matter how unfounded these claims may be) than it is to not ban them.

They are awesome balls. The are bouncy, not too heavy but you can throw them a long way and will last most dogs a lifetime.

^^This +1000