Salukifan

The inquest will examine all issues relating to cause of death. As for the quality of the article, I'm only surprised you expect better from the media. They are more interested in selling column inches than objective and factual reporting. Wait for the Coroner's Report.

Coroner's reports are usually made public.

It means your dog is in a high state of arousal.. that's all. Doesn't necessarily relate to aggression but your dog's responses (in whatever manner she responds) will be triggered more easily in that state.

Who's lynching whom? All I'm saying is the sky will not fall.

If it protects them, it isn't wrong at all. People who will tell you that picking up a small dog that's under threat will make it "dominant" are full of it. Invariably, they don't own small dogs. The risk is real that a dog will jump up on you to get to them but they'd have to get past my boot first. If there is a car bonnet/roof nearby? Use that. And yell your head off at the oncoming dog. If it doesn't stop it, it may attract some help. There is something to be said for carrying a big umbrella or one of those groovy aluminium hiking poles.. it can be a barrier or a weapon if required. I have always maintained that folk who have never seen a serious incident in a public dog park are lucky.. and its only a matter of time.

That is what this baby did - down on his belly... I always thought that pups had sort of a right of passage where grown dogs were concerned and they didn't attack them.. It is just what we were raised to believe.. Then again, times have changed so much as have training methods... I have to admit, I was totally shocked that it happened (because of my beliefs, which were totally wrong)... Pups have a 'puppy license' license with most dogs.. but not all. Some dogs are simply intolerant of pups. Others as you have seen have been downright aggressive. I have seen a 4 month old pup brought into the vet badly wounded by a dog attack.. .from its mother. Breed can play a part but it's not the be all and end all of the issue.

And you know what Espinay - I think that's already happening. The shape, and drive levels is changing and emerging reactivity levels in some "sports dogs" is cause for caution IMO.

I know... none in the country that I know of. Just for you Sheridan - a bunch of them!

You just train the dog to focus at a lower, more left hand point.. like your hip. I dont like the stylised look if it means the handler and dog make contact - and it happens a lot, especially on left hand turns.

Hard to avoid them when they slip their collar and make a beeline for your dog There was a baby whippet at one of the dog parks last weekend! Lets hope it stays in one piece. All it has to be is bowled at speed for a broken leg. A dog that slipped its collar and made a beeline for any of my dogs would be airborne shortly afterwards. I have no qualms about booting dogs to keep mine safe.. none at all.

I agree, I also find that a dog that is in drive and focused will naturally make eye contact with the handler anyway. I like my dog to be switched on in the ring rather than looking like she is just going through the motions. Besides, When it comes to my dog she HAS to be really on and focused otherwise we won't make it two steps off the startline before her nose hits the ground :laugh: There's "eye contact" and there's "direct eye contact". A dog doesn't have to be staring into your eyes to be totally focussed on you.

Actually I think "function" has little to do with it. The judges (trained by successful bulldog breeders/exhibitors) put up the dog that best fit the standard (set by breeders/exhibitors). Its a cycle.. your dogs go up... you get to train and evaluate the next generation of judges... who put those dogs up...

You've nailed it in one. The ignorance of the link between conformation and purpose has been lost on many folk. A Whippet with weak underjaw can't snap up its prey. A Whippet with excessive hind angulation can't stop and turn at speed because it will lack lateral stability in its hocks.. say that to a lot of folk and they'll look at you like you're crazy.. and the judges put up the dogs with femurs as long as a truck because they "move flashy". A Clumber Spaniel with exposed haw and extropion.. in a dog that's a heavy cover specialist?? Eye injuries would be a real problem. Which is not doubt why a working clumber spaniel looks like this: Not this

My latest pup got socialisation with trusted dogs and owners I knew and at his kindy classes (which are still going). He's a bit of a thug. No way would I let him play off lead with tiny baby puppies - he'd squash them. I make no assumptions about dogs at trials or shows. I avoid contact unless I know them or they are also baby puppies.

I heard all the same sentiments when tail docking was banned here. People are still out there. The test will be the size of the entry at Crufts next year. I simply cannot see a lot of dyed in the wool exhibitors retiring, even though they talk about it now. They need to agitate to iron out the process, not throw the baby out with the bathwater. But frankly, quite a few show folk can't see past their noses when it comes to the future of their breed.

Some pups, particularly very small pups will also trigger prey aggression in some dogs. Particularly dogs that haven't been extensively socialised with other dogs/breeds. They'd have been better off waiting for you to leave the small dog area.. but 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. I think people should have to attend a presentation on dog behaviour before they are allowed near a dog park.

The word missing is "controlled" socialisation. You want the puppy to only have good or neutral experiences. If you don't know the dogs at the park and you don't know the owners of the level of control they have, its one hell of a risk. There are other, better ways to socialise a puppy. Ways that won't see it end up with an experience that may negatively shape its temperament for life.

Unquestionably... but I still find it highly stylised, mostly a breach of the rules (contact between dog and handler occurs frequently) and not in the interests of the dog, chiropracticly speaking. A dog has peripheral vision way better than ours.. why it has to have its head around your leg and to be looking into your eyes to be considered to be "paying attention" beats the hell out of me. But it's here to stay and obedience will go the way of agility with it being less about something everyone can try with a dog and more and more about 'dogs for the job'. That's if it ain't already. Herding breeds now dominate and the original breeds whose obedience it tested are fading into the background.

Human society is evolving. The reasons that we keep dogs are evolving. I don't have an issue with breeds evolving and new breeds emerging provided that changes don't adversely impact on the health and welfare of dogs. There are a lot of breeds that have softer, more biddable temperaments now than 150+ years ago. We've moderated protective instincts, aggression levels, etc. Personally I don't have an issue with that because like it or lump it, the future of most dog breeds lies in them being pets. I can think of a few breeds that would benefit from some temperament modification still. ;) Working dogs are a whole different ballgame and I can see how frustrating it must be to folk with "proper" working dogs who see a breed being "dumbed down" for pet owners. Nonetheless, I think a dumbed down dog breed is infinitely preferable to an extinct one. Others may care to differ on that one.

Why would a dog attack a pup? Dog aggression. The "why" within that will do your head in. Easier to deal with the behaviour by not giving it an outlet. It's not just external marks you have to worry about when a smaller dog is attacked. A good shaking can do massive internal damage. Why do people take baby puppies to dog parks. Its the kind of "socialisation" you'd experience tossing a toddler into the middle of a rugby game. And people on the sidelines will say "don't worry, the dogs will work it out.. they're just doing what comes naturally".

Testing for function requires time and access to the right envirionment - challenging for many people. Testing for INSTINCT on the other hand may be more practical and certainly some instinct tests are available. Mary Roslin Williams (Espinay's second quote) - what an inspirational breeder. Nice to see it acknowledged by someone of that ilk that it's not only the show ring that shapes the direction of breeds and not always in the direction of orginal function. Even dog sports themselves are changing.. and as they change the dogs that excell in them are changing too. Kavik competition obedience had its origins in the tests for working gundogs. I try to imagine someone walking across a paddock with a shotgun broken over their right arm and a dog wrapped around their leg staring into their face and it just doesn't work for me. ;)

I think it has to be 4 letters different to others. There'd be a bunch of "Glynsomethings" I think. Scottish eh? Haggis Sporan I submitted my second set of 10 names (I didn't get Telida ) a few weeks ago. Still waiting.....

Can you post a pic?

In the ACT you can't get ordinary plastic shopping bags any more. I find a pack of 50 Nappy Bags a lot more convenient to carry and less likely to have a hole in them too.

Give the office a call tomorrow re membership/Associate register for your dog. If you want to enter a trial in a few weeks, you'll need to move quickly on those. If you get stuck for forms, PM me - I can email you a template or arrange to get you some blank ones. If you don't have a copy of the Trialling Rules, I suggest you download and read them.