WreckitWhippet

There is no "test" for a breed assessment. The breed assessment is visual , the temperament test is seperate to any breed ID and is not conducted at the same time. You must first pass breed assessement, then book your temperament test. After all this time people still don't get it.... A happy waggy tail in a public place that greats a breed assessor will more than likely pass. If you use your brain when booking a breed assessor you will book one that passes them on a regular basis.

It is common for breed assessors to meet in a public place such as a park etc. I would think that it is as much for their own safety as anything and also that these places are neutral ground for both the assessor, the dog and the owner.

Ask you cousin do they have an NOI and if not, there will be no Maccas meeting. The NOI has to be taken to the breed assessment anyway. Yes, it's a visual. If the dog is found to be a restricted breed then that's it and they must comply with the requirements of owning one. If it's found to be a restricted breed cross then your cousin must seek a temp test from a person that is authorised to do so. They can again choose whoever they like from that list. Once an NOI has been issued the clock is ticking, so if your cousin decides to go down the road of BA and TT then they need to be on the ball as council can automatically declare once the 28 days are up. They also need to be aware that if an NOI has been issued, that they have to comply with the leash and muzzle components of the legislation and that basically means dog on leash and muzzled whenever out of the house and that includes your back yard. Council can and will check to see if they are complying in the interim. ETA: if the dog is found to be a RB cross at the breed assessment, it is then recorded on the microchip as a Pit Bull cross or APBT cross. The breed name is changed. If during the 28 days the dog then passes the temperament test, nothing else happens to the dog and it is free to be kept as any other dog would be under the act.

Firstly your cousin must be issued with a "notice of intent" to declare the dog to be of a restricted breed. If there has not been a notice issued then they do not have to take any action regarding their dog. If and when an NOI has been issued, your cousin can opt for a " breed assessment" this is NOT done by any ranger or council officers, as it would be considered a conflict of interest. You cousin can obtain from the DLG a list of all breed assessors in NSW,. You cousin can pick anyone from that list they choose to do the assessment, of course they will have to pay the standard fee. They can negotiate a place to meet with the assessor, it can be a park or where ever is convenient for the two of them. You cousin will have 28 days to seek breed assessment and then a temperament test if the dog is found to be a restricted breed cross, from the date of the notice. ETA: If they have plenty of money to spare, they could always opt to go to court.

If you thik it's the Advance causing the problems then there's no point mixing it with any other food. Mix it while you change to an alternative dry. You could also switch them over to a basic raw diet or chicken wings, carcass, necks or whole chicken, roo tail, lamb flap, lamb necks, beef brisket, rabbits and add things like sardines, eggs, a bit of cheese, vegies and some fruits. You don;t need to make up barf mixes or go to a lot of trouble to feed raw, buy it in bulk and freeze it.

I'd be inclined to feed her and feed her well and exercise her. Providing there is no medical reason why she's thin ( and some dogs just are ) then be satisfied when she has a shiny coat, nice white teeth and she's happy and energetic.

I love Dobe's in action got any of her on the stack ?

Awesome , thankyou

Not so much the wealthy, but only for those who can afford it - like anything in life really. I'm sure there'd be tonnes of people out there who'd love to have their own horse, but they don't, because they can't afford the costs. My agistors don't give me a discount on my horses board and feed, they offer a service for those who can afford to use it. That's their price and if I can't afford that weekly cost, then either I shouldn't have a horse, or I need to find somewhere else. Is that not reasonable? Is it fair for someone to take on the responsibility of a pet knowing they can't afford it? I do belive it is a privilege to own a pet and not everyone's given right. Either you can budget for the costs, or you can't - it's really that simple. If the average person owns a pet, what is the most costly vet procedure they could be expected to pay? Would anyone out there know this? They could pay anything! In this day and age with the things that specialists can do, they could pay up to $20k! The average person should have insurance, that way, when something unexpected occurs, money won't be too much of a problem Insurance what a solution. The vets will charge more because you have insurance, the insurance company needs to make a profit. Great for the consumer. Why would a vet charge more becuase you have insurance ? The bill is paid before you lodge your claim with the insurance company and the vets have nothing to do with the claim. The invoices are made out to the owner of the animal and they pay it before seeking reimbursement from who ever their pet is insured with.

One gets the feeling that there will be those who are unhappy where ever they go.

Nicest Take the drive to Caseys Beach, the vets are very good there.

Maybe the OP should have done a poll

More to the point, do people really care ? I'm not worried about what the medications cost the vet or what they mark up and pass onto me. It's the quality of the care , the service and the expertise that counts.

I just looked at an invoice from my vet. The last time one of mine was sick/injured he had a swollen face that came up over night on a Saturday night. My invoice includes a 7am Sunday morning after hours consult ( on my way to a show ) and the medication is itimised. $75 consult ( and he was left at the surgery until I came home that evening ) Bomox/betamox 150mg $14.75 10 x Antirobe $16.90 Dexamethasone 5mg $14.75 Total $121.40 I'm hardly going to complain they mark up their medications , when I get an invoice like that and another from April, with a Whippet that went down hill suddenly and wouldn't eat $44 consult ( which lasted well over half an hour ) Buscopan injection $14.75 Flunixil injection $14.75 Total $73.50 Now the vet could have charged me for the bloods that were taken , the phone call that night and the following day that she made to follow up and then again on the Sunday morning to make sure that everything was still OK. Much can be said for a good relationship with your vet

Just looking at Maximal for one of mine, is there anywhere to purchase sample packs or small bags to start out with ? I want to try it on a fussy Whippet

The one thing I've really taken from this thread is how much I value my relationship with my vet and the open communication. I know that when the proverbial poo has hit the fan, that my vet is on my team batting for me and that I haven't soured our relationship by attemtping to screw them for every last dollar and demanding scripts that I can fill at my local chemist.

Assuming the drug is also prescribed for human use and available at a pharmacy (and that's all we're discussing here - as far as I know chemists don't sell animal remedy only medication), why don't you just give them a prescription and tell them to get the drug themselves? Would people pay the costs of medication if it was not covered under the PBS ? Fido Jones is not on anyone's medicare card and medications would not be available to Fido at the same rate as you would expect to pay for youself.

It's the customers responsibility to ask the price not just jump in feet first and whinge about the price later.

Because they should be working in the best interests of themselves AND the animal. A lot of animals are put down or dumped because owner's cannot afford the ongoing medical care. Other businesses DO do that! I work for a major international law firm and we regularly tell new clients to go to smaller firms because we can't do the work in a way that would be economical to them. We could "screw" a client thousands for a debt collection, but don't. We tell them to go to a debt collection firm who can do the job quickly efficiently and economically. PTS or abandon is an OWNER choice. Vets are there to provide a professional service to those who can afford to have an animal and want to treat that animal. It would be nice to think that have some form of moral obligation to treat every animal at cost price and go bankrupt in the process, but this is the real world and it's a job that they have the right to be paid for and make a profit from , just like any other.

I think it comes back to the same thing, do your reseach , know your animals and if you are unhappy with price then shop around, the alternative is not to own a pet full stop. No business that I know of tells their customer their mark up on items

I don't get what all the fuss is about, every business charges a mark up on their stock in addition to any service/labour charges. Only a fool would mark up at a % that does not stand to make them a profit. If they mark an item up 400% so be it, I'd rather have my vet earning a nice healthy living and providing me with excellent servce and a smile , than go broke and leave me without vet care. I've worked in a vets too and the overheads are huge and the cost of the equipment required would leave most people gasping for breath

You can certainly get him onto chicken wings, carcass, lamb flap, necks and roo tail. Just introduce things one at a time , the chicken should be fine as he's getting necks anyway. He can also have eggs shell and all, either raw or hard boiled, mine have them boiled as they make a mess with the raw ones. Canned sardines or mackeral, raw fish if you can get them are better. Rabbits are excellent if you can get them. Mine also get the odd bit of cheese, carrot and apple peels and vegie scraps. Is your meatloaf raw or cooked ? You could do away with that and feed him chicken wings for lunch. I like to keep it simple, no cooking, mixing or fuss and as close to whole as I can.

I need to wait for the sun to come out, even the Pointers were dark today Sunny day, leash free and I'm in

and of course it's bloody raining today

It's given me an idea for a dogs and kids pic for my upcoming litter thanks ETA: oh yeah and what Heidii said...LOL