nawnim

What I find really interesting about the whole pound issue is that oodles don't often end up in the pounds (well not here anyway) it's the staffy crosses, working dogs, and now the dane crosses that are pts. In saying this I would also like to make it clear that in no way do I support puppy farms or the breeding of cross breeds of any mixture.

I did make enquiries about this programme and I decided against it because I was told the dog would just go to one of their foster carers, and not be adopted out. I was not happy because my dog might end up just being one of many or even in a kennel type situation. I decided instead to leave the money ($5000 is what they ask for)to whichever child that would be prepared to take it on. ETA I was also concerned that the dog might be subjected to a temperament and health test before they decided what to do with it. ie they might just decide to euthanise anyway.

Some people are not old at seventy, while some people are old when they are much younger. My auntie in her eighties used to drive around delivering meals on wheels to people younger than herself. Some agility competitors are 70+ and many obedience competitors are in their seventies. Also young people can become seriously ill as has been mentioned earlier in this thread and their dogs may end up in the pound or in rescue. It is not okay to evaluate prospective dog owners only by their age, nor is it okay to only consider them suitable for the older dogs. If I were to live another 20 years and were only to take on dogs over 10 I could lose 6 or 7 dogs. I have just lost my cat and it hurts. I don't mind taking on one (perhaps 2) old dog (one of mine was 8 and a rescue when I got him) but I don't want to be limited only to old dogs because some rescuer decides I am nursing home bound in the next few years. I know many older people who are leading very active lives and having a ball because they now have the time to do what they have always wanted to do with their lives which might be owning and training a dog.

This is a topic very close to my heart as I will be seventy next year. I can't imagine life without a dog. They are wonderful company and I actually have the time to care for them and spoil them. I also have a hearing loss and dog company makes me feel safer. One of the problems is not knowing how long my life will be. My mother and both her sisters lived in their own homes to their nineties so I could have another twenty years. However I would rather not leave a dog behind. My current dogs are ten and five. I expect to outlive the ten year old, and I have always said the five year old would be my last but perhaps I can squeeze in another. My ten year old was a rescue dog that I got two years ago and I would say it took him twelve months to truly bond to me. I don't think I could go with a pup, but something older perhaps, but young enough for some training which I enjoy. If I were to get another dog I would have my children help me choose in the hope that would make them feel responsible and more likely to take over its care if anything happened. I have also left $5000 with a CPI clause in my will for each animal that should outlive me. One son has agreed to take on my five year old, but who knows his circumstances might change. If my dogs could not go straight from me to a permanent home I would prefer that they be PTS. I do not want my dogs to ever end up in a pound. I think dogs are wonderful company for the elderly es[pecially if they live alone. I know my mother aged quickly after she lost her last dog, a boxer, partly because she stopped walking. In some ways it makes sense for the elderly to only take on older dogs, but that could mean they will be many times bereaved which is as painful for them as for a younger person. Also some people believe that smaller dogs are best for the elderly but this is not necessarily so because it is easier to trip over a small dog. Yet a very large dog would be inappropriate because they would be too heavy to lift. My current dogs are both small to medium and I think that is an ideal size.

Male user name but I'm female too. I pretended to be male as part of the anonymity but I've given up on that now. :laugh: I think most rescuers, which is where I started from, are female but I would have thought agility (and obedience?) people were fairly evenly divided. Probably wrong as I am on most things. Being on Dol is a humbling experience! :)

I live in Canberra

I wonder if the poor 'dog boy' was fired.

The death of your dog is obviously still a painful memory but I am not sure how slapping a sixty year old woman across the face helped your dog.

Yes, she does. She may also be reading this thread.

Michelleva I think you have done a wonderful job and I am happy to donate $50 if the surgery should go ahead. But if you can't get a rescue interested please don't feel pressured that you have to do something. You have done so much for that poor little cat already. I think you are fantastic.

TwinkyDay I have pm'ed you

Thankyou I think sometimes the term is used very loosely. What about the French bulldog? Is it a bull breed?

We talk a lot these days about bull breeds and I wonder sometimes exactly what a bull breed is, apart from the obvious ones such as staffordshire bull terrier, and American pit bull terrier. Are bully breeds defined by their appearance, temperament, or even their ancestry? I am interested to know what other dolers think about this.

I agree especially about boxers. Mine gets a bad response from many dogs out in public (particularly BC's) He even play-bowed a loose dog yesterday who initially rushed us and pinned my dog (owner was weeding front yard and not watching his dog). The Boxer/BC dynamic is one known to quite a few owners of those breeds. GSDs and Poodles don't tend to be a good mix either. GSDs and Spitzs can also be a challenging mix. This is just CDC instructor speak. Not saying any more.

My point is that dogs don't know breed names. Going back to the earlier post about black staffies you can't say my dog doesn't like black staffies. It would be more accurate to say "My dog doesn't like medium sized short haired dogs who strut with their tails and heads held high" and staffies aren't the only dogs that do this. How do the 'breed snobs' react when they meet cross breed dogs, one of the crosses being their own breed. In a dog's eyes when is a staffy (whippet) not a staffy (whippet)? I think it depends more on body language than anything else and the dog is also picking up on cues from its owner.

YOur dog sounds sort of cute if that's the right word for a big dog. I don't think we've ever met a dog with blue eyes. I wonder what dogs see. Off topic I had a horse (cremello) with blue eyes and the sun was a major issue for her. Her eyes used to water a lot.

Interested to know when in your dog's eyes a black staffy crossbreed becomes a black staffy. Where did it say anything about a cross breed? What I am trying to say (perhaps clumsily) is that I don't think dogs can tell one breed of dog from another. A negative reaction from the dog is the result of the handler tensing up I do disagree. it doesn't explain why dogs of particular breeds have a good reaction to dogs of their own breeds, or dogs of breeds they usually interact with. My Weimaraners will get excited when they see Irish setters, because of their positive and regular interaction with a friends Irish Setters. I don't get excited and they react to my excitement, they do it all on their own. apologies for the previous comment - i thought you were having a go because i said Black staffy (because they don't technically come in black!) Thankyou. I don't know the first thing about staffies. I just often wonder what dogs see when they meet other dogs. I think they see friendly or unfriendly body language regardless of breed which they interpret in their own doggy way which is all a mystery to me. They are probably always more comfortable with body language they are familiar with. For example I have owned boxers and my boxers always got on well with rotties because of the similar body language. That's all. It's not colour or breed it's body language. IMO My JRT x has an issue with BC's and staffies. BC's because they stare, and I was told staffies have a very strutting, forward sort of walk, which makes them seem very assertive/dominant/confrontational to other dogs. So yes, I agree it's body language, but if a dog was around a lot of dogs of the same breed, I think he could form the association that dogs of a certain size and colour = certain behaviour and so develop an issue with dogs of a certain breed even when the individual dog isn't displaying the body language the dog has an issue with. Thankyou. This sounds reasonable to me

Interested to know when in your dog's eyes a black staffy crossbreed becomes a black staffy. Where did it say anything about a cross breed? What I am trying to say (perhaps clumsily) is that I don't think dogs can tell one breed of dog from another. A negative reaction from the dog is the result of the handler tensing up I do disagree. it doesn't explain why dogs of particular breeds have a good reaction to dogs of their own breeds, or dogs of breeds they usually interact with. My Weimaraners will get excited when they see Irish setters, because of their positive and regular interaction with a friends Irish Setters. I don't get excited and they react to my excitement, they do it all on their own. apologies for the previous comment - i thought you were having a go because i said Black staffy (because they don't technically come in black!) Thankyou. I don't know the first thing about staffies. I just often wonder what dogs see when they meet other dogs. I think they see friendly or unfriendly body language regardless of breed which they interpret in their own doggy way which is all a mystery to me. They are probably always more comfortable with body language they are familiar with. For example I have owned boxers and my boxers always got on well with rotties because of the similar body language. That's all. It's not colour or breed it's body language. IMO

Interested to know when in your dog's eyes a black staffy crossbreed becomes a black staffy. Where did it say anything about a cross breed? What I am trying to say (perhaps clumsily) is that I don't think dogs can tell one breed of dog from another. A negative reaction from the dog is the result of the handler tensing up

Interested to know when in your dog's eyes a black staffy crossbreed becomes a black staffy.

Not sure about colour, but my girl BC is constantly being lunged at or attacked (if off their leash) by small dogs & off course she gets the blame for reacting back. It's amazing that hardly any of the owners of these small dogs call their dogs off. So I try to avoid them if possible & I never let my girl off leash when there are small dogs around. The only thing I can put it down to is that she probably stares at them like BC's do. My other BC (Mr. Cool) doesn't attract the same sort of attention & I don't think he stares. I am referring back to WSibs comment about the black labs. When I used to go to obedience I so often heard this comment from other handlers, even instructors. It was something like "keep away, my dog doesn't like ???". I agree with you about the stary eyes, one of mine (the one on the left in my sig) has stary working dog eyes and it puts both people and other dogs off.

Maybe a bit off topic but do you really think a dog's response to another dog is based on the colour of the other dog? Or is it just responding to the handler tensing up?

Yesterday walking my two dogs on lead I saw a loose dog on a front lawn (no fences in Canberra) with a guy who had his head under the bonnet of his car. I called out 'watch your dog" as I crossed the road as I was fearful that it might chase us. He called back in an angry voice "It's on my property".

Hi Padraic - I'm sure some will have differing views but I think that a lot of the reason for the attention was his age. I think that for any dog lover, the thought of such an old dog being dumped at the pound during his twilight years is quite heart-breaking. I'm sure that the purebred element was in the minds of some but certainly not in the minds of many of us ... Yes maybe you are right. I know I was originally concerned that he might be cold and being old possibly arthritic as well.