Redsonic

There is a video of the "high speed pursuit" on the link below. Poor dog looks terrified. Very lucky they closed off the bridge before he was hit. Hopefully his owners will find him with all that publicity. ABC News

Fair enough to say that back yard breeders are scrambling to keep up with the popularity of Pugs, French Bulldogs, etc., and breeding from anything they can get their hands on. This has always led to problems for whichever breed is popular at the time. I think the point is that the average brachycephalic these days is on the edge of respiratory distress, even those from ethical, registered breeders. And, how many registered breeders are there who don't need routine caesarians for their Bulldogs? How many "average" brachycephalics have skin fold problems? Dental issues? Entropion/ nasal folds rubbing the eyes? On other threads in Dogzonline, there has been criticism of a trainer holding a Frenchie puppy while it struggled, with a casual statement that you just can't do that with these breeds. Surely, we should not be breeding dogs that are so compromised they can't handle gentle restraint? A colleague used to bring her Frenchie in to work and it was distressing to see the poor thing struggling to breathe in the airconditoned office. It had to sleep sitting up, leaning against the wall of its crate and was constantly woken by the need for air. It was put down when a specialist could do no more for it. My guess is that that the show quality dogs are usually OK, it is the "pet quality" pups (i.e., the majority of the pups produced) that suffer the worst. If registered breeders really are working to improve the breed, these improvements should be trickling down to the pet quality pups, and they don't seem to be doing this. Although back yard breeders have caused a lot of damage to all sorts of breeds, I think brachycephalic breeders should take some responsibility here. This photo of a Dogue de Bordeaux "good enough" to compete at Westminster i.e., "better" than the average pet quality dog.

ABC News

Purin the dog set a world record for fastest dog on a swiss ball over 10m: ABC News This is her second world record after catching a heap of balls with her front feet! Go Purin!

I was going to suggest you get references from your current neighbours in order to persuade any new neighbours to allow you to keep all your dogs. Until I saw the bolded bit... You could be lucky and end up with neighbours willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Chloe may be the spanner in the works though.

From ABC News:

(emphasis added)This is a really good question/observation and it arises from one group of breeders following the breed standard which focuses chiefly on appearance, and another group focusing on performance, with less emphasis on appearance. Form follows function, so there will be differences in field lines depending on the type of retrieving and type of country the dogs are required to work in. Show lines will tend to differ over time depending on interpretation of breed standards of the day; i.e., what catches the judges' eye. As for why there are three types of poodles and Labradors are still a unified breed; I think (I could be wrong) that it is because the performance breeders don't really care to create a new category and aren't agitating for this. They have less focus on show ring categories.

Thanks for the link. I don't have a black dog, but I now know how to change the exposure value on my iPhone. Useful to know, as my dedicated camera has just packed it in.

Great photos! Looks like he has a double suspension gallop too. Is he a Portugese Podengo?

I reckon if I threw my dog's poo onto the street, you wouldn't need a police cordon to evacuate the place

The wire coat is one of the (many) things I love about my Border Terrier. Given the number of people mentioning shedding as a downside, I consider myself lucky that I can take my terrier to the park and "pluck" the longer outer coat. I do this every 2 weeks or so and all the hair gets left outside to line the birdies' nests. He rarely picks up prickles or burrs, always looks clean, and dries super fast. If you want somewhere soft to stroke, his velvet ears are lovely :) What's not so nice is the farts. Oh boy, the farts….

My terrier found a coconut floating in a tidal creek near us. It came complete with the fibrous outer coating which he had enormous fun ripping apart. I took it off him when he got down to the hard shell though, as I think it would break a tooth or cut his gum. The raw coconut looked like these:

I can't understand why people EVER think it is a good idea to restrain a dog on a ute via a collar and chain (no matter how short). Hanging risk aside, how safe would you feel if your seat belt arrangement was a loop around your neck? A firm harness with short tether, or crate or, better yet, ride in the cab. You see so many dogs standing on hot aluminium tray bodies, blinking out the dust in their eyes as the spilled feed gets blown around the back. We really need to rethink our "Aussie dog on back of ute" myth. Happy to make an exception for farm dogs on farm property - they are working and it is by far the most practical way to bring them with you.

Thanks for sharing. What a wise story

Bears out that particular research finding that the husky breed came out in the least aggressive to humans group. (But as the researchers noted, there's still variation within the breed, as for any breed.) But babies & tiny children send out totally different signals. So different stimulus to dog. Which is why, generally, across all dogs, the babies & small children are the highest 'at risk' group. Do you have a reference for the arctic breeds being over- represented in serious attacks on them? Or has it been your impression from media accounts? It'd be good if there were stats like that, to show how people can't predict what their dog might do around babies/tiny children .... based on, genuinely, how trustworthy it's always been around humans. Whatever the breed or mix. I think this might be the fatal flaw for many people .... not realizing that there can be a difference. Google Karen Delise and Fatal Dog Attacks. I have a copy of this book for sale if anyone is interested. Well worth a look.

Thanks CC. Must learn to search forums before posting

Awful for the family: ABC News I know it was wrong to allow the dog access to the room with the baby, but I can understand an exhausted mother in the middle of the night forgetting to shut a door. I hope bub will be OK and not too badly scarred. I hope the family are able to manage the dog rather than euthanase it, but it is understandable if they do put it down.

Owner takes her case all the way to the high court: ABC News article Sounds like the owner was totally irresponsible and I doubt she deserves to get Izzy back, but glad the court saw sense and reversed the verdict in favour of the dog.

Lovely dogs; I always like seeing working Labradors; so lean and muscly! Makes up for all the overweight ones you see. I wonder why search and rescue dogs are usually medium to large breeds? I would think a well trained terrier (for example) would be great at getting into small spaces to locate a person/body. Also smaller and more convenient to move about in a helicopter/plane.

I read on the Daily Mail site that the groomer who clipped the dogs was supporting the cause to let the dogs stay. I wonder if she has thought how her life (and that of all people who work with animals in Australia) would change if rabies was introduced here? I think a criminal act has been perpetrated and think the owners should be deported as well as the dogs.

Tibetan Mastiffs in the news again: Oregonlive.com

What a lowlife (Dutch's owner I mean). She obviously knew Dutch was a problem to the neighbour yet habitually let him wander. There is so much to read between the lines here, and I suspect there is a completely different side to this tale. 22500 supporters of her petition just shows how gullible people can be. She is asking for jail time for her neighbour but, depending where she lives, her neighbour may have acted perfectly legally: VIC Govt Act

Agree about the holiday attitude. I bet the caravan park they were staying at (if that's where they parked their motorhome) would have been thrilled to know they had a dangerous dog with them. Does anyone know if the dangerous dog legislation has local, state. or federal jurisdiction?

A nice story on ABC News: Hounds4Healing

I would say that the meter reader felt safe because the council specified dangerous dog signs indicated to him that the dog would be confined in a pen. The council report that the dog was to be kept confined to a pen under the house at all times when not under direct supervision. It is the householder's responsibility to make sure that their meter, letterbox & front door are accessible.