Redsonic

I investigated using the rubber for my home made seesaw, but found it was hard to get and way too expensive. I think the cheapest option was child's playground coating. I ended up covering the plank with heavy duty PVC tarpaulin (pop riveting and gluing it down), and then dribbled on polyurethane elastomer, which you buy as a 2 part liquid and mix together. The result was very grippy, even in the wet. Here is what it looks like:

Probably no surprises here, but this article on ABC News finds the reasons are multifactorial, and warns against buying a dog from backyard breeders jumping on the bandwagon of rapid popularity. The article has lots of photos I couldn't embed here.

I used to skydive, and the crows (Ravens?) during the breeding season would get very territorial towards the canopies as we came into land. I have never been swooped by a crow as a pedestrian/cyclist, but when these birds saw the parachute in the air, they used to go ballistic swooping at them. So much wasted energy gaining altitude so they could strike from above. I wonder if the Raven is mobbing the bear because it is outside the bird's experience of "safe"? In a similar vein, I investigated some mobbing noisy miners to find them swooping a poor koala. Normally it is a snake or cat, but koalas are now so rare here, that the birds saw one as an unfamiliar threat.

Steve: that link didn't work for me. I totally agree with Steve's argument that the onus is on registered breeders to ensure that they are not breeding to a standard that compromises the welfare of the dogs they produce. The fact that back yard breeders are producing rubbish and breeding to no standard at all is not something pedigree breeders can directly control. Only by breeding superior dogs and educating the public can pedigree breeders shift the demand away from BYBs and pet shops/puppy farms. By superior, I mean 1/ healthy; 2/ sound temperament; and 3/ appearance/conformation to standard. IN THAT ORDER. If the breed standard is not encouraging selection for healthy traits, then the standard needs to be changed/ clarified. I understand that heredity is not straight forward and carrier states exist, many diseases are multifactorial, and testing is not always available for heritable diseases etc etc. We are not talking about that here. Blind Freddy could hear the breathing struggles a lot of brachycephalics go through. Pin hole nostrils and nasal folds rubbing the cornea don't take a veterinary degree to detect. Public awareness of these welfare issues is rising, and pedigree breeders can't miss the boat here. I am reminded of the convulsions the production animal industry goes through when various suspect husbandry procedures are publicised. Think live cattle export, sow stalls, docking of dairy cow's tails etc. Pedigree breeders should be leading by example, not kicking and screaming "it is not us" as public pressure forces change. Edited: spelling mistake

It would be very, very rare for me to withhold a reward as I pay any try. The dog would pretty much have to piss off to not get a reward. Then how does the dog know that the latest try was further from your goal than the others he/she had offered you?

The best way to understand the terminology is to think of positive and negative as maths symbols: +,-. + you add something - you take something away Reinforcement and punishment refers to the behaviour you are trying to encourage or extinguish. Reinforcement makes a behaviour more likely to happen again, and punishment makes it less likely to happen again. Unfortunately, punishment has all sorts of bad associations, and people don't like using the term, but in the context of classical conditioning, something you do acts as punishment if it means the targeted behaviour is less likely to happen again. People who practice positive dog training are actually using negative punishment all the time. Every time they withhold an expected reward they are using negative punishment.

My favourite breed, the Burmese, which always used to be such an elegant, athletic breed is currently being ruined by the trend for short, snub faces. It's heartbreaking. Yes, cats are the next species we are going to ruin

That was my whole point. Breeders get first pick, and presumably they choose dogs with more open nostrils, nasal folds not rubbing the eyes etc. The rest of the litter goes out to pet homes and we are seeing problems with these dogs. Registered breeders are producing brachycephalics with problems, it is not all the fault of backyard breeders. The selection pressure towards healthy brachys is obviously weak or non-existent because this is a trend that is worsening, not improving. My picture of the "show quality" Dogue de Bordeaux a case in point. Edited: spelling mistake

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.