Ruin Maniac

Thanks again everyone for your kind words, advice and considerations. I am trying to pull myself together, I still get upset now and then. I know it will get easier. Thank you.

I have the very same problem, and with friends that have a fear of dogs (not so extreme that the sight of them makes them panic, but certainly not the kind of people who want a dog that's half their height on his hind legs jumping on them) it is really, really frustrating that people just cuddle and coo and play with Sully when he jumps up.

Depends on the circumstances. Dangerous dog in dangerous dog collar out and offlead attacking a pedestrian and her two dogs? You're going to get reported. 6 mo german shepherd earlier today, escaping out the side gate as someone was leaving and pottered down the driveway to say hello? Not going to get reported.

Goodness. I completely understand wanting to save a dog if it is being brought in for euthanasia for ridiculous reasons, and I'm sure there are people that make excuses. But that doesn't mean you can just make the assumption. What if the dog is suffering? What if its a danger to people and their pets? Why would you be willing to save one life at the risk of making the animal or others suffer and even put other lives at risk? I gave my oldest friend his wings just this week. He needed them. I would be furious if anyone for a moment thought of "saving" him, unless they had a miracle cure for inoperable cancer up their sleeve. It's like those idiot "rescuers" that rehome dangerous or special needs dogs without disclosing their history. I don't understand how anyone can get an "I did a good thing" kick out of that.

Fortunately our ravens are very friendly. Sully sleeps outside when it's sunny and, if he's too lazy to stop them, the ravens will fly down a few feet away and peck around, or steal some of his water or food if he brought any with him. The other day I left a bag of wool out so the birds could use it for nest making, but it was the ravens that were most comfortable coming down and taking their pick. One flew off with a piece almost as big as she was. Quite funny :)

Thank you, Dogmad. I'll do just that, it sounds like a wonderful idea. Suleiman is a great comfort to me, and knows something is wrong. He's been cuddling me, trying to engage me in play and even appears to be trying to share things. Hasn't stirred up any trouble that he normally attempts when he wants me to notice and is very quiet rather than super vocal. I'm not sure if I'd cope at all without his company right now.

Thank you everyone. We followed the recommendation for the anti-biotic and he was put on some stronger painkillers. For a while he was perked up, eating and enjoying himself, jumping up to play sentry on the balcony whenever anything went by and we thought he might be okay for a while. Unfortunately he took a very serious turn for the worse yesterday. My parents were kind enough to contact me and ask me what I wanted them to do. He was given his wings at 6:00 PM. I wanted to be there so badly. I thought about booking a flight there today. But I thought I might just distress him as I am already a sopping mess and leaving Suleiman in the care of strangers while I'm in this state too would probably be very confusing and stressful for him. Even still, I feel really horrible for not being there. My parents cuddled him the whole time, and they said it was very peaceful. I'm so sorry that he's gone, and so happy he's free of pain. It's a hard feeling.

Hi everyone, My childhood dog has been getting on in years - he lives with my parents, since he was too old to come here with me, having never travelled such a long distance. Over the course of six weeks, he's been losing his appetite and subsequently his body weight rapidly. He became lethargic and appeared to be depressed. The house he lives in was undergoing renovations when it started, and my parents thought at first that he just didn't like the noise or the change, but when the renovations stopped he didn't improve. He went to the vet, was diagnosed with a fever, had bloodwork done and was kept overnight for monitoring and fluids, since he hadn't been drinking. The bloodwork showed that he had an infection of some sort, he was prescribed antibiotics and sent home. The antibiotic did not help, and my parents returned to the vet. He was given a stronger one. Still feverish, but nothing outwardly off and no signs other than a loss of appetite. Bloodwork was taken again. This time the vet said they suspected something was wrong with his liver. Yesterday he had an ultrasound. It's cancer, and it's consumed a huge part of the organ. He has an infection that is somehow related (parents couldn't explain exactly how, but they were very upset when they spoke to me). The veterinarian said it was unlikely it could be operated on, and he already has an infection. Chemotherapy doesn't sound promising either. I don't want him to be in pain, but I feel like he's too young for euthanasia. More than anything, I don't want to let him go at all. But I want to do what's best for him and the vet thinks it's the right course of action He has pain medication and a warm bed, but he's not eating. I'm told by others that this probably means he is a lot of pain, even if he isn't showing it. My parents would prefer he stay at home, and that we take him if we notice he's no longer happy. But I'm not sure he is happy, and I don't want to prolong his suffering. Is it kinder for us to give him his wings now? This is really hard. I just feel like crying all the time.

My biggest concern is ***holes reporting dogs for "charging" them because they don't have to prove it happened with a medical bill. I know some people who hate dogs enough to file a false report. There was a discussion regarding dogs on our campus the other day and it's unbelievable the amount of fear and ignorance people had of the animals. They were advocating that dogs shouldn't be allowed in public at all.

The other issue would be if they were being kept where they might be noticed, and the publicity got them scared because they had more to hide than dog thefts.

What I saw was the dog only lunged when the officer himself appeared to lunge at it as if to scare it off. Bad. Plan. More than anything what infuriates me is that, in four shots at close range, this officer was unable to put the poor thing out of its misery. If his aim, when uninjured, is that terrible and his conduct even after it was totally disabled that cruel, then he should not have a gun.

Sarcasm alert! Don't you silly people know? Dogs are animals! They breed in the wild, they can do it themselves, there's ZERO human intervention needed, EVER! Dogs don't need C-sections (and that's the ONLY thing breeders, like, actually ever do for their pregnant dogs, that's all their efforts surmount to), that's totally UNNATURAL. If they needed surgery in the wild, they would die, duh. You OBVIOUSLY don't care about them if you're breeding dogs that would DIE in the WILD because they are WILD ANIMALS. Oh, did I mention we need to stop breeding them anyway? We should make it so people can only adopt desexed dogs from shelters. Yeah. They'll be totes fine without those horrible breeder people. I mean they can breed on their own, so yeah, it will be SO much better. WHAT? What do you mean that will make them go extinct? How do you think they survive on their own? You make it sound like I want to kill them all or something, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT SUPPORTS ANIMAL CRUELTY. YOU GET DOGS FROM BREEDERS. Seriously, though. I exaggerated the language and cut out a lot of terrible analogies but I've had arguments with people whose position basically boils down to the above. At university. People who are supposedly the future of the country. In a subject that had a significant animal science component. It is an epidemic. What I really don't understand is how there are millions of people with millions of dogs in this country, when only a handful know anything about their behavior and how to recognize it, their needs - nevermind their biology. It is the cause of so many problems.

As I said, Whippet. It's not necessarily the buyers who are posing a threat to the PB dog, it's the lawmakers. As long as there's this strong perception that pedigree breeders are greedy, contemptuous, self-absorbed and cruel, then the law is going to do you no favours. We have well-meaning idiots and not-so-well-meaning animal rights advocates to thank for that.

If you want it to survive, and with current legislation that writes breeders off as criminals because people know no better (it's true! The number of people who give me the most horrified looks when I talk about purebreeders is astounding), you have to educate and be open to the public. So many people don't know. Just recently someone at my university was talking to a group of students, myself included, about getting a new dog. He had a very, very specific temperament and set of qualities in mind (low shedding, active enough to go on bicycle rides, playful, intelligent and responsive to training, alert, needed to be suited to spending time alone during the day, etc). I was shot down IMMEDIATELY when I suggested finding a breeder. The kid was convinced to get a rescue (which isn't a bad thing at all, but these kids were talking like every rescue dog will fit that bill without fail and that all breeders are murderers for "stealing" homes from abandoned dogs). And this attitude is rife. I found myself defending purebreeding in a class where we were discussing the domestication and selective breeding of companion animals for specific purposes, practical or aesthetic. I was one of 2 people in a class of 25 who believed purebreeding (dogs) has any benefits at all. All the others thought it was an abhorrent and selfish practice. They do not know the difference between ethical purebreeders and puppy farmers. They think the intentions of purebreeders are to create pretty dogs to sell or show for a tonne of money and its very hard to convince them otherwise. Some cited their own "purebred" dogs with health problems as examples of how breeders don't give a s*** about their animals - shockingly, they couldn't give me a prefix when I asked about it. Legislation is reflecting these attitudes, and people are supporting it. Even if you're selling every litter before its born, that doesn't prevent well-meaning idiots from making and enforcing laws that will drive you into the ground. I make every effort, every opportunity I get, to explain my stance on purebreeding and its benefits and I direct them to resources when they are open to it . But more needs to be done, by clubs, by individual breeders and owners if we want to shake off this stigma.

I think that discussion warrants its own thread?

Thanks for your contributions, everyone. Keep 'em coming I have one to add myself. I just watched Suleiman walk into his pool... and pee. Casually walk in, no leaping and digging as usual, just peed and walked out again. ... I don't know what to make of that. Strange dog. EDIT: according to my friend who watches him now and then, he's been doing this in the water bowls.

When people who want dobes, rotties and other breeds that a certain kind of people are sometimes attracted to and ask about their size, I always worry that they mean the muscle on the adults and expect them to look like the hulk. It's pretty easy to google what height and weight an average doberman or dog of any breed reaches. Obviously some people will want to know for perfectly legitimate reasons, but I know enough people who brag about how "tough" their dog looks to believe it happens now and then. :/

I felt sick after reading this the other day. Why would any breeder send dogs to a country that treats its animals this way ? Yet still they do. People in Australia abuse dogs in different ways. If I lived and bred dogs in a particularly dog-friendly country in Europe and looked at the average Australian dog owner as an example I'd be hesitant to send it here. It's because some individuals in Japan do care about dogs, don't like this trend and know how to do things properly. Like anywhere, really. Supplying these shops or puppy farmers though is a different story (granted, we do that here too). A good friend of mine in Japan imported a Pom she named "Sora" and he couldn't be in a better home.

I wish I had a job that could allow me to develop a prefix and breed maltese pups here, beautiful little dogs. It's unbelievable the rate at which they have dropped, though I suppose to the average person a BYB or pet store "maltese" is the same as a purebred without the effort or expense. I think I saw a litter registered recently. I really do hope you find one.

This morning my samoyed boy was happily having a bit of a scratch next to me as I browsed the forum. He went from scratching himself, to sidling over to me and scratching me. You know, by gnawing gently with his teeth. :laugh: He's previously gone from cleaning himself (he licks his chest fluff like a cat), to cleaning my nearest limb. I don't know if he's trying to be helpful or thinks I am an extension of him. It's pretty entertaining though! He also likes to squeeze into the smallest possible spaces, to the point where I'm sometimes needed to drag him out of them because he can't wiggle backwards (beside the fridge, into the DVD cabinet, under beds), and enjoys bodily tackling our unfortunate cactus-like plants around the back, which are thankfully not spiny, and snapping them in half. What do yours get up to?

Precisely. I myself refer to people who don't think a dog is worth that much money. I know people who given up or put down dogs that required veterinary care that expensive or more (and even less). People who think dogs can live solely off table scraps, that don't need vaccinations because "hey, we don't take them anywhere so why spend the money?", that won't build a fence because the dog is "happy" to live day and night on a 3m rope tied to the washing line. I don't think only RICH people should have dogs. I think people that do have dogs should be willing to consider that cost a small one in its lifetime and should demonstrate the willingness and capability to prepare for it financially.

I imagine that part of it is because the price of a reliable breeder's pups should not be a concern for a genuine buyer, but that it could also be because litters are often advertised in advance and the costs of raising them aren't necessarily known when the announcements are made (and breeders I've spoken to like to ensure pups have solid homes before they are born) and it could also be to prevent competitive pricing, which I don't doubt could happen. Otherwise I'm not sure.

Yeah, without a necropsy the poisoning allegations don't have much of a leg to stand on. It honestly makes me wonder if the handler had something to hide, more than PETA. But what a horrible thing to have happen

Horrifying. Urgh. Why don't people research? Picking up these puppies wouldn't be so glamorous if they had to do so witnessing the conditions these poor dogs are kept in. But classic DM comments down the bottom there, ANYONE WHO PAYS MONEY FOR A DOG IS DEMON SPAWN/DOG BREEDING IS ALWAYS LIKE THIS IT'S JUST MASS PRODUCTION IN JAPAN THAT MAKES IT LOOK WORSE. Sigh.

I saw "moodles" (that is moron for maltese x poodle) in the Chadstone Pets Paradise last year for $2,600 And yet people still buy from them thinking that because breeders don't generally advertise their prices, then they MUST be more expensive. They don't seem to understand that breeders don't really advertise the prices because most don't care for the money and buyers, as a general rule, shouldn't either. I didn't ask about the price of my dog and didn't know it until the day I picked him up. I had a rough idea of what it would be and I saved double that just in case, knowing there had been some unexpected costs with the litter. And even then, the total was less than I had anticipated. How does one go about educating the public about the benefits of buying from a breeder and the expenses vs. a pet shop puppy? Are there any statistics on ailments and profit margins between the two that could be quoted? I walk my pup around campus and happily talk about the benefits of purebreeding, in spite of the posters that have been papered about lately with the whole "ADOPT, DON'T SHOP" mantra that lump all dog breeders in the greedy, animal abusing basket.