Brookestar

Guide Dogs WA has said he had two dogs with him, the NEVER transport dogs in the backseats of cars, and yes it was a senior instructor, they have verified that much. From my cousin ALL Guide Dog Trainers use purpose built vehciles, and we do know he had two dogs. General staff members would NEVER take dogs out of the centre just for the sake of it. Vets are bought to the centres if necessary and if being transported to a vet hospital, they would be taken out by kennel staff, who have the same level of responsiblities. In that case one staff member would normally be with the dog, while another one was driving. Volunteers who take dogs are only puppy raiers and puppy raisers are simply foster parents, who train dogs in nothing more than pet dog basic obedience. They are essentail for the organisations but ANYONE can be a puppy raiser, they do not require any previous experience with dogs. ALL Guide Dog programs have EXTENSIVE processes in place to ensure the welfare of dogs being transported in vechiles. Puppy raisers are not allowed to demand access and if refused they cannot just leave the dog outside or in the car, while they go in the place. They MUST take the puppy home before they enter the place again, if they need to be there. ALL of these programs are ACCREDITED by the International Guide Dog Federation. They have extensive requirements that must be met, not just in terms of training the dogs but also in the care and welfare of the dogs. That includes transporting dogs in vechiles. They are also required to meet state government regulations on a number of different things. They are responsible to a number of different organisations. While the federal disability discrimination Act gives access rights to Dogs assisting people with disabilities, state government legislation in ALL states gives it ONLY to dogs from certain programs that are approved and regulated by the state, they also give it to FULLY QUALIFIED TRAINERS from the same said programs. Governments have not simply said, someone said they could train a dog to help a blind person so they can do anything. They have access rights on the basis of PROVING that these dogs are suitable for being in such places and PROVING that the training and kennelling and the like of dogs is up to standard. There are times when they can be given a partial exemption from PARTS of standards for keeping dogs, but only if they can PROVE that they have something, equivilent or better for the dogs. The kennels and other things can be inspected by the RSPCA at any time, just like any animal organisation can be. ALL of the programs are re-accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation every five years, complaints can be taken at any time and it can be revoked at any time. That is on the basis of not just extensive paper work to prove that ALL necessary polices and procedures are in place, records for dogs health and welfare are in place, etc, but also site visits for multiple days for international organistaions to ensure they dont' just con a local program to accredit them. They are accredited by different groups every time. It will be interesting to see what the International Guide Dog Federation does. One could only wish that Assistance Dogs International haf half the standards of the International Guide Dog Federation. Not a bad organisation, but not nearly the same high standards, but that is not for this post. The International Guide Dog Federation also accredits the trainers and instructors. They sit international exams of both a theoretical and practical basis, and must have trained and placed a certain number of dogs. The same is not true of Assistance Dog programs who can effectively employ anyone and they have no training or accreditation standards for trainers. The accreditation process of ADI does require them to show that trainers have some training and expereince, but there are on minimum standards. That does not mean all such programs have no standards, but they are very very different and not the same as an accredited and credentialed Guide Dog Instructor, which is internationally recognised.

This was a SENIOR instructor. They already have a MASTERS DEGREE in Orientaiton and Mobility Training. They then do a 3 year apprentaship. They then work for at least 10 years, then they can be promoted to senior instructors. My partner works in child care and regularly transports children from child care centres to preschools (kindergartens). She can't accidently leave chidlren in the car, and have them die. She would be charged with manslaughter if she did. Parents are hardly going to say, it was an accident, we understand. As a professional she is expected to operate at higher standards. The dog was with another dog. He took them both out for training, standard practice. They work one, while one rests in the car. The vans are kept in FULL shade, with airconditioners going in the back, windows also fully open (in case for some bizzare reason the airconditioner breaks down), the dogs have access to water the whole time. The dogs are in cages, as police dogs are. They are secure in the cages are locked, but also cannot be stolen or hurt by someone else. The trainers work around local streets and keep some level of watch on teh cars. Police dogs have the same sort of thing. As soon as the driver steps out of the car, they MUST open up the back doors. They are not under any circumstances to speak to anyone or do anything else, until they have done that. If they are found to have done that, they will be removed from the dog squad. The welfare of the dogs MUST come first. Once the dog is going to be safe in the car, THEN and ONLY THEN, are they allowed to speak to other officers to find out what is happening and what is wanted. There is a BIG BIG difference between a pet dog owner accdiently leaving a dog in the car and a SENIOR GUIDE DOG INSTRUCTOR doing so. I know a puppy raiser that did it and while the pup was not injured they immediately removed the puppy and banned them from ever having one again and ALL other programs were also notified. One mistake and they were out. But ANYONE can be a puppy raiser. And puppy raisers are taking dogs out in there day to day lives, much like pet dog owners. He got out of the car. Opened up the back and let out one dog, and then supposedly forgot the other one. That is what does not make sense. He was looking at the dogs! He had one on lead, did he not notice that two should have been there. This was at the training centre. Even if he supposedly meant to take one in and then go and get the other one, he still has policies he has to follow, and which he has been following for DECADES. If you used a dog transport company and they accidently left your dog in the car and it died, would you seriously just say, well it was an accident so it doesn't matter??!! The program is required by law to report it to the RSPCA immediately. It took them 5 days to do so. They have refused to give full details of what happened, instead just saying he forgot? They are trained not to forgot these things and mistakes like this if they happened that often would result in thousands of these dogs dying. Too many unaswered questions. Perhaps he had a phone call saying someone had died, but then WHY was he even answering the phone while working, which he is not allowed to do. My cousin is a Guide Dog Trainer. This is NOT a pet. They were TRAINING the dog, in a JOB situation, and they have legal responsibilities. It was not like they were coming home and heard the phone ringing, the mobile rang or whatever, they were working and were working WITH the DOG. I cannot accept that you just forget about the dog in this situation. If everyone who worked with dogs in a professional capicity accidently forgot about dogs like this, we would have THOUSANDS dying every year. I'm an accountant by trade. I can't accidently make mistakes on tax returns the way you might. I am legally expected to be at a higher standard. This guy is the most highly trained dog trainer and dog professional. Why should he not be held to higher standards that pet dog owners. And why should he be exempt from the law just because he is a guide dog trainer. Are police allowed to just accidently shoot someone. Are doctors allowed to accidently forgot to give someone CPR. Are nurses allowed to accidently forgot to give patients medications. Professionals have responsibilities while working and he was working at that time. He was also a senior instrutor and hence responsible for training trainee instructors. Senior nurses, have more responsiblities than junior ones, and are expected to make less mistakes. The same is true for any profession. The mistakes it is acceptable for me to make it is not acceptable for my supervisor to make. You would not accept a vet clinic forgotting to give your dog medication and you would not accept a pet transport company forgetting to take your dog out of the car, put the airconditioner on in the back or whatever, yet those people are in most cases less trained then this guy is. Nurses can be distraught at forgetting to give patients medication, doesn't mean we just say, oh don't worry about it, the person is just dead because of it, but hey its just a dead person. Do I make mistakes, yes, but in my job I am expected to double check things to make sure mistakes are not made. The mistakes I might make with my dogs are not ones that are acceptable for some people to make. I might make mistakes of forgetting to give dogs medication, but I'm not going to accept a vet clinic making those mistakes while my dog is being cared for there. This was not a pet dog and he was not just a pet dog owner. He is not allowed to just leave the dog there for five minutes. He is not allowed to just leave the dog there for 5 seconds. His job is to make sure that does not happen, EVER. What you do and what WE MIGHT do as PET DOG owners are not something he is allowed to do. His JOB is to make sure he does not do these things. Leaving a dog in an unventilated care for 5 seconds is a sackable offense for Guide Dog Trainers. Not so for pet dog owners. It might be bad practice for us, but that is all it is, bad practice. For them it is totally unacceptable - even for 5 seconds. In your job you have things that others might make mistakes on, but it is not acceptable for you to do. This is one for him. You cannot compare what you do as a pet dog owner with what he did. The rules are there for a reason, as they are in ALL professions. OHS might be a pain, but the laws are there to protect people from harm. It is not acceptable to just accidently forget to put scaffolding around buildings, to forget to put guards on machines. Workers die and owners are now charged with occupational homicide, as fines are not enough. They have to know that these things are not simply mistakes. This is not just a mistake for this profession. And he was in the position of a professional. For another staff member, for a volunteer maybe, but even then i doubt it. It is not for him in his profession. He was WORKING. They have lunch breaks, they have tea breaks, they get holidays and the like the same as everyone else. He is expected to remain focussed on the job while he is working, the same as we all are. And as one gets more experienced that focus also increases, as do expectations.

Done

There have been centres established for people with pets but they must meet certain criteria (crates/containers)people have to be put first and unfortuneatley some people have come to centres with 8 cats 6 dogs sheep, cow, horse etc etc and happy enough for general livestock to be coralled outside but wanting "pets" to stay indoors with them and with people sleeping in close proximity this is not a desirable situation. so common sense must prevail and where there is anxiety and upheaval etc tension rises and sometimes tiny thing is enough to rock the boat. So given the extreme number of people who have had to be displaced and are in these centres, pets are the least priority, however if containers can be found and owner happy to have animal in same and outside in a covered area with food and water then no problem at all. Hygiene is also needing to be considered and last thing they want is an outbreak of Gastro to go through as medical resources are also stretched to limit. Within the US most shelters do now take animals, but they MUST be crated and they are in seperate rooms as well. They are often evacuated to schools and the like, and many rooms are set up for different animals. People are given numbers or something and numbers are read over load speakers, and at certain times they are allowed in to play with interact with the dog, if the weather is OK they can take dogs outside to toilet, etc. Vet nurses are in the rooms at all times. People will be called over if they have any concerns. They will often pick people up with buses and they carry crates, bird cages and the like to make sure all animals are secure before being allowed on board. I don't expect my dogs to be with me by my side the whole time. I also do not necessarily expect that everyone will have time to get a crate, etc. But I do expect that my dogs would be able to be accommodated at the centre with me. I expect that I should be allowed to visit with them, although I also realise that with many many animals, they may need to set times for different people to be with them, etc. While my dogs are great around other dogs and animals, I don't expect all dogs to be like that. I do not expect one rule for me and one for others. Equally though I don't know that I would know how my dogs would react in such a highly stressful situation and crating them at such times is the most appropriate thing that can be done. The US does have a small number of shelters that do not take pets, for those people that crack a fit and will not be anywhere where animals are!! If necessary for people to be taken to those as others are full, the animals will be taken to a shelter for pets and cared for by the vet nurses the whole time. Although from what I hear from friends who have staffed shelters, that has never been an issue, people have always been able to be accommodated in the same centre with the animals. I guess the issue arises if people are driving and being told to go somewhere and that place does not allow pets that is an isuse. If there is only one evacuation centre, it must take pets, and there are always ways of doing so without forcing people or animals to be with each other. And emergency personel telling people to evacuate and directing them where to go MUST be able to tell them where to go if they have pets. If anything everyone should be directed to a centre that takes pets and then those that don't passed on to one that doesn't if they so desire to be in one.

The exclusions I had were based on a mild case of conjunctivitis my dog had before I took out the policy. They listed a whole heap of exclusions and still do, including ears, eyes, etc. When i queired it, they said that there have been cases of untreated conjuctivitis spreading to many other things??!!! I will be covered for anything relating to those body parts, providing conjunctivis is ruled out. And that has been the case. They have covered things relating to those areas, that were not related to conjuctivitis. They still list it on the policy some 6 years later. Next time I will take out Pet Insurance immediately though to make sure I have no exclusions at all.

There are two parts of KC in the C5, para influenza and Bordatella. Bordatella can be given as either an injection or via nasal drops. The injection takes between 7-14 days to take effect, the nasal drops take on average 72 hours. Vets often give the nasal drops as the first dosage to ensure that they take effect in the shortest possible time. Shelters usually use nasal drops as then the dogs are covered ASAP. Obviously easier to just give it as one injection, and when doing standard vacc's, then it can safely be done that way. One of them is bacterial the other is viral. There are types of kennel cough that cannot be vaccinated against. It is a bit like giving a human the flu vaccine, it will do nothing at all to stop colds, only certian types of flu viruses. There is no real way of knowing whether the dog has a bacterial or virual form. Even the bacterial is very likely to clear on its own. Hence the reason most vets no longer routinely give AB. As others have said Cough Medicine is going to suppress the cough, which is the last thing you need. They need to cough the stuff up to get it out of the system. If anything Cough Medicine can make it last longer, as it rests in the lungs, cannot get out and causes infections.

It would depend on how severe the situation is. It depends on how much function they still have left. They are not simply on a standard science diet. Hills has prescription diets that are designed for specific diseases. While I do not trust hills standard foods I do respect the prescription diets they produce. If they did not put so much research into prescription diets they might be able to come up with some better standard foods. but many a dogs life has been saved via the prescription diets. Stating what is known about there standard foods is not stating what is known about the prescription foods. If the dog has a mild or medium severity case then they would be fine doing their own thing, provided they did so carefully. If it is incredibly severe and they are just keeping the dog alive then it would be in my opinion very niave to do anything other than prescription food. It is the severity of the condition that determines what is really needed. If they are also on medication then that would have an affect. The people who have commented here had dogs who recovered from it. A dog with a profound case of it, cannot ever recover from it. It is about keeping them alive in the best way possible. There is a big difference between having a temporary experience of something and having the disease permanently in a life threatening manner. I know someone who had a raw diet designed by a veterniary nutritionist to take into account the dogs pancreatitis. But it was a profound form of the condition. They almost died. Moved back ont the prescription diet they are still alive 2 years later and thriving.

Pet plan is the only insuracne company that will pay the vet directly. The vet has to agree with it and be registered for it, not all are, but it was on the things that got me using them. They have a $100 exces per condition. Sure in the first year I had some small vet bills of about $100 and could not claim, with others I would have gotten $80 back. But I have recently had major issues and had a $5,000 claim. I paid $100. With other companies I would have had to pay $1,000 out of pocket, the 20% and I would have had to have paid the rest up front before they would refund it. It is easy for me to find $100 here and there, not easy to find anything else. Petplan is also the only company I know who will pay for complimtary therapies. They have recently paid for chirco, physio and hydrotherapy for my dog. They only do so with fully trained and accredited practitioners, but they will cover them, other companies will not. Petplan will cover vaccine preventable diseases provided the dog is up to date on vaccinations as recommended by your vet. I know of dogs who have gotten parvo despite being fully vaccinated. The full cost of care, less $100 was paid for. No other pet insurance would do it. Petplan lowers the amount they will pay back when the dog gets to the age of 10. The excess is increased, and they only cover 65% of costs. They do lower costs, by $1 per month to help compensate for this. Others rack up the prices by huge amounts. ALL pet insurance companies will require a FULL veterniary history before paying out the first claim This is written in all policy documents and the like. They need to know the dogs history to assess the claim the first time. Petplan does not exclude conditions, but the excess is charged every year. Ie, if the dog is diagnosed with arthritis at age 7 you will have to pay the first $100 of treatment costs per year. Others you would more than likely have the condition excluded the following year and not be able to claim again. petplan can at times take a while to pay, but I'm willing to wait given all the benefits I have gained with them. I spent months assessing the different policies and there is nothing that would make me consider anything else. The only thing others have going for them is being paid small amounts for really small claims and having a prompt payment, but they are in my opinion very overridden by all the benefits.

This is a link to the Australian Veterniary Chiropractor Association: http://www.avca.com.au/ All of there members will be listed. The best way to find one. Doesn't say if you will like them, but the best place to start in my opinion. It should allow you to find contact details also. This is a link to the Australian Holistic Vets Association: http://www.ahv.com.au/chiropractic.php The Australian Veterniary Accupuncture Group: http://www.acuvet.com.au/ Animal Physiotherapists are first trained as a normal physio and then go on to do a masters in animal physio. They can be found by doing a serch on the Australin Physiotherapy Association website: http://physiotherapy.asn.au/

Then she's not really "crate trained", is she? One would assume a crate trained dog is at least comfortable in a crate. I would bet not even 20% of the dog population is crate trained. Way to make a stressful vet visit even more stressful. The only time we've ever had problems in our vet waiting room was when someone with an aggressive dog sat by the door and we had to walk our dogs right under its nose to get them inside. We have a large waiting room and people don't sit on top of each other unless it's full. Even then, folks often stand in a corner to stay away from other people. I have never seen an unrestrained animal there in my memory. It's a very busy practice. Often if people's dog is acting up and disturbing other people or animals they will take them outside all on their own. Imagine that. There are members of the general public with common sense pertaining to animals. I tend to believe that with enough time and patience all dogs can be crate trained. But they are all different and some take to it very easily and others do not. I do not see the need to crate all dogs at the vet. The thought of having to crate a great dane is beyond me, in terms of moving it, etc. My experience is that most people at vets are usually quite good, and if not the vet nurses on reception soon take care of it. They ask them to take people outside, they move them into empty consulatation rooms, etc. They do have a sign on the door requesting that people with dogs who are coughing or showing other signs of catigious diseases be left in the car until they are ready to be seen, to help to keep them out of the waiting room. They also request that people put the dog back into the car before paying, if there is anything wrong with them or they are acting up. I have seen many people take out dogs who were acting up of there own accord. I have once seen an unrestrained dog, well it was on a flexi lead, so it was unrestrained, as they could not control it. The nurses on reception were onto them in a flash - putting someone else asside that they were serving to deal with it. I have been at vet clinics where that was not the case, but I simply will not go there. I choose vets very carefully, I want to know that we can work together as a team, and that my dog will be happy to be there.

The two tests are testing different things and it would also very much depend on the person doing the testing. And of course after working for 7 years things are very very different than they were when you were just starting out. To me personally the QLD one is much more broad, assesses the dog in more different and appropriate situations. But of course it depends on who is doing the testing. That is the major flaw with any of these tests. There is very very little consistency and the QLD test does not give any real guidance on what is required. I have seen numerous dogs tested with very differing trainers and the differences are profound. The ADI test barely tests for anything, and that is the problem. It might have more guidance on what is required in the settings provided, but it does not require the use of lifts, esculators, buses, trains, etc. Yet these are things that these dogs are exposed to everyday. It was very easy to simply take a dog to a small grocery store and pass the ADI test. That really should not be possible with the QLD test, but of course it will depend on how thorough the tester is. If you are going to give a dog a legal right to be in places that are more likely to be stressful then you really do need to be testing them. But of course that depends on the tester knowing what they should be looking for and haveing some idea of what the dog should be doing, how the dog should be behaving, etc. But knowing the dog can cope in those environments is much more important, than it walking in a straight line. It is the dogs ability to cope with the stress placed on it in public places which is what is important. The other big big difference is that if you read the ADI test, a large number of items are not compulsory. A dog is not required to be able to load or unload from a vehicle and they are not tested on the ability to travel in a car problerly, yet people then want to force taxi drivers to carry the dog. Should anyone be forced to carry a dog that has not had any form of testing to even show it can travel in a car. The non compulsory parts of the ADI test are huge, and is its major flaw, along with not testing the dog in any various situations.

If you work as a support worker you are entering peoples private homes. Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs only have PUBLIC access, not private access, You can not demand or even expect access to anyones personal home. You do not spend years and thousands of hours training to dog to just use sometimes. A dog who is trained to the level of an Assistance Dog relies on working to keep them going. They rely on the stimulation they obtain from working and being in public places. It is not something that they just turn and turn off. Sure they have plenty of time off to be dogs, but they are very highly motivated dogs who thrive on the work they do. The Dog and Cat Management Board of SA will assess Disability Dogs, providing appropriate evidence is provided. You need to provide evidence from both a GP and a suitable medical specialist, in your case a psychiatrist detailing how the dog is necessary for you to carry out activities of daily living. The dog will also need to pass a temperament and public access test, which generally goes for about 4 hours in length. It is much tougher than other public access tests, but in QLD the certifying trainer is legally responsible for the dog. If the dog does something wrong EVER the trainer or program will loose the right to accredit and place dogs under the legislation. SA does not do that, and allows anyone to have dogs certified, not relying on them being with certain programs, and since the dogs are so unknown, they test them that much more. This is an information sheet about the situation in SA: http://www.gooddogsa.com/files/InfoSheet[special_Circumstances_Dogs]_2.pdf A copy of the public access test for SA used to be online, but I cannot find it at present. That is where the 4 hours comes from. You are charged for that test, but the cost of the first 4 hours will be refunded if the dog passes. If you fail the test, then you will not get any money back. If they want more than 4 hours to assess the dog as they are not totally convinced, then you will not be reinbursed for the extra hours. They will provide you with a copy of the public access test before the test. But much of it is not something you can prepare for.

The Disability Discrimination Act requires dogs to be trained to cover a number of different areas. Firstly they must alleviate the effects of the disability. Being there for you, making you feel better even if you have anxiety is not going to count. ALL dogs do that ALL the time. Put simply the dog MUST perform tasks that are essential for your disability, ie they guide a person who is blind, alert a person who is deaf to sounds, pick up items for the physically disabled, etc. They must also be trained to meet health, hygiene and behaviour requirements necessary for an animal to operate in a public place. Ie the training the community has come to expect of guide dogs. ANY public place can legally ask for proof of that training at any time. If you cannot provide that proof they can legally ask you to leave. The dog must be under effective control at all times and they can be removed if they are not. ALL dogs will break training. You MUST be able to maintain the dogs training and behaviour, health, hygiene, etc, etc. There are hygiene risks to having dogs in public places and you need to consider those things. South Australia has processes in place to accredit dogs, and Queensland is also accrediting programs and trainers. Queensland will accredit programs and trainers in ANY state. There are programs in other states who do not place dogs in Queensland who are accredited under QLD laws. WHY. Because the Disability Discimination Act says that any dogs accredited by a state and territory government are automatically covered under the act. They will issue state ID cards to people who do not live in QLD. Other states are watching what is happening and will follow suit. There is a push for the fed's to take over, but as animals are a state issue by the constitution, that becomes much more complicated. States are also responsible for health and disability services under the constitution and so to argue they are disablity or health supports then the states are responsible. Contrary to popular belief, ALL dogs are allowed in most places. The ONLY places where dogs are LEGISLATIVELY prohibited from being is in places that sell fresh and prepared food. Difference is you cannot legally demand access to public places with a pet, but that does not mean you cannot ask if you can bring the dog in. ALL Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs will experience access refusals on a regular basis. Even fully trained Guide Dogs from the top guide dog programs, who have ID cards issued by the Attorney General still experience regular access disputes. You have to consider how you will handle that. Have to consider all the work involved. Not as simple as just taking the dog everywhere with you. You need to ensure the dog is clean, dry, has toileted, healthy, etc, before you go anywhere at all. A trip to buy a litre of milk can take half an hour of preperation. What will you do when the dog is sick or injured and all dogs will be at some stage? You cannot work a sick or injured dog. If you can go a day without someone coming up and telling you about their dead dog you will be going well. If you can go a day without haveing someone swear at you for having the dog in a public place you are going well. You are guaranteed to have at least once a week, a young child, declare at the top of there voice (screaming), that the person over there has a dog and dogs are not allowed in public places. Everyone will stare at you. Members of the public will take photo's on mobiles with you. Parents will tell the child to go and pat that nice doggy. EVERYONE will believe it is there legal right to know everything about your health and disability. Laws only require and only ever will require REASONABLE accommodations. Employers will ALWAYS argue, sorry someone we have come in MIGHT be allergic to dogs. Students in TAFE and Uni classes will be totally fearful of dogs. The dog will have to be able to sit through exams, job interviews, etc, all without asking to go to the toilet. Thousands of people have a command to ask the dog to pee before they go to bed. Can you train a dog to toilet exclusively on command, to never ever ask to go to the toilet, even if they are desperate to poo. This is one of the reasons why only some programs are approved for long haul flights, they do not trust the dogs toilet training. Pet therapy dogs are required to pass a multitude of health tests every 3 months to be allowed in hospitals. While not required of Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs as they do not interact with other people, one does have a moral and ethical obligation to do the right thing. Most Guide Dog programs do do such tests on a semi annual basis for good reasons. Dogs can pass diseases onto people. There is no law that prohibits anyone from putting a sign on their door saying Assistance Dog Trainer. Some of the programs mentioned on this site have done just that. There are many very gullable people who will believe anything they are told. If you do not know how to assess a quality program, then be very very very careful. If the program is not accredited by the QLD government ask why?? The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has to approve any dog to be in the aircraft cabbin. They have given approval to a number or programs, which are those that Virgin that will agree to fly. Qantas will agree to fly just about any dog at all, as long as you provide some proof of training, but that proof must be provided each and every time. If your flight gets cancelled it will take another 14 days to get approval to get the dog on another flight. That will not happen if the dog is from an approved program. Much easier to ensure the dog is from an approved program to begin with. Guide dog programs began there own breeding programs in the late 1960's. About 50% of dogs make the grade. Many others are very close but not quite there. Given that they have put so much money and time into these dogs they decided to offer them to other people with disailities, and they called them companion dogs. They usually issue about half of them to children who are blind or vision impaired, and the others to people with disabilities. They have no more rights than a pet, although they would all very easily pass any therapy dog test or the like. These are advanced failures - they have passed the health and temperament tests, or done all but a very minor aspect of it. Most enter advanced training and are removed from it. Those that do not get that far are offered back to puppy raisers or sold to the general public as pets. Assistance Dogs Australia offers companion dogs to children, and many of them are task trained to help at home. They do not have public access rights. Just because someone has approved the dog to begin with does not and never will guarantee that the dog will make the grade. Guide dog programs despite all the best efforts only have 50% make the grade. Even if they temperament test at placement with puppy raisers, even if they are given to Guide Dog Trainers to raise, they still only have a 50% chance of making the grade. The best breeding does not guarantee that the dogs will pass the necessary health checks. If you are going with a program, what health checks are being done on the dog and why?? If they are not doing FULL checks of hips, elbows, eyes, thryoid, kidney tests, etc, WHY? Even the hearing dog program, which uses largely small breeds, still does full hip and elbow x-rays on all dogs. The stress of having to get on and off public transport, walking so long, on hard surfaces, means one needs to ensure that the dogs really are in top shape. ALL dogs can have hip and elbow issues, not just large breed dogs, although they are more common. Guide Dog programs only breed from dogs that have a 0 score for everything. If they are not perfect in every way they do not breed them. They very carefully monitor food and exercise as puppies, they still have dogs who are removed due to displasia. no one can guarantee a dogs ability to cope with anything. These dogs are regularly faced with children jumping on them, shoving pencils up noses, having toxic food shoved into there mouths, dogs lunging at growling at them, trollies and prams running into them, people hitting and kicking them, tails pulled, fire crackers set off 50cm in front of there faces etc. Can the dog cope with that. Can you cope with that. The dog cannot growl, just because someone really did hurt it. It can't growl or lunge back at an out of control dog. These things are not tested for in public access tests, but any half decent program does do very stringent temperament tests, ie, those done by Guide Dog Schools, but you MUST be prepared for them. Even then dogs are removed because they later find they cannot cope with them, even though they did pass a stringent temperament test. There are programs that will certify dogs sight unseen. others that claim you can get a dog from a shelter and have it trained in a matter of months. It is easy to train a dog to pass a test, it is very hard to train a dog to be proofed to the level required, and that needs to happen, they have to be able to do these things when hot, tired, profoundly stressed or the like. I know of hundreds of people who have carfully planned the time of day and place of the test, and prepared the dog for just that. Passed, but could not cope for one second anywhere else. It was trained to pass a test, not to really work in public. Reminds me of my drivers licence. The driving school I was with drove only on test routes, I never ever drove on anything else. They had leggo pieces stuck to the windows for me to line up when parallel parking between the poles. I could not drive into a parking space or do anything else, but I did pass the test. You have to ask if you are willing to put your dog or one who acquire through such things. Very easy to get an ID card, living with the dog on a daily basis is a totally different thing. If is not as simple as taking a dog in pulbic. With rights also come responsiblities. There are places that these dogs can legally be excluded from. Zoo's are all covered by the quarantine act. ALL food preperation and food serving areas are excluded. You can sit in a resturant, if you work in a nursing home or the like the dog cannot enter the kitchen under any circumstances - if it is found to have occured the nursing home will be closed. They are legally banned from operating theratures and can be excluded from many other areas of hospitals, on a case by case basis. It is not an automatic right to enter most parts of a hospital. I've been a puppy raiser for a number of programs and have close friends with Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs. I am disabled now and will not use a dog. I could not cope with the pressures placed on them or me. Having sid that the dogs, from the top of the top programs take it in there stride and would not consider anything else. I have been known to need to walk away from what is being done to them, simply not coping with the crap being heaped on.

I think people have the impression that parvo is something only dogs can carry or the ground. WRONG. Parvo is often spread by people who walk where a dog with parvo has been. Unless you are going to stay home and not let anyone else in or out - which is impossible since the pup needs to see a vet, and even if you had a mobile one, that person is coming in, it would be impossible to avoid all contact. Your shoes and anything else you touch can pick up traces of parvo and carry it home. Taking a dog to a dog park or beach or encouraging and supporting it to sniff lamp posts and the like is stupid. Allowing the dog to interact with every dog you see is also not wise. But you have to take risks and the fact is there is more chance of you tramping parvo into the house, than the dog picking it up, since you are out and about much more than the dog will be. A dog does not need to be dragged everywhere for socialisation. It is about giving enough experiences for the dog to understand that the world is not just what they see at home. You also need to plan what your pup does see at home. Get friends to come over dressed up, wearing hats, with unbrellas, using a walking stick or the like. Carry them places, take them in a crate that they can see out of, open the car door so they can see things when the car is parked, bu't don't take them out. Fully vaccinated dogs can and do get parvo. Carefully planned and carried out socialisation and habituation is what the dog needs.

That is something I can totally agree with. Who allows a dog to interact with every single dog they see, let alone every dog at a vet clinic. Most dogs are at vet clinics because they are sick, not for routine health checks, but even then who knows if they do or do not have something wrong with them. The last time I was at the vet my dog was recovering from a back injury. The other dog while there for routine stuff, was out of control and not doing anything to help my dogs injury. My dog has plenty of time to interact with other dogs, ones that I know and whose owners I trust. I would never simply allow my dogs to interact with every single dog they see. I do not need to speak to every human, and kids do not need to speak to every other kid. I do believe that my dogs need time with other dogs, but a vet clinic is not one of those times, and I also want to know who the dogs are, even when not at the vet clinic.

I'm about ready to start walking with a knife or something to cut them with. The amount of dogs on flexi's that have ran around my legs, trying to get to my dog, who is simply walking past ignoring them is beyond me. I should add that most of this happens on main roads and the like, when the people have no ability to control the dog, and cannot control the tiny dog on a standard leash with all the pulling, so uses a flexi, so the dog is on leash, but can range as far as they want. I have seen them cross over whole roads, with the owner on one side, the dog haveing run across, to chase a cat or something. Retractable leads are not designed for everyday use. They were designed to help people teach dogs a recall in a safe offlead area, so they could recall them in if needed. Problem is no one knows how to use them, most people have no concept of how to teach a recall, etc. I have personally never seen anyone lock them when around dogs, people, etc. That does not mean it never happens, just that I have never seen it, and nor have most people I know. Even if locked, they are not going to give nearly as good control as a standard leash would give. I have also known of cases where the lock broke and so they had no control at all. Way too dangerous for my liking with any size of dog.

I have bought both the crystle ones and the ones you fill with water (which I spent over $300 on) and my lab was not interested at all. Nothing at all, not even food was going to get her to lay down on the crystle one. The one filled with water, she would eat on, and lay on if requested and I fed her on it every day for months, but she never once went on it of her own accord in 3 years. We did not have airconditioning and lived through some incredibly hot and horrible nights. I think I had them more for me than her. She does cope incredibly well with heat and I have always been incredibly heat sensitive. I do however have a crystle filled cooling collar, which she happily wears and seeks out.

I'm amazed that the council actually did something about it. I have been walking with my friend and her guide dog and videoed the same dog from the same property, charging at her Guide Dog, 5 times in 12 months. Once the council has called the owners of the dog and asked them to keep it under control!!! The response was to tell my friend that she should simply not walk down the street. Would be nice if it was that simple, it is on the way to the bus stop, the local shops and the like. She cannot get to ANY other bus stop or the like without going past this house. She always walks on the other side of the road, but it does nothing. She is looking for a new place to live, not many other options left to her. Fines are about the only thing that will teach most people, but if councils wont issue them, very little that can be done. Well done for reporting it, and I do agree with the council, the more you report, the more they can know what is going on. THey cannot fix the problem if they don't know. People can and do make mistakes, but once your dog does something once, like rushing out, when you think they wont, any half decent owner would not allow it to happen again. The fact that they have no control over the dog, that it ignores them, etc is also a sign of it. Once off is one thing, repeating the same behaviour is not an accident. It is something they are clearly not learning from.

I travel to Queensland regularly and always apply advantix before we go. Never had a problem. Advantix is more effective than frontline, but nothing is 100% effective. The most important thing is to check the dogs at least once, preferrably twice a day, and that means every tiny part of the dog. Remove the tick, but still take them to a vet ASAP. Removal alone is not always enough, it depends on how much toxin has gotten into the dog. Advantix is water resistant, but I still do not allow my dog to get wet while it is still wet. It can be used on any dog from 7 weeks of age. Just might be expensive to do, as you would need a different weight packet. Advantix does cover other flying insects, sand flys and stuff as well. I second the idea of calling local vets. If tick infestations are really bad, some are now recommending both spot on's and tick collars. They are the ones who will know best, they deal with them day in, day out.

If you want to stop them putting paws inside bowls, the Water Hole Bowl, will do it. It has a lid, with a whole in the middle that they can get there head into to drink, but the rim is too wide to move a paw into it, so they can drink, but not play in it. I got mine from Callicoma Kelpies, and it worked a treat for my labrador. http://www.callicoma.com.au/bedsbowls1.htm#Water hole bowl Enjoy labrador heaven!!

The RSPCA does not charge homeless people for keeping pets in there shelters. Some RSPCA sites do have kennels that people can use when they go on holidays or the like and people are charged for that. They would however require that some sort of homeless service be involved, as some sort of proof. They are not simply going to house anyone's pets for free just because they say they are having a rough time, unfortunately way too many people would then abuse such a thing, each time they wanted to go on holiday - sad that such people exist, but they do. Lort Smith and many other vet clinics do provide payment plans, concessions and the like. BUT they do so no medical need, not for preventative treatments, such as vaccinations, flea treatments, worming, heartworm prevention, etc. There is also the National Desexing Network that provides low cost desexing throughout Australia. Many councils also provide low cost desexing. http://www.ndn.org.au/ Lort Smith does have very very low cost services and you would struggle to find vaccinations and the like cheaper anywhere else, especially for those that are on centrelink benefits, where they offer significant discounts. But the payment plans they offer are only for essentail medical treatments, not for routine or preventative treatments, like vaccinations, desexing, etc. Well that was the case only a few years ago and I doubt it has changed. Lort Smith will never turn away any animal requiring emergency treatment on the basis of ability to pay or enter into a payment plan.

No vaccine will ever be 100%. And like you said it is bloody bad luck. I do take my dogs out before they are fully vaccinated, BUT I NEVER allow them near other dogs I do not know very well and which I do not know for sure are not fully vaccinated, and nor do I allow them where other dogs congregate, like parks, shows or the like. Socialisation does not mean dragging a dog everywhere you can. It does mean creating very carefully planned incremental experiences, of short duration. A dog does not need to be a dog show for socialisation, and nor do they need to be at dog parks for it. I do believe in socialisation, but it does have to be very carefully managed. It also has to take into account what you want from the dog in the future. Most things can also be done after the second vaccination at about 12 weeks, which increases the level of coverage that the dog has.

Most pounds/shelters do now vaccinate dogs when they come into the shelter. They are also wormed, bathed, flea treated, etc. Vaccines take a minimum of 7-10 days to take effect, and they need at least 2 vaccines for them to be effective anyway, usually about 4 weeks apart. The ONLY thing that can kill parvo is bleach and most shelters/pounds do use bleach to clean on a regular basis and legislation usually requires them to be bleached at least every 7 days and when any animal is moved out of the pen. It takes a week or more of intensive care, on drips and the like to have ANY chance of keeping a dog or puppy with parvo alive. There is no treatment for parvo, it is simply about keeping the dog alive, but when they cannot keep any food or water down then it has to be on drips, until the body is able to fight the infection itself. With a dog in bad condition, due to worm infestations, fleas, poor nutrition, etc, it becomes even more difficult. It costs thousands of dollars. And even with that, there is only a 50% chance of survival. Most of those that do survive will not live long lives and will be quite weak throughout life. Pounds and shelters do not have this type of money and yes, unfortunately most such dogs are going to be euthanised. It is the best chance they have of getting rid of the disease, and ensuring that other dogs are not infected as well. In many cases it is also the kindest thing to do, due to the amount of suffering the dog is in. Parvo can transfer on anything at all. Walk on a footpath wherea dog with parvo has been in the last year and you will pick it up on your shoes and take it into your home. It is spread so easily and so rapidly. It stays for up to a year and the only thing that can erradicate it is bleach, and not everything can be bleached. Snow can freeze it over and enable it to survive for longer. Most shelters/pounds do give out statistics on numbers of animals that were euthanised due to different reasons, health, temperament, etc.

Please provide the EVIDENCE that small dogs can't bark. ALL dogs, bar one breed (which is an incredibly rare breed) are capable of barking, and well behaved dogs don't bark. Dogs that have been debarked are not capable of yapping, so you can't even defend it on that basis. If your dogs were as well behaved as you claim you would not defend small dogs yappying at every dog they see. They yap as they have been incredibly poorly socialised and trained. And for the record I have owned and lived with both small, median and large size dogs. I have not had giant breeds, and currently have labradors. I am yet to see how a small breed dog NEEDS to bark and yap at a guide dog in harness, but you seem to think it is necessary. I am yet to see where the EVIDENCE is that a fully trained guide dog is a much higher risk to the general public than an out of control small dog?? I have NEVER allowed any of my dogs to bark, yap or do anything else when walking past other dogs on lead. And I don't let them off lead if I am not able to know that I will full and total control of them.

What words you use for praise doesn't really matter. I use "yes" instead of a clicker, as it allows me to mark the behaviour I want, in the second. Good Girl, takes slightly longer and so is not as exact. My dogs associate yes with treats, play time, etc. Hence it is a higher level reward. They know that yes, means that something good will come soon, good girl is just a few words of praise and while they like it and thrive on praise, the yes is the ultimate for them. In terms of the leash, it sounds as if they are not used to it enough. Keep a collar on the pup all the time. Practice walking around the house and yard on leash - don't just use it for toileting, and if she starts to stuff around, give a very small gentle correction by pulling on the leash. The slight tug allows her to know this is not OK. Don't allow her to pull on the lead. If she pulls, do not pull back, just stand and wait for her to stop. Then the second she stops pulling move again. You can also try attaching the leash to her inside and simply allow her to pull it around, without you holding onto it, but don't allow her to chew on it. Carry a favourite toy out with you. During the day play with her after peeing. And ONLY play with her after peeing. Play outside after peeing and then come in and play inside as well. A few minutes outside and some time inside as well. Don't allow her off leash outside, unless she has peed. Peeing outside, equals treats and play time, off leash. No pee equals nothing at all. At night give her a massage or some other touch to settle her down. If you are not already doing it, putting a cover over the crate can help. Just a sheet or something over the top means she is not able to see out of it, and it can often help to calm them down. I do put a nyla bone in crates with puppies at night, to give them something to chew on. Make sure your voice remains calm at all times. If you are stressed or getting angry they pick up on it. They also feel stress down the leash, so the more you pull back on the leash, the more they feel it. Very slight gentle tugs to say not OK, is all that is needed. Silence is golden.