Scottsmum

Hi I did this last year - Sydney to wellington. If you PM me I will share some quotes and experiences

Ha ha - Yes - I think I actually look a lot less graceful when I run. And don't be fooled - we have a girffon (Brussels Griffon) at work - he's a right little horror. Totally adorable but holy moley he can cause a ruckus when he wants to. Naughty little sod - I adore him!

never mind - wrong thread.

Sorry - can't help myself. Saw this on facebook tonight and immediately though of this thread. Looks like they like running well enough. :D PS - Yes I am having a laugh.

Thanks for your response. I appreciate it. :) Thanks Sars, only happens on the rare occasion - I promise :) Tact is not a word often associated with me This is a good point - and to be honest she probably lives a nicer life than a few "pot plant dogs" I personally know (pot plant dogs being ones which do nothing but sit in the yard) however... As soon as it was obvious she had such aggression problems and wasn't rehomable. 100% agree with Rascal. Anyhow - I think its clear how I feel about this. So I'll leave it at that.

:) Nothing more to add other than (and a nod of appreciation towards the importance of a good poo)

Yeh but lots of dogs do. None of ours ever have. We always taught our dogs cats are above holy & are to not even be looked sideways at...

Foxies / Jack Russells/tenterfields will cope with those distances too :) & make amazing pets ;)

Sorry JRT. Not buying it. I have massive respect for your organisation - have followed along on facebook for years - and had been tempted many a time to grab one of your dogs (You had an old girl (Sally?) who was the mirror image of my last dog but we're pretty firmly a one dog home these days - and well, now overseas but I digress) but I am not buying a lot of what you've said above. I have said further up in this thread that the statement put out by SOS sounded reasonably plausible but that does not make it OK. You say : "but the visit was not good" - what on earth does that even mean? "have had trainers and behaviour people out there to help with this girl" - what no one can help her? Whoop-dee-frikin-doo if there are 4 people at the kennels most of the day. I've cleaned kennels, I'm working at a doggy day care and doing a cattery at the moment too. I find it almost impossible to believe that the level of attention this dog in particular would be getting would NOT be equivalent to what she'd be getting in a foster or forever home. Even at a ratio of 1 human to 10 dogs in a commercial setting the level of individual attention is likely to be low. (Sure others have a lot more at home - I wont speak to that - and will assume that like my mothers working dogs they lead well cared for lives. They're worked, fed and loved in their own special way. When they need special individual attention they get it - the difference with my mothers pack of 10+ working kelpies (who live in a communal run on chains) is that many of them are born on the farm and die on the farm many a year later. When they retire - they get moved to the house yard and they get rugged in the winter. They get primary care from 4 people - all family who know the dogs on an individual level - they're not hired help in and out for 3 hours at a time). Unless there is someone assigned to sit with her, play with her and generally be her companion then - so what? Just because I'm physically in the building at the cattery does not mean I am spending quality time with each and every cat. Or does walking past the door to their run on the way to the litter bin count as "quality time"? At the end of the day - we can all argue the rights and wrongs, the merits of no kill, or keeping dogs in kennels. There have been some really well considered and thought our responses across the two threads on this topic. Two which really stood out to me - which naturally I can't find now. One of which spoke about the fact that she's a large breed and now considered old. Her natural lifespan is approaching the shorter end...and at the end of the day this dog has spent the majority of her life in a run - with no special person or family to lavish love and attention on her. To tuck her up and keep her warm at night. To know *just* the right spot to scratch or the special food which sends her into overdrive. No one to notice that she's a bit slower in the mornings or struggling to get out of bed. And that's a tragedy.

Lots of other sports too. Weight pull / drag training http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/263593-weight-pulling-discussion/page__p__6717247__hl__%2Bweight+%2Bpulling__fromsearch__1#entry6717247 (there's a member here who does it with her Rotty too) Scentwork / nose work - which is different to tracking and zero impact - great for ANY DOG! Young growing pups and old, crotchey dogs (like mine) and all in between These guys are in NSW https://www.facebook.com/K9NoseTime/ but there is a presence in Vic too Mushing/urban sledding/ bikejoring https://www.facebook.com/huskyjournals/ obedience (love this video) They're just a few I can think of off the top of my head ....

Wow!

Ah - I had this conversation at home the other day. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. I think so long as you've done your research there's nothing wrong on basing choices (partly) on looks or possibly more specifically type - eg I'd never own certain breeds as they don't appeal to me. I'm unlikely to ever own a long haired dog, I'm too lazy. I'd love a neo mastiff but couldn't live with the drool. Equally, there are some dogs I adore the look of but wouldn't as they'd be too much for me. I'd love another weimaraner in my life (parents had them when I was a kid) but I'd be a terrible weim mum, I love Mals too - I think they're stunning - but too much dog for me.

Awe bless.

I thought a gun dog might be a good fit - but also wondered if there was a looks thing going on there? Maybe a (working) labrador would be a good idea? I could see them fitting a few of the boxes.

Ah yeh - but if he's six now - lets say you take 6 -12 months (min) to find a pup that leaves a 7 year old - well a 7-9 year old medium sized dog to deal with a young, strong puppy. I'll say it again - please don't think I'm saying you've not considered this, or wont, just remember it *may* be a very uneven match. I'm not personally experienced with many of the breeds on the list but there are some better matches for your existing dog on that list than others. You should also think about what kinds of dog sports you might be interested in. It might help you narrow the list down :) (and you can get along to events and see what kinds of dogs are participating in those sports) I also didn't actually mean to say / sound like breeders might be worried if that you "haven't worried about (the) bulldog". Again, you've got a really broad range there and some breeds are easier to handle and even obtain, than others. I think I was trying to say just be prepared for people to potentially knock you back on certain breeds possibly - eg the Tamaskan - *I assume* would have a long waiting list if/when a bitch came into the country and pups would probably go to close friends/acquaintances / homes with experience with that type of dog first - but this is just my opinion - I could be talking complete rubbish :)

Maybe it is a fosil ;) Maybe it's not a cow bone but a deen-o-saw bone Good work making such an epic discovery Ash.

As an excel list/matrix maker I get what you're doing there :) Some comments on it: I have been told that Bernese mountain dogs are incredibly prone to cancer, if you want to pop that in your health col. Have you considered other types of Belgian Shepherds? (More than happy to be corrected on this point - but I am sure I have read somewhere some types are more laid back than Mals) But can I say some things which will probably sound negative? I) How old is the bulldog? You'll need to factor him into your choices (obviously - and I assume you have). II) Don't be shocked if someone wont sell you a pup - some of these dogs are a lot of dog - and people may not be willing to sell you a pup. III) You could get a pup and have some horrible disaster happen at any stage ... It's grim but true. In my opinion - for me I don't think life expectancy is that big a driver - it certainly wouldn't be the thing I'd use to pick between a Mal, GSD or Rotty for example. Good luck on the hunt. Love the table :)

F'ing genius I tells ya!

I'm putting this here because I'm not entirely sure where it should sit - I can see it sitting equally between the Training (for anxiety) and health threads(aged care, whelping, etc). Picked this little tip up off a facebook group I've joined for CCD support and it's so amazingly simple I can't believe I haven't thought of it or seen it before. Basically you set up a second (or two) skype accounts - one for you/your phone and one for the laptop or device you leave at home. Angle the home device so you can see the dog with the webcam (easy with Scottie being crated) and set skype to "auto-answer" (I didn't know that could be done). Then you can call the "dogs skype account" when you're out and about to check in on them. I did it tonight while I was at work - I called in when I had a quiet moment about 90 mins after leaving home - he was trashing his crate - but the ring tone must have interrupted him (I assume - he must have heard it) - or maybe his doggy sixth sense kicked in & he realised Mum was watching (mums see everything) Because he stopped being bad . Then I called back 10 minutes later and he was settled. So simple - I know people who've spent money on pet cubes, I paid for an app which was hopeless and kept kicking me off the connection and chewing up battery on my tablet and my phone. This was so easy to set up and free! I think it would be a really easy way to check in and see how a new puppy was getting on, even see what trouble is happening in the yard when you are home, to check a bitch close to whelp or lots of other applications. I knew he was settled and not screaming the house down so I took my time coming home from work and dropped into the supermarket on the way. Screen shot of the naughty one - yes it kind of looks like he's pooing. He's not - he's digging :) Screenshot_2016-07-08-17-31-58 by Superspanger, on Flickr

Holy cow! That boat! Tee Kay!!!!!!!!! Speechless...

A really interesting perspective I had not considered (the development thing). Makes sense...

I tend to agree Steve. The only part I have trouble believing is that a well known(ish) photographer - who has done rescue work for years takes it upon herself to wander onto a private property? Randomly select? go rouge? and photograph and highlight 5 animals who have been in long term "care". I don't buy that. I do not understand how she could have possibly just happened to have picked, photographed and highlighted these dogs - been there without permission - what ever... Unless it was a calculated move on her behalf - I have no doubt they knew she was profiling those dogs. I really do hope they're not deflecting negative attention onto / using her as a scapegoat in this little saga. I hasten to add I do not know the photographer beyond seeing her logo on rescue pages over the years.

Is option 2 a glass sliding door by any chance? If so - I'd probably go with that. My folks have always had a bolt lock in their glass doors for pets to come and go. You can always "fence off" smaller sections in the large yard for when the pup is out there unattended. The laundry is also an option if its only when you're not home - access to a small contained area + the laundry would be my ideal set up if I could swing it (we used to have this set up - it was great)

So I popped over to the facebook page to have a squiz the other day. Found this: *edited to add paragraph breaks for read-ability

Just saw this on facebook!