Staranais

Their CEO owns a pit bull. Doesn't answer your question directly, as I don't know - but he is pibble friendly. Doesn't answer the question, but still gives me the warm fluffies. ;)

So, the nice people at AVBIG have replied - very kind of them considering I emailed them just before xmas, I was half thinking they'd be away for the holidays. ;) The direct quote from the president of AVBIG is: "Thanks for your post about the term dog behaviourist. Anyone who is not a vet can call themselves whatever they like - expert, specialist, behaviourist etc. It is only vets who are bound by rules set by the various State boards... To my knowledge, membership of AVA or not has no bearing on appropriate terminology in any jurisdiction." So, as far as the AVA are concerned, you're free to call yourself a behaviourist if your work involves modifying canine behaviour, you don't need to be an AVA member to use the term. Hard to argue with the president of AVBIG, I think, so that is pretty much the final word on the topic so far as I'm concerned.

Good lord, that's amazing! ;)

Gee when did its no-kill policy come into force??? It certainly wasn't a no-kill shelter when I was last there. ETA - it gets a lot of government funding as it provides an overflow impounding facility to the government as well. And despite that arrangement, it was sending lots of dogs to the pound anyway, claiming it had no room at its shelter so had to send the dogs elsewhere. Genuinely no-kill, as in, doesn't kill (healthy & friendly) pitbulls either?

Whatever she is, she is very, very cute with her cheeky grin & crazy long spider legs! For what it's worth, I can't see any bull breed in there, or at least not much at all. I definitely can't see any Malinois there, as someone suggested - the long nose & black muzzle gives sort of a superficial resemblance, but everything else about her is wrong. Lots of breeds have have long black faces. ;)

Good lord, I can't imagine the faces my malinois would pull at me if I tried to make her pull anything. She is a little princess! ;)

http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/ Yup, it's awesome, please read it. In answer to your question a) Yes, I expect she could report your dog for rushing at her dog, and you could get in trouble with the council. b) I don't know if it's aggressive, but it is rude - bad canine manners. When we're at the local (multi-use bike/jogger/dog) dog park & we encounter another dog/bike/jogger, I call my dog back to heel & move off the path so the other dog can pass. Most other people around here do the same - it's only polite. I suggest you do this as well when you encounter another dog. Then you can release your dog to go see the other dog if the other handler says it's OK. I can see why the owner of a small dog feels very worried when they are charged by an unknown larger dog. I don't particularly like my big dog being charged by other big dogs. The owner of the poodles sounds like she wasn't very polite to you, so I can understand why the encounter upset you, but I think what she was actually saying was fair enough.

It's a rude way of saying it, but I think it's pretty clear what they mean.

Can you still get it in Aussie? We used to be able to get in it NZ but now can't. Not sure why - it's not illegal, just something to do with the supplier. Also, pretty sure it's not actually officially licensed for use in bitches (correct me someone if I'm wrong) although people do use it that way. Not licensed just means that if anything goes wrong, the company won't want to know you.

Hooray! Good girl! Probably better for her health than using a ramp, too.

If it's the one I know of it, it dramatically increases the chance they'll have a pyometra. I wouldn't give it to my dog.

Yes Aussielover, that's what I suspect too. The terms "Veterinary behaviourist" or "Veterinary specialist in behaviour" are terms that are legally protected and restricted to AVA members with appropriate qualifications. Whereas the terms "behaviourist" or "dog behaviourist" are not legally restricted to AVA members or associate members. But if 4Paws can quote a law saying that only people with AVA registration can or should be called a "behaviourist", then I guess I'll admit I'm wrong and be convinced otherwise.

By law Staranais. Which law? Please quote it, or post a link to it.

I've not had one break, but test it by putting a ring in it and twisting it against the latch at a bunch of angles. Will do. If it comes out, I've got a few old retired screw-gate carabiners I can use. She'll be tied up proper! Eek, break with a toy dog, Mother Moocher? No wonder it didn't hold my 28kg Ms Crazy.

I'll use one of my retired climbing ones. If it's strong enough to lower me down a rock face it should (should?) hold a malinois. :D

OK, I'm confused, and want an answer to whether 4Paws is correct, so have emailed the Australian Veterinary Behaviour Interest Group. Hopefully they'll reply. "Hi there, This is a question for the AVBIG, please. I would like to ask about the legalities of the term "dog behaviourist" in Australia. If someone who is not a AVA member calls themselves a "dog behaviourist", are they misrepresenting themselves, and can they be penalised for it? Or does the term "dog behaviourist" not imply AVA membership? Thanks!"

Will invest in a carabiner then, thanks guys. I guess she's just stronger than I thought she was! :D

I've had a look at the AVBIG website, it says nothing about their members being the only ones allowed to call themselves behaviourists. Neither does the website of the Animal Behaviour chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Sciences. :D

The metal itself didn't fracture, but she'd managed to simply pull the stalk of the clip right out of the swivel by pulling on it & bending the metal of the swivel, so that the clip fell out of the swivel. I had no idea that was possible! Looked like a very strong clip, & not in the least bendy. Are the brass better, Erny? I get that they'd fracture less, that makes sense, but do you think she could pull the clip apart? Otherwise I guess I'll need to invest in some rockclimbing gear to attach her to stuff. :D

No, I'm saying that the law would be asking for your qualifications and if you have no degree +/- post grad studies in animal behaviour you could be in lots of hot water dealing with a behaviour problem that they would consider to be out of your area of knowledge. This is from Veterinary Behaviourists practicing in Australia. OK, I get that no one should practice outside their area of expertise, although I'm not personally sure if an academic degree is the best or only measure of expertise. But my question is more whether the Vet Behaviourists agree with 4paws that only Veterinary Behaviourists should use the term "behaviourist" to describe what they do? And that anyone who isn't an AVA member who calls themselves a "behaviourist" is misrepresenting themselves? I could find nothing about that on the AVA website.

Yes, I think we'll be away laughing when I can figure out what my damn dog is doing! :D She's a very fast tracker - so she overshoots things terribly, and I don't sometimes realise that she's overshot until we get 10 or 20m past the corner. That's partly her speed, but also partly me learning to read her better - I've had experienced people say "duh! Obviously she was off track then! We could all see it! Clear as day!" when it took me another 10m to figure out she's telling me that she's off. My excuse is that it's much easier to read her from the side than from the butt end. At least she's keen!

So, you're saying that anyone who calls themselves a "behaviourist" is implying that they're a Veterinary Behaviourist (i.e. a registered veterinarian with a further registered speciality in animal behaviour)? So all those people in the thread who said they were behaviourists, were implying they were actually veterinarians? I'd very much like to see the AVA's policy statement on that, since I've never heard anything similar from anyone else before (not in the dog training or Veterinary communities).

I have a couple of home made long leashes for my girl - made with heavy duty 3" long steel clips from the hardware store. This type of clip: Steel dog clip Was out doing some SAR stuff with her the other day. I tied her up to a tree with the other dogs, and left her sitting there so I could go lay some trails for her. I was very surprised to have her turn up proudly at my side a few minutes later. I thought she must have eaten through the rope, but it turns out she'd simply broken the steel snap. I was amazed she could do that to such a robust looking piece of equipment! :D Has anyone else had this experience, or was my steel clip just a crappy one?!

Responsible decision, if you don't have the time. :D No flames from me - I have great respect for people who breed good working dogs, registered or not.

Wow, good luck Leema! Wish my dog did it because it was fun - she's definitely all about the toy at the end. :D She's a bit of a natural though, I think, I'm the only one in our team with issues. It's so hard to read her sometimes, & to know what she's doing!