Mairead

I never brushed my medium sized dogs' teeth. I fed beef marrow bone pieces, the fresh piece given straight after a meal and removed when the soft ends were gone, the shafts being the harder section. This cleaned most of the teeth except the canines. These I cleaned (chipped the tartar away) with the side of the spoon end of a stainless steel teaspoon. You can probably buy a specialised tool that may do a more precise job. My dogs didn't have any dental problems until their teens, with the occasional broken or dead tooth needing to be removed.

So are the databases searchable by description and location?

For what it's worth, ABC description was Staffie/ Mastiff. And "trying to locate owner", so not chipped or details not up to date?

When I had baby puppies I accepted having to clean up until they got the idea. It helped having adults who knew "Out" command and puppies followed. When my neighbour had a problem with their puppy toileting on their back deck, I suggested blocking off the deck so that there was a narrow corridor from the house to the grassed yard. Does he have food available at all times? That could be contributing to the many poos if they are normal looking firm poos. [Edit: I found "How Often Does a Puppy Poop?" on WebMD] Don't be concerned about feeding kibble as long as it is a complete good quality one, it is fed at the same times every day in a quiet place where he will not be disturbed while eating, and you don't run out of it or keep changing his diet too often. I used to put some kibble in a smaller container with freezedried liver, so that the kibble smelled like treats. Remember habits are at first cobwebs before they are cables (Spanish saying). If you correct or punish the puppy it may just hide from you when it needs to go, and may become frightened of you approaching or of being touched, handled or restrained. Did you see the setup where the pup was raised? Particularly with smaller breeds and in some kennel situations, they can be raised on paper or concrete and have rarely seen grass. I had the opposite problem with a dog when she was boarded - she wouldn't go in her kennel and kept asking to be let out, but the kennel staff didn't realise that was what it was. It sounds like he is learning he can train you to give food when he demands it. You might look at the principles for a "Nothing in life is free" program for pups, if that is what it is still called. [Edit: Yes, still called that or NILIF dog training] Basically reward the behaviour you want to see, and don't reward the behaviour you don't want to see. Rewards don't have to be food, it could be your attention or your children's attention. Not rewarding is withdrawing your attention. Good luck.

Firstly do you have veterinary proof the dog is deaf? You may have some recourse under consumer protection laws that apply to things like appliances. Do you know what testing was done? For example DNA testing of the parents? If you have a receipt or proof that you have paid the money, you could return the puppy and ask for a refund. If you keep the puppy it will only encourage that dog supplier to breed more dogs without due care. People on this forum with more experience in consumer law and deafness may have more advice for you.

Cruelty to animals is a sign of violence and DV. Plus lying and all his other red flags.

The only declared dangerous dog I've seen in my neighbourhood is a Labrador. It attacked a cat on the cat owner's property.

Neutering would be a good first step.

Perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a breed is for it to appear in a movie, or an ad, or be owned by a celebrity, or should that be appear in a game in these times. I think that happened to Maremmas with the movie Oddball. I once found an Anatolian who was a few suburbs away from his home. A Turkish family owned him, perhaps when they were children some relatives had some Anatolians.

How many people had to look the other way for this to keep happening?

If your pup is from a dual sired litter, pups would need to be DNA tested for pedigree/registration. So parents would of course need to be profiled too? What did Dogs Victoria say? They should know if breeder is registered with them.

Re experience, I once read "Do they have twenty years' experience or one years' experience repeated twenty times?".

I've never used pet insurance because it didn't cover regular vet care, and my breed is generally healthy until advanced age, when they wouldn't be covered. Australian consumer magazine Choice didn't recommend any pet insurance schemes. They might have even won a "Shonky Award" one year. You may do better to put an amount of money aside for emergencies. I've learned they charge higher premiums for certain breeds.

I'm not in Victoria but my guess is to contact Dogs Victoria and explain your situation. Do you have a receipt or other record that you have transferred money to the breeder? Are you the registered owner with your local council? Had the microchip details transferred to your name and address?

There is also something called the Inter-Code Agreement (1998) which allocates % TAB money to each code. Last figures I found were Horseracing gets 70%, Harness Racing 17% and Greyhound Racing 13%.