Mairead

You are expecting too much from humans, not the most aware of species generally. Best you can hope for at the moment might be to treat it as getting used to different people and dogs, but mention you are training and would appreciate it if they didn't come over next time. The general public in my suburb usually avoided my dogs because a) they had been taught dogs = rabies and/or bites and thought that a dog panting was baring it's teeth or b) they thought they were greyhounds and so were vicious, why else would they have muzzles (greyhounds not my dogs). So I haven't experienced this problem myself, but I'm sure people with far more experience will be along to help.

If the owner was correctly quoted as saying he was scared the horse would kick [and kill] him, then we have another problem of people believing that movies represent reality.

There are amendments to the bill. Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill 2022. Micro breeders up to 5 fertile females, recreational breeders more than 5 and under 10, and "commercial animal breeding businesses". I am ready to ask questions at the polling place. Can you tell me ... I'm concerned about ... Can you put me in touch with someone who does know?

Diva I thought you were going to say you asked your mother would she mind being put down, she was old and it would save all that money for the nursing home! Hope you aren't offended by me saying this!

My understanding from today's phone call to NSW parliament ( and wouldn't you know it the person who deals with tabled bills in the upper house is on leave this week - ideal time to go on leave I suppose) Emma Hurst needs to reintroduce the bill to parliament after the election, it hasn't been passed.

Emma Hurst's Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill has lapsed due to the election coming up, so I imagine there is time to read the bill and put your views to the new members of parliament. The vulnerable breeds angle might be worth mentioning, because once they're gone they're gone, and who knows when a particular breed might be found useful for studying human disease. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/01/largest-dog-genetic-study-informs-human-diseases (having trouble with the link but you can find it with the title) "The study ... is a big step toward efficiently mapping genes responsible for complex diseases in dogs, most of which are very similar in humans, thereby accelerating our understanding of human genetic diseases. ...dogs share more than 350 diseases with humans ...". They used almost all purebreds in this study. If someone wants to quote this in a new topic, go ahead.

Why would someone agree to that?

Too much fat or fluid build up?

Is guardian home different from co-ownership? Do you need to also be a member of your state's purebred dog organisation? Do you both need to sign any official form for stud service etc? The expenses and the complexities are piling up. I know of breeders who have the first puppy from them in co-ownership so you do your apprenticeship as a suitable owner.

Acute pancreatitis or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency? High fat diets not good for the sick pancreas but never heard/read marrow mentioned as a cause or risk factor. I gave the raw weight bearing bones to my medium sized dogs. Sometimes cut longitudinally but some butchers regarded cutting that way too dangerous for them to do, so I asked for cut across in short sections. The dogs went for the marrow, then the softer joint ends of the bones. When the marrow was gone I took those sections away. When the joint ends were gone I took those away too, having learned that the shafts were too hard for old (teenage) teeth to survive unscathed. I gave new bones after a meal so they weren't stuffing themselves on an empty stomach.

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au Scroll down to Get Involved about contact your member, sending submissions to inquiries etc I believe a personal submission to your members or an inquiry carries more weight than just signing a petition. From searching online it calls Emma Hurst's amendment 'lapsed', and the (independent, general enquiries) person at Parliament House who can explain that to me is not working today. I sent my own personal stories to members about voluntary assisted dying and stood outside Parliament House a couple of days last May when the Bill was being voted on. But it still took years of work by many many people to finally get it through, even though it was called 'voluntary'!

I heard a radio interview with an exhibitor of bees and honey. How did you start, he was asked. Used to exhibit flowers, he said, but it became too nasty.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/going-rare-the-joys-of-owning-a-vulnerable-breed/

Yearly registrations of 300 or fewer in 2021. British and Irish breeds. Miniature Bull Terrier and Old English Sheepdog and Bearded Collie were, but not presently, on the list. Aussie Terrier not on the list. https://crufts.org.uk or Crufts Vulnerable Breeds Competition 2023

Same as with DNA tests for human ancestry, the results change as the database changes eg people with Aboriginal ancestry will get results from the USA database which include "unknown". On those websites that update your results, people have found that their Basque ancestry disappears when more samples are added to the database. The finding of relatives, however, is apparently reasonably accurate. But for a mixed breed dog, why does DNA matter? I would be asking "who does the dog believe itself to be?" - mostly sighthound, terrier, herding dog?

I had a dog react badly to a shampoo years ago so can't remember the shampoo but I think it was taken off the market. I filled in a form to send in to the govt department in charge of such things. The reaction was little bumps all over her, called urticaria. Retrieve the shampoo bottle so you have the batch number, date of manufacture, any other numbers on the bottle. If no longer available, the store and date the shampoo was purchased. Get a diagnosis from the vet for the name of the reaction. Contact the breeder with the diagnosis and shampoo name. Fill in an "Adverse Experience Reporting (AER) form from https://apvma.gov.au (veterinary medicines and agricultural chemicals) Scroll down for 'I want to ...' [report a chemical]. But be aware contact dermatitis can be caused by many things, such as " plants, mulch, cedar chips, fabrics, rugs and carpets, plastics, rubber, leather, metal, concrete; soaps, detergents, floor waxes, carpet and litter deodorizers; herbicides, fertilizers, insecticides (including newer topical flea treatments), flea collars, topical preparations and medications" reference: The 5 - Minute Veterinary Consult People who have itchy dogs need to be aware of anything new the dog encounters.

I'm reminded of the saying "the first person through the brick wall will be bloodied", usually in reference to women entering traditionally non-female jobs or levels of promotion. When you are feeling up to it, I would be interested in hearing what the NDIS have to say (in writing, with a name and title attached) also Guide Dogs, because don't some of their failed guide dogs become therapy dogs?

Thanks asal. Good point about parents which I might use if I need to. The 'one hand of cards in a very big deck' analogy seems to be understood too.

It is the season for plentiful sticky spider webs. I wonder if a tiny piece of web remained after the rest was successfully rubbed off?

Agree with asal re inbreeding. Most humans are not closely related yet there are hundreds of inherited disorders. I have an inherited disease caused by one copy of a dominant gene. No amount of unrelatedness would have changed the outcome. Although some testing is available in rich countries, humans don't usually do any considered selection before breeding. Most dog breeders do some sort of selection but that will restrict the gene pool. No way to avoid that and it is not necessarily a bad thing. "All Syrian Golden hamsters used in laboratories are descended from the litters of one male and three females that were found in Syria in 1930. The first colonies, which descended from three litter mates, were bred at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and introduced into England from there." (Guinea pigs and other laboratory animals by Gloria R Moseeson and Sheldon Scher). Some endangered species have been brought back from the brink of extinction using small numbers of animals. The Arabian Oryx was brought back from three wild and four captive animals. The modern-day Chinook dog breed descended from the eleven individuals remaining in 1981, three of them siblings, three half-siblings, and all descended from four common ancestors within one generation, so some crossbreeding was done "based on a perceived limitation of genetic diversity". (The Dog and its Genome edited by Elaine A. Ostrander, Urs Giger and Kerstin Lindblad-Toh) It is not just dog breeders that may lack knowledge. A very well known magazine column doctor appeared not to know the difference between inherited and congenital disorders.

This seemed like a hoax, or perhaps OP didn't get the answers they were expecting.

Cruelty to animals is now recognised as one of the many many warning signs for V (calling it DV makes it seem like a lesser form of V). Dog trainer Nicole Wilde recommended Gavin de Becker's book The Gift of Fear so that trainers doing house calls alone would be aware of warning signs and could get out of there quick smart.

I also had only-if-I'm-leaving treats that seemed to work well.

Do you think a dog can be encouraged to develop separation anxiety? I ask because recently I heard about an owner who patted the dog for hours at a time and I wondered whether it was after the dog had requested it. I was told the owner doesn't ever ('discipline' was the word used but I assume 'show leadership' might also be lacking). I have since read this breed (Havanese) can be prone to separation anxiety. PK thanks for all those links.

What sort of bark was it? If this is the first time she's been vocal when left, she might just be hoping her friends will come back if she calls them and may get used to the previous situation. Do you already do the behavioural stuff that's suggested to treat, or prevent, separation anxiety: low key departures and arrivals, radio left on, item of clothing with your scent, chew toys etc. ?