KKDD

There seem to be an awful lot of underage puppies being sold on Gumtree at the moment. Especially in QLD. Some adds perhaps are just forgetting to specify if they wont let the pups go immediately, but an awful lot are stating that 6 and 7 weeks pups are 'ready to go'. If anyone wants to trawl through the ads and report those less than 8 weeks old, it would surely slow down some back-yard breeders. I reviewed 10 pages of Gumtree dog adds yesterday and reported over 30 ads (all states). Including some people selling 4 week old puppies. The situation is just as bad with kittens, which Gumtree policy requires be a minimum of 8 weeks old prior to sale.

Check the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) Website. They have a whole section on importing pets from other countries. Requirements vary depending on where the dog is imported from.

Catahoulas and their mixes are relatively common in the Northern Territory - mainly used for hunting I gather. They look a lot like that dog and the blue eyes are common.

Generally if people are advertsing them underage, with the intent of not releasing them till they are 8 weeks or older, they state this in their ad and the ad would not be removed. There is nothing to stop people advertising things in breach of the gumtree pets code of practice. The reporting system however does alert the mods, who then review and remove offending ads. Yes it is easy to lie about the DOB, and Im sure some people do that. But I actually think most people advertise underage animals due to ignorance rather than evil intent.

Some gumtree advertisers who get deleted a few times, wise up and change the DOB on their ads. I contacted one asking for a recent picture since the pictures of their pups looked much younger than said they were. When they responded saying that they had changed the DOB to get round Gumtree's rules, I just forwarded that email onto the administrator and they got banned. The underage selling is particularly rife right now due to backyarders trying to cash in on christmas. I encourage anyone to approach the FB pet page admins about underage pups and kittens as well. Be nice. Some of them want to do the right thing.

Gumtree is a major site for back yard breeders to sell their animals. Gumtree has a code of practice that specifies both kittens and puppies must be 8 weeks minimum for sale but in every state, people sell underage pups and kittens on Gumtree. You can report these ads, and Gumtree will remove them. Gumtree wont remove the ads unless they are reported. Gumtree's pet 'code of practice' is buried deep, but each ad requires the seller to note the animals date of birth, so its easy to pick the underage ones. Here's how to report them. Just click on the little red flag in the top right of the offending ad. Choose 'other' from the drop down menu, and give the reason that the animals are x weeks old, contrary to gumtree's own code of practice. Then click 'report' Gumtree will remove the ad (usually within 24 hours). For those in the habit of scanning gumtree, its a good way to make it harder for back yard breeders to offload their stock. And good for the baby animals welfare as well. Im hoping that if Gumtree get swamped with reports about all the underage animals, they might stop accepting the ads in the first place.

Good luck with it Andrea. I know you will continue to be the leading light in the Canberra Rescue scene no matter what your group is called. The animals thank you.

My beloved Toasty, 14 years old, died yesterday peacefully in my arms. She was my child before I had children, and remained my baby as the human kids grew up. Being a miniature dachshund she was the perfect size and shape to tuck in against my body in bed, which she did every night like a perfect little hot water bottle, only much much cuter. We were very close. She was always at my feet or next to me on the couch or in my arms and if I left the room she would follow. I was the center of her universe and she was my most beloved friend. I wasn't ready to lose you little banana. You should have lived longer. It would have been easier if you had. I would do anything to make yesterday not have happened. Letting you go yesterday was so hard, it has left an ache in my chest and the most profound sense of loss. But its the least I could do for you after your unwavering love and devotion over your entire life. You were such a beautiful and loyal little person. I doubt I will ever stop feeling sad. It would be easier if I believed in heaven, angels etc. You are now lying with Valentino in the sad part of the garden. The frangipanis on your grave are wilting, but your presence in my life will always be strong my love. Thank you Toasty, you gave me everything you had and you truly brightened my life.

K9angel on several occasions when I took my dachshunds to vets partial paralysis, they misdiagnosed (which led to mishandling and exacerbation of the problem) because they were not familiar with classic symptoms of a spinal chord that has been compressed. A vet who is familiar with a condition will generally know exactly what they are looking at. If Kitty's spine is fractured, the chord is evidently not completely severed but rather, given her compromised function, likely damaged or compressed/pinched. Spinal chords can recover, especially in a young animal although compression or pinching must be removed - and surgery can be expensive. Urinary and feacal incontinence were problems in each of my dogs cases, and recovered along with mobility. I strongly urge a second opinion, from a vet who is very familiar with spinal injuries.

Great work K9Angel. I have nursed several dachshunds with rear-end paralysis from damaged spines back to mobility, and your description of Cookie's progress mirrors what I experienced with them. They get gross motor function back first,but any sort of strength or coordination takes longer. I have assisted 'learning to walk again' using a pelvic sling so that I could hold up the dog's rear end while the hind legs learned how to move properly again, without having to cope with weight-bearing as well. Not sure if that would help Cookie but it might be relevant. ETA - the dogs had no discomfort while their mobility recovered. In fact lack of sensation is the problem.

Ahh Gillbear! I was trying to remember who looked after Pippin! Good on you for putting 2 and 2 together. And uploading the pic - I tried but failed. Yes he was a real little cutie - fat at the time but slimmed down (a bit) over coming months. Real bummer that after all the work and success of his rehabilitation, that he died quite young anyway. I empathise with his mum now trying to make something a bit positive out of her loss. I think we all know how gut-wrenchingly horrible it is to lose a beloved pet.

Anyone? Im not a Sydney person but owner says items are conveniently located for anyone passing near the airport, LaPerouse, Maroubra, Eastgardens....

A dear little mini Pin ex-foster of mine has passed away and his mum would like to donate his worldly possessions to rescue, so that other little orphans might benefit from Pippin's life. The items are located in Matraville (airport region). Please email me on [email protected] if you are interested in them for your rescue work. Items are suited to small breeds. The items include a supply of good quality tinned food, several blankets, raincoats, various coats and sweaters, various enrichment toys, 'no gulp' feeding bowls, leads and harnesses, and incidentals. All good quality items - Pippin was a bit of a fancy boy. It would make Pippin's mum very happy if a Rescuer used them...

Dandy Dinmont Terrier? Long, low and 8-11kg.

Thanks for the kind words. Its nice to be amongst people who understand the depth of grief felt when a pet dies. I was just reminded by a friend, of one of Valentino's defining habits, which I will share. When he sat down, his front legs weres so short that his willy would be on the ground. So he would often seek out a human foot (visitors were a common target), and park himself over it so his willy would be comfortable and warm resting on the foot. What a charmer.

My dear old man died today, peacefully in my arms. Rapid onset heart failure ravaged him these last 24 hours, but he hung on so I could give him the final gift of a gentle death. Valentino, I will miss your dignity, loyalty and courage and your adorable wrinkly knees. You never gave anyone any doubt that you loved me with all your heart. You watched the children grow up and you taught them right from their beginnings, to love dogs. You have been a steady and constant member of the family Val,and you are deeply loved. In your younger days you were a warrior, but more recently you were a smoochy minder of my lap. The cushion looks empty without you snoozing on it mate and I will even miss carrying you up and down the stairs. I hope there are lots of things to bark at and plenty of smells for a long, low dog to follow, wherever it is that great dogs go. RIP my dear little friend.

Cathya, thanks for bringing the story of Mack to us. His journey has been inspirational and I have smiled, laughed and cried as I followed it on this thread. Im so sorry you have now lost this beautiful boy. Despite the terrible condition he was in when you got him, he clearly had a wonderful life with you, and brought a lot of happiness to you and to us readers of his story. Perhaps his legacy will be that more people will now choose not to write off old and damaged dogs in future as 'hopeless cases', less worthy of rescue. Mack was certainly not a hopeless case, and, thanks to you and others who had the courage and compassion to rescue him, his life has ended on a very positive note.

China is almost always the place where these 'accidental' matings happen, and where a dog is subsequently used as a surrogate mum. If you look closely at the video footage of this one, you will see that the dog is chained closely to the ground by her collar. This is the norm and suggests the dog is not a willing participant. Chinese zoos are not generally known for holding animal welfare in the highest regard, and there have been plenty of instances of very dodgy practices. eg providing the big cats with live goats, donkeys etc so that feeding time is more fun for visitors to watch. I have seen footage of zoo visitors hurling live goats off a cliff into a 'pit' where big cats were housed. The breeding of hybrids like ligers, is consistent with the 'cruel freak show' approach some chinese zoos take. I would also not be the least bit suprised if cubs are deliberately removed from their feline mothers and put onto the unfortunate dogs, since this is always more newsworthy and will get more paying visitors into the zoo. Mind you, zoo practices in plenty of other countries would make your toes curl too....

Interesting comment spyda62. All the deaf dogs Iv trained have been non-barkers - which was particularly suprising with the cattledogs as they can be a very vocal breed. I like your thumbs up approach. I use strong facial expressions for 'good' and 'bad' and they really seemed to get it. With regard to training them to check in regularly, this is one of the most challenging things, but fundamental to all subsequent training. I used a pocketful of dry cat kibble, which I would initially deal out every time the dog checked in, decreasing the food reward frequency and replacing it with a happy face reward, over time. Dry cat food is highly motivating so the checking in came reasonably quickly, especially if you start out in a low distraction environment, and work up to high distraction. What method did you use to train 'checking in' spyda62?

My hot tip for managing a deaf dog - put a bell on its collar. There will be many times that you cant see your deaf dog to attract its attention, a bell will help you find it in the backyard. Also, a big benefit of deaf dogs is that they don't bark at noises in the night. They sleep like the dead. I love that. There are some really excellent resources on the web for training and managing a deaf dog. Just google 'training deaf dogs'.

I have rescued and rehomed a number of deaf dogs - a couple of ACDs, a labrador and a staffy mix. All but the lab were congenitally deaf, the lab aquired her deafness through a neglected chronic health condition. All were relatively easy to train with hand signals - much more focussed than hearing dogs as they wernt distracted by sounds. The biggest challenge is getting their attention - and recall falls under that. But there are many ways to get a dogs attention, that dont involve sound. Each deaf dog was adopted into a home with another dog and I think that helps the deaf one to twig to the things they cant perceive with their other senses. Without exception, the owners have been very happy with their adopted deaf dogs and have found managing them well within their skill range. It did take a bit more time to find appropriate homes for these dogs but I would not condone killing puppies for being deaf, or choosing not to rescue otherwise nice dogs off death row, just becasue they are deaf. It is not an insurmountable problem by any stretch.

The only consistent rule for all my dogs is that Im the boss and I make the rules. Equality is a human construct (albeit a very worthy one) but not relevant to dogs. Dogs dont have any notion of equality or fairness, and basing pack management on human values without taking account of the dogs veiw of the world, can cause problems.

Quote Erny The RSPCA are just as free to post here as anyone else. In fact, if the RSPCA want to know where people are not happy with them; what areas of complaint need attention ...... this would be a good thread to come to. end quote. Oh yeah. Always a smart move to face a lynch mob. Especially where the lynchers enjoy as much anonymity as they want.

This thread looks like one of those vile DOL lynching threads where people post speculations and accusations that they will never be required to substantiate, and the subject of their accusations isnt around to refute any of the claims. For the record, I once reported seeing a horse down and struggling in a paddock as I drove past, and the RSPCA was out there within a couple of hours. Turned out I was wrong and the horse was fine. Ill bet they get a lot of those. Also, regarding their 'support of BSL'; While a previous national leader of RSPCA was vocal in support of BSL, he hasnt held that position for several years. RSPCA shelters are obliged to act in accordance with the laws of the state they are in - and most states have BSL. In the ACT the RSPCA shelter regularly has pitbulls available for adoption, because ACT has no BSL.

I dont think the majority of people do dislike the RSPCA at all, in fact the organisation is evidently well liked and respected in the broader community. Otherwise the million paws walk would be as huge as it is. However, on a forum like DOL, you will naturally get some people who have had close and unsatisfactory dealings with other dog-related organisations, and in any 'chat' forum, where people can air (with anonymity if they choose) their strongest feelings, things will be posted that, while passionately put, and often repeated, may still just be minority veiws. Also, if you were somehow able to get a response from every single DOL member to your question, you would get a different outcome than if you just hear from the people who have something they actively want to share with everyone.