sandgrubber

"If the desire to kill and the opportunity to kill came always together, who would escape hanging?” — Mark Twain Sad situation all around. Too many guns. Too weak a system for handling disputes between neighbors. Old geezer looses it.

X-ray showed a partial tare. So she's on Metacam and I'm trying to keep her from jumping. The vet says limited walking is ok. The cost of X-rays sure has gone up.

The OP didn't appear to be asking about intestinal parasites specifically, but about anything the general public called "worms".

Yoli, 6 yr old ESS, has been limping and not putting weight on her L hind leg. She stops limping on walks. After a week of hoping it would go away, I took her to the vet, who said her knee was quite swollen, probably cruciate ligament, possibly arthritis, and booked her for X-rays in a few days time with a recommendation to curtail exercise. Much to my surprise, she has been happy staying in the car while my other dog went for his walk. And after a day of rest she's putting more weight on her foot. QUESTION: Is it worth postponing the X-rays for a week or so to see if rest alone, without surgery, will resolve the problem? (My regular vet practice was recently bought by a syndicate, and I'm not sure I can trust them to start with the most conservative treatment option).

Not entirely. No heartworm in NZ. No heartworm in winter in snowy latitudes. Tapeworm is more common in tropical regions (I think.... unsure).

Worth discussing this with you vet or a local dog expert. It's complicated. There are several species of worms that can infect dogs. Some species are more common in some regions than others. Puppies typically get roundworms, but older dogs are much less likely to suffer from them All worms don't respond to the same medications, though some allworm tablets contain more than one medication and kill most of not all common species, except heartworm, which requires yet a different medication. Opinions differ on how often to medicate, but yes you should worm your dog, especially if you see worms in its feces. And if heartworm is found in your region you should definitely use some sort of heartworm medication.

Nonetheless, unacceptable behavior. If any dog of mine behaved like that around small children and I was unable to train it out of the behavior, I'd either keep it caged or have it put down.

The link sends me to an SBS banking site

"What I would really love to see is some more research into [aggressive dog behaviour] so that we can understand what's happening and why," Dr Starling said. I doubt research will crack this. Multifactorial questions generally yield muddled research recommendations (how do you control either genetics or environment, having established that it's no JUST a matter of breed?) Better response to complaints to Animal Control would be a good start.

I just installed a livestock style electric fence around the chicken coop. After one encounter and about 6 months I removed the fence. My chicken killer was no longer interested in chickens, and I could allow the chooks to wander free.

My guess is that the law would be exercised, primarily, when neighbors complain. I've lived nextdoor to neglected dogs at various times, and felt that the people shouldn't have dogs. If it were that simple, I'd be in favor of laws that made it possible for such animals to be placed with better owners. My guess is, for a lot of dogs the result would be euthanasia. I agree with others that the terms are vague. In addition, more thought is needed about what to do with offenders. Fines won't work. Warnings might work for a few weeks, but people don't easily give up their dog routines.

Crappy journalism. The headline asks if we are spending more on our pets. The first line "We don't need the data to tell us what we already know: we're spending more than ever on our pets." Slow news day.

Needs to be balanced by the health gains from dog walking and stress relief. Many people would be total couch potatoes if they didn't have a dog (or two). Also, small number compared to horse injuries. https://www.biamo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/HorsesOnly-Horse-Riding-Accident-Statistics-in-2023-website-article.pdf

No idea if this works...I tend to need to slim down fatties. But if there's a real butcher anywhere near, you might ask about fatty offcuts. I've often had to trim off and dispose of fat from chooks frames and brisket bones, and sometimes when I am at our local butcher I see guys in the background trimming off fat.

You can write a demand letter without a solicitor. Google to find examples/online forms. Letterhead may make it look more serious, but won't make any legal difference.