sandgrubber

Anybody have registration costs for European countries on hand? I think, when I lived in Germany (20 years back) I was paying around $300/yr for registration for a speyed female. I think it fair that dog owners be asked to pay a good share of the dog control/management costs.

Mongrel is derogatory. I'd prefer 'mutt' . . . which sounds more loveable. If the shelter/pound just labels the dog as 'mongrel' people are still going to come back and ask what breeds its parents were. In my experience in boarding kennels, 'staffy X' is a common label for short-haired, middle sized, DA dogs. It may have nothing to do with bloodlines, but the reputation sure is there.

For the other category: Cleanliness, including good lighting that allows you to see if it's clean, and no smell of urine. Real play time, several hours a day, in a play group. This requires supervision by a person who is pretty good at judging dog behaviour and able to intervene if things go wrong. (My dogs are dog friendly and love play. I want this used to advantage, but don't want them put out in the yard with some DA dog). (Some kennels claim they exercise the dogs . . . this means kicking them out of their kennels for 15 minutes so they can hose down). No hosing down when dogs are in kennels. Direct involvement in the kennel by either the owner or a good full time manager. Dogs not left with some poorly paid youngster who isn't going to know what to do if something goes wrong. Reasonable policy re. viewing the kennels before booking in. . . . and of course . . . price.

Bugs are generally fascinating, and moths are at the top of the list. I've got nose marks all over my windows. Leave the lights on. The moths and bugs come to the window, and the dogs try to snatch them. If I leave the screen closed and the door or window open, the dogs push out the screen. Mice, rats and gophers are also extremely interesting. If mine catch a moth, rat, mouse, or gopher, they eat it. So this may be food-reward / prey-drive. I caught Bonza yesterday with a spider. Apparently she picked it up and it got out of her mouth . . . it was spinning a thread back down to the floor. Guess spiders don't taste good, or maybe this one had a sting.

Good luck. I've had girls reject their pups at first and then get into a routine of cleaning and feeding. No guarantees. But so long as she is tolerating the pup, I'd say, keep at it. Her maternal instincts may kick in. That would be the best solution for the pup, and the easiest for your X. I'd also recommend speying the mum when nursing is done, probably at around week six. That will make sure it doesn't happen again.

If you google animal planet street dogs of south central, you'll get a good, up to date link.

Lots of shocking stuff in the USA. State and local govenments are financially gutted. California is seriously considering a major cut to Animal Shelter funding among many drastic cuts being made to reduce the state deficit. Subsidized spey/neuter programs, however, are more generous in California than any place I know of . . . I paid $US40 to get my old girl speyed, and that included an overnight stay at the vet. http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19949827 If you think Animal Planet is associated with PETA, I'd suggest taking a look at animalplanet.com. The whole outfit exploits the widespread human fascination with animals. Something like these Mardi Gras dogs would put a PETA person's knickers in a knot http://blogs.discovery.com/daily_treat/2012/02/7-mutts-going-nuts-for-mardi-gras.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DailyTreatAnimalPlanet+%28The+Daily+Treat%3A+Animal+Planet%29

Wow! This is still going! If the person who posted the burning building comment was trying to get a rise out of people, they sure succeeded.

Well that was unexpected... Good on her :) Thanks for posting that Melzawelza. Why unexpected? Although she misread the dog, her actions were those of someone who feels affection for animals. It would be good if she gets as many apologies from judgmental dog-experts as she got condemnations for being 'stupid'. . . . but I doubt that will happen.

Although there may be more people who will say something psychopathic as a form of attention seeking behaviour :D.

Again ... passing the buck ... let's take on an animal with a major problem and expect the fairys to come fix it and all the costly aftercare it will need!! If not, oh well we'll just let the animal potter on and do nothing about it. I don't expect much more from Frankston. And we don't know why the vet actually said to put them to sleep, for all we know there are bigger problems then being let on. The strange thing is just putting a story like that on TV will bring out the people with $$ who would not even think to donate to a shelter or such. It also brings in advertisers. Just like a soap opera.

Not sure about the civilised bit. When girls are getting $5000 for having a kid, you can't expect high standards for parenting. Imagine what a zoo it would be if there was a 'puppy bonus' :laugh:

Also read the comments. I loved this one I expect to read an article in a few weeks entitled "5 Things No One Tells You About Totally Actually Owning an Adorable Dog Because I Found an Awesome Shelter, Okay, And Lots Of Heartwarming Fuzzy Feelings And Cute Pictures" by Daniel O'Brien.

It's easy to slam the racing industry. Greys often to have large litters . . . unlike horses . . . so the number of castoffs is huge. I think some racing people view a litter as something like a lottery ticket, and it turns my stomach. On the other hand, I live among families of grey foxes. Most kits don't survive, and the deaths most face are worse than being taken out back with a shotgun, say nothing about going out on the green dream. You have to give the grey community some credit for breeding largely based on performance . . . by in large they are healthy dogs with good temperaments (maybe not that bright, though).

Take what you can get. Kennels in Perth book out over Easter. The more popular boarding kennels are booked out for Easter by New Years. Many won't take dogs for less than a week at Easter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/09/Pedigree-Dogs-Exposed-Three-Years-On.html In 2008 Pedigree Dogs Exposed lifted the lid on the true extent of the health and welfare problems faced by pedigree dogs in the UK. The startling expose of harmful breeding practices generated a massive reaction from the public and from those involved in dog breeding. Now the programme’s producer Jemima Harrison returns to explore what has happened since she made the original film. Deeply affected by the issues that she uncovered, Jemima has become a campaigner on dog welfare. In this programme she takes a personal look at the positive changes that have been introduced since the first film and investigates areas of continuing concern, particularly among breeds like the Pug, the Bulldog and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Jemima hears from dog breeders and a range of experts, many of whom express grave worries about the future of some of our best loved breeds.

Is there anything on msn.com that isn't sus? Maybe the story was written by a computer program that knows what gets an emotional response. :D

Great job on the photos. It's hard to capture anything that small. I can't answer the question, except to say, looks like two body segments and six or eight legs and they are tiny, hence good chance that they're not adults. I think that rules out insects which have three body segments and are worm-like in larval stage and makes it likely that they are Arachnids. If Bo is suffering, my guess is you might be able to smother these guys with some sort of oil. As a Labbie, he'll probably lick it off . . . but if you use a healthy veggie oil it won't do any harm other than adding some Joules to his diet. I'd be wary of using pesticides, many of which are nerve poisons and aren't good to apply to places that dogs lick..[Corrected taxonomy . . . I remembered wrong].

To be honest I find this shocking. You would really save your dogs over the life of a child? I love my dogs, they mean everything to me, but I couldn't place their lives as more important than that of a child. ... My dogs are a huge part of my life, but they don't rule my life. This is not a burning house situation. The issue is meeting in a public place . . . dog on line and supposedly under control. The kid is seldom on a leash. Mums range from 'in control' to 'out of it'. This doesn't have to be an either-or. Just be prepared to reign your dogs in if potential conflict arises. Surely, you can pull the leash in, grab the collar and leave the dog with no option to attack. If the kid insists on closing in and you have your had on the collar . . . or the dog in a muzzle . . . you have a valid case that you did your part to avoid a nasty problem. Also understand, if you value your dog over someone else's kid, in the extreme case you could be guilty of some form of manslaughter or assualt . . . not nice charges to face. The law is stacked in favour of kids.

Really? See, if you're making that as a sweeping statement to all homeopathy, that's where I disagree. I can certainly attest to Calendula Tea having tremendous results for the applications I have put it to. And because of the Calendula, I've been able to steer away from anti-histamines, cortisone. So saying "Homeopathy can never work" is a huge statement that in my experience is simply wrong. Calendula Tea isn't homoeopathy. Tea is made by brewing the flowers in hot water. Where as Homoeopathic remedies are over 99% water and a possibly indiscernible amount of calendular. Calendula is a well known mild herbal treatment because of the chemicals it contains. Homeopathic remedy doesn't contain any of these useful chemicals. I plead guilty to bringing Calendula into the argument. My maternal grandmother loved the stuff. She was born 120 yrs ago, and swore by Calendula cerate ointment (which everyone in my family uses and swears by, including my now-deceased father, who was a top-of-the-class Harvard educated physician). She bought if from homeopathic practitioners . . . and I think of it as homeopathic. My Dad was fond of saying . . . with respect to alternative medicine . . . that there are pearls among the trash. There's also a lot of trash in market-driven modern treatments. I think we all need to keep an open, and critical, mind with respect to medicine.

That's a good point, however I think the exceptions should be noted - where effective treatment is foregone in favour of homeopathy or prayer. Or where risk is increased on an unproven principle (e.g homeopathic "vaccines"). I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Rescue Remedy suggested where a dog might benefit greatly from an anxiolytic or given effective behaviour modification. Good point.

Most likely someone is being paid less than $10/hr for doing the work and gets no benefits. Big surprise. They do a quick and dirty job. If you want quality grooming, go to a groomer that is known by name, not some company that hires people off the street and gives them a few hours of training, and expect to pay for a pro job.

Confession. 15 years in Oz made me love Australian slang. I think 'dog's breakfast' should be interpreted to mean what in the USA we'd call 'mish-mash'. It has nothing to do with dogs (although mish-mash breakfasts may be traditional dog breakfasts for som colourful elements of Australia's population). Picky, picky, picky. Worth ignoring. So someone uses widely used slang. Why take it as a comment relating to dogs? As intended, I'd say the situation is a dog's breakfast . . . and it has nothing to do with dogs.

What?? Americans think they can switch on Summer from a slot machine???? I'm easily confused. Does this quote come in discussion of this post? What does it have to do with Americans (asked honestly as a dual Aus/USA citizen)? Or was it supposed to be funny? I don't get the joke.

Thanks for posting this . . . totally funny . . . totally harmless. I posted it on to friends and family . . . great fun.