sandgrubber

Yup. And in the US you can find Master Hunters (the elite rank in retrieving competition) who are not just carriers, but AFFECTED! All heritable conditions are not equal. As the genetic testing industry develops genetic tests, we have to get more sophisiticated in how we use testing.

Five is sufficiently small that the pup shouldn't have much trouble getting onto some teat. I'm a little compulsive with pups (though I've only had one litter with less than seven) and can't help myself from taking the little guys and sticking them on the milkier teats. I only lost one runt . . . and this happened suddenly at week seven after he was well along to catching up with the others. I have no idea what happened. They usually pull through just fine. And a large fraction of puppy buyers want the runt . . . so don't worry about finding a home.

I've only seen eclampsia (sp? = milk fever) in a goat and it's really awful. It's fine to worry and better to be safe than sorry. I expect that experience will show you that you can cross that particular malady off your list of concerns if you feed a calcium rich diet regularly, and particularly in the months before conception. I don't understand panting in nursing bitches, but have had several who do it. . . .with no ill consequences.

Scour ban is good stuff. You can buy it at many feed stores or vets without a prescription. Follow the label.

Who said anything about cutting up beasts while alive or eating endangered species. I was thinking of the change from farm-based butchering to use of slaughter houses and distribution via supermarket chains. We need to look to our own practices before condemning others. Quoting the save-the-koala folks (https://www.savethek...endangered.html) "Koalas are in serious decline suffering from the effects of habitat destruction, domestic dog attacks, bushfires and road accidents. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 80,000 koalas left in the wild, possibly as few as 43,000." If you want to blame someone for koala decline, blame the developers who are destroying their habitat and the road builders who actions convert them to road kill. Don't point at supposed Asian poachers and dubious photographs. The old-fashioned blow to the head plus slitting the jugular (beheading, for chooks) is dying out in Australia, at least for the small farmer. I haven't done a state by state comparison, but I know that WA now forbids home-based slaughtering and dressing for sheep, pigs, and cattle. In the modern version, you first subject your pig or sheep or calf to transport, which probably terrifies the beast, feed lot it for awhile, and then put it through some supposedly humane and sanitary killing at the hands of a large slaughter house. I don't see this as an improvement from the animal's perspective. Btw, boiling alive isn't a nice way to go either, even if it's a lobster or crab.

I suspect that horse people are trying to defend their relationship with a reasonably dangerous animal . . .not dangerous cause it eats meat, but dangerous because horses weigh hundreds of kilograms, and horse accidents do a lot of damage. Given that dogs descend from predators and horses are herbivores, and that the hours people spend in dog company run to hundreds of millions per year (in Australia alone), I'd say it speaks wonderfully for dogs that there are so few dog incidents. Intent is difficult to prove even with human on human actions. Dogs rarely 'intend' to harm. Sometimes they react, and the reaction involves teeth. Poor dogs, can't respond with a verbal scolding or a slap to the face. Young horses commonly react to an unexpected weight on their back or someone intruding in their peripheral vision by bucking or kicking. Not sure it's instinct, but it sure isn't with full human-style evaluation of the situation. Also note the huge amount of abuse kids heap on dogs . . . ranging from taunting and teasing, to dressing them up in clothes, to tying tin cans on their tails and lighting them on fire. Yes, there are slip ups, but by-in-large, dogs are impressively tolerant of humans. Even though dogs far outnumber horses and live in much closer proximity to families than horses do, the fact remains that horses far outrank dogs in terms of physical damage done. Frankly, I'd rather have a few stitches than end out with a broken arm or be paralyzed for life. All the OP is asking is that people be a little more tolerant of the fact that dogs occasionally slip up in showing anger, fear, or some other negative reaction, and give more credit to dogs for the incredible amount of mistreatment they put up with at human hands. Do you contest that the human dog bond is remarkably strong? Are you saying that dogs should be blamed and pts when they react too strongly and someone ends up bleeding. Dogs acting as predators and treating humans as prey are a different case. I think there's broad consensus that such dogs are extremely rare, but must not be tolerated as companion animals. Or are you defending the human-horse relationship? If so, I don't see why. I don't see that the human-horse bond is under attack, anywhere.

For comparison of Albany bassets to show bassets you might want to look at http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/10/wrinkled-skin-no-legs-and-willies-that.html . . .the discussion is interesting as well . . . including input from various basset breeders.

Noticed that Visa Print has a huge range of dog logos and themes on their offering, ranging from business cards, to personalised calendars, to hoodies, to banners and car magnets. Designs range from cartoonish to silhoettes, to photos, and from sentimental to stark. see (this is the link for business card designs . .. you will get similar assortment and options for other products). http://www.vistaprint.com.au/gallery/MAEAAAADAAAAAAA=/premium-business-cards/dog-3.aspx?filter=9%3a10013%7c%7c1%2c4%3a10003%7c%7c1&xnav=pagenav&xnid=bottom Might be a good Xmas pressie for someone (this is not a paid promo and I'm getting no kick back for referrals . . .I was just amazed by the offering and wanted to share)

I recently had my old girl speyed. I've not had a good couple years and got the state-subsidized rate of $40. In Oz I always picked the dog up right after a spey or Ceasar, or whatever, and had her (or him) recover at home. I was quite shocked that my $40 spey included an overnight stay and this was non-negotiable. I felt terrible leaving the old girl at the vets in a cage overnight. She didn't seem particularly upset about it, though.

The point of the OP is that dogs are common, widespread, and often poorly managed. I think it says a lot for Canis domesticus that there aren't more injuries and deaths. Yes, there are accidents, and a very very few dogs should probably be removed from the gene pool and/or deprived of the right to breathe. I just wish people would put those dog accidents in perspective of other trans-species relationships. I wish society could extend the same degree of forgiveness to an old dog who bites in surprise or pain that they do to a frisky colt who throws its rider and breaks someone's arm . . . or neck. If fencing and training and zoning restrictions were as widespread for dogs as they are for horses, we'd have a lot fewer dog problems. Imagine what a mess it would be if people were as free-wheeling about keeping horses as they are about keeping dogs . . . and every other household owned a horse.

Ummmm sorry to be so blunt, but who cares????? We are not in the dark ages now. for somebody who promotes so much animal liberation stuff on DOL, even comparing horses and dogs etc.. thats a bold claim to make..... so i suppose a homeless person in usa or australia etc.. is allowed to eat whateva and kill it however because they have limited to no money???? :rolleyes: im pretty sure if the headline was homeless man bashed dog and ate it alive your comments wouldnt be so compassionate towards them.... Hey, let's get personal. Guess you twist people's words to putting them into categories. What does that say about you? There are a lot of subjective judgements involved in meat eating . . .not to mention vermin control. For the most part, our ancestors killed efficiently, with no deliberate cruelty. I'm happy standing against torture. But not against conventional throat cutting or other 'primitive' ways of slaughter. The modern sanitized process repulses me in some ways, cause it leaves people free to eat meat without ever looking the animal in the eye or seeing blood spilled. If you suppose a homeless person can kill whatever, however, I'd say your standards are low. You never heard/saw me say/write that. I don't buy any party line . . . animal lib or otherwise (if you did your homework you'll find I'm with the breeders and pretty frightened of the Animal Lib line on the puppy farm debate). I've studied a little anthropology and a little history and lived in various places in the third world . . . I try not to be judgmental. I'll bet the RSPCA wouldn't approve of most of the killing techniques employed in the third world. What would you say to farmer decapitates a chicken with hatchet?. . . as happens all over the third world and on many many small farms . . . not to mention the way pigs are killed in small farming. I'll tell you, though, if I was a pig or chicken, I'd much rather lead my life running around free and then meet a sudden, bloody, not-so-sanitary death by traditional means than be forced to live in a factory cage, cheek by jowl to face a 'humane' death in some commercial killing facility. And don't get me going on how kind it is to kill rats and mice with slow kill poisons . . . or foxes and the occasional dog with 1080. Where I lived in WA, the more 'new age' greyhound breeders called in a vet and did a 'humane' pts for the dogs who didn't run well. The old timers just used a bullet. I cannot say which is more humane. It would be great if all failed racing dogs could be rehomed . . . maybe racing should be banned altogether . . .hey . . . I'm not ready to pronounce on these things.

Ummmm sorry to be so blunt, but who cares????? We are not in the dark ages now. If you made less than a dollar an hour, and were lucky to eat 100 g of meat a week, I'll bet your standards would change.

Endangered species need protection . . . no question . . . but you need to identify the species before making an uproar. Some cultures like to eat insects, some like game meat, including exotics (many Germans pay top dollar for kangaroo and value the gamey taste of wild hare). Poor people who lack refrigeration often buy food, or get restaurant food, freshly slaughtered. Often the killing methods are primitive, and not up to RSPCA standards. But how do you think our ancestors lived? Asian black market sales put pressure on endangered species . . . for virtually no benefit obtained. Tiger penis or rhino horn does bugger all for health or potency. But these are markets that sell at $1000/kg and upwards. More . . . much more . . . information is required before forming any intelligent judgement.

The horse is not to blame. But neither is the dog!

Used tampax.

Ratsak isn't what I'd call humane. Rodenticides were designed to kill slowly, so the creatures wouldn't come to associate their fatal symptoms with the poison they've ingested. If I were an animal rights-ist, which I'm not, poison baits would be my first crusade. Back on topic . . . . Personally, I suspect the whole article is a send-up written by someone who doesn't like the Chinese. No way anyone can smuggle Australian wildlife at those prices. Notice how it says 'Southern China' . . . . that really pins it down . . . to a chunk of land about half as big as Australia with a population of 800 million.

to both Teela and Deejay I hope you have discussed the aggression problem with the breeder from whom you acquired your dogs. There are inherited components to aggression. I'm not saying your dogs have inherited aggressive traits . . . just that they could. It is important that breeders get feedback when their pups turn out with temperament faults . . . every bit as important as knowing about hip or elbow dysplasia. And if there is a reasonable chance that the aggression runs in the bloodlines, please don't breed the dogs in question.

If the only problem is a 2 foot space above the garden gate, I'd suggest you find a good artisan to make an attractive six foot gate. I have a strong dislike, perhaps not entirely rational, of keeping a collar and battery pack on my dog at home.

There's a VIC guy who goes under Snake Catcher who regularly contributes to the General Forum. He likes both dogs and snakes and seems to know a lot about them. He has expressed some interest in aversion / avoidance training . . . and might be able to work with a trainer in setting up aversion training with live reptiles. YOu might also want to contact him. btw., in his opinion, training on a blue tongue lizard will go a long way toward teaching dogs that snakes are something to avoid.

We don't like the regurgitation sessions in the house (carpet), especially in the early hours of the morning, and when it (bone fragments) stinks as bad as it does The bed is worse than the carpet, especially if you haven't made it yet! I used to feed exclusively BARF foods, but have moved to a place where sourcing good raw meat is hard/expensive, and quality dry food is abundant and cheap (the 18 to 20 kg bag of extra premium food in the US costs under $50). I've never had a problem with bones . . . but it sure is easier to keep a Labbie slim on dry biscuits, veggies, and the occasional egg or yoghurt than it is on chicken carcass, selected mamalian bones, and misc. veg and dairy +++. Also a relief not to have the fridge full of dog food.

It looks like the author is saying dogs can learn rules of conduct and show some sort of remorse when they know they have broken the rules. Specifically, while a dog who chews up the toilet paper or upturns a wastebasket may put its head and tail low, showing something akin to shame. They learn the house rules, so to speak, but I've seen no evidence to show that they have a deeper sense of morality. I don't think this can be extended to say that dogs are morally culpable, eg., when a dog bites someone I think it's the humans who must take responsibility. I don't think most dogs that bite have any sort of remorse.

I don't think the photo looks much like a tree kangaroo. I have no idea what sort of animal it is, though it looks more rodent than marsupial. The quality of English translation in China is often poor, so the English word on the cage doesn't mean much. Can anyone here read the Chinese label?

I don't think racehorses are major contributors . . . here's from a NZ study (1999-2003) . . . based on a study of 5613 recorded hospitalizations from horse incidents . .. Analysis of NZHIS data for 1993–1999 found that 16 people died following horse- related injuries. For the period 1993–2001, 5613 people were hospitalised for horse- related injuries. Females accounted for 69% (n = 3893) of injuries and 56% (n = 9) of deaths. Those most at risk of horse-related injuries were young females between the ages of 10 and 19 years, who accounted for 35% of these injuries. Nearly half of the total injuries sustained (46%) were to those under 19 years of age. Those aged between 10 and 29 years received 55% of horse-related injuries. In those aged 50 years and above (9% of all patients), males were more at risk than females although the injury numbers for this age group were low (2.5% of all injuries). Northey, Glenda NZMJ 26 September 2003, Vol 116 No 1182 URL: http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/116-1182/601/ This suggests it's the pony club group who are most in danger. Riding lessons and horses for hire contribute more to the statistics than racing. Falls are the biggest source of injury. No, the horse is not to blame, and much of the injury could be avoided if people wore helmets and observed basic safety practices. I'd say training a horse to chase dogs is about as amusing as rewarding a dog for hitting the fence when young hoons walk by.

Are you saying that dogs are capable of murder? I'd say even the worst HA dog acts without intent. . . .

All else equal, I'd prefer a clear to a carrier. It's a blessing to know all pups are going to be clear, and to be able to declare "clear by inheritance" with no more than a paternity test. I wouldn't rule out using a carrier, but the dog would have to be extra special to justify using a carrier for a serious disease. I'm more relaxed about EIC (exercise induced collapse . . . a recessive trait that's fairly common in Labradors) than PRA . . . as many affected dogs go through their entire lives without exhibiting EIC and very very few of the pups I've bred end out in the sort of heavy duty hunting / field competition circumstances where EIC can become a problem.