sandgrubber

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.

Yes, there are vast differences between dogs and horses. But I still find the hysteria about dogs curious, given, proportionally speaking, how few of them do serious damage. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/dangerous-wildlife/2008/07/04/1214951042706.html Now death by horse is par for the course Jano Gibson July 5, 2008 Sydney Morning Herald AUSTRALIA'S deadliest animals do not lurk on the banks of muddy Northern Territory rivers or slither on hot rocks. Nor do they hunt in the shallows of the sea or crawl on eight legs. Horses are the creatures most likely to cause a human death, statistics compiled by the National Coroners Information System show. Cows are the next most dangerous, followed by dogs. Sharks are in fourth position, while crocodiles and spiders account for only slightly more deaths than emus, cats and fish. Of 128 deaths linked to animals that were investigated by coroners between 2000 and 2006, 40 were caused by horses.

That's fraud. She got off easy! I'd say jail time is appropriate for people who do things like lie about genetics, falsify pedigrees, or fake DNA test results. Shame on the Gympie Times for indicating the fine was for tail docking. Or should it be shame on the Magistrate for prosecuting the lesser offense and doing nothing about the fraud?

It may be fairly easy to smuggle animals into China . . . but not so easy that you'd sell them for $40/kg (dressed weight).

Thinking back, the worst harm an animal has done to me was a horse named Mandy. I was 10. Mandy didn't like kids and both bit and kicked. We usually got past her safely. One day I got kicked, and spent several weeks in hospital under heavy painkillers with a ruptured kidney. The usual, inadequate parental supervision. I don't remember anyone even considering doing anything with the horse . . . Why is it that a dog who sends a kid to hospital gets pts, while a horse that bucks, kicks, bites, or otherwise inflicts bodily harm is just accepted?

If the carrot and pictures don't convince you, try the price. $A40/kg for smuggled animal that can't be kept alive on food that is readily available? Come on! That's the equivalent of an Australian restaurant offering roast panda at <$100/kg. Not gonna happen. I suspect the whole thing is a send up. There are some people out there who really don't like the Chinese.

Thanks for posting. The whole journal special issue looks interesting . . . maybe worth posting it under 'articles about dogs' in the general forum as well.

Shocking that the owner skipped and left his father to hold the bag. I've been wondering why we haven't seen pictures of the dog . . . and whether a pit bull x mastiff, which some reports say, would fall outside the VIC visual standard for 'restricted breed' dogs. If this information is true, why isn't it making it to the press? Have the powers that be been suppressing it?

I think it was posted in General, but it should be read by breeders, so good to see it here, too. It reads like someone was trying to set up dog breeding as a government franchise. Harmless enough so long as the word 'should' doesn't get changed to 'must' or 'shall'.

Let's say the problem was: the dog is head shy and the kid approached it from the wrong angle. Would the dog deserve to be pts then? I think the alcohol thing is a load of rubbish. Society needs to learn to distinguish between dogs that will bite if pushed too far (ie, many many dogs) and dogs who will attack in a life threatening manner without provocation (very very few dogs). Then it needs to teach kids to recognise when they are pushing too far.

Not PC, but . . . if you are disappointed with having a child cause you won't be getting a puppy . . . something's wrong here. Next time I hope you get the puppy! They're more fun and less work.

I once recommended an interstate rescue to someone in a similar situation and it was a mild disaster. The dog ticked all the boxes, but had a few screws loose . . . a lunatic that would require training up the yin yang to be a good companion . . . and might never get there no matter what you spent on training. If you go the interstate rescue route, I'd say post again and see if you can find someone you trust to do a temperament/health screening job for you. Rescue folks are sometimes more concerned with saving the dog than ending out with the best companion for they family. Bless them for the intent!

If minis are hard to come by, and you have experience with the issues of breeding animals and time to spare, I'd say, keep on plugging, go for a bitch that's worth breeding from, and make sure to keep health, temperament and conformation high. Go interstate if required . . . hell's bells, international if that's what it takes (NZ is much cheaper than other international). It's difficult to buy on a seller's market. But it's much more rewarding to be a breeder in a seller's market . . . the rewards aren't entirely financial . . . you also find a higher quality of puppy buyers . .. .more people who know the breed, love the breed, and will cherish whatever pup they are able to buy.

Publicity can do a lot, but there are limits. If there are more dogs than good homes, the outcomes are going to be messy (bad home) or sad (pts) or messy that goes sad (escaped, run over, impounded, pts, or production of more pups that have a poor chance of finding a good home). I have lots of beefs with animal lib types, but they're right about the necessity to limit the total number of puppies born.