Royal Shows The Safety Of Our Dogs

[Hastings]

It's not just the safety (although that is a huge factor) I have seen some rather nasty incidents with children, fairy floss and coated breeds.

I like the idea of more passes, I only take one dog so only get one pass, but rarely go to a show by myself, I need someone to watch my dog while I duck off to the toilet or to get a drink.

Better facilities for the public to be able to watch would be a good idea at a lot of shows. I know at Launnie they provide a couple of bench seats but otherwise you just have to sit on the grass.

Also like the idea of meet and greet sections. Those who CHOOSE to go into a certain area can have their dogs interact with the general public and answer questions.

Perhaps a certain row of benches or a tent (depending on how your show is set up) designated for meet and greets, and exhibitors can come and go out of this area as they choose.

I Haven't entered the Melb Royal this year, the first one I have missed in #$%#@! years, all because of the debarcle at last years show. I had to remove a child with fairy floss from my Open dogs neck, and then to try to get to the ring was ridiculous, no walkway free of public. The photographer took pity on me and let me go through his area, as they were callng my number, otherwise I would not have got to the ring at all. Then after the show, having to run through red clay for a couple of hundred metres in the pouring rain. No I can do without that this year.

[Wyntervale]

You are all making me feel better about my decision not to enter this year!

I know I disappointed some by not entering, It had not one single thing to do with my dog, but I didn't know if I was willing/able to comply with their conditions.

I'm going to go along and observe and check it out for myself before deciding if I want to enter next year.

[Weizone]

We can't make the Royal organisers responsible for everything. Like others have said take an extra person with you to look after dogs etc, we are lucky that we show as a family and have friends that are willing to help out. Good thing about Hobart Royal this year is that you can select you own bench which is a bonus and usually with larger dogs we are in the area where public aren't allowed.

[BittyMooPeeb]

Have the people who had probs at the Melbourne Royal last year let the organisers know? I had the same probs - couldn't get to the ring, no trolleys allowed in the assembly are ( where or earth are we supposed to keep our dogs while we are in the ring with one?? ), nearly missed my call while pushing through the crowd with my Open Bitch held over my head etc.

I did write to Estelle Nix, but apparently I am the only person who has voiced concerns about the difficulties last year. Things wont change if people dont let the organisers know

[edgesmum]

I didn't enter Hobart Royal this year and one reason was because our breed was on People's day and I am so over spending the day watching wall to wall bogans pushing through the dog pavilions and being abused if I ask people not to touch my dogs. And over being too scared to leave the dogs for a nanosecond and worrying that when I come back to the benches with them after being judged that things will have been stolen.

Until security among other things improves I won't be entering for the forseeable future.

Edited to add, I much prefer Launceston Royal where you can take your car and trailer on to the grounds, can set up gazebos so you and your friends can watch out for each other more easily and where you are not crammed into an inadequate indoor space.

I was showing at Adelaide Show on Monday, and when trying to groom a double coated breed, and having kids trying to pat the dogs. I got fed up, and said to a rather feral looking teenage boy................'Please DON'T try and pat my dog'! he said in a very feral way.................'why the F*** not!' he didn't like my reply, it went along the lines of if he did, I'd have to go to hospital and have his arse removed from my foot!

[oakway]

I know people are saying we must be responsible for our own dogs and I am sure we are.

There is also a thing called Duty of Care.

As far as I am aware the the dog that started this topic was stolen from Adelaide Royal, was behind a barrier and inside a container for safety.

If this is incorrect would a person who does does know please post the correct details.

[kirst_goldens]

i worked in the NAB animal nursery last yr and many times had to tell parents i apoloise but i am not here to look after ur child i am here to protect the animals from them! It never goes down well!

Stuff them they need to learn some respect!

And i agree breed stalls like at pet expo would be better and each breed club could do a stall and decorate it and had out info... and people could offer their dgos that way once they are done in the ring it doesnt matter as much if sticky fingers touch them and we will be able to keep a better eye on whats going on.

[nynka]

I am fairly sure this isn't the first time a dog has been taken from a Royal show.

I think that the speed of media and everyones access to fast communication has seen this particular instance be known widely and quickly and that hopefully leads to the return of Harry.

[Aziah]

Of course everyone needs to take responsibility for their own dogs and not leave them unattended but that SHOULD be a given!

However the public shouldn't have such easy access to the exibits either...

[Rileys mum]

It's interesting reading this post. I personally hate walking through the dog pavillion at Adelaide royal and I don't show my dog. All the people in there drives me insane. It's stressful for us humans having hundreds of people milling around. I can only imagine what some of the dogs feel like. How on earth do you guys manage to groom your dogs before their classes with all those idiots around trying to pat and fluster them?

Personally I think someone should b able to duck off to the toilet and not have to worry about coming back and finding their dog gone. If the shows are only supplying entry for one person then they need to take better steps to allow for things like toilet breaks etc. That is a requirement of the show I think. The horses get ' grooms passes' ( well they did a few years ago when I was showing) why shouldent the dogs get something similar??

I believe there should be set time frames that the pavillion is open to the public, eg from 10-11 and 3-4 or something like that. The other times people can watch the rings from the grand stands.

[nynka]

I also believe somewhere there in the rules and regulations for Melbourne and / or Adelaide, it states that dogs MUST be on benches and NOT left in crates or trolleys....

[Dellcara]

I also believe somewhere there in the rules and regulations for Melbourne and / or Adelaide, it states that dogs MUST be on benches and NOT left in crates or trolleys....

I do remember reading something like that in the stuff that comes out with numbers etc ....

If they ever inforced that then I would NEVER enter. I have always had my dogs in crates or in their trolley.

[Firestone]

I didn't enter Hobart Royal this year and one reason was because our breed was on People's day and I am so over spending the day watching wall to wall bogans pushing through the dog pavilions and being abused if I ask people not to touch my dogs. And over being too scared to leave the dogs for a nanosecond and worrying that when I come back to the benches with them after being judged that things will have been stolen.

Until security among other things improves I won't be entering for the forseeable future.

Edited to add, I much prefer Launceston Royal where you can take your car and trailer on to the grounds, can set up gazebos so you and your friends can watch out for each other more easily and where you are not crammed into an inadequate indoor space.

No matter what show it is we never leave our dogs alone at any show. If it was just up to me we would not enter Hobart Royal and the last few years of Royals for us we have to purchase extra tickets to get in so our dogs are never alone.

With the no public access benches at Hobart Royal the public just go in anyway. We had people and kids come running up to our dogs last year and when it was pointed out that the public were not allowed in that area they got quite rude.

[Jsk]

I also believe somewhere there in the rules and regulations for Melbourne and / or Adelaide, it states that dogs MUST be on benches and NOT left in crates or trolleys....

They have something similar to this in brisbane.

The dog must be benched at all times not left in trolley, they can be in wire crates on the bench BUT you cannot cover them up. They must be on display at all times.

[Dellcara]

I also believe somewhere there in the rules and regulations for Melbourne and / or Adelaide, it states that dogs MUST be on benches and NOT left in crates or trolleys....

They have something similar to this in brisbane.

The dog must be benched at all times not left in trolley, they can be in wire crates on the bench BUT you cannot cover them up. They must be on display at all times.

yes they do .... what we did at Brisbane Royal was to actually put our trolleys in the bench - but, yes, they ha to be uncovered at all times even

when you took the trolley into the assembly area.

[Sayly]

I thought that the small dogs in Adelaide had inbuilt cages on their benches??? Well I'm sure they did two years ago when I was over there?? Most of the toy people seemed to padlock their dogs into the cages too from what I remember.

The benching in Adelaide is pretty open, with only a bar seperating you (and your dogs) from the public. So its nothing like Sydney where they are seperated by the big fences. We always took crates to put on the benches, so our dogs were secured.

Yeah he was in the cage, the scumbag reached across the barrier, opened the cage and took him.

As far as I am aware the the dog that started this topic was stolen from Adelaide Royal, was behind a barrier and inside a container for safety.

If this is incorrect would a person who does does know please post the correct details.

That's what is being reported and what everyone is saying. Kylie was taking another dog to the toilet and it appears she asked someone to watch her dogs when it happened.

[Jilla]

I don't show at Adelaide. It is disgusting and I refuse to put my dogs through it. I had a child rush at one of my dogs a few years back with a stick doll from side show alley. The point of the stick missed my dog's eye by a mm. When I spoke to the mother she took no notice and said I was there to entertain her child so why the fuss.... Easy decision - I don't enter and urge everyone else who cares about their dogs to do the same until they keep the public in the stands and away from the stalls.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Jilla

[Ceilidh]

I must be an extremely rare breed. I love the Melb royal, my dogs love the people paying so much attention to them, I have NEVER had sticky fingers, rude people, screaming kids or anything else unpleasant to deal with. I always put my dogs away in the covered trolley for an hour while we have lunch and they have a rest. When there on my own I have always been lucky enough to be benched next to someone friendly (afterall we all have the same breed) who will watch my dogs if I need to go away for the loo or just a walk around and then I watch their dogs while they go away. In short, I LOVE THE ROYAL!

[Sayly]

I must be an extremely rare breed. I love the Melb royal, my dogs love the people paying so much attention to them, I have NEVER had sticky fingers, rude people, screaming kids or anything else unpleasant to deal with. I always put my dogs away in the covered trolley for an hour while we have lunch and they have a rest. When there on my own I have always been lucky enough to be benched next to someone friendly (afterall we all have the same breed) who will watch my dogs if I need to go away for the loo or just a walk around and then I watch their dogs while they go away. In short, I LOVE THE ROYAL!

I have only done a handfull of Adelaide Royals but I love it too. I have had sticky fingers but I only put my girls out on display when they are done in the ring for the day or with plenty of time for grooming. I have had kids rush up and hug a dog sitting on the floor, I have had people mess up Ruby's face when I have just gotten it right (but then I've had showies do this at normal shows too without realising). I make sure my girls get a break and find it a great way to educate the public about my breed but this incident with Harry is going to be on my mind from now on. On Sunday I had a baby entered and she would have been incredibly easy to walk off with. We luckily had plenty of people with us and could have a handler, a holder and someone sitting with our gear and I ended up watching a friend's dogs for part of the day too.

I agree with more passes per entry. I wouldn't have an issue with keeping the public out of the benching areas if we could have breed stands on display.

Getting through the public to the exhibition area is sometimes impossible - a friend asked some people in her way to please move as she needed to get to the ring and got an incredibly rude reply. The public don't understand that the dogs are there to be shown and are not just there for them to pat and gawk at.

I found that this year plenty of people asked before touching my dogs but I had a bench on the end and the number of times adults leant over to pat my bitch without asking was incredible! I was sitting facing the other way until I realised what was happening and had to angle my chair to make sure I could keep an eye on this.

I love the Royal but there are issues and I don't have the answer.

[murve]

It's not just the safety (although that is a huge factor) I have seen some rather nasty incidents with children, fairy floss and coated breeds.

I like the idea of more passes, I only take one dog so only get one pass, but rarely go to a show by myself, I need someone to watch my dog while I duck off to the toilet or to get a drink.

Better facilities for the public to be able to watch would be a good idea at a lot of shows. I know at Launnie they provide a couple of bench seats but otherwise you just have to sit on the grass.

Also like the idea of meet and greet sections. Those who CHOOSE to go into a certain area can have their dogs interact with the general public and answer questions.

Perhaps a certain row of benches or a tent (depending on how your show is set up) designated for meet and greets, and exhibitors can come and go out of this area as they choose.

I Haven't entered the Melb Royal this year, the first one I have missed in #$%#@! years, all because of the debarcle at last years show. I had to remove a child with fairy floss from my Open dogs neck, and then to try to get to the ring was ridiculous, no walkway free of public. The photographer took pity on me and let me go through his area, as they were callng my number, otherwise I would not have got to the ring at all. Then after the show, having to run through red clay for a couple of hundred metres in the pouring rain. No I can do without that this year.

I haven't entered the Melb Royal this year due to we have a litter of Pappy Pups born Fathers Day, we went last year & did 4 days, what a Nightmare public wise trying to get to the rings . I actually caught some kid trying to feed the dog next to us, I stoped it, (we were watching the dog while the owner ducked off to the toilets). Next year we are taking our crates for the dogs Pappie & Whippet.

Public should be bared from the Benching area,