JulesP

Ok, what about Nancy's situation, that she describes here on a thread discussing her response to Jamie's letter. (Side note - follow Kim's posts for more progressive, compassionate sheltering information). Read that whole thread if you can, there's so much interesting discussion that may cause people to consider other's situations a little more open mindedly: Was Nancy's situation worthy enough? Or does she also deserve abuse based on the condition of the dog she was surrendering and the fact that she wrote she was moving on the intake form? Does she deserve compassion or a blog post calling her by name going viral condemning her in hateful, vitriolic language? Also, no kill shelters are very often closed admission. Not many will take an elderly dog with a low chance of rehoming. Those that do almost always have extensive wait lists. Just because there was a No Kill shelter there doesn't mean it was an option for Cocoa's owner. No. IMO taking this dog to the nearest vet and having it PTS would have been the ethical option. Or if this was impossible, taking it to the shelter and begging them to PTS while she was there may have been a possibility. And if you have no money to pay for euthanasia? Don't you have to pay to surrender an animal?

It is to do with the position of the dog when you have come to a stop. More so with a drop or stand than a sit. Stopping on the right leg and giving the signal helps the dog stay in position. Stop on the left leg and the dog needs to do straight down or it will be slightly infront of position.

For formal recalls I use 'come'. Out in a park I use their names and 'here'. Here usually involves them both coming into a heel position, that was their idea though :laugh: Handy as I am usually wanting to put them on their leads so they are just making it easy for me. I use 'stop' a lot when out. That just means stop moving and wait in any position. Very useful command to have.

lol. I have this every morning with Amber. She comes and sits for her pills. I pop them down the throat and then we sit and stare at each other for a while to ensure they have really gone down. Sometimes she is sneaky! I hate finding spat up pills at dinner time.

Mine tend to bark for a reason too and also appreciate it when I investigate. I did learn not to ignore them if they are carrying on as once I kept yelling at them to shut up and when I finally went out I found my nature strip on fire and the CFA putting it out! Sorry dogs.

Can they get the pond water tested?

The K9+ crates are my fav too

During the day they are outside but they have a sunroom that they can go into. If I go out at night I lock them in the sunroom as I don't want them chasing possums. They come in during the evening and sleep inside during winter. During summer they sleep in the sunroom.

I've got the official plastic tub but my dogs also seem to prefer drinking from the various water features I have in the garden.

I am really sorry Ruin It does sound like it is time to let him go. As his liver isn't going to be working well toxins will be building up and he may start to have fits and seizures as the toxins effect the brain. If he hasn't been having metrogyl, an antibiotic, you could ask to try that. Anything you try is only going to buy you a very short time though and it is always better to let them go a bit too early rather than too late.

Glad she is feeling better! Gorgeous photos too!

Actually sweetie anything you say on a public forum is my business or anyone else's business. If you want to keep it private take it to a private message. Well sweetheart as its a public forum I can pretty much say whatever I like, and as rule following is actively discouraged by several members I know they will appreciate my honesty and plain speaking, no holds barred. If someone is rude to me that opens the way for me to be rude to them right back, if you don't like it sweetie thats not my problem, it yours. Have a good day :) Lucky for you I do follow the rules of this forum as what I would like to say to you would get me banned.

Actually sweetie anything you say on a public forum is my business or anyone else's business. If you want to keep it private take it to a private message.

Ok I'll make a deal with you I won't repeat myself as you all know where I stand. Lets not forget I've been called crazy and it's even been alluded too that I've made everything up. I had a very traumatic event and because I live in a semi rural community there seems to be quite a few loose dogs. I'm not sure why we attract rushers, my dog is very well behaved on leash, perhaps that makes her weak and a target, can't really do much about that can I? Off leash she mixes very well with friends dogs and at the kennels, where she's described as easy going but doesn't submit readily to other dogs but is not aggressive. I readily admit I die a thousand deaths when I see an off leash dog and imagine all kinds of horrors that never happen. Being made to feel vulnerable makes me cranky, you may have noticed that bit. For the third time, It was me who made the crazy comment and it was in regard to feeling like you needed a weapon to walk your dogs safely, it was widely directed, not solely at you and I said THE ACTION of carrying this out stank of craziness. It seems to suit you to adopt the tag like a pouting child though, so carry on. I don't think anyone alluded you might have invented anything either. For goodness sake I don't care who called me crazy and who didn't. It was Razor who alluded to me having "contributory factors" and that all the dog incidences I report may be because of those factors. That's not a direct quote either, I can't be bothered looking for it. Now lets not get caught up in semantics of who said what to whom. I carry citronella spray only, which is harmless to dogs, not harmless because I say so, harmless because that is whats written on the can. I used to carry an umbrella but I got sick of having my hands full. I'm not looking to hurt anyone's dog despite the fact me and my dog were attacked. For the 100th time ( that may not be the true figure but I'm confident the post counters will be able to tell me what number it is ) I just want a relaxing walk with my dog without being harassed by off leash dogs of any type. Stop taking what I say personally it isn't aimed at you. Like it or not your actions and your reactions directly contribute to your experiences and the actions/reactions of your dog. My dog despite her owner, is bomb proof, she does not react badly, strangely enough she trusts me to protect her when she's on leash, perhaps because I saved her life once by risking my own, I must be doing something right. When she's off leash on an off leash beach, she stays close to me unless I tell her "free" and she has excellent recall, not by me screaming her name but by me whistling, she even responds to different whistle tones, I have one for stop. She has never been aggressive to another dog or a human. She lies under the table at my local cafe with her head on her paws, (I do not allow her to put her head on my foot as in dog behavior that implies ownership, she knows I own her and not the other way around)while I drink my latte, she has never reacted to any dogs going off their nut at the next table, she knows that's not allowed. I still wouldn't walk her off leash in an on leash area because I have consideration for others and I abide by the leash laws. I have only owned and trained one dog in my life, she is my first. I have friends whose dogs are highly reactive, who can't be walked passed another dog. I've taken them for half an hour and got them to walk with me, on leash of course without reacting to other dogs. I don't hurt them, I just let them know I'm in charge. I may be comparatively new to the dog world but I'm not unskilled in dog handling. So please don't try to teach your G'ma how to suck eggs. You are an embryo compared to me. Wow what a rude post! You have no idea of Razorblade's dog handling skills.

You obviously feel my last post was aimed at you, it was aimed at everyone who feels its ok for off leash dogs to be walked in on lead areas, if you fit into that description then I guess you are part of my target. I have not picked apart your posts, despite the fact you seem to have picked apart mine earlier on in his thread, and called me contradictory, which is a lot nicer than when someone on this forum called me crazy, but to be honest none of those labels really bothers me. What I'm attempting to point out is that the very people you support, could be the very people who help stricter dog laws be put in to place, its very simple for you to be part of those restrictive laws all you have to do is NOTHING. Let all the perfect off leash dogs sail passed you and say nothing, or you could go one step worse and congratulate the owners but if you really want to help society, you could compliment the owner and say "You do realise this is an on leash area don't you, I wouldn't want you to be fined". By doing nothing you are enabling the off leashers to take away our (and your ) freedom to walk our dogs. It will happen, google dog attacks and new dog laws, I am not making this all up, it will affect us all. Its not to late if everyone abides by the current law and makes sure our dogs are kept secure and on leashes where required and that stops most of the dog attacks it can only help us stay with the law we have. I'm not attacking you I just think there may be a downside to walking off leash dogs that may not have occurred to you. I know this is a small forum and does not reach a lot of people but its been worked out if you tell one person, and that one person tells another the word will spread like wild fire. In political circles its accepted that if one person writes a letter or an email to an MP on a subject that means 500 people feel the same way, which in their eyes is 500 votes. Taking that a step further if a group get together to try to stop dog attacks and get new laws made that make parks no dog allowed, we are all sunk. Off lead dogs don't just piss off other people with dogs, its not just dog walkers that get attacked. If you see an off leash walker, ringing the police won't help or the council, they want a name and address, just reminding nicely that this is an on lead area puts the thought in their heads that people are watching and caring what they do, they may tell you to F off but they still heard you, words that are said or written that you know apply to you are never forgotten, human beings are very susceptible to suggestion. All the off leash walkers I've encountered I've said very nicely (apart from the ones with scary dogs, I haven't been too nice then) "Are you aware this is an off leash area" and I haven't seen them since. They don't know who I am, perhaps I work for the local council, what do you think? You can't make people care about the law but they do care about being fined. Steph don't take this personally its not meant that way. You quoted me - if you were not responding to me, then don't quote me.. Edited to add - in my opinion, there isn't a downside to walking a well trained/behaved dog off lead. I wouldn't do it but I have seen a few and to be honest, they are a non issue. You don't have to lecture me on the problems of outdated dog laws - I have been a dog owner and a member of this forum long enough to know what is and isn't OK.. So you spend your spare time making sure all the off lead dog walkers in your area are aware it is an on lead area or they can be fined - good for you.. I have much better things to do with my time - like enjoy my walk with my dog, instead of worrying about something that is of no concern to me (remember I am talking about well behaved/trained dogs who don't run off to meet me and my dog - they simply go about their walk like I do).. If the dog was off lead, menacing and appearing dangerous - it probably wouldn't have an owner with it in my neck of the woods. So in this case, I would put a call in to our local ranger and let them know there is an off lead dog at such and such location. Now that owner should be fined.. Not the one, causing nobody any harm, minding his own business.. No wonder we can't take our dogs anywhere anymore.. If you have aren't too concerned for you dog. I'm happy for you. But some other people on the forum are more vulnerable and have more fragile dogs due to age, illness, size etc. SO I do see why they would be concerned. I've had a dog that was very capable of defending herself. She could easily kill smaller dogs if she wanted to. But breaking up a fight is just an inconvenience on my walk. Nobody wants to deal with this stuff every time they duck out for a walk. I just think we shouldn't have to go out of our way to make things more convenient for people who want their dogs to be "free range". Why some people believe they deserve special rights? I don't know. I'd like to see what happens if there are NO leash laws- may the best dog win... losers can R.I.P. If there were no leash laws no one would leave their houses, imagine us all walking off leash, all those looney dogs that are normally on leashes running free, actually I see your point, we could have no leashes every alternate week, I'd just stay at home while you all battled it out. It would certainly thin out the herd. I guess there might be some wannabe off leashers out there that might think they'd like to have a crack at practicing their off leash style. How ridiculous. You have made some reasonable comments somewhere in the middle of your 50 odd post diatribe, but now this is just getting silly. It is not a battleground outside everyones door. Think it is more like 163 posts on the subject. A couple of the post were in another thread but a similar theme! Really quite strange.

I am more concerned about dogs escaping from houses than dogs walking off lead.

All the people that pissed me off last weekend had their dogs on lead. Would rather walk past a polite in control off lead walker than a rude, out of control on lead walker.

Rainy days are usually pretty peaceful for walking.

The other owners not helping seems to be a bit of a theme. The owners of the dog that attacked me and my dog left me laying on the frigging nature strip and walked back into their house. I think that upset me the most. Bloody hell here was me thinking I was the only person that got no help at all, this seems to be the same story being told. What the hells wrong with these people, what happened to basic human kindness. If this ever happens again ring the police, don't hesitate, you were assaulted you will have a case. I rang the rangers actually. I think the people are mainly embarrassed and want to get the hell away.

The other owners not helping seems to be a bit of a theme. The owners of the dog that attacked me and my dog left me laying on the frigging nature strip and walked back into their house. I think that upset me the most.

Ummm I couldn't pick my border collie up either or do much to protect him when he was being mauled. I did swing him behind me which meant the dog latched on to his rump and bit that instead of his throat.

Have you looked on Cafe Press? http://www.cafepress.com.au/+dogs+gifts

Do they have to be dog themed? I would prefer some choccies or lollies to a cheap toy. Usually need a sugar hit after a comp!

Me too! Or maybe I don't - that's when I spend too much I think the feeding frenzy from Oz a couple of years ago scared them off doing that again .. we did go slightly OTT, didn't we :D . Friend here just got her toys today - so maybe mine aren't too far away. :) I think you might be right!

Actually the rules on this vary from council to council. My council has a on leash unless at an off leash park rule. The council next door has the opposite rule - off leash is ok unless it is an on lead area.