SkySoaringMagpie

Does she have enough appropriate chew toys? The routine I use is to stop them chewing the forbidden item and replace with a permitted chew toy. I would block her from the room when not there to supervise. You could also try some of the "hand of god" style aversives - scat mats and motion activated sprays. If it were me tho', wouldn't bother with those, I'd put her somewhere else with appropriate chewies or toys and wait for her to get over it. Ours did.

We have 7, we're on acreage. We keep a tight rein on numbers to the extent that we don't do foster failures (yes I know I just tempted the fates, but I've got strong views about it for us). Also when our oldies pass on, they won't be automatically replaced, ultimately I would rather our numbers be around 5. I would certainly not like to go above 10, even tho' we have the facilities to manage it, I think the dogs would miss out.

Don't know about WA but in NSW you have to pass two exams on these very things and if you live in Sydney you have to show up to a certain percentage of lectures too.

I can't speak for your canine control, but IF during that 10 years you have handled a good number of dogs to their titles and publicly contributed to conformation shows in your area (eg on committees in actual working positions) and have mentors that are willing to speak for your experience in the breed and assistance with their breeding programs during that time, you may well be accepted without the litters under your prefix. You have to have done the yards tho', and it probably wouldn't help if the committee said "who??" when they looked at your paperwork. Put the paperwork in and see what they say. Edited to say that I don't think saying that you've never bred a litter but want to be a judge to show others where their breeding is going wrong will be a winning strategy.

Luke, the rules in most places change if the dog is in its own yard. In this case, if the OP's dog has lived quite happily there for some time and this situation has been brought on by a new dog, who has dug under to get to the dog, then I wouldn't be conceding any legal liability. I'd also be phoning the council with my version of events to get on the front foot. The question of good neighbourly relations is a separate one, and there isn't enough information to go on here.

So, the dog was attacked by your dog while its head was in your property? Did either dog set foot completely on the other person's property?

The person who gives you a glowing reference will be the same person who rings up in 6 months time and tells you that you must recover the dog as the owner is completely unsuitable.

Sometimes I want to stick their owners' heads in the nearest poo bin, but all dogs are a product of the humans that bred and raised them. We are the superior species, so their behaviour is a reflection on our skill, time and dedication (or lack thereof). Susan Garrett has done a really good short paper on getting the most out of dog training including a discussion on the importance of errors. You can get access to it by signing up to her newsletter here: http://www.clickerdogs.com/

I think it's important not to confuse the amount of money with the lengths people will go, if that makes sense. An unwillingness to go down a high intervention path is not always to do with money. When I saw the dog with the prosthetic legs, it's not the cost that would prevent me doing it. I'd be concerned about whether the dog's quality of life would be appropriate for their breed/age. Likewise with cancer, some cancers have a pretty well known path and while you can slow things down, it will still get the dog in the finish. So is it worth all the chemo/amputations etc when you consider the dog's experience of the procedures and recovery? Up to the individual to decide. As the owner of dogs whose breed tends to get hemangio and bone cancer and whose primary love in life is high powered running, my answer is no. However, I would spend stupid amounts of money to restore a dog to full health if there were good prospects for good quality of life. I also spend a lot of money on pre-breeding tests.

This one? Yes, that's the one I was thinking of. Thanks MUP.

There is no breed where things are so perfect that one does not need to consider health questions carefully in a breeding program. My breed is often the one that is used as the example of "things are fine". Even Pedigree Dogs Exposed used my breed as an example of a healthy pedigree dog. However, there are health problems in Salukis. They are not dire, but there are lines that will routinely die before 10 years of age of heart failure or cancer. Is that what a companion buyer really wants? I would choose a breeder who tests for the basics (heart, thyroid, vet check) and shows you the original results from the vet over a breeder who claims that nothing is necessary or a breeder who makes grandiose claims about health that are not backed with the documentation or science. And as others have pointed out in this thread, there are breed specific sighthound issues that a honest person in the breed will identify and comment on for the lines they are using.

Agree with this, I haven't gone too late with a dog but have with a cat and if I could turn back time I would have relieved her suffering earlier. I also agree with Ams and others that if the light has gone out, it's time. If he's flat and miserable, and there is no hope of recovery, help him go.

It's almost purely a distance problem. We moved out on acreage in order to have more room for the dogs and for a tree change which meant we have a 56 km commute to work. That meant going to the obedience club after work, whether to teach or to train our dogs, became really impractical. It's enough of a stretch driving 110 km a day without driving 220 km (go home from work, pick up dog, drive back into Canberra, drive home again). If there was some financially viable way to "doggie day care" dogs for commuting tree changers in Canberra I would reconsider, and I've also often thought it would be cool if I could pick up my dog at lunchtime and walk around the lake and then have the dog picked up by a doggie day care person until I'm ready to go home.

There was actually a really good cartoon doing the rounds on FB of a FTGH dog spinning a prize wheel with all the horrible possibilities on the wheel. Can't find it now but perhaps a canny DOLer has saved it. That with a link to a webpage with advice on safe rehoming would probably do the job better than anything.

Not here, dogs with the original papers are in the minority. If there are papers 90 per cent of the time we would contact the breeder and ask them when they will be making arrangements to pick up/rehome the dog anyway. The only time we wouldn't do that is when the dog is no longer owned by the breeder and we've made a judgement that it wouldn't be in the dog's best interests to go back to them. Usually it's a matter of someone with breed expertise taking a look at the dog, you can nearly always tell who bred it or the lines behind it because the styles are quite distinct in Australia. If you have a microchip match you have your answer. There are also unregistered dogs around where the parents are known. Of course, if "papers" is code for "the dog's not pure" then yes, breed rescue has to draw a line somewhere. If you contact the IW club or IW people with information about a "wolfhound" that is 23 inches high they are not going to be interested. Breed rescue has to draw the line somewhere just like any other rescue, resources are finite and need to be concentrated on the specific breed.

Next time, say this.

Ams I'm late coming into this thread but I just wanted to say that I think you could still contribute a great deal to rescue with your advice and experience, even if you are not fostering yourself. You helped me sort some things out in my head a little while back. As we often say to others, you can help rescue without having fosters in your house yourself (training, photos, breed advice, donations, transport etc)

Thanks dogmad, much appreciated!

I have a dog going to a new home on Wednesday. She is currently chipped to me in NSW, do I just grab another form from my local council to transfer the microchip to them in the ACT or do I need to use an ACT form (if so what, I cannot make any sense of the TAMS website)

If it is a choice between a dog's life and a human's life, especially a younger human in your charge, I think there is a clear choice to be made. However, I agree with the subsequent rescuers that he should have returned as soon as possible with appropriate equipment and serious intent to bring the dog back.

This thread is a good example of why it is important to always ask the regulator themselves. At least if you have an email from the regulator, you know exactly where you stand.

Agree with this for all questions about what Customs will and won't let through. However, as they are a homeopathic remedy (ie, functionally I suspect they would be treated just as sugar lollies), I'd say you're probably quite safe.

Some great comments so far. Just a couple of additional thoughts. Temperament is linked to conformation. A dog who has arthritis or muscle tears or damage as a result of poor conformation can be grumpier and shorter in fuse than a physically sound dog, particularly if owned by someone who is clueless about their limitations. It's not, as HW says, an either or thing. It's all interconnected. I also theorise there is a link between anxious temperament and some autoimmune conditions, but that's not a scientific observation. I think we have to define what we mean by good temperament. Dancinbcs made a good start upthread.

Well, instead of just making dismissive comments about other people's posts, you might actually want to share a few ideas of your own. Assuming the purpose of your argument moves beyond simply disagreeing with someone for the hell of it that is. Agree with this, you've made a radical assertion but you're not prepared to provide information that supports your argument. Perhaps you are concerned that acknowledging that there is such a thing as breed characteristics is tantamount to agreeing with BSL. It's not.