SkySoaringMagpie

There are some serious things being put in the light hearted thread including requests for advice. Sway has already pointed out that it's supposed to be a light hearted thread so let's shift those requests to this thread. Can we please stick to practical solutions and get beyond ranting "but they shouldn't...." because no amount of "they shouldn't..." written on the internet is going to change anything or empower anyone. ACDs4Life asks: Crowding - while either gaiting or stacking your dog, there is something so rude about having someone (deliberately) jammed up behind you. I understand if you are going quicker than the dog in front you can pass behind them. What is the correct protocol if someone is crowding you? Move forwards if stacked or slightly inwards if gaiting? Looking for input / suggestions here please; it's getting frustrating. In the line up, leave an extra dog length in front of you to move into once the person behind has stacked their dog - don't move into that space until they've stacked their dog. If they move up on you again, say to them "don't crowd my dog please". If they tell you to move up, just politely but firmly say no, my dog needs space. Likewise if the person in front of you is baiting their dog so it shoves its butt into your dog's face, put yourself between that dog's butt and your dog's head. Don't let you or your dog be shuffled around by people taking your space. On the move the most popular advice is to stop and let them run into you but I don't think this is wise as you need to be skilled, strong and agile enough to ensure that the dogs don't get hurt because of their owners' little games. People won't overtake and you can avoid running up on someone in most situations so doing it is either lack of skill or a deliberate tactic. If the person has been showing for more than a year, it's probably the latter - you'll notice that they don't run up on those who won't tolerate it. Options you could consider include: - don't be nice and wait for the person behind you to set their lead but just take off (if you know they are a serial offender). - before you take off, tell them clearly but politely in a confident well modulated voice so the steward and judge can hear "Give me space please". - make a fuss if they do it anyway "I asked you nicely to give me space and you're running on me anyway? Why?" - If your dog doesn't care you could try making a game of it with the dog and chattering in a loud sing song voice "he's trying to put you off, isn't that funny? We know that won't work!" Don't take it too seriously, someone used this to absolutely hammer me when I was new and I took it pretty personally. I still think bullying weaker people isn't exactly a great character recommendation, but it is a big game and you can make yourself a harder target.

I've started a new thread for practical solutions to problems. I'm pretty sure Sway intended this to be a funny/light hearted thread.

Yeah but in defence....sometimes you are damned if you do or damned if you do. On this subject: http://samojed-klub.sk/swb/articles.php?article_id=20

I have done this a number times. What I do is: Work out which flight I would like to go on being sure to pick one that is direct, not stopping over in Sydney etc. Then before booking the flight, I phone AAE and ask if they have space in the hold available on the flight. If they are all booked up, then even if you can get a seat on the plane, your doggie might not get space in the hold. If they have space, they will want the weight, and the dimensions of the crate, and the dog's name. You book them in, and they send you an email with the lodgement forms, booking # and info. Then I book my seat with Qantas. If you don't have a crate then Dogtainers or a similar company will rent you one, which you can pick up at the airport (you have to pre-book this). Find out where the AAE office is ahead of time, many airports are tricky, and you have to lodge the dog 90 minutes prior to your flight. I was nearly in tears picking up a rescue dog at Canberra once after they moved the AAE office and had absolutely no signs at all anywhere to say where it had gone. PM me if you want to ask any other questions. I have also sent dogs with my OH via Virgin to QLD, different process but I don't use Virgin from Canberra to Perth as they don't have a direct flight. EFS

The show police, close relatives of show truant officers who make it their business to know who is at which show, with which dogs, how far away from home and why. They also assess excuses for not showing up to shows and issue covert reprimands for those alleged to be competition dodgers or judge chasers They have cowed many people, who feel obliged to post on FB that they are not going to the Very Important Big Show for a super good reason indeed or are only showing at the Back of Nowhere Ag because they were in town anyway to visit their Aunty Mabel.

That's partly why I am considering it. Google translate does a passable job of many European languages but it totally mangles Arabic.

I'm pondering whether to try and crowbar some time into my schedule to learn Arabic. A few of the serious breeders in my breed have done so. Advantages are that you have better access to online discussions and can communicate to some extent online with COO breeders. So interested if others speak the language of their breed, and if they use it as part of their work in their breed. Was thinking there'd be a few German speaking GSD owners for example.

Go Razz go!

Rebanne, I was thinking the same thing, except that the DogsNSW site says to puppy buyers: Puppies should not leave their mother and the breeder until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Vaccination records, registration certificates, a copy of the pedigree, microchip details (which is a state government law), a puppy care and diet sheet should be available to you when or before you collect your puppy. So to me that says I might have to hang to them longer - which I'm not super keen on for development reasons. All my doggie friends might find themselves with an 8 week old puppy to socialise for two weeks. That should make me miss popular ;-)

Now that most of us have to sort out microchips prior to registering pups, what age do you chip at and when do you send the registrations off?

This might sound really dumb but are you sure your email is working? I took the trouble to write a 3 paragraph reply to someone with an inquiry on Sunday and the email immediately bounced...

Joan of Arc clarifies upthread that she is in NSW but the show was in Victoria. I think the default "location" for profiles is QLD, which is why some people appear to be from QLD when they are not.

Good on you! I hope lots of NSW folk take up your suggestion. I don't know the specifics of the NSW 'taskforce'. But such a group should exist not just for individual members to press their their own agenda. It should be a 'round table' affair where members step outside their own agendas to listen to other perspectives. And there would need to be some review process that oversees their work. Taskforce Members: Animal Welfare League NSW, Australian Companion Animal Council, Australian Institute of Local Government Rangers, Australian Veterinary Association, Cat Protection Society of NSW, Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, Dogs NSW, Pet Industry Association Australia, and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals NSW. If you live in NSW this is serious folks, do the survey and follow up with your local member.

This is a really case by case thing, but in some ways I'd rather see a track record of rehoming from breeders and rescuers than otherwise. It's very easy to slip into a situation where you are over your head, even after one litter. Far better to rehome responsibly than to end up in a mess. My views are different for companion homes because the person isn't involved in the messy business of breeding or rescue. Ideally they have put some thought into the kind of dog they want and the investment they will need to make. Unlike breeders or rescuers, they don't have to think about making "places" available to continue their work responsibly. So I do expect companion homes will make a "dog is for life" commitment. That said, ultimately I agree with Espinay, the how is much more important. If you're going to do it, do it well and do it responsibly. I like the rule that some breeders have mentioned, which is, the home has to better than I am currently providing. More attention, more training, more time, etc. Edited for clarity.

We should all be responding to the official survey if we live in NSW. I did mine this afternoon. There is some clear empire building going on by some of the members of the taskforce. I find this rather sobering given that there is no power of review over their actions. Link to survey off this site, think carefully about whether extra regulation will fix people who will never comply anyway, who sell BYB unregistered dogs off the local shopping mall noticeboard to uninformed ill-prepared people whose only qualification is that they have the cash or just the willingness to take the pup away. http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_generalindex.asp?sectionid=1&areaindex=CATASK&docu

The only place I would consider in the region is Best Friend at McGregor, and only for short stays. Sorry I can't be more positive, but I have either had poor experiences myself or heard sad/scary things about the others. I won't get specific as last time this subject came up another DOLer got nasty phone calls. I have no association with Best Friend, and we prefer to get a pet sitter in. Others will travel as far as the place in Berrima to get something they are happy with long term. When I say sad/scary, I mean things like putting a pit bull in with a stafford after being told not to run him with other dogs - yes a fight ensued.

Middle aged, middle class, sensible clothes, solid worker - I should probably have one of the less glamorous gundogs...

Agree with InSha-llah. I have found that Salukis tend to work their way around elizabethan collars eventually anyway, they are very flexible and leggy. In these situations I've also taken myself off with the dog to the spare bedroom, made it clear to the dog I don't want them to chew, and then slept with them on the bed. Might depend how light a sleeper you are, but this was enough to stop Jadir messing with his stitches last year. Good luck, give her a pat for me.

I think, like many hot topics, this is going astray because of some conflation of identity (FIFO worker) vs behaviour (how they deal with the situation). For example, I agree with HW that toilet training would be a major issue for me with a pup alternating 1 week in a home and 1 week in a kennel. However, if the pup goes off to stay with mum, or in another home situation, then I'd not have a problem with it. My mother has never used kennels for her dogs, because my sister and uncle always look after them for her. She's not a FIFO worker, but a lot of people rely on friends and relatives, not kennels. In the OP's case tho', if kennels are what she is planning I would not sell a pup, not because she is a FIFO worker, but because her plan for her absences isn't good enough for a pup.

Snobs are everywhere, and some of the snobbiest just follow whatever seems to be the cool thing to do at any point in time, whether it's oodles, or teacups, or rescue crosses or rescue pures, or whatever. Right now it's not cool to have a pure breed, so the snobs aren't drawn to purchasing them - except the sub-class of self-identified snobs we have posting in this thread :laugh: And there's also a class of people who want everything that HW describes in terms of certainty but they want it from a rescue because it's emotionally comforting to have a rescue and not emotionally comforting to have purchased the dog. You know the "I want a Saluki, and it has to be cat friendly, and respect 4 foot fences, and no separation anxiety, but I want a rescue". Fine, but it means a long wait when well bred pups are available. And there are other ways to support rescue. I suspect part of the problem is that people have bought the "buy a well bred dog and a pound pup dies" argument, even tho' that is demonstrably not true. My elderly relatives cannot adopt the numerous 6-9 month old lab and stafford cross types that the pounds are littered with because they became too much for their much younger and fitter owners. They need a dog suitable for their resources and physical ability. Brown pound dogs die because some people breed irresponsibly and some owners don't take dog ownership seriously. They do not die because I breed a litter every 4 years of dogs that are only suitable for a niche market. My breed swiftly moves in to deal with dogs that find themselves in the shelter system and we are not a burden on all/mixed breed dog rescue resources. So why not buy a Saluki if that's what you really want? Why let yourself carry the emotional can for other people's shitty choices? I don't consider myself a snob despite the fact that my breed has a rep for having a snobby fancy. They are the only dogs for me, but I respect equally people's choices to do what really suits them and their lifestyle. When those choices become about suiting others, and their barely concealed agendas, then I get cranky. Edit - and to address Juice's point, I'll talk to anyone who approaches me for a companion. Only inquiries I don't respond to are hunting inquiries and that is partly (tho' not the only reason) because I think that pigger/roo breeders are a burden on dog rescue resources.

You'll be toasted for spreading it around!

We are entered, but at this time of year it is awfully tempting just to stay home under the doona. IW pointscore on Sunday so I'm guessing we'll brave it then even if we pike on Saturday. :D

and what regulation gave them the right to refuse your entry ???? Hmm, if Joan of Arc is in QLD I have no idea, but in NSW it's in the DogsNSW Regulations Part 2 Reg 13.4 (vii)

Yes. Is the person also on committee of the speciality club? If so I think you and the club will just have to wear it. If not, then if the rules haven't changed, you can return entries with good reason (think the exhibitor can go to the board tho' if you do) and this is one situation where a secretary/committee might choose to do that. Note, I don't know what breed you have and I'm not recommending any specific course of action. We need a CYA emoticon! Edit - I've assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that you are asking because you object. If you are asking because you want to do it, my advice would be that just because you're allowed to do something doesn't make it a great idea. In this situation, I wouldn't, and if I tried it with the breeder of my dogs, she would excuse me anyway.

Alyosha, what a huge pain. We were entered yesterday but also didn't make it - have had a sticky beak at the show results section on dogzonline and nothing for hounds, so we'll both have to rely on someone else reporting in! :D