SkySoaringMagpie

A brief Google search turned this up: http://www.bernation.com/rehomingandrescuedogs.htm Perhaps you could make them aware of the ad.

There are rescue groups that monitor FTGH/stupidly cheap posts on GumTree and grab the dogs/cats where they can to be desexed and rehomed responsibly. It's how I ended up with these two. Hoping he went to a group like them, not to a farmer. I think also there is a group who sends a standard email to FTGH posts for entire animals on GumTree warning them about the risks of rehoming an entire dog.

See my note above. Edited for spatial awareness. Earlier notes go above

You've lost me??? I am saying that Gumtree is a haven for irresponsible dog selling, and that people farming in backyards and elsewhere regularly use it. I am also saying that if they did enforce their policy properly, people would have to move on elsewhere, and at least at the moment you can keep an eye on what is happening there. I have two rescues in my loungeroom at the moment from a repeat offender who regularly sells on gumtree.

Except that it was added in October last year, and I've seen plenty of dodgy repeat selling on there since then.

Far out. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Still, I suppose if all the idiots are gathered in one place it's easier to keep an eye on them.

I would email or phone and ask DogsACT what the ANKC's strategy is for dealing with the latest round of pedigree scare-mongering.

Jules I'm really sorry, that's terrible. Run free Brock

I have always tried to deal with things on a "What's done is done" basis. There is bugger all point telling someone they shouldn't have got X kind of dog. If they already have the dog, you either be helpful or you shut up. In this case, I would probably say something like "they can be a bit tricky to groom, let me know if you get stuck with it I might be able to suggest something" or "Fifi's Grooming Palace are really great at grooming, I would take her there".

You know what I think the single biggest factor is in the health of the aboriginal sighthounds? It is that the environment is absolutely ruthless, physically and culturally. If a dog doesn't make the grade it is usually disposed with or dies. From the moment many dogs hit the dirt (rather than a nice bit of vet bed), most are living a much harder life with much greater demands than Western dogs ever will. I don't think that kind of cultural shift is the kind of thing the Jemima Harrisons of the world have in mind.

Sorry to hear this ish.

What are you aiming to prevent? If it's dog attacks, what people, dogs and circumstances give rise to most attacks?

Listen to PF, she is wise.

Kirislin is a much better photographer than I am, but for comparison purposes, a shot of Miss Mabs coursing:

Yep! That's Al Muzdaher Farousi Razeel, or Razz, to his friends. My Mabby's brother. she rattled off his name and I just said I'll take your word for it. I loved him though, I'll post some more pics later. I think she said 4 were imported is that right? Was it you who was flown to Bahrain to whelp the bitch? No not me. These Salukis came here through Mandy Manley-Smith in WA. And yes, there are 4. Two in WA, one in NSW with me and Razzie.

Yep! That's Al Muzdaher Farousi Razeel, or Razz, to his friends. My Mabby's brother.

Agree with those who have said talk to the vet. I would be careful that it wasn't more serious before agreeing with an internet diagnosis of KC. Coughing can be an indicator of heart problems as well as ticks. What does your breeder say about giving Benadryl?

Tasty kitty lamingtons! I agree with the others, put the tray somewhere that the cat/s can get to it to do their business, but the dogs can't get to it to sample the "cat truffles". Baby gates, hooded litter trays, trays up high, behind doors etc.

How does it impact the 'desexing cause' that being told overfeeding is the reason for their dogs weight gain and subsequent lack of energy? It's one of the easiest things to change and improves the quality of life. If more people were told that desexed dogs require less food and adjusted accordingly maybe there wouldn't be so many wives tales about 'desexing makes your dog fat'. A person who has always fed a certain amount doesn't conceptualise what they are doing after desexing as overfeeding, they see weight gain - not unreasonably - as the fault of the desexing. So how do you help? By first acknowledging that they are not imagining that desexing has had an impact. Then you explain, as GayleK has, the importance of selecting an appropriate diet. Edited to put in a missing article.

My experience is different. I went from struggling to keep weight on my dog to struggling to keep it off following a spey. Our exercise regime has not changed. RubyBlue makes an important point. Desexing often makes it necessary to cut food and increase exercise. Even then it can be hard. I think many trainers, breeders and showies are so used to adjusting food and exercise up and down for different dogs for different purposes that they forget that your average person finds it much harder to make judgements about whether the dog is getting fat and then follow through with changed arrangements. I don't think it does the desexing cause a lot of good to tell people that their experience of a dog getting fat and lazy is a result of overfeeding rather than desexing. It's often the result of a person not adjusting their dog's diet and lifestyle to compensate for the effects of desexing.

$1500 is a huge amount of money for a deposit, especially for a companion only. Most pedigree dogs don't cost that much in total. Is this a frenchie or bulldog or similar? Also, any dog, mixed or pure breed can develop a serious problem at any time. Yes there are some breeds where you go into it knowing that there are specific risks, but in those cases I don't think you'd part with that kind of money without sorting out how you felt about that first? There are no guarantees but the fact this breeder has tested is a good thing and reduces your risk.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110527080325.htm Zoologists of Jena University have presented the results of an extensive study worldwide concerning the motion of dogs and offered new insights into their course of movement. How does a dog run? Until now even experts found it nearly impossible to answer this simple sounding question. "We simply didn't know," says Professor Dr. Martin S. Fischer from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). A dog moves on four legs, in pacing, trotting or galloping. But so far, scientists could only guess at the exact motion sequence within the locomotor system. The reason being: "So far scientific studies were limited mostly to the movement of sick animals or to single aspects of locomotion," says Fischer, Professor of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology. To change this, Fischer and his team started a comprehensive study about the locomotion of healthy dogs in 2006 and have now presented the results. With enormous technical effort the scientists measured, documented and compared the motion sequences of 327 dogs from 32 different breeds. The dogs were filmed by two high speed cameras in different gaits from the front and from the side. "In addition we analysed the movements three-dimensionally," Dr. Karin Lilje explains. For this, the zoologist glued reflecting markers on the skin of the animals and filmed their movements with infrared cameras. These sent out short flashes and registered their reflections. Up to 1.000 images per second went into these analyses. "As the reflections were being recorded from several cameras we could assess the position of the markers in the room from the data," Dr. Lilje continues. Additionally, the movements of the dogs were recorded with a high speed X-ray video system. The University Institute for Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, which the Phyletisches Museum is also part of, owns one of the most modern and efficient systems of this type. "By combining these three methods data about the movement of dogs are available now in a precision so far unknown," says Fischer. Numerous displays and preparations of skeletons in today's schoolbooks and museums show how patchy and in some aspects fundamentally incorrect the knowledge about the locomotor system was until now: The displays position the hip and shoulder joint of the animals on the same level. "However this implies that these two joints correlate with each other and that they are the centre of rotation in the movement -- which is wrong as we could now prove with the help of our analyses," Professor Fischer points out. According to this in the course of the evolution limbs with three -- formerly two -- segments each developed from the legs. "And so the shoulder blade is added to the forelegs as a segment close to the body while the middle foot of the hind leg is being rebuilt," explains evolutionary biologist Fischer. Therefore it is not thigh and upper arm and lower leg and forearm that are correlated but the shoulder blade and the thigh, the upper arm and lower leg and forearm and middle foot. The centre of rotation of the front legs is the shoulder blade which is only connected to the skeleton through the musculature. The actual shoulder joint stays nearly immobile in the dogs' process of movement. "These findings will alter the academic teaching," Professor Fischer is convinced. For this zoologists present comprehensive material with their scientific results: With the help of high definition X-ray and position data the scientists animated the course of motion into video sequences. Thus not only the dogs' skeletons can be viewed from all sides, the corresponding patterns of musculature and activity can also be studied in detail according to the gait and the phase of the movement. "In contrast to previous animations our video sequences are based on exact measurements. With this we are setting new standards," Fischer believes. The Jena study provides another astonishing insight into the locomotion of dogs regarding the proportions of the front legs of the dog breeds examined. These were nearly identical in all dog breeds -- although, according to Fischer "it is clear that the upper arm of a Schnauzer is shorter than that of a Great Dane." Regarding the total length of a foreleg its length is always exactly 27 percent. Whereas the relative length of the shoulder blade varies between 24 and 34 percent. "The shoulder blade of short legged dogs is relatively long and that of greyhounds is relatively short. But the length of the upper arm always stays the same." Moreover the zoologists owe the discovery that the shoulder blade and forearm and the thigh and the middle foot are moving in matched motion -- as if linked -- to the X-ray view. "If the forearm is in a vertical position, then the shoulder blade will be in the same position," the Jena scientist explains. In its motion sequence this principle of a 'pantograph leg' is highly dependent on the length of the segment in between. "And that is the upper arm that is exactly the same length in every dog." From this can be concluded that all dogs run very similarly, no matter if they weigh two or eighty kilograms. Book reference: Martin S. Fischer, Karin E. Lilje: "Hunde in Bewegung“, VDH Service GmbH und Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 2011, 208 Seiten, Preis: 49,95 Euro, ISBN 978-3-440-13075-9

I've known people who have kept Salukis for years and years who have made one misjudgment and had a dog on the run for weeks. Sometimes they recover them, often they don't. They are challenging and hard to catch. Pharaohs are not dissimilar in that respect. I hope to God it never happens to me, and I have a lot of precautions in place, but it really does take only one split second lapse of judgement, especially when the dog is new. Also, there is at least one irresponsible breeder of Pharaohs - no names, no pack drill - but they are winding up in rescue and what I would call "semi-rescue". In this case I think the wisest course would be to contact local breeders and tell them about it. If it's one of theirs they are in the best position to help catch it.

I'm really sorry to hear this espinay, especially as I know that you put so much hard work into it.

OK, I'm sure we agree on this: that it is the responsibility of anyone who homes a dog to assess the dog in front of them and make a judgement about whether to home to any specific home. Part of that assessment should be the structure of the dog (whether purebreed or not), the family lifestyle and any sporting expectations. Another responsibility is to ensure the person understands that if they can't keep it, that it should come back to the rescue/breeder. A dog is for life, and all that. Against that background I don't have a problem with someone homing a dog that is not completely sound to someone who takes it for a walk to the shops every day and otherwise lets it self-exercise in the yard, providing they say to the person "this dog is not suitable for performance work". I think that's a better option than putting it down, which is the logical extension of you saying we shouldn't home any dog that can't fit a peak performance lifestyle. I would have a problem with someone homing that same dog into an agility home and I would have a problem with a breeder selling a desexed 8 week old as an agility prospect. I personally choose not to desex my dogs. However, I have the patience and infrastructure to manage entire dogs, and even then it's not always been easy. A neutered dog has a clear status before the eyes of the local council and anyone looking for a dog to BYB or farm with is going to pass them by. When done early, it usually also modifies behavioural problems that your average Joe finds embarrassing and hard to manage. I am not going to blame people who have an average lifestyle for neutering, even tho' I wouldn't do it myself. As for the GSD in the original post, there is no way I would be suggesting any dog for an active or performance home without seeing its rear construction both standing naturally and on the move - but that goes double for a GSD.