SkySoaringMagpie

If it was me, I would leave your canopy because the obedience people setting up usually overlaps with the end of the show. As for any other gear, that depends on whether you trust your fellow showies and obedience people. I "lost" two water buckets and a Mason Pearson at Bermie a few years ago - left them on the roof of the car and got distracted, 10 minutes later they were gone.

Not sure the rings will be set up the day before so I wouldn't count on setting up on Thursday. As cvs mentions, this year Friday is a 5pm start. There is usually a good amount of room too so should be no need to set up Thursday. We have left stuff up overnight before, but the weather has usually been bad which offers some protection from idle hands. Not sure I would if it was a clear warm evening, and would definitely not leave the canopy on if I did.

http://www.weather.com.au/nsw/bermagui So far, so good - in comparison to last year anyway.

Nothing helpful to add except to say that if it's not too hot and we're there tomorrow Kurgan will definitely not be the naughtiest hound!

The forecast top is not the temperature it was during the morning. The show itself was completed by lunchtime. These observations for the closest weather station were posted on OzShow: 26/12:30pm31.8 26/12:00pm31.4 26/11:30am30.8 26/11:00am30.5 26/10:30am30.0 26/10:00am27.7 26/09:30am26.0 26/09:00am24.8 26/08:30am23.7 26/08:00am22.4 26/07:30am21.1 Not so long ago people were saying it was terrible some of us were considering going to shows in Grong Grong as Wagga had been subject to flooding. The whole time were were there we encountered water over the road once only and did not encounter SES at all. We did however spend a fair bit of money in the town so I'm sure the locals were happy to see us. I will be the first to say it's stupid to put your dogs and yourself at risk, but there is also a lot of armchair pontificating on this subject that is not backed up by the facts. I am hoping more NSW shows take the lead of this one and do early starts on forecast hot days.

Really depends on your criteria for dog friendly. If I had a pit bull I'd say the ACT. As I have more than 3 dogs and live in country NSW, I'll say NSW for me over ACT as NSW has no limit on numbers providing you don't make a nuisance of yourself.

We don't really holiday If we go for a weekend away it is always for a show, and we have a pet sitter for the ones who don't go. Part of the reason for the pet sitter is that we don't vaccinate after the 1 year booster so our oldies don't have the bits of paper you need to put them in kennels. I think the pet sitter is also better for home security. The one time we did have to put them in kennels was when we went overseas to a relative's wedding and they were all vacc'd for that. Any relief at not having to do walks/poo pickup/feeding etc was outweighed by worry about how they were doing. I have never been able to afford - or at least, never prioritised - spending on the cocktails by the pool pampering style holidays, and i guess what you've not had you don't miss. Like other colleagues with children tho', I do sometimes enjoy travel for work at least as far as the quiet hotel room is concerned. Again tho', I tend to miss the dogs.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/possums-...0122-1a0ow.html DOG owners in Melbourne’s inner north are on possum alert, fearing fines of almost $5000 every time they take their pets to the park. The City of Yarra is pressing charges against Andrea Krelle, the owner of a whippet called Tiger that allegedly killed a possum last winter in North Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens. The dog had been in a part of the park where the council allows them off the leash. The case will be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court next month. Advertisement: Story continues below Yarra mayor Cr Alison Clarke told The Sunday Age that incidents of dogs killing possums were rare. But local dog owners are up in arms, saying a proliferation of increasingly tame possums makes future incidents inevitable. ‘‘Even when you’re doing your best to be responsible you can still come unstuck,’’ said Adam Stead, a North Fitzroy dog owner who regularly walks his German short-haired pointer in Edinburgh Gardens. He said possums, used to being fed by park-goers, were constantly putting themselves in danger, and when dogs saw a possum they’d instinctively chase it. ‘‘To have this hanging over our heads is just unbelievable.’’ Jordan Wright, another North Fitzroy dog-walker, said he knows of a number of incidents in which dogs killed possums in the Edinburgh Gardens. ‘‘The council needs to understand that if they’re not going to control the population of possums, there’s going to be conflict with dogs,’’ he said. Wildlife Victoria has recorded more than 2700 attacks by domestic animals on native birds and animals in the past five years, while the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service says the actual number is likely to be far higher as most attacks go unreported. The Australian Veterinary Association last year estimated that domestic cats kill around 75million native Australian animals a year. The City of Yarra received 64 reports of alleged dog attacks last year, with two incidents now the subject of court action. Sixteen dog owners were fined $300. Possum numbers in parks are on the rise, partly because of a dearth of natural predators in the urban environment and partly because people feed them. Mr Stead says he has complained 30 times in the past three years to the Yarra council about people leaving food, such as bread and salad, for animals and birds in the park. ‘‘The main problem is in winter when people tend to walk their dogs when it’s getting dark and the possums are active,’’ he says. ‘‘The possums, which are used to being fed, are waiting at head height fighting for the best position. Even if you have your dog on a lead you can pretty much run into strife. A dominant possum will have no qualms about pushing another possum on to the ground.’’ Jackie Fristacky, the Yarra council representative for Nicholls ward, says well-meaning possum feeders are actually endangering the creatures. ‘‘This has been a long-standing issue for our inner city parks,’’ she says. ‘‘If people leave food out for possums it does encourage them to come down instead of feed in the trees and it encourages them to be less wary of people — and the dogs with the people.’’ Ms Fristacky says in eight years of being on the council she hasn’t heard of a dog owner being taken to court over a possum attack. The Department of Sustainability and Environment warns against feeding possums as it can lead to dietary imbalance, dependence on the food source, artificially high densities of possums, and it attracts rats and pest birds. Ecological consultant John Patrick, who last year submitted a management plan to the City of Yarra for possums in Curtain Square, says normally a hectare of land sustains up to four possums. In the square, there are 40 possums per hectare, endangering the trees and bringing the animals into inevitable conflict with other park users. Ordering a cull of possums, which are protected, would be controversial. Lord mayor Robert Doyle announced plans in November to counter possum numbers by installing nesting boxes for one of their natural predators, powerful owls, in Royal Park and the Fitzroy and Flagstaff Gardens. ‘‘You’ve got to have sympathy for the possums,’’ Mr Patrick says. ‘‘The problem is people feeding them, with the result the population has grown beyond what is sustainable naturally.’’ Mr Stead says requiring dog owners to muzzle their pets in the park would be a better solution than threatening them with court and $5000 fines

The tricky part is that many people are poor at managing their own diet for emotional reasons and feel shame about that, and many of them will be poor at managing their dog's as well for the same reasons. Not always the case, there are plenty of us mad dog people with lovely fit lean dogs who could stand to lower our food intake and up our exercise, but for your general punter I think it holds true. Food is also one of the easiest ways people can think of to show love and get some peace and quiet. It is much easier to toss a biscuit than get off your rear and do 15 minutes training or go for a walk. I feel sorry for vets, because somehow they have to cut through all the denial and bullshit and emotional incompetence to get through to someone about the dog's weight. And they are not paid to be human shrinks. Even my own doctor said he has stopped admonishing people about their weight because it takes too much time to deal with the defensiveness. He just has one of those plastic replicas of a kilo of fat sitting on his desk now

Troy!

x 2 Not just for dogs, but for kids and the elderly too - I saw a distressed looking elderly woman in a car in direct sun at the local supermarket last year. People are idiots.

I'm watching a few clubs struggle at the moment, and some might fold. Put this in General because I couldn't put it in the Show Ring and the Training/Obedience/Dog Sports forum.

I'd put this in the suggestions forum where Troy will see it. I agree by the way, I am really sick of reading graphic descriptions of animal cruelty in subject lines and if it was in a separate forum I'd ask Troy to block it for me.

That sounds like a better way to do it. Thanks.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, when I imported a dog I kept my mouth firmly closed and told no-one except OH. Plus there are risks for the seller in chattering - other breeders in their breed interfering in their overseas sales for example, behaviour which I'm sure is not restricted to my breed. So I understand the lower key the better. This is the second time this year tho' that I have encountered trickiness around vetting homes. The other occasion was someone losing a sale after asking about a buyer and having the person they asked whisk the sale out from under them. In a hard to place breed that can be annoying. Ultimately it's que cera cera, but it seems there is a tension between vetting and avoiding drama/being interfered with.

Thanks Aziah. When you consult with others, do you ask them to keep your inquiry confidential as a matter of course or only if the inquirier has asked that you keep their expression of interest confidential? Background: I got an inquiry from overseas, from an area where a guy who is a major issue for the breed often uses third parties to obtain dogs because no-one will sell him one. So I am wary. Initial inquiry says nothing about confidentiality concerns. I email a person in the region who I trust, and ask her view. She gives a positive view of the person's dog ownership credentials. I then get an email from the inquirer saying please to keep her interest completely confidential. I agree but tell her I have already consulted with a friend and tell her the friend's name. She appears fine with that, she knows friend as well. Then after a bit of exchanging of email, I get an email saying that means she is no longer interested because rumours have started about her interest in a pup from Australia. I am not worried by her not taking a pup - plenty more fish in the sea - but I have always expected that if I make an inquiry people will get on the phone/email to their friends in Australia and say "who is this SSM person, is she OK?" and I expect the doggie grapevine to then work overtime. So I guess I'm just interested in the unwritten rules - basically I am really loathe to spend a lot of time with someone if it turns out I am wasting my time with a third party or broker. Can/should a buyer expect complete confidentiality about their inquiry?

Had an odd experience recently and interested in some views. When you get an inquiry from someone you don't know personally, but you do know is in dog world, do you ask someone who you trust who would know them what they are like? Or do you talk to them yourself for a while and then do the background check if the inquiry seems viable. Is your answer different for domestic and overseas sales?

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/M...king_Dog_Jailed A man who was caught on camera viciously kicking a puppy has been sentenced to eight weeks in custody and disqualified from owning animals for five years. Arthur Kent, of Welling, southest London, was filmed by a member of the public in Knee Hill Park as he mistreated his pet. Shock footage shows Kent yanking the young dog by its lead and delivering at least two kicks that knocked the animal off its feet. He was apparently angered when the puppy urinated on him and would not walk properly on a lead. The video of the incident was uploaded to YouTube and sparked a Facebook campaign to identify the man. Kent later handed himself into police and spoke to Sky News about how sorry he was for treating the puppy so cruelly. The dog was seized by police and given to the RSPCA under the Animal Welfare Act. A vet who examined the animal said it had been through a trauma. "They asked me how I could manage to kick 12kg with such force," Kent told Sky News. "I'm ashamed and disgusted with myself and want to apologise. I would never hurt any animal. "I've had dogs and cats my whole life. If I saw someone doing that to a dog I'd want to punch them in the face." Kent - who also owns a whippet-cross Staffordshire-terrier - was previously jailed for 18 months for robbery. Ahead of the hearing he told Sky News he expected to be sent back to prison if prosecuted.

Does this mean you didn't read my posts? Seems an odd way to have a discussion. I made four suggestions: - Lobby market owners to refuse access to NSW PFers selling companion animals - If that should fail, public awareness campaign about buying PFed pets from markets - Enforce current registration laws - Free desexing for pets belonging to welfare recipients and low income earners. Perhaps you could let me know what you're beating your head against? If there are repeat BYBers, wouldn't enforcement of current desexing, microchip and registration laws would give them cause for pause? Edit: If you are talking about compliance strategies, the first rule is to identify the problem behaviour you want to change. What is the problem behaviour?

Royal Canin and RMB/oily fish. I do not supplement, the dogs have naturally beautiful shiny coats (credit to the breeder there). There is also more and more research coming out to support the idea that supplementation can do more harm than good. I keep mine lean and in top running condition. As others have mentioned, many will keep a show dog fat, and in a short coated one it can take the place of sculpting a coat to give a desirable outline, etc. Normal parasite control, everyone is wormed on the first day of each season (ie, winter, spring etc - not bitches seasons). Unless there are worms present, I don't see any value in bombarding the dogs system with wormers. If they are constantly picking up worms, then you have environmental problems you need to deal with. I don't really distinguish between condition for show and condition for life. I dislike fatness and lack of fitness in my breed, and so I keep them fit, muscled and lean because it's what I prefer and what I want for them for a healthy life. My dogs don't get to sit on the couch eating chips and drinking beer during the off season. A LOT of this depends on the breed you are showing. People expect different things from a bulldog than they do a greyhound. Talk to the breeder of your dog.

Governments partner with professional/sporting/recreational bodies all the time to regulate behaviour. Infringement notices and prosecutions are not the only ways to improve compliance. That is what is troubling to me about this debate, there doesn't seem to be a willingness to identify the real problem and then tailor the solution. It's "there oughta be a law!" thinking which is the kind of thing I expect from talkback radio, not from the Greens. Alyosha and I have both mentioned the over the border PFers - I consider them a major part of the problem. How is this going to stop them? What are you basing that view on? I think there are more responsible breeders than irresponsible in the ACT if by breeder you mean someone who is not a BYBer. I am on a committee position with the ACT Hound Club so know all the registered Hound breeders in the ACT and surrounds. While I haven't seen in everyone's backyard, overall they are very responsible people - certainly the good outweigh the bad. We have some really awesome breeders in the ACT, and I suspect part of that is because it's a public service/university town. Most are well educated and spend time improving their knowledge about their hobby. If you mean BYBers as well, at the moment, in order to keep an entire animal you are supposed to either pay a steep registration fee to the Government or demonstrate your membership of relevant bodies, including the ACTCA. Enforcement of that law - which is certainly not sufficiently enforced right now - should have an impact on the number of unwanted mixed breed dogs winding up in shelters. So, how about suggesting the Government put more resources into following up on unregistered intact dogs and provide free desexing for welfare recipients? People are pretty wary. We can see a future where a breeder who gives their pups a great start in life is fined or prosecuted for having a run a centimeter smaller than mandated, or keeping an older bitch as a companion rather than selling her even tho' it puts the breeder over the limit for bitches allowed on the property. All the while the puppy farmers over the border will continue to churn out SWFs and sell them into the Canberra market without being touched. The fact remains that ACT regulators are NOT handing out fines and ensuring compliance sufficiently with existing laws so we are not ready from a policy development perspective to go throwing more regulation out there. There is no evidence I can see that we can fund the regime that is being proposed even if I thought it was a good idea (and I don't). In short, more unfunded regulation is not the only answer to social problems, something I would have thought the Greens understood better than most. And as social problems go, the situation in the ACT for dogs is not a priority when you consider it against some of the other social problems besetting the ACT.

Agree. A better strategy would be to lobby the Government to better resource compliance with existing laws. I also agree that if you could fix the markets problem that would be an excellent start. Perhaps the Greens could lobby the market owners/committee to refuse access to people selling companion animals. If that fails, perhaps team up with the local RPSCA on a "don't buy your puppy from a market" campaign.

I have one of those too, the redoubtable Lucy, whose cartoon portrait is in my avatar. Enough to break the will of most instructors. She does the famous "tune out" PF mentions, will roll on her back when she has had enough and wave her paws in the air. It is certainly not because she can't learn.

Love this thread, I'd be bored if my dog didn't raise the middle claw from time to time. It's nifty there are so many different breeds with so many different attributes.

I have to say, when I saw the question I thought "oh god, I'll hear that now in addition to the rest of the excuses". He's a rescue, so he can't sit He's a spitz, so he can't sit He's learning disabled, so he can't sit. Yeesh. Agree with PF that the greatest handicap most dogs have is their handler, and I include mine in that assessment