RuralPug

It is ignorance on the part of the seller - and is false advertising to the buyer. Unless each parent was a purebred of the named breeds, the puppies ARE not whatever made-up name is created from the two breeds. the best that can be said is that they are a "madeup name cross". I have no problem with people seeking a certain type of mixed breed, or crossbreed but the sellers should at least know the correct name for what they are selling - the same goes for breeders of purebreds as well - shephards, English staffies, chiwahwahs and the like.

The whole thing stinks. One reason that we only use Rescue Network links when sharing an adoptable pet ad. We still use PR - for the time being - but never share those links.

i t will depend on your state law in QLD, but I strongly suspect that to be considered abandoned and rehomable a pet MUST go through the hands of a council pound or accredited animal welfare shelter. This didn't happen in your case. I am sorry to be be of the opinion that she is not legally yours, even if she may be morally yours.

I understand why some breeders take deposits but in my opinion any non-refundable portion of the deposit should only be enough to cover re-advertising if the would be buyer changes their mind. Asking such a huge percentage of the total price as a non-refundable deposit seems to indicate that money is the object, getting the product out the door ASAP, and not the health of the future family member. A red flag to me. $250 is too high in my mind and the total price is too low in my mind, indicating to me that the breeder is not likely to have had both parents undergo the responsible health tests to cover the known problems that can occur in both parent breeds. Some cross breeders are so ignorant about genetics that they firmly believe that all crosses with automatically inherit only "good" genes and all the problem genes are flushed away by the cross. Sadly a high school biology student could tell you why that ain't so. Some are even more ignorant and advertise mutt cross mutt as a pure x pure, not realising that each parent has to be purebred to result in a cross breed. Anything else is a mixed breed, aka mutt. You may ask which parent was maltese and which parent was shih tzu and be told that no, both parents are maltese shih tzu crosses and so were all of their parents!!!! There are wonderful mutts out there but it is a risk purchasing a puppy from someone so completely ignorant about the species they are breeding. Taking pot luck on a mixed breed should be reflected in the price, which is why some advertising sites will not allow crossbreds to be advertised at more than $500 per pup. I'm sure that there are breeders of crossbreds out there who do breed for health foremost, but they are (a) in the minority of cross breeders and (b) are easily identified because they proudly state the tests results of sire and dam in their ads.

LOL more Mountain than Bernese!!

I actually got the impression from Juice's post above that Barbie is scared of all men, and the teenage son just falls into that category for her. I have met many dogs that are slow to warm up to strangers of one gender but are quite happy with strangers of the opposite gender. Time is the only real cure and seeing other dogs in the household giving love and cuddles to the scary gender always helps!

Actually if what the article says is true about both her eyes being ruptured untreated and her coat being severely matted together with her owner not updating her microchip details, there is possibly even a case for cruelty against the owner. In those circumstances it may have been kinder to put her down on the spot rather than hope her uncontactable owner would cover the emergency vet work that was required. Could it have been should we let her continue to suffer for the minimum impound time and likely have no owner come forward or give her peace now? I'm just glad that I am not the one who had to make that decision.

@PossumCorner needing a pirate type name for a black boy sired by Black Jack - I don't see how you could go past "Cap'n Jack" for his name. Signed, Pirates of the Caribbean tragic.

I agree with Maddy on that. Leaving aside breed specialty rescues, which are a different kettle of fish, if the rescue or shelter mostly offers for adoption the less popular but common mixed breeds at reasonable prices then I see no problem with them charging a substantially higher price for a popular type or baby puppy if one or two should happen their way. However I am the first to sneer at so-called "rescues" who offer almost nothing except highly priced puppies. As far as I am concerned these (and there are a few around) are simply a front for puppy farmers and blacken the name of rescue.

I know her coat looks silky in that picture, but she has massive undercoat, which Silkies and Yorkies don't have. Nor does she have that distinctive long thin nose with forward facing eyes that Silkies tend to share with most of their crosses. It is more like a Bearded Collie sort of coat. I sincerely doubt that any of her grandparents were purebred anything LOL but really, who knows? She is clipped somewhat Ike a Schnauzer these days (sorry can't find a pic) which suits her quite well.

I can't agree. I believe poster was genuinely asking for advice.

@Selkie Those recognised first crosses are always between breeds that are not hugely different. Would you be as happy with a first cross Shetland x Thoroughbred or say Connemara x Freisian? Pretty pointless wouldn't you say? I do agree that livestock breeding organisations that allow crossbreeding don't have much of a problem with it. This is because livestock breeders generally cross for good reasons. The percentage of crossbreed dog breeders that do it for a good reason, and health test all their breeding stock and generally breed ethically is very low indeed. It is sad. How many times have I seen an owner saying that their puppy was sold to them as CutePopularToylBreed1 x CutePopularToyBreed2 so why is it now 35kg at six months and looking distinctly like a bull breed type? (hands up anyone who has never seen a similar question!) I see it all the time. This girl, who was surrendered to my rescue before I closed it and joined a national group, was sold to her surrenderer as a baby puppy as an "Australian Terrier". Of all the breeds that she probably has in her, I doubt very much that Australian Terrier is included. Probably the puppy farmer had no idea there was such a breed and thought they were coining a cutesy name. She is about cocker spaniel size and weight.

Thanks for that @asal to be honest with you I wan't trying to lower the risk by Mendelian maths but more by human nature maths on the theory that an accidental blue was less likely to have health problems than from a breeding designed to maximise the amount of blue pups in a litter. I am not disputing your statement in any way. In fact my knowledge is genetics is so terribly out of date that I confess that I still the word allele and had to guess at what an elle might be.

@Katarinasmum that is a terrific explanation!

In my view the ranger was at fault for not checking the chips - they were aware the dogs were chipped, but not on the NSW register. Basically council failed to check the national registers (which they were required to do) and caused the whole brouhaha. Next it wasn't very nice of the rescue to advise the previous owner (AFTER the dogs had been rehomed) that her dogs had been found and were alive and she couldn't get them back so bad luck. I feel that as soon as the rescue rec'd the chip numbers they should have queried the pound - yes, they had probably paid for transport at that time (unless it was pledged) but I suspect that if they had asked nicely the owner would have reimbursed the transport fees and paid to fly her dogs back. Since she was willing to pay $1,000's in legal fees I think she would have bellied up for transport costs and reimbursed the rescue any costs. So that rescue is no longer one I recommend. The whole thing gives rescue a bad name. No precedents have been sent whatsoever,

Honestly, if he wants a blue staffy get him to steer clear of breeders who specialise in blues. He should look for a pedigree breeder who does the recommended health testing - and the best tip I can give is to only buy a blue if neither parent is blue and not more than one of the grandparents is blue (even better if none of the grandparents is blue!) That way you are most likely to avoid the health problems that come with double dilutes.

(1) you can hang a small bell near the door and teach him to ring it when he is ready to come back in. It will take some time and effort on your part but will save your door. Training instructions for that are in this link. (2) you need to understand he is not a mind reader. When a new situation happens, like you described above with the packaging, he was not to know that it was not a new toy - most likely you have given him plenty of things to chew when he's outside. You need to not put him in situations like that! (Apologies if that sounds harsh, but more than likely he knows not to chew things inside so how was he to know that a new thing outside was not for him to chew?) (3) train him to go to a certain spot on command (usually a dog bed or similar) and stay there. Whenever you are eating, send him to that spot. Heaps of how to train that online if you google for that. He will still probably watch every mouthful from fork to plate but that is easier to ignore when he is across the room! Remember to reward him for staying put! Lots of luck and let us know how you go!

You will find that similar types are made to insert into dog crates as bedding. Most are washable, some are reversible, some are thinner than this, others are thicker. Just google "dog crate beds australia" and see what pops up. Kogan has a nice 42" one. If you are happy with Chinese manufacture, these are on ebay and there is probably more on ebay.

Livestock guardian dogs are not hunting dogs. Although they may protect livestock by killing invasive predators, they do not actively hunt. Although under this legislation they might be as they will also defend against wild dogs and dingoes (which are not "small vermin") so it is a very good question.

The first thing to remember when buying either locally or interstate is, as has been said above, find a good breeder. I have never had any trouble myself but I have a huge national network of dog show friends that can help me suss out breeders. You have done your research into what breed will suit you, now is your chance to research "what distinguishes a trustworthy breeder form an unethical one?" I would also recommend that, as part of that process, you utilise one of your friends or family who live near one of your selected breeders to visit that breeder and (with the breeder's permission) send you phone videos of the breeder's dogs in their home environment. Those videos, together with their impressions of the breeder and how the dogs are kept should make up for you not being able to visit yourself.

Where was the ad posted @Maddy? I really don't know either way, but if it turns out that someone is taking the MDBA's name in vain, as it were, then someone should let them know. They seem to me to have bought enough trouble with their own decisions let alone having someone misuse their name! If you have a screenshot showing more details you could email to the MDBA info address and just ask them if they are pedigreeing or registering F1 crosses?

My guess would be that the media has worded this awkwardly in the article. It makes sense to me that the high rego fee is for dogs declared dangerous and restricted breeds. Some of these dogs may be hunting dogs (as you say, most probably for pig hunting and holding) but not all hunting dogs will be automatically included as dangerous or restricted breeds if that makes sense. i think basically the govt is saying that it understands that some pig hunting dogs may be dangerous dogs and will be so treated. It is not saying that all dogs used for hunting, retrieving are are dangerous dogs.

I doubt that the hyperactivity has anything to do with the surgery. Sorry, but at six months old your pup has just become an adolescent! This stage will probably last until he is about 18 months old. As he is a poodle cross, you will need to up his training and make sure that his mind is kept exercised! This brief article gives you an idea of what to expect and how to deal with it: Bringing up pup - From Adolescent to Adult There are some great tips in this article: Surviving a Canine's Adolescence This in depth article has lots of suggestions and information: Raising a puppy: Dealing with dog adolescence You might find, as many of us do, that the next 12 months is a frustrating time - but put the effort in and you will have a family member that you can be proud of for the rest of his life! Good luck!

I'd just like to mention one thing. Probably not a problem while she's under 6 months old. but I wouldn't make a habit of feeding her straight after her morning walk as that can lead to bloat (gastric torsion) which can be fatal. Best to have an hour between exercise and a meal. Although if her morning feed is via a snuffle mat, that would lower the risk of bloat because intake is not as fast. Everything else you are doing sounds wonderful!

Steam cleaning by itself won't remove the scent on the rug. You must use an enzyme cleaner - most professional carpet cleaners will apply enzyme cleaners if told that the dog is constantly using that spot. If that hasn't happened you will have to apply an enzyme cleaner - most large pet stores stock them. Some common brands for clean up after inappropriate deposits are Urine Off, Nature's Miracle and Yours Drooly. These are also great for removing other biological stains such as blood and vomit. There could be a hundred different reasons why it first started. Perhaps an upset tummy one day that caught him by surprise, perhaps a noice frightened him, heaps of reasons. Once it happened, there are two main reasons for the return to that spot the first is odour, treat as above, the second is something called "substrate preference", which means that your dog prefers that surface for his poo and/or wee. The best way to treat substrate preference is to change the habit by removing access to that substrate - in this case, take away the rug or place alfoil on top of it when you can't supervise him in that area. You should also reinforce the preferred toileting area by removing or blotting inappropriate deposits with a tissue or paper towel before enzyme cleaning the spot and placing that tissue or paper towel outdoors on the preferred spot.