MolassesLass

I'm really surprised there are so few options in such a big city!

I used to instruct with Heather at obedience, small world!

Thanks for the recommendations so far.

All too often NILIF is explained without enough detail on when/how affection is allowed so owners are left believing they are being told to never give or allow affection. But at it's simplest, NILIF is just saying you never give affection unless you initiate it.

I'm not sure if the tying up will make your dog calmer, perhaps it will if it's not used to sitting in the one spot. But I don't see any harm in tying them up, so I'd give it a go.

The food thing is a winner though, definitely a good practice.

I am looking for someone to come in and observe my dogs and discuss some issues I think might be building.

I've searched old threads and they all seem to suggest Jane Harper but I like to compare 3 quotes before deciding on a service provider so was hoping for some other names.

Are they normally physical (i.e. the professional does things with the dogs or observes the dogs doing things) or verbal (i.e. the professional asks questions of the owner)?

Is one method better than the other in your opinion?

Every night withotu fail, no matter what we're doing/watching they will start whinging for dinner, even though they don't get fed for half an hour. If we feed them later then boy do we know about it

I'm intrigued by this whinging around mealtimes thing - do people mean that their dogs start barking/whimpering? Our two kind of just stand there and look a bit soulful - maybe it's just that they really can't tell the time

My dogs are all different:

The Bullmastiff will stand right in front of you and nudge you and get excited if you look at him. Eventually he starts to "huff" (not a full bark, we call it his "indoor voice" ). He does this whenever he wants us to do something (like let him outside).

Male BC comes and lays his head on my lap and looks up at me.

Female BC paws at me.

Does anyone have any examples of their dogs being able to 'tell the time'?

My dogs know when it's dinner time, they start hassling 30 minutes before the set time but don't get really excited until right on time. But! I don't think it is about "time"; they have been conditioned to the fact that the closing song of the TV show means they get fed. And with dinner, they are hungry so motivated by that to ask for dinner.

My dogs also don't know what time I get home from work but they can hear the car before my partners crappy human ears can and so they appear to know.

Ummm... even if the dog "only moved onto her lap when she stopped"have them restrained or contained?

T.

There is no NSW law that says that though , just that they can't be on your lap.

eta: the quote thingo stuffed up, but Im sure you know what I mean!

Wow! Qld is the progressive one for once.

It's not just being on the lap, if the police officier believe you are not in full control of the vehicle due to the dog, you can also be fined.

The RTA advises that police can fine a driver and issue demerit points if an animal is causing the driver to be not in full control of the vehicle, or if they are driving with a dog on their lap. The penalties are three demerit points and $338, but in a school zone the fine rises to $422!

A driver, motorcycle rider, bicycle rider or passenger must not lead an animal, while the vehicle is moving. Animals should be seated or housed in an appropriate area of the vehicle.

The RSPCA can also issue fines under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. If an animal is injured because it was unrestrained, owners face up to six months’ jail and fines of up to $5,500. The Australian tradition of carrying dogs untethered on the backs of Utes can land drivers with on-the-spot fines of $500.

How long would it take to groom an unmatted SWF?

I've always wondered why groomers seem to charge prices based on breed or size rather than time taken - why is this?

The AVA hip score information is here

That data says the current average is 9.4 (the first sheet anyway, I'm not sure what the second sheet is on about).

I hadn't heard that desexing would reduce the risk of HD, but I'm sure others more knowledgable in Labs would have some idea. In our breed most breeders I know would usually recommend desexing much later (around 12 months) as hormonal maturity helps with the development of bone and muscle structure - important esp if you are going to have an animal with a very active lifestyle. Maybe its different with Labs though?

JPS isn't desexing, it's a surgical, preventative, HD treatment. The vet was suggesting having the dog desexed at the same time the JPS is done (which needs to be at around 4 months old).

Jumblyjunior early desexing may make bad joints worse (without hormones, the long bones take a little longer to stop growing than they otherwise would have) so I would not be doing that if you keep this pup. I have nothing against early desexing in many cases (I do it for my pet BC pups) but it's not always the right thing to do.

"We would not have taken/considered one of these puppies with this score "

That says it all for me, I think the best thing to do would be to ask the breeder to take the puppy back.

If you kept the dog and in the future anything happens to the dog joint-wise you will immediately kick yourself for not having taken the dog back when you knew you didn't want to risk a puppy like that. And I don't think feeling like that will lead to a happy and productive relationship with the breeder (which I think is important).

It will probably really hurt (esp. for you kids) to give up the puppy but better now than later.

But if she thought she was going to find any sympathy for the misdemeanour there, she was sorely mistaken.

And there's none here either!

We are victims too: pony torturers

A FATHER and son who dragged a pony beside a car, almost killing it, said they would have to move interstate because they were being “victimised”.

Andrew Christopher Cook, 33, and Zachery Hudson, 17, caused public outrage when they tied a rope around a Shetland pony's neck and dragged him almost three kilometres along a bitumen road on Christmas day.

Gatton Magistrates Court was yesterday told how several witnesses watched in horror as the pony battled to keep up with the Commodore, being driven by Cook.

Police Prosecutor senior constable Karen Hall said Hudson held the rope in his hands through an open window, while the pony was forced to run alongside the car travelling about 40kmh.

Snr Const Hall said witnesses saw the horse being dragged along “at full speed with its neck stretched” as the car made a left-hand turn onto Stevens Road at Murphys Creek.

Minutes later the horse fell onto the wet bitumen road as Cook drove at speed up a hill.

The pair fled the scene when a concerned member of the public confronted them.

The court was told the pony, later dubbed Elf by RSPCA staff, suffered significant injuries including torn and bloodied hooves, eight badly damaged joints in his fore and hind legs and severe shock.

It was originally feared Elf would have to be put down but he made a remarkable recovery after four weeks of receiving “intensive medical treatment”.

Cook and Hudson, both of Murphys Creek in the Lockyer Valley, lost their home in the floods and yesterday pleaded for leniency in their sentences, claiming they never meant to hurt the pony. Defence lawyer Brad Skuse said Cook and Hudson had suffered a lot of stress and would be relocating because they were being verbally abused by the public after news spread of their animal cruelty.

The pair pleaded guilty and Cook was sentenced to three months' jail, wholly suspended for three years while Hudson was put on two years' probation with no conviction recorded.

They were both ordered to pay each $3820 for vet bills.

RSPCA inspector Shawn Jansen said he was “extremely disappointed” in the sentence.

- Story

I do not condone violence but a bit of a verbal touch-up is most definitely warranted here - well done Murphy's Creek residents!

The average breed score for Border Collies dropped 2 points between 2005 and 2009, that's improvement isn't it?

Boo! Though if they pay the fine it might mean something to them.

Pair who dragged a pony behind a car in Toowoomba have avoided jail terms after pleading guilty to animal cruelty

A MAN and a youth who severely injured a Shetland pony when they dragged it behind a car near Toowoomba on Christmas Day have avoided jail terms.

Zachery Hudson, 17, and Andrew Christopher Cook, 33, both of Murphys Creek, pleaded guilty in the Gatton Magistrates Court to animal cruelty.

Hudson received two years' probation with no conviction recorded, while Cook was given a three-month wholly suspended jail term, with a conviction recorded.

The pair was charged after tethering the pony, dubbed Elf by RSPCA staff, to a car with a rope and dragging it along Murphys Creek Road, near Toowoomba.

Elf's horrific injuries included severe abrasion wounds, some of which exposed its leg joints, and severely damaged and bloodied hooves.

Vets initially thought they would have to put the pony down, but it made a remarkable recovery.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the organisation was disappointed with the men's punishment, but added that the magistrate was bound to follow sentences in other comparable cases.

``We're obviously disappointed in the actual sentences,'' he told AAP.

``We feel that the sentence didn't stand up to community expectations.''

The attack on Elf was one of a number of sickening cases which had prompted the government to increase the maximum penalty for serious animal cruelty.

The state's criminal code will be amended to create a new serious animal cruelty offence carrying a maximum seven years' jail, increasing the penalty from the current two-year maximum, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

Elf's case has been followed closely by animal lovers via the RSPCA's Facebook page.

The pony is likely to be adopted by a charity which uses horses to educate and build self-esteem in disadvantaged young people.

Cook and Hudson have been ordered to pay $3820 each in compensation, which will go to the equine surgery which cared for Elf.

Having to have an "active SIM" I assume means paying for a phone contract for the collar. That adds up to a very expensive toy. I don't think I could justify it for the 1 in a million event where my dogs would get out of our yard.

Yes I do constantly worry but that's because I have anxiety and constantly worry about EVERYTHING. It's exhausting and a quite dysfunctional thought pattern.

ETA:

I worry about things like when I go to work and the dogs are left inside the house burning down.

Oh yes, the house burning down with them inside is one of my big ones. The other is that my big dog will be playing with the smaller ones and break one of their backs and they'll be laying in horrific pain for hours until I get home. And lastly that a burglar had killed them all so they can steal our stuff.

I won't use the HWI (same reasons as SecretKei has said) and I don't like combining drugs so I use the separate products. I give Paratak for intestinal worms, HeartGard (not the "Plus" version) for heartworm and Advantage for fleas when necessary.

Anyone tried this product?

I did find this http://www.pestrol.com.au/pestrol-gecko-fr...acc9d41e60e0b4c it supposedly repels.Don't know about toxicity or effectiveness , you would need to check.

But if you honestly want to get rid of them you can borrow my cat

Great thanks! Chasing the cat would be far more fun than chasing the geckos!

You find it traumatising to see a couple get squished by the door so you want to kill all of them?!?

It's the blood and gutz gruesomeness of the severely injured but still moving ones that I find traumatising. I find it very distressing to be faced with the grossness of putting them out of their misery (how does one do this humanely to a lizard?!) versus letting them suffer to death.

If there was a pest control spray for them they would just drop off the walls and be whole bodies that they could easily be transferred to the bin. If there was some ultrasonic sound that kept them away that would be even better. But there doesn't appear to be anything like this, so I have to make do with what is available.

They like eating spiders you know... I love my geckos, I don't have to deal with redbacks, housespiders or whitetails since they've been here, and I never have to brush down cobwebs from the outside of the house.

Mine are broken then, we have spiders in the corners of a few rooms. Spiders are fine though, I like watching them and their webs.

Trust us to get the stupid AND useless variety!

They don't look like the Asian ones, they have no colour at all - not that it matters.

Are they a clear/pinkish colour? They are most likely Asian House Geckos - Hemidactylus frenatus.

Yes clear/pinkish, basically albinos except they have dark eyes. Definitely no brown spots though, which is what corvus said made them AHGs.

So someone can say a dog bit them and they can blame it on yours and Council will come around and seize your dogs in your absence on that person's say so?

And I bet if your dogs aren't happy about being taken from their yard by a stranger, they will be slapped with a dangerous dog order.

I don't think council officers can enter your house while you're out - time to keep all dogs locked in the house when the owner isn't home!

Thanks for the constructive post this time.

They don't look like the Asian ones, they have no colour at all - not that it matters.

Given geckoes are one of the few non-toxic ways of keeping insect populations down, I can't imagine why you'd want to get rid of your geckoes.

I've already said why - the dogs are trying to chase them up the walls and ceilings in the middle of the night. Plus they are extremely gross-looking and they sit in the rails for our sliding doors and get squished. This means that I regularly have to deal with dead ones or live zombie ones dragging around squished back-ends or half-mangled heads and once I've had one drop on me, snapped in half and bleeding. It's quite traumatising.

Is it possible to counter-condition your dogs to the noise they are making?

I'd rather kill the geckos since the dogs chasing them is only half the issue (and it's not the noise, they see them).

Are you having a go? I cannot see how it would be possible to stop new insects coming into my yard -- even if I could kill every insect inside and out.

Pest control companies have said they are not allowed to treat geckos, so that sucks.