RiverStar-Aura

Curious is fine, it's feral shits I dislike. Society frowns on "not kid friendly". That's not going to change. Yes, we all have to suffer through the little monsters. Perhaps we were just like them once. I do know I"m not going to ask my dogs to share my suffering. On the other hand, don't you think a curious child should be able to survive a close encounter with a dog with her skin intact? I thought the "Bunnings Experiment" would last a month. We didn't even get a week. Don't blame the child for that outcome. I wonder how it feels to be the person who saw Australia's dogs having to be muzzled to be in a retail outlet. What a shame. Its the same sort of ignorance of dog behaviour that makes dog parks such a nightmare sometimes. I dislike this part about society and is something I wish we'd all take a look at. I'd love to be able to go shopping in places that ban children and this is because they make me angry, stressed and anxious depending on their behaviour. I don't yell at those mothers whose poor bubs are screaming in the shops, I feel sorry for them knowing it's not their fault, but the sound really raises my anxiety and riles me up. Society dictates that I should have empathy for the mothers but that empathy is not reciprocated for me who'd love nothing more than to tell the baby to shut the **** up. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way when a kid is screaming, yet it's something we have to bear and suffer in silence. It's not even about parents having no choice about bringing the kids along shopping either. Costco is the perfect example. So many parents think it's a FANTASTIC idea to make Costco shopping an ideal outing for the WHOLE family. Mum, dad plus the relatives, in-laws and 50 kids are running amok. How is this a good idea? Shops are for shopping, playgrounds are for running around. Back to this Bunnings fiasco though, given the wording of the original article, it's completely unsurprising this has happend. Oh look, Bunnings has made their store a doggy playground so let's bring all the dogs. It's a shame this happened to a young child but as you said HW, not completely unforseeable -- and realistically, completely expected. I'm actually also surprised there's not more incidents involving dog friendly cafes too. All it'd take is one food aggressive/possessive dog to snap and bam. Also not a pretty picture.

The point I was making with my straight jacket comment is that as a shopper I still have to suffer through the feral bastard kids who run amok, get in my way and just be arseholes because they haven't been taught any better. We can't ask those parents to take their kids and bugger off out of the store because then we get called all sorts of names because how dare we not be "kid friendly". I understand that dogs are not humans (thanks for that HW because I had *no* idea before now), but just as people shouldn't be expected to tolerate bad dog behaviour, nor should I as someone who dislikes children, have to suffer through bad, moronic parenting and feral sh*ts who can't be controlled. If your child can't behave in public, don't take them out either.

And which owners of dogs who can behave in crowds would even own a muzzle in the first place. Can we suggest feral kids wear straight jackets in shops to stop them touching stuff?

I made the switch to Nexgard a few months back for my two dogs, however, after a vomit for the first time at their last dose and seeing how much my boy Zeus is being annoyed by flies and other biting things, I think I'll be going back to the fortnightly doses of Advantix. Heartworm, I use Valuheart monthly and every three months I give a Drontal tablet. To help keep costs down I find using tablets rather than chews a better choice because I find them to be more easily cut up and divided between my different sized dogs.

I feel sorry for the breeder of Panlu's bitch because I can understand completely why she's so strict with her terms. I'd hate for this breed (whichever it is) to become yet another over farmed breed and my guess is that she doesn't want to see this happen either. I suspect "rare" breeds (however people wish to define this) would be seen as a huge potential for money making. We only need look at the so-called "rare blue staffies". I'm a bit the same about my chosen breed the Aussie Terrier. Whilst not rare they are quite uncommon and although I wish every family has one because I think they're amazing, I don't want them to turn into another dog du jour to be pumping out puppies left, right and centre. Janlu, could you perhaps talk to your breeder and let her know that you're a bit unsure about where you stand? Open a dialogue with her and she might be able to offer something in return that you'd be happy with.

I don't just look at the "kids shouldn't pat strange dogs without permission" perspective, I go for what I was taught as a youngster: don't touch what isn't yours. Same went for grocery shopping in that I wasn't allowed to maul the merchandise, nor was I allowed to treat shops like a playground, racetrack etc. Having said that, I wouldn't deliberately take my dogs into Bunnings either, and they LOVE shopping. They've both been into Bunnings before because I've ducked into one a few times at night after dog training to buy bits and pieces to make agility equipment, but I've also always sought permission first. Kirah rides in the trolley (same as in Pet Barn) and Zeus walks beside me. It's very quiet, usually around 8:30pm and I was in and out within around 10 minutes. These days I've got lockable crates in the boot of my car so I'll lock the dogs in them (with a key) leave the boot open (lock the rest of the car) and duck in. I tend to remember quick little errands (like getting a script at the chemist) on my way home from the dog park or such so it's not like I deliberately say to myself "oh I think I'll take the dogs into Typo or Smiggle for a spot of shopping".

I don't get what his issue is either. Whenever I'm on a shared path with the dogs, I actually step off the path and move out of their way. Of course this can only happen if appropriately warned and I don't really do it for the cyclists either; I prefer to move my dogs away to prevent any potential accidents and to protect my dogs.

My brothers and I used to have those sound sticks as kids. They were purchased from our local science centre and work similar to rain sticks.

Juice, you could try a Zoom Groom on him.

I agree with the no harness. Every agility club I've been to has said to have the dog wearing a flat collar with no danglies if you must but that's it. Leads on over jumps for beginners make me cringe -- all I see are the dangers involved. As Skip mentioned, if you plan on competing in ADAA trials the dogs run naked or not at all. ANKC run trials do allow a flat collar with no danglies. Anything else just has the potential to be quite harmful/dangerous IMO.

I have a double coated beagle cross who's undercoat is very soft/fluffy/downy and a kinda harsh top coat that sheds like a b****. I would never have him clipped but then I actually LOVE brushing and preening my dogs; I find it to be very relaxing and a nice calming, bonding session with him. My Aussie Terrier has a typical wire coat that requires hand stripping and again, I'd NEVER have her clipped. Kirah loves a fuss being made over her and hand stripping is a part of this particular breed's maintenance. If you can't be bothered to take the time to care for a coat properly then perhaps certain breeds aren't the right choice for some people. To me it'd be a bit like saying that I can't be bothered to shower so I'll just stay smelly my entire life.

Some people will just believe what they want about dogs and when it comes to this particular topic I just let it go. I'm proud to own pedigree dogs and will probably only ever own purebreds from now on. I've done the impulse pet shop dog purchase and (I always say this) although I hit the jackpot with Zeus and he has finally matured into a gorgeous dog, I wouldn't do it again knowing what I do now.

I am so sorry to read this Kirty. Rupert was a gorgeous boy and he was so lucky to have found a place in your home.

I really don't know if you can do anything TBH. You could try fencing off the gardens where the lizards hang out, but unfortunately, that's part of owning terriers. We've lost numerous blue tongues and birds (from mynas to natives) because my Aussies get them but luckily, more often than not it's the mynas that get caught.

Being blunt, I hate kids and have no desire to spawn them. I don't want to raise them, teach them or nurture them and I've been like this since about age 13. Dogs are not a replacement in my eyes; I love dogs and everything that comes with caring for them. For me it's more about how I feel and I have no feelings for having kids -- it's not what my life is for. My mum on the other hand ... Approaching 70 and she'd love more kids of her own Edit: maybe I don't hate kids, because that's s strong word, but I just don't think about them. They're not part of my life and I don't go out of my way to interact with them either. To me kids are more of a "blah" thing.

Zeus wears leads and collars in blues and reds and Kirah wears purple as "her" colour. Anyone else do this?

My general rule is that if I feel like I'm going to melt outside, then we don't go. If it's too hot for me then it's going to be too hot for the dogs. I really hate summer and have been really suffering from the heat already. The dogs and I went to the park yesterday evening and they went for a splash in the creek. Today's even worse so we won't be going anywhere -- although I do have to get some groceries

I'm pretty content with having just the dogs in my life. I don't want a partner/SO/DH/whoever so I do prefer their company over anyone else. I'm not surprised with the poll results on dogs being too high up in priorities -- we're dog owners/enthusiasts. It's our job to put their welfare as a high priority :) I personally do need to look at my own priorities because I rank my dogs far above myself to the point I'm not even in the scale.

Yikes! Makes me insanely glad for my local dog parks being fence-free. Most of the problems I read about dog parks seem to relate to the fenced ones. I guess they bring with them the moron mentality.

I absolutely love seeing photos of little Meeder Ping and I think there's definitely a new breed on my "wants to own one day" list. :D

Thanks for sharing; a lovely story to read. I especially love the quote "the pilot is responsible for all lives on the plane: human and K9". So true!!

That's one of the best parts about an Aussie; they bark but only to alert. Kirah rarely barks unless there's something like a large blue tongue lizard she's got bailed up behind something and she rarely barks at visitors. She does do a bit of what I call "peep peep" when she's locked in her crate at agility trials. This is a frustration thing because she only does it when I take Zeus out to have his run. It's generally a let me out I want a turn "peep peep".

The worst thing about my breed (Aussie Terriers) is that you can never just have one. They are such an amazing terrier breed that you fall so deep in love that you want to own ALL of them! The only other potential problem is their "I don't care about the size difference. I'm going to kill that <insert animal> over there!" If an Aussie wants to get into a fight, it will; Kirah would take on a T-Rex if it p*ssed her off enough. Butter wouldn't melt!

In a way I understand having a dog run off during agility -- both trials and training, however, mine is just intent on exploring the universe rather than rushing other dogs. I'm only new to trialling myself but sadly I've seen quite a few narky dogs that get so feral if another even walks past within a 10 metre radius. What I've also noticed is that not once did any of these dogs' owners give warnings that their dogs are reactive. If these particular dogs have caused problems before and continue to misbehave, if be giving them marching orders. OT: it was awesome to meet you at the Festival last weekend Kavik! Even though I came away with no prizes or qualies I (we) had an awesome 2 days!!

I won a huge pile of their treats at a recent ADAA trial I went to and their products are awesome!! Don't need any more just yet though.