Greytmate

He's not though - I got him as an 8 week old pup. I didn't think to mention that.

Then a short trial might be a good idea, just so you know how he will be doing and can relax on your holiday.

If he's an ex racer he's probably used to being kennelled. I wouldnt bother with the trial.

Also you can make a graphical wall chart like a calendar for medications, and they can mark off the chart as each dose is given.

I wonder how long should a list be without overwhelming the sitters?

If the list is arranged into clear subheadings with the info under each section, it is unlikely to overwhelm. If you just give them a huge long list written out like a stream of consciouness, they might be overwhelmed and miss some of the points.

Safety glass shatters into tiny cubes of glass. No dangerous shards. Although it is quite scary when safety glass breaks all over you, its not especially dangerous.

It isnt laminated glass but it is safety glass so unlikely to cause serious injury.

You wouldnt be concerned that after two weeks you couldnt even get close enough to put a collar on the dog?

That's a seriously anxious dog. Not just a shy one.

Using a window cleaning product like windex is easiest.

If the glass has a tinted film you may not be able to remove the marks as the saliva dissolves the film.

Did you pay money for this dog? Take it to small claims court. If the breeder ignores that, they can be ordered to pay you a refund.

Poor dog. It sounds terribly anxious and is not suited to the purpose you bought it for. I feel very sorry for you having to deal with this.

You might need to see a veterinary behaviourist to get advice about whether it would be possible for this dog to lead a happy life with appropriate behaviour modification. Plenty of people will offer training advice, but that will not change this dog into one that you can take anywhere and enjoy socialising.

From the time you bring your pup home until 16 weeks you need to be exposing the puppy to lots of new things and people in a gentle and controlled way.

Your story sounds like something is not quite right. Either the friend did something that really frightened the puppy, or the puppy is abnormally fearful.

Treat your puppy normally and it will probably be fine. If it is as good with people as you say it is, what happened today is unlikely to have any lasting effects.

I can't imagine a much harder dog to steal than a newfie. They tend to be super-loyal to their owners to the point of being a baby-sitter, guardian and personal marine rescue service. Just quietly and without fuss. If they don't want to go with you, good luck trying to carry it away.

The dog hasn't got a sound temperament. If you paid money for this dog and have email records of the transaction and attempts to contact her, you can take it to the small claims court. Then the breeder can not avoid having to deal with this.

It was wrong of them to claim this dog was suitable for being taken into public situations, and this is causing anxiety in the dog.

Okay, quick over the phone wording to my favourite vet nurse reveals... Labrador Retriever, Boxer !!!! and GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER

This is so exciting :D I'm going to pick up the full test today and pour over it :D

Going back and having a look, I'm finding the 'Boxer' a bit harder to believe than the GSP he totally looks like he could be a Lab x GSP... :)

I don't find it hard to believe a randomly cross bred dog would contain genes that are not expressed in phenotype. It's the reason why I appreciate purebred dogs so much.

No. This is the only place I've read about it. I see a distinct difference in the way some male greyhounds sniff different things. When they sniff the source of the pheromone, they start drooling and tasting the smell and rolling it around on their tongue and smacking their lips. Their facial expression says "ooh, so piquant! " My facial expression says "you're gross dog."

I honestly would have thought that the purebred fraternity would have the best understanding of why knowledge of a dog's temperament is so important for a new owner, as that's pretty much the whole basis behind purebreds.

There is suspicion from a lot of people here about behaviour testing and its perceived use as a reason for euthanasia. Also there are people who believe that any type of dog behaviour can be handled with competent management and anyone who cannot do this has failed the dog.

But there are also people here who use behaviour tests and foster assessment in an effort to find out all they can about the dogs they sell, and I don't see them criticizing here. Good luck with your work. Anything useful you discover can only help rehome more dogs.

Some old dogs to just lose control in their sleep. Unless you see other behaviour problems or catch one of them squatting or marking in an inappropriate place I would treat the problem as a medical condition. What else can you do? You already know that Sarah may be one who is prone to incontinence. Maybe your illness meant that the dogs were not let outside as much? That could contribute but it's still a medical problem.

The drugs used to treat this are pretty common, although I have no experience with them. You could invest in some dry-bed mats to make life easier for all should the medication be ineffective.

I agree, I don't understand, if you want the assurance of knowing what the dog is 100% buy a pedigree purebred. If you buy a rescue, or a cross-breed, just love your dog for the unique and wonderful mutt that it is.

Some people...such as myself were curious. You're implying myself and others need 'assurance' - I do not, others probably don't either and of course they love their dog for whom they are. I find it rather odd you wouldn't understand curiousity.

Did the service satisfy your curiosity?

Many people are invested in the idea that their dog is of certain breeds, and so I think some people have the test done for assurance. Maybe not yourself, but very few people buy a dog that hasn't been advertised as a certain breed or breed cross. It unlikely that most are going to accept news that doesn't fit in with what they already believe. Unfortunately many people don't realise that the only dogs that can be identified by phenotype alone are normally purebred.

You might be better working in an another organisation .

I'm a bit confused by the way you say the rescue is run, or why you would regard her as the 'rescuer' if she doesn't adopt out dogs. Why didn't you do the media interviews yourself if she doesn't like dealing with the public?

Consider being a volunteer for an organisation that has a formal structure, rather than just working for a person who is all on their own. I have to wonder if you are feeling like you are because this person is just using you to do the work so she can take the credit. In what way does she assist with preparing the dogs for adoption, fundraising or adopting out dogs? If she doesn't help with any of that you might as well work with other people instead.

newspaper and radio a week apart .----I didn"t think it was too hard to thank my family considering it is a two person rescue :) and yes I have the unedited version no mention what so ever .ANYWAY I did think maybe it was cut out untill I got the raw version .

The interview was how the dogs are first rescued then rehomed the rescue claimed it was all them yet I do all the advertising I maintain the website I handle all the adoptions and they are all chipped in my name so while it sounds like sour grapes I think if I do all the work including pay for it then pass on the left over (when there is) I think I could have at least gotten a thankyou :D

ANYWAY IVE HAD MY RANT STILL VOTING FOR FOSTER CARER DAY

I think if a person is a volunteer and they are talking about their group rather than themselves, then you should feel included as the group is much yours as theirs.

When doing PR work for rescue its really important to consider the audience and the message you want to communicate. People will only pay attention for a short time so it is appropriate to stick to a key idea so people remember what has been said. A few sentences to describe the organisation's work is fine in a short interview. Often it is the journalist who will lead the interview or decide what angle to do the story.

Thanking volunteers is so important but I agree with Andrea that it is an ongoing thing, and sometimes it's better that volunteers are thanked publically at an event for that purpose rather than in the media.

There are two of you both doing important volunteer work. But have you thought to thank her for successfully gaining media attention and doing this important promotional work for your organisation?

I dont think it's behavioural. Has anything happened to make any of them anxious or feel challenged?

I think probably somebody had an accident in their sleep. They are all going to have to sleep in their own beds till you work out which dog.

Getting back to the original topic how do they KNOW that they have a APBT and NOT an AST? is it just a case of calling what they like better?

How do know you are getting the bloodlines you want in any purebred dog? You buy a dog whose pedigree contains dogs of those lines. If the difference in bloodlines is important to you, then you would take care not to buy a dog of unknown lines.

Has anyone done DNA testing on dogs when they know the complete parentage? To see what comes back and to test how bizzare the tests are?

If you know the parentage, why would you pay a company to verify it? The tests rely on incomplete science and come with a legal disclaimer. I'm not sure why anyone would have thread test done for fun, as it costs money and most people who have had it done seem to reject the idea that their dog could contain a breed not visible in the phenotype.

Woof, the actual test could be a standard test. But to be useful the results need to be looked at in breed context, and not just added up as a score.

I think timidity is a fault in any breed. I think the implications for this are different in a guardian breed than they are in a hound.

Scientific rigour is important, but dogs live in homes and not in laboratories. The methodology for any research is going to have to acknowledge cultural bias and environment.

Well I will now be seeking some anwsers from LaTrobe before I allow my dogs to be tested. I was all for helping pounds etc understand dogs/greyhounds better but I won't be party to any attempt to force people to desex their dogs just because they don't pass a temperament test.

Yes good idea. They are required to tell people the truth about the purpose of the research, and the link was pretty specific about what the study was for.

If a dog is timid and flighty, why shouldn't it have that label? it isn't desirable for a dog to become overly anxious and not be able to self-recover in situations of mild stress. It is essential for the welfare of these dogs that their needs be recognised and they be put into a suitable environment if one is available.

You can't really blame a test for a dog being nervy, it's something that the dogs breeders are responsible for.