Greytmate

Lecture is one way to look at it. If the OP doesn't keep that dog underground, it's life is at risk. If the general public are still uneducated to think that they can legally keep a pitbull in QLD, or that you can tell a dog's 'bloodlines' by its appearance, many more lectures are necessary.

If this dog is in QLD, council has the power to collect it and destroy it if they find out about it. You can't register a pitbull or pitbull cross, and 'staffie cross' can't have red noses. What would you register this dog as? I think the OP might need to put some consideration into how she is going to keep the dog alive and safe, instead of worrying about its 'bloodlines' and other things that don't really matter.

Thanks Mim. The photo of the two parents look like they could be completely different breeds, they are so different in type.

From the look of the photos, Sidro may possibly be in Hawaii or some other country. Where pitbulls are legal and popular.

Didn't the breeder give you a pedigree? That is the way you would know the dog's bloodlines. If the breeder doesn't keep pedigrees, who knows what lines are in your dog.

Anvet Beenleigh is quite good with friendly staff. It has excellent modern facilities too.

That's interesting...my BC is 8mths old and started food and toy guarding at about 7 months also. Mainly with our male cat..... female cat can wander over and start nibbling his food and he doesn't like it but waits for me to come and move her. Same with toys. I've wondered if there can be territorial issues between males of different species. No problems with me or my older, supervised boys. So sad he had a brain tumour and had to be PTS Yes, I have seen dogs resource guard against different species. Territoriality is a different thing. Keep your dogs separated from your cats physically when feeding. There is potential for a change in your situation, the signals are very subtle, and it could be dangerous.

He may not be a bad breeder at all, but there is a question mark. It is possible to identify resource guarding in pups when they are very young. Was it a well-bred litter? Did the breeder miss the signs of strong resource guarding in the pup and place it with an unsuspecting family? Or was the dog only ever a mild resource guarder, and its behaviour escalated because of family management? Did the dog have a brain tumour? We just don't have the information. And nobody apart from people like us here would probably care to investigate it properly anyway.

I disagree. This wasn't an accident, it was a chain of events where things went terribly wrong. To say it was a random accident is to imply that dogs and small children can never be safe together. It is normal for a dog to show some degree of resource guarding. But there are many things that can be done to minimise the chances of this causing harm. For a dog to do that much damage, either the dog was not right in the head from the start, or the family had allowed an escalating situation to develop where the dog felt so threatened that it had to show extreme aggression.

That is so true. But most people need more education on this. We constantly see people on DOL take credit for their dog's good temperament and feel guilty about their dog's faults, or the minor mistakes they make with the dog, without realising that genetics has shaped their dog's personality more than anything else. Given that this forum is about breeding excellent purebreed dogs, it is so important that people understand you only get the dog with the nature you want by very carefully breeding for it. This lab that bit the child's face may not have been well-bred at all.

No, lack of supervision and ignoring a very basic rule about dogs, kids and food got that child bitten. Clearly you've never owned a resource guarder siks. Count your blessings that you haven't but don't kid yourself for a moment that its down to your superior training. It's got nothing to do with what you call superior training. It's basic puppy manners and maintaining pack rank. If you can't control the potentially bad behaviors of your dog you are asking for trouble and you are an irresponsible dog owner. Imagine if you have a dog that does guard food and I am a parent and kids do slip away some time. Then the kid goes and plays with the dogs bowl and the child does get bitten. It is your fault for not addressing the issue. I agree a dog should not be disturbed while eating or sleeping but the animal should not bite a human if and when it does happen. It is a lot more than what you say it is too. A dogs propensity to guard a resource that aggressively can also be partly genetic. It can have nothing to do with how responsible the owner is. Good owners can have bad dogs. And no matter how well dog and kids have behaved in the past, there is always potential for a first time for this exact thing to happen if a dog is having an off day and the child unwittingly behaves in an extra challenging way. Rank is fluid depending on the value of the resource and how easily it can be obtained. I am an advocate for physically separating dogs from small children when eating. Not relying on past behaviour or thinking that 'maintaining rank' is always going to work with every dog. It is irresponsible for the owners to have allowed this to happen, exactly same as it would be irresponsible if one of your kids 'slipped away' to play with your dog while it ate - whether your kid actually got bitten or not. Some responsibility may rest with the breeder? Who knows what the dog's parents were like?

We are pretty sad around here at the moment, but we are glad that Goldie is finally at peace. This was a very long time coming, she had been living with cancer (spindle cell sarcoma) for five years, and then lately I think her heart started to have to work too hard. She had a scarred respiratory passage as a result of an earlier illness, that made her breathe very raspy when she panted. She was fine breathing with her mouth closed. Over the years this had become a lot worse and towards the end she had to be kept constantly air-conditioned so she didn't have to pant and she could breathe easily. She has been partly incontinent due to her cancer treatment for the last three years. She can't really hold on for more than half a minute, if at all. She has also had arthritis for the last couple of years and has been on metacam. About six months go she went off her food and started building up with fluid, and we thought she was going to die. But we treated her and she recovered and went back to her happy, playful self. But she got fussier and fussier with food and wasn't eating enough to sustain health. She gradually lost a lot of weight. A few days ago the fluid started building up again in Goldie, and an increase in fluid tablets didn't reduce it. Poor Goldie just lay on her mat in the air-conditioning all day on Sunday, she didn't want to get up at all, and she never wagged her tail when I patted her. She did get up a couple of times that evening, but she looked distressed. The fluid tablets made her very thirsty, and I was giving her water all day on Sunday. She ate some roast chicken, and I gave her dog treats, which she would take, but only eat if one of the other dogs looked at her. On Monday, she didn't get up at all, except to go to a cooler spot, and she didn't wag her tail when my friend arrived. She did wag her tail when I put her lead on her to take her to the vets and she trotted happily (but shakily) out to the front lawn, went to the toilet on command, and jumped in the car all by herself. She was very excited about going out. She was very quiet on the trip to the vets, and we had cooled the car right down so she wasn't panting. Now Goldie is gone, I am sure we did the right thing, but it sometimes it's hard to know. Goldie never seemed to give up at all, but she couldn't have been happy living like that. She had stopped rubbing her head on the couch and biting at the cushions in the last couple of weeks. I'm going to really miss her, and will write a tribute to her in the Rainbow Bridge forum when I am ready.

Try this. Do exactly what Bubby does with her. Don't pay any attention to her unless you have given her the signal for playtime. And then limit the play to a few minutes only. Don't let Bitty push you, because the more she works you, the higher the limit on the number of times you will be able tro run around the backyard like a maniac. You don't need a dog as a fitness coach do you?

True! I am so used to Bubby! He NEVER asks for much! Bitty makes me feel so bad!!!!! Like I am not doing enough for her! She has you on NILIF, and you are working well for her.

Thanks for your thoughts. It went smoothly, it was time for Goldie to go. Poor old Goldie still had her spirit but she was so tired and in a lot of discomfort, and probably a lot of pain. She was just a bag of bones. Because our normal vet was away, we took her out to a greyhound vet near Gatton. She didn't even have to get out of the cool car, and she was put to sleep in my arms. :D :D

Goldie's normal vet is away, so I have made an appointment to see another vet at 12.00. Poor old Goldie.

Don't assume that. All they will investigate is the actual incident, and assess what harm (if any) was done. It would be quite normal for DA dog to act just like a bouncy happy tail wagging bundle of fluff when the rangers do get to see the dog, and the behaviour should have no bearing on the investigation at all. Yes, but.. surely they cant decide a dog is dog aggressive based just on heresay? Technically what happened cant even be proved, no one else saw it! That doesn't mean I'm going to deny it did happen though. I assume there's some testing involved before they just declare a dog as dog aggressive because someone accused it of attacking their dogs..? No don't assume there is behaviour or temperament testing involved, there isn't. Most dogs are friendly most of the time, even ones that are really aggressive sometimes. If there is an investigation, any outcome will be based on what the officers decide. It isn't a court case. There is no swearing on the bible, formal evidence required, or calling for expert witnesses. If they fine you for having a 'dog at large' or anything else it will be based on hearsay - what they have been told by the people making the report. Also on what you tell them about the dog's behaviour during the incident. They just make a decision based on that. If then you choose to fight them in court at your own expense, you can.

That was something I was interested to know as well, Dancinbcs. Checking up via google, it tells me the voyage is 9-11 hours so I'd imagine you'd need to allow for at least 12 or 13 hours. You'd need to make sure your dog was well toileted before going abroad. Because Tasmania is virtually a foreign country.

Don't assume that. All they will investigate is the actual incident, and assess what harm (if any) was done. It would be quite normal for DA dog to act just like a bouncy happy tail wagging bundle of fluff when the rangers do get to see the dog, and the behaviour should have no bearing on the investigation at all.

So it is 2pm or 3pm?

I think Goldie is going to have to be put to sleep within the next few days.

I am not sure which chemical it is, because not many people use flea collars these days, so I haven't looked into it. But I have heard the warning a lot. I would use the collar in a place rather than on one of the dogs. In the vacuum cleaner or on carpet under furniture. Confidor has the same active ingredient as Advantage, but at a different concentration. It is a garden product, and you might find it useful in your garden. Advantage is a good product, because it will act as a 'flea mop' to clean up the environment the dog is in.

Don't use a flea collar on a greyhound.

Changing timing of meals may help. Changing from evening to morning meal has solved this problem for a couple of people that have asked me about it.

The size of the dog has nothing to do with the exercise it needs at all. In fact the lazier dogs are often the biggest dogs. Also, I would hate for council to start assessing property based on what the dog might be "better off with." The amount of exercise I give my dog is none of the council's business at all. We have guidelines the council need to follow, they don't need extra powers of discretion based on myths.