Greytmate

I would ask for a biopsy. You don't sit around and wait to see what happens to suspicious lumps in a young dog.

I wouldn't. What if the dogs are then declared dangerous rather than just being a nuisance? Not sure of NSW laws, but the nuisance dog order doesn't seem to be too onerous.

The OP has admitted that her dogs were involved.

We use a mulch mower, and the white feet stay white. Our lawn is very deep though, we mow it high. The dog would much prefer we had a ride-on, so they could trot along behind it. Normal mower is too boring for them.

You can't compare a dog that you choose to keep yourself, with a dog that is offered for sale as a house pet. If the skin problem was really chronic, there is no 'fix', just years of pain and inflammation and possibly repeated cycles of bacterial or fungal infection. You can apply treatment to ease symptoms, if you have the time and money. You may not be able to solve the neurological problems caused by extended periods of pain and itchyness. You cannot ethically offer a dog like that for adoption as a pet. No sane, well-informed person would choose to own a dog with a really chronic skin problem requiring a lifetime of special care. Most people want a good dog that is happy and healthy. We don't know why this dog was deemed unfit for rehoming, but I am glad that the RSPCA have a criteria that stops people adopting dogs for any reason other than wanting to own a good pet. I would have liked to see a lot harsher penalty for the owner.

I would feel better with my dogs safely in kennels than left home, all alone. They would be so upset in the evenings waiting in vain for somebody to come home.

Logan council, while under resourced, have always preferred that rescue organisations take their dogs before anything else. If somebody wanted to provide an alternative for the dogs in Logan Pound, they would get cooperation.

I have rolled my eyes at a few of the things that RSPCA management have told me are cruel. Really strange ideas and a few self-delusions going on. But I can see why they take this stand on this issue. In QLD the RSPCA does not accept strays, only surrenders. Therefore, they are obliged to tell people surrendering dogs what the options are that they may take on that dog. Either rehab and rehome, or PTS on premises. If they told people the dogs would go to the uni, people might be less inclined to surrender the dog, and more inclined to dispose of it inappropriately. Where as the pounds are obligated to take strays and have no obligation at all to disclose disposal methods to previous owners. Therefore the pound is in a position to do this, RSPCA is not. As for the RSPCA calling the practice 'cruel'. Did they actually say that? That is just political grandstanding if they did.

Yes it is. When I was rehoming dogs I had many dogs desexed at UQ by final year students. All returned, and all survived without problems. There is no profit in rehoming dogs, and so free, supervised surgery is welcomed. Edited to add, I would not put any dog up for rehoming until its surgery had been successful, regardless of who did the surgery.

The laws regarding restraint of dogs in cars are state laws, so will vary depending on what state you are in.

The story said that she had arm injuries. The witnesses described a sustained attack, the dog did not back down until pulled off the child.

A dog that puts a child in hospital is dangerous. Many dogs would have growled or given a warning snap in that same situation, instead of a sustained attack that injured the arms as well as the face. This dog went far beyond what was necessary to get the girl to back off. It isn't the dog's fault, but possibly the fault of the breeder and definitely the owner.

Can you tell us more about this? I didn't realise it was an option. For those people that don't live in a city with a quarantine station, the dog might as well be in NZ if you can't get to visit it. How does price compare?

Shorter walks. If we attempted more than about a half hour walk, I would have to bring them home in a shopping trolley.

It would be helpful if people posted their recommendations on the forum, and why. That way more than one person can benefit from the information. When you say she is a rescue, do you mean that an organisation adopted her to you? Or did you rescue her yourself? How do you know her behaviour is because of mistreatment rather than being genetic? The reason I ask is that behaviour problems of that extent should have been picked up a lot earlier, and an ethical rescue organisation would not have left a foster carer with a dog showing that level of anxiety. Good luck with this girl. You sound like a very caring owner, so I hope you end up with a good dog.

Are you sure the problem is only the lead and collar? That might only be a part of the dog's problems. A dog can be trained to accept a lead and collar, but that won't make the dog want to go for a walk with you. You really need to see somebody who is expert in dog behaviour, before you decide that this dog needs to be put on a lead and socialised around other dogs or strange people. You have a nervous dog, you can't change that. You may be able to improve things a lot though, so it is worth paying to have an expert consultation. Does the rescue group have access to a behaviourist you can visit? If not, I hope somebody can recommend someone in your area. Good luck.

A friend of mine imported a bitch puppy for breeding in the early nineties when Aussie Shepherds were new here. At the time, he had to have his new pup in quarantine for three months at Spotswood. He was concerned that because of this confinement she would be at a severe training disadvantage. The bitch was released to him when it was six months old. The bitch was working at novice standard for him, including all off-lead work, by nine months of age. It just goes to show how good some dogs are that they can deal with the quarantine so well.

No Danielle, my post was completely directed at Moselle. I realise that everyone will have their own opinion with the best way to deal with this. There is no 'right' and 'wrong', just the paths we would choose that hopefully will bring the best outcome. Moselle chose to viciously attack a person that put forward an option that was tough, but completely ethical and reasonable. That is why I responded in that way. Nobody making the hard decisions to do with dogs deserves to be verbally abused by anyone.

A dog that does that much damage to a person's face just because somebody is trying to grab them isn't a dog I would want to own. It is terrible to hear all this about what the poor child should have done. Yeah, I know what she will do from now on, and that is keep right away from any dog. A dog that would do this should be locked behind very secure fencing. It is terrible that a dangerous animal like this was allowed to be out in the street.

Yes, the law is different in different states. There are laws about what you can do with a found dog. There are totally different laws, about being able to establish ownership using the impounding system when an owner will not sign over a dog. All state laws, all different in each state.

That is what he is.

Mildly, interesting but a lot of it irrelevant and some of it completely unethical. Does not apply to this situation. I wasn't referring to this situation but to your comments about people not understanding the overpopulation problem in this country. Reading Nathan Winograd won't help anyone's understanding of what happens in this country.

Mildly, interesting but a lot of it irrelevant and some of it completely unethical. Does not apply to this situation.

I wouldn't say that Delta has the highest form of dog behaviour/training, any more than I would say that Scientology has the highest form of religion.

I think Danois had a good point. Nervy, timid dogs are very hard to rehome. Who wants a dog with a temperament fault? It is always kinder for a dog to be euthanised while it is relatively calm, with somebody it knows, not to be put in a noisy scary environment and killed a week later by a scary stranger. Now it's my turn to get angry and have a little opinion, ok? I am tired of hearing from know-it-alls that scream blue murder whenever somebody mentions putting to sleep an unwanted dog with temperament problems. Your opinions show how little you understand about the overpopulation we have in this country. It is insulting and nasty to the people that are trying to solve the problem. It is counter-productive to people that are working hard to raise the profile of rescue dogs. People like you are a very big problem. Refusing to acknowledge that people buying a pet dog, do deserve a really good one. Making it harder for good dogs to get into homes by insisting that faulty ones get priority. Either take the dog yourself or just shut up and stop pretending you care!