Greytmate

They do already enforce this in Brisbane and other SEQ council areas. I have signed and sent the link to others. We need to get everyone signing this. One of the silliest laws ever.

I will be in Bardon on Friday afternoon, and would be happy to do this if nobody can make it in there today or tomorrow.

To Bardon from where?

White Rose Boarding kennels at Walloon.

If amstaffs are the same colour genetics as staffies then your dog cannot be blue, but would be blue brindle. The lighter patches are caused by that pattern. In the same way as you never get pure black you get a very dark brindle, you never get pure blue, only a very dark blue brindle.

The ones I have seen seem to be following handler cues. The breeds that excel at it seem to be the ones bred to work very quickly to handler cues. Maybe that is the challenge of doggy dancing, making it appear as though the dog is dancing to music rather than following a series of commands. Has anyone trained a dog to dance to the beat of music of a short section of music without handler direction?

BSL will be the end result if there is no self-regulation on breeding. If Kennel clubs cannot take on a regulatory role, pure breed groups need to be formed that will.

Cool or cruel? Neither. I've never met a dog with a natural sense of rhythm. They just don't really move to the beat. But I would encourage everyone to get involved with activities with their dog. Having fun is what counts. :D

They can't be opened. I put them on small rings, in case I have to transfer them to other collars. If you call the council, they may issue you with new ones.

If he is happy in the penned area, I would leave him there. If you want to leave him alone in the house, start off with very short periods of time, gradually lengthening that time. That way, he can get used to being left in the house, and you can see how he goes before he gets a chance to destroy too much. Maybe you could slowly get him used to it, so that by the time summer comes around you can leave him inside with air conditioning on all day. But if you don't think you will be doing anything like that, I see no good reason to tempt fate by letting him be unattended in the whole house for long periods of time. Young dogs do sometimes have an absent-minded chew on things, and that may include expensive furniture or fittings.

I wouldn't be too quick to listen to what these people say about the dog they surrendered, the only reason they would have made an enquiry was to lessen any feelings of guilt. That didn't work, so I am not surprised they are now questioning the RSPCA testing. You say you work in a shelter that does not pts. Do they accept all surrenders, including large cross breeds like this one? If the dogs are not adopted, what is done by the shelter to help them be adopted? Where are they moved to if not adopted? A shelter like the RSPCA doesn't have a choice like some shelters do, if there are too many animals that turn up at the door, some will have to be put to sleep.

I agree with Shelties N Danes and Dancinbcs. There is another point though that nobody has mentioned. For a dog to even be involved in competition, whether that is work, sport or showing, the dog has to have a normal temperament for its breed. Competition is a good way to weed out any really undesirable traits like extreme anxiety or excessive aggression.

You will just have to see how she goes. I am sure she will still enjoy a bone, even if she can't eat it well. Once her mouth is healed you will be able to give her mince and kibble if she has difficulty getting meat off the bone.

They must be the same sort of people that we see at the off-lead park claiming that their hyperactive crossbreed is as fast as, or even faster than a greyhound. Then they let their dog off lead and it madly races across the park as fast as its luxating little legs can carry it while Coconut runs rings around it at a very gentle gallop. ;)

The dog will cope fine. You will have to learn to cope with the sight of a greyhound with its tongue always hanging out the side of its mouth. Unfortunately, many greyhounds are prone to getting bad teeth, so it isn't unusual for them to need extractions. Check with your vet that they are not going to remove the canine teeth, as removing them is a much more dangerous procedure, and should be only be done by somebody experienced. You will have to give Ginny a diet of cubed steak or chicken for a week or so afterwards. No mince, kibble, or anything soft that will get stuck in her mouth while the gaps are healing.

Whether for the money or not, you chose to breed for colour as your highest priority. Instead of being able to choose from the best labrador available at stud, you restricted yourself to the best chocolate labrador, eliminating all of the yellow or black dogs that may have had better temperaments or may have been a better match for your girl. Yellow or black are not considered faults, so there is no reason not to consider using them if you are really breeding to improve the breed. You say you had to have a choc to choc mating to maximise your chances of getting your choc girl, but what were the chances of getting any other colour from that mating? Zero. The 2 dogs I narrowed my choice 2 were from the same kennel. Both dogs were recent imports and impressive specimens with new bloodlines, how shocking that they both happened to be chocolate. The owner of the dogs actually recommended that I use the boy who also did not carry the yellow gene, therefore creating a full choc litter (both dogs must carry yellow to produce yellow). With labs it is less desirable to have a yellow lab from choc parents, because if doubled up with another dog carrying choc there is the potential for choc point yellows (dudleys). Fine as pets, not desirable for breeding /showing. I have no problem with the other colours, I have a yellow girl, bred from yellow and black dogs, ie: she does not carry chocolate. I also have a black boy, he does not carry yellow. Apart from all of this, I had had several conversations with the stud owner who knew of my girls lines and felt they would be very complimentary together. My girls full litter sister had also had a litter to this dog, so there was plenty of research and info to draw on. So with labs, colour can be a consideration, as you are looking further into the future than just the immediate pup you want to breed. What about breeders who only breed yellow dogs? You would be hard pressed to find a well known breeder of yellows who would mate their bitch to a choc male. No one tells them that they are limiting the potential of their stock for not breeding to a choc male. I understand colour genetics in labs, but you haven't justified breeding for colour. The breeders of the yellow bitches that would avoid using a choc dog are trying to avoid breeding a colour fault. They don't always avoid using a black dog over their yellow bitch. That fits in with trying to improve the breed. The breeders of chocolate bitches that will only consider chocolate males are not trying to avoid a fault. Instead they are increasing the number of dogs that carry the gene that gives the undesirable dudley nose.

Whether for the money or not, you chose to breed for colour as your highest priority. Instead of being able to choose from the best labrador available at stud, you restricted yourself to the best chocolate labrador, eliminating all of the yellow or black dogs that may have had better temperaments or may have been a better match for your girl. Yellow or black are not considered faults, so there is no reason not to consider using them if you are really breeding to improve the breed. You say you had to have a choc to choc mating to maximise your chances of getting your choc girl, but what were the chances of getting any other colour from that mating?

Here are my last two squares for Jed's quilt. Please excuse the random stitching style.

There is a huge difference between adopting a dog from a good organisation that users foster carers and other assessment, and one that does not. It is a more reliable way of getting a dog of the right temperament than getting any puppy. Because the 'finished product' has been accurately rated. Puppies will always have an element of surprise, and puppies of unknown breeding will always be a lot riskier than a properly tested adult dog. Lanabanana, your experience of buying one dog doesn't really apply to everone. You rejected a dog with no idea of what the dog was like, with some very amateurish observation, and a lot of assumption. Your puppy got lucky to get an owner that doesn't mind 'annoying'. So many similar dogs are rejected for that reason, and nobody sets out to adopt an 'annoying' dog. It would be best if you didn't make comments about the suitability of adult dogs adopted from foster programs, as you don't seem to understand how fostering or testing works. K9nev, you are right. But we need to spell out to people more clearly what the likely consequences are of getting the wrong dog. Lanabanana your comment about a dog killing three boys was far-fetched and ridiculous. There are so many bad consequences that are far more likely to occur with a dog of unknown breeding or untested temperament. Dogs that end up with anxiety problems, dogs that escape, dogs that bark constantly, dogs that are too highly driven, dogs that attack neighbouring stock, nervous dogs, dogs that snap when approached, high-energy over-boisterous dogs, and dogs that are beyond the training capabilities of their owners. Then we have all the dogs with severe medical problems that have subtle early symptoms that wouldn't be noticed until they were living in a home. A puppy or adult dog adopted directly from a shelter or pound with no testing could have any of the above problems. Where as if somebody was to adopt an adult dog that has been observed and assessed and trained for weeks in foster care, they have the best chance of getting a dog that is exactly what they want in a dog.

That isn't non-crafty. It is really beautiful. :D You have very accurate, crafty fingers. :p My two last squares are in the wash. I will get them into an express patchel this afternoon.

That is a pretty good brief description. I would add that both qualities are controlled by the dogs' genetics. You cannot train a dog to have more or less drive, or more or less nerve. The challenge of training is to do the best with what you have.

It is very expensive to get a dog into the UK from here, not sure about Ireland. I got a quote less than a year ago and it was well over $4000. Nearly double what it costs to get a dog into the US.

I would never recommend that a family with young children adopt a dog directly from a pound or shelter. A responsible, knowledgeable foster carer from a rescue that does extensive temperament testing is the way to go. A child's safety needs to be guarded by obtaining as much information about a dog BEFORE it enters the family. That can only be done by adopting a dog that has been observed for some time in, and in a home environment if possible. This is true. Also, it seems that these people have a pretty free and easy approach to training and supervision of the dog with the kids. There would be some great dogs in care that would fit right in. But to take a random dog and expect it to be the stereotypical 'child's playmate on the farm' and they could end up with no end of trouble. There is no breed of dog where every individual will suit being owned by children. If they are suitable to own a dog, the right dog can be obtained by either going to a responsible breeder that carefully matches pups with owners, or by getting an adult dog that has been in foster care with a reliable organisation. Dee136, I would probably be discouraging hugs between a three year old and an adult dog of any size. It isn't about being gentle, it is about how a dog would interpret and possibly react to a hug from such a small person, combined with the close proximity of the toddler's face.

I am so sorry Jed that your special girl has gone and your dream has been taken so cruelly from you. It is incredibly unfair that this has happened. Sending you positive thoughts for healing and starting the new house.

Felicity and the counsellors she speaks for at the Golden Plains Shire council seem not to understand the difference between fine conditions and deplorable ones. Who cares what label we or the council give this property. Puppy farmer, backyard breeder or hobby breed enthusiast. It is so wrong and cruel to have dogs living in cold, filthy conditions, chained up or without appropriate bedding.