tdierikx

OK - then pup and child need to be separated at all times until the cause of her aggression is found and addressed. Please take her to a vet asap and have a full checkup to rule out (or in) any health related issues that may be affecting her behaviour - particularly check eyesight, hearing, and joints/spine/neck - and if she's fine physically, then I'd be asking for a referral to a behaviourist specialist vet. Yes, it's going to be expensive, and may take some time to get the results you want... but what would be the "cost" of your child literally being scarred for life after a sufficiently well-placed bite to the face? Meanwhile, you might want to start giving pup time-outs when she's getting aroused to the point of rough play with other pets/child or outright aggression displays. Maybe you can get a puppy playpen from a petbarn or the like (VeboPet has great heavy duty ones at a good price), and she can go into the playpen for time-outs. Set it up with a bed and a couple of toys, and a water bowl (of course)... she may learn that is her safe place where no-one else can bother her too, and learn to settle better. Do not allow your child of the other pets to annoy her when she's in her time-out pen... Oh... what is pup's name? And can you post a photo of her here... we love cute puppy photos... *grin* T.

I think we all agree that the dog in this instance was most likely trying to play with the child... but the fact remains that it was unleashed, unattended, and loose in a public space. The owner of this dog has let it down badly... as there may well be consequences for the dog that aren't good after this incident. The fact that it is a large bull breed type has only fueled media attention about this incident, and we all know that the media isn't usually the best source for factual information in cases like this... *sigh* T.

I second the advice of a full vet checkup... she may have hearing or sight issues that might be a reason for her unpredictable behaviour? When pup is sleeping in her crate, does she get that same startle response when woken? Just out of interest, what colour is the pup? In the meantime, you really need to keep pup and child separated... is it possible for you to do that? T.

To be perfectly honest, the entire animal industry is overworked and underpaid... I don't know of too many animal related jobs where staff don't put in copious hours of unpaid overtime, and remuneration for most of those jobs is borderline poverty line or even less... and most animal industry jobs are casual in nature, so not a lot of job/wage security, guaranteed hours of work, leave, etc... T.

Ever seen a staffy x maltese? I have... she was basically built like a regular staffy, but had wispy maltese-like hair... a pretty interesting look. We had her at the rescue I was with some years back, and we found her the best home ever... We had a lovely couple come to look for a companion... he wanted a staffy type, and she was looking for a maltese type... so I said have we got the dog for you... lol! They fell in love with her the minute they saw her, and that was that... and from all the updates we got from them over the years after, she was spoiled rotten and lived the very best life. By far the cutest pups we ever had surrendered to us were frenchie/pug/maltese... and we also saw a few litters of kelpie/corgi at one point too. Then there were the 6 mini bull terrier pups that had been dumped at a country pound... they were delightful and so cute! Back then you'd also see a lot of maltese/shihtzu crosses in pounds... usually with shocking coat conditions... supposedly surrendered/dumped due to the high coat maintenance cost/time... *sigh* T.

Maybe because they are cheap and in reasonably plentiful supply, and dogs aren't chastised for destroying them? Many also smell a bit of whatever scent the paper had on it? The added bonus is that they are pretty easily digested if the dog swallows chunks of them... I've already started the toilet roll collection ready for my new pup I'm getting next year... lol! T.

Who goes into a restaurant and leaves their dog tied up outside? Seriously, you are either going out to eat, or walking the dog... to try to do both at once is just ridiculous really. That said, the guy who stole the dog needs a slap upside the head... grrr! T.

Or now they have a "valid" excuse to use to offload dogs who are now starting to cost in senior treatments for common aging ailments... T.

@Papillon Kisses has the right point made here... the attack happened in an UNFENCED front yard. I'm not a fan of cats roaming wherever they please - especially if that means they come onto my property. I don't have cats by choice (mainly due to allergies), and really don't want to share someone else's cat. Please, if you want to get a pet, please keep your pet contained to your own yard, or have it on a lead when not on your own property at the very least. As for this particular attack, one should be asking why the dog was loose in an unfenced front yard too. Both pet owners bear some responsibility for this tragic outcome IMHO. T.

I'm of the opinion that while there may well be a number of people surrendering their pets due to the rental crisis, I really think that for a relatively equal (or possibly larger) number of surrenders, the rental crisis has become a convenient - and more palatable - excuse to use to give up an unwanted pet. Who is going to say they just don't want their pet any more when they can say they have to move house and can't find a rental that allows pets? One doesn't actually have to prove that their reason is true, do they? I'm also very suss that RSPCA NSW (specifically Sydney) are the ONLY shelter in the country that is NOT reporting high surrender numbers... there was a rumour that they simply weren't taking any, but I can't verify that, so not sure of the veracity of that rumour - but it would certainly explain why they are not swamped with surrenders like every other shelter in the country. Why the AWL has an 8-9 month waiting list to surrender a pet, but RSPCA - which is definitely going to be the FIRST place most people think of to surrender to - does not, just sounds way too suss, don't you think? T.

@~Anne~- you have a background in government related stuff, yes? From what I can gather CIE have been instrumental in reports commissioned into quite a few policy areas... they seem to have at least one Director with some Agriculture quals, but I can't find anything that indicates that any of their principals are specifically geared towards companion animal issues. On the upside, I can't see any that are in any way affiliated with, or have leanings towards, any animal rights group agendas either. The stand out of that report for me was the categorisation of cats - they clearly distinguish the different levels of ownership status, and recognise "community cats" or "semi-owned" cats as an actual group that deserves to be looked at as other than "feral" when it comes to rehoming options afforded to them. Animal Medicines Australia appears to be a group that represents the animal medicine manufacturing industry, and as such they tend to stick to participation/submissions on policy regarding same (biosecurity, etc). No idea who actually commissioned them to produce that particular study, or others of its kind... ?? If you want some truly frightening reading, have a looky at some of the NSW inquiries into various proposed changes to animal welfare policy - these inquiries have been pretty much hijacked (and in most cases actually instigated/run) by the Animal Justice Party (and/or Greens) - reading the minutes of the reports coming out of the recent ones clearly shows the influence exerted by AJP to include "evidence" tendered in those inquiries that support the AR agenda in the reports and recommendations... grrr! Just as a side note, if people think that AJP are a bit extreme with their animal policies... check out the latest policies of the Greens with regards to animals... frightening! T.

I agree completely... unfortunately politicians seem to think that simply adding more unenforceable legislation is the answer, as it gives the impression that they are "doing something" about the problem... *sigh* It also doesn't help that nowadays politics has been hijacked by the animal rights movement, and has managed to place politicians in roles that give them access to changing legislation to suit their twisted agenda. Example: recent changes to legislation that forces pounds to farm out animals into the already stretched rescue industry - effectively removing the onus (and cost) of rehoming animals that find themselves homeless from any government body. Unfortunately, at no point has anyone done any really in-depth studies as to why animals are finding their way into pounds, shelters, or rescue. Studies that have been done, certainly haven't gone into the detail of what breeds/types of animals are being abandoned/lost/surrendered, where they came from, why they were surrendered, etc. One thing to note is the rise in claims that the housing crisis has been a large factor in reasons given for recent surrenders - but this may not be 100% accurate given that the media attention on that particular issue might just be giving people a "valid" reason for getting rid of their pets right now. This is the most recent review into the issue, and although quite comprehensive, it also outlines some glaring issues with what records are kept/available with regards to measurable demographics above and beyond basic numbers... https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CIE-Draft-Report_NSW-OLG_Rehoming-of-Companion-Animals-in-NSW.pdf T.

Your vet is the person you need to be asking these questions of... not an internet forum of strangers who don't know all of the facts/circumstances. At the very least, you should be able to call the vet and ask to talk about your concerns, and if necessary, take your dog in for another checkup. T.

@Tina, if it was hemangiosarcoma, there would have been very little either you or any vet could have done to fix it (or even catch it earlier and fix it), so please, please don't think "what if?", OK... it's just one of those crappy things that happens from pretty much nowhere and takes all of us by surprise. To be perfectly honest, most vets wouldn't be looking for it even when a crisis event is happening, there are just so many other things that can be indicated by certain blood test results - things vets CAN treat - and that is most likely why certain diagnoses were made that may not have been the exact cause/issue. To be perfectly honest (I'm a vet nurse by the way), when my girl started her symptoms - only 48 hours before I had to say goodbye to her - my thoughts (and the vet's) were either an obstruction in her gut, or kidney failure (Danes can be prone to kidney problems)... but when her bloods came back, I brought up hemangiosarcoma to the vet, and we did an ultrasound that completely confirmed the worse case scenario. I understand that not everyone has the same animal medical background that I do, and that one should always be guided by vet diagnosis and/or treatment options for what they see in front of them... remember that their first goal is to find something that IS treatable, and they aren't looking for worst case scenarios when presented with ambiguous blood test results and animal symptoms, OK? Neither you or the vets who saw your girl could know intuitively that what was going on may not have been treatable... the vets definitely did their best to diagnose what they saw in front of them.... and no vet will ever be 100% right with a diagnosis 100% of the time. Please take comfort in knowing that your girl passed in your arms surrounded by love and care... you did good! Again... massive hugs to you and your family... give your other dog lots of cuddles and kisses from me, OK? T.

How far south are you willing to consider? Acacia Ridge Pet Resort in Brisbane is highly recommended... https://acaciaridgepetresort.com.au/ T.

I recently lost my dog (10 year old Dane cross) to hemangiosarcoma, and what you are describing as symptoms of your girl's last couple of weeks raises some flags for me with regards to that possibility. As the 2018 issue seems to have resolved itself and no further symptoms were noted until recently, that may have been an anomaly that has nothing to do with the recent crisis event.... especially as the vet doesn't seem to have followed up on the possibility of Cushing's or other chronic conditions, and your girl seemed to be fine after the initial episode cleared up. I will note that the elevated ALP in her bloods at that time could have been a very early indicator of something going on, but again, it could also have just been an anomaly related to whatever else may have been going on at that time. Without regular blood test results in the interim, it's very hard to link the two crisis episodes so far apart. May I state that hemangiosarcoma rarely presents itself with symptoms until it reaches a critical stage, so neither you or the vet would have known about it unless you were running regular blood tests, x-rays, or ultrasound scans, so please don't beat yourself or the vet up about possibly missing that diagnosis. What is alarming to me is the arthritis diagnoses by 2 different vets 4 days apart - at least one of those being an emergency vet clinic. Did they take bloods, do x-rays, or any other diagnostics to confirm that diagnosis? If not, did they give any reasons for not doing so? Please also note that hemangiosarcoma is not transmissible, nor is it indicated as being hereditary between siblings... so don't panic that your other girl may have it too, OK? If her bloods are normal and she is not showing any other anomalies, then you can be pretty confident that she's fine to have her teeth done without issue. Unfortunately you may never know exactly what caused your girl's last crisis without a necropsy (animal autopsy). If you haven't already buried/cremated her, that could be a possibility in order to get a definitive answer, otherwise you can only surmise what the actual issue was. Please don't beat yourself up that her last weeks weren't perfect... she knew that you loved her and were doing all you could given the advice of the vets she saw during that time... please know that she is not in any pain any more, and is waiting for you at the Bridge with many other awesome pets many of us have also had to say goodbye to over the years. You did good... keep happy memories of her in your heart, and smile for all the wonderful moments you shared for her 9 years with you, OK? Massive hugs to you and your family... T.

My Labrador Trouble was a lovely lean shape... all muscle and very little fat. A friend's husband (they had 2 very fat Labradors) once asked me what breed Trouble was, and then said she couldn't be a Labrador because she wasn't fat... to which I responded she wasn't fat because I was the one who dictated what she ate and how much of it... unfortunately the barb was lost on him... *sigh* T.

Have a read of the latest Greens stance on the issue of animals... makes AJP look soft... grrr! T.

Such beautiful and happy puppies... please give them both massive huggles and kisses on those shmooshy faces... T.

Many staffy type dogs walk/run like that... looked pretty normal to me... but good on you for making sure with a trip to the vet. Zara is a lucky girl to have you for her human... T.

I've found that generally, the price of quality purebred pups is still significantly lower than the price of pretty much any "oodle" type pup, so the cost argument is a bit redundant nowadays. The issue is more "I want a pup now", and people may not be willing to wait until a registered breeder might be having another litter, whether or not there may be a very long waiting list for a pup, etc... Having recently become dogless, I know how difficult it is to have to wait for the pup I want, from the breeder I want it from... but I also know that the wait is going to be so worth it to get that perfect pup for me. I may look at fostering for rescue to fill the space in my life that fits a dog until the time my perfect pup comes along... it's too lonely for me to be without a dog in the house for long. I'm in the lucky position where I had identified some time ago exactly what breed of pup I want, and who I want it bred by. I have established a form of relationship with my preferred breeder, and we have had open, honest, and frank discussion about what we both want for said pup... and I am now patiently waiting until said breeder has a litter with a pup designated for me. To be honest, while price is always going to be a factor, it was the last factor to consider or ask about... more as an afterthought really, but it helps to make sure one has the funds available when they are needed, yes? T.

You mentioned that you felt intimidated by Rotties... so there's your answer... get a Rotti... I've owned many Rotties over the years, and when I'm ready for another pup to join my family, it will be a Rotti too. I've found that the males tend to be somewhat gentler in nature than the girls - and both the boys I've owned have been pretty useless as guard dogs per se, but just their presence is usually enough for strangers to think twice about doing anything silly. Most of my Rotties have also been exceptionally good at mixing with other dogs and dog breeds - many actually helped raise some of the many rescue foster pups I've had over the years too. If you get a well bred Rotti and raise it as a family member (similar to how you raise your Labs), you don't need to train for more protection or guarding, as they will naturally defend their family members... usually by placing themselves between you and any perceived danger (just like your Lab did). They are also not generally big barkers, only occasionally giving a warning bark if necessary to alert to something amiss. Most Rotties also love to hang out with their family and sleep on the bed, etc... so make sure you have enough room to share there... *grin* I'm assuming that any dog you do decide on will be taken on as a pup, and you will raise in your own preferred method to suit your own needs in that regard... so I don't see how a Rotti pup will be any different to raising your Labs. The only real difference will be how other people see a Rotti as opposed to their general perception of a Labrador... personally, I have found that the 2 breeds are not really that much different as family pets, it is only OUR perception of each breed that changes there. I would refrain from looking at size or "look" too deeply with regards to your selection of dog based on your needs... the breed that will most perfectly suit what you have listed here is actually a Rotti, no question... T.

The real point remains that we don't NEED more legislation. The current legislation is already more than strict with what is and isn't acceptable with regards to animal welfare... the problem is that the legislation is NOT being effectively policed. Simply adding even more legislation WON'T fix that glaring problem. I'm a firm believer in regular review and tweaking of animal welfare legislation to stay current with advances in best practice with the end goal of better outcomes for animals... but certain political groups with slick propaganda machines pushing untenable agendas should not be who is dictating what is considered best practice. If one reads the current NSW Puppy Farm Inquiry report, just look at the minutes of the meetings at the end to see exactly who seems to have been instrumental in dictating what "evidence" is presented in that report, and what is supressed or omitted... all with the goal of pushing for their proposed Bill to be passed into law. Also, Victoria have just very recently announced that they are looking to replace the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals Act (POCTAA) completely... led by pushes by the Animal Rights/Protection mob. It wasn't enough for them when they got their 2017/2019 changes through... they want more and more restrictions, to the point of making it untenable for anyone to own a pet... and are banking on the general apathy of the "it will never happen" attitude of the general public to get their way. https://engage.vic.gov.au/new-animal-welfare-act-victoria - it might be a good idea for Victorian DOLers to have a looky at what is being proposed and have a say in the shaping of that legislation. The glaring issue will be that most of the fine print stuff will be in Regulations, which means that any future changes to the rules will NOT require any public consultation, effectively leaving it open to any politician with a slick argument to push through changes that will be completely detrimental for pet owners, farmers, etc... T.

The words "puppy farm" conjure up specific images for the average person... but legislation has been carefully drafted to deliberately NOT define exactly what constitutes a "puppy farm". Legislation in Victoria places a specific number (of intact female dogs) in 5 categories of breeders - one of those categories is "commercial breeder", which is 11 to 50 intact female dogs. Proposed legislation in NSW is only offering TWO categories of breeders... with those owning 3 to 10 intact females being classified as a "companion animal breeding business". It also wants to cap total numbers of intact females to 10 for any breeder. Adding to that population cap, they are proposing to limit the number of litters each female can have in their lifetime to TWO only... and male stud dogs are not to be used once they pass 6 years of age. Hmmm... interesting to note... the original NSW Puppy Farm Inquiry report was 182 pages... the current version available now on Parliament website is only 177 pages... ?? I know of at least one edit that had to be made due to a mistake with referencing a particular submission... have there been more edits?? T.

Microchipping has been mandatory for decades, yet the number of unchipped animals in pounds and shelters is still significant. Desexing is also strongly encouraged, and sweetened by offering cheaper council registrations, but the numbers of undesexed and unregistered animals in pounds and shelters is still significant. None of these issues are properly addressed in current OR proposed legislation... basically where the entire system fails is in the policing of the legislation Many councils have introduced limits on the numbers of various types of animals, yet there are still people who keep more than those numbers - basically, if one doesn't microchip or register their pet, then they can't effectively be traced, can they? The only way to truly get a real idea on the number of pets in any LGA would be to doorknock and insist on seeing/counting all pets... and we know that ain't gonna happen. Again, legislation/policy that can't be effectively policed. The current enforcement model is to sit and wait for a complaint to be called in by a member of the public, then the authority decides whether it's worth their time or effort to follow up on that complaint. Reactive, not proactive, policing is a flawed model that is obviously not working, yet those responsible for drafting animal welfare legislation continue to stick their heads in the sand with regards to even attempting to fix the problem... instead, in order to be seen to be "doing something", they just impose even more draconian rules that only make it harder for those actually doing the right thing, but those who aren't will still operate as normal, flying under the radar. The simple truth is that the current system that relies on a third party charity to cover all policing of legislation is not working. The proposed new NSW legislation offers a paltry sum of money to help fund same, but why throw money at a system that clearly doesn't work? What is actually needed is a complete overhaul of how we police our animal welfare laws... and it should NOT be done by a 3rd party charity organisation, rather it should be done by a truly independent agency that has no stake in the industry it is tasked with policing. Any policing agency should also be fully accountable for any overstepping of powers... say an ombudsman or the like. Introducing more laws that can't or won't be policed is a waste of time, effort, and money. Simple truth. T.