tdierikx

I'm starting to think that a partial cause for all of the nuf nuf behaviour when dogs are out is the fact that they are becoming increasingly unwelcome in a lot of places - being relegated to certain "dog" areas like dog parks... which are fairly few and far between in a lot of areas, so can get very crowded at "popular" times. A lot of people just don't bother trying to find dog friendly areas to take their dogs with them on outings because they are so scarce nowadays. And so, many dogs become extremely excited when they finally do get to go out anywhere - because they don't get out as often as they should... and people don't take them out as often as they should because of all the restrictions, and the cycle continues... T.

I never doubted that for a moment... the pound is legally obligated to do as much, and would have been in some serious trouble if the rescue's version of events was true. T.

I, too, find it quite extraordinary that someone who has admitted they have become too frigtened to walk their dogs should be told to get over it. I'm still shaking from an experience this evening whereby a large dog rushed the fence of a children's playground while I walked past with my five little dogs. The dog was illegally in the playground (notices on all gates) and there were only two small children in the playground with the dog. A young boy had the dog by the collar trying to hold him (no lead of course) and the boy was being dragged along the ground by the dog. The boy was not harmed, was grinning his head off and obviously thought the whole thing a great lark. I was terrified that the gates might not be secure. I am in the process of writing to the council. For the bolded bit, the sensible approach... way to go DD! T.

I think that when some people have had a couple (or a few) negative experiences it may make them subconsciously more tense when out and about with their dogs... and their dogs WILL pick up on that tension... I'm more likely to set out with mine for an enjoyable wander and go with the flow. What's the point in taking your dogs out for a walk when it's not enjoyed fully by either of you because you fear what may happen along the way? That sounds more like torture for the both of you than any form of exercise or a nice outing. You may as well stay at home and find some other positive way to stimulate your dog... I have big dogs, so maybe I'm just not seeing it the same way as those who have smaller types - but really, why do it if it's so bloody traumatic for you all the time? Also - while it's great to come to a place like this and vent about how bad things are, DOL can't actually do anything to lessen the problem... to do that you need to complain to those who CAN do something about the problem... over and over until they get off their arses and do something about it. Squeaky wheel gets the oil, right? T.

That is EXACTLY what I was saying. I don't know, and the only people who do know are the Blacktound Pound people who were involved in the dog's care. All else is supposition. It never ceases to amaze me how many people will happily believe that a pound will knowingly allow an animal to suffer in their care... then again, there's no drama involved in the other scenario, is there? The pound in qestion is under no legal obligation to have surgery performed upon any animal in their care - but they ARE bound to the laws that state they must at least make said animal as comfortable as possible until it transpires that the dog is officially owned by someone, and the onus is passed to them to provide any needed surgery. Be that the original owners, or a rescue... T.

If I didn't have a Horse Puppy that would break an Iggy... I would so be dibsing that girl pup... Simply adorable pics yet again Kirislin! T.

In all fairness, the vet took the money for a procedure he had no intention of performing... like it or not, that is fraud... Mr Magee is an A-Grade twat - but the law will probably be on his side in this case. T.

Yep I agree with the above 100%... but wouldn't it be wonderful if the aggressive behaviours displayed by said "stupid little sh#ts" was acted upon with as much fervour as happens with the larger dogs? T.

You should be able to browse without needing to sign up Katdogs... it is fairly image heavy/intensive though, so sometimes can take a while to load up all of the pics. Making sure that your Adobe Flash (free from www.adobe.com) is up to date might help some. T.

The rescue in question actually has a less than glorious history of not always making the best rehoming matches - and for browbeating those who dare to try to return an unsuitable dog back to the rescue. They are also affiliated with the org that shall not be named... T.

*looking up costs to fly down to Tassie* T.

Ahhh, but there's the thing... nobody is held accountable for their own actions any more - it's always someone else's fault. I never thought I'd live in a society that had to put tags on clothes saying "do not iron whilst wearing"... but here we are... *sigh* T.

I'd happily enter a yard with Staffy types... they give the best kisses! Assuming that the owner knows I'm coming and that the dogs aren't obviously telling me that going in is a bad idea... T.

Is it possible that your dog may be one of the few who have side effects caused by Sentinal Spectrum? With our rescue pups, we will dose once prophylactically with Baycox, and give Canex or Fenpral worming tablets (or Canex puppy syrup if the pups are under 2kg) about 24-48 hours after giving the Baycox dose. If there are fleas present, we will use Revolution spot on for the pups' weight range. T.

Yep - think small dog bites small child = significant wounding requiring medical care from a professional. Just because it's a Chi or elderly, doesn't give it or the owner the right to behave that way. It's NOT funny. T.

Well thought out and presented moosmum... thank you! T.

Actually you need to make sure your dog is in compliance with the management requirements of a particular area first and foremost and be in a position where anyone would reasonably believe an incident shouldn't arise in other words, a leashed dog walked on the street is not responsible for the result of attack from a dog at large escaping someone's property regardless of the dog's size as the dog at large has breached the management requirements to begin with, that is had the owner of the escaping dog complied with the management requirements the incident would have been avoided.......the dog on leash is not the menacing dog regardless of the outcome. This has been tested at law a few times where large dogs on leash have injured small dogs off leash in a public place who have mounted attacks on the large dog or it's handler. One case where a small dog was PTS from result of injury inflicted by the large dog was appealed twice and on each occasion the large dog owner escaped prosecution. But in many cases, the larger dog's owner hasn't had the funds to mount such an appeal - and thusly their dog has inevitably been euthanaised fro reacting in kind to an attack by a smaller dog. Being a large dog owner (2 of which are bullbreed crosses) I am distictly aware that if my dogs WERE to retaliate when attacked, they would be the target of some serious action - regardless of any facts showing that my dogs were not the initial aggressor. Therefore, it is MY job to make sure that they AREN'T prone to reacting in kind when set upon by another dog - but look to ME to get them out of that sort of predicament. It's all part of ownership of a larger dog really... having some responsibility for the fact that if they were to bite something, it would have a much greater impact than if a smaller dog bit something, yes? Personally, I don't think ANY dog, regardless of size, should be "allowed" to be nasty in public... but the "rules" seem to be applied more along the lines of how much damage the individual dog can do, as opposed to the fact that they ALL can cause some form of damage with their teeth. I'd rather not be bitten by ANY dog, thank you very much. T.

It's not illegal to sell/rehome an entire dog - whether it be rescue or otherwise. Unethical if you are doing it under the banner of rescue - but not illegal... *sigh* T.

We tend to use Baycox as a one dose treatment in our rescue - usually works for us after the first dose. We dose at 0.2ml per kilo of the dog's weight. In extreme cases we will follow up with a second single dose a week after the first. Have you dosed your pup for other intestinal worms lately? We use Canex or Fenpral on our pups as they are easier on the gut than Drontal... Drontal is harder on the gut and we've seen quite a few pups with a week of diarrhoea after using Drontal... Has your vet looked for Giardia as well in the fecal float? We've seen Coccidia AND Giardia both present in some of our rescues. Symptoms of both are very similar, but require different drugs to eradicate. T.

Shabani(?) had gone over to Lubutu and started a display... Lubutu sat and watched him for a good minute or so, then got up and indicated that he'd had enough... the look on Shabani's face says it all, doesn't it? "Oh crap, now I've asked for it!"... lol! Lubutu just stood up tall and eyeballed Shabani and rushed at him, and it was all over just like that. No push or shove, no screeching - just Lubutu quietly enforcing his superiority. I'm pretty sure the snakes were doing the horizontal mamba (for want of a better term... *grin*) - it was awesome to watch... like a deadly dance going on. Some bloke reckoned they were fighting, but the absence of any biting seems to nullify that idea... looked very much like the snakes I've seen mating on the farm as a kid. T.

If truth is now deemed "muck raking" - dog help us all... The truth of the matter is that Rocky's K9 Rescue is milking Ben's "story" for everything they can get... and the "truth" really isn't getting in the way of that. Yes - the pound did not ante up for expensive surgery for Ben while he was in their care - but they definitely did NOT leave him untreated at all. They did what was in their power to do for him under the law as it currently stands. DD - you know for a fact that Ben did not have any bedding supplied by the pound during his stay? Have you confirmed that he did NOT receive any pain relief? T.

Yes i agree, but as stated page one or two my opinion on why that isn't happening, And some of the current laws fail on large scales even with enforcement after all they allow farming. And I agree with 24 hour contact to council ranger, not 2 days a go I had a beautiful looking mastiff in my horse paddock playing with my dogs who were in their pen. this was at 11pm, I have a girl locked on the enclosed veranda and locked in her crate who is in season, which is why is was probably visiting. I told him to pi** off and he growled at me and ran away, I was within my house yard and knowingly safe, and I interpret his growl as 'leave me alone don't chase me'. But the point was he was not where he should be at the wrong time of day. And why should the public risk approaching a strange dog, the boy in my yard wasn't aggressive but if he didn't leave and acting on his sensors due to girl in season and I cornered him and put a rope on him and tried to shove him in my car to keep my girl safe, what would he have done? But if you ring some councils during office hours with a strange dog on the property they say' try and catch it'. which would mean close proximity cause most normal people don't have a lunge bar or whatever they are called they are unable to come out until later this afternoon or until tomorrow cause our range is not on duty today. The government failure just keeps on going. Can you please answer the bolded part of my question? Your response regarding "farming" still being legal is not exactly an answer there... As for approaching strange dogs wandering the streets or in our yards - I've had my share of those that I've had to deal with because they always seem to be about when a ranger ISN"T available to come and deal with them. Then again, I'm not your average Joe Public when it comes to dealing with dogs either - I've got a few courses on handling dangerous dogs under my belt, and have been in rescue for a few years where one of my jobs is selection of dogs from the pounds we deal with - I have to be able to understand dog body language under stressful conditions in order to work out which pound dogs are going to be rehomable or not. Add that to the fact that the rescue I work with deals with a lot of sick or injured dogs who may be under even more stress than normal, and with a much higher propensity to bite because of same - I've yet to be bitten by any dog (roaming or rescue). The fact remains that we DO have plenty of laws regarding dogs, that if enforced without fear or favour, would definitely have an impact upon some of the issues we are discussing in these threads... but we need the proper numbers of those tasked with enforcement of said laws increased to a level where they CAN do it effectively. T.

Angeluca - I understand that you are putting forward a potential/hypothetical "solution" to a "problem" as you see it... but can you eleborate on WHO is going to enforce your solution, and HOW they are going to be able to do it effectively? Given that the already myriad laws and regulations we have now are not being effectively policed or enforced... My solution is simple - put people on the ground in those positions tasked with policing the CURRENT laws, and you may actually see a decline in the numbers of people pumping out litters willy nilly for a "quick buck". Just imagine council rangers surfing all those buy and sell websites, then dropping in on the sellers to check the vaccination and microchip status of all the animals on the premises... with lovely fines for each animal that isn't chipped or registered... I'd like to also see council rangers effectively being on call outside of business hours and on weekends - on a rotating roster of course. Animals don't confine themselves to being lost or in need of help during business hours after all... and why should the general public have to pick up the slack there to get an animal to the nearest pound or shelter? T.

OK - photos from yesterday are up... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ Here's a taste... Not the best pics I've ever taken, but some interesting subjects, don't you think? T.

Well done Sid! You done your mum proud little man! T.