tdierikx

I thought her new name should be "Lucky"... but then I have had another think and reckon she should be named "Karma"... 'cos bad karma is definitely going to be visited on whoever did that to her... *grin* She's a stunningly pretty little tacker, isn't she? Am truly loving her eyes - so soulful... T.

There are going to be "good" and "bad" operators in every angle of this debate - whether they be registered, BYB, or commercial breeders. Unfortunately quite a lot of people will actually put more thought and research into buying a television than when selecting a living, breathing creature to join their family unit - and until that changes, this debate will continue to rage on... In a perfect world, no living creature would have to suffer to meet a market demand - but we really don't live in a perfect world, and there are so many different lobby groups with so many different agendas in this debate, that I don't see any reasonable solutions coming in the near future. Whilst I don't support anyone using animals to breed solely for profit, I also don't see an issue with unregistered (or even registered) breeders producing crossbreed dogs every now and then either (as long as they have the wellbeing of their animals and the offspring as their top priority). I don't support the making up of stupid crossbreed names and the touting of "hybrid vigour" - proper research would out that particular myth... hey Mita, maybe you know of some of that sort of research? Dogs are not robots and can't be "made to order" - no matter how many precautions we take, we are really leaving most of the hard stuff up to Mother Nature there. Yes, genetic screening of breeding stock can avoid some of the worst problems from arising in most cases, but it only takes one small throwback gene for an issue to arise that may not have been evident for generations, no? What sets the "good" from the "bad" breeders, IMHO, is how they deal with any issues that arise down the track for one of their puppy buyers... T.

We do all breed rescue, but if we get in an obvious purebred, we will sometimes contact the breed rescue for advice (if needed), or for adoption prospects - many breed specific rescues have lists of people waiting for that type of dog. If we get in a papered dog, we will contact the breeder to see if they want to take the dog back, or give us advice, etc, on adoption prospects. There have been times when we've had a purebred in care and the breed rescue has contacted us demanding we give them the dog... in those cases we tend to get a little stroppy with the attitude... T.

My fosters are always separated when I'm not around to supervise... but I only foster pups, so it's more for my own dogs' sanity than anything else. T.

And that's what I think rescue dogs need most. I'll second that sentiment... T.

Back in the old days mutts were free to good home - it was only when people started making up stupid names for certain crosses that people started seeing money in crossbreeding. Funnily enough, it can often be a darn sight cheaper to purchase a well bred pedigreed dog nowadays than to source one of the "desirable" crosses... *sigh* T.

Why do some people need to think there is something "wrong" with rescue dogs? Most rescue dogs are perfectly fine canine citizens who just managed to find themselves homeless is all. The notion that they may have been abused or neglected is often the furthest thing from the truth. Rescuers who rehome a dog that has serious issues are not exactly doing anyone a favour - least of all the dogs... Funnily enough, there are more dogs out there who have had the best of everything since puppyhood that have many more issues in public than most rescue dogs I've met... ... and while we are talking about dog parks, it's been my experience that a larger number of smaller breed dogs will be antisocial and go out of their way to annoy some larger breed dogs. My large breed girls were forever trying to get out of the way of "snappy yappies" when I used to take them to the dog park - and not because my dogs went to socialise with said smaller dogs - the little terrors would charge at nearly everything that went even remotely near them or their owners. Funny how it was deemed funny by most people when a SWF would launch and attack my Pittie X girl... good thing my girl is non-reactive and waits for her mummy to come save her from those situations, but she still got looked at as being a "nasty type" of dog because of her breed mix, not because she ever did anything to confirm the theory. T.

I have watched many "dog walkers" roll up to dog parks and unload their vans to let large numbers of dogs run free... and the results have mostly been mayhem. For the most part, the "dog walkers" have had little or no control over the dogs in their care - they just let them run amok and stand around either smoking or talking on their phones, with very little actual supervision of the dogs they have unleashed on the park. Personally, if I was to hire someone to walk my dogs, I'd expect the dog to be walked and interacted with properly... not bundled off to the nearest dog park to do as it pleases while the "dog walker" did their own thing. Back in the days where there were no dog parks, dog walkers did exactly that - walk the dogs. Quite frankly I wouldn't pay the fees charged by walkers today for them to do what I've witnessed at various dog parks. It's a total rip-off IMHO... T.

The food rewards thing was the only thing my Lab girl learned with 100% accuracy at the same place you went Katdogs... then when she became virtually uncontrollable after various trainers decided to feed her from their bumbags at every opportunity, we were actually expelled... They gave up telling me that check chains were "verboten" when they realised that I actually knew how to use one... *grin* Then again, my Lab girl is named "Trouble" for a reason... lol! But she's nicely behaved in public and has great recall, and not because we went to group training... T.

Too many rescuers put way too much of themselves into the "job"... and many of our best can reach burnout way too quickly... Go with your heart... it's time to do something for YOU... ... you would still be an incredible resource to Pei rescue even if you don't take as many into your own personal care. T.

I took Pickles, my disabled dog, to training a few weeks ago - and although I was extremely impressed with how she (and I) went, the classes are at 8am on a Sunday morning about a 40 minute drive away. The closer group training is held on Saturday afternoon, which clashes with my volunteering at a dog rescue. In all honesty, 8am on Sunday morning is a bit cold for this old body - but will probably get there more often when the weather gets warmer. My older 2 dogs had enough training when they were younger to be nicely social when out in public and come back to me when called. I have a preference for training with a check chain - and it's getting extremely difficult to find a group training where they don't ban check chains as being "cruel". Training Pickles is done with a harness and a soft collar, as she is prone to tripping and falling due to her disability - the new training group at least understood this fact and were happy enough to work within her limits... Personally, I have dogs because they are dogs... not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, just trained enough not to be a menace in public really. T.

My "old" girl Zeddy will be 13 at the end of this month... but don't tell her she's old - she won't believe you... *grin* As long as your dog is happy and healthy, who cares what other people think? T.

At least I managed to get our name on the pregnant Staffy X girl - that funnily wasn't on the HP email lists after she came in on Thursday... errr! Another group had her up on their website as available for adoption as she'd already had her pups - she's about 5 weeks gone... aarrgghh! Needless the staff had it right on her kennel "Rescue Only" thank dog! I emailed yesterday arvo, but went in to HP today to make absolutely sure she had our name on her. Anyways, she and I had a big cuddle session today, and I think I'm going to name her "Blossom", as she reminds me of a sweet Rotti girl I had in the past. T.

So PR are warehousing animals in kennels too? What's the point in getting an animal out of the pound only to have it languish in kennels for an indeterminate length of time? Especially if the dogs would be far better off being given their wings due to issues that make them a danger to people and/or other animals... T.

dogmad - there is a little dog in HP listed as a Chi X that looks to me like it may have some Iggy in it - THSC21?? - it's the one that keeps getting its jumper/coat off right near where the public enters the kennel area. Sort of a salt and pepper greyish colouring. Sweet little thing... I saw it while I was there today - came up to the front of the kennel and licked my fingers and seemed to just want some cuddles. Pretty happy despite being in a pound and refusing to wear its jumpers. They do have lots of bedding in a bucket bed, so it won't freeze... T.

Just out of curiosity Jill, how much money have they offered you for taking the dog in question? And how much have they offered to the other place where there are kenneled dogs? PM would be fine... I think you have missed my point completely though... the odd gesture like they have offered to you are not regular occurrences - and this one in particular seems very much like a reaction to the current debate regarding their practices. It smacks of "shut up" money from this side of the fence... The fact that PR have the same or more access to the lists at HP that the rest of us have means that they can see exactly which dogs have saves on them. If I (who knows very little about the inner workings of HP) can find out exactly which group has put a save on which dog, then surely PR can do the same... yet they spruik many dogs already safe as being in grave danger of pts. It just seems a little odd that they have just now decided to offer one group (you) some money for one dog on the current list... what about all of the other dogs that have saves on them? T.

Marley and Me... or Red Dog... Both are written in such a way that it reminds us exactly why dogs are "man's best friend"... ... oh and any MIMS manual I can get my hands on... *grin* T.

Jill - just because they gave you some money for the dog you were already committed to taking, doesn't make them "good guys" in any sense of the word... It's in no way addressing the myriad of other issues raised in this and many other threads on the topic. PR have the same access to the pound as the rest of us - they can see which dogs are marked as safe - one phonecall or email to find out which group took them on is all it would take to then be able to forward any donations taken for the dog in question, yes? Once they have the name of the group taking the dog, then it's easy enough to find a contact number or email in order to offer the funds... but it ain't happening unless there is dissent in the ranks like this thread - and basically it looks like they are offering you money to stop being "against" them... and it also looks like it's working... One "right" deed certainly doesn't negate the many bad ones being done by this group in the name of "saving" dogs... If all they did was fundraise and provide ethical/actual help to other rescues, then they'd be a massive boon to the rescue community - let's face it, they are bloody good at that aspect of the game - but I simply cannot reconcile the occasional few dollars going where the donators think it's going with the immense harm they are doing to the rescue "brand" by their rehoming practices. T.

Yeeehaaaa! Go Rusty boy!!! Good things DO come to those who wait... *grin* T.

Until the rest of the stuff they are doing changes for the better, I wouldn't accept one red cent from them - no matter how much they offer. I would feel that it was "Judas" money. Successful rescue isn't measured by how many we can save/rehome, but by how well we do it. Getting a dog out of a Sydney pound, rehoming it irresponsibly interstate, and having it die in a different pound after it does damage to a person or other animal... just isn't rescue in any sense of the word. T.

Oh my!! Curly is certainly a stunning little chap, isn't he? They both look as cheeky as in the video... lol! T.

There are a couple of smaller rescues who have affiliated themselves with PR and are happily taking financial assistance from them Sheridan. Until their practices are amended though, no reputable and ethical rescue want to deal with them - and all criticism or questioning of said practices is met with bullying and intimidation... some on a rather frightening scale... The rescue community has worked long and hard to be recognised as a valid and viable source of a new pet for Joe Public... and PR's current tactics and practices can and will destroy that reputation for ALL rescue. Bad news travels a heck of a lot faster than good news... T.

I used to think crates were cruel... until I had occasion to need to use one... My dogs love theirs, and all my fosters are crate trained too. I wouldn't ever be without a few in different sizes now. T.

NOOOO!!!! Allowing them to "assist" you is affirming their legitimacy... I wouldn't accept anything from them until they start getting all the other things right with their practices. I know it's tempting to want to tap into their obviously huge money raising capabilities, but do we really want to climb onto that particular bandwagon? T.

... except the fact that the majority of rescues I know of can't agree on a common set of policies or procedures... *grin* T.