jacqui835

I had a doberman in an apartment for a while (he wasn't allowed there but I was suddenly homeless and all of my friends lived in rented apartments or terraces in Sydney). I didn't notice any change in his behaviour, but I did make sure to give him that little bit of extra exercise so that whilst I was out, he was happy to sleep.

I think talking to your neighbours is a great idea. Now in our new house, I have made a huge effort to introduce Sammy to all our neighbours, and ask them every now and then whether he complains whilst I'm away. I would much prefer they came to me than go to the council or something.

ETA: I did this as well because we have a lot of dogs in our neighbourhood, and because mine is probably the biggest, people tend to think of him first when they hear barking (even though he rarely barks at all). I'm not sure if yours is the only dog in the apartment complex, but you certainly don't want your dog copping the flack for other dogs barking.

Yup Siwi grew up UGLY. He is allergic to just about anything so always looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Poor guy, but Acheron - what a handsome boy!~

This conversation is reminding me of a segment I once saw on Bondi Vet. A girl took her bulldog to get desexed, and at the same time to have prosthetic testicles inserted to please her boyfriend. Apparently he couldn't bear the thought of having a male dog without balls, so they got fake ones. Unbelievable.

I'm at work so am not going to see if I can find a clip on youtube (not sure whether that kind of thing would make it to youtube, but I've seen far stranger and more pointless crap on there!). But if you're interested in seeing a real douchebag, perhaps have a google!

Lol I saw that episode, exactly the sort of guy I'm thinking of...

I just personally didn't enjoy watching the ad to top it all off - the balls in the jar scene made me cringe. But if it works it will be worth it.

Look I know what you're saying and yes, the balls in the jar thingy was a bit How ya goin, but it's in keeping with the sort of movies she makes, Jacqui. If it gets some dork to have his dog castrated before he makes lots of little Rovers, that's a good thing, isnt it? It's toilet humour by a gorgeous looking hollywood starlet with her boobs on show so should grab a lot of male attention. As minimiss said, it's not being directed at people like you and her and me who work at being responsible dog owners. It's directed at Joe Blow who doesnt know any better.

There should be another one for cat owners.

Totally agreed with you that if it works it will be great. Just didn't like it myself and I had some concerns about how it would sit with the target market (guys who compensate for their own lack of manhood through big out of control entire male dogs).

I find the undertones too distracting and I think there are a couple of mixed messages (the whole, chop off body parts to make your dog 100% adorable etc).

I found her gorgeous boobs distracting but then she started with the death stares and I laughed.

Oh and by the way - my dogs bar one dont have tails. They were chopped off at birth so dont bother bringing waggy tails into the argument, jacqui. Doesnt work. Tails dont make hundreds of thousands of puppies that end up with a needle sticking into them and chucked in a council waste depot. Dogs with balls do.

Great ad and the target demographic is obviously the average Joe Blow down the street who buys a dog and should have it's balls removed.

Gosh Raz that's a tad aggressive don't you think? OP asked for opinions - obviously yours is different from mine - not sure that it needs to go any further than that? I personally have no issue with tail docking - I've seen it done, I've seen pigs desexed at a few months old with no aneasthetic - had no issue with any of it. I was merely trying to make the point that focusing on the aethestic angle seemed a little odd to me given that we have spent years and lots of marketing money on telling people to feel bad about wanting to modify their dogs for looks - to make them "100% adorable".

I agreed with you about the target demographic. My concern is that perhaps they're going to be the sort of people (many men have issues with removing their dog's balls) who aren't going to want to hear from a woman that she hates balls? You guys think it's funny, but you're not the ones keeping your dog's balls because you're worried about their manhood.

I just personally didn't enjoy watching the ad to top it all off - the balls in the jar scene made me cringe. But if it works it will be worth it.

I guess I'm the only one then who found the whole thing slightly disturbing - especially the part at the end where she hands him his 'parts' in a jar... I love Katherine Heigl and am pro most people desexing their dogs, but this commercial doesn't do it for me, I just found it weird and yeah, disturbing.

I'm also not sure that I agree with the line of argument. Everyone knows there are too many animals bred, but they still breed. So lets make them feel like balls are ugly, and then they'll desex to make their dogs more attractive to society. Well, what about all the people who think a long tail on a dog is ugly? If you find a part ugly on a dog or human or anything really, you don't just cut it off...

I get that it's meant to be a joke. Hopefully it works I guess. Or better yet, hopefully next time a big name movie star will spend 2 minutes talking about responsible pet selection, maintenance, training, care and the responsibility, time, money and effort associated and we can focus on treating the cause of the problem rather than the symptoms.

You over thought this one....it's simply a piss take....it's great marketing to get people to have a laugh about a serious issue.

Ok. Just didn't personally find it funny is all and I thought they could have done more with the actress/money/time etc.

My dog (a dobe x rottie) sounds like a bear when he plays, but they're very different noises from like his guarding growl etc. He plays quite rough with his friends, and usually leads the games. What I really like about him though is that he matches himself to the other dog and does he needs to do to get them to play. If it's a playful, confident dog then he's up on his hind legs dancing around like a horse, body slamming and everything else. If it's a nervous dog, he bows down, even rolls onto his back which is really cute to see when the other dog is like a toy breed or something (my sister owns 2 papillons).

But now that he's older he's more fussy about playmates. He loves his existing friends (mostly male), but most of his new friends are female, the males he tends to ignore now. It's a bit sad sometimes, no matter how hard they try to play with him he just always seems to have something better to do, like oh, sniff a piece of grass etc. Still loves chasing whippets though...

That's just weird. I find it disturbing that a dog is disgusting because it has what nature gave it. If it's meant to be funny or informative then it misses on both counts.

She's not making the point that dogs with balls are disgusting. She's making the point that irresponsible owners are disgusting...and they're usually the owners with balls who are obsessed with their dog's balls and wont have them chopped off before they go and service the neighbourhood bitches, creating lots of little dogs with balls that end up in pounds and getting slaughtered.

If you dont get this ad, I feel sorry for you.

I think we get it so you don't need to feel sorry for us (though I'm not sure that's the actual intention behind those words). I just feel that there are lots of ways to talk about an issue, and I don't know that I love this particular approach. I find the undertones too distracting and I think there are a couple of mixed messages (the whole, chop off body parts to make your dog 100% adorable etc).

Yes there are those people out there, but having a woman tell them she thinks balls are gross? I'm not sure that's the way through to them so if that's the target market I think it misses completely. Anyway, just my 2c, still love Katherine Heigl and admire her for what she's trying to do.

It's a "funny or die" skit, nit an ad so I do t know what some people are getting so upset about.

I wouldn't say I'm getting upset over it or anything, just didn't find it particularly enjoyable to watch and I found myself cringing a few times. Can you imagine the whole thing reversed? A man holds a woman's ovaries in a jar, while she begs him to borrow them for a night? The whole thing was just a bit weird for me. But doesn't change that I love Katherine Heigl and I can see what they're trying to do. It's just I feel like we've spent the last 10+ years trying to tell people it's not ok to modify their dogs for aethestic reasons...

I guess I'm the only one then who found the whole thing slightly disturbing - especially the part at the end where she hands him his 'parts' in a jar... I love Katherine Heigl and am pro most people desexing their dogs, but this commercial doesn't do it for me, I just found it weird and yeah, disturbing.

I'm also not sure that I agree with the line of argument. Everyone knows there are too many animals bred, but they still breed. So lets make them feel like balls are ugly, and then they'll desex to make their dogs more attractive to society. Well, what about all the people who think a long tail on a dog is ugly? If you find a part ugly on a dog or human or anything really, you don't just cut it off...

I get that it's meant to be a joke. Hopefully it works I guess. Or better yet, hopefully next time a big name movie star will spend 2 minutes talking about responsible pet selection, maintenance, training, care and the responsibility, time, money and effort associated and we can focus on treating the cause of the problem rather than the symptoms.

Then:

Now(ish):

What an attractive labrador. Not usually a fan but she is a beautiful looking dog

From this (6 weeks - visited him before we took him home)

and this (9 weeks)

to this (1.2-1.5 years old)

and this

to this (almost 2 years old)

Well firstly, there's very little you can do for your dog if they're not within reach (hence the other dog won't be in reach either). Very few dogs that you meet at an off-lead dog park will want to actually kill your dog. Many will be badly mannered, over-exuberant and their owners will have no control and this is certainly not acceptable, but the odds of a dog randomly killing or even hurting another dog well, it's not normal dog behaviour so hopefully that makes you feel a little more confident. If you're scared and panicked well your dog will either freak out and run away, or alternatively, try to protect the both of you and display aggression etc.

I have taught my dog to come near me when we meet these annoying dogs. He stands at my side, I can easily shoo off any disobedient and/or rude dogs. Don't let your dog run away from you and the other dog, most dogs will chase something running away from them (run away from your own dog and see what happens) so when on a lead, stop her running away from you and keep her close. Then any rude dog will have to confront you and the dog, and I have met maybe 2 dogs in 2 years visiting assorted dog parks across the country that have challenged me for telling them to bugger off, the rest just leave once they realise the human is involved.

How Animal Rights Has Twisted Our Language

by the late great JOHN YATES

American Sporting Dog Alliance

Not sure if I am allowed to post this here, so I will just post the link for now.

http://time4dogs.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-defense-of-dog-breeders.html

I do not discriminate against children or pets, but the main reason that landlords do is that they perceive that they will cause extra damage. By paying extra rent it reduces the financial disincentive to discriminate. While it is illegal to discriminate against families with children, there is nothing at the moment to deter landlords from doing so quietly.

Pets not being allowed in rental properties is a major reason stated for why people surrender pets. This is upsetting, because most of these pets can assumed to be wanted or even loved.

It is terrible but true. I struggled for ages to find somewhere that would let me have my dog in Sydney and in the end it came down to a house that no-one really wanted, quite expensive though ($580/wk) and it was me vs a family with 2 young children. The owner decided the dog would cause less damage than the children (the agent was very frank and my dog had references) and so I got the place.

The houses in my area without pets were all $100 less per week. I knew I was paying the extra money to keep Sammy and not everyone would be in a position to be able to afford that. I would never have given up Sammy, but to the person who posted that a lot of people give their pets up when circumstances change and don't have to, I slept a few nights in my car to avoid having to give up my dog, not to mention how dependent I was on the generosity of friends breaking their own rental rules and letting me stay in apartments where dogs weren't allowed. Not because I didn't have the job and the money to be able to afford rent or excellent references, but because I just couldn't find anywhere that would accept dogs and I was homeless very suddenly. How many people realistically could do that?

Blonde Phoenix - I'd recommend you do some more reading on the health benefits of a dog being desexed.

I'm not sure how many undesexed females die of pyometra I'd say it is very common - only last week I was speaking to an owner who very much loved their dog, since they were a puppy and they were now around 10, suddenly became quiet - it was pyometra and she didn't make it. It's not just dogs roaming in the streets with bad owners (rescue groups see it all the time, I've had 2 fosters alone with it this year) but also in homes of otherwise responsible owners.

Have a look at the risk of prostate cancer for undesexed males.

I just rescued a male dog and he was too far gone to save with a "peritoneal hernia" - read up about that, it was an education to me as I'd never heard of it but the main cause is being an older undesexed male.

Not lecturing but just suggesting that you read up on these illnesses that are very significant for the undesexed animal. I work in rescue and see the sad results.

I certainly don't want to lecture either, but having done a lot of research on the topic (as the owner of an entire male dog), I have to disagree with your claims. There are very few studies (I haven't found any personally) that have found desexing to be in the best interests of the animal's health. The more recent ones however are disturbingly finding links between aggression and neuter status - that is to say, the neutered females in particular are vastly over-represented in bite statistics. Of concern to me also was the fact that neutering the dog has been linked to earlier and more severe mental depreciation as they age.

I advocate desexing because most people probably shouldn't own dogs in the first place (because they're not prepared and don't understand what having a dog will mean for them) and they certainly shouldn't be breeding them, not because I think it's best for the individual dog.

Here are a couple of links to more recent studies for anyone who is interested.

http://time4dogs.blogspot.com/search?q=neuter

"Spaying (ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomy) has been shown to reduce unwanted pregnancies, prevent pyometra and

decrease the risk of mammary gland tumors in female dogs and cats. However, increased tendency to develop obesity may

occur in either species. In dogs, an increased incidence of certain cancers, aggressiveness, sedentary behavior, and urinary incontinence may develop after spaying."

And this article (not academic though) that really sums up my views nicely.

http://time4dogs.blogspot.com/search?q=neuter

Edited to add: dogmad, the writer of this article above used to work in a shelter and used to feel the same as you too.

teela - 'alpha rolls' are when a human forcibly grabs their dog and pushes/rolls it over on its side/back - holding it there,as a form of discipline.

it is NOT teaching dogs to play dead, or present a body area for treatment :)

There is no command either, they just grab the dog and force it to the ground. Your dog will either roll over by its own free will (if I get angry at my dog or point to a crime - such as my shoe moved somewhere by the dog, he will often roll over to show he submits and doesn't want to challenge me over it) or it will be confused/upset or resist and potentially attack you.

I remember hearing from one guy at the park about how he muzzled his dog each night and alpha rolled him - and that was how he kept him in check. I'm no expert but I couldn't personally see what he was achieving...

ps, i kiss and cuddle him sometimes too

but then he kisses me sometimes too...

Aw beautiful dog.

Whilst Pounds are at the end of the road and have to make that final choice for the animals that end up there, it is because as a society we demand that they fix the roaming dogs, fighting cats, starving strays. Irresponsible, ignorant choices by owners is what creates the mess the pounds clean up.

Pound fees can be expensive, but so are the costs associated with Animal Control. We demand 24hour ranger response, we have to pay for it. Society is to blame and whilst we all moan and shake our heads at how the job is done it is a job we as a society have created.

This is very true except for one part. Luckily not everyone contributes the problem, but unfortunately, it is often only these same people not causing the issues in the first place that care about the issues there. There are far too many people who can't really think of anything wrong with buying a pet on a whim, abandoning it a few weeks/months/years later and buying a new one on the way home... I've no doubt in my mind that there are lots of repeat offenders and then lots of other people who could never imagine dumping their pets.

thanks for the positive responses guys

and for the people that are against, each to their own i guess!

i wouldn't change a thing about my so called "sticky rottie" and cherish every moment of our closenesses together because one day they won't be there, their life's way too short and i wouldn't want to regret anything...

too much time is spent over analysing things (which was me at one point) and worrying about the smaller things in life when you should just enjoy every moment of it while you have it.

for now pup's not causing any problems and if he tries to be naughty, i'll tell him off and he'll stop what he's doing then walk off with his head down

i'm aware that things might change a little as he gets older and since i'm not planning to neuter him till he's at least 15-18 months might also make things a little more challenging but i'll follow the advise of the more experienced, keep going to obedience training, be firmer, consistent or whatever it is that i'll have to do and hope for the best!

Sticky dogs are the best. My dog is still entire and an adult now, and he's confident but never challenging with me. According to my club, he's very respectful towards me (he plays a lot more aggressively when the guys step in to show me something than what he will do with me) and we have what they all want to have - a partnership where the dog wants to work simply to please me. That said, he did go through a phase from 7-9 months where he was a bit trying (wanted to test his new strength on other dogs, thought he was too good to have to always listen etc). We came down on him harder, problem resolved and now 10+ months on and we've had no issues since. Mine is the same, you tell him off, he sulks, stands like a horse with his head on a down angle until we call him back a while later and reward him for coming etc.

And all these dogs are getting exactly what they want when they want.

And we're getting exactly what we want. We want happy, confident dogs not afraid to ask for love. You can choose where to set your boundaries. My dog is allowed on the bed by invitation only, but once on the bed, he likes to be as close to me as is possible (often this means on me). This works well for me too and we enjoy our cuddle times. If I want him to get off he will.

It is my personal belief that some dogs can understand the concept of 'partnership'. When we work, we are partners - I'm the brains of the operation he is the dog (be that the speed, the bite, the nose etc). If you track with a dog, the dog leads but he's not the boss of you, you're just partners and he's the one with the nose so he works out what direction you're going.

I too own a male entire dog (doberman cross rottweiler) and he is fine with other dogs. Most females love him, desexed or entire doesn't matter. Males well to be honest, some desexed males don't seem to like him. They will harass him a bit, follow him around and often have to be shown off (but this is from someone who spends a lot of time at dog parks with not so many responsible owners). We were told a few times back when I used to go to Centennial Park all the time in Sydney that the problem with having an entire dog wasn't that they would attack attack other males, it was that desexed males would attack them. But if the dogs have all been well socialised and get on with other dogs, there's no reason there should be any problems. My dog is good friends with a male desexed labrador, belonging to some friends of ours. They had met once at the park, had a good play, and now they happily hang out in our backyards when we see each other.

Interesting, here is a quote from a Norwegian on a thread asking people whether they consider themselves pet owners or pet parents.

"When I've had a pet, I've thought of myself as a pet owner, but with the understanding that owning a living creature is very different from owning, say, a house or a car. "Caretaker" might be a better term, since it implies a fundamental responsibility."

Regardless of your opinion on the use of positive punishment absolutely nothing you ever do intentionally should cause a dog pain or for it to be afraid of you.

This. Same goes for children.

Many debarked Showdogs are not problem barkers...the neighbours and society at large are the problem.

Barking dogs are not tolerated, trying to live happily in suburbia with your dogs can be a challenge, many showies are afraid to allow their dogs to make a sound for fear of reprisal. It is the way of the world we live in. If there is a noise complaint in a neighbourhood the first person under suspicion will be the exhibitor/breeder with a multi dog license. To avoid the stress and the fear of losing ones dogs some choose to debark to prevent any issues.

Ain't that the truth and it's horrible to live that way. The first bark and I'm awake, the second and I'm up dealing with it. We sleep all of the dogs indoors, for fear that one of them may happen to make a squeak in the night and we'll have council on the door step. Meanwhile the neighbourhood habitual barkers continue on their merry way

Very sad. Try to do everything right and yet by being registered and out in the open you're more likely to be targeted.