mackiemad

spurred on by what i read in the small tiff at the dog park thread (in general) on rude dogs, i now have to admit that i own one of those rude dogs. in the past 6-8mnths my mini schnauzer has started to rush up to other dogs at the park (i don't want park bashing here, just help please!). he is 3 years old and has done a basic but pretty good level of obedience. his recalls are usually pretty solid, as is his heeling however when we get to the dog park, this can change. on lead he is fine, will greet other dogs politely and ignore them if i don't want to stop. at the park (we go a few times a week, so it isn't his only exercise, he gets an on-lead walk for 30mins every morning) i tend to walk around pretty quick and he follows, sniffs and then catches up with me. but if he sees another dog (and this doesn't always happen) he will crouch and then run up to it, usually skirting around the dog to sniff it. in effect he is bullrushing other dogs, something which is relatively new for him and has been becoming more common. what happened once. then twice is now happening most every time we go to the park. usually only the first dog or two he meets, unless they are dogs he already knows well. if i catch him starting to focus on the dog before he really zones in then i can get his focus away and he'll just politely trot up and say hi, but if i'm more than a few staps away i find it hard to get there and break his concentration in time. now i think i obviously need to do some more recall and obedience work, and will do so, but what else should i do to change this behaviour? it is obviously escalating and as well as being rude and undesireable, it can get him hurt. it does seem to be when he is at his most energetic-so only the first ten minutes of the dog park, but having excess energy should not be an excuse! also, he has always been a very dog-loving dog, he is always keen to meet and play with other dogs. he is not very food driven, loves a play from me, but he is very dog-driven. he prefers dogs to most people. in the home he is third in line after the cats, eats last and must wait for his dinner. he is polite and respectful on lead and in the house and for 80% of the dog park, it is that first 20% where is being rude and rushing. shoudl i take my 10metre lead and keep him on that? i'm worried that he will not get to run then as he runs a lot at the park and it really seems to blow the cobwebs out from a few days of not running in walks-he is quite fit. ok, so i've given all the info i can, advice please? -mackie

actually it was a short from a longer article in the weekend australian magazine. which did an ok job in trying to portray both sides, even if it wasn't always correct and some of the ppl were obviouslly mad (the woman breeding all crosses claiming that 'roodles' are fab because they don't eat children like rotties do?!) and in the longer article they say they do shed, they say they're mad and exploted. but they also say something that is undeniably true, that predigree ppl feel threatened and that joe public want these dogs - once we teach ppl why they shouldn't want or buy these dogs then what we are actually threatened by (puppy farms and lies) will go away... one hopes

jed- LOVE the story, captures the devlopment beautifully! and very well written now, i'm off to partake in the drinking of some potato wine!

jules p is right when she says that hendra and lyssavirus are different. BUT it is important to note that hendra virus is deadly and has killed i think it was 2 ppl in qld - both vets treating horses that had contracted it from fruit bats. however i don't think there is any known cases of hendra travelling from bat to dog - but there is a lot unknown on the virus at present. like whether it is straight from bat to horse or bat to flea/mozzie to other animal. it seems to be blood borne but again, no absolutely concrete info yet, the CSIRO are conducting some serious research into it atm. personally i would cut down overhanging branches and wait the month or so til the fruit season stops. we have lots of bats around here but our dog doesn't mind...

only you allow others to make you feel bad or guilty about yourself or any decision you make. so if an aussie is what you want then do it and tell them that you aren't interested in their opinions on the matter. it is your life and only you can live it and only you (and immediate family like OH and children but then it is a family decision, not yours but the principle still applies) will live day to day with your decisions. there is never anything wrong in making a decision like this based on what you want-you've done your research and the aussie breed suits you and your life, so just do it! it isn't like you are poo-pooing all rescues or recue organisations, you are just saying that isn't what you want - NOTHING wrong with that at all.

50, maybe 55cm for a cattle dog? but i have smaller dogs so i'm not the best to answer!

we had a guy come out to get rid of ours. the law says they must be released IN their own territory but the possum guy blocked up the entry they had been using so they couldn't get back inside the roof. if they are merely on your roof then give them a new home in a big tree nearby (preferably a nice nature strip tree a block down from your house!). i can understand that you might be worried about a dude wandering about but i would never get a girl to do it, they are heavy and it is can be dangerous work (not saying that a woman can't do it, but i'm pretty strong and i know i would struggle, plus i don't want to feel like it isn't going to be taken care of properly...). can't find the number of the guy that did ours but we got him from yellow pages and he was good... (melb inner east)

at 5:30pm i get the cats coming in to sit around me, then the dog. they all just sit and stare, waiting til 6, when they won't wait any longer! meowing and nudging ensues. it starts to get a bit like a scene from 'the birds'. no way would i be allowed to forget! i do like the idea of having manoueverable feeding times but i inherited the cats and they had always been fed at 6-so i maintained it to help them adjust and haven't stopped in the 7 years i've had them...

luvmycav is right, RSPCA try and find the animals a permanent foster home, and take responsibility for vet etc. if the can't find a placement then until they do they are 'office' fostered, or like in one cat, has the freedom of the entire private cat ward in the clinic. they are rarely left in the kennels. they do their quarantine and then are treated for any issues and tried to find a home through vollies and employees. i don't know of any other orgs that do it though i'm sure some must have a bequest program - would aaps? they strike me as an org that would be able to find suitable homes for bequest animals... (sorry for shorthand typing in places - broken wrist makes it hard to type!)

(didn't read all of the suggestions) i like 'serenity'

*sigh* i had this wonderful image of some kind of wonderful mechanic contraption called the furminator you know- 'strips hair in a single bound kind' of thing... and then i googled it. is it really just a brush?! thank dog i have a schnauzer!

thats fantastic fran, and good on you for putting yourself and your views out there in the public domain (especially when the public you are putting yourself into seems to be full of knobs!). the only change i would have made to your letter is that it wasn't a 'potential' home invasion. that man came inside your house and threatened you and your property with a bottle, didn't he? just because you had the good fortune of a wonderful dog in atlas and him happening to be drunk it does not make the situation any less of an actual home invasion... i would still be a mess if it were me that had been through what you experienced if only every dog was as wonderfully trained and controlled as atlas - but you are doing your bit in rockhampton!

i have a mini schnauzer and we have a black rolled leather collar on him. other collars tended to muss up the hair, or leave a dent in-between clips, whereas we don't find this with the rolled leather. for coated dogs i think they're fab, with the double-coated long haired dogs i have no experience though... i probably paid an excessive amount because i got mine from wagners (a boutique horse gear/tack shop). mine has brass fittings and is of the loveliest leather. well, i say excessive, but it was around $30-$40, which for a small dog collar is pretty pricey. however, i was also buying a custom made bridle so i'm not sure of what the normal retail price would be-perhaps my collar was cheaper or more expensive?! it was all in the one bill and a few years ago now

hey nutrience- i live in the city so i can't actually store 6kg! i have to buy the 3kg (and when they run out of that with the cat senior, the 1.5kg). yes it is more expensive but animal food already takes up more of my cupboards than i use for my food- i simply can't fit it! i think my gripe with promos isn't just about the giveaways etc but with the signs and the actual getting out there telling people about it (most ppl have never heard of it, even if they feed other premium etc brands) and telling people how awesome it is!-i saw a rep once when i was on the penninsula but my store has told me that nutrience don't have reps anymore-maybe they aren't worht the money, i don't know, but i think your marketing is struggling to keep up with the big name competitors... on the flip side, i've met a few proplan reps and they were so rude and horrible, superior little ppl that i would never buy the food because of the pushy reps - i dont appreciate getting told that i'm poisioning my animals because i don't feed proplan...though i haven't heard any bad reports about the actual food, i would always look for an alternative food myself - so maybe reps are a bad thing!

i feed nutrience holistic to my funny stomached dog and he does brilliantly, and the older cat gets his nutrience senior cat and doesn't have any problems. however i am finding it harder to source. the local shop (which sells puppies, but is now under new management who have told me that they don't want to sell animals, except fish, for various reasons-hopefully they stick to this!) used to only stock nutrience and hills feeds. yet they have removed their display of nutrience but will keep stocking a small range for regulars. nutrience never seems to have reps out, nor do they have many deals etc - their promo isn't very good IMHO. having said that, their food is excellent so i wouldn't swap for the world... i would feed eagle pack if nutrience wasn't avaliable -but i get better, if not the same, results on nutrience and it is a bit cheaper