Simply Grand

Do you know if your request actually went to a bc vote or the bc manager just sent a standard "no" response? Has it been confirmed that the two investor owners are ok with it?

If so, I guess you have to see if you can get on side with the other owner occupier, see how she responds to your letter. It is pretty stressful to be worrying about your dog barking and people complaining but if you are confident your dog won't actually be much of a barker then hopefully the other owner will be reasonable.

Tricky situation!

I feel for you PK, I know how exhausting it is to not be able to just do normal things around the house because you have to factor in the dog/s. And you've been doing it a lot longer than i have

Did he have a med change a while back? Could that be making it worse, like what happened with Justice?

Tbh I'm not sure that there is a lot of training you could do to help him at the moment, given that his anxiety is so generalised

Just looking at the Aldi catalogue, they have a children's 1m x 1m Conni pad on sale from 15 Feb for $40. I might look at getting a couple as I go through so many pee pads with 4 dogs using them at the moment (my fences are useless so they are all inside unless I'm outside supervising)

I was actually thinking it would be a good opportunity to practice working with your pup around distractions, so while the others are running around playing you can work outside the pen on him keeping his focus on you and getting highly rewarded for that

Completely agree with you, I don't think that's a necessary exercise at all. I would just politely say "no thanks, I don't want to do that, I'm more here to work in the training relationship with my pup than socialisation with other dogs", and practice something else, even calm time, with your pup while the others do that.

No instructor has the right to tell you you have to do something with your dog.

Is an child proof enclosure for him outside and a security screen door on her bedroom and maybe some other rooms in the house an option? That way he could be locked in the enclosure when she is free range and you could make sure she is behind a locked screen door in one of the rooms when he having free time in the house until she gets to an age he is comfortable with?

Cost would be a consideration in that though..

ETA and also how he would cope with that lifestyle. I guess you'd have to weigh up whether he'd be happier remaining with you with a whole different lifestyle or leaving you to go to a child free home.

Has he had much exposure to other /older kids Aussie? Has he ever been in positions where you've been able to assess his tolerance with older kids? 

I'm just thinking that if you don't know that he is more tolerant of older kids or if you know that he isn't then you potentially have years and years of management before your daughter is really old enough to manage how she interacts with him. That's a long time to manage separation without a slip up. And if he does hurt her the consequences for your family could be much more than just that he couldn't be rehomed

Oh no what a tough decision, I'm so sorry. Certainly the right one though, I've been juggling my dogs and foster dog for 7 months now to avoid and injured or killed dog and not only is it exhausting and stressful, there have been times when I've slipped (fortunately no serious consequences) and it's just too big a risk to take with your baby

15 hours ago, RuralPug said:

Initiative and problem solving are my personal markers for intelligence. This study merely measures an eagerness to cooperate with an ability to learn and remember commands. 

I would rate a dog who learns by itself to lift a latch and raid a pantry as more intelligent than the winner of an obedience competition who starves to death loyally at their dead master's side rather than open a cupboard or go out of the doggy door and alert the neighbours to a problem. 

A well trained dog often says more about the trainer (and their willingness to experiment to find the motivational trigger for individual dogs) than about the breed. 
Case in point: see a clicker trained alpaca here.

Definitely agree with this. I'm fascinated watching the differences between how my foster dog and my own female work when they want to get through a barrier - the foster girl can jump pretty high but that's all she has, so she has jumped over the gate and an interior barrier but when I put in a new higher interior barrier (folding lattice) she decided she couldn't jump it and gave up.

My girl, who is smaller and either can't jump as high or doesn't want to bother has realised that the latch at the top of the gate is what holds it shut and focuses on trying to reach that, and she figured out in less than a minute that if she pawed from the side of the lattice barrier she could fold it to make a gap she could get through.

10 hours ago, mingaling said:

Ha I'll never understand why people want 'smart' dogs as per this type of test. Who wants to live with an animal that it always several steps ahead of you and practically reads your mind! 

 

My heart breed will always be the Chows because they're too 'stupid' to bother chasing anything they can't eat and too 'stupid' to be willing to learn pointless tricks or perform for anyone.....which for me actually adds up to a pretty darn smart animal 

Omg it's so much easier to live with dumb dogs than smart ones!

My Shetland Sheepdog is definitely not smarter than my Aussie Shepherd

I am in love with these and am following the lady from the op on FB, she does such good work. Hopefully I can get them done as a memorial for my dogs and any special fosters that I lose to the Rainbow Bridge.

I really don't think anyone was trying to make it look like the video wasn't cut and showing two separate events, it's a very clear cut, you'd have to be pretty dumb to think that wouldn't be obvious to people.

Regardless of the second part of the video in the first part the dog is clearly scared from the beginning, does not want to go into the water and is desperately trying to get away. It's unclear to me who is talking in the video but they are laughing at the dog's panic and saying to just throw him in. The handler continues forcing the dog in as it desperately pulls itself out and at the end of the first part if the dog hadn't been desperately gripping the edge of the pool he would have been fully submerged, he is in up to his shoulders. Yes the handler then pulls him out but that doesn't make him a great hero (or protector of the dog) in my eyes, his only other options were to leave the dog struggling desperately or peel his paws off the edge and shove him in.

Oh that's cool! I will check her out. I reckon you could ask for this to be moved to General or Off Topic so more people see it

There's no video DDD buy it's a very tabloidy story - PETA says vs the film people say. Hard to know the truth

It was awful, the poor thing was terrified and when he went under...

i really hope he was physically ok but no doubt he would be traumatised. Why on earth didn't they use a dog that was happy in water and a stronger swimmer? Or CGI, as I saw someone comment on FB somewhere.

I'm surprised the vet was concerned about half a kilo on a 12.5 kg puppy. You certainly don't want large breeds carrying extra weight especially when growing  but that's such a small percentage "over" on a dog his size. Pups and even adult dogs can go up and down in literally a day or two, I wouldn't stress too much. Like TD says, I think you're doing fine.

Mjosa that's so sad

Zagan is gorgeous! He's so little still, for some reason I was picturing an older pup.

I do the cough/"ahem" throat clear with my occasionally naughty Aussie Shepherd too She is 5 though so definitely knows her cues.

Hahaha so true!

I have said this before on DOL and some were unaware so just posting again for info. NOT trying to defend or justify any actions, I don't know anything about any of the stories posted.

RSPCA is a separate organisation in each state/territory. There are differences, apparently vast, in how the different states/territories operate. SOME states/territories work together to try and operate under best practice, innovate and produce best results for thry animals. Others apparently don't. Some states are apparently very profitable, others are not and put their money back into animal care.

RSPCA AUSTRALIA is an administrative and lobbying body. They do not oversee the operations of each state/territory organisation. Funds ARE NOT shared between all the states/territory organisations, fund raising is individual to the state/territory and local area. One state/territory having lots of money does not share it with other state/territories.

I know most people here are aware that each state/territory is a separate organisation but it is important to understand just how separate they are and to not tar all state/territory organsations with the same brush.

13 hours ago, Tempus Fugit said:

Apparently still alive

Hard to believe after how hot the weekend was. At least it is a bit cooler now. If it is alive I wonder if it managed to stretch or break the tape so it can pant and drink...

Poor thing must be exhausted and terrified if it's still out there

Yep you got it :)

lol to be fair I think that email was probably a standard automated response.

So there are two separate things - one is the human membership and the other is the dog's registration.

For the human membership (yours lol) - Companion membership will get you access to the grounds and the newsletter but you won't be able to enter Thistle (or any dog) in trials, even for fun OR Ordinary membership will give you access to grounds, newsletter and you will be able to enter a registered dog in trials

Dog registration - dogs can be registered on Main, Limited or Associate register. The Associate register is what Thistle would have to go on as she is mixed breed, and I'm pretty sure they have to be desexed to go on it so that won't be a problem. You will only need to register her if you do want to enter her in trials.

So to enter into trials you will have to become an Ordinary member AND register Thistle on the Associate register :)

ETA - do correct me if I'm wrong anyone!

You can get into the members area even if you're not a member and download the membership application form :)

http://www.dogsvictoria.org.au/MembersArea/Membersforms.aspx

I'm pretty sure anyone can join, regardless of what dog they have, or even if they have a dog at all. I think if you want Thistle to join for sporting comps she can only go onto the associate register but I think then you'd have to be a normal member as Companion membership says you can't trial (or show or breed)

From what I can see the DHP + intranasal KC and the C5 cover the same conditions (distemper, hepatitis, parvo, parainfluenza and bordatella), they just use different variants of the parainfluenza and bordatella viruses so I would think whichever your vet chooses to use would be fine.

As far as frequency, agree you need to do the puppy ones and first adult booster. After that you have the option of triennial - I really think annual is over vaccinating these days - and if you ever put your dogs in kennels or if you want to join most training clubs they will require current vaccinations; or you can go with titre testing, which is becoming increasingly available. This is testing to see if your dog has antibodies against the various diseases and if it does vaccination isn't required and would in fact be useless.

Although like cavNrott many people don't continue to vaccinate adult dogs, especially older ones as chances are if they have been out and about walking around a normal amount they will have been exposed to the various diseases and have immunity anyway.

I personally do triennial basically for the sake of being able to show they are vaccinated if need be for the reasons mentioned above.

Thank goodness I am not alone . I do have a blender, but the food gets caught all around the blades. I thought a coffee blender (I’ve never used one) would be an easier solution.

It's an old one DDD, but yes, I used a coffee bean grinder for grinding dry food for weaning my puppies. Think it is a B&D

I also use it to grind dried liver

Oh thanks, Starkehre.

Would soaking and mushing not be easier for a toothless oldie? Then mix with mince?

Any left overs get put back into the container and so they do become mushy; she just seems to prefer it ground up and sprinkled over the mince. What we do for them.

Naaaww, well she deserves what she likes! Sounds like coffee grinders can be pretty cheap and kibble would be softer than coffee beans so should work :)