mita

What a gorgeous little dog.

Re the comparisons with children with ADHD. Children with the 'true' condition of ADHD actually respond with calmer behaviour after been given stimulant meds (paradoxical effect). Give same stimulant meds to a person without ADHD, & their behaviour would be revved up (regular effect). I wondered if there was any such distinction with dogs... & did a search. I found an article on Pet Place which says there is, too. Scroll down to bottom where it's said giving stimulant meds to a 'hyperactive' dog in a controlled clinical setting, does distinguish dogs who have a hyperactivity condition. Their heart rate, respiratory function & behaviour is reduced. http://www.petplace.com/dogs/hyperactivity-in-dogs/page1.aspx Now I'm not saying, rush out & get stimulant meds for the kelpie. This article doesn't mention actual research data. There'd need to be professional veterinary input about this. ADDED: Searched further & found a research-based article which looks at use of such stimulant meds with hyperactive dogs. Study finding was that they did reduce hyperactive behaviour: So, if the kelpie in the OP were mine, I'd be discussing with my vet the question of this approach to both diagnosis & treatment as one possibility. (The Pet Place article also looks at other reasons for over-activity). https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:pFd-lcUun7YJ:www.skidmore.edu/~hfoley/Handouts/Dog.Proposal.pdf+Research+use+of+stimulants+with+hyperactive+dogs&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjZTWirMiqks7bwTYDiFDId5WV62xhjNnTd5mYeNi3pkl5gBPZn95nJoyRh4Ka00GkTsyGpKaRYI49UG8TPrBRzpRWlIqLFI6nFkELW0E27dRpm7bMPis65nU-xIZrWkA0J7VKa&sig=AHIEtbT1TeiYpieNN99FjR1vr9VAmLHbKA

Yes, I've heard the same about other dogs not responding well to brachy breeds. Maybe size & bounciness, on top of that, might put other dogs off. It'd be great to try her with other boxers. BTW she's a lovely girl.

They are required to seek proper treatment and there are penalties wich can be applied if they don't. For NSW this is in the legislation in the links I posted above. Thanks for that. I'm not surprised the law would be the same on that point. Now to get it applied in cases like the OT's.

Yes, it was her stance as well as other things, which made me first think poodle mix.

That sounds a very good kennel - care to share the name? As someone who has a dog needing regular grooming and occasional kennel care I agree these threads raise some very worrying aspects. How do you trust anyone? Samford Pet Resort in Brisbane. Owned by same family for decades. I see you're in NSW. Maybe the SPR people could tell you about a similar one in your state. There's a section on their website where you can ask questions: http://www.samfordpetresort.com.au/ Back O/T. Strikes me that anyone presently in charge of our dogs, whether groomer or kennels, is subject to the same animal welfare laws as anyone else. For example, under Q'ld law, it's required that the person get proper treatment for their injured pet. So why not kennels?

The only kennels I will trust our tibbies with (& before that, our shelties) has a vet on staff who keeps an eye on the cat & dog guests. They also have a Pet Space where you can get up- to -date online reports on your pet during its stay. Like how its eating or settling...or how any ongoing treatment needs are being monitored.

Good to meet you, Bec.... & the beauties you currently have in care. Thank you for posting.

Looks like someone shrunk a Foxhound. Just my very first impression.

By contrast. The greyhound trainer next door bathes our tibbie & a neighbour's tibbie in his greyhounds' hydrobath. He was ready to do it this morning. We asked why he never puts the 2 tibbie girls in together? He said he could only keep his hands on one at a time... & the other could jump out and have a bad fall down on the concrete floor. Long way down for a little dog, he pointed out. Yes, he's a greyhound trainer, not a commercial groomer.

I'm no lawyer, but the Prevention of Cruelty Act in NSW says that 'a person in charge of an animal... shall not fail to take reasonable care to prevent an act of cruelty'. Any reasonable person would say that someone leaving a dog, wearing a choke chain, on a table alone, is highly likely to cause a pain & suffering. The grooming establishment even admitted the neglect. Also, doesn't the law regard a dog as property? Could this grooming salon be made to pay for not returning owner's living dog... via the Small Claims Court? There's a LawAccess NSW phone no where the members of the public can ask questions. 1300 888 529

I'm so, so sorry. Such a horrible thing to happen to your beautiful Buddy. It's so wrong that he was left alone in a situation where any movement off the table put him in danger.

O/T but what a great dog that he was so protective of 'his' little human. In a real crisis, he would've saved her life. Back on topic. Seems to me, there are 2 choices, either lock the goldie away at swimming time, or as crickets has suggested, try gradual training so the dog comes to experience people being in the pool with a good thing for him.

Especially if they are Tibbies :laugh: You'd be proud of me, DD. All dogs get a 'Hello!' from me. Today I walked past a young man with 2 hugely happy bully type dogs at his feet & holding a baby Shih Tzu. I said 'Hello, happy guys!' to the bully types & told the young man his little one is gorgeous.

I always say hello to dogs that I walk past. And may even say something nice about the dog to the owner.

Just lovely! At first I thought the cat's name must be a Welsh word.... then I sounded it out!

The role of judges, realistically spelled out by the Norwegian KC & School of Vet Science: There is no doubt that show judges have a large influence on the selection of dogs that will be used for breeding, and therefore on the health and welfare of purebred dogs. A judge may easily contribute to making a breed a nuisance by promoting "over-typing", which may consequently lead to health damage. Education and consciousness of the judges to recognise their responsibility concerning health issues, will have a considerable impact on the value of breeding programs, as the breed standard and the judges' interpretation of the standard will always be a major guideline in the breeding of purebred dogs. Additionally, the veterinarians have a considerable responsibility in promoting selection of healthy dogs for breeding. Veterinarians should be cooperating with the Kennel Clubs in the education of judges; they should teach functional anatomy and make the judges understand the health consequences of an unhealthy anatomy.

Good post, Diva. A joint statement of the Norwegian Kennel Club & the Norwegian School of Vet Science supports what you say. . In addition to altering specific breed standards towards the description of a healthier and more functional anatomy, the following statement has been included since 2003 in every FCI breed standard: "Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified". The term "disqualified" implies that the dog is atypical for the breed, and will be disqualified in the show ring. However, although the breed standards have been through considerable changes in order to promote functional health, there are still specimens of some breeds with unfavourable anatomy. Some of these are the so-called "over-typed" dogs with too short a nose, excessively protruding eyes, too straight angulations etc. A breed standard can, at least in theory, be changed over-night, but it will take several generations to change the breed through genetic selection in order to eradicate the unhealthy over-typed dogs. So, statistically, examples will turn up with function compromised to a superseded notion about standard. As Anne said, from experience, she's seen them stick out like sore thumbs. Unfortunately, this has led to over-generalisation about unsoundness, within both the breeds that have most potential for 'over type'... and purebred dogs as an entire group. The resulting media attention has overlooked the considerable developments for the better, across both the particular groups & the entire p/b dog breeding world. That's why people like me, who look at the evidence, adopt from registered breeders who are in touch with such developments. And, in my experience, there's plenty of them. The Norwegian article says that change away from the remainders of 'over type' will come as a result of hundreds of decisions made by judges. And will also come from vets saying clearly to owners, when they see a 'vulnerable' breed with, for example, breathing compromised to form...'This is not in line with current notion of breed standard.'

Even if that is the case she's still a miserable bitch who threatened to have a harmless dog declared dangerous...... All options are open about the woman's state of mind which motivated her to behave as she did. She could be anything from more than a bit paranoid, to a poorly informed social crusader fuelled by bad experience. And everything in between. What is beyond dispute is how she behaved during the exchange and what she said. Fortunately, the OP felt secure about how her dog would be viewed by the rangers. So wasn't unduly distressed about the woman's stated aim, to report the dog as needing to be declared 'dangerous' based only on what she read into the dog's appearance. However, an owner who didn't feel so secure, could have been badly shaken and worried by the encounter. And meanwhile, that woman is still out there, with her camera at the ready, for some other harmless dog and unsuspecting owner.... So TD's suggestion she would have offered to send her some alternative information makes some sense. It would also have been a test for how rigid the woman's beliefs were. But overall, I think the OP did well in a damn unpleasant situation.

Someone should send this to QANTAS. Remember the pit bull type dogs (used for fighting) that were rescued from Michael Vicks' in the US? Few years on, the dogs were reunited... accompanied by the people who'd adopted them. All great pets now. 7 have won Canine Good Citizen Certificates. 3 work as therapy dogs in hospitals & children's therapy programs. 1 has won a Top Dog Contest. Yet QANTAS wouldn't fly them based on their breed label, 'pit bull type'. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/five-years-rescued-vick-dogs-reunite/

That's a great idea. Thanks.

I like the idea of In Training. Don't approach. Also covers all the needs why you mightn't want someone rushing up & patting your dog. As someone else (megan?) said, equally applies to an anxious/nervy dog... or a dog that has some kind of disadvantage (e.g. HA's doggie with one eye). Trouble is, that's a lot of words to fit onto a bandana or dog vest, if the dog isn't very big. And the printing would have to be big enough to be read at a distance.

Good move. We have bushland close so keep watch on the Snake Catchers' Brisbane website. They have a free identification service where people can send a photo. There's also links to other states & local snake catchers. http://snakecatchers.com/activity.html A snake catcher gave a talk to a community group here... & he said to track back on the food chain for prevention. As others said.... ponds attract frogs which attract snakes. Same anything that attracts mice or rats.

It's so hard to pick a favourite with tibbies. All solid colours & partis are acceptable. All of our own girls have been gold.... but even then the shading of the golds are different. One was platinum blonde & another is reddish gold. Here's a bunch of p/b tibbies so you can see how we're spoiled for choice (click to enlarge):

What DD said. The risk factors are so well established... this 2 year old was in the highest risk age group. Same for the location... the bites/attacks are either on family property or on properties of friends/acquaintances. As others have posted, they know the basics & take preventive measures. I hope the little boy recovers well.