mita

Awwww, too. 'Me and my dad!'

Isn't he well behaved and beautifully groomed. His family must be very proud of him.

Friends' usually laid-back Amstaff girl, goes into terror mode at first sign of storms. They've tried everything. But vet recently suggested the Thundershirt. They bought one but were very, very sceptical. Just thought it might be a useless gimmick to extract money from desperate owners. To their utter amazement... it worked with their girl! And it's first test was a beauty... it was that dreadful recent Brisbane storm which was famous for the number and ferocity of the thunder and lightning strikes. Even one of my non-storm- phobic dogs got a little antzy during that one. But Amstaff girl was fine. Friends are trying to figure why it works! Lily, tibbie next door, is seriously storm-phobic. She picks up signals that a storm is coming very early... and she keeps barking a warning. Her 'dad' says she's saying, 'We're all going to die!' But, oddly, she's a great storm forecaster...when Lily does that, we know our area will get hit by a storm.

Does your friend now have only one arm!!! It amazes me that those police dogs live at home with the the handler's family... just big cuddly pets.

Well, my tibbies bucked the trend in that their hackles went up & they took off chasing a thief who was coming into our house. The same night, the same thief broke into another house up the road...& he had to step over their staffy, Elvis, who slept thro' the whole thing. But those same tibbies seem to be able to pick up that the majority of visitors that are strangers to them... are OK. They love making friends with them. I wonder if 'baddies' give off some kind of high anxiety scent, which dogs can pick up??? I also heard a police dog squad officer say that his police dog, when at home, would probably make friends with a burglar.... because he did his doggie policing work only at the direction of his handler. Rest of the time, he was just a big friendly boofer. Man next door, ex-Navy, told me how Dog Handlers came on to his base one day with their military dog He asked was it OK to pat the dog... the handlers said fine....& he made friends with the gorgeous shepherd. He asked them how could such a friendly dog be a military dog. The handler showed him. Gave the dog orders to guard him....while they went over to the office. They warned him not to move as the dog was now in 'working' mode & would take him out. And, so, the dog watched him like a hawk until the handler came back. Order was given to 'stand down'...& the dog returned to 'friendly' dog mode.

I'm so glad Bella's in the clear & that she's recovering well. I know what you went thro'. My 11 year old tibbie girl, Angel, who'd never had any illness in her life, developed a round lump in her side. Very serious look on the face of the vet as he looked at the tests. Looked a bit sinister, he said. More definitive tests required. I was terrified witless. Operation to remove the lump showed it was a bit of harmless fatty tissue. She recovered instantly.... took me a while!

That's always puzzled me, too. Anyone who fires gunshots in a public place is knowingly taking responsibility that an innocent by-stander could be killed. It's not just something that was an unintended consequence. Just my opinion, but the charge should be murder of an innocent bystander or passerby.

Very good idea. :) When I ran GAP I set up a Townsville and a Mackay branch because enough interested people had come forward from those areas wanting to help. It worked well because the branches were run under our system and had our support and resources. They were given training in how to follow the procedure, and I was able to be easily contacted to sort out any major problems. Good way to save money and to strengthen the exposure for a good organisation. Excellent idea, wise opinion and a good example. And, yes, good communications to make it workable.

I said in the first sentence that I was not giving the OP any suggestions of what she ought do... only saying what I've done & our experience. I said that OUR aim to own 2 dogs (for company), proved to be no guarantee that one of those dogs would not develop serious fretting when the owner is away. We had adopted 2 adult companion dogs, on separate occasions, that developed separation anxiety issues.. even though there already was a resident dog I was pointing out that owning 2 dogs is not a built-in, ready-made solution to concerns about the effects of an owner leaving. My emphasis was on what we learned, from our experience, about any dog. The necessity to provide preparation & training so a new dog is content when the owner leaves.

This is not my suggestion to you.... but just what I do. We've always aimed to own 2 companion dog breeds at the same time. To be company for each other as dogs are social creatures. I'm not saying that a single dog will always pine and fret when left alone. But I've had experience of 2 adult dogs (at separate times) that came from registered breeders in similar circumstances and they developed separation anxiety. However, I learned a lot from those experiences on how to prepare and train a dog to be left alone. Now....even tho' we already have a resident dog... i always do the management/training with a new dog. There's no guarantee, just because there's already another dog for company, that an individual dog will not become seriously agitated when left alone. So best thing is preparation.

Do not show that video to dogs. Or they'll all be wanting one!

Good thinking, 99.

What an awful thing to happen! Please give my very best wishes to PS for a good recovery. I reckon she should stick to her guns on cast colour!

That's great, DD. Onya for posting a positive experience. Certainly mirrors the kind of communication I've got from tibetan spaniel breeders.

From the Australian Veterinary Journal: The Animal Care and Protection Act of 2001 permits surgical debarking in Queensland so long as a Veterinarian is satisfied that it is in the dog's best interests, an approriate notice has been issued about the dog's barking, and the Veterinarian considers other options have been reasonably exhausted. Q'ld allows surgical debarking by a vet in circumstances like in the OP's. The owner's tried everything & a notice threatening final removal has been received. Debarking does not rob a dog of its voice, but mutes the sound so it doesn't carry & irritate. I've heard the voices of 2 tibbies that had been debarked & just thought they had naturally low husky voices. Owners had to tell me they'd been debarked. There are vets who've developed skills in debarking.... as success depends on that skill. It's not even a very complicated operation. There used to be an excellent vet at Chermside (show people told me about him). Other Brisbane DOLers might know about a vet. I also have a second suggestion. There's an excellent phone service provided by the animal behaviourists at RSCPA Qld. It's called Behaviour Helpline. These people are great and compassionate, knowing that owners love their dogs & just want to do the best for them. They may have helpful advice, based on the fact that the owner's already tried everything & is faced with rehoming. Phone no is (07) 3426 9928

Just like the DOL purebreed listings use 'mature' for adult dogs that are beyond the puppy growth stage. As others have said, refers to physical maturing. http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/dogs.asp

Ah, thanks for that. And I was talking about suburban life & the family pets in that setting (as it was then)... with a patch of scrub bushland nearby. Not a rural area with livestock, where concerns about predatory dogs would always be a concern. Whatever the era.

People were describing attitudes, environments and lifestyles that were different back then. Which means the social contexts dogs lived in were different. So they were socialised differently. Note that I put at the end of my post, that transplanting that same context into today's world, would look like irresponsible hillbillies. Cultures change. People now socialize their dogs differently in a far less laissez-faire modern world. Dogs that once freely trotted around the streets.... are now dogs trotting freely around enclosed dog parks. Dogs getting used to children just as fellow wanderers around the neighbourhood... now have breeders/owners who will deliberately set up situations where they can interact. Those factors were simply more embedded in everyday life in times past when circumstances were different. I have no idea what pitbulls have to do with this. Except they're just dogs, too.

Funny you should say that. I remember our parents ticking us off, if we did something that was annoying or maybe hurtful to our dogs or cats. They'd say. 'Don't do that. You'll make him/her bad-tempered.' There was a kind of respect for a dog being a dog and a cat being a cat. And you tuned into that. OK the pets were very much part of the family but there was commonsense & toleration in understanding them. And the dogs seem to respond. As kids, when we'd ask could be go explore in the nearby bushland, my parents would say, 'Yes, so long as Peter (the border collie) goes with you,' It was taken for granted that dogs were protective of their families. Except for the mad Paulines, though, they supplied entertainment.

I dunno, pebbles. But I must say when we were kids, the family pet dogs did wander around a lot more (less traffic, for starters). And people could be a bit more tolerant of what was thought typical dog behaviours. Our border collie, Peter, was the deadly rival of Pat, the border collie down the road. Whenever either trotted by the other's house.... it was full on. But it wasn't savagely vicious, they never really hurt each other. We also had a mad Maltese called Pauline who'd run out screaming as if she'd been attacked whenever some poor innocent dog was trotting by. And Peter would flash out to 'save' her. The poor dog would get barrelled over.... once again, no one got hurt. After a while all the neighbourhood dogs figured out it was best to cross to the other footpath before they got to our place.... so mad Pauline wouldn't see them. Couldn't have that these days. But back then Peter and Pat's rivalry was part of the neigbourhood 'colour'. And mad Pauline was known as the Blonde Bombshell. It'd sound like a pack of irresponsible hillbillies today!

I'll send over my peaceful tibbies to do the hugging. They're like the Dalai Lama in fur.

Onya! You bravely got in, just in the nick of time. Thank goodness the blokes in the car decided to return so you weren't battling alone. That lady must be so glad you heard the call for help. I agree with OSOS. Something even far worse would've happened without your intervention. And also that the little dogs aren't out of the woods yet... nor is the lady, who may well get hit with after-shock. Did the owner, among all his excuses, show any concern that the little dogs might be injured? He certainly should be paying for the vet examination and any treatment.

I was first thinking (suprise, suprise!) Tibetan Spaniel. Great little in-home companion dog who likes spurts of play running in the garden. But not a long walks dog. Not sure, tho', your mother would be interested in a Tibbie. However, a great, all-round breed is the Cardigan Corgi... bit more laid back than its Pembroke 'cousin'. Our family owned one for years and she was an amazingly adaptable little dog... could turn her paw to being an inside dog, happy to take a walk, just a lovely affectionate & biddable dog. One option for a senior person when adopting a new pet, is to look at the registered breeders' pages on DOL. They list their dogs, beyond the puppy stage, that they want to retire to good pet homes. We've got all our own dogs this way, from excellent breeders, & they've been excellent pets. Or as someone else suggested, look at the PetRescue profiles

There was a segment about TV's Dr Harry where he went to visit a retirement place for elderly nuns in Brisbane. Their live-in therapy dog was a lovely greyhound. A grey was chosen because of the breed's gentle nature, easy care coat... & the height so the nuns could pat him easily from their chairs and beds. By the way, greys also make wonderful neighbours. Good greys in the hands of a good owner are the most peaceful and affectionate dogs to have living next door. We're lucky!

I've heard the same thing. In fact, I've got a list of strategies that were recommended to use with shy, under-confident dogs when they're stressed, and that's among them. I know that if I poke out my tongue to our tibetan spaniel girls, they poke their tongues out, too.