mita

Yes. I would never let my dogs out in the belief 'they can find their way home'. In the event that your dog gets out, make sure it has clear ID (as well as being microchipped). When people see a dog on the loose....but with a clear ID tag showing....they're more likely to check it. Our phone number is prominent on our dogs' ID tags (along with their Council rego tag). Only time our girls were let out by a tradesman, they were returned within 1/2 hour. Someone phoned us. It's also a good idea for neighbours & people in surrounding streets to be introduced to your dog. I think it's more important for dogs to know the people in the area, so they're happy to go to them when called, if they get out. Our 'escaped' dogs did that.....they went to the house across the street & knocked on the door. That neighbour is a day care mum & the girls wanted to join in!

I'm so sorry. An awful experience for your friend. Lying on the ground, bitten and shocked, the last thing she'd expect would be for the dog's owners to walk on. Especially after they asked had she been bitten. Most people would expect that some assistance and apology would follow. In that situation, there'd be no chance that she could have taken a photo of them. Here's hoping that someone else in the area recognises these people & their dogs. Thank goodness it was reported.

Have you tried making the watermark more prominent and perhaps changing the wording of it? For example.. "© Poundlist 2012" and then below that (but positioned in such a way as to make cropping it off impossible) "If you viewing this image anywhere other than [Dol, wherever], it has been STOLEN" It certainly won't stop them from copy/pasting but at least other people will be aware that the images are being used without permission of Poundlist. Nice work, HA!

Jeep Australia has a Facebook page. Guess whose gorgeous face is shown! Fantastic Flynn. Why not tell them how much we dog lovers are enjoying the Jeep Compass ads? And to keep them coming! http://www.facebook.com/jeepaustralia

Great news! Ellie's lived up to the faith that you (& the others) had in her. They sound like a lovely family that she's now a permanent part of.

Even without signage, security can be a problem for registered breeders with p/b dogs. Recent case in the UK, 6 p/b tibbies stolen from property of registered breeders. Police got huge support from local community & elsewhere. Turned out the 6 had been nicked by Travellers (gypsies) from a nearby camp. Police commented the theft was probably to take the dogs to Ireland which is notorious for puppy farms. They said chihuahuas had often been targeted. Since this article published, only 1 tib, Alice, still missing. Pic of the property included: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080556/Online-pet-detective-solve-case-stolen-spaniels-retrieve-dogs-outside-travellers-camp.html

Queen Victoria & her husband Prince Albert really loved dogs. Here's the young Queen Victoria with Prince Albert and all their pet dogs at that time. Prince Albert's much loved greyhound is leaning against his master's leg. Just out of interest. A gallery of 'royal' dogs from times past to present (includes Kate Middleton's dog, Otto). http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/04/26/royal-dogs-over-the-years-gallery/38096/

Thank you so much for this info. Fantastic Flynn should be that lovely dog's full name. Huge congratulations to Kelly.

Are the pusses in WA or Victoria? There are 2 Cornish Rex breeders listed on the cat-world site. One in Victoria, other NSW. http://www.cat-world.com.au/cornish-rex-breeders-in-australia When you get details, maybe you could mention them on DOL's Cat Chat forum.

Except a court cannot take away a licence to breed!! If it was a registered breeder then only the state's canine control authority can do that. Even if it was a BYB a civil court does not have jurisdiction to make such orders!! I am still really curious about the breeder losing their licence under a court order - can you explain a little better what happened here? I could be wrong, Danois, but I didn't see that the OP used the word 'court' in her first post. She said: we ended up filing a complant and she ended up losing her lience I assumed that meant she put in a complaint with her state's canine control authority. It was Bluefairy who introduced the word 'court' in a helpful summary of what was said. Whatever that situation is....jess, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter. You've not had an easy time in that respect. Just a suggestion. Erny's given some good advice about how the situation might be with a new pup as well as a new baby.

Mags, that would describe exactly our tibbie's reaction. She became 'lost' without her 'sister'. Only time she was re-assured was when she was close to one of her humans.

And meanwhile, the real world gets more & more distant. So reality checks go out the window. As Aphra said, Facebook is a tool, not the world itself.

Yes, and how long the grieving lasts seems to depend on the individual dog. One of our tibbies suddenly died. The other tibbie regarded her as the 'leader', even tho' she was younger. At first the surviving tibbie lay at the gate, thro' which her 'sister's' body had been taken. When she was inside the house, she'd lie looking under the door. This behaviour went on for a couple of weeks & I took her to the vet. While we were in the examination room, she lay watching under the door into the waiting room....as if expecting her 'sister' was somewhere out there. The vet said, in her experience, that dogs grieved for a 'mate' for about 3 weeks & then returned to normal. It didn't happen with this girl. After a couple of months, she stopped looking under gates & doors... as if she finally knew her 'sister' was not out there & would not come back. Then she started crying whenever left alone. It was a strange cry, very mournful keening. We tried everything, got all sorts of behavioral & vet help (including medication). Nothing shifted that behaviour for the rest of her life (she was a senior dog). Even getting another tibbie, which happened to be the late one's grand-daughter, did not help. She never, ever stopped mourning. I think this might've been an extreme case.

I have tibbies & they, too, shed. Overall, I've accepted this. But what I've done is to have polished floors with cotton mats that can be put in the washing machine. Only one room, a guest bedroom, has carpet & the dogs don't go in there. Like you, I frequently brush out loose undercoat. The good groomers I take the dogs, too, were very generous in showing me how to do this. Specially so I can do it as well as possible, without making it a painful experience for the dogs.

What a lovely, decent person that breeder must be. Way back when tragedy struck the life of one of the tibbie breeders, a Victorian breeder of one of her dogs put up her hand to take back a 12 yr old fellow. She had last seen him when he left her at a few months of age. And she didn't regard it as an imposition. He was welcomed 'home' with love and care. Thanks for posting a positive story about a registered breeder.

I've just remembered! One of the pet tibbies, only a young fellow, had an episode like this. Loss of ability to walk....taken into vet's clinic. Testing didn't find anything specific. Over a number of days, the ability gradually came back. I've got a vague memory that the culprit was thought to be something transient occurring in his spinal cord (fluid?). That was some time ago. He's fine. There's not been a repeat.

Good on your for posting, toy dog. You brought up important issues. The word 'registered' needs to be hyphenated, given that there seems to be other registries for dogs.....as well as the usual Council registration. I'd like to see ANKC breeders, describe themselves as an 'ANKC-registered breeder'. Can't do much about the other claimants to a registry that have grown up, except to make the ANKC brand stand out, via statement & public relations. The word 'registered', on its own, doesn't mean any more than that someone, or something, is listed on some system. I'n noticing some interesting use of language from the 'other registries'. Like, was that the actual words used by that 'other-registered breeder'... that they're 'going to' produce the best dogs? If so, that's the Gunna Syndrome which leaves an impression that something has already been done just because someone has said it will be done. I also agree with you about the risk to ethical ANKC-registered breeders, that their puppies will be acquired by someone who'll place it on one of these other 'registries', muddying the tracks of a breed that's already been developed with knowledge, effort and considerable history.

This answer? I'll write the bleeding obvious. 'We research our groups'....but no criteria given for what factors are researched. '...and are advised if they are NOT reputable' Advised by whom? Groups that make evaluations have to be transparent to provide those ratings with credibility. I'd ignore the ratings of any group which is based on anonymity. And which provides no criteria for their assessments.

I agree that the devil is in the details of why those dogs were being rehomed. And those details were not given. Agree with you, too, that there are many reasons why a seller might stipulate a single dog household. It's up to the seller to be up- front to any interested buyer, about what those reasons are. Some reasons might be potentially quite benign, like the dog just prefers its own company, and it's a temperamental trait. Or a dog who sees all cats as something to chase.....or even a self-possessed natured dog that tends to get overwhelmed by the (natural) behaviours of children. Actually, the fact that a breeder/rescuer is able to describe a dog's homing needs in this way, indicates that they have observed it, in those situations. It also indicates an awareness of the necessity to place a dog in a situation appropriate for its nature. Other reasons might need closer consideration, like a dog that is overly aggressive to other dogs or dogs that are snappy with adults, much less children. And may reflect an extreme temperamental trait and/or poor socialisation. Poor socialisation statistically ups the chances of later aggression problems, but not invariably so. There can be other outcomes, like pronounced timidity. But, with no details given in the OP case, it's impossible to draw any conclusions about what's happening there.

I totally agree with you, oakway. All our dogs in recent times have been retired showdogs from ethical registered breeders. Whose only aim was to place their retired dogs in good pet homes they've screened thoroughly.....and which are likely to 'stick'. I've also noticed that, until just the right home comes along, they will not part with a dog. You are right that dogs sourced like this can give new owners many hours of pleasure. The critical thing, is how they've been raised by their breeders. DOLers, in previous posts, have described how puppies need to be socialised.....and also how all the parent dogs need that continually, too. It's not only a matter of welfare as the dogs need to experience being companion dogs, the same as any pet dog. But also it's critical for how the adult dogs, especially the mothers, interact with & teach their puppies. Our retired showdogs, now desexed pets, have come from backgrounds like that.... & are indeed the wonderful dogs you describe. I'd love to take credit for their socially confident, affectionate, & sensible behaviours. But I'm always confessing that they came like that, from the ethical registered breeders who raised them.

The critical socialisation phase is between 5 weeks and 16 weeks of age. So all dogs are sexually entire and immature during socialisation. Handling should happen at all ages, kennel enrichment should happen at all ages. Yes, there has been a link made between puppy behaviour and extent of socialisation of the mother dog. Not surprising, as the puppy learns behaviour from the responses/actions of the mother dog. So it's just as critical for dogs of all ages, especially mother dogs, in any 'kennel' environment, to continually be well socialised. Interestingly, that can be one good by-product of taking dogs to shows. Mixing with strangers (even the judge's touch is that of a stranger)...and being around other dogs. Though, of course, that's not the only means of socialising the dogs.

I don't know if the pick-up and drop-off arrangements extend to the southside. I wouldn't be surprised if they do, tho'. Or maybe there's one reasonably close. Maybe give them a call and ask (07) 3289 1600 They're very nice people to deal with.

SW, I'm glad you posted. I was considering the pros and cons of giving Comfortis to my 2 tibbies. I've hesitated because one has a tendency to food intolerance.....she does wonderfully well on a natural diet, but not on most processed food. I figured an ingested flea treatment might be pushing things a bit for her. Looks like I might have to stick with the external treatments.

It may be too far away for you, but Samford Pet Resort (just past the north-western suburbs) is the only one we'd send our pets to. I'ts been in operation for a few decades now & is still in the same family who have a strong commitment to providing the best care possible for the cats & dogs. Our shelties used to go there & walk away, with tails wagging. Friends used to send their Norwegian Forest Cat there.....& he'd be beautifully groomed when they picked him up. Recently I recommended it to friends who own 2 tibbies (that had never stayed in kennels before, so owners understandably worried). The tibbies were fine....& were reported to be happy and affectionate during their stay. Samford Pet Resort has pick-up & return agreements with various vet clinics around Brisbane.....to be used by owners who don't want to drive out to Samford.

I totally understand how you'd feel, as Gus has lit up your life at a special time. And it would be so tempting to make a choice based on the extent to which he would stay near your life. But juice's advice is spot on. Go thro' the checklist of aspects that would determine quality life for Gus. If that should come out in favour of the nearby family....then having him nearby is a lucky perk, on top of his being in a happy home. If it should come out in favour of the lifesaver....then the knowledge that he might become a little bit famous, is a lucky perk on top of his being happy with a new human pal.