mita

Proposed legislation is drafted with doggedness (sorry about the choice of word ) ..., so lobbying to influence it, has to be equally dogged. Victorian dog owners are fortunate that people are prepared to do this.

Note that he says the puppies frequently come from highly reputable breeders....not always. That means at least some pet stores don't care & don't check the conditions the puppies come from. I was talking with a woman the other day....who works in a pet store that sells puppies. We were talking about a food supplement. She said that they (at the pet shop) gave the puppies they got in, this supplement. Because they didn't know the conditions from which the puppies came & how they were looked after. She had no idea the import of what she'd just said. As to the person quoted who said she didn't want to buy other people's problems by adopting from rescue or a shelter. I've just read a fantastic article about the man who's considered the best in training dogs for parts on stage & in movies, in the USA. He said he recruits the dogs ONLY from shelters & rescues. Why? Because he says he finds the best dogs there. He looks for dogs that keep their cool in the highly stressful circumstances they're in. And who'll amble across for a pat. He said these dogs have already passed the greatest screening test of all.....in how they'll cope with being on a busy movie set or on stage....& being calm and confident around all sorts of people. He also said that these dogs who've known the pains of homelessness are then so grateful to bond with a person. That bonding allows him to train them....& the dog is happy. Many of the dogs we've already seen in US movies are likely to have come from him. Most of those dogs now live, in retirement with him & his wife.

Yes, Love My Fur Babies is a good source for belly bands. Recommended by breeders. Maybe that maker, Sandy, can give some tips on how to use the belly bands with consideration for hygiene & health. http://www.lovemyfurbabies.com.au/

What Echo said & Erny's networking with an MP. Might help to indicate that you understand the need for public safety measure laws re some dogs that pose a threat. But the source of that threat is their owners' not obeying current laws (like containment & leash in public etc) & not doing the responsible things that the average dog owner takes for granted (like basic training). There's a swag of rigorous scientific research which backs that. I've just read another research study which found there tends to be a personality profile of people who own an aggressive dog. So it's overkill (sorry about the choice of word) to have a law which treats every dog as being likely a safety problem. Even the stats bear that out. The % of dogs out of the entire canine population, which become involved with biting, attacking events, is small. What they need to do, is follow the clear leads to the owners & dogs (& specific situations) where the risk is high for biting, attacking.

Fingers crossed they'll get accommodation & can keep their galah. But good on you all for being 'in there' for them, while things are at the crisis point for that family. I know how relieved I'd feel, just knowing there was someone sending out 'feelers' for assistance. And getting options.

If worst comes to worst (& probably won't, with all offers of help), is there a parrot rescue centre in Sydney regions? As there is just over the border in Qld's Gold Coast area. That SE Q'ld parrot rescue takes in a range of birds where owners can no longer care for them.

I have a tibbie girl that loves to chew sticks. I'd been giving her rawhide treats to channel her chewing into a safer direction. Then she tried to swallow the last hunk of a rawhide & got it stuck in her gullet. Trip to the emergency vet & anaesthesia to get it out...during which it went down naturally into her tummy. Vet bill over $1,000. So now I'm concerned as much about rawhide as I am about sticks. Our vet told me about all the swallowed items she'd seen in dogs. One dog swallowed a long piece of stick, was rushed to her vet surgery, where he promptly threw up the entire stick on the floor. And, when she was a vet student, they'd been shown the x-rays of a dog that'd swallowed a knife. And lived. After all that, the little sticky twigs my tib goes for, don't look so bad

While back I was going into one of the major stores that has a 'monitoring' person at the front door. A couple were coming in with a guide dog in training.....clearly marked as required. The store 'monitor' told them they couldn't bring a dog into the shop. The man answered that it was fine by the law for guide dogs (& in training)....& she could check that with her management. And the couple & the dog just kept walking into the store. People around were stunned that a person employed by a major store chain, would not know the law. I think a few complaints were subsequently made to the management. So I can understand MM's feeling that all was right in the world to see a guide dog happily being where the law allows him to be. Baby Dragon, I've learned a great deal about Assistance Dogs from your posts on DOL.

Pssst! Want a tibbie? Ours only bark when there's a good reason. They gave that bark one night & we switched on the outside lights. Couldn't see anyone. Next morning, found the car door damaged from where a thief was breaking in. He'd scampered when lights came on. Then there was the night, the tibs went flying up the hallway, giving that low growl bark. Found a bag dropped on the deck, full of things a thief had already nicked from the storeroom. He'd been on his way into the house. The tibs tracked him in the dark & I saw him taking off down the driveway next door.....holding a torch he'd nicked from the storeroom. Builder we know has the ideal team. His wife owns a tibbie that gives the alert if someone strange is on the property. He owns a Dobe who then wanders out to take a look...scaring any evil-doer off (who doesn't know the Dobe is a big sook). Back in Tibet, the tibbies & tibetan mastiffs worked as a team, like this. Now....if only we also had a tibetan mastiff.

The people 2 doors down were robbed while they were out one day. They found their big dog, Jack, sleeping off a huge meal & locked in the garden shed. The thieves had emptied the fridge of anything good to eat & given it to Jack to keep him happy. He burped for days afterwards. I'm so pleased your dogs were safe, too.

It sure is about the owners. I agree....focus on the cause. Out of control owners! I was at a council dog activities progam this afternoon. And there were piles of dogs of all shapes & sizes squeezed into a dog park. The dogs, on the whole, were remarkable. A real credit to the heap of dog owners there. They really were in control of their dogs. There were far more bigger dogs than small dogs. Yet my 2 small dogs were perfectly at ease & had a great day. One staffy was very other-dog twitchy & aggressive... on lead, but wanting to start really bad stuff....owned by a young woman. An animal trainer gave brilliant advice over the microphone & I saw her take the young woman aside to talk to her about the necessity for some serious training. I heard the owner say she'd got the staffy age 2 years & no, she hadn't taken him to training. Good, tho', to see her accepting this was a problem & appreciating the intervention of the trainer. In less than 5 minutes (over the microphone), the trainer nailed the basics of what an owner must do to train, control & socialise their dogs. And she was firm....this wasn't an option, it was what they HAD to do.

As well as all the good advice people have already given, the vet told us that there's also muscle shrinkage in older dogs. Our sheltie girl who'd always enjoyed the best of health. gradually got scrawny flanks & back end in her last couple of years of a long life. It eventually affected her that she didn't have the strength in those muscles to haul herself up easily from a lying-flat position.

Our 2 tibbie girls know 'Toilet, ladies!'. Visitors fall about laughing at the Last Trip to the Toot routine late an night. The 2 tibs will be sound asleep snoring & all we have to say is 'Toilet, ladies!'. They come to life in a flash & race out to the back garden to do their toilet stuff. Then race back in again, fling themselves on their beds & snore off as if nothing has happened.

Perhaps, Mita. But if that little nervous lost Peke is remotely snappish, bet your bottom dollar it will go on the "48 hours" list. The bigger dogs won't stand a chance, for sure. Even just recently a friend commented to me, after having visited one of our main shelters, how it seemed too coincidental the fact that the adoption pens housed all the med to small dogs, and death row was filled only with the larger dogs. You're right, Erny. The frightened defensiveness of even the smallest dog will legally set it off towards god knows what. Very true that there's already an in-built paranoia about 'big dogs'....& this legislation would 'legalise' it.

I dips my lid to you all, Erny! And you've kept the ball rolling here on DOL. You Victorian folk are showing the way... how NOT to sit back & wait for proposed legislation (however well intended) to turn into a nightmare. You guys ARE awesome in how you've worked together. The Canine Dog Authority don't know what they're missing out on. Because, as we said, earlier in the thread, they're naive if they think the legislation in this form wouldn't affect purebred dogs. Rotties, Dobes, GSDs....all the breeds that have feared BSL being extended to them...would find themselves in the firing line. NO authorised person would look at a nervous lost Peke & think...'Likely to attack, bite chase etc'. But would this be the case, when faced with a nervous lost Rottie, Dobe, GSD???????? Breeds like that would be elected the dogs most likely....

Glad to hear it. I wrote earlier, that the proposed legislation has a loaded phrase. Which says legal action of some sort, can be commenced against a dog (any dog) that an authorised person thinks likely to bite, attack....or even chase. Likely? The dog hasn't done anything yet. That would have to be thought thro' in very practical terms! Who'd need BSL with this phrase in legislation? It's ADL....All Dog Legislation. Now, tho', it seems far more than just this point has been put under the microscope! Brilliant that Lawyers for Animals have got involved. Good on you, Victorian folk, who've hung in there....& achieved that. And produced articulate & useful submissions. It's too late to start reacting after legislation has been passed....& starts affecting pet owners & dogs, adversely.

Good thinking. The dummy ones don't cost much...

Smooch, this is why I asked if the weird bloke was doing things to others as well. If he's like fifi's weird neighbour & has been known to affect other people, too....it gives the police more evidence that something bad is happening. I'd wish for you that the police could show up on your neighbour's doorstep, too. Without making any fuss, maybe you could keep your ears open, if 'things' are happening to other neighbours around, too. One good thing is that the area RSPCA inspector now knows he's targeted you, maliciously. Is your property too spread out to use some security cameras? That might catch him in the act.

What are your dogs like with a cat? Best, fastest mouse catcher ever, is the right kind of puss. We had a mouse in the downstairs storeroom. Popped our puss, Sarah, inside & closed the door. Took her not half a minute. She found it. Rest of the time, Sarah is the most unlikely hunter. Small, sweet, inside cat with Catmax in the garden, loves playing with dogs. But one whiff of a mouse....& she transformed.

Welcome to DOL! I loved all your post because it's more proof about the wonderful results coming out of research into how dogs help elderly people in nursing homes. The University of Qld has been conducting one study where dogs visit people with Alzheimers....& there the patients are responding in amazing ways...just like you've described. Also it's interesting the dog breeds involved. Many people think of 'therapy dogs' are being small, fluffy & toy like. But you have a mal & a sibe.....& the dogs in the U of Q study included a german shepherd & a staffy. Of course, some therapy dogs are smaller. One little tibetan spaniel boy here, is owned by a nursing home manager & he goes to work with her. His name is very suitable for his work....Aspro!

I was going to ask you if there was someone with a bad attitude to you. From the actions you've listed that the neighbour seems to have done.... sounds like some serious personality problems there. Do you know if he's targeting anyone else as well? Can be strength in numbers....at least for providing proof something bad is happening. Trouble is....people with a big dose of nasty paranoia can go all out to target one person or family. You've probably done it anyway....but those destructive dangerous things should be reported to the police. That bloke goes beyond just trying to annoy someone. You're right that a positive thing is that the inspector acted on the complaint. Another positive thing is that the inspector now seems to know that the neighbour's a likely source of vexacious complaints. And there's a record you've been targeted. Could be useful info, if ever needing to report other things he's likely done.

Great ideas in this thread. I agree about an enclosed space. I use soft carry crates for the tibs. And put warm baby blankets (from St Vinnies) over the top & sides as well as inside. That adds more layers of insulation to keep the body heat in. Sometimes I've warmed up the inside blankets by running over a hot iron. The wrapped heated brick brought back memories. When I was little, older ladies applied that when children had earache.

Good on you. Sure a close shave for those 3. Sounds like the gates/fences don't deter them.

Love it! Now that's why dogs are good at work. Blood pressure can't stay up too high, while you're laughing your head off.

More proof from Teddy that goats aren't goats. He's a very clever boy.