mita

Hilarious! Tank tries so hard to look innocent, with the evidence hanging around his neck. Our sheltie, Shelley, was a great bin raider. She got caught with her long snout stuck inside a can. All bins were then removed to a higher place.

They truly are that pretty mita... stunning pups! The amazing thing is that they know exactly how to pose & how to look into the camera in a way that melts hearts. Doggie Model Agencies will be beating your door down with offers! :)

I took them in Victoria. And yes, although they sure looked very sweet, I still didn't dare to poke my fingers through to find out, although it was tempting. Kirislin, it's amazing. We have/had a duplicate up here. Anyone who walks down behind Doyle's Timber & Hardware to Mitchelton railway station might recall. The yard looks just like that.... & the dogs, too, even down to one being a lighter colour. One big difference is those 2 signs on your pic's gates .... both not there at Doyle's!

I'm so, so sorry for your loss. Those beautiful photos say it all. What a lovely & loving dog Blacky was. Those memories will never, ever leave you.

Ned, Felony & Charm could get jobs as doggie models. Beautiful pics you've taken.

Does anyone know where the pics were taken? It looks somewhat like a hardware/timber shop & yard in the next suburb. There were two nice dogs like that, in the timber yard section.... with two really snazzy kennels. Like everyone else, I used to say Hello to them as I walked past.

HA, I don't think what you've pointed out is a minor point. You're dead right. There's a difference between animal welfare and animal rights. As others have pointed out a buzzing, circling drone is more than likely to spook the animals, with the equal likelihood they could injure themselves... and/or any people working in the vicinity. A serious animal welfare issue.

Just when I thought there could be no more cuteness ... up came the pic of Percy. :) I can't speak more highly of the work that NSWAR does with puppies rescued from pounds. They have all the vet necessities in place, as well as the facilities. Cream on the cake, is that they immediately start on what's the opposite of puppy-farming ... the puppies are loved up close & personal, with heaps of socialization, and, for their stage, exposed to a lifestyle where they thrive & grow.

Alun, Tibetan Spaniels were registered as a breed with the American & the UK Kennels Clubs first. And they were classed in Non-sporting.... and still are. Somehow, in Australia, the breed has been placed in the Toy Group. Tibbies can be great little hunters (don't laugh! :) ). They've got hare feet like the sight hounds & can run like the wind. One US Tibbie breeder said he takes his bunch of Tibbies out hunting hares. More modestly, another US Tibbie breeder said she never has to own a cat to keep the mice down on her farm. Another US Tibbie owner, who works in air crash disaster rescue, has a pair of trained Tibs that he takes to practices .... & he used to be laughed at. Until he showed how his small, sure-footed little dogs can go deep into wreckage. Further in & more safely than bigger dogs. Speaking only for myself, I'd rather see Tibbies in the Non-sporting, rather than Toy.

Tibetan Spaniels have confusing classification. Here in Australia, they're in the Toy Group. But in the USA (& the UK) they're in the Non-sporting group. If you look at all the winners at Westminster, there's Tenzin BOB Tibbie listed with the Non-sporting. I have no idea the history of such a weirdness.

Thanks Mita!! I think so too even if I do say so myself!! It was a DOL thread on dog names that insired me. I narrowed it down to six or so and kept coming back to Oliver. It really suits him and his 'I want more' character! I also wanted him to have a name that I think most adopters could live with and honoured his resilience - just like orphan Oliver of Dickens fame!! And his potential adopters can be told he's Oliver, a Dickens of a good dog! :) I love it when the name suits a dog & will follow him into his new life.

Westie, the name is inspired. :)

Yes. Maybe the movie's sparked a trend for real-life gangsters to own Shih-tzus. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931533/

Yes, there's a lovely pic of a US poodle doing his retrieving work for a hunter. The article says that the very name 'poodle' comes from a Low German word 'pudein' meaning 'to splash'. http://retrieverman.net/2008/12/09/article-on-hunting-poodles/

What a dear little man. You must've been so honoured when he chose you, Anna. You gave him the life & love he wanted. Sleep peacefully in doggie heaven, Herbert.

Yes. A Standard Poodle breeder once explained to me that the coat 'cut' seen in the show-ring is a stylized version of the cuts that hunters originally did, to help the dogs move easier thro' the water. That made me look at Standard Poodles quite differently. And I was surprised they weren't in the gun dog group.

Yes. There's extensive research that would shed light on the very problems they say they're trying to overcome. And examples of other systems' approaches and their evaluation. I looked up who were represented on the TaskFforce. The Chairperson was a Member of Parliament.... which makes it essentially a political document, not an independently sourced report. It means the final report represents what was politically wanted in the first place. Not necessarily the input from independent members of that Task Force. I always treat with not much regard a report that was not independently sourced.

Oh, I know it's O/T, Trina. But the Sam stories were legendary. He'd go for walks with my dad who'd have our small dog on a lead. Sam would politely take the lead himself. He was a devil for finding a way out when his owners were at work. He'd swing by the corner store & help himself to a packet of potato chips from the display near the door. When the meat truck was delivering to the butcher & had ramp down, Sam would pop in and help himself to a bit of meat. No one ever dobbed him in. People would routinely take him back to his house & put him in his yard. Soon after, Sam would pay them a visit to thank them. As far as he was concerned, that was now a life-long friendship. Sam believed life was full of adventures and friends. Gotta love boxers. :)

Trina, we lived next door to a boxer named Sam. He kept his young spirit forever. Everyone in the neighbourhood loved him, no matter what he did. He had not one mean bone in his body.

Yes, and try saying Mrs Skitzo's Shih-tzu. But what a brave Gran. No way she was intimidated by Mr Skitzo's beefy friends turning up with guns. Gran should be given a bravery award. And the Shih-tzu asked if it'd like to live with other people.... who don't beat up grandmothers & carry guns.

There's also the over-puppy stage boxers being retired to pet homes by registered breeders. Currently, one boxer in SA, female, loves to play ball with the kids, still very young. http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/mature/boxer.asp

I agree when the Adoptions Pending dogs are grouped into a different section. Seems a fast track to being disappointed, to me, to still apply. In the case I posted about, the dogs were still profiled in the general Dogs for Adoption list, with a note Adoption Pending. The people were uncertain about the mixed message. Which is why I said... ask that rescue.

JA, I'm glad you posted about this. Recently, some people looking to adopt a rescue dog told me they saw one that attracted them on a rescue website, but with Adoption Pending. They said they wondered if the rescue would still accept applications, to hold, in case the adoption didn't go thro'. I told them to ask the particular rescue.

I posted again in this thread, because on 24 March you indicated that the original symptoms are still there. I was the only person who responded. Also when you posted following, that you felt you haven't achieved for Roo, I responded that your observations & seeking successful daycare, were invaluable. "The downside to that is, I guess, realising that the meds are not enough. She does still self harm when home alone on meds. I can tell by the video and also the state of her teeth when I get home - they have silver on them from the steel doors when she's been harming, plus the state of her throat, which she scratches till it bleeds." I don't want to put any stress on you. I know only too well myself the daily dealing with a 'stubborn' and worrying 'home alone' problem. And with your sharp-eyed observations & commitment, you're Roo's ally. You are also, in no way, answerable to me. The distress of a self-injuring dog is being posted publicly, so it's reasonable there's interest about attempts to remediate. I was given a clear plan, for our furniture ripping dog, (based on one diagnositc interview & my observations as owner), with reasons given for the point of the strategies, by the UQ vet. Fitted on a page and a bit. I was able to start on them, immediately. Was told to be persistent & consistent. And had no worries, then or ever, sharing them with others, if asked. Case studies spread knowledge & skills. The questions I posed were to Nekh. ADDED who I think is gutsy to put hand up to help. As owners, like Jelly, are gutsy to stand by their dogs.

These photos are gorgeous. Keep them coming, Jelly. I wonder if there's by chance a pretty much laid-back group of dogs attending that centre. So the doggie 'signals' tend to be relaxed. I'm still interested that Roo didn't like the first place tried. It's sheer speculation, but I wonder if it had anything to do with that particular mix of dogs. The youngish Labrador of people I know, was asked to leave his daycare after a few sessions. The reason given was that he was 'too annoying' to the other dogs. That centre, which didn't want for potential clients, seemed to screen out any that seriously affected the group dynamics.