Little Gifts

Rascal my girl Stussy is now an only dog after 11 years of being in a 3 and 4 dog household. She is enjoying the extra attention but is a bit nervous when one of us leaves the house. I thought she would really struggle as an only dog as she is very social and interactive with other dogs (even strange dogs). Besides Hugo going he has also had you out of the house unexpectedly and now you are home and your focus is elsewhere (totally understandable with new bub). It is possible he is reacting to more than just the loss of Hugo - dynamics in your house have changed considerably in a very short period of time and things could be fluid for some time to come. Is it worth checking out doggy day care options as that might give him socialisation and activity in his routine plus have him in a supervised environment at times when you wont be home for an extended period? Who is he closest to in your house - is it possible for that person to devote some focused one on one time to him every day to develop a new and enjoyable routine? I know you don't need this worry on top of everything else. I hope it resolves.

LOVE IT!!!!

I saw this video on Facebook about a beautiful horse who just adores people and was going in to hospices and he chose which room he wanted to go into and it was usually a person who needed him. He nibbles on them and is very up close and personal! In the footage he visits a patient who I think might have brain tumours who has not been emotionally responsive. He starts to cry as Peyo nibbles on him and checks him out. Gave me the feels big time. https://www.todayfm.com/Muireann-OConnell/This-Amazing-Horse-Visits-Hospitals-As-A-Therapist-

Asal do you have Netflix? There is a series on there at present called Dogs which you would enjoy. It is very understated, so you come to your own realisations about the dogs featured each episode and what they mean to the people around them. How it is in real life really.

So sweet! I love your foster and adoption stories - than you so much for sharing them with us!

There is no love lost between me and the RSPCA for many reasons, but I agree with Thistle here and whilst we may not have the full story I still have overall concerns for these dogs. I stated earlier that I had seen pictures of scoured bellies. That is a legitimate concern to me because that doesn't happen from one night in a dirty cage. They may be good 'breeders' of this breed but I wouldn't want my dog caged in a room that looked like anything in those pictures, particularly in the heat, I wouldn't want my dog without a constant supply of water and I wouldn't want my dog lying even overnight in a wet cage (water or urine). So if it is not ok for my dog I don't feel it is ok for other dogs either, even temporarily. If I was helping out at a shelter or pound or house/dog sitting for a breeder that looked like those images I would be very concerned. I've seen (and cleaned up) messes made by a lot of dogs and puppies overnight and this has a longer term look to it. I also feel that if you have 110 dogs/puppies on your premises that is a lot of work and I don't know how many people were assisting this breeder to keep on top of everything that was needed. I know a few breeders in real life but don't know any who have ever had that many dogs in their care at one time. Even if only half were for sale that is more puppy farm than breeder territory. That many dogs is also a potential sign of a fairly good income and yet the housing conditions seem so poor. Most breeders sink their money back into their dogs and set up. Perhaps there are runs that weren't shown but why would you even be using old cages and windowless rooms that look so poorly maintained if you had other options? So unfortunately, the more I hear and read up, the less my opinions have changed that intervention was needed. Not sure it needed to be seizure and immediate sale of all these dogs, but it seems the breeder surrendered them rather than have them legally seized. If they felt they were in the right and could back it up why not fight for your good name and dogs back? Maybe they were truly overwhelmed? I wish they'd felt comfortable seeking assistance earlier if that was the case. I do feel for the breeders but leaving the RSPCA out of this I still see concerns for the conditions those dogs were in and I definately have concerns regarding the significant misinformation that came from so called people in the know on behalf of the breeder. That took a lot of my confidence in their side of things away. That wasn't just a misunderstanding of details - they were rather elaborate lies left in a public place for all to read. And if the RSPCA are publicly denying the transporting of dogs in horse floats and the subsequent injury and loss of two dogs then they are taking a huge risk if they are lying too. I'm sure they would've been photographing, videotaping and documenting everything they did to protect themselves legally. What a big, sorry mess. Ultimately more clean up work for rescue.

I got this response from the RSPCA - "All dogs were transported in air conditioned pet transfer trailers (with some in the car next to our team). No dogs were transfered in a horse float and no dogs have had to be euthanised from this raid."

Juice I've asked them to respond to that very issue on their page and will be interested to see what/if they respond. I've not seen them rebutt claims publicly regarding seizure cases like this before. Maybe they can do so because they wont be prosecuting? I think their writers have let them down though putting too much spin on how difficult this case was on the RSPCA officers - time, conditions, etc. They are doing the job they are mandated by law to do and they will be reimbursed financially for their efforts and rewarded by saving dogs they felt were in need. No need to do the poor me bit when it should be about the dogs. Also a bit concerned at how much money they are charging for the puppies. Given they have moved so many over to rescue (who I doubt will get the same prices) it's a bit unsavoury to be cashing in on these animals misfortune.

Interesting. I agree based on the additional information that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. RSPCA said they were notified by someone independent who had seen 5 of the dogs and had concerns. Very different scenario. There is also a photo of a bunch of dogs standing against a fence and at least 2 of the bitches have scoured bellies and the only time I have seen that before is from dogs left to lie in their own waste for extended periods of time. I am certainly not trusting of how the RSPCA behaves but something still smells a little fishy here. Thank you for the additional links Asal. I will be doing more reading.

I've been following it on Facebook. These breeders have prize winning show dogs. I feel like someone else in the dog world had to know conditions there were not up to par. There are bitches with stained bellies from lying in their own waste for prolonged periods. Many of them were living in confined spaces in tin sheds in Gladstone in this heat! In other news there is an existing kennel/puppy farm wanting to expand its operation on the Sunshine Coast. That is also getting huge coverage and public outcry on social media. This one wants to run 200 kennels, have 100 breeding pens (only 50 bitches though, apparently) and from memory 16.5 staff to run all that. They were not previously approved so wanting to expand will hopefully be their undoing. People are getting angry over puppy farming up here and it is about bloody time.

How did I miss this! You mattered on this earth Leo. You had a job to do and you did it well. Time now to do whatever you want over the bridge. XXX

SO CUTE!!!!!!

They are gorgeous!!!

He looks very focused on you/food in those last photos. He looks ready and willing to be trained to be a great forever dog!

When my boss goes to China on a buying trip he shops in a district where buildings are literally whole neighbourhoods in size. You can walk for literally kilometres inside one building. One day he reckons he walked 17 kilometres inside one building with no backtracking.

Amazing what time and space can do for scared dogs. You are doing a great job PM!

Big hugs to you both. Enjoy each other's company. XXX

Oh I didn't realise it was a CM thing! I'm surprised he hasn't been eaten in his sleep already! And yes I get it now. I wasn't reading fanatic into it but rather an ok premise not worded that well because I do worry about so many dogs being labelled as anxious when often it just an anxious response to certain triggers. Some can be worked through and others maybe not (if the owner sees fit to assess for that). I see no reason to force any animal into a full on confrontation with their darkest fears or even to be forced to deal with what we might see as their weaknesses. If they need to be desensitised to them for their own safety and sanity there are ways to attempt that without causing lasting, further harm like you have said Maddy. Otherwise minimisation, distraction and giving comfort are other options until the fear passes (the dentist tried all 3 techniques on me recently and I still bit his thumb). And lets be real - there is a lot of instinctual behaviour in canines but unless there is an apocalypse, few of our furry companions will ever be leaving our houses, returning to live in packs in the wild, depending on each other for survival.

No, I can appreciate this rationale to a degree. Our pei has 'quirks', loads of quirks! And strangely her quirks and fears have changed over the years (at 6 she recently became shaking in a ball fearful of storms and now barks and whines whenever it even rains). She's also very vocal so if something is upsetting her you will know about it! But she also has definite fears so I would say certain things make her anxious while other things make her prone to be anxious. I try to minimise what truly makes her anxious and I try to help her through the other stuff because I don't want to add to her list of crazy by reinforcing anything (like we treat rain differently to an actual storm as I see them as being two different scenarios with two different behaviours). So she hears a strange noise and starts her crying and ears pivoting and looking around for help. I might ask her what is it and take her to investigate. I tell her what it is and say it is ok or if it is something I want her to alert me to I will thank her for letting me know. Then we all go back to what we were doing or we do something else distracting. I suspect in nature that is what a pack might do - one dog might alert the pack leader to potential danger and the pack leader determines what response the pack should have. But if a dog was always finding danger where there was none I suspect the pack leader would not be shy in chastising them and pulling them back in line. And of course my pei's behaviours when she is truly in fear are different so I think I can tell how to respond to which. But I wonder if some people dump all fears in one basket and use the same cotton wool approach rather than treating the serious ones differently? And they label their dog as anxious when they are only anxious under certain criteria? That's how I read this anyway, that some discomfort is good for a dog. They are smart problem solvers. It's up to us to determine what is a true fear they need protection from and what is just a learning experience that might take them out of their comfort zone for a time. I don't really see the whole chaos thing but I guess many of us have experienced the fears of owners impacting on the social growth of their dogs (little dogs not being able to play with bigger dogs because the owner fears they will be hurt immediately comes to mind) and trying to share an off leash public area with said dog and owner!

I think you should meet them and the puppy and see what your gut says about them then. The fact they are letting you meet the puppy in advance is a plus and given the breed there could be a very legitimate concern about theft. Juice is also correct - few breeders own both mum and dad and in some cases they may not even own mum (she could be on loan). Ask them simple questions like do they have mum and dad, how many litters do they have at the moment, how many do they have coming, how do they keep them all separated, how do they keep up with all the work, do they have a good vet, like you are just interested in their successes and in being a responsible future pet owner. Pay attention to the questions they ask you too about your ability to care for their pet for the next 10 plus years. If their first questions to you are about money that would be a red flag for me. All this interaction might give you an idea if they are a back yard breeder pumping out puppies to make money. If they know nothing about the puppies and have just been sent with it to meet you then that could mean puppy farm. No breeder would miss an opportunity to meet a potential new owner. My only other advice is to not fall for the trap that if these people are dodgy you need to buy the puppy to save it from them. That fixes nothing for all the puppies and breeding animals in their care now, or in the future. Money is what drives them. Also have you looked here on DOL at what stafford pups are going for so you can consider that against what this breeder is asking? And you do know that a 'rare blue staffy' is shite don't you?

This is Tempeh! It's the weirdest thing! None of our other dogs (even fosters) have ever done it but she takes her job very seriously. How do they come up with these strange habits?

My pei will stare me dead in the face and hold my stare while my stafford hates to look directly at me - she finds it uncomfortable and confrontational to make eye contact with humans or other dogs. Both dogs have always been like that. I don't force or try to change either behaviour because nothing will be achieved by that for the dog.

I am sad that the general public thinks quality purebred dogs are a rip off so don't even look and even worse, if they do they aren't prepared to wait for the right match. Given dogs can live for over 10 years surely you want to make a good 'investment' on a healthy, social and behaviourally sound addition to your family and household? Seems that would be a no. They are happy to spend thousands on an inappropriate, poorly bred puppy that they've just seen in a shop window and deal with the fallout later. It's always the animal that suffers the poor decision making.

Wow. Can't they be dobbed in for obtaining donations as a charity and distributing them differently to what they have said? A little fine print about what the money is really going to be used for does not absolve them of intended deceit. Plus they said they were going to save money and do all the work themselves in house and in the end they didn't. They contracted out. More deceit. No accountability. Honestly they have to be taken down. They are getting too big and powerful and have lost any ability to self-regulate their behaviours. And the ones who suffer are the animals. No extra resources going into independent rescue groups just means less money to save more animals. Geez, what $50,000 would do for just one rescue group! $1,000 spread amongst 50 groups would even be a windfall for most groups! Buy up some supplies (helps supportive Australian businesses who in turn can afford to help more rescues) and pay off some of that vet bill (allowing the vet to subsidise costs for other animal's care). See how far the positive effects spread and how the end product benefits animals? But selfishly keep that money in house and all it benefits are the staff. No animals were saved in the making of this button.......

I really think some dogs just feel more comfortable in a pack. I had one old girl just fade away in front of me after her son (both through rescue at different times) died. I had a pup come through for emergency care 6 weeks later and it gave her day purpose again (got to keep a pup in line!). We ended up turning into a 4 dog house a few months later and she ruled the lot right for about another 4 years. It has to be right for your household though, not just the pining dog.