Aidan3

It was fairly obvious that this was a troll thread.... agree. Yet, no one has been trolling. True it has been quite educational. Would you like me to get the ball rolling? How about we discuss other band breeds? I would like to get a Rolling Stones pup, to go with my Cold Play bitch. I would like to get a Def Leppard puppy, but I'm not a fan of long hair.

Well I think as breeders where dogs are concerned we should be asking how much is genetic - in fact I think its pretty stupid not to if you breed purebred dogs. I think breeders should be breeding for desired traits. Trying to attribute a percentage of a particular trait to genetics and a percentage of a particular trait to the environment is a red-herring, you can't have one without the other - they are interdependent.

I wonder if this would be helpful in selecting the parentage I would like my next pup from I don't know, does it make sense to you? To apply it to this situation it would suggest that you select a pup like to express the desired traits and then provide an environment that supports the behaviours you wish to see expressed.

"We would not ask how much musicians and how much instruments contribute to music; we would not ask how much the water and how much the temperature contribute to evaporation; and we would not ask how much males and how much females contribute to copulation. Similarly, we shouldn't ask how much genetic and experiential factors contribute to behavioral development." Pinel, "Biopsychology" Chapter 2, 2011. Pinel asks us [students of biopsychology] to consider three things, 1. neurons become active long before they are fully developed 2. the course of their development depends greatly on their activity, much of which is triggered by external experience, and 3. experience continuously modifies genetic expression.

I don't approach. Both me and the dogs are snobs ...snobs with common-sense!

Another thing - how about people with dogs on-leash in off-leash areas not approaching dogs who are playing off-leash? Or does it only work the other way?

Yup, a common sense approach and I agree fully. The whole reason for designating areas as on-leash or off-leash is so that different dogs can enjoy themselves safely in appropriate environments.

Pardon me, but I'm not sure what you are referring to? Why on earth would you be so critical of me personally? That's really hurtful, I didn't say I was amazing but it is a fact that I have a breadth of experience and I fully understand these issues. You'd spoken to me like I had no idea, which was rude to begin with. I'm also not sure when my dogs have been free to approach anyone they like? Where did you get that idea from? I've been saying almost the complete opposite. When are off-leash dogs supposed to be off-leash on an off-leash beach during peak times? By your standards, never.

It seems like if you have cute looking fluffy dogs then this is the reaction. If you have other dogs people might want to punch you! People always think I am concerned about their dogs when I put mine back on lead! I am either trying to stop mine from approaching the people or I don't want them being bossy to the other dog. Yes, that's the other problem. I've even been told that if my dog is so aggressive that I shouldn't have had him off-leash in the first place :laugh: But I don't worry about that sort of thing too much, it's a bit like ringing my bell when I pass people on the bike track. 99% of the time they have a heart attack (if they aren't listening to an ipod), but the one time you don't ring the bell they abuse you - and in that case they are in the right.

Regarding the bolded part, you may be surprised to know that a dog who is on leash and being approached by an off leash dog may have a very strong reaction, compared to the same dogs in a situation where both dogs are off leash. It may be in your dogs' best interest not to let them approach dogs on leash simply to avoid being hurt by an on leash dog overreacting. I hope if your dog approached an on lead dog and received a negative reaction you would not have been complaining, since it would be your own fault for letting it approach a dog on leash. I wouldn't be surprised by anything. I owned a reactive dog for 9 years, and I specialise in behaviour modification for reactive and aggressive dogs. I've lived with it, and I've seen a large spectrum of dogs with issues around other dogs and people. I also know my dog, and I've seen him around a lot of reactive and aggressive dogs. He avoids trouble. An accident is not anyone's fault, but I think people who take shy or reactive dogs to off-leash dog beaches at peak times when there are on-leash options nearby are lacking in common sense and shouldn't complain when - surprise, surprise - they run into a lot of off-leash dogs playing nicely with each other. It's not nice for their dog or for people who are rightfully using that area as it has been designated. My dog is the least of their problems, but I think this ill-placed sense of entitlement that some people have needs to be kept in check. In my area there are a range of excellent options to suit every sort of dog. I live right by this beach, but in 9 years I didn't take my reactive dog there because it wasn't fair to other users or to her.

Although I don't let my dog run up to dogs on leash generally (this particular dog was amongst other off-leash dogs who were playing), I don't think being on-leash in an off-leash area is a clear signal that the dog doesn't want to be approached. They might have a poor recall, or they might not want their dog to go swimming. There are a lot of people who will approach us with their on-leash dogs, and ask if their dog can play with mine because their dog plays roughly or gets carried away some times. So there are lots of reasons why a dog might be on-leash in an off-leash area. And on a very popular dog beach at peak times you would expect those with unsociable dogs to avoid it, particularly where there are options nearby.

Because shy dogs need exercise too, and dogs should still be under effective control, according to the law, even if it's an off-leash area. There are lots of ways to exercise shy dogs, and if they are miserable being around other dogs then it's not doing them any favours to put them in that situation. My dog is definitely under effective control and I called him as soon as I realised that the other dog wasn't comfortable. But the fact is, it was high tide and that dog was having to deal with dozens of off-leash dogs in close proximity. When he was on-leash anyway, surely it would make more sense to walk through the on-leash park behind the beach? It wasn't like he was having a run around. ETA: I had a reactive dog for 9 years. Although I lived right next to this beach, I would take her elsewhere for walks.

Yep. But I'd expect the worst reactions from protective or worried owners. I've had a fear aggressive dog attacked because it reacted negatively to another dog's approach. Not fun. Again I didn't punch anyone. Easy solution - I don't let my dogs approach other people's dogs unless I know them. Period. Yes, that seems a sensible approach, sad that it would have to go that way though. One thing I like particularly about where we live is that it does have a great off-leash area, and because everyone is walking there are rarely any problems between the dogs. Actually, not that I would have admitted it to this joker, but had his dog not been in a group of other dogs I would have put my dog on-leash as a courtesy simply because his dog was on a leash. I still don't understand why people will take shy, anxious or aggressive dogs to off-leash areas, but there's no law against it.

I guess so. As a cyclist I see a lot of it, too. One thing I took away from playing rugby is that even if tempers flare out of control, most of the time people will settle down, feel a little bit stupid, and have a beer together quite happily if given the opportunity.

Gosh, almost exactly the same thing happened to me tonight. The guy came at me but didn't follow through, probably only because his two young kids were there. He did lay the boot into my (completely harmless and under effective control) dog though. What is wrong with people? ETA: and this was on a beach in a nice area, I've never had any trouble before and don't expect to again either.

http://www.livescience.com/37097-dogs-protect-endangered-penguins.html

I bought an LED collar from China on eBay for $8 including postage a few years ago. My old Goldie dragged it through the salt water and mud for a year, and my current GSD does the same. It's still going strong on the original battery :laugh:

Sadly, dogs have actually died from carbon-monoxide poisoning traveling this way on the Spirit.

"Research" :laugh:

I'm not even convinced that its a value judgment, more like wishful thinking!

If they want to claim hybrid vigour, they have to be able to say which traits were improved and by how much (measured objectively).

"Heterosis was first described by Charles Darwin in 1876 after he observed that progeny of cross-pollinated maize (Zea mays)were 25% taller than progeny of inbred maize [4]. The phenomenon was rediscovered independently by George H. Shull and Edward M. East in 1908." Hochholdinger, F. & Hoecker, N. (2007). Towards the molecular basis of heterosis. Trends in Plant Science, 12, 9. "Additionally, producers discovered that hybrid vigor was indeed possible — and very economically beneficial — when many of the new breed lines were used in systematic crossbreeding programs (Dickerson, 1970, 1973)" Green, R. D. (2009). ASAS Centennial Paper: Future needs in animal breeding and genetics. J. Anim. Sci, 87, 2.

OK, I'm just not sure how she would know this given the time-line of events? Clomicalm does actually correct the behaviour by addressing the root cause, and this has long-term effects. This has been well researched. You can mask symptoms of anxiety using medication, acepromazine is classic example, but the risk of that occurring with a medication that addresses emotional states and not overt behaviours is fairly low. This is one of the main reasons that Clomicalm or Prozac are prescribed in combination with behaviour therapy - behaviour therapy can change overt behaviours without necessarily reducing anxiety (thus 'masking' the symptoms of anxiety).

You can buy these drones for a couple of hundred bucks. The neighbours grandkids were flying one around controlled with their iPad at Christmas.