Aetherglow

I was there on Saturday at the Lappie stand, along with Armahani and two of her dogs and another club member with her young boy. I had a chance to have a quick look around and talk to people from a couple of other breed stalls - one of the ladies at the Boxer stand turns out to have dogs related to my lovely old boxer girl, which was rather nice to discover :) I got to meet the Spinone and a lovely little Chow, as well. Tarja had to stay home, but apparently the deer antler I got for her was awesome enough to compensate her slightly :laugh:

Thanks Jumabaar, The lapphund has made the short list and is always one my miss's keeps looking at when I'm not on the computer :) Awesome thanks for the heads up LappieHappy, will see if I can make it there this weekend. As it happens, all three of those breeds are in the Working group, so if you can get there just ask directions to the Group Five ring. Most exhibitors will be happy to talk if they're not busy getting ready to go in the ring. Don't restrict yourself just to there though, have a good look around both inside and out, you might see a breed you hadn't considered :) Awesome thank Lappie, will certainly try and make it, is there an official site for this venue, need to find directions Yes I had been reading through and thinking that some of the gun dogs may be suitable and wondering when the Toller would be suggested. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is not too big, not too much coat, biddable and friendly. wow, there are so many breeds its hard to keep up, those Tolling Retrievers looks beautiful, I hope there are some at this event in Bulla, would love to see some up close. --- Thanks again everyone, this community is awesome, its nice to have help with this. Jack and Jaycee Here's the Dogs Victoria website with all the directions: Dogs Victoria Bulla Very easy to get to.

Awesome thanks for the heads up LappieHappy, will see if I can make it there this weekend. As it happens, all three of those breeds are in the Working group, so if you can get there just ask directions to the Group Five ring. Most exhibitors will be happy to talk if they're not busy getting ready to go in the ring. Don't restrict yourself just to there though, have a good look around both inside and out, you might see a breed you hadn't considered :)

I chose a Lappie partially because I wanted a medium-sized dog likely to cope in a small/medium yard with me being away for a full working day - which she does, but I do have to put in some effort to keep her from being bored and so she can use up some energy before the day begins. She's a tall female for the breed and around 18.5kg when she's at her best weight, but some of the girls in particular can be quite a bit smaller. They are fairly sturdy underneath the coat, though! Like other people said, biddable/good natural recall doesn't really go with the independence to cope with being alone. My girl has a pretty good recall, but they're not a breed well known for their ease of recall training - in fact because they are clever and a bit independent, training in general is a bit more challenging than with some other breeds. Not much more challenging, but they get bored easily with repetitive work, so you have to be a bit creative. On the other hand, as a breed which can cope with what you want happily they suit pretty well, and my girl only really needs a groom if she's blowing coat, has had a bath or I'm showing her. Cuddles on the couch are one of her favourite things :) You would need to accustom any dog to strange overhead flying things, but most Lappies will take that kind of thing in their stride once they realise that they're not for chasing and not a threat to be barked at. A Corgi or Sheltie would probably suit, but I've never owned either breed so can't say more about them. My parents owned a Sheltie when they were a young working couple and absolutely loved her, and that's exactly the kind of situation she would have been in - home in the backyard during the day, inside with her people at night and weekends. I have heard of Shelties with separation anxiety, so checking that the parents came from lines with good temperament would be important - as it would for any breed! I don't know that it's that prevalent in Shelties, either. If you're near the northern side of Melbourne there's a big two day show at Bulla this weekend. I know there will be Lappies there both days, and I'd be very surprised if there weren't also Shelties and Corgis of both varieties.

Nothin' to see here...

It seems to be more that the organisers are first-time large event organisers, and have taken some bad advice and made some promises that it turned out they didn't have the power to follow through with. At least some of the breed clubs are still going now that the major problem, which was that originally they were told no crates or show trolleys were allowed for the dogs on display to have a break on "advice" from an unknown source, has been resolved. I'm still a bit annoyed about the parking, but *shrug* I'll be there on Saturday, representing my club, and will probably have a look around the rest of it when I'm on a break. I have no problem with organisations that I wouldn't have a bar of being there, if they happen to be dog-related - I am not the organiser. Hopefully the organisers will learn a lot from this year if they do it again in future.

I entered the Victorian GSD club test and had to do so via their website. Tarja and I had our first attempt on the bike track, after some practice sessions at the park doing laps of the oval and a little bit of riding on grass. It's a bit different for her, given the occasional other bike rider and jogger, and she was a bit less steady than at the park. She is still getting used to just keeping on going at a steady pace, as she is both by genetics and experience a run-and-stop dog, but she looks so serious and business-like when she gets into stride :laugh: We also had our first stack - fortunately on nice long cushy grass! We went about 3km today, with several hundred metres of walking at the beginning and end. Gotta build up... I think the park is a bit safer though, I can see better what's going on around me.

I was buying food at my local big feed supply place and was amused to watch a medium-sized dog at the the end of his flexi-lead investigating the treats display while his oblivious owner chatted to the register attendant. Not quite so dangerous as some of the instances mentioned, although if a reactive dog had come in at that point there could have been total mayhem. Or if it had been a garbage guts dog and ate a plastic-wrapped treat that then got stuck, or the guy with a tiny Yorkie pup at the other end of the store had come to the register right then, or...

There's a little note on my registration renewal this year saying that from the day after rego renewals are due, registration discounts will only apply to microchipped and desexed animals - no mention of discount for animal's age, training, membership of VCA or relevant cat clubs, or animals owened as part of a registered business. I hope they've just left VCA membership off for brevity's sake, but I'm not very hopeful. Which means, based on this year's fee, that from next year I'll be up for ~$105 for any entire dog I own, each year. I don't mind an annual registration, but I think that much per year is a bit steep!

Why wouldn't damage to property already be covered in civil courts? To start with it costs the landlord the VCAT(or other state equivalent) fee which as I understand it is not recoverable from the tenant. As an example, you own a property that had new carpet put in 10 years ago, a tenants dog has urinated all over it and cleaning it didn't get rid of the smell. You pay the $250(or whatever it is) to take the tenant to VCAT. VCAT will look at the carpet as having close to zero value due to depreciation and you'll be lucky to get your $250 back, let alone what it will cost to replace the carpet. If you're that concerned about having someone else pay replacement costs for ten year old carpet I wouldn't want you as a landlord. Ten year old carpet is going to have any manner of stains and wear and likely be close to needing replacement, even if a dog hadn't peed on it, and that'd be your responsibility as the owner to replace in order to provide decent fittings. If you somehow managed to get a tenant to pay for the entire replacement cost that'd be a bonus to you, not a fair and reasonable outcome. I'm by no means saying a tenant shouldn't be responsible for rectifying any damage caused by their pets, in the same way as they ought to be responsible for any other damage, but there's fair and reasonable responsibility and there's over the top. Surely you have a more reasonable example than that? Edited for spelling. Firstly, carpet will last significantly longer than 10 years if looked after. If you think that carpet should be allowed to be stained by tenants then i wouldn't want you as a tenant! Stains should be fixed by tenants along the way. Maybe you should buy a property and rent it out and see how you feel when you're left with a great mess and thousands of dollars damage that you can't recover. It's attitudes like yours that will mean that is always going to be difficult to find a rental property that will accept pets. I had a kitchen bench top burnt through the tenants negligence. I was lucky and bluffed them into paying for a new one. I was advised by my property manager that if I had to go to VCAT I stood no chance of recovering anything. This was a perfectly serviceable benchtop with no prior need for replacement, IMO they should be paying replacement cost for whatever they damage, unless there is already pre-existing damage or excessive wear and tear. In the same conversation I was told how another client of hers had taken a tenant to VCAT to recover the cost of holes in the walls. They received next to nothing because VCAT said the depreciated value of the walls was negligable. Do you think all walls should be replaced every 10 years also? *sigh* no matter how hard you try to emphasise the bit about "fair and reasonable" it gets ignored. Of course I think people should pay for damage as it is caused. As for a burnt benchtop, I think it *is* fair and reasonable to be able to get the tenant to pay for it as there's no other way to fix it and benchtops are not as subject to wear and tear as carpets. Same for walls - absolutely the walls should have been paid for by the tenant, although an entire wall doesn't need replacing to fix a hole in most cases, the whole wall will need painting so that would be reasonable to expect too. Basing costs on depreciation is silly in such a case because it is reasonable to expect the walls to last as long as the building. That is what I meant about a more reasonable, or perhaps I should say less ambiguous, example - clearly walls should not get holes in them and benches should not get burnt, and no matter whether they got there accidentally or deliberately the person who caused them should fix them. But carpets are subject to wear and tear in their normal usage, and it seems to me eminently unreasonable to claim entire replacement cost for an old carpet for only one of those items of wear and tear. A two year old carpet? Fine. A ten year old carpet? Nuh-uh, that should be at most a partial payment. And yes, I consider a ten year old carpet to be old and potentially due for replacement; even the best cared for ten year old carpet would have some wear and damage, possibly a lot, just from day-to-day use. I've never done it myself, but my sister has been in this position when she moved to Sydney and rented out her Melbourne house which was significantly damaged by the tenants, and I know it isn't fun for the owner to deal with. I know there are horrible tenants out there, but the specific example you gave put you into the category, in my opinion, of an unreasonable landlord, and yes there are such things as those as well. You may not in fact be as unreasonable as that particular example sounded, in which case all you needed was a better example. The walls and bench are better examples, but neither of them are something that a pet is likely to cause (I have heard of dogs that eat walls, but it's not very common). Someone on the forums once gave the example of a solid wood door which was completely trashed by a dog scratching at it - that is a good example of something which the tenant/pet owner should pay for 100%, as the door was *only* in need of replacement due to damage caused by the dog, and would not otherwise be expected to suffer particularly from wear and tear. Just as well I am not your tenant and you are not my landlord, hey? :D I have been a tenant, and I believe I was a good tenant, even with pets. In fact, the rental house I lived in I left in *better* shape than when I rented it, with steam-cleaned carpets that had *not* been done before I moved in (and a couple of cat accidents on the old carpet cleaned along the way), curtains on what had been bare windows in the lounge and master bedroom, the kitchen appliances and floor cleaner than they had been in years, a new fusebox to replace the ancient one which still had ceramic-and-wire fuses and no safety switch and fused out whenever I used my washing machine until I replaced it, new locks on the doors to replace the old worn out ones, the garden significantly cleared and tidied and a "garden bed" full of weeds and builder's rubble turned into a productive vegetable plot, and the garage cleared of the junk that had been left in it when I rented it. A friend of mine and I spent several days scrubbing the place from floor to ceiling so that it was in the best shape possible when I handed it back to the owner, who was, after all, the owner. To me, that seems to be quite reasonable on my part and even a bit more than the bare minimum expected. However, the carpet was old and manky, and just because my cat had vomited on it I do not believe it would have been reasonable to expect me to bear full replacement costs, even if my cleaning job had been inadequate, which it was not. There was lots of other stains, an iron burn, wear and so forth which pre-dated my tenancy and which I noted on the condition report specifically so that the owner wouldn't do exactly what you appear to think is reasonable and blame it all on me. He also complained when I changed the front door lock on the basis that was still "ok", and failed to understand that "ok" is not having to stand there for 10 minutes in the dark or rain jiggling the key to try to get it exactly right just to get into the house - which is why I didn't bother trying to claim costs for the fusebox when I had that done - it needed to be done for safety's sake and it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to get him or the rental agent to do it. Anyway, I don't feel any need to continue the discussion as the topic has been done to death and it's off the topic that the OP started. We are probably both in furious agreement that there needs to be an easier way for legitimate damage and reasonable costs to be claimed, and that both tenants and landlords should be reasonable people. I suspect we disagree on our definition of "reasonable". I think it reasonable that landlords should have to have good reason to *dis*allow pets, and that the legal default should be pets allowed in rentals within reason as just a part of normal living conditions. I think it's reasonable for the tenant to take responsibility for those pets, in the same way they should clean up after themselves or their children, and if they don't it should be easy for landlords to get reasonable reimbursement. What I don't think is reasonable is for the landlord to be able to claim full replacement costs for an old item which would be expected to suffer wear and tear and require replacement in the normal course of use just because one part of the wear and tear is caused by a pet.

Congratulations on finding a place Labsrock - the timing is great, you'll be all nicely settled in when your dog is ready to come home!

Why wouldn't damage to property already be covered in civil courts? To start with it costs the landlord the VCAT(or other state equivalent) fee which as I understand it is not recoverable from the tenant. As an example, you own a property that had new carpet put in 10 years ago, a tenants dog has urinated all over it and cleaning it didn't get rid of the smell. You pay the $250(or whatever it is) to take the tenant to VCAT. VCAT will look at the carpet as having close to zero value due to depreciation and you'll be lucky to get your $250 back, let alone what it will cost to replace the carpet. If you're that concerned about having someone else pay replacement costs for ten year old carpet I wouldn't want you as a landlord. Ten year old carpet is going to have any manner of stains and wear and likely be close to needing replacement, even if a dog hadn't peed on it, and that'd be your responsibility as the owner to replace in order to provide decent fittings. If you somehow managed to get a tenant to pay for the entire replacement cost that'd be a bonus to you, not a fair and reasonable outcome. I'm by no means saying a tenant shouldn't be responsible for rectifying any damage caused by their pets, in the same way as they ought to be responsible for any other damage, but there's fair and reasonable responsibility and there's over the top. Surely you have a more reasonable example than that? Edited for spelling.

Australia's attitude to renting and pets is ridiculous. My sister once lived in a set of about 12-15 units which had a strict no pets policy, and every single one had at least one cat, including my sister. I know someone else who got sprung with a short-notice property inspection after requesting (and being refused) permission to keep a turtle in a fishtank to make sure she didn't already have the turtle I know its common, but you can be evicted if you're caught or made to get rid of a pet at extremely short notice which can be very traumatic. Better to do it above board if at all possible. Good luck with your search, LabsRock! I live in the inner north-east of Melbourne, and competition for rentals is pretty intense. Your commute to Parkville is likely to be about the same from Footscray and Yarraville in peak hour, I would think, I'm not so sure about Williamstown as I don't know how heavy the traffic is. It can take me up to an hour from my place to Parkville if I try in morning peak, so I'm glad I usually only have to do it once a month :)

Growing up we had Wandering Jew in the yard and boxers. It was not a good mix, it really can be that bad for some dogs. Getting rid of it and being careful of the pup in the meantime is a good idea. Perhaps a run in a cleared area? Dogs, especially growing pups, need vitamin D as much as humans do, and being outside for a couple of hours a day is the best way to get it. Boxer babies are Good luck, Boxerben!

OH had the fancy road bike before I met him, and mine is a pretty nice hybrid which is very suitable for the ET, so I'm happy enough - especially as he said that when I'm riding more he thinks I should get a fancy road bike too :D He's coveting my new lights, though!

Yes, I've had a few people ask if she's ok when she's suddenly hit the deck, including one lady who was terribly worried that her lovely big but rather clumsy young dog tripped her over. It's possibly funniest when she does it in a group, though. Upside-down tug is apparently now the thing :laugh:

Tarja likes to do commando rolls when she's playing. It used to be only when she's playing with other dogs, where she'll either be in the middle of a group or be running and getting the other dog/s to chase and then suddenly drop her shoulder and hit the ground from a dead run, but just this week she's started doing it when she's playing tug-o-war as well. She gives me a very annoyed look when she does a roll and it doesn't make me let go of the tug.

So OH pulled out my bike the other day and adjusted the wheels, brakes, and seat and pumped up the tyres for me, and today we spent some quality time at Ivanhoe Cycles buying new lights, new tyres and inners for his fancy road bike, and a new tyre pump as the one we had was a tad dodgy. Then we went for our first ride together tonight: around 5 1/2 km, in just under half an hour with several pauses for the unfit chick who hasn't been on a bike in something like 7 years. My new lights are excellent, I have discovered I still have gluteal muscles, and I only vomited once

My old family dog, who was kept entire until she had a litter on breeder's terms, had two seasons. She was mated and had a litter on the second (approximately 20 months old), and got pyometra when the pups were 4-5 weeks old. Treated with antibiotics until settled, spayed before her next season. My father had a desexed male dog, an adult rescue, which developed mammary cancer which eventually killed him several years down the track. Not sure if that's the info you're looking for, though! Eta: My current entire girl is about to turn three, is due to have her fifth season within a month or so, had a litter on her last season. No problems so far.

It's illegal for anyone except police/security to carry, I think. There was a case a couple of years ago of a large breed dog - I think it was a Dogue de Bordeaux - that died after being sprayed with pepper spray by police. I suppose you could say it "worked", for a certain definition of "worked".

Plenty of tutorials on how to make them- I'd rather make them as I'm fairly crafty :) It was just the attitude of the vets that irked me- I'm not a first time dog owner- I'm not stupid. We've (well my mum)has had bitches desexed in the past with no issue- but like everything there will always be one that wants to do thing differently though- I won't deny :) It was when the total cost was asked they replied with the cost of desexing + the collar (which wasn't asked for) they also wanted microchip- umm she has one already. It was the self assuming attitude that they took on. Since the bitches (of my mums) and other friends dogs ect haven't had a need, I began to wonder if those dogs may have just been 'good' or 'lucky' so came here to ask. Ahh yes, that kind of attitude is most annoying. My regular vet knows me well enough by now to know that I'm very competent in looking after my animals, but do you think I can convince the practice nurses to stop sending me those bloody awful cutesy letters, addressed to the animals, reminding me every year about the importance of an annual immunisation and checkup? If you know how to make a collar that won't rub a huge mark into a double coat during a coat blow, I'll commission you to make me one for Tarja :D She had a cloud collar on for two days last week to stop her licking an itchy spot on her leg while it healed, and has the worst mark on her neck now

You could think of it as purchasing something which you may need in the future, and which is handy to have in your first aid cupboard. You never know when you might need it for something.

I have a reasonable bike, will have to dust it off :) It needs a new front tyre, but other than that is ok. I think the padded pants will be necessary though!

Hi, I'm thinking of setting completing an endurance test as a fitness goal for myself, with a title for Tarja as a little bonus. I have considerably less doubts about Tarja's fitness and ability than my own! What do you think is the likelihood of starting from a fitness level of zero and having not ridden regularly for several years to biking an endurance test in Vic in mid-June? I can't do the July test as our specialty is on that day.

Once upon a time I used to take the family dog down to the supermarket and leave her tied up. I'd never do it now. I have very rarely left my current girl tied up outside the local corner shop for the time it takes to buy a carton of milk, and that's with my eye on her and nobody about. My dad quite recently left his dog tied outside the supermarket and came back out to find that the dog had been let loose - whether to steal or just for laughs we will never know, but his dog is very nervous so it's possible that the intent was theft but he ran away from whoever undid his collar. Given his nervousness, it's incredibly lucky the poor boy didn't run onto the road, into the path of a car in the carpark, or even onto the nearby railway. That said, people can do weird things even when you're standing there with your dog on leash. I once had someone try to (I assume) provoke my dog by flicking his hand right in her face and shouting "yah!" as I was standing with her in a busy shopping strip, giving way to people trying to get past some cafe seating on a fairly narrow footpath. Goodness knows what he might have done to an unattended dog, and if he had tried that with a reactive dog I hate to think what could have happened!