Alkhe

Yup, that can definitely happen! Either that, or immaculate conception ;)

Argh, I could have written that. This is 100% me, too. Argh!

My little dog is a hoover - she's 4kg, but is one of those dogs that would eat herself to death, given half a chance. I give her breakfast and dinner, partly because I feel horrible eating my own food while she sits up so perfectly straight and cycles through her routine of tricks trying to get a morsel or crumb that I drop As long as you make sure you don't feed her twice (or three times) as much food as she needs, just because you're feeding her twice (or 3 times), you're fine. It does take some getting used to though, giving such tiny amounts each time!

It really does depend on what you want to do - while $32K does seem very low, I live on less than that now (albeit while working part time) and am doing fine. I live in a share house instead of having bought one, but I manage to save to go overseas each year. I went through this myself a year or so ago, trying to decide whether I could stop full time work and go part time and study as well. I basically cut my income in half, but there's no real discernable difference to my lifestyle. I don't have extravagant taste in anything, and am a bit of a homebody though. It seems to me that people spend whatever they earn. A bit more or less income really doesn't make that much difference, apart from the brands of things you buy, really. That's my way of saying really, don't let the money put you off. It's so important to be happy and healthy, and life's too short to slave away in a job you hate that doesn't have any prospects for turning into anything you love, let alone like! I would suggest speaking to vet nurses you know about the work, though, and making sure you're really across what it's going to involve. Make sure you go in with accurate expectations

Unfortunately, my 'ideal dog' has to be completely non-shedding and non-allergenic, which means what would hypothetically be my real ideal dog could never actually be ideal. I love my little poodle to death, and she came along at just the right time and has enriched my life in ways that I can't even start to express. But.. on paper, I'm really not a poodle person! I don't even know how to answer this question - I can't come up with a list of attributes. Every one I think of, I think of an example of a dog I know that I'd love to take home and keep, who's the complete opposite! I can only really think of individual dogs. On the one hand, intelligence is great and I love my own dog's intelligence. On the other hand, my foster earlier this year was a bit special, and I loved him to death. I wouldn't mind a dipsh*t of a dog. These things really don't matter to me! I suppose an off switch is the only non-negotiable. And even then, I'd negotiate. :D

Oh god, I am so so sorry Sway. Like everybody else, I had been checking this thread to see whether you had had any news. I am so sorry it had to end this way. RIP Willow

That's actually what I was thinking- I wouldn't trust it, but I'm sure many kennels operate like this in reality, despite what they advertise as doggy nirvana while you're on holiday..

Perhaps you can deflect his attention away? One of my mum's dogs is a chronic licker, but he licks soft toys and other dogs One of her dogs always has a wet patch somewhere on her, and he also loves to just sit and obsessively lick a toy.

I've got one great housemate and one blah one - once I came home to find half a block of mauled chocolate on the floor. I started panicking and trying to work out how much Maggie had eaten, and he came out of his room and went "oh, Maggie has been eating your chocolate". UMMM, perhaps it would've been good to STOP her?? My boyfriend used to be scared of dogs, but he's a changed man now. Or he wouldn't be around still! He actually made a special flannelette blanket pouch bed for her, with his mum's sewing machine!

Sorry it is a normal park, playground, BBQ areas etc and dogs can be offlead in this park. It looks as if the park is specifically designed for people or families with young children. Most of the people in the park have children playing on play equipment and have their family dog with them. I have no problem with the dogs from families with children. I guess the dogs from these families, are raised to not stray from the parents' eye and have good obedience also :D Yeah, from what I gather in some other states (non-Vic) actual specified 'dog parks' are more numerous than regular parks with off leash areas. When I talk about my 'dog park' I just mean the area in the park near me, where dogs are allowed off leash. I'm not sure exactly which park you're talking about lilli, but can think of 2 that it may be (I'm in the inner north of Melbourne). In my experience, non-fenced parks where dogs are allowed off leash tend to have more obedient and controlled dogs than those areas with fences. I've always assumed that people with less obedient dogs or those with less effective recall etc, take them to the fenced area because obviously they can't get out and run on roads etc. Probably true in some instances, but not exclusively. I think I'm really lucky, actually, because my park is populated mostly by small dogs! The larger ones (biggest is a Bernese Mountain Dog, oh and the Borzoi) are all used to the littlies and play mercifully gently, or among the larger dogs. (I love my park... )

If I were that concerned about off leash dogs running towards my on leash dog at an off leash park, I wouldn't go there. I understand that people get worried about dogs that are not under effective control, and there are people who don't go to dog parks because they don't like, trust or agree with them. That is completely understandable, and each to their own. In my experience, there are no 'rules', and each park just operates on the understanding that people's dogs are generally friendly. For better or worse, that's the way I see it. I don't see dogs rushing other dogs, or anything like that. If a new dog comes along, some might go over to have a smell and I've never seen anything bad happen at all. At one park I no longer go to, I ended up seeing too many dogs that I wasn't too fond of, and owners who I didn't consider to pay enough attention. I don't go there anymore, and I know some others who are the same. Some parks have signs that dogs must be under effective voice control, and if they don't, it's often on the council website. That said, most dogs don't have perfect recall, but .. most dogs in the world don't have perfect recall. At all of the parks I've been a regular at, people have got to know each other and their dogs. If someone has a dog that is antisocial or has issues with other dogs, the message tends to get out- eg the dog Lola at my local park. Lola's a bit DA, and is now walked on leash around the park. It's quite a tight knit community and everyone looks out for each other. When a new person comes along their dogs is introduced to all the dogs etc. If someone's dog runs off, we'll make sure they get help getting them back. If someone's sick and can't get out, someone will take their dog to the park for them (and keep the on leash). I have never discussed who would be legally or financially responsible for my dog being attacked, or my dog attacking, with anyone at the park. I hope it never happens, and if it does I will cross that bridge when I come to it. My own dog is more likely to toddle over to a woman and sit looking pretty, hoping for a treat or a cuddle. If I see a dog that's running around out of control, and whose owner doesn't seem to see this as problematic, I leave.

Wow, why have I not ventured into this forum before! These are all beautiful shots Tdierikx, the first and third in particular are stunning. I love the light on the lioness's whiskers

I'm by no means a photographer at all, I just have a little point and shoot, but there are a few shots that I've been pretty happy with from various travels around the place I've got no idea whether they're objectively decent, but .. I like them! Cliched sunset in Zanzibar. Wildebeest in Ngorongoro Crater. Baboon that proceeded to chase me 2 seconds after this shot..

I would report her too My (ex) friend once asked me whether he should poison a dog that lived near his block of flats, because it was constantly whining and stuck in a tiny back yard, with nobody ever taking it out or anything. He was actually considering throwing baits over the fence to put it out of its misery, and when I was horrified and told him to REPORT them instead, it was like a lightbulb moment for him. He genuinely hadn't thought of that. People are unbelievable.

Thanks everyone Even if the dogs do get clipped before Friday and he doesn't even get a warning or.. whatever the process would ordinarily be.. at least they will be clipped! As much as I'd love for him to be taught a lesson, the key issue for me is the dogs' welfare. If they're ok, I'm happy. Thanks I totally understand where you are coming from- if it were a different situation, maybe I would have done that also. It’s just that this man has an explosive temper which I have borne the brunt of at work before. While it’s quite traumatic and uncomfortable at work, at least I know I’m surrounded by people and his behaviour is completely uncalled for and inappropriate, and everyone is there to witness it. I can’t guarantee that it would be ok if it were outside of work! Also, given how strained our working relationship now is (as a result of a number of that kind of incident.. and not just with me, for the record!!), I’m sure it would have ramifications all down the track. I'm already terrified that he knows it's me who reported him, even though I'm sure there's no way he could tell..

That's definitely the best idea - I ordered a special name tag for Maisie before I got her, then brought her home and was .. uh oh.. this dog is definitely not a Maisie..

We like names that are a little different, there are just waaaaaaay to many Charlies, Maxs, Jacks etc around Sorry about the confusion everyone, I am only new to DOL, I didnt realise there was another Willow here. Thanks to those that voted so far, but its not making my decision any easier Percy! I love that name And yeah, there are 3 CKCS called Charlie just at my park. I also know another one! Charlie and Oliver.. they're all called Charlie and Oliver.

Brilliant article. I just learnt so much! Thankfully mainly good things that I can easily improve on and address. Ie, I need to stand up for my little dog more, and that my old dog is totally fine. (She’s a bit of a Cream).

Exactly. And wagging tail means a happy dog, humping means horny, tongue out is smiling.. etc.

There's no way a class can teach anyone how to read subtleties in individual dog behaviour, and no one has any business trying to teach that in a class. It's a one-on-one job. But imagine if no one ever gave advice on the meaning of body language because it was too easily misinterpreted. How do any of us learn? There are some things that are pretty universal. Something is, I think, better than nothing. The world is full of dogs acting up because no one noticed when they were pouring out tonnes of displacement and avoidance behaviours. I agree corvus. I think a lot of dog owners are completely unaware of dog body language, and that it can actually tell us something and be interpreted, and that it's different from human body language. This kind of course may be less valuable the more experienced the person, but I think there's definitely a place for it. I think it's a great idea.

Hi all – just thought I’d give a little update. I contacted the RSPCA a few weeks ago and got a call from a woman to follow up. In my report I mentioned that I don’t know the person’s address and wasn’t sure whether this precluded them from being able to investigate. The woman who called said that she had been out to inspect the property, but that the man in question had sold it to the current occupant a few years years ago. When I said, hang on, I didn’t give you a property number, she said that they must have had one on file from a previous report attached to his name. Alarm bells. Anyway, without a property address they can’t go out to inspect (obviously) so she left it with me to try and track down an address. No such luck, but when she called this morning she let me know that she would make contact with him via phone and see how it went. I’m at work at the moment, and just overheard him on the phone to her. I could only hear snippets, but it involved ‘I’m a responsible owner... Well ok...' and something about Friday. I’m very happy that this has been taken seriously and followed up by the RSPCA, and just thought I would let everyone know. I will report back if I hear anything else- not sure whether the RSPCA woman will get back to me or what the process is, but if anything happens that results in the dogs getting clipped, I’m happy.

I definitely would. A year ago I would’ve rolled my eyes but having learnt a little bit, I’ve realised how little I know and how much I would LIKE to know.

Poor little old man A woman at my park has decrepit old JRT type dog called Thomas, who's about 18 also; blind, deaf, gorgeous little doddery old thing. I found out the other day that she actually adopted him about a year ago! I always thought she was a lovely woman but now I love her even more

Jetson is gorgeous! Is he a poodle? Love him :D

My dog takes herself to the massive puddle of mud, wee and water under the drinking fountain at the park, and has a nice soak for the duration of time it takes for me to run over there and get her out