Bug

Northerly flow will strengthen during Sunday ahead of a low pressure trough, expected to move eastwards across western Victoria during the morning and early afternoon, and eastern Victoria during the afternoon and evening. Winds will shift gusty west to southwesterly to the west of the trough. Damaging winds averaging 50 km/h with peak gusts around 90 km/h are forecast for parts of the South West, North Central and Central forecast districts from late Sunday morning. Temperature expected to be 29 but usually feels hotter up here. UV is extreme. Grounds are good - grass mown.

I guess that is the problem - no one knew the judge :laugh:

Ballarat Sheep Dog Trials See some of Australia's best trainers and dogs in action. More than 250 dogs competing in three different classifications. The Ballarat Sheep Dog Trials are held at the Ballarat Showgrounds and the Eureka Stadium (next to the showgrounds) The showgrounds are the agricultural society grounds Cnr Creswick Rd and Howitt St Ballarat NOT the Kennel Club grounds, Come and watch some oustanding trainers and dogs in action. 25th to 28th January 2012 Location: Ballarat Showgrounds & Eureka Stadium. Event Times: approx 8am to 6pm Wed - Friday. Saturday 8am - to approx 2.30pm Open Final: Conducted after lunch Saturday. Entry is free - Gold coin donation would be appreciated.

Terrible incident. The Herald Sun has a thumbnail image of a dog with bared teeth - not the usual pitbull image -this time they have used a German Shepherd Dog. I guess the legislation introduced by this State Government to reduce pitbull attacks means this offending dog could not be a pitbull:) The media can choose whatever image they want to illustrate a 'dangerous dog' story. Before we had pitbulls the media chose to target GSD. The type/breed of dog in this case has not yet been released to the media.

I agree that Runner Up BOB should get points. As it is, a dog that beats no other of its own sex and gets beaten by a a bitch which may have been reserve bitch in a big bitch entry and then gone to get runner up BOB gets no points. These new rules award a dog for being no better than third best exhibit in the breed at a show. Hypothetical but at the end of the year Top place may go to a bitch who has won the most BOB while 2nd place may go to a dog who has never beaten another dog, while a bitch who was R/U BOB every week beaten by an outstanding bitch in large breed entries, will not figure in the pointscore. It is sad that this was not taken into consideration. It should not be about who wins the most challenges or challenge points but about recognising the top winners in a breed. The dog judged no better than third best in a breed is not one of the top winners on any day. It is silly that a r/u BOB can get R/U in Grp and then get points in the allbreeds but not gain points in the breed competition. With only 2 weeks of the pointscore underway surely it is not too late to amend this. Let those who have already had points recognised for challenge keep those points but amend the rules to include runner up BOB. The only folk who could possibly object are those who cannot win a runner up BOB The new rule of no points for R/U BOB is degrading the prestige of the pointscore.

I hope staff issues did not stop them addressing the problem before it costs a life!

Probably better off to email the VCA office when it reopens. I wrote in November about an OH&S issue at a show. Never got any acknowledgement!

Maybe those who choose to show their dogs in this heat should have to also steward (in another ring) in the heat. That would sort them out:) Without the 'golden oldies' working at shows there would be no shows. Since they will turn up to work come hail or furnace because they support the dog world, it is another reason to have a heat policy cancelling shows in extreme conditions. Prevention of Cruelty to Stewards, TW and Judges

Some of the workers - stewards, ticket writers - are senior members of of our dogworld. They can always decline to attend in the heat but most feel loyalty to the dogworld and would not want to let the secretary down. The poor judges are contracted to work so don't have much choice. Some of them are getting on in years too. I hope the panel today is a young fit one! The temperature for the weather is taken in the shade. In the shade you get the ambient temperature of the air. The temperature in the sun - shining on the poor judge and steward - OR YOUR DOG - is much higher - up to 10 degrees higher in the sun!

Are there any emergency fire plans for KCC Park and Bulla. Both these grounds are in areas where they could be impacted by fast travelling grass fires.

I agree Gael but the sad thing is that there are people who will not do the right thing by their animals and a heat policy would protect these animals from the selfishness of their owners. We have rules about EVERYTHING - except something that puts the dogs at risk!

Just got the following in by email Severe Fire Alert for the Mallee, Wimmera, South West and Central forecast districts Issued at 3:50 pm EDT on Sunday 1 January 2012. For Monday 2 January: Extreme Fire Danger is forecast for the following forecast district: South West Maximum temperatures around 43 degrees, relative humidity down to 8% and winds averaging 40 km/h are expected. Severe Fire Danger is forecast for the following forecast districts: Mallee, Wimmera and Central Maximum temperatures around 42 degrees, relative humidity down to 8% and winds averaging 35 km/h are expected. It is not just being at the show that is the issue but travelling to and from the show in the heat - also the animals that you leave at home. Cars overheat in such extreme temperatures and you may be left stranded for a couple of hours on a freeway with no shade waiting for the RACV who will no doubt be very busy. Also if travelling through rural areas or the plains surrounding Melbourne the possibilities of being affected by grass fires is not worth the risk. 43 degrees and 8% humidity is like Black Saturday. There is no doubt at all that there will always be some people who go if they think the scratching will be heavy as it means an easy win. The VCA should have a firm heat policy of cancelling the show in extreme heat - especially when the temperatures are as high as forecast for tomorrow. The welfare of dogs should be above a blue ribbon.

Who was the Toy poodle?

Any group 5?

BIG - Border Collie - Khayoz Knls. R/Up OES - Gr Ch Brinkley Song 'N' Dance Man at Perfu (Imp UK) Baby was a Border Collie Puppy - may have been a sable sheltie Junior - may have been a Border Collie Int - I think a tri Sheltie that was BOB Austbred was a blue merle Aussie Shepherd that was BOB I did not have a catalog so apologies for 'guestimates'

Breed specific legislation is not new in Australia. German Shepherds were banned from importation to Australia from the 1920s to the early 1970s. In some States it was illegal to own one. In others they had to be desexed. The hysteria began with them supposedly breeding with dingoes to breed super sheep killers but built up to them being the 'pitbull' of those times where everything that bit a person was a GSD according to the media. I recall one report where the police admitted that anything that was black and tan and over 22 inches high was a GSD! It was the persistent work of the GSD Council with the support of the late Don Chipp that got the legislation abolished. Not so many years back Hugh Wirth advocated the banning of any breed over 22 inches (56cms) yet dogs under that height have been involved in fatal attacks in Victoria. The death of Ayen Choi was horrific, as is the death of the other dozen or so victims of fatal dog bites over the years - inflicted by a variety of breeds/types and sizes. Breed identification has ALWAYS been an issue, media influence has ALWAYS been an issue.Today the media has so many ways to continually influence public views - tv, talkback radio, print. It was the GSD, now it is the pitbull, tomorrow it may be your breed. In most cases of fatal dogbites in Australia the dog/s did not kill their owner but a child or a visitor to the property or someone on the street. If the dogs were managed correctly by their owners these attacks may not have happened. The only answer is to make people more accountable as owners and perhaps the threat of jail on manslaughter charges goes someway towards this. Make them more accountable and perhaps responsibility will follow.

It is obvious from your numerous posts on this issue that you have issues with all dogs above knee height? I suppose if your small/toy breed of dog ever came under BSL for whatever reason you would change your tune and say that your dog is different from all the others in that breed of dog? There are good and bad in every breed and i WILL stand up to own the breed i have loved for 26 years whether you like them or not. The post you copied in which the person states "There are other dogs, you'll get over it" Im sure you wouldn't be so vindictive if it was your breed the public wanted banned. My dogs have never done anything wrong and they should not be punished or branded against purely for being born the breed they are. Sorry everyone, just sick of feeling attacked everywhere lately, DOL is the one place where i used to feel ppl accepted ALL breeds of dog and didn't buy into media hype.

It may be simple but Grand Champion would have been worth much more if it was only awarded to dogs that had won 3 BIS at All Breeds Shows under 3 different judges and not worried about points. Don't say that this disadvantages 'rare' breeds as I have seen a beautiful Sussex Spaniel win BIS on more than one occasion and he is just one of a handful shown in the whole country. It shouldn't be about adding multiple titles to a dog but about recognising those dogs which really are high achievers and able to successfully compete against the best of the best. It is, and always has been, ridiculous that a dog could be come a champion without beating another dog. At one time absentees counted towards points and owners entered every dog in their backyard and left them home to pad a challenge out to maximum points - probably cheaper to pay extra entries than petrol to extra shows:) This was changed so that absentees did not count and it simply meant that dogs were taken to more shows to obtain the same result -a title. I agree that the part of the problem is with the judges who award ccs to inferior animals simply because they turned up on the day. However many dogs who get 6 point ccs are well worthy of the title of champion but it is ludicrous that they can do that without competing against or beating another dog of their own breed or any other. It may have encouraged the breeding of better dogs if the ANKC had looked at ways of encouraging competition within the breeds rather than adding yet more titles. Too many shows in some areas, too many ccs on offer, too many champions?

Rogue puppy farms hit by: Peter Rolfe From: Sunday Herald Sun October 23, 2011 12:00AM Illegal puppy farms face huge fines. Herald Sun MASSIVE new fines, jail terms and unprecedented powers to shut down illegal puppy farms will be introduced in Victoria in a crackdown on animal cruelty. Premier Ted Baillieu will announce the toughest dog and cat laws in Australia today, with legislation to be introduced in State Parliament next week. "We are not going to tolerate cruelty to animals," he told the Sunday Herald Sun. The new legislation - to take effect this year - will include powers to seize the assets, property and profits of people operating illegal puppy farms, fines of up to $146,000, 10-year bans on people owning a pet if they are found guilty of animal cruelty and strict jail terms for unlawful breeders. RSPCA and council inspectors will also be given new policing and confiscation powers and a $1.6 million Animal Welfare Fund will be created through money raised by the sale of confiscated assets. Maximum penalties for illegal puppy farms will rise by more than $18,000 and penalties for operators who commit acts of cruelty will be doubled to $30,000. Individual breeders will also face penalties of up to $30,000 and 12 months' prison and fines of up to $60,000 and two years' jail for aggravated cruelty. Corporate businesses busted under the new regime will be slapped with fines between $73,300 and $146,688. Mr Baillieu said the laws had been drafted in response to puppy farms found in Victoria where dogs had been kept in cages, tied up for days and carcasses left to rot. He said the far-reaching action would send a clear message to dodgy operators that they faced massive fines, loss of assets and imprisonment as well as having farms shut down. "These are some of the strongest laws ever introduced to protect animals from abuse and neglect." The new laws build on a Coalition commitment to smash illegal puppy-breeding rings following several public protests in favour of harsher penalties. In another major shake-up, it will become compulsory for every dog and cat sold in Victoria to be implanted with a unique microchip number that must be quoted in advertisements and at points of sale. A new offence will be created to punish breeding houses not using the technology and fines will apply to any pet store, farm or individual caught selling a cat or dog without the chip, putting the onus on the seller rather than the buyer. Industry sources said the crackdown could lead to a shortage in puppy numbers and potentially push up the price of pets. The Government concedes the clampdown could raise puppy prices slightly at pet stores but believes the public will be happy paying a little extra if it means knowing that their dog has not be treated cruelly. Mr Baillieu, who has three pet dogs, said he was determined to make operators accountable for the welfare of animals in their care. "I have been touched by the passion in the community on this issue and the efforts of so many who have written to me," he said. "As a dog owner, I am appalled by images I have seen of abused and helpless animals." It is not known how many illegal puppy farms exist in Victoria but there are 64 approved breeding houses where an average of 45 dogs each breed a litter of six each year. Until now, RSPCA inspectors have had limited powers even when they have evidence of farms mistreating animals, with their only course of action to refer concerns to councils.

The sad thing is that while none of us like the mass breeding or farming of dogs the publicity this has received will not overturn the VCAT decision but just means that the council will probably police the permit requirements - at least for a while. Other breeders will just keep them in dark sheds out the back of a rural property and not apply for permits. If permits were easier to get and were policed correctly I am sure dogs would have a better life. Where there are $$$ to be made people will breed - whether it be purebred or designer dogs. Prolapse is not common in bitches so the argument is a bit hysterical and it is likely that when a bitch is no longer a profitable breeder it too will be sold for whatever they can get for it. It willl probably then have a loving home - at last! Dogs deserve one on one attention and companionship in a family situation. Puppies should be raised where they experience all the normal household sounds and activities and interactions with humans.

Have a look at www.chevron.com This domain name is owned by Robert Attard who has the permit for Ballan.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the Melbourne Royal has a Rosette for 1st Place in the class, Best of Breed and Puppy in Breed. There is a sash for Reserve Challenges. For 2nd and 3rd, it's only a red and white ribbon. Seems a shame there is nothing given by the RASV for runner up in breed. Unless a breed club gives something for this award the second best dog in the breed gets nothing in recognition.

Toy Poodle BOB - Dootwa Min Poodle BOB - Missen

Results show on RASV site today - broken for lunch at no results up for breed that were first on and finished long ago