Blackdogs

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. 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.

My friend's dog has been on chemo tablets for three years. She was given 6 months to live at nine years of age and is now 12 and doing well.

Sounds like it could be a yeast infection. I'd go to the vet.

I recently came upon an 18 year old small dog who was bright, alert and had no sign of arthritis. I asked the owner what they fed their dog and was told that the dog had only eaten spaghetti bolognaise for its entire life. Every day.

Certainly loving someone and being loved must have an impact. It sounds like you loved Ollie a lot.

Thanks for the info! I wonder if the Collie retained its less profuse coat of old would it be more popular? The grooming element of Collie Roughs really puts me off.

Yeah, in the human population it seems to be the people who have a purpose, keep themselves busy, enjoy life and are content that live the longest. Stress levels would definitely play into this.

Genetics aside, what do you think is the single most important environmental factor affecting canine longevity? I used to think it was nutrition, until I met several healthy aged dogs who were fed 'substandard' food. What do you think?

I think that American Bulldogs certainly have a propensity for DA. I have met some highly socialised ABs that are good with other dogs, but I think they require very careful management. Good to see other DOL members awake at this crazy hour. :D

I have always loved these dogs, but was wondering about their biddability and ability to engage in obedience, agility, herding, etc. Does anyone have one that does these things? If so, how easy are they to train in comparison to other herding breeds?

Well said. I couldn't have put it better myself. I would add to that though that some dogs can be more fearful, prey driven or dominant than others and they need to be managed accordingly. Very occasionally a dog pop up that is beyond management or is suitable only for certain environments. I recently assisted in the euthanasia of a dog whose prey drive was so strong it would attack anything that moved, including people, other animals and moving objects. It could jump 12 foot fences to get to whatever it perceived to be prey and lived primarily for the catch. This dog was just too dangerous to be managed.

8 years max Thanks. That's interesting.

What is the upper age limit to be able to compete in an ET?

Interestingly, I can't think of a single sacrifice I've had to make for my dogs. I suppose if you count financial sacrifices, then yes, they do tend to be expensive, but I can't think of anything I'd rather spend the money on. I think I have the opposite problem. I get frustrated because I have to sacrifice time with my dogs due to work commitments. I work weekends, which means I don't get to do undertake the recreational activities with them that I enjoy.

Do you love all your pets equally? Some people stand by the 'parents no favourites' ideology, but I wonder if they really believe it or if it's just something they feel is morally correct and it becomes a mantra. What do you think?

Heh. That's a very good idea.

If it had been the case that they were using or planning to use the facility then I would have hope that they would have communicated that to me respectfully so that I had a chance to gracefully accommodate, but instead I was barraged with claims of leash law breaking and public property destruction.

I agree with this as being the best way to approach it. ^^ That's a really good idea actually. I just hope it won't promote meeting discussion about lobbying for greater restrictions.

I have a black Kelpie (who is rather large and well built for a Kelpie) and a little Schipperke. I guess black, prick-eared dogs don't always endear themselves to members of the non-dog owning public through their looks, but my dogs aren't what I would classify as 'scary looking'.

I definitely will if it happens again. My dogs are highly socialised with children, but even so I would never allow them to approach a strange child. It frustrates me that people who try to do the right thing with their dogs are still victimised. Thanks for your input. It's ridiculous, it's like the lady that tells my colleagues off when they park on the street in front of her house (my work doesn't have off street parking). We keep telling her the council owns the street....does she get it? Nope. Very frustrating, and there's just no reason to act that way towards someone, whether you like dogs or not. We used to take our two to an offleash oval that sounds similar, two ovals about 200 metres away from each other. Lili is normnally 100% with her recall, but once ran into the middle of a game and went for the ball , our bad and of course we apologised profusely, but everyone just laughed it off. Why do people have to be so aggressive and intolerant these days? Hah. reminds me of when I used to park outside of my own house and the neighbours didn't like it because they had to be careful about backing out with their boat. I had nowhere else to park so continued to do so. One day they deliberately rammed by car three times and wrote it off and I had to get the police involved. I don't understand the intolerance either. Why can't we just be respectful of each other and communicate decently? I was on this very oval a year or so ago when a boy approached with his soccer ball wanting to play with my dog. I saw his parents in the distance who seemed ok, so I said yes. So my dog and the boy played soccer for about five minutes (the kid was laughing so hard and having the best time) when the father started screaming frantically at the boy to get away from 'that animal', came over and glared at me and dragged the kid away. The poor boy was almost in tears. People need to learn to relax! My Nan was similar in regards to people parking outside her house, so pestered the council for months until they put up no parking signs in front of her house. Heh irony is, she got fined for parking outside of her own house whilst taking in shopping :laugh: Her response was "But it's my own house" my reply "Well no parking means no parking and it includes you". Haha! That's a hilarious backfire!

I definitely will if it happens again. My dogs are highly socialised with children, but even so I would never allow them to approach a strange child. It frustrates me that people who try to do the right thing with their dogs are still victimised. Thanks for your input. It's ridiculous, it's like the lady that tells my colleagues off when they park on the street in front of her house (my work doesn't have off street parking). We keep telling her the council owns the street....does she get it? Nope. Very frustrating, and there's just no reason to act that way towards someone, whether you like dogs or not. We used to take our two to an offleash oval that sounds similar, two ovals about 200 metres away from each other. Lili is normnally 100% with her recall, but once ran into the middle of a game and went for the ball , our bad and of course we apologised profusely, but everyone just laughed it off. Why do people have to be so aggressive and intolerant these days? Hah. reminds me of when I used to park outside of my own house and the neighbours didn't like it because they had to be careful about backing out with their boat. I had nowhere else to park so continued to do so. One day they deliberately rammed my car three times and wrote it off and I had to get the police involved. I don't understand the intolerance either. Why can't we just be respectful of each other and communicate decently? I was on this very oval a year or so ago when a boy approached with his soccer ball wanting to play with my dog. I saw his parents in the distance who seemed ok, so I said yes. So my dog and the boy played soccer for about five minutes (the kid was laughing so hard and having the best time) when the father started screaming frantically at the boy to get away from 'that animal', came over and glared at me and dragged the kid away. The poor boy was almost in tears. People need to learn to relax!

Good idea. I'll see how it goes when I show them the legislation. No doubt we'll see each other again as this is my closest off-lead area.

I definitely will if it happens again. My dogs are highly socialised with children, but even so I would never allow them to approach a strange child. It frustrates me that people who try to do the right thing with their dogs are still victimised. Thanks for your input.

I'm not much of a ranter, but I was a little upset by an incident that happened recently at my local park. The law in my jurisdiction states that dogs can be off-lead at all public parks unless indicated otherwise by signage. They must be 20m away from public BBQ areas, public gathering sites and children's playgrounds. So I went to the park that that I always go to (as do many other dog owners who run their dogs off-lead) and started to do some off-leash work with my two dogs under the lighting of one of two large ovals. One oval was being utilised by some kind of little-league football club so I made sure I was just inside the opposite oval at the opposite end about 200m away from the game. I was soon approached by the president of the club who told me in no uncertain terms to get off the oval as my dogs would 'tear up the grass'. Now the grass on the oval is already churned up because of the kids running around with cleated soccer shoes on, so I found this odd. I told him I hadn't seen any signs indicating that I was not allowed to use the facility. He responded that the signs were out the front. Doubtful, but curious I encircled the entire facility looking for signs and there were none. I came back to talk to him about the location of the signs and was intercepted by an irate lady. "Let me tell you something. As a mother, I do not want 'those things' near my children". I told her that as a dog owner, I was entitled to utilise public facilities within the bounds of the law. (In retrospect I really should have pointed out that my dogs were nowhere near any children). She then went on to say that the club 'owned the grounds' during winter. Knowing this wasn't true I told her the council owned the land, but that if they had been using the facility I certainly would have stepped aside. She told me it was irrelevant, that dogs had to be on-lead at all times in public areas. Obviously I refuted this claim, which angered her to no end. Convinced that she was right she started to raise her voice. My dogs, according to her, were creating a public menace by being off-lead. She stated that the rights of parents trumped the rights of dog owners and as a mother she was entitled to dictate whether or not dogs were in the proximity of her children. I told her I was following the law, but by this stage I was out numbered by the angry club members who had started to gather around and decided I'd continue my obedience training in the safety of my own home. Considering that since I was following the law, my dogs were under effective control and they were at no time closer than 150m from any child, this was really just a simple case of bullying. I called the council this morning to double check the laws and they provided me with copies of the legislation to provide to the club members should this happen again. Have you ever been criticised by members of the general public just for having dogs in public? It really frustrates me that fearful or ignorant people feel entitled to treat dog owning members of the public this way. That vent felt good!

Rhodesian Ridgeback?