Steph M

There is probably another forum that suits your needs better than this one. I've not seen one post on here that is in the least bit supportive or helpful, just tearing people down and providing poor advice.

Still. No one else is allowed to have a lighthearted joke! Haha.

sorry, but ice-cream is not an appropriate treat for a dog!

Unless it's a soft serve from Maccas - then its 100% OK.

ha, ha ...good one :D ...no, our dog gets only dog food and appropriate treats, anyone offering her something else gets shot!...you are warned :D

That's unnecessarily threatening...

An older dog has major oral surgery, is a bit weak and really needing that quick, easy energy after and you're worried about diabetes from a rare treat?

Definitely no need to give them something soft, palatable and cold on a sore mouth, you're right.

...the dog was older, but in a good shape, wasn't distressed in any way, showed no aggression nor any signs of anxiety, was playful and active despite his age, with an impeccable social behaviour...for me it seems he has / had a pretty good live and who ever raised him must have done something right.

...if our dog would run away one day (I hope it never happens so) I hope she shows a similar impeccable behaviour, but I also hope that the person who finds her would call us ASAP and doesn't spend a nice day with her before letting us know where our dog is.

Just to clarify...

I didn't have a phone on me at the beach hence I didn't make a call straight away. Dog didn't behave like he was lost, he behaved as if he knew the area very well, hence the assumption that the owner was near by or he lived near by. There were people at the beach, with dogs and the beach is very long, many dogs get away from the owners for quite big distances.

I wasn't going to just leave the dog there, if he didn't have a name tag I'd take him to the nearest vet to get scanned for a chip.

The dogs behaviour has changed drastically at the sight of the owner! DRASTICALLY!! The dog wouldn't get out of the car when the owner was calling him! And he was using a pleasant voice to call him!

The dog wouldn't move towards the owner, the dog dropped to the ground scared and didn't move the moment the owner took ONE STEP towards him.

The dog was closing the eyes and moving the head away when the owner moved to pick him up.

It was not a happy submissive behaviour, it was scared shittless behaviour. There was not a slightest tail wag at any stage, the tail dissapeared, the body changed, the look in his eyes changed.

As I said before - I have never seen a dog behave that way at the sight of the owner!

A dig at me or my dogs as to how they wouldn't or wouldn't behave when lost was unnecessary, but since it was brought up I can guarantee you that my dogs would happy rush towards me when I called them! And they wouldn't be plastering themselves to the ground paralysed unable to move, turning heads away when I approach them!!

...sure, and you would be also very happy if the finder would take your dog for a day walk instead of letting you know immediately where your dog is...

If she didn't have a phone with her on the beach, how is she supposed to call the owner straight away?

...before I would take a strange dog with me on a day walk I would go back to my car (if I would have left my phone there - which I never do) or would have asked someone else on the beach to make this call...but that's just me....

Much better to leave the dog on the beach or walk him sans leash to your car.

And our beach doesn't generally have many people on it.

So pleased you're a genuis and never forget your phone or opt to leave it home when headed out though!

To be honest if that were my dog and OP rang to say he was wandering and they'd had a game of fetch before they could get to their phone I'd be a) mortified he was out but b) glad someone lovely had found him and looked after him before I could be called and kept him safe, busy, off the roads and cared enough to work out what to do.

Sad and I know exactly what you mean.

You could try the surrender thing but if kids are involved the usual answer is that he's the kid's pet so no thanks.

RSPCA ... not sure. They would need something other than a scared dog but you could definitely ask if they can make sure his pen has shelter, water and food, tell them he was roaming.

I think they also run the local pound there. Some RSPCA's work with rescue so I'd also call the local rescue people at PMAWS.

If he's been picked up a few times before there could be a nuisance order him - which makes fines steeper and could be why he is kept in a pen.

loveyrdog; I'm afraid you're partly advising illegal theft of property.

Sorry but if you find a dog that is continually roaming the streets

take it in

no one comes forward and wants it

which unfortunately happens

just ask the shelters

then I say good on you for caring about that animal

Sorry but rubbish. There's channels in place for a reason. Too often I see lost and found posts on Facebook with 'this baby won't be going to the pound no matter what. I'll wait til the owners come forward and if they don't I'll keep him/her'

Its illegal and its dodgy. Do the right thing, even in a shitty situation.

Not everyone checks Facebook and not everything is as it seems at first glance.

I wonder if he would be willing to give the dog up to you? I'd be tempted to ask.

I also fear for this dog. As Powerlegs has said someone nasty could harm him or as SG has said he could be poled by the rangers. I don't know how old Franklin is or the life expectancy of maremmas but I believe he was a mature dog when he was first at DAS and he has now been on the streets of Gungahlin for a few years - possibly seven or eight years old. I hope the people who have befriended him will show how much they care by making sure he finds his way to maremma rescue with as little trauma as possible. Poor boy!

I think he is better of where and as he is - the chances that someone nasty will hurt him is remote because he wont let them get close to him unless he knows them and already trusts them and why would anyone want to hurt him more than any other animal?

He is living exactly as he is happiest - why poor boy? How would he be happier in rescue ? He is a guardian dog not a pet and clearly he thinks looking after the neighbourhood is his job - where is the harm? Chances of him getting run over are slim- he has managed to avoid it for a hell of a long time so far and just as a roo or a stray dog or a cat or even a child can be at risk jumping out in front of cars I don't see a greater risk for him. they are usually pretty smart road wise. No one who lives in the area is threatened by him or doesn't like him and I bet they are happy when they hear him bark at anything or anyone out of the ordinary . there is one in the states in similar situation that guards the whole town and they havent seen a Kyote for years.

If your concerns are truly about what is best for the dog Id take the way he is living over being trapped and locked up and in unfamiliar company and circumstances.

My oldest Maremma has been 17 and none have died of natural causes before their 15th birthday.

Really? You are happy a dog is allowed, even encouraged to wander around causing near misses with traffic, never wormed, flead (as per the article cause people don't want to double up medications) etc. How totally irresponsible of you.

I'd be curious if your opinion would change if it was a dog you'd bred. Would you still be happy for one of your dogs to live as Franklin does?

Im not that happy for Franklin to be living as he does but based on the circumstances I cant see its as bad as people have thought and its being spoken about without due consideration of the breed and what the alternatives might bring. Of course I wouldnt be happy for one of my dogs to be living like this and its why I put so much into talking about boundaries,thinking hard about taking them for walks off property, training them to come and handling them and keeping them contained even if they work in a paddock.

I think that says enough really, if it's not bad given the circumstances/alternatives as you say, why would it not be OK for one of your dogs?

A dog that thinks an entire town is his to protect worries me, even if he's the friendliest dog out he's still a guardian breed who has been bred to watch over his territory.

Allowing him to age and languish is just cruel, what happens when he gets older, sicker or injured?

Sorry, another non snake sympathiser here.

I hate the buggers and they scare the shite out of me.

I also fear for this dog. As Powerlegs has said someone nasty could harm him or as SG has said he could be poled by the rangers. I don't know how old Franklin is or the life expectancy of maremmas but I believe he was a mature dog when he was first at DAS and he has now been on the streets of Gungahlin for a few years - possibly seven or eight years old. I hope the people who have befriended him will show how much they care by making sure he finds his way to maremma rescue with as little trauma as possible. Poor boy!

I think he is better of where and as he is - the chances that someone nasty will hurt him is remote because he wont let them get close to him unless he knows them and already trusts them and why would anyone want to hurt him more than any other animal?

He is living exactly as he is happiest - why poor boy? How would he be happier in rescue ? He is a guardian dog not a pet and clearly he thinks looking after the neighbourhood is his job - where is the harm? Chances of him getting run over are slim- he has managed to avoid it for a hell of a long time so far and just as a roo or a stray dog or a cat or even a child can be at risk jumping out in front of cars I don't see a greater risk for him. they are usually pretty smart road wise. No one who lives in the area is threatened by him or doesn't like him and I bet they are happy when they hear him bark at anything or anyone out of the ordinary . there is one in the states in similar situation that guards the whole town and they havent seen a Kyote for years.

If your concerns are truly about what is best for the dog Id take the way he is living over being trapped and locked up and in unfamiliar company and circumstances.

My oldest Maremma has been 17 and none have died of natural causes before their 15th birthday.

Really? You are happy a dog is allowed, even encouraged to wander around causing near misses with traffic, never wormed, flead (as per the article cause people don't want to double up medications) etc. How totally irresponsible of you.

I'd be curious if your opinion would change if it was a dog you'd bred. Would you still be happy for one of your dogs to live as Franklin does?

If I'm offering a bag - I usually offer to help find the poop too and almost always I find it. But every now and again it was an air crap or too liquid (beach special - disappears into the sand or giant clump of seaweed) to pick up...

Yeah, Gus drinks the sea water too and follows with what we call 'the brown curtain'

He hobbles around squatting for 5 mins to make sure everyone sees him and makes me look bad for not collecting. There's nothing to collect.

Once my mum told someone off for not scooping and the guy turned around to explain he had a back injury and normally doesn't take the dog til she's done one at home but she had surprised him today.

She felt so bad she scooped for him.

I hope he was lying. That'd be a good story. Haha.

All it takes is a loose, experienced intact male and approx. 2 seconds and you have a mating. Seen it happen! No walks for my bitch when she's in season. I think that's common sense.

Not for everyone, as kids we only ever had desexed dogs. Not til I was an adult did I look into management of entire dogs/bitches and there's a lot to know! I wouldn't have thought of pee trails leaving scent off the top of my head, I probably would have thought dog is more antsy than normal, she needs a good walk.

Course it makes sense now, but I wouldn't have thought of it initially.

It's not just innate knowledge unfortunately!

I also find it interesting that lots of people loudly demand leash laws are obeyed and dogs adequately fed/sheltered and vetted but when it comes to this one its endearing that a lot of that isn't being met?

Surely it isn't in the dogs best interests to wander until inevitability a car accident or an injury or illness takes his life?

Did someone tell neko about the size or did you block her ears? Haha

My general advice would be "not before six months". If you can hold off a little longer, that's great but if a bitch in season would be a major headache, I'd go now.

Thanks for this. That's how I am approaching it now. Will hold it off for as long as I can. The breeder said that they tend to get to their full height at around 8 months, so will wait till that age. If she happens to have her first season by then, we will just manage it as best as we can.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences/thoughts.

don't worry, it is not a disease...and hell won't freeze over and there won't be male dogs queuing in front of the house.

We walked our dog when she was in season and had no problems at all when meeting other dogs. (Most of the dogs we know anyway and strangers which male dogs were informed with a short 'she's on heat' and passed in a distance). Obviously it is not recommended to allow her access to rooms with carpet (or you have to use some kind of nappies) and you can't let her run outside without a leash.

Maybe not, but it does still require some management. OP sounds like they mean they will do as best they can and manage as well as they can for as long as possible.

No need to be so condescending.

Does it have to be a 30? A PP40 is only slightly bigger, a few more cm's room doesn't usually hurt?

A PP40 is much easier to find.

Sitting won't enhance his quality of life but stressing him out to sit, most definately will. It's not an important thing inspite of some people thinking a dog must sit on command to be a decent dog.

(owner of show dogs that don't learn the s-i-t word)

OP has stated they wish to go down the pets as therapy route, and therefore this is important unfortunately.

None of the methods suggested sound stressful to me, I wish someone threw chocolate at me for doing things they like! Haha.

We had the best ES as kids, an Ambershah dog. I'd have another in a heartbeat, not long ago I messaged his breeder as she no longer breeds but she did offer to point me in the direction of who uses her old lines etc. I was sorely tempted, haha.

Mind you if its something that can't be managed that's another story IMO.

There's risks, yes but there are also risks if she gets out and gets herself in the family way, haha.

All comes down to how you feel you can manage her and willingness to accept whatever risk is involved.

Think its time to stop feeding the troll.

Could it also be environmental? Something in the yard or house. Cleaning products, plants....

Alpha, your place sounds amazing! When we get our stuff together I'll be emailing you for Gus and Rosie when we go to Tassie in May!

How awful.

I cannot understand why the sitter didn't have a back up plan in case of illness or emergency.

Once someone asked me to go in to see to their cats daily while they were away. I organised 2 friends as back up in case anything cropped up unexpectedly & I couldn't get there. Didn't end up doing it anyway but thought anyone doing this would have plan B.

Hope they find the poor pets soon.

There might be a backup in place but the backup don't even know they're required.

wrt 'brain washing': I think the 'reward' used for training is only a real reward at the start of the training and we use it (take the following with a pinch of salt...) to get some leverage for a sneaky punishment by refusing the reward if the behaviour is not in our favour. E.g. the clicker training: once the synapsis for the dog's response are developed in the dog's brain he has to shift the focus to the originator of the sound...it becomes a reflex. It's not that the dog wants to look at you...it becomes a programmed response. Once the dog is 'addicted' to the whole rewarding game, and the pattern of 'right choice = reward' is established as a reflex the reward is - IMO - not a real reward anymore, but refusing the reward becomes a - IMO - positive punishment. A little bit like someone getting addicted to alcohol (or other drugs): first he / she enjoyed it...then it becomes an addiction and not having the drug is torture. If you would change your trainings approach by refusing any reward (no patting, no treats etc.) I bet the dog would still do the tasks as he is programmed to do so, but after a while he would start to behave like a junkie on coldturkey.

Um . . . . that is certainly NOT how I view it! That seems a very warped and pessimistic view of using rewards in training

Agree. And it shows very little knowledge of dog behaviour and psychology. Wtf.