Cosmolo

Whats the target market here though? People with a more than average interest in dogs or the average person. I cover this sort of thing in my puppy classes- knowing full well that 90% of my clients will frequent off lead areas, i think its important they understand some basic etiquette and info. Whether or not you could get people to attend a class specifically for this purpose though- i'm not so sure. People don't know what they don't know.

Mine is one of my dogs nicknames- and sounds better than her others of Bubba chicken or Cost-mo..

We import them and sell them through our website. There aren't many places to get them from here and you can't order direct from the US manufacturer unless you are a wholesaler.

I recommend front attaching harnesses in conjunction with lots of other strategies regularly and find they really do help alot of dogs and owners. I think habits develop through reinforcement- problem is, when a dog is pulling all the time it can be difficult for an owner to deliver the reinforcement required. The harness helps in the short term to stop the pulling so that the owner has something to reinforce which in turn develops the loose lead walking habit. I personally prefer the Sensible harnesses because i don't like the martingale type attachment at the front of the gentle leader one. The other advantage of these is that if an owner makes a few unintentional mistakes while learning, the negative fallout is mild.

Accepted by whom?

My goodness thats alot of questions! Its also a bit formal for my liking- question after question listed instead of a sentence like "I am looking to buy a puppy that has had good socialisation prior to rehoming and it would be great if you were happy to provide any information regarding the way you generally raise your litters". This would cut out about 10 of your questions! I will see if i cn find the first email i sent to a breeder. Remember that alot of the questions can be answered in the second or third contact- first email should have the crucial details in it- the must haves for you AND information about you. Here was our first email- We would like to make an enquiry with regards to acquiring a male, broken or rough coat Jack Russell puppy at some stage in the next 2 years. I realise this may be a while away but we would like to start our research now! We are professional dog trainers www.underdogtraining.com.au and currently have 4 dogs of our own- all medium/ large dogs who are friendly and social with dogs and puppies of all sizes. We are looking for a small and robust breed with high drive who can fit with an active lifestyle, hence looking at a JRT. We do not wish to show or breed. We work varied hours but are in the fortunate position of being able to take our dogs with us on many occassions so none of our current dogs are left alone for long periods of time. Our dogs are a huge part of our life and we have no other pets (except turtles in an aquarium!). I would really appreciate your answers to a few questions we have- When is your next litter due? Do you allow potential homes to select their own puppy or do you choose for them? Could you provide an approximate price for your pups? Could you tell me what the temperaments of your adult dogs are like? How do you raise the pups in the first 8 weeks- what do they experience and where are they kept? We can be really hard to catch via phone so an email reply if possible would be great. Please let me know if you require any further information about us.

My OH doesn't need convincing- but just to be on the safe side, i did write it into the wedding vows.

Block access to certain areas, remove items likely to be chewed as soon as dogs are left so the habit does not develop, leave toy box, interactive toys etc. And then hope that you don't have one of 'those' dogs!! lol. Out of my 5- 4 are great and one is hopeless no matter what, she will find something to ruin so she never has access to the house when we're not at home. She can be crated or go into the dogs bedroom if its too hot though.

They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose.

No worries, look forward to seeing you (though i have to rush out after class to something so please don't think i am rude if i don't stay to chat!)

White vinegar. And crate the puppy not the cats.

Will you have information flyers about what you do etc as i have the final week of puppy school there this week so can give out some info.

In my experience its normal for no contact to be the case during board and train programs. It distresses the dog to have the owner come and go multiple times. However, given the issues involved in handing over dogs to their owners, the effect of prior learning etc- i don't have the faith in board and train that i used to and now will only do it for existing clients who are going away anyway and would like some training to maintain the dogs skills and provide extra stimulation.

Sounds like a new school is a good idea.

What other pedigree dog would fit the standard set out though Erny?

Because in most situations, a dog has been managed inappropriately so if that pit bull did not exist and the owner had a different breed, managed irresponsibly- who knows whether the attack would still have occurred? BSL has never worked to reduce and prevent dog attacks. A few years ago i listened to a presentation by someone at an Animal Welfare conference. They said that because statistically, serious dog bites are so rare- there is no reliable way to identify the dogs prior to an incident. There are risk factors but many of those had to do with the owner, not the dog.

Puppies should not correct other puppies- its like toddlers teaching toddlers. If other puppies are being rude to him, it is the handlers job to step in and stop it- not up to the puppy.

I believe the standard does fit your average staffy cross- probably around 75% of the points do. We still don't know how much of the standard the dog needs to meet to be in trouble. And this has nothing to do with temperament, though i imagine rangers may use their discretion, they are human after all. In the meantime we wait and see- what a great way to live. On another note though- i received a letter from council the other day informaing me that excess animals permits no linger need to be renewed annually and only need to be renewed if the situation/ number of dogs changes. Interesting that they are relaxing that whilst all these laws come into effect.

I have a dog pen- but i doubt it would fit the requirements of a RB pen- its just a pretty looking pen with a kennel and toys in it, fence and shed on 3 sides, merbau fence and gate on the other.

Thanks poodlefan- i understand where you're coming from and i agree. Unfortunately though i just don't see this stemming the flow of bull breed crosses from BYBs. And i don't think adopters realise how careful they should be when adopting from shelters/ pounds/ rescues either. Zara, i will (unfortunately) avoid adopting bull breed cross rescues from here on in. But when i adopted my two at no time did i think i would have to prove their parentage.

The other issue is the welfare of the dog if they are impounded. I have one dog who would not cope for behvaioural reasons and another who would not cope for health reasons. I would have to decide whether me going through the process would truly be in the best interest of the dogs. I wonder if they would let you keep them at home though if they are already registered as non pit bull cross? Surely thats the only way they'd be able to do it.

Maybe i am being overly sensitive but am i the only one who is getting tired of hearing things along the lines of 'don't buy dogs without papers' and 'you shouldn't have bought a bull breed cross with no papers'. Of course we won't do it again- which is sad beause i always thought i would have rescue bull arab types in my life. But its too late now- we already have these dogs that we love and are part of our families.

the laws might be targetting one group of people- but they effect a whole group of dogs. A group of dogs who have done nothing wrong, have been kept responsibly, trained and socialised well. I realise greyhounds have been wearing muzzles for years- but at least they can have an assessment and if deemed safe, be muzzle free. It is also not that easy to quickly get an adult dog used to wearing a muzzle whenever they are outside of a pen. They can't even be off lead without muzzle in their house or backyard- pretty sure greyhounds can. So we take an active dog, lock it in a pen and never let it off lead- ever. Mine would go insane. I'm not sure Alyosha- does anyone have any idea how long the process of appeal can take?

I don't think it should be on temp testing- no one can even agree on what makes up a reasonable temp test. Why should a dog with issues that is well managed die while another that 'has a good temperament' and is owned by an irresponsible person is fine. Once again the responsible are punished. Maybe i would feel differently if i didn't have a dog with issues.

That'd be great [email protected]