Adrienne

Maybe some naming and shaming would be helpful for the general public. I am not suggesting to do that on this forum, but elsewhere. Truth is a solid defence against defamation.

Poodles are a great breed, very intelligent and highly trainable! And I think they are a good breed to cross with (not any poodle, a GOOD poodle). The complaint I hear most from people who have bought poodle crosses is colour fade and that is down to people's ignorance and hybrid breeders' not managing expectations or lying outright to people about adult colours. I produced a litter of AT X Mini poodle and the pups were great! I was going for scruff over fluff and lucked out with four of the six having more open terrier coats and two with poodle coats which needed regular clipping like the poodle. I ran one pup on until he was 6 months and kept his coat long because I enjoyed combing it and was prepared to do it thoroughly every day (our down time together, he really liked it), but wow I got super busy for two days and in that time the dogs had a dip in the pool and I didn't comb him out on his legs. I kid you not the next morning his leg hair was so tightly matted to his forelegs I had to carefully cut it off with scissors! That was one swim and two missed combing sessions. He looked hilarious after I trimmed his legs, like a puffy cloud on little sticks. His new owners were advised his coat should be kept short and I gave them the right comb and showed them how to comb him properly to prevent matting in between visits. They love him to bits and have him groomed regularly. Of course the two pups with the fluff coats looked SUPER DUPER cute as little pups, but for my personal preference the adult look of the other pups was completely charming to me - and interestingly the people who chose those pups seemed to all know AT's at some stage across their lives. Everyone was and still is over the moon with their very smart scruffy crosses.

The way you express yourself seems creepy. Your words come across as passive aggressive. The triple love hearts at the end of your message are very dark.

I agree, I have seen this too. It's pretty disturbing. I've come across two types, one is a person who needs to be needed and won't tolerate their animal progressing beyond severe dependance on them, and another other a type who is so hard themselves - so "old school" that they seem impervious to their animal suffering. And also many people who don't understand that most animals are very stoic and staunch (by way of instinct) and don't realise their animal is suffering. Or people who think some behaviours are just their animal's "quirks" and not indicating stress or anxiety. Or people who over respond to their animal's stress behaviours which tip the animal into global anxiety... what is OLG?

I hadn't thought of this, though when I read this I remembered a breeder mentioning they saw the new owners of one of his pups showing off their new "rescue" puppy on fb! This really does my head in - how complex! The idea of "Rescue" as the only ethical buy is really promoted. If a Rescue was involved - that what I call a FAIL for the dog and the family in terms of placement. I also wondered why the family is trying to sell poor little dog to someone else, clearly she needs to be rehabilitated by knowledgable people ... so FAIL for the current owner. I am not goading, I posted soon after I read the ad because I was distressed about it. Rescue is an important part of Dog World, though in terms of knowing about the real ins and outs of it I am a lay person (who is also a genuine and pragmatic dog lover). Last night I went back through various old posts on DOL mentioning with Rescue/ rescue groups and wow, yeah... The space needs regulation and the public need education! I thought that dogs are not placed until they are rehabilitated (if they need that), and yes big hearts with no specialist knowledge is a recipe for disaster. Perhaps the terms "Rescue" and "Rehoming" would be better not used interchangeably, in my mind they are not the same thing but they seem be be used as if they are. My own experience of having to surrender to reputable rescue was very personally distressing for me but the right option in my circumstance. I understand my dogs were re-homed promptly through knowledgable and connected people and I am so grateful for the referral from DOLers and the work of the rescue people.

Saw this on Gumtree today. "Looking for a quiet and loving home for our almost 3yr old toy poodle, Cherry. We bought Cherry a year ago from a rescue group. She had only ever known life on a puppy farm and had never even been on grass. When we first got Cherry she was a nervous, quivering wreck, constantly circling. In the year we’ve had her she has come a long way, but is still a very anxious dog and still circles a lot. Cherry is not suited to a home with children, hence the reason we are seeking a new home for her. My son cannot even walk into the same room as her without Cherry being scared and barking at him. It seems to be getting worse, not improving with time. Cherry would suit a retired single person who will dote on her and build a strong connection." Does anyone simply wanting a pet dog to love, deserve a ruined dog like this? What was the "rescue" group thinking making this placement? Poor dog, poor people, and shame on the "rescue" - this was obviously not an adoptable pet. And the idea that a retired single person should take on a little dog that is not socialised, in fact is traumatised, is not IMO fair. There are a lot of people out there who have upturned their daily routines, said no to outings and participating in community life because of their dogs' problems. How many people are isolated in their homes, not having visitors, not going out and not being able to have the kiddies over because their dog is reactive, fearful, obnoxious etc etc. This is a big fat FAIL for dogs and people. No Kill policies do not automatically lead to happy pets with happy people. IMO people not being prepared to humanely kill animals, are not animal lovers. It can be the best option for the individual animal. In responding to this post, please don't fill it up with individual cases of where some dedicated fully knowledgable person rescued a ruined dog and managed to over years make all the difference blah blah. I am trying to pose a serious question about the purpose of Rescue Groups, the outcomes they achieve, who benefits, and whether or not people are being guilted into participating in a well meaning but wrongly focused idea - that the most ethical buy is a rescue one....

I suggest STEP 1 : spend a few hours scrolling through rescue and pound pages in order to fully understand the LIKELY outcome for most of the pups you cause to be born. (I actually don't believe this is a genuine post - c'mon, "You cannot be serious!" (I've gone all McEnroe)

Yes, I don't know. Breeds becoming genetically unsustainable or disappearing is just something that gets mentioned quite a bit when talking about pure breeds... and it seems to me that the breeders of those breeds which are labelled as endangered or whatnot could perhaps be more proactive in doing something about it? If there is a problem with any breed surely the AKNC and breeders are the ones to fix it? Just saying....

It's pretty simple to gain approval to breed in your LGA - even after puppies are born! It does sound very draconian but if people do basic things like register their dogs and apply for a BIN number and keep basic records, sell your pups chipped etc there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about really. It's just forms people! If you are transparent with authorities, transparent with your qualified buyers/adopters and providing good conditions and lifestyles for your animals there is no great burden there as far as I can see. As for mandatory desexing - again, there are pathways for preserving your animal whole if it's important to you. I don't agree with this type of legislation though. I can't see it preventing unwanted puppies being born - in fact I wonder what types of "solutions" it will force owners of unwanted puppies to come up with on their own to avoid a whopping $5,000 fine because their bitch has had an unregulated litter.... might be back to the days of "bag em' and chuck 'em in the creek!". I am sure legislation like this is not going to capture puppy farmers who are very focused and know the exact letter of the law in order to stay on the right side of it. Hands down the most powerful phenomena would be ETHICAL BUYERS. RE: some breeds going extinct - why aren't breeders of these breeds outcrossing and breeding back to purebred to strengthen the genetic diversity available? This would only take a concerted effort for a few years. Sorry, maybe some are. Is this the sort of thing the MDBA is involved with?

I just don't see this happening. It is impossible to enforce and there is no support from those credentialed and truly in the know. Also, There are legitimate reasons for keeping an animal whole other than for breeding. Our animals are our personal property. There can be negative outcomes of early desexing for individual animals and the people that own them. Can't think of a more devastating measure to narrow the gene pool and limit the availability of any pure breed of dog than to sterilise the vast majority of a population. The problem of over supply of the wrong type of dog is pretty obvious... the pounds and rescues are full of them - the RSPCA and Rescues seem to exist to simply take the load off those BASTARD breeders who don't give a hoot for the pups they cause to be born. Free desexing for anyone who wants it would go a long way in this space me thinks.

Love this work! I was just googling the other day for Nose work groups in my area and found one; hoping to take Jilly along in a couple of weeks. Her favourite smell is a tennis ball .... I am amazed at the number of tennis balls she finds in parks and gardens wherever we go. I was watching a show on telly about sniffer dogs and the handler was explaining the "honing in on smell" pattern - like a cone/wedge narrowing down to the most intense smell. What surprised me next time Jilly and I were out at our favourite off leash was just how far out she actually began this behaviour - like an easy 20m from where she found the ball. Pity there is nothing very useful about tennis balls! She is bonkers for them and, I kid you not, will choose one over chicken.

Australian Terriers are awesome little dogs. Mine have been no nonsense, charming, hardy, fun, attentive, engaged, loyal and easy to live with. You cannot offend them, they are easy to maintain and cheap to feed and medicate (size). Of my two, one was more vocal than the other though not excessive in any way and he was responsive to a "Shush Shush". They really can live in any environment from an apartment... to a farm... to a swag!

Perhaps breeders of Registered Pure bred dogs could be less invested in being "Illustrious" and elite and get in behind their breeds as great candidates as family pets (if the breed is actually great family pet material - some are not) and so increase the number of them available through the year. The whole, "I breed only what I need for show" is supposedly the only ethical stance a breeder can take which is nonsense and a great shame. People want pet dogs. I believe best practice in managing the breeding of a bitch is breed young, back to back and then retire early. Some breeders will reckon that even a repeat mating is superfluous and unethical - if the progeny were great, what's wrong with repeating for the purpose of supply to pet buyers? If you want your breed to be more popular they need to be available, be seen in the community being great pets. They need to be out in homes where they are loved and promoted by their families to anyone who will listen... and lets face it today everyone is talking up their pet dogs across all sorts of channels. I really think one of the reasons hybrids are popular is because they are easy to buy. Easy to buy does not mean sell to anyone, it means there are enough to go into ready willing and able homes. As well, it might be helpful to point out "endangered" means in the Registered Show Sphere, and that population is not the be all and end all for some breeds - there are pure bred dogs outside of that world.

Extraordinary

Good to know about ACA, I will have a look at it! Just off the top of my head I am thinking there are already regulations in place across many areas and they are simply not being monitored and enforced. I don't think the answers are found in more regulation - certainly not before concerted efforts are made by way of sufficient funding and resourcing of those tasked with that work. Jeeze I'd like to see transparent longitudinal data on what is really going on with dogs and cats in Australia. Some things just don't add up.