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.

Error! Should read "She was clear that veterinary practitioners did NOT generally suffer ill effects of being involved in providing euthanasia services...".

I watched this yesterday - thanks for putting it up, I had no idea it was happening and I will keep an eye out for the next one. I really appreciated the evidence of most of those appearing, in particular Emeritus Professor Jackie Rand and both of the Australian Veterinary Association members. And WOW, Emma Hurst... would not say the word euthanise, had to use the emotive word "kill". Would not use the term "behavioural decline" in relation to dogs being housed in Pound facilities, instead repeatedly using the term "Kennel Rage". Was heartened to hear that no one repeated her terms, choosing instead to use terms like 'behavioural decline" which encompasses a wider range of unwanted behaviours and mental states, such as depression. And I was pleased also that none of the qualified professionals identified 'over supply' of dogs as a problem to be targeted (by legislation). All of them hands down supported targeted measures aimed at assisting dog owners to keep their pets - noting that the housing crises and cost of living pressures and domestic violence were some of the most common reasons owners were surrendering their dogs. Worthwhile listening carefully to the evidence of AVA on emotional burden on Vets involved with euthanising pound dogs. She was very clear that veterinary practitioners did (not) generally suffer ill effects of being involved in providing euthanasia services to pounds when there was involvement from intake, there was context for the action being taken, and when they were not simply called into a facility to euthanise en-masse dogs which they had no prior knowledge of. She makes some very careful distinctions in her evidence and would be good for people to understand these. I was so pleased to hear that at least some shelters/ rescues were dedicating some of their capacity to supporting domestic violence victims and elderly people to keep their pets. To me this type of support is really valuable and prevents sound animals going into the system when they actually have loving owners facing hard times. Reputable Rescues are so important and they should be funded for facilities, consumables and training for their volunteers. RSPCA and Blue Mountains pound facility - what a rort! I am so glad they were questioned about that and will now have to provide further detail after taking a question on notice. Emma Hurst did not want to give more time to Emily Suuval, so funny to watch. State Governments definitely need to seriously invest in better pound facilities and qualified staff and adequate staffing ratios so that animals are not destroyed emotionally by spending time in the system. Animal Welfare League came off as absolutely amazing, sitting beside the behemoth RSPCA, AWL guy seemed to give evidence of staggering achievements and outcomes with their measly $5 million dollar grant compared to what RSPCA has done with their whopping $20.5 million grant. RSPCA defends their swollen coffers by saying it is only responsible to operate with a buffer of three years operational costs in case something happens to put their operations at risk... just can't think of anything that might do that.

Sorry I don't have mine on me, it's in storage. They are called Optivisors, or Glass magnifying headset. They have a little LED light and some come with different lenses. They are not expensive - I think I paid under $30 for mine brand new. I found it online by googling the product and my city. I was able to purchase and pick up from a warehouse. If you needed it posted they are not heavy! A very handy piece of equipment.

I love head lamps! Also, have you ever tried the magnifier head light? It adjusts down over in front of your eyes with two magnifying lens' and a little light. I bought one for trimming puppies nails (they are sooo tiny and sharp and must be trimmed but I was so scared of clipping their little toes). Works a treat and I imagine would be ideal for cutting tiny pills too.

Okay, we are good! Jilly has proved herself to be an AMAZING companion for living 'out and about'. We have been living in a swag out of my car. I decided to stay in my community near my family. Because of the breadth and depth of the housing crisis, I detected a genuine shift in the way people think about homelessness and people who are homeless so I decided to just stay living in my suburb. I have not established a camp, we just roll our swag out in the same spot every night and roll it up early every morning, we spend out days walking around our local area bushland reserves and beautiful parks. As the heat has increased we have to chase the shade and find good micro climates to rest in - very hot days are difficult and I am careful to keep us safe and hydrated. Last month some of our favourite spots became very snake-y and tick-y which has limited us. In the week after Spanner and Ham left I had to leave Jilly at home while I went to an appointment, in the previous two years she had never barked when left (I guess she always had the company of other dogs), but she barked incessantly the whole two hours I was away and from thereafter even when I left her in the car to duck into the shop she barked and barked. I was really concerned about our level of anxiety and my distress at what we were about to step into together - I nearly rehomed her too! BUT, Jilly is excellent and has not missed a beat since we left. So Princess Fru Fru your message of support re the breed was spot on! She stopped barking when left in the car (windows up and aircon on folks, to duck into shop) after a few times. In myself I settled that, in this respect, she would just have to take her lumps, like we all need to from time to time over certain things - my lack of interest in her take on the situation seemed to help. She LOVES the swag. The first night we slept in it she was beside herself with delight, just jumped right in as if to say "WOW! A big soft Kennel - best Sleepover ever". I like the swag too, but Jilly loves it... at the end of every day we go to our sleep spot and usually I will make a cuppa and have a sit (far to early for me to be hopping into bed), but Jilly stands in front of me like a statue eyeballing me intently as if to say "Hey, where's the bed!". So that's how it is, I watch the sun go down with a cuppa and a fag and Jilly does that lovely thing that dogs do snuffling up a nest out the the blankets and making very contented throaty sounds and wagging her tail when I chat to her. She is very alert but not reactive to the situations we encounter. She has always been good on the lead and friendly with other dogs and because she is literally on lead most daylight hours I am discovering a new level of communication and way of being which is much more give and take back and forth between us - It's really striking to me. I might make another post about this aspect because I'd be interested in others experience this too. I took her to my vet last week for a check up and vaccine update. My vet commented on her rear legs when he was feeling her remarking at how solid and muscly they were. She is nearly a kilo heavier than 12 weeks ago and I bet it's all muscle! He was very pleased with her condition. I have also had great updates from the families who bought pups from Jilly's litter and they have grown beautifully and are very loved. Unfortunately, re Spanner & Ham, when you surrender an animal to a rescue you never get an update pic, you never get a desexing certificate, you never really know. I never thought I would ever have to surrender an animal in my life, it was one thing to come to terms with the circumstances which arose making it necessary, it was a whole other thing to realise later that I was now excluded from knowing anything more about them. I cried a lot over Spanner, that little dog just charmed me big time ... I still find water close to my eye when I think of him. As for Ham, I had planned keeping him for stud. It will be years before I am in that position again. That's the update, delivered just now because, lucky me, I am in a house for a week or so and have internet for my laptop! Yay.

It has been a very difficult few weeks and our boys left on Sunday morning. Of course I was very upset with myself and watching Jilly doing all looking out for them and standing at the gate and listening very carefully to neighbourhood dogs barking and spending long periods standing in front of me staring at me as if to say "Come on! Where are our boys? Call them! let's go look for them!" lots of tears and feelings of loss and sadness. Monday to Wednesday was the worst and Thursday my granddaughter came to visit and Jilly was overjoyed to see her and we spent a few hours playing with her and snuggling with her. Today (Friday) I feel we are over the worst of it, last night Jilly crawled in under the covers and I enjoyed the feeling of her up against me. This morning she is more animated and even cheeky which I love and I feel we are going to be fine. I am grateful for the assistance. It was difficult. It was the right thing for the dogs and for me (in my circumstance).

Thanks for the interest. I feel torn about keeping Jilly with me... it might make things harder for me, and put her at risk. I am pretty stressed about it. I am packing my stuff up slowly and having to get very real about what I need and what I have to let go. My granddaughter is very attached to Jilly, and I have just told her I am going on a road trip (how to talk about homelessness to kids is hard without worrying them). I feel really angry that she is going to have to process this also. And I know that she would feel better thinking of me and Jilly together, like I won't be alone. Jilly is the first little dog I have owned, and honestly the sweetest dog I have known, and that's what worries me. I am going to the fringe and I know who and what is there because I have been there before. Any one of my other dogs over my life would be an asset in this situation. Jazz (Cattle cross), Jackie (Tibetan Mastiff x kelpie), and Georgie (kelpie cross). I wish I had Jackie, she was the size of a kelpie and had the heart and mind of the mastiff... she was a pain in the arse to exercise - like, you couldn't take her to a great area and let her have a run. If I stood still or sat down she did too. That in her mind was her job, to remain within 6 feet of me at all times watching, looking, surveying. I travelled around outback NSW with her on my own (with Jazz too) and never felt vulnerable. Once, a male friend who Jackie had never met came to visit my camp and he kept up approaching despite her barking at him, she let him away for three steps and then went in hard at his legs. Hah! "That's a good dog you got." I lost her to melanoma when she was 9years old. Devastating. Once I had to leave Georgie alone for five days. She had my car with a window down and an open bag of kibble and a creek nearby for water. When I got back she was right there, happy healthy and overjoyed to see me. She would have stayed and stayed and stayed I know. She was great with snakes too ... let me know they were there, but never tried to do anything other than watch them and let them pass through. She was an amazing ratter too. I lost Georgie to cancer just two years ago. Heartbreaking. I have no idea how long I will be out this time, these last three years is the longest I have been on private property over the last ten years. I was hoping I would be able to end my cycle of living at the fringe whilst I was here. But no, I can't. And now I have a little dog which might not be the dog for the job. I love her and I wish I could find a way to keep her safe while I try to find a way to get secure housing. No-one in my life is able to accommodate her. My daughter told me that my granddaughter told her, when they were talking about what she wants to do when she's older she said "When I am eighteen I am going to get my own place and get Jilly from Adji and bring her home to me."

Thanks for the support everyone. Westie Rescue has been here and we have arranged for Spanner and Ham to go there in a fortnight. What a lovely lady and I am very grateful for the assistance for these lovely dogs. Maybe one day in the future when I have a secure home I can become involved in assisting with rescue also. Jilly and me will head off in our car in a few weeks time and she can get a taste for life on the move... I will be glad of a little body in my swag at night! Thanks again to all who responded and were willing to assist - it means a lot.

I will be moving into my car in a few weeks (months sooner than I expected) and still have not found a home for Spanner so it looks like a surrender will be in order which just makes me really sad. Please, if anyone knows anyone who is looking for an Aussie Terrier and has a good home to offer he is here and ready to go. I really like this dog very much and would like to know where he goes. I have completely Burnt Out and still have one pup here because I had to withdraw from the activity of selling. The pup is male and 10 weeks old. Lovely pup. He could go together with Spanner - I think Aussies go well in two's - even threes! Pup is chipped, wormed, 1st vaccinations (second Vaccination due next week which I will get done if he is still here. Pup has had good socialisation but has had no outings for last 8 days, he is getting most of what he needs and is getting great learning from his parents but really he needs to go to his new family. I am prepared to surrender them both to a reputable rescue. will post pics soon. Just need to transfer pics from my phone to computer to do so.

So really just another load of crap put out by people sprouting crap ,, On a cold winteres night , a man and wife go to bed and both are cold and the lady says , come closer , put your arm around me . lets keep warm , , Then summer arrives and the man comes closer puts his arm around her and gets told , Bugger off your hot , get over there , guess thats EPIGENETICS Er, NO.