sandgrubber

duplicate post culled

Not sure, other than screaming bloody murder . . . and perhaps looking for a weapon. I once did a flying tackle on a dog that was attacking another dog. That worked pretty well, as I'm no lightweight and the dog kinda collapsed. But it's dangerous. I was lucky that the dog didn't go for my throat. Calming and throwing food may be useful in heading off an attack, but once the dog has launched in, I think it's pretty useless. Also, I don't like food based reward systems, except in the limited way of using food to go on to food-free training systems, and there's no way I'm going to routinely carry food on my walks.

+1 Always (almost always) better to try things on a human level before calling for government intervention.

Actually, it seems to provoke knee jerk derision from most DOL members. Here's the same story, as presented by Wildfire Today . . . personally, I think skepticism and caution are in order . . . .but the idea deserves serious consideration. Elephants and rhinoceroses for fire prevention? Posted on February 3, 2012 by Bill Gabbert A scientist in Australia has proposed that elephants and rhinoceroses be used in the Northern Territory of the country to reduce the intensity of wildfires. According to David Bowman, an environmental scientist at the University of Tasmania, this introduced exotic species would help control another introduced exotic species, gamba grass. Gamba grass was brought into the country from Africa in the 1930s for cattle ranchers who said it produced more feed for livestock than native grasses. Since then the grass has spread across a large portion of Australia’s Northern Territory and burns very intensely. When gamba grass matures, it becomes tall and woody and is undesirable by cattle or native species like kangaroos. But back in Africa, elephants and rhinoceroses love the grass. Mr. Bowman thinks elephants and rhinos would reduces the grass enough to slow the spread and intensity of wildfires. Australia is already spending millions of dollars to control the spread of other introduced species like camels and water buffaloes. Mr. Bowman said rhinos and elephants could be sterilized so they could not reproduce, and they could be restricted by fences and tracked with radio collars. What could possibly go wrong?

Beautiful to watch. I'm jealous. Where is this? I'd love to live somewhere where you could run a pack behind a bicycle on a dirt track, have a good run, and then go swimming! btw, I'll bet these are sprinting sled dogs. I read something recently that looks at the genetics of sprinting vs distance sledding dogs . . . the distance guys looked much more like huskies . . . the sprinters were taller, lankier, had shorter coats, and the article said they had a lot of GSP in them.

David Bowman is a brilliant, creative, and slightly crazy ecologist/botanist who has been working in the NT for decades, specialising in wildfire ecology. I spent a few weeks up there doing bushfire research. Invasive grass species, including elephant grass, are a huge problem and no one has come up with a good solution that I'm aware. The introduced grasses grow so tall and produce so much biomass that they burn hot and kill almost everything . . . including young trees . . . and do a lot of harm to native plants and wildlife. It would be interesting to see the fuller version of the proposal. May not be as crazy as it seems. And, a few elephants would give that loony NT News something to report on other than crocodiles. I don't think elephants will poison anything . . . their big feet may be easier on the ground than the more concentrated pressure of cattle . . . . they sure won't be hanging out on the back porch and eating catfood . . . and would be pretty easy to kill off or contain if they cause problems. They don't cross large expanses of drylands . . . so introducing them would have a geographically limited effect and would be relatively easy to revers. In sum: don't laugh!

I hope no media guys are watching this. I can see the headline: MAJORITY OF PEDIGREE DOG OWNERS STATE THINK DOGS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BITE CHILDREN.

Modern societies take child protection very seriously. You cannot assume all kids have been properly instructed about how to greet a dog. You can assume that if your dog bites a child in a public place you are going to be in deep sh!t. Call people idiots if you like. Get annoyed when kids come up saying 'nice doggie' without due respect. But don't put your dog in positions where people are going to demand that it is pts. I wouldn't say it's a question of rights . . . it's a question of how people and dogs live together. I don't like this poll. The OP, in putting IDIOT in the title, is assuming an answer. That is bad form. How about asking it differently: If a child approaches a dog in a public space, without asking permission to pat it, is it ok for the dog to bite the child? Bet that would get different responses. I like to see dog ownership as a right. But I think it's too much to ask that the right to own a dog extends to the right to take a dog who is likely to bite into public spaces. If you've got one of those dogs who isn't bomb proof and has teeth, keep 'em home or keep 'em muzzled. If there are too many bites, we're all going to loose our rights to dog ownership.

Both with kennel clients and with my own dogs, I've found that the most effective diet is small portions of a very high quality dry food, with treats a few times a week. The best treats for weight loss are things like chunks of carrot and apple . . . the same sorts of things Weight Watchers would recommend. Protein rich/low fat things, like an occasional egg or a tablespoon of yoghurt are also ok. It's soooo easy, when you do barf plus this and that to be generous here and there. My dogs do better with smaller portions of a quality regular food than larger portions of the low calorie version. They generally cut calories by cutting fats, and I find that if I get the fat down below 8% range, the dogs coats go to hell. I think the reason this works is that it's so easy to measure dry food and to avoid feeling sorry for the little beggers and giving them a pinch more.

News? Well . . . if you're in the mood for weird blogs, try this one (occasionally dogs) http://crappytaxidermy.com/ a sample

Something stupid, like approach a dog? Or something stupid like taking a dog that bites into an environment where it is likely to be provoked? Now if both sides took responsibility . . . people minded their manners approaching dogs and people with dogs that bite muzzled them before taking them in public / crowded places or playgrounds . . . there would be a lot fewer dog bites.

Doesn't mean he hadn't done it before; and you also can't believe everything you read in the papers. The public NEVER gets the full story. But the public often gets a lot of trumped up junk, some part of which is racist. Remember the story about eating koala a few months back . . . .except it turned out that the animal was a bamboo rat.

It's also wrong that people are tried in the media based on heresay, and that the media beat-up is used as a basis for slagging off different cultures and letting Trantor portray herself as a hero. If they had found any evidence of a meat market catering to the small minority of Asian taste that believes snake or dog or other exotic meat has some magical power (usually sexual), there would have been basis for bringing up the dog meat question. But even then, you have to allow for and respect the fact that the vast majority of the Asians in Australia are as horrified by animal cruelty as the Anglos. . As for 'reliable sources' . . . lynch mobs in the US South have acted on 'reliable sources' as well. No reporter identifies their source as 'someone with an axe to grind' even when this is clearly the case. I'm reminded of that stupid 'eating koala bear' thread where the koala turned out to be a bamboo rat. To my eyes, the dog shown would be ~ 4 on the profile scale (where 5 is starved, 1 obese, and 3 just about right). That's probably better for health than lots of our overfed pooches. The cage looks ghastly, but we don't know that that dog was actually confined to it. Dirty water? You should see my dog water bowl after the dogs have been digging in the mud and come in for a drink. No one stated that the dogs did not have water. Not one of the supposed dog meat customers was named . . . if they exist, at all, who is to say they aren't all good Aussies of convict descent? There appears to have been a firm basis for trying these guys on drugs, weapons, stolen goods, and keeping wildlife and unregistered dogs. Why make a big deal about allegations that were not backed with evidence.

Agree 100% There are some places where a mean (reactive) dog should not be allowed to react. Like a public park, a crowded street, or tied up outside a supermarket. In such circumstances a 'reactive' dog of the biting variety is ticking bomb. If you take a reactive dog into situations where he is likely to draw blood, you are responsible. We also expect people to be able to tolerate surprising approaches without turning around and slugging the person who approaches . . . especially if the person who approaches is under a meter tall. No question, people should teach their children to ask before patting a dog. But welcome to the real world. Lots of people don't do what they should do and kids don't always do what they are taught to do.

I agree completely. . . With respect to homozygosity, function is important. It matters where, on what chromosome, homozygosity is found, but navigation of the genome is a subject I've put in the 'too hard basket'. I'm inclined to believe that MHC/DLA matters with a lot of immune functions and may be important in hormonal balance, but I wouldn't bet much on it. Research is ongoing fast and furiously on this subject . . . hopefully we'll know more in years to come and some useful tests will become available. We all have to make our own decisions, given that evidence is not conclusive and there are some hot opinions on both sides.. But questions of inbreeding aside, I think the tendency to premature delivery is roughly equivalent to inability to free whelp. If the dam had it and the daughter has it, I'd think twice before breeding . . . or keeping a daughter/granddaughter to carry on the line. Good luck, whatever you decide.

13 months is about spot on for the average tempered dog. The more self-assured individuals start months younger, particularly when they live under the same roof. And then you have some super sharp cases that think they're all that by 12 and 16 weeks. I should have said, after several years of working with thousands of dogs in a boarding kennel (I did most of the feeding, cleaning, and exercise supervision for 5 yrs), I'd say 13 mo is young . . . and if its bad now, it's likely to be much worse six months from now. Your breed may have a higher propensity for males to fight . . . and start relatively. Or my observations may wrong. Our problem Akita didn't start being a problem until ~ 2 yrs . . . the GSD problems show indications at a year or so, but don't seem to get nasty till ~18 mo. With Labs (my own breed), well socialised entire males are generally ok together, but caution is needed when there's a bitch on season around.

It's widespread. Not sure why that article focused on Hunte. Many US puppy mills sell ACK registered pups, and it's not hard to build a case that the AKC is dependent on puppy mill registration revenues.This is just the first article I pulled up on Google . . . you can find hundreds. http://www.citizensagainstpuppymills.org/pmakc.php

The lifespan data came from the UK Kennel Club 2004 health survey and the Finnish Kennel Club.

Could be there's a market for dog meat. Could be that the newspapers know they will sell more copy if they draw the attention of dog lovers and racists sorts who think all Asians love to eat dogs. Donnow. There are lots of self serving people and groups out there and sometimes it's hard to find the truth.

sounds horrifying and traumatic. Your poor dogs. What a creep! Such attacks are totally unacceptable, as is refusal to provide ID or take responsibility. THE IDIOT IS RESPONSIBLE. No one should tie a dog up outside a shop unless the dog is 100% reliable. Where are you in WA? People may be able to give you tips about specific councils. I wouldn't make a big deal about the breed. There are aggressive individuals in most breeds . . . even though Staffie crosses are especially common and tend to end out in not-so-good homes, I think it's better if the law is interpreted based on what the owner and dog do, not what breed the dog is.

I resisted replying earlier cause I wanted to hear replies from the OP. A few further variables that need to be considered in the equation - 13 mo is quite young to start showing male-male aggression. With larger breeds it's not uncommon to go through a temperament change between 1 and 3 years. Guarding responses generally get stronger in my experience, as do dog aggression problems. - The Neo is a breed with lots of health problems. Breed longevity data is absurdly bad . . . but the two data-based estimates I can find for life expectancy of a Neo are 2.2 years and 4 yr 11 mo. Labs, on the other hand, tend to be good for at least 10 yr, even in the sources that give short lifespans. Before deciding to rehome your Lab and keep your Neo, you might do well to make sure the Neo is in very good health. You can Google the breed health problems and find out what to look out for. You're going to feel horrible if you rehome your Lab and then face major, painful, and expensive health problems with the Neo. X-rays, at a minimum, to rule out OCD/HD. A breeder's website to look at http://runestone.neapolitan.us/Health.html p.s. some puppies are laid back because that's their temperament. Others don't like to move because they hurt.

I don't know the answer, and may be flamed for suggesting this, but is your girl from a breed that commonly has reproductive problems? Is she from a breed that has a small gene pool? This is the sort of reproductive failure I'd expect from dogs with a high degree of homozygosity, either due to inbreeding or due to a small founder population and/or some bottlenecks in the breed evolution. This may seem harsh and forgive me for suggesting, but personally, I don't think a girl who can't carry pups to full term should be bred from. I wish someone could tell me a reason this happens - and the trouble is that you don't know it is going to happen to you loose pups - I know my girl's mother was an excellent breeder and I must say except for the fact that she had to have the suppliments to get her to full term all was extremely good - she delivered the 8 pups without a problem - and out of the 3 other dogs I have bred it was the easiest delivery yet. She reared the pups very well and came through it all as fit as a fiddle - I would love with all my heart to keep a pup from her if I do decide to let her go again - I don't know any other breeders of my breed who have had this happen - the two dogs I put together were not close at all but you don;'t always know what has happened several generations back - its still a mystery to me but all I can say is that I am not sorry I did it - her pups were all beautiful and healthy and she is her wonderful bouncy self. I wonder how she would be with a different mate though. If mini = miniature bull terrier, there's a good theoretical reason for it to happen. This is a pretty technical article http://jhered.oxford...nt/94/1/81.full It looks at the genetic diversity of 28 breeds by looking at the amount of 'mixing' (heterozygosity) in different alleles. The bull terrier and miniature bull terrier had the worst scores of the lot. Excess sorting out of genes (homozygosity) can cause all sorts of problems, depending on where it happens. It also leads to very predictable 'type', so breeders like it. For some less technical descriptions of these problems . . . though a little militantly pro-diversity . . . see http://www.astraean....inbred-mistakes I'd read the one on lab mice first. Your girl isn't a lab mouse, and that's a much much more extreme situation . . . but the MBT is going that direction. There are people on DOL who deny that inbreeding depression happens . . . but on the far end of the spectrum (very highly inbred) it has been observed in many species and there's every reason to expect it to be found in dogs (the article on Island Wolves on the BorderWars site is pretty convincing). Yes, a different dog might help. Go for the genetically most distant dog you can find. As the gene pool for minis is very small, it's important to go back many generations, like 10 or more if you can. Or alternatively, you might want to use the testing route: http://www.petproduc...og-litters.aspx or http://www.wisdompanel.com/assets/1/7/canine_chronicle.pdf edited to fix quotes

You might also want to ask your local vet about distemper. It is almost extinct in some parts of Australia. It has been a big problem in Southern California, where Dr Dodds lives, because native fox and coyote populations can carry it. This is dynamic. The grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus . . .not closely related to the fox you have in Oz) suffered a horrible distemper epidemic some years back, and the disease moved into the unvaccinated dog population. The fox has bounced back . . . presumably now a much more resistant species.

If the dog is pedigree, you might want to talk with the breeder. Addisons is believed to be hereditary. Univ of California, Davis, is currently studying it in bearded collie, great dane, leonberger, standard poodle, Portuguese water dog and West Highland white terrier . . . I think most breeds can get be affected. There's a good chance that a genetic test for it will be available . . . here's a short description of UC Davis work on Addisons (they're also studying Epilepsy). http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=TUFTSBG2005&PID=10627&O=Generic Complex segregation analyses confirm the genetic component and suggest that the best fit mode of inheritance is autosomal recessive with modifying genes. In other words, Addison's appears to be polygenic but with a major controlling gene. The lesser genes likely regulate the age of onset and the progression of the disorder. Of note, is that there is no sex affect in any of the breeds reflecting an equal number of males and females diagnosed with Addison's disease.

Thanks everybody for playing this game. My girls didn't bark, but jumped up from a cold sleep and did their little dance at the door saying "URGENT, let us out!" They are familiar with coyotes, racoons, and grey foxes. (Thank Dog they haven't met Mr. Skunk yet). It would be interesting to re-do this in a more serious way. I'd love to know whether the dogs that responded saw coyote as dog, or as "something like dog", or "some sort of animal out there". Hard to know whether dogs who slept through it were tired, or had gotten blase' (how do you do accent marks ?) from hearing a lot of animal recordings, or just aren't reactive to such things. Guess I should have included an option for vocalizations. If anyone knows a highschool kid who needs a science project . . . re-doing this in a more serious way would make an interesting little experiment. Could add the cat fight noises and do cats (or dogs).