sandgrubber

If you go with lagottos, watch out for inbreeding or close line breeding, and avoid anything with iffy temperament. The breeder I'm thinking of recently died (shot liver from drinking)... but there are folks going for the $$$ who are ruining the breed by breeding anything they can get their hands on. It takes a lot of careful research and selection to revive a breed that was near extinction.

Unfortunately, in Gainesville, Florida. I have not seen the like elsewhere. It was fabulous, and quite safe. One well known regular was an elderly, totally blind Boston terrier who had been coming for years. She did two circuits around the fence line, unattended each time she came.

For awhile I lived near a members only dog park (payment required). 13acres, big old trees, two large ponds, aggressive dogs banned. It was lovely. Some dogs played, some just ran, or wondered. A lot of regulars, who planned meetups with other regulars. The fenced quarter acre sand lot is no comparison, and definitely not worth it

They're elderly. I'm no spring chicken myself. I'd say cruise rescues and find a mature dog that feels right. Pups are difficult for oldies. Milk teeth puncture thin skin, bending over to clean up messes is a chore. Breed matters, but individual temperaments vary greatly within a breed. Keep looking...they'll find one that suits.

I've had mostly good experiences with dogs parks and the occasional problems haven't been serious. It varies greatly, depending on the park, your dog, and time of day. Those who have had serious problems speak louder. No reason to give up on dog parks entirely.

Stupid article, I'd say. Staffies and labs are the most common purebred dogs in Oz, so no surprise they come high on the list. GSDs, ACDs and rotties are common as well. If the ranking were in attacks per 10, 000 dogs (or whatever) it would look quite different. Pitt bulls... outlawed and often owned for the wrong reasons, again no surprise that you can find dirt on them. Big guardian dogs can be pretty dangerous... But 1. There aren't that many of them; and 2. They tend to be in rural environments and not exposed to situations that get dogs reported. The most dangerous dogs are the ones with the least responsible owners. BTW do you count a dog as dangerous if it bites an unsupervised child who pulls its ears or tries to take away a bone?

RARE? The black and tan is one of the more common breeds in the rural South (USA). Very UK centric. But then, what do you expect from Crufts?

Lagottos vary, but bad temperament is common. It's a breed brought from near extinction, and fetches high prices. Some people breed anything and everything. Be VERY selective.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/110130120/peta-plans-to-barbecue-dog-in-australian-shopping-mall-to-support-veganism?cid=facebook.post.110130120

Applecross Vet Hospital... it used to be Steve Metcalf... that was 10 years ago.

Additional thought: 12 weeks is pretty young. My 14 week Springer simply can't make it through the night... so I pick up poo from inside. I'm sure she'll grow out of it. It might help if I fed her at 6 rather than 8pm.

Not clear what you are trying to do. Korea - > USA - > Dili - > Oz? I'd expect that to total over $AU20,000. Why the roundabout?

NZ has only SPCA. It gets little government support. Controversies... 1080 (SPCA wants to ban, protectors of native wildlife support use) and wandering cats. It's a benign organization here, so far as I can see. Does work to rescue and rehome, advocates desexing, but doesn't intrude.

It's worth questioning whether glucosamine actually works, or merely gives you a sense that you're doing something http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/03/legs-glucosamine-study-sows-little-evidence-of-real-benefit/

Biologists rule of thumb is 10 degrees warmer doubles rate of biochemical reactions (the Q10 rule). Decomposition and insect growth follow similar trends until heat starts getting deadly. Unless you have a freezer, I'd forget it.

Humans can't copy, but there may be something we can learn.

Keep her away from eating socks and underware and she should be OK.

Lovely video. There's a middle ground between punishment and positive reinforcement. Watching dogs work it out is interesting.

Not eating much is good, so long as she doesn't get severely underweight. Carrots : they are probably digested better cooked, but I never bother. OK, there are orange chunks in the poo. Who cares? P. S. No, You can't trust any company that is out to maximize profits, ie, the vast majority of companies. Breakfast cereals are equally as bad as dogfood... there's lots of oversweet crap pretending to be healthy.

No biggie. Older dogs nip at pups all the time and pups yelp. The pup seems to forget in 30 seconds. If "hit" carries no force it's probably in the same class as yelling... and when those sharp little milk teeth sink in, it's hard not to yell ("ouch!" ).

I doubt it's that simple (large vs small), and would guess that there's a wide variation in both. Hard working dogs do seem to need higher protein and fat. Obviously, if the pancreas is weak, less fat. Overseas means NZ, South Island

What makes you think the diet is horrible? Until long term feeding studies are conducted, it's damn hard to say what is a good diet. The marketing department of the pet food industry is doing a fantastic job making people feel guilty about not paying $6/kg and up for dog food, but there's precious little evidence that the high price stuff is better. I prefer to avoid imports, avoid companies that spend big on advertising, avoid fancy shaped and multi-colored biscuits and go for something plain that targets country people and working dogs.

I fed raw for many years...even picked up ~100kg of chicken frames and ~50 kg of horse carrots a week for delivery to other raw feeders. I moved and lost my source of good, cheap raw, and left my big freezer behind. I now feed what most would consider a mediocre dry food (Coprice) and throw in occasional eggs, vegetables and scraps. To be honest, the biggest differences I find are 1. Dry food is MUCH less hassle. 2. It is a lot easier to regulate a dog's weight on dry food (Labradors pig out on frames and portion control is tedious). My dogs continue to be healthy, my old girl is 14 yr 5 mo,. Coats are glossy, poos well formed. Until I see a well conducted study or two that shows raw feeding is worth the trouble and expense, I wouldn't consider going back to BARF.

https://www.popsci.com/smelling-machine Clip from article: Each year, poachers traffic thousands of tons of illegal wildlife products through the world’s biggest ports. Detector dogs like the ones I work with are among the most effective means of finding that contraband. Trained canines can sniff out minuscule amounts of ivory, rhino horn, tiger bone, and other illegal products with greater than 90 percent accuracy. But these amazing canine workers will push themselves too hard if you let them. In searching cargo containers, trained animals can encounter toxic substances, dangerous machinery, and extreme heat. Some have even died on the job. There is a way to make things safer (and more efficient): drawing air from shipping containers, running it through scent-trapping filters, and then giving that odor to sniffer dogs in a controlled environment. That way, customs officials can search inside a container without anyone actually opening it up

Please realize that a lot of dog people are highly opinionated about dog foods. There is pathetically little hard evidence behind many of the claims that this or that commercial food is "rubbish". And some foods condemned as toxic are fine (avocados, for one). A little human food, eg fruits, veg, will do no harm, though it's not good for it to become a major component of the diet. In Oz, pumpkin is used instead of banana for stomach distress, but I think banana would be much the same. If you do feed raw meat, use only very fresh, human grade. Meat that has gone off can make a little one very sick (salmonella).