sandgrubber

You also need to consider how widespread and how strong the genes are in the breed. Given that dog fighting was outlawed in 1835 in England, the motivation to breed for fighting dogs has been reduced. Not gone, cause legislation didn't stop dog fighting entirely, and fighting remained legal much longer in some places outside England; but reduced. This leaves 170 years where fighting was not a primary focus. I'd say this is analogous to asking if the Olde English sheepdog was going to have herding instincts, despite being raised as a pet. Some of 'em will. Some of 'em won't. Some in-between, which will be influenced by training. With Labradors, we can make a retriever out of almost any pup, but with some of them you have to start early and work hard. For others it's natural. And you get some who won't look at a tennis ball, but given a bird, there's no stopping them.

I don't know if this guy was an idiot or not cause all the evidence presented is a news article that doesn't specify sources and gives very few details. I don't know what happened. I have no perspective from which to form an opinion. I don't know if the guy grew up in a culture that praised Amundsen for his disasterous trip to the South Pole. For all I know, he was PTSD and semi-suicidal when going out alone into the wilderness with his dog. I don't know if he stowed food properly and the bear went to extraordinary and unknown heights to steal his cache. I don't know if the reporter made the whole thing up. I just get sick of people getting on their high horses and judging others when they've been presented with what is at best a cartoon sketch of a situation. I read it as kicking someone who is down. To quote a few of the more sensible lines in the Bible:"Judge not and ye shall be not judged" . . ."do unto others as you would have them do unto you"..."let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Most of us have made awful mistakes in our past. Some of us get through without suffering the consequences. Some of us are not so lucky. Frankly, from the little I know, I'd consider someone who texts while driving or drives intoxicated as culpable as this guy.

I'm no expert, but have lived in places where Chi's are very common. I'd say you could get this behavior from many chi's if you encouraged it from a very young age. We tend to judge Chi's from the in-your-face ankle-biters you find walking around certain neighborhoods. But there are many Chi's who love cuddles and body warmth and will sleep when they snuggle.

p.s. when talking about bull breeds as bred for fighting, it's important to note that dog fighting was outlawed in England in 1835. The Kennel Club didn't recognize the SBT as a breed until 100 years later!

No analogy is watertight. You (as Poodlefan and as HW) have often attacked my posts. If you would read my post, rather than choose to attack it, you would find that it says there are statistically significant differences between breeds...and that it presents data from a peer reviewed paper to illustrate those differences. BSL, and breed specific reaction, is morally equivalent to racism in judging individuals according to their appearance, rather than their individual character. The analogy is valid. Sure, it falls apart if you try to stretch it to breeding practices. You did, I didn't. Body language is a different thing. If the "appearance" is ears back, teeth barred, body stiff, there is every reason to form an opinion based on appearance :)...but that holds whether the dog is a Labrador or a pit bull.

Some breeds are more dog aggressive than others. Anyone objectively studying dog aggression by breed will come to that conclusion. See eg. Breed differences in canine aggression (2008) Deborah L. Duffy a, Yuying Hsu b, James A. Serpell, which was much quoted for finding Daschunds the most aggressive breed. The important thing to remember is that serious aggression is rare even in the most-aggressive breeds, and most owners of seriously aggressive large dogs have learned that they need strong management. Here's a table showing the relative frequency of different forms of aggression in common breeds. The differences are very significant, statistically. Notice that, in this table, the English Springer Spaniel, Daschund and Yorkshire terrier are the ones to beware of. Oops! . Looking to stereotype breeds for aggression, Duffy et al found high levels of dog aggression in only 20% of pit bulls (Yorkies and JRTs were worse). And the offensive 20% are not the ones you are most likely to meet at the dog park or walking down the avenue. It is grossly unfair to generalize form the offensive few and condemn the majority for their faults (which some a##-hole owners may consider virtues). Just as it's unfair to castigate some ethnic or racial group as a whole cause its population shows high incidence of crime. corrected an error in original post

Answer, unfortunately, is we can't "make all dog owners understand when their dog has a problem and that they need to do something about it" . We don't run the circus, and our actions must be governed by reality as much as by the law. K9 utopia isn't going to show up any time soon. The best we can do is convince a few errant dog owners to seek help. And that's easier for big dog owners, who are targets for the law, than small dog owners, whose transgressions are largely ignored by the system.

Good post. Why should everyone have the same opinion? Not the point of any public forum, corporate meeting or situation in life where you are given the opportunity to speak. :) No need for people who disagree to be unpleasant but then that's what the world is coming to these days. Was I being unpleasant/rude? I thought Maeby Funky was taking judgmental self-proclaimed experts down a notch and chimed in. Staying overnight on Mt Kosciuszko National Park is so unlike a multi-month survival trek in the Canadian wilderness that I assumed MF was joking. As for a little sarcasm to arm chair experts making value judgements when they don't know the facts, what's wrong there? Everyone doesn't need to have the same opinion. But if you can't take the Mickey, DOL is a bad place to post opinionated statements based on little evidence. Why do I say 'little evidence'. The article says nothing about how he was equipped or prepared. It says he was warned, but lots of people we now celebrate as 'great' were warned off doing the things that won them their reputation in the end. We don't know who provided the information in the story, or whether it was verified. The bear part of the story, or even the dog part, could be a complete fabrication for all we know.

If Steve's response was , I feel pretty sure it was an awful place and the action was not taken in responce to AR vigilantiiism.

If you had eaten your dog you will have to deal with the mental after effects. Either that or commit suicide. So will this guy. Seems like he has suffered enough without a bunch of judgement from the armchair know-nothing crowd.

Whoa! That's really impressive! Overnight!!!!! Gee Whiz :laugh:

Has anyone questioned the rescue? Before deciding on an opinion, I'd like to know something about the dog's history. If there was temperament screening, it would be good to know how it failed. Taking a sleeping baby out of bed when it is sleeping with its mother is unusual behavior for any dog.

Jealousy is unlikely unless you ignore Beau and lavish attention on the puppy. There are Labs who don't like pups. I know a breeder who had one of her titled dogs pts because he attacked a puppy. But it's extremely rare. Young boys are likely to be very welcoming of babies. Supervision required. Heavy roughhousing can harm a baby or young pup.

Having two youngish Labradors is great. In most cases it provides a lot of entertainment watching them play. Labs are good at having many bonds, and I doubt you'll find Beau has any trouble with sharing affection between people and another dog. I think they're happier with company. BUT You need to be clear from the outset whether or not you might plan to breed. (1) Though Labs are enormously popular, registrations are not increasing, and in some regions are declining. Good homes for pups are not guaranteed, and a new breeder will generally have more trouble placing pups than a breeder with an established reputation. So if you have any intention of breeding, be upfront with it, and make sure the breeders from whom you sourced your two dogs approve and will give you referrals; (2) Very few breeders will sell a high quality bitch to someone they don't know well unless they are pretty certain the buyer is going to desex. If you want to float the idea of possibly breeding down the line, get an established breeder's opinion of Beau (or show him) and have him Xrayed now and put yourself in the position of looking like a responsible (potential) breeder. Kearsarge's comment about naughtyness is absolutely true. Two Lab puppies will dig bigger holes, much faster than one. If there are latent escape tendencies, they will blossom as the team decide to go on adventures. And objects of play are likely to be torn to shreds rather than mouthed as the play turns to game of tug. Potted plants, beware. Etc.

Most of us have heard of the study that found daschunds and chihuahuas are more aggressive than the breeds commonly given that label. This is the actual study. It's and interesting read. Breed differences in canine aggression Deborah L. Duffy a, Yuying Hsu b, James A. Serpell a,* Accepted 18 April 2008 Available online 3 June 2008 Canine aggression poses serious public health and animal welfare concerns. Most of what is understood about breed differences in aggression comes from reports based on bite statistics, behavior clinic caseloads, and experts’ opinions. Information on breed-specific aggressiveness derived from such sources may be misleading due to biases attributable to a disproportionate risk of injury associated with larger and/or more physically powerful breeds and the existence of breed stereotypes. The present study surveyed the owners of more than 30 breeds of dogs using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C- BARQ), a validated and reliable instrument for assessing dogs’ typical and recent responses to a variety of common stimuli and situations. Two independent data samples (a random sample of breed club members and an online sample) yielded significant differences among breeds in aggression directed toward strangers, owners and dogs (Kruskal–Wallis tests, P < 0.0001). Eight breeds common to both datasets (Dachshund, English Springer Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Poodle, Rottweiler, Shetland Sheepdog and Siberian Husky) ranked similarly, rs = 0.723, P < 0.05; rs = 0.929, P < 0.001; rs = 0.592, P = 0.123, for aggression directed toward strangers, dogs and owners, respectively. Some breeds scored higher than average for aggression directed toward both humans and dogs (e.g., Chihuahuas and Dachshunds) while other breeds scored high only for specific targets (e.g., dog-directed aggression among Akitas and Pit Bull Terriers). In general, aggression was most severe when directed toward other dogs followed by unfamiliar people and household members. Breeds with the greatest percentage of dogs exhibiting serious aggression (bites or bite attempts) toward humans included Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers (toward strangers and owners); Australian Cattle Dogs (toward strangers); and American Cocker Spaniels and Beagles (toward owners). More than 20% of Akitas, Jack Russell Terriers and Pit Bull Terriers were reported as displaying serious aggression toward unfamiliar dogs. Golden Retrievers, Labradors Retrievers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Brittany Spaniels, Greyhounds and Whippets were the least aggressive toward both humans and dogs. Among English Springer Spaniels, conformation-bred dogs were more aggressive to humans and dogs than field-bred dogs (stranger aggression: Mann–Whitney U test, z = 3.880, P < 0.0001; owner aggression: z = 2.110, P < 0.05; dog- directed aggression: z = 1.93, P = 0.054), suggesting a genetic influence on the behavior. The opposite pattern was observed for owner-directed aggression among Labrador Retrievers, (z = 2.18, P < 0.05) indicating that higher levels of aggression are not attributable to breeding for show per se. article can be downloaded for free at Researchgate . . . google the authors and title and you'll find it.

I'm not worried that the pup takes the toilet brush. It cost less than many of her toys, or alternative things she might chew, like shoes, and she doesn't destroy it. Could be a little embarrassing if she paraded it around the living room with guests present, I guess. But I don't have that sort of guest very often. With past pups this has lasted a month or so, so it's hardly worth training time. I'm surprised by how many people never have this problem, if it's even a problem. The toilet paper on the other hand, goes up on a shelf.

Ugly and irresponsible. But no worse than driving drunk with your dog in the car . . . which I'm sure a lot of young blokes have done. Lots of people make errors of judgement with the potential to kill both themselves and their dog.

<br /><br /><br />These are similar, but more options http://www.luckypet.com/ You might also get your local engraver to do a little rectangle with two holes in the ends and rivet it to the collar.

Amazing! Every pup I've had has done it several times. I've always just lived with it and let the behavior extinguish naturally. My present pup also steals the brush holder, and I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever give up. Maybe it's a Lab thing?

Do they all do it? Is there an easy solution?

I once placed a six month Lab pup that I had run on and decided not to keep. The pup was used to me, her mum, her gran, and a few other dogs, plus people who come and go. Got a call the next day saying that she had hidden under a bush in the back yard and would not come out. I went out and called the pup, who was happy to see me and came out from under the bush. Recommended keeping her inside for a few days. Within a few weeks she was much loved best friend to her new owner, curling up to sleep with the cat, and going everywhere in the car. I hope your pup is like this. Sometimes it's just the shock of first adjustment. Sometimes pups rebound pretty fast.

I perhaps have overkill on mine. He is chipped and wears his local council tag and I used to have engraved tags with phone number and name...but Scout kept on losing every engraved tag after a week or so and they're not cheap. So went to the newsagent, got a plastic luggage tag in a colour that complimented him - printed out his name, home phone and mobile numbers, laminated it and inserted. He's had the same tag for 5 years now and has never lost it once and the tag only cost $1.50. He wears his collar 24/7. The plastic tag is large and like this one only yellow I prefer the flat tags with holes through the ends so they slide onto the collar itself and lie flat. These don't dangle and can't fall off. (Right hand side on this ad: http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=0029542&green=9F1C31FD-69B4-56B6-06D5-60319F3A31EB ) I don't know where you can get these in Australia. I would think paying your council registration fees would do real well as proof of ownership.

Nothing. Sometimes they have to be left alone. They whine and carry on at first. Then they get used to it. Usually they sleep the whole time. (Mine have the run of the house and a doggy door that goes out to 2 fenced acres . . . so compared to most of the dogs in the neighborhood they have it good). I'd suggest building up to it for future events. Go away for an hours. Then an hour more, etc., so they get the idea that the separation isn't forever. If you've got a barker, it wouldn't hurt to tell the neighbors what you're doing. Most people will tolerate a temporary disturbance but get upset if they think it will go on and on and on.

+1

I'll bet most of us do without a lot of eating out and going out to have more time (and money) to spend on our dogs.