sandgrubber

The basic problem is under-appreciation (denial?) of nature and an automatic assumption that all is nurture. Experienced dog people generally end out respecting that some things are hardwired from birth. I just wish breeders were as consistent and persistent and insistent on breeding for temperament as they are on breeding for the physical features described by their breed standards...or the interpretation of the breed standard that is in favor this year/decade. Purebred dogs SHOULD NOT behave like creatures that have been beaten and abused. In my book fear-cringing, weeing in inappropriate situations, and other traits that present as having been abused -- when there is no history of abuse -- are serious faults. Note, the opposite is pretty common. There are plenty of dogs who have suffered abuse and still present as normal, friendly dogs. I think those dogs deserve to be celebrated for their robustness.

Perhaps you don't realise how fast cops are taught to draw and fire? Standard drill is draw and fire three shots in two seconds... Things can go pear shaped very, very quickly for police. They are trained accordingly. Sad situation. RIP for the dog and sympathy for the owner. Such situations require good snap judgement. Unfortunately, not everyone, police or otherwise, has this 24/7 (I certainly don't). It may be necessary to train cops to react fast with deadly force, but sometimes the consequences mean that innocent people, or dogs, get shot. Such is life. I hope the officer, at least, has the grace to apologize...and has thought about what he has done sufficiently that he won't end out shooting some kid wearing a hoody who presents as threatening or a mentally unstable person whose actions register as dangerous.

Wow, that is scary. I would have thought that the spray would mess with the vision and smell to the point that the dog wouldn't be able to continue an attack, assuming it didn't already have hold of the person or dog? Now a taser might do the job nicely :D But seriously, a walking type stick that could emit a suitable electric shock would be great for the elderly. Apparently pepper spray doesn't always stop the truly focussed dog, a taser however might have an affect or a cattle prod but of course they are illegal to carry unless you are a police officer. I think the way the elderly are being attacked by human beings and dogs these days, there should be something they can use in self defense. However that won't be allowed because the powers that be would be afraid of the wrong people getting hold of the devices, of course the wrong people have already got more than enough weapons anyway. (Not to mention vicious dogs in some cases) It's a case of the normal nice folks not being allowed to defend themselves, in this topsy turvy world might is always right. Back in the world of the rule followers where we all live, we just have to bind our wounds and bury our dead because if we arm everyone chaos will reign, when you get attacked by someone's "friendly dog, whose never done anything like this before" it pretty much feels like chaos is already here. Sorry for the sarcasm guys, I just read an article about an elderly woman in her 80's who was seriously injured by an off leash dog (that guess what...has never done it before) while walking her dog. (On leash). ???? How about an umbrella? I came across a suggestion that the surprise of having a brelly open in its face will stop many dogs.

What not-so-little sweeties! Are your girls related? Tolerant bitches have a big advantage . . . with mine, Granny dog is at least as enthusiastic about picking up and licking up mess than Mum. I think this is pretty common among related Labradors.

I'm not sure what people mean about desexing being a problem. In my experience dog coats are enormously variable, even within the breed, and some dogs coats change considerably depending on what they are fed.. My old girl's outer coat (Labrador) went from too soft to semi-hard (as specified by the breed standard) as she aged, but her heavy undercoat and prolific blowing of coat has remained constant. Strangely, her daughter (nursing at the moment) was born with a hard outer coat and a relatively thin and short undercoat. The old girl was pretty wavy, as Labbies go, but after desexing, her coat is straighter. My present litter includes relatively long fluffy coats and some sleek-looking coats. Btw, standard be damned. Living in a hot climate, I will always breed for a light and short undercoat (with Labradors). Winning shows is less important than the dog's health and comfort.

+1 There's a sort of altruist who loves the idea that they have rescued a poor abused dog.

We're always talking about the nerd to supervise kids around dogs. This blogger points out that most parents don't know what to watch for, so their supervision isn't effective. I'm sure there are better summaries out there, but to me this one seems clear and short. http://www.robinkbennett.com/2013/08/19/why-supervising-dogs-and-kids-doesnt-work/#comment-2437

btw, I don't think anyone is saying shaving is necessary, or any replacement for doing a good job of brushing out the undercoat. The article in the OP has the science wrong. Shaving a dog will help it stay cool in hot weather. But brushing is also a good thing. Even if your intend to shave, your groomer will appreciate it (and probably charge you less) if you don't allow the undercoat to get tangled and matted up. Trimming off the guard hairs / outer coat and leaving a matted undercoat is an ugly thing to do.

I suspect strong sprays work. I've lived most of my life in places that have skunks. I've never heard of a dog that didn't retreat when it got skunked! or a skunk being killed by a dog. Aiming for the face is important. And frankly, I wouldn't want to do permanent damage, but if an aggressive dog gets a dose of pain after it attacks, it's all right with me.

The title of this thread should probably be changed to prevent spreading misinformation.

If you're going the white vinegar route, you might see if you can get your hands on some very hot peppers, stick 'em in the blender with the vinegar, strain the lot, and put it in your spray bottle. Pepper spray may be illegal, but I doubt they can outlaw putting some concoction in a bottle and spraying it at attackers. (I've just made some home made Tabasco sauce . . . mostly vinegar and Tabasco peppers. It's deadly and there's lots of room to give it more bite).

Drop FACEBOOK! It's more of a PITA than PETA!!!! Don't commercialize friendship!

Bonza's ninesome are thriving . . . cutting teeth has just begun . . . the big messy is on the horizon. .

http://www.telegraph...six-months.html One in five puppies bought online 'die in six months' Almost one in five puppies bought over the internet dies within six months of its purchase, research has found. By Claire Duffin 6:31AM BST 01 Sep 2013 The Kennel Club, which carried out the survey, said almost a third of puppies were now bought online and that it was concerned the trade was becoming dominated by "unscrupulous" puppy farmers. The organisation and other animal welfare groups say conditions on such "farms", where puppies are bred in large numbers for profit, are often very poor, with animals subjected to overcrowding and a poor diet, meaning diseases are rife. As a result, a large proportion of puppies are dying from health complications within months of being bought or require long-term veterinary treatment. The Kennel Club survey involved 2,026 dogs owners. They were asked about their experience of buying a puppy - including where they purchased it from - as well as about the animal's subsequent health and any treatments required. The report found that 12 per cent of owners who bought from sellers they had found advertised on the internet, on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, reported their dog did not have good health and required long-term veterinary treatment. see original article for more

You might add a de-tangler shampoo. If you go to a DIY saloon they may have one on hand.

The diagram looks pretty much like the diagrams we draw regarding thermal insulation for a house, EXCEPT they failed to show that the heat escapes more easily when the insulation is removed (ie, shaved dog). They show only the incoming energy from solar radiation. If a dog is too hot it will get out of the sun, so unless you're exceptionally cruel and give your dog no access to shade, that one is only semi relevant, and the yellow sun rays can be taken out of the diagram. Bottom line, heat flows from warmer regions to cooler regions. If the air temperature is below 38 to 39 C, the insulation of coat serves to retain heat for your dog. Think about your own comfort seeking behavior. A dog's coat behaves like a jumper or coat or blanket. Would you put on a coat to insulate yourself from the heat when it's 35 C? When air temperature goes over body temperature, we're in trouble, regardless of species. Cooling measures like sweating, panting, seeking cool shade, etc. kick in bigtime.

The only good thing I can say about out over-liberal gun laws in the USA is that they are good at preventing wandering nuisance dogs. If you don't confine an aggressive dog in my neighborhood, it WILL be shot by the neighbors. So....people don't let their dogs wander. Sadly, a lot of them end up chained.

So, is it legal to shoot one down if it goes low over your property ?

I've finally got a house with tile floors throughout, which makes it possible to let baby puppies out of the whelping box, eg, for feeding and toiletries. I've heard people talk about tile not being good cause dogs feet slip on it, but after a day or two, these little guys don't seem to be having much trouble, and they do seem to enjoy lying on the cool tile surface (my air con is set at around 25C). Here's my improvised puppy room. Wonder what others think of it. How can it be improved? What's a good thing to put out for a toilet area? And a second shot to show pups relaxing. Mum loves nursing the pups outside the box and is much more relaxed.

Pyretheroids caused one of my dogs to have seizures....almost killed her. She licked off a spot on product applied to the back of another dog. <div><br></div>

Chances she's preggers are very high. Bitches only permit mating when they're in their fertile time of the heat cycle. There are two sorts of injections that can be given to abort. One can only be given soon after the mating. If I remember correctly, it's an oestrogen compound, like many morning-after formulations, and a lot cheaper than the Alizin injections. So far as i know, both are very low risk, though there may be some bloody discharge. Obviously, the longer she carries pups, the greater the effect of the pregnancy on her body, and the more the embryos will be like little dogs, as opposed to small masses of cells. See your vet ASAP.

The author doesn't understand physics. Coat only protects your dog from heat IF the air temperature is above the dog's body temperature (38-39C). Otherwise it retains body heat. Putting hot coffee in an insulated cup won't speed it's cooling The outer coat is a bit like wearing a parka over a jumper ... It protects the inner coat from the effects of wind and rain. Semi-waterproof shell...reduces convective cooling. This is why double coat breeds are found in cold climates or places where night temperatures are low, while dogs from consistently hot climates tend to have thinner coats. Removing outer coat should make a dog better able to enjoy cooling breezes. Dogs thermoregulate in hot weather primarily by 1) panting = evaporative cooling; 2) finding a cool shady place to lie; 3) getting wet=evaporative cooling. Add, digging a hole in a moist place in your garden to lie in, preferably a valued flower bed.

I think the article was an exaggeration. If it were 'highly contageous' it's a miracle that there haven't been a lot of further reports. There is a canine influenza virus that has appeared a few times in the US that seems to have come from an equine virus. First appeared in 2004 in racing greyhounds. It has been studied and does not appear to be very contagious at all. Here's a link to a highly technical paper. http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/vmi/aip/874521.pdf

Would it be correct to sum up by saying behavioral problems that have to do with timidity and avoidance of people MAY correct naturally with change of environment (eg, getting away from bullying siblings) but may also be deeply programmed, and bad enough to warrant pts. However aggressive babies are bad news and should be culled?

There's been a lot of talk about brachy breeds and health issues since Pedigree Dogs Exposed came out. A lot of it hot air. The Swedish KC seems to be doing some great stuff instructing judges....based on calm veterinary based understanding. You have to put up with subtitles, but I found this a really good video. Warning, it's half an hour long so if you don't have broadband, don't bother.