Our Breaker (Pickwick Ready Break) was awarded ‘Baby Puppy in Group’ at Colomeke Kennel Club under Mr Les Greenall (from Victoria).

Tweet of the Week

Our favourite tweet of the week is a bit of a different one: It’s a Canine Lameness Learning Module. It’s a really thorough selection of videos to help diagnosis of lameness. At the very least, book mark it for the future.

Do Something!

I’m a big one for advocating others ‘do something’ to make change.

Here’s some things you can DO this week: Make a submission to the Victorian Code of Practice on Breeding and Rearing, like the one suggested by Maggie’s Farm.

Participate in the Childhood Dog Bite Survey.

Attend the CAWS fundraiser: Movie Night – Red 2.

Rescue and Sheltering

Prada the cat is available for adoption in SA.

Jolly Jacques the poodle was, but is now on trial.

Boltraiser – restoring Bolt’s vision.

An irresponsible public alert: Elderly man walks 186 miles to find his lost dog.

Two from Border-Wars: “The Myth of Christmas Puppies” and “Only 2 % of dogs die in shelters yearly“.

Study on length of stay in two NY shelters.

From the ever-wondering SavingPets blog: “If veterinarians were kill shelters“, “Lost Dogs Home lost pet reclaims like winning the lottery” and “Giving the people what they want“.

YesBiscuit CAA sends owner of lost pets to ATM, oops-killing dog while owner is gone.

Shelter Killing Benefits Puppy Mills.

CommonSense for Cats.

Dog Training and Behaviour

Let your weakness be your strength.

Does punishing a dog after a transgression really work?

The Team Unruly Review of Puppybooks, Part I: Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program.

Shedd Animal Training Seminar: Other Advanced Concepts.

From Eileen and Dogs: The Humane Hierarchy, Pat 1 of 2: Overview, Operant Learning Illustrated by Examples and But what if your dog runs out into traffic?.

Shake, Rattle and Roll: How to introduce the bottle pool.

Myth of Reinforcing Fear.

Dog Breeds and Breeding

So you want a dog?

DCM in Doberman Pinschers – a video on YouTube that is really worth reading in subtitles.

The Afghan Hound as Symbol of Conspicuous Consumption.

“Health Testing” in Dogs is Limited.

A new study discussing the reliability of visual breed identification.

Other Dog Stuff

Dog attack in Liverpool.

Consumer watch: Tests on Dog Harnesses Show 100 Percent Failure Rate.

Modern Pet Doors www.modernpetdoors.com.au Compassion for People.

Police Shootings of Dogs or Stuff You Should Not Let Your Dogs Do.

Other Stuff

Food Inc – Full Length Film – This is not an animal rights video! It’s a video questioning our whole process of growing and consuming food.

Angelina Jolie, Evolution and Pleiotropy – Talking about genes in people and dogs.

Depression Part Two – A really worthwhile comment on depression.

Animals that you didn’t know existed.

Comparative Cognition Society – society for studying the cognition of people and animals.

Funniest Horse Act Ever! Tommie Turvey and PokerJoe! – I’m waiting for dancing with horses to be the in thing.

The Most Venomous Animals in the World.

Decapitated Worms Regrow Heads with Memories Still Inside.

Instagram

Breaker in ‘in show’ line up.

Breaker, baby in group.

This is our (almost) weekly segment where we review the content posted on our Twitter over the course of the week. It’s a long post! So make sure you grab a coffee and prepare yourself for some serious reading.

Before we get started, though, here is our current foster dog “Bandit”. More details on his adoption are available on his listing on PetRescue.

Bandit the crossbreed is 3 years old. He is looking for a new home and is located in South Australia.

Tweet of the Week

Joanna starts with the premise that puppies should be able $20,000 each, to cover the costs of many overheads associated with their rearing.  However, the dog breeding world looks disdainfully on people who charge a high price for their puppies.  Indeed, Joanna describes a competition-like scenario where getting less for puppies is in some way admirable. Here’s a quote;

In dog breeding… self-abnegation becomes the real pride. I lost more money than you did; I neutered more show prospects than you did; I charge $1000, well I charge $800, well I charge $600, well I give them away and also donated my kidney to a puppy buyer. I breed twice a year, I breed once a year, I breed once every five years, I’ve owned this breed for fifteen years and never once have I even LOOKED at a dog’s genitals with intent to use them.

I had no hesitation in calling this piece the Tweet of the Week. It’s well written, humorous  and covering legitimate subject matter, too. If you read nothing else this week, please read: “How much do puppies cost? How the “breeders wars” hurt our community“.

Breeds and Breeding

Fast action ratting with terriers (video).

And then, in direct conflict: Swedish study found no link between modern breeds and their traditional work.

Soundness – understanding correct pit bull conformation and why it is correct.

Bitch line is the key.

Hybrid vigour – fact or fiction?

A commentary on the COA Crossbreeding Programme from a Chinook Owner.

Breeding Dogs for Intentional Defect.

What is a samoyed?

Dog Training and Behaviour

BAT Empowers Choice.

Operant Learning Illustrated by Examples.

Is it really disobedience?

Why does my house trained dog pee-poo indoors?

Why is training recall so difficult for dog owners?

Criteria in training.

Dogs’ Sexual Behaviour (video).

Sheltering, Rescue and Associated Links

Happy Endings: Cyclone.

‘It’s not us, it’s you’ – The Lost Dogs Home discusses high kill rates.

National Desexing Network – List of participating vets in Australia.

Carter Wants a Home.

SC Shelter attempted to cover up killing of family dog.

RSPCA and the Moorook Debacle 2013.

Bandit, 3yo crossbreed, for adoption in SA.

Dog Health

How the veterinary vaccine model is broken.

Spayed or neuter dogs live longer.

Win a 150g bottle of Rose Hip Vital.

Dog gets around with four bionic paws.

Other Dog Stuff

Upcoming Canine Science Conferences.

Working dogs, working together.

EB White and the Crime of Harboing an Unlicensed Dog.

What drives the evolution of brachycephalic dogs? – this one was almost the tweet of the week just because it articulated something I’ve been thinking about for along time.

Is pet ownership sustainable?

Dogs are cool like that.

Hero dog saves girl from icy river.

The dingo woman.

Other Animal Stuff

True Facts About Sloths.

Why the mantis shrimp is my new favourite animal.

You have to watch this one – Suki the cat at 8 months.

Why ferns have more chromosones than you.

Instagram

Myrtle kept jumping on the grooming table to be groomed!

Myrtle constantly on top of me!

Chloe all set to go to her new home

This is our (almost) weekly segment where we review the content posted on our Twitter over the course of the week. It’s a long post! So make sure you grab a coffee and prepare yourself for some serious reading.

My matching border terriers – Clover and Myrtle, mother and daughter.

Tweet of the Week

This is my favourite tweet from the week just gone: Puppies taken from litter too soon develop behavior problems as adults. While there’s lots of questions to be asked about the specifics of the conclusions made, it’s still an overall interesting study.

Training and Behaviour

Somersault Dog Trick – Just Jesse the Jack Russell.

Target Stick training video from the Dog Trick Academy.

“He’s very protective”.

K9 Body Language – What’s my dog saying?

The Deception of the Dog Whisperer.

Rescue and Sheltering

Think what you could be saving this tax time.

Unhappy with rescue group’s adoption policies.

Know the opposition: Anatomy of a distraction.

Stop the Killing.

Crappy Dog – a story on pet adoption.

Only 2% of dogs die in shelters yearly – an oldie but a goodie from BorderWars.

Non-surgical sterilization: Getting shelters and spay/neuter clinics up to speed.

Why you shouldn’t adopt a dog.

Humane cat management.

Police Brutality

Police Shootings of Dogs.

Cops raid wrong house, threaten children and kill their dog.

Dog Science, Studies, Surveys

How do hand-reared wolves and dogs interact with humans?

Clues to cancer: Golden retriever cancer study (video).

Dogs and Kids Survey.

Puppy classes and canine parvovirus.

Interactions between shelter dogs: some new research.

Dog Health

Review: Rose-Hip Vital Canine.

Pfizer Pays for Another Rimadyl Death.

Do small dogs live longer?

How to go to the vet.

Not so Great Dane.

Dr Karen Becker and Dr Ronald Schultz on Pet Vaccines.

Questioning Traditional Neutering Recommendations for Dogs.

Dog Humour 

There’s a reason dogs are mans best friend.

15 Dogs Who Don’t Know They’re Big.

Other Stuff

Quirky Lyme Disease Bacteria: Unlike most organisms, they don’t need iron, but crave manganese.

Show Dogs Escape After Crash.

Considerations of a Puppy Buyer – Tips to establishing a relationship with your breeder.

A Sniff Is A Search By Any Other Name, But Is It Reliable?  Florida v. Jardines and Florida v. Harris.

This is our (almost) weekly segment where we review the content posted on our Twitter over the course of the week. It’s a long post! So make sure you grab a coffee and prepare yourself for some serious reading.

But before we get started, have a look at Daisy from our 2012 litter, all grown up (and on a horse?!).

Tweet of the Week

Our favourite tweet this week goes to a video showing training a dog for a voluntary blood draw. This is something that is not that amazing – plenty of zoo animals are taught to do similar behaviours. However, as dog owners, we get into habits of physically manipulating our dogs to ‘do what we want’ instead of training them to do it voluntarily. This is just a lovely example of what we could achieve with our dogs.

Animal Sheltering

Why do people surrender dogs to animal shelters?

Vets told to hand stray dogs into council or risk $700 fines.

Reducing Shelter Admissions with an Animal Help Desk.

Why PETA Kills.

How about a tax time tummy rub for PetRescue?

Group protests over death of dogs at Blacktown pound.

RSPCA, do they protect all animals in need?

Jackson, looking for a new home in Sydney area.

The Saving Pets Honour Roll

We shared an awful lot of Saving Pets posts this week – enough to give them their own category in this little round up. They just produce great contact week-in week-out.

Vets who reunite pet and owner to be slugged $700 – More genius animal management from Vic.

RSPCA NSW gives a big FU to rescue groups.

Companion Animals Taskforce – same same & not at all different.

Two young children injured by roaming dogs.

At the RSPCA NSW, a broken leg is fatal.

Moorook Animal Shelter inspected by the RSPCA.

Dog Breeds and Breeders

DogTime’s Slobbering Hatred for Breeders II.

So you want to breed your bitch…

Border Collie Epilepsy.

Dog Breed Identiifcation Study.

It’s who you know: Breed stereotypes & handler appearance.

Glen of Imaal Terriers.

Confusing Hoarders with Breeders.

Dog Training

How to watch a training session  – this is a horse blog post, but it was very close to becoming the Tweet of the Week. It uses some great examples of horse training and asks you to critically appraise them.

The Best Teachers from Lessons from Layla.

“Is punishment an effective way to change the behavior of dogs?” asks Stanley Coren.

Sit, Down, Stand – Game from the Dog Trick Academy.

Useful dog tricks performed by Jesse – this was close to the Tweet of the Week, too, because it’s just cute!

Crufts 2013 Dancing video.

Shadow handling for agility.

Being Tough from Eileen and Dogs.

Dog Behaviour

Guilty Dogs on the Radio.

Free Training Resources.

Mounting by Any Other Name…

Moving with a Reactive Dog.

It won’t be the machines we have to worry about… (On dogs who know when to beg for food.)

Pavlov inverted: reward linked to image is enough to activate brian’s visual cortex.

Relationship capital.

Children and Dogs

Tips for your dog Before and After your baby is born (PDF).

Bringing a baby into your home.

A boy and his seizure dog.

Other Stuff

Siberian Art Jewelery.

Simple home made diets for dogs and cats with renal failure.

Does your dog eat anything & everything?

Veterinarians and Vaccines: A Slow Learning Curve.

Cool dog collar from the Warlukurlangu Artists’ Aboriginal Corporation.

The 49 Most WTF Pictures of People Posing with Animals.

From Our House

Friends – Myrtle & Breaker on Instragram.

Our latest foster, Bandit, on PetRescue and on Gumtree.