NEWS & ARTICLES:

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NEW LAWS RE. RESTRICTED DOG BREEDS  

 

The Victorian government are implementing new laws that will come into effect from September 30th, 2011 involving new legislation affecting Registered Dog breeds and dangerous dogs.

You can view more information on the DPI- Dept. of Primary Industries website: www.dpi.vic.gov.au

Restricted dog breeds in Victoria are: the Pit Bull Terrier, the Dogo Argentino, the Japanese Tosa, the Fila Brasileiro and the Presa Canario. Pit Bull terriers and crosses must be registered with respective Councils up to 30/09 otherwise their owners risk having the dog put down by their Councils. You need to comply with Local Laws and to keep dog pedigree certificates in a place easy to access if you need to prove your dog specific breed.

 

CANINE GOOD CITIZEN - CGC Program & Test

 

Pet Pals will be offering the CGC Award Program & Test from this coming Wednesday 16/11 evening onwards.

A essential program to put your dog through if you want him/ her to be a suitable and safe dog within our community. You get a special dog lead, certificate, the special sense of achievement the CGC Program Certification gives you and your dog and special discounts while registering your dog. No one can get it away from you. Something to aim for...More details on our website page: DOG SCHOOL courses.

 

 

TICK PARALYSIS

 

Normally found in parts of QLD and NSW, with the warmer weather, extra humidity and above average rainfall our Victorian weather resembles Queensland lately. This is perfect breeding conditions for the deadly 'Ticks'.

SYMPTOMS: Starts with hind legs weakening and progresses to inability to stand, vomiting, heavy breating, change in bark, death eventually occurs from paralysis of the breathing muscles. A single tick takes 3 to 4 days to cause paralysis so throughly daily check can prevent problems.

TREATMENT: Do not squeeze the tick or you risk injecting more poison into the dog. Remove it slowly. They can be in more than 1 area in the dog's body. If paralysis has started take your dog to the vet asap.

PREVENTION: Insecticidal powders and rinses give some protection. Daily check. Check specially in areas:under collar, in the mouth and ears, under the tail and along dog's body.

If travelling to prone areas: Qld, northeastern NSW - do preventive programs and keep checking your dog daily.

 

WILDLIFE VICTORIA 

 

What would happen if you were travelling by car and you found injured wildlife on the side of the road or worse, hit a kangaroo for example and animal is still alive but hurt?

WILDLIFE VICTORIA has a special phone number for you to call - you should key it into your mobile for the future - it is 13 000 WILDLIFE  or 13 000 94535  and someone will call the closest wildlife worker from that area to assit.

Vets do see wildlife as Pro Bonus- No Charge. It's part of their duty of care to the animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melbourne Zoo field day trip with animal trainers - Sunday 13/02

Yesterday a group of 12 dog trainers spent the day @ Melbourne Zoo behind the scenes with the Zoo animal trainers. It was a fantastic day. We observed how they train the brown bears, giraffe, tree kangaroos, elephants, tigers, gorillas and we observed a seal demonstration. Techniques of targetting are used to get the animal to give its paw for nail trimming, to approximate certain parts of its body close to the cage so an injection can be given, its teeth and ears checked and cleaned. Mali the young female elephant was surely a highlight. She was very curious and when I was taking photos she nearly got my camera with her trunk. The Zoo trainers are so passionate and they do a sensational job buiding a mutual bond and trust with the animal, buiding a really strong relationship with them first so they can achieve desired outcomes. Positive Reinforcement training methods are used and the treats to reward animal behaviour are varied: dates for 'Honey' the Bear, chunky pieces of meat for the tiger, mushrooms for the tree kangaroo, pellets for the giraffe. 

                                                                                                                 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Patterson River flood – Friday 4/02 and Saturday 5/02, Melbourne

And the heavy rain hit Melbourne last weekend. The Patterson River close to where I live - sth eastern suburbs, was very full with rapids and it became a bit of an attraction for the locals.

The street in front of mine got flooded by a storm water drainage that overflew and it was quite a scary picture. I called the SES and Kingston Council to help. Both departments were very professional. Council kept an eye in the area and the boys of SES did a marvellous job helping sandbagging the corner house that was about to get flooded.

Luckily the rain eased and by Sunday the river levy had dropped quite a bit.

On the bridge many dogs watched the action with their owners. Even a Mr Whippy van did a great business on the day.

No houses got flooded in the end and South East Water has been fixing the damage around here lately. Hopefully it was a one off event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  'It's raining cats and dogs, so where are all the cats?'

RSPCA Qld evacuates pets from cyclone Yasi affected areas- Townsville & Cairns

Cats and dogs are been evacuated from Townsville and Cairns animal shelters. Some animals are been flown out of these areas by plane to Brisbane as cyclone Yasi's intensity increases and reaches a level 5 in the Richter scale, the most dangerous cyclone to ever hit Tropical Queensland.

Check more details on: http://fb.me/NnVGLDci

RSPCA QUEENSLAND FLOOD APPEAL - Pets & Livestock

For donations to help pets & livestock affected by QLD floods please go to:

www.rspca.org.au/news/queensland-floods.html

RSPCA QLD is calling for donations that can be used to purchase pets, livestock and wildlife supplies in areas affected by the current flood crisis. They are urging people to donate financiallyrather than dropping off supplies because of the logistics involved in moving those items throughout the State. Money that could otherwise be used to help animals would be taken up in transportation & packaging costs.

RSPCA's Townsville & Fairfield shelters sent crates to help authoroties deal with domestic pets stranded in Theodore. A temporary shelter has been set up at the evacuation centre at Central Queensland University. A data base of foster carers in the area has been set up so people can look after pets & livestock during the crisis.

PET PALS DOG CLUB

All dogs and owners who attend dog and puppy classes have automatic membership to PET PALS DOG CLUB.

No charge to join.

Plenty activities to keep you motivated in dog training and always learning more.

You'll get information on calendar of activities - via e-mail-  that Adriana is planning for 2011.

Next group get together will be at spring time.

Opportunity to meet some people you did classes with, your dog to continue making doggie friends, socialising, dog owner guidance and plenty of action and interaction.

Fun times guaranteed !

 

APDT CONFERENCE - Sydney - 28-31 October 2010

Adriana attended the Australia Pet Dog Trainers Conference during all days last October.260 dog trainers from all over Australia participated in the event. It was a very educational opportunity for all of us.

•  Thursday we attended Pet Tech First Aid/ Dog Health course
• Friday, Saturday & Sunday - Speakers: Ken Ramirez- Biologist and Animal Behaviorist, Chicago Shedd Aquarium with 30 years animal care & training experience, talking about animal operant conditioning training, USA, Steve White - 35 years law enforcement career in K-9, Seattle Police Unit, USA, talking mostly about dog scent detection, Peta Clarke - animal trainer in Australia and the USA - experienced training dogs and a varied range of species - talking about dog off leash control, Terry Theastone - Vet Behaviourist talking about Business Management, Paul Mc Greevy, Vet Behaviourist - UK and Australia with the Bateson Report and the latest in animal research and Science

        

    

Ken Ramirez             Steve White                                    Halloween toys

 

 

VET VISITS

 

Last Saturday I had to take my pet to the vet and it was a very busy morning at the clinic so we had to wait for a while. While there I observed how owners handled their pets while waiting for their turn to come. Dogs particularly can get stressed out and restless if left to wait long with nothing to do. 1 important exercise to teach your dog is 'to settle' for short periods of time. You start practicing it on your dog mat at home and put him on a drop position and gently start massaging him with very gentle and light hand strokes - along his body and to speak calmly with him to help him relax. They have sensitive spot areas like the inside of their ears. And reward your dog for accepting your touch. Don't pat him if he cries tough, otherwise you will be rewarding him for crying. The challenge is to try to distract your dog so he doesn't have a boring time there.

If at the vet clinic you have enough room in between each customer you could bring your dog mat and to practice this while there and maybe bring your dog a chewy or a favourite toy- but not a squeaky one because that would arouse the other dogs and not a ball - but only if the clinic does have space in between people. If it is a very small space a mat and a toy or chewy isn't a good idea. You don't want dogs fighting over toys or food. So if it turns out a long wait it's better to tell the vet nurse you are popping outside for a little while so your dog can have a little walk and distract himself. But please stay close by to clinic so vet nurse can find you when your turn comes. Dogs crying at a clinic is not a good experience for none of them and your dog soon will associate the vet visits with stress and you don't want that. So please be pro-active and help him. If you have a puppy you can start dropping by the clinic to introduce the puppy to a new environment before he is even due to a visit. Always reward calm behaviour if you puppy/ dog is calm while at the vet because that's your ultimate goal.

 

 

EQUIPMENT 

 

A word about Extended/ Retractable leads

 

I am not fond of extended leads. I see many people walking their dogs on the street with them. And most of the time dog is far ahead of its owner and not close by to owner leg where it should be. A dog walking well ahead of its owner is already pulling on the lead. If being ahead takes your dog to where he wants to be, your dog will do whatever works for him. And pulling becomes rewarding for him. Apart from being allowed to stop and sniff whatever he wants. Your dog can develop bad habits. If you are a bit slow on operating the retractable lead your dog could come into other people's, dogs and incoming traffic path. So summing up, extended leads aren't suitable for walks. I would recommend a dog lead of around 1.2m - 1.3m range for your street walk and while at the off leash park or at the beach if your dog isn't trained on 'Recall' - as yet and cannot go off leash, then a

3 m long lead to practice 'Recall' exercises while there is much more suitable.

 

 

ENVIRONMENT ENRICHMENT TOYS FOR YOUR DOG

 

Very good website with great variety of dog toys that offer mental stimulation for your dog.

Let your dog have fun in the backyard !

 

www.aussiedogs.com.au

 

				Delta Society Australia 2010 Quality Assurance -     2 Day Seminar
				Held on the weekend Sat 6, Sun 7 March at the Jilka International Hotel - Fairfield, Melbourne   We had a great guest speaker panel from industry experts.   Guest speakers were: Dr. Debbie Calnon and Dr. Gabrielle Carter - vet behaviourists, Ruth Stockton - Assistance Dogs Australia, Sandy Lack - APDT President, Jenny Judson and Jenny Pearce - Delta instructors.   Many topics were presented including: Dog Behaviour problems, Assistance Dogs in Australian prison system, The Open Paws program in animal shelters, grief and loss of a pet, and how to deal with it, why punishment methods don't work
				Seminar was wonderfully organised and a good opportunity for professional development and networking.