New Zealand Dog News

Police dog bite ends eight-hour armed standoff

A man threatening to harm himself and his partner was bitten by a police dog as an eight hour standoff on the West Coast came to a head. MORE>>

Guide dog pups need love and homes

Fifteen dog-loving homes are urgently needed after a guide dog puppy boom.

More than 30 puppies have been born at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind’s Guide Dog Services in the past month.

The pups need to be placed with volunteer puppy walkers for a whole year.

Julie Littlewood, 52, has been a volunteer puppy walker since 1988 and enjoys the sense of achievement.

"You feel kind of proud when you hear that your puppy has gone through the intensive training, come through the other end and been placed with a blind person – you feel like you’ve accomplished something." MORE>>

Couple's dog rescue attempt nearly deadly

A young couple had to be rescued after they attempted to save their pet dog from drowning in the fast-flowing Mararoa River on Saturday.

The young couple were walking their 18-month-old golden labrador near the riverbank about 3pm when the dog jumped in for a swim.

It began to struggle in the strong waters, so the distraught woman, 18, dived in to attempt to save the family pet. Unfortunately, she was also caught in the strong current and swept downstream. MORE>>

Pet choked to death

Animal welfare officers are investigating the death of a pet dog found beaten and strangled.

SPCA inspectors have interviewed a 36-year-old man after his fiancee's fox terrier Geegee was found dead in the backyard of their Auckland home.

Criminal charges are expected to be laid against the man, after a neighbour alerted animal welfare authorities last week. An autopsy on the dog confirmed it had been severely beaten, according to the man's partner, who asked not to be named. The couple have since split.

She was so devastated by the death of Geegee, her pet for 12 years, that she had since undergone grief counselling. MORE>>

Dog's would-be rescuers rescued

A young couple had to be rescued after they attempted to save their pet dog from drowning in the fast-flowing Mararoa River on Saturday.

The young couple were walking their 18-month-old golden labrador near the riverbank about 3pm when the dog jumped in for a swim.

It began to struggle in the strong waters, so the distraught woman, 18, dived in to attempt to save the family pet. Unfortunately, she was also caught in the strong current and swept downstream.

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Unfortunately the dog could not be saved and drowned.

MORE>>

ET's humming again after dog mauling

An alpaca called ET spends his days humming over the fence to his girls as he longingly waits to return to stud duties after surviving a vicious dog attack.

Two pig dogs tore into ET in his Kapiti Coast paddock in June, leaving wounds on the inside of his legs, under his chest and - most worryingly for a creature whose life revolves around liaisons with the fairer sex - around his groin area.

His owner, Linda Lonsdale, was alerted to the attack by ET's screams as the two dogs attacked.

By the time she got to him and shooed off the dogs, "ET had given up, he was just sitting on the ground just awaiting his fate". MORE>>

Trained dogs help Fla. students read

Reading is a hit at elementary schools across central Florida thanks to a new program that enlists the help of four-legged friends.

At Orlando's Bay Meadows Elementary, teachers say kids can't wait to take turns snuggling up against Hector the sheltie during reading time. Experts say the dogs help students practice pronouncing words without the pressure of messing up in front of other kids.

READing Paws is a national program that uses trained Reading Education Assistance Dogs. Schools in Tennessee and Georgia have also found success with the program. MORE>>

Peru offers Obama a hairless dog

Peruvians crazy about their national dog, a bald and often toothless breed popular among Incan kings, offered to send a hypoallergenic puppy to the Obama family.

US President-elect Barack Obama has promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a new pet for the White House. But Malia is allergic to most breeds, he said on Friday as speculation swirled about the dog the family would choose.

Owners of the Peruvian Hairless Dog, a breed dating back 3,000 years and depicted in pre-Hispanic ceramics, say it is perfect for kids who are sensitive to dogs. MORE>>

Wild cat cub adopted by family of dogs

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The serval - a type of African wild cat - called Shakira was in poor health at a zoo near Munich in Germany after her siblings died.

However, she was rescued by Roland Adam, an animal carer, who introduced her to a canine brood.

Mr Adam said: "Shakira came to us when she was just 14 days old. A friend of mine from the zoo contacted me and told me how Shakira's mother had not produced enough milk for her litter and her other brothers and sisters had died. When I heard this, I decided to take her in." MORE>>

Maimed U.S. War Veterans Find Freedom With Prison-Raised Dogs

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- In a bomb blast in Iraq last year, U.S. Army Sergeant Mary Dague lost both her arms. She has found new ones.

They take the form of Remy, an amber-colored Labrador Retriever Dague received from Puppies Behind Bars, which taps New York prison inmates to train dogs for special needs. When it began in 1997, the nonprofit organization taught dogs to guide the blind. Two years ago, founder Gloria Gilbert Stoga began “Dog Tags,” a program that trains canines for disabled war veterans like Dague.

“I still feel the pain in my arms although they’re not there, but Remy has become my arms now,” said Dague, 24, as she sat in uniform next to Remy at a Manhattan fundraiser Monday night for Puppies Behind Bars. “She runs with me.”MORE>> Photos on the website

Detective tracks down missing dogs

She turns mutts and shelter-rescue dogs into detectives, tracking a scent that may be weeks old.

But these super-sniffers don't hunt down fugitives, bombs or drugs. They track lost pets to help desperate owners.This case - a missing Siberian Husky named Libby, last seen more than two weeks ago, in north Dallas."I want to go to bed knowing I did everything I could," said owner David Clouston.Clouston's so eager to find his other Husky, he's hired Karin Tarqwyn, a pet detective, at $90 an hour.MORE>>

I wonder if they have dog-telepathy?

Vets warn of fat pets risk

Owners of pets risk killing them with kindness as a human obesity and diabetes epidemic is being mirrored among animals, vets say.

Mike Gething, who runs a vet clinic in Auckland, said the number of cats and dogs diagnosed with diabetes had risen by 20 per cent in the past decade, with up to 10 new cases at his clinic this year.

In serious cases, diabetic dogs and cats would require regular insulin injections, just like humans.

Although more animals were being diagnosed, and environmental and hereditary factors played a role, many of the cases were the result of obesity, he said. "Middle age to older dogs and cats that are obese are at higher risk. Right now we're treating nine dogs and seven cats for diabetes.

"People let their dogs and cats carry more weight than they should. Dogs are around when a family is eating and they can't resist giving them food." MORE>>

If anyone in Christchurch would like help with their dog's weight, call us at Naked Dog.
389 4065 or nakeddog.co.nz