New stem-cell therapy for dogs

New Zealand dog owners will soon be able to access breakthrough stem cell therapy for their pets suffering from degenerative joint disease.

Pet Doctors, New Zealand's biggest companion animal veterinary group, has announced an agreement to treat dogs with stem cell technology. New Zealand will be only the third country in the world to offer this type of therapy for dogs, along with Australia and the United States.

Pet Doctors group chief executive Steve Merchant says the treatment offers an alternative for thousands of dogs suffering from degenerative joint disease.

"Many pet-owners have experienced the heartache of seeing a previously active dog deteriorate in mobility - for simple things like getting into the car, going for walks, or having a play at the beach.

Yup, my dog is definitely one of them... and it IS painful to see, but he's 14. What should I expect? He doesn't really LOOK old like some dogs.

"Often the mind is willing but the body is not," says Merchant. Sounds like me... but it's called laziness.

"By using the dog's own fat cells and genetic material to regenerate their joint, they can lead healthier and more active lives without drugs." MORE>>

And just another way of drug companies of making you feel bad when you don't do everything possible for your dog. But then, you can pay $2500 for your dog's knee surgery! and that's from bad genes. Breeders don't like hearing that, and keep breeding. When you take profit out of dogs, you'll see healthier dogs.

Dogs do understand you, study says

Ask any dog owner whether their canine companion understands them and the answer will probably be yes.

Now, psychology researchers at the University of Otago are running experiments to find if dogs really can detect human emotional messages.

Over the past 15 months, Associate Professor Ted Ruffman and a team of students have put 90 Dunedin dogs, of all shapes, sizes and breeds, through their paces.

Some have been shown recorded images of babies laughing, crying and babbling, while others have been given the same verbal instruction from humans displaying either happy or stern expressions.

The dogs' responses indicated they could indeed differentiate a happy human from an angry or sad one and a laugh from a cry, Professor Ruffman said. "We know dogs are very good at picking up on human gestures ... and it seems they are very good at picking up on human emotions too." MORE>>

I saw many studies on TV that were from the States and England... and they did this kind of study. Of course dog have emotions, and I'm not surprised to read that monkeys and apes grieve. Whales do it too. Wasn't there a study about fish and pain?

My dog reads the time. He knows when it's time for dinner and knows when it's morning tea! clever dog..

Council drops itself in it with pooper scoop plan

Animal owners could be forced to follow their private flocks with pooper scoopers if a new law is passed in Dunedin.

The city council is considering new rules which would force some property owners to collect the droppings left behind by animals including sheep, pigs and goats.

The rules would not apply to commercial or lifestyle farms, but would cover all residential and rural residential properties in Dunedin with livestock. The rules, still only in draft form, are already causing a stink.

"The world's gone mad," said Mosgiel Taieri Community Board member Chris Adams yesterday.

(...) Sounds like cow tax all over again!

Mr Williams owns several properties including one rural residential section with 100 ewes on it, and said he had "no intention" of picking up after them.

"You would have to put a bucket under all the sheep. It's unbelievable. It's nuts, completely nuts."

The rules are in the council's draft Keeping of Animals (Excluding Dogs) and Poultry Bylaw 2010. The proposal aims to protect the public from noise, nuisance and health and safety threats caused by animals.

So, who's going to pick up after the geese because she shit all over the bike trail, and on the quay where people get in their kayaks. That definitely needs a council bill for that.

Oh, and how about the cats! They did up my garden, and crap all over the place.

Animal waste, it says, should either be stored in a fly-proof container and disposed of, or buried under at least 50mm of soil.

remember, this includes cat shit, and duck/geese shit too

Councillor Kate Wilson stressed the bylaw remained "a work in progress". "These things are always good to put out first, before we adopt them, to see how practical they are."

A work in progress? how much time have they put into this? not much thought just dollar signs.

There were empty rural residential sections in Middlemarch - as elsewhere - that required grazing by sheep to keep grass down, and the concerns raised were "very valid", she said.

Really now?!

The bylaw was likely to be used only when a neighbour complained, she said.

What???

The complaining society... "I hate my neighbour and how can I get back at him!"... great, another way of being legally uncivil.. !

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES

Police dog slashed in AOS call-out

A police dog is undergoing surgery after a knife-wielding man slashed her nose during an altercation with the Armed Offenders Squad.

The 42-year-old Napier man will face charges after injuring Ila the dog during an incident this morning in Camborne, Porirua, north of Wellington. MORE>>

Mobility dog and owner best friends from the start

As soon as Goldie saw Bridget he seemed to know that she would be his new best friend. Bridget McLaren's new Labrador retriever mobility dog came right up to her when they were first introduced and they bonded straight away. Bridget, 19, has cerebral palsy and Goldie is going to be a big part of her life helping do many everyday tasks and give her much greater independence.

Goldie's trainer, Natalie Ramm, of Mobility Dogs Charitable Trust has been with the new pair for the last two week's as part of the In Home Placement, where the dog and new owner becomes acquainted and learn about what each other can do. The mobility dogs can understand and act on 90 commands and help with a huge range of day to day activities. MORE>>

Good turnout gets in behind trials

It was a dog's world at Glenmae Farm as the Wairau Valley dog trials took place during the weekend.

The Wairau Valley Dog Trial Club held its annual competition, with contestants from around the South Island and North Island vying for titles in Marlborough-Nelson's only merino sheep trial.

Club secretary Debbie Pauling was really happy with the turnout, with about 50 entrants in each of the four events.

Firm favourite Eion Herbert, from Tapawera, entered his four heading dogs into the long head and short head and yard sections.

Mr Herbert won the long head event with eight-year-old Rosie.

The veteran of 30 years of competition said it took a couple of years to train and break in a dog, and a lot of patience and perserverance to get it to work skilfully and quickly. MORE>>

Turning 102 'not too bad'

Jim Brown was enjoying himself at the Waimate Dog Trial Club's annual trials yesterday.

Mr Brown, who turns 102 next Saturday, has had a long association with the club, including stints as both secretary and president; and he is a patron and life member.

The retired farmer displayed a remarkable memory as he recalled the years he served in official positions, the trial grounds at which he had both competed and judged, and the time he scored 98 out of 100 at Geraldine with his heading dog Jan - the last, and best, dog he had. MORE>>

Cyclist dies after dog crash

An early morning recreational bike ride ended in tragedy after a fatal collision between a cyclist and a runaway dog. Douglas William Cater, 65, died in Auckland hospital 10 days after falling off his bike outside Glover Park, St Heliers, on April 1.

He was cycling downhill on Glover Rd about 6.30am when a chocolate labradoodle called Ruby ran from the park, an approved Auckland City Council off-lead dog exercise area.

The father-of-three, who was wearing a helmet, hit the 10-month-old dog and fell off his bike, suffering severe head and internal injuries.

He was rushed to hospital but died on April 11. Oh, that's my birthday!

Senior Constable Bryan Hensley of the Auckland Serious Crash Unit is investigating. He said Ruby's owner had let her off her lead and was about to throw her a ball when she ran into the road.

Hensley said the road had a slight bend in it and many cyclists went around it on the wrong side of the road. "Coming down the hill, you can see everything coming towards you. When we got there, the marks and debris were on the wrong side of the road.

(...)

"It's just one of those very unfortunate things." He said Ruby was a bit "battered and bruised and sore" but otherwise okay.

How bizarre! but a crash is a crash, it could have come from a car, a sheep... it makes you appreciate the days above the ground just a bit better.

Police investigate dog's fatal beating

Police are investigating the fatal beating of a Christchurch dog at the weekend.

The six-year-old greyhound escaped from its owner's property about 10.30am on Sunday after a gate was accidentally left open.

It was only missing a few minutes when it was found dead 500 metres away in Aldershot St, near Wainoni Park, having suffered "severe blunt force trauma" to its head, said Constable Brian Scanlan, of New Brighton police.

There was no evidence the dog had been hit by a vehicle, he said.

Anyone with information about what might have happened is asked to call police.

New Puppies At Women's Prison: Programme Changing Lives Inside And Out

The arrival of two new puppies at Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility in South Auckland has heralded the successful expansion of the Puppies in Prison programme, run in association with the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, with eight women now training dogs destined to assist people in the community with disabilities.

"Hopi and Huia arrived last Monday, and have spent their first weeks getting to know their new handlers, playing with the other dogs and exploring their fenced area behind the unit where they will live for the next year," says Prison Manager Agnes Robertson.

"The dogs live with and are trained by a group of selected low security prisoners who live in the Self Care Units at the prison, a rehabilitative unit similar to a flatting environment which helps prepare the women for life outside prison when they are released. The puppies spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with their handlers, even attending rehabilitation and education programmes with the women. MORE>>

MOBILITY DOGS is such a great cause. I've seen them in action, and quite frankly, they provide such independence for someone in a wheelchair. We need more of them! It's nice to see the prisons used for some good !