Post-quake 'family' set to be parted again

A Christchurch student and single mother are heartbroken at the thought of having to put down her two canine companions.

Sharon McBride was forced to move out of her rented Somerfield home after it was damaged in the September 2010 and February earthquakes.

She had moved seven times since the quakes and had been unable to find an affordable rental house in the city that would allow her to keep her two dogs.

The dogs had stayed at a boarding kennel in Rangiora for the past three months, but McBride had been told she would have to rehouse them by Thursday or they could have to be euthanised. MORE>>

Animal lover bequeaths estate proceeds to charity

 A Rotorua woman has bequeathed proceeds from the sale of her home to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) Guide Dog Services and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The late Nita Paterson, who passed away in August, dedicated her life to the welfare and care of animals.

Her great nephew Kevin Stanley said his earliest memories of his 'Great Aunt Nita' were of her numerous adopted dogs which she rescued and cared for at her Mangakakahi home.

Mr Stanley said: "Nita spent much of the 1980s volunteering her time with the SPCA. Her last pet dog, Ted, passed on when Nita was 84, and she reluctantly realised she could no longer care for any more pets adequately."  MORE>>

Dog dispute may go to High Court

A battle between neighbouring dog lovers has escalated to one couple threatening High Court legal action.

Bob and Gay Renshaw have appealed against complaints being pursued by the Kapiti Coast District Council that their dogs, six-year-old labrador Lou and eight- year-old samoyed Kayla, are causing a noise disturbance barking in the neighbourhood.

Mr Renshaw admits that, for a while, they had four dogs, but since September have had only two, under council regulations all that is permitted on an urban section before a special licence is needed.

All up, the Renshaws say they have spent about $1000 to comply with the regulations, including forking out for bark collars, obedience training and building a fence. MORE>>

Man seeks mayor's help on dog issues

An Invercargill chihuahua owner has asked Mayor Tim Shadbolt to put policies in place so big dogs stop terrorising little dogs in the city's parks and reserves.

So... council is supposed to put a law to control big dogs! and how about a policy to control kids?

Nigel Murch has written to Mr Shadbolt expressing his concern about the lack of control some dog owners have over their canines.

How, oh how, did this become a story, and printed in a newspaper (with photo?)
PS. it only becomes clear at the end of this article.

Mr Murch and his family own "three beautiful little chihuahuas" and regularly walk them along the Waihopai flood bank. Large dogs off their leashes had scared their little dogs three times and he has had enough.
Mr Murch yelled at the big dogs that jumped at his chihuahuas but sometimes he got abused by their owners, he said.


It is clear that Mr Murch doesn't understand the need for dogs to say hello. Yelling at dogs is like a bark to a dog. Barking takes on many meanings.
And for a human to use their voice... Does he use his voice (bark) in a high pitch or a low pitch? Does Mr Murch get in between both dogs? Does he allow his dog to be in front of him while he is barking commands?


If so, here's what the dog might think... the dog is in front of the owner feeling the need to DEFEND his owner because the owner is barking. Dog might interpret Mr Murch's bark like this: "Help, get that dog away from me, I'm scared" So the little dog has to defend the big dog (his human) BUT there's more... the big dog (human) scoops him up making him even more determined to 'scare' the other dogs away. 

Queens Park and Donovan Park were other areas where owners let their big dogs roam and "terrorise" little dogs and their owners, with Mr Murch yesterday recounting one unnerving encounter between his chihuahuas and a rottweiler.

Yes, this is true! little dogs fair better with other little dogs, however I also know of little dogs terrorising big dogs too!  It's the nature of being a dog!

"Chihuahuas don't handle it too well when being ambushed and blindsided by big dogs so I scoop them up," he said.

I'd like to know how many big dogs he's talking about? 1 big dog, 2 big dogs? Scooping your dog up tells your dog that there is something to be afraid of !! You are causing the very problem that you are trying to solve! 

"It's unfair that wee dogs get targeted by big dogs and you can't chance that they aren't going to eat our wee dogs."

EAT YOUR DOG !! wow! dogs eating dogs... hum... 

In his letter to Mr Shadbolt, Mr Murch suggested having honorary dog control officers walking the parks, saying he would be happy to become one.

Oh Heavens.. he'd like to become a dog control officer... oh, I can see him now.. he'd be issuing fines right, left, and centre! God help us from the well-intentioned! 

He asked Mr Shadbolt whether cameras could be installed on the Waihopai flood banks to catch out irresponsible dog owners and suggested setting aside a particular section of the city for small dogs and another section for large dogs.

Oh, installing cameras to spy on dog owners! That is a lot of money to see if small dogs are being scooped up by their owners! Who's going to watch the footage? how do you identify the dog? Do you bring them to court? Will there be court costs? Will CAT OWNERS want to pay for these cameras? Would non dog-owners want their taxes spent on this?

"I can see a large dog attacking and either maiming or killing a little dog or person," his letter says.

Can you now. So how many dog attacks have there been up to now?
I've been bitten by little dogs too! They've got teeth !

In his correspondence to the mayor, Mr Murch also raises the problem of dog poo.

"The amount of large clumps of poo is from big dogs, as little ones don't leave big turds.

Oh my oh my... 

"I carry plastic bags and clean up after our dogs but others do not, the flood bank is littered with poos at the moment," he says.

Perhaps it's human waste! 

Mr Shadbolt said his office had made the council's dog control staff aware of Mr Murch's concerns regarding the issues raised.

"It might not be a bad idea to have the tiny breeds in one space and the rottweilers and pitbulls on another track," he said.

I do not have a problem with a dog trail for smaller dogs and bigger dogs, but let's face it. Mr Murch is a breedíst (like racist for humans). He doesn't like rottweilers and pitbulls. They aren't the only Big Dogs around! Labradors, German Shepherds, Border Collies are all big-- but he picks on the so-called dogs that have a bad rap. Let's call a spade a spade Mr Murch! 

Mr Murch's call for some mayoral assistance follows the decision by the city council this week to review its dog control policy.

And who, may I ask, will the council get their expert advice from?

A council focus group will be formed to deal with issues such as defining walking tracks where dogs must be kept on leads and dealing with dog-fouling issues in the city's parks and reserves.

There are more than 7000 registered dog owners in Invercargill and Bluff.... yes, 7000 dogs x $82.00 registration fee = $574,000 


That's around half a million dollars a year that council gets to make sure that dogs are well looked after... If only 10% of the fee goes into research around our best friend, that would benefit all citizens of Invercargill! 

Canine carnage follows children's prank

School children playing a prank are being blamed for the carnage that followed when a gate was left open and three rottweilers got loose.
It resulted in two injured dogs, three other dogs being destroyed, and veterinary bills totalling $3150.
One rottweiler, Snoop, has already been put down and a Christchurch District Court judge today ordered the destruction of the other two, Zephyr and Minx. MORE>>

Dog-food maker seeks $2.5m

Christchurch raw dog-food manufacturer, K9 Natural, the fastest-growing manufacturer in the country according to Deloitte, is seeking to raise $2.5 million from new investors.

The Christchurch company has grown from a small business with $650,000 of sales to $5m turnover and to 22 staff in the past three years through an export focus. The United States, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong are its main overseas markets.

The almost 800 per cent growth in the past three years has won K9 the accolade of the fifth-fastest growing business in the Deloitte New Zealand's Fast 50 in 2011 and the fastest growing manufacturer in the country. MORE>>

Keeping fit with your furry best friend

Next time you walk past a dog owner scooping up after their pet on the street, save the smug smile. Dog owners are healthier - both mentally and physically - than people without canine companions.

Grant Schofield, director of AUT's Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, said he had done research into the health of dog owners and found that people with a four-legged friend were likely to be fitter. "Having a dog helps you be more active."

But he said the simple fact of just owning a dog would not do any good. A handbag-sized chihuahua would have limited benefit beyond the mental perks of having a companion to pat and chat to. "It needs to be a medium or large dog." MORE>>

Dog killed after attacking four people

A teenage girl and three adults in their 60s were attacked by a dog in South Auckland this morning, forcing a police officer to shoot it.

A police spokesman said the attack happened on Elmdon St, Mangere, at 10.30am.

"Police responded to a call that a teenage girl had been bitten and on arrival the dog was still behaving aggressively," a Counties Manukau police spokesman said. MORE>>

A furry merry Christmas

....

"Christmas is about the pets," said Gayla McCarthy, 58, of Kekaha, Hawaii, whose Australian shepherd, Echo, will find a toy under the tree. McCarthy even got a shirt for her husband as a gift to him from the dog, and she'll be giving collapsible bowls that she ordered online to all their friends' dogs.

Although the average budget for pet gifts among those surveyed was US$46, 72 per cent said they'd spend US$30 or less. Those who bought gifts for their pets last year said they spent US$41 on average.

Income makes a difference. Those making US$50,000 or more say they plan to spend an average of US$57 on their pets. MORE>>

Risk-takers not put off by failure

Louise O'Sullivan was looking for day care for her beloved pooch. Searching in her neighbourhood on Auckland's North Shore, she couldn't find anywhere suitable to leave her dog during the day while she worked as a corporate senior manager in the city.
Anyone else would probably just have found something in another location. But for O'Sullivan, it was the beginning of a process which led to an exciting new career path.
Now, two-and-a-half years down the track, O'Sullivan tells the story of how she established DogHQ, her day-care centre for dogs.
People like O'Sullivan, who spot and seize an opportunity, are different to most of us. Psychologists such as John Krumboltz, the father of Planned Happenstance theory, believes "serendipity is not serendipitous but rather it is ubiquitous: everywhere". MORE>>

Canine cuisine a hit with pampered pooches

Wellington cafe culture is going to the dogs, with one business unveiling a designer canine menu – complete with doggoccinos and pupsicles.

Beach Babylon in Oriental Pde began catering for its new breed of customers during the weekend with dog beds, hooks for leashes and specially crafted canine beer.

The alcoholic concoction of beef stock mixed with Tuatara draught beer is strictly "R18 months" and is served in a stainless steel bowl.
Manager Simon Holtham has taste tested the menu, which he says is fit for human consumption.
MORE>>

At least 65 dogs in a year poisoned by 1080 in New Zealand

....
This finding contrasts sharply with what our Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) claimed in its reassessment of 1080 poison in 2007. According to ERMA "Controls in place to ensure dogs are not exposed are adequate"

It also makes nonsense of the claim made this June by our Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (Dr Jan Wright) that only 8 dogs have been reported killed in New Zealand by 1080 poison since 2007. Dr Wright quoted only the number of dogs in incidents reported to ERMA about 1080 operations. The “8 dogs” figure is clearly a gross misrepresentation of the actual number of dogs killed. This is just one of a large number of misleading statements in her report on 1080, which is heavily biased towards its use, as was the ERMA reassessment.
Read MORE>>

Miniature horses mauled by dogs

A Christchurch horse owner is distraught after her miniature horses were savaged in their paddock by two dogs.
Nicola Bean said five of her horses had to by treated by a vet after the attack yesterday afternoon.
''I got a phone call saying there was two dogs attacking the horses so I raced to the paddock and when I got there, it just just carnage,'' she said.
''There was blood everywhere and the horses were so distressed and I just felt sick, it was just so horrible to see.''
The paddock sits off Linwood Ave behind the crematorium.
Bean said a neighbour had heard the attack and scared the dogs off.
''He [the neighbour] said the dogs looked like a staffie cross and a labrador cross but apparently the lab wasn't the one doing the damage. He saw the staffie hanging off one of the horse's noses...it's just horrific.''

And if we lived in the United States, it would have been coyotes...

But in New Zealand, we have dogs that do this. The difference between a coyote and a dog is that a dog is also a companion to us and easy game for people to lump all dogs!

There aren't many prey animals in NZ, and aren't you glad otherwise we'd be horrified about coyotes, mountain lions, wolves...

Remember, 350 000 dogs never bite anyone today!

Owner must pay $1600 for dog attack

The owner of a dangerous dog was fined $1000 and ordered to pay $600 to an 80-year-old woman the dog attacked.
The woman was badly bitten and took eight weeks to physically recover, the Christchurch District Court was told today in a session at the Nga Hau e Wha marae.
The woman was on a walking track near Wilsons Road when the pet Alsatian left the owner’s property and bit her on the arm and leg. MORE>>

Cesar Millan shares his tips

This last part of the article is what I like the best. Read the article here

And Millan believes this balance can be found in every dog - even those breeds that have been banned in countries like New Zealand. He says it is not the breed, but the owner's leadership that is the problem.

"You are dealing with a powerful breed and an uneducated human. You have problems with little dogs, it's just a smaller scale of power," he says.

"Aggression is not the problem; it's the outcome of a problem...that's just the symptom, a side effect. So as we have problems with kids, we have problems with dogs. Everybody wants trust, everybody wants respect, everybody wants love but the only way you can obtain it is if you behave honestly, you have integrity and you show loyalty.

"I don't see a dog as a student; I see a dog as a teacher." 

CS does want the best for the dog, and I do hope that his association with the likes of positive dog trainers like Dr Ian Dunbar, and Bob Bailey has rubbed off on him. Don't watch his earlier shows... it's full of old methods of dog training that were used 50 years ago. CM is slowly getting it !! using positive reinforcement is much better for learning, as opposed to punitive. 

There's a place where dogs match bags

OPINION: It's true that travel broadens the mind. The downside is post- travel triste.


It takes time to readjust to a country - your own - where people are nagged about saving the planet when at the other, densely populated end of the planet, consumption of everything naughty carries on happily.
Outside it may be chilly, but inside every building the heat is tropical. Europeans don't expect to freeze the way we do.

There are dogs: different dogs. They say Paris is coated in their poo, but that's untrue. They sit up in restaurants next to their owners, which I like to see, better behaved than most children, especially most New Zealand children.

Ours expect to charm the pants off everyone with their chubby, jam-covered mitts while their parents take a desperate break.

I liked the little dogs carried in handbags by women of a certain age with Hermes scarves draped around their shoulders. If only children could be relied on to look as chic.MORE>>

Porirua dog-poo bylaw may be binned

Porirua's much-mocked Pooper Scooper Bylaw could be dumped.

The bylaw was introduced five years ago in a bid to force dog owners to carry a device, such as a plastic bag, to pick up their pooch's mess.

However, questions have been raised over enforcement of the rule, as dog rangers do not have the power to search people's pockets for a device or force them to display the contents of their pockets.

No-one has received a $300 fine for failing to carry a pooper scooper and the council has no intention of coming down hard on perpetrators should the bylaw be retained.

The preferred option, put to the Porirua City Council committee yesterday, is to keep the bylaw as it stands. However, a decision will not be made until the public have their say next month.

Deputy Mayor Liz Kelly criticised the bylaw when it was introduced but could now see the value of retaining it as it had put pressure on dog owners to be seen to do the right thing.

"It would be fair to say that I actually thought that it would be superfluous," she said.

"Honestly, when we got the papers I said, `Are you for real, is this really a bylaw or are you just trying to see if we're paying attention?"'

Mrs Kelly said she would advocate for dog-poo disposal bins to be installed throughout the city. -- now isn't that a better way of managing the environment. 

Environment and Regulatory Services general manager David Rolfe said the bylaw was a successful educational tool as it had placed the onus on dog owners to be prepared.  How about EDUCATION instead of ENFORCEMENT?

He said it was more effective than an earlier bylaw which made it illegal for dogs to defecate in public places. "It's a subtle change by putting social pressure on dog owners," he said.  BUT,,, it was ALWAYS dog owners who had to pick it up?! it's called 'dog responsibility'

Most local councils have a similar bylaw but it is very difficult to prosecute as rangers must catch the dog in the act.

Now they are called 'rangers' -- never heard of this word being used here?!? 

It is illegal for dog owners in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt to leave their dog's mess in a public place, but they do not have to carry a pooper scooper on them.

Wellington City Council ditched a proposal in 2009 to force dog owners to carry pooper scoopers.

Mr Rolfe said the council visits Porirua's 3822 dog owners each year to explain the need to carry a pooper scooper, and other dog control rules.

"We don't intend to carry out more enforcement but it's there should we wish to use it."  It's the same stupid way of thinking--- I'll just keep this old bit of junk in my garage... I might use it. 

If you haven't used it in three years, throw it out!

No-one had complained about the bylaw, but residents had called the council to dob in dirty dog owners, who were then spoken to by rangers, Mr Rolfe said.

here's that word again... rangers. American word for people who work in a state park, park rangers.

MORE>>

Aussie trainer has tips on dogs

Gary Jackson has trained 20,000 dogs and dog control officers and the Marlborough public have been reaping the benefit.

The Australian dog training expert was in Blenheim last week for a conference and on Friday morning the public watched a demonstration on the Taylor River bank on how to test if a dog is docile enough to go to a new home.

Mr Jackson runs Multi National K9, a specialist dog training company in Queensland.

He was a guest speaker for the New Zealand Institute of Animal Control Officers Conference at the Marlborough Convention Centre on Thursday and Friday.

The demonstration on Friday morning showed how to tell whether a dog would be dangerous, while on Thursday morning he gave animal control officers tips to make their job safer. It was "how to avoid getting attacked by a dog and how to handle dogs without being bit," he said.

There were some golden rules like never run but mostly it was understanding dogs and how to reduce or redirect their aggression, he said. A tennis ball or some dog roll went a long way, he said.

There were many different techniques that worked well when used together, he said.

MORE>>