In some countries it is illegal to leave your dog on its own for longer than 7 hours. I have heard of people wanting to introduce similar legislation in New Zealand although I think this would be extremely hard to get accepted.

But there are some good points raised within the argument for the law, and that’s why dog walking is big business in some areas of the world and growing in popularity in New Zealand.

 

Should you consider hiring a dog walker?

Does your dog have ‘accidents’ inside or damage furniture while you are gone? How about misbehaving when you get home? A tired dog is a happy dog and a dog walker can be just the ticket to help relieve the extra energy and get this behaviour under control.

When you think about your dog being alone in a kennel all day just waiting for you to come home and play, you can see the benefit of having a professional dog walker exercise your dog once or more per week to break that boredom and loneliness of being alone all day, every day.

The health benefit of the extra exercise can’t be understated. A healthier dog means less vet bills and money saved as well as a longer life for your best friend. The exercise and bonding time you get when you walk your dog is very valuable so don’t replace your walk time completely by hiring a dog walker every day.

 If you have a busy schedule or even a one off event, a dog walker can relieve you of the guilt of not being able to get home in time for the regular walkies.

 Most dog walkers exercise more than one dog at a time unless you request otherwise so the walk becomes a fun social event with playmates to enjoy a good outing with.

 

Do your homework, check out a person you are thinking of hiring. Can they produce a clear criminal check? Do they have references or can they give you contact details for past clients that are willing to provide a reference for their service?

 

Make sure you are happy with the person you hire, chances are you will be inviting them into your property and maybe even your home when you are not there.

 

We have had a few customers use a local dog walker and from feedback we are happy to recommend this service. If you are thinking about a dog walker give Jan a call to discuss your needs as she offers more than simply walking your dog.

 

 

 

Many people spend months or years studying to become the trusted expert in their field. Not only do these people have educated knowledge they often have a heap of experience to call on when needed.

We seek out these people when we need help, treatment or advice. We trust their opinion and follow what they tell us. It is normal for us to pay them a lot of money for what they offer us.

I’m guessing this cost is a major cause of people deciding to search out answers online, but is it a good idea?

We all know there is a lot of rubbish online and as much as we try to we can’t sort the good from the bad. To be able to do so would mean we already know what the correct information is and therefore we would not need to search in the first place.

So we choose to believe much of what we read online without actually understanding the accuracy of the information we are digesting.

Social media links us to thousands of people with varying degrees of knowledge, so we ask them. Sometimes an actual expert (at least they tell us they are anyway) might answer our question but more often than not, it is an unqualified person who thinks they have an answer for whatever reason, be it through their own experience over time or something they have been told by someone.

These social media contacts are most likely genuinely trying to help and sometimes they do but what worked for them may not work for you.

 

Please ask a qualified expert for advice and avoid Dr Google and Nurse Facebook when you need help with your dog, unless you can be 100% certain the information is accurate.

The 5 Reasons So Many Dogs Tear Their Cruciate Ligament

This article is reproduced from this website http://topdoghealth.com/

by Dr. James St. Clair. Posted in Food for Thought

Why is it that an ACL injury in dogs is the most common orthopedic injury of all veterinary medicine?  Did nature not make this ligament strong enough in dogs? Is it due to bad breeding or are there other factors in play here with relation to this injury?

This question comes up a lot in discussions with my clients.  At the end of the day they want to know why their dog got this injury. Here are the 5 Most Common predisposing factors to ACL injuries in dogs.

1. Bad Breeding: We are all familiar with the term hip dyplasia. It has been well documented that the two most common causes of this disease condition in dogs are bad breeding and over nutrition at a young age. We will dig into this more in a future post. But how do hip problems lead to ACL injury?  It is simple. Compensation.
2. Over the years we have made the direct correlation that if a dog blows their right ACL then you must X-ray the hips and many times you will see that the left hip is not good.
   This all makes sense right? If your left hip hurts an you are going to compensate and place more weight and stress on your right leg. Over time this added stress weakens the Cranial Cruciate Ligament in that right knee.  All it takes is the right movement or hyperextension in the right and POW you blow the right.
3. Natural Load: Dogs walk with their knees bent at all times. This means that the ACL ligament always is “loaded” ie. carrying weight. Whereas in humans we walk with force on our knees straight up and down. This is why in people we mostly see injury to the ACL in athletes who hyperextend the knee, for example, football or basketball players.
4. Weight: It is well documented that approximately 50% of dogs today are clinically overweight and in most cases obese. Obviously, the more weight on the ligament the more strain over time.
5. Weekend Warrior Syndrome: This is what I call the plague of the domestic dog. Most dogs are natural athletes but in western society due to our lifestyle and work schedules we don’t give our dogs enough exercise on a regular basis. And then when we do allow them to be dogs and exercise more often than not, we overdo it. Clearly, lack of exercise means weaker muscle and weaker soft tissue ligament, therefore, making them more prone to injury.
   The most common description of this injury goes something like this: the dog was chasing a ball, squirrel, other dog and then the owner heard a yelp and when the dog came back into the house it was holding its leg up.
6. Lack of Recognizing Early Warning Signs: Many times dogs have joint health issues which are underlying and go undiagnosed by both pet owners and veterinarians due to lack of people’s understanding of what I call the 12 subtle signs of arthritis. Check out the video discussing these 12 signs at www.dogarthritischallenge.com.

So the sum and substance is this:

In order to give your dog the best opportunity of avoiding an injury to their ACL, make sure that they are of ideal body weight, exercise them on a regular basis and don’t allow them to overdo it without proper conditioning, get a prophaltix X-ray taken of their hips and lumbar spine to ensure good body structure and, lastly, be informed about the early warning signs of arthritis

 

Today I had an interesting experience, one I hope is not very common. I happen to walk outside early this morning just in time to see a young boy running with his dog. At first I smiled thinking this is really good. What I saw next was rather disturbing to me.

Obviously the dog was not doing what the boy wanted, not that any attempt was being made to let the dog know what was actually wanted. So the boy decided to hit and kick the dog, not once but several times. I was not the only one to see this behaviour, another person saw it happening again a bit further down the road.

Once I had confirmed who the boy was I decided to pay the parents a visit. I’m not sure if this really was the right thing t do but I couldn’t do nothing.

I was rather surprised to find a parent who really didn’t care too much, in fact was defending their son’s actions as he blatantly lied to the parent saying he never did anything. He did quickly change his story slightly to admit hitting and then kicking the dog just once. Still nothing from the parent!

I strongly expressed my dissatisfaction about this behaviour and even offered to teach the boy correct behaviour and how to train the dog, no charge. Once again nothing.

 

If this is the behaviour being taught to children these days, then some parents really should be ashamed of themselves.

 

I live in a small town where confronting others can be frowned upon. I have no doubt I am now not a person that is liked by the parent in question and in turn their partner. Do I care? No, of course not. Hopefully common sense will prevail and the parents will do something about this situation. But will they? I doubt it.

 

I would do this again tomorrow if the same situation arose. I hope I never again have to stand up for a dog being treated this way but in reality I know it won’t be the last time.

 

How would you react if you were in my position?

Introduction

The law dealing with the care and control of dogs is contained in the DOG CONTROL ACT 1996.

As well as caring properly for their dog, dog owners are responsible for protecting people from their dogs; this is especially so if the dog is known to be aggressive.

Registration of dogs

Every dog owner in New Zealand must register their dog with their local council, if the dog is over three months old. You can be fined up to $3,000 if you do not do this.

You must make sure that the registration label or disc issued by the council is attached to a collar worn on the dog’s neck. A Dog Control Officer or Dog Ranger can seize a dog not wearing the label or disk if the dog is found in public or on someone else’s property and is not under anyone’s control.

You must inform the council within 14 days if you change your address or if the dog gets a new owner. You can be fined up to $500 if you fail to do this.

“Microchipping”

From 1 July 2006, owners of all newly registered dogs are required to have a microchip transponder implanted under the dog’s skin. This does not apply to sheep dogs and other dogs used solely or mainly for herding or driving stock.

From the same date, all dogs classified as “menacing” or “dangerous” since 1 December 2003 must also be microchipped.

Owners will have two months to comply. Owners who don’t comply can be fined up to $3,000.

Caring for your dog

Dog owners must make sure that their dog receives proper care and attention and is supplied with adequate food, water and shelter. They must also make sure that the dog is adequately exercised. It is an offence not to take proper care of a dog, punishable by a prison term of up to three months or a fine of up to $5,000.

If you believe a dog is not being adequately cared for, you can report the matter to an organisation such as the SPCA or to a Dog Control Officer from your local council.

Control of your dog generally

Owners must keep their dogs under control at all times. If a dog is not under control, a Dog Control Officer or Dog Ranger can seize the dog and either return it to its owner or impound it. The owner can also be fined up to $3,000.

When a dog has been roaming at large, a Dog Control Officer or Dog Ranger can come onto the owner’s property (but not into the house) to seize the dog, if the dog is not constrained or under the control of someone 16 or older.

Your responsibilities when your dog is out in public

From 1 December 2003, you must use or carry a leash at all times when you take your dog out in public (unless the dog is a guide dog, a sheep or cattle dog, or other type of working dog).

“Menacing” dogs must be muzzled at all times when out in public, while “dangerous” dogs must be both muzzled and leashed when in public.

Your responsibilities when your dog’s on your own property

From 1 June 2004, dog owners must make sure that when their dog is on their property it is under someone’s direct control or is confined so that it cannot freely leave the property.

If you fail to comply, a dog control officer or dog ranger can come onto your property (but not into your house) to seize the dog, and you can be fined up to $3,000.

Barking dogs

If someone complains to the council that your dog’s barking is causing a nuisance, a Dog Control Officer or Dog Ranger can give you a written notice requiring you to prevent the dog barking, and if necessary to remove the dog from the property. The Dog Control Officer or Ranger has the right to go onto your property (but not into your house) to inspect the conditions under which your dog is kept. You have the right to object to the local council about the notice.

If you don’t comply with the notice you commit an offence and can be fined up to $1,500.

If a notice has already been issued and the council receives another complaint, a Dog Control Officer or Dog Ranger can go onto your property and seize your dog.

“Dangerous” dogs

Local councils will classify a dog as “dangerous” if:

• its owner has a conviction for the dog attacking people or animals, or rushing at people, animals or vehicles, and the Court didn’t order the dog to be destroyed (for those offences, see below “Dogs causing injury or damage” and “Dogs rushing at people, animals or vehicles”), or
• the council believes the dog is a threat to people, stock, poultry, domestic animals or protected wildlife, on the basis of reasonable grounds and sworn evidence of aggressive behaviour, or
• the owner has admitted the dog is dangerous

If your dog is classified as dangerous, the council must give you written notice of this. You then have the opportunity to object in writing.

The owner has one month after getting the notice of classification to make sure that the dog is kept within a securely fenced part of the owner’s property. This fenced area must be one that does not need to be entered in order to get to the house.

The owner must also keep the dog muzzled and leashed whenever out in public, although the dog need only be muzzled and not leashed if it’s in a council-designated dog exercise area. (These requirements apply also if the owner knows that the dog is dangerous or that it has attacked people, animals or property, even if the dog hasn’t been classified as dangerous.)

The owner of a dog classified as dangerous must also get the dog neutered, and cannot give or sell the dog to anyone else without the council’s written consent.

Owners who fail to comply with these requirements relating to dangerous dogs can be fined up to $3,000. The dog must also be destroyed unless the circumstances are exceptional.

If a local council classifies a dog as dangerous, this classification applies throughout New Zealand.

“Menacing” dogs

Dogs that haven’t been classified as dangerous may be classified as “menacing” if the council thinks they are a threat to people, stock, poultry, domestic animals or protected wildlife, on the basis of any observed or reported behaviour of the dog or on the basis of any characteristics typically associated with the dog’s breed or type.

Dogs must be classified as “menacing” if they belong, wholly or predominantly, to one of the following breeds:

• American Pit Bull Terrier
• Dogo Argentina
• Brazilian Fila
• Japanese Toza.

The council must also classify a dog as “menacing” if its owner has a conviction for the dog attacking or rushing at people or animals, and the Court didn’t order the dog to be destroyed (see below “Dogs rushing at people, animals or vehicles”). However, the council doesn’t have to do this if the circumstances were exceptional and don’t justify the dog being classified as “menacing”.

If your dog is classified as “menacing”, the council must give you written notice of this. You then have the opportunity to object in writing.

You must keep the dog muzzled whenever it’s in a public place or on someone else’s property. But it doesn’t have to be leashed as well (unlike a “dangerous” dog).

Local councils can also require menacing dogs to be neutered.

Owners who fail to comply with requirements as to menacing dogs can be fined up to $3,000.

If a local council classifies a dog as menacing, this classification applies throughout New Zealand.

Dogs causing injury or damage

The owner of a dog that attacks any person or animal can be fined up to $3,000, whether or not the owner knew that the dog was dangerous. This is in addition to any civil damages the owner may have to pay the person who suffered the injury or damage. If the dog hasn’t already been destroyed, the court imposing the fine must order the dog to be destroyed, unless the circumstances were exceptional.

Anyone who sees a dog attacking a person or animal or who is attacked by a dog may immediately seize the dog or destroy it.

If your dog seriously injures someone or kills any protected wildlife, you can be imprisoned for up to three years or fined up to $20,000, or both.

Dogs rushing at people, animals or vehicles

Dog owners commit an offence if their dog is in a public place and

• rushes at or startles any person or animal, and in so doing causes a person to be killed, injured, or endangered or causes property to be damaged or endangered, or
• rushes at a vehicle and causes an accident

The owner can be fined up to $3,000, in addition to paying any civil damages. The court can also order the dog to be destroyed.

The owner may not be liable if they can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent what happened.

Importing of certain dog breeds banned

It is illegal to import any of the following breeds or types of dog (including semen, ova and embryos):

• American Pit Bull Terrier
• Dogo Argentina
• Brazilian Fila
• Japanese Toza

Cautionary notes

• In general, dog owners are responsible for their dog’s actions. Take all possible steps to ensure that your dog is under control and will not hurt anyone.
• Whether you are liable for a fine or civil damages may come down to the facts of your particular case. You may need to get legal advice.
• Putting up a sign warning of a dangerous dog does not relieve the owner of legal responsibility if the dog hurts someone. In fact it may make matters worse, as it indicates the owner knew the dog was dangerous.

 

The information contained in the post is correct to the best of our knowledge. K9 Essentials including all staff/owners advise you to talk to the authorities if required and take no responsibility for problems, legal or otherwise arising from information within this post.

Your back yard is secure and your dogs can’t escape. You are complying with the local rules for having dogs on your property. What happens if a cat wonders into the yard and is killed by your dog?

I know this is a sensitive topic for a lot of people that this has happened to, especially if you are the owner of the cat but where does the liability lie? Can the dogs be punished? Should they be punished?

My view is rather simplistic. The dogs were secure and didn’t go looking for the cat therefore since the cat entered the dog’s property the dog did nothing wrong. This sort of behaviour should of course be discouraged.

I really feel for the cat owner, be they adults or children. I imagine it is rather traumatic for the owner of the dog as well, either witnessing the attack or at least the result, having to take the cat away from the dog and return it to the owner explaining what happened.

There has been a recent event that I know of where some dogs ran from their own property, across a paddock into a private property where they attacked the family cats in front of children. This is totally unacceptable and this instance these dogs are acting in a manner that needs to be addressed. Yes they need to be punished, but how? And the owners of the dog should, without a doubt, be punished as well for not securing their dogs in a suitable manor. Isn’t it them that is really at fault?

Some people say this series of events is nature’s way. Birds kill worms, cats kill birds, dogs kill cats. That may be ok in the wild but in the domesticated world we live in we don’t see this as acceptable. We give a special protected place to our pet dogs, cats, rabbits etc.

I’m interested in your point of view along with the punishments that should be enforced.

Before I go any further I have to say that I too, am guilty of doing all of these things in the past. They are however, actions I won’t repeat.

Picture this, you are driving down the road, it is a nice day so you have the window do in the back so your dog can get some fresh air. He loves sticking his head out in the wind regardless of the weather and is always happy to be on the back seat.

One day you are diving down the road as usual but today something catches the eye of your dog. In a split second he is jumping out of the window and there is not a thing you can do to stop him.

This is not as uncommon as you think. It happens on a regular basis within 50kph speed limits and on the open road. Damage is certain, death is likely.

We recently had a customer experience this very frightening event. Driving at 100kph their dog jumped out of the car window. He was lucky, he suffered a broken pelvis but is alive and will make a full (hopefully) recovery.

Preventing this pain, suffering and expense is easy. Clip your dog in when it is in the car. A car harness is cheap, easy to fit and will stop your dog jumping out of the window and will also prevent it going through the front window in the event of a head on crash. Hardly any dogs survive this.

One of my very pet hates is having a dog on your knee in the front seat, worst of all is when you are the driver. Not only is this very unsafe you are putting your dog’s life at risk every metre your drive.

So keep your dog safe, grab your self a car harness today. Keep everyone in your family safe in the car.

Back on the 27th of December 2014 I wrote about liability at dog parks. The simple fact is we can’t take our dog’s safety for granted. Yes, I know we should be able to but the reality of the situation is we can’t trust any other dog to be friendly, unless we know it well.

Unfortunately there has been another dog on dog attack but this time it resulted in death. I have to say I feel sorry for the wee dog and owner, this should never have happened. Talk about traumatic!

The owner of the attacking dog apparently packed up and left in a hurry. I wonder what they were thinking? Is this the first time the dog has done something like this or has it happened before? If it has happened before, why were they there? And of course, do they care? Will they come forward? The least they can do is come forward with whatever explanation they can offer.

The dead dog’s owner appears to be handling this horrible event well. I’m not sure if I would be so understanding and not on a witch hunt at this point in time. It is very obvious they loved their dog and will miss it very much. The unnecessary nature of their loss just makes it worse.

I like the attitude of the animal control officer, waiting until they get the facts before making public demands and even considering options before jumping straight to euthanasia.  Prosecution on the other hand should be a serious consideration.

In the blog ZoePhee by Lauren Miller she has a great blog post, Never Trust Other Dog Owners! A post well worth reading by every dog owner.

I’m going to do my best to follow the outcome of this story, hopefully it is as good as it could be with everyone doing the right thing.

All too often I am frustrated by people not taking note of the temperature and how it affects their dog. Take today for example, it is 28deg (celcius) with hardly a cloud in the sky and I just saw a woman walking her dog. Now this may not be a problem in some people’s eyes but she was wearing shorts, a singlet top and able to adjust to the temperature. However, the black curly coat retriever doesn’t have that luxury and looked very hot indeed.

Was the owner carrying water? No she wasn’t. How far would they have to walk before the dog needed water to prevent dehydration occurring.

She was wearing shoes, unlike the dog. I felt how hot the footpath was and it was hot enough to make my feet very uncomfortable, verging on burning. I wonder how this was making the dog’s feet feel? Could it be hot enough to burn them? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until the sun had gone down before walking the dog?

 

Then of course the real habit I have major issues with. Leaving your dog in a car on a sunny day causes death on a regular basis but it is done everyday. A couple of windows are usually left down slightly, like this makes any real difference. I challenge anyonewho thinks this is an acceptable practice to take the place of their dog on a hot day for just 20 minutes. Have a look at the a chart that shows how the interior temperature of a car is increased at a steady rate until it reaches a level that causes major health implications for the dog, hypothermia and death.

 

I am guilty of doing exactly this in the past. Luckily I never had a problem as most of the time the dogs were only with us in winter. That was before I knew the reality of leaving dogs in cars and how quickly they could die.

It is illegal to break a car window without the owner’s permission and doing so could land you in a whole lot of trouble, even if it was to save a dog’s life. If it was a child I’m guessing it would be a different outcome and you wouldn’t be the one getting prosecuted.

So what do you do if you see a dog in distress due to heat in the car? Try and find the owner, call the SPCA or maybe even the police.

What if you lock your own dog and the keys in the car? Did you know the AA will come out and open the vehicle for free if an animal or child is locked in the car? You don’t even have to be an AA member, that’s how good they are.

 

Think about the temperature before you take your dog with you. It may just be better off left in safety at home.

 

 

This Youtube clips shows vet, Dr Ernie Ward experiencing exactly what a dogs does. It is an eye opener. I encourage you to watch and share it.