An enormous thanks to Rosie and Nat from Triple J's Super Request for featuring us during their Pet Request segment!

The interview went fantastically thanks to our new spokesperson Vickie Davy who got a chance to talk about why pet shops are a bad idea and why rescue pets are so great!

Have a listen and let us know what you think!

Once again the wonderful crew from Pet Talk Radio have included PetRescue on their show.

Dealing with the issues of WHY people surrender pets and what the general public can do to help, this interview gives a fabulous insight into the plight of shelter animals.

A huge thanks to Brian, Kaye and the rest of the Pet Talk Radio team for including us! You can listen to the interview here.

Be sure to check out Say No to Animals in Pet Shops' new website!

Say No's mission is to:
* Educate all potential pet owners why they shouldn't buy their companion animals from pet shops
* Lobby Federal and State Government to ban the sale of animals in pet shops

Say No have kindly included a link on their homepage to offer visitors to their site an alternative to pet shops - a PetRescue pet! Cheers guys :)

Kaye Hargreaves is a professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant. She runs Wagging School, in Melbourne. She is the author of four entertaining and positive training books (see end of article).

Have you ever wondered why your dog chews or is destructive when left at home alone? Your dog might miss your company, and chew to relieve feelings of boredom, frustration or anxiety. According to Kaye Hargreaves, the solution is to remove the causes of stress, and channel the dog’s energy into something more acceptable.

Reduce stress

I don’t understand why Zoe chews when we go out. We give her lots of attention.

The puzzlement and frustration of Zoe’s owners is mounting. This is what I advised them to do:

You may be giving her too much attention, making it hard for her to cope with being alone. Ask Zoe to sit before you pat or give her attention. This creates a bond between you and your dog, in which she regards you as leader.

Your "quality time" with Zoe should include mental stimulation in the form of training and play as well as exercise. When you play, ask her to respond to a command - say "fetch" rather than just throwing the ball.

Make your arrivals and departures very low key. An emotional departure winds the dog up and leaves no outlet except destructive, tension-relieving behaviour. Wait about half an hour before taking Zoe for a walk or having a training or play session, so she won’t be hyped up waiting for you to get home.

Try giving Zoe access to the living area (or part of it) while you are out. If you don’t want to do this, make the backyard more of a living area by spending time there with her.

Chew this

Actively encourage Zoe to be interested in a few chew toys. Zoe’s owners gave a wail of despair "Oh but she has hundreds of toys!" when I suggested this.

I explained that too many toys can give Zoe the message that "anything goes".

Attract her attention to three or four toys - one you have recently handled so it has your scent on it, one you have played with, one that can be made to move easily and something edible, such as a bone or a Kong stuffed with food.

If Zoe is "hooked" on chewing a special toy, she will not be chewing a hundred and one other things of yours - such as the remote control for the video, or that plant that you just repotted.

Yelling, hitting and any form of punishment hardly ever works. It can make the dog worry about getting into trouble when you get home - and what does the dog do to relieve tension? Chew something!

Kaye Hargreaves' Books...

Training With a Friendly Face

Your Positive Puppy Training Starter Pack

Sit Happens - Civilising Your Dog, and

Dogs and Children, a behavioural training guide

As well as a set of eighteen booklets on behaviour problems: Positive Solutions to Behaviour Problems, available as a set or as booklets on individual topics including: aggression towards other dogs, aggression towards people, chasing or nipping, destructive chewing, digging (+ many more).

Available from www.naturescreatures.com.au or by contacting Kaye by email, kh@netspace.net.au

Kaye will also be giving a series of seminars this year, starting in May 2006:

Series One:
"A new look at basic training"

Series Two:
'Understanding behaviour and training"

Series Three:
"Building blocks for creative and advanced training"

For more details please contact Kaye on 9489 5095 or email kh@netspace.net.au. Seminars will be held at Nature's Creatures bookshop, Shop 15A, 163 Boronia Rd Boronia, Victoria unless otherwise advised.

Thanks to the volunteers of RSPCA Orange branch, kids in their area will shortly have a book that will help encourage children to be kind to unwanted dogs and to foster their love of animals.

The branch has raised $300 to purchase 30 copies of "Mutt Dog", the work of award-winning writer and illustrator Stephen Michael King.

Mutt Dog's main human character is a kind person who helps homeless animals and homeless people and they reward her kindness with love.

The book also shows that any dog - whether they are a family pet or homeless - can be special.

Mutt Dog is a brave scruffy dog that is very lonely until one rainy day changes his life for the better, thanks to the kindness of a person.

The RSPCA believes the book will show children it’s important for animals to have a home and someone to love them.

THE SOLUTION TO STOP ANIMAL SHELTERS HAVING TO EUTHANIZE ANIMALS

Stop Breeding Them
Stop Selling Them To The Useless + Stupid
Stop Beating Them
Stop Ignoring Them
Stop Making Excuses
Stop Dumping Them
Stop Moving House
Stop The Kids From Hurting Them
Stop Adopting A Large Breed Pup + Then Complaining It Grew Too Big
Stop Expecting Them To Train Themselves
Stop Punishing Them
Stop Adopting An Athletic Breed Of Dog When U Consider Doing Number Twos A Cardio-Vascular Activity
Stop Leaving Them To Suffer
Stop Buying A Dog To Suit An Image U Manly Man U
Stop Worshipping The Testicles Of A Male Dog
Stop Choosing Them When U R Struggling To Feed Yourself
Stop Finding Aggression Funny
Stop Whining About Hair Around The House
Stop Expecting Them To Be Human And Understand The Human Language

... Stop Getting Them If U Really Don’t Want Them!!!

The Real World Aint Cute And Cuddly When U Live In A Disposable Blameless Society.

- anon

You’ve probably been in this situation before – someone finds out you're a pet lover and announces proudly "I’m actually thinking of letting Missy have a litter this year".

People breeding their pets are the reason we see thousands and thousands of needless deaths each year in shelters.

Euthanasia is the leading cause of death among healthy companion animals in Australia.

So how do you convince someone who doesn’t know the issues behind this harmless "hobby", that they themselves are going to become part of the problem? Below are some of the common misconceptions people have about pet breeding that might help you lead them to reconsider.

My children should see the miracle of birth

Most whelpings happen in the privacy of night when no one is there to see the delivery. Unless something goes terribly wrong – then your kids can experience the joy of sickness, deformity and death... heartwarming stuff!

If you must fill your house full with baby animals, why not visit your local shelter to ask if they have any mums and bubs that need temporary accommodation? Puppies and kittens need to be socialised into a home environment, so you might be able to help them rear a litter.

I’m going to make big $$$!

The average litter size is 7-10, all of which need veterinary care, high quality food and to be vaccinated before sale (most buyers now expect this).

The parents should be tested for genetic and infectious diseases before mating. An emergency caesaerean delivery, or intensive care for a sick puppy or kitten will quickly turn a break-even litter into a big expense. And this is IF you can sell the bubs!

Plus you’ll need to take some time off work - the mother should not be left alone at all during whelping, and only for short periods for the first few days after. After delivery mum needs special care and feeding - babies need constant checking and the whelping box needs LOTS of cleaning. Be prepared for sleepless nights!

If you have any sick babies or a mother who won’t take care of her litter, count on this being a full time job until they are a few weeks old. As the babies grow you need to allow time for socialisation, grooming and training.

If you can’t provide the time and money you will either have dead babies or babies that are anti-social, dirty and/or sickly – hardly a buyers delight!

But my pet is so loving/so pretty/so good with people – everyone I know wants one just like her!

Firstly, offspring aren’t clones. Just because your pet is lovely doesn’t mean that you’re going to end up with 8-10 identical pets. This is especially true of crossbreeds who are completely unique mixes that cannot be replicated with any certainty.

Secondly, your pet may be lovely, but MOST pets ARE! Lovely and pretty and unique – just like the majority of pets surrended to, born in and available at rescue centres. You don’t need to bring more pets into this world when there’s lovely pets desperate for homes who will never find them.

Finally, "everyone want’s one" is a statement that often ends up not being true. It’s easy to gush over a lovely pet – offer to take a puppy or kitten in conversation – but when it comes to the crunch, when it comes to the 10 year commitment, house breaking, sleepless nights and training – you might find these homes suddenly evaporate. I mean if they all REALLY wanted a pet, don’t you think they’d already have one?

But crossbreeds are tops and if no one breeds them, they’ll no longer exist!

Wouldn’t that be a lovely problem to have - an Australia wide shortage of cross breed pets!

Unfortunately we’re a long, long, LONG way from that ever being a problem. Fanciful notions that they’re you’re doing the world a favour by keeping the "mongrel" alive and well don’t take into account the hundreds of thousands of unwanted crossbreeds that never make it out of the shelter system.

Come help kill a few at your local pound and see if you’re still sure that we need more!

My pet is pure - I can breed purebreds!

Just because an animal is purebred, doesn't mean it will produce healthy, genetic disease free offspring and that it should be used to breed.

Around one in three pets in shelters are a purebred, so there's no shortage of these pets either - why not just enjoy your pet for who she or he is and leave the breeding up to the professionals?

Still not getting through?

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words. Give them the addresses to these websites and ask that they seriously consider the implications of becoming a "backyard breeder".

Shelter Movie 1 - (requires Quicktime to view)

Shelter Movie 2

What is pyometra and why shoud I desex my bitch?

"For every animal that dies in a shelter there is someone, somewhere that is responsible for its death."

A letter sent by Leanne who adopted from Jack Russell Rescue NSW...

Hi!

I thought I'd send you a few photos of Hercules and let you know how the little fellow's going. He's finally settled in really well but it took quite some time for him to really show his true colours!! In fact I was about to ask the vet if he'd been anti-barked because I didn't hear a peep out of him until 2 weeks after he arrived! And it took 4 weeks for his first Bogg laps around my back lawn - that was really funny, he was leaning so far over on his side as he ran around in circles that he was almost slipping over, so he's now acting more like a typical JRT and having a great time.

He's actually very easy going, he walks well on and off the lead and doesn't mind being washed.

The only thing he loves more than food is his car rides, making it very hard to go anywhere without him. He'll even sleep in there for hours on end if I leave the door open!

He's a huge cuddlier and loves to snuggle with us on the couch in the evening, and never minds being picked up for a cuddle.

Thanks for all your help with getting Hercules over to WA for me, he's a really great dog and we really enjoy each others company!

Love from,
Leanne & Hercules

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