BRITAIN'S UNWANTED PETS - PANORAMA-BBC One, Monday 2nd August, 8.30 pm

gettingready

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

They baa code sheep you know - honestly.

??? :idea:???

foreign_correspondent

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

They baa code sheep you know - honestly.

.... groan...

.. but seriously - how come you can trace a Cauli back to where it came from, but not a Collie?

foreign_correspondent

gettingready - I understand your points, but ultimately you cannot balme rescue organisations, (who are often comprised mostly, or totally, from volunteers doing theur level best) for this problem - as the vet on the programme so eloquently said, the ultimate responsibility should lie with the owner of the dog.

You could have walked into any pound and come out with a dog - but most people prefer the back up, support and assessment carried out by rescues - but the flip side of that is that you have to accept they have a duty of care to the dogs and will use their discretion when deciding where dogs are homes - if, in their experience, a lot of dogs rehomed to a full time worker living in a flat with no garden are returned, probably often with more issues and learnt (bad) behaviour than they had, I cannot fault them for erring on the side of caution.

A dog that was hard to rehome may be impossible to rehome once it has developed seperation anxiety, chewing from boredom and soiling in the house due to being cooped up too long and not taken downstairs to go out frequently enough.

Tulip

I Watched this programme last night on my catch up tv and I was saddened by what I saw.Really tugged on my heart strings.

twinklie

cyberbob wrote: »

I'm afraid there is quite a bit of debate about if that is correct or not. It all depends on which vet you talk to. So it's better to speak to more than one qualified source before you make up your mind to wait his long

Lack of hormones can't cause damage. They can stop the Vulva forming correctly. Personally I have always had my !b1tcheses spayed about 9 - 10 months with no problems.

The risk of Mammary Tumours is higher in b1tches who wait until after their first season to be spayed

It's better though to consult more than one vet or professional before making the decision.

Oh I have done. Maybe it's the area I live in but it's problems in bone and joint development where the concern arises. I've done lots of research on this and have asked 5 different opinions (and my friend who is a vet) and the opinion of our breeder (who is wonderful).

It's something I'm choosing to do, but I'm also aware that we will be able to keep her separate from dogs and so the risk of unwanted pregnancy is very minimal. Unless, she's one that goes nuts and jumps through a window....I hope I'm not tempting fate with that comment.

hethmar

The problem with all pups being microchipped is that the back street dealers/breeders simply wont comply. Same as the licence, do people really believe these people who probably drive their car without insurance are going to queue up to get a dog licence?

Mrs_pbradley936

hethmar wrote: »

Youdontseeme. In theory chipping at birth would be fine BUT we are not talking about run of the mill everyday joes like ourselves. We are talking about low lifes who will have no compulsion but to dump a dog if its found not to be chipped. And most of them are so transient that you could never trace them anyway. When chipped dogs arrive in the pound, someone will go to the address and 9.9 times out of 10 the people there will deny they own the dog or "sold it to a man in a pub last month". I still think compulsory neutering is the only way forward.

Someone it DT suggested that a licence should be £50 but that a dog capable or reproduction should be £500. I think that is a good idea.

Youdontseeme

Some great ideas here (if only someone from the DEFRA or whatever agency it is now reads this!)

Im not to sure how the whole chipping thing works but I assuming that info can be added at any time? Sooo if like FC says all dogs were chipped free of charge by the "breeder", then new owner, vet details etc, and if the dog does get rehomed for any reason, and lets please remember some people do have genuine reasons to rehome, a small charge to change the details. I still think police / warden should be able to stop someone with a dog for no reason to check the chip info is all present and correct and if not then big fines applied and dog removed, I know its harsh but something HAS to change.

Someone it DT suggested that a licence should be £50 but that a dog capable or reproduction should be £500.

Also a good idea!

Its very easy to say the bad owners wont comply but it might put a halt to the ignorant, careless and stupid people thinking pups are a way to make a fast buck.

hethmar

£50 licence would be too much for many people. And we would need to be prepared for an even bigger influx of unwanted dogs initially Pound dogs are often not claimed because of the fee required to release them. Much easier to get another "free" dog. Then we need to think about how this would be policed. I dont think Id fancy approaching 30 yobs on an inner city council estate and asking for their licences.

A great deal to think about and its going to take a lot of money and people to get this sorted. Lets hope the government have the guts to sort it.

Youdontseeme

But surely the point is if you cant afford the £50 for a licence then you really cant afford a dog? Food, vacs, insurance, etc.. none of it is cheap so at the end of the day £50 is a drop in the ocean.

Or are we again getting into the "only good owners will bother" territory again?

I do understand the point but there cant be a stand still on this subject, policy has to be put in place and soon or the amount of dogs being killed get even higher.

Not 10 mins ago I heard a commotion outside my flat looked out the window to see a staffie attacking a corgi type and knocked its rather small lady owner over too. The staffie was off lead, the owner (young chappie, skinhead lots of tats, not that I like to stereotype!) runs over pulls dog off, throws it on to the floor from a good 4ft and whips the dog with a choke chain at least 10 times - heartbreaking The worse thing is I am ever so grateful that he wasn't laughing telling it "to get in there!" which, I have seen around here in the past. - And no, I wouldn't be brave enough to ask him if his dog was chipped and licensed either!!