We are now finally muzzle free!

I think I already posted about Barbie getting her Green collar which allows her to be muzzle free in public. Recently Mouse went to the GAP kennel to be assessed and surprising NOBODY, she passed with flying colours.

The test is pretty simple. The greyhound has to stay in the GAP kennel and is repeatedly introduced to a French Bulldog. If the greyhound doesn't show an inappropriate prey response, then it passes the test.

This is what Mouse had to say about 'Green Collar Camp':

"It wasn't that exciting really, we stayed in this little kennel, got let out into a little pen to bounce and toilet.... and around lunch time every day I got to play with a little French Bulldog. 

Really I ignored her because she was a bit uncouth with all her snorting and squeaking and scooting around. My mum Bronwyn and her foster brother Junior were in at the same time and I was next door to mum in the kennel. She was a bit sad about being in the kennel so I tried to cheer her up by telling her stories about the cats I live with. She thought it was a bit weird that I would live with cats and tried to tell me I should chase them. I tried that when I got home but the Servant told me off so I stopped."

She was so cute when I picked her up - she had clearly not had her usual amount of exercise and stimulation so she was a little bit crazy. She bounced on the end of the leash all the way to the car.

The rest of the pack were pretty sad without her here. It was very quiet. It was all worth it in the end though! Now we can go to obedience class without looking over our shoulder!

Greyhounds on TV

Todd McKenny is a singing, dancing guy who loves greyhounds. He went on TV recently to promote his musical "The Boy from Oz" but spent half the interview talking about his two beautiful greyhounds.

I can't embed the video but the link is here.

PS - The NSW law to exempt GAP greyhounds from wearing a muzzle has not actually been passed yet but the Government has expressed support. There is an election happening in NSW today and the current Labor government is going to be defeated by a large margin so I hope that doesn't delay the law change for too long.

The WA GAP newsletter gives the following update:

We took the opportunity to inform the WA Minister for Local Government and ask what progress was being made with the review of the Dog Act in WA.

The following response was received in March -

.a similar amendment to Section 33 of the Dog Act 1976 is also proposed for Western Australia. This amendment will provide flexibility to allow retired greyhounds that have successfully undertaken a retraining program to be exempt from the muzzling requirement.

To ensure that the current proposed amendments remain appropriate, early this year I intend to request Cabinet's approval to draft a Green Bill.

Running at Whiteman

Not sure how much longer Barbie's wire muzzle is going to last, I pulled it out of my bag yesterday and one of the bits of wire (the bit that goes over her snout) had bent and come off the cage. I have fixed it with the help of some needle nosed pliers, but I think I may have to get a plastic one as it may be more durable and better for the beach and river where there is lots of salt water.

The cage is less obtrusive though, and now that it is dirty you can hardly see it from a distance!

Anyway I let them go for a run in the dog park, and they got filthy. It's very dry around Whiteman at the moment and the dust they stir up when they run is epic. They also have an old concrete horse trough in the middle of the park, and both dogs like to lie in the water to cool down. They come out wet and then the dust sticks to them.

I got scratched on the legs - not sure who did it, it was either the Husky puppy who could smell the treats in my pocket, or the pug x jack russell which was pretty hyper and cute.

I then grabbed them and took them to a 'vintage' bike show which was on one of the grassy areas of the park, near the pool and the motor museum. It was mainly just BMX-type bikes and so I just passed through. There were a lot of kids around, and a little girl said, 'look, it's like Santa's Little Helper!'

I said 'do you want to pat her?'

And the little girl said 'oooo can I?'

Barbie stood nicely for pats and closed her eyes when she got scritched on the neck. Bender was impatient and kept dancing around. They asked if they could pat him and I said yes, but he was much wetter and dirtier than Barbie and would not stay still. Barbie was definately the crowd favorite.

When I got home they both slept for hours. I thought about going for a ride, but hung up the 5-hook coat rack that I bought for them. I'm not that great with the drill yet, and made a bit of a mess of the wall, but you can't see it behind the rack. Now all of their gear is hanging up neatly and is easy to find!

My Sweet Dogs!

Last Sunday we spent many hours down at Riverside Gardens awaiting the paddlers finishing the Avon Descent. The paddlers last year started finishing at about 11am, but this year because of the very low water levels, the paddlers were finishing at 1pm. The dogs were very well behaved, mostly.

We walked about a kilometer to the river, and Barbie walked very slowly. We put her muzzle on because there were City of Bayswater Rangers around and I didn't fancy being fined. Bender realised we were going to the river, got excited and started pulling like a freight train. Nic had trouble holding on to him for a while. When we got there he kept looking at us.

"Where's my BALL? Why are all these people at my park?"

It took him a little while to 'get' it. We even walked past the 'horsie' rides and neither of the dogs reacted to the horses. Which is good, because Bender is slightly freaked out by all farm animals. He hates cows the most, but he isn't a fan of horses either.

There were a couple of guys dressed up as sea captains, with boats they made out of foam hanging off their shoulders. They stopped to talk to us, and both the dogs dealt well with these two strange people waving these weirdly shaped pieces of foam around.

We found a spot to settle down in. Barbie decided she wanted some nearby people to pat her. She is a sweetheart. She will just stand next to someone and wait quietly for them to notice her. Then they do, and give her a scratch and she wags that long tail of hers. A 12 year old girl pretty much launched herself onto Bender while he was minding his own business. I think he gave her a kiss. She came back a second time. He loved her.

Bender also found a little scrappy dog, and crawled on his belly into it's family group in order to interact with it. The fluffy dog's family loved on him. Had a few hairy moments when Bender spotted soccer balls and footballs nearby. He lunged towards one and got his front feet on it. Nic managed to pull him away before he put holes in it!

After a while, they both settled on the blanket. Then Barbie found a comfy spot in Nic's shadow, and slept for an hour or so. Bender got a bit grumpy and started barking at dogs. We went home before the powerboats made it over the line. I think the doggies did really well, and I was very impressed with how confident Barbie was with so many people around. There were quite a few people who stopped us to tell us how unfair they thought the muzzle laws were.

I also got a letter this week from the Minister for Local Government. I had written to him about the muzzle laws. The letter stated that he would be drafting legislation to allow for retired greyhounds to go muzzle free by the end of the year. Good news for Barbie!

Greyhound Muzzle Law - National Roundup

Whether or not a greyhound is required to wear a muzzle in public is different depending what state of Australia you live in. Here is the round up.

Victoria

It is ONLY those greyhounds adopted as pets from GAP, and wearing the green GAP identification collar, that are exempt from being muzzled in public. ALL other greyhounds, whether they are current or retired racing greyhounds or greyhounds adopted as pets privately or from a shelter or rescue group, MUST by law be muzzled in public.

Reference GAP Victoria

Queensland

Despite the fact that GAP greyhounds are not racing anymore, it is currently still law that they wear a muzzle in a public place unless they are wearing their GAP approved green collar. The person responsible for the dog can be fined if they are unmuzzled and not wearing the green collar that clearly identifies the dog as having been through the GAP program.

Reference GAP Queensland

New South Wales

One of the main stumbling blocks that exists for the Greyhound Adoption Program in NSW is the requirement that our beautiful dogs be muzzled in public places. The negative effect of this stipulation of the Companion Animals Act is twofold:

It has caused the completely erroneous perception to become entrenched, in the minds of the general public, that Greyhounds are dangerous and aggressive.

In itself, the legal requirement that they be muzzled in public, discourages a lot of people who would otherwise be keen to adopt one of these gentle and aristocratic dogs.

We strongly believe that this legislation is misguided - not to say draconian - in that it, quite unjustifiably, discriminates against Greyhounds. (The only other breed which is specified in the CAA is the Pit Bull Terrier). It should be noteworthy that the Greyhound does not rate a mention in any published statistics of dog bites, despite the fact that far more Greyhounds are whelped each year than any other breed.

Furthermore Australia is the only country, with the sole exception of Northern Ireland, which requires Greyhounds to be muzzled when they are off the track.

Happily, Victoria amended its legislation in 1999 to allow GAP Greyhounds to be exempt from wearing muzzles. Since that time, the number of retired Greyhounds adopted in Victoria has increased more than threefold.

GAP NSW has been actively campaigning to get the current legislation amended to allow Greyhounds, who have been through the GAP program, to be exempt from wearing muzzles.

Reference GAP NSW

Tasmania

Please also be aware that although we are trying to change the situation, the current dog act also requires greyhounds to be muzzled and on a lead when in public. We have been strongly lobbying for the Greyhounds who go through the training in the Greyhound Adoption Program Tasmania Inc. to be allowed to go un-muzzled in public as we believe the dogs have been temperament tested and are well socialised.

Reference GAP Tasmania

Northern Territory

I couldn't find any definitive references except for a discussion on Dogs Online - I believe the NT laws are the same as WA & NSW.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT fixed their muzzle laws at the same time as Queensland did. Same deal with a green collar program.

Reference GAP NSW

South Australia

Under new law, GAP dogs in South Australia no longer need to wear a muzzle in public after they have passed their appropriate assessment by the Cat and Management Board. Once they have passed they will be issued with an identification number and a Green GAP collar. Fosterers are to ensure that all dogs currently in foster need to wear their muzzle until they have passed their assessment and have the appropriate authority to be unmuzzled.

Reference - GAPSA

Western Australia

According to a law introduced in Australia in 1927 Greyhounds must always wear a muzzle when in a public place. Initially the muzzle was introduced on the race track to prevent these valuable animals from injuring themselves during the general excitement at the track and their high spirited racing. We have been lobbying to have companion greyhounds made exempt from this law, as is the case in Victoria, because they are such a friendly, affectionate and loving breed and when wearing a muzzle people often incorrectly assume the opposite.

Reference GAP WA

Spooky Dog Enemy #1

(image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Transperth trains!

Sometimes on our walks, Ms Barbie gets spooked. When she is spooked, she stares off into the distance and just stops. It's like she goes somewhere else in her head, and she is mostly nonresponsive to verbal encouragement. Usually if I touch her she snaps out of it.

Often I can't see or hear what it is that has spooked her. There is this one corner on the way home where she is often spooked. I haven't figured out what she dislikes about this corner. Sometimes it's seeing people in the shadows of a house nearby.

There is one thing I know that she doesn't like though, and that is trains! Which is a problem because we live perhaps 800 metres from the train line. We have stopped crossing the train line regularly because Barbie hates the trains. Some days are better than others. To date I had been dealing with it by getting her to run. It seems nothing is too scary if we are moving quick enough and she likes it when I pick up the pace a little.

The trainer we are starting with on Saturday, Desma, recommended we go to a distance that Barbie can cope with (though she can be a little wary) and then give her very yummy treats while the train is going past. Now that I have been risking the fine and walk her in the neighbourhood without her muzzle, this is a feasible proposal. I have real trouble giving her treats with her 'cage' on because I have to poke them through the holes, and she tries to 'help' by flicking her head back, which sometimes results in the treat being knocked out of my hand and onto the ground where she can't get it! I am also limited in the kind of treats I can give her - I use the flat dried meat kind so that I can poke it through but I can't really give her chunky bits of cheese or chicken or anything. It just doesn't work!

The trainer has a problem with the muzzle laws too, so that is good. The first couple of sessions are on private property at the daycare place so she told me not to even bring it. I said 'it will be in the car incase we wanna go for a walk...' because I don't know what the City of Belmont rangers are like. I have heard from another greyhound owner that the City of Bayswater rangers don't enforce it.

This also presents issues if I'm going to train her up for obedience and agility and jumping. She would probably be OK doing obedience muzzled but I don't think she's going to appreciate that thing on her face if she's jumping or doing tunnels! If the trials are at public parks though she is legally required to wear that thing. Argh. Well it's all the more evidence for a change in the law, or at least soemthing like a 'green collar program' where GAP greyhounds get tested on their prey responses and general citizenship so that they can win the right to be in public without it.

I mean really for me, privately, it's a calculated risk - $100 fine or not. But if trainers or other organisations are involved I'm not sure it will be so easy.

At the Million Paws Walk there were a helluvalot of GAP dogs, and the Coordinator, Kerry, told us to 'free' our hounds, so we did. Mass civil disobedience unmuzzling all of them. All GAP dogs are certified small-dog-safe before they are adopted out, so she was obviously confident in their testing procedures. And of course, there were no issues despite the hundreds of dogs of all sizes there on the day!