Hello Everyone, I am new to this forum so feel free to keep me right. I feel a little bent out of shape after my dealings with an online UK company that offers harnesses for dogs: You can find them at the web address fleece dog harnesses uk Here is the initial email I sent the woman: Message Body: Hello, I have had a challenging time trying to track down a harness for our 1 year old irish water spaniel. I have tried maybe 8/9 different models! She is still a puppy at 1- being a large breed. Irish water spaniels are slow to mature. She weighs 27kg of pure muscle and has pulled me off my feet on occasion ( running after a cat). Not only is she extremely strong and impulsive, but her skin is like lambskin- incredibly soft, particularly around the stomach, neck and chest. Conventional harnesses have caused abrasions. She has sores on her neck from her last collar. We took it off as soon as we realised. She often lies between size brackets which has made fitting more tricky. Often I order the medium, that fits her measurements according to the manufacturer’s chart but it turns out she needs the next size up. A lot of the harnesses have jutted into the back or front of her front legs. I am hoping you might be able to help. She currently uses a Hunter Norwegian Racing Harness which has been the best so far, but it is not terribly secure. She can be flighty for instance meeting a large dog or seeing a cat. She is almost able to wriggle her way out of the harness backwards. The other thing is that we really need a strong handle to keep her in check along busy roads. I will try and give you a ring tomorrow. I thought it might be helpful to send you a worded message as well since there is a lot of info! Kind regards, XXXXXX I subsequently followed up with a phonecall & placed an order for a custom made harness (as advised by the lady since she said the breed is too deep-chested for highstreet harnesses) I mentioned the handle again and i was told to look at a particular page showing a flyball harness. I confirmed i needed a handle. She asked if i needed a waterproof harness. I thought about it & agreed. So i paid an exorbitant sum (£58) thinking she had taken care of all my requirements. She did not warn me that the harness was non-returnable. Furthermore, I trusted her after a lengthy conversation on the phone & all the email correspondence. I felt reassured by a note on the website saying they wanted their customers to be happy. My order note also warned me not to let the dog wear the harness before seeking a return: ( Of course, the website mentioned that custom orders were non-returnable, but I ordered by phone & paid using paypal afterwards) Returns/Exchanges Please try your harness on but please do not wear, as worn items cannot be returned.Thanks. I would not have paid such a huge sum for a non-returnable harness that did not meet the requirements carefully laid out in my initial email. The harness arrived, awkward to adjust, with quite scratchy fabric and exposed seams on the internal facing of the garment. I have not been able to fasten the garment around the dog’s chest yet as it is so difficult to adjust. I will have to try again to check it actually fits her. My family agrees the exposed seams will rub on the dog’s chest. There is no handle. I sent a polite email on 23rd december. The lady has finally replied today, saying she followed my requirements to the letter and that I did not request a handle, therefore a return is out of the question. I feel very let down as I was so very specific in my written brief. It is as if she paid no attention to the dog’s particular requirements. The fabric is not soft either. Any advice gratefully received.

Hi Guys I've been using Airbnb during my travels for the last 8 years. I recently stayed with a family in Scotland and on arrival was introduced to the family dog (a golden retriever). The listing stated that it's a friendly dog and I know that this breed has a good reputation for being a great family pet. When I arrived at the house I received a warm welcome from the host, her husband and their children. I was then introduced to the dog and was encouraged to stroke her so that she would be familiar with me. Later that evening the host, her son and the dog came into my room and we were chatting and again I was stroking the dog and there was no problem. However, on the 2nd evening when I saw the dog lying outside the kitchen door which is opposite my room, I approached her and was stroking her on the head for about 30 seconds when I saw her lips curl up as she started growling. Obviously, I knew that wasn't a good sign so I quickly jumped back but she still managed to bite me on my right hand but because I jumped back she didn't break my skin. I know this is unusual behaviour for this breed but what the host told me on arrival was that the dog is terminally ill with cancer and she pointed to the dog's stomach to show me that she has a massive tumour. The following night when I had to go to the bathroom in the midddle of the night, the dog started growling as I was coming down the stairs to go back into my room (the dog sleeps outside the kitchen and I had to go upstairs to the 1st floor to use the bathroom). I believe that the illness is the cause of the dog becoming temperamental but the host is blaming me for approaching the dog. when I reported the incident to airbnb they suggested that I request a refund from the host. However, when I made the request the host said they disagree and put the blame on me. I had stayed 4 nights that cost just over £200. I would appreciate some advice on where I stand with this. I'm not trying to gain a large sum of money out of this as I wasn't injured but it was a frightening experience and I was very wary of the dog after that. I personally don't think a refund is an unreasonable request but as they're blaming me for approaching the dog that they introduced me to I am now considering the next step. I would appreciate any legal guidelines on this matter. If anyone has any factual information then that would be really helpful.

People need to keep their canine companions under good control. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-40480096 IMHO, if a dog attacks a postman, then it wont be long before it attacks a child !

The car insurance loophole that could cost you thousands For the full story : - http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/personalfinance/they-blamed-my-dog-the-car-insurance-loophole-that-could-cost-you-thousands/ar-BBCsbQ9?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=ientp

My mate who I car share with at work has massive problems with the guy that lives next door to him, a while ago his sons dog 'nipped' the neighbour as he was walking through my mates garden which has a shared 'right of way' from way back when horses were used to transport coal from the mines at the back of the cottages where they live. Went to court yesterday after the neighbour pressed charges under the dangerous dog act, and this was the outcome... http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/dog-who-bit-neighbour-saved-10065141

Hi All, A friend of ours is in a huge amount of debt from her marriage, where her husband built up this debt, cheated on her and was also very abusive. Our friend had no choice but to go into a refuge with their 2yr old son. Whilst in the refuge, her husband didn't give her dog the medication that it needed and it became ill. the husband took the dog to the vets in the morning, but the vet put the dog to sleep in the afternoon. The dog belonged solely to our friend, not the husband. The vet did not call our friend on her mobile phone to speak with, as the dog's owner), they were happy to speak with her estranged husband. The vets have sent our friend the bill and asked her to solely pay it as the sole vet account holder and dog owner. She wants to know if they can do that? Someone takes the dog in ( who the vet knows) and destroy it without t=contacting the owner and also without checking that the vet account holder is happy to accept the charge for this treatment? many thanks in advance E5D

I thought it would be nice to post this article about this brave canine character. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-36814706

If you're a dog owner , 2016 marks a change in how you register your pet. It becomes the law this year for ALL dogs to be microchipped under Government plans announced three years ago. From April 2016, every dog in England and Scotland will have to be microchipped in a move which the Government says will help reunite people with lost or stolen pets and track down the owners of vicious or illegal dogs. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-microchipping-laws-what-changes-7113932 Free microchipping Free microchipping is available throughout the year at all Dogs Trust rehoming centres (by appointment) as well as at their free chipping roadshows, as well as participating vets http://www.chipmydog.org.uk/have-your-dog-chipped-for-free/

Hi All, Just today it has been confirmed to me that my beloved male dog has a large cancer within the muscle wall near his hind left leg. We found the lump last week and immediately took him to be checked - the lump is huge and very hard. Prior to this he had been his normal bright self, not off his food, not losing weight so nothing to suggest he was poorly. We have been told he can have surgery to remove it however they would have to also take a substantial amount away from around the tumour and then it would be major reconstructive surgery to close the wound. There is about a 25% success rate that it would be removed with additional complications due to the nature of the site of the tumour. Has anyone else had to deal with this type of thing and if so did you / would you put your dog (or cat) through such a major surgery at this age or would you try to manage his pain as good as possible before putting him to sleep? Thanks for reading.

Hi, My dog walker lost my dog. After three days i hired a specialist and the next day he was found by the specialist. Subsequently my dog had fleas and I had a veterinary bill. Whats the best action I can take to recoup my costs and outstanding lost wages looking for the dog?

I have what is probably a odd situation, if someone could advise or help i would be most grateful. My wife has been working voluntarily for a dog rescue, she was fostering a dog then we decided to adopt, the fee is £165, we have paid £95 of this through weekly payments to make it more affordable, now the person whom runs this rescue has fallen out with my wife and said shes taking the dog back! where do i stand legally? if at all? this has upset the family greatly. No paperwork has been signed, its seems to have been on trust, all receipts of payments ie bank transactions i have. Any advice would help thanks

Sorry this is in the wrong section, but its the only one that appears to allow my to start a thread. What are peoples views on this. Grandson was attacked by a dog in a public place In the presence of his teacher and the dog owner. his teacher reported it to the police who said it was nothing to do with them. Of course this offence covered by section 3 of the dangerous dog act 1991 and section 2 of the dog act 1871 and is indeed something the police should deal with. Daughter complained and was first said told that the incident hadn't been reported but she had the PCSOs collar number. She's just had another call and had been told by another PC that there was nothing wrong with what the teacher was told but refused to divulge full details of the phone call because of data protection.

a friend recommended me to this site,after hearing my predicament. about a year ago myself and my wife had just got back from walking the dog aprox 3pm. we put him in passage way to eat his food,the passage is about 6ft wide and 10ft long. sealed at both ends with external doors.as we dont have a letter box on our front door,the post woman posted the letter through that door and my dog bit her finger. the door is wood up to letter box then has nine CLEAR glass pannels. the letter box is just a letter flap on outside,no bristles or back flap on inside so no resistance. we brought her in and cleaned and dressed wound and offered to take her to hospital. while treating the wound my wife asked why she had put her fingers throu gh box,she said she was fiddling with letters and not concentrating.which of course is not what she says now,but i beleive to be true.or whilst liffting the flap with 1 hand and posting with other she would have seen dog through class. she needed a couple of stitches in her finger,she says dog pulled letter and her fingers through letter box and bit finger. the union then sent a letter putting a claaim for compensation.i sent pics of door also letter box and pointed out i felt it was her neglect of health and safety she got bitten. they then passed it to there solicitors,it went quiet for months. but now recieved a letter saying they're going to proceed with civil court action for compensation. not sure if insurance covers us and i cant afford lots of solicitors fees. C.A.B said she was on our property the dog was contained it down to her. please help..

Guide Dogs have launched a national appeal about Tess, who disappeared last month. Here's a link to their website; please spread the word if you can. http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/news/2014/august/please-help-us-find-tess-the-missing-guide-dog/#.U-SD6aPQqSo HB

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-29170371

Stay I pulled into the crowded car park at the local supermarket and rolled Down the car windows to make sure my Lab Retriever Pup had fresh air. She was stretched full-out on the back seat And I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there. I walked to the kerb backward, Pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically, 'Now you stay. Do you hear me?' 'Stay! Stay!' The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady, Gave me a strange look and said, 'Why don't you just put the handbrake on?

Hey here from the UK, England me, my wife and my baby recently moved out of a property due to black mold growing throughout the house, we were release as the landlord couldn't (or wouldn't) pay for the repairs or improvement needed to make the property livable. when we first moved in we did have pets (two smalls dogs) but as you can see in the email below they were removed from the property. we have now moved out and had the carpet professional cleaned as instructed in our agreement, i went back into the property to finish cleaning with a horrible smell of damp in the property and was still there when we handed back the keys, me and the man who conducted the inventory commented on the smell. we have now received a call for the letting agency saying that we need to sort out the smell of dogs in the property, i said that it was the smell of damp and she disagreed. we have now received emails that you can see below: Thank you for your receipt for the cleaning of the carpets. With reference to my conversation with lee last week regarding the strong smell of dogs that remain at ** Address removed ** have you spoken to the cleaning company regarding this ?. Unfortunately the smell is not acceptable and this will need to be rectified before we can release the deposit. If you wish to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards. We replied with: The smell in the property is not that of dog but rather the smell of damp. The damp is visible in all rooms of the house and is the reason we were released from our contract in the first place. We haven't had dogs at the property since 15th February, I informed Louise of this in an email, so I think it's highly unlikely that there would be a smell of dog over a month later, after all the carpets in the property have been professionally cleaned and deodorised. We have not spoken to the cleaning company regarding the matter, you have their contact details should you wish to contact them directly. I have read through the contract and cannot find anything regarding the smell of the property upon check out. If I have missed something then of course, please send me the section highlighted, otherwise we have abided to the terms of the contract and had the carpets cleaned as requested so I will be expecting the deposit back without further delay. Kind regards and she has replied with: I have personally visited the property and both I and the check out clerk can confirm there is a strong smell of dog at the property, to such an extent we would not be able to relet it with that smell. Under section 3 (e) (xi) of your assured shorthold tenancy it states that you are to hand back the property in the same state as specified in schedule A. If you would like to re visit the property with myself and the cleaning company to discuss how we could resolve the issue please contact me to arrange a mutually agreeable time. we have had multiple inspections and visits during our short time there because of the damp and this has never been mentioned before any advice would be amazing. Thank you. EDIT: i forgot to mention that the damp was there when we moved in and we were assured with was dealt with. we found from a neighbor that the damp has been there for years with previous tenets getting there rent reduced because of it.

This is a touching story http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26935641

Evening all, I bought a rescue dog from a rescue centre, and I was told I needed to take my two dogs up to see if they get along with each other before we could take the third one home, which we did. This place offer a 4 week settling in period, where you can send the dog back in that time if it doesn't work out. So nearly 3 weeks into this months trial I had to send the dog back as he and my eldest female dog were not getting on, and the fighting etc was still not settling down, so to save one of them getting seriously hurt, he went back. Now they have told me I cant have my money back, I can only have a credit note. Now this wouldn't be so bad if I could use it in the shop section on the dog foods etc, but I have been advised that it is only to use towards another dog (nor is selling the voucher on allowed). now my argument is that my eldest dog obviously doesn't get on with other older dogs, to which they said to use it against the cost of a puppy, which would be all good and well if the £150 credit note would cover all or most of the cost of a pup, but their cheapest pups start at £300 + VAT, and I don't have that kind of money. So my question is, where do I stand? can I demand my money back legally, or have I wasted £150 that I cant use? any help would be much appreciated. Danielle. x

Last week I visited and then bought a dog on Gumtree which was advertised as "recently vet checked and in excellent health". However, when I got him home I noticed that he kept shaking his head and upon looking saw that he had an extremely serious ear infection....his poor ear was a complete mess Next day I took him to my own vet who couldn't even inspect it properly because it was so sore but started him on antibiotics. I tried to get hold of previous owner but she was not returning my calls or texts. i tracked down her vet who confimred she has taken him in 10 days previous for his ear problem and again it was so sore it could not be properly inspected. they started him on antibiotics and was due to take him back 3 days later but never did ...that is obviously when she put him up for sale. As she advertised him as recently vet checked and in "excellent health" do I have a case against her of false advertising and fraud? thanks you

My wife took our Labrador out for a walk on the beach. He was on his lead. Another dog came towards my wife, and because my wife was walking on seaweed she slipped when he pulled. She did not let go of the lead. The two dogs had a coming together, which resulted in the other dog getting bitten. The owner has now present me with a bill. While I agree that my dog was the cause of the injury, he was at all time on the end of short lead (3 foot long) which my wife still had hold of, whilst the other dog was running free. Why should I be responsible for the other owner not having his dog under control? How do I respond to his bill?

Jeffrey the therapy dog was a stray set to be euthanized when he was rescued by a Connecticut woman Jeffrey learned obedience and tested to become a certified therapy dog. He passed 'with flying colours' Jeffery's signature: painted toenails I love Jeffrey's green painted toenails - a very touching story. read more : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401976/The-incredible-bond-rescued-pit-bull-turned-therapy-dog-Sandy-Hook-9-year-old.html

Hello all CAG dog owners/lovers. Could I ask that you spare a moment to click on the link below and have a quick read? www.yellowdoguk.co.uk This is a fantastic, international scheme to help everyone who has a dog needing space when out. Yellow is the internationally recognised colour for caution. If you see a dog wearing a yellow ribbon or bandana, the owner is alerting you to the fact that this dog needs some space. The dog could be unwell, getting over an operation, be unfriendly towards other dogs for a variety of reasons, most of which will be associated with fear, or it could be that this is a rescue dog and the owner and dog are getting to know each other. Anyone who has a dog that needs space will welcome this idea. There is nothing worse than the feeling of a dog bounding towards you and your unsociable dog when out. The Yellow Dog UK campaign is designed to make these encounters a thing of the past by alerting other owners and the public to give the dog the space it needs. The campaign is NOT about aggressive or dangerous dogs – this is only for dogs that need space. I do hope you feel able to support this scheme, I think its very much needed and should certainly help everyone to know when a dog needs some space. Thanks for reading

One of my neighbour's, 3 houses along from mine. Lets her dog out to roam the Close and approx. 18 months ago, the dog started fowling on my driveway! This happened again and again and I had to report it to the Housing Association. It did subside for a while and seemed to stop altogehther? However, this had been the cold winter months, when I suspect her children, not playing out in Close after school - so door not left open, for dog to just wander out on his own. Then came a few warm days, it all started up again! Each day now, I seem to go outside my house and there in the middle of my drive, will be a heap of dog excrement. I then go to her house and knock, she is usually out and I can wait up to 3 days, to make contact with her and get it cleaned/removed. I have requested her to stop her dog from doing it, but it continues. At times it can feel very intimidating having to communicate this to her at times, as she may be surrounded by mates or boyfriend etc It is becoming quite stressful for me now and I am totally sick of it happening all the time! I went back to the housing association last week, they said they would be writing to her again, maybe visiting - but in any event, I am never advised of any action taken or outcomes/feedback; so I can only assume some action is being taken against this woman, in failing to be a responsible dog owner? However, since my call to Housing Association last week - it has not stopped for one day. Getting to my wits end with it now, as it is likely to be a reflection on how I live in the eyes of other people and it is simply absolutely disgusting! Anyway, I contacted HA this morning, the chap I speak to was not in his office at the time and the HA Rep I spoke to on telephone, reviewed the details/status of my complaint and in reading out their notes, stated my neighbour's door number being - no 3 when it is in fact no 2! She amended it accordingly, but it may mean that in a complaint spanning over 18 months now, for same issue - the person responsible for the anti-social behavior, is not receiving communication from the housing association? This could totally compromise my complaint and any deemed action taken so far by the housing association?? I have left a message for the chap to call me back from HA - but I am wondering if there is anything more direct I can do to get this matter resolved once and for all. I feel I am just not being taken seriously, yet it is causing me a great deal of undue distress and I am appalled it can continue happening like this. If your dog fowled on the pavement - you would be liable to a fine?? Any advice, desperately sought!!

Hi all, I recently had the misfortune of a stray dog jumping in front of my car, whilst the car was at 70 miles per hour, with no room or time, whatsoever, to maneuver to avoid it. The dog appeared from the crash barrier guards, literally about 3 meters in front of the car and jumped onto the path of the car. I looked to my left, there was a car, so I couldn't swerve left, to the right was the crash barrier so couldn't swerve right. I instinctively, slammed on the foot brake, but at 70 mph all you get is the ABS preventing wheel lock and you cannot stop within that distance. The inevitable happened, almighty bang, severe vibration as the dog was dragged under for a few seconds until it managed to pass under the car, I eventually came to stop as I was on emergency brake and looked at the rear view mirror and the dog was dead. Where I was stopped I saw cars swerving dangerously to avoid the dead dog and my car so I moved over onto the left lane then onto the hard shoulder where I stopped. I called the police. My car has serious damage, broken left head lamp/indicator unit, damaged bumper, leaking radiator, broken, hence, leaking power steering cooler, damaged aircon condenser(aircon radiator) and bent frame behind the bumper and registration plate damaged. I am without a car now as I managed to drive it home but now all power steering fluid and coolant has leaked and radiator fans won't turn as they are jammed against the radiator. The police managed to trace the dog's owner as the dog was chipped and the police gave me the dog's pet insurance details - direct line pet insurance. The police said I was lucky as it could have been worse and it was good I didn't swerve as that would caused a very bad accident on the motorway. Now, I called direct line pet insurance a few days ago to claim for the damage on my car and they are telling me that I cannot talk to them directly because I am not their customer, should they do that? They are saying that I should either, contact the dog's owner so that the dog's owner contacts them or claim from my insurance so that my insurance claims from them. The dog's owner is liable here as the dog shouldn't have been running astray on the motorway and I don't want to claim from my insurance as it is not my fault and if I do I will have to pay £600 excess. What should I do? Is direct line's pet insurance division trying to be difficult so that they don't pay?