SUMMER NEWS FROM RODNEY DOG FRIENDS
www.dogfriends.co.nz

1. Local Council Elections
Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote in the Local Council Elections - your votes definitely made a difference and we hope that you were happy with the overall results.

2. Daylight Saving - Dogs prohibited on Beaches 9 am - 7 pm 30 Sept 2007 to 06 April 2008
With the extension of daylight saving dogs are now prohibited on popular beaches between 9 am and 7 pm from 30 September right through until 6 April.
We have been getting an enormous amount of feedback about this from members of the group.
A large proportion of the comments have been from the elderly and also young mothers with school age children.
Some of the them include:

* I find it difficult to get my children to school and also give my dog a run on the beach before 9 am.
* With a young family to get to bed it is too late to take our dog to the beach after 7 pm
* Mornings are not easy for the elderly, it takes many of us quite a time to get out and about in the morning especially those of us who have to take medication. My local beach is very close and my dog loves swimming but I find it very hard to get her to the beach before 9 am.
* North Shore City Council prohibit dogs on some beaches in the summer between 10 am and 6.30 pm. Why are the Rodney times different (longer)??
* It seems unfair that the prohibited time period for dogs on beaches between 9 am and 7 pm extends across so many months. The beaches are totally deserted during school term times (even on fine sunny days) but especially in October and March.

PLEASE take the time to let us know what you feel about this subject by clicking on your reply button and giving us your thoughts.
We will collate any feedback by copying and pasting your comments into one document and reviewing the answers.
If necessary we would be happy to approach the Council about this but we need to be sure that we are representing the feelings of the group and to do this we need LOADS of feedback.

3. Responsible Dog Ownership
Make sure you obey the bylaws and be a responsible dog owner at all times. Keep vigilant when your dog is off lead and ALWAYS pick up. If you see a dog on a lead the owner will probably not want other dogs to approach too closely. Always check with other dog owners you don't know before letting your dog off lead.

Please give us ongoing feedback over future months, particularly on the cleanliness of your local beaches, but also on anything to do with dogs. We have the power to do a lot of good so please help us - talk to other dog owners on your regular walks and keep your eyes open. If you notice any area with a lot of litter (especially plastic bags and/or fish hooks and line) please let us know so that we can email or phone dog owners in that area and ask them to organise a clean up.

4. Dog Walk 2008
As mentioned in our last newsletter we hope to hold our next Dog Walk in April to raise funds for Riding for the Disabled, a charity which gets very little financial support and struggles along doing wonderful work. We are still looking for people who may be able to assist with obtaining commitments of giveaways from sponsors, poster promotions, etc. We will welcome any help at all, however small in time or effort. If you think you may be able to assist please reply to dogfriends@xtra.co.nz giving a telephone number (preferably landline). Please reply now - We Need You !!!!

5. Goodall Reserve, Snells Beach
We were made aware at the beginning of October of a conflict between dog owners and bike riders occurring at Goodall Reserve, Snells Beach. Apparently some bike riders were deliberately driving directly at dogs and their owners in order to “freak” them out. We understand that since that time a meeting has come up with a compromise solution whereby bike riders are allowed to ride their bikes on the reserve only during certain restricted weekend hours. I'm sorry but I don't have the times immediately to hand but I presume that signs will have been erected at the reserve to inform users. We do hope that this solution will work and look forward to keeping in touch with dog owners in the area.

6. Some Common Human food is Toxic to Dogs
Please be aware that some human food including grapes, raisins, chocolate and onion are toxic for dogs. They should NEVER be given to your pet.

7. Golden Retrievers for Rehoming
Marianne Penney is the Liaison Officer for the Golden Retriever Club. She rehomes golden retrievers of all ages whose owners cannot keep them for various reasons. The list of Goldies on the waiting list waxes and wanes but Marianne is always interested in receiving contact from people who may be interested in giving one of these deserving dogs a wonderful "forever home". The Golden Retriever Club is also looking for temporary foster homes for Goldies that need to be rescued and or placed urgently. The foster home is intended to be oupa temporary home until a "forever" home can be found. If you think you might be able to help out please contact Marianne on 09 575 9230 or 021 570 893 or email mgpenney@xtra.co.nz

8. Travelling around New Zealand with your Dog ?
We recently received the following email which we are sure will be very useful to any of you who travel with your dogs:
I am an operational search dog handler and love taking my dog away on trips with me. Recently I was trying to plan holidays to certain parts of New Zealand accompanied by my dog. I realised that it is difficult and time consuming to access information on places where I can stay and walks I can do with my dog. As a result, I decided to create a website which contains all the information required for a person wanting to travel around New Zealand with their dog. I finished the website last week and am currently trying to publicise it and recruit advertisers. The link is www.dogsontherun.co.nz The website includes information on dog-friendly accommodation and walks all around the country and in time will hopefully have information on pet services. I am simply contacting you to let you know about the site and would really appreciate it if you could pass this information on to any other dog owners you know.
Many Thanks
Marilla Swift

9. PLEASE send up ONE MORE CONTACT !
The strength of numbers in our group is important. If everyone could send us the contact details for just one dog owner (or friend) not currently on the list we would double our numbers in no time.
There are approx 14,000 dogs in Rodney so each of you must know at least one other dog owner who is not currently receiving our emails.
If you haven't yet sent us contact details of another dog owner or friend please make it a priority to do so.
Please send contact details to dogfriends@xtra.co.nz or dogfriends@pl.net
Thanks in anticipation of loads of emails!!!!

10. Our Group Emails
If you know friends who are on our list but are not receiving our emails please ask them to check that they have our email addresses dogfriends@xtra.co.nz and dogfriends@pl.net marked as "friends" or "legitimate" addresses. As we send out our newsletters to large numbers it is possible that they might be caught by your ISP's filters if the above addresses are not added to your "friends" list.

11. Advertising
In the past we have added a few small ads for services/products we feel may be of interest to dog owners to the bottom of some of our newsletters. Whilst we don't want the ads to become burdensome we are happy to continue this in a limited way in the future. We have provided this service at no charge in the past, however we need to top up our group funds from time to time - to keep our website on air and to pay for printing etc. If anyone is interested in having an ad included in future newsletters and would be willing to pay a small donation to the group funds and/or provide a link to our group on their website please contact us. Please note that we will only include advertising of services or products directly related to dogs. Many thanks.

12. Some Dog Services that may be of Interest

(a) Noah's Mobile Pet Care - dog walking service or full pet sitting service
Contact Rose on 09 424 4549 or 027 542 4750 Email enquiries: raggies4me@hotmail.com

(b) Nose to Tail Dog Wash - no appointments required
237 Bush Road, Albany. 09 448 2227 Website: www.nosetotail.com Email enquiries: nosetotail@clear.net.nz

(c) Furr Kids Essentials - toys, clothing and accessories for the style conscious cat and dog.
021 669 280 Website: www.furrkids.co.nz Email enquiries: info@furrkids.co.nz

(d) SkallyWAGS Dog Obedience and Puppy Education. One-on-one home training, especially for problem behaviour.
Also a class held each Tuesday evening in The Plaza car park, Whangaparaoa for domestic obedience.
Contact details are: 0800 SkallyWAGS (752 559) or Two.GSDs@xtra.co.nz

(e) If it's bath time for your dog and you dread the hassle contact Lorraine on 428 0880 at THE DOG WASH STUDIO, Army Bay.
My custom designed dog wash facility makes bath time a breeze and the ecopet shampoo will leave your dog feeling and smelling wonderful!

(f) FUR Urban Pet Accessories, designer pet boutique, T: 09 431 5756 or 0800 387 322
M: 027 203 9454 E: paulette@furfactor.co.nz W: www.furfactor.co.nz

Enjoy your dogs and be grateful for the unconditional love they give you.

Bye for now!
We'll be back soon.

Rodney Dog Friends
www.dogfriends.co.nz