Travelling with <span class="highlight">dogs</span> - Poison scare

Klaus

"Rusty was on death row, rescued 5 minutes before finitum"

how was he rescued, we have been told there is NO antidote for 1080, we travel with Benney all the time have a bait management plain and stick to it. but she is only as safe as us when we go bush. she's to old to change.

Cheers

Richard

Klaus

We have to watch our furry child as well. I know dois are attracted to 1080 so we have to be extra vigilant. Lots of training. Luckily she always thinks that she is going to be left behind so stays in the truck most of the time. We have been lucky so far travelling many bushtracks of WA, the capital state of 1080!


Cheers

Hi Klaus, glad to hear Rusty is OK.

I can only speak for WA, but there are now very strict controls here. The unknown factor is that when aerial baiting is used, the sausage like 1080 baits can be carried and dropped over some distance by crows.

In WA now, to use baits, we have to have qualified in a short training course, apply to the Department of Agriculture officer, submit a farm plan of where baits will be laid, and only over a specified two week period. We have to put up signs and notify all our neighbours. Only once an approval certificate is issued, can we purchase the baits, which have to be carried and stored under lock and key.

Over the past few years, the baits have been in a hard dried piece of meat which is tethered by a wire, and we leave out overnight and remove uneaten baits each morning. I understand that these baits have been discontinued in favour of the more palatable sausage shaped baits, so tethering may not be an option. Getting up before the crows may be the only option.

You may be able to get a friendly vet to issue you with the tablets they use under the dog's eyelid which cause vomiting. This saved my son's pup once.

Back when i was a little chick, my father always had a large jar of strychnine powder in the ute glove box and every time he found a dead lamb, he put some into the entrails to try and reduce the fox damage at lambing time. We never lost any of our dogs to these baited carcases during my childhood. I have in later years lost two dogs to what must have been very old baited matter moved by crows. It is devastating.

We can know longer purchase strychnine, only 1080 baits, as the latter is less harmful to our endangered native animal species.

Keep a close watch on your Best Friend.

Motherhen

My only advice is to keep the dog chained at night as that is the time that your dog will be more likely to "dissapear" in areas where you suspect 1080 poisins.A friend of mine lost his dog while we were pig shooting and all he heard was some loud yelping late at night but never found the dog---not nice to lose your pet or working dog like that.

I recall one of our aerial baiting programs back in the day - where CALm accidentally dropped a bait on oneof our neighouring afrmers fropnt lawn where she had her pedigree female dog tethered on a leash.

It died!

Bit embarrassing to say the least - from memory CALM were too tight to reimburse her the value of the dog as her prime pedigree breeder which was a substantial amount she was claimiing and not unreasonably IMHO.

The crows redistributing the baits is the "out' that CALM always fall back on when they goof up.

Don't underestimate CALMS culpability potential in baiting - the staff are trained and do try to do the right thing but occasionally stuff up.

That said the actual aerial fox baiting does work wonders in bringing back species like southern brown bandicoots and Phascogales etc - bye tragetting the spring dispersal of fox cubs very siccessfully - the density of aerial bating usually aims for at least 1 bait per square kilometer!

With that in mind and your camping somewhere that should give you an idea of the potential - obviously springtime is the danger time.

Also - when aerial baiting they only signpost the boundaries they actually publish details in the paper - which is sposed to be sufficient notification - they do mail out adisoris to neighbouring landowners as well.

Nuthings perfect but a muzzel is the best answer.

Cheers

Gday,
We used to bait with stricknine and only ever use the leftovers from a killer.
The rule was wipe the bait in cuts on the cheeks ( still attached to the skin) The reason was because the carcass was too heavy to drag away. Its awful $hit but was the thing of the time.
Its hard to do and even harder for old dogs .....but....teach your dog not to pick things up, keep an eye on them and dont let them rome at night. Be especially carefull around water ( tanks, bores troughs, turkey nests and dams etc)
The old thing for a cure was salt....as much as you could get in to them...usually in the form of salty water....cant vouch for that though!


Good luck

Cheers

Klaus,
Our geriatric bitch is best described as a nose followed by a stomach : ( maths eh: N+S= Bait, or so I'm told).
We all survived a recent 16000km trip, much of it in 1080 country.Not easy, I tellya.(My Lady stood watch, true.)
Next trip the Old Girl will sport a muzzle. (Dog, mate, Dog. Don't be so rude!!)
Strewth! Flamin' Humans!!
Scheesch.
Onya Klaus, and more power to our furry companions. National Parks reek of pigs, goats, (people), cattle,camels,cats, and god knows what else, but personal canines are forbidden?
Ain't logic grand?
Having said that
Jess (The Boss), reckons we'll all just stay at home and rot in a communal , 'Park Safe' heap.
Sad eh.
Jeff.