mollipop

I 100% share your concerns, Fordogs. One of the puppies from my last litter has had the operation and I wasn't told til until afterwards. They sent a photo of the puppy and I noticed it had been shaven around the rear and asked why. I will be including a warning document in my puppy packs if/when I breed again. The whole experience has put me off. Why bother to test your breeding dogs and use those with low scores when money hungry vets suck their clients into believing the only protection from HD is this procedure. Our NSW breed club has a motion on the agenda for the upcoming national breed council meeting. If passed, they will be formally writing to the vet societies expressing concern.

Think there are 2 different beaches here that we are talking about. I have only been to the long beach which runs parellel to one of the runways. Last time we were there there was a sign saying tat dogs must be on lead ?? It wasn't there before. Not much point in taking the dogs to the beach if they can't have a run and a swim. Does anyone have any info on this?

I think that is way too many questions and I don't see how some of them would affect whether you want to buy one of their puppies. How would you feel if you got a questionaire like that to see if you were a suitable owner for one of their puppies??

A puppy I bred (now 7 months) was bitten by a black snake yesterday. The owners live in suburban Sydney and don't know where it came from. It was found dead in their yard when they came home and the puppy became unwell a bit later. He had a wound on his leg. He has had anti-venom and was on a drip overnight and seems to be okay today. Be on guard. It seems they can appear from nowhere.

Introducing Layla, 7 months old, in training to take over when Molly retires. A few weeks ago I had her swimming to the middle of this dam and retrieving a bird after about half an hour of training. Have lots of work to do on the return to me though!

Yes, I noticed, GSP. I was looking forward to catching up and watching your girl work. Hope she is recovering okay. You missed a great weekend but I'm sure you managed without the soaking from the rain. At least it kept the snakes away! Re the RATG, I think the judge was disappointed with the competitors' attitudes and the low pass rate. I told her that I loved her runs and would rather fail doing something challenging than win getting a dummy in a park. Pity though, cos it would have been Molly's title. Think she was peeved cos she had been getting birds all weekend then was expected to fetch boring dummies!

Here in NSW it is rare to have dedicated stewards. It is usually the competitors that help out and it seems to work well. I do what I can to help but don't feel experienced enough to go out on a thrower. Some of the competitors here get very cranky with "no birds". Hopefully next season I will become more confident. Have just spent the weekend at the United Retriever Club trial which was wonderfully organised and run. Guess you can't blame the organisers for the bad weather! Yesterday I went to the NSW state obedience titles and competed in the RATG. The judge set really interesting runs and we even had a water run. Well there was a huge fuss from some of the competitors - "my dog won't go in the water" and even "my dog can't swim". Some even withdrew. Makes you wonder what they think gundog work is. We only had 1 qualifier in open and 2 in novice. My girl didn't get her first dummy from the water but spent the rest of the day as the recovery dog and retrieved dummies from the dam for at least 6 of the novice dogs! Why couldn't she find her own?? I also entered my dog in novice. He nailed the obedience part and the water run but won't work on land. He made it out to the first bush, stopped for a sniff and a wee then forgot what he was doing.

I have heard that the puppy is xrayed and while still under the anaethetic, the vet looks at the xray and decides then and there whether to do the JPS. The puppy is desexed as well to control the genetic aspect of the "problem". The xrays are then sent to the USA for scoring - which is a complete waste of time at that stage. This is just butchering the puppy for no proven reason as well as giving breeders a bad name. Makes me so mad!! The puppy I bred was operated on in the northern suburbs of Sydney so Canberra is not the only problem spot. Espinay, I would love to see your document for your puppy packs. I'm going to draft something before my next litter.

So sorry to hear about your puppy. I too am disillusioned with puppy buyers and vets. Without consulting me these people had the Pennhip and JPS done on their 4 month puppy because their vet said that big dogs get hip dysplasia. This puppy showed no signs of any problems and the parents had hip scores of 0/1 and 1/1. It seems that the poor puppy has been not given a chance. He was also desexed which means his muscular-skeletal development will not be normal and could actually cause joint problems.

Already posted accidently in the the Health forum. The NSW Golden Retriever Club are holding a heart/eye clinic this Wednesday night. We can fit in a few extras so please message me for more details if interested.

The NSW Golden Retriever Club are having a heart/eye clinic this Wednesday night. Please message me for details if interested. We can possibly fit in a few extras if any other breeds interested.

Can't see your pics on the work computer, FHRP. I'll have to wait til tonight. It didn't occur to me that I could go to the Nationals to watch/help. Please give me a nudge next year. Are you going to the Taree trial? Also need to look at Em's training video.

I love camping in my little tent though I must admit I haven't stayed in it right in the middle of winter. We have a lovely caravan at home with a shower and toilet but it's way to big for me to tow and the OH isn't interested in retrieving weekends. Think I would rather pee in the bush than visit the pit toilet. I still have nightmares about the time I was using it when "box" that you sit on starting falling into the hole! I had to go and tell the trial manager that I had broken the toilet. Very embarassing for me but everyone else thought it was funny. My guys also love canned fish. It makes for stinky breath though. Totally off topic, do you have any ideas on how to stop a puppy from eating poo. My young bitch is disgusting. She must snack on it all day then vomits it up just before her dinner-time.

Hope Em had a great birthday. Loved the smiley photo. I'd love to run your dogs, Fetchin. Do you think there is time to fly from Sydney?? Your whistle might be faulty, RS. Mine certainly aren't quiet! I have 1 dokken but don't use it much. We haven't done any trials over the last few weeks. Missed the RATG last week cos my son got married. Next one is at the GR Club show on the 4th. PS: I applied for Molly's QND title, which came through okay. I just had to chase up qualifying cards from the club secretaries and the ANKC were happy with what I provided.

Sounds like a great trip, Fetchin.. So good that you went where you could take the dogs and have success as well. Hope you are coping okay with Em's season, SD. Molly is definitely getting back to normal. She won open RATG yesterday at the Gundog Society show in Sydney with 3 great runs. I am so proud of her. There were 8 entries in open and 13 in novice with 2 qualies in each. Think there were a few absent but I have lost the catalogue.

Just had a lovely weekend at the ACT Retrieving Trial. Molly got third place on Saturday but missed her second bird on Sunday. She over-ran the mark then vanished into the sunset. Think she followed a gully and totally lost the plot. All was good though cos I could leave early and got home at a reasonable time. We shared the grounds with lots of kangaroos and a huge eagle was hunting close to us. There were also lots of field mice in the cover, which the dogs thought was great. You can tell that I'm a city girl and not used to enjoying the countryside.

Could you try doing the heel work on lead, RS. I often go back to this as a "refresher". Your other method sounds good. I had a problem with Molly not bringing back anything that she didn't see thrown, especially the articles. You would have to make sure your dogs didn't see you throw the seekback so they don't see it as a retrieve exercise. Congrats on your CDX.

They do look like fabulous kids, LT. Love your training grounds too. Is that your property? Can Molly and I come to visit?

She sounds very much like my puppy, RV. Loves to run out after something but then gets interested in different smells and gets distracted. Think I will put her on a long lead and gently pull her back in. I took her to a Retrieving trial last weekend and she was so good. Showed no fear of the gun noise or all the other goings on. She paddled in the river but didn't swim so I'm happy with that as a start. I agree - they are gorgeous when they are sleeping! I am in awe of all the training you guys do and I'm determined to do more with my puppy. Molly has only had a little training for RATGs. The rest we have learnt from going to trials and competing. She must have great "raw talent" and would have been a lot further along if she'd had a decent trainer! Can't view the video at work so I'll look tonight on the home computer.

As a Golden Retriever breeder who makes every attempt to breed sound dogs with excellent temperament, I get very upset with people who reject a puppy cos it's too "brown" or too "white".

Congrats, Rubyroo!! The trauma of me doing Restricted was all worthwhile with you getting your pass. What did you have to do for the last run? Hope you got home before midnight! Thanks for the congrats, everyone. I'm sure your support is helping Molly to a speedy recovery.

Thanks for the schedule, FHRP. I gave my entries to the trial secretary yesterday. I haven't seen a field trial but watched some GSP's flushing out little birds yesterday. Really amazing to watch them work. Molly seemed to have no problems working on Saturday. She came second in Novice and had no ill effects after her operation. I went back on Sunday and was persuaded to trial in Restricted (due to people not turning up they would not have had enough handlers to run the stake). Well I gave them a little fright cos Molly nailed the first run and the judge told me I was winning the comp so far. It was an easy mark then a blind up the side of a steep hill. She just about went straight to it without any yelling from me - I didn't have a whistle. For the second run she had to dive into a river and didn't want to so I quit then rather than force her and have her undo her healing. Rubyroo was the only one left in Restricted at that stage so hopefully she has some good news.

Congrats FHRP. It's hard to believe that the season is over already. We have our last trial this weekend apart from the one in Sept/October. I am taking Molly just for 1 day and won't force her to work if she's not up to it. I want to expose my puppy to all the sights and sounds so she is coming for a day out. Are there any more trials in Canberra?

I take 2 or 3 of mine with me when I go training. I have 5 dogs - 1 is retired but I'm training the other 4. I just stake out the ones I'm not working with. I have found that a remote controlled citronella collar works wonders for barking/howling. I also need a chain for tethering cos my boy chews through leads.

Just come down to the local training club at Centennial Park on Sunday mornings. I take my puppy there at 10am (half time)just to mix with the other dogs. I'm going to start her in class soon and Harper is smart enough to start training too.