spyda62

He's not really lucky with his eyes. He has Corectopia, Starburst pupils and Micropthalmia, probably less than 10 % vision and may still lose his eyes.

IMHO...a lot of the problem is that so many Double Merles ( especially Danes) are stunning looking dogs with their ( Ice Walker) blue eyes and lots of white coat. Often because of their limited vision they have that shuffling walk that creates an even greater impression of a goofy oversized pup. Unscrupulous breeders are using that opportunity to gain big dollars from these pups, not caring at all about the lifetime of misery they are condemning these dogs to.

Has anyone else noticed how many double Merles are being produced lately? All backyard breeding is wrong but surely the people deliberately producing Double Merles should be charged with animal cruelty?

Thank you :)

Does anyone know if there is a Boxer rescue in QLD please? If there is may I get some details? Thank you.

Sheridan...Industry is just a word I used. I can change it to something else if you like :) Im not really sure what you mean by that comment.

To me the whole "adopt dont shop" is just a marketing ploy. I can promise you, I have never heard anyone ever critise a person for buying a purebred dog over a shelter dog. Im not saying that you dont get people that do that ...just that I have never been exposed to it. You get fanatics in any industry. Its not really fair to judge us all by the fanatics within an industry. I dont understand though why breeders are not out there marketing their dogs also. Wouldnt it be great if they had a marketing plan, that educated people about the benefits of buying a purebred dog? Even promoting the breed of that dog and what they were designed to do. So many people come unstuck just because of lack of education when getting a dog. They buy that cute pup from a pet shop, from the markets, off Gumtree or from their neighbours on impulse because they are cute and it is all highly emotive.

"And apparently, it's okay for rescue to get up in often hysterical arms about people getting dogs from breeders but as soon as those people fight back, it's offensive and insulting to rescuers". I don't know what rescuers you deal with Sheridan. After 6 years of working in the rescue industry, I have never known a single person to ever "get up in hysterical arms" about anyone getting a dog from a breeder. At the end of the day, it doesn't make a lot of difference to me where a person gets a dog from as long as it is cared for the way it should be. No person should be made to feel bad about their dog because of where it was sourced from if they are doing the "right thing" for that animal. My beautiful girl who is now 10 years old came from a pet shop. That doesn't make me a bad person, it just means at the time I was uneducated about the plight of pet shop puppies. I work in a shelter full of amazing dogs 5 days a week. My next dog however is going to be a particular breed from a breeder and I know with 100% confidence not a single person I work with is going to be hysterical about it.

Thanks Melz. I live in QLD where Dingo's are deemed to be a pest and an illegal breed. (even though they are a native animal)

Thanks BSL. Today my Dingo died because of you. RIP my little guy. I am sorry I failed you.

Whenever we hear BSL, our thoughts usually go straight to Pit-bulls. I would just like to remind people that in QLD, BSL is very much a problem for our very own Dingoes. No matter how well brought up, controlled, socialised and etc they may be, you are breaking the law by having one and your pup can be seized and destroyed. Some councils even to this day still pay a bounty for a Dingoes scalp There is no purpose for this post. It's just a rant out of sheer frustration at the unfairness of our archaic system.

I don't think anyone really knows exactly how to break up a dog fight as there are so many varying factors involved. First and foremost it has to be about putting people's safety first. You need to asess the situation and use the tools that you have on hand at the time. Some fights can be broken up purely by using your voice. For some dogs a big "Raaaah" is enough to stop them. Others water is enough. The scruffing technique is probably the most successful I have found. I have even had to resort to using a "choking out" technique in the past with good results. I have seen the "wheelbarrow" technique used and in my opinion it is rubbish. There is just too much room for error. The dog has the entire length of its body to redirect on the handler. ( have seen it happen) Hitting dogs is never going to work either. Often all that does is incite the dog further. The biggest key factor I have found is to try to remain as calm as you can and others around you. Nothing worse than trying to deal with dogs fighting and a bunch of hysterical people as well.

How wonderful . Have you been to the exhibition? No I have not been, but would love to. Have you Danny?

I don't think they are affiliated with any rescue in particular. I see it as just a "feel good", "lets build awareness of rescue dogs" feature. I have been getting regular emails and updates from them over the years and have never seen them promoting any particular rescue. Jade the ACD x featured on the page is one of mine :) :)

Windaroo Vet Surgery Lisa Roberts Address: Shop 20/21, Windaroo Shopping Village, 2 Carl Heck Boulevard, Windaroo 4207, Queensland. Ph: (07) 3804-1888 Fax: (07) 3804-1400 This lady is the BEST in my opinion :)

Tanks vision appears to be okay. She is not stumbling into anything. Last night she walked up and down the steps fine in the dark. I put a few obstacles out in the yard and she moved around them no worries. She has got some cloudiness in her eyes which is why I thought she may have cataracts. Kirty no...her blood pressure was not checked. I will get it done...thanks for the suggestion. All her blood tests came back as normal yesterday. She is booked to go the the eye specialist on Wednesday (earliest app I could get). Dogmad...So sorry for your loss. Thankfully Tank is not showing any of those symptons at all.

What other symptoms did he have Dogmad?

My vet said we will wait and see what comes back in the blood tests and then she will do a referral to a specialist. She did not think it was Glaucoma.

I have just got home from the vet with my nearly 9 year old Shar-pei x dog Tank. She has what I thought were cataracts on her eyes. When my vet had a look, she said that her pupils were not contracting at all and that she could see right to the back of her eyes. She has ruled out PRA, cataracts, and diabetes, she has taken blood tests that we will have the results for middayish tomorrow. She said that she has never seen anything like this before and wondered if it was neurological? Maybe brain lesions? Tank is not showing any symptoms of not being able to see. Her health is good although she has dropped a bit of weight lately. (approx 1 kilo in about 2 weeks). I was pretty shocked (and upset) at what she was saying, as I really thought it was going to be something relatively simple and didn't ask anywhere near as many questions as I should have Has anyone else experienced this in their dogs or heard of anything like this before?

what a good idea. thanks - have taken all these comments on board and am in the process of working things out with a rescue organisation. and as I mentioned before - there are reasons for these pups not having anaesthetics straight away, and I am not on here to discuss those as I trust the vets I have sought guidance from. Who on earth are you goin to rehome 6-7 week old pups with health issues to? I sincerely hope that you do your research on the families that you place them with. They MUST be made aware of the responsibilty they are taking on in getting one of these pups. Thanks for your input - love the fact that you have come up with all sorts of insinuations regarding the long term health of these pups and who I have rehomed them to. And yes I had several offers from rescue groups for these pups - and I advised them all that I would be in touch at the end of the month if I needed help. I have met many different types of rescue groups over the years, and so reserve the right to choose one of my own accord. Which I have now done. Thanks to those people who were willing to help without jumping to their own conclusions. I am only going on the facts that you have presented and there is no insinuation what so ever from me. You stated you have found homes for 6-7 week old pups, the age of those pups alone is a very valid reason for needing to be very careful who you place them with. You say they cannot have an anaesthetic straight away on advise from your vet. So...that was not because of health? They are going to be rehomed undesexed...another valid reason for being extra careful with who they are rehomed to.

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Why dont you give these puppies to a reputable rescue, that can put them into foster care until they are big and well enough to be desexed?

Lola, It wasnt a Bernese pup I came home from the shops with, it was a Shar-pei x. Lol...nothing like what I wanted. I just wanted a pup soooo badly. After reading the replies I have had to this post, I can see why I got no responses, even down to my email address being a hotmail account.

Thanks to everyone for the replies...Lol...I am feeling a bit of a dummy about now Rebanne...Yup, In my emails I did say I was a perfect home...oops!

lol...I really believed that emailing was the preferred method of contact by breeders. I would prefer to talk to people by phone.