dasha

Where are you located? It may help.

Riysntira, don't let that fool you. My bitch ate everything every meal. I came home from work, let her out for a toilet break, she got a ball and a tug, was wanting to play games. I thought she obviously isn't ready to drop yet so went inside for a quick nap. Came out 1hr later she had 3 pups in her box and was having the 4th!!! Then had the last one and went out to toilet and came back with a toy.

Vet Cert A is done by a Government Approved vet. This is usually a regular Vet practice but where individual vets are approved to complete export treatments, tests and paperwork. Vet Cert B is done by Vet that Works for the Swedish Government. There job is to CHECK that all tests and treatments done meet the Import permit requirements. They are also to scan the dogs microchip again and seal the dog in its crate at loading time. This is usually done at the airport of loading. They also record the seal/s numbers that secure the crate and sign, date stamp that ALL the paperwork is complete, test results are satisfactory. Easy!

Jamaican Skye's Skye's of Jamaica

I am pretty sure there are some Japanese Akita's in Australia. They are a bit smaller than the American version correct? I will try and think about where they may be.....

Not having a go but just wondering why people would breed dogs to include 2 naturally aloof wild dogs (dingo and wolf) mixed with other breeds and expect them to be good with strangers and unfamiliar places. Interesting mix. Would like to see the rest of the litter or litters of same cross and see how they turned out.

99% of normal healthy dogs travel MANY hours for international flights and land exactly the same. Normal and healthy. Honestly if the dogs a of stable temperament, used to traveling and unloading in various locations like show dogs, trialling dogs and well travelled pets don't have any problems. To them it is just another stop in life. They can't tell the time, they don't sit there thinking hmmm Its been 15 hours now...... they prob only think I am hungry now or I would like to pee. Use vet bed over pee pads or something absorbable for their bedding so if they toilet, they can still stay dry. Don't use things like blankets with tassles or potential loose strings that may tangle around legs/feet if chewed. SECURE a good water holding vessel (Not a dripper bottle unless dog is used to it) and don't worry. Put a toy or something in to amuse them if you think they wil get bored. The first few hours in crates there is a bit of activity going from car to freight area, then from freight to be loaded. loading/shuffling cargo, securing loads, take off all keeps them amused then when flying it is cooler in the hold so they prob curly up to sleep and keep warm. Then landing, uload, etc Like I said it is only a SMALL % of dogs that don't handle it well but they are prob dogs that don't even handle a trip to the local park....... IMO

Vets may have a trap. At a clinic I worked at we had 2 so you just never know unless you ask. If not you may be able to make a trap using a bird cage (with a bigger door) if you have one around. Tie a string around a stick holding the door open, put food inside and when cat goes in pull string. I have caught wildlife like that before. If you know it is going to come around it is a matter of loading the cage, and sitting in wait. This way you can sit inside to do it if its that scared.

Some vets are only open after hours. They are there to provide a service after regular vets are closed. They don't open normal hours so they can't have follow up things because that would have to happen after hours when they open again. Like Sway said, its like hospital. They send you home with a script to get pain killers or antibiotics and send a letter toy your regular GP for follow ups. They may have given her an antibiotic injection that lasts for 24hours to give you time to get some from regular vet the following day. The price does seem a lot but I don't think is unjustified entirely. It would also depend on the time of night you came in. Fees can vary for that. EG 7pm-10pm maybe $X then 10pm -2am would be more and so on...... A vet I used to work at had a separate after hours vet. When we would get in at 8am, we would look in cages to see what new arrivals we had. Read the paperwork to see what was wrong. Sometimes he would pop back in later to let us know any details necessary but otherwise the history and treatment was written down and that was it. He didn't do follow-ups. If the owner wanted they could collect pet to take back to regular vet in am if preferred or they would leave for us to treat until discharge. He ALWAYS got a deposit before he would treat the animal (except under extenuating circumstances) because although you may be honest and have all intentions of paying........... there are a lot of people that don't. Sorry you lost 2 pups of the litter and had bad experience. I hope you don't have such bad luck next time.

Even though it is an old thread...... I think all the questions in that list are valid. The set out of the questions looks scary but you could easily ask them during a conversation as some of them would be very short answers. I think with the number of questions the BREEDER asks a potential owner, then analayse and pick fault with, and basically make them just through hoops, the potential has just as much right to sus out the breeder. I mean breeders always say you should form a good relationship with the breeder so this would be a way to see if you liked the sound of the breeder to know if you wanted to continue the relatioanship and buy a dog from them.

Was out there this afternoon. Looks amazing and there is sooooo much organising been put into it I really hope that competitors appreciate it rather than complain about little things. There is so much to organise. I am hoping to get out a few days to watch and have fun......

I have active border collies and kelpies. They get 1 each. That is all for the day. If that was my Cocker, I would prob give it 1/2 a day AND THATS IT. if she is overweight, you really need to reduce the diet not try to introduce more food. Its good that she is active as it will help her lose the weight. Putting dogs on a diet when they live in a controlled environment is so easy. They are not going to the fridge to comfort eat, they don't drive to the shops for takeaway, they don't cook bad things..... They are purely a reflection of what the owner gives...... Make a start for her own good before its loo late and try to give her a comfortable old age.....

SOmetimes it just comes down to the fact that not all dogs will get along. No matter what the age. Its what gives animals (and people) their individual identities. I have a 13 year old dog here that I got as a 1 week old with her siblings and her mother. Her mother was a GREAT natured dog. My pup was just born on the wrong side of the bed. She has had plenty of controlled socialisation, blah blah blah. I wanted her to be my agility dog (and she was for quite a few years) and she was good at it too. My perfect dog - fast, bold, smart, keen, responsive EXCEPT she doesn't like others. She didn't have any bad experiences to make her like that - its just the way she is wired. She would run agility for others, take treats from others, then when treats are gone, she will then bite if you touch her. She is just very alpha and no animal or person will take that from her as far as she is concerned. If she is at the door, there will be no-one allowed between her and the door. Whether is a person, dog, cat, chicken. She will posture and body block and sometimes snap at whatever is causing problems. She is now 1 of 7 dogs here. She has bitten every dog that lives here (more than once) usually drawing blood, if they get in her way. If I am not home, she will not let people on the back verandah, near the cars or stables or anything. They are allowed to the front door (if they are game to walk close enough). SHe doesn't lunge or attack, she just blacks access and barks and grumbles. She will only bite if she is touched. So I will guarantee there is no such thing as free passage for pups. And nor should there be, pups have to learn too. I am not saying that attacking a puppy is allowed but it is the puppy owners responsibility to keep puppy safe and so should not be allowing it to run up to strange dogs. Complacency is the reason accidents happen.

How is this school going. Is it filled up yet? What sort of breeds will be there?

I am in the same predicament. I have dogs that chew coats off. They also CHEW BLANKETS into THOUSANDS of little pieces each night. Dog mats have the same fate. This year i have put a bale of straw for them to sleep in.They love it. It does flatten down after a bit so you will need to poof it up every couple of weeks. They nestle down in it and in the mornings, there is little nests of where they have been sleeping. Definitely worth doing. I wouldn't even waste the time on blankets anymore. STRAW is way cheaper..... And its natural so if they do happen to eat it, it will be digested........ Not like blankets that get tangled in intestines

But Fit for a King your pets are still caged...... just its a bit bigger then these ones are in. You still have contained them in your yard and if a large fire came through from one end of property to the other..........gone Glad your home and set up is perfect so you don't suffer the same losses and 99.99% of the population are clearly going to if they were unfortunate enough to experience a fire. I also have been to this store over the years and the tyre place as well. It is a big loss to the owners of all the factories there as it is their living. You can't say you don't feel for the animals just because they were temporarily accommodated in a store. Hopefully they can recover and return to business in the future.

Depending on the situation. I have heaps of dogs all at various ages and levels. The young dogs I expect them to come when I call their name ONCE. I don't like repeating it if they are clearly within earshot and are just being ignorant. When the older dogs are actually working sheep I still expect them to obey the command I gave. Yes repeating commands are VERY common in working dogs as often when a dog takes the command, they sometimes only have to lean the way you asked and the sheep respond and so the dog will instinctively flick back to a control point and so you need to repeat it again to ask for more. It is tricky in sheepdogs as there is no definitive end to the command given. In training with the older dogs, if I give the command, the dog is to take it. I don't care what the sheep are doing. If you can't get the commands over instinct in a training environment on broken in sheep, you sure as hell won't get the obedience in the trial ring. Thats whole idea of command over instinct. It doesn't just apply to sheepdogs. Its other sporting that requires the same control over instinct as well. Retrieving dogs still need to take a directive of a handler even though its instincts are to go fetch the bird that just fell to the right and the handler sends it left etc.

Sounds good. Can people come along just to watch? What sort of options are available for the future for people interested in training for Dock Dogs. Will there be a weekly training thing like other obedience/agility clubs etc? What sort of fees etc?

I think I will come dogless to have a look. I have to go to work at lunchtime so don't want to be hurried etc. It is only 6 km from my house so is easy enough to look into later if I see it and think she may like a go at a later date. You coming PAX?????

It only hurts people if they land on a large flat body surface such as flat on belly or back. Dogs have legs that are underneath that help to break that and so even if they land hind legs first or anything, it is the same as us putting our hands in first

MAybe I should book a diving spot for my Border Pup. She has noooooo trouble launching into the pool so far. Maybe with some extra training she could be really good at it.

It is best to sedate IMO as in order to get accurate extended rotation of hips, you really need to manipulate the legs and most dogs will resist just at the moment you have everything lined up and press the button. The dog will probably appreciate a sedation more anyway as if it is going to squirm etc, it can be very offputting for a dog to be sprawled out on his back being manhandled (pulled, stretched, twisted) by strangers and they will probably growl at it in order to make it not move Another reason sedation is better is that it helps reduce the number of x-ray radiation the vet clinic staff are exposed to. If the dog doesn't move at the wrong times, they don't have to repeat them and try again etc.

Hey TerraNik, I live in Western Sydney and I was driving up one of our local streets the other day and noticed a Dock Dogs sign out the front. Can you please tell me the name of the person or the area so I know if its this one. PM is fine.

Thanks for that. I had a little search as well and found out a little more as well. So it doesn't really sound that difficult or costly. The only thing that may put some of them off is them needing to be microchipped. But it won't hurt them. I will look into it some more so I can let them know more.

As the heading says, where is there some information in regards to breeding a bitch and using different sires. I have heard of it before and there is some talk amongst some sheepdog people that they would be interested in finding out a bit more in relation to it. They want to know things like rough costs to then find out which pup belongs to which sire. What processes are used in order to do it, what testing needs to be done and how easy is it. How long would results take to come back. How easy is it for vets to do as obviously a lot of properties aren't located near a repro specialist So if anyone could point me in the direction of where to find out some more or if anyone has had experiences with it would also be good. I am sure there was something about it somewhere but couldn't find it.