Sandra777

Did someone say smile???

:laugh: :laugh: Yep - that's a break out the cigars moment here too :D

Another one not listed - Bonnie

Good grief - I know everyone is different but at 63 my mum had just bought a 60 dog-80 cat boarding kennel which she virtually re-built herself and ran for 6 years - I think you may be thinking about someone who is 83 not 63!

Soft crate & baby puppy - nope. If the puppy toilets in the crate it's not pleasant! Pup can chew it. Soft crates can be much hotter due to the reduced airflow. I would go with a wire crate every time. They fold up, they can be covered if cold/uncovered if hot. You can make them very comfy with blankets, mats, pillows, mattresses, whatever. If the pup makes a mistake you take the tray out, take it outside, hose it off, dry it with a towel and you're back in business in 5 minutes :D Not sure about the best size for a Cavalier - the best person to help with this would be the breeder but I'm sure other Cav people will be along shortly. The only thing I would say is don't buy a crate with wire on the bottom above the tray, (wire, tray, wire) which are common in a lot of cheap shops. Buy one where the bedding actually goes ON the tray and make sure the tray is easy to slide in and out and clean. I have some old style crates where the tray isn't removeable and they are strong IMO but less convenient. For using on the beach perhaps a better choice would be a fold up play pen sort of thing they're bigger, less "cage like" for the general public and allows the pup to be on the grass/sand. You can get metal ones or fabric ones.

Run free Orange.

Yes, and the big/small dog issue was raised because it was a big dog that attacked and killed a small one, Now, as the large dog in question was not on the BSL list and as far as the information that anyone has presented, was not identified as a previous dangerous dog, X breed, entire or unregistered how would scraping BSL of stopped the poor little dog losing her life? Perhaps it wouldn't - some people will always have uncontrolled dogs. However if the law and media attention and education was directed towards DEED not BREED then perhaps we would see far fewer of these tragedies? Basically - if as much money, hot air and energy that went in to creating BSL went in to a campaign of education rather than fearmongering then perhaps this wouldn't have happened. I have Staffords but even so I am wary of larger dogs - an attack such as this would have less chance of being fatal to one of my guys but they would still be badly injured.

What do the pups' ANKC papers say they are? Easy solution really :D

Absolutely. No different to any other popular breed advertised here. Unfortunately the criteria for advertising on DOL aren't very strict and equally nfortunately a lot of puppy farmers & BYB have cottoned on to the fact that DOL is perceived to be a good place to look for puppies. As already mentioned, anyone using english and staffordshire bull terrier in close proximity needs to be avoided at all costs. Some of each. Blue is a dilute - google dilute alopecia for more information on the problems that can cause all by itself. Also blue is a recessive so to be sure to produce a whole litter of blues and so maximise profit, people will mate dogs together because they are blue, not because they are correct, healthy Staffords. I have met three blues in the flesh I would consider to be good examples of the breed - one in Australia and 2 in the UK. More than 1/2 the pups registered in BOTH the UK and Australia are blue, so that's a seriously poor ratio! Yes, you can buy a blue puppy which is dna clear of L2-HGA & HC - that leaves half a million other problems for which there are no dna tests so really means nothing. Badly bred Staffords are very prone to allergies and skin problems - this is part and parcel of the badly bred portion of the breed and blues certainly aren't immune. A lot of Staffords are now very timid - genetically so not because of early upbringing, lack of training etc. Ethical breeders would never breed from a dog with a poor temperament. If the dog is blue these standards are often thrown out - because the dog is blue. A Stafford is an athletic, active dog. Many poorly bred Staffords have straight stifles, sagging toplines, overdone shoulders and massive heads more suitable for a Bullmastiff. Many blue Stafford display all these poor conformational traits. Because when blue was included in the breed standard nothing was known about dilute alopecia, and also because it was always assumed people breeding Staffords would know not to breed from dogs with horrendous skin issues, appalling conformation and incorrect temperament. The standard isn't the last and final word on the breed - afterall no where in the standard does it explicitly state that the dog needs to have four legs, it is assumed that the basics are understood. Black & Tan and Liver being undesirable are because these colours are not wanted in the breed. The COLOUR is not the major issue with blue....

nods

The two bolded bits - well come back and give us an update when he's a mature adult :laugh: Nothing you describe is unusual for the breed - coming when called, stable when people approach him, enjoying a run - all normal stuff and I don't believe one person has said otherwise. The good thing about this is mine bark and charge at the door which is enough to scare most people. Never mind that once the door is open he will merely lick the person to death. Maybe I should have discourged it but I like the warning someone is coming especially when hubby is away. Why would you want to discourage it? The dog is not actually protecting your property - people only believe this to be so :D

The two bolded bits - well come back and give us an update when he's a mature adult :laugh: Nothing you describe is unusual for the breed - coming when called, stable when people approach him, enjoying a run - all normal stuff and I don't believe one person has said otherwise.

Everything is pointing at Stafford except the bolded bit. Never met a Stafford who had the slightest interest in defending their owner's property. Defend the owner against a genuine threat - absolutely, property nope. If you are a normal non-physco person and can't approach and pat a Stafford in public then that Stafford should have a one way trip to the vet.

Sorry about the loss of your girl. I would tend to agree that if you're asking this question perhaps the time isn't right yet. Maybe wait a bit, do some research, look at some pictures and information on line and decide exactly what you want to do. Do you like Amstaffs particularly or would you perhaps like to have something similar but not quite? I'm thinking Stafford, Bull Terrier, Boxer (perhaps not so much with the heat?), Rhodesian Ridgeback (not quite in the same vein but similar in terms of coat, boof & energy). There's no reason why you can't just get another Amstaff if this is where your heart is but IMO you'd be best getting a completely different colour so your sub-concious isn't nagging you about 'she's not the same'. No you probably won't ever love another dog the way you love your special girl - you'll love them just as much but for other reasons.

Congrats Woger & Ellz :thumbsup:

Good point - if you have, as I have, a bitch who cycles every 3-4 months you could breed her every second heat and probably get in trouble for breeding every heat. If you have, as I have also had, a bitch who cycles every 9-10 months you could breed her every heat and this would probably not even be noticed. ETA: as for keeping accurate records, I'm pretty sure that can be enforced :)

If she's a bit bossy you may need to be prepared for the dog to be even bossier - especially an experienced one. Don't be surprised if there is some snapping, growling and leaping about but if you know your own bitch well you will know when she is genuinely frightened/not interested and when she's simply playing 'hard to get'. The majority of experienced dogs will take care of the situation very well if you give them 5 minutes to do so. If she's not ready most experienced dogs will just shrug and walk off :laugh:

Definitely get someone else to help who has at least seen dogs mating before. If you are trying to mate a giant breed or a very extreme breed then probably better to have someone with a bit more specific experience, but otherwise anyone will do. Unlike Pav Lova I would put the DOG on a long leash and let the bitch loose, but definitely have one of them on a leash or you can guarantee they will tie under a rose bush or somewhere else really really inconvenient -like in the middle of the front lawn at home time for the local school...... :rofl: Good luck, don't panic and remember dogs have been breeding for quite a long time without our help...

Sounds like a foot in the door to banning all breeding to me. Ban the sale of animals in pet shops bred by "commercial" breeders - what is "commercial". How is it going to be policed? How are pet shops going to be made to prove they don't buy from "commercial" breeders? How are they going to tell a BYB pup from a "commercial" pup? Seems to me like a good way of encouraging internet sales for puppy farmers.

Don't worry about antlers, greenies, rawhide or any other nonsense. Go to your butcher or browse the meat cabinets at the supermarket and get suitable sized raw, fresh meaty bones that can be completely consumed. The vet would probably be anti raw food because the vast majority of vets are educated on canine nutrition by dog food companies. Only those with a specific interest in canine nutrition will think past this point and draw their own conclusions. Some remain anti raw food but some don't. I prefer older vets for this very reason,they have had time to live in the real world and understand that not everything they were taught at vet school is the ultimate answer to everything.

Towel & bottle of water will be fine - please don't give a pup fresh off the plane a full bath Assuming there's even any grass at the airport most areas very close to the freight terminal will have been used by other dogs whch have just come off planes. Most of these dogs will be healthy but unfortunately some bad rescues have been known to send sick dogs. Me, I would stick her in her crate in the car and take her to work -assuming that's less than 30-40 minutes drive. Let her pee in the carpark there, no need for her to go on the grass at all. Honestly I don't freak too much about pups going out in public before they're "fully vaccinated" but it's best to avoid areas where lots of dogs will have been - which includes the small grass areas at airports :)

Just get her a toy a soft toy without a squeaker if that's inappropriate for work, it's only for an hour. IMO - don't feed her a smoked bone from a pet shop EVER, they're cooked and cooked bones aren't good for dogs. Have fun!

I'd second asking your vet friend for links to their studies "proving" this. I have recently read an article which praises corn and other cereals as the ideal food for dogs because they have 'evolved to eat human scraps'. I agree that the dog/human link may well have started because dogs are carnivorous scavengers and know a good thing when they see it so dogs DO eat human scraps which can include any manner of cereal food matter - but one look at a dog's teeth clearly shows they are carnivores - they have no grinding molars so the "evolved" bit is a bit too much IMO. All dogs are individual and while I prefer raw feeding mine have done perfectly well these last 4 years on a mixture of cheaper dry food and meat/bones.

Not sure if anyone's made this comment earlier or not... Why not judge on function and not form - well there ARE competitions where dogs are judged on function and not form - sled dogs, sheep dogs, sight hounds (not 'for real' though in Australia), gundogs, earth terriers, weight pulling, Newfoundland clubs run water work days, in the USA Portuguese Water Dogs do water trials which are probably better supported than many conformation shows, schutzhund, french ring sport - I've no doubt missed lots. Why "pick" on conformation showing - there's endless opportunities for people to test the functionality of their dogs if they choose to, and plenty of scope for puppy buyers to buy from ANKC registered breeders who DO. So how is to "blame" here - the breeders who DO or the buyers who just buy from where-ever and don't ask if the dogs ever "do" anything? The reason I don't partake in any functional trials is that I don't want to spend a long time in jail for dog fighting. My dogs lure race & weight pull and some are doing pretty good in obedience & agility too.

Sorry, camera had a nervous breakdown so no updated photos... Thanks again for everyone's opinions and thoughts, all very interesting and educational. Whitey is staying, brindle has gone to her new home today. In the end it came down to the substance because the mother of these pups is a little too fine compared with her mother and the white girl has more substance than her mum at this age. Both pups had positives and negatives and if we don't fix the topline in this pup at least we haven't got a dodgy topline and a lack of sunstance which is what we already have in mum... You don't always get what you want, but maybe this time we have. When the camera comes back from therapy I'll take some photos of whitey, now known as Inca :D