Sandra777

Why didn't she tell me she wanted to sell her house for $5000??

Just love the way it says Pepsy is a Poodle on the Channel 9 page but if you go to the save Pepsy website she's listed as a 3/4 Bichon 1/4 Toy Poodle. Any Poodle breeder delighted to be slated like that? Where did this dog come from. If the problem was found when she was having a puppy vaccination I can only assume they could still remember where they'd got her from - do the consumer laws not apply to anyone except ethical breeders? Was there any mention on the TV programme about a pet shop or "breeder" refusing to take responsibility?

That is truly bizarre. You can't register an entire dog in your shire???? I would be moving house

Er - how about measuring it

Agree with goldengirl. A chicken neck is a pretty puny thing for anything much bigger than a toy breed puppy, I would be giving him a turkey neck or chicken carcase - that's a whole meal in itself and will really give him something to chew and concentrate on.

What this proves is the dog and bitch mated. It doesn't prove that this was the ONLY dog the bitch mated. A litter can have more than one sire.

Good point. Missed that bit

This carefully planned and monitored attempt to improve the health of a breed is a very long way from randomly crossing two second or third rate examples of different breeds in the mistaken belief that this will magically create perfect health and temperament in the offspring ;)

Greyhound.

In almost all cases it can be fixed but I would be thinking about the implications of having two generations with this problem. Yep, sometimes it is caused by the bitch being too enthusiastic with the cords at birth, but sometimes it's more than this. If the pup is otherwise the pick I wouldn't be inclined to throw the baby out with the bathwater though! :D

A dog doesn't need worming once a month though - so what are you actually doing? Creating drug-resistent worms? Pouring chemicals down your dog's throat for no reason? Wasting your money? Harming your dog? Doing nothing wrong at all? Sorry - not a big fan of "treating" things you don't even know the dog has.

No way I would sell a puppy to a PETA activist!!!

I can't help because frankly I'm with your partner. If there is no issue and the dog is owned by a responsible person I personally am not fussed if the dog is neutered or not. If you had a bitch then I could give you a lot more reasons to help the cause - mostly health related Desexing prevents testicular cancer (that's a no brainer) but you need to know what is the risk of testicular cancer in your breed and more specifically in the family of dogs your dog comes from. Desexing was touted as reducing prostrate cancer but I have since read studies that suggests desexed dogs are actually more likely to have prostrate cancer. This one makes me wonder though - is it because there are proportately more desexed dogs now reaching an age where prostrate cancer is an issue? Do you have an agreement with the breeder of your dog that he will be desexed? If so then there really is no argument, you agreed and if you (I mean your partner!) wants to change that agreement you need to talk to the breeder about it.

Not sure I'm understanding you properly, but it could be you can't liken him to any other breed because he's a multi breed cross so won't look anything like any particular breed at all. What I mean is that just for agruments sake say his dam is a pure bred Amstaff and his sire is a Labrador x Staffordshire Bull Terrier - he won't come out looking 1/2 Amstaff, 1/4 Labrador and 1/4 Stafford. Genetics doesn't work like that! A mixed breed (more than 2 breeds) or even just a cross breed (2 breeds) dog can often look nothing at all like any of the breeds that have gone in to his makeup. A friend of mine had a Boxer x Bull Terrier - both parents were purebred. The dog they had looked all for all the world like a badly bred Labrador and nothing at all like a Boxer or a Bull Terrier.

She is obviously uncomfortable about other dogs approaching her so why do you allow this to happen to her? She is telling you and the other dogs as clearly as she can that she doesn't wish to be sniffed, played with or approached. Does she have some dogs she is happy with - if so make these the only dogs she interacts with until such time you have worked on the problem or maybe it will be forever. IMO if you want to solve this problem then making her cope with random interactions with other dogs in the meantime is not very helpful. She needs to be comfortable with the other dog for a start and then she needs to slowly learn that the presence of another dog is a great thing for her, with praise, treats and attention from you, not by feeling she has to reactive aggressively to "save" herself. Start with long distance "approaches", the other dog some meters away (however close she is comfortable with) and praise/treat her for ignoring the other dog, then in tiny baby steps get to a point where another dog can sit beside her with no interaction and she doesn't react. THEN move on to actual interaction. Me, I'd be going for a professional on the spot rather than internet advice in this situation

I don't think it's up to Dogs Victoria to decide, this would be an ANKC issue I believe. And the reason it is allowed to continue? Less kind people would say it is all about the registration fees. Me, I think it could be because there is no scientific data to prove there is an inherent health risk to the majority of pups in this practice. Risk to the quality of the breed, absolutely, but an actual universal health risk, no proof. We live in a democracy. ANKC Dogs Vic, SBT Club of Victoria - none of them have any control over what price people ask for their pups. It is absolutely no business of anyone except the buyer and the seller what the final price is. People are allowed to ask whatever price they like for "goods" and consumers are allowed to accept or reject that price as they feel is best. It is up to the consumer to determine the worth of the "goods" being offered. People research the prices of TVs, Fridges and Cars but apparently don't bother with puppies. Uh huh. So if you are buying a TV or a car you don't check out the features or prices either? Sorry you feel you have got burned, I hope your pup is a lovely pet for you and your family regardless of your mistakes and lives the long and happy life it deserves.

Warm - blood temperature. Cold/cool water in summer might be OK but definitely not in winter for a puppy And when you say "puppy" do you mean under 3 months or so? If so, personally I wouldn't be bathing a coated pup at all in winter unless you have a proper drier. If it's a little soiled get to work with a towel and some warm water, if it's just a bit smelly try using some powder or dry shampoo.

I was referring more to the numbers who drive without any license at all - which is pretty high considering the amount of money being thrown at enforcing the law in this area!

I don't think the owner minds what breed (cross) he is, but the reality is, if pit bull hysteria takes off, the council/government will care. OP - neither dog looks pure bred anything to me. I would be doing what someone else has already suggested, get him DNA tested to prove he is the progeny of dog x and bitch y then get any sort of documentation you can about what breed(s) they are. Sorry but in the current climate of BSL, if you buy a bull breed dog (of any sort) without papers you need your head read

The driver's licensing system doesn't work and this has millions of dollars spent on it every year, what on earth would it cost the honest dog owner if state or federal government tried to enforce a system of dog owner licensing? ETA: If there was a nationwide "amnesty" type situation where you could apply for a dog owner license for LIFE for say $150 or some such figure. The license would give you the right to own any number of dogs you chose without having to pay an annual registration fee (perhaps a one-off life time rego fee per dog of $30-$50???) - then I would sign up in a flash. THEN let authorities go after those who didn't comply, at no additional cost to those who have complied. How about that idea? Irreponsible dog owners are the responsibility of the whole community, why do responsible dog owners carry the cost of enforcing local dog laws (pounds, rangers etc) when it's not the ones paying the rego fees that (for the most part!) cause the problem

Fingers crossed for 12th or 13th - Stafford litter. Hope it's the 13th as it would be the sire's 13th litter in Australia too

Just curious - what breed do you own? A two year old Labrador Retriever (yellow/golden) purebred. Uh Huh. The only dog which has ever bitten me on purpose was a Labrador. Ban the lot I say.

Just curious - what breed do you own?

Everything here suggests to me Staffordshire Bull Terrier of the right family/chosen temperament - (low prey drive - yes they do exist) In the UK there are huge numbers of the breed in rescue so it wouldn't be too difficult to find a young adult which has been temperament assessed.

Do you actually know what you're talking about or just making it up as you go along. Many hundreds of thousands of people do indeed call American Pit Bull Terriers their family dog. Check out what was the USA's symbol dog during the first and second world wars Check out what an American Pit Bull Terrier actually is (as opposed to a 'pit bull' which is almost certainly a mutt) Hmmm - ever heard of Stumpy? Our Gang? Helen Keller?