Sandra777

We had a pedigree Cocker Spaniel growing up, he was related to some of the best show dogs, his litter brother was a major winner and stud dog, his sire and gsire were UK imports. The dog was at the vet more often than we were at the doctor. He was PTS at 8 years old after 7.5 years of chronic ear infections. Fast forward to today & 30+ years with pedigree dogs (not Cockers) and I would say my dogs now are far more robust than that was dog - even though they're still at the vet more often than we go to the doctor No allergy issues in a breed which "always" has these issues. Most vet visits are for self inflicted wounds!

This doesn't prevent anyone exporting a LR dog though - it just stops them getting an export certificate for one.

Scam??

Why do you need to keep her at home???????? Exercise her, she needs to be fit to have an easy labour, but don't take her to places dogs frequent - dog parks and beaches, vet clinics and the like.

:p :p :D :D I had a feeling I'd made a typo and just popped back in to correct it... too late :p I am going to leave it and let you enjoy your laugh, as you have quoted it Thanks! ;) On the question in hand though. Wouldn't impact me all that much either, but yet another example of people who don't know what they're doing sticking their noses in where they're not qualified to judge. Personally I wouldn't breed from a bitch after 2 caesars but I can understand the situation of small breeds with small/singleton litters. But do have to wonder if going back to the ''olden days'' when these breeds were bred from larger bitches and the small bitches may never have had a litter wouldn't be easier all around??????? But always think it's the owners choice and decision first and ethical breeders don't jeopardise their bitch's health or welfare anyway.

:p :p :D

It really shouldn't be an issue as there's no way a small puppy and a 13 month old should be left alone together all day anyway. The pup needs to be protected from any over zealous play of the older dog and the older dog needs to be protected from the constant hassling of a pup (some pups never figure out when enough is enough. Figure out a way the pup can be confined separately from the older dog then problem gone, feed them separately.

Should be easy to change but obviously not in time for her going home tonight. I have changed a name on papers when the CCCQ mis-read what was plainly written in front of them, a bit different to your problem but still shouldn't be an issue. Generally speaking provided the pup is young and has never been shown you don't have a problem changing the name.

No, they mean two different things and even though they may sound the same to you they aren't. Also sondier that completely stopping a dog from growling may not necessarily be a good thing - growling is a dog's way of warning that it is unhappy and it's next move will be to snap/bite. In SOME cases dogs which have been punished for growling show very little obvious warning (they've been taught not to) and will appear to go directly from no-reaction to snap or bite when provoked sufficiently. Of course they almost always still show by their body language what their intentions are, few people have the ability to understand this, while most people understand a dog's growl!

Not something I've ever done myself but my first thought was how big is the bathroom? With you and puppy and puppy pads and everything else that hangs out in a bathroom it might be a smallish intimidating sort of environment for a new pup? The smells of all the human sprays and soap etc might be confusing and offputting? Is it possible to set up a puppy pen in a specific place which is a bit more ''open'' and have puppy pads in in the pen? (This would be totally separate to any other puppy pen you might set up) When the pup is older it should be possible to move the pen anywhere you want (even into the bathroom) and slowly remove the pen and leave the pads as the cue. Just a thought, but otherwise perserverence is the key.

Pretty much this. I don't use a lot of commercial but realise that some puppy buyers will. Depends on the dog a lot, different dogs of the same breed and even the same litter grow at different rates. IMO once the growth plates are closed puppyhood is pretty much over (in a growth sense obviously!) and a heavy quick maturing dog need quite different treatment to a lean, active slow maturer

I pondered this question long and hard about 3 years ago. Ended up doing TC frozen with a maiden bitch. She conceived one puppy so to reduce the risk all round she had an elective caesar 63 days after ovulation. Unfortunately the pup died at 3 days but that really has nothing to do with the frozen semen or the caesar. Fast forward 2 years, did a natural with the same bitch, she conceived 5 pups but didn't proceed in labour and had a caesar, had the beginnings of a rupture the size of my hand which the vet couldn't say for sure was or wasn't the site of the previous caesar. (all pups lived and she was a fabulous mum) She is now spayed. My reasoning (If caesars aren't common in the breed you're talking about this won't apply) -- the bitch was born by caesarian so was a possible candidate for a caesar. Not ideal but just a fact. IF she had a natural mating first and had to have a caesar it could affect her ability to carry/conceive optimum numbers the second time. Not a common risk but a possibly one. So having a litter first could jeopordise using the frozen for her second litter and getting the best result. OK things turned out to be the other way around but that's not really the point, hindsight is a fabulous thing! My second reason was that there wasn't actually a dog I wanted to use on her at that time except the frozen one On the whole I would say that if the bitch isn't a possible candidate for a caesar (either by family history or by breed) AND there is another dog you want to use, I personally would do the natural mating first - establish she is a good mum and find out if she's a good producer then go for the frozen for the second litter. Yep, I know lots of people who have used frozen to maidens and had no problems, big litters and been really happy. I know lots of people who have used frozen to bitches on their third or even forth litter and been happy and had great results. In reality, every single mating is a toss up you really just have to go with your gut feeling. ETA: I have had fresh AI's with a couple of maiden bitches over the years for a couple of reasons, never found it to be an issue either way.

X2 - Same bank account as previous or not???

Sorry for your loss, all dogs are precious to the people who love them. The breed is SHIH TZU - who on earth could love something called a "shitzu"

Another here that wouldn't vaccinate a dog which isn't in 100% healthy condition - which is exactly what is said on the info that comes with the vaccine. Never ceases to amaze me that vets scream they can't do this or that with vaccinations or other drugs because it's not what the vaccine/drug is licensed/approved for yet are happy to ignore this particular licensing/approval requirement when it comes to vaccinating dogs after MAJOR surgery.

Since when are cats, guinea pigs or human babies in any way affected by DOG AGGRESSION. Do you not understand what DOG aggression means? Smaller dogs, well meh - if you've ever owned a dog from a breed with a fighting background you would know that the majority treat small dogs with contempt And don't forget that most dogs can be trained to accept specific other individuals in their life regardless of their genetic background.

Keep them PERMANENTLY separated until the puppy has grown up a little and learned both 'no' and 'leave' as well as better social skills. It is possible the puppy sees the older dog as a toy and means no harm but it is also possible you are seeing prey drive and one day the older dog will trigger something in the GSD and you will have a tragedy. Elevating the older dog in the pack won't necessarily help if the puppy sees the older dog as weak, or just as a toy or even worse, as prey.

The kids at 2.5 days. The two brindles are boys. The red in the middle with the small mark on the neck is the 3rd boy. All doing just fine! I took the photos, kids wouldn't settle so got what I could, went in to the computer room and put them on the computer, sent them to the stud dog owner then came back out and China had them all lined up feeding, could have got a perfect shot of all 5. How did I know that would happen

Cheap lunging whip from a horse place works well too. My dogs go nuts for their flirt pole!

Don't do Christmas trees anymore, but always had a real one and no dog ever died. Used to have christmas trees growing wild on our property - again no dog came to any harm chewing them up, ripping off the needles, running around with ten foot branches in their gobs (that one hurt US a lot ) Wouldn't worry about it myself

China had her pups yesterday - 6 born between 8.30pm & 11pm which is pretty civilised. The last born was very flat and didn't make it through the night so we have 5 - 3 boys, 2 girls. No photos as yet but I'll get there!

Yes, most breeders would prefer sensible questions than nothing or assumptions. You'll probably find she's like everyone else and has a group of people who help socialise their pups and understand about disease etc.

Definitely best not to let them get wet if you can help it. No reason to bath the whole dog, spray him underneath with water from a spray bottle (unless that's where the stitches are of course!) or give him frozen treats or just put ice cubes in his water. Lying on a damp towel on tiles with a fan cools most dogs down pretty well. If he's got a long heavy coat getting him soaking wet can actually make him hotter when the moisture in his coat heats up.

Yes, for all the reasons given above - and also because it is inevitable that someone will fall in love with a puppy and that will be the puppy the breeder decides to keep. Most people are obviously sensible about this and know they don't have first choice, but there's always someone who needs to be a drama queen and it's frankly not worth the bother Yep, patience is required!

Keep the fans on where he is, the movement of the air will help even if he never figures out that lying in the breeze is good (most eventually do!) Shell pool in a shady spot, ice cubes in his water, frozen blocks of ice made of chicken broth or just with stuff frozen in it for him to chew up (some say ice can cause bloat, this wouldn't be a major issue with him would it?) Deep shade, plenty of air movement and remember that panting is a dog's way of sweating so if you're sweating he probably will be too. Be aware that 2 or 3 days of above normal heat can induce heat stroke even if it's never really been "hot'' as such. Humidity is worse for dogs than dry heat (assuming they have shade water etc) but that should be OK in ACT shouldn't it?