dancinbcs

The height standard on JS was dropped a few years back so it is a constant battle to keep the size down to the required 13.5" to 14.5" with many males still topping 15" but certainly not over 15.5". My little guy is at the bottom of the standard, at 13.5" and 6.5kgs. An average full grown male of 14.5" now weighs about 8-9 kgs so Maple is nearly twice as big as the breed should be. The odd oversize male up to 10-12kgs does turn up occasionally in many lines but I cannot even imagine 15.5kgs. That is as big as some Border Collie bitches. JS are popular with puppy farmers who would no doubt stick to the bigger ones and keep breeding the size up, ignoring the breed requirement for movement to be light and nimble. Bigger bitches tend to have bigger litters, resulting in more profit so my guess is that he may be purebred but badly bred, most likely from puppy farm stock. He looks like a typical unregistered JS, not the show lines with their smaller size, much smaller ears and refined features. JS are fastidiously clean and easy to house train but you need to encourage him to not hold on so long byy taking him out more. The breed should be very energetic and are usually rather noisy as they are alarm dogs that bark at anything unusual. Mine is at the very top end of energetic and middle for noisy and there are some that are lazier and quieter but Maple does sound extreme in that regard. Maybe a full vet check would be a good idea. It could also be that he is a lot older than you have been told.

Border Collies can finish growing in height any time from 6 months to 18 months so no one can give you a magic age to change them over or a weight they should be. Weight at 6 months can vary from 13-18 kgs and the dog can still be lean and healthy. Adult weight for males can be anything from 17-26 kgs with most around 20-21kg. Only very active or skinny puppies need to be on puppy food. Once they start to feel a little chubby, by feeling the ribs as described by Tassie, change to adult food. I like my puppies to feel solid but lean so I can feel ribs but I don't want them skinny and some are impossible to get any weight on.

Thanks for you input, and the tip about barley that's great, ill have a look into Dr Anne and touch base it's her. I have a lot of people to call and see what sort of responses I get. The raw diet is the biggest constant in all of the replies in this thread, so I definitely think this may be the way to go - or at least transition her into it. We went to the vet this morning and had her urine spun, they were really happy with how much her crystals had reduced in two weeks on the S/O food and gave us Nizoral for the yeast infection. We discussed a raw diet and the response was quite positive from the vet, she didn't want to keep her on the S/O if it is causing her problems with allergies. I am going to look into goat or rabbit with possibly barley or sweet potato and veg (ones that mat help lower pH) are there any supplements or additives I should be looking at in addition to this apart from the cranberry powder, ACV and salt? I forgot to mention that we have cured allergies in my current dog that were caused by a bad reaction to the heartworm injection, with Chinese herbs as well. This time treated by Lyn Stevens at Alternative Therapies in Austral, NSW (also does phone consults). It has been an interesting and expensive experiment over nearly two years but my boy is finally itch free, in full coat and off all the stuff we were treating him with. Chinese Medicine doesn't treat the ailment, it treats the body the make it healthy so disease cannot exist. It works with cancer as well if you have time to get a couple of months treatment in and both Ann and Lyn have had a lot of success treating a variety of cancers and chronic problems that normal vet medicine cannot fix.

I haven't read all the posts but did manage to successfully cure a dog of bladder crystals and infections and re occurring fungal infections that went on for several years. She had bladder crystals like sand, would get a bladder infections that we treated with ABs, and then get fungal infections in her ears. Round in circles for years. This followed a mystery liver problem, following a litter, that saw her liver shrink and nearly disappear at the age of 4 but she lived to 14. The only thing she did not have was any form of allergy. Anyway the cure proved to be Traditional Chinese Herbs provided by Dr Anne Neville from Sth Rd Animal Health in Bentleigh Vic (she does phone consults), combined with a mostly raw diet. The only thing she had cooked was barley which is brilliant for bladder problems so ditch the rice and use barley with some of the cooking liquid left in. I fed all meat and veg raw and also gave her cranberry juice until everything settled down. She was cured within a few months of both the bladder problems and yeast infections and an ultrasound showed the bladder crystals had completely disappeared. None of these problems were hereditary it was just that her whole system was out of whack and one problem was causing another.

For the double coat on BCs and the Spitz coat of my JS, I only ever use a Collie comb and Mason Pearson Popular bristle and nylon brush. I own a huge assortment of grooming tools gathered over the years including finer combs, assorted brushes, slickers, Mars Coat King, etc, etc but find I rarely use any of them. The only time I use the Coat King is to break up a knot but I would never use it on the top coat of any dog. A good brush, Collie comb, suitable shampoo and conditioner when needed, plus a force dryer are all that is needed to groom these coats. Do not wash a Spitz coat that is blowing without removing as much hair as possible or it will turn to felt as soon as it gets really wet. Dampen the coat thoroughly with a spray conditioner and line brush all the dead hair out until you can run the Collie comb through and find no tangles. You can also use a force dryer on cool to help get the hair out before bathing. Then shampoo without rubbing, rinse, condition and comb through while the conditioner is on, rinse and blow dry while brushing against the lay of the coat.

I had 4 Border Collies at a time, in a suburban yard over many years and worked full time for a lot of that time. I did find that 5 was one too many and having girls in season or a litter was bit more complicated. My parents were home with the dogs during the day but didn't do anything with them other than spoil them and let them take turns in the house. Routine and solid obedience training of each puppy as I kept them, was vital to keeping my sanity. I have never been really big on street walks as the streets round here are not safe especially after dark but the dogs went with me to training up to 4 nights a week, after work and I could work all 4 dogs, turn about for 5-10 min at a time. BCs get bored if trained for longer than that so they learnt to wait patiently in the car while each one had a turn. I also had several places I could drive to then where they could all have an off lead run or the older ones could be off lead while I kept a puppy on lead. Shows and trials took up weekends. At times I had two males who could not be left together so at home was one inside and the other out with a baby gate to separate them. They would take turns being inside and even though they could have easily jumped the baby gate they knew that was not allowed. The older dogs slept in the main part of the house and the younger ones in the laundry with each generation graduating to sleeping inside as younger ones came along. So basically it comes down to routine and training.

Please, don't do this to vet nurses. Euthanising unborn puppies and kittens is not fun, even when looking at the bigger picture. Do her when she's finished her season. All the ones I saw were in a shelter and the nurse there much preferred putting down unborn litters than putting down the 5-6 week old surrendered litters or the adult dogs and cats she had to do everyday. The older they were the harder it is so better to do it before they are old enough to survive on their own.

Be aware that if you opt for the injection she may come back into season fairly soon. The injection can also cause health issues later. Unless she is a registered purebred and a really good example of her breed I would just get her spayed in a couple of weeks when she is finished her season. I have seen bitches desexed right up to about 7-8 weeks pregnant with no problems but it is easier and cheaper to do it earlier in the pregnancy. So many people do not realise that the bitch can still be spayed while pregnant and let unwanted litters be born through ignorance. Good on you for asking for advice and considering all options. Do whatever is best for your bitch and ignore the BF and what he wants, it isn't about him. Unless you are a registered breeder and the dogs outstanding examples of the breed (and I doubt if your boy is 22kg) then breeding is not advisable at all. There is a huge overpopulation of unregistered Staffy types and far too many are euthanised in pounds all over the country every week so adding any more to those numbers is irresponsible. There is nothing worse than breeding a litter that can cost you a couple of thousand dollars if things go wrong then finding that there are no homes for them to go to and they have to be pts. Better to abort them before they are born.

Yes, that pretty much sums it up. The stupid slogan "there are no bad dogs, only bad owners", is so wrong. There are certainly dogs born with really aggressive temperaments and they should be culled. Some of these dogs could also have brain defects but no one ever thinks to biopsy the brains to find out. Timid dogs are a whole different thing. Most grow out of it when removed from the litter if they are carefully exposed to many situations that allow their confidence to grow as babies. They will never be "brave" dogs but can certainly enjoy a normal life. There is also a huge difference between a baby puppy that constantly bites as a form of mouthing and one that attacks. I had never had a bitey puppy until I got my JS. He has the sweetest cuddly temperament and is very confident for a JS but as a baby he would bite all the time. It took me 4 months to get on top of the biting but it was play biting, not aggressive biting and breeders need to know the difference.

When I used to feed more dry food I found it amusing to read the packets that always recommended I feed roughly double what any of my dogs needed. The recommended amounts are there to sell more dog food. You feed as much as the dog needs to maintain condition and that can vary by 300% with dogs the same age and breed.

Austral Vets, Vineyard Vets or Nth Richmond vets are all experienced with hip x-rays and do a great job. Not sure about the other 2 but Austral will x-ray without sedation if the dog cooperates and stays still. If they will not stay still they need a GA. Rawlinson in SA will score the films done without any form of sedation and he is doing scoring for most people I know now. The AVA require the dog to have a GA, they take ages to score and you have no idea who on the panel will be doing the scoring.

I wouldn't cull the for the temperament issues mentioned as those things often improve dramatically when the puppy is away from it's siblings. I have kept puppies when they have temperaments that need special attention and they have turned out fine with me. It is just a matter of having the right home for them to go to or keeping them, depending on what the issue is. All dogs have temperaments that suit different situations. The quiet, submissive ones need a home where they will be carefully encouraged, the bossy dominant type need a very experienced owner who can use those traits to best advantage in a workign environment. Family pets with kids need to be easy going and fairly tough and resilient but that doesn't mean they have the best temperament in the litter, just the best temperament for that situation. Get the home and temperament combination wrong and it will be a disaster. The only thing I would cull for is extreme aggression. I have seen it in a litter of crossbred puppies where the sire, a very nasty crossbred terrier, jumped a 7'fence to mate the bitch who had already been mated by the dog of choice. They allowed the pregnancy to continue and DNA tested the puppies but by 4-5 weeks it was very obvious that they were all by the crossbred dog. The normally devoted dam of the litter would not go near them by then. If you picked them up they growled, snarled and snapped and they spent all day fighting visiously with each other. There was nothing friendly or normal about them at all and after consultation with a very experienced trainer the whole litter was pts. So yes dogs can be born with really bad, aggressive temperament and the responsible thing to do is to cull them.

I don't walk in the streets any more either. Just too dangerous and I have had dogs attacked in the local parks as well so I tend to drive further to more isolated parks. I also carry a short stock whip and that is great for stopping a charging dog in it's tracks. They don't know what to make of the sudden noise, will usually stop and think about it. If I crack the whip a few more times, most will turn tail and go back where they came from. If they keep coming they get hit with the whip. I also pick up my little dog if something charges and am much more aware now of the dangers to small dogs than I was before I owned one. I even carry him past the hound ring at shows sometimes as he is rather erratic on lead when excited, bouncing all over the place and I am sure he looks like a rabbit to those large sighthounds that take such an interest in him as we approach.

You could use an electric fence to keep him off the existing fence and break the habit of fence running. Also remember to reward him for calm behaviour. Don't think of it as being rewarded for doing nothing, it is rewarding him for learning to chill out and relax. There is nothing wrong with having a good guard dog so long he learns that you are in charge and will decide who to let in. Solid obedience training so you can call him to you and get hold of him is the best solution.

Lactating bitches should be checked several times a day and any lumps that are forming in the teats, need to be massaged out immediately. This prevents mastitis starting. Even if it becomes mastitis, massage is the best way to stop it getting worse. Also make sure the puppies feed from all teats evenly. Some bitches always lie on one side and unless they have a large litter the puppies will always drink from the easiest side to reach. Bitches who do this should be made to turn around and lie on their other side at regular intervals.

We had less attacks 50 years ago because the dog breeds around then were very different. No SBTs, Pitbulls, Amstaffs, Rotties, Mastiffs of any kind, or crosses of these, were owned as pets and many of those breeds had not been imported. There were GSDs but the public were scared of them due to the notion of them crossing with Dingos and owners tended to keep them well confined. The only terriers around were Foxies and Scotties and the bulk of other breeds were Cockers and Labs in the city and Cattle Dogs and Kelpies in the country. There were lots of small/medium heinz 57 variety mongrels but no large powerful dogs available to moron owners. Unfortunately the reason for these attacks is the type of dogs being bred and sold to the public who have no idea what owning them entails. They are all powerful agile dogs that have no trouble escaping the average suburban yard and have the tendency to attack with no provocation. I do not buy the notion of not blaming the breed, it is too late after an attack to blame the deed. We need to stop the deeds from happening in the first place. Any dog can bite but there is a huge difference between a warning nip or bite in play from an overexcited dog, to a full scale attack by a powerful dog that grabs and shakes their victim, leaving them dead or scarred and traumatised for life.

The cheap ones are lucky to last for two walks. If you are going to use extending leads get the original Flexi lead ones.

I also find that an emergency drop stay or just a herding stop command can work better than a recall in very high distraction situations. The "drop" or "stop" command carries better over a distance than "come" does. Once the dog has stopped and you have their attention you can either go to them or recall them. I have had 4 with 100% recall in all situations, one that was great anywhere except on sheep were she refused to take any commands (too busy herding to listen to me) and another who would do the emergency down stay but had a problem with a normal recall. My current two have not had anywhere near enough consistent training due to me suffering various injuries and illnesses so are not reliable on recall. Neither would run away and they do come back but not always right away so their offlead time is very limited to areas that are safe from cars and other dogs.

They can't use their purebred/registered dogs for crossbreeeding, but are free to cross any other dog they like, with whatever they want. So they can only breed crossbred to crossbred? Is that right? Which would exclude most of the F1 crosses currently being touted as so-called "designer" dogs. So if the add was for a first cross of purebreds, or even of one purebred to a crossbred, they would be in breach of the regulations, yes? Not necessarily. If they used un-registered purebred dogs they could do what they liked. Not in NSW. Our COE prohibits Dogs NSW members from breeding any dogs not on the ANKC main register. Quote section 12 "A member shall not knowingly permit the mating of any dog or bitch which is not registered on the Main Register of ANKC Ltd or with an organisation on the listing of ANKC Recognised Working Dog Associations/Kindred Bodies as being eligible for registration on the Sporting Register. (07/13)"

I had a possible Amstaff cross but impossible to tell just from a head shot. It looked bored so impossible to make any observations about it and I pretty much answered no to every description because the photo showed me nothing.

Perfectly normal male BC behaviour. The males desexed or not are very much velcro dogs and much more affectionate than girls as a general rule. They want to be wherever you are, as close to you as possible and preferably on your lap so just allow as much of that contact as you want. It is part of their will to please trait and makes them so easy to train. The squeezing between you and the bitch is normal jealousy for both sexes. So long as he does not get nasty about it just let him know he has to share you. All my Borders of both sexes have been jealous like that and so long as they know you are in charge and will dictate the rules they are fine and it never progresses beyond pushing. I also have the same thing happening with my JS and BC at the moment. Both entire males that get on well but as soon as you pay attention to one the other will push their way in to be included. I don't mind them jumping on my lap and now I get two at a time and we share a cuddle. The JS always tries to push his way into the best spot but I just move him to one side so they get half of me each. They will get down as soon as told and will stay down if I tell them not to jump up so I have no problem with them doing it at times.

Leave the glue on for as long as possible. Ask the breeder what they use to remove it and do not cut the hair or his ears will looked awful. Only the remove the glue the day of or the day before you bath him for the show.

I have only ever had breeds that keep their front dew claws- Border Collies and Jap Spitz and cannot imagine a need to ever remove them. Rear dew claws, when they occur, unless required by the breed standard should be removed from all puppies by 3 days old.

Try an electric fence half a metre from the fence. If your dog gets zapped for going near the fence he might get the idea that you don't want him there. Ideally get the neighbours to do the same on their side.

I read an article just in the last few weeks about stairs and HD. It stated that using stairs in the first 6 months was the biggest contributing factor to dogs suffering HD so I would be keeping him off the stairs as much as possible. I wish I could remember where I saw the article.