~Shepherd~

I might just book in and take ALL 3 kids (3rd when its born) and piss everyone off with their presence. They dont scream or yell throw many tantrums or leave crap everywhere. They are a lot more pleasant than half the dogs that would be staying, with their spoilt inappropriate and over the top behaviour that seems to be everywhere at the moment. People bitch about unruly kids, maybe they should consider that their dogs would be a hell of a lot more annoying in a shared setting. Oh, and dont target the kids for their behaviour, its a reflection of parenting, just like a bad mannered dog- often spoilt and lacking in training and discipline from their owners. BTW, what are the human facilities, that usually is the most important?

some people

I wouldnt stay anywhere that wouldnt cater for a family. I would love to be able to take my 2 girls, soon to be 3 human and 2 canine away to a pet friendly place. My kids are extremely well behaved and very dog educated. My dogs would miss my kids too much. That aside, a day care FOR DOGS facility would be ideal and a Little shop/ reception supplying dog sunscreen, food, toys souvenirs etc would be cool. Even a 'room service' feed option with fresh cooked meals for canines would be great!!! A holiday to me is a break in routine, and to get away from the crappy home chores.

Thats not going to happen. You cant go through life thinking that someone has done the wrong thing, or there wouldnt be any dogs at shows, parks or anywhere. They would all be sitting in a 'dog bubble' instead of a crate in our homes, and owners and visitors alike would have to go through a chlorine shower upon entry and exit. Of course you practice caution and do the right thing by YOUR dogs, but you just cant expect that all people will be the same unfortunately. You can minimize unacceptable risks. Pound dogs in contact with partially vaccinted pups is one such risk IMO. I'll do whatever is necessary to prevent that. I did mention that PF, Mine is an older pup so I didnt have to go in to every case scenario even though I do know vacs do not always prevent infection. If I was getting a tiny little baby I'm sure the what if list would have been a lot longer and more in depth.

Thats not going to happen. You cant go through life thinking that someone has done the wrong thing, or there wouldnt be any dogs at shows, parks or anywhere. They would all be sitting in a 'dog bubble' instead of a crate in our homes, and owners and visitors alike would have to go through a chlorine shower upon entry and exit. Of course you practice caution and do the right thing by YOUR dogs, but you just cant expect that all people will be the same unfortunately.

I dont get what you mean? re read, you missed the as. Got it now.

Anyone flying a puppy should worry poor Midniara lives in Tassie, Belgians love the water but dont think they would make the distance, I've heard that 'boat' is not even an option.

If they're still transporting unquarantined pound dogs in the same dog trailers with other dogs, I'd not touch them with a barge pole. To be honest, I never asked. Dog has had vacs. Do airlines only fly showdogs that live on their own? Nope. And due to some rescue practices, they fly unquarantined pound dogs too. Don't think I won't be asking about what dogs fly on any flight I get a pup on. In fact I'll probably drive to get the next one. But 50 minutes in a crate in an airline hold sure beats 12 hours in a dog trailer bay that God knows how many dogs have been in before and alongside a dog sprung from a pound dont ya think? quite possibly, never thought about any of it really. She came with her Grandma and was as happy as a pig in mud on arrival.

If they're still transporting unquarantined pound dogs in the same dog trailers with other dogs, I'd not touch them with a barge pole. To be honest, I never asked. Dog has had vacs. Do airlines only fly showdogs that live on their own?

GTE transport were excellent, I had Kimba brought down from Sydney, cost not much over $100, cant remember exactly. They kept in contact with me the whole trip, rang at 2 hours, 1 hour, half an hour away. Might be a bit harder to coordinate for a show though.

I have read it before, but read it again just then. Is there anyway you can increase the font size? Too tiny for my balls.

well the jump up seems to be the biggest problem so far! Need a jumping up support thread and diary!!

No I haven't seen it. Sounds like a good one to watch though. Thanks To be honest, I'm not really phased about no recall with him. He just stays on the lead when we are off our land. My two whippets are great off lead, fantastic recall. My greyhound I used to own (Phoebe RIP) also had excellent recall. She would heal even when the kangaroos were within 50m of us. my whippet is the same, can even call her off a scent. Not my doing, just her not so independent personality. She does steal though. The Shepherd is learning heaps faster than the whippet did, doesnt really test the waters either. With 4 weeks til my baby is due, I need to get the Shep out of the doorway rush, but hell Ive had her less than 3 weeks (here) and the amount of things she has learnt is amazing, even with a name change!! Formal obedience will start in around 2 months

GOing to make a 2nd poll tomorrow from results unless someone wants to do it for me

thats really sad for the both of you

well the nose is jumping up in to out of bounds territory, cant be arsed fixing it, toooo tired. Quite funny though, Id leave that one but make it on command

For multiple dog owners, choose the dog with the most undesirable behaviours/

Be interesting to see the results Multiple choice options for section 1 and 2.

It works both ways, the breeder really should, and I feel is obligated to find out where his/her pups are going to. At the same time, I don't like to be pressured to come and have a look quickly because you might miss out. That puts me off completely. In the breed I have, miniature schnauzers, there are rarely any to be rehomed because most breeders check out the prospective buyers and that can't be a bad thing. there are not an endless supply of pedigree pups, many may have to wait 1-2 years. I would advise people to come and take a look asap also, rathere that than tell them it will be another year or 2, so the buyer goes to PP and gets one from there.

I dont think rastus meant to cause a problem, but maybe thinking too much in to things as we all do at times. No point going on about it as there are many important points that have come up in this thread that people will learn from both breeders and puppy buyers.

What questions would an 'ethical' breeder like to hear on the first point of contact from a pet buyer? What replies would a pet buyer like hear when making the initial enquiry? Are all the initial responses and replies the same if it was a sale from breeder to breeder?

Well you know what they have and how much you will need to save and thats the most important thing to a buyer before they start asking other questions. Why screen a buyer if they cant even afford the dog or want a bitch? Im actually weary of 'overdone' responses or websites.

If you turn people away on the first email, or turn them off because of your 'screening' questions they will probably end up going BYB or petshop. Already the process takes too long, a lot of this screening carry on seems to be over done simply to make the breeder look more ethical. Flashy websites, intimidating screening responses and awards DO NOT make an ethical breeder.

How do you know the breeder was unethical? you havent even spoken on the phone? Perhaps the breeder needed to move the pups on quickly due to buyers pulling out and the screening would come after the initial email.

Ivy is desexed Loraine, BB is getting another Belgian. I think you should give Maria a call, she will answer all your questions BB, she has been breeding Belgians for a good length of time now and knows about all the epilepsy testing and the dogs people are producing. She is Ivys breeder after all