The Spotted Devil

You lot are funny! This is all I have at the moment... LOVE the floods *snore* So who does this central heating vent belong to anyway???

Thanks DSO! Cute and wiggly she is....she wags from the waist down

Well done smisch and Denver ;) I tried to watch your video but my internet is soooooo slow...will have to try again later ;)

Ons, at the end of the day a working dog is only performing what is genetically driven to do and thus probably derives enjoyment (yes, very emotive words ) We consider it "work" but perhaps it's all just a game.....

Personally I feel that play (object and social), social skills and novel expeiences all aid in brain development and help puppies adapt. Confidence also helps pups bounce back from an aversive situation. If the working lines are sufficiently strong, no toy is going to turn them soft. My pup is spoiled and adored at home (lots of toys, dog/human/cat play, cuddles) but you should see her turn serious when she sees a bird - 100% work ethic.

Thanks raineth I'm glad you enjoyed it! This is such a fascinating journey, watching pup's instinct start to kick in. Up until now she has been fairly ho-hum about water and swimming, which surprised me. Today I was at a local park and lake which has a large population of bird life. One look at the duck in the distance and Little Em suddenly grew webbed feet! I think she has found her inner fish

That is the understanding in Dallies also - as I said it's related to the piebald gene. Perhaps there is a gene that further predisposes the dog.

Thanks amypie She is so much fun to work with but I'm really grateful for the Spotted experience first - Zig has made me think outside the square when it comes to training - he is very unforgiving!

Yes it is JulesP - big learning curve for me! At the moment her baby puppy retrieves are on flat, mowed ground only at about 50 metres. For those who are unaware, eventually she will have to retrieve on heavily covered, undulating ground, over/in water at around 300m. Hopefully we will introduce her to retrieving a bird soon - imagine her excitement then! And can you imagine her disgust when she has to do a dumbbell retrieve for obedience?

I can't speak for other breeds but in Dals the gene predisposing deafness is known and understood although there are things that happen in the womb that may also affect it (to do with pigmentation). Can't see the piebald gene removed to prevent deafness (spotting being the most recognised feature) anytime soon but breeders should be doing those things I mentioned previously IMO. It can have a major impact on deafness rates. Unilateral hearing dogs make fine pets but I don't think they should be bred from. ETA: I think there is some research being conducted in Aus now and a number of breeders and owners have volunteered DNA to the study. If it's anything like my PhD we could be waiting a while for the results

One of my cats travels on the train and tram with me to University, but only when I give a lecture on cats. She lurrrrves it

Thanks - stops my brain hurting Deafness is a tough one as it is not about a simple dominant-recessive gene. It's related to the piebald gene which accounts for spotting. So you can't remove one without removing the other. I know some breeders select for dark eyes, BAER tested bi lateral hearing parents, dark spotting pigment and don't mind a few patched pups - bi lateral deafness is almost unheard of and uni lateral deafness is rare. I think 25% sounds very high as far as Australian breeders go. Big issues after 101 Dalmatians with BYB which impacted deafness and temperament. There was a Dal breeder on PDE that was happy to breed a unilateral hearing Dal because he was a ring winner. So, pardon the pun, but it's not a black and white issue!

The LUA Dal has not long been in the UK - I'm not sure whether there are progeny??? It will take a little while for the dust to settle, I suspect. From what I've seen and read, there are Australian Dally breeders on both sides of the argument. I wouldn't be surprised to see imports happening in the future. I think what happened in the US was a real shame. The other difficulty, I guess, is that Dals in the US are permitted blue eyes in the show ring whereas that is considered a serious fault here, as it's related to deafness. There are some breeders in Australia that are rightly proud of the lengths they go to to reduce the incidence of deafness through careful selection. I imagine they would be very, very careful about breeding to a complete unknown. An outcross program conducted locally would be very exciting... ETA: Hey shortstep! Sorry to be a complete pain in the @r$e but would you mind correcting the spelling of Dalmatian (not Dalmation) in the title please

This issue split the Amercan Dally Club in half. All Dalmatians are predisposed to produce these uric acid stones. It's somewhat like gout in humans and we control it by feeding a low purine diet (not low protein necessarily) - white meat diet, no liver or organ meat, no brewers yeast etc. It's no guarantee though. The problem is that there must be other triggers, which is why the Dally community is divided. In the UK, LUA Dally offspring will have a note next to their name for a certain number of generations. I'm not sure how the ANKC view them but I would hope the offspring are recognised. Personally I think it's a fantastic start. It may not be the perfect solution but we must start somewhere and be proactive before someone else starts making the decisions for us.

Thanks Aussienot ;) She's a lovely, sweet little thing and, as I'm learning, the focus is something that really has been selected for over the generations. Lucky me gets to reap the rewards!

Thanks RS and TN - her enthusiasm is just plain funny at times Only you Jo

Ha! She is a teensy tiny bit cute :D I need to video her more as I don't always appreciate how much fun she is when I'm trying to nut out how to train something! Cos - I do owe you for the Bowen......speaking of which, how sweet is D's little pup! huski - plenty of time to come to include some madness in your life

We're both still learning but here it is....

A couple of things I have done...for problem 1, I went back to baby retrieves (as in right in front) and only take the dumbbell when the dog stops playing with it. I had to wait him out to begin with but, as he got a high value treat once I took the dumbbell, he worked it out pretty quickly and the time to stop chewing was less and less. You have to be really, really consistent though! For problem 2 I have taught pup that sit means sit and stay by using the steady feet game and then using life rewards to up the ante eg going through gates, doors, off leash run. She is now 95% steady on her puppy retrieves at 50 metres. The odd time she breaks out of excitement she pulls herself up. She is required to focus on the retrieve but still wait for my command. She is 5.5 months old. Hope that helps

GayleK - I think that was a particular type of gun I am training my pup for retrieving trials (which are bloody hard work!) and you do fire the gun. I don't have my gun license so have had someone else 'shoot' for me when I handled a friend's dog in a trial. In some states, the club owns the licence and competitors come under that but in Vic you need a gun license. Hope that makes sense! Some people still hunt during duck season - which is what I think PF means??? Gorgeous photo BTW

Met a great breeder There are a number of breeds I love but meeting the right breeder always tips the scales - personal recommendations can save a lot of heartbreak!

She's just so funny Mr TSD hates that he's not allowed to laugh at her I could just about have one of each in the gundog group!

Very happy with training tonight - Em nailed a bunch of walking singles at 50 metres - in a new park to boot as there were off leash dogs at our usual spot. Steady on all except one - and even then she pulled herself up without me saying a word, ran straight back to heel when I asked and then retrieved the dummy quick smart when I sent her. I think she really 'gets' it She's still very puppy-ish between retrieves which is fine.

Tea?

FHRP - oooh! Let me know how you find field trialling - it all sounds VERY confusing to me ;) but I know some people do both and Miss E.'s pedigree is full of FTCh. I was hoping to go away training with LL and helping out at a comp but Mr TSD is working on that weekend Good that you're getting some time with a training buddy RS - it really does help! It's very cool here, so Miss E. is full of energy which I am redirecting into some retrieving training (if I don't we have indoor zoomies, wrestling with Ziggy and playing chasey with Dizzy the foster failure kitten and no-one gets any rest ). I threw some dummies for her yesterday between the pouring rain and she was loving it. One rolled down the hill after I sent her and she hunted and hunted until she found it which was fabulous. I was using a bit of food to get her focussed between retrieves and she worked out that going to heel was the quickest way to start the game again. She invented the cutest little flip finish I've ever seen Threw some short happy bumpers in the longer grass next door and she again hunted and hunted. Going to do lots of walking singles this week and keep building on what we have.