Diva

WHats that? is there an email? sorry At the top right of your screen you'll find 'Members'. Click that, search for lilli - and make sure it's spelt right - then click 'send message'. She mostly I think has CAOs - a Russian livestock guardian breed - but also Kangals and Anatolians. Good breeders of those breeds will be VERY fussy where they are placed, they are a true working dog and not for every situation, so don't expect one to be easy to get.

Maybe send a PM to Dol'er lilli, she is a wealth of information on both breeds.

Of course. It's a received wisdom amongst Borzoi people, and I've heard other sighthound people say it too, that the same dog who will complain if you accidentally step on a toe could break a leg coursing and not be bothered. I've had a dog come back from a run with his front leg ripped open its whole length, probably on a stick, without any reaction from the dog at all. But then I read the other day of a football player who ripped off a finger in practise and didn't notice, we are not so different. It's one of the reasons I think the conditioned response is so important in those circumstances. It doesn't matter what punishment or reinforcer I have at hand when I want to call them back in that state, but how well I have conditioned the recall matters a lot. It was certainly the Volhards who I always attributed the written concept to. When I first read their stuff back in the day it was very useful - I was training a dog who after reading that I thought was clearly mostly pack driven and a trainer recommending entirely the wrong level of correction for such a dog. But then I learnt about operant and classical conditioning which was even more useful - coming back to the drive concept and reconciling the 'new' drive language within a logical framework has been making my head hurt

It is just weird. You'd think that desexing before leaving the pound (or alternatively release to a rescue that desexes) would be bleedingly obvious wouldn't you. Especially if puppy farmers were hunting for stock there.

Exactly, the families who didn't win the tender could have selected another dog, no-one had to miss out. I find the tender system strange but this just reads like another 'boo-hoo I didn't get what I wanted story'.

That's a great photo angelsun, that pup means business!

Like everyone else I'd suggest a specialist app't as soon as you can. If it was both eyes I'd suspect Pannus - chronic superficial keratitis (I think). Unusual to get it on just one though.

Mmm, maybe you'd like to try that with mine, I'd pay to see it Mine are great to run with, it's me that's hopeless and gives up. The dogs just get into this steady even trot and go forever.

I've always avoided these arrangements even though I know they are not uncommon. Mostly because my dogs are spoilt house dogs who get highly bonded to me and each other. I don't like the idea of them going to someone else, who by that time is a stranger to them, for whelping or worse into a kennel situation after having been house dogs. There is also the risk they could die during whelping, there have certainly been posts in the breeders forum on losing bitches while having puppies. So I guess for me it would depend on what I wanted for my pup and how highly I regarded the breeder.

please tell me that is photo-shopped

Makes more sense than most things I've read about the concept

Not sure how big exactly - medium 80's style suburban and 3 big dogs. But I don't rely on the backyard for exercise. They play in it a lot, but that's not enough exercise by itself. I expect that is true for most yards unless you have very good acreage to walk through and/or very small dogs. And most dogs won't self-exercise even in a large yard unless they have a playmate.

Aaaawww. I admit the 'drool factor' is one of the reasons I don't go there. But they are a nice breed.

If it's 'unconfirmed' as vestibular, I'd also be suspecting an inner ear problem or chiropractic issue and get both checked out asap.

Well it rains so rarely in Canberra lately it's probably just the novelty

Apparently clay if pure enough can be cleansing. Not that I'd try it

What a mystery. Glad she is back to normal ( except for showing ) but it would be interesting to know how it happened. Not nice carrying 1 or 2 kg of that around in your stomach.

That's good. If the 'why' is that straightforward you should be able to get her back to normal pretty quickly.

Drinking a lot of seawater can impact their sodium balance.

Don't suppose you've used blood and bone or dynamic lifter recently, they will eat that sometimes. If not I'd be adding something like 'missing link' or other mineral supplement to her diet and/or getting her off of the new kibble immediately. Edited to add - if she keeps going that often for more than a day or two and it's unusual for her I'd be getting her vet checked to.

Happy Birthday!

I say she is very cute! Don't worry pixie-meg, he'll soon outgrow the whippet references and be a greyhound cross, and you'll start getting the collie cross references again as well (it's the head I think). I don't mind except when they argue with you - I even had a vet nurse insist that 'Borzoi' was a made up name . She was quite happy that labradoodle was a 'proper' breed though

Love that 2nd shot Keshwar

More prey... I'd call these two high - to see how hard the dog is going look at the flexion she is getting in her back. This is on a lure. as opposed to this, which was just playing/free running and which I'd class as low/medium

From direct personal knowledge - not for search and rescue dogs. In fact, the more I think about it the more wildly wrong that assertion is, for numerous examples of real life working dogs where extreme reliability is a criterion.