Diva

It’s a pretty common request these days. So is desexing before sale. Particularly amongst the very popular breeds and those used to produce ‘oodles’. I don’t know how it stands legally as I have not gone down that route, not as much need for my breed. But it is often seen as being responsible and reducing risk that the pup is going to end up being bred from in bad circumstances. Maybe that is misguided. But I don’t really think it’s about limiting competition. Maybe for some but not for most. More intended to safeguard the pup and/or the breed and/or the breeders reputation. Also the many rules and laws around breeding these days mean it really isn’t easy for a beginner to do well, things are vastly different from even 15 years ago in a regulatory sense. Not at all good for genetic diversity from my perspective. But once bitten twice shy tends to prevail, and even breeders are buying the breeding is bad pr. And if you are committed to only the very best (whatever your criteria for that) being bred from, you aren’t going to see every pup you breed as suitable. Worse, breeders have been caught out, and seen pups they were led to believe were going to loving family homes overbred and badly done by, it doesn’t take too many cases of that to understandably sour one’s perspective. Where I live all dogs have to be desexed by law anyway, unless you can meet the conditions and pay the fairly large cost for a permit to keep them entire. So probably a bit of a moot point here if one is law abiding.

Yes I know that too. And I do collect the boys young. But not everyone can do that, and i don’t think those of us who can afford to rely on frozen semen and artificial insemination and have access to collection and storage within reasonable driving distance should be ruling out quite successful traditional strategies for those who don’t, or those who simply value knowing the dogs can mate and conceive naturally. That last point is also important for breed vitality. I think the risk of affecting breed health from using an older male is insignificant in the breeds I know, and heavily out weighed by knowing how well they aged. A healthy 7 year old male would not be allowed to mate naturally under the proposed rule, but it’s a much safer bet for a breeder than an 18 mth old male who has not even had time to develop the untestable diseases that are the lethals in my fav breed. Nothing in my post suggested breeding old females.

Yep it is perverse to limit the age of the male. In breeds where the common diseases aren’t testable, using older healthy studs is one approach to help safeguard the health of the breed. If the boys make it to a decent age without health issues they are better prospects. And it’s not like breeding them over 6 does them any harm. Making it illegal defies logic.

Yes they can be shown. Blue is in the standard. I think the issue is with the standard asking for a black nose. But it would just be a fault like any other, not a DQ. I suspect most judges wouldn’t be too worried if it’s dark.

I found it internally contradictory, the first paragraph complains about fearful dogs, and the third paragraph complains of dogs that have no fear of humans. I would not use a vet who wanted my dogs to fear people, in my breed a dog which trusts people is a much safer bet.

I like Clothier’s very reasonable comment- ‘every breed has a bell curve’. Yep. That doesn’t make breed irrelevant.

Orivet tests purebred dogs. This is the Golden Retriever panel for breed relevant diseases and traits. Doesn’t include breed ID because you already know, that is for mixed breeds. https://www.orivet.com/store/canine-full-breed-profile/golden-retriever---full-breed-profile

I absolutely do want to be part of that. No one outside of that network produces the dogs I love to live with. Pedigrees aren’t just bits of paper to me- I look at a pedigree and see all those dogs I’ve known and followed for decades, the documented breed history going back hundreds of years, the fascinating cultural heritage, and the hard work of beautiful breeders who have been so generous with their knowledge and lines. Pedigrees do indeed help me predict temperament and health, because those entries are more than just names to me. I also employ the range of available contemporary tools to assess genetic potential. But I love to peruse a pedigree. I don’t like the limited register, I think it is bad for breeds. I don’t use it.

Yes.

When was the GSD @Loving my Oldies? edited- I think I have worked it out, and you either meant Westminster in the USA or the controversy over the GSD Best of Breed at Crufts in 2016. GSD have not gone BIS at Crufts for 50 years.

A friend took on 2 Pekes when their owner died. I called them the fluffy slippers. But they were the toughest, happiest little dudes around. Sound and long lived.

ANKC (in this case Dogs Queensland it sounds like) registered breeders are not allowed to mate a female to her father, are they ANKC papers? Perhaps it’s another register. Still, whether they are or not, your legal recourse would be through your small claims/fair trading type processes. They differ between states.

I agree you probably need to see a vet. But I wonder if she could have been stung/frightened/hurt by something in the yard, and because she didn’t know what happened she had a big panic, now generalised to ‘outside’. One of mine years ago developed a sudden and complete fear of part of the garden she had always been comfortable with. I never did work out why but it was months before she would go there again.

She knew love and care again, and was not left to die alone and in pain. You did good.

I agree with seeing at what price your local pharmacies or online pharmacies can provide it for if you get a script with repeats. This was much cheaper for my old dog’s heart meds many years ago. No pbs subsidisation for vet meds makes them much more expensive than for people but the big pharmacy franchise chains have more buying power and the on line places have that plus lower overheads. Doesn’t always make a huge difference but worth checking.

Yeah I hardly ever breed, like every five or six years, but I have still had the ‘wot ya asking?’ emails with no other context or content. That is always going to put me off, introduce yourself first please or don’t bother. I make no apologies for that!

Has it been an issue for you? I don’t think any of my breeder friends mind being asked at all. But they don’t like it when it seems to be all the buyer cares about or they try to haggle the price down. I’d just be polite and direct, but not make it the first thing you say.

Report the behaviour to the local ranger, and they may cruise past at that time and check it out. Other than that not much you can do, entitled jerks are a pita in all our lives unfortunately.

Sorry, I managed to double post

I think rescue is great. But I think people need to BE FUSSY, not just on breed but on the characteristics of the dog itself. Be VERY FUSSY if there are existing pets, small children, particular lifestyle needs or not a lot of experience. It can go very bad very quickly if people are not fussy. Rescue also has the structural problem that people don’t want to face - of enabling the culture that says it’s fine to get a puppy, not train it, and dump it on a pound when it gets inconvenient because someone else will rescue it. Cause it’s all the breeders’ fault, right? Not the owners or the culture that would rather churn dogs through rescue then support responsible breeders whose dogs are much, much less likely to end up in rescue in the first place. That’s a quandary, we can’t ignore the dog in need because it enables the culture that put it in need. Of course we can’t. But we need to look beyond the immediate to see the full system at work. BE FUSSY in picking your breeder too. Whoever you get your dog/puppy from pick carefully, commit to meeting its needs, and that is what will remove the need for rescue. Not boycotting breeders.

I’m a bit cynical about it all. From my perspective, the public allowed/demanded an increasingly onerous regulatory regime for dog breeding which by its very nature favours commercial breeding and drives out many of the small hobby breeders who did it out of interest more than for money, but found the new complicated bureaucratic world not worth the stress. Then the public complains about the entirely predictable rise in price, and shortages in popular breeds, and that they can’t afford or find puppies anymore, and calls the remaining breeders ‘greedy’, thus driving even more of the hobby breeders out because who needs the abuse. Of course it’s amplified by COVID demand, but the old saying ‘be careful what you ask for’ comes to mind.

This has an outline, the basic structure is the same across Australia https://dogsqueensland.org.au/owners/showing-your-dog/ and this is dogs west https://www.dogswest.com/dogswest/Home.htm you start by entering an age class for your breed, male and female classes. If you win you go against the other class winners in your breed for best female/male, then best of breed. Then against other winners in your ‘group’, then all the group winners (there are 7 groups). Somewhere along the way you get knocked out- could be in the first class, could be at the very end. Sweepstakes are for a particular age group all in together, like all puppies or all veterans. No championship points in sweeps, they are an add on to a show. Ag shows here often have a dog section but I don’t think so in WA- you need local advice. you can show desexed dogs, same system and same shows but separate competition. Most shows have neuter entries here, not sure about WA. No specific age to retire. Considered a veteran at 7 I think but still can compete in ordinary classes. Championships aren’t won at a single show, but based on accumulated points, and for Supreme Best in group and best in show wins.

Assuming you are in WA and you are talking about a Hav I’ll take a guess- but I have a large breed in a different state so might be off a bit. You’d need to join Dogs West, fees will be on their website and there are bound to be pensioner rates if you qualify. Entries $14 to $17 most shows, perhaps more for a few prestigious events like the Royal. Grooming table, trolley or crate (can often groom on top of a trolley/crate and skip the table), can be expensive but you might pick up one second hand. Almost all WA shows are at Southern River so not much travelling. Whatever brushes, leads, shampoos etc are used for Havanese, you’d need that advice from your breeder. Probably a dryer- but plenty make do with what they have at first. Gazebo for shade, folding chairs etc - but you might not need a whole set up with one small dog, someone might share their shade or there might be enough room undercover at the ground, need a WA person to answer that. I don’t know how many shows per year in WA, they should be on the Dogs West website. As for how many to attend that is entirely up to you. Some go at every opportunity, others pick and choose. Often a good idea to show a youngster a bit to get them used to to the environment, but after that it’s just down to how much you both enjoy it and your own goals. There are various point score/dog the year competitions. Dogzonline run a lot - although a bit interrupted/skewed by the COVID impacts in recent times. Handler dress runs the spectrum from mother of the bride to neat trousers and a nice top and jacket. Sensible shoes you can move out in, I use sketchers. It’s fine to compete in different disciplines, how common that is depends a lot on the breed but it’s personal choice. But at conformation shows there is usually only the show and perhaps sweepstakes, other disciplines have separate trials. Probably best to go and watch a show or two to get the local feel of it. Also bound to be some shows on YouTube. i should probably add- the main requirement is a mains registered dog from an ANKC breeder. Can’t show limited registration dogs.

I think that’s a better outcome for the boy than staying at the puppy farm as a stud. Of course I don’t support commercial-scale intensive breeding but being taken away to sire pups from time to time is unlikely to do him any harm and he has a nice home to live and ‘retire’ in. I’d worry less about a male in that situation than a female who was taken back for a litter.

‘Breeders Terms’ arrangements have been around for decades, calling them guardian homes is newer. I think they are more common now. Some pure breed breeders use them too, it’s not just oodles.