Diva

That's interesting. Are the greys racing stock or more bred for actual field work, or just for pets? Not that I'd expect them to be killers either way, but having them off lead around traffic boggles my mind a bit. Do any come in hit by cars after a dash across the road? Or is this a low traffic area?

not to mention breeds like saluki's and borzoi, etc I thought I made it clear that I also think it's unfair that greys have to be muzzled. ;) As long as organisations like GAP are as ethical as they are in selecting out those who can't be pets and new owners are aware of the breed they are getting, it's not a problem. They are wonderful pets - I said that before too. I feel that way about all breeds by the way - know what you are getting. Don't pretend breed doesn't matter. It isn't 'everything', but it is a large 'something'. The more i read DoL, the less I believe people are willing to accept that. Just not Politically Correct and all that perhaps?

Ask in the show forum instead of general and you'll probably get a quicker answer.

Any breed can exhibit any behaviour, but they aren't blank slates. They come hard wired for breed tendencies. Training and environment can mold and shape the way those traits are expressed, but you can't deny the concentration of traits from so many generations of selection. Individuals within a breed may vary a lot in their behaviours, some may be atypical of their breeds, but it just isnt true that every breed is equally likely as any other to do x behaviour if raised the same way. I'm very glad that properly assessed greys will get to shed their muzzles, they are wonderful pets. ;) But I'd hate their new owners to think all breeds are the same or they'll just set back the cause of greys as pets.

'Raw feeding' is the overarching term, it includes both BARF and prey model, but as a concept it was around a long time before either of those terms was coined and it isn't limited to those two diets either. As Staranais says, prey model feeders try to emulate the proportions of meat/offal/bone in prey animals, and also at its purist emulate how the food presents itself - so some days a large meal, some days of fasting, big chunks of food the animal has to work at. It's too hard for me to do properly in suburbia. On the other hand the high portion of minced meats in commercial, or even home made, Dr B style BARF diets seem a bit weird to me too, as does the high proportion of fruit and veg. (Not to mention that my dogs won't eat his product.) But if you do feed fruit and veg you need to break down the cell walls so a juicer or blender is recommended. As for balance, using a variety of meat animals in the diet and a variety of offal along with muscle meats is a good safeguard. Just chicken or just lamb etc will probably get you into trouble eventually. The hidden potential risk I think with balance is the low nutrient content of modern factory farming produced meats - in an article I read raising the issue as one of concern for human health, the lesser amount of iron in a chicken wing produced today compared to one from 20 years ago was significant. For the major nutrients that change may not matter much for dogs leading a modern life style, but I am not so sure about that for trace elements so a low level supplement may not be a bad idea if you can't feed some 'wild' or purely pasture raised meats.

Yes, we are at HC. I forgot about that being on the Sat (sorry ssm!). See you there

Is wondering if you will have "my" red headed 'Zoi bitch Yep! But we are on Saturday and Elkies are on Sunday I think? She's yours to handle if you are there Saturday - I even have a spare entry pass if you want to come then Probably! They just sent mine early so I have more time to put them in a 'safe' place and then forget where that is.

Poor Amy, but at least she wasn't dumped at a pound. If her heart is breaking now, I guess she would also have been wondering and asking the same questions when she was first rehomed as a 2 1/2 year old.

Only 1 Wheaten

Sounds like she is charging what the market will bear. If someone is willing to pay that much for a colour, it's on their own head. The breeders I have seen seem to take one of three approaches: - charge whatever the going rate is for their breed, maybe a little more if they think they are something special, a little less if they are having trouble placing pups. It may or may not cover the cost of the litter and show and pet pups may be different prices; - charge what the market will bear. If there is such a demand for a breed or a colour that people will pay through the nose for them, that's the market. It's how a lot of items are priced, not really suprising some people apply it to dogs. Price rises to the point where it meets willingness to pay, 'products' such as different colours get differentiated and marketed to try to extract maximum price, and maybe it just gets a bit more distorted in dogs because of shallow markets and a lack of really transparent market information; - charge what it costs to raise an average pup of the breed more or less, if they are lucky with a slight profit to see them through the unexpectedly expensive litters, but most would claim not to make any profit. Show and pet pups may again be different prices. I don't think there is any "right" way ;) It's not a regulated market, buyers have to check around for what's the going price for what they want, think about whether the differences that are marketed such as colour or 'designer' status really mean anything to them, and then decide what they are willing to pay. Personally, I wouldn't pay more for colour, but I would if the pup had something special I was after for showing, dog sports or breeding assuming I wanted to do any of those things with it.

Yes I got my numbers last week (sorry bmp). I'm wating for mine to injure themselves or suddenly drop coat, that's what usually happens about now ;)

The ute thing is incredibly thoughtless and cruel and now thankfully against the law, dogs have to be secured so they can't go over the side. But I am not suprised a lot of people don't stop for a stray dog. Many people just aren't into animals, it wouldn't occur to them to try and handle a loose dog, they wouldn't think they could catch it, if they did they wouldn't know what to do with it and wouldn't want to be stuck with it, they wouldn't want it in their car, they'd be worried it would bite and they are in a hurry to get somewhere. I think we sometimes assume everyone likes dogs, many people just don't even have them in their frame of reference.

Depends on the butcher, if you have a good realationship with them and don't think they'd just lie to you ask what's in it. I get one lot that is just minced chicken carcasses and another that is beef and lamb offal from one butcher and they were great. I have had it from other places and it smelled spicey when defrosted, as if they had added leftover spiced sausage mince, another that was nearly off, and a third place where it was mostly fat. Needless to say I didn't get those twice.

I'm entered and should be there.

Weather was appalling. Friday night: Thunderstorm Saturday: extremely hot and humid Sunday: Very windy But the spring rolls were there!

Mostly these breed mix guesses are based on apprearance alone. A photo or photos, often at a young age, and nothing at all about behaviour. Try and guess from a close knowledge of the dog, it's behaviour as well as appearance, and informed by a real knowledge of dog breeds more widely and the canine demographics (if there is such a term) of where it is from, and you might well have a good chance of getting it right - if there are only a couple of breeds in the dog. Some first crosses are pretty easy to pick and fair enough - but sometimes the same cross will look completely different, that's genetics for you. By the time the dog has either a multitude of breeds in it or is in fact a true 'heinz variety' from largely 'heinz variety' stock - well it isn't even close to being a breed. So why not look directly at the behaviours. Rather than guess it's mix and which of the different characteristics of that mix will be most influential, as that will differ between identical mixes anyway. Genetics again. I am assuming some posters' use of the word 'dangerous' comes, at least in part, from my use of 'not without it's risks'. Of course it isn't always 'dangerous', but it is still unfair to the pure breeds whose reputations get linked to the dog. And sometimes to the dog itself. Might the named breed get the credit for a characteristic that people like in that dog, sure. But if that's an inaccurate credit it's still not fair on the pure breed. Because it is a misrepresetantion, it's not authentic. And if it's a problem behaviour, even worse. And when the guesses are 'uncommon breed x' crossed with 'uncommon breed y', it's just hogwash, sorry. Those of us who love our pure breeds tend to be a bit protective of their reputations, attaching their 'brand' to a dog that is probably not anything to do with them is not OK. Sometimes the guesses are based on common breeds, known to be in the area, a few genetically dominate characteristics, and sometimes more a type than a breed. That I can deal with. On the other hand, a guess like Basenji cross Akita based on a single photo when neither is common, and would be rarely crossed, and the guessers don't appear to have close experience of the breeds, and the dog doesn't have major features of either? Give me a break. Could it be? Not based on that photo, but nothing is impossible. Is it likely - of course not. Does it matter? Yes if you happen to value what makes a Basenji a Basenji and an Akita an Akita.

:rolleyes: While the guessing is mostly done in fun it is not without its risks. I'm not at all sure most people do take it as just as a guess even when those guessing haven't any experience in the breeds nominated. At worst, shelters that 'guess' breeds can lead to mistmatched homes. I remember a thread where someone seeking to place a dog wanted to know it's breed and the guesses were equally divided between a Golden Retriever cross and a Maremma cross. It may not, of course, have been either but imagine adopting a dog you've been assured is a gun dog type and finding unanticipated and misunderstood livestock guardian behaviours instead - that could end badly for the family and the dog. Not fair on the pure breeds either to have their name, and therefore their reputation, attached to a dog that may not have a trace of their heritage. it misrepresents the breeds. And in times of pressure on pure breeding and bsl, that's a risk the breeds can do without. The guesses also usually imply that a dog is a first cross of x or y. With the exception of the 'designer' crosses and a few highly popular byb breeds I don't think that is the case at all for most cross-bred dogs and it makes the breeding of pure bred dogs, often quite rare in reality pure breeds at that if you believe the guesses, look directly causal of the cross-bred over supply. Again, just not fair. And finally, as someone else said earlier, it demeans breeding to a colour or coat type, as if there is no more to distinguish pure breeds than fairly basic elements of appearance. That isn't so for my breeds, and I expect it isn't so for most. But it would make the breeds much less precious if that were all there was to it. Just MHO ;)

Sure, Akitas have black masks and white markings. But so do more breeds than you can poke a stick at. I think the shelter he came from didn't give much info on his breed because he isn't a breed, not even a first cross. Really nice to see a shelter being accurate and not just making something up.

Really? There is nothing in the colouring on its face that is unique to the Akita breed.

yep

And you know what - that's just plain nasty. I have just as much right to be here as you. What a horrible attitude. I can't even be bothered to "report this" - best of luck with your report mate. Rebanne was actually giving you some very good and accurate advice on how to encourage more replies to your posts. And she is certainly not a troll. But nevermind, the 'ignore' button is such a handy feature.

When I got home tonight they were doing 'mud' very well! It's been pouring here this evening. (But I'll pack the gaiters, LOL.)

I entered last year and scratched because of the weather. At least this year it's just showers forecast, not a deluge.

I can recall a few threads about vestibular syndrome in the health forum which you may find if you do a search. One of mine had a bout of it, she took a few months to recover but she lived on for another fair while in good shape. It's scary to watch but they mostly seem to recover with nursing. The trickiest bit was getting a largish dog out to toilet when she couldn't walk by herself for some weeks, a towel under the tummy helped so she could do some of the work herself and I could steady her as she went.

Most aggression to other dogs I've seen isn't prey drive, it has other triggers entirely. And most high prey drive dogs I've met aren't dog aggressive.