poodlefan

No Abigail it does not. Genetically one litter of crossbred pups can inherit a range of genetic combinations (as can purebred pups) that express themselves in far more ways than colour. Line breeding dogs (which is how we get purebreds) decreases the amount of variation within a litter and the predictability of the characteristics in the grown adults. Crossbreeding widens the variation. But don't take my word for it. Go look at any genetics textbook starting with good old Mendel, his peas and dominant and recessive phenotypes. Then go and look at one of those bloody awful oodle breeders websites and note the variation in size and coat type within a litter. The whole failure of the "great Labradoodle experiment" was based on the fact that they couldn't predict the characteristics of the F1 Crosses.

Sorry, but that is not true for crossbred or purebreds. The combination of genes possible from the mating of two purebred dogs is quite wide. A whole raft of studies have looked at this.

My guess about the "success" of clicker training is that trainers mark better and reward more when using a clicker than with other means. Its harder to forget to do either with a clicker in your hand. Your voice is used for many purposes - the clicker for only one.. reward. Dogs learn that fast.

I just couldn't and wouldn't do that, I have Danes mind you but I just can't see me accepting that from a dog. I'm really thankful we have him at this age because we are fit enough to carry him. Imagine if we were 75 and had him! It is the one mystery with him I have never been able to crack. His sister was trained and rewarded for getting in and gets in happily. Quite a few GR's suffer from car sickness. He may find being in the car unpleasant which would explain his reluctance to get in.

Is he up for the professional grooming and coat care that most non-shedding dogs require? If he's not doing any research, he's going to miss a lot of important facts about many breeds of dog. He's clearly missed the fact that most Lab/poodle crosses shed. He's obviously never met a Standard Poodle in a sporting clip. Nothing "girly" about them.

It was in March. Entries closed May 2. You may sneak one in. Wollongong Dog Sports Club Inc Agility, Jumping & RQH Trial JJ kelly park , swan st , wollongong sunday 23 May , 2010 Classes to be judged: RQH Agillity, JD, JDX, JDO, JDM, AD, ADX, ADM Entries to: The Trial Secretary, 68 West Wilchard Rd, Castlereagh 2749 Ph (02) 4776 1642 Cheques made payable to: Wollongong Dog Sports Club Inc JUDGES Miss P Walsh (NSW) Novice Agility, Excellent Agility, Masters Agility Ms J Marshall (ACT) Novice Jumping, Excellent Jumping, Open Jumping, Masters Jumping Mr E Smeltzer (NSW) RQH Agility Order of Judging As per catalogue Judging Commences 8.30 am Dogs NSW Representative Mrs L Jones Vetting Time 7.45 - 8.15 am Vetting Officer Club Member Entry Fees $8.00 per class Catalogues P.O.A. Refreshments Available Bitches in Oestrum may not be shown Stamped SAE to be included with all entries Dog Height and Class to appear on all entries BBQ available The Club reserves the right to appoint additional or substitute judges if required PRIZES: Prize & Sash, Qualification Sash, Title Sash

I'd think that, despite appearances, the drive may not be as fully engaged as high as it is in sighthounds. Perhaps the drive has been modified to some degree by breeding as it has in herding breeds. After all, a shepherd breed that wants to kill everything small that runs is going to be a liability. Sighthounds are chasing prey that, in many cases, is as fast and as agile as they are.. not the case with dog/human interactions. The dog isn't working as hard to get to the bite subject? Are dogs trained in bitework harder to call off a running subject? How far is the distance between release and "capture". How long does it take between release and "capture". Are dogs easier to call off in some circumstances than others? I'd imagine a struggling subject would be harder to get a dog off than a still one? I don't know what the answers are but the subject raises interesting questions. I think it may not be coincidence that dogs that were bred to hunt and kill without human guidance have reputations for being more challenging to recall. Terriers and sighthounds are two obvious examples.

My guess is that how prey drive is harnessed and the routines associated with it would make a difference. Herding, bitework, coursing.. all involve prey drive. Two involve handling, practice and routines. Herding usually involves watching the handler for cues. Coursing is just the dog/s and the prey. They make the kill (real or pseudo) alone and without direction.

But then noone would be able to recall a high preydrive dog off live prey, poodlefan? Or recall a high prey drive police dog/sport dog off a bite it was committed to? It would depend on the extent to which prey drive is engaged I'd imagine. My poodles will chase.. but with nowhere near the level of commitment and intensity of my Whippet. I can recall them. Howie is not as easy and I've worked harder on his recall than the others. If you think about what a Sighthound is doing closing on a hare or gazelle while running at 60kph on uneven ground, twisting and turning, I'd say its entirely possible that they won't register that you are calling them. I'd say the only way to get them back might be to reduce or turn off the drive. Can't speak for bitework. However I'd expect that working under the direction of a handler, the dog would be anticipating further commands and perhaps this makes a difference?

Howie does agility off leash.. but he's not doing it around live prey. Most sighthound agiliteers know all about "zoomies". He's walked off lead every day.. but not around roads. The only good thing about the sighties is that they are like Cheetahs.. they tend to pull up pretty quickly if they've been running at full speed.

My understanding is that when a dog is in full prey drive and running, it can't hear you. Its brain shuts down certain functions to focus on sight and movement. I think the thing with sighthounds is the sheer speed of reaction and engagement. One second your dog is next to you and the next it's 30m from you and going away at 60 kph... By the time you've reacted and called, your dog is a fair distance off. My guess is the sighthounds with the best recalls have great trainers and potentially lower levels of prey drive. I've trained Howie to come to voice and a sports whistle. He is rewarded heavily for coming when called. He's pretty reliable but not infalible. If he's chasing, he'll return as soon as the prey is out of sight. But I'd never let him offlead in an area where there's a clear line of sight to a road. An ounce of prevention and all that.

And some of them are finding out that there's more to being competitive than owning a winning breed.

Any chance he's sore? I'd be having him checked out by a chiropractor.

There's a fair bit of shyness around. You want a more drivey, resilient dog for performance. Good Shelties ARE out there.. you need to ask performance folk where they get theirs.

Jumping 500, I consider them large!

Definitely not a F1 Cross I'd say I'd eliminate any less common breeds from your list. The likely contenders as I see them are Kelpie, ACD and some Terrier.. Foxie or Tenterfield. There are plenty of tall Kelpies around!

I know you have said it before but we will see.The NT will be next.The ACT I suspect wont be that far behind.Dogs are different to porn and fireworks after all.I hope you're right but I just cant see if they were the last one left that they would allow them to be bred under the noses of the politicians that run this country.After all they brought about import bans in the first place. Who'd drive the push for bans in the ACT? Not the RSPCA or DAS that's for sure.

Miniature or Toy Poodle Shetland Sheepdog from the right lines Papillon Swedish Valhund Most CKCS I've seen don't have a lot of drive. Drivey ones are out there but you'd have to hunt for one. There's a good breeder locally who's had a lot of success with her dogs. FHRPs suggestion is a good one - go to obedience and agility trials, see what's out there and most importantly, ask folk who bred their dogs.

What do they like? The F1 crossbreds or the dogs some breeders are trying to get to breed true? Do they like the fact they are non-shedding when over 70% of the F1's shed? Do they like the coat type when any coat type from wool to wire is possible? Do they like the size when these dogs range from small to huge? Do they like the activity level which varies widely? Frankly I think most people think they're buying a small non-shedding Labrador type with "all the good qualities of both breeds". The reality is somewhat different for many buyers.

Sounds like he got a better start than many. Sounds like he also needs to be taught self control - as is common in youngsters of all species, their impulses tend to rule them. I'd be investigating teaching crate games and instituting time out for undesireable behaviour... if he cab be taught that mouthing you or your clothing means GAME OVER.. you may have more success. Next time he mouths, remove his teeth and leave him. Leave the yard, the room or whereever IMMEDIATELY. Sounds like he may have a temper (some dogs do) so I'd be very wary of any Cesar Milan style "alphaing" if anyone recommends it.

weisnjac: I would have thought the issue would be more to do with bite thresholds than temperament. For a dog bred to kill vermin, a good startle reflex, quick reactions and a readiness to bite would have been assets. A dog that defends itself.. wonderful!!! Problems only arise when people don't respect those characteristics and expect dogs to act like stuffed toys, especially around kids that grab and pin. I have no desire to ever own a terrier but I sincerely hope that breeders don't breed out of them what makes them unique (and what their fanciers love) in the first place.

This may not all be down to genes KB. Where did you get Elbie from and how old was he?

I'll say it again, the "sighthounds" that are affected by Ivermectin are not recognised sighthound breeds here OR in the USA. The list from WU only indicates the two 'breeds" I mentioned in my earlier post and I gave the reasons why.. collie or sheltie ancestry. Breeds affected by the MDR1 mutation (frequency %) Breed Approximate Frequency Australian Shepherd 50% Australian Shepherd, Mini 50% Border Collie < 5% Collie 70 % English Shepherd 15 % German Shepherd 10 % Herding Breed Cross 10 % Long-haired Whippet 65 % McNab 30 % Mixed Breed 5 % Old English Sheepdog 5 % Shetland Sheepdog 15 % Silken Windhound 30 %

Where does the other dog sleep now?

Corvus: Because, having failed to flee or fight the restraint he gave up and shut down. Because he'd given up but the restraint that he wanted to escape was still there. I can think of more gradual methods of accustoming a dog to handling than creating situations of learned helplessness.