poodlefan

Your breed list: After a cursory look at your list above, I can only conclude you've picked these dogs on looks and not for the qualities you've outlined above. Few large breeds are going to get by on 20 minutes walking a day. My Toy Poodle gets more than that! Read up on Spitz temperament. You've got two of those breeds on your list. All, or none, depending on how much homework you've done on them and how much you are prepared to adapt your life to meet the needs of the dog. I'm not a huge fan of the idea that some dogs shouldn't be owned by novice owners or that others are a piece of cake. Its about how much time, effort and commitment you put into being the right owner for your breed of choice. If the Great Dane is the breed that rocks your boat (and you're very clear about the breed and why that is) then find out what it takes to be a great owner (ha ha pun!) and go for it. But be honest with yourself. A dog like that needs careful raising, careful feeding and careful husbandry to become a happy, healthy well mannered dog. Anything else in a giant breed is heartbreak waiting to happen.

Japanese Spitz! I've totally fallen for this breed! I hope you're thinking about agility for your dog.. they have the aptitude! And I hope you like light colour clothes and have a great vacuum cleaner

[just cos I'm curious] What breed are you looking at CW????

No, you are right. It is not a dilution gene. It is discussed on this excellent explanation of whippet colour genetics. The greying gene is also responsible for blue poodles.

Akita would be my guess.

Don't be concerned, chances are you'll be with a very capable trainer and you'll learn heaps. There may be a couple of not so good ones out there, but there are also many wonderful Delta trainers, and at the end of the day, you're not going to "ruin" your dog by using their methods, even if you do find yourself with a not so good trainer. Their methods are kind and gentle and will help build a better relationship with your dog I'd rather take my pup to a Delta puppy preschool than some place where the instructor wanted me to alpha roll it for any "dominance" displayed. Just don't panic if your pup barks madly in excitement, jumps all over the other pups and squashes them. It may not necessarily be "aggressive".

The Delta Society have done some bloody wonderful things in the dogs as therapy and child safety areas. I think the problems began when they started trying to become all things to all people. "Humane dog training" is a commendable goal. It's how you get there that tends to be the problem IMO. They appear to dominate the agenda of the Australian APDT and I resigned my membership of that organisation when it banned all discussion/use of e-collars. I've never owned one or used one but I refuse to be a part of an organisation that decrees that a tool that has been successfully and humanely used for a variety of purposes shall be verbotten from the tools its trainers may use. I know a few Delta certified trainers. I'm sure most folk heavily into dog sports or training do. Their strengths and weaknesses are varied but few seem well set up to deal with hard headed dogs with ingrained undesireable behaviours. Seems to me they if they put as much effort into tackling some behaviours head on as devising methods to manage them, there'd be more happy dog owners out there. Most people can train owners of food motivated, people focussed dogs to teach their dogs the things required of them. Where the challenge is is thinking outside the box to deal with the unusual or challenging cases. Training methods that tie trainers hands behind their backs by decreeing that certain tools or methods are verbotten aren't setting them up to help more challenging dogs IMO. Haltis and clickers are not the be all and end all of dog training.

Sure won't be done with F1 crossbreds though. ;) And you have to define type before you can settle it. With the current "Labradoodle standard" you can have pretty much anything in terms of height and coat. At least one "Standard Labradoodle" shipped west was PTS aged under 5 from severe HD. Her owner was on here for a time.

White tailed spiders can produce that. ;)

Chocolate is soooo 2009. Mothers day pups are already baking anyway. :D Check out what's available

Um SBT.. the whole dog is black! ;)

Should have asked about his PRA and Hipscore results. ;)

I'll have to do a nose comparison with some non-dilute coloured whippies!

Pumpkin is great for keeping things moving - and most dogs like it. You can feed it dry baked, mashed or pulped. ;)

I hope she requested and got the OK for the dog in writing! What state is your Mum in?

Whippets are you talking specifically about SBTs or more generally. Howard is a blue masked fawn and he appears to have a black nose ;) Or is this blue?

I'm keeping an eye out for a second hand one to add to my collection. Why do they always seem to be for sale only in Qld or WA. :D Hi I'm in Melbourne you can buy my c creat second had shez 8 years old in good condition , I want to buy the new lighter one What size is it? Small the normal size I put three basenjis in it no probs , I will be at bulla on Saturday if that helps I'm in Canberra and after a maxi.. thanks anyway. I bet if you put it up on the classies here it will go like ;)

I have a Liberty table and its very well made. Linky to their sizes is here They do one for giant breeds. ;)

I'm keeping an eye out for a second hand one to add to my collection. Why do they always seem to be for sale only in Qld or WA. ;) Hi I'm in Melbourne you can buy my c creat second had shez 8 years old in good condition , I want to buy the new lighter one What size is it?

I'm keeping an eye out for a second hand one to add to my collection. Why do they always seem to be for sale only in Qld or WA. ;)

Yes, whole frame. I'd supervise the first few till she knows what she's doing. Nok no need to cut it or mince it. All that chewing is good for jaws, teeth and general wellbeing. ;)

If he's not a destroyer of bedding, I'd line the bottom of the kennel with newspaper (nice and thick) and add something like a Snooza wool futon. I would also coat him at night.

I hope his new found fame encourages council to do something about the dogs. ;)

C-Crates - steel - tough but heavy. $$$$ but worth it IMO. The Humvee of show trolleys. OKS - aluminium - lighter - good for those with dodgy backs and for folk who won't put 90kg of crap in them and go offroading down goat tracks at aggies (which is where the CCrates shines) I'm a C-crates fan. Each style of trolley has its devotees. If hefting 22kg + of trolley in and out of a car is going to worry you, go aluminium. ;)

My friend homed a Golden Retriever pup with a family with an adult Border Collie. The new owners were advised to keep the pup separate from the BC until it had finished growing. This wasn't to prevent the pup from being squashed but from over working its growing body. The advice was ignored. The pup spent much of the day chasing and playing with the BC. The owners thought it was so cute. At 5 months of age, the pup started limping. Off to the vet they went. Diagnosis: stress induced OCD. Breeder was blamed for selling a defective pup. She gave them their money back, collected the pup and had the OCD surgically treated. Vet said went she opened the area up, the affected joint was basically powder from being over used. The advice I give may be on the cautious side but you only get one chance to raise a pup without breaking it.