poodlefan

I'm not a Lab person but I'll answer this one from the point of view of an agility person. Most Labradors are too heavily built to excel at agility. Lighter working style Labs would have an easier time of it but Labradors are not a common agility breed and not one I'd recommend if someone really wanted to get into agility. You could do it but you'd have to be realistic about your prospects in the sport and you'd want your dog to be very lean. You do see the odd Labrador participating but not many. Their size requires them to jump a fair height and they are competing against many lighter framed dogs. One Lab that trained at our club never managed to conquer the dog walk - he was just too wide to do it confidentally. Another Lab reached Masters (the top) level but was retired due to unsoundness which may or may not have been exacerbated by the sport.

The companies test the efficacy by vaccinating animals, then exposing them to the virus and see how their body responds. When they get to the dose of vaccine that stops animals developing clinical disease they know what dose to put in the vaccine vials. They also titre test.

Next time, ask your vet how animal vaccine manufacturers test the efficacy of their vaccines.

Early desexing, unfortunately, isn't as simple as "now we don't have to do it later". You are surgically removing a primary source of homones in a growing youngster. Desexing such young puppies affects the growth rate of bones. Pups desexed early grow longer and lankier than pups desexed later because some bones grow longer than on an undesexed pup. This changes important angles in the dog's conformation. When you alter the way a dog is structurally put together in this manner, you place more stress on muscles and tendons. Add high demands from a very althletic sport and you may end up with an unsound dog. Dr Christine Zink, arguably the foremost dogs sports vet in the USA, recommends against desexing any sports dog before the age of 14 months. If you want more detail on this, I can provide some links/studies. If your pup's breeder is insistent that the pup will only rehomed sterile, I'd suggest you investigate either tubal ligation of vasectomy.

Male or female? What breed? If you have any aspirations towards doing agility with your new dog, I'd suggest you would be better off going with a pup that you desex later than 8 weeks.

Lo Pan, if they know the dog's name, why wouldn't they know its breed? This was a dog known to the family. Don't close your mind to the fact that, despite many wrong breed IDs, occasionally one might be right.

Sounds like the children require "reeducation". Maybe when they've retrieved enough of their clothes from the back yard, they'll learn to put them in a laundry hamper.

Feed more food, more often if you want to put weight on a dog. Feed high fat meat like lamb raw, on the bone. Too much mince will give her diet too much phosphorus unless it contains bone. Feeding liver won't help her gain weight and offal shouldn't form more than 10% of her diet anyway. Dogs gain their energy from fat, not carbohydrate so feeding cereal has virtually no benefit for long term weight gain. The pasta is finding its way to the back yard. Improving the quality of the kibble you feed may also help. What brand does she get? She certainly doesn't need puppy kibble. A "power" or "working dog" formula would be more suitable. If you're intent on becoming a breeder, I suggest you do some more research on dog nutrition or stick to super premium kibble.

Raffikki: When she is better Raffikki I recommend you research a Y fronted harness if you're going to be walking her in one long term. The style of harness she's wearing in those shots will restrict her shoulder movement and could have a long term impact on her development.

Nope Jed, dog attack in house was by the "pitbull" which has conveniently "escaped". See news report below: And the answer for my personal interest question, was that the dog's name was Tyson. Gee, what a surprise NOT. I certainly wasn't expecting a Cuddles or a Happy.

An APBT probably hasnt put a child in hospital thats the point. It sure would be In this case? We don't know for sure either way. But bear in mind this was not an attack by an unknown dog in a public place. It occured in the family home. You've got to choose your battles and the odds are pretty evenly balanced on whether breed ID is correct. I honestly think we've got to get past the "was it a pitty or wasn't it" arguments because we're doing the same thing discussing these attacks that the media does.. focussing on the breed. We know that dogs that attack people have a fairly predictible profile of which breed is only one part. What do we know about? The dogs origins.. .raised and socialised well as a puppy, not well socialised or recently acquired. My guess is No. 2 or No. 3 Age and sex: profile says young, male and entire... but no reporting on that. How was dog living? Inside with kids, outside, was it exercised and trained? And just for my interest.. I wonder what its name was... I bet it was a tough one. Get the media to focus on the idea of the profile of a dangerous dog (God knows they love it for criminals) and they might just get past breed. We all know such dogs are made, not born. Now to get the media to grab onto that. And last but not least.. where was the adult supervion? In this case, it sounds like it was there, but not effective. :D

No that is false so I wont take any part in it. I believe in defending the breed based on the facts, the truth and its merits, there a plenty of them people that have to resort to lies are people with something to hide. Thats the way to win, telling lies is the way to come undone. They ARE the ultimate kiddy pet, but they are tough aswell and I wont say there not because that would be untrue. Yes, it would be. But outside discussion of the injustice of BSL, how many APBT owners do you know who emphasize the "nanny dog" tradition of the breed? If you want to win the public over to support for Pitties, you've got to accentuate the more benign aspects of the dog in both practical and publicity terms. The popular misconception is that they're child killers. :D That's the image that needs to be overturned and it won't be done by dressing dogs in leather and studs and giving them macho names. And names really do matter Lo Pan. People's reaction to a dog called Chopper and one called Twinkle can be markedly different. Life or death in fact. But timing is everything and publicly championing the cause of a dog that's put a child in hospital is unwise, regardless of its breed. One accredited pets as therapy APBT in a children's hospital would be the most fantastic PR I could think of.

That describes the owners of "tough" dogs acquired for image enhancement very nicely. Has anyone poo pooing the notion of an APBT being involved in one of these incidents actually grasped that it occured in a home and that the dog and owner were known to the victims family? In those circumstances the ID on breed might be considered to be more reliable than a random attack on the street. We all know it's not the breed that's at fault. Sadly, though the kinds of owner who are attracted to a "tough" dog, for security or image enhancement who think the dog's balls equate to their own and who don't socialise it because it would turn into a pansy are drawn to certain breeds. As I've said repeatedly, the biggest threat to the ongoing existence of some breeds is the morons who are attracted to them for all the wrong reasons. Every breeder who homes a puppy into the hands of someone who fails to do right by the dog puts another nail in the coffin of their breed. Those who will continue to breed in the face of the prohibtion would do well to carefully consider desexing all pups before rehoming them IMO. Entire young male dogs are massively over represented in dog attacks. Any owner who refuses to take a pet pup without testicles should be considered a red flag as potential owner anyway. Anyone who thinks ABPT don't harm people needs to go read Fatal Dog Attacks. Focus on the totally predictable kind of OWNER who owns these particular dogs and the mystery as to how APBTs end up getting banned will be solved. The problems sits within the ranks of the owners of the breed. Don't blame the public and the pollies for shrieking and lifting their skirts when you can't keep the dogs out of the hands of morons. Everytime you puff out your chests about how tough the dogs are, you attract another person to the breed for all the wrong reasons. Dress them in pink, call them Bubbles and Twinkle and make them known as the ultimate kiddy pet and your dogs might be in a better position long term than they are now. And for pity's sake THINK before you name one after a convicted criminal or a motor cycle.. you're perpetuating the very image you condemn the media for beating up.

What sort of state are their teeth in? Did the vet check to see if their tear ducts were working? Do they suffer from allergies?

She has never jumped the fence before... Created a hole and squeazed through yes, but not in the last 2.5yrs. And she is only staying at my parents place until my yard is dog proof, probably 3 more weeks. So the behaviour might not have been "learned" from your neighbours dog but has been triggered by her current situation. Is kennelling a possibility. Whatever you do, you want the behaviour stopped.

Send her to kennels with an enclosed run? Buy a portable run? Did she ever jump fences before staying at your parents place?

If he gets breakfast and dinner, how is he on one meal a day? If he's leaving food, he's been fed too much. You can either cut back on the amount per meal and continue to feed two or feed one larger meal. As he's probably reached close to his mature height, he wouldn't be needing as much food now. he doesn't eat breakfast.. just eats dinner. i'm asking if i should start feeding one meal a day.. although i don't want to because he is only 6 months old As I said, you don't have to feed one meal a day if you don't want to. Feed twice a day but feed less. As SBT says, don't leave food out for him to graze.

If he gets breakfast and dinner, how is he on one meal a day? If he's leaving food, he's been fed too much. You can either cut back on the amount per meal and continue to feed two or feed one larger meal. As he's probably reached close to his mature height, he wouldn't be needing as much food now.

I think a one hour personal lesson with a decent dog trainer would be the best investment you could make for loose lead walking.

Raven, Your child's safety and security must come first. Talk to Digi's breeder.

A non-pull harness (what you call a body halti) is a lot better for the dog than a head halter. Training to walk on a loose lead is even better than that! Dogs can learn to pull on anything given time. There are no magic bullets on this one.

You can overdo the economy at the expense of good nutrition. I'd be heading out of the supermarket to a larger pet supplies place and looking at a premium brand. You actually end up feeding less of the more expensive stuff because it's not full of cereal. That's less to pick up in the back yard too. Advance Puppy is popular with a lot of folk - not top of the range but not crap either. Buying a larger bag tends to be more economical and most pet supplies places have loyalty cards for pet foods. Wet dog food is a shocking waste of money - it's mostly water. You'd be better off feeding some raw meaty bones like chicken wings to supplement the kibble. Better for your dogs' teeth too.

Same issue. I just noted that every all or nearly all white breed I know of seems to have thyroid problems noted as a potential health issue. West Highland Whites, Dalmations, Maremmas, Pyrs etc.

You got told a bunch of crap. Your pup is playing. It's not nothing to do with dominance and everything to do with games. Don't leave clothing on the floor or leave the basket on the floor if you ain't around. If she goes to steal it while you're loading growl at her.. BAHHHH or NOOO and praise her for stopping. Teach her to come when she's called and praise and reward her EVERY time, regardles of how much you might want to wring her neck. Teaching her to release an article for a reward is also a good thing. Give her some toys she can tug on with you. I really wonder what the hell some trainers are on. Do they think your 5 month old pup's life consists of her trying to find ways to dominate you?? You can sleep your dog where you like and feed her when you like provided you set appropriate boundaries on her behaviour. You might also like to consider some crate training so you know where she is when you are unable to supervise her. Find another puppy school. I'd still be feeding twice a day at her age.

Interestingly, they have linked some health issues to colour.