poodlefan

Personally I cant' think of a faster way to send a breeder's lines down the toilet than to put up anything they enter. People probably think they're doing friends a favour - they aren't. Put up shite and it gets bred... there goes the kennel.

That's an interesting concept and not one I have or would have thought about. Is there anything anywhere to suggest front dewclaw removal does have an affect on the structure of dogs? Yep. Christine Zink (as posted above) recommends against it for performance dogs. Here's a link to an article by her on the subject

Holding him down won't be doing wonders for his back. I'd be shaving the affected area, sponging the shampoo on and leaving him somewhere like the laundry tub for 10 minutes. Then sponge it off.

How come only Friday? What about the rest of the weekend? Just wanna know. Am stewarding at agility trials (Gundogs and Hounds) on the Saturday. Wasnt' going to enter at all until I saw its a Whippet person judging Hounds on Friday. You have to give them an entry!

Both. I can think of a few dogs over the years that have made people cringe with their jump styles as they compensate for soundness issues. I think its also possible that people can breed a few good dogs and a lot of rubbish. Most of the time you don't see all dogs from a litter in any performance event. If you breed enough dogs, you're sure to get a few good ones but that doesn't mean you know what you're doing. A dog from performed parents would be a good start but then you've got to factor the handler in. There are some agility folk who've got themselves high drive, hair trigger working breeds and don't have the skills to train or handle them. As I've been known to say "there's no point in having a Forumula 1 Race Car unless you can drive like Michael Schumacher". Buy the dog you want to live with Henrietta and do what sports you can. If for some reason you can't do dog sports with that dog (as has happened to me) then you've still got a great companion. No point in buying a dog for the job if its personality is not something you'd want in a pet - and that does happen.

My Toy Poodle told me this morning that we've got little furry house guests again. The traps will be going out again tonight.

Don't assume that one necessarily means the other Henrietta.. you can do a lot of things and even achieve success without turning your mind to the hows and whys of it. I can think of popular performance breeders I'd not buy a dog from. Temperament is an issue for some. Don't forget that for every successful dog in a litter there are usually others that don't make the cut.

It's not just breeds Henrietta but individual pups. I regard some breeds as wholly unsuitable for competitive agility. Others you can have fun with but need to be realistic about what they can do. Even in the most popular and competitive agility breeds there will be dogs that are structually unsuited for it. Knowledge is certainly going to help you choose wisely.

Not at the Yass seminar Wuffles but Christine Zink recommends retention of front dew claws in sporting dogs as it assists turning. She said that removal of dew claws is effectively removal of an extra "toe" or words to that effect. Dogs also use them to grip contacts at times.

Very true RSG but if the dogs had been declared dangerous and contained in accordance with DD regs, they'd have been in a roofed pen. I doubt the child could have gotten to them. Its clear that more than one person is responsible for what happened. However only one of those involved in the case has deep pockets - council. Unless the dogs were required to be penned, their owner is not legally at fault. Frankly if this matter makes more councils get off their arses to enforce DD regulations, I call that a good thing. If that had always been the case, we'd never have been lumped with BSL.

How a dog acts with dogs and how it acts with humans aren't necessarily related. Indeed, its uncommon for a dog to be both dog and human aggressive. MEH OP doesn't have a small dog. She has a dog that reacted to being humped and got bitten as a result. Report the incident. The aggressing dog really doesn't sound suitable for offlead dog parks.

Overshot or undershot jaws mean life long veterinary tooth cleaning too. Pet or not, I'd not want a dog with one (whether the breed standard calls for it or not) I'd really like to see rescuers educated in structural issues too. No point in advertising young working breeds and mixes as "great agility prospects" if structually they have big issues. It happens.

Hardly helpful.. more breed stereotyping. That's the bit that matters. If this is true and the council had failed to act then they're looking good for the case to be proven against them.

I walk my dogs offlead most days. We see people most days. I call my dogs back to me and put Howie the maniac on lead until we pass. Its not that difficult to keep your dogs from rushing up to people if you train them. You can train them not to jump on folk too. How close do you think a dog has to get to a stranger for someone to stab it? The sooner dog owners recognise that while they love Fido to bits, they shouldn't make assumptions about how other folk feel. I love dogs and I don't appreciate being run up to by strange dogs. It makes you madly read body language and wonder if you're going to be knocked over. Spare a thought for those who don't know the dog and don't know that every dog rushing up to them is going to be friendly. If one of my dogs was to be injured because I allowed it to approach a stranger, I can say with certainty that I'd accept full responsiblity for what happened. Its not about thinking that your "better" than some other dog owners but accepting that your dogs safety and welfare is your responsiblity and yours alone.

If its quality of life is going to be compromised and its in pain, what would you do with the dog? Friend of mine (GR breeder) had a pup develop OCD at 6 months. Despite advice to the contrary, the pup had been allowed to run with the new owners Border Collie from Day 1 - it ran long and hard all day every day. My friend gave a refund, took the pup back, had it OCD operated on and rehomed it. However, the pups prospects for a good life weren't in doubt. Way too many really fat pups out there too - with owners thinking their condition is 'normal'.

Interesting paper. I'll take issue with one key assertion. The ACT is NOT a no kill territory. The RSPCA may have a low kill rate but it does not take on all dogs surrendered, nor does it deal with dogs impounded as roaming or for behavioural reasons. Those go to DAS and they do get PTS. I'll agree with the point that hundreds of thousands of Australian homes take on new pets every year. However I don't agree that all of them are suitable homes for rescue dogs and nor will I agree that most rescue dogs are suitable for any home. Perhaps if more work was put into a dog before it was rehomed many problems could be averted but not all (such as resource guarding) are curable. As a dog trainer I see the heartbreak that impulsive decisionss made by novice dogs owners at pounds can lead to. The fact that these owners are motivated by thoughts of saving a dog just makes their problems even sadder. Dogs don't come in a generic "one size fits all" package. Young working breed dogs are a case in point. The kinds of homes that suit them are limited. Whilst I agree that more effort needs to go into making rescue dogs both available and suitable for rehoming, I'd love to see puppy breeding and placement made better for buyers. No point in madly bailing out the rescue pond if you can't stop the influx of dogs chosen impulsively, not socialised, not trained and past the point where you can "make them over". Getting pups out of pet shops would be a good start. In the meantime and back on subject. The floodgates of rescue dogs unable to be rehomed will not close overnight. While dogs continue to die, personally I think they should be viewed as more than landfill. They are a resource that used ethically can provide valuable learning experiences for student vets.

Not missed at all.. it appears the tone of my response was though ;)

The breeder should discuss the situation with you, wait for the specialist's opinion and take decisions from there. They can't do anything until you inform them as to what's happening. Personally, I'd not trust an 'ordinary' vets diagnosis at all.

If all our judges are honest and non-corruptable, why do we need to withold their names in show schedules? You do realise that if you show under good friends and they put your dogs up, the perception from many will mean they are "face judging"?

Please cough up the research that supports your claim of 500,000 homes looking for pets - God knows there's plenty of rescuers who'd be pleased to find them. What animal welfare organisation are you involved with?

Given that the attack transferred to the dog's owner, I'd say the stabber is headed for court one way or the other.

Bugger it, won't be able to catch up cause Ferny should have pups then, but if she doesn't we will come Looks like most of the Canberra Sighthound Mafia is planning to attend.

Have the vet check for a UTI and for homonal incontinence if she's desexed. If this is unusual behaviour in an otherwise house trained dog, I'd be eliminating any potential medical reason before looking at behaviour.

Sorry, but based on your information, I couldn't hazard a guess.

Keep the fat content up.. try gravy beef??? Serve it room temp or slight warmed - increases the aroma.