Jumabaar

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Though I do think individual owners should decide the best thing for their pets... I disagree with this statement. Making your dogs sick means return visits and more money. It certainly is in a vet's interest to keep you coming back. Most vets these days opt for doing health checks and preventative treatment which ends up with more profit IMO than actually treating sick dogs..... Much better mark ups on chiropractic treatments than there are on surgeries lol. Also making dogs sick might be good for business in the short term but dead dogs and word of mouth does tend to kill a business pretty quick. Also making dogs sick regularly probably would mess with a vets mental status so even on a personal sense it is in the vets best interests to not make her dogs sick ;) So I think KTB probably has the right of it. Several practices I have seen have actually treated anything thought to be 'vaccination' related for free, so really, making the pets sick actually works out as a loss. Not to mention no vets like to see a sick animal, they see enough of them in a normal let alone try and add to them on purpose. I don't use the yearly injection, but I can understand vets reccommending it for many dog owners. Not all clients are as dog savvy/keen/enthusiastic as DOLers and forgetting monthly is easy. I write it in my diary but I have been late on giving it to them in the past, and my dogs mean to absolute world to me, let alone a dog owner who isn't as passionate and may just have a dog who hardly leaves the backyard. I honestly can't get over the mentality on DOL that vets really don't care about their patients though. Its actually getting quite depressing really- why bother studying i the first place since apparently I could do just as much 'good' walking in off the street Tralee- what is this quarterly heart worm treatment that you are using?

Oh wow- I saw them less than a month ago. I think it was just when all this started

Just a random addition to this- I THINK show GSD's are encouraged to pull when walked to build on this shape. I am currently trying to train my 7yr old kelpie to pull to build up her hind end muscles- I would hold of lead training till you know whats going on as you don't know if it will be beneficial for the dog to pull rather than walk on a loose lead.

Good luck DD. I am sure you will have a much happier dog after treatment. I hope it all goes smoothly

Abby ran a flyball comp (doing a PB) with a torn ligament in her toe and limped twice a week later!! I went to the chiro who told me that the injury was three weeks old Instead of a nice short 3 week rest she had an 8 week rest to make sure it had healed after the damage done to it. My boy on the other hand fractured a toe and was a sookie lala and hobbled around everywhere and told everyone he met that he had an ouchie paw- until something interesting happened and he took off but at some point he would remember and start limping and waving his paw at me!

I am going to agree about the dryer- my Lappies (spitz breed) get a pre wash blow out to get rid of any loose coat. They then get bathed- sometimes in fancy Isle of dogs, other times fidos oatmeal. I agree about aloveen being heavy but I have never found it to make the coat knotty. I am actually also thinking her coat was not truly dry. I often think I have finally finished drying with a force dryer only to find that my girl is still a little damp- and a Poms coat is thicker than my girls so damp coat would be making it harder to brush or comb through. The thickness of the Pom coat would tempt me to pre brush before a bath as well as blow dry- I use a pin brush to go through my girls pants before washing.

I agree you can source a good agility dog from a dog bred for sheepwork- but can you get a BETTER dog for agility from a dog bred for agility? And will that dog be as competitive with a dog bred for sheep work? Or a dog selected for sheep work? I personally have a dog that I think (from the small amount of herding that I done) is much better at herding than the dog that I am currently training. The dog good at herding keeps chasing after the other dogs- because I was still learning when I trained him and I stuffed up. His instinct is making it hard to fix my problem because I need to overcome it. The dog with less herding ability (again IMO) is proving much easier to train for flyball and I think will be the better dog. I don't think this is entirely based on the herding ability but at some level it does contribute to the training issue I have been having. Had I been a better trainer I possibly could have nipped the dogs problem So the pup I would select from a working bred dog would not necessarily be pick of the litter for herding. For my little breeding program I want the athleticism, functional structure, good drive levels, stable temperament, biddable/ability to take direction- but my personal test for function is the dog actually being able to do the task and then the speed and style which it can do it because thats what flyball is about. It is sport about speed, and dogs with poor style get hurt. There are lines of dogs with poor turning style regardless of how much training the owners do- I think that it means there is a structural issue but the only external symptom is the poor turning style. It isn't seen when the dogs do agility or any other action so I wouldn't personally breed from a dog with poor turns. Once again that dog with poor turns might be amazing at its original breed function but for the function it is being used for it is at greater risk of injury. If you then select away from the poor turn then it might mean your no longer selecting toward its original function..... The dog might still pass an instinct test but would it actually be fit for function??

What if you don't want a dog that is bred for its original function? As far as I know no dog has been bred specifically for agility or flyball which will have slightly different traits than dogs trained for herding, hunting etc. Thats not to say a they can't do both but like your point that a show bred dog may not be as competitive as a working bred dog, the same goes for a flyball bred dog. Since I am specifically aiming (at this point in time) to produce a fast flyball dog why am I then also trying to produce a dog that will do its original function to the same level as the dogs that are still being used for its original function?? You can't just tell me to go out and get another breed because there isn't one. Thus I have taken a breed that already excels and bred toward attributes that will make it do even better at my chosen sport. espinay this has actually meant my dogs don't do as well in the showering because the attributes I am selecting for are not popular in the ring. Would they do well at herding? Well I don't know because I don't live on a farm and I don't have the time to really work them on sheep. Yes they have all passed their Instinct test but I agree with Vickie that this isn't really a true test of their ability to work. I think the big difference (and why I can justify breeding for a purpose other than the original) is how I advertise my pups when I sell them. I am quite open about the fact that they have been bred for the purpose of agility, flyball and obedience. I don't mention herding because it isn't the purpose that I personally have bred them for, and can offer no guarantees because I have not put my dogs to the test in that setting. I do get frustrated when I see dogs advertised as being able to do agility, flyball, showing, herding and obedience when the breeders have never been involved in these and really are not producing dogs that are bred for these purposes. And yes I have seen Kelpies that have not been able to do flyball because they have not had the temperament to do it. I think it would be a shame if we were all breeding to exactly the same purpose- I like looking at different lines and seeing their weakness and strengths and being able to match them up to produce what an individual breeder is looking for.

I have half my dogs covered- so answered yes. I am slowly saving up money to put the rest on there. Up till last year I had been really lucky with my dogs but then had a shocker year!! My older dog is on it and the younger idiots, I would like to have my dogs covered by the time they are 5yrs of age. They do dog sports so the risk of injury is higher than the average pet so for me it seems like a no brainer!!

I think there was a line of particularly good solid coloured kelpies, and they were the ones everyone used. For the past few years it has been hard to beat or show anything other than a chocolate coloured kelpie- now we have some amazing blacks coming through and in another year or two I think it will be 50/50. This is because people have specifically decided black is the 'in thing'. There is actually also a push for breeding red n tan/ black n tan HOWEVER because its recessive and there are not many in the gene pool it will take another few years before they make a come back since most people are introducing this gene back into their lines so it will take two generations for it to be seen. These colours are only happening because people are breeding specifically for them. This just doesn't happen in the working lines and the recessive colour is everywhere so to produce a solid coloured dog you would have to go out and specifically find a dog that was solid and breed to them. To keep solid colour in the next generation you would need to either find another solid dog or a dog out of a solid dog- which considering the small percentage of them may get difficult. I genuinely think your just seeing something that results from selected breeding where colour really hasn't been a priority in the early days- just what got people the results they were after (be it in the paddock or in the show ring) ie we have a LOT of cream in the Australian Finnish Lapphund population- no creams have been imported just that a few dogs carrying cream have and because we have a somewhat closed population the cream is coming out even though its a recessive. This may always be the case if the colour of dogs is ignored and only certain characteristics are selected for because there is now a large number of dogs carrying cream even if it is not being expressed. It also highlights what people say when you suddenly decide to select for something else. Imagine its not a colour but a health problem your selecting away from- thats all well and good but will you inadvertently also be ignoring some other trait which may allow a new health problem to creep in.

Who says the inquest is 'focussing on the breed of dog"?? The media? It's ONE factor be considered because coronials also look at how deaths may have been prevented. If the Coroner finds that the dog was not a banned breed and that council policies had no effect in preventing attacks by dangerous dogs, then that will be a GOOD thing. Seriously guys, don't circle the wagons BEFORE the Coroner's report. I agree- the reporter has just targeted the most obvious thing. The article wouldn't be as amazing if you tried to blame it on a "lazy owner" or perhaps a broken fence as opposed to the killer dog!! The focus thus far has been on the dogs so it gets an easy emotional reaction from the audience with no work at all by the reporter!

I start to teach come around meal times- its amazing how quickly they will move towards you when they see the dog bowl!! I tried to make something interesting happen to get my dogs attention before calling to them. Be it some rice in a container being shaken or some squeaky noises or even me running around a little- once they start to become interested I call to them and generally they will come to investigate what is going on. I don't try calling when they are sniffing or really focused on something because they don't know at that age what the word means so its just background noise. I also take advantage of any other time they decide to check out what I am doing- so my dogs thought they were getting a free treat when they heard the come signal :laugh:. Even as adults I still make sure they get treats for coming around the house. I dont teach a formal recall till much older- but 11 weeks is a great time to teach your dog to come and that it means they are about to have fun. ETA I don't use a long line because I generally don't actually use the command till they are already on their way and look committed. Also I reinforce heavily and do it when the dog is in and out of drive and I really wait till they are confident till I introduce distraction so they don't really ever get a chance to fail. If they do its game over and I walk away and they lose their opportunity to have fun with me. I guess I use the NILIF a lot for recalls so the dogs are always looking for ways to make me interact with them- me walking away and ignoring them for 5 minutes does more to reinforce them coming quickly than me dragging on the line.

I probably wouldn't risk leaving it in a show dog. Normally the baby tooth is well gone before the adult tooth erupts so getting them removed is the safest option when it comes to having adult teeth come up in the correct position.

I had flyball- and I thought IT would be cancelled!! But it wasn't and in the end Abby ran most of the day so the team was glad I didn't ditch them for DWD. And I am getting the feeling that I might have a uni prac on the next day . I have been meaning to start putting together a routine but I SUCK!!

Perhaps just get the vet to do a feacal egg count every 6 months or so. If it comes back clear then no need to worm at all!!

Congrats!!!

aahhh :) that sounds like something useable - thanks! By taking a dog out of foster care it means that space will open up for a dog straight from the pound- and someone else will get to enjoy a dog that has gone through the fostering system!!

I am not doing anything wrong but I couldn't even cover costs in my two litters in the past 6 years. I would have to stop breeding because the $3000 spent in registration fees would mean that I couldn't provide the care I want to give my dogs. And it would be the same for the ethical breeders I would chose to breed from so in 15years time (longer I hope) I would be left with no one to buy my dogs from because the only people able to afford the fee would be commercial kennels who have managed to tick the boxes, not the small hobby breeder who takes time off work for socialisation and gives each pup all the individual TLC that they deserve. Also how is my premises inspected? It doesn't currently meet guidelines I don't think because my dogs sleep on (or under) my bed, they are forced to sleep on the lounge of all places when I go out!! I want unethical breeders removed- but I don't think this is the way to go about it.

Well I consider myself ethical and there is NO WAY I can afford to be ANOTHER $500 out of pocket for one litter..... Now those unscrupulous breeders will clearly really feel the extra $10 they add to the cost of each of those litters Oh and I can just dump my litters at the pound and have them get rid of it for me for free and probably save myself a heap of money and not have to be licensed Sigh

Bugger- of course the day I have surgery pracs all day lol.

That was a great thing to do!! Well done. The other thing you can do is randomly during the day put the harness on him leave it on for 10minutes then take it off so you make it less exciting. And if you stop putting it on each time he starts biting it means by the time you do actually want to take him in the car he will behave and get to go. Touching the lead currently means he is going out. You can start teaching him that touching the lead doesn't always mean he is going out. Once he starts to behave when you put on the harness or touch the lead you could just pop out the front as a reward for remaining settled, but once again not every time. When the kids are excited in the yard can you take the crate out and give him a yummy bone? At first well away from all the excitement and move him slowly closer so he associates all the movement and noise with doing his own activity and ignoring it. My dogs only play with kids when they are seated so, particularly when they are young dogs or children 1- so the dog can escape and 2- so the child can't bounce around and get the dog bouncing around.

Not only is the information on that site disgusting, but the technology being used on that website is also disturbing. Using your link, I read through to the end of the article and was surprised to see that my name and my private email address had been already placed in the box where they were calling for comment! No, I did not put them there. The site has the ability to track anyone who reads it and I think we should be asking very serious questions as to why this type of tracking technology is being used on an animal welfare site. Souff Mine didn't- I think that depends on your computer having autofill switched on rather than it tracking you. Although I will qualify that by saying I don't know much about computers!

Yes- there is a breed that I would love to own but when 7 years is considered old I just don't think I could cope. That being said there are improvements in that breed so maybe in the future it will be a possibility.

Will do! I think IDEXX is an expensive option here in Australia which does mean that the price varies a fair bit depending on where the clinic sends to bloods too.