Fanuilos

Add a little bit of garlic to the dogs diet. I know Garlic is one of the ingredients in 4 Legs meat balls (in the fridge section at the supermarket). Garlic is a natural anti-parasitic and this includes fleas.

Having owned coloureds and whites, I think the above is not necessarily true. I've never noticed the difference in temperament with the dogs we have owned. Our kids will bark if someone comes onto our property who they don't know. I've had a few occasions when friends have just walked into the house when the door was unlocked, no knocking etc, and one of the dogs baled the person up at the door until we came. The dog knew this person but knew we hadn't let them in so was basically stopping them coming any further in until we let them. Alot of whities do Schutzhund in Europe. Like any dog, it all depends on what the breeder is breeding for. Are they breeding for companions, companions with working abilities or straight out working abilities?

I always love seeing big dogs in doggy life jackets, it cracks me up. Like when the Rotties are at Kepala.

Temperament wise, all Shepherds regardless of colour should have the same temperament. They should not be aggressive or overly shy or timid. If you are going to make one of these dogs part of your family, make sure you see the parents. It's not always possible to see the sire but try and see the dam. If you can't see the dam, see if you can see a few dogs bred by the breeder from that dam, if possible. Parents and blood lines aren't the only influence in temperament. The way a breeder raises a litter of pups will have a MASSIVE influence on them. Two breeders with the same dogs or same blood lines can produce two very different temperaments. What happens to a dog in it's first 8 weeks with the breeder is very important. A breeder who exposes a puppy to many many types of sensations in a safe caring manner will raise a very different litter compared to a breeder whose only real contact with their pups is when they pick them up to clean the whelping box or weigh them, if they even do that.

Haven't you heard of hybrid vigour - the dogs live so much longer I forgot about that, maybe they are from the original litter :D

Thank Souff....for saying what I wanted to say. I have heard, that in her younger years, she was a superb trainer and handler of Labradors and could work them better than many professional trainers. She is also well aware of how important pedigrees are..in both dogs and horses. I would suspect she just kept up the X breeds because they come from dogs she has loved. It's not as if she has a sign on the fence of Buckingham Palace saying...'Designer puppies for sale!' By the way...I'm not sure which palace grounds it is in, but the Royals have a special pet cemetary, where each and every much loved dog is buried, with a headstone. She is also Patron of Dogs Trust....a dog welfare/rehoming organisation and the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. From the Royal's website...... "The Queen is Patron of over 30 animal charities from the RSPCA to The Red Poll Cattle Society and the Labrador Retriever Club. Many of the charities reflect Her Majesty’s personal interests: she is patron of The Royal Pigeon Racing Association and owns her own pigeons which are kept on the Sandringham Estate; her Patronage of the Royal Windsor Horse Show was a natural choice as the Royal Family have been involved with the event since its inception and her involvement with the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association is indicative of her private interest in breeding and racing horses. The Duke of Edinburgh’s animal patronages reflect his interest in birds (the British Falconers' Club, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and Birds Australia) and conservation (World Wide Fund for Nature, South Saskatchewan Wildlife Association and Friends of the Sea Otter amongst others). The Duchess of Cornwall takes a keen in interest in animal welfare and is Patron of the following animal organisations, the Animal Care Trust, the Brooke Hospital for Animals, the Moorland Mousie Trust, and the Langford Trust which supports the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Science. Other members of the Royal Family are involved in numerous animal charities, from small, niche organisations such as St Tiggywinkles or the British Goat Society to international wildlife organisations." I actually only posted this as I thought it was funny. Not to imply the Queen doesn't care about dogs. Yes I do know she has quite a successful kennel and not just labs. Also, if the mating was an accidental mating more than 30 years ago, why does she still have 3 Dorgis? I've never heard of a dog living for 30 years!

For some strange reason I was looking up the Royals today and found out a very strange fact. The Queen, who is the Patron of the Kennel Club, is also a backyard breeder of Designer dogs Straight from the Royals website - http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/...Familypets.aspx For her eighteenth birthday, The Queen was given a Corgi named Susan from whom numerous successive dogs were bred. Some Corgis were mated with dachsunds (most notably Pipkin, who belonged to Princess Margaret) to create ‘Dorgis’. At present, The Queen owns four Corgis: Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly and three Dorgis: Cider, Candy and Vulcan. OKay, I found this funny.

Me please!

I'd like to be involved in this one as well.

I think it depends on how the dogs will be treated by the breeder before they come to Australia. Will the dogs be socialised the way you would want them to be, or is the breeder limited in the amount of time and effort they can put into your dogs, even basic obedience? Kennelled or living in a family situation? If you are importing show dogs, will be breeder take them to a few shows so they learn some ring craft before getting to you. If we ever import from a Cat 4 country in the future (we did Cat 2 last time), we have a friend who will look after our dog(s) for us and I like the way she treats her own dogs and trust her enough to be happy for the dog to do the time with her and the least amount of time in quarantine. It's better to be living with a family who will provide the dog structure etc than in quarantine. Even though the people at the AQIS facilities here are excellent, they are no substitue for a home environment.

We've done AI from frozen semen twice, both on maiden bitches. First girl had 6 pups, and 9 when we did a live mating for her next litter. Second girl had a singleton but she hasn't had a live mating yet for us to compare. Considering litter sizes can vary for a variety of reasons when you do live matings, I don't think AI always produces smaller litters. I know people who have had very big litters with AI and very small litters with AI.

I understand completely. Spirit gets bored very easily & the seat belts & hand break have suffered as a consequence of leaving her in the car by herself just that wee bit too long. Didnt you know WSR has its own Maternal Child and Dog Health nurse for these purposes How fast can this person move in a split second & do they have eyes in the back of their head ? Nope. :D :D I might get you to watch Lil as well, so you'll have two beautiful flowers to look after. Would that be okay?

I'm wondering where BB got the idea my OH is a big clumsy oaf?

OH and I will be there. Contray to BB opinion, OH will not fall down an embarkment!

we certainly are, we have 2 rippers but because our dogs come in waves people go elsewhere. We had nothing, then 3. One was adopted quickly, one was adopted yesterday and our awsome DOL Enigma carer has still got one in FC. Had 2 people waiting to FC for a week or so, then that went to another all breed rescue to get something quickly and we cant do that. Its a good thing for the dogs though, you dont want too many rescues in your chosen breed! Wholeheartedly agree. If we have no dogs in foster care, and 10 people wait, that is good news to me

I've alerted both breed clubs to see if they can check their records and let owners in Airport West and the surrounding suburbs know that a dog has been spotted. Hopefully someone is looking for him but just not in the right place.

Congratulations Flave!!!!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/...x-1225909015174 Baby attacked by family terrier while crawling on floor of home Anthony Dowsley From: Herald Sun August 23, 2010 4:43PM A BABY is in hospital after a savage attack by a small family dog. The 11-month-old boy was crawling on the floor of a house in Bentleigh just after midday when the terrier set upon him, leaving cuts to his mouth, eyebrow and nose. Paramedics arrived about 12.30pm to find the child being cared for by his mother and a neighbour. "We did our best to calm him, before cleaning the wounds that were still bleeding,'' paramedic Mike Ray said. "The cut to his upper lip was the worst as it was quit deep. The other wounds were puncture marks or more superficial. "Thankfully the little boy’s eyes weren't affected.'' He was transported to the Monash Medical Centre for treatment.

I have some very good news. On the weekend, Thor (Vallgården's Ghostly Gladiator) and Inga (Vallgårdens Glitzy Glamour) both achieved their final points to gain their Australian Champion. LMWS is putting the forms in with Dogs NSW today! The kids had a very successful weekend with Thor taking out Junior in Group on both Saturday and Sunday. LMWS, Arawyn and myself could not be happier, that they have achieved this title at the age of 12 months and 9 days. On a personal note, I would like to thank LMWS and her partner for showing the kids to the expert level they have and all the time and effort they have put into prepping for shows and showing. Without you two, Thor and Inga would not have achieved this title. Also, all three of us would like to thank Eva-Liz of kennel Vallgården in Sweden for sending us these beautiful pups in the first place and trusting us to do right by them and her kennel name. We are truly privileged to own them.

Congratulations - an absolutely gorgeous boy!

I have a small brag from the weekend about our White Swiss Shepherds. Thor and Inga are going great guns in the show ring - SATURDAY: Thor came 3rd in the Sweepstakes being run and won PUPPY IN GROUP. SUNDAY: Thor came 3rd in Sweepies again, and Inga won JUNIOR IN GROUP. I'm so proud at how well the kids are doing in the Group classes and also in the Show Classes. When the kids finally hit 12 months old and gain the extra 25 points which make them eligible to be titled Thor will have over 200 points and Inga will have over 150 points. Again, another big thank you to LMWS and her partner Dale for all the effort they put into the kids, with washing, grooming and handling them. Without you two, these kids wouldn't be doing as well in the ring.

If you have any other questions, just post in to the White Shepherd thread in the Breed sub-forums

We are stopping our breeding program to go exclusively ANKC and WSS, so we'll still be breeding in the future. Probably mid next year. The 'kids' are doing incredibly well in the show ring thanks to the co-owner and her partner. Both have already achieved enough points to be Aus Champs but can't get their titles yet as they aren't 1 year old. This is Thor and his sister Inga. I think we need to update Inga's photos as these are from when she was about 3-4 months old, they are 1 year old next month.

My thoughts too and it shouldn't matter what colour they are

Luvinshep - sorry about that, I was editing my post as I realised it was quite rude not to explain You can get a white shepherd out of two coloured shepherds as long as both carrier the white gene. It's a recessive colour in shepherds, like black and Long coats. Most white shepherds in Oz now come from two white parents. Some people who own the Oz dogs will call them White Shepherds rather than add the German or Swiss as this avoids confusion and telling people the crazy history and politics. My OH and I breed Oz lined White Shepherds but we also co-own two ANKC registered White Swiss Shepherd, which were imported from Sweden. We are very careful to explain the difference to people. Our WSS aren't old enough to breed yet but we are closing down our Oz breeding program at the moment. Such as shame though as we have some lovely examples of the breed which could contribute nicely here and OS. Maybe one day, they'll all be called the same thing and all registered as WSS by the ANKC. They all can be traced back to GSDs and genetically they are GSDs.