WoofnHoof

I'm coming into this thread late I am so sorry for your loss I have a liver shunt dog diagnosis can be a very long and stressful process especially with vets that don't see a lot of them, it is relatively rare so many vets can misdiagnose early on, took my vets months to accept the diagnosis and that was only after I insisted on further testing after I had done a bit of research myself. Lucky for my boy he was a good candidate for surgery and got through everything ok but it's not an easy process that's for sure. The RSPCA should certainly cover costs as the tummy issues (among many other things) are a symptom of liver shunt and given it's a congenital issue it was definitely present at time of purchase it's not your fault it was originally misdiagnosed. As to the initial question, IMO there is never a time limit on these things you are ready when you are ready and only you can know when that is.

That really doesn't sound like a breeder Id be buying show/breeding potential dogs off I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet, after all even a stopped clock is right twice a day :) Some good judges of conformation to assess this girl along with some understanding of the lines and whether or not they have the desirable depth for a good breeding prospect will give a good indication of whether or not the dog in question is likely to produce good examples of the breed. If she is both the perfect dog as a pet as well as a good example of the breed the lines may be the litmus test to decide whether the dog is a fluke or whether she may be a good future prospect. Basically follow Espinay's post to the letter and you can't go wrong :) While horses are a bit different sometimes you do come across a diamond in the rough, a friend recently picked up a horse from the dogger pens (destined for slaughter), he looked rather scruffy but she recognised a nice pony under it all. Turns out he was an extremely successful and well bred show pony from a top stud. A good and practiced eye for conformation and type is a lifesaver in more ways than one sometimes.

Sorry to hear this Jules

Lol I find my husky very easy to live with but I don't recall ever recommending one to others, especially first time dog owners :laugh: But then I'm aware that I am used to hair everywhere and making sure gates are never ever left open and all those other sibe things lol Greys do strike me as a very low maintenance kind of dog, but what one person sees as low maintenance another sees as a huge PITA, so at the end of the day it comes down to the owner, what they expect, and the individual animal. A good breeder probably wouldn't have sold me a sibe back in the day because I worked full time, studied part time, owned a little dog, owned horses, I was also under the delusion that I would train him really well and he could come out off lead when I go riding. It would have been a tragedy as I would have missed out on the awesomeness that is owning a sibe :p but certainly I'm well aware that not all deluded potential sibe owners will adapt as easily, as evidenced by the many sibes who find themselves in rescue and pounds. Better to err on the side of caution and try to ensure the breed is the best suited for the potential home, can be difficult when the best fit is the stuffed variety.

I have yet to see industry self regulation work, especially when it comes to animals. It is a shame and the alternative is to eventually lose everything but I don't really see it going any other way.

Beautiful pics of some beautiful puppies :D

Aww that's very cute :)

Lol yep a friend has a red cattle dog, I'm very glad she knows me because if she didn't I might get a bit scared lol! When she's in the car they call her red dog security :laugh:

Hi everyone, As the heading suggests I'm looking for some experiences if anyone has used this kennel. I have a husky and a vallhund and haven't ever boarded before so I'm very nervous about it all lol TIA :)

Coming into this thread late but it's good to hear she's picking up a bit Jules, you do an amazing job managing her

Husky: the reason my next dog will be of a more biddable breed, it will be soooo nice to have a dog that recalls and doesn't chase stock etc for a change lol Vallhund: yep full on, even though she's elderly and sleeps a lot now when she's awake she's still a fidget bum and into everything. Chi: I miss having a chi in my life, they can be hard to keep with big dogs though as they keep trying to assert their dominance and forget their size.

This topic reminds me of this clip, I believe it was made by a doler, pretty much sums up my husky :)

I agree. Same here, I wouldn't call huskies stubborn but they certainly aren't a biddable breed! Mine has such a laid back attitude he just flicks off a casual "nah" if I ask him to do something and he's not interested. He's funny too you say "down" and if he doesn't want to he will try and get away with just a half assed effort :laugh:

I probably shouldn't have opened this thread, I miss my chis My first one was when I was a kid, we got him from a breeder he had the more apple shaped head than my second boy who was from a pet shop so not 100% sure if he was pure, he had the more deer shaped head. Both big chi personalities though. My second boy, only lost him a couple years ago

I didn't think there would be quarantine requirements for going out, just coming in? What diseases do we have that the U.S. doesn't have (apart from the aforementioned bat ones which I don't believe dogs are tested for currently anyway)? Eta if they were placed in quarantine they wouldn't be in contact with other quarantined animals either, that's the point of quarantine.

Yes was about to point out that we have a very similar virus here already, i don't believe that Lyssa is as easily transmissible as rabies but there is no way of knowing without extensive testing and research which is currently not a research priority here. Horses can catch Lyssa so it has already established cross species infection. Also we have Hendra which dogs can catch and is closely related to Nipah, it is unknown whether the dogs which have caught it have done so directly from bats or from horses, if it becomes more easily transmissible we will be in trouble. Australia is a ticking time bomb as far as zoonotic diseases go, but of course that shouldn't imply that laxity in quarantine procedures should be tolerated.

When Sonny was having his shunt surgery at about 10 months of age the vet said they noticed there was something in his stomach even though he had been fasted for surgery. Opened it up to find some milk bottle lids and chunks of foam from my mattress. He also stole my wallet once, cards money and all. I looked everywhere for it couldn't find it, had to replace drivers license bank cards etc. Then about 6 months later I had to go into hospital for about a week, I came home and on my bed he had returned the chewed remains of my wallet. Not sure which bits had been ingested but at least he had left me some money lol!

I agree that he did the wrong thing whether through ignorance or wilful disobedience, and certainly making it clear that quarantine breaches are taken very seriously here is important. But the ensuing media circus should have been handled much better, Joyce should be sacked for his unnecessary belligerence. No need to make it a pissing contest just follow the protocol and point out the reasons for such in a calm and professional manner. Too much to expect of our pollies I suppose.

As someone whose kids have completed PhDs I would have thought that you would be aware of the process and what criteria are needed for a PhD project to be approved. If you don't believe the current process is best for industry then as an industry representative you are welcome to approach universities and supervisors and present your point of view. Whinging on an early career researcher's thread just comes across as sulking, it's fine if you want to whinge but it doesn't do anything to address the perceived problem. Have you approached the student and her supervisor to address these concerns? Have you addressed universities and funding bodies with your point of view? Certainly there are many industries taking an active role in directing the future of research even from the level of secondary schooling. Nothing to stop any indsutry representative body doing this. I also think it's very short sighted to work on the assumption that industry funded research is flawed simply because it is funded by industry. It comes down to whether the research is ether good science or bad science, the funding body asks the question the research attempts to answer it. The answers are not determined by who is asking the question.

Steve you generally don't get to pick and choose what is studied, how and why unless you are helping to pay for it or are doing it yourself, that is the reality for every single industry not just dogs so don't behave as though you are being especially hard done by. Many industries offer top up scholarships for topics directed in their area of interest so it doesn't even need to be a huge investment and it goes towards developing a body of research. Have a look at what is being done by other industries to get the research done that they want to see and use it as a model for directing research in your area of interest. If you would like the OP to modify her methodology and research goals perhaps you should contact her and make a case for it, if she feels it is warranted and within the scope of the parameters approved by her supervisor perhaps she will alter it. I would probably word it a little better than "I think your study is pointless" though, just saying.

CRC fees are from 5K to 20000$ for membership. Doubt any individual dog breeder can afford that. Kennels more concentrating on their financial sustainability. and so on may be universities themselves can establish a fund where individual breeders can chip in for common research by order. Such us hip dysplasia in some breeds of dog. ? When I said breeders I didn't mean individuals, I meant organisations, breed clubs, national registering bodies etc. And I didn't say "join a CRC" I said look at the CRCs as an example of industry funded and directed research.

The reality is that there is bugger all money available for companion animal research, PhD students are living on a shoestring usually on a scholarship and are early career researchers, you can't break new ground without laying a solid foundation first. You can't build a sound research project that is founded on assumptions, it has to have a strong foundation of solid data before you get towards the ultimate goal. It goes at a snails pace because of the aforementioned lack of funding resulting in an incomplete foundation. Established researchers can't get scholarships and so their research must be well funded either by government or industry, neither of which are interested in funding companion animal research so the established researchers must do other projects which are funded and usually in the production animal industries that's of they can get into animal research at all. The best plan for breeders and all of those in the companion animal industry who are interested in having their questions answered would be to form a research cooperative, allocate funding and call for projects within a defined parameter as other industry bodies do. Look at the CRCs for an example of this. In addition supporting researchers such as the OP goes a long way towards showing strong industry interest in companion animal research, which in turn may make it more attractive to funding bodies with an interest in this area.

She's a sweetheart, she's very easy to do anything with but doesn't take any rubbish from the younger ones :laugh:

Thanks guys, they are lovely ponies :)

Hi everyone, thought I'd update this thread, I brought the ponies home again as they were getting very fat again. miss Saffy seems to have slipped her foal so no babies at this stage Not sure if we will try again, getting a bit late in the season this year so might give it a miss for the time being. They are both enjoying being home and bossing around the big horses! They both got a bath the other day, they were very grotty so required a bit of scrubbing lol! Miss Saffy has a very long mane would be a shame to cut it but it was getting a bit dredlocked so I will see how I go. Tiny scrubbed up very nicely :) And of course did what all cheeky ponies do after a bath!