RuralPug

He will have heaps to choose from! If this is his first ever grey, he is best to go through a speciality breed rescue who can give him the back up if he has questions, especially in the early days, and who will have properly tested the grey for prey drive. Am not in NSW, so not quite sure of grey rescue status up there, but GAP and Greyhound Rescue are both good bets!

It is the interpretation of that one standard that is the cause of differences in type within breed. Working vs show is often an excellent example of interpretation leading to show breeders putting more effort into features that are perhaps more eye-catching than practical for the breed's intended purpose. And vice versa for the working line breeders. My bet is that neither show nor working type are exactly what the original standard writers meant, but something in between. And even within show breeding, concentration on intensifying some features over others has, in many breeds, resulted in a completely different look - just compare pictures of champions early last century (close to when the standards were actually written) to pictures of top winners in the same breeds today. So it is quite possible to have different types within the same breed, because standards can be interpreted in different ways.The point is to breed to correct type - but who determines what is correct? You would think that words like "moderate", "square", "short" and "straight" for example are fairly clear, yes? Nevertheless, breeders and/or judges have managed to interpret descriptions like those to mean "as short as possible", "the squarer the better" etc. to the point of ridiculousness, more often than not to the detriment of the breed. "Moderate length of neck" - how could you go wrong? Yet examination of pictures of winning type in various eras and places you can see that it has been taken to mean "long and graceful" or "missing if possible" as different fashions within the breed come and go. It has happened in more breeds than have stuck close to original type, in most breeds I would dare to say. And, in some cases, has occasioned a split between breeds - American vs "English" Bulldogs, Cocker Spaniels among the obvious ones. Indeed, in some breeds, the type of consistent breed winners seems totally estranged from the type of consistent all-breed winners. That, to me, is a real worry and seems to indicate that judges are not doing their job of comparing specimens with an imaginary ideal of their breed, scoring them accordingly and determining the winner of the all breed class as the one with the highest score. Is any of this in any way linked to the ANKC's current drive to override ALL breed standards by allowing any colour/pattern to be main registered for breeding and showing? (Unless the breed leading body can PROVE health impairments linked to a specific colour? Bugger the genetic proof that certain colours do not exist within the breed genepool - pfft - irrelevant, according to the ANKC.)

Yes, quite different breeds in much the same way that the Bulldog and the French Bulldog are quite different breeds. They may have shared a common ancestor in the past, but they are quite different today, like humans and gorillas for another example.

It is extremely unlikely to have been anything you did. I would think a food allergy unlikely in such a young baby. Young puppies do get ups and downs in their immune systems which means that common fungi, viruses and bacteria that they can normally fight off successfully can get out of control. This one has been caught before it has gotten severe - big tick to you and your vet, so I would just be taking care to treat or otherwise reward him especially heartily for sitting quietly for treatment. Also it may be a good idea to add a few supplements to his diet aiming to boost his immune system - discuss this with his breeder.

I would be voting chimera. Easy (but expensive) to check - just take a DNA sample from the unusual coloured area and compare it with a DNA sample from elsewhere on the same dog.

I'm glad you got some response. Did the second vet suggest a time limit/ limited course for the medication? Treating a symptom while not knowing the cause is only effective in the short term, as, of course, you know. Keep pumping the probiotics in, fingers crossed that stabilising the gut flora will cause a return to normality. It is irritating not to be able to pinpoint a cause, though.

Are you in an area where you can easily try another vet? If so, I would. Plus I would go through all the things that are concerning you and demand an opinion on each of them. Vets are human and some of them have no patience OR imagination. if it is out of the ordinary, it doesn't happen. Sigh.

Good news then no giardia or anything. Did vet give you any explanation for the weird toileting changes?

If it was a month between the original gastric upset and the first night poo, then I would not assume that they were related (depending upon how long the course of antibiotics was).I would be making a vet appointment and taking a sample of the soft poo. Meanwhile, any yoghurt containing bifidus culture will assist in repopulating gut culture in canines. It won't be as fast as Protexin but it will work.

Can you arrange for a Worksafe Inspector to drop randomly in on the workplace? Your son doesn't need to know anything about it, so he won't feel that he has rocked the boat.

Yep was going to put up a link but I see you have found it LOL! If they don't sell through there, ebay will often work if you don't mind their fees.

Not from overseas, because they are federally restricted imports. However Victorian legislation now permits you to legally own restricted breeds, albeit they have to be desexed and housed/ collared etc. like dangerous dogs. Since the only one of the restricted breeds that is actually in Australia is the pit bull, effectively it will now mean that you can legally own and register with council a pit bull or pit bull cross, subject to the above. No need to register them underhandedly as boxer crosses anymore.

Babies will be babies! If your problem is he is forgetting the stack to welcome the judge, then you need to rope in someone to play judge in your training sessions. Have the "judge" approach only to immediately about face and retreat if pup wiggles. Reset pup in stack, repeat. Keep trying until the penny drops, as it will eventually. Might take a session or two daily over a week or two but it will happen. Once the puppy is standing still while the "judge" goes over him, throw a party and make a huge fuss and greatly reward when the judge steps back, and your pup will love it!

I have always disliked human names for pets, but have been stuck with them several times. As a young child the bitch in one of my mother's litters that was to be mine, I named "Star". Now the litter had an aboriginal theme so she was registered as "Ungamilya" which was "star" in whichever dialect Mum's language dictionary used. Instead of being called Star, she somehow metamorphosed into Milly, or Milly-Molly-Mandy if she didn't listen first time. I have a new black DSH cat, a foster failure, who is Sebastian and somehow it is exactly right for him so he will keep it. He gets Sebas sometimes, which is the nickname for a suburb in nearby Ballarat, which can cause confusion LOL. Sometimes I will name rescue surrenders after the area they came from, especially if they have a silly name they don't respond to. People who know that, assume they know from where Sebas came - er, no, not this time! My beloved Mastiff bitch was named for her habit of leaning against you, but "Lena" turns out to be a human name as well. Currently I have in the house my own baby girl "Cookie", so named as she is a smart little cookie, long term rehab fosters Dayna and Pepsi, short term fosters Trinity, Rocko and Bearji and my own cats Chai and the above-mentioned Sebastian. Dayna, Trinity and the cats all came with their names, the others have had their names slightly modified from dull ones. The post would be far too long if I listed all the names of animals I have had over the years but there are some names that make me wince - "Frank" for a pug (from the MIB movie), "Rover", "Dfor" and its correlates for other species and the Brutus/Killer/Sarge type names for supposedly tough dogs owned by supposedly tough twats. Ish has already listed some of her favorite names, but I rather like her "Mittens" which I think is a fantastic name for a GSD bitch!

NSW chips need to be registered with another registry if the dog is moved out of NSW. It is a total pain in the neck. Chose a registry that you trust (Central Animal Records is my personal favourite) and register his details with them, using the chip number he has.

Yes. We will no longer have certain councils gung ho to kill anything that looks vaguely to them like a pit bull. Baby steps. Eventually we will erase most non-federal BSL and revert to deed not breed.

I'd be crating (playpen) the baby to be honest, taking turns having the dog outdoors or safely where the little one can't get at him when the bub is loose and crating the baby when the dog is loose. At least until you have an initial session with the behaviorist and get some strategies to make the dog feel safe around bub.

I will only feed frozen in hot weather. The rest of the time I thaw in the fridge and feed straight out of the fridge. I won't feed red meat on the bone frozen as I think it is a danger to their teeth. Poultry and fish I will, as the bones are not so dense. From a nutrition point of view, there is little difference between frozen , fresh or thawed. From a palatability point of view, blood temperature is probably the most attractive I imagine.

Definitely wrong breed for the story above. The story below the staffy picture regarding a separate dog attack doesn't even mention breed, which is as it should be - I will credit the paper for that - pity that using a picture of an identifiable breed spoils it.

Maya always sounds Aztec to me! If you really like Sascha, but feel it has been overdone (which i would agree is very true), what about Tasha (being short for Natasha lol with the brother Boris!!!)? Or Tasia, short for Anastasia? Boris means "wolf" in Russian. A female wolf in Russian is "volchitsa" , which is a bit of a mouthful but perhaps you could shorten it to something more attractive. Chitsa? Perhaps not. Volcha? Ha haha sounds like a good name for most ever hungry puppies! Here is a list of Russian female dog names, with pronunciation. Have fun!

Sounds like it is not a bad idea to hand a few treats out to each visitor to give the dogs also, depending on how many visitors per day is normal for the shelter (we don't want obese over-treated dogs! lol)

Could you elaborate on the bolded bit please. In which states is mandatory de-sexing crossbreeds, the law? I read that to mean that any person wanting to breed either from dogs that are not purebred or crossing breeds without permission of the state canine org has to desex the puppies before sale. Dogs already owned that are not purebred are not mandated to be desexed, although it is encouraged. Certainly that seems to be the case with the new SA legislation. Puppy farmers will love it because the cross breeding BYBs will take less of their sales. And those that believe 'designer' type mixes are purebred, will no doubt be ratified by the idiots in state government who agree with them.

And don't let your rescue group overlook local facebook pet and buy swap sell pages. Share the petrescue profile on those pages and don't forget gumtree. If people only see bad bred dogs on gumtree they will never have any idea that well bred dogs and rescue dogs are also available. Also word of mouth is amazing. Hang around near school gates at home time with your foster on an "adopt me" leash. Have lots of cards to give out with her picture and petrescue ID. Most home printers today can cope with printing business cards and the blank sheets of cards can be found at Officeworks etc.

No. It is written by an American Kennel Club judge for an American Kennel Club audience. The system for training judges in Australia is very different.

Definitely dilute the shampoo before applying. Rinse well, really well is the trick. In the case of a really grotty dog a hydrobath really does work better than anything else - if you are using a DIY one do make sure that you rinse it out well both before and after use. With yeasty dogs, sometimes medication is also required and usually diet need to be looked at carefully - there is a recent thread, I'm sure someone can link you to it. Edited to add the link : here With regard to the rescue not having a hydrobath, there is a fantastic thread here on buying a recycling pump and building your own, which can be done for around $250, I have finally gathered the last pieces for mine and it is ready to put together. I have added a commercial handpiece to my set up, which can also be used independently.