FHRP

Bundy lets himself out of his metal one very occasionally.. I don't think he's smart enough to be able to unzip it though My Vizslas aren't!

C-crate securapens have lids eta. I'd still go for a soft crate for just one dog though, much lighter and fold smaller!

A soft crate is a lot lighter and you have less chance of "getting bitten" when folding up. They are sturdy enough for a crate trained dog and I've never had one collapse on a dog but I'm sure there are designs that are less sturdy than others. For dogs determined to get out of crates, or not yet trained, soft crates are not suitable. When travelling with my boys I either take the metal c-crate pen which they all fit in, or individual soft crates. I would never bother taking metal crates anymore, soft crates are so much easier IMO. eta. I have had a soft crate roll over and nearly down a hill at a dog show, but that was with two dogs in it that were playing! The crate did not collapse at all though. You can peg them down.

I have had Labrador, Italian Spinone, Hungarian Vizslas, Whippet & GSP. The Vizsla is the only breed I've had twice. Although I have 'switched breeds' several times I've only once 'switched groups' when I got a Hound instead of a Gundog. I have loved all the breeds I've had and would have any of them again, and there are other breeds I'd like to one day own. I doubt I will venture out of the Gundog group very often though, they suit me and I enjoy Gundog work. To raise and train, the biggest difference has been bewtween the Whippet and the other dogs. The Whippet is a more independant dog that doesn't have the same 'willing to please' attitude. However, he's a far lower maintenance dog being lower in energy and training needs. I'm not sure I have a favourite breed, I have things I like better than the others in each breed. I like the variety and experienceing new breeds. Having said that my next dog will probably be a Vizsla or GSP as they suit what I want to so with my dogs at the moment.

I have a slightly fussy dog that turned his nose up at the Canidae grain free and not too keen on Advance. We won a bag of Royal Canin and as much as I've not liked the brand, it does seem to appeal to my fussy eater!!

Watch for the ability to breath under water.. I'm sure Flynn's penchant for snorkling increased after his 4th or 5th container of fish food

The agility (not the jumping runs I hope! ps - were you running the Vizsla? In case you're not on the Agility Victoria list...some pics here: http://www.lukewilby.com/gallery/?g2_itemId=16130 I think I've got more Vizsla pics I didn't upload. I think I saw a bit of both agility & jumping. Barkly lives up to his name at the start line Yep, I was running the Vizsla and the feral GSP that entertained the crowd. I saw the see saw photo of Rogan, it's great! Would love to see any more you have

It is not uncommon for a 12 month old of these breeds to be "skinny". Indeed I was told that my younger Vizsla 'looked like a rescue' by his breeder around this age as he was extremely active and skinny. I wouldn't stress too much if the dog is healthy and active. It gets easier to keep weight on them when they're older. However, I have found lamb flaps are good for skinny dogs, only in moderation as it can give dogs the runs and you don't want to overload just on fat either. I also increase the number of meals my dogs get when trying to put weight on them, so would add lunch in as well if the owner is able and the dog will eat it.

Saw a run or two of Barkly's, great stuff We opted for the Cabins instead of camping though, I'm over the tent thing....

I have taught my older dogs lots of 'tricks' but my youngest only knows one 'trick' and that was only taught because when we did the Dock Dogs they wanted the dogs doing tricks on the dock to please the crowd! I trained tricks with Rogan mainly to teach me more about shaping behaviours and most of them are for warm up exercisees in agility - spin left, spin right, bow, back up etc. He does know useless shake a paw and speak too I encourage people in my obedience classes to teach a trick, to try and get them to think about splitting up the exercise then marking and rewarding behaviours in a less formal way. They can get so intense about training exercises that are going to be assessed, a trick shows them they can teach someting in a fun way! As for the heeling, I do not like the extreme heads up wrap around style. I can't watch the video's, but I am pretty sure I know what they look like. We are seeing more and more of this style in the Australian obedience ring and I have to say if it becomes the norm and expected then I'll probably stop competing. I don't have the time nor inclination to train this style. I also have dogs I compete in retrieving trials with and the last thing I want is the dog wrapped around looking at me when I do a walk up retrieve!! Trust me, even though he's not looking lovingly at my face, he knows exactly where I am :D I have even been pinged in the obedience ring for crowding with him

Hasn't stopped his food stealing issues though. It shrunk his balls, not his stomach!!

I wouldn't consider 9 too old for a healthy dog to be surgically desexed, however you could consider a Superlorin injection to chemically castrate him instead, avoiding surgery. It is a temporary desexing, lasting 6 or 12 months depending on what option you choose. It would therefore need to be done every 12 (or 6) months, but will show you whether castrating will make a difference to his incontinence. I recently had my 12 year old boy chemically castrated due to an enlarged prostate. It has helped his physical issues, which were not incontinence though.

Thank you to everyone for the congratulations! I have the Ag Ch title certificate in my hot little hand already, gotta love Dogs ACT Congratulations also to everyone's successes over the weekend, what a lot there were!!

I just have to brag Today my Vizsla, Rogan, gained his final Master Agility win for his Agility Champion Title!!!!!! Not so long ago I didn't even dare dream he could become an Agility Champion, but after going through his cards I realised he was closer than I thought. Today my very special boy did it

The 1.8 Lens is definitely too high IMO. You can get one new through DWI for $99.

There are heaps of glands in the neck, not just lymph nodes. Having had two three dogs now with neck/throat swellings, one being a foreign body grass seed, another a salivary gland infection (maybe from foreign body?) and the other being unidentified even after two episodes, years apart, I'd suggest the vets may choose to do all sorts of things depending on how it presents and what they suspect is going on! If it's associated with the weepy eyes, the vet might suspect there is some allergy reaction going on and a reactive gland and on initial visit may not even want to do an aspirate, but prefer a wait and see or anitbiotics. Having run through long grass recently could suggest either allergy or foreign body! However, Polo's grass in his neck presented as huge swelling before the nice little lump presented for removal If you trust your vet, be guided by what they suggest in regards to tests. I prefer not to rush in with invasive tests if not necessary and thankfully my vets have the same approach.

Many breeders will select show potential pup at 8 weeks, but it's no guarantee that a pup will mature into a show quality dog. That can't be guaranteed until the dog is fully mature! It will certainly increase your chances though

I have asked someone if they had/would consider using my dog on a certain bitch, I even asked about leasing that bitch for a litter from my dog. I own dogs, so I don't breed. I believe my boy is a nice dog, I know his conformation faults, he has more than proven himself in many disciplines including the show ring. However, the majority of breeders in this breed don't look past the show ring side, and IMO are missing nice dogs. I honestly don't know where I would go at this stage for another dog in my breed as there is a lot out there that doesn't interest me, I'd like to see some proven working ability! I would like something sired by my dog and the particular bitch I enquired about has lines that interst me a great deal. I personally thought it would be a good mating. I don't try and pimp my dogs out, and I have done extremely limited advertising. I'm not looking to make money, but would like something from my boys for my next pups. I am considering leasing a bitch if possible or even purchasing a bitch next time so I can breed what I want Suggesting to someone that your boy might suit their girl to me isn't offensive, if it's genuine. To suggest that your boy might suit any bitch in the breed, especially sight unseen, is... tacky.

Nooooo, don't do that! You won't need to have Bundy registered in your name until you decide to compete and that can't be before he's 18 months old, so plenty of time!

Believe it or not some dog people are teetotal as was explained to me by a cranky exhibitor when she saw that our BIS and RUBIS trophies were accompanied by bottles of champers. Faxon won a plastic woven mat once that we still use, but I agree with PF, go the cash and sash. I didn't think you were allowed to give wine as prizes? We can't in agility because we have several junior hanlders and we'd be 'supplying alcohol to a minor' if they won!!

I like to win cash too. When it first became the popular thing to do I thought it was a bit of a cop out, as I do like to have something to remember special wins by, but now I love it. I always think of it in terms of covering my entry and if I'm lucky, petrol to get to the trial! I know a few people who keep the money and use it on something specific either for their dog or for themselves and will refer to that item as "Fido bought me that" I do like a ncie trophy now and then, but definitely not every trial! I also enjoyed the days when we were lucky enough to have dog food companies sponsor trials, so food was on offer, but that is very rare now. Otherwise just about anything dog related is good - beds, toys, pigs ears. Persoanlly I've won enough chairs/cooler bags/umbrellas to never want to win another Just understand you're never going to please everyone no matter what you do for prizes! But to anyone who complains, give them the task of getting the next lot

I think you will, but with a slightly different name eta. That is of course if a club decides to hold the event....

Even the 12 year old Utility Gundog is too much dog for me. He's often too much for me too

No, the dog must pass all the disciplines at the one test! Everyone needs a Utility Gundog It's getting close though! The National rules have been sent to the ANKC for their October conference! It is a more basic test than the Utility Ability test though, but good fun!