Rascalmyshadow

I highly recommend this artist, I’ve had two portraits done, one of my Cassie (kelpie) and one of my husbands girl Abby (bearded collie) she will work with one or multiple photos and will make sure it’s perfect and you’re 100% happy before framing is done and payment is taken.

She is lovely lady and can’t speak highly enough of her and her work.

Pics don’t do them justice.

For anyone following Katie’s story, we have found out she is 13 1/2, her original owner is deceased so she has been fed but received no other care for the past 5 years, she has clearly been mistreated along with neglected as we’re seeing a few things indicating a fear response but over all she’s a happy girl.

We have her on two supplements as well as Meloxicam and we are adding in some more pain relief this afternoon (once the vets have dispensed it) she now has a bed fit for a queen and has become part of our pack.

We have her booked in, in 4 weeks along with Rascal to both go in together for their dentals.

Woohoo Katie has been given the all clear, heart sounds good and bloods were all normal, we’ve started her on Meloxicam to help with the arthritis (will also be looking into the other suggestions) and she’s booked to go in a few weeks to have a dental along with Rascal!!!

The vets believe her heavy panting is pain related so hoping that will settle once her pain is under control.edited to add sorry for the sideways photos have no idea why they’re coming out like that.

Thank you for all the suggestions, and the nice comments about my daughter  we have started Katie on supplements to help with her arthritis, she is off for her vet visit this afternoon (along with Rascal) so hoping she checks out ok and doesn’t have anything too serious going on, will update once we’re home.

Katie today!!!

I don’t get on here very often these days but I thought I would put up a post about a beautiful old girl we have just taken in, I just want to highlight to others to step in and be pro active when you see abuse and neglect.

On Thur night my nearly 15 year old daughter was out in town with her boyfriend enjoying a local twilight market when they noticed a severely neglected very old dog wandering the streets, instead of turning a blind eye my daughter decided we needed to help, she managed to follow the dog to its yard, find out who it belonged to and report it to the rspca, she then rang and begged me to help get the dog somehow as it was being kept in appalling conditions, I decided to offer the owner a sum of money to hand the dog over and they willingly obliged.

Katie is her name and she’s (apparently) 15 years old, the poor girl was so matted she was struggling to move, the smell of stale urine and faeces was so strong I was gagging the entire 5 min drive it took to get her home, she has a lot of arthritis, her eyesight is failing, her hearing isn’t great and she had been left to sleep on cold concrete with no shelter, her coat constantly wet as all the knots were like sponges.

I am angered and sickened at how someone could treat such a beautiful old girl with such little care, amazingly in only 3 days of being clean and comfortable she has gone from looking depressed and ready to give up to being happy and I can see a sparkle in her old eyes and the most amazing smiling face.

Katie has clearly had a hard life for a long time but she is still so forgiving and loving, she doesn’t want for much just a soft bed, good food and a little attention.

I am so proud of my daughter for being persistent and unlike all the adults around and there were many, she chose to help, she chose to be this girls voice, she didn’t walk on as if it was someone else’s problem.

We really didn’t need another dog however we will all make sacrifices to make sure she is kept comfortable and when the time comes she will die with dignity knowing she is loved and part of the family.

A good breeder should offer you a partial refund if you chose to keep the dog and a full refund if you give it back, as long as you’re vet puts it in writing.

I’ve been through this twice, first with an Airedale puppy, had a hereditary defect and had to be euthanised at 5 months old, breeder refunded us all our money as we had a letter from a specialist, the second was a 10 month old Samoyed from interstate, as soon as I got him home I knew something was wrong with his hips/back legs, took into the vet I worked, they knocked him out to do X-rays, he had hip dysplasia so bad the vet advised me not to wake him up and to euthanise on the spot, contacted the breeder, she spun some bull#%*t story and didn’t want to know about it, we lost money on the purchase price, the flight fees, and the vet bills, was a hard lesson to learn.

On 2/12/21 at 3:12 PM, Deeds said:

I usually buy the same breed of dog.  The last dog I paid $3500 around 5 years ago.   This time around it will be $4k to $5.5k.

 

By looking at the pedigrees you can see the number of imports in the lines, factor in import costs, stud fees etc not to mention vet fees, reproduction fees and the breeders time and resources.

 

As well showing takes a lot of time, travelling and energy to get the dogs championship status points.

 

I have seen the work and pride good breeders put into their dogs.  I don't haggle over the price for the reasons stated above.  And because I would only purchase from 2 of the 4 breeders in Australia that makes it a lot easier.

 

I'm glad I'm not into oodles etc.  

 

 

What your saying is fair and makes sense but means absolutely nothing to someone just wanting a family pet, most average people don’t care if the dogs are champions or imports etc. they are just looking for a sound temperament, good health and often a particular colour in their chosen breed.

The next letter I would send would be saying your looking into taking legal action.

5 hours ago, BDJ said:

My 2c is that a breeder should not be opposed to price being discussed in the first contact (call or email) - as above, it is no good having a budget of $X and finding out 6 conversations later that the price is double that.  To be honest, if I asked (appropriately) about cost and the breeder got cranky, that would be enough for me to walk away as I consider that as either 'mind games' or they are more sensitive/clicky/something than I care to engage with.

 

Having said that,  'appropriate' is the key.   I don't think it is appropriate to start a conversation with 'hi, I am Fred and looking for a pup - how much is it'.   I see nothing wrong with 'hi, I am Fred, I am looking for a pup,  this is me (where, why, what, who, history etc), I am hoping to do .........., ... ask questions you have about the pup and the breeder etc, and then say 'may I ask how much you are asking for him/her' ......'.    Even if you have decided not to purchase, or they don't have anything suitable, it will give you an idea of the cost.  That way you know if $X is realistic.

 

This exactly.

I have never had an issue in the past as I introduce myself properly and give details about the home I can offer, I have only been turned down by multiple breeders of the same breed, all sent me one liners, ‘we don’t home to people with children’, was so unfriendly and rude I ended giving up and getting a x of the breed instead.

Now however prices are so high I’m not comfortable approaching any breeder (except the one that bred our beardie) as I often see them put no time wasters or ask your husband, wife, partner first (how can you do that if you have no details including price) etc. in the past I’ve known I was likely to afford the dogs/pups I was interested in but now there’s so much variation, they could be anything from $1500 to $8000.

Anyone on here that’s a breeder can you please tell me what should someone looking for a pup/dog do, if breeders don’t like being asked how much their puppies/dogs are and for what ever reason don’t want to disclose the amount on their advertised litters/dogs but also don’t want their time wasted, how is anyone supposed to know if the pups/dogs are in their budget without causing an issue or making breeders angry?

Those are not family pets and I would expect to pay a high price for a trained working dog or a dog for breeding and showing.

My younger daughter desperately wants another chihuahua but I’m not even game enough to make contact with any breeders as I know they don’t like being asked how much, and the likelihood is they will be more than we can afford, I also don’t want to waste anyone’s time.

On 26/10/2021 at 11:16 PM, The Spotted Devil said:

So your time is worth nothing?

Yes my time is worth something the pup I ended up keeping was payment enough, with the inflated price the only way for us to potentially own any more dogs is to breed from our own, something I would have never considered doing in the past, luckily I don’t really care if they’re pure or crosses as long as they’re healthy with good temperaments.

oh and just as a side note, we didn’t intentionally breed from our girl but we made sure we didn’t everything right.

21 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

 

 

But most off your expenses where management issues that could have been avoided like the carpet .

All the rest is what every other breeder does .

 

 

For many off us our stock has yearly eye tests ( costs gone up),heart testing ,hip/ elbows cost gone up on breeding stock.

DNA profiling off litter for aspects not cleared by parentage .Parentage testing required in Qld 

Registering litter with State Body costs gone up .

Puppy eye tests ,Baer testing .

Membership/kennel name renewals costs gone up .

Breeding license council.

 

 

I actually think more Breeders have kept there prices the same than raised them especially given the added costs they have compared to just having a litter.

The pet shop here was charging $4000 more than registered Breeders who health test 

Some odd Breeders raised there prices and they have talked the talk and in a few years time there promises will be interesting..

 

I know some people claiming there puppy costs had increased bigtime from a breeder but didn’t openly mention there pup was being flown over and freight costs have sky rocketed for transporting animals and Infact the pup cost the same the new freight costs that aren’t the Breeders fault where pricey .

 

 

Interesting  you say hubby wouldn’t dream of spending more than $5 for a dog but what you kept has cost more than $5 to produce,cover costs and raise so infact buying a pup would have been cheaper .

 

Dogsfevr incorrect, I didn’t have management issues, yes the carpet was a big expense however no different to an unexpected c-section.

I ended up breaking even and got a free puppy to add to my pack so I’m the end actually saved myself about $5000.

12 hours ago, REALOldNick said:

Rescue dogs are not suitable for everyone and a lot of rescues have so many rules and regulations that many people wouldn’t qualify for one of their dogs anyway.

1 hour ago, The Spotted Devil said:

Whilst I tend to agree with you with regards to the extreme price increases,  I (and many others) have been seriously undercharging for a long time. In addition, breeding is more than one litter. This time I’ve been very fortunate with a large litter and healthy mum. However it’s balanced out by the costs of every other litter - 3 puppies to sell - one required corrective eye surgery at 6 weeks (not genetic) which was more than my puppy price; 5 live pups, 2 deceased - 1 euthanised at 4 weeks (congenital megaoesophagus); 7 pups - emergency c-section and 10 days later Ginny developed gangrenous mastitis which can kill a bitch in hours. Daily vet visits and antibiotics until it could be lanced and drained of putrid pus. Then the necrotic tissue was surgically removed 6 months later. I hip and elbow score my bitches too. Not cheap given it requires a GA. 
 

You were lucky @Rascalmyshadowwhich I’m very happy about. But breed long enough and you’ll experience every disaster in the book at some point. 

I understand there’s a lot to go wrong and I’m no breeder, we were down $4000 the min they were born because Mum decide to whelp under our bed instead of in the whelping box next to the bed, $3000 worth of carpet (only a few years old) destroyed on top of having to pay to replace the flooring.

One litter was hard enough and cost us a fortune because we did everything right and spared no expense, when I realised one of the puppies I sold had a congenital issue I took the pup back and refunded the buyer their money and then was the one to take her in to be euthanised, I was up through the night every night to sit with mum because she wouldn’t stay with them to feed during the night without me, I spent so much time cleaning up poop and pee  because I wanted them reared inside with us, I was so exhausted I fell asleep in my car one day in the supermarket car park, I can understand the amount of time, effort and money that goes into produce quality dogs, my issue isn’t with breeders making money or covering their costs, it’s the fact that I watched prices become extremely inflated in a few weeks.

How can a litter from a breeder be advertised for $2000 a pup and then only a few weeks later their next litter be $4500 per pup? Same breeders, same breed.

Its really disheartening to think so many people can no longer afford to have a dog in their life. I never had any intention of breeding and our girl was desexed as soon as the vet gave her the all clear but seeing how the prices are now I’m glad she had the litter because it allowed me to add another dog to our pack when there’s no way my husband would ever agree to spend $5000 plus on a dog.

On 23/10/2021 at 4:37 PM, WanaHavanese said:

I feel your pain OP. I have been looking for a dog for 4 years now. Initially I was going for a rescue, but in 4 years I have never managed to get a rescue organisation to even reply to me! So I started looking for puppies last year and was shocked at the prices that just seem to keep going up, even for odd mixed breeds with obvious parental faults.

 

Due to my situation, I require a small dog this time round, so I researched and found the PERFECT breed for me, and almost applied for a pure bred puppy to be flown from over east, when the prices jumped up by $2000 suddenly! Now, I do understand why that is the case, as I have been watching gumtree puppies and have seen multiple cheap pups re-sold on for higher prices. But it is sad, as I am completely priced out of the market as a pensioner and I wonder how many others will now never know the love of a dog because they do not have the riches for one. 

 

How long will this upward trend continue? Is there any chance prices will ever return to a reasonable level? Is there any hope for people with lower incomes? I used to show horses and I am not joking, when I say they were cheaper to keep in a year than the purchase price of some puppies today.  

This is where the problem lies, puppy prices more than doubled over the course of a few weeks, I don’t care if you’re a registered breeder or not the expenses did not suddenly go up in that space of time.

The litter we had (no they weren’t purebred and I won’t discuss it here as it’s a purebred forum) to ensure they went to good homes and we’re not flipped I advertised them at a high price then dropped it once I was sure they were good homes. Everyone of those puppy buyers has stayed in touch and all have been so happy to get a beautiful family dog that they could actually afford.

Find yourself a good dog Chiro, there’s a high possibility it’s a back injury not a leg injury and a standard vet is unlikely to of help if it’s a chiropractic issue.

Yes there can be extra costs potentially an extra few thousand $$$ however I still can’t see how it can add up to $6000-$8000 per puppy

Oh and just to add, we kept one puppy, we gave one away to the owner of the fathers best friend and one ended up being euthanised due to congenital abnormalities so that left only 5 pups to sell.

I have to somewhat agree with the op, puppy prices are ridiculous at the moment, no family dog is worth paying $6000-$8000 for, that is straight up greed.

We got our chi just as COVID started, payed $1800 a few weeks later prices had doubled and have been going up since.

We had a litter of 8 pups just over 6 months ago, they are medium sized dogs, I put 24/7 into them, they were born in our bedroom and were raised inside along with our 5 adult dogs, they were fed a high quality diet, wormed, microchipped, vaccinated etc, Mum had her necessary ultrasounds etc,we spared no expense so I have a good idea of costs involved.

2 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

I think telling your story makes people feel normal and if not Atleast understand  it’s not that simple and no one needs to know why things changed for you but things happen in life that  affect everyone differently .

 

 

 

 

Thank you and that’s precisely why I’m telling it, I know it can be very hard for people to understand why others do certain things or behave in certain ways and I just want to get the message across that judging other people without knowing their circumstances is extremely unfair even if you disagree with them.

For anyone on here that has not been exposed to death I just want to tell you that the idea of your dog/cat etc just falling asleep and not waking up is not reality and it is more often than not kinder and less stressful to take them in and have them gently and calmly PTS, if only we could do the same for humans.

No one on here probably cares about me putting in my two cents but I will anyway.

I have worked in the animal industry for years, actually my entire adult life, when I was young and naive I couldn’t comprehend anyone not staying with their animal in their last moments, actually I thought they were gutless cowards, then I experienced life and changed my mind.

I had to have one of my older cats and also one of my dogs puppies PTS a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t stay with either, you see I have been that person that held numerous clients dogs while the vet administered the injection, I’m not a nurse I’m a groomer but I did it anyway because the clients wanted someone that loved their dog as much as them to stay, I have been there while other family members have had their beloved cats and dogs PTS, I’ve even had to take them myself on a couple of occasions, I have never generally shied away from it however having to perform CPR on one of my kids and having him die any way and having to turn off life support on two of our daughters has left me more fragile and unable to cope as easily with those final moments.

I will be there with the dogs and cats I have now when it is their time (hopefully that’s a long way off) but I certainly will never judge anyone else again for not being able to and hopefully one day I will be strong enough to be that support when needed.

Thanks for the ideas I’ll check them out

Unless you get a hairless breed there is no breed that needs minimal grooming but has minimal to no shedding.

Our gorgeous Bearded Collie Abby had an accidental litter of puppies 8 weeks ago, it’s been a very emotional experience raising and caring for them and mum, and extremely hard saying goodbye to most of the bubs over the last two days, all have found great homes but having them leave has left an empty feeling which I’m sure will pass.

We decided to allow our older daughter to keep one so I thought I’d introduce her.

This is Mia, she was the smallest in the litter and is the most cheeky, beautiful, sweetest little girl and has become best buddies with Maisie or chi.