Lhok

Yes I agree there are really shoddy breeders in the pedigree world. It was because of my experience with a shoddy breeder that I left a breed that I much admired and adored. After my first pup from them died of Renal dysplasia and the necropsy came back with a damning report of how badly bred the dog was and I sent that report to the kennel club of the breeder belonged to which they replied not our problem its a civil one (I have a feeling nepotism might have played a role here but this is just my own views about it) when I asked them to investigate their breeding practices. Upon my own investigation of the issue and looking at pedigrees and other owners getting in touch with me about their dogs having issues and how they were scared of the breeder I figured it was better to cut my loses with the breed given the breeder is influential. A side note, I wanted a refund but I was talked into getting a replacement dog from this breeder and the replacement dog I got came with Addison's disease and so after my finances had almost been bled dry I had to send the dog back to the breeder, who promptly told the person who they rehomed the dog to that it was a rescue dog and I didn't care about it and mistreated the dog. They also didn't mention the dog had serious issues and cost the new owner many thousands to save its life. So I get it there are dog breeders out there that are savage and only care about themselves. However! My new dog, is amazing he has been healthy and the breeder of him has restored much of my faith in dog breeding. I couldn't have asked for a better breeder than that of my boy. I have seen how she cares about the breed and works with other breeders to be custodians of the breed. Poles apart from the breeder I went to in the other breed, I'm not trying to blame all the breeders in the other breed its just it is hard to for myself to justify sticking with a breed that I have had such an experience with and heartbreak from. The issue I find is and its a horrible one is that no matter in some cases how well you do your homework you can still be duped by a bad breeder and bad breeding practices. I am not sure how to fix the issue without it becoming harder for the good breeders out there who are doing a lot of good and for the most part are stretched thin.

I don't want to sound rude or offensive but this reads like something Chatgpt would write. --Lhok

Unfortunately this rescue also has adoption days where they go to the biggest off lead dog park in the area and have those flexible puppy pens with multiple dogs including puppies in them set up for people to adopt from. --Lhok

I am not sure about all these reports, if I was a responsible amstaff owner I would be worried of a breed ban coming as there are more and more reports coming out of bad behaviour regardless if the dogs are actually amstaff or amstaff crosses it is getting to same point as the pitbull situation back in the 90's. Governments will always take the easier road and just ban the breed if this continues. --Lhok

Honestly, As a mother of a child who narrowly avoided being bitten in the face through no fault of his own ( he was two years old and in our front yard when the neighbour's dog was running around out the front of their place not a lead and charged him) I have all the sympathy in the world for the mother and her daughter. Yes, you shouldn't scream and run etc but if you have a phobia like my youngest son does who will scream, panic and run at the sight of a dog off a lead it can be incredibly hard to go against all your instincts to try to do what you have been told to do. The simple fact is that they shouldn't have had to deal with it as the dog should have been in a secure yard. I know accidents can happen but it makes it hard to believe it was an accident when there are irresponsible owners are out there. --Lhok

Komondorok are serious livestock guardian dogs, they can be very dog aggressive and human aggressive too. I would imagine if some of the other breeds of dog in the list are too much dog Komondorok would certainly be too much, and the dreads might be too much grooming. --Lhok

What is going on is compounded, we have prices going up all over the place. Interest rate rises are compounding on the Covid puppy boom, many people also can't afford rents as the rents in some places are going up 200% and they probably also can't afford to move either. It is horrible but I have a feeling the worst is still yet to come. --Lhok

Do you have to have a female to start with? If you are interested in breeding and showing then perhaps a male would also work that's what I did with my Keeshond, I got a male on mains with the desire to show unfortunately things haven't been smooth (my heath has been bad) but we are still hoping to get there. You don't need to start with a female --Lhok

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were included because apparently they couldn't find any healthy specimens within the country that weren't affected by some kind of heart defect. --Lhok

$8000 sounds pretty cheap to me currently haha, but that's only because I am looking at importing a new breed to Aus at which the starting cost is roughly to set me back around $15,000 for one dog and depending on the puppy temperament it could end up being a male so I would have to look at importing another pup from lines that would complement my first pup if that was to happen I would be in the red close to around $28,000-30,000 before I even bred a litter. I'm not made of money either and importing dogs isn't for the faint of heart, however I think since I have been looking into the breed for close to 11 years now its now or never. --Lhok

They look similar to Koolies, I wonder if they needed to if they would look at breeding with Koolies to make the gene pool bigger.

Oh awesome I will definitely check Tibetan spaniels out, I'll also agree that perhaps a ex show dog would be perfect. Thanks for the suggestions!

Probably not the Bergamasco, I don't think I could handle the dreads nor would most people be able to that come to the clinic, interesting breed though. Shedding isn't too much of a concern, given any dog we get will be professionally groomed and brushed in between grooming sessions. The clinic dog beds and what not also get cleaned weekly and of course the clinic gets cleaned every day. Having said that coats that can be clipped into a shorter coat so they don't bring in a lot of debris would be preferred if they have a longer coat. We do have a lab already, but we would also like a smaller dog because even though he is awesome some people are still not sure with his size.

Basically we work with Anxiety, Depression, PTSD in adults and children. We also work with people on the spectrum and therefore the dog in question needs to be as close to rock solid with these behaviours as can be. We also work in a variety of situations as well, so I guess the closest thing I can think of would be the delta therapy dogs although not quite the same as them. Having said that I'm thinking the guardian nature of the Std Schnauzer might make it less of a candidate. Thanks for the suggestions of the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier and the Petit Bassett Griffen Veneen, although I am not sure how hound like the PBGV is but I will still look into them.

Oh I wouldn't have thought of Havenese, Smooth Collies, or Standard Schnauzers, I'll have a look at them. I'm not sure about the beagle, I know they would be great at it but I don't know how well I would go with training them, although they are super smart I haven't had a lot of experience with hounds, but I will still give them a look over.

Hey all! I am back, after a long time away I am in need of the DoL brains trust! As I am looking to get another dog, one that would be good for animal assisted therapy, in a clinical sense not assistance dog work. Currently we have a lab but would like something to be smaller to medium sized. Non drooling, not super bouncy or overly friendly, kinda in the middle would like interaction but not hyper in your face kinda deal but also not chilled to the point of not wanting to interact. No aggression either as the dog will need to be able to work around other dogs, people etc. Grooming isn't a super concern as I would be taking the dog to a professional groomer. So far the suggestions have been cav king charles and whippets, but I would love to see what the dol brains trust thinks!

One of the most important factors if you are wanting an assistance dog in the future is looking for a dog that comes mostly from proven lines for that work. Its not a 100% foolproof but it does help. Next you will be wanting to outline what tasks the dog will be needing to do, and start training for those tasks from the moment the dog comes home, good assistance dogs are hard to come by and most aren't a pet first and then eventually turn into an assistance dog after awhile ( yes some have but they are the exception not the rule) so if you are wanting a pet dog first and then an assistance dog later your dog might not make the cut and wash out. If you are going down that route its probably best to talk to a trainer that has proven they can task train an assistance dog before you get your pup especially if you are new to dog ownership. --Lhok

The facebook group Learning about LGD's is quite good, I would suggest joining there. I do have to ask if you are wanting your dog to stay with the poultry or be a housepet? As it's typically advised to keep the pups with the stock in a pen for both their protection. Otherwise it can interfere with the bonding process at 15 weeks she is still quite young, usually depending on breed and lines it can take up to 2 years to get a good LGD. Either way, check out the facebook group mentioned they are a wealth of information. --Lhok

My Keeshond's pants get mats after he goes swimming in the kids pool when I can't dry him and sometimes he gets dags. However a good rake comb thingy gets them out with the help of some conditioner spray. I use the medium shear magic undercoat rake and it seems to work well. --Lhok

So sorry to hear Grumpette, Zephy was a favourite of mine of the Dol dogs. I really liked hearing about the joy he brought both to you and others. Huge hugs.. Run free Zephy --Lhok

Thank you! I will write them all down, hand them over and see where we go from there. --Lhok

They liked how he was friendly with everyone, he would bark only as an alert to someone coming to knock on the door. How he had a cruisey personality when it came to when they had to go to work, yet was energetic enough to want to go for beach walks and they loved how he likes to play. He will bring a toy up to you and dump in on you lap to play. That he likes to be near you but not in your face and how quickly he picked up and adapted to the rules of the household. They also liked his size, the only down side they didn't like was the coat having to brush it dry it and wash his butt if he got messy. --Lhok

I recently had friends of mine look after Vyse who is a Keeshond while I was away. Upon my return I have found my friends to be completely smitten with him however the one thing they didn't like was his coat. So I am trying to help them find a purebred dog breed that is like a Keeshond but without the coat. They would like a dog that they only have to brush once a week and won't mat up or bring in the garden. Any suggestions? --Lhok

Oh and which type of Akita do you have American or Japanese? Some lines do have some shyness in them although it isn't encouraged. --Lhok

I know you said you took him to the vets and got the all clear but I would be still concerned about thyroid issues. The sudden scaredness and drop in food intake would make me wonder about getting a T4 panel done. Not sure if your vet did this or not as I had to ask for my vet to do that kind of testing. Are there any other symptoms outside of the picky eating and the scaredness? Akitas have a long laundry list of diseases that can be inherited so it would probably be best to talk to your breeder and find out what testing they did on the parents to help rule out some things. --Lhok