Alyosha

So my teenage son's girlfriend has a dysfunctional family. They have an out of control, young male entire dog that has the run of the house, steals food from the disabled daughter's grasp, basically does whatever he wants. Looks like a GSD x kelpie, bit bigger than a kelpie, rangy (read as skinny - not fed well), black with a very sheppy head. Tonight I go to collect son, the dog is doing the usual bouncing at windows, glaring and barking at me from inside while I stand on the front porch. Young sister (about 10) opens the door to tell me son is coming. Dog barges past her and comes at me. Launches at me, barking, snarling and snapping. I back up against garage wall and get a couple of kicks into his chest. Dog then runs off up the street, hackles up, stiff legged, growling and barking. Poor young girl goes rushing onto the road after him, despite my protests, in her barefeet. So I shout for teenagers to come help (bloody useless and slow as usual!), and can hear dog growing and barking around corner and girl shouting at him. I go to the street at the front of the house and dog comes back around the corner, still stiff legged and hackled up. I try to call him as the girl is hysterical and chasing him an I want them off the road. So I do the friendly, "come on" sort of calling (should've known better as he was still stiff - but I really wanted the kid off the road). Dog rushes me again. Launches at my face but I get a knee into him. Then keeps lunging at me, snapping and snarling, while I kick and knee him back. Poor kid is trying to grab his neck (no collar) and I'm shouting at her to get away from him, his teeth are snapping centimetres from her face. Dog grabs my cardigan a few times then finally gives up and runs back into house. It shook me up. It was intense and continued. And I thought he was going to hurt the kid by accident when she was trying to grab him. I genuinely worry that, if I had been a person with a small child at their front door, it could've been pretty nasty. It was only my feet and knees that kept him from getting hold of me around my lower body and arms. I could almost forgive the attack on the front porch, he's at home alone with the kids. But to run off down the street carrying on like he did, and come back at me so intensely when I was on the street in front of the house and the kids weren't with him really rattled me. Doesn't to me seem like suitable suburban dog behaviour. Am I over reacting? I've been rushed by rural dogs many times visiting properties for work etc, but barking and posturing etc seemed a long way from what this dog was doing. I really want to report it, but it will obviously come back on the kids a bit - an they are too often home alone without adult care. Slight dilemma. Hmm.

Bonnie Working Dog made by Purina is kangaroo based but I'm not certain on detailed ingredients. You could check a package if it is of interest.

I think the point is that most breeders are not open to haggling. That may be strange to others who have had more involvement in buying things other than dogs. I never mind talking price, and don't mind at all if it's a first question. But it's not negotiable. Many breeders are financially in the red by the time pups are ready to leave home. Quibbling over pettiness such as vaccination costs just seems a bit rude. I would be inclined to wonder what other seemingly minor expenses might be considered negotiable in the pup' s future.

I would wait for it to grow out, and then fully change over before giving up on it. What you have now are hairs that have been cut off so have blunt ends. As her coat cycles and new hairs grow they should have a natural tapered end and a different feel. Is she desexed or entire? That can change their coat texture as well.

Whatever breeding is undertaken - inbreeding, linebreeding or outcrossing - it's not the relations or otherwise of the stock, but the health (both visible and not) that makes for the health of the offspring. Arabian horses were inbred and tightly linebred for thousands of years and became one of the most robust and genetically prepotent breed of horse in the world, and have been used to improve most other breeds of horses across the world. It comes down to critical selection of breeding stock and zero tolerance for continuing any defective line.

My breed miss most of the strange stuff as not many people know what they are - except to say with authority that they are "Lassie cross Staghounds"... But when I had Afghans... "They're the dumbest dogs in the world. The blondes of the dog world". Yeah. Right. Thanks. So long as you're not trying to predict whatever cunning scheme they are coming up with next...

Bluebell do you think he could have a chiro type issue placing pressure on a nerve somewhere? Dr Sandra Hasset at Phillip (Woden) is a very good vet chiropractor and may be able to assist? http://www.animalmedicalcentre.com.au/team/dr-sandra-hassett-b-v-sc-m-b-a-m-i-v-c-a/

Second vet sounds like the go. A long course of oral ivermectin for that long doesn't sound quite right - and may be affecting her immune system. In my experience larger doses less frequently have been used.

It would be painful Stan's Mum. We used to breed dairy goats and the kids had to be tattooed in their ears in the same style. I used to hate doing it. It's a pair of pliers, and the numbers & letters are made of spikes like needles, they are arranged on one side of the pliers. Then they spikes and ear are inked, the ear is put between them and the pliers closed to punch the ink into the ear. To do it permanently takes a bit of force and spikes sometimes go right through. Yes it hurts, hopefully it doesn't bleed to much and wash the ink out or it has to be re-done. But no anaesthetic is used. I would think that the tattooing referred to in this story is possibly far more human than many livestock identification methods - including Greyhounds who are done in much the same method as described above. Really, the guy sounds a bit of a tosser, but news-worthy cruelty?

Sulphur is useless on Demodex. It is a traditional treatment for Sarcoptes mites. Yes she has inherited it. No it will not infect a wound and yes she should be speyed rather then risk her getting pregnant. And I think possibly you should seek a second vet opinion. Going through a season will alter her system again due to hormonal fluctuations. If she came from a petshop but was bred by a breeder registered with Dogs Vic then that breeder is in breach of the Code of Ethics. If she has been on Ivermectin for 11 weeks (which sounds pretty strange and full-on), how has it been given? As far as I can recall, at the clinic I used to work at - one injection of Ivermectin was given, and a further skin scraping taken several months later. A repeat injection was given sometimes.

Silver Nickel Shining Nickel Soon Enough Nicked Already Shining A Nick in Time

Another good thing is Septicide cream, which is soothing and antiseptic for when they have already been bitten, yet still repellent so keeps the flies off. If their ears are white though the yellow colour of the cream can stain them.

The pup needs to be chipped and registered before six months of age, but there is no registration fee. The chip is active when it is injected. Some vets recommend doing it all at once at six months, chip, desex and rego, as the registration fee is considerably less once the desexing is done. This then encourages people to get it done. If the dog will be working, it will be free to register with council. If it's a pet, the fee should be paid. Oh, but the full datatbase might not be updated until rego. But most details are done at the time of chipping. In NSW anyway.

Will PM you Meea. :D

They're everywhere. I had a yellow Lab lunge aggressively at my young boy at a show recently. My boy (who has been wary of strange dogs so really didn't need it!) just ducked behind me and I backed away - staying between him and the Lab. But the handler couldn't (or wouldn't) pull him back, just got sledded along on her feet by him as he kept lunging and lunging. It took a bunch of other people shouting at her to get her to make an effort and pull the dog away. Sheesh. So I completely agree - wankers.

It sounds like you have a good basis for questioning environmental factors instead of genetics. This is the article I was thinking of: http://www.offa.org/pdf/hovanart.pdf Is an interesting read, and reminds me to consider lateral individuals in breedings as well as vertical.

You have to PM troy to get access - there is a pinned thread in there that will tell you what info to send him. It may not be genetic, but lateral and not just vertical pedigrees can offer a whole lot more insight. Lateral pedigrees take in siblings in each generation. I had an article done on it in relation to HD and it was very interesting. Will try and find it.

Washing dogs... Borzoi day tomorrow!! For anyone curious, or any closet Borzoi admirers, there are 27 entered tomorrow so it will e a great chance to see the breed in action!!

Fingers crossed LisaCC.

When dealing with chemicals, or wondering what to do in a case like this, there are several places you can look for info. One is the label. If the bottle has been chewed google will give you a label for most registered chemicals pretty quickly. The other important place is the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). A glyphosate example is here: http://agspray.net.au/msds/glyphosate360.pdf An MSDS can be found online for most chemicals, and is a great way to get some immediate information that will help you decide what to do next.

I would never accuse Rhonda or Nina of a money making venture, quite the opposite. But these pigging crosses are so abundant in shelters and rescues, and can struggle to find homes at the best of times. And the temperaments can vary from awesome to awful. I do really struggle with the concept of bringing more into the world unnecessarily. And like already pointed out - sentimentality aside, late desexing is usually far less risk for the bitch than whelping. So folks who can't bring themselves to do it are potentially putting her at greater risk due to nothing but their own warm and fuzzy feelings about baby puppies. Rescuing a worthy bitch then subjecting her to the risk, trauma and stress of raising a litter from an unknown health, nutrition and temperament background seems pretty well swayed to the human emotion side of the scale, and not to the whats-best-for-the-bitch end.

Thanks Nic. It was devastating for his family, and very sad for us too. Di I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy. Run free Tip.

Sorry - see the photos now. Still no confirmation of where they come from. Yes they're not nice. But they're not evidence either. And if they're farming puppies, where are the puppies?

An "article" comprised of a whole lot of regurgitated waffle and no actual facts. And it really needs to actually get to a point somewhere...? I can't find any photos in there, but if there are some I would beg the question - how does anyone know conclusively where those photos came from?? Tranter's illegal tactics are atrocious and need to be brought to bear more often.

I have late desexed pregnant rescue bitches, and the risk is far less than letting them whelp and raise youngsters. I cannot see why this is allowed to happen - high risk to the bitch and pups, and flying in the face of what rescue is supposed to be about. Yes it's not pleasant, but that's rescue. If people want to breed dogs they should do so outside of a rescue umbrella. Breeders releasing pups less than 8 weeks old get crucified around here - but this time it's ok?? :confused: