SpikesPuppy

I think to declare the dogs as menacing is going too far :D I do agree about not having dogs unsupervised in front yards though. I don't see how this would be fair to those who live on a corner block? And those who's poor dogs get tormented by local kids etc who bang sticks on the fence as they trudge past. Our dogs bark through our front window at passers by (unfortunately, and it is mostly Nessa who does this, we are working on her. The Borders bark too but they stop as soon as they are told), but also at the neighbours fricken' cats who saunter right upto the window : Our house is set a fair way back from the footpath though.

So my babies are 2 weeks old today wow they have grown so much!!! And we need to think about worming the little slugs. I have a bottle of the Drontal puppy suspension and the instructions say start at 2 weeks, and every two weeks until 8 weeks and then at 12 weeks etc. But I have noticed people here saying they start at 3 weeks old? My books/literature varies from 10days to 4-5 weeks and I am so confused LOL. Not particularly thrilled with the vet's puppy knowledge so not going to ask their advice Also, is 2 weeks too young to start them licking plain yoghurt/nutrigel from my fingers if they are willing? They go for the fingers 'plain' anyway :D Or anything else that may be suitable (suggestions welcome ) Everyone is fat and healthy and continuing to put on good amounts of weight each day Mr Green decided he would take his adventures further and almost climbed out of the box :D Going to have to do something about expanding their world soon!!!

:D no clipping, no no no no! I would never advocate clipping a healthy Border Terrier- all that does is shorten the coat, not allowing the new coat to come through and can potentially lead to skin issues and ingrown hairs etc. Stripping is so easy to learn (and there are a variety of tools such as Mars Coat Kings that help with this, especially for pet maintenance) that IMO if you can't be bothered to do it twice a year then the BT is not for you (of course, if you are physically unable to strip that is a different story!). They do shed, too, but if you comb them every couple of days with a narrow toothed comb (I use a steel flea comb) the shedding is very minimal. Otherwise, yes I think a Border could be a suitable breed temperament wise (and size wise- I went from Dobe and Newfie to these guys :D )

I believe they do :D My Border Terriers LOVE other Border Terriers. Caber in particular is also fond of fluffy dogs (any size), and loves GSDs & Cavaliers (to the point of dragging me over to see any of these dogs if I let him ). However he hates Staffords & Golden Retrievers (had a bad experience with both as a youngster). Ziva likes BIG fluffy dogs (Newfs, Saints etc) and is also drawn to Cavs & GSDs due to positive associations :D Nessa loves other Collies, smooth or rough (She is a smooth). She also likes GSDs lol. My old Dobe X who was DA, was particularly aggressive with Airedale Terriers. Even when she was trained to the point where she could walk loose-lead through the Million Paws Walk etc, if she saw an Airedale, she would ark up, it was very strange.

Have fun :D

Go Ruby doo!

Cool, I understand that (I can't stand cat hair ). Was gonna suggest looking into Border Terriers (terrier spirit & charm but social with other dogs) but they do shed a bit.

I hope your boy (and you) recover without any lasting effects Yes, because it would be WnH's fault for having her dogs under control and on leash I have found in some cases if a group of dogs are off lead they get along better- for eg; I used to take my DA dobe to the off leash park (Before I knew better), for a long time if a dog approached her while she was leashed she would react BUT in the 3 or so yers we went to that park daily and she was off-leash, she was only involved in 2 fights- one when we were walking with a friend's brother and he became frightened of 2 bullmastiffs that came very close to him, the dogs leapt on him and my girl (appeared to) defend him. Another time there was an unruly Rotti in the park that was known to attack anything that moved . I believe that the reason she got so upset/aggressive when on leash was because *I* was nervous and she could feel that through the lead... if there was no lead, there was no tension.

Sounds like it could be a cruciate ligament tear? Hugs to your precious girl!!

I don't think that is off topic, Lhok. Not in the scheme of things- education IS the only way we will keep our pure breed (and genuine cross bred mongrels, which personally, I would hate to see disappear ) dogs. I have said it before and I will say it again- I have not seen one law proposed yet by either the RSPCA OR another forum member that will put an end or even a dint in the operation of puppy farms. The current proposal actually puts puppy farmers one step ahead of the responsible ethical ones. There are laws in place which should see the end to the large scale operations but they are not put to any use??? Instead the RSPCA chases after little old ladies with perfectly healthy and happy dogs all because some were debarked and then exhibited. Or they seize a healthy happy 12 week old puppy with a docked tail, yet they leave another person who is clearly unable to look after (physically or financially) the 100+ animals that they own with a notice to 'improve' or they will seize. WTF??? Welcome to DOL, btw

Woo hoo

In theory, great idea but as far as practicality- I don't think this is a good idea. The first 4 months or so are the most important in a dog's life in terms of socialisation, pups in pet shops are already at a disadvantage and a further 7 days behind glass could make this even worse If the pup is behind glass at 8 weeks, even if it is purchased the same day it's put up for sale, it will still not get that extra precious week of new experiences. Some pups that aren't chosen until they are older may miss out completely on that 'window' of opportunity

May I ask why you specify non-shedding? Is it due to allergies or is it more that you don't like dog hair around the place?

Indeed, even for an emergency operation

I could be wrong but my guess is that in this situation they where quoting for different techniques, some of the higher priced repairs are more successful long term than the cheap surgeries, so what you think is cheap now may come back to haunt you in a few years time when your animal has ongoing problems or requires further surgery as the result of having cheap surgery now which fixed the symptom rather than the problem. I work in a surgery that is by no means the cheapest around (but neither is it the most expensive) however I can tell you that they pay their staff fairly as well as promoting and paying for continuing education. This translates into happier and more experienced nurses and vets. The end result being that they are more compassionate and care for the animals better than some of their peers who work elsewhere. I would also question the cheap vet about their experience with major surgeries such as cruciate repair ...have they done it before? They may be using your dog as a guinea pig to learn on. The dog was 8 years old when he had his first done, he was PTS at 14 (unrelated issues). The second was done less than a year later as a preventative measure and both were total replacements. This vet is highly qualified in small animal surgery :D Our dog was a small breed, but he gave his joints hell (thought he could jump 3 foot off the back of the couch whenever he pleased etc), but this same vet has also performed the surgery on heavier dogs such as Rottweilers and a St Bernard with great success. This particular vet charges what they do because they can- they don't believe in charging more than is necessarry and lives a very modest life. I once asked why not charge more and the answer?? Every animal deserves the chance regardless of what kind of income their owner has.

Run free, Myra, with a body that is as young and strong as your mind. Have been thinking of you today.....

All our current dogs are crate trained and I'll never look back We have assorted crates throughout the house and the dogs often go into them of their own accord because they associate them with happy things.

This is possibly the best photo of any dog EVER. Absolutely love it.

We do? :D Maybe we don't really live in Victoria then Maribyrnong Council (about as close to the Melbourne CBD as you can get!) has 3 dogs and/or cats without an excess animal permit :D The one good thing about that council- sigh.

Big cuddles to my favourite (naughty!) red girl ;)

Oh they are beautiful congratulations!!!

Interesting that you read it as two separate registries. I read it as state CC members having to pay an additional licensing fee to the gov. I think the paper means for that but that is why I would suggest an either/or option to avoid that doubling up, either that or integrate the CCs & other registries into the proposed system so that the licensing is the same across the board and the same rules apply to everyone. It can be argued that requiring CC registered breeders to join an additional licensing system is discriminatory and contrary to the aims of the paper which is supposedly not to penalise good breeders. Overall I really agree with having a licensing system for all dog breeders because at the moment the only ones following a licensing system are the purebreed and working registries and therefore they are the only ones leaving a paper trail, having a licensing system that covers ALL breeders means that there is a more level playing field. You might be right about the contract setup I suppose I see it more like how if you are selling a car privately you have to get a safety certificate and because the licensing system supposedly covers all breeders I would think it would be feasible to get a standard sort of contract that can be amended to suit, sort of like the standard EFA lease contracts you can get for horses it's a standard document that can be used by anyone who is a member and the animal must be registered with them. But dogs aren't cars or EFA quality horses. People generally purchase dogs or puppies as household pets & companions and the majority keep the same dog for it's entire lifetime. The content of puppy contracts has too much variation between individuals IMO for something like this to work. Some people, for eg. require desexing of all pups, others only encourage desexing, some have rules on where the dog may be rehomed to or what other dogs it can or cannot be mated to... Have registered breeders really changed so much over the last few years that we need to turn breeding & selling puppies into a business transaction????? I am also concerned about privacy and puppy buyers with having them sign too many documents. Businesses (in theory) have privacy clauses and can get into big trouble for leaking personal information, but what is to stop a dodgy breeder from using supplied information for the wrong reasons???

The difference in prices is insane- the lowest quote I heard for a c-section during clinic hours was $550..... the other end of the scale, again clinic hours, was $1,600. WTF??? Both quotes included fluids etc. When our dog has his cruciate replaced, it was $500 per leg (done separately). I have heard of others being charged upto $2,000 or higher One of our preferred vet clinics charges $36 for a consultation. Another vet we used charged $76 These clinics are nearby to eachother, with the cheaper one actually in the more valuable position real-estate wise (so higher rent can't be the reason). The cheaper vet is by no means inferior. Can I ask a question of breeders?? If a puppy buyer told you their pup needed emergency surgery (through no one's fault) and it was quoted upwards of $3,000 upfront and they opted to euthanaise the dog because they did not have that cash on hand... would you consider selling them another pup or would you put them on a blacklist??

Don't get a Kerry Blue - they aren't just mischevious dogs with a bit of character- they are Terriers full of Terrier attitude and I don't believe the average KBT would be a good candidate for off-leash play. They are also high energy dogs. A Poodle is definitely full of character. As for the way they look, that is the beauty of the poodle- you can essentially make the dog look how you want it to look, short buzz cut, foofy puppy clip, fancy show clip, mohawk etc. Of course, any non-shedding dog requires regular grooming and clipping approximately every 2 months.

is all I can say.