SpikesPuppy

This is a reality that I understand and accept. However I am offering a full refund on desexing for all my puppies which will hopefully encourage people to have it done (although I don't personally agree with the operation myself). I have chosen to breed pups and I have chosen to sell them- I think I am doing a good job vetting people so far, all people and families who I believe will do the best by the dog. But it is still a risk, even selling to my best friend is no guarantee the dog will have a good, loving, forever home. Yes & yes. Do you believe that registered pedigree dogs deserve to be relegated to kennels to whelp instead of in their owner's bedrooms?? No dog deserves to be treated poorly, I am not saying puppy farms should be denied or swept under the rug but I believe that registered breeders need to focus more on promoting our 'product' for a lack of a better term than bagging out puppy farms. Puppy farmers are not passionate about the dogs they breed- they are passionate about the money they make. As soon as the demand for their product falls- they will move onto another get rich quick scheme. If Joe Public knows that pure bred dogs from ethical breeders are really the way to go, he wont even think twice about buying that puppy in the pet shop. Another thing, many puppy farm websites already state how they are 'better' than hobby breeders because of their status as Registered Businesses. This will only strengthen that.

This is exactly what I meant, thank you for understanding Natsu chan & Steve. I think what puppy farms do is abhorrent and I DO care about all dogs but I also see the reality of the issue- more regulation (ie: on puppy farms) equals more regulation on the little guys (responsible, ethical breeders) which equals more fees, more 'hygeine' recommendations = no more whelping the litter in your bedroom! Nope, it must be in a correctly constructed kennel xxx amount of metres from any residential premesis and you must follow xxx regulations on weaning, vaccinating, worming, feeding. No more old family remedies. You will be required to take the dog/puppy to a veterinary professional for every little cut or scrape it may get. If you look at the situation realistically- the puppy farms DO have the time, money and facilities/space to comply with these proposed laws. I certainly do not and I don't know any registered breeder who does!! They also have the money to fight legislation against them- otherwise why has it taken so long for Clover Moore's bill to go through ??? Because the PIAA and co HAVE THE MONEY that we do not.

My Newf was 'Spike' :D a stupider name for a Newf you could not have!!

I'm going to be extremely selfish here and say screw the puppy farms. Forget about them. It's unfortunate that there will be dogs suffering but as usual, these proposed laws will only affect the hobby breeders and responsible/ethical ones who cannot afford to pay more and more exhorbitant fees each year just to breed a few pups. I honestly don't see puppy farms ever being eradicated unless the public stops buying from them. In fact these laws will only make them STRONGER because THEY HAVE THE MONEY!!! We, as responsible, ethical breeders need to step up our promotion of our beloved pure breeds and keep pushing the fact that our puppies are better. It's the only way we will win.

You might find after spending all that money that she still likes her old spots Ziva's favourite spot is under our coffee table, inbetween the 2 couches

When I named Caber, I wanted a Scottish name (he is a Border Terrier), but didn't want anything like Mac or Fergus. So mum suggested 'Caber' after the caber tossing activity. However, with my bitch, I had a couple of Scottish girl names on my list, or the Scottish variant/spelling. BUT I also had some other names. And the one I went with was 'Ziva' which is Hebrew. It means 'splendid' or 'splendour' which I thought was fitting for a potential show/foundation bitch and it suits her and is a great name to say every day (although now very popular ). Mums smooth Collie is Nessa, which also has a Scottish connection but I'm not sure where that variation actually originated/comes from. It means pure, anyway. I like names that reflect the breed's country of origin but don't believe in any hard or fast rule regarding it (and frankly, there are some countries of origin with no or very few names I fancy. For eg: there are few Scottish names I actually like, especially for the males).

The benefit of wee doggies lol. I think I have it sorted now thanks, Sags!

Hahaha Caber loves the heat- he sits out in the sun for so long that we have to force him inside. He will not come in of his own accord (last Feb when it got to 48 here he was still outside ) Ziva was outside baking her babies during the mini heatwave a couple of weeks before she had her bubs funny thing though- she normally despises the heat!!

yep, next show isn't 'til the end of Feb (if they accept the late entries) so I can't even live vicariously I will have to bug you instead

Thanks, Wildairbc - I don't think it is the mites (it doesn't move & there are no other symptoms), but will keep it in mind when checking them over and if any of the dandruff moves I'll know. Ick. More likely me just stressing hopefully anyway!! No, I'm really not that stressy- they are just my first babies and I don't know exactly what's 'normal' and what's not. I'd rather worry about something to find it's nothing than ignore something basic and have it turn into something bigger.

I love the look of the chain ones but they have to fit perfectly. My dog has too fat a head for any of the ones I've seen

Fantastic

Staby's are beautiful :D I emailed a few breeders in Holland & Sweden some years ago and they sound like they would fit right in here in Oz To me, the resmble small Landseer Newfies, which is what drew me to the breed in the first place. ETA: re-read your post (before getting excited about the possibility of a Staby living in my own state ), and if it was the size of a GSD, then it's definitely not a Staby, theya re only 20 inches, give or take. Large Munsterlander sounds more likely IMO.

Ah yep, already a member! I think I have about $10 worth of points, didn't think of that Corrie- thanks, I will ask at my local for a date for their member's night I'm not really as cheap as I sound :D but bargains make me happy!

Two of my 6 appear to have some dandruff/dry skin and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas?? I have done the 'pinch test' on their skin and they don't appear dehydrated or anything. I also checked inside their mouths and they weren't dry either (a tip I got from one of my breeding books). They are feeding well, as active as the rest are and have more than doubled their birth weights. Otherwise they seem in perfect health, coat is soft and shiny also. Just dandruff-y?

Mum missed the entries for both the Classic and Ballarat

This is a pity Honestly, most exhibitors aren't like this. As Fifi said- we are just having a bit of fun. Us exhibitors are usually there from 7am and not allowed to leave the pavillion until 5pm. Yep, we choose to enter, knowing full well what kind of comments we will get but we gotta blow off steam somehow and isn't it better to bitch on a forum than get shirty with people? I know I usually nod and smile at the ignorant people- never get nasty or snappy. The MAJORITY of the public are great in my experience and interested in the breeds etc. Ozjen- at least your dogs resemble Border Collies!! I get people telling me my dog (Border Terrier) has NO Border Collie in it anywhere and I've been ripped off or they say "Yeah, I can see the terrier but no Border Collie??" or "I thought they only came in black and white and were fluffy?" :D At the Royal in 2008 I had Ziva entered in the Puppy of the Year. While we were waiting for our class, a lady was chatting away and asked if she was a Bichon Frise it was a pure brain fart and as soon as she asked she realised how wrong she was so wwe all had a big laugh about it but it was funny. Later on the lady came past us at the benches and said goodbye to the Bichon made my day

Maybe if I ask nicely Pet Stock or one of the other stockfeed stores will give me a bulk discount hehe. Or if I buy one set each time it wont seem like so much Just the idea of spending $100 on collars/leads frightens me

yes but you still have to adjust it once on. I'm a little confused, sorry. Once you have set the size I'm presuming you can slip it over her head. You don't need to adjust it each time do you? I like the look of the Rogz beach bum limited check collar too. They appear to work on the same principle. Ideally, a martingale collar should sit at the top of the dog's neck & behind the ears. However as I don't use it for corrective purposes often I usually just set it up at a size that is convenient to slip on and off the dog's head. BUT this also depends on the size of the dog's head (for eg: if we didn't adjust it for the narrow-headed collie smooth once it was on, and if she pulled back it would not tighten enough to remain secure and would slip off). I have also used the limited slip collars (beach bum except called scooter for smaller dogs) with success on both Border Terriers and my old Dobe. I find the chain of the martingale works well for a dog conditioned to the sound (ie: the jingle reminds it to behave).

The ROGZ martingales are, IMO great. The webbing is thick, but not heavy and they look great and wash well Caber has had his for over 3 years now and it's still in great condition. The slider also doesn't slip around/stays where you put it.

Thanks for that link, Ness. It looks like if I get what I want it's gonna be around $20 per set But they are so cute and love the quality

ANKC Standard:

Does anyone know of a good online store for ROGZ collars and leads? I want them for my puppies and need 5 sets so if I can avoid paying the pet shop prices I'll be very happy

Grooming at least once a week-took me about 2-3 hours each session because there is alot of 'ground to cover' so to speak, and you must do it in layers right down to the skin as the undercoat is soft and fuzzy and will matt if ignored. During the twice yearly coat change I found I was grooming about half an hour every day/second day on top of the weekly session. However in the middle of summer when the undercoat was at it's least profuse the grooming for the body would drop to about an hour-1and a half hours per week as I didn't need to spend so much time with the slicker. They shed quite alot, and the undercoat is fairly light so it floats around and gets into things but IMO, once shed, the hair is pretty easy to collect and vacumn (as opposed to smooth collie coat which is short and therefore more difficult to pick up from carpet). They drool, and mine wore a bib or had his chest groomed each day (bristle brush and spray on shampoo). Their coats tend to be rather oily and some people don't appreciate the feel- or the smell (they don't stink IMO but they do have an odour because of the oils). Over summer I shaved a 'racing stripe' down Spike's belly as it a) gave the burrs & grass seeds one less spot to cling to and b)helped to keep him cool. I also kept his feet trimmed (underneath and between the toes on top of the foot) and in grass seed times I trimmed the fur from his hocks and on the front legs, upto the 'heel' pad. (This was my experience with a neutered male)

Yes. She just has a fabric collar at the moment with a plastic buckle that you snap together iykwim. Every time I try to snap it together her fur is in the way. I try and put my fingers between the buckle and her fur and then snap my bloody fingers in it. I don't think a normal buckle would be any easier though. Well maybe easier on my fingers I will google some of the suggestions and have a look. Cheers Is the collar adjustable using one of those slider thingys??? If so... try loosening the collar, then buckle it up, slip it over the dog's head and then carefully tighten the collar while on the dog (may still catch hair but will be kinder on your fingers ). I did this when I put a clip collar on my Newf (he had a zillion collars for different occasions oddly enough I found heaps of giant collars in bargain bins you could never see them of course but I knew they were there :p ). Oh another collar- Fuzzyard has a good buckle snap collar (attached a pic of Caber's)