Tapua

OMG a face only a mother could love what a big sooky la la :)

As whippets do

Temperament wise I like the Gun dogs around Kids. Cavies are lovely but ummm shall we say not burdened with a high IQ. Most of the spaniels are good. I doubt you will get any dog that doesnt need some sort of grooming. Terrier arent my favorite group but I have a friend with a Cairn Terrier and it is a groover very brave and very affectionate. I would recommend socialising your kids to dogs now before you introduce a puppy. It might help with them ajusting with a new puppy. :)

My 3 favorite Dog Movies 1 Red Dog is a crack up 2 Hachi is a favorite - story about an Akita 3 8 Below Favorite TV Dog Shows Inspector Rex The Littlest Hobo ( that was a 70s program) mmm gone blank - I am sure there are more! :D

Hi ya Julie Thanks for that its nice to get soem recognition - Brisbane mmm yep well that depends on whether we get a nomination eh lol.

Local Prime7 News article aired lastnight about our Labs - we are just a little bit proud http://au.prime7.yahoo.com/n3/news/a/-/local/12466069/woodstock-trainers-help-police-video/

Wishlist for 2012 Croftie: CDX Tua: CD Neutered Champion Lara: Litter & CCD later Heeni te Anna: CCD and litter later Daphne: CCD, Aust CH Gracie: prepareation for CCD in 2013 Me - a brain transplant ha!!!!!!! Realisticly probably get Daphne's Ch title and Heeni's CCD.

OK this is just for people who might be in my local area - Cowra - I am going to focus on getting a couple of my girls trail ready - and I am keen for a training buddy anyone interested? Happy to teach beginners happy to brainstorm stratergies with experienced people. Experienced at training and trailing at CDX level though these dogs are beginners and will be trailing at CCD or CD level. Hoping to train atleat 3 times a week - I have some agility equipement to so their is some variety and not just drill. Would love to learn some RATG but I dont know squat about RATG! Anyone interested please contact me.

Blue Paws is about a GSD call Merlin - I donated Merlin to the NSW Police in 1999. Even as a pup he could be amazingly clever and amazingly naughty - he didnt change much as an adult lol.

I have a country vet - largish practice 5 vets in all - been the same vet for 15 years. The proceedure, fluids, nurse, pain relief and the over night stay which includes a vet who stays on premises that night ( its their surgery day so a few dogs or cats are operated on in the day) with regular checks o/n. I think I got a very good deal. :D

Agreed. If anyone is to blame for the deterioration of the human-canine bond, I'd say it's dog owners. When and where I grew up most dogs were free to roam. There were problems (turned over rubbish bins, a daschund who went through cat doors and raided kitty food, an epileptic dog who scared the pants of us kids . . . etc.), but not life threatening . . . because dogs were socialized, and an a-social dog wandering would have resulted in the owners being verbally attacked by their neighbours. . . or their dogs getting shot. It's not like that any more. Fewer people home during the day. People move more and don't know their neighbours, or the neighbours dogs. More poorly-socialised dogs dumped in yards with inadequate fences . . . just read the General Forum. Dog owners are forever complaining about the wandering, unsocial neighborhood dogs. It may only be a few percent of the dog population, but they sure make life miserable for everyone else. It's not fair to expect the Rangers to mop up this mess. Where I lived in WA the rangers had low wages and got stuck with most of the Council chores that required going out on the street, including policing verge plantings/obstructions, checking that people had cleared fire lines, and handling a wide range of neighbours complaints. Turnover was high. If you want quality dog services in your community, you must get involved . . . and you and your neighbours must be willing to see a small increase in their rates. It's not cheap to run a quality dog pound and hire an crew of experienced and well qualified dog catchers. I think getting involved in the community is one of the issues people avoid regarding Dogs. Regarding the policing of safety around dogs IMO Aussies are pretty apathetic about community issues - (except on chat forums maybe ) I agree with both of you regarding a social change or intollerance towards dogs. There are so few good dogs stories and so few who believe a healty happy family pet is achievable without huge expense to buy a dog tested so every inherited condition is clear or not a risk and every behavioural issue can be trained out. The tolerance for a dog just to be a dog, piss on a tree, play ball with a kids and eat your slippers requires major behavioural consultation to assess if his pissing insnt excessive, or a dominance behaviour disturbing the morning walk onlead, or that the dog doesnt hurt the child jumping for the ball or swollow the ball causing vet bills and that the slipper chewing isnt an indication of separation anxiety. (in my house its a dietary suppliment ) I cant fix the problems other indivuals create by their negligence and ignorance but I can be responsible for my critters. I would love to see more public education and general community education as for local communities - I wonder if people in their local community with knowledge about dogs can share it by writing articles in their local papers regarding safety around dogs, how to approach dogs safely and how to avoid getting bitten. The debating regarding who is breaking which rule and how they must be punished will always go on - I wonder if a proactive positive information in th community might help inform non-dog oriented people (even though they own a dog) how to live safely with their pets.

Just curious - I had my girl desexed last week she has had 3 natural litter 3,12 & 9 and it was 4 months after her last litter. The surgery went well and it cost $380 - which I thought was a good price for a 36kg Labrador. Does that sound reasonable to others?

Nah not a cat person dont hate them as an animal and respect they are wonderful companions - but I can live without a cat happily - we have a native tree garden with loads of birds in them - My Labs just stare at the trees whistfully but dont catch any. If we had a cat there would be no Wrens, Honey Eaters, Gallahs, Maggies, Parrots and the like. This is a cat free zone.

'Take-away message: more control is required from owners . . . and breeders need to cull lines with temperament problems. There are some breed tendencies. But these are easily kept under control if owners and breeders were held to account.'Quote Yep - totally agree - unfortunately its much easier to blame the dog than to hold the humans involved in creating the situation be they breeder or owner accountable.

1 Garage/bedding Depends what you like - do you want you pup near you and in house most of the time or is he an outside dog? I would focus on developing a possitive association with his crate - place the crate wherever you prefer and feed him in the crate - leave the door open so he can get in or out and not feel restricted. Progressively move the crate over the next few weeks to different places so he isnt stressing over the placement of the crate and progressively shut the door while he eats. He will work it out I am sure. 2 Training - IMO the first 6 months 'training' is really about biulding a relationship with me and my dog so that he trusts me and enjoys me. I will teach a new skill one ata time and not move onto the next one till the first is managed reliably - ie will perform the action on command 10 times over the day. But its all about fun and no training session lasts longer than 5 minutes or less if possible. 3 Dry Feed Most DOL owner aim to have food that is as free of chemicals, preservatives, cereals and meat/chicken by products (guts, beaks, feathers etc) I use Nutro - my dogs thrive on it. 4 What to feed. mmm now thats the $60,000 question - some like dry some like raw some do a mix of both - I have Labs - they leave NOTHING behind - just be aware that their is some evidence that the higher the protien level the more rapid the growth rate. Cereals in dry food may contribute to skin conditions. I still cook stews for my dogs - and mix it with the biscuits - the stews can be beef or chicken based with home grown vegies, pasta, Kelp, Chia but like I said my guys never leave anything - I am sure they eat a brick if they could lol. I also feed raw bones - mainly brisket. 5 Scratching and liking his balls Ah he just sounds like a happy male dog - unless there are obvious signs of irritation I wouldnt worry about it. 6 White stuff in the bowl GSD's have to be the messiest drinkers I have ever met - they slobber and spit in their water - just change it regularly Photos? Yes please

Yep the joys of dog training and socialising in a country area :D I have two Lab pups (15 weeks ATM) in puppy training - they will be sniffer dogs later. I guess for me I want the focus and the settled behaviour as well as de-sensitising to noises ie traffic and the distractions of people. I sat outside our local Post office which is on the corner of 1 of the two traffic light intersections in town. It was quite obvious I was training and people were pretty cool and generally just smilled. When someone did approach they just wanted to rabbit on about thier own dog and I had the boys on a sit or a drop and kept their attention with me. The boys crossed the road at the intersection and delt without any fear with the sound of trucks and air breaks as the trucks screached to a halt at the lights. I was pretty happy with them. The boys were settled calmly focussed and responsive. We then went for a walk down town - I allowed them to sniff and move ahead with their noses down like a tracking dog for 1 block then they rested at the end of the block. We go to town twice a week to do this now and as well as other work we do at home I find the boys are progressing well. Meet Errol & Flynn

Daphne then about 7/8 weeks Daphne Now - or a couple of months ago anyway

Heeni te Anna Then and now @ 15 months young

Scanning at 28 days will only give you a general idea of numbers - ie: yes definately there are pups there but it could be 5, 4 or 6. Or no there are definately no pups there. Might be getting a bit off topic here but regarding reproduction My understanding of dog reproduction is as follows - yes the boy has to have sound swimmers but the numbers of pups depends more on the bitch and where she is in her cycle. A bitch may for example release ovum on day 11/12 and accept a dog for mating on those days - but the ovum are not ready to recieve the sperm for another 2 days. Dogs sperm can last 5 days so if she can take a dog on say day 11 but it may be day 16 before some of the ovum are fertilised - so the bitch may whelp 63 days later but some of the litter may only be 58 days gestation. So I like 2 - 3 matings in a 24 hrs period rather than as some people do mate on day 12 & 14 - that can IMO result in pups being 7 days behind in gestation at time of birth and a higher risk of death in pups. (IMO) I could have it all arse up - but that is the theory I have read regarding reproduction in dogs.

Vinigar & baking powder - in the rinse but they hang on the line for 2 days air. works for me

Have used 5 stud dogs over the last 6 years - I always paid the owner on the day - watched the mating and recieved the service certificate on that day. The one occassion a stud owner wanted a pup from the mating she paid me for the pup at 8 weeks. I also checked that if there were no pups for whatever reason there was a free return mating. Some stud dog owners offer a return free mating if 3 or less live pups are born. The dog's job is to transfer semen into the bitch - IMO the owner of the dog has no say over the sales of the pups - as I have seen some stud dog owners do. ie; you can have this mating on the condition person X does not get a pup. As the owner of the bitch I am buying sperm. As the owner of a stud dog I have a right to refuse bitches if I dont consider them healthy in temperament or conformation. Its pretty straight forward IMO.

OR NOT ;)

Yes I saw him on the ABC this morning but couldnt really understand what he was saying,. He said the problem withthe legislation before was that the councils had to prove a breeder was making a profit. Thats not how I saw it and the DPI website still has the old stuff on it which specifically says you dont need to make a profit but he's the boss. Anyway he said the new definition of a puppy farm was any place that ever bred a puppy and sold it . he also said that the numbers of fertile dogs came down to 3 rather than 10. That worried me because as far as I know in the legislation before the only ones who ever had a 10 fertile dogs thingy were Vic dogs registered breeders. So perhaps this is what they meant when they said there was currently about 50 registered puppy farms but they were expecting the numbers to jump to about 9000 when every one who now needs a permit gets one. I think someone should really look this legislation up and work out how its going to impact on registered breeders in that state and be sure about what they need to do to be legal. So who'd be a Dogs Vic. registered breeder? When the only registration that matters is council registration. Remember when there'd be giggles and scorn at the BYB breeder who proudly advertised themself as a Registered Breeder with Council. Haha I guess the times change. And I imagine, so will a lot of residences. Bye Bye Dogs Vic. yep I think you have a point there!

"Interesting links (that Steve posted on microchips). I'm surprised this stuff hasn't come up earlier and more often. Although the text Steve clipped is more dramatic than the scientific studies . . . the scientific studies are worrisome. " Remarkable articles - but I think I would drive my self bonkers if I accepted these results and stopped microchipping. In 13 years of microchipping I have never experienced or heard of anyones dog developing CA from a microchip. Has anyone? It concerns me more that the changes in microchipping and the changes to the number of breeding dogs in Victoria is how are they going to police this - and will they bother to police these changes. I find it amazingly contradictory if Dogs Vic is telling their members they dont have to microchip. I think that the whole legislation will be a paper tiger. Regardless of the best of intentions.

Separate them - crate the bitch - let the bitch tease the dog from the crate - and take him away. Keep them apart for overnight unless he is utterly gagging for her or preferable she is gagging for him. An Alpha female will turn off a male or refuse a submissive male if she thinks he isnt dominant enough. Dont talk - dont interfere in any way. I would after the time apart place them in a pen or room together. Hold her if he mounts her - or get a stud master or do an AI transfer. Good luck.