LizT

Both desexed I would envisage. I started off breeding horses, because I had admired a certain stallion for awhile, and when I had a super special mare who I thought so highly of I approached the stallion's owners. At this stage I only ever was interested in this particular mating (a colonial bred stallion, over a hugely successful USA linage mare - and not a drop of Northern Dancer blood!), and not getting into breeding. I didn't want to go register and have a brand made. So the stallion owners let me put the resulting colt on their books, with their brand. I raised the colt, did everything associated, but for registration purposes the stallion owners allowed me to use their books. And..........after all that I got the breeding bug! My experience with horses is what led me to asking the question here. I bred horses long before I got into breeding dogs. Part-bred Arabian Pintos. But now I have an ex-race TB (a Mr. Prospector Grandon) who is my riding horse. Always good to do as much research as possible with any endeavour.

I would suggest to her that another pup would best wait until she has her own home again!! If she is planning to rent one Rottie is going to be hard enough to get past a real estate agent!

I agree with what has been said here, it seems likely this puppy hasn't had a stable household to learn in while this bad break up has been evolving. Puppies are like little children and your poor sis-in-law has probably been very stressed the whole time she has had this poor dog. With so many bad vibes it's not been an ideal situation or environment to learn in has it?

Just a thought also. If you do end up with your male and you keep it which dog will you be desexing..the mother or the son?? Because one will need to be or you may have an unwanted, undesired mating??!! Also something to think about.

Although I dearly love my animals and in a pre-organised evaculation there is time to make arrangements for our pets I do believe that human life is of much more importance and if it's a sudden emergency one should be realistic and understand that it may be necesary to leave the animals behind. My first thought would be to get my family safely out of danger. There is no point in heroics if you are all going to burn or drown.

Getting your child to give the dog food will not make the dog think or 'remember' anything about the pack order. 'Pack order' is fluid dependng on the value of the resource and the ease of which the dog can obtain it. This can change at any time, and can depend on the dog's mood on the day. Exactly, in the dogs mind it would believe it had 'liberated' the food from the child in much the same way it would take food away from a lesser rated pack mate. Although it is important to teach a child the correct way to feed a dog. make dog wait, give okay signal, step away and let dog eat in peace.

Sadly, wanting to breed "just one litter" with the idea of 'keeping a pup' because you just love your girl so much and want one of her babies is often the reason given by those that breed many ill conceived litters. Breeding any litter of puppies is something that should be done with much consideration and if your bitch is good enough to breed then her breeder may be interested in leasing her back from you for this propose. You would then have the opportunity to do what you are thinking about. Talk to her breeder about this idea of yours. And continue to give it much, much more thought (as you appear to be doing now).

I remember when we were outside doing ember spotting on the afternoon of 'Black Saturday'. I came inside to find my youngest standing there with a backpack of her 'precious things' on her back. The lead on her Cavalier and holding a Pet crate with our, then new, 8 week old puppy. There was never a question of them being left behind.

Maybe so, but a child should NEVER be left unattended with even the best of conditioned dogs. You just DON'T do it.

Interesting, as with many years of Showing horses in hand, never once has a judge touched my horses!

I think this would also be the case in Veteran Entire class too.

I was once told that cropping of ears originated as an attempt to control ear problems in floppy ear breeds?? Don't know if this was the case or not but it's one of the theories I have heard over the years. I think it probably had more to do with 'fashion' and getting a certain 'look'.

So I (now) see. Thank you.

Are groups 1 and 7 indoors again??

I'll put my hand up and say this is one of my bitches (passed puppy eye test but DNA affected, no obvious signs). I'm sure there are others (tested and untested) too, but many don't make it public. Same as HC affected dogs in the ring, I've heard about plenty! I'd rather DNA test and know what I have than stick my head in the sand. I show because I enjoy it and it's the best way for me to learn. I learn more about the breed at shows and talking to breeders and other showies (within my breed and others) at shows than reading about them. If I wasn't showing I wouldn't be getting up at 5am to spend my day talking about lines, faults and conformation. By showing said bitch I am improving my understanding of the breed and structure, which will (eventually) make me a better breeder. I don't plan on breeding any time soon, I'm happy to sit back, show my girls and learn as much as I can. My bitch's success in the ring meant another DOLer became interested in her lines and ended up taking a bitch pup from my girl's dam (after DNA testing her and breeding to a DNA clear dog), that bitch is CEA clear (as well as for everything else) and has been just as, if not more successful than my girl. She will be bred from with the aim to improve the breed. Had it not been for my girl in the ring, she would have been pet homed and never bred from. I wouldn't show a desexed bitch as it is against the rules. But it isn't against the rules to show my girl, so I will continue to do so and learn as I do it. It doesn't give her an advantage in the ring (that a desexed bitch can have due to coat, no seasons) and everyone in my state who show know her DNA status. ETA: Her DNA status was also put on an Australian breed specific email list so many interstate breeders also know. I think there is certainly merit in what you have done and how you have done it. No issue there IMO.

Dog shows don't assess whether or not a dog can do the job for which it was bred; they're judged on running around a little ring. It might give an idea of movement but not of breeding potential. If Cavaliers were judged on what they were bred to do you'd need to put a couch or at least a comfy armchair in the middle of the ring.

You're always very friendly and welcoming BB. But some exhibitors can be quite intimidating without saying a word. Getting to know people can be hard but after 2 and a half years of showing in the Toy Ring I'm pleased to say I haven't meet anyone who was deliberately rude in Melbourne. And people from other Groups are fantasitic also. I nearly walked away from showing in the early days not because people were rude but because I felt I had walked into "a Private Function". It felt like a closed shop at first...I'm glad I've stayed for many reasons but the top two would be that it's fun to catch up with 'like minded people who share the same interest...dogs AND I've noted that in this time there hasn't been another "newbie" in our breed! For many years the Sydney -Melbourne (general not Dog Show) rivalry has stated that Sydney people are rude....there are rude people everywhere...and this is a generalisation made to feed this rivalry. It's sad that one can be unfortunate enough to encounter these people on a regular basis. It can ruin your day sometimes. Sometimes we are lucky to be able to go through a day and not cross pathes with the "Cat bum" people. The other day I was loading my car and a complete stranger, holding a puppy under her arm asked me if I needed any help loading the trolly. I said I was fine but thanked her for asking. These are the people we should remember and let those that try to hurt us slide off us like water on a ducks back.

I've no idea what the answer is for a Chow but for other breeds a look in the mouth will give you a hint about a possible heart problem if it is that serious. I don't think a vet certificate would work, there are already tame vets and vets who do the teeth, tails and ear fixing for the show ring. $$$ will get you any kind of paper you want. Not for a CKCS, they can have a great set of teeth and a level 6 hear murmur! You are so right about $$$$$ "fixing" everything though.

I registered the litter in my name and then gave the paper work to the new owners with transfer signed on the back. Didn't think I could do it any other way as there isn't room for various details on the paperwork?? Also as breeder I thought new owners needed to see that pups were in fact legitimately registered??

On the same token I had a situation where I was boxed in the parking area of a Agi Show here in Victoria last year. I was told by an official to drive around the peimiter of the roped off area so I could leave as I was parked on the front of the rope line. He dropped the rope for me to drive over and I slowly drove alongside the rope to the exit. Some female exhibitor was walking her dog and dawdled infront of me deliberately so I had to come to a stop as she wouldn't move aside. As I pulled up she yelled at me "YOU"RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN HERE!". "I was instructed to go this way by an official as I'm boxed in by incorrectly parked cars." I explained. She gave me a dirty look and moved aside. People also need to be considerate about where they park and also think about why people might be where it appears they shouldn't be. BTW not suggesting that this was the case in your instance.

If this is true then why are dogs who are infertile or barren allowed to be shown? Why are dogs found to have an unacceptable for breeding hip or elbow score or those found to be a carrier or affected by a disease still allowed in the ring? Why is health testing not part of the rules when or comes to titling an animal? Very valid point. You could be showing a dog with a high level heart murmur but the judge would have no idea that this is the case. So should a veterinary certificate be part of the final paperwork for titling??? E.T.A. I see stonebridge had a good reply to this conundrum.

My girl (Cavalier) Crystal got Intermediate bitch and then Reserve Challenge Bitch. So close and yet.......

Not really because all breeds are so different. It's about the welfare of this poor animal. Seriously a responsible breeder would have put the poor unfortunate puppy to sleep IMHO at a very early age. This kind of deformity would have been very evident from the onset.

Does this pertain to 'products"???

Sorry I cannnot understand the logic of this argument. Surely judging progeny is a more logical way of judging the worth of breeding stock? If this is so, then whether the progeny can be bred or not is irrelevant, we are using the progeny to judge the worth of the parents. No, I don't think wholesale desexing of show dogs would be useful, but I cannot understand the argument which says that just because an animal is desexed it is no longer a worthy representative of what it's parents can produce - i.e. no longer useful in the evaluating of the BREEDING worth of the parents I agree with this logic Sandra777 but feel people need to be upfront about it. I don't think Nueter Classes should be dismissed so easily but there is still no place for a neuter in a entire class IF it is trying to present itself as an entire. Particular in the cases of inhanced coat advantage of hormonal influences (or lack thereof). Famous saying though is "Rules were meant to be broken!" Some people will bend 'em till they break.