LizT

I don't believe that breeders lose their standing for raising white boxers anymore, it "wasn't done" in the past and I believe it USED to be that white boxers could not be registered, therefore you could theoretically lose your registered breeder status for selling unregistered dogs. I did a bit of research on the ANKC site and there is no longer any restriction on registering non-standard colours on the limited register for any breed. It therefore is possible to register whites on the limited register only, which therefore means that boxer breeders will not risk their registration by selling whites as pets. Which of course totally answers my question about why whites can't be registered - these days they can! PS, I got lovely boxer cuddles last night :) What about White German Shepherds?

Peronally I feel that when a young animal gets a fright (and I apply this to horses as well as dogs) it takes quite a bit of repetition to help them regain their confidence. Sometimes considerably more than teaching the initial trick or movement did. I'd be taking the "Imagine" sign down and letting him have a good long look at it and then putting it back up, repeatedly, so he sees there is nothing to fear. Give the fridge trick a miss for a while and then start from square one like you were teaching him from scratch. He sounds like a clever dog, but remember he is still a puppy and his confidence can get inflated and deflated just as rapidly. :)

The constable I spoke to said she made a note of it and to call back if anything else happens... I don't think anything else will happen but I will amp up security around here just to be safe... How very strange and unsettling for you Staffyluv. While keeping the other incident in the back of your mind, don't try to hard to connect the two. They may be totally isolated, and if you do try to piece them together, you will keep adding every other strange thing that happens and your puzzle peices will get quite bizarre. Not to mention it will do your head in. Stay alert, stay calm. :)

Some dogs are just born ready to go and don't have an off switch. From my expereinces, yes what you put into them in terms of food and supplements directly affects energy and performance, it's especially evident in my race dogs. And yes energy increases with fitness. agree. I find the same with myself, if I eat well, drop a couple of kilos and get enough exercise I feel great. When I eat junk and slug around I don't have much energy at all.

Nelsona you will find this method of immediately reacting to a dogs misbehaviour is ages old and whether or not there is a place for it in todays more enlightened society is always up for debate regardless of whether or not it has been debated before. I doubt very much that there is much force in the 'kick' but I'm sure the intention of "hey, behave or else" is very clear to the dog. It is quick and effective and probably no worse than the age old (and also outmoded) check with the chain, I'm sure there are many other kinder ways to repremand a dog instantly, but timing is of the utmost and the 'kick' is very reactive and instantly available. ETA I use a rake and then a large pin brush on my GSD. :) ...but there has been a thread on that already too.

:laugh: I wish I could hear the sounds that were coming out of that snoozer! ETA Oh wait, he's actually awake (saw the eyes) now that's one relaxed dog. :D

Nice to hear from a white boxer owner Miz J What you say is very true. And it seems to me the euthanasing of white boxer pups by breeders may have the same humane pre thoughts associated as with those who, in a differnt thread about "What becomes of their dogs if soemthing happens to them" have chosen to make arrangements for their dogs to be PTS rather than any attempts be made to rehome them. A likeier kinder option in the long run. Sure I realise there are huge differences with choosing to end a life at birth and those who know their dogs may not rehome easily choosing this option 'should' the worst happen. But one would hope that both decisions are made with the better interest of the animal in mind. Right or wrong I'm sure it's not a decision made lightly. Deaf dogs that find homes where people are able to help them adjust to their disabilities are few and far between, as you say, ceratainly not for everyone. Your deaf dog sounds like one of the lucky ones, now. As do the others who have been fortunate enough to have crossed your path. :)

reason will prevail (dont no if i spelt that right) Can this forum please be allowed to drop off the first page. It has outworn its usefulness. So why would you want to decide what others on the forum should talk about ? If its lost its usefulness for you simply don't come in here .it looks to me that it should go on longer because much of the stuff thats been posted here is crap and has people thinking that someone who doesn't breed them or show them is the expert. I'm surpirsed so many people have trouble with the concept that conversations "evolve". Whether it be on a 'forum' or a 'round table', this is the beauty of a group of like minded people having a discussion. Rarely will it not find meandering paths on which to explore. Oh, and to add, the word "bling" is now being used to describe "flashy" in horses I am told. :D I think in the dog world (particularly Showing) it really is very descriptive of what some exhibitors wear or the ornate leads we use! ;)

Hoping Reggie is safe and will be back with you soon.

My brother passed away at age 39 and even though my sister was certain he had a will, none could be found. The majority of his quite substantial assets went to my parents and made life a little easier for them, which he would have liked :) , but a huge chunk went to the government because he had no will, which I'm sure he would not have liked at all.

Well done. Well if the list of nominees isn't long first time round maybe the next years list will be.

Well after some deliberation we decided to give Miss Crystal another go with her beau in South Australia. So she flew over last Friday 23/3 and on Saturday morning had a half hour tie. Another half hour tie on Monday morning 26/3 and same again on Tuesday evening 27/3. Picked her up from the airport last Wednesday after her second Honeymoon. We decided on a "back to back" mating as having the one singleton didn't take anything out of her except most of her coat, and no guarantees of conception so worth giving it another try as we have a free service to use on her anyway. So fingers and paws crossed here for puppies (hopefully more than one this time!) late May, around the 26th. Will have her scanned after ANZAC day.

Wow......after reading Steves post I think the moral of the story is to have your wishes clear and defined. I couldn't imagine my kids, OH, family or friends even thinking about getting rid of my dogs, cats, horses to make my life easier. That said though I do recall my father saying I should "get rid" of my horse when I was pregnant for my first child, you know to make things easier for me. Hmmmfffph.

Incidentally, anyone familiar with purebred dogs, particularly boxers and some other breeds, knows that "chrome" refers to white markings, as it does in horses. It is possible to have a good knowledge of both horses and dogs, as Crisovar has, having constantly won at high levels with both, and having bred successfully. People who spend time at dog and horse events, and people who have done some basic reading are aware of the meaning of "chrome". It is by no means either an obscure or new term. ...very true. I have heard the word "chrome" used to refer to flashy white markings in both the dog and horse world. :)

People really are very surprising creatures aren't they!

How lovely...my faith in humankind meter is fully topped up again. :)

I have a horse that one day decided it was a good idea to have a roll. So he found a spot, banged the ground and pawed at it with his hoof and then lay down and had a roll. Unfortunately for him there was a bulls ant nest just where he had rolled and he disturbed the colony and they came out very angry and on the attack! He was covered all over in lumps and we had to get the vet out with an antihistamine injection for him. He looked horrific with huge lumps everywhere even on his sheath area, owwww. His head was all swelled up too!

Our GDS had one retained testicle so it was like a 'spey' and castration but from memory (7 years ago) the cost was only a bit more than a standard castration. My Burmese cat also had the same problem and the breeder had used him once, hoping it would drop and when I went to buy a kitten from her for my sister in law, he was given to me. We also had him desexed, same situation, a 'spey' and castration. I believe that sometimes they are quite high up and then the surgery is more involved and complex than if they are lower down.

I like the little speil that's in our council booklet about responsible dog ownership stating that "dogs bark". period. It is only when they bark continually and excessively that it is considered a problem. Even so, having had a neighbour very nicely leave me a letter alerting me to my boys barking when I was at work at night and the rest of my family blissfully sleeping through it (mums are light sleepers so she couldn't) and I never did either. I had to put a bark collar on him as neither OH or the kids heard or did anything about it. He doesn't need it much now but I do sometimes put it on when we go out on a Saturday night (rarely) as it can get a bit noisy then and it prevents a problem. Of course, he only needs to bark for a few seconds and we react, poor fellow, he doesn't really get to 'cut loose' and have a good ol' bark at all, not even for a minute or two because we so don't want it to be an issue with anyone. Meanwhile though our neighbour has his "home hobby" construction noise, with whatever the hell it is he's doing in his shed/workshop. Somedays it sounds like we are an industrial estate!!!!! And he'll have the local radio station on as loud as so he can hear it over his din, not my choice of music either, despite them playing both kinds, Country AND Western. ;) And to top it off his kid is roaring around on a pee wee dirt bike. Then there are the chain saws and line trimmers.......ahhh the peace of a semi rural lifestyle.

Is this pertaining to the dogs general state of health? No - it's pertaining to temperature conditions being right for the heart worm to develop. Once the temperature drops to under 14 degrees, development of the heart worm, if it is present in your locality any way, stops and has to start again. It takes 2 weeks for the development to reach the stage of being infectious. So you want a climate that drops below 14 degrees in each fortnight cycle. Well that definitely wasn't the last few nights in the Yarra Valley! :) Thanks.

I had a GSD that got car sick as a Puppy. We would give him a Blackmores Ginger tablet half an hour before we went to obedience and he didn't vomit. Without the tablet he did. This car sickness continued until he was 7 years old and my new hubby came on the scene. Harley loved my new man as much as I did and was actually willing to jump into his Station Wagon. Not something he happily did before. He was never car sick from that time on a he lived another 7 years. :)

Apparently it does in humans too. Good dental hygene can prolonge your life expectancy by about 5 years. Poor dental hygene contributes to heart disease.

I found that the fact that I work night shift and have broken sleep during the day (I sleep 3 hours day and three to four hours evenings) gave me the opportunity to check several times a day in the last week. Up until then it's only three or four times a day. When I got home from work at about 7.30 am When I went to bed at 11.00 am When I woke up at 2.30 pm When I get back from collecting my daughter from school at about 4.00 pm when I go back to bed at 8.00 pm When I get up for work at 1.00pm I use different colour textas on my chart to illustrate times of day. I always use KY jelly as I think it would get annoying but my girls were good about it.

Just wondering with all these home dentists around (I too am a tartar scraper and flickerer offer), whether we are at risk of heart disease with the bacteria we are possibly allowing into our dogs bloodstream via ingestion? I understand that when a vet does a "dental" he also admisiters antibiotics to protect the heart from bacterial infection for this very reason?

It's not just about there being mozzies, it's about the conditions being right for the heart worm to develop to infectious stage. Is this pertaining to the dogs general state of health?