LizT

I believe she's a wonderful example of the breed and would like to produce some excellent quality puppies just like her !! Is she currently heart and eye clear? Yes she is, I made sure of that before I purchased her Has she been Shown at all?

Sadly we used a laser light when our 6yr old GR was around 9 mths of age and I would now describe him as OCD. It took one night to change our boy into a dog that is obsessed with lights and reflections - very sad. My GSD has identified his behaviour and she tends to chase him when he starts, which has worked a treat as she takes his mind of the light/reflection :) So the vet diagnosed the problem but then told the owner it was THEIR problem - without offering any advice? No, I'm not sure of the Vets recommendation as the woman moved from Melbourne to Gippsland, my daughters friend has not lived with her mother since about 10 years old and only stays during holidays, hence I don't know if she followed up on the dogs issues.

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health? Ahh, that's the 20 million dollar question? "All dogs owned by irresponsible owners". Who decides that? There is nothing wrong with keeping your dog entire, it's an owners choice but I do believe the OP has already stated their intention to desex and is asking opinions about the operative time and any changes it may or may not make to her dog. And incidently, my daughters ex-BF's dog repeatedly escaped their property, and even managed to squeeze out of his bedroom window when opened only a small way. According to his owner this dog was way overdue to be desexed. Well I was actually going to say that I think dogs should only be owned by responsible people but knew that was never going to happen I am just against the 100% pets must all be desexed mantra. Focus on the fact that the person is being responsible not looking after their dog (I know the one off's do happen regarding escapees) but there is really no reason that dogs should be desexed before maturation if people took their responsibilities seriously. I understand what you're trying to say. ;) I think though that this mantra is cited mostly by those who are affected by the sensless killing of unwanted pets. I'm sure that they too would be happy if all entires were housed and breed from with care and consideration rather than some of the worst case scenarios we all know exist. ah...in a ideal world eh? I get into trouble for talking about the ideal world- irresponsible people in that world would have a fair few more limitations that just not being able to own a dog lol Still we can't give up, it could start a run of giving up. :)

So glad your girls got a fighting spirit and that you got her treatment in time.

Just a word of warning Dobesrock. While you won't get any "surprise" puppies I did have a friend whose desexed (at 6 months) GSD got into a tie with his undesexed GSD bitch when she came in season and the end result was a damaged penis and some serious vet bills. It can happen.

I believe she's a wonderful example of the breed and would like to produce some excellent quality puppies just like her !! Is she currently heart and eye clear?

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health? Ahh, that's the 20 million dollar question? "All dogs owned by irresponsible owners". Who decides that? There is nothing wrong with keeping your dog entire, it's an owners choice but I do believe the OP has already stated their intention to desex and is asking opinions about the operative time and any changes it may or may not make to her dog. And incidently, my daughters ex-BF's dog repeatedly escaped their property, and even managed to squeeze out of his bedroom window when opened only a small way. According to his owner this dog was way overdue to be desexed. Well I was actually going to say that I think dogs should only be owned by responsible people but knew that was never going to happen I am just against the 100% pets must all be desexed mantra. Focus on the fact that the person is being responsible not looking after their dog (I know the one off's do happen regarding escapees) but there is really no reason that dogs should be desexed before maturation if people took their responsibilities seriously. I understand what you're trying to say. ;) I think though that this mantra is cited mostly by those who are affected by the sensless killing of unwanted pets. I'm sure that they too would be happy if all entires were housed and breed from with care and consideration rather than some of the worst case scenarios we all know exist. ah...in a ideal world eh?

Good point teela.

No they were probably just fatter due to the slower metabolism.

I think that could be splitting hairs.

depends on the breed of dog, growth plates aren't closed in my dogs at 9 months. Desexing a dog does not make it gain weight usually. What happens is the desexing coinsides with maturity and people forget to stop feeding their adult dog like a puppy. The papers I've read on desexing have indicated that removing the hormones can lower the metabolic rate. Sydney University vet even recommends dropping food intake by 10% post suture removal. I know the paper I read on cats indicated their rate can drop by 30%. But yes it also does coincide with maturation in which case food intake should be lowered anyway. It all depends on the owner though... coming from a shelter background they'll desex at very immature age and have been doing so for some time and there are many people I know who I would not trust with an entire dog/cat! If you are responsible enough to contain the dog there are definitely benefits to keeping entire for longer and the health benefits of desexing males I think are not so many as females. That's probably why Harem eunichs ,who were castrated before becoming sexually active and therefore not able to become a nuisance with the harem women grew into such big hulks of men. So wouldn't desexing make for a larger dog???

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health? Ahh, that's the 20 million dollar question? "All dogs owned by irresponsible owners". Who decides that? There is nothing wrong with keeping your dog entire, it's an owners choice but I do believe the OP has already stated their intention to desex and is asking opinions about the operative time and any changes it may or may not make to her dog. And incidently, my daughters ex-BF's dog repeatedly escaped their property, and even managed to squeeze out of his bedroom window when opened only a small way. According to his owner this dog was way overdue to be desexed.

Yes, usually 6-7 months by the time they are 2 years old. My first girl however has gone 8 months every time right from her first and she is 4 years old now. My second girl went, 10 months, 5 months, then 6 months, 6 months, 6 months. And the third went 9 months, 7 months, so far. :)

you just have to understand men and women are different.i dont understand the stupid things women do either.Go figure Sorry don't accept that truth as a good enough reason for not keeping your cool in a hot situation. I've meet plenty of guys who know how to keep a cool head under pressure. :)

Sorry, but I'm not going to give you any sympathy. You want a right royal kick in the arse. You knew these two did not get along and yet you continued to leave them in the same space. Ever heard of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted? That is exactly what you have done. And men and their "oh shit...something happened and I was wrong and it's out of my control so I'll go around, yelling and swearing and punching things 'cos I'm a bloke. It scares small children, it scares animals, it f'en scares everyone. Oh but it did make you feel better didn't it so it's okay to do that? I've lived with blokes who punch holes in doors because guess what...shit happens, so it's a good reason to go off. Who needs the behavourist anyway man or beast? I'm not one to let fly usually but this time my blood is boiling. You created a most stupid scenario and all because you were running late for court, let me guess, for doing something else completely stupid. (My apologies if you were the magistrate or the barrister. ) :rolleyes: Arrrrggghhh...men. It's okay I think I just spontaneously combusted.

Sorry, really not trying to add fuel to the fire but just had to confirm, does this mean you will be covering the costs of any Patellar surgery should it be required by all or any of the puppies?

I heard a story about a gundog exhibitor who had one put in his dog when only one testicle desended. How he was found out was the day a Judge discovered his dog had three balls. The testicle had finally dropped. Naturally he got in trouble and rightly so.

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh:

A friend of my daughters mum has a Cavalier that since it was a puppy has been completely "obsessed" with any form of refracted light. All things shiny compel her to bark and try to catch it. The vet told the owner he sees it as an OCD and that the dog and she (the owner) have a problem. Not sure of the outcome as this person has since moved from the area.

The mature behaviour and filling out could have more to do with the timing and his age rather than the desexing. Impossible to really know.

Fordogs sometimes is has to do with your local council and registering your dog. One upon a time the dog had to be registered when it turned 6 months old, now they want them done at 3 months of age. If you don't want to pay the much higher entire rate then you need a vets desexing certificate (on a side note my vet doesn't like to desex before 6 months and won't do 'infant' desexing), Many owners would be especially worried about the dog not being registered and possible repurcussions such as fines if found wandering. Many a new puppy buyer thinks their fencing is dog proof until the dog begins to grow and starts to 'test' it. It is easier to justify letting registration slide until the dog is 6 months old, somewhat harder to do for an 'adult' at 12 months of age. It was so much simpler when you could have you dog desexed at 6 months and registered at 6 months as well.

Hmmmm.....anyone named their puppy "Apple" yet? Yep, I'm FB friends with a woman who has the most magnificent Akita called Apple. She's a stunner. Hmmm...wonder if she'll get a second dog and call it Moses. ;)

Read recently that "Max" is the most popular male dog name for 2011. :D You kinda just bent it a bit. :laugh: Daisy being the most popular female for 2011.

Let's face it when it comes to dogs and movies it's either all about the cute factor or being a hero, saver of kittens, small children and relationships. :D

It's like I overheard a hairdresser say yesterday when asked what she does during her lunch hour by her client. Answer: "Well we only get half an hour so I eat, sit down and try not to talk to anyone!" I can see why these three things are very important to a hairdresser! :)