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I hope your boy's skin improves I feed my dogs mince from coles (it's $6/kilo up here at the moment), you can get lamb flaps or packs of lamb offcuts from supermarkets (I boil them up for hours until the meat just falls off the bones - the dogs love it), and I give them a can of tuna in spring water every now and then (which they seem to like)......I usually mix these up with a little rice and whatever veges I have whizzed up. I'm sure the others have some other great suggestions for you - I also include chicken necks, frames and brisket bones in my dogs diet, also turkey necks are good but I'm not sure if that's a bit too close to chicken for your boy

The benefit of being on a club committee is that you learn a lot about people whether that be good or bad - you get to see people at their best, at their worst and anywhere in between. There are a lot of people who are there for the right reason and give tirelessly, those who have good intentions but don't really deliver a lot and those who are there with a specific agenda whatever that may be (this is where the political games can start). Unfortunately it's just the nature of people that everyone's different and has different opinions and agendas which is just a brilliant recipe for conflict. The clubs who manage this conflict properly are usually the most successful, the ones who don't seem to be the ones full of fighting and animosity. I can be infuriating, interesting and entertaining at times but the bottom line is, without the clubs (for which you need to have committees) there'd be no shows happening.

Why can't people just decide what they want to feed their dogs and be happy with that. I don't see the need for the aggro that this subject always brings up. I love hearing about what other people are doing and the information being shared (it's all pretty high quality) so I can make up my own mind about what I want to feed my dogs - it really makes it difficult when all that information is lost in a load of diatribe between people getting personal and offensive about it. I think that everyone has a point with what they're saying and it's up to each individual to decide what they want to do for their dog/s - let's just leave it at that - please just give us the facts and information as they are minus the opinions and bitching.

I have no problem with it and yes, if any of the club officials win Group, RUBIS or BIS, good on them. In the event that a club official has done extremely well under a particular judge and it seems dodgy it's not their integrity that I'd question but the judge's. The judge is the one who is supposed to judging the dogs based on merit and it is their integrity and professionalism that should be called into question when the result looks dodgy. The posters who have mentioned this avoids a perceived issue are correct but it really infuriates me that they feel they can't enter because of this perception - it also annoys me when people whinge about an official doing well and bag them out but say nothing about the judge - regardless of any pressure, influence, familiarity or otherwise it's the judge who should be making the objective decisions and ultimately they have the power over what what wins so blaming an official isn't fair. In my experience (and it's quite amusing) it's usually the biggest whingers about this kind of thing who do particularly well when they are an official at their own local shows.........it's the pot calling the kettle black I think....LOL. I love showing - I never do particularly well but I don't care - it's just fun for me.

I think that sounds like a great plan I agree with this - although I would actually contact the council now that this has been made formal asking them to clarify what constitutes nuisance barking. I'd also ask if the council can please clarify the extent of the complaint - ie what is the neighbour actually saying has happened? This will at least give you an indication as to whether there is even a case to answer here. It sounds like this neighbour is just being vindictive and living beside them is probably never going to be any fun but it's important to make the best of this situation and not try to further antagonise them. As long as you're doing everything you can to address the situation, I don't believe that the council will have major issues - as for your neighbour, they'll probably always have them.

People should have to be licenced to have a dog including learning about the breed they have AND our local law people need to get serious about policing the rules. As far as I'm concerned these negligent owners who let their dogs roam and enable these incidents should be done for animal cruelty...... Hope your boy gets better and gets over the shock of it.

I'm not even sure that is always true anymore, I know in my breed a lot of the top dogs and their handlers are advertised heavily world-wide. It might be an overly rosey view of things but if a judge is any good it shouldn't matter whether they know the faces on the end of the lead or not........

Cynna is having her bath at lunchtime today to get ready for the show - it'd be way too mean of me to bath her this arvo or in the morning (too cold). Even during the day today I'd say it's a fair bet that she won't be too impressed - lol.

To me - it's just like entering under any judge - most have different interpretations of the breed standards. Why not give them a try - it's not like you're going to come under them regularly. If your breed isn't recognised in their home country I guess that would be interesting - you'd hope that maybe then they'll have put a fair bit of effort into becoming familiar with the standard but that's an assumption which in reality probably wouldn't always be the case.

I don't think the size of your yard matters one bit. As you've mentioned it's about what you're prepared to do with your dog.....and what you've got planned seems fine to me.

Hi Fran, Training was fun - hope you enjoyed it. Order of judging is 1 thru to 7 in numerical order . It's not really possible to find out how many entries or if there are others in your breed entered.....it's a suprise You shouldn't have to be there super early.

My condolences for your loss . Anyone who would flame you for this just isn't sane. These exceptional circumstances simply couldn't have been forseen so you haven't done anything wrong by these two - in fact, the fact you saved them to start with has done so much more good for them than just about anything else.

I have an old go-kart tyre for my guys - they love it and it's as tough as....they've done their absolute best to destroy it for the last 12 months without any success......

I think you're right - no offence to the woman but from what she is saying it doesn't sound like she has a lot of knowledge and a boisterous puppy can be very daunting without it. With the right training and perserverance I'm sure this pup would turn out just fine. I guess at least this woman realising that she cannot manage is a good thing although I hope she's at least patient enough to wait for a home and not take the pup to the pound. Sorry, I can't help - too far away and I'm full up myself but here's hoping this young pup gets a fair go.

I'd probably just bring the chair.

Ladies?!?!?!? Now hang on a minute....... Are you looking for a portable or a fixed option. I'm soon moving to a new house and want to set up a fairly permanent run for my dogs. I've had a look at a few of the modular options and the option I think I'm going to go with it to have a pergola built and then fence in around it - the price will probably be the same as a modular dog run. I figure that by doing this, if i move, all the fencing stuff can be pulled off and it's just a pergola that maybe new people would find more useful than a dog run - lol.

Haha - there will be no gazebo - we'll all be crammed very nicely into the dog area.....sideshow alley is usually set up right beside us.......LOL. There'll probably be a few there although probably not heaps and heaps. You'll get there with Luuka - she's been sit trained from an early age so she's used to doing that to get a reward. I know with mine - I usually alternate or mix up sit and stand so they get used to listening - just be patient. When mine won't do what they've been asked, they don't get a reward - with Luuka - if she plants her bum, just take a step or two away from her and as soon as she rises to follow (this may require some waiting) say "Stand!!!", reward and make a great big fuss over her. She'll get it - sometimes with training, your positioning can help her to recognise the cues - maybe sit if your standing right beside her, stand when you move away a pace or so - I dunno really - I'm not expert but it's how I did it with mine and while they're far from perfect, they usually get it. Also, while not in baby puppy class, the judge will know that she is still very young - so it won't be a big issue. Just take her in and if she sits, have a laugh and enjoy it . If nothing else the judge will be impressed with how obedient she is

I have bought two of these: What do you think of the runs? They are pretty good and sturdy - I've had mine for about 2 years. Don't leave them on the ground like in the picture or they'll go rusty...... Was it hard to put up? The frame is easy but the chainwire is not so easy - I'd definately recommend at least 2 people to do this part. Also, sometimes the links in the chain wire aren't right so you need to fiddle with it to get it all aligned - this can be tedious. Is anything broken/not fitting right etc? No - it was all in good order. The only issue was the problem with the chain wire above and also, they provide metal "ties" to secure the chain wire to the frame which are as weak as, it's better to go get a roll of fencing wire from Bunnings and use that instead. Are you happy with it? Yes, mine have worked well. Would you buy another? No - to be honest, apart from the convenience of the gate in them, you could set up a better run using some second hand weldmesh fence panels, star pickets, an old gate and wire to hold it all together. Further comments? None really - there are a lot of options out there so I'd make sure I looked at a few and then make a decision based on that. Good luck

Hi Fran, I'll be there with the evil Cynna - it's usually a little crowded but it is good experience for the dogs. Luuka will be awesome and last time I looked, I don't think any judge has refused for not standing perfectly and she's only a baby, so she'll be fine .

Oh - so the state act overrides any council requirements for a set number of dogs and the rego is paid direct to the state government rather than the local council. What a smart idea....I can't see it happening up here in Qld though. I know our council would be against it - following the forced amalgamations of the old shire councils our council is in stacks of debt and grabbing money from the rate-payers any way they know how. They have a limit of 2 dogs on us - but if you want more you have to pay an extra $100 just to apply to have more - no guarantee though and if you do get approved you then have to pay the $90 rego per dog. As some of the other posters have mentioned if you wanted to maintain dogs for showing and breeding, it's pretty impossible to do that with a 2-dog limit.

There are heaps of reasons I can think of why registrations would be down and these are just my experiences based on what has happened to me so these aren't generic assumptions about exhibitors/breeders/etc - they're all different i know. I'm a really new exhibitor/owner. General - There are more options for hobbies and pastimes now. - Good show dogs are expensive to own and keep healthy and take time to train. - Councils and government make it easier to commit a murder than to own dogs. - Xbreed sales outlets are very good at spinning how good their dogs are to a public who doesn't have the knowledge that most of us have. - Forums like this are pretty cruel to newbies - sure there are some very experienced smart people who know their stuff on here but a lot of times the delivery of that knowledge is overly harsh - while the point is totally fair it is lost at the offence and the feeling of total stupidity and inadequacy of the newbie. Exhibitors - We are now conditioned to instant success outcomes or dump it and try something else (we as society are now condition to expect instant outcomes and to never have to work for anything) - A lot of exhibitors at shows will be friendly until you do well and become a threat to their success - then things change - Newbies turning up to a show with their dog and a camp chair are simply overwhelmed by the "rigs" that the seasoned campaigners rock up in with all the hairdryers, professional staff and handlers, etc - Stewards, judges, other officials and other exhibitors can be real a$$holes to newbies - they don't get a real opportunity to learn - Even if they ask for it exhibitors don't want to hear honest feedback about their dog or handling Breeders - It can be very difficult to get a puppy now - breeders have necessarily had to raise the bar when it comes to screening, prices can be very expensive and some of the restrictions, etc placed on new buyers are overwhelming - Again council regs, time requirements, work commitments make it difficult to breed - Instant success conditioning again - if you don't breed a litter of world champions give up and try something else These are just some of the things I have encountered and for all of these I have also experienced the opposite where the outcome has been very positive - like all things though just one negative experience is enough to turn some people off. A lot of it doesn't worry me - I'm a newbie and while I keep learning, I don't know much. I've had heaps of fun both socially at shows and while showing my dogs with pretty average success. But I don't care really - my dogs are my pets that I happen to show occasionally and may breed one day. I'll never be a die-hard breeder or show groupie because I intend to hang on to the dogs I have because they are my pets and since I'm full up as far as the council are concerned, it'll be a long time until I get anything new. One thing I have always thought is that if the ANKC lobbied hard enough with councils and governing bodies so that some incentive in terms of reduced registration, permits to keep more than the normal number of dogs at the property for having a current ANKC membership and purebred dogs - it would go a long way to start memberships on an upward trend again. I can't see it happening any time soon though.

I know it's not the breeder's job but if it was me, I'd say sure to cleaning the crate but the driver would have to wait while it was done properly - these guys are on a schedule and hate to wait - too bad as far as I'm concerned - I would have made sure I really took my time too.....that's probably just the vindictive side coming out in me. I'd also be making sure that I made a complaint to the company too.

Worked a treat - thanks very much

Thanks for the info guys. I definately intend to have everything agreed in writing before anything happens. I know it is unusual for the dog to travel to the bitch however, this breeder is a long long way from where I am and would have to incur disgracefully high transportation costs to send his bitch down to me. We worked out that meeting in the arranged location would be the best for both parties and to enable the mating to happen - I'm happy to work with them on this because I have friends and family at the agreed location that I can stay with. The intention is for an AI to be performed by a vet. My dog has been used at stud before successfully but I didn't do anything at the time because I didn't own him them - I bought him as an adult I am not doing any breeding myself at the moment because I really don't have the time to look after puppies and not sure I have any definite intentions to because my dogs are my pets mainly. This breeder sought me out because my dog has lines they want to use - dont' get me wrong, he's a nice dog but I've never actively gone out telling people they should use him - it's just because they came to me and asked. So naturally I'm pretty ignorant to how it all works and appreciate the information you've provided.

Yes - I think I want to buy next time - much easier......the runs I made worked out well but probably not that much cheaper than the ones you can buy. Also, anyone who is thinking of using koppers logs as part of their DIY runs, they split really badly when you try to screw weldmesh panels onto them.....LOL. I'd have to say i'm not against building your own because you can really get what you want but if I do next time, I think I'm definately at least going to buy the panels with the gates already in them......