Kia

you forgot the blue eyes....lol

Apparently groomers aren't allowed to use their professional judgement, we are supposed to do exactly what the owner demands, regardless of how unrealistic the expectations are or how the end result will impact on your reputation as a groomer. I've even had owners go so far as to say, that they don't want their dog clipped, just bath it and dry it off, even though the dog has it's ears matted to it's head and you'd be lucky to get a brush through any part of it's coat. Oh I agree Pav Lova.......many clients with dogs like that were told it was a clip off or I refused to do the dog. I would explain that I wasn't going to be responsible for their dog needing vet attention because they were left damp under the coat and it turning into a nasty infected mess.

In my experience a lot of grooming disasters are because they need to be taken right back. I had a Groodle many years ago, that I warned the owners would need to be taken right off...the reason, this dog was covered in grass seeds. Poor dog was covered in festering sores and lumps from them. They were then advised to get the dog to a vet.

The emails I don't like getting are "what do you have available and how much?" I much prefer a small overview of the home situation and their experience with dogs, some general questions about the breed as to how they may fit in to that home situation and if there are any health issues that you need to be aware of. My emails back tend to contain a lot more info than the person has asked :D and often I have questions that I ask them. More than half of those emails are usually the end of contact.... As a breeder we need to educate the general public about our breed and what they need to check for and weed out those that would not be good owners or would supply to BYB

It isn't about removing good dogs from the breeding pool but trying to minimise and eventually breed out the problems. Yes on going testing is expensive both financially and time wise. I do the DNA testing so I can make informed decisions.

The HSF4 gene is dominant...so only needs 1 copy. It also has "incomplete penetrance" so a dog can be DNA'd as affected but never show cataracts.

I had an unplanned C-section a few years back for a aussie but it was nowhere near that sort of price. It was during normal surgery hours.

Australian Shepherds can be affected by these cataracts as well ....usually both eyes. We do have a DNA test available. While we are able to test for HSF4 cataracts there are still others that can show up so regular eye checks are important. There are aussies who carry a copy of the HSF4 gene who never cliniclly show signes.

I wish they would shut that kennel(cough) down. So many of the pups coming from there have health or other issues. Been too many owners left with huge vet bills.

Oh no....so sorry to hear about poor Cahill. Run free at the bridge young fella. Thoughts are with you and his family.

Hi Mollylab....it pretty much works the same way here in Australia...although we do refer to it as hip/elbows. Do check that your vet is experienced with doing xrays for scoring as not all vets can do it well enough....I'm sure there are others here who can recommend a good one local to you. There are 2 readers that I know of...Lavelle and Rawlinson. I have used Rawlinson here is SA and had results back within days of him recieving the disc. My vet gives me the option of posting myself , the disc and paperwork come back to me. Or if they post it off they get the disc and paperwork. Either way I recieve a copy by email from Rawlinson as soon as he has read them.

How distessing for you. I have to wonder, if the xrays were not good enough for scoring how were they good enough to say they weren't perfect..... Unfortunatly as breeders we will get some of these sort of owners....no matter how diligent we try to be.

sorry to hear that Jumabaar, have they done a full thyroid test? Many vets don't do the full one unfortunatly. Breeding can be heart breaking but don't make any decissions just yet. Give yourself time to get over the shock. There are some great forums around for epi owners, they give support and advise.

I highly recommend them....great prices and ever so helpfull

all fingers and paws crossed for a quick recovery for Mindy.

Professional grooming has to be one of the hardest thankless jobs out there. In a perfect world the little darlings would just stand there...but it isn't. There can be and is serious risk to groomers from badly behaved dogs.

snake season terrifies me...I have had several browns in dog areas over the years but the worst time was when I got home from work one day. Hubby had let the dogs out and I found them playing with a dead baby brown . Have had a few close calls with dogs and snakes passing each other <shudder>

Jed if you are proud of your girl then you have every right to brag.....it isn't always about the BOB's.....after all it is only 1 judges opinion

well I for one am very greatfull for those who are sharing the information. While it doesn't directly affect me here in SA, it does make me aware that moving dogs from those areas needs a bit more thought and perhaps even testing before they are moved. Just a question ....is it known for sure that the dogs will have the same symptoms as the horse and be affected with the same issues? While I understand trying to minimise the risk to people and other animals surely we need to gather as much information as we can....

Eventingpony...are you going to be able to make it to the shows at Albury in August? Will be many aussie exhibitors and there are grooming clinics that are for aussies. I would talk to as many people as I could to find what works before spending a fortune on grooming products. I have tried heaps of products over the years and have gone back to a very basic grooming kit. I start all my babies on a martingale collar and although I do like the look of the bling leads use plaited roo leather leads and snake chain or fine chains on the older dogs. As for show suits....opshops, garage sales, ebay.....all work for me and it isn't too upsetting when you end up with paw marks all over the front

such a sad thing to have to deal with especially on your own. We share your sadness with the loss of a special friend Run free Brock

evjorgo....have you been in touch with Dusty's breeder? As a breeder I know that I appreciate puppy people letting me know and I try to give them the support they need.

So sorry to hear about your boy. I had to give my red tri aussie her wings 3 years ago due to lymphoma. I noticed the lumps in the neck and when we got to the vets the next day they aspirated several of the glands that were enlarged. I made the choice not to go the chemo path. We did get over a month without any medication before she started to show signs of being unwell. But then the aussies can be very stoic. Best of luck with his treatment.

I should also add that hearing is associated with the amount of pigment in the ear. The amount of white present on the head doesn't always mean they will or won't have full hearing.

Sounds like "wanting their cake and eating it too" kind of arrangement. I co-owned a bitch with her breeder and was very happy with the arrangement. The dog lived with me, I paid for her normal upkeep (food, vet bills etc) we shared the costs associated with her breeding (health checks, vet bills with breeding) etc. We would also share the money from the sale of any puppies. She came to me for free. I knew the breeder though. Plus side for me? A lovely, show quality bitch that did not cost me anything to buy. Plus for the breeder? Keeping options open on a bitch they couldn't keep in their kennels. I wouldn't touch the above arrangement with a 10 foot pole. Sounds like a very selfish breeder. I have only done it once but yes I did charge full pet price but I would have paid for the health testing and they would have been paid a stud fee. Reduced if it was over my own dogs but full prcie for any others. Thank you Cowanbree. This we would have been fine with however we were responsible for all health testing and their was no stud fee for us at all and if we were to allow the dog to be breed with another pure breed dog then they requested the full stud fee from this. Not that we would ever offer a dog on stud because it is of zero interest to us. Was going to say this. Merle x merle in my breed not allowed. Dogs can be born blind or deaf or both - and very very high chance of this happening. Gayle - are their the same health issues with merle x merle matings as there are in other breeds? Causing hearing and sight problems? Yes, I would imagine it's exactly the same gene as in Border Collies. And causes the same problems. It's not done often, but it IS done and the pups are allowed to be registered as per any other mating. My merle x merle girl has a colomboma in one eye and iris hypoplasia in the other. Neither affects her sight at all, but the lack of an iris affects the light control and she squints in sunlight. I have done some research on iris hypoplasia and as far as I can tell, she carries the double merle gene and that is a direct result of it. Not sure how the gene works in BC but not all merle x merle crosses in aussies produce double merle pups as you can often get solids in those litters. The merle gene is dominant in aussies but quite often a litter of merle x solid will produce mostly solid pups. I have a dog from a double merle mating who doesn't carry a huge amount of white, is a minimal merle and has produced solid pups in a litter. He had no eye issues at his last eye screen and has been DNA'd. Some of the eye issues seen in aussies are due to CEA which DNA testing is helping to eradicate. And some that are unrelated to either CEA or the merle x merle crosses.