freundhund

If you are after photos of the German Shepherds or Keeshonds the official photographer didn't stay around to take them. We all finished to late.

The poor Keeshonds were being judged in the dark, they were called into the ring at 5.30pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well what a horrendous day, if the Royal Agricultural Society wants a dog entry for either German Shepherds or a some of the other breeds they will have to lift their game. Judging commenced at 4.30pm after we had to assemble at ringside at 3.15pm and finished at 5.15pm and the poor Keeshonds still had to be judged in the dark. It would also help if the competitors were told what time judges were going to lunch and how long the judges would be at lunch, I think today was the worst run Royal Easter Shows I have attend in many a year. In total there was an entry of 19 German Shepherd dogs of which 14 were shown. To add insult to injury the official photographer didn't even bother to stay around to photo any of the winning German Shepherds or the poor Keeshonds. This was particularly insulting having watch him photo all the class winners of all the other breeds all day. Today it was also very noticeable that there was not the normal high attendance at the show that there is in previous years. I felt very sorry also for the public as they were unable to pat many of the few dogs that were there as most exhibitors felt that we needed to conserve our dogs energy. Someone asked me would I enter a dog in the Royal next year, it is something I will consider but this year has really put me off.

QUESTIONS 1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) Well, I breed "occassionally" as well as show and compete in obedience. I think I am up to about my 10th GSD with my new puppy. 2. Where and why was the breed first developed? The breed was developed in Germany towards the end oth the 1800's! It was first developed as a Sheepherding dog, that could be multipurposed! 3. How common is it in Australia? The GSD is one of the commoner breeds in Australia. 4. What is the average lifespan? The average lifespan is around 12 years+ in my own personal dogs. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? This varies from ones that want to be couch potatoes, to ones that want and need a job. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? A minimum of a 1 hour walk a twice a day. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? This depends on the character of the first time dog owner, for some people a GSD can be the perfect first time dog, for other's they should really think whether a GSD would ever be the dog for them. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Again this depends on the dog, I have had ones that have found ways of amusing themselves and others who are not happy at being ignored for long periods. 9. How much grooming is required? Officially a quick daily brushing. Unofficially, "mum is that all the grooming I am getting, I could enjoy you brushing me more!"10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? [b] Yes, but if you buy your puppy from a reputable breeder, who has complied with all the GSDCA's health schemes' for Hips, Elbows and Haemophyllia.[/b] 12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) I would hope that a reputable breeder would give the prospective puppy buyer all the information with regards to all health tests, without the puppy buyer having to ask for the information. Note most GSD clubs website's contain information on what breeders should provide to a buyer.

I have my ticket. Will be interesting to see what is there. Expensive, but as I am a full time uni student (at my age ) it isn't to bad.

My only contribution at this statge is that this was announced at the Cesar Milan show when I went to Acer Arena. I to have not seen or heard anywhere how the dogs are being entered or who will be there. Possibly contact Acer Arena and ask who the promoter is and contact the promoter to find out which organisations to contact.

Okay, my suggestion having had indoor dogs and 3 children is a wooden playpen. Don't reel back in horror, you can pop Lucy in the play pen for a short time to get her away from your daughter, and you can also pop your daughter in the playpen at times as well to get her away from Lucy but they can still be close to one another to encourage their relationship. The play pen also can be used for things like "ironing" you place yourself and the ironing board in the playpen so that neither Lucy or your daughter can get to the iron and get burnt. At a later stage when your child/ren are older, old playpens can be used to protect precious plants. I know it is difficult but the other thing is to use the distraction technic on Lucy, feed her smaller portions and use food in a Kong to distract her, or some special toy that she ontly gets to play with for a short time, then you take it away again so that it becomes prized. Another think is clicker training can also be effective. I know it is hard at this time with your daughter just starting to crawl, but believe me once she starts to walk a lot of this licking behaviour will settle down. Bascially, Lucy does also see your daughter at this age as a fellow puppy, the licking is a way of encouraging your daughter to play with her. Hopefully you will gain some help and assistance from the suggestions Kindest Regards

You can now buy portable dog pens for around $300 from LARGE petshops/warehouses or large hardware chains. You can also buy additional panels to enlarge them. I believe you have the correct idea about desexing as this will help, 16 mths is an acceptable age for it to be done according to internet research from Europe. If you can I would have a couple of plastic buckets (light weight) filled with water, throw water over dogs then please don't flame me over this use the plastic bucket(hit the dogs with it vigerously) and a very agress tone of voice so that you appear to be the dominant one. This is the only way I have ever been able to by myself break up a bitch fight. I know we all agree that hitting dogs is not acceptable but in this case it was used to stop myself getting hurt and from the dogs doing more damage to themselves. I felt a few bruises from a soft bucket was better than a dead dog! Hope this helps you, good luck this is a very stressful situation until you can separate them.