freundhund

Very interesting you saying about vets recommending Penn Hip, there are so few vets that have paid the fee to train to do Penn Hi. I believe there is only a handful of vets trained here in NSW.

You are soooo lucky living in SA. Jane Humphrey the Herding Judge lives there. Please PM me and I will put you in touch with Jane, she will let you know when herding starts again next year. Most states don't start herding again now until March.

Firstly, do you have a contract with the breeder? If you do have a contract does it state that you brought the bitch for show and breeding purposes? Secondly do you have a breed club? If you have a breed club, does it have a register for this condition? Is this a condition that the parents should have had certificates stating they are free of the condition? Is this a genetic condition that can go or is able to go on to the ANKC hereditary conditions list?

Hi NewGSDOwner If you would like to email me at [email protected] I am happy to email you copies of the information I give to new puppy buyers. Otherwise I recommend you contact your breeder, your breeder if they are affiliated with the GSDL is required to give you a booklet that gives you a lot of the basic information on raising your puppy. Please also seeGSDL Code of Ethics GSDL Information Sheet You will find both these publications helpful. Did your breeder give you a list of things to purchase to make bringing your puppy home easier? I would like to wish you all the very best with your new puppy in the future. And look forward to meeting you at a show or obedience trial.

I do know that a number of GSD people in the USA who did Penn Hip scheme at a young age got rid of puppies that failed and then found that people who put litter brothers and sisters thru the SV scheme had puppies that passed. The SV scheme is a highly respected scheme in which GSD's from all over Europe participate. Since these results have happened a number of US breeders continue to Penn Hip but run puppies on until they have the puppies final X-Ray done at 2 years of age. I don't recommend the Penn Hip scheme to any of my puppy buyers and when I am asked by the general public with regards to it I try to explain my points of view. When I first heard of Penn Hip approximately 10 years ago, I did a lot of research into the scheme to see if it would or could improve my breeding program. I was very unimpressed with what I found via internet searches and talking to various breeders in the USA, I have not found anything since to change my views on the Penn Hip scheme.

The original Penn Hip system was based on 100 dogs, mainly greyhounds and beagles, with a few crossbreeds. Most breeds have a scoring system for their breed where there are cutoff points and recommendations for how to lower the score. You also have to look at dogs and though the bones are the same shape in the hip pelvic girdle positions in breeds can vary. The mean average score in GSD's is now around the 12 -13 mark well inside the breed cut off limit. Most breeders now not only use animals that have very low scores but now look at adding both parents scores together and unless the combined parent scores are under 12 a majority of breeders will not do a breeding. There are no specific indicators or available scores made available to breed clubs from the Penn Hip scheme via the University of Pennsylvania and as such there is no point in any breed club supporting a scheme that doesn't assist breed clubs or breeders to improve their breeding stock.

A number of years ago I went to a lecture given by Pfezier <sp>. At that time they claimed and stated that their vaccine had been altered and that the protocols of giving puppies their vaccinations at 6, 12 and 16 weeks still stood. HOWEVER, the new version of the vaccine over-rides the maternal antibodies sp that if for some reason new puppy buyers didn't follow the protocols or delayed on the vaccination process the puppies should still be covered for a period of time. Hope this helps, I feel from what we were told at the lecture by the companies vets that if you delay vaccinating for 2 weeks your puppy will be still able to go out in public. I have always taken out my puppies prior to their second vaccination.

I would advise this woman that you don't believe this puppy is going to be suitable the right match etc for her. And refund her monies. You will be stressed for ever about this puppy, and in your heart of hearts you know this is not a good home. I have to confess I have advised people that I don't think that a puppy in a litter is suitable and pulled out of a sale.

The ANKC/AVA scheme is recognised worldwide. A number of FCI and other countries do not recognise Penn-Hip. If you look up on your search engine the origins of the Penn-Hip scheme, you will realise that it isn't suitable for all breeds of dogs. Plus you are basically sending money to an American University instead of keeping it in Australia.

I have really enjoyed this thread. I miss that the RAAF dog training was moved from Regents Park in Sydney to Amberley. When the RAAF trained their dogs at Regents Park I used to go out weekly to see the dogs and watch training, and learn a lot. I am suprised though that people dodn't realise showline shepherds actually need the same about of walking as workinglines. My 2 year old girl gets approximately 10 k's a day minimum as well as all her show and obedience training.

In a GSD it means one that is not carrying excess weight and has well defind musculature. Most pet GSD's are loose, ie fat and under exercised.

Ummm, twice a day, and sometimes more often than that. This way IF the dogs had worms it would help stop the amount of worms being left behind. Plus I hate flies, so I pick up asap. Okay, maybe I am OCD

Problem is a lot of the general public don't recognise play behaviour between dogs, they don't recognise friendly behavior towards them by large dogs. Also ZI have spoken to a council ranger that I know who advised me with the way the Dangerous Dog Act is written, people are using it in place of the old fences dispute or the trees overshadowing the yard situation. So that if there is an dispute invoving neighbours, rangers get a lot of complaints about dogs barking, then it will esculate to they are scared of the dog.

Thanks, Centennial Park on a Sunday morning is an excellent club to belong to as a number of the members there are also triallers. GussysMum There is a non-affiliated club at Leichhardt, which didn't suit me as I wanted to trial, and unfortunately for me I wasn't happy with the level instruction, this is possibly because I have been trialling on and off for a number of years, and have done a number of courses in dog training and have instructed at a number of other clubs. The nearest other club to you is Sydney All Breeds Dog Taining Club that meets at St Lukes Park Stanley Street Concord. This club has a lot of really good instructors, with a lot of experience and a number of triallers and judges. This club also does basic agility and Rally-O. Please remember if your dog is under 12 months of age you should not start him in agility. Your nearest Agility Club is PICSI at Dan Mahoney Oval Parramatta on a Friday night. Hope that helps you, find a club that suits you. Good luck with your training of Gus.

You have been really lucky that your council has taken action for a dog bite on a human. My local coundil still hasn't bothered to contact us over the dog that bit my husband when he went to protect my daughter and I from it. However, my local council will go after people with large dogs in the local off lead parks and declare them dangerous when complaints made by owners of SWF's, the dogs don't even have to attack! Apparently owners of SWF's only have to feel their dog is in danger!!!

Where abouts in the Inner Sydney area, are you? Because I am inner city and go to at least 3 clubs, a suburb helps to know where to send you.

Vegas von Dongmaran is standing at stud in Sydney with John and Lee Martens. I don't think any of Vegas' progeny are old enough to X-ray as yet. I think Paul and Daphne Murray have about his oldest progeny and I am pretty sure the puppies are not old enough yet, but will be very soon. From a Uras v Trafalga daughter you should get good dark pigment and colour, I saw Vegas when he first came to Australia when he was on view at the GSD National last year 2010, just after he came out of quarantine, he was a darkly pigmented dog them but I haven't had a chance to see him since.

You urgently need to report this incident to the police and the local council rangers. This happened to a friend of mine, she just shrugged the original incident off, however a few weeks later she and her dog were assaulted by a person who had behaved like the person you are discribing, just a couple of weeks before. She had changed her time of day and everything, she is currently going thru an absolute nightmare with the person who assaulted her claiming he did it in self defence as her dog attacked him, she cannot prove the first incident happened as she made no official report.

I think the form to fill out is a great idea as a first step in weeding out undesirable puppy owners. I really feel that we end up with so many dogs in pounds that those breeders that go the extra mile to end up with good homes, deserve them. As I haven't bred for a few years and don't plan to for at least 18 months, I haven't put a form on my website, however, I will do so. Over the last 30 years, I have bred 128 puppies, and I must admit to having put puppy buyers thru the third degree. Of the 128 puppies I have bred only 5 have ever gone on to have puppies, 4 bitches and 1 dog, and all of these had all their health checks. In that 128 puppies I received 3 back, 2 due to divorce and 1 due to her owner dying.(In owners will she was to come back to me.) I have only ever been notified of 1 desexed 11 year old bitch turning up at the RSPCA, and her owners arrived at the RSPCA about 5 minutes ahead of me, they were in tears she had got out when the nextdoor neighbour had accidently knocked the side fence over! As for desexing, I haven't recommended desexing under the age of 15 months, since the mid 1980's, due to the side effects. Of the 5 animals that have been bred from, all also passed all our club schemes, the dog was also an Aust Champion with a CDX title and I had a litter with the 3 of the 4 bitches. I really think if people don't like breeders forms, or the questions their breeder asks them they can look elsewhere, it is not going to be a match made in heaven. And I want Christmas Cards from my puppies that I bred 15 years ago and who are still going strong!

Okay, most GSD owners and breeders I know in Perth WA, keep their GSD's inside in airconditioning. I know a number of GSD breeders actually have airconditioned kennels. You cannot clip a GSD, the coat is actually designed to keep the dog hot and cold. You might find after a while your dog will have less and less actual coat as it adjusts to the heat. If your dog has to be outside during the day in the sort of heat you describe you will need to have a childrens plastic swimming pool with clean water in it for your dog to lie in, as well if you will need to make a shaded area up with heavy duty shade cloth for your dog to lie under. I wouldn't recommend leaving your dog outside however, once the heat gets over about 35 degrees. Also no exercise once the temperature reaches 28 degrees during the day. I will see if I can find an article written years ago about living with a GSD in Darwin and the Tropics.

I have a lot of contact with my puppy buyers, some have had their 2nd and 3rd puppies from me. I must say I love this time of year as it is when I start getting Christmas Cards from my puppies. The oldest of my puppies at the moment is 13 years old, at the age of 5 she moved with her family to Canada.

When I rang the AVA I was advised that there were several vets here now licensed to read Penn Hips. Obviously the answer I got from them last year was incorrect. I apologise for misleading everyone.

Thank you all for your imput, it really helped, me to clarify things in my mind.

Sorry, this is wrong, I have had a puppy buyer, whose daughter and the puppy kept giving each other tonsilitis. I can assure you, I went with the mother to the Children's Hospital Randwick, were we saw a senior specialist in the end, taking the puppy. (Child had a few health problems, and examining puppy before she was examined, made examining child easier) We then went to the vet, who confirmed the puppy definately had tonsilitis. Eventually both puppy and child had antibiotics together, the vet and the specialist did a lot of research before confirming that they were sure that the tonsilitis was being passed across. Apparently, it doesn't happen very often but it does happen.

Penn Hip can be read here in Australia, Dr Grahame Allen is licensed to read and score here in Australia, I believe there are a number of other vets that are licensed now to read and score here in Australia. I just find that the cost of Penn Hip being so much more expensive to do X-raying, as well as after doing research on Penn Hip, I prefer to stay with X-raying.