BlackJaq

For a small puppy I would get kitchen scissors (the ones you would use on a roast chicken) and cut the carcass into quarters. I don't know how big your puppy is but I would only feed maybe a quarter at a time until you know she is ok with it and doesn't try to gulp it all in one piece (yes, my OH's dog will try to swallow lots of things whole but he is a large adult so only gets whole frames to force him to chew them up a bit) As she gets bigger and needs larger meals I would only cut the carcass in half. Eventually, depending on how much food she needs, you can just give them the whole thing. Healthy dogs do not need everything cut up and minced for them like human babies, it is much better for their teeth to chew things up themselves as long as they do not try to swallow large bones and such whole.

Are those working dogs or pets/show only? Not sure what that comment is supposed to achieve, a dog can have a temperament completely unsuitable to work or even uncharacteristic of its breed and still "tolerate" a judge well. Obviously I cannot comment on the temperament of a dog just from a video like this, I'm just saying. Just because it looks like a brilliant example of breed xyz does not always mean it has a correct working temperament for breed xyz. If they are "only" pets then all bets are off anyways since they are not being selected for working temperament.

I think it is pretty scary how many people are cool with b&e and trespassing on someone's private property as well, for any reason. Maybe things would be different if it was their own property being breached, rather than a suspected puppy miller's. And to be honest, I have seen backyards where pet dogs are kept with the same or worse conditions as have been shown in the photos, nobody seems to be concerned about those animals.

I think there are a lot of prejudices and false preconception out there. I have bought geese from a local free range egg farm and they said the dogs will bond to the individual chickens and will not guard new birds when they have to replace the laying flock. They genuinely believe this and that is why they will not try them despite having huge problems with foxes and birds of prey.

This is my concern also, as well as random people creeping all over your property in the middle of the night! Factory farming dogs is bad, but some things are worse, especially when the dogs are basically well cared for. Loosing all rights in regard to your privacy and property as soon as you have a bitch whelping on your property is much, much worse, in my opinion.

Since this was such a huge issue for everyone, can somebody maybe find some room for this girl so she can get the snip? The pound will not just spay any females that come in for funsies, they are kept on as long as possible but if they do not get rescue or local adoption (which is not exactly an option we relish with a potentially pregnant bitch) then the last option is for Nina and Rhonda to take them on, or they can be put down. Any help with this girl would be appreciated and if somebody wants to just cover her spay (as I have done in the past but cannot afford to at present, nor can I afford to do that for every single bitch in general) then monies can be paid to the vet directly without the need to commit to rescue the dog. As I said, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Haha! That is pretty much what it is like. Eventually one will jump on it and then they all jump in to get a piece, including the adoptive chickens who think they are also Guineas...

Yes I would agree with this if they are all to be judged in the same way, which is what we currently expect. I also agree that some correct working temperaments in some breeds are definitely not suitable to be shown. I also do not think there is anything wrong with that as long as the dog is still performing the actual work that temperament is required for.

and, in the show ring, just how many extra minutes do we allow a maremma to make up it's mind whether to allow a judge to examine it or not? And should the same courtesy be extended to other dogs/breeds? It doesn't involve extra minutes at all. It simply means not rushing the dog, not lunging at the dog, not flicking the wrist behind the ears and not setting out to spook the dog. All of these deliberate and unintentioned acts I have witnessed first hand. I could tell you about one particular married pair who deliberately orchestrated an unrelenting tirade on my dogs over a full weekend of showing, all witnessed by another all breed judge, and the two of them then went off and laughed about it to another Maremma breeder. You can put up objections as much as you like but the dogs are not going to submit to inconsiderate approaches. So how is that fair? I don't think this is out of the ordinary with many breeds who bond strongly to their owners but are aloof with strangers. Guarding tendencies might be aroused by somebody being nervous or overly fast in their movements if the dog has guarding tendencies (like a guardian breed for example). My Weimaraner was quite put off at the abrupt way one of the ladies at agility was flicking her hand at her head in an attempt to "pet" her as she jumped on the table. I don't think the lady meant anything bad by it but the dog obviously took it to be swat rather than a pat and would not let the lady touch her again for the rest of the session. The instructors were putting hands on all the dogs to make sure they could be safely handled by strangers but I did not think that particular move was very appropriate and wa snot overly inclined to force my dog to accept this lady touching her after this faux pas. Likewise, people who approach my dog very abruptly or go straight for the pat on the head should not expect her to accept their touch. It is only courteous to approach in a civilized and calm manner and let the dog have a sniff and preferably initiate the interaction, rather than rapidly entering the dog's space and slapping it on the head a few times... Not all breeds love all people as labs are expected to and not all love to be touched by strangers. As long as the dog is under the handler's control I see no issue with this.

Ew yes, those pens are pretty dirty and bare dirt would definitely be hard to clean/disinfect. Does SA have breeding establishment requirements like some other states do now where you need all concrete easy-to-clean pens and such to conduct a breeding business? If so a report made to the proper authorities surely would have been in order...

I have not seen any photos and the writer of the article did not even get to see the pens and has therefore been unable to describe them. I do not like to judge things I have not actually seen. Anybody can make up whatever they like about anybody's property. Of course I do not condone the mass production of companion animals and keeping breeding animals in filthy conditions but I have not seen what conditions are like at that property

I think having puppies sterilized instead of castrated as long as they are over 1 kg was found to be a good option? That way they still get the hormones they need to mature (mostly relevant for large-ish breeds I think?) but cannot be bred from. This can be done before puppies leave at 8 weeks or whatever so there is no need to try and enforce de-sexing later in life?

I kind of have to agree with this. The guy was apparently registered and following all guidelines. There were no charges or convictions. A private property is that, private property. I would go ballistic if I found anybody trespassing on my property for whatever reason. I would probably hit the roof if somebody came to my property while I was not home and harassed the occupants of my house to try and get dirt on me.

Well it says the guy has removed hi dogs so I assume he has moved them to an unknown location to continue with business as usual

There was no mention of any raid anywhere?

Yes they are hideously expensive

Maybe the snakes were being attracted to them then lol ETA: I have Guineas, chickens and such and I have seen my birds eat a couple of small snakes now, not sure what kind. Those Guineas seem to really hate them, they will all run at the snake and corner it and if they can't get it they will just stay there and yell at it.... From my own experiences I would recommend Guineas. Rumour has it peafowl will kill them too but I cannot confirm this. I had a huge brown snake in my peafowl enclosure before and my pair were completely unconcerned.

In case anybody wants to help out another BH poundie who is possibly pregnant, please visit the BH thread. There is another large breed girl there who is assumed to be in the very early stages of pregnancy and will need a rescue to put their name on her and have her spayed before the pregnancy progresses any further. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone tried the snake repellents? They are fairly dear but several people I know have bought them and said after putting them up they suddenly saw large numbers of snakes, presumably resident snakes pulling up their stakes and leaving. Not sure if that is actually what was happening or not but thought I'd mention them since several people had a nana last time when killing snakes was mentioned (there was legislation posted that said they could be killed if scaring people (can't remember which state this was) or threatening people or property/livestock (this was NSW)

If you are going to look into real lawn I would look at how much lawn grid will cost you. It is only a small area and it will greatly reduce the amount of wear your turf is experiencing. Hang on, I will find a link for ETA: http://www.boddingtons.com.au/grass-reinforcement/grass-parking-paver.htm http://www.porous-paving.com.au/

Here are some links for electric netting in case nobody has posted it yet: http://www.electricfenceaustralia.com.au/electric-fence-online-store/electric-fence-for-poultry.html http://www.farmerswarehouse.com.au/product.php?productid=22168 They are intended for use on sheep and chickens and seem to work reasonably well for keeping foxes away from stock.

It's for chickens, will see if I can find a link

Well, my own cat has walked under the electric fence for the horses a few times and touched it with his tail. He certainly noticed that something bit him but to this day has not figured out what it is. If I put the fence up in a new place he will walk under it and get zapped again but at least he is now avoiding the places where it has bit him before. Not sure if that is any help to you? You can buy electric netting btw, might be harder for the cat to get around it. Either way, your own cat might zap herself. I would look into the cat door somebody posted that read your cat's chip, that way it doesn't need to wear a collar to get in.

So did you look at the rollers that somebody has already suggested? Completely pain free and will keep out all cats and your cat will be contained in your yard but can still be outdoors. Does this not solve your problem?

I meant to say "many vets" but yeah, not every vet loves animals or even likes them. I know plenty who actually don't. Many of those simply like the money.