BlackJaq

Animal Welfare Code of Practice Breeding dogs and cats If you paid for it then the seller is in the business of breeding dogs as far as I can see. They fall under the authority of this code of practice unless they are a pet shop, pound or shelter. ( quote says "The incidental breeding of animals by pet shops, pounds or shelters are activities for which the standards are set by other Codes recognised by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation 2006.") ETA: Sorry wrong document, have corrected that info now

Well I'm jealous of you guys to say the least.. The vet nurse ended up ringing me back and by the sounds of it she must have spoken with one of the vets who knew what they were doing as she gave me a speech that sounded like she'd memorized it lol It went along the lines of how she is not good at reading lab results and to discard her previous statement and she is sorry to have caused me any confusion..... I am now assuming that there is no actual note on the results, that was simply her conclusion? Who knows... Apparently they will try to get the vet who did the tests to give me a call back tomorrow to discuss the results and she is going to send me a copy of the tests. By the sounds of it she really got an ass whooping off someone... So hopefully I will get the written results some time next week and will actually be able to see what is going on. I was seriously concerned when she said that Foxy is not protected since she'd had all her shots so far and I thought there was a serious issue with her immune system for her to have no levels at all.. Anyway.... Feeling a bit frustrated at the whole thing still and it really shook my trust in the clinic staff's overall knowledge level and commitment (to further their own education on a regular basis)

Hi guys! So when we went in for the last lot of vaccinations about a month or so ago, I decided to get a titre test done for my Weimaraner bitch. Shortly thereafter I was heading to agility camp in Sydney so I chose to vaccinate anyway since results would not be back until well after we returned (they had to send the test overseas? I really don't think my vet has ever done a titre test before, she spent quite some time checking to see if there was a distemper test at all and if so where to get it done). So I basically had blood taken first and then did a C3 and so far my dog has had all her vaccinations as per the recommended schedule (as per my vet), that is all three puppy vaccinations and then annual boosters after that. She is 3 now. Anyway, I guess my vet didn't seem particularly intimate on the why's and wherefores of titre testing but we are very rural and I guess they are just happy if people vaccinate their pets at all. So today I was reading an older Dogs NSW magazine (in the bathroom no less) and there was a letter to the editor regarding parvo and titre testing, which reminded me that I paid out my nose to get these tests done several weeks ago now (it was in Nov I think) and that I had received no results and no follow up. I then called my clinic and to start with didn't get anything useful out of the young receptionist, except that the vet who'd done the tests wasn't there and there was no record of the tests and that I should call back later (which I happily did, hoping that somebody with more of a clue of what's going on would be there) so the second time I think a vet nurse answered (pretty sure it wasn't one of the vets but they have a fair few and sometimes get in new ones.. ) who seemed to have no idea about titre testing either (had to clarify twice what kind of test results I was looking for) and who then proceeded to tell me that my dog had no immunity and was at danger of infection. Apparently that is what it said on the results. No idea if that was a note made by the vet or by the actual testing facility.. She was hopeless for elaborating on any details and basically she got a bit snippish and said "Sorry I don't understand why we are testing this??" So in response all I said was "Because I want to know my dog's immune levels and I need written results if I am to not vaccinate but prove immunity at various dog clubs etc". She seemed speechless at this concept, not sure which part of it.. I asked to have the results sent to me to which she answered that she would "consult with the vet who did the tests" and check if they were ok to go out like that? So I am now confused as hell, still have no real idea what the tests said and I feel a bit dubious about my vet's ability to decide what is best for my pets when they are so ignorant (for want of a better word) on the issue? Should vets not be informed at least about the concerns regarding over vaccination? Obviously they will have an opinion, but should it not be backed by fact and knowledge? Or am I being totally wierd about even considering a titre test before vaccinating? I would really appreciate some DOL opinions on this, titre testing in particular and also on vet attitude towards it? This is my first time to titre test so obviously I have no previous experiences to compare to :/

Interesting. Why was she paralyzed in the first place?

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up. I had a quick google search and they don't seem to be common in rescue, your best bet is probably a pup from a breeder or perhaps an older dog from a breeder (retired brood bitch or show dog etc). Have you gone to any dog shows to meet some of these dogs in person yet? I think meeting the dogs will be your best bet in judging which ones will have the temp you are looking for.

Are you looking to "adopt" as in.. from a rescue? Or do you intend on purchasing a pup from a breeder? Sorry I don't know much about Brittanies but "adopt" and "breeder" kinda through me off when I was reading your post?

My Weimaraner has a slight smell. Some might call it houndy, but I like it (is that wierd?). Most of the time I can only smell it on her feet though, especially on hot days. Presumably they sweat a little on their feet? Non dog people definitely notice it though haha

What breed? Some people find that for example LGDs bond better to stock the earlier they start the process, especially if the breeder has no stock. It didn't use to be unusual for dogs to go to new homes at 6 or 7 weeks and be fine and while I don't agree with this there are probably worse things. It is the law however, so I would comply with the 8 weeks minimum regardless of what I thought of it.

I don't doubt there are better and worse examples of the breed around. I'm sure the same goes for GSDs and other breeds who felt a very negative impact in the hey-day of show breeding for exaggerated features. Some breed features unfortunately are contributing to less than stellar breed health (dare I mention the BB here?) and I don't think we (as the PB world) are doing ourselves any favors by ignoring or denying this. Other people are happy to use this as cannon fodder to put down all PBs so perhaps we need to look at decreasing some of these features in order to improve overall health. But I guess this is pretty OT now. I certainly feel for any breed who becomes the subject of a fad, there are always vultures out there, waiting to cash in on something like this and some breeds spend decades recovering from this kind of thing when the fad finally wears off and some breed reputations never recover entirely.

Not to offend anyone but I have seen a few working earthdog Dachshunde in Germany and they look shorter in the back, with less stumpy legs and generally seem a lot less fragile than the PB Dachies I have seen in Oz.. Methinks show breeding has not done them many favors and BYB would probably not really be that much worse. Of course I am not a Dachie person and I don't know the breed in great detail but it seems to be common opinion in vets and such that they are very prone to back issues.. Which performance bred Dachies don't seem to have that much of a problem with. Maybe a Dachie person could elaborate on this a little. Obviously becoming a fad breed is a terrible thing to happen to any breed but I think the breed as it is atm is not exactly a stellar example of umm.... healthy structure....

Hmm surely somebody else must have some more suggestions.. I have seen plenty of people reading the thread

A few weeks ago at obedience club my jaw nearly hit the ground when one of the instructors suggested bite training for a giant, fear aggressive and dog reactive GSD who was dragging his elderly owner all over the place and randomly lunging at dogs as far as 3 m away (with owner grass skiing after the hairy beastie). Regardless of breed, that kind of dog needs some serious behavior modification, not training on where to grab an opponent...

I would get a baby gate and keep them in separate areas, depending on your house's layout. You might have to make time specifically for each of them. One way or another she will probably need to learn to be separated from you for periods of time and if your boy is happy to be in another room for a few hours at a time then he will at least not need to be on a leash. I totally understand about dogs being clumsy and pushy, despite regular socialization etc and my Wei girl can be way too pushy for more timid dogs, especially when she thinks their warnings are not to be taken seriously. I would just try to minimize bad experiences between them at least while she is still a bit sore and still has her stitches in. She might end up becoming a lot more tolerant once that is no longer an issue or she may not but you don't want to ruin their chances of living together harmoniously in the future because he accidentally steps on her tender tummy and she wallops him in return. These kind of feuds can become lifelong. Your boy may also need a little bit of time to settle with the idea of another dog being around and to realize that this does not mean that play needs to happen 24/7 because of this (some single dogs think a new dog in the household is like meeting a play buddy at the park but all day long lol)

I would probably separate them at least until her stitches come out. It sounds like your boy has some pretty poor social skills and spay surgery can make girls pretty sore and cranky for a while. She might be reacting more strongly than she would otherwise and if he pushes her too far now she may never exactly take to him, so I would wait until she feels better before subjecting her to a rude older puppy. I'm sure there will be plenty of other DOlers with more experience with this type of situation along to comment presently :)

Obviously, since you are still here :laugh:

I think if your breed of interest has a large BYB market then you will probably need contacts or a thick skin to be able to deal with their pedigree breeders, as these people would have heard it all in terms of excuses, reasons and blatant lies in order to obtain a puppy to use as a breeding dog in a BYB or mill set-up. I would like to take this opportunity to point out how this creates a giant catch 22, even though I am sure everybody here is already aware of that. I have, myself, seen threads on DOL where members jumped on people who were simply uneducated, when they had a popular byb breed and were innocently asking questions about breeding. Instead of taking the opportunity to educate somebody like this, some reactions were quite violent. I would always recommend that puppy buyers write an email instead of making a phone call for the first contact with an unknown breeder, this way they can order their thoughts and describe themselves and their requirements in detail, and also copy and paste this to send to several breeders. This way the breeder gets an idea of the knowledge and quality of the home before getting a chance to be abrupt and potentially scaring off inexperienced puppy buyers due to sheer annoyance, acquired over a bunch of crappy puppy inquiries. I realize that some breeders find this attitude offensive and might even prefer phone calls but I believe that this approach has the best chance of success, mainly with inexperienced pedigree puppy buyers. I used this approach myself when looking for my first pedigree puppy and can happily say that I got no rude or abrupt answers to my inquiries as most breeders either had a copy and paste response with some basic info ready or were happy to have a chat on the phone after the initial email. I'm not even going to mention any criteria I might have if I were a breeder as I can just about hear the outraged arguments in response to my requirements lol :p

Pretty sure pingg string is allowed in Vic as well as NSW. Alternatively, a run does not have to be concrete floored, weld mesh will do the same job as long as you pick a small enough size. If you use weldmesh you can also disassemble the pen and take it with you if you have to move. You will need to crate train, pen or otherwise make it impossible for her to escape, others have explained why this is important. Electric tape may also stop her digging but once she is big enough she may discover jumping, so a roofed pen with a floor is really the way to go in my opinion (as I don't think puppies should be crated for extended periods of time).

DeserDobes, could it be a lipoma? They are not generally dangerous and my Wei had one before. Sorry, cannot help the OP, never even heard of it. I'd love to read anything you learn about it though :)

Lol and the wheel goes round and round....

I think quolls (?) drink blood only and leave no other injuries. I don't really think it sounds like a dog or fox but I guess something could have interrupted it or the goat might have struggled and injured it. Was the neck broken? ETA: Actually, depending on breed, I guess a gundog might have done it. My Weimaraner will go for the throat and throttle the animal, so does not generally leave any marks. If the animal struggled the teeth might have scored the skin though, depending on the skill of the dog. Not all dogs (I am talking single dogs here) will just maul, if it is a prey driven gundog, throttling is a common move for them.

I also refer people to DOL and most never knew there was such a thing! But not everybody has someone around who knows these things and those people could benefit greatly from breeders who advertise on pages or in papers more known to the general public. If they don't know it exists they won't be looking for it!

WTF