BlackJaq

No I think Sheridan meant they have no time for breeders who claim to not breed for the pet market but sell their culls as pets anyway ETA: Oh snap Aussie!

Ours were all bathed regularly from the get go, you point at the shower and tell them and in they go... It definitely pays to teach them this stuff early, just like you do with nail clipping and other stuff that can be iffy.. I know that doesn't really help you now but maybe it might be good to keep in mind for the next puppy ;)

This is exactly the kind of judgmental crap that makes people do the things that Steve mentioned. I initially found my Wei breeder on the trading post. The dog turned out to be perfect for what I wanted and at three years old is the dog that matches my personality and style to a T. In my opinion this breeder did a great job, even though she was breeding for pets rather than for her own use or for show prospects. She keeps in touch with all puppy buyers who are happy to do so and always responds promptly when and if I email her with an update or question. I don't even know if she advertised on DOL at all. ETA: As somebody else has said, some people simply do not know about DOL and such. Maybe some TV ads for good places to look for pups might be helpful to at least let the average Joe know that DOL and paces like it exist.

depends on the breed of course. I only breed when I want a puppy. But nobody should be frowning on breeders who choose to have one or two litters a year and providing good quality pet puppies or show prospects to the public rather than only breeding every few years for a prospect for themselves. There are just not enough good quality breeders in my opinion. Nor puppies.

I get sick of hearing the "good breeders only breed when they need a puppy" and all that crap, too. Where are good quality pets and working dogs going to come from if good quality breeders don't breed them? As many reg breeders here have said, puppies could be sold many times over, maybe more good puppies need to be bred to help satisfy customer demand. Many people just want a nice pet and when they can't find one from a reg breeder they will take the next best thing (and many don't even know why a reg breeder is the place to go) from a pet shop or byb

I think reg. breeders need to stop judging each other like this in general. The quality of pups and homes is what counts, not the nitpicking shit fights that see breeders persecute each other better than all the OL and "I hate Greeders" could manage on their own. I know there are black sheep in every mob but accusing anyone and everyone until proven guilty is not helping. And neither is beating down any newcomer who mentions breeding. Where do you think tomorrow's breeders will come from? And do you think they will be the ethical kind that we want or the ignorant, puppy milling, money grabbing or non health checking kind, if instead of receiving gentle education, they receive scathing sarcasm and hostility. The overall face the dog world presents to the public is pretty piss poor in my opinion and needs changing badly if pure breds are not going to leave the stage to designer mutts and byb puppies in the near future. Every other industry also utilizes TV ads, magazines etc for education and advertisement, cannot see why the KC wouldn't, since that is the best way to reach Joe Bloe these days (that and fb I guess but the crazy on fb seems boundless lol) ETA: Oh and great article!

I have gone and liked the fb page so I no longer miss out then haha

Love this thread! YES! Many German breeds are still performance dogs back at home and performance + temp + health tests are required before breeding licences are issued. I think at least compulsory health + temp would be amazing to have here... And testing for the actual, breed specific temp, not just RSPCA type temp testing

There have not been any photos for a while now!

Snap, but yes, exactly. Trying to lure a fearful dog into the water with food is pretty much pointless. But if they think it was their idea to begin with it suddenly becomes great!

Well I guess how you proceed from here depends on whether you want him to swim or whether you don't mind if he won't. Instead of quitting, I would outwait him (with the lead on as described earlier) and stop the exercise as soon as his paws touch the water at all. Reward any effort he makes at sniffing it, putting his paw in it, whatever. Obviously he is not in any physical discomfort when you ask him to go in the water so if this were my dog I would basically say "this is how it's gona be and that's it" and work on it through obedience (with lots of reward!). Most of them will learn to enjoy it. Foxy didn't (unless it's stinking hot, this is the only time she will just go in for the sake of it) but she goes in when I ask and that's all I need (since I need her to retrieve out of the water)

How long does it take to outwait him? (As in, when he puts on the brakes... do you just quit? Or do you keep asking until he moves a little closer and then reward) I guess if he is refusing to take food he must be genuinely scared... What is the reason for this? Any ideas? In my experience it's pretty unusual for a dog to be genuinely afraid of water, especially a retrieving breed

Have you tried putting a lead on him and gently asking him to follow you in? I would think that would be the first thing to try if he won't go in on his own ETA: that is how Foxy learnt to swim (Didn't have any ducks handy but she now retrieves ducks from water happily, still doesn't enjoy swimming just for the sake of it though)

I think we can probably all agree that leaving a baby puppy, or even an older puppy, completely on its own for 10-12 hours consecutively is a bad idea. Methinks a lot of people are adopting the mantle of righteous indignation when they were not even the type of owner being described in the OP.... I understand that some people would feel offended if anybody, anywhere, at all, made a statement that might vaguely concern them not being good owners but most people seem to be just plain missing the point Jed has now re-clarified about 5 times..... Yes, the phrasing of the OP was confrontational and not very.. umm.. well put, but some people seem to be purposely misunderstanding now. Not sure if from lack of reading or previously mentioned righteous indignation...

I use mostly German for working situations and English for every day. I did this on purpose as my partner will ask the dog to do things but he is very slack on the follow up and I am not happy with how carelessly he handles retrieving commands... With our next retriever I will be teaching both from the start to save me having to correct sloppy responses after he asks her to fetch the remote because he gets too lazy to go get it himself and then lets her dump it on his lap or wherever :p ETA: I also use hand signals and I find the dog will quickly connect any word to a hand signal and seems to be able to differentiate between hand signals or visual cues better than words/vocal cues. Most of our dogs will sit at a bunch of different words as long as they are spoken in the same tone of voice or the "sit" hand signal accompanies whatever word is used. I once farted loudly while looking at Weimaraner and her butt his the ground instantly... No hand signal needed :p :laugh:

I use a martingale for training also. The end goal should probably be good walking on any kind of lead/collar and so far mine have all settled into a flat collar, slip lead or whatever the occasion calls for without incident. Harness would probably be my least favorite option as there is little or no control over the head/neck. This is probably more of an issue with a dog that is still learning or very strong Edit: Sorry I only just read your entire post. I think you may be asking for too much too fast. Stop before she wants to stop. Ask for one step, reward and let her go. Do this 5 times a day. Training time 1 minute or less to start with. Then ask for two steps and release and so on. If you only stop after the dog starts to refuse you will never finish on a positive note and the dog may become more anxious or stubborn about the whole process. If you notice she is about to stop cooperating, make her do something she does well, reward and finish before she can put on the brakes. Also, I recommend you try out some other lures besides food. Experiment to find a toy she likes or maybe have a friend with a well behaved dog help you motivate her, but again, do not ask too much too quickly. Don't try to pull her forward, ask her to walk on her own and reward when she does.

Maybe your own dog, but they're renowned for pissing off if not fenced in well. As far as I know they "piss off" mostly in an attempt to increase their territory, not to find a completely new abode. I also thought they would be likely to return to their charges? Many owners and breeders I have spoken with recommend walking boundaries with the dog to teach him the end of "his territory". This would be a pointless exercise if it made no difference? Also many farmers own only simple farm fencing and while Maremmas are known for attempting to enter neighboring paddocks to bring those charges under their protection, I have never heard of them simply leaving if they have been bonded correctly... Could you maybe explain in a little more detail what you mean? If referring to your own dogs, have they been bonded to stock? If so, do they simply leave or do they return? My current dog is not fenced in well, in that I have plain farm fencing (sheep mesh, plain wire and barbed on top) and he wore a yoke for a fair while to stop him fitting through the fence. He has now been loose for several months and has yet to "piss off". He will, however, attempt to enter the next door paddocks to patrol them and initiate contact with next door's sheep. We are still working on this (again with the use of a yoke as only pingg string is permissible in NSW).

I think some important questions have been neglected here.. Like are you looking for a dog to train or a dog to just do its own thing? I was also going to suggest a Maremma, especially if you are planning on having lifestock, as they seem to do very well in a hobby farm type situation. However, if you want to train your dog to come,m sit and shake hands etc, a Maremma is probably not for you. If you don't mind if your dog will not do tricks but will love you to pieces, and guard the farm (and the stock on it, including the family!) well, then a Maremma would be the way to go. They don't mind being outside only dogs (many seem to prefer to sleep outside as they can keep a better watch on the place this way) and they will need less time spent on entertaining them (my fella likes to nap in a dirt hole he dug himself or patrol the fence line) than a breed that will get easily bored and find their own entertainment (like a lot of hunting breeds). I also find that the Maremma is not likely to leave his territory. Once our guy (he was already nearly a year old when we got him) learnt where "our" i.e. "his" pace ends, he did not try and cross that boundary and got very unhappy when he had to leave home (i.e. to go to the vet's). I think you'll find that Shepherds, Rotts and possibly even RR (don't know that much about them) will probably want a job to do or something to entertain them. Left to their own devices all day long they might find.. other entertainment. Another important question, I think, would be whether you only want the dog to bark or whether you want the dog to actually confront an intruder. As I said, it really depends what you want out of this dog. Some of the breeds recommended here are at total opposites of the spectrum, especially concerning biddability and needs in terms of time and training. None of them are bad (in fact I like all of the breeds that have been suggested!) but depending on your situation and wants, not all of them will likely work out for you! A bit more information would be necessary to make a good recommendation I think.

Agree, talking to good breeders (preferably more than one!) is awesome. Often these people dedicate their whole lives to learning about their breed. No offence to any youngens, but the older types have generally been around longer and many will remember important events in the breed first hand, hence the more knowledgeable people you can speak to the more you are likely to learn. Many good breeders will be willing to chat to somebody who is genuinely interested in their breed and love to educate (as the better educated puppy buyers are, the more likely their puppies will be well understood and cared for and the less likely they will be to be ditched, especially for breed typical behaviors!) I would also try and find people already using a dobes for what you have in mind so you can make use of their first hand experience. I know people will tell you a dog is a dog and training one breed is no different from training another, but in my personal experience this is simply not true (and I bet many breed lovers here will agree)

Wow you can never tell what wierd shit a topic on something random will bring up... And I think the idea for children to give up their seat to an adult is that the younger person is probably more healthy and able to stand than an older person. Of course this is not really an issue if a 21 year old and a 15 year old are the two parties concerned, it is obviously more aimed at the whole "respect your elders" and older generations. Personally I think it is a good custom and more children should be taught it but each to their own. Almost all parents think their kids are stellar even if they are the class bully or that kid that smokes between classes (not talking to anyone in particular here). All you can do is lead by example.

Some breeders may not have all their bitches at home I guess.. Breeders' contracts and partnerships can complicate things.. But obviously I don't know the breeder, just thought I'd mention the various circumstances that might explain it... Did they ask for clarification or just cross that breeder off their list?

Holy Shit. Thanks guys, I really wasn't looking to use up all my eye bleach today!

Plenty of GSPs and similar build dogs do agility, can't see the problem with a dobe. If you want to get to the top you probably can't go past a Border but since the OP wants a dobe that is probably not what she wants anyway.... Also, if I remember correctly, Schutzhund is not allowed as private sport in Vic What books are you referring to Bisart Dobes? I have found the situation similar in Weimaraners but have been lucky to get my hands on some second hand books and one author was nice enough to send me a pdf (and also trusting enough!) for a small fee :) Would be interested in some good books on other breeds as well (apart from the generic xyz makes great guard dogs and family pets! :p )

Sounds like dogs might soon go the way of food and supermarkets.. Two or Three large retailers hold almost the entire market and ethics, health and safety will be less than an afterthought...

Well, I am sure a driver's licence could be faked, too, but there are appropriate penalties and it is hopefully a rare thing? Either way, I agree that not having your disability on the ID would be good but I don't think the ID in itself would be a bad idea. It would at least give shop owners etc a way to check that the dog that is acting like a real ass is not an actual certified dog, rather than just making him resent the fact that he has to allow it inside to piss all over his furniture and make other customers uncomfortable. I don't think most people would be bothered by a well behaved dog anyway (I take my Wei into most of the shops in our town and she is not wearing anything but a plain collar, so clearly NOT an assistance dog, but nobody has ever had a problem with her coming in) but as usual, it's the assholes wrecking it for everybody and at the moment, you have no way of telling who is legit. Leaving it up to people's decency not to do this is laughable, at the least.