Blackdogs

Thanks so much for your reply. My dog had his operation on Monday and came out of it very well. Everything went smoothly, about which I am shocked and relieved. Did Henrietta have the whole hock joint fused? My dog only had the lower part of the joint fused and the specialist believes that if all goes to plan he should recover most of his agility. I am hoping that this is the case. Obviously they couldn't give me any guarrantees, but the part he had fused is not responsible for much movement in the hock.

Thanks for your reply. Great to hear she did so well after the operation! Did you find the rehabilitation side of things difficult? Was there a lot of muscle wastage? How did you find her other leg coped with the added pressure? I'm going to get it done at Southpaws, but Charles Kuntz is away so another vet will be doing it. I'm probably going to go in for it tomorrow. I am very nervous as my dog does not respond well to anaesthetic. Can you tell me more about the complications you had? Do you find that the joint moves differently to the non-fused joint? Did your dog develop pressure sores? Sorry for all the questions, this is foreign territory for me. I really hope he will get back to 100% as he is a performance dog.

So it seems that my dog may need a tarsal arthrodesis operation. This is an expensive specialist operation which involves fusing the joint. He has torn several ligaments in his leg. Anybody here have any experience with this operation? I would be interested in hearing about your experience and will gladly consider any advice. Thanks in advance.

Yeah, I worried about that after reading some breed reviews. However, after talking to breeders, it seems that's not true at all. Mine certainly never leaves my side. It was the owner/ breeder/ show person who told us this! Oh. Well, maybe they're not big on training? Or maybe I should take back everything I said in my last comment and lines do matter.

I'll work on getting some images on this computer. The breeder is: http://www.skipsabit.com/ As far as I can gather (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Schipp people) most of the Schipperkes in Australia are related in some way due to the small numbers. I was told my Schipp was the most outgoing, dominant, active of the litter, so it might be more important to find the right dog in the litter rather than the right breeder.

Yeah, I worried about that after reading some breed reviews. However, after talking to breeders, it seems that's not true at all. Mine certainly never leaves my side.

Too much for customs :rofl: I think and untrained Schipperke without boundaries is like an untrained working-line Shepherd. They will be a whirlwind of destruction and havoc, will take on anything and completely rule the house! I'm very slack at taking pictures, my mother has taken a few, but they are still on her computer. I really need to get around to uploading some to mine.

Aren't they incredible! You should get another, but don't wait too long. I was going to get one as my 'retirement breed'. Glad I decided to get one sooner.

They might look adorable, but these dogs are extremely tough. You should see her playing with a staffy! I think the last one stopped out of intimidation.

I recently had the pleasure of acquiring a little Schipperke puppy from a lovely breeder. She is six months old now and wow, this dog is amazing! She is highly intelligent, super easy to train and never, ever stops. This can be a challenging combination at times, but as I wanted a performance dog, her attributes suit me well. I simply cannot believe, though, the sheer drive of this dog, food drive, prey drive and working drive. She's like a miniaturised Malinois on speed! She leaves my drivey Kelpie for dead. She also has an incredible nose on her. The other day she was trotting past the two metre high cat scratching post, she stopped dead in her tracks, threw her head back and started sniffing. She did an about turn, climbed to the very top of the post and found a tiny, singular cat treat to devour! She has no fear of heights and can scale just about anything my Kelpie can. My question is, why isn't customs brimming with these little creatures? They're everything you would want in a detection dog, plus they're cheap to feed, long lived and easy to transport. In conclusion, if anyone out there is looking for a small performance dog, a Schipperke is the way to go!

How adorable! Your dad (?) is funny.

I think Springers might be a bit needy for what you're after. What about a Chow Chow, Clumber Spaniel or Old English Sheep Dog?

I find this comment odd. I questioned the UK Border Collie breeders about why their pet puppies, that would be desexed anyway, needed to be DNA health tested before sale. Their response was that it would be rare for anyone to desex a purebred dog so they needed to know the DNA status of carrier or normal before they left. They put breeding endorsements on their dogs so the progeny cannot be registered with the KC, but even then they claim most pet dogs are not desexed. I agree with Souff as well. The current mania to desex all but one puppy in a litter is going to spell the end of pure bred dogs and eventually all dogs, sooner rather than later. The only problem I have ever had with puppy buyers is trying to get them to not desex too early or keep a dog entire in case it is needed for future breeding. Hardly anyone is prepared to keep an entire dog as a pet. All my girls have been desexed in their later years, after they finished breeding and showing to eliminate the chance of pyo but we really need more pure bred dogs left entire. Not whole litters but certainly anything of quality if dogs are going to exist in another 30 years. Shelters are not full because there are too many purebred dogs being bred, they are full because so many people buy a puppy when they have no idea how to raise one. It becomes a nuisance so they dump it them buy another puppy and the cycle continues. Fantastic comment! I agree!

I know someone from the Baltic region who has an entire male and entire female dog living together. He told me that they do breed and have had a number of litters, but that he never wanted puppies, especially because the majority of them had genetic defects. When I mentioned desexing to him he looked at me aghast. It seems that for him, the dogs having unhealthy puppies was just an unfortunate side-effect of having a male and female dog - desexing would never come into the equation.

All these puppies and other animals look so well looked after. Lucky little scalliwags! Thanks everyone, for your interesting contributions.

I agree with most of that except the mandatory desexing. I think desexing is a personal choice. Not only that but one of the best ways to become a 'professional breeder' is to become involved in the show community. Try doing that with a desexed dog.

Zero is adorable. Love that picture of Remy on the black background.

OMG! What breed is the second one? Is it a Deerhound X? I WANT it.

Question: Do any of you have a pack who aren't particularly interested in interacting with with each other? My two pretty much ignore each other most of the time.

I can't tell you all how much I am loving your pictures! What a diverse pack you have, Lyndsay! Please don't stop! :D

Lol. My Kelpie looked interested so I threw back my own head and howled, then he joined in. My Schipperke looked concerned about the whole thing and started woofing quietly, looking for signs of imminent danger. She still hasn't stopped.

As a buyer, I have told the breeder exactly what I am after in personality and why, then I explain what I would like in appearance. I then let the breeder find the closest match. This has worked for me. I am a fussy buyer and I know exactly what I want, (after all, I'm the one who has to live with the dog for the next 15 years) so I research the hell out of breeders before selecting one in the first place. I think this helps.

Incredible pictures. Loving it. There are some really beautiful dogs here. I love the pointer and the four oodles are so adorable. The backside picture is hilarious.

What adorable packs you all have. I wish I had some pictures of mine on this computer. I only have two dogs, but one day I would like to have acreage and run a few more. Keep them coming!

I am interested to see pictures of people's packs. If you only have one dog, you can still post just that! Also if you want to include other non-canine members, that would be great! Edit: Include names, breeds and ages, if you can be bothered.