JRG

Gundogs we salute you! What a privilege it is to breed dogs like this! Rachel

So who is responsible? The groups that cannot deny some responsibility are the Breed Clubs who, by definition are the "guardians of the breed" and judges who should be knowledgable about the breeds they judge. BUT it requires great inner fortitude to go against the fashion of the day, so no one group can escape all responsibility. As TSD says variation is an inbuilt natural part of genetic inheritance. Add to this the personal preferences of the individual; breeder. I confess that I breed for what I like for example dark eyes and you will rarely see a pup of my breeding with lighter eyes BUT I might forgive them shorter ears to achieve that. TSD has other priorities so her dogs do not necessarily look the same as mine and knowledgeable people can recognise different kennels by their offspring. People will say to me "I can recognise one of your dogs anywhere" So what if, 40 years ago, I had decided that I like "bandy legs" for example? Opening the stud book will not solve the problem because people will still breed what they like to see be it bandy legs or squashed faces, and what I might consider to be undesirable others might applaud.

From my perspective "improving the breed" has to be the biggest red herring around in the dog world. My Crazy dogs look almost identical to those pictured at the beginning of 1900. It is "improving the breed" that has changed them and for what? Crazy dogs with little natural talent for working? Pugs with squashed faces? Weimaraner with huge chests?and so on. Who said that this is an "improvement"? Not the Kennel Clubs, the Standard or the Constitution. The Kennel Clubs of the world were set up to keep the stud book and as such should be concerned with accuracy and transparency/ That is all. The general public, the dog fraternity and governments have placed on the kennel clubs tasks they were never meant to fulfil so don't blame their constitutions for being inadequate, they were drawn up to fulfil their purpose at the time, that is all. If you want something different - - - - - - -

Hang on a minute! quote "on what compulsion must I, tell me that " Shylock, Merchant of Venice No dog breeder is compelled to do anything. We do what we do by choice. I choose to breed "Crazy" dogs. I adhere to what I interpret as the Standard which is couched in such terms as "moderate" "well feathered" "gait is all it's own" etc etc. My Crazy dogs are nothing like the ones you would see in the Show ring but those who breed from show stock also follow their interpretation of the same standard. We both register our puppies as Crazy dogs. So, don't tell me that there is no room for differences. It is there. Breeders just have to learn to sick up for what they believe in and go it alone if necessary

I agree. The dog is unhappy and anxious not playful or protective. Looks like mine used to when I had a rabbit and they knew they were not to touch but fixated and fascinated by it.

I go to a good one in Werribee area - and travel a reasonable way to get there!. PM me if you want details.

If you think she needs a bigger pad try Conni Critters. https://shop.conni.com.au/pets They are easy to wash and dry and are reuseble.

I have a bitch that I would classify as 'clumsy' and was dreading her having a litter to look after! Contrary to expectations, she reared 11 beautiful babies without ever stepping on one of them!! So you see, she can do it when she wants to. Guess in her case, it is a matter of concentrating on what she perceives as important - which is obviously not my legs!

I regularly use more than one vet and have never been asked to justify going to another clinic.

All the other things, but I am still not sure why you can't restrict the view. Even if you do not want to go to the trouble of buying a bit of self sticking (one way) Contact, a light coat of washable paint on the lower part of the glass should be enough to stop him looking in all the time and easy to remove once he is re-educated and/or familiar with the doggy door.

What is the door made of?

I have a pup the same age and she would LOVE it if I left the door open but I don't, so she sits calmly on the step waiting for me to appear then gets bored with that so goes off to play by herself. She cannot see into the house because the glass is frosted. Here is your answer make it so that your dog cannot see in so he does not know that you are waiting to fulfil his every wish! Yes, make outside the most interesting place to be, but also try to prevent him from thinking that there may be more exciting alternatives inside. My girl would kill to get in but she is learning patience and to amuse herself if I am not around - an essential lesson for every pup.

I feed apples and oranges whole. Takes some dogs a while to figure out how to peel an orange, but if you start the peeling process for them by removing a small piece of skin so that they can get at the flesh through the hole, they soon get the idea of how to make the hole bigger and get more of the lovely juice

I have leads and collars of all colours - nothing significant about that except that each dog has a different colour and they all hang together in case I need to get out fast in an emergency.

can recommend Surefind Kennels - Michael is a great guy, trials Pointers

Will recover with treatment.

Add this one to his harem?

I like people to ask questions relevant to their reading/knowledge about both dogs in general and about my breed for example "I read on the DOL web site that . . . . . . ." or "one of my friends told me that . . . . . ." because this gives me a chance to get a conversation going and educate them not only in my ideas but also in a range of other people's thoughts on the same topic. Does that make sense? Like Rebanne, no one gets to choose until I have decided what I want to keep and I prefer, least initially, that people come without small children or their extended family!!!!!

Glad someone else is as away with the faires as I am! Fortunately I gave one of the pups to a friend and it was only when I asked him if he would like the other one as well, that I discovered that I gave him the wrong papers! Here was I calling "Calyspo" "Mayflower" while he was calling "Mayflower" "Calypso".!

How is he this morning?

suggest you contact your vet, they may have a 24 hour emergency service or the number for your closet emergency service on their answering machine.

I was brought up with Borders (in the UK) and had them for a while in Victoria. They are lovely little dogs but, like all terriers, can be independent little *****s, and can be prone to going off and hunting on their own sometimes. They are great for keeping your rat and mouse populations down! Their coats need a fair bit of attention to keep them looking sleek and tidy. Having said that, I love them but not as easy to live with as the working bred springers.

Great for old girls to catch that elusive drip! Also useful for covering half the puppy box - pups start their toilet training without a lot of effort or copious sheets of newspaper or pee pee pads Very easy to wash and quick to dry

Put them somewhere that they can't escape from

I agree, it ought not to be an issue but it is because people do not realise that they need to add their dog to a register in Australia when they arrive from overseas. Only last year in DOL there was an example of a chipped dog from overseas found in SA - the chip was read, but could not be found on any of the Australian registers. Luckily, dog and owner were reunited but not because it was chipped.