brintey

Steph M, I was speaking in my case. I have only raised one litter, and had a closed facebook group for all the puppy buyers, experienced breeder friends here and overseas, friends in the medical profession etc. Every day we had a topic for the day where subjects like medical conditions, puppy buyer expectations, breeder expectations, health problems in the breed, health testing etc were discussed (amongst many other things - eight weeks is a long time LOL). I would personally feel that if someone presented me with a large bill for surgery which may or may not have been necessary, that the puppy buyer would have misrepresented themselves and their expectations of the puppy to me. So I would want him or her back and would be willing to take out a loan to pay them out.

I wouldn't pay the owner anything if it is like HD and a polygenetic condition which can be caused by upbringing as well. The dog is 10 months old. Why should the breeder be liable if they have done everything in their power to prevent what they can? And if I bred a dog and the owner wanted compensation for something like this I would definitely want it back! Primarily because I do not want my puppy in that home for a second longer because I would worry that they would have unrealistic expectations of him or her or be under the care of an opportunistic vet. It would be an entirely different story if the dog came down with a known heritable disease which I could have genetically tested for, but decided not to. In which case I would expect that I could be sued for much more than the purchase price, especially if the disease was fatal!

Are slipping patellas something which can be tested for? And if so, were the parents tested prior to mating? Or is it something which has a major environmental component like hip displaysia?

My litter of 7 Leonbergers have just turned 6 weeks. Like yours they are inside most of the time, but after each meal they go outside to romp for about an hour (basically until they start to fall asleep). All poohing basically gets done then and most of the puppies will scream if they are inside and need to go, so I know to let them out. SInce you cant have them outside one suggestion might be to call in mother dog and have her stand in the opposite side of the pen while you clean up, my puppies still think Mum is a rock star and she is mobbed whenever she comes close!

I recently had a friend move from Mandurah in WA to Sydney. She sold her WA house but this was not enough to allow her to buy in Sydney so she was looking to rent. She has two small elderly little terriers which she left with her sister in Maitland while she stayed with me and searched for a pet friendly rental - she was looking lower north shore, eastern suburbs, inner west, gladesville, lane cove, hills area. It took her over six months to find a place despite looking every weekend. It is a tough market out there : ( Good luck with whatever you decide, it sounds like you have your dogs best interests at heart.

In my area it tends to be a lot of small to medium dogs, lots of oodles, SWFs, mini foxie JRT types, pugs, dachies, poms, beagles, staffies, border collies and the odd golden retriever or lab. Apart from the goldies and the dachies, almost all the purebreds are BYB looking, although their is an absolutely spectacular afghan in full show coat I see every now and then jogging along windsor road with its owner! By contrast at our local obedience club there are a lot more purebreds and rescues. In my puppy class last night for eg there was a goldie, two labs and a chihuahua ... Not a pet shop fluffy in sight!

OK will certain people in this thread stop making this all about 'my little precious tiny dog' vs everyone else's ''big, vicious, nasty, powerful dog." Offleash rushing aggressive dogs are a problem to all, regardless of the size of your on leash dog. a friend has recently acquired a rescue chihuahua. I was walking her down the street and saw some approaching people with what I thought was a loose dog... It was dark and turned out it was on a flexilead. What was interesting was that for the first time I didn't feel any panic as I normally do with my (genuinely) large dogs. I could simply pickup Ruby the Chi with one hand and hold her above my head, leaving my legs free to kick any approaching dog and my other hand free to grab any collars should the attacker try to jump up. SImple. When you have a (genuinely) large dog... Not a medium sized at best cattle dog or border collie.... The body of the dog is longer than your kicking range or your hand-grabbing range. You cannot block your dog with your body, and you cannot pick it up. you are fair game. That is truly frightening. a dog is a dog and responsible ownership is the same for all.

Can't figure out how to do it from my ipad.. Might have to wait til I'm back at work with photoshop and a real computer!

How gorgeous Trisven! Mine are 5 weeks old too, what a magic age, they are super cute and incredible time-wasters!

I have a four month old male Pyr here who not only cleans the puppies' faces when he is allowed near them on their outside breaks but also toilets them! He is clearly copying the puppies' Mum (Singe) as his own mother (Grace) didn't like to do this. Singe keeps a watchful eye on him and tolerates it.

I also have one of Espinay's puppies, he is super confident!

I have just done it with my Leonberger litter. There is timidity in my bitch's lines so I thought it couldn't hurt.

I did the greenhound collar assessment with my Amethyst and found it quite easy, although I have had Amethyst from 12 weeks so a lot of the self-assessment stuff in the workbook was already done for her as it is more aimed at retired racers coming from a kennel situation. Denise from GAP did the assessment and she was marvellous, all it cost me was a $50 donation to GAP. I would recommend anyone with a socialised rescue grey in NSW consider doing the assessment. OT but I would really like some time of formalised program like this for all dogs regardless of breed or background... maybe dogs that have been assessed and passed may be allowed in more public spaces or get a discount on their council registration?

I'm pretty sure Leonbergers are guardian dogs too. . Some females in particular are what I would call good alert barkers... but generally speaking not a guardian breed. Males in particular are laid-back. Our standard says under characteristics: Characteristics: Amenable, intelligent and fearless companion; distinguished by his friendliness. Aggression or timidity are considered faults.

In defence of Newfies too, the show ones I have met here in Sydney have been better with people and other dogs than either Leos or Pyrs.... so it would depend on the lines I think.

Hi Greenacres, Leonberger bitches in particular can be good watchdog - barking at strangers - but they aren't good guardians generally. I have Leos and Pyreneans so can tell the difference LOL. Leonbergers generally love people and vary in energy levels from quite active to very laid-back. A couple of showdogs I know, Winnie from Tassie and Cobbett from here in NSW have actually fallen asleep in the ring. Leos can make excellent therapy and Delta dogs. You would just have to let the breeder know what type of temperament you were after and meet the parents. Leos are generally very people-focused and do well at obedience. Leos are generally around $2k-$2.5k and round it up to about $3k if you want to import from NZ.. Now, Pyreneans... Espinay will hopefully be along soon to contribute to this. Pyrs are livestock guardian dogs but don't have quite the sharp temperament of of Maremma or an Anatolian. Generally they are independent thinkers. Their fallback position seems to be to stand up to a threat and bark at it. Pyrs off their property though tend to be like any other dog. My Pyrs are great in public (if a bit barky!). I have always had my Pyrs in multi breed suburban households and they have been fine. Espinay has hers with chickens so she would be a good one to ask here.

A leonberger might suit you. They can vary in levels of energy and a low drive one would be fine with chickens. The Leonberger should not be as heavy and chunky as a Newfy so they would probably be closer to the outline of some of the Landseers in your photos, depending on the lines. AFAIK there aren't any breeders in Qld, you would probably have to look to Vic or NSW. Leos are more popular in NZ and quite a few people choose to import from NZ rather than wait on pups in Australia. For example, my dog has puppies right now and we have puppy buyers who have been waiting 3+ years. If you want to know more about Leos just ask me, Meganmm or Mathilda's Mum on this forum. Good luck with your search for your new furry family member!

A small lightweight generator which doesn't cost a fortune There are some great accessories for the OzTrail deluxe gazebo, but I have a compact. I would like a gutter and awning for the compact. A giant breed trolley which is lightweight enough for me to pick up over my head and put into the roof rack basket on my station wagon A genuine portable cooling system (ie air conditioning rather than fans) for my dogs A healthy vegetarian option for hot food at shows And of course someone to pack up for me! Actually another thing I wouldn't mind would be a some sort of grooming service on the grounds... particularly for claw cutting (I hate claw cutting!)

Congratulations Underfoot and Holly hope you all get some rest!

I have limited experience but done a bit of research as my girl had an infection, a blood stained mucousy type discharge is apparently normal as long as it doesn't smell!

Good luck Underfoot and congratulations sandgrubber! Commiserations on the loss of your little one Trisven. I lost a little girl too, she was 2 days old. Mum developed an infection and is only just coming good now. It has been a stressful litter .. my first since 30 years ago, she went into labour 3 days early at midnight, my sister had all her phones off and I had to ring my elderly father to drive around to her house to wake her up and help me with the birth! The first pup was stuck, a true breech with only tail and bum presenting... Thank goodness for a long time breeder friend who rang me and talked me through it. It was a baptism of fire and hopefully everything will be much easier from now!

Good luck Trisven and Anna!

My Leonberger had her litter early this morning, nice and even four boys and four girls! All doing well.

Great photo! Well done to mum, those puppies look huge!

Good luck today Kirislin, looks line she is nearly ready! I have a question, my Leonberger's behaviour is really amped up, she is more clingy, more exciteable, and more reactive than normal, she seems to have morphed into a super watchdog as well. Is this usual? Or do I just have a very, um, special girl?