pepe001

Do you have a schuzhund club near you? They are the people to talk to re tracking and DDR Shepherds. Please post photos of your shepherd when you get him/her. I have had a DDR and now have a DDR/Czech and both have been great dogs.

I thought the same thing from the heading but reading the website more I realised it is a bad title. It is about changing the legislation to exclude 'registered' breeders from the classification of puppy millers. Apparently, currently anyone with more than 5 dogs are considered a breeder/puppy miller and must have kennels etc - thereby forcing registered breeders to use outside runs etc. This group wants VIC Dogs registered breeders to be exempt and be allowed to breed without the kennels requirement. I guess the breeders currently using runs etc are already covered and don't need any special exclusions. I think that is what it means but am happy to be corrected.

Seems in rescue and rehoming dogs anything of bullbreed is labelled a mastiff or mastiff cross. Especially tan with dark masks. Just look at any rescue pages on the www.

wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked "when is the foal due" they were looking at my slightly obese gelding? although I think the winner was the neighbor who asked me why is my donkey mare beating up my stallion? went to have a look and standing there looking at me, were one donkey stallion and one donkey gelding?? how do you explain that to their owner ? He bought them as a "breeding pair" How did he not see the very large donkey bits???

Try having a black German Shepherd - yes they come in black - no he is not a Belgium Shepherd. I even had a person whisper dickhead under his breath at me one day. Whatever - I like Belgiums as well. But seriously, some male labs are getting more jowly but if Chloe is the one in your photo - wow. Not one of those at all.

I can't see why a toy toss (if short) won't work with a clicker. Just toss quickly after clicking so it links up. I trained my horse to touch the end of a stick using a clicker and my hand to pat.

My friend bought a mini dashy a couple of years ago. Nice people who breed healthy dogs (blah blah blah), she said, when I asked about pedigree. She scoffed at my advice re health checks. Cute puppy and nice little dog BUT riddled with health problems from when they got her. She has cost thousands and the various vets have no idea what is wrong. Vomits, chokes on all food, has almost died twice at vet surgeries during operations to find out what is wrong. Liver screwed and a few other things I can't think about right now. Every-time it goes to a vet (including specialists) they suggest something else, do lots of tests and almost kill the dog but they keep coming back with no diagnosis. My friend has decided to not take her back and put her down when they feel the time is right. Very sad and possibly something health checks would have picked up. Not certain but possibly. They have another mini, also backyard bred, who seems very healthy. So I guess the luck of the draw but better chances if heath checks completed.

Does the electric fence unit make a clicking sound? That may be enough to keep a sensitive dog away. If this is the case, can you move it further away to stop the noise.

My German Shepherd doesn't like to sleep inside. He prefers an open crate on the deck. We have brought him in many times with our other dog, who sleeps on our bed, but he always goes back out or waits until we let him out. We have also never had a dog (including our previous 4) jump our regular farm fences with dog wire attached to them.

Go to talk to some working line DDR or Czech lines German Shepherd breeders. Quite a few reputable ones in Australia. Chris from Von Forell is very knowledgeable. I have a DDR/Czech GSD and couldn't be happier with him in my family.

Reading your comment the thought struck me as to what happens on Fraser Island in Qld. The island is a popular tourist destination but it also has a resident population of feral dingoes. Do the rangers pick up the dingo poo or don't people worry about it? Feral dingos?? Seriously, is this comment supposed to be sarcastic. Dingos are considered to be a native animal and those on Fraser are the purest there is. There are about 30 dingo packs, depending on births and how many the rangers shoot and tourists run over, that roam the 120km*24km island or about 20000 square kms. So I really don't think the dingo poop is an issue - the tourist poop however, is a huge issue, with numbers listed at around 380,000 a year. Don't walk around the dunes barefoot if you are camping.

I agree that some people both work and show but I doubt the show lab would ever win the top titles. Same as show GSD. Sure some can do tracking and protection but it would be a freak that did it all at a top level. That is why police and other users of working GSD don't use show lines now. They used to before good working bloodlines arrived from Germany in the 1980s. I had a showline retired police dog for a while. He was probably one of the last in Australia. One breed that I think still does both well is the Malamute. Maybe changed as I stopped being involved in sled dogs about 10 years ago. But some of the best malamute sled dogs in Australia were also champion show dogs. Actually another working versus show line dog is the Husky. Serious people use working line huskies to race and while showlines can still race and do it well. They will not (or rarely) win top races. I think it is to be expected when breeders want different things out of their dogs.

Like anything breeds evolve. As judges give award to dogs of certain looks then more breeders follow those looks. Google German Shepherd history to see how these show dogs evolved over time. But working line also evolved, although less in my opinion. As dogs of a certain type are better at the job they do then people breed to the dogs doing well and so the look evolves. But I think with both my breed, the German Shepherd Dog, and the lab this changes less with working lines as both breeds started out working dogs and form followed function so they are already shaped to suit the job. PLUS standards are interpreted differently as well. Both types thin they fit the standards better. What makes a dog a certain breed - that would be its traceable bloodline. If a dog has a certain number of generations behind it (not sure the official number)that it is the breed. As long as the registered body considers it a breed. A lab of a different (but not recognised) colour is still a lab if its pedigree is traceable. BUT the example of a silver lab is not recognised as many people believe that other breeds were put in to achieve that colour.

I think a treat for all is a lovely thought but just ask the breeder before passing them over.

It may be a white German shepherd. I googled snow nose and got this - interesting. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/care/pinknosedog.htm