pepe001

The problem is that parents have stolen all the good dog names. Molly, Max, Cooper, Ruby etc used to be great dog names but now have morphed into kids names. Oh and I did fall into the trap of thinking I would never have children and calling a horse by my favourite child name. But I did spell it differently when I had my daughter. My daughter names our chooks but all similar colours go under the same name. Orange large chooks are called Mango, small orange are called Buffy and blacks of any size are called Blacky, spotty ones are (you guessed it) Spotty. But we do have one spotty one called Fence Wire. She was attacked by chooks and scalped but had a few little black feathers poking out of her bloody head when we found her. They looked like barbed wire so Fence Wire it became. My name list for pets are: Larry (Happy as Larry) - suits him to a T as he is a happy and mad kelpie * Moose - mastiff * - also suitable 3 - a cat with 3 legs (4 died recently - he looked the same but had 4 legs). We used to laugh when my daughter always asked cat owners how many legs their cat had - she thought the number of legs was optional. Panda - goat the colour of a panda, Just Only - another goat. She was expected to be twins but Just Only one was born, Petal - goat named by my daughter - It actually is Pink Petal, Topsie - goat named after the Enid Blighton character, Grace - donkey Paco - pony Sparky - horse (that one is so not suitable as he is very very dopey) Now deceased Kaos - from Get Smart - GSD Fred - horse Clancy - GSD* dingo. Just a great Aussie name.

I third or forth (how ever many posters have said it so far) bandage the tail. A kelpie of mine cut off most of his tail when he interacted with the chain of a motorbike. The vet cleaned up the bones etc and said to stop him chewing it using a plastic collar. Didn't work so we put a small plastic tub (one that cheesecake came in) around his tail. Cut a hole in the lid, stickytaped that on, attached the container - tail cleared up quickly. That was the tip but should be easy enough to modify it to suit the injury. Good luck to the shepherd.

I used to have a nervous GSD who licked his paws until they festered and he was very lame. Antibiotic powder was the only thing that worked - a little plastic bottle of human antibiotic powder..

Not all pig-dogs are badly treated nor trained to inflict damage. I have a relative with great bull arabs and stags (and various crosses) and they are very much treasured and cared for. One got injured one day and he ran carrying it to the next property (10kms) through the driving rain and flooded creek (that is why he couldn't drive it to town himself) to get a vet out. They wear protective vests if working. I watched a hunt once and the pig wasn't even bloody at all. The dogs held it and the man walked in and put a bullet behind the ear. But he is not a recreational shooter but a professional and is a dog-lover. They help him make a living but also are spoilt pets.

A friend use to breed kelpies and the stud dog started having fits and was eventually PTS. From memory I think they bred a couple of litters before the symptons showed. (This was over 20 years ago - so I guess medicine etc has advanced as well). Every pup that they either kept (2) or kept in touch with (most of other pups) eventually was PTS from the condition. Soemtimes under a year and sometimes after a couple of years. BUT another friend had a poodle that was diagonised with epilepsy under a year old and they chose to medicate him. He was given a tablet morning and night at a set time wiithout failure - this meant they never went on holidays or out to dinner etc as they would miss the correct time and they didn't want to impose on anyone else - their dog came first. Last I saw him he was nearing 13yo and hadn't had a bad day for over 10 years.

Here is a good lab breeder in Tassy. I suspect if he doesn't have pups available or you don't want to source one from Tas - he will know a working-line breeder who may be able to help you. [back to top] Stud DogFIREFIELD Contact : Barry Baker Location : Kettering TAS Ph : 0418.626711 Email : Send Email Web : http://www.latitude42.com.au

Easy answer to that one - people want them and are willing to pay very very good money for them. I think many just think they are cool to be able to say they own a ---oodle . I recently met a young choc ---oodle (standard poodle * giant schnauzer) who cost the owners $2500. While still bought from a back yard breeder ( ) at least they tested for HD and some eye thingy (new owner sighted these papers but didn't know what she was looking at). Also she met both parents and they lived with the family and not puppy-milled. At least

Loved my Von Forell boy who was PTS only a few months ago. I will be getting another pup from Chris but need to put some more time between the old and the new so I can give a new puppy all the love he deserves. I found Chris and those at VF to be very informative and interested in my boy for many years after I purchased him. He did a little schutzhund but he was mainly a family pet and family guard dog - he was never challenged but I'm sure he would have fought for us if it was needed. He was very solid mentally. He would go into prey drive quickly but also quickly relax when the threat etc was over.

I agree. If she can't get up then it would be no good. In my case my boy could easily get up even when walking - just a matter of lifting legs up as it wasn't a high single bed. I just think a bigger bed that allows the legs and back to stretch may help. If the pillows are big enough I would consider this the same thing.

I put an old single bed with mattress (obviously) in for my old shepherd. He could stretch out and it did wonders for his aches and pains. The dog bed made him curl up and he could hardly walk in the mornings.

My rescue kelpie*ACD came because the lovely man who adopted him as a badly beaten pup died. His family (all with a full dog quota or the inability to have a dog like this) decided to find him a forever home. The first one didn't work out so I said I would care for him until a new home was found - never happened and never will. He is with his forever family. Just to put out a thought of mine (which has been mentioned a few times) - not all excuses are bad excuses and sometimes if a dog doesn't fit the best thing is to find it a new home. But to me that doesn't mean surrender him to a possibly PTS situation but find a new home for it yourself or someone willing to do it. If it is a dog that should be PTS the owners should have the guts to do this. I rehomed a rescue shepherd years ago (he was surrendered due to owners moving???). He just didn't fit with my other dogs or me, not a bad not-fit but he was unhappy, and a friend's family seemed more suitable. They took him gladly and loved him to the minute he died. He is still 'the hero dog' in their minds. The thing is with me he was always a bit nervy and sometimes dog-aggressive. With them he was dog-friendly, and not at all nervy. He needed a man to idolize and I couldn't be that.

If you had left a bit of mane around his face you would have a mini-lion. That would be cute. I think as he is he does look funny - but so what - he is a cute little funny dog.

I met a guy one day with a lovely little red (but timid) ACD. He saw it coping a flogging in town one day and asked the man if he would like to sell the pup and flashed a $50 note. Problem solved. But I guess this only works if you want a new dog.

Yes they did contact the breeder - no interest as the dog was desexed. But it did find a nice home. The manager said she easily adopts out most purebreds as long as they pass the temperament test. But she is shocked occasionally at the obviously expensive and often young dogs that come in. Just last year a friend of mine was there at the same time as a man was surrendering a few months old choc lab still with papers. My friend bought him - great dog. The next day the wife appeared demanding that they get paid for the dog. She left very angry.

Last time I was at the local RSPCA they had about 15 bully*staffy* whatevers, 2 border collie *s, one looked like pure BC, one great dane *, 2 JRT*s, a couple of white fluffies, a papillon, a swedish vallhund (with papers), a belgian shepherd (no papers but looked pure), 2 kelpie *s, and what I think may have been a ridgeless ridgeback (he was labelled a mastiff *), and about 5 dogs with ACD in them. These were the juvs and adults. There was also a pen of babies that were staff* whatevers. And she had just sent to Vic (I think) a giant schnauzer * which may also have been a pure (he looked it but hard to tell with the large hairy ones). Manager told me she usually has one or two dogs that look like a pure and occasionally gets an unusual pure - like the swedish vallhund.

I was lying in bed thinking about Buster last night and had an angry thought. The owners (if they get told he is with a new owner etc) will think - we did the right thing by dumping him at the pound just before Xmas - and probably pat themselves on the back for doing what was best for Buster. They shouldn't think this but should remain guilty that they failed as dog owners and don't deserve another dog ever. Merry Xmas Buster.

Try the ones sold in horse shops. No idea on their brand but they come individually packaged and are pretty colours. They stick very well to themselves. But I have only ever used thme on horse legs.

I was sent a video of my GSD a few times before I picked him up at 8 weeks. At a couple of weeks old he was being picked up and was snuggling into the person, footage of the mother playing and fetching etc, the mother with the pups, and the father being walked, played with, and running free with other dogs. And then at 5-6 weeks more footage of all of them playing with kids and following them around. Nothing scared or timid and definately no crying. They were happy little fat balls of fur that couldn't get enough human contact. One younger bit of footage (less than a month old) they were sleeping with mum and the owner walked in and picked up each pup for me to see their faces etc. Most kept sleeping. I would be worried if I saw what it seems your friend saw. If she has concerns now I wouldn't buy one of those. She should trust the breeder not be suspecious.

I have a potentially very sad story - before microchipping. One day I saw a cream Bearded Collie running along a busy road. I grabbed him and took him straight to the RSPCA. I told them he was a Bearded Collie and even wrote it on the form. Someone with their superiour dog breed knowledge corrected my form to say Old English Sheepdog. A few days later I was contacted by the owners and given a bottle of wine and box of chockies and they came to met me. They explained their dog had escaped after a bath and they were frantic. The rang the RSPCA and were told - no Bearded Collies here. The RSPCA thought they meant Rough Collie. After ringing and visiting pounds etc for a few days they decided to check the RSPCA in person. There was their dog called an Old English Sheepdog. They almost lost him - due to a breed-id-error and not checking in person. To me and to them he was so much a Bearded Collie but I guess they are similar to an Old English Sheepdog. When I found a staffy bitch once (again pre microchips) I rang the pound every day to check on missing dogs and went through the RSPCA lost lists in person. Both the pound and the RSPCA told me to keep her at home as they were both over-run with dogs and no room. She was beautifully trained, fat and healthy, an obvious inside-dog but elderly. We never found her owner after 3 months but I managed to find her a good forever home.

I was helping a vet with puppy classes a few years ago when a husband-owner hit a puppy border collie in the face. It was so hard I jerked backwards in shock and the vet gasped in horror. The wife asked me to talk to her hubby about hitting dogs as she couldn't stop him. I took him aside and showed him some training techniques using luring and talked about alternatives and he was astonished how easy it was. He said as a kid they trained their dogs to sit by wacking them down into position and same for drop and he thought everyone did it that way. I can't remember the reason for the head wack. I saw him again a few weeks later and he was so grateful he had learnt a better way and was so happy his pup no longer crawled along the ground in fear when he walked into the room. If your flat-mate like that - or is he just a bully who wouldn't even admit he did wrong? I'm guessing by your post - he is the latter. Like everyone says - keep the poor dog away from him.

As you said the RSPCA desexes all their kittens and puppies before they are rehomed. So this is around 8 weeks for many. I was told they considered the numbers of their previously- homed puppies (now dogs) coming back with litters to be too high to take the risk any more. Apparenmtly they lose some puppies (ie die during surgery), but not too many - that is what a RSPCA vet told me one day when I asked him about it. AS for there being a GDS that is so rare you can't find another breeder - no such thing. There are many show-line breeders, many working-line breeders and quite a few white shepherd breeders. What other type is there???