pepe001

I saw what I thought was a Y with tan points. Looked exactly (and acted) like a Weimaraner but had very light tanny/grey points. Not really noticeable unless you looked but definately there. They bought from a pet shop in north Bris about a year ago and were told it was a W cross staffy. They said the mother was a Y, and had a photo of her on the cage. Were told the breeder thinks a staff jumped the fence. I commented that it may be a dobe cross and no staffy traits were noticeable. I wonder if it was from a breeder who didn't want to be known to be breeding tan points??? God, it was a beautiful dog. But I am a fan of the look of a Y.

Interesting to find out some of the reasons certain colours were exclused. German Shepherds for example, white were apparently excluded because they couldn't be seen against snow when herding - that is what I have read many times and told by GSD people. But Max von Stephanitz used whites in his breeding program and didn't discriminate against them, apparently. This was until he was forced from the GSD orgainisation by the Nazis and then the culling began. Nothing to do with sheep herding but clearly choosing one colour is bad. (They said that the whites were to blame for all weaknesses in the breed, such as poor health, temperament and trainability. As with many ‘scientific’ proclamations made by the Nazi Party, this was also incorrect. The whites were also blamed for albanism, deafness, and colour fading of the standard colour shepherds coat. All and has been proven wrong by many scientists, geneticists and breeders. Whites can produce all colours in the breed, even solid black and sable, when bred to Shepherds of other colours. from http://www.wgsdcv.org.au/breedinfo.htm) I'm sure the people on her with whites know the history better and can correct my knowledge. Also of interest why the showlines are predominately black and tan; and working lines black, sable and bi-colour. The reasoning I have been told is that once West and East germany split the East bred for English and USA show-people and they prefered tall (more fluid moving and pretty), ligher coloured dogs (and less-black faces) as they looked less aggressive. The East kept breeding according to the State Run Program and didn't cull the dark faces etc. Apparently, the dark faced dogs that lived in the West when the division took place were simply shot. Anyone have more knowledge of this. I would love more stories of other breeds and colour preferences.

Yep I say looks like GSD cross. GSD ears but nose too pointy and legs not right for a GSD. Mine was much more rolly polly than him. What about a Belgian Shepherd cross? They have pointier faces and tend to be a bit quicker than a GSD. I just searched some breeders sites and they are more similar but most photos I saw they are much more fluffy. But I have seen black adults that aren't as fluffy as the adults in the sites I happened to stumble across.

I had a friend walk up to a man belting a few month old cattle pup years ago. He walked up with a $50 note and said I will give you $50 if you sell me your dog. Guy grabbed the money and drove away and my friend got his puppy. I don't think that will work for you, although.

Do you take a photo? Post it if you do and I will identify it. Dogs show different symptoms. My neighbours dog was bitten and started vomiting, then for next 3 hours seemed fine but a bit sad. I arrived and she came to talk to me and lay at my feet. I commented that something was wrong and lifted her up. She had bled out of her bits (not sure which hole??). Rushed to vet and $3000 later, dog is fine and yard is cleared of scrubs, mowed and kept clear of any rubbish.

Agree what a lovely story. I so wish I was in a financial situation to do more than I do currently.

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I would ring a few working line breeders (firstly his breeder) and talk to them. Chris from Von Forell would be one on the top of my list. These experienced people would be able to answer your questions, critique and test your dog and decided if he is worthy of passing on his genes. But you will have to be thick skinned as working-line breeders tend to be high expectations of dogs, especially ones used for breeding. Also, if he is spectacular, they may wish to use him themselves and generally if done with bitches, the owner gets to keep a pup. Not sure if this would still apply with a dog. Do you want to keep a pup - otherwise why do you want to breed anyway? Another suggestion would be to join another forum that focuses on working dogs. The GSD people there will know your dogs lines etc and be more appropriate to comment than a pet or show dog forum. Sorry, not meaning to insult those here as I agree with the other comments as well, but better to talk to those who own, work and breed DDR Shepherds. http://www.specialistcanines.com

This idiot has no idea how to handle a horse, let alone get the horse on a float. It never ceases to amaze me at how incompetent some people are Not only an idiot - but surely that horse isn't considered emaciated. Not a rib to be seen. God I had better hide away the dozen TBs I care for. All bar one fatty fatty mare would look worse than that horse at the angle. And I consider all 12 to be very well cared for and living the life of luxury.

I had a dog fell off once. He was securely tied but the plastic bit (snap)on his collar broke. He fell and split his head. He survived with a few stiches. Now I put a crate in and use two leads looped through the bars behind the cabin (not notted but looped through the handle). I then thread a lead through a few bars of the crate (up the sides) and clip on. One on each side so crate can't move backwards or sideways. But can be removed easily when not in use.

I agree with most here that if you wish to purchase a purebred over a rescue that is your choice. I have done that most of my life but do now have a RSPCA dog. But there are some other things about this rant that annoy me. I go to my local RSPCA quite often and have never been distressed over unhappy dogs. Most pens are full of dogs playing with there one or two pen mates. Not all as they also manage the local pound and some pens are strays that are disturbed/abused themselves and these dogs will probably be destroyed. Some of those are sad. Pens are cleaned continually so rarely do you see poops. They have climbing stuff, tug toys, beds etc. There are always a few volunteers walking around with dogs or in the pens playing with them. The manager walks around and most dogs sit in front of her with tails wagging. Very few dogs are purebreds. very few. I saw a mini poodle there last time and a belgian shepherd. Rest were blue dog croses, bully crosses or JRT type crosses. This RSPCA has had purebreds and always ring the breed rescue - often they refuse to take the dog. One breeder of a rare breed said as the dog was desexed she didn't want it. I have seen one dog destroyed there. It weren't dragged in. The worker walked the dog in, the boss asked it to sit (it did), she gave him a head-cuddle with her arms and the dog lapped up the attention, She then lured it into a drop and the worker held the leg. It was injected and both lowered it to the ground (it was a tall dane cross). Yes, it was body bagged and put in the freezer. I guess not all are like this but this one was very 'nice' - if you could possibly call it that. The dog in question was to be rehomed but started running at people and dogs from behind the wire and acting in a very aggressive manner. So the decision was made not to rehome it. This RSPCA has a 30% death rate of dogs in 2011. I saw the graphs by shelter and some was up to 70% and most around 50%. My last point - my current dog - as far as I can tell has no issues. Apart from general border collie type running fast behaviour. She is house trained, polite with food, great with other dogs, very obedient recalls, sits and drops (in 3 months she has never not done a recall if requested), wonderful with my 6yo daughter, and just a nice dog to live with. She can be penned or live with us - no problems with either. She was found as an 8week old puppy wandering in the city, spent 2 weeks at the pound, then a few months at the head office RSPCA, then about a month at my local RSPCA. I bought her at 8 months so 5-6 months at the RSPCA. If the shelters were a bad place to be how is she so good? OK, my rant over.

Check in his mouth, nose, paw pads and ears.

When I had a working line sable shepherd many people said he was an Alsation and the lighter coloured finer dogs were German Shepherds. Noisymina if you google DDR or East German Shepherd you will see the Alsations you refer to.

Well there you go - never heard of a brindle pointed lab, or a tan and black lab or a spotted lab. Those spotted ones at the end are just weird. Anyone here ever seen any of these markings in Australian show circles. I have seen a working-line litter with white feet. Apparently the Queen owed the grand sire and he had white feet.

While walking in the bush looking for a lost dog last week we all got paralysis ticks on us. I had 3 on my shoulder, daughter had 2 and male friend had 5. All had only just latched on and not engorged yet so no side effects. I keep dogs and goats tick-collared. Also no one has mentioned this yet - after a tick is removed the poison can get worse in the body for another 12 hours so don't assume the removed means the animal is out of danger. Also try not to disturb the tick before removal. It will pump more poison into the dog if it is played with' before removal. Find and remove pronto - don't dither around deciding how to do it. Don't squeeze etc. When grooming I had a Golden come in and during the bathing process the ticks were obviously disturbed - but not found due to the advanced matting. I rang the owner and said she needed to be clipped off but while drying before I could clip her (took ages) the dog fell over. Owner called and dog rushed to the vet. It was lucky to survive.

Doesn't just happen with pet shops. I have met a lab * who was sold by a registered breeder with papers as a pedigree lab. I have never seen a lab with brindle points.

I hate the lies told. A friend got a lab at an RSPCA years back. He was surrended soon before we got there and my friend fell in love. He was on the PTS list because the owner said he was a cronic fence jumper. We talked the RSPCA into letting him be adopted but they said if she came back they would PTS. Ten (or so) years on he has never jumped a fence, escaped out of a yard or actually done anything wrong. One of the nicest and well behaved dogs I have ever met.

The problem with these results is they were trialled with a professional dog trainer who showed no fear. Replace him with most (not sure if most is correct - maybe many) crims who would creep around, look suspecious, be unsure of the dogs. It is all in the confidence of the crim. I remember when having aggression issues with a large dog in my past. A dog training pro came around and she was putty in his hands. He said to me ' so where is this aggressive dog as she rolled on her back and licked his hands'. Previously, she had tried to take out various men who dared to come to close.

Thank you for your kind words. Lilli will be fine but she is mentally scared. She is scared to go outside herself and rushes for any car she can see and tries to get in. So I guess we have an inside dog now. She has been sleeping on our bed or on the washing basket behind the door. In teh day she has just stayed inside on the couch. The man who found her was lovely and the vet said he stayed with Lilli until they contacted me. He asked the vet to ask me if he could have her if we didn't want her. I will go down to his farm today (he was away all weekend) to find out exactly where the car was parked and search out from there. No sign of Larry but myself, my neighbour and another friend all believe he is alive - just a feeling. Yesterday both my neighbour (2 properties over) an myself though we heard a dog cry. She went rushing out to search and we both spent the afternoon walking around. My other friend is coming around again this morning and we are looking again. The men think we are loonies and my hubby keeps saying - he is gone, you must accept that. I just can't. Yet. I don't think the wild dogs will be around here for long. Hubby goes out every night with a gun. He shot one a few weeks ago after a neighbours calf was killed. We have seen a pack of about 6. They definately have dingo blood as they are yellow but are bigger, shorter hair, can bark and a couple are a bit brindly.

She is lovely. Congratulations to both you and her.

I sit here in disbelief. Larry, (Happy as Larry) ACD*kelpie rescue (on the right), came to us as a failed foster (I guess) a few years ago. Yesterday morning a miscommunication resulted in the gate being left open. Lilli (ACD*BC) and Larry went looking for adventure. We got home at noon and searched all afternoon. We live in cattle country which is also wild-dog country. At 3.30 a vet from the town called. A man had picked up Lilli. She was injured but expected to live. She was found about 2km away through a ridge of very thick bush. A man was checking his cows and she jumped through his car window and lay bleeding on his back seat. He rushed her to the vet and they rang me via the microchip. She is badly bitten around the head but is doing ok. Larry hasn't been seen. All our friends and ourselves spent the night and morning crawling and struggling through the scrub looking for any signs. The country probably has never had a person walk it before. The wild-dogs got him for sure. Amazing the Lilli was able to escape - I guess - Larry took the brunt of the attack. I see so many dogs wandering and think about how their owners are irresponsible. Then one mistake results in Larrys death. So unfair for a dog who never did anything wrong. RIP my best mate - Larry.

Just thopught of anotehr issue - he can't dig a hole to bury his poop.

I have an 18yo cat who lost a back leg due to being crushed in a rabbit trap at about 5yo. The night he came home from the vets minus the leg he went into a cupboard, slept for about 2 days, and walked out a near acting normal cat except he moves like a rabbit. He can't wear a collar as his front leg goes through when he jumps. Good luck

I remember as kids we would run around the streets everyday after school with a few dogs. If we got bitten we were belted when we got home for annoying the dog and making it bite. But this was very rare as dogs could escape if they didn't like a kid. My cousin was a dog-bite magnet. We would all be patting a dog and he would walk up, put his hand out and wammo he was bitten and crying. Never once did we blame the dog. Dogs fights did happen sometimes but they generally were pretty much ignored and we let them fight it out. But, in general, there were less dogs around, they knew how to be dogs as they ran in packs as well, less cars so fewer accidents, they knew kids so less scared of kids, not locked up so more entertained and stable mentally, if we knew there was an aggressive dog at a house we just didn't walk past, smaller dogs in general (mainly terriers, blueys and kelpies), parents letting kids be kids, councils not tracking down wandering dogs, no dogs on leads so no lead aggression. All things that make for less serious attacks. I remember seeing my first afhgan and was facinated by it. It chased me indoors and threw itself at the door to get to me. The owners of the house told me not to go near it as it hated kids. But it still wandered around the streets. We just avoided it. Just a different life when people took responsibility for their own actions - even kids.

I can't stop looking at how cute Daisy is in the photo at the bottom of your posts. I'm sure no-one at this centre could possibly treat a dog badly with a face like that.