german_shep_fan

Yeah that was my fault, sorry everyone :laugh: I am finding all this fasinating tho

Spirit is built like the proverbial brick sh*thouse & is a real little pocket rocket. She's a high drive, high energy dog & is becoming a great working partner. As I said, I take very good care of all my dogs, although I agree that sometimes, all the care in the world makes no difference when it comes to something like a Cruciate. At home, she only leaps like that if Scout is in close proximity & she can hear his bells, or if someone comes on the property & she wants to know "Who the hell are you & what do you want ?" before they get to the front door. :laugh: :laugh: Great pics

I was told dark red (sorry dont know what the offical colour is called) cockers can have a snappy temperament too? idk how true that is, just something i was told by reputable trainer. Everyone has their own opinions i guess. There was line line of red (not all) some years back that threw dogs of very questionable temperament, that became dangerous and were PTS and so the colour got some real bad press for a while. Yeah the one i heard abt got pts It tried multiple times to attack the baby and i think ended up biting the mother Could well of been one of these dogs.

Yeah that's prob it, i have a friend with a cocker and she said she researched abt it before she got one.

I was told dark red (sorry dont know what the offical colour is called) cockers can have a snappy temperament too? idk how true that is, just something i was told by reputable trainer. Everyone has their own opinions i guess.

gsIt worries me too. Do police dog handlers let the police do run off lead into someone's fenced backyard without checking if there are dogs around? And if there are dogs around, do the dog handlers have 100% control to ensure their dogs don't react to the owner's dogs? Would the police be held accountable if their dog bit someone's dog in their backyard? Would the owner be held accountable if an offlead police dog jumped into the backyard and was bitten by the owner's dog? Most police dogs I have seen have a pretty aggressive body language and I'm sure most dogs would react to them if they jumped into the yard. I can't answer the questions about who would be held accountable if there was an altercation but I can share one experience. We were woken one night by a bit of a commotion in our suburb (speeding vehicles, sirens). My OH heard a noise in our backyard and went to look through the laundry. As he approached the glass sliding door he saw something big moving outside. It was the biggest Rottweiler he'd ever seen and the handler yelled "Police! Stay inside!" The dog was running through our backyard searching for an offender who crashed a stolen car and escaped on foot through our area. The person had committed an armed robbery before stealing and crashing the car, so the police believed he might still be armed. We didn't have a dog at the time so no idea whether they would check the yard for a resident dog, but the police did enter with their dog before we were aware of it. I *think* the police dog was restrained by the handler at first, and then released to search the yard. I had no idea WA police had Rotties, he was an awesome looking dog. Geez, sounds like they do just go in without asking! I hope this never happens to us as my male GSD is a big boy who would easily be at the least the size if not bigger then the police sheps, he doesn't like strange dogs coming into his territory without his permission!

So they bulk them up when they show but then have them lean to hunt?

Its funny you should mention that, when i was at training school last friday our trainer was going through all the different breeds of dogs we have and one bloke had a black lab :) When he was asked why they got a lab the guy said cos they are a cuddly family dog. Trainer then said ok cool, do you go hunting ect and guy had a completely blank look on his face and was like ahh nooo. Trainer then seemed miffed, as if to say why get a hunting breed when u don't hunt. He has gun dogs and does sports with his so i guess he thinks dogs should still do what they were bred for? I do agree to some extent, but then we would have chaos lol Too many labs hunting and the sheep would never rest with all the GSDs haha That's a little bit difficult when your breed was used to hunt bears :laugh: :laugh: I think your beautiful boy can go find those bears all on his own :laugh:

You been to any petshops lately or looked at the ads in newspapers?????Theres crossbreed pups in petshops selling for more than purebreeds over $1000 for a lot of them Most pet shop puppies I have seen are around $700 - some of the "less appealing"mixes are around $400. I think it is also worth mentioning that a large number of pups for sale in pet shops are actually purebred. The petshop i was in on the wkend have cavs for $1200. they had a pic of the mother sitting with the pups above the price on the pen. No clue where they came from or if they have papers ect. I didnt want to ask Oh yes - those beautifully "staged" photos of Mum and pups. Especially the ones in flower pots etc nope they didnt even have a nice background with flowers ect. looked maybe like a whelping box with a blanket in it idk It was quite close up so you couldnt see anything else. I only had a really quick look, just felt sorry for poor mummy cav

Its funny you should mention that, when i was at training school last friday our trainer was going through all the different breeds of dogs we have and one bloke had a black lab :) When he was asked why they got a lab the guy said cos they are a cuddly family dog. Trainer then said ok cool, do you go hunting ect and guy had a completely blank look on his face and was like ahh nooo. Trainer then seemed miffed, as if to say why get a hunting breed when u don't hunt. He has gun dogs and does sports with his so i guess he thinks dogs should still do what they were bred for? I do agree to some extent, but then we would have chaos lol Too many labs hunting and the sheep would never rest with all the GSDs haha

I'm not full bottle on lab genetics myself and I welcome those who are to come in and correct me or elaborate but no, it isn't as simple as saying it is bad to put 2 chocs together and this dilute thing due to mating 2 chocs I don't think exists. Labs can carry yellow, chocolate and black (black dominant) and sometimes it can help to know what colours they carry so you can mate accordingly. There is never a "dangerous" combination like mating 2 merles, but it is preferred not to mate chocolate to yellow (if they don't carry black I think it is?) as you can end up with light pigmentation which isn't desirable (but has no health effects). Hopefully someone with more knowledge can come in and help out with this question! :) German Shep fan - this is not true. The only way to get an all chocolate litter (well guanateed anyway) is to breed 2 chocolate labs. Coat genetic cannot be compared across breeds - all very different. As RS said, choc labs can carry a recessive yellow gene. If you breed 2 chocolate who both have this recessive yellow gene, you will get some yellow puppies. Some say this will result in a diluted chocolate colour but I do not know if this is fact or not. I found some interesting information about them being cross breed to get the colour at one stage which lead to this reputation. Link I am not sure how true this is - but being chocolate labradors have been around since the 1930's and also where around pre-labradors (St Johns dogs) this makes sense. Oh great thanks for the link :) I will check it out. So are choc labs allowed to be shown or is the choc colour considered a fault? Sorry these q's are of course common knowledge im sure, but as i said i am very much a lab beginner and would love to learn more :)

How can they stop you? That would be craziness!

You been to any petshops lately or looked at the ads in newspapers?????Theres crossbreed pups in petshops selling for more than purebreeds over $1000 for a lot of them Most pet shop puppies I have seen are around $700 - some of the "less appealing"mixes are around $400. I think it is also worth mentioning that a large number of pups for sale in pet shops are actually purebred. The petshop i was in on the wkend have cavs for $1200. they had a pic of the mother sitting with the pups above the price on the pen. No clue where they came from or if they have papers ect. I didnt want to ask

yes, shame on those owners trying to put in time with their dog to make up for being at work all day. they sounds like utterly terrible owners to me *insert sarcasm here*. and late? what is late? if its past a certain time you can call the police, if its not, suck it up and let them have their time with their dog with its probable favourite toy. lets see at some peoples house after 11pm maynot be late but here with 3 kids trying to sleep before school and a golden ret barking while its owners squeek non stop screaming out bella bella bella could be considered normal .They are never home during the day as they live in the city and leave their dog at this their other house things aren't always as black and white as for calling the police I don't think it would change anything . could you not leave a note in their letterbox and explain your grief? the owners are probably completely unaware of the actual disturbance they are making. hate is a strong word. I agree, a note to explain how much the noise travels esp at night might make them realise how inconsiderate they are being. They should actually be taking the dog out for at least a walk anyway. Playing with a squeaky toy is not enough excersie or mental stimulation.

Sorry smisch, but that's bollocks!!!!!!! RS i am lab ignorant but have heard it said that if you put two choc's together you only get diluted choc and that is very bad? Same as two merle collies? Just wondering if this is true or not? I know nothing of lab colour genetics I'm not full bottle on lab genetics myself and I welcome those who are to come in and correct me or elaborate but no, it isn't as simple as saying it is bad to put 2 chocs together and this dilute thing due to mating 2 chocs I don't think exists. Labs can carry yellow, chocolate and black (black dominant) and sometimes it can help to know what colours they carry so you can mate accordingly. There is never a "dangerous" combination like mating 2 merles, but it is preferred not to mate chocolate to yellow (if they don't carry black I think it is?) as you can end up with light pigmentation which isn't desirable (but has no health effects). Hopefully someone with more knowledge can come in and help out with this question! :) Oh cool, thanks very much for the info :)

Sorry smisch, but that's bollocks!!!!!!! RS i am in the begginers category with labs but have heard it said that if you put two choc's together you only get diluted choc and that is very bad? Same as two merle collies? Just wondering if this is true or not? I know nothing of lab colour genetics

Wow you live near lots of out of control fluff pots by the sound of it!

The girl in my signature pic, she was my second mother as mum said and my guardian angel :) She ensured my life long obession with the GSD :)

Then you didnt look very closely as the wording i used was copied from the post that i quoted from earlier in the day :) This off topic convo is just going round and round in circles and i don't think we should waste anymore of our time with it. It seems the OP got the info she needed so i hope her situation works out for her. I am sure we will butt heads again when we disagree in another post in the future :D

I never expected to see such a controversial statement on this board. However, you express my views perfectly. And mine. I think it's terrible that so many animals are put to sleep each year but the end justifies the means for me. Dogs will be in a very dire situation the day that we only have the registered breeders producing new dogs, in my mind that is not enough to sustain the species. Nobody here can deny that a lot of breeds are in trouble. Unfortunately in a society where everything is recorded and catalogued it will do no good for a dog to be and look like a good specimen of any breed if he isn't able prove his pedigree. Several hundred years ago it would have been an entirely different matter. If it looked like a good "Collie" then it could be used in a breeding program. Today many "Home and Farm breed" dogs could have more than a dash of something else in them, therfore not the breed it appears or represents itself to be. The point is moot in 2012. I guess thats what they did do a few hundread yrs ago and today it is called byb. It would be very interesting to discover if dogs lived longer back then compared to today. There are probably no records kept tho Not sure if it is this thread or not but i read a post yesterday that said dispite the health tests carried out dogs seem to be dying younger? It would be interesting to know how much is due to all the crap they put in dog food ect these days. But i think there will always be byb and there will always be farm dogs bred to work, so i dont think there will ever be a time when we only have pedigree dogs and nothing else :)

wow very judgemental comments. You are doing the very thing you are saying for others not to do. I am saying how judgemental many of the young posters were to the OP when she simply asked a question. I believe what was said is disgusting and a complete turn off to ppl who visit this site and see the judgemental attitude these ppl have to newbies or uneducated ppl who simply want info. Their manner is disgusting, not many ppl were nice, politeness can go along way, i was never unpolite or accusing to the op, only the ppl who jumped down her throat ahem ;) weren't you taught two wrongs don't make a right? You are calling people self righteous know it alls, you are accusing a certain age group, your comments can also being read by visitors to the forum, but it's ok for you to name call etc cause you are not applying it to the OP. Sorry edit to say your comment to the OP was not nice either and no you are not in my age group. I am not the only poster who has told others their manner in this post was disgusting (or the first to call the others self rightous)and to get off thier high horse, yet you continue to pick on me, why is that? Honest q!

lol i agree, i esp didnt like the heads on some of their imported males, looked quite wrinkly some of them Loved their property but the website had too much info on each page. A standard and simple format would be much better. However i dont think anyone telling them off will make any differnce, they obv adore their dogs and think they are wonderful examples of the breed so it is unlikely they will give two hoots what anyone else thinks.

wow very judgemental comments. You are doing the very thing you are saying for others not to do. I am saying how judgemental many of the young posters were to the OP when she simply asked a question. I believe what was said is disgusting and a complete turn off to ppl who visit this site and see the judgemental attitude these ppl have to newbies or uneducated ppl who simply want info. Their manner is disgusting, not many ppl were nice, politeness can go along way, i was never unpolite or accusing to the op, only the ppl who jumped down her throat ahem ;)

there is no need to do kennel cough unless you are going to be boarding the dog. There were two dogs in my pups puppy class that came down with it. The days of it just existing in the kennels unfortunately are long gone. There was an outbreak in my suburb a few mnths back. I got my girl done for it at 16wks along with her 4mth vaccs, i do the KC vacc for my older boy every yr too as they go to obedience club and park alot. You just never know if other ppl vacc their dogs or not. Bianca i hope little Cooper is all good now and is stacking on those kgs :)

+2 I went to the profiles of some of the worst comments in this thread and many of the ppl saying these awful things are only my age or younger, yet people with more level headed comments have probably been breeding over twice as long as these self righteous knowit alls. I hope these commenters are in the minority otherwise what a disgusting new age of breeders these ppl are going to be.