Salukifan

Showdog lives in WA. I think when she said that "dogs have the final say" she was talking about what they do best on. Also doesn't matter how good the food is on paper if your dog won't eat it. If you don't actually feed it to your dogs as a part of their every day diet, why do you rate Optimum so highly? You don't rate Royal Canin. That's fine but have you actually ever fed it? I don't get the need to disparage a product you've never fed.

So how, in the absence of a specific prohibition on the exhibition of unlawfully docked dogs, does the ANKC ensure that it's not encouraging its members to flout the legislation? Point taken - however how very sad that they have to agree that some ANKC members will do the wrong thing and so require more than the law to discourage them. If some ANKC members didn't do the wrong thing, we wouldn't need half the regulations we've got. However when all registered breeders and members are judged by the worst of our number, those regulations and rules start to look damn good.

So how, in the absence of a specific prohibition on the exhibition of unlawfully docked dogs, does the ANKC ensure that it's not encouraging its members to flout the legislation?

As a member of Dogs NSW your opinion is worth twice as much as the smaller states' members. NSW gets two votes on any ANKC motion. Why would you "get shafted" by an organisation that is democratically elected by its members including you? Because of the way the ANKC is set up- there have been decisions made by the ANKC that I didn't even have an opportunity to voice my opinion about until after they have already been made. My point is that I am a member of DogsNSW not the ANKC but it is the ANKC that makes decisions and from what I have seen they are not always scientific, logical. I genuinely feel powerless to make myself heard Nationally or have any great impact on National policy within the pedigree sphere. I personally don't have time to stand for election within DogsNSW so I guess until I win lotto or retire in another 50 odd years I accept the decisions made. I will admit that it is not just this issue that has cause my disillusion but its another example of quite large issues being decided by a very few people with very little evidence on the table. I feel sorry for people who own legally docked dogs and who have to rely on others to voice their opinion for them Nationally. ETA- I should have included moving to a different country in my second paragraph. Which is not something totally out of the realms of possibility :laugh: It's unfeasible for every ANKC decision to be put out for member comment IMO. They would drown in the volume of responses. However there are a raft of Breed, Sport and other Committees who are consulted about decisions. Each of those Committees has a member from each state. You can have input via those Committees if you choose to serve. I think you'll find people who have lawfully docked dogs now and in the future will have quite a few voices speaking for them - even voices not personally affected by the motion. :)

As a member of Dogs NSW your opinion is worth twice as much as the smaller states' members. NSW gets two votes on any ANKC motion. Why would you "get shafted" by an organisation that is democratically elected by its members including you?

Well, while the motion runs its course, I have a question for everyone. If this isn't the way to ensure that all Australian bred dogs exhibited in the show ring are done so in accordance with the relevant State laws on docking, what should the ANKC do about it. One obvious answer is "nothing" but is that the best approach? If not, where to from here?? As I see it, there are some steps along the way on this one. Step 1: Convince ANKC members to abandon all hope that tail docking laws will ever be reversed. They won't. Ask any politician. Step 2: Cease all discussion of the merits of routine tail docking. That ship has sailed and we need to move on. Step 3: Commence discusson on how the ANKC might ensure only lawfully docked dogs are exhibited. Or should we do nothing and await the arrival of animal welfare Inspectors at a major dog show and the associated publicity??? Never say "never" on that one. Ideas?

Ask them!

I think you need to give the Directors some credit for consulting on such controversial motions. They know very well who they represent and most are quite capable of discussing an issue without use of the terms "my dog", "my breed" or "my interests". At times I wish more people would try it.

The ANKC Directors from all other states are required to vote on this motion. Most (if not all) will consult with their elected Councils before voting on the motion. Some already have - ask your ANKC Director/s what their vote was. Frankly I think people need to allow the system to operate as it is designed before concluding the end is nigh. If you have so little faith in your currenty elected Councillors to see to your interests, the answer lies in the ballot box at the next elections. Fair enough. On that point was anyone from Victoria consulted before one of their delegates put the motion to ANKC on the official DogsVIC letterhead. I stand to be corrected but I'm pretty sure you will find no-one from Victoria will reply they were consulted. This motion should have been decided by the state members before being put forward on DogsVic letterhead and making it an official order of business put forward by the entire DOGSVIC which it seems it is not. Seeing as there are only 8 delegates on ANKC with a few states with two votes and a few with only one vote it needs only two states out of seven to cause a tie in an election on this matter. Reality is three states could vote yes and five states could vote no and the yes could still win. I have zero knowledge of what happened in Victoria on this one. It is up to the members of Dogs Vic to make their views known to their Council on how the motion was initiated. As for the other states - wait and see. I don't think you'll have to wait long.

Yarracully: The ANKC Directors from all other states are required to vote on this motion. Most (if not all) will consult with their elected Councils before voting on the motion. Some already have - ask your ANKC Director/s what their vote was. Frankly I think people need to allow the system to operate as it is designed before concluding the end is nigh. If you have so little faith in your currenty elected Councillors to see to your interests, the answer lies in the ballot box at the next elections.

I challenge the promoters of this idea to find any decent dog behavioural expert who'll support the notion that a "temperament testing" a dog at six months of age will be a definitive indicator of its temperament at maturity. I also wish them luck finding a behaviorist who'll state that desexing is a cast iron method of ensuring that dogs won't be aggressive. More knee jerk proposals from people who fail to grasp the idea that genetics is only one component of what makes a dangerous dog. If they propose desexing the owners of dogs that seriously harm other people, it would probably be more effective.

I feed turkey mince quite a bit. I think if we all followed every "don't feed [insert food here]piece of advice floating around, our dogs would be living on air :laugh: Any advice that doesn't give "why" as part of the information I pretty much ignore.

Go to a horse supplies shop and buy some rug seal. If you paint the seams on the gazebo roof with rug seal, it shouldn't leak. :) Mine doesn't.

I will probably get one of these when my original Compact goes to God. Compacts definitely are the go for folk on their own. Just remember always to peg the feet AND cross and peg the guy ropes for optimum stability. My little Compact, with extra crossed guyropes has survived situations that have turned big gazebos that weren't properly pegged into trash. The other good thing about the Compacts is that lots of folk have them - you can make a big gazebo farm with your friends and join them all together! :)

Interesting that in most sight hounds a lighter eye is permitted. I think it's probably because a darker eye means a softer expression.

Is she teething? What are you feeding her? Reason I ask is that she looks a bit down in pasterns at the moment.

Howie my Whippet made choosing Royal Canin very simple. It is the ONLY premium kibble that he will eat with gusto every time. The two young Whippets are on RC Medium Junior and the three poodles are on Mini Mature 8+. I understand RC will be bringing out a 12+ soon. :) It's fed by a lot of folk I respect and my dogs do well on it. So I'll keep feeding it.

Depends a bit on what the kids are doing!!! There's timidity and there's self preservation. Jaw issues are NOT simply cosmetic. They can lead to a lifetime of teeth and eating issues. That's one hell of a non-alignment in a tiny pup and unlikely to resolve. I'd not buy a timid pup or one with a bad bite and I don't care what price they were charging. Why set yourself up for heartache, I'd keep looking.

Short answer - yes. Very disheartening when it happens but the judge has to call it as they see it. Good that you're onto the bait issue - i'd be getting it out of my hands completely.

I'd just wash the white bits in Sunlight soap and then shampoo as normal. Rub the soap on, work it in and then rinse off and shampoo.

I honestly think we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and blaming others for what's happening. A persecution complex won't help. ANKC registered breeders have an image problem and each and every one of us has the power to make small steps to improve it. So less self pity and more "how can I personally promote my breed and responsible breeding' is needed along with any more collective action. it's not a right to breed dogs - its a responsibility and perhaps we need to do more if we wish to see the fancy flourish. There are doers and whiners and from where I sit there's currently a lot more whining than doing.

A name you can scream across a paddock at 80 decibels without dying of embarassment is the way to go. Not too many syllables and ending in a 'y' sound tend to be easy. You can always look up girls names meaning "Golden". If you turn "Pip" into "Pippa" it will be a bit easier to scream. Millie already has the "y" sound at the end.

A local exhibitor we both know has one Fliss. You going to Bungendore?

.Hmn... good question. I'm absolutely sure she's very vulnerable to yeast infections ('doggy thrush' - black skin disease, marked increase in the itchies and yeasty smell after antibiotics, yeasty and itchies at other times. And many grains cause blood sugar spikes which can produce increases in thrush symptoms. The effect of the pizza crust was really obvious on Saturday night - up to that point she had only had her usual raw diet and a raw bone. So I suppose I'm tending to keep her completely away from anything with grains or yeast. But open to other thoughts? Gluten is the usual culprit with yeast infections but better safe than sorry I suppose. You could always try her on some left over rice to see how that goes.

Feeding something like dry baked or plain mashed pumpkin will help with the anal glands. Might be worth a trip to the chiropractor to have his pelvis checked too. :)