Salukifan

I wouldn't get too annoyed. Ive seen veterinary advice get very interesting after its been filtered by the owner :laugh:

RIP Scoota I'm sorry for your loss Nekhie.

My guess is that the breeder said your pup was on the "puppy formulation" of a particular brand. But listen to Pav Lova - she knows what she's talking about wrt Staffords. :)

I think you can admire breeds, even wistfully contemplate them but know they aren't for you or for some situations described in the "what breed for me" threads we see here. As a volunteer dog trainer I see a lot of smaller terrier owners (or dogs that are mostly JRT) frustrated by their inability to hold their dog's attention and wondering what they've taken on when other dog owners can gain and hold their dogs undivided focus. Can dedicated dog folk get that type of attention from their terriers? Hell yes. We had a lady at our club put a UD on TWO Parsons. But unless you go in with your eyes wide open, it can be frustrating for owners. We have a pretty ordinary combination in the class I'm attending at the moment of a young (i'm guessing 12ish) owner with a JRT that's interested in the other dogs, what's happening in other classes etc and who lacks the patience to really work on focus. She gets frustrated. Did that family acquire the dog with their eyes wide open?? Nope, bought a cute pup and are now finding out what owning a dog bred and developed to make decisions for itself and to react quickly to changes around it brings to the training paddock. If you can't grasp that your dog is never going to just lie down and submit to being dominated by several large dogs in the offead park (yes, seen this too) then maybe a softer breed suits better also. I agree that some breeds can be so soft they're boring.... more dogs that I'd not be interested in owning. Are there novice owners I'd recommend a terrier to? Yes, of course there are. But when one of the specifications given is "quiet", there are a range of breeds I'd steer them away from... including Toy Poodles.

From the stories I've been told, approximately 50% of them were called Socks or Soxie :laugh:

Actually, I really admire the Foxies - Smooths in particular. My father tells me they were a very popular family pet when he was growing up in the 30's Mind you, that was an era of quarter acre blocks, stay at home mums and no one raising an eyebrow at dogs 'turned out' of their homes for exercise. Times have changed.

x2!!!!! Just to add: The "pet owner" Dodger's sire was sold to a is now a registered breeder. That's how you grow new exhibitors folks. :)

For those determined not to release puppies from their kennels entire, there is already a viable option to full desexing... vasectomy and tubal ligation. I'm certainly glad Dodger's sire wasn't sold desexed. He started life as a pet, the owner was encouraged some months down the track by his breeder to show him and now that dog is a Grand Champion and a prolific sire. If you think you can pick the show quality pups with 100% certainty at 8 weeks then half your luck, but I've seen a lot of breeders kick themselves about pups in pet homes being "the ones that got away" in terms of their quality and loss to breeding programs.

Rosaline: There is only one.. consistency and ignoring tantrums. Building a positive association with the crate with meals and day time naps would be good also.

Same here. $5 flat rate delivery fee and I"ve never had an issue.

+1 Showed one for a friend once Raja... it was "interesting" Classic case of "you're not the boss of ME"!!!!

Fresh water, drought conditions and low flow equal very high bacterial load. Add swans and voila!! BIG bacterial loads. I've had my dogs break out in bacteria caused rashes the ONE time I didn't wash them after swimming them in our lake during the drought.

If she's getting ear infections because of water, then the groomer ain't doing a very good job. What do you feed her? A lot of ear infections are yeast related and diet changes can help.

A basenji is not for someone with limited dog experience and especially for someone who's kids are not used to having a dog in the house. There are exceptions, but generally I would never suggest a basenji for someone like this. Kids who have never had a dog before more than likely will want a dog that will be playful with them, and obedient. Which proves, Curly, that I sure know less about the Basenji! Thanks for that. "Primitive" breed temperaments are very interesting. The Basenji and the Pharoah Hound are quite different to any other dogs I have met. I hear Shibas are similar. Very feline in some aspects and with a ton of prey drive .. or the ones I know are. Definitely a breed for fanciers only IMO.

At the risk of bringing the wrath of another bunch of breed fanciers down on me.. me. IN THIS CONTEXT I'd not recommend ANY terrier. The family are looking for a quiet, friendly dog. I've seen way too many noisy, reactive terriers to recommend one IN THIS SITUATION. That goes double for Fox Terriers (Smooth or Wire). Yes, I know there will be a bunch of folk who'll tell me THEIR FT was quiet as a lamb and loved every dog but the odds of getting one that more closely fits the breed standard are good. One of the words used to describe the WHFT breed in the standard is "fearless" and in my experience that's what you're going to get more often than not. That doesn't mean I hate terriers (although its likely that's how it will be interpreted) but if I wanted the best fit for the requirements specified, a terrier would not be on the list.

Ah deja vu moment - I said the same thing in the last thread. ;)

Had a look at the website and can't find a list of ingredients for each type of food. They have a general ingredients list but no quantities.

I suggest you read some of the literature out there about the structural and other impacts of early desexing and reconsider that assertion. I hope that you don't breed larger dogs. I'd consider avoidance of increased HD by delaying desexing until maturity is the hardly thinking of an "antiquated school". I sincerely hope that owning entire dogs is never restricted to registered breeders. That would mean no new exhibitors in the show ring and a lot of dog sports folk who'd be in a world of hurt with dogs impacted by juvenile desexing.

This is how Whippets were raced back in the day. Although I think there was a bit of 'on track' betting between owners. My view is that there should be no off track betting, no professional trainers and owner/trainers only. Let it be a hobby and once the dogs aren't seen simply as a walking source of money things would change.

Hear hear... I think pics are a must. Now that you know that there's no obstruction, you could discuss dosing her with paraffin with the vet too. That should grease the wheels. ;)

Brilliant, was it easy to find? I find the VCA website quite hard to navigate. eta maybe I should make some copies and put in the return address envelopes of the people who obviously can't be bothered to do it correctly. Unfortunately, this still doesn't say about cutting the forms to the correct size! I was lucky, because at my first show the catalogue said "entry forms must be trimmed to correct size" and I texted a more experienced showie going "what do I have to do!??" well if I decide to do it again next year I will have that and more in the schedule: entry forms must be filled in correctly and trimmed to the correct size and maybe the link to the sample. Though the same ones will continue to do as they please. Wonder what they will do if clubs stop holding shows cause they can't find a person stupid enough to be the show secretary. Add "incomplete entries will be returned". That should motivate some attention to detail. :)

In a word "genetics". It's not common but it can happen. Its not common, but yet we see thousands in pounds and PTS for behavioural issues. Yes, unwanted behaviours that for the most part could have been resolved by training, exercise and company. That's most, but not all.

In a word "genetics". It's not common but it can happen.

Ah, the voice of reason... no doubt it will be drowned out by the sound of feet stomping up onto soap boxes. FYI folk, the word is "appalled". Never say I don't add value. ;)

Was holding out on the "inside v outside" result before suggesting it but if the daughter likes cute flarfies, she may not go for a stick insect puppy. I think they're gorgeous though. :)