WreckitWhippet

I feel the same way

The average not-a-lot-of-knowledge pet buyer should because how are they to know who's OK and who's not? IMO someone who comes on here or goes to the "trouble" of getting advice from some other reputable source is not the same as the person who looks in the pet shop, looks in the trading post and buys the same day. Ellz - I agree completely. Buying a puppy from someone who breeds well regardless of the puppy's COI is always better than buying from a BYB - but I ask again, how is the uneducated puppy buyer meant to know the difference? I have no issues with close matings done by good breeders. It's a catch 22 Sandra, telling then to walk away, yet the people who choose to do the close matings, are more likely they one's who have put the care and consideration and planning into the mating. If we tell the average puppy buyer to look for pedigrees that appear not to have closely related dogs, we are effectively pointing them in the direction of the breeders who are happy to slap anything together. What the puppy buyer needs to ask is " why have you chosen this mating " " what kind of guarantee do you give me, regarding this puppy " " What support will I recieve from you in the future"

The views on tail docking They state as fact that they way to minimise the risk of inherited problems is to avoid close breedings. They state a good breeder will put health and welfare above appearence Stating that desexing can make your dog healthier and happier Not to buy from a breeder who advertises on the net

In my eyes, type, temperament, structure and soundness, go hand in hand. I don't prioritise one over the other, I'm looking to breed dogs and bitches that are the complete package, I'm not prepared to sacrafice type on favour of a "nice" temperament or the reverse. I believe that I give the pups a start in life ( through the careful selection of parents and how I raise them ) that should enable them to be well rounded canine citizens. No matter what I do and what traits they inherit from their parents, there is always the potential for a new owner to screw them up, through neglect, ignorance, poor choices etc. I hope that I select the best possible puppy buyers to finish the job that I've started.

Genuine question Sandra, should pet people walk away or avoid you , when you choose to do a tighter mating ?

The RSPCA has put out a pamphlet which does just this. I picked it up from the seminar. It was mentioned by at least one of the presenters. and what a load of misleading garbage that is.

I don't get the logic behind saying that pet people should stear clear of close matings. A quality pet is a quality pet, regardless of how close the mating is. I'd be more concerned about the "breeder" with the two unrelated dogs sitting in their back yard or all of the colour to colour matings that occur within every breed, where there are colour variations. How tight a mating is, should not be a sole reason for a potential buyer to walk away.

I adopt the no nonsense approach. I practice putting my pups up on the table at home basically from the time their eyes open, I check them over give them a pat and pop them back in the box. You could do this with your young one, it won't help for tomorrow but lots of handling and being used to the table will benefit down the track. Don't make a big fuss over the pup. Try and stay calm. Don't be afraid to pop into your vets from time to time throughout her life, even if you walk in the door say hi to whoever is on the front counter and walk out again.

If it's producing quality, sound dogs and bitches, then I wouldn't be worried about it at all.

Hell no, you come to my house, you get a greeting from the guard "Stafford" but once you're in the door and identified as "friendly" , it's all about them. I have to put mine away as the Staffords mug anyone that comes in and the Whippet has been known to soar over the kitchen table on the way to the lounge :D It's alright for people that know them and are prepared to reprimand and tell them to bugger off but the majority of visitors are nervous.

Nasty ... pfffttt

Didn't the Shire Council give $5000 to the appeal to help the Park fight the RSPCA ? I haven't seen anything that says he supports the RSPCA and their actions. My PC isn't opening up everything at the moment, but I would be interested in reading about his opinion http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2010/02/...-wildlife-park/

I actually think that the pups are more at risk, for the couple of weeks after vaccination. It's that week after I vaccinate that most concerns me, as the maternal antibodies are no longer providing any protection or very little and the immune system and the puppy in general is under more stress from the trip to the vet, the vaccine and the chipping.

I've weighed up the risks and will allow people I know in, providing they come straight from their house, have clean clothes and no contact with other dogs. Shoes off at the door and wash their hands. The pups benefit from the early handling

Pretty much the same routine as Aziah. I had Audrey clean over night by 8 weeks, she knew that her bed was for sleeping in, her crate was not a toilet and if she had to go , she'd wee on the piece of paper in the corner of her pen. She was looking for the paper to toilet on at 6 weeks and wouldn't go on the lino.

Have a read of this http://www.yourdoghealth.com/dog_ester-c.htm

Try spotlight if you have one near you or order the sherpa online. It's about $14.95 per meter, buy and cut it bigger than your box, as it will shrink a bit with washing and going in the clothes dryer. It's not as good as vet bed but it's still OK

I never saw Sessy, Spanky, Phil, Clarkie, Pat, Brook, Norman, Mary, Cullen and numerous others in the flesh before they arrived. Eventually I have met a few of the parents over the years but did not see any of them in the flesh before the pups arrived here. I've not had any problems with temperaments ( across a range of breeds ) nor have they been anything other than what the photo's suggested.

They have quite a big facebook following and a lot of support from the town, by the looks of it. A little community backlash, goes a long way

If I need it on all night then the dogs have it on all night. If I'm comfortable then the dogs are too. I will leave it on during the day if I go out and they are locked up, they have TV and aircon

Carpet on the bottom for the first three weeks. I change it to a new piece each week. On top of that either dry bed or big sheets of sherpa. When they are on their feet the carpet goes and they get polarfleece, sherpa or dry bed up one end and the newspaper down the front and out into the pen

That was the first version, we are now up to version three with a perspex lid, so I can see in. I'm going with a hole in the side wall with pperspex next litter, so I don't have to get off the lounge

Our puppies are whelped and raised in the house. The bitch has a large covered whelping box and a puppy pen around it. Right in the middle of the loungeroom. So when I say remove her from the pen, it's the puppy pen surrounding the box.

LOL, Benny was broked, unless the microwave dinged

I remove mine from the puppy pen or the whelping box if someone who doesn't know the dogs is coming to visit. Anyone that knows me and knows the dogs, can put up with the bitches crawling all over them and demanding the attention or they can put them in their place. My girls couldn't give a crap at who comes to look at the pups, as far as they are concerned it's all about them. Mine are not protective when it comes to people, I'm always in the whelping box and spend hours and hours in there and it's not uncommon for friends to come over and we'll sit in there together, look at the pups and handle them.