Jed

Bub I believe they can tell. Lots of dogs don't care much, provided we don't resent or dislike them enough to colour our treatment of them. However, we will never get the best from a dog unless we are either neutral or really like it. However, some animals, including dogs, do respond extra well to strong caring vibes from the owner. There have been instances of animals changing homes with drastic changes in behaviour. Corvus, if it is so complicated that it is incomprehensible, it's a complete waste of time reading it. Trust me, it's true.

Ollie waffle, if you purchase from a decent registered breeder, you purchase from someone who has had available tests done for prevalent diseases in the breed. You purchase from someone who knows what the temperament and conformation of the dog should be and breeds for that, as well as for health. You are also purchasing from someone who knows, and can tell you, who the ancestors of the dog are, and it is very likely that you will be able to see photos of ancestors. If you purchase from byb or puppy farm, you are purchasing from someone who has no idea of the lineage of the dogs, and either has no knowledge, or couldn't be bothered,with health testing. You are purchasing from someone who probably neither knows nor cares about the health, temperament or conformation of the dog. The choice is yours. However, which ever choice you make, there is NO guarantee that the pup you purchase wont sicken, or develop a hereditary problem, or a non hereditary problem. Any animal, of any type or class can develop a problem, no matter how much care and consideration was given to breeding the animal by the breeder. It's very difficult when a well loved pup is sick, and it is difficult not to want to apportion blame. Unfortunately, certain sections of the media have led the public to believe they are entitled to only 100% healthy animals, which can never be, no matter how much care is taken. And I can add my 5c worth about what should have happened between buyer and breeder post diagnosis, but I wont because that's in the past and didn't happen, and none of us have any idea why not, so it would not be fair to comment.

Hi everyone, thanks for all the good wishes. Haven't been on for a while, as I am staying with friends who don't have a computer, so I don't get much opportunity to get on the 'net. Good news is they have Foxtel and six billion channels (mostly showing stuff you wouldn't watch, day after day) but I've seen Animal Cops and Caesar Milan, neither of which I've ever seen before. Liked Caesar, he can really read animals, and understands them. Healing is progressing slowly but surely. Am doing my exercises, and am now a bit stronger, and not so likely to fall over randomly although I am not altogether rock steady either. I'm just working out whether to buy a Dell computer, or one I liked at Office works, and when than happens, should be able to access the net more often. Wish I knew more about computers. Found the dell site and ordering system a bit too confusing. My dogs are welll, still haven't seen them, and miss them like mad, but know goldchow and marg are doing an awesome job looking after them ;) ps, Hotfurball, I agree with you!!! Don't worry FranQ, there is someone heaps cuter out there for you (but I will sell you his phone number if you like )

Millers and Noni B are worth a look but mostly don't have too much. Do you have a web address for The Works, Shelties & Danes? Ta

What everyone else said. He is coping with the stress of a new home, nothing familiar, no mother, no brothers and sisters, no familiar humans. Nice though you are, he is still in a strange and stressful situation. Changing his food produces more stress, and consequently possibe tummy upsets. Cavalier pups do not have great strength in their jaws and dry food is generally not a favourite because it is hard for them to eat. I never feed my cavalier litters dry food. One reason is that 90% find it too hard to eat. Natures Gift is an ok food, and as others have suggested, continue with it, adding one or two biscuits to begin with, and gradually changing over 2 - 3 weeks. The dry should be soaked until it is soft, I doubt that you will have a lot of success getting an 8 week old cav pup onto a totally dry diet for the reasons given above. A cavalier who does not like his food will not eat

There are heaps of videos of this pitbull doing all sorts of things, really great. Here's one, and others are listed. Enjoy

Good way for owners/breeders to promote their breeds, and purebred dogs, to the publc. Great way to publicise dog clubs, obedience etc as well. Hope you get lots of support Maybe next year they could give DogsQld 6 months notice, so breed clubs could organise displays? Too late now, unfortunately.

I think that's just a rumour, BB, I think Travis bats with the team. Maybe I could auction his phone number? Fran Q? Thans Ari.g for the Nelsson kisses. Melbomb, uh, she is not particularly serene!! The brindle one is mine. Of course, plain brindle with little white is my least favourite colour - but her sister won the royal for the second year running, and really, there are no ugly or ill favoured boxers --- and I have had one brindle boxer before.

Thanks everyone for those good thoughts. Thanks for posting the larger photo, Harminee - we can see ALL the pups, Pheonix, Biddy and Ollie - (and more of Travis). I'll save it.

Thanks everyone. I do think it is important - thare are some studies in psychology that mass consciousness has and does achieve surprising results, so do keep up the candles and good vibes. All the professionals tell me I am healing soooo well. Thanks to you all

Geez, Fran, I have no idea, I've only spoken to him on the phone. He works as a model too. You could always phone him up to see how the boxer pups are? I have his number on my phone (he is my new bestie) and I might share it ..... might He's not real hard on the eyes, is he??

Thanks for all the good wishes and good vibes - and the candles. I know they are working, every professional says "good healing". Dogs are all getting on well. goldchow is coping with the cavaliers, and is amazed they they all take such good care of Chi Chi, making sure she is ok, and allowing her to jump on them and to eat as much as she wants From the 3 baby boxers, I kept the girl, the red boy has a lovely home with the police, and the while girl has a lovely home with other boxers. These homes were chosen by me before the fire, and both owners have been in touch with photos and news, which is great. Here are the 2 boxer babes, Pheonix (brindle) and Biddy (white) with Travis from the RSPCA the day after the fire. They've grown a bit since then. Kitty, aka Patches, has improved quite a bit, most of the burns have healed, and she is eating and getting around, which is great news as she had lot of burns. She is now a docked cat

It seems to me that anyone castigating the spelling/grammar of advertisers on another site should ensure that their own spelling/grammar is beyond reproach.

Aloof does not equate to "scared". That's a breed fault.

Thanks, Ker, that's so nice. As long as the children don't need it. And it will have a lovely lifetime home The one which died was a HP, so I am sure the charger and battery wont fit. Which is a pity. Nearly bought a laptop last weekend, pleased I decided to think about till this week. The HP looked good, although the case had some burn holes in it - it went for a few weeks, and then died due to heat stroke. It's been a good lesson. :D The washing machine looks good too - fine, except the lid has melted, ditto the dryer, the door is sort of oozing down the front of it, for all the world like a Salvador Dali painting of the melting clocks. I was sooooo tempted to try to resurrect them, but the untimely demise of the laptop was a good lesson of the power of heat Getting the pressure gear on resembles a cross between a belly dance by a 60 stone Samoan, the effects of a cobra bite, learning to do the twist. Jump up and down, shake, rattle and roll. The zip wont go up, the sides wont stay together. No one is allowed to watch because they fall about laughing (I have their names and addresses in my black book for when I am more agile, vengeance will be mine) and once it is on, shallow breaths and upright posture is the order of the day. And I try to look on the bright side --- there's always the possibility that I might not have needed a pressure suit at all, so the outcome, whilst not perfect is 100% better than it could have been, yes?

Ker, I'd love the laptop. Will clean out my inbox and pm you. Seems that the OT Nazis will cut down and hem the edges of the pressure suits for me. Grovelling does work!! They are actually very helpful. Jed Doggy friend, folks!! Me too, flatchat. Didn't seem that bad at the time. And I had stuff to do.

She said her face now looks like she has had a laser lift She IS an inspiration. Amazes me every time I talk to her how cheery she sounds despite everything she has been through, but that's just Jed She's being a bit naughty at the moment and talking about taking scissors to her pressure gear, to stop the creases annoying her joints. Any ideas that may help her NOT do this would be most welcome! Dibber dobber. It required 4 hours to measure the pressure suit so it would fit. It was decided it would end at the upper arm, as the burns on the lower arm were not 3rd degree. However, it was then decided it would continue to the wrist. It seriously abrades the inside of my elbows after a little while, and is quite painful. I intend to talk to ot tomorrow about cutting it down and stopping the edges fraying. If they wont do it I will myself Not much point in having something which doesn''t work and causes me pain. For whoever asked - firies have a few suspects, but do think it began in the wiring in th wall - 30 year old house. And there was no way to check the wiring. May have been the computer, or the power board, but they seem to think it could have been the wiring. Not much theraputic dog cuddling although I went to a show last week, and had cuddles with an old friend That was nice. Please keep the candles going - lots more healing to do.

mac'ella Most breeders aren't fearful they will be prevented from breeding. Most registered breeders will walk away when they are required to pay large licence fees, have their names published in newspapers, and are forced to undergo inspections by nameless bureaucrats - in addition to some of the other mooted regulations. Registered breeders produce an extremely small minority of the pups bred in Australia every year. Each year, they produce a smaller percentage of the whole. Since docking regulations, the number of breeders of utility dogs has been decimated. So buyers are turning to unregistered byb or puppy farm stock for lack of anything else. Once these regulations are law, more and more will walk. New breeders will enter the hobby to take the place of those leaving, be unable to deal with the regulations, and they too will walk. Which is the aim of the organisations framing these regulations. And when it is nearly impossible to buy a purebred dog, the Australian Association of Pet Dog Breeders - aka Puppy Farms - will be able to supply endogenous fluffy crossbreds at inflated prices.

The TCA are not abiding by ANKC regulations. "6.2.4 The registration of White Boxers is NOT permitted on any register. (05/05)" The regulation applies to all states and as breeders are not allowed to sell unregistered puppies, it is therefore against the regulations to sell white Boxers. I don't think that regulation applies to all states. It applies to mine, but as far as I am aware, the white boxers can be put on limited register in some other state/s. And you may like to check with the CC about the regulations regarding the sale of white boxers. In the states where they are not registerable, there is no fault for any breeder selling them. This was discussed at great length on here a few years ago too, if you would like to see it.

White is simply a colour in boxers, as it is in most other breeds - ie, bull terriers and bulldogs, to name a couple. Some of the original dogs which were the founders of the breed were white. It is not a colour which is acceptable for main registration. White dogs are more prone to melanomas than dark ones, but dark dogs are more prone to histiosarcomas - and brain tumours are not decided by colour. White boxers may be deaf, due to the white spotting gene. Pups should be tested, preferably Bauer tested, prior to sale. Cattle dogs and dalmations may also be born deaf. I do not know of any white boxers which are genetically or congenitally blind. Some breeders are very anti white boxers, some are not. There are a lot of myths and rumours abounding, and anyone interested in white boxers should do some serious research, past the Vic boxer club site, which is anti white boxers. White boxers used to be reasonably rare, because ethical breeders did not want to produce them in litters, as they were not registerable - and there was more possibility they would be deaf than coloured boxers. Since the increase in BYB and foolish people who are attempting to breed white, there are now more available - and it is not a rare colour. I have seen no evidence that white boxers are more prone to disease (apart from melanomas, as all white dogs) or live shorter or less healthy lives than brindle or fawn boxers. And white boxer pups are usually sold by reputable breeders for less than coloured pups, and with a heads up about possible problems. They should not be bred from, because (a) white is not a registerable colour and (b) there is the possibility of spreading deafness through the general boxer population. I would assume that anyone breeding with white boxers would not give a toss whether they were producing deaf boxers or not. Whether to cull or sell is the decision of the breeder, really, depending on their outlook and ethos.

When is this going to be screened Jed? No date yet. The producer will tell me. Thanks for the offer of the room, FTPO - sounds good!! All my stuff is normally coated in dog or cat hair, so what's different? MM A car!! Just can't drive yet, not strong enough. or - ta da - a shipping container

Yes, I have, and so have friends - with old dogs with heart problems. Murmurs and simple slowing down. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the dosage - a capsule every second day for a small to medium size dog - but not sure how much in mg, so hopefully, someone else will know It did help the dogs I know who were put onto it.

Thanks for the offer of clothes, everyone. I am living with friends, or my daughters, depending on where the medical appointments are - and who has time, to be a handmaiden, as I still need a little care, and cannot drive. I can't accumulate any more clothes than I need to wear in the immediate present. Breaks my heart when I see good stuff on sale, and I can't fit it in. I now have 2 medium suitcases, which is almost too much to squish into someone's spare room! I have the things I had to have for winter, and now some cooler things for spring. Am going to have to arrange to store a suitcase somewhere soon. Being a homeless person is - um - illuminating. Thank dog for family and excellent friends. And you guys

Thanks, guys and melzawelza. Losing weight is the problem, BB, the head of OT always gives me a hard time, but I deny I have lost anything - LOL!! And - there is always someone worse. Last visit, there was a young man with a full pressure garment on his face, with only eyes, nose and mouth visible, and another going down his neck - mine seemed pretty good then. That must have been so uncomfortable. I sent him some vibes. Keep those good vibes coming guys. Warning - girl stuff, boys look away. After being chucked out of hospital, I rushed around and bought 4 things, so I didn't have to wear my pjs. Now I am haunting the sales, buying things I like. And I can justify it - "I don't have anything to wear" As I am the hoarder from hell, my cupboards were full of all sorts of things, and it seems quite strange that all my clothes will fit into one small suitcase. I own 4 pairs of shoes - 3 new, 1 salvaged