Leah82

I'm looking forward to having kids so I can spend more time at home with the dogs :p

I have not idea how I came across this, I think I was googling ways to build more drive in Sarah, either that or target training Anyway I'm super excited to take part in the recallers course and get my dogs to make smarter decisions :p http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/fe/68435-video-1-recallers?r=y

Seems we're not the only ones talking about it... http://slimdoggy.com/when-did-overweight-labs-become-the-new-normal/ and the crufts winnners http://slimdoggy.com/crufts-labrador-winners/ While I realise this particular website has it's own agenda they still make some good points and you can't deny the difference between dogs that may have actually been spending time in chilly waters and the Westminster BOB and BOS

haha we should create an advertising campaign "Got a puppy on a whim? You're a bloody idiot"

The rescue I got Sarah through had a pom cross that was handed from international student to international student when they finished their studies and went home. She was surrendered to the rescue at nearly 4 years old. Very sad, she had spent most of her life outside as well.

This ad just came up in my facebook feed. Yet another example of just not thinking about it and not putting in the time http://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/299906

I never said a thing about pet owners. My comments were directed to you and you alone and based on your response to my comments. Don't wrap yourself in the flag of "all pet owners" to defend yourself. I'm one too you know. I'm not putting you down. I'm suggesting that an avenue exists for you to augment your knowledge before passing comment on things which, by your own admission, you know nothing about. That avenue is free and available most weekends. One of the first things you will notice is that people are very passionate about their dogs. What's a joke to you, is deadly serious to others. Its all about context. I wonder how lean people want to have a working dog that's expected to be in damn cold water to do its job. Indeed, the Cheasapeke Bay Retriever was expected to break ice to retrieve water fowl. I was joking about creating a machine to measure dogs against the breed standard and you had an issue because I didn't include colour, temperament and balance. I don't understand why you need to be deadly serious about something that doesn't exist but if it makes you feel better I will edit my original comment (and the comment about pet owners was more in response to Jed)

Maybe you should redress that aspect of your dog knowledge before proposing hypothetical solutions to real issues as they affect show dogs. Some of us are doing this for real. oh FFS I was joking. I'm sure if someone wanted to build such a machine they would get the relevant dog body involved I sure as hell aren't suggesting I'm about to do it Interestingly people with the least experience often come up with the most creative solutions - this is the case in many industries. That's not to say each new creative solution will work but if you only look to the people that have spent the most time in an industry you're probably always going to get the same answer which is often 'We've always done it this way' So before you put down pet owners, consider that by looking from the outside in they may question something you have just accepted for years

Except it wouldn't measure temperament, check coat type or colour , nor weight minor faults in the balance.. Well the machine doesn't actually exist so you could have it pretend measure whatever you want The point I was making is that there is more to a breed than its physical shape. And that's fair enough, I'm not a breeder and don't attend shows so these things don't often come to mind. However to complain about the abilities of a machine that doesn't exist was probably not the best way to make your point.

Except it wouldn't measure temperament, check coat type or colour , nor weight minor faults in the balance.. Well the machine doesn't actually exist so you could have it pretend measure whatever you want

Collie used to howl sometimes in his sleep, you could tell when he was dreaming because it would be muffled slightly from his face on the bed. Would stop pretty quickly though and on the odd occasion we were there to witness it he didn't seem overly distressed. Interestingly since we got Sarah it rarely happens, maybe she's keeping him up all night :p

Bernese Mountain dogs are gorgeous :) I've met a few myself but wouldn't consider them to be a particular active breed, I've seen them tucker out pretty quickly. And you would need to be prepared for the shorter life span as well

and what would those issues be ? I don't know exactly, just what I've heard but regardless I don't understand the purpose of the sloping top line if the actual working dogs generally have a level top line. Edit: I don't want to turn this into a debate on different breed issues, my point is if you have an issue with something then speak up. Judges are only human and therefore have their own preferences and biases which can unconsciously affect who wins on the day. What we need is a machine the dogs go into to measure their whole body, balance, colour and temperament and the one physically closest to the breed standard wins :p Edited to include balance, colour and temperament into the machine's abilities

So if this is such a worrying trend why aren't any of you complaining to your state dog body or the ANKC? registered breeders need to stand up for what they believe is a good example of the breed and fit for purpose. personally I don't see some of the more heavier and stockier Labs being able to retrieve very well and if the trend continues then surely hip problems are only going to get worse as they are having to support the extra weight. The GSD in my opinion is a perfect example of a particular trait being promoted to the detriment of the breed. Working GSDs generally have a level top line because the sloping top line causes issues, surely these dogs are not fit for purpose so why are they being bred? Forgive me if my comments seem ignorant I don't understand why show dogs should look any different to working dogs as the working dogs are the ones that are generally fitter and healthier. What is the purpose in rewarding traits that means the dog is no longer fit for purpose, how is this bettering the breed?

naww loving basking in the sunshine grumette The long weekend has allowed me to get in early with week 24 as well Week 24/52

oh god, I feel sorry for the people who adopted him, I imagine they'll have plenty of Stan like stories soon enough

Pillow covers, sheets, towels and doona covers of course have to be washed between visitors, not so much the actual pillows and doonas. I know a few people that have run b&bs or motels and quite often the washing is outsourced, I haven't seen or heard of doonas and pillows being included in this. We're off to the Best Friend Holiday Retreat next week and they actually charge extra for linen or you can supply it yourself to save the extra fee. They don't have any rules around not having dogs on the furniture, I suppose it doesn't matter as much if you're using your own linen.

here we go, week 23/52: Poker Night edited to look a little old school :D

happy happy birthday lilli and here's to many many more birthdays :D

Plan for week 23: I'm going to put this here because otherwise I might change my mind if it gets all too hard. I have a poker night at my place tonight, complete with table and lots of chips. I'm thinking before everyone arrives I might see if I can do a miniature version of the good ol' dogs playing poker paintings ... watch this space

Get your OH to do his own research about crates, mine has a habit of creating dog his own training theories that have no basis in reality and time and time again I have to lead him back to the old tried and tested methods. While we all want our dogs to be unique (and each of them are in their own way) it's unlikely that any of us will be tackling a dog issue that has never been seen before. Attempting to reinvent the wheel could possibly end up in reinforcing the behaviour you don't want. Luna is going to be a big dog and getting her to accept a closed door crate will get more difficult the bigger she gets. Ours don't sleep in their crate as yet. They can go in and out as they chose most of the time, but the door is shut when we're eating dinner (especially when we have visitors), when we're cleaning the house and it's raining outside and any other time we don't want them roaming around.

congratulations cupcake she's definitely going from cute puppy to a beautiful dog, pink is such a good colour on her as well :p I hope we get lots of updates. And it's a good thing she was snapped up quickly. Saves me getting up the nerve to ask the OH only to get a grumpy cat in response

Thanks CavNRott :) btw if you look at the teeth just behind her canines on the right you can see they have a flat top and are sitting quite close to the gums, the molars are pretty much in the same condition she enjoys bones, she does not enjoy vegetables (apart from carrots) :p We generally mix the kibble in with kangaroo, tuna or a mince and veg mix from the pet store but if sarah gets vegetables in any other way she avoids them like the plague. I'm talking individual peas and pieces of capsicum left in her bowl while everything else has been eaten.

I'm pretty sure she's not in any pain, you can kinda see how flat her back teeth are in this photo so it make sense that crunchy things like kibble and bones take her longer to eat She had a full work-up by the rescue's org's vet early last year and has been looked over my mine as well. I've just been using cold tap water to moisten her kibble so it looks like that's fine to keep doing :)

So the subject of not soaking kibble has come up in a few recent topics although most of these have been related to growing large breeds. It has however left me wondering if I'm doing the right thing with Sarah. Her back teeth are quite ground down (dunno why, vet didn't seem concerned) so she takes ages to eat dry kibble and usually gives up about half way through. I've stopped this from happening by putting a little bit of water in with her dinner to make the biscuits a bit soggy (and making sure the raw meat is mixed well though) Am I doing the right thing or am I reducing the nutrients of the food by doing this?