espinay2

One of the rules of going into a wolf enclosure. Never ever go in if you are hurt, ill, injured, or likely to flinch in pain etc. they have been known to take advantage. People have been killed before going into an enclosure on their own (has happened at least once in the US at a private wolf sanctuary when someone went in alone to feed them.) Who knows what happened in this case. Whether her death was because of illness or because of the 'wolfdogs' . But yes, if hungry I have no doubt that eating her is what they would have done. IMO this sounds like someone in over their head. Idealistically wanting to 'save them all' but with no real clue how to go about it safely. Shades of 'dog island' almost.

In general a pack of the same breed will work in a similar way. It is always interesting to see how they operate. Some stay back and may even move the flock to safety while others act as a front line against the predators. If you want to read more about the different breeds etc a good place to start is www.lgd.org. If you go to my website links page you will also find links to other videos.

Half parade? I do actually use half halts on the dogs :laugh:

A note on what a 'loose' lead is. A 'loose' lead does not necessarily mean there is a loop in the lead. The slack can be taken up, but there should just be no tension or pressure on the lead. People who ride horses may understand this - it is like 'light contact'. However, if the dog is pulling your hand forward, or putting pressure on the lead so you feel the tension on the lead, that is pulling.

It isn't the tool you use but the method you use that will help you here. Simple tip - if he is pulling as you walk forward all he is basically learning is that to walk forward he needs to pull...... you need to teach him that the only way he goes forward is when the lead is loose....so...when the lead is tight you stop. and wait..... When the PUPPY loosens the lead, you praise the pup and walk forward :) Do this every time. IF you are consistent, your pup will learn that the only way it gets to walk is when the lead is loose If your pup has already learnt to pull, it may take a little longer and you may only go a step or two before stopping again, but if you are consistent, your pup will pick it up - pups are smart and soon learn what gets them what they want. your PUPPY will learn to feel when the lead is getting tight and will check itelf. And it wont matter at all what collar you use. You need to be consistent and remind the pup though...if the lead is tight, I stop. I use this method with all my puppies from day one. They learn from the beginning that pulling gets them nowhere. They learn how to get me to do what they want (which happens to be what I want them to do ...) I have taught it with pups on fixed collars, martingale collars, check chains and slip leads. Not the tool....but how you use it.

Was going to suggest trying Calcium. A lot of the repro forums seem to recommend this for issues with a bitch who is unsettled (or even agressive) following whelping. IF you can't find Calcium Sandoz, you can use Citracal tablets from the chemist (get the ones without added Vit D for preference). They are calcium citrate which is easily absorbed and dont need to be given with food. Recommended on a repro forum I am on (run by Myra Savant et al). I used them with my recent litter.

Not dog but a good example Perhaps is the quarter horse 'Impressive' and the genetic mutation that is thought to have spread from him.

Are they giving folic acid? What breed? Did the same bitches have problems before? What is the diet like?

http://m.dogbreedinfo.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogbreedinfo.com%2Fbreedingdogs%2Fpottytrainingpuppies3weeks.htm#2836 I have used something like this method reasonably successfully. By 6 weeks the pups were asking to go outside to poo too. Took a bit of effort but cleanup was a breeze.

"fault-free" OK I agree with some in the article. A dog should basically be 'as advertised' (buy a purebred from a registered breeder for more guarantee on what you see is what you get... ) and a pup should be healthy at time of sale (breeders getting written health checks done before/at time of sale can help with this - but we all know that there is no real guarantee once a pup leaves your premises) but HD....I know there was a court case some years ago (St Bernard comes to mind?) regarding HD that ruled in favour of the pet owner (if memory serves me right because the breeder had not hip scored??). But we all should know that with polygenetic conditions there can be no 100% guarantees no matter how much health testing and care a breeder puts into it. We can only REDUCE risk, not REMOVE it and an owner can play a big role too in how they raise the puppy. It pays to make this VERY clear to puppy buyers before and at time of sale......a puppy is a living breathing thing folks! And sometimes no matter how far a breeder goes to reduce risk, sh#t happens....

Glazed pots from the garden centre. You can get the 'smaller' water garden pots. Too heavy for dogs to tip, not going to be chewed, keep the water cool, easy to clean out (though best to take the water to them and not them to the water). I also use stainless steel buckets. You can sit them in a pot to make them more stable (it also helps keep them cooler).

I think this is the one you are looking for: http://www.ozgroomingworld.com.au/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=225

I have used holistic paws for titre. Also know quite a few people who feed raw who use Sandra (so don't think I would be an issue with her) and have heard lots of good things about her. If I were in Canberra itself she would be who I would head for.

Driving them elsewhere won't solve the problem for them if they didn't meet the buyer. It will be a matter of whether a breeder will be willing to risk their 'status' under the law to export a dog. It can be hard enough now with all Australia's quarantine requirements, this may just add to it. Sure there are more countries than the US to import from but the US is a huge slice of many genepools and reducing the ability to import from there is not a small matter.

The number '4 breeding females' also applies to other animals too such as cats or rabbits etc where they sell as pets. And the numbers are added together, not separate. So if you have one entire bitch but three female rabbits that you breed the rules still apply as you have 4 breeding females!. No idea at all how they will police this! Apparently the govt has already (months ago) hired people who have been trolling the Internet to look for 'names'. You have to hope they will target the big puppy mills and not the 'soft target' responsible breeders, but who knows. And this won't stop problems such as people selling pups in Walmart carparks etc which is a big issue over there.

Apparently in the rules you may be able to have a 'proxy' view the pup but they can't be paid and can't be a 'shipper'. In other words someone like a friend it relative who meets with the breeder and pup on your behalf.

I paid roughly 1400 euro for the flights from Amsterdam to Melbourne. Wow! How did you swing that one? Fantastic price!

Many breeders import dogs based on seeing pictures and video of the pup/dog and discussing with the breeder. They may have visited the breeder in the past, or know the breeder well, but not in that period to see the pup in person. Given the cost of importing (especially some larger breeds), some breeders may not be able to afford both a trip and an import at the same time. I know a lot of the imported dogs, if not most or all, in my dogs pedigrees would not have been imported if the breeder also had to find money to go overseas at the same time - many people who import are doing it by scraping up the money somehow - they are not rich and an extra $5k or so for an overseas trip can make the exercise unreachable when you are already forking out $10k to $20K on the exercise. I have had a number of breeders in the past tell me that they have the choice of either importing or visiting, not both - as much as they would like to do both it is just not economically feasable for them. Yes, importing semen is another option (my recent litter was from imported frozen semen) and breeders who import also do this as well, but it provides different options and different outcomes for a breeding program. For instance importing semen is obviously not going to work if you want to import a bitch from a particular line for your breeding program. Hopefully this will all work itself out and overseas breeders who want a dog from the US won't be impacted. At the moment though it is concerning.

Some other ideas: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-Fashion-Creative-the-Dog-and-its-Bones-Keychain-Key-Chain-Ring-Keyring-Key-Fob/1314103523.html http://www.giftsforprofessionals.com/item/bone-carabiner--blue-key-ring http://www.sz-wholesale.com/Search-Result/Dog-Bone/

With that number of items needed you should be able to get bulk discounts for things. For instance, the slip leads etc on this site may be one idea: http://www.countrybrookdesign.com/dog-collars-leashes/rescue-packs (I can vouch for the quality - I use them in puppy packs as well as having dozens around the house).

That is pretty much the size of it. Unless the buyer meets the breeder and puppy in person prior to or at time of sale, then no sale.

From what I gather they are trying to prevent puppy mills selling pups over the internet sight unseen. The rest is being caught up in the wake.

Have done a bit more research and hopefully it will not be the case. P 7 of this document says But who knows how this will actually be applied and whether that means that a dog sold for breeding purposes will or will not have to be visited in person.

While "train" may not be the best word we should feel we can question vets just like we question our own doctors about treatments etc. Long gone are the "doctors are Gods" days of yesteryear. Though in reality, how many people actually question a treatment their Doctor prescribes? (ask yourself how many times you yourself have actually done it?). Same when it comes to the average person and their vet. I think the large majority of dog owners who frequently post on this forum are not really 'average' either, rather they are more inclined to question than the 'average' owner. Can't count the number of times I have heard someone say 'my vet said 'this' so that is what I do - after all they are the vet'.

New APHIS regulations in the US will restrict breeders from being able to transfer pups 'sight unseen' (i.e. unless the new owner has visited and seen a pup/dog in person). Wondering at the moment on the possible 'unintended consequence' of this for Australian breeders. No more importing from the US unless you make the trip to see the dog in person first? http://www.akc.org/governmentrelations/usda_aphis.cfm