espinay2

We don't run out as a rule as we have a large freezer and try to keep it stocked. We keep our pantry well stocked too as we are rural so no popping down the shops. There are generally plenty of things in the cupboards I can use in a 'I forgot to thaw' type situation though or to use in an emergency. Canned fish, eggs, rolled oats, uht goats milk, sachets to make yoghurt, rice, potato, frozen veg, stock powder (adds flavour if having to do a no meat meal), cheese, even baked beans. Some I haven't used but would if I had to. What I usually do is fish, eggs and yoghurt. If I need more bulk or to make it go further will add veg, rice or oats.

Babies need to have fun in the ring :) I have had naughty babies roll their way around, bounce their way around and leap on me, knock me over and lick my face when I was kneeling down to stack them! :laugh: On the whole though you just go slow and calmly encourage them and praise them lots. but don't stress about any performance being 'perfect' Here is an article worth reading: http://caninechronic...udging-statues/ When it comes to sitting - I always teach both sit and stand right from the beginning. I can never remember having an issue with sitting in the ring. They quickly learn the difference if you are using different body language (for example if the dog is walking/running beside you, if my left hand holding the lead is out towards the dog, they will stand when we stop. If my left hand is tucked in front of me they will sit). Doing both conformation and obedience too I find different collars and leads and the dogs know what the difference is and perform accordingly.

You need to look at the legislation the code has been made under to see what penalty applies. The penalties are in the Act rather than the code.

One thing you should keep in mind if you don't already. Don't expect if you have an import that it automatically means you will win more in the show ring. You may even do worse even with a good dog if the style of dog is one not commonly seen. You will need to be prepared not to be discouraged.

There is no reason why you shouldn't import. But it is important to remember that you will need to develop relationships with breeders here too. One thing to note about that article is that not only did he import, but he made relationships with breeders in his own country and learnt from them. If you go to his website you will see him mention the help he got from breeders in Finland as well as with breeders around the world. Building these relationships is something he stresses as being vitally important.

What makes you think breeders overseas will be different? Why would a good breeder overseas give you access to a 'good dog' if breeders here won't? What will you do differently? (and why can't you then do that with breeders here as well?) Trust and a reputation take time to be earned and sometimes patience is required to get the dogs you want. Some of my dogs I waited several years for. I developed a relationship with the breeder way before I got the dog. But without that relationship I would not have got the dogs I did because the breeder had to know and trust me first. What a breeder will give you access to can be VERY different if they know you better. As a new person you need to get in there and make those relationships and the relationships here will be just as important - actually probably moreso - than ones overseas, as without them you will be operating here in a vaccum. Make sure you read - and take in - the articles I posted above.

I have just gone through it with a 13 year old GSD. Quite distressing to go through - particularly in the beginning. First two days (and one night) he was cared for at the vets, mostly to get the nausea and vomiting under control. He was on a drip for part of that to prevent dehydration. The important thing in the beginning was to get the nausea controlled. Once that was, he could be cared for at home. Once home he was still very unstable and needed support to walk. He was crated for the most part the first couple of days at home and walked with assistance on lead to toilet. Food for the first few days was kept very plain - steamed chicken in broth mostly - until we were happy he was keeping it down. Continued with injections of nausea meds (Cerenia) for a few days to assist. We saw little improvements each day over the next couple of weeks. Now several weeks later he is about 95% recovered. He still has the odd head tilt and still a little unstable occasionally but otherwise almost back to how he was beforehand. I would note that there are several types of vestibular disease. Idiopathic geriatric vestibular syndrome, which our boy had, is just one of them.

Message here perhaps is to only repeat things if you know what you are actually repeating.....

An interesting article outlining some of the antics of the ASPCA in the US - in this case being brought to task for it at least! But as always it is the pets in need that lose out. http://caninechronicle.com/featured/and-the-loser-is/ And The Loser Is… By Amy Fernandez Last week the ax came down on the ASPCA Sandypets emergency boarding shelter in Brooklyn and the media is bombarding us with announcements that owners must pick up their pets NOW. It looks like about 100 of them won’t be claimed. Personally, this didn’t surprise me. Leaving pets at the shelter was a desperate decision and, unfortunately, the motivating factors haven’t changed for many people. They are still waiting for insurance or FEMA money that may never arrive to rebuild or relocate. New York’s perpetual housing shortage is forcing many into situations that don’t accommodate luxuries like pets. News reports state that unclaimed pets will be offered for adoption. ASPCA statements regarding their fate are unclear. Only one thing surprised me about this story. Why didn’t ASPCA opt to extend operations beyond the original 60 days? At its max, the shelter held 280, far lower than its predicted capacity of 700. It was generously funded, starting with a $20 thousand a month rent break for the spacious facility with a volunteer staff of veterinarians. Rachael Ray kicked in $500,000. She and others donated the food and supplies. Despite this, ASPCA may be tapped out. For most of us, Hurricane Sandy was the worst thing happening in New York last fall. Over at ASPCA it probably ranked as a dull subplot. On December 28, we learned they will cough up 9.3 million dollars to settle their share of a federal racketeering lawsuit filed by Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. Circus. This delightful saga hasn’t gotten much coverage since last November when HSUS proclaimed that Ringling had been slapped a record USDA fine of $270,000 for Animal Welfare Act violations. Admittedly, that sounds bad. But it was about as minor as victories come in this long, bumpy ten year ordeal. If you missed anything, I’ll recap. In July 2000, HSUS and ASPCA were lead plaintiffs in lawsuit alleging that Vienna-based Feld Entertainment mistreated its Indian elephants, thus violating the Endangered Species Act. They claimed to have undercover video footage shot at the Ringling’s training compound showing elephants being whipped, beaten, prodded with bullhooks, and forced to perform when ill. But the case centered on star witness Tom Rider, employed by Feld between 1997 and 1999. By the time Federal Judge Emmitt G. Sullivan rendered a decision in late 2009 Rider had testified under oath and appeared before numerous congressional hearings, state legislatures, and city councils supporting the ASPCA/HSUS crusade to ban the exhibition of elephants. In return, Rider supposedly received almost $200,000 and a promised cut of the proceeds if the suit was successful. In his 2009 dismissal, Sullivan wrote, “Mr. Rider often gave conflicting answers and was repeatedly impeached on the witness stand.” He called Rider “essentially a paid plaintiff” and there was evidence aplenty backing this up. For instance, it is reported that ASPCA paid Rider $14,000 directly, plus $6,000 designated as ASPCA grants. To facilitate Rider’s ongoing payments – and make them tax deductible – the plaintiffs created the Wildlife Advocacy Project, which is believed to be a sham 501©3 charity. Want to discuss the source of all this cash? According to the suit, between 2003 and 2009 these groups generated one billion dollars in donations for this cause. This amount allegedly included a July 2005 ASPCA/ HSUS fundraiser. The invitations called their lawsuit an innovative case to battle mistreatment of Asian elephants. Unfortunately, mailing those invitations to solicit donations on the basis of false information violated federal mail and wire fraud statutes. After six years of legal choreography the case went to trial. Sullivan dismissed it on December 30, 2009. On February 16, 2010 Feld countersued HSUS, ASPCA, and the rest of the gang alleging obstruction of justice, money laundering, malicious prosecution, conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, illegal witness payments, i.e. violating that pesky Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. So far, only ASPCA has settled. Buckle your seatbelts because it’s probably gonna be another seven miles of bad road before it ends. Feld spent $20 million dollars on its legal defense and the RICO Act allows for triple damages.

Secret Santa :D

Stick with it! It is good to have goals. But don't discount what is here. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the water. To save you searching here are some articles that are worth reading: New Breeder's Journey Seven Foundations of a Successful Dog Breeder How to choose a mentor Yes, they mostly will have been imported at a bit older age. Sometimes a breeder will arrange for a dog to stay overseas until it is titled and will pay for it to go with a handler to do this (not cheap!). Sometimes the dog may be here temporarily in an arrangement with its overseas owners and sometimes the dog has been purchased already titled. Generally you will find that these dogs are owned here by established breeders who have already proven themselves through their breeding program (often for many many years) and are 'known' to breeders overseas. Often these people have also bred dogs that have been exported to other countries too (and often have done their fair share of winning overseas).

They are required to seek proper treatment and there are penalties wich can be applied if they don't. For NSW VIC this is in the legislation in the links I posted above.

There are quite a few threads in the breeders section so you may want to look about there. Importing is not cheap or easy and there is no guarantee you will necessarily get a 'better dog' by doing so. There are a lot of pitfalls to be had. As you are new to the game, I would first recommend biding your time and spending a few years doing research before looking at importing. Research lines and dogs both here and in a lot of countries overseas. Look for breed specific email lists and forums (try to find one that have breeders rather than just pet owners if you can), breed clubs both here and overseas, and any learning opportunities you can find such as seminars and articles on structure and breeding (maybe even look at the intro courses run by MDBA). Even facebook is a good place to make contacts and see and learn about breeders and their dogs. Start getting yourself 'into the breed community'. Listen, learn, question and research. Find a good mentor here if you don't already have one too. Don't rely on people wanting what you have because it is imported either. They are going to assess the dog and the lines, not the passport and just because it comes from somewhere else does not necessarily mean it will be what anyone wants or needs. But if you can't find what oyu want here, it can be worthwhile if you do your homework well. A few other things to remember - a breeder will as a rule not sell you their best. Photos can be deceptive. what you think you are getting may not be exactly what you end up with (many an experienced breeder has fallen foul of this too), you may import and the dog/bitch never reproduces. Buying a puppy from overseas is just as much - if not more - of a risk than buying a puppy here. If an older dog is for sale (particularly to a novice such as yourself) there is usually a reason they don't want it (and it is not being sold to a more experienced breeder) so buyer beware. Now you may luck out and get a great dog from a great breeder. But you will have less risk the more knowledge and reseach you have behind you and the more you are a 'known entity'. On average, cost of importing a dog you are probably looking at around $10, 000 all up. Pup will not be able to come out until it is around 10 months old, but you will likely have to pay for boarding and upkeep (and things like handler fees etc if you want it shown while waiting). Then you have quarantine (still 30 days currently) and vet expenses. Plus your purchase price (reality - prices go up for people overseas in a lot of cases). You need to find a breeder willing to run a pup on for you or keep a dog for until import requirements have been met. Go to the AQIS website for info on import requirements. You will have to work through a shipper for the arrangements (e.g. dogtainers etc). These companies can also give you better ideas on costs. You can import semen too and yes it can be a little less expensive (sometimes!) but there is risk involved in that too. You may get no pups and it is not an 'easy' option. You need to be sure the dog will suit your bitch (don't just rely on photos) and overseas does not always equal 'better'. and it has its share of pitfalls. It can be a good option, but again, do your homework. Companies such as Cryogenes can give you an idea of procedure and cost. It is great that you are so keen, and please don't lose that enthusiasm! But you may need to do a bit more reseach about what you actually want to import and why, and what benefit that will have, first. I.e. instead of just planning to import something (anything), instead look at your breeding plan and goals and what you want to achieve. And if in the long term that involves importing from a specific breeder to achieve that, then all well and good :) . Importing is after all not the end, but the means.

Years ago I had a bitch who was speyed early for health reasons. She did quite well in competition in the normal classes but didn't get the chance to title (she had a fair share of points, but her health came first). I enjoyed showing her at specialities in Neuter sweepstakes and later showing her in Veterans. Would have been nice to have been able to show her more regularly in neuter classes.

I am not one for human names either but strangely most of our current dogs have them! Two were named by my OH though and he seems to choose them. They are not the common ones though. I would be putting my foot down big time if he tried to pull a 'Bella' on me lol!

The Belyaev's Russian fox farm experiment. Very old and well known with some interesting findings on the genetics of behavior and possible links to phenotype. Lots of articles on it if you search.

The parent legislation under which the code is made: http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/LTObject_Store/LTObjSt6.nsf/d1a8d8a9bed958efca25761600042ef5/e31cd32138c52d65ca2579750078f5bb/%24FILE/94-81a054.docx See sections 59 and 64 in this document. Section 59 sets out penalties for non compliance with the code while section 64 also gives penalties for boarding establishments not providing adequate care including vet care. Basically the requirements are covered in two areas and made pretty clear!

Victorian code of practice for boarding establishments: http://m.dpi.vic.gov.au/pets/about-pets/legislation-and-regulation/domestic-animal-businesses/operation-of-boarding-establishments?

8 weeks if you go by Pat Hastings 'puppy puzzle'.

Breeding good dogs isn't about eliminating faults - it's about creating animals with the virtues required in the breed standard. As someone who actually managed to breed world-famous dogs once wrote: The biggest fault of all is a lack of virtue. By saying it's about eliminating faults only reinforces my original opinion that you are certainly obsessed with faults. This! This is what I was trying to get across! Just because a dog has a fault does not instantly make it less worthy. You have to look at the whole dog. And the decisions made in judging are not necessarily the same ones made when breeding as they are being made in a different context.

If you think there is a good reason an exhibit should not have been awarded, then you CAN put in a complaint. Section 2 of the Dogs NSW regulations specifies this for example.. But note the regs also provide for frivolous complaints. If you have 'proof' a dog should not be awarded, you can lay your money down there and then and it will be addressed on the day.

If there are no disqualifications in a standard then it is within the judges ability to judge a dogs value overall in accordance with what is written and to choose to value the overall dog over its possible faults and failings. Different judges will place emphasis on different areas or aspects in accordance with their own experience and biases and that is perfectly within their purview. for example if they have in their own dogs been working to improve a particular feature, they may value dogs which have that particular feature when giving their opinion. An allrounder judge may also place emphasis on different aspects to a specialist, and different specialists may place different emphasis too based on their likes and dislikes and experiences. It is all about IN THEIR OPINION in accordance with the standard. And as stated, if there is no disqualification listed it is up to the judge to judge the dog on its overall merits and what they in their opinion consider to be most important. For example, if a dog is taller than a standard dictates, but otherwise shows merit and its competition on the day is of correct height, though overall less worthy, then I see no reason for the judge not to award it if there is no disqualification for height listed in the standard. In a breeding program too, a taller dog of merit is still of value if it is used wisely to introduce qualities while working to reduce size over subsequent generations. Better the dog who is an outstanding example but has a glaring 'fault' to one that meets the standard with no obvious issues but is otherwise just mediocre.

To quote from that well respected author, judge and breeder Mary Roslin Williams from her book 'Reaching for the Stars': 'One thing to remember when judging is that there are faults and there are failings and they are not the same thing. Basially faults are constructional, failings are cosmetic. A short heavily-loaded upright shoulder is a bad fault because it puts terrible strain on the dog's legs, feet and spine and jars him with every stride. Weak hindquarters are the same, a fault, and these I am quite sure should be heavily penalised in the ring, without the stigma of fault judging. They are basic and extremely bad faults. But a largish ear is a failing. It is not really going to harm the dog in any way, even in the long run. Too light an eye is a failing, as is too dark an eye and while I like neither I do feel a really good dog should not be condemned in the show ring for either. Drop it down by all means, but one can not damn a really good dog for something so harmless."

LACK of colour (pigment). Caused by the white spotting gene. This is basic colour genetics. (I suggest this website.. http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/ )

So so sorry. Yes this is negligence and should never have happened ...