espinay2

I personally chose the mesh (rabbit fence) as the holes are smaller than a lot of the stock/dog fencing. Less chance of the dogs getting paws or noses through and 'working' at it to create a larger hole. JMHO but has worked for us.

Ok, here are a couple of photos of our fence. this is around our 'house yard' and our orchard and we have plans to fence another dog paddock with it when funds allow. As mentioned above we used 1.80m waratah mesh. The fence height is 1.5m so there is a 30cm lap at the bottom facing inwards to prevent dogs going under the fence. Posts on the house yard are 2.5m apart with every 4th post being a round metal post which has been cemented in. This is a very strong fence but probably a bit of over engineering in our case, and for the orchard we put posts 3m apart and used bigger gal pickets every 4th post. The gates are specially made 1.5m high farm style gates. Not a cheap fence and really I don't think ANY fence is cheap these days but if you can install yourself you will reduce costs significantly. As SSM says though, do it right the first time and it can save you BIG hassles later. The fence works well for us. If we had any jumpers I would use a hotwire around the top as well but haven't found it necessary. (also if you have cattle I would be putting a hotwire on the outside to keep them off the fence in case they weaken it. We only have sheep and it hasn't been an issue)

we have 1.8m waratah rabbit mesh. fence is 1.50 high with a 30 cm lap at the bottom. star pickets 2.5 to 3 m apart with a more substantial post every fourth one. very happy with it. will post pics later from other computer.

I wouldn't. The reason the series is done on pups is because at that age they still may have maternal antibodies as a result of nursing off their mum. When you vaccinate an older dog (at 12 weeks or more etc), you only need the one. For example, if you get an older dog which is 'unvaccinated' (such as rescue) you only give one shot, not a series. IMO giving another would be definitely 'overkill'.

Handle her feet LOTS. Teach her to relax and reward her for letting you quitely touch and handle them. Make handling her all over a daily thing so she is used to it and it is no big deal. When she is used to quiet handling, get he usede to toes being manipulated and nails squeezed. Praise/reward. She is small (presume she is a CKC) so you can even teach her to do this with her lying upside down on her lap if she will lie for belly rubs etc. Desensitise her to clippers and scissors by touching her paws with them - praise reward for being quiet and allowing it. Just keep handling and handling and gently but firmly teaching her to be restrianed and to relax while being 'worked on'/touched. The more you handle the easier it becomes.

Fingers crossed all works out and he comes back. While I do show puppies, I must admit I am really in two minds about it due to things just like you describe. I know some well known US handlers will not put a pup in the ring until it has finished teething so it never has an issue such as this which might potentially jeopardise a future career. I just wish some judges were gentler with the young ones!!! Good luck!!

The owner has two dogs, well controlled in public and healthy. He walks them twice a day and obviously cares for them. When asked he responsibly requested that you do not pat them. Sounds VERY responsible to me!! Some dogs can act agressively for a wide variety of reasons and most of them may be nothing to do with what the owner did or didn't do. I used to have a DA Dalmatian. To look at her, see her with dogs she knows or to pass her in the street you wouldn't have a clue that she had a problem. She could be at a show, under control and not have a problem. BUT at a show when she was a pup she was attacked in the carpark by a loose border collie. As a result she was 'funny like that' when approached by strange black dogs in particular. So impose your scenario on me, and you are walking up with your dog 'can he say hello?' - you keep approaching to towards us with your dog ... Me replies 'no, she isn't friendly...she is funny like that' (I am not about to stand there and explain the whole back story to a stranger!).....just how 'shocked' are you going to be, if she goes off, thinking that you and your dog, who are quite focussed on her and your body language shows it (rather than just passing us by), will keep approaching? Nothing odd about it at all IMO. In fact the man should be commended for handling his dogs so responsibly and knowing how to manage their issues when in public.

Yes I have a cautionary info sheet on it too and it is a very worrying trend. It seems that many puppy people are being 'guilted' into the procedure when there really is no need. I really loath the practice . The PennHIP statement will be a good addition to the info about using caution if this is recommended I think.

Quite often these days vets are using PennHIP x-rays on puppies to justify hip surgery to 'prevent' possible hip dysplasia and arthritis from developing. I was very interested to read PennHIP's views on this. Taken from the FAQ page of the PennHIP website: http://research.vet.upenn.edu/Default.aspx?TabId=3234 My vet has advised a surgical procedure to avoid the development of arthritis in my dog later in life based on the results of his PennHIP examination. Should I have my dog operated on? Answer: Until appropriate randomized and controlled clinical trials are designed and conducted, it is premature to use the Distraction Index as an indication for hip surgery, either remedial or preventive. At present several different surgical procedures (Triple pelvic osteotomy, Juvenile symphysiodesis) have been advocated by some veterinary surgeons to prevent the development of arthritis (degenerative joint disease) later in life in dogs with excess joint laxity (loose hips). None of these procedures have undergone scientific clinical trials that have proven THEIR EFFICACY in preventing the onset or slowing the development of arthritis in dogs with hip dysplasia. Although WE ARE not fundamentally against the use of preventative surgical management of dogs with excessive hip laxity, WE FEEL THE WHOLESALE CLINICAL USE OF PURPORTEDLY PREVENTIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURES BEFORE ADEQUATE TESTING IS CONDUCTED, IS UNJUSTIFIED. WE ADVISE CAUTION! It may be that in the future when good evidence exists to support the efficacy of these procedures their use will be encouraged.

Take the pup to shows. Don't necessarily enter the pup but take the pup into a spare ring and play. IMHO if you can resist entering now your pup may actually have a longer ring life (and one when it counts when they are up for the bigger awards) than if you push too soon. Sometimes I really do think we push too hard when they are young. Make the ring FUN! No pressure to perform, just play - take a toy and run around, jump around, have a game. Aim for animation and not much else. The rest will come later as the pup matures.

Whether someone decides to feed a raw diet or not in THEIR situation is not the issue here. It is about a vet telling someone that bones are an inappropriate form of CALCIUM for a puppy and that a puppy NEEDS commercial food to provide CALCIUM. Which is pure bunkum and spin and not even supported by the science. Even the pet food companies use bone as a source of calcium in their foods!!

For those who still can't get past the 'science' though - here it is from the industry itself: http://www.petfoodin..._News/7586.html

gee I wonder where the vet got his info from - a pet food company perhaps? Maybe the one that makes the brand he sells? Raw meaty bones are what the dog is DESIGNED to eat. I wonder how all those canids in the wild or fending for themselves survived all those milennia eating those inappropriate bones to provide their calcuim requirements. Personally I would take the experience of mother nature in designing a system to convert its natural food over a scientist employed by a pet food company to manufacture a substitute any day. Not like they have a vested interest in telling you only their special scientific formula is the most appropriate to feed a dog is there..... (yes that was sarcasm - I am so over pet food companies creating a self serving culture of fear and paralysis to 'do as they say' by convincing people that you need a science degree to feed a dog!....rant over) Yes, I feed a raw diet and yes bones provide an adequeate saurce of calcium for growing pups. I also agree with Sway that you do NOT supplement with additional calcium (whether you feed raw meaty bones or commercial) which is a fast way to cause problems in growing dogs. More info on raw diets and what we do on my website here: feeding our dogs

I keep telling mine I am sending them back to their breeder :laugh: Yep, hope it was just a joke....

Go to Sandra, definitely. Have heard many good reports from those who use her.

It can really depend on a lot of other things. A dog/puppy that when playing once in a VERY blue moon does a spin around for its tail and it then goes on with other play, then it is in no way a big deal. I don't acknowledge it when they do it and just go on with play with them. If the dog begins to do it more frequently though (i.e. you can see a rough pattern forming in play or excitement etc), it may be an issue to watch for and actively distract them from. If it becomes a major habit there is likely something else going on neurologically to place it in the 'obsessive/compulsive' category. I have fostered a chronic tail chaser who would even constantly chase his tail while swimming. Nothing woulod distract him from his tail and it was constant and debilitating. He had other issues as well and unfortunately was PTS. This type of behaviour can be 'sezure like' in that they zone out and focus on nothing else - like a switch is thrown. A trainer friend in the US had a working GSD who was also a chronic tail chaser. Again a neurological obsessive compulsive issue which unfortunately developed despite her being aware and working to try and correct the behaviour from the beginning.

Wonderful that you have found a solution

Andis fan here too. Remember the longer the comb attachment or blade, the better groomed the dog has to be first. If there are any knots or matts a comb or longer blade will not go through them. You have to go UNDER the matts or comb them all out first. The reason why so many dogs end up with a short haircut when they go to a groomer. Particularly the 'once a year' types. Longer hairdos are only possible on well kept coats.

There used to be. I don't know what is happening currently. If you contact the Dogs ACT office they should be able to tell you. The classes were held at EPIC at their grounds.

Not a very 'international' list. I would add Belle (from Belle et Sebastien) and Rex (Inspector Rex).

Different scenario. The dog rushed you (the one in the OP's scenario didnt), the dog was not supervised (the other one was), the dog left its property? (the other one didn't), you were not already on the other side of the road (the op I think was?), you didn't stop and 'alert' to the dog instead continuing to move off away or past it (which the OP did). I hope you reported the incident.

You say the dogs did not react the first night, but did on the second. It is possible that by your actions (making an 'issue' of the dog, stopping rather than keeping walking past on the other side of the road) that you have actually contributed to making it an issue for your dogs. Dogs pick up on our body language. If we 'alert' to something and our body language give off (sometimes subtle) indications that we are tense about it we can cause a reaction in our own dogs. Your dogs learnt from the first night that you had a problem with that dog being there (by stopping and 'alerting' to it). You did the same thing the second night so your dogs followed your lead in alerting to it too. As noted, the dog at no time left its front yard and you were on the other side of the road. While I do agree that having the dog out front offlead was not necessarily the right thing to do, and if walking past with my dogs I would be wary and disapproving too, IMO if you had KEPT WALKING on the other side of the road you would have been quickly past and it would likely have been a non issue. By stopping you made it more of an issue that it might otherwise have been. JMHO.

Glad he is hanging in there :)

How did the dog 'rush' the other dogs when it didn't leave its property and the other dogs were across the road?

Off the top of my head....Bouvier or Briard maybe worth looking into. Herding, Agility, reasonably largish. Do require coat care.