espinay2

I like 'em on toast with jam between their little fingers and toes :laugh: ;)

Seems they have caught him (and looks like he did get a tick): http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/story/2012/03/02/illness-fails-to-quell-mangos-fighting-spirit-greg/ I spit my chips at the 'dog whisperer' thing though. Abused? Concluding that because he is shy and wont be caught? Many a 'normal' dog has acted in this manner when loose in a 'strange' environment without someone they know. And often the issue is not abuse but could be lack of socialisation (which is actually more common than abuse). For Mango's sake lets hope the 'famed dog whisperer' has at least some skill.

Anyone who thinks having kids guarantees them company in their old age is dreaming. If you want company in your old age, friends are what guarantees it. Plenty of aged care workers can tell you that elderly folk get 'warehoused' and don't get family visitors. I can also tell you about children that fleece their parents and leave them destitute. There are also plenty of estranged families, geographically seperated families and families devastated by loss. Romance and reality are two different things. If your family is close its cause for celebration but its by no means a universal thing. Indeed. I think the lack of "the extended family" is partly to blame for the "me,me" generation. Also remember that just because I don't give birth doesn't mean I have no 'family'. I have a big extended family and we are quite close. I have no concerns for my old age.

Sounds like you trained him to stay away from the tray - not cat poop in general. Dogs are situational learners which means that what they learn may be relevant only to particular environments and situations and they don't tend to 'generalise' unless you specifically generalise the training.

Yes, I am surprised it has taken this long :laugh: . Kitty crunchies and dogs - a very common thing. I have a baby gate across our laundry door where the litter tray is. Cats can go in, but the dog can't. Doesnt stop them finding them outside though or even following the 'kitty crunchy dispenser' around the yard hoping for a treat!! :laugh: In that case I have this great doggy mouth spray..... ;)

If a parent is trying I feel sorry for them too and usually give them one of those 'I understand' conspiritorial smiles, particularly when I can see that they are stressed and frustrated. But as I said, just like dogs allowed to be out of control, children allowed to be out of control and in my space are not for me. And people should also remember that for a person that can't have children, preferring not to be around them can sometimes be all about self preservation.........

If children are as well mannered and under control as my dogs in public, then I have no problem with them whatsoever ;) I don't dislike kids, but I do dislike unruly kids that get in my space in public (in the same manner I dislike unruly dogs that get in my space). And no, I don't like being seated near children on a plane - I have had my fair share of being kicked in the back, slapped in the face by a wiggling child, crawled over and screamed next to to know it is something I don't enjoy. I have god children and did my fair share of baby sitting (and leading them astray in fun games), I even have step children (now fully grown - who are the most wonderful people on this earth) but having children of my own is not my thing. If I were a dog I would be considered 'pet quality' and desexed and placed in a pet home....oh yeah....I am!! :laugh: And no, my dogs are NOT my 'furkids'.

I am sure others can advise on breed specific things, but my suggestion is to keep it simple at first. There is not much you really 'need'. Most of it is just fun to have ;) A basic slip lead or choker and lead is all you need to start with (though yes, the glamour leads are beautiful I will agree!!). Ask her breeder what type of coller/lead she is used to being shown on and what length it was. it may be best to start off with something similar. A neat outfit - doesnt need to be expensive (Millers is popular ;) ) - trousers and a nice top or a skirt and top with comfortable shoes you can run in. Just choose a colour that complements your dog. The things your breeder recommends for grooming are a good start and I would follow their recommendations to begin with. You may modify as you get more experienced, but keep it basic to begin with. The whitening shampoo may be a good addition for the white paws. Have fun!

It depends on the breed (and what the standard calls for), it depends on the judge (and their preferences) and it depends on the overall quality of the dog. And yes, most judges will look (some more thoroughly than others). An outstanding dog with a not so outstanding mouth may still be considered very worthy by many judges (including FCI judges). Baby, bathwater and all that . That said, an average but nice dog with a not so outstanding mouth may find it more challenging, particularly in strong competition where everything else is relatively equal. Knowing the fault, you show at your own risk as you are asking the judges opinion - favourable or not - and need to be prepared to accept that opinion.

I answer all emails, even the short ones - but they get my standard reply (which is actually fairly detailed) and you do get sick of them after a while as they really tell you nothing. It is amazing too how many times that is the last you hear of them. There are a lot of window shoppers out there so it is always a breath of fresh air to get a well considered email from a person who is serious and willing to put the time in, and doesn't just fire off a one liner to every breeder they have an address for just to test the waters. It is also annoying after spending time answering multiple queries from someone to suddenly have them drop off the face of the earth with no explanation. I will spend plenty of time answering queries from and helping out people who are serious and courteous and am more than happy to do it (even if they tell me in the end they have decided not to get a pup from me), but we have lives too and don't enjoy being stuffed around and being left hanging. There are two sides to every story and I think this article sheds plenty of light on the breeders side of things :) .

style and type can be two different things. Different styles may still be of a type that meets the standard.

What did they each judge before? Can't for the life of me remember.

I didnt say anything about a single register and you are right - it is up to the individuals. If developing a breed into effectively two separate breeds is what people want, then fair enough. As long as people recognise that that is what they are doing. Not something that they have to do, but something they have decided they want to do. Just gets up my nose I guess when people say you can't combine work and show. You most definitely CAN. Whether people want to is a totally separate issue and the lack of will to do so should never be confused with the (non existent) lack of ability to do so.

I was going to suggest making sure the cat had space of its own away from the pup and say that the cat is likely stressed by the 'intruder' in its house. Time and giving them their own space to go to and hide if they want usually helps and they generally get used to the new household member with time. But you say in one case the cat is actively seeking out the pup and attacking it? In this case I would also recommend a crate for the pup as a 'safe place' and also a water squirt bottle to spray the cat when it actively goes for the pup. Though if the pup is approaching the cat a bit too roughly I might be inclined to let the cat discipline it so the pup learns to respect the cat (within reason as long as the pup will not get hurt badly).

But there are still options....;) Coming from a breed with a small genepool with few options I know there are still options ;) And where you start is never where you end up. As I said, I prefer to look and how things CAN be done rather than finding excuses why they can't.

A lot of judgements going on here. Perhaps the owners tried to have the dog inside for quite a while before discovering it was the dog causing the allergy problems. Perhaps they got the second dog to make sure the other dog had company after another dog died to improve their dogs quality of life. (look at the add - yes, their old dog died) Perhaps after all the things they tried to make sure their dogs were having a good life they came to the hard conclusion that they may be better off with different owners. (particularly if they cant have the dog inside and the dog is storm phobic) Perhaps they put the prices of the dogs in to show that while these dogs were being offered 'free' they were not considered to be 'throw away' animals and this was the best way they knew to express some value in the ad. On the face of the ad these folks sound to me like they are ordinary pet owners trying to do the best by their dogs. They are making their needs clear and are trying to find them new homes in the best way they know how. Perhaps they dont hang out on dog sites and know all the proper words to use. Perhaps they havent read too many 'free to good home' ads before to know how they 'should' be written. Perhaps they have never been faced with the issue of rehoming their dogs before!! IMHO ther eare a lot worse cases that people would be better focussing their attention and vitriol on. And I am betting in those cases you are not going to see any ads coming close to the quality of the one posted here, if an ad is even placed at all.....

As you state, there ARE people breeding dual registered and if a breeder WANTS to they can breed for both work and structure. The only thing really in the way of doing so is how someone thinks.... not that it can't be done ;) Glass half empty (and that is just how it is) or glass half full (and I can have it all if I want) It is up to individuals to choose what they personally want. Though IMHO, I would prefer people to say this is what they personally want rather than say 'that is just how it is and how it will stay'. As always YMMV.

Just because it isthe 'fashion' doesnt mean that is the way it will always be and that is all anyone is breeding. There will always be those out there that quietly go about their business breeding dogs that are less extreme than either. Often these are the long term breeders that come to be admired and called upon as stalwarts in a breed.

REgarding diversity of roles - that can be accommodated too within a breed and many breeds already accommodate it. Pyrs for instance are used as farm guards, range guards, paddock flock guards - for sheep, goats, alpacas, poultry, sometimes cattle and horses and even ratites and for any range of locations from high mountain ranges to village farmlets (with many dogs traditionally having to adapt between these on a seasonal basis). As for farmers, I do find it funny sometimes that some are willing to go to great lengths to show their sheep, cattle or poultry etc but some havent even thought of showing their dogs :laugh: (but then I do know of others that do). I guess in a nutshell all I am really saying is don't confuse 'can't' with 'I don't want to' or other personal prejudices or preferences. Fair enough for someone to say they personally prefer and want only working dogs or show dogs etc because that is where their personal interest lies. But to say that this means it can't be done within a breed and done well is IMO is often buying into perpetuated personal viewpoints rather than any real statement of fact. We create these divisions by how we think. As always, JMHO ;)

Take a look at this photo - tell me which dog in the pic is the working kelpie and which one the show kelpie Pic is from here: http://www.suthensky...s.com/page5.asp Not all farmers wear flannies and shorts all the time....... Remember that the 'drag of the breed' exists in all breeds and what people are looking at IMO in many cases are the obvious extremes without looking at the 'happy medium' which is often closer to what a breed traditionally always was.

Ah yes, but some of the best Pyr breeders internationally that I know hardly ever attend a dog show themselves either ;) And Pyrs can work long shifts (24 hours a day) in 'intense' climates too........ (note - I was raised working on large sheep properties on the NSW/Qld border so do have some small understanding of the job of a working sheep dog ;) )

While not wanting to get into a debate on 'show versus work' I must admit that coming from a breed where the two are interchangable and in many ways inseparable (and in fact the BOB winner at this years World Dog Show was a working bitch from the French Pyrenees) I personally find it interesting and somewhat puzzling (and I will openly admit a little sad) that in some other breeds some people feel the two things can not coexist in the one dog. The real question is - is it because they can't? Or simply because people have made it that way through their thoughts and actions (which have then been perpetuated over time as 'truths')......

Very true and sometimes it is by knowing the history behind how the standard developed that we begin to understand why some of these things were included in the first place. Take my breed (Pyrenean Mountain Dog) which specifies colour and particularly that black to the root is a disqualifying fault. It specifies particular requirements regarding eye rim, lip and roof of mouth pigment. It also specifies double dew claws. On the surface all these things seem very cosmetic. That is until you understand that black on the dog was taken by the French shepherds to be a sign of crossbreeding with herding dogs (which introduced behaviour traits they didnt want in a LGD) so these puppies were regularly culled/removed as they didnt function well at their job. Pigment was important as it reflected glare (particularly on snow - helping prevent snow blindness), prevented sunburn and also helped prevent deafness (given the link between lack of 'pigment' in the inner ear and deafness) which they instinctively could note as a correlation. Double dewclaws were also taken as a sign of 'breed purity' by the shepherds and another way to avoid the introduction of unwanted behaviour traits. For these reasons I encourage people who may wonder about the so called 'superficial' specifications in a standard to first consider exactly WHY they were put there in the first place before dismissing them outright. There might be an actual reason for them being put there.

IMHO overreacting to this particular ad. They seem to be open and honest about their dogs needs and looking after their welfare. Sometimes the least selfish thing you can do for a dog is find it a new and more suitable home if the situation calls for it. Not everyone who looks for a new home for their dogs is uncaring or 'throwing them away'.

Some ideas: Hanging fly traps. Available at large hardware stores like Bunnings etc. They can help reduce the fly population significantly. There are insect repellant sprays designed for horses/dogs that can help. Also possibly those area sprays that you can set to spray intermittently set up near the dogs bed/main area it lies etc. See the thread further down about treating ears etc for fly bites.