Trisven13

I saw he yesterday and gave her cuddles! Don't think Katherine came back for today, she asked me yesterday if I could take her in today because she did not feel like coming back. But I would have clashed with Cavs. Thanks BBJ. I've heard that the disloyal bitch doesn't miss me at all ;) But she loves us the most! She does not whinge at all with us! that may have something to do with sleeping on the bed at your house

I saw he yesterday and gave her cuddles! Don't think Katherine came back for today, she asked me yesterday if I could take her in today because she did not feel like coming back. But I would have clashed with Cavs. Thanks BBJ. I've heard that the disloyal bitch doesn't miss me at all

have a look at the 'confetti' mini schnauzers! OMG - see even when it is wrong I love it

Did you see my Miss Daphne???? Yes I'm needy

I know this is a sensitive topic but I agree with you, unless my dogs were at deaths door already because of age or disease I can understand the reasoning behind it but to PTS healthy younger dogs is just wrong IMO. My dogs would stay in the family one way or another, or if none of them were capable I would hope the breeders would take them back, if after all that still no success they would do the whole MDBA Pacers thing as they would both be extremely rehomeable......still gotta look into that though. But that is the point. Some of us who have chosen to pts did so because our pets are NOT rehomable in a traditional sense. Bart is a very large greyhound with a very strong prey-drive. As he has matured his prey drive has become stronger - quite dramatically stronger and I don't trust someone else to manage that. I would hate to think that he went to the wrong home and killed someone's dog or cat because he wasn't properly managed. He wouldn't pass the GAP test anymore (though he did at 12 months of age) so they couldn't take him back. All my other dogs would go to family or their breeders if both OH and I died BUT Bart is just not one who can. Other people have dogs that are seriously dog aggressive. Maybe my point of view is different from having spent 6 years working in rescue - I understand how genuinely difficult (if not impossible) it is to find homes for dogs like that. Dogs don't understand euthanasia, they don't fear it and I think it is the last kind thing I can do for Bart.

I should clarify that is not what is happening to MINE - only what happens if you don't plan it . What happens to my dogs depends on whether OH & I both die at the same time or separately. Our families have all been told multiple times so that they remember. One of my dogs will be pts though as he has a high prey drive and I'm not comfortable with the idea that someone who would be less careful with him would own him. Lordy you want to hope that they don't die

Yes go Woody2Shoes!!! I opened the photo and said "Hoy I know that face!!" What a buzz for you all.

Are Fauves bred to go to ground Trish? No, not that I can find though Lordy you would think so!! They are bred to hunt small game in packs - rabbits, roe deer etc. They are not a breed traditionally used for truffle hunting which, as a French scent hound, you would think they would have been used for if it was a breed typical trait. Daphne doesn't dig like Marie does - don't get me wrong, she will dig at times, but not like Marie does. The only solution we have is that she is not in the yard or near the gardens unsupervised and never will be - even on lead she will dig if I'm not watching her. I wonder if they get a seratonin high from doing it.. She definitely is getting a reward of some kind from it. It has been quite frustrating because if you talk to someone the first thing they say is that its boredom but I figure 3 walks a day kind of kills that idea.

Are Fauves bred to go to ground Trish? No, not that I can find though Lordy you would think so!! They are bred to hunt small game in packs - rabbits, roe deer etc. They are not a breed traditionally used for truffle hunting which, as a French scent hound, you would think they would have been used for if it was a breed typical trait. Daphne doesn't dig like Marie does - don't get me wrong, she will dig at times, but not like Marie does. The only solution we have is that she is not in the yard or near the gardens unsupervised and never will be - even on lead she will dig if I'm not watching her.

I'm sure Katherine said that she was doing Maffra but whatever show it is, it is on this weekend and has Finnish Judges . I'm not much help am I but the Finnish Judges part really stuck in my head as they would have seen Fauves previously.

Is this the show with Finnish Judges? If so Miss Daphne is there - can you ask BBJ to especially find out how she goes???? We're missing the silly girl.

OK. Why do you think she's doing it? My money's on boredom. Give her a good hour walk every day for a week and see if she still does it with such fervour. I'm betting she doesn't. You can't expect an adult gundog to get no exercise without seeking stimulation somehow. Personally I think a half hour's training and one hour of offlead exercise daily would make a massive difference to both your lives. I think you need to stop blaming the dog. You're the one who controls her life. Marie does. I've come to the conclusion that some dogs just love to dig. I think with Marie it is a combination of enjoying digging BUT she has at some point discovered bugs to eat in the ground and now digs like a mad woman to find more - she loves those big white fat wormy/buggy things. Marie is walked for half an hour each morning, she is walked for an hour in the middle of the day, she is walked for half an hour again each afternoon (morning & afternoon walks are slow walks with another dog to get the kids from the bus, midday walk is a fast walk for exercise). She has other dogs for company. I do bits and pieces of obedience with her but IME more importantly she spends loads of time with us and the kids and she still digs. I can NOT leave her unsupervised or I will have holes and all it takes is 5 minutes. This morning we had come back from the bus walk and I was talking to the lady from down the road for 2 minutes and she started digging. I gave her a correction and 30 seconds later she was digging again. ETA - she was on lead less than a metre from me. When I board her they can only allow her outside into a run when supervised as she will dig huge holes. We have laid chook wire under plants and she has dug through the wire even though it was pegged down with many long pegs. Yes I accept that for MOST dogs digging is a boredom thing but after having lived with Marie I am very confident that for a small number of dogs digging has nothing to do with the amount of stuff you do with them.

Yep.

Grover had perfect puppy teeth but one of his adult teeth just never came through. It was incredibly obvious by 7 months of age - I can't imagine someone wouldn't notice that their bitch was missing a tooth. Needless to say he is now sans testicles and living life as OH's much loved, yet stupid, pet :D

Awww look at the baby koolies!!! I love koolies - particularly the merle ones. I'm very, very partial to merle dogs - darn shame they all come in "too much dog for me" packages

Oh great idea!! Gorgeous little dogs. I also think a Corgi or Vallhund would be great. I truly love Welsh Cardigan Corgi's and from a purely appearance point of view the blue merles are to die for!!! I could live with a Corgi one day.

This is very true - Campbell would love to show a Fauve regularly but they are just too heavy for him to lift on to the table. Instead he will have to make do with run-offs for a while. I'm sure I will offend many Sheltie owners but will run the risk anyway. They are a stunning dog with a definite working ability thereby making them ideal for agility etc BUT all the Shelties I have known bark like nothing else I've known. A friend was recently set up next to some at a show and every single time I visited her they were in their crates barking - I kid you not! I have spoken with some Sheltie people who have said that they highly recommend debarking to keep your sanity - and these were Shelties who did high level obedience & agility. Then there was my friendly Telstra technician who was recently moaning at how his neighbour's shelties did not shut-up ever if he was in his backyard - it has got to such a point that he no longer has bbq's etc. I'm not sure if it is something that is in lines (as howling is apparently with Fauves) or if it "simply" a trait of their working background but worth investigating unless you live somewhere where barking doesn't matter at all.

So does being a hobby breeder equate to running a breeding establishment or would you need to be at the level where you have to do tax returns etc?

Well now I understand why I've never heard of them . I've been to a Judge's training day with the Fauves but that is all.

Dumb question but what is an open show and how does it differ from a champ show? Do we have both in the country or is it more a city thing?

I feel your pain. I took Bart twice to a once a month doggy get together here in Albury only for him to have a maltese mix in his face growling & barking non-stop. The owner just laughed and said "oh he's so funny, he doesn't like big black dogs". Yeah it will be frigging hysterical if Bart gets sick of it in 10 minutes and snaps at your dog..... :D :p

Congrats Chopperlodge!! Stupid me wasn't looking at who was posting and was just reading the breeds & prefixes and read "Chopperlodge" and though - woohoo that is Chopperlodge from DOL. Then I realised it was you posting What a great win - you must have been over the moon!!!

OMG I had missed this thread - how disgusting! Hope everyone's semen turns up.

I don't believe that a titled dog is essential to breeding well. At this point any litter I breed will come from a titled bitch but I'm not 100% sure that the dog will be titled. I will pick the dog on its merits, what it adds to the breed, what it adds to my bitches and what it adds to my breeding program. A title is a very small part of that IMO, particularly given that there are only 24 Fauves in Australia. However, even if there were more Fauves in Australia a title would affect my choices at all.