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I get it. The buck has to stop with the breeder of the litter and the only recourse may possibly be if the previous generations had falsified Hip score paperwork. HD is a funny disease and your friend who bred the litter should have been very specific when offering health guarantees on the pups. 2 parents with 0/0 scores can still produce HD affected pups and all he/she could do was to guarantee that that the the dogs she bred together had low hip scores *hopefully* ensuring a low incidence of HD in the litter. There is also the nature vs nurture component in HD where the new owners may have over-exercised or over-fed the pup creating the perfect environment for the issue to raise its ugly head. ;) Unfortunately in your friends' case - it's just the (un)luck of the draw. Entropian something else altogether but if the dog was winning BOB O/S, I have to question how bad was the entropian? Once again, surely after spending $$$ to import, the dog was also going to be eye-tested??? BUYER BEWARE.

I brought up the idea of staff:dog ratio and I never said anything about childcare centres. Whilst nearly everyone here on DOL would believe that their dogs are indeed their babies - I never intended to equate it as such. So any comments about child-care vs dog care are really going OT -IMHO I think this idea should be discussed on a practical level. Steve, I thought this discussion was about puppy farmers and although you are right, there are smaller scale breeders considered to be "farmers" who do have other regular 9-5 jobs, I thought what we were trying to target here is indeed the large-scale commercial breeders = FARMERS! Therefore it *IS* their business, regardless if the "farm" is family-run or not and regardless if they have a outside 9-5 job. In short, they don't need the same as human children but lets decide at bare minimum, what those needs are...

Hi Mercedes - that was me and the reason I have to keep mine away is exactly the same as you..... KIDNAPPING!!!!!!! :rofl:

Some big puppy farmers are saying they do provide these things via their own family and employees. How much enrichment can you provide though if a dog lives its whole life except for 20 mins a day on concrete in a pen?No, in those cases we are talking about maybe 10 or 15 people trying to provide enrichment, healthcare, general care for 400 dogs.....not a 1 to 20 ratio. I picked that ratio as I have 10 dogs and I know others have more successfully but upping the ante to allow for commercial numbers and for someone to be paid for their job.. I didn't know it was 20 minutes per day exercise but I think if it's your "business" a higher standard should be provided and up that 20 minutes to at least 2 hours. That would give one full-time person with 20 dogs heaps of time to feed twice per day, clean twice per day and provide enrichment for 2-3 hours per day. It's not a home environment so let's attempt to at least promote a better environment which is more "home-like" for these dogs I did not discuss living arrangements as I believe there have been a number of good references to this in thread. With the photo you posted Steve - I like the idea - inside pens in the shed at night - concrete and chainlink, a nice soft bed is all fine by me and then the rest of the day in those lovely big runs with added human interaction, toys, trees/shade - if there are going to be intensive farms then at least provide this much for the dogs.

How many dogs are "too" many? I think if this was addressed, enrichment issues could be taken into account. A puppy farm has 100/200/300/400 dogs so there is just simply not be enough attention/people enrichment to go around. If you legislated that part of breeding dogs in intensified situations was that they were required to have a 1 staff to 20 dogs ratio, puppy farms would have to slow down -hopefully enough to not be profitable - or at least if they did employ enough staff - the dogs would be much better looked after and receive more attention. The welfare of the dogs in these situations is what concerns me (apart from the obvious cross-breeding and no regard for breed standards) but as Steve mentioned earlier, you can't stop individuals from crossbreeding or intensively farming dogs so at least we can aim to improve living conditions. Upping the ante with staff and enrichment sure goes a long way to improving that ideal. JMHO

I inquired with a few companies which insured pets and none of them were prepared to offer a policy for show dogs. The only option was to insure the dog like it was a racehorse and that was very expensive. Perhaps Greyhound people might have something?

Also born in a whelping box laid with blankets, a heat pad and until the babies start moving around too much, a donut bed for Mum. I have 2 rooms off my main living/family room - one is dogs' bedroom and the other doubles a spare/storage room and the whelping room. This room has carpet so I lay down a giant tarpaulin a set up the whelping box etc on top. The room has no door so I put up a baby gate to prevent the other busy-bodies from contact with the pups until the Mum is ready and sometimes a sheet over the doorway if it's windy and there's a breeze going in the room. Pups are moved into a large pen in the main living room once their eyes are open and then there is a concreted "day pen" outside area with a gate onto the grass. Sunny days outside and they only sleep in the inside pen at night or on rainy/cold days. ETA: the pups have free range in the house after nightfall until it's their bed time (and mine!)

My dogs have their own bedroom with crates and soft "donut" beds directly off the family room They have free-range access to the entire living area during the day but a couple still go into their crates during the day anyway. They also get fed in their crates. Only one dog sleeps in my bed and occasionally a "special" girl (in season) also comes to my bed at night.

Get her to "borrow" a young Lab for a week and see how she copes - foster a Lab! If your friend really loves Labs, the best and most sensible thing for the breed AND for her family is just wait for about 2 -3 years (when her 2nd baby is old enough to walk) and then both children can enjoy the experience of a dog growing up with them and the dog can be guaranteed a devoted family to knock around with and not just be left to it's own devices. This dog has to be for the WHOLE family and not just for your friend. If hubby will only agree on a Lab, then in order to have that breed, your friend needs to be patient and wait until the time is right for the children - if the time isn't right for the children (age-wise) the dog will end up being a disaster on legs and your friend will end up putting *her* Lab into rescue....... Dogs have hair and Labs in particular SHED like crazy - outdoor dog or not - one trip in the car and there will be fur all over the baby. Wait until she's regularly washing mud out of the knees of pants adn a little fur will be nothing!

Miss B - it's probably really annoying for you if you have to compete against this pup but ultimately, you suspect the toenail pigment is incorrect and that is important for you - it might not be *as* important for the other exhibitor. Perhaps the breeder of the pup thinks it's the very best she's ever bred - BUT BUGGER THOSE TOENAILS!!!?? (No dog is perfect but maybe that pups ONLY fault is the nails!!) Apart from making an official complaint which will really paint you in a bad light within the breed, no, there's nothing you can do about it except hope for a judge who can recognise nail polish! and I *do* know the breed -

Well, given the veterinary diagnosis of allergy (and I agree if other tests were clear that it must be some sort of allergy) perhaps going to a Naturopath should be your next step.

You're better off using a temporary one (like Glintz or similar) rather than a human permanent dye but I would imagine whatever has to be done is a temporary situation anyway? :D You can get proper doggy dye as well though I wouldn't know where to start!

My dogs look at Salmon heads like I have presented them with a bit of cardboard! :D I gave up and now their only source of fish is tinned sardines or mackeral.

I like to have my regos done early as I want to be sure I can get Baby puppies into the showring. So all the papers are sent off at 7-8 weeks. If the pups have new owners waiting, the papers go directly into their names ('cos we can do that in QLD) and the remainder go into my name. If I have someone stuffing around with payment or not getting the Limited form back to me in time, the pup goes in my name until it's sorted out. :D It is an extra $26 or something if it has to be transferred later on so it's worth it for peace of mind. Never transfer a pup until it's paid for......

Good God! I can't believe that Google would even entertain the idea of a Kerry Blue being quiet! Really got to wonder about these searches sometimes! Havanese are a generally quiet small breed extremely well-suited to apartment living. That said - I have the noisiest Hav in the whole of Australia called Barki-Arki She doesn't like being crated when we are shows (particularly the Brisbane Royal) and barks like crazy when I arrive back home. She has a real big-dog bark so I don't find her bark to be as offensive as other small breeds which tend to yap. But she doesn't bark constantly and spends most of her time on the couch which is what you want in an apartment dog. She doesn't bark when I'm out. I have around 10 dogs here atm and I can still manage to hold a half hour phone conversation without a single bark!

Sounds like blood in the vomit. Get a sample and take it with you to the vet. TODAY!

If any of the local breeders offer a health guarantee or are prepared to offer a health guarantee, I'd go with that breeder. Similar situation in my breed however our original imports were all health tested before coming into the country and generally our population has been disease-free. It is only now that breeders are beginning to health test as we are now 4th, 5th, 6th generations and there have been more imports so when you start outcrossing to the extra lines, you just don't know what's going to crop up. My breeding stock is not all tested yet but I offer a health guarantee with my pups covering them for genetic health issues as do many of the breeders in my breed :D .

Very stressful day indeed!!! And good luck with your new bub to be! How exciting! Yes, I've had my dogs react to C5 which is why I don't give it anymore

Ask for a prostate test then..... - you will find you have a sterile dog if it does happen to be a prostate infection! Nothing to do with urine or urine analysis.

What's good for a SWF is just fine for LWF (Large White Fluffy)

Well, actually, I wouldn't have an issue with that except they would have to be prepared to take the dog for a professional clip once every 3-4 months and absolutely be committed to grooming for quite a while once a week!

It's ok Greytmate - we're not *really* selling them a dog!

Well! There you go..... never knew that Dallies don't like bunnies! Poor wabbits!

Only a Standard Poodle would be over the weight/size requirement

Oooh - that's a bit tougher! Lagotto Portuguese Water Dog ummmm.....perhaps a Polish Lowland Sheepdog (PON)