SmokeyR67

Hi Pandi, A Pagani is only a waste of money if you can't afford it I do volunteer with an animal rescue organisation, nothing special, just hosing out the runs and the like, but I think I'm a bit too soft for the job. After I've finished my shift, on the drive home, I have to stop and have a bit of a cry. How can I pick one from all those amazing souls? Sometimes I wish that I could experience the green dream.

Hi Roova, It's kind of weird that you remember me, but also bit flattering, thank you Obviously that's not a verbatim transcript of all of my emails to breeders, I may have a tendency exaggerate my foibles when posting in the forums, lets say its about 30% accurate, 80% exaggerated and 10% copied from twitter profiles. You'd be surprised at the positive replies my emails get from breeders( I know I am:) ) I explain my experience, my goals, my methods and my love for Leonard Cohen and almost immediately we've bridged the breeder/buyer gap...JFK would be envious of our detente Unfortunately nature has it's own ideas, and despite our best efforts none of the Australian and New Zealand breeders have been able to satisfy my exacting puppy requirements, so I'm having to look further ashore - Viva Manitoba! Anyhow, back on topic, some breeders are tossers, some buyers are wankers, but in the end the dog community has the same wanker/tosser ratio as the rest of the worlds population ;)

Like every other situation in life, there's 2 sides to the breeder/buyer story. I'm looking for a couple of pups, and have been contacting a few breeders just to get myself on their radar. I know that I'm a unique type of person, you either hate me or,, well ....lets not go there:) I contact breeders via email because I have this thing about calling people out of the blue - I just feel like a telemarketer when I call a breeder looking for information. I tend to imagine that I'm going to interrupt them while they're performing a critical task and that they'll have such a negative first impression of me that they'll post on the super secret breeders dark web forum banning me from ever owning a dog. Getting back to my special type of uniqueness, I'm weird. Seriously weird. When I send an email I tend to start of with no nonsense service writing (1. I'm looking for a couple of pups. 2. I prefer working and sporting breeds 3. They should be tall enough that when they sit at the heel position I can rub their head without bending at the waist 4. I live on a fully fenced 1/4 acre...etc) and then I roll into manic puppy man mode ( I love puppies, I like to sniff puppies, and cuddle puppies. When I die , I want to be wrapped in liver strips, deposited on a tiled floor and have someone send in 1 million puppies to eat the liver and my body, they'll love my bones, it's way better than being cremated dontya think?) I fully understand why some breeders choose not to reply to my emails ( I wouldn't), but to be honest, if they're advertising, they're a business. As a business, you should reply to all enquiries, even if you get contacted by manic puppy man. They don't have to reply in the positive, just a polite version of "oh my god, your not getting your hands on my puppies!" would suffice. On the other side of the coin, some breeders are supercillious prats. They exist in the same ratio as their prat bretheren in the general public. That's life. They can be very offensive if they even bother to reply to an enquiry, carrying on as if they're some sort of super being because their bitch shagged a dog and made puppies. Some breeders think they're selling Pagani's not puppies, while others (the majority) are happy to sell Holdens, as long as those Holdens are sound and their new owners know how to drive a manual, take it to the local garage for routine oil changes, and back to the dealer for a regular wash, wax and polish I'm the worlds worst prospective puppy purchaser, I can live with that, and when I find the right breeder (who's selling high end Holdens,) I'll know that I've made a friend, not a business acquaintance I think what I was trying to say is that dog people are, 99% of the time, good people and on the same page, but of course theirs some absolute tossers on both sides of the fence, but that's the same in all walks of life. Smokey P.S. did I mention that I love puppies?

I'm in the process of looking for a couple of pups, and I always start by describing myself, my home and yard, what I want in a pup and breeder and at the end of the email is "and it's time to ask the awkward question, how much will the pup cost?". I'm old, I write emails and SMS's like I used to write a letter, young people these days grow up in a new world, with new language and sensibilities, and to be honest when I where a lad, pups cost 3 days salary for my paper route, not 2 weeks salary for a professional person. I've never (as far as I know) offended the breeder, although I have had a couple of responses itemising the costs of breeding. I fully understand that stud fees, looking after a pregnant bitch and vet fees for the pups is expensive, I don't care about that, I just want to know the bottom line Honestly, I'd rather hear about how the pups are socialised rather than the price, but in the end money is going to be exchanged so it has to be spoken about and agreed upon. Shane

He also helped remodel the WC - I'd started by ripping off some gyprock, other half was using the facilities early one morning after waking to thunder, and my big brave boy joined her in the smallest room and started ripping off more gyprock trying to find a hiding spot - we ended up getting a supply of doggy valium for him and on days with a high chance of storms he got a half dose in the morning before we left for work, if the radar showed a storm approaching one of us went home and either stayed with him, or gave him the other half of the pill.

After having a GSD who opened drawers and tried to hide in them whenever there was a storm, I start preparing them for storms and fireworks from the day they come into my home. I play a storm noises CD through my home theater system when they're nice and relaxed, and when they're a few months old I take them to the local rifle range and starting from a couple of hundred metres back I slowly introduce them to that sharp crack. My last 2 GSD's had no fear of storms, to the point that one would get excited at the first sign of thunder, and the other would just lay down and be all "meh, wake me when it's time for a walk"

I'm Shane, and I'm looking for a breeder I'm 50 years old, semi retired, I own my home on 1/4 acre, and my dogs have the run of the house. They'll be fed a combination of quality dry food, some barf patties and other raw food - mainly lamb neck and chicken frames. I'm looking for a couple of pups for; Obedience training and trials. - Perhaps herding or retrieving trials, but no agility work. Companions - shade mates in summer,hairy hot water bottles in winter:) I'll provide the pups with; A very stable home environment. Morning walks, and afternoons at the dog park. The best possible socialisation Baths when required Hugs, lots and lots of hugs, The breeder I'm looking for? A person who adores their dogs and breeds for temperament and physical health. A breeder who's happy for me to visit them and meet the parents A breeder who want's to know if I'm good enough to own a couple of their pups. I should mention that I'm looking pups who'll grow up to be between Sheltie and GSD size, any smaller and I'll be scared of tripping over and hurting them, any larger and my bed won't be big enough for all of us If you think I'm someone who's worthy of bringing a couple of your pups into my life, please send me a PM. Yours with hope Shane

My last Bitch was a comedian, we used to take walks in the local NP, she'd run off and bark so that "our" dog would do his job and defend us, then she'd run back for a pat, with a HUUUUUGE grin on her face.

When the doubters say that dogs don't smile, your images are evidence that they're wrong:)

What a beautiful way to spend time with your mates!

It's a tough thing to do, but you have to ignore the dogs change in behaviour and carry on as normal If you follow your instincts and give her any extra attention, it reinforces her fears - it's a sucky feeling to ignore them, but it's better in the long term. I had a GSD, who was a big friendly fella, but had severe hip dysplasia. He had no fear of storms as a pup, he used to love running around the backyard during storms, but one day while I was at work we had a very damaging hail storm, and unfortunately that evening he was due to go in for a hip replacement. I was young myself, so I just took him into the Vet, if I was older and wiser, we would have cancelled the surgery and re booked at a later date.Anyhow, long story cut a little shorter, from that day on, he was terrified of storms, to the point that he'd open the kitchen cupboards and hide in there while I did the dishes. I made a huge mistake by comforting him the first time he exhibited this behaviour, I should have ignored him, gone about my business and seen the Vet to get some doggy drugs for the next storm, With my next couple of pups I played a storm sounds CD whenever we where having a quiet, lazy evening, and when we had real storms I tried to treat the dogs like it was any old day. Zeus was a little concerned about the weather, but his sister Luna couldn't have given a toss (mind you, if she'd had an opposable thumb, she would have taken over the world - she was the most cunning animal I've ever met:) ) Smokey

At least the pups will only destroy the table once:) I think, just by my opening posts that I show I'm very committed to socialisation, as far as I'm concerned it's the most important part of training for a young mammal, be they dog, cat , human or other! No matter what approach I take ( 1 pup at a time, 2 pups together etc), my pups will have a wide variety of experiences in their first year of life, from listening to my storm sounds CD when they're napping, to chasing yowies in the local park. They won't be perfect, but they'll be mine, and I'll be theirs.

I can see 2 pups bouncing off each other, rather than chewing the dining table legs, and me having to go through that twice:) There are advantages in all options, older dog with pup, 2 pups from the same litter, 2 pups of a similar age, I think it all comes down to personal circumstances - if you can spend 18 hours a day with your pups or only 1 hour., I'm an 14 hour per day type of guy. Smokey

Could be worse - they may have been an 18 year old supermodel who's only been with women, and has a Nigerian uncle who needs help laundering a billion dollars. I miss the good old days of the internet:)

Seems like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. I'll make the decision when I decide if I'm going to bother working again - if I do, then 1 pup at a time might be the best plan, if not, then 14 pups in one hit might be good:)

My random sample (all taken from the Dogz Online pages) seems to indicate that - "I've been told that getting 2 pups from the same litter is a bad idea as they'll bond to each other and not me, and I was also told that no breeder would sell me 2 pups from the same litter" was the wrong question:)

Hi all, just an update regarding breeders not selling 2 pups from the same litter to the one home.. I've contacted a few (well, actually a lot) of breeders, and none seem to have an issue with it.

Way back in the late 80's it cost me about 4k to get my GSD's hip replaced - I wouldn't want to know what it costs now

Re interest, I was being a little facetious:) I'll kick off with $15k in the account, after paying the breeder, buying toys, bowls, collars, car harnesses etc I'd say there will be $10k left, and then I'll toss in $30 per week to cover vet costs. If I was to start an account and pay in $30 a week, I'd expect to lose money!

Just had a look at an insurance comparison site (doh, should have thought of that earlier) and I think I'll be self insuring - at about $30 per week for 2 large dogs, it makes more sense to start a bank account specifically for the dogs, put $30 per week into it and watch the interest roll in

Thanks Guys, looks like my best bet is to just ring up an insurer and request a quote for each breed I'm considering. The Canstar site is a bit confusing, they give numbers with a heading of average monthly premium, then quote figures per month... $100 per annum is a lot more palitable than $100 per month. At $100 per month per dog, it seems that a far better option is to put $50 per week into a bank account and self insure (or even just start an account with the Vet and pay them $50 per week). It's almost as bad as getting a new mobile phone plan Shane

Maddy, I've found you nothing but abrupt, short and terse, and I find that oddly refreshing Anyhoo, my point in this thread is that fleas (like s&t*) happen, I just accept that if my dogs have a social life, they'll get fleas. "Spot on" products will minimise the impact between baths, and every few months we'll go out for the weekend while the house is flea bombed I do have a flea based question - it's a herd immunity thing - if you have multiple pets, should you use the same brand of flea treatment for all, or use different products on each. I've heard that fleas can over time become immune to each product, so I'm curious about the best way to use them - is there a parasite expert in the house?

Maddy, thanks, I have no problems with your comments, after all, a forum is by definition an area to debate, and I never at any stage meant to offend people, I just suck at communicating via this inter webby thing. I know that sometimes I push my point WAAAY to far, but without the ability to use body language and facial gestures I can think of no other way. If you have a look at a few recent posts,there was a bit of "peer bonding" going on, so I pointed that out and had a wee bit of a crack back, but I didn't take offence. Perhaps that's just because I'm an old contrarian who loves a debate, or just a thick skinned arsehole - either /or On to more important things, I've spent hours watching you tube videos of puppies and I need all of your support - I'm starting a crowd funding site so I can have one of every dog, and I'll need your support to keep them flea free Shane

I hate to be rude, but may I ask how much it costs you to insure your dog?

Pet insurance is a classic case of a double edged sword. On one hand, if we insure our pets, we're essentially giving the green light to the industry to gouge us*, but if we don't insure we can't afford to look after our dogs in the way we'd like to! It reeks of the US health system, where insurance company set not only their premiums, but the costs of health care in general. Shane * it's not the Vets gouging us.