goldchow

Pav Lova" Quote: It's actually easier to have a large farm set up and breed according to the law, then it is to be a small time ANKC registered breeder. The farm ticks all the boxes in terms of kennels, size, drainage etc, they will mass vaccinate once a year, provide and individual feed bowl etc Those that "really " care and do what they think is best for their animals, might want to raise the pups in the house, choose a different vaccination schedule or not vaccinate at all after a certain age and make choices that aren't strictly in keeping with the madnatory codes. And boy oh boy isn't that exactly right

Stephen Lindores at Albany Creek or Phil Thomas. the latter being the repo specialist at Brisbane Vet Specialists at Chermside but is also a very good general vet with a surgery at Mitchellton. There are also many here on DOL who speak very highly of the Kedron Vet Clinic. A number of breeders of cats & dogs including my daughter speak very highly of John at the Salisbury Vet Surgery. As Anne says I think any good vet would be able to assit with brachy breed problems.

Thats sad LL, the last four or five that I have taken in here, and who have remained here, have all been eight and above, just when they really need their family, which pretty much applies to all breeds. Many chow Breeders and those who know the breed would say this boy would be better euthanised but I always liked to give them that second chance even though its not easy to find a suitable home for an older chow. Those who know the breed are aware of the work involved. If I can be of any help please PM yours & the Chows details including whereabouts and I will pass it onto the Chow people and add them to my website to try to find this boy a home.

Is the male to be rehomed a Chow? There are a number of breeds I would not consider rehoming a chow with simply because the Chow is basically a laid back temperament, dignified, very stubborn and would be wanting to be top dog. I had a lady who was very keen to take one of my desexed older chows, she fitted all I required in a home, and a staffy which made me a little hesitant. We took Chin to visit and within the hour I knew it wasn't going to work. The staffy, as staffys do, was full of energy, bouncing around, jumping all over Chin trying to get him to play. Chin was horrified that this dog could behave in what he saw as a 'most unbecoming manner' and was actually becoming quite stressed. It was a warm day and I knew Chin had to be removed from the situation quickly. I have since rehomed two chows from different homes where there were staffies, the chows were extremely unhappy and depressed, both were second relationships and the new partners stipulated that the chows be put up for adoption. I personally will not rehome a chow to anyone other than to someone who does know and understands the breed and who would therefore know whether any dog already in residence would be okay with the chow. The Chow often give their loyalty to one person or family and them only, so coping with rehoming can be very difficult for the chow, made easier if his new home is aware of and makes allowances for the breeds differences and his difficulty in adjusting..... and a would be disaster for all concerned if they don't.

The books I would recommend are The Chow Chow by Honour Green and the Chow Chow by Miss C E Collett, both now out of print but can be sometimes picked up on Ebay or Amazons. These two books are serious chowists bibles. Chows aren't generally a naturally aggressive breed, some other breeds will attack a chow unprovoked, no one has been able to come up with an answer why. Thoughts are that the straight stifle is a sign of aggression in the dog world, plus the chow does not have the doggie smell of ordinary canines and perhaps some other breeds see these as a threat. I don't personally advise chows in an off lead dog park and there are some breeds I would not consider running with the Chow.

Thanks for posting this Mila's Mum, Australia has many vets in the same position and the love and companionship they have with their dog goes along way to keep them more on track. It would be great if we had such an organization here.

Rysup that article on your website was given to me many years ago by a well knowm shar-pei breeder after I had nearly killed one of my dogs, (a rescue with demodex) using a Tak Tic solution given to me by my vet. Apparently the dog was very allergic to it, end result was a mad dash to the closest vet some 50 ks away at some ungodly hour of the morning. The dog recovered but I have been very wary since of any of those chemical type products. Its an excellent article but vets still won't accept that it does actually work.

I've used the wash Bigboy mentions successfully to control mild Demodex while other environmental issues were being sorted but care needs to be taken that the quantites used in this wash are in the correct proportion otherwise it can make the skin go hard and scaly.

Hi Erny great to see you here and agree, many of the shampoos which are touted to assist with itchy skin can actually do more harm than good. Becks my breed is double coated, and in particularly hot humid weather the odd hot spot can emerge. Advice from naturopaths and holistic people that the dog licking the sulphur mixture off does no harm and in effect tends to cool the blood which is possibly warmer than normal in the heat. Juliette de Bairacli Levy in her excellent book The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog & Cat also advocates the use of natural barley flakes as part of the dogs diet to help 'Cool the blood" She has bred Afghans for many years in Middle Eastern contries and provides excellent guidelines for Natural Rearing which is becoming increasingly popular amongst dog breeders/owners. Flowers of Sulphur can be purchased from the chemist however its usually only in small quantites, virtually the same product can be bought at good produce places by the kilo much more cheaply.

Older breeders and farmers who have used sulphur in their animals feed for many years say that a pinch a day is fine for small dogs and around a quarter teaspoon for larger dogs which can be increased to half a teaspoon if fleas etc are a problem with small dogs can be bumped up to a quarter. Obviously these suggestions can be adapted to the specific size dog and Sulphur is quite safe as long as it doesn't exceed 2% of the dogs dinner. The sulphur mixed with molasses sounds great,could well imagine the collie developing a lovely coat.

Myself and other breeders have had excellent results with Flowers of Sulphur from the chemist or sulphur powder from Produce Stores added to each dogs dinner at night which helps repel ticks & fleas and assists with many skin rashes. Pat Colby recommends this in her Natural Pet Care book and which we,ve used for many years with great success. The sulphur powder mixed to a paste with olive oil has also proved excellent, although abit messy when applied to hot spots and is not harmful when the dog licks it off. The sulphur actually helps cool the blood down. Obviously vet advice needs to be sought for persistant and major issues and all areas of the pets care and environment need to be assessed as well.

We see snakes all year round here in the Burnett region,Qld local vets tell me the snakes never really hibenate here, one just doesn't see as many. I almost fell over an eastern brown one July afternoon, I thanked my lucky stars he was slower than usual which I put down to the freezing cold day. My father, on old bushie out Balranald way used to always say that if the daytime temperature reaches 24 or 25C the snakes will be about.

Clyde you are quite correct as was the breeder you spoke to. Its even a hard slog at times trying to get dog show judges to know & accept that this breed does not have peripherial vision and must always be approached from the front or side where they can see you coming so it's understandable for the general public who don't know the breed to know how to approach a chow correctly. The first thing people want to do is put their hand on the chows head and nine times out of ten the dog will back off (because he can't see the hand and needs the opportunity to assess who's touching him)which those not knowing or understanding the breed will see as a negative. Approached from the front, spoken to nicely then a hand under the chin is usually all it takes to make friends with a well socialized chow, who will always remain aloof and allow himself to be handled, sometimes alibet grudgingly. I,m sure some of them do expect you to bow to them as espinay2 says We can't impress on chow puppy buyers enough how very important continuous postive socialization is, and even though the chows are a beautiful breed looking alot like teddy bears, they deserve the same respect as one would a doberman, rottie or GSD and wariness of strangers is a part of the breed.

But of course you should espinay2, the whole approach to a chow is different to other dogs and if done correctly a well socialized chow is a joy to deal with. So glad you have had good experiences with the breed, its always a worry when others comment on nasty or ill tempered chows.

Tha lady Nekhbet referred to does chow rescue. I have never been there myself but do know the lady quite well and she is a passionate chow devotee. I think she looks older than she really is because she's not much older than myself and I don't consider myself as 'old', well not yet anyway. I understand there are two other famillies who help care for the dogs and members of the Chow Club also assist when required but you are right, having that many chows to care for is a huge task.

Nekhbet I believe I know the lady you mention ;)

Sadly many chows I have come in for rescue are poorly socialized and have nil grooming history except for being clipped or shaved off which indicates the owners are too lazy to groom the chow regularly. I shudder when I hear of a chow being clipped/shaved, it completely destroys the coat but once its done it generally has to be kept up because the coat felts and is almost impossible to keep on top of. It completely beats me why people buy a coated breed and proceed to clip and shave it. A properly socialized chow is a pleasure to deal with although this breed always prefers to be handled by their owner whether it be grooming, training etc. Glad Charlie was a happy experiance for you,

Right in the heart of Brisbane almost on the Queen St Mall with lots of open air eateries & cafes, great shopping, close to Central Railway or Roma as Ams said, casino just down the road, all in all an ideal venue.

Although we now pick & choose who we take into the boarding kennels its always under the proviso that all dogs must by freshly hydrobathed with a good quality tick prevention treatment with successive treatments if in for more than a couple of weeks. We've never had a problem with ticks of any sort and we are in a supposed tick free zone however with a number of my own double coated dogs, the last thing I want is to run the risk of ticks of any sort being brought in, by other dogs anyway. Collars of any sort on dogs in the kennels can be a hazard, we remove them until its time to go home. I don't follow the keeping everything soaked either, I'd have thought this would create a ripe environment for paralysis tick and other nasties like cane toads.

Its also very good added to water and syringed down a dogs neck if they show early signs of bloating. About a teaspoonful to a cup of water and massage dogs stomach to encourage bringing up or passing wind. This was advice from a local vet and its saved my bacon (and the dogs) several times.

How so very refreshing to read these last few posts, thank you Steve.Moosemum LizT and those who obviously feel the same.

Excellent post Sandgrubber, you've said it all. I too would not like to see this industry regulated by bureaucrates, the environmental rules & regulations and the cost of setting up a boarding kennel now is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and much of those Buidling regulations alone does nothing for the dogs care & welfare so heaven help us if they decide to take over the actual running & Care of the kennels. The disclaimer for the kennel in question has more holes than a seive, sadly many pet owners either don't read or understand how important that Disclaimer is until something goes wrong. All kennels should have the owners mobile No and a back up emergency no. The owner should have been notifyed of the injury to the dog and the owner should have had input as to what the next step should be and which vet the dog needed to be taken to. What Sandgrubber says is quite right and its impossible to be able to check over the dogs daily for ticks, time wise and many won't allow that sort of close handling. We don't have paralysis tick in this area although those affected areas are growing so we're always wary, and brown dog tick is another concern. Being on tank water we ask the owners to have their dogs bathed with Frontline or similar applied before coming in and we keep a close eye on them. We had one dog arrive from the Gold Coast showing symptoms of Paralysis tick as soon as he got out of the care. He went straight into the hydrobath with the flea & tick rinse and his owner and I worked on him until the offending parasite was found. Being rural here snakes are another hazard. Most of our customers are country people who are aware of these dangers and realize that even though all care is taken, and the dogs are all checked frequently throughout the day, things can go wrong. If these dogs were in these kennels for three months one would think the kennels would have at least had them on some sort of tick preventative, supplied by the owner or hydo'd weekly in a wash at least which many kennels do just to 'Keep the dogs fresh" Some pet owners don't think of these things and the kennel owner needs to advise and assist these people to provide the best care possible for their dog, not just while they are in the kennels but when they go home.

There is little to no regulations in the running of or care of dogs in Boarding Kennels, at least in Queensland. The flashiest & high priced boarding kennel does not necessarily provide the best care for their clients. We purchased this small kennel 15 years ago which was our first sojourn into the world of boarding kennels, mainly because we had our own purebred show & breeding dogs which the council license also covered. We visited and spoke to many boarding kennels before deciding to go ahead and to be honest I was pretty horrified at the attitude and obvious lack of concern. It became obvious that any Joe Blow could set up/purchase a boarding kennel with little to no knowledge in the care, feeding or hygeine required for the keeping dogs at all let alone in a confined area. There are the good ones of course, usually run by dog people who do know what they are doing but this is definitely an area that needs looking into with animal mangement qualifications as a requirements as essential.

Have sent you a PM Erny, you have nothing to apologise for. Looking forward to catching up

Yes those were the days, just like the dogs shows when we'd all rock up with a packet of sandwiches, a couple flasks, a blanket to sit on, our grooming gear and a couple of dogs on leads. We'd all sit together and talk dogs till we were exhausted, whoever won on the day was duty bound to provide the coffee and it was a wonderful social day out. It was all so much more simple then. I too miss those many very experienced breeders who used to frequent the forum, and the tremendous discussions that used to be held here, learnt alot from them. Progress, good or bad is a fact of life and not always easily accepted.