Sheridan

A previous thread also mentioned a product called No Knots, which I think is available from Horseland.

I use Cowboy Magic for bad matts (which the Grump collects as soon as he's brushed). That's a liquid gel so I only use it just before he's bathed. I also use The STUFF, which is pretty good, too. It's better waiting until it's dry before putting the comb through. I got both from here though they don't seem to be listing The Stuff anymore. I also have Plush Puppy OMG but I prefer The Stuff on the wheaten coat. Smell-wise, can't help. Don't have a sense of smell!

. Double post

I'm convinced he's a grumpy cunning old boy! I can see where his mind's not quite there sometimes, like where I might be in one room and he assumes I'm in another. When he can't find me in the room he's assumed I'm in, he just stands there confused and it takes me touching him for him to work it out. I think he's also starting to be a bit more clingy of late. Thanks, very much. I'll check those out if the vet doesn't get some in.

I thought the RSPCA had plenty of assets. Wouldn't they be getting a tidy sum for their TV show, for instance?

What the mouse world needs is more terriers.

I remember a dog that went through your rescue that looked like a bit of everything. Wish I could remember his name. Would have been late 2005, early 2006.

*feels bad for finding him kinda cute*

<snippage of the rest of the post> Just wanted to respond to this bit. I paid a deposit for my first wheaten terrier puppy. It covered the cost of his travel from South Australia. While I can see that a non-refundable deposit might be profiteering, I would pay a deposit again once I was assured I would be getting a puppy. It seems rather logical to me.

Happens all the time to my two. I suspect grass eating is the cause.

I've ordered some Hills B/D from the vet but I understand there were some supply issues so it may not have come in yet. Due to the Grump's idiosyncratic response to medication, I've not gone back down the Vivitonin route but he seems just as cunning as he ever was. His latest is insisting that I go to bed when he wants to go. He's always done this somewhat but it's nearly every night now. I wonder if it's because it's getting darker earlier? He's previously got a bit confused about the beginning and end of daylight savings. In a couple of weeks I'll be getting the patio dog door so he can come and go as he pleases - especially because we've gone to bed earlier over the past few nights and around 2.30, he's decided he needs to get up and do a wee. Broken sleep makes me grumpy!

When I was growing up we had a dachshund x kelpie. He looked like a tall dachshund.

But dont most non shedding breeds require more rather than less grooming? Exactly! I guess that's my point about unrealistic expectations. Yes but does the average person realise this? If you type non shedding dogs australia into Google the average person would find oodle after oodle. And the problem with purebred non shedding breeds other than poodles is that they are hard to come by. Not many breeders and not many litters. In my opinion breeders of non shedding or low shedding breeds need to get together and market their breeds to the public. I'd rather not have my breeds in the hands of people who only want a non-shedder and don't think further than that.

There have been plenty of suggestions in this thread. Generic blah dog: one where you take away what makes a breed. Oh, let's remove such and such breed's temperament because people want a dog that looks like that but don't want the temperament. Let's change coat colour because people want one that's another colour. Remove what makes a breed that breed then it's no longer that breed. That's what you're promoting.

To the latter, no idea. To the former, all dogs shed. Labs shed and so do labradoodles. And in doing so they are no longer the breed. If you want a generic blah dog, go get one. Leave actual breeds alone to those who can appreciate them for what they are.

I'm sorry, when the people buying and selling labradoodles push the lab temp then clearly that is the desirable quality, yet when it is suggested that if people want to push whatever breed as a viable option they need to look at this temperament their response is derogatory. Sorry, but the above doesn't make sense to me. Can you clarify? I'm saying that it's the lab temp that seems to be the predominating feature that is important to people who are buying labradoodles, ie they basically want a lab that doesn't shed. They don't want poodles for various reasons but temperament has been slated as one of those reasons. So when I talk about the option of breeding towards this temperament type using either the non shedding breeds or the development of a new breed with these traits people come back saying they don't want their breeds 'dumbed down' or various other derogatory terms. Maybe it's just getting lost in translation but when I talk about breeding for a more suitable temperament for the average home I mean the average home in which the Labrador generally fits quite well (as evidenced by it's popularity over many years), the Labrador was getting along just fine as a family pet until yards got smaller and people started looking at bringing dogs inside and noticing the amount of hair shed on the furniture etc hence the shift towards non shedding breeds. There are plenty of breeds out there, I suggest you promote those. Then I suggest that instead of ruining current breeds, you direct them to other gundogs that may suit them. Doing some positive promotion of the MDBA again, I see, Steve ...

I'm sorry, when the people buying and selling labradoodles push the lab temp then clearly that is the desirable quality, yet when it is suggested that if people want to push whatever breed as a viable option they need to look at this temperament their response is derogatory. Sorry, but the above doesn't make sense to me. Can you clarify? Why do people keep buying labradoodles? General answer: because they've been conned. I, too, am a dog owner not a breeder and not a show person, though I am a purebred dog snob when it comes to people being conned into thinking a poodle x is not going to have poodle traits. It may, it may not. I have no objection to the fate of the labradoodle (whether it ends up with that name or not) being put into the hands of responsible people rather than puppyfarmers and BYBs. Indeed, I think that's what most of us want for all dogs, is it not? I just don't think that changing a breed's set traits so the Joe Blow can have a labrador that looks like a poodle is the answer. Nor can I see how adapting existing breeds for Joe Blow is in any way a welfare issue.

I don't 'want' anything, I'm pointing out the obvious fact that there is a demand for dogs of lab type that are low or non shedding. I'm pointing at a few ways that pure breeders could cater to this niche without the development of a need breed. Again the use of the term 'generic blah dog's could be perceived as insulting and I don't even own a lab! Clearly, my use of generic blah dog wasn't referring to a lab. Sorry, but you say you don't want anything but this is a barrow that you continue to push, is it not? My apologies if it was someone else in the previous conversation who was advocating a change in tollers to cater to a particular market.

Again that's great if you want the full on wheaten or kerry, but if other people don't what do you do? Which breed do you direct them to if there is none that filfils the requirement? There is no point saying find another breed because there isn't one - that's the problem. People say get a poodle but poodles need more stimulation than a lab, people say get this or that other breed but most of these are rare so where do people go? Assuming existing breeders can produce the amount of pups needed who is promoting them? Who is making buyers aware of them? I think we've had this conversation before, no? And I think at the time it was about tollers? It is not my job to be a broker for people looking for a puppy. I can tell them that the wheaten and kerry are not right for them because of particular reasons (and I'll just reiterate that there hasn't been a 'what breed should I get?' thread that has made me go, 'That person's just right for a wheaten or a kerry!'). What you seem to want is to make over a breed into what any buyer wants but wheatens and kerries (insert any breed) are those breeds with those temperaments for a reason. You want to change what makes them those breeds and if that's what's required to make someone get a wheaten or a kerry then I don't want to have my breeds in the hands of those sorts of people. Or indeed, you. Because, then they wouldn't be those breeds and people may as well get a stuffed toy. I don't want generic blah dogs. You may but I don't.

My recommendation: carry a walking stick with you. As soon as you're rushed, step forward raising the stick, bellow 'Get home' at the top of your voice. This usually does the trick for me.

I don't want a wheaten or kerry with a milder temperament. I like my breeds the way they are, thanks. They've always been perfectly capable of being both a working dog and a member of the household with the personalities that they've had since the beginning.

Wheatens often get labelled as having less of a terrier temperament, which I think to some people's minds don't make them have a terrier temperament at all. This, of course, is complete bollocks but there's no persuading some, including sadly, some wheaten breeders.

When recommending breeds to someone who wants one that doesn't shed, people don't tend to go beyond listing non-shedding breeds. I'm actually surprised that some people (well, other than me) have actually pointed out this time that some of them aren't suited to first-time owners.

But just what niche is that? For a dog which is perceived to be non-shedding and isn't, calm and intelligent and isn't, healthier than either parent breed and isn't? If you want a ''non shedding'' breed which is larger than a Bichon but not a Standard Poodle then what's wrong with a Portuguese Water Dog, Standard or Giant Schnauzer, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Lagotto, the list is pretty extensive. What is wrong with them is the general public doesn't know about them! Appologies if this is going OT but I don't know much about many of these dogs mentioned either other than most are non-shedding. What are their tempraments like? Would they be a match to people who are looking for a labradoodle (I know that labradoodles don't exactly have a standard temperament but I guess I am trying to say are they biddable, happy go lucky family dog similar to a labrador). *falls off chair laughing at the thought of a 'biddable' wheaten and kerry blue*

Yup, the vets said due to the spider being dead and China's size (she's 34kg) all should be fine (on both the spider and spray front). Yes, he's lucky he's gone to bed... I just don't get why he would stand there, watch her eat it and then announce to me that she had done it... what idiot does that??? The sort that gets booted out the door at the first opportunity.