Christina

Desex the dog & put him in a new home or keep him as a pet. This problem is an awful thing as you say there is no genetic test & despite everything it can just crop up. Probably because somewhere along the line someone said Its only a grade 1 & this dog is so good for breeding or it can be bred out If it crops up in pups or later generations its an expensive operation & can develop to other problems in the dogs skeleton if left or severe. Your conscience says don't do it is in your post. Well don't & then you can rest easy & know that you are doing your very best for the breed & what you are comfortable with. Isn't it just so disappointing when the pup is everything you want & then this happens. Walked in your shoes, its the pits. Start again.

No I don't think so. Has she had the pups hearing checked ? Can't obey if it can't hear her properly. If she yells a lot it may just be nerves that panics the pup, it doesn't understand what she wants. Peeing may be due to confusion, urine infection or hormones if he is not desexed. It may be best that she re homes the pup while it is still young. Does not sound too serious or drastic overall. Sometimes one can expect too much. Like children they have varying milestones in achieving things & some pups are just silly & scatty & then suddenly it all just clicks into place. Others seem to be smart & get it really quickly. Obviously this one doesn't but it will with patience. Sounds like she has ran out of them.

Very much cultural. I came to Australia at age 35 & had never heard of outside dogs only until I came to Australia. Also never heard all the fuss about cats either, danger to wildlife, crap in my garden thing either etc. Our dogs were in messy or not, slept on the beds with us kids, got a bowl of stew dished up for dinner if that's what it was, watched TV with us in the lounge & were treated as family members. They were obedient & trained with no particular expertise or advice. It wasn't all around then. Doubt the weather here is a factor really as summer is a bigger danger with heatwaves, snakes & poisonous spiders. Safer outside in an english summer. Just the aussie culture. Mine would die of shock if left to live outside

I have flown a couple of pups & kittens interstate. A few days before I buy one of those rabbit water bottles that attach to the crate & they lick the spout to get water. They soon learn to use it. For a short flight I wouldn't worry but 2 went on longer trips & I was not happy leaving tiny animals without a drink for so long. Flight is 2.5 hours but you have to get pup to the airport 1.5 hours before hand, then there is unloading time at the other end. If pup is not toy breed & its going to be cool in Adelaide for the next few days I guess it will be fine without a drink in the crate for 4 to 5 hours but do give a drink before putting in the crate.

I love all dogs & their very diverse natures & personalities. The poodle is the breed I fell in love with 47 years ago & my main choice but I have had other breeds. I like either very small or very large dogs. Nice balanced bone structure & not too bulky in build. Flat faces/noses don't appeal to me, or long bodies & short legs or big heads so I suppose my choice is based on the look to a large degree. All breeds are trainable, some just require more work & expertise than others & most make good companions. The couch potato doesn't really do much for me in a dog, I prefer silly fun with my dogs but I could love a couch potato if it had no one to love it. Stubborn & willful is hard work to train but I could deal with it if I had to. However being older now I would avoid that choice. I like all dogs & animals really. The crocodile being the only creature that does not fascinate me in any way.

Crated dog outside not good. Snake season & they are really on the move here at present. Lots of cats & dogs in the vets with snake bite.

5 spayed bitches, at various ages, no incontinence at all. Swings & roundabouts really because if a small percent become incontinent, allowing for the fact that old dogs of either sex can get this desexed or not What percent get Pyometra if they are not desexed ? Comparison risk figures would be interesting. Studies/statistics can also be variable depending on who did the study on how many dogs. Not always an accurate reflection. It really is a case of weighing pros & cons for the particular dog & life style & circumstances.

Know red back spiders can make them very sick & be fatal. About 10 years ago in my other house I let the poodles out for last piddles about 1am. Completely paved yard with a pergola & a few pot plants. One did not come in, strange, so I went & got her. She seemed to be limping but couldn't see anything on her leg & nothing she could jump from. About 5 minutes later she vomited then had a fit. Rushed to emergency vet & she was treated for suspected spider bite. Ok a while later. Next morning I had a good look around & under a gas pipe that ran up a wall on the back veranda there was huge red back. Also know someone who found their cat dead in the outside run. Autopsy revealed a red back in the oesophagus (sp?) Cat had swallowed it & spider bit.

The tests disturb me too. While we do need to know it is safe would anyone be stupid enough to give pups 7 times the recommended dose or give to pregnant females at over 4 times the dose so many times. I can understand a one off test at double the dose, people can make a mistake but no one would dose in the tested amounts or so often. The dogs & puppies must have suffered so much. Many substances that are safe in the small dose would be toxic in constant overuse & big doses including natural substances. The rabbit test of baby shampoo makes me vomit. Who would hold their baby & tip 100 times the normal use of shampoo in their eyes every day. Needless & useless suffering for so many animals.

I can't see how this will make any difference. May make the pet shop look good but that's all. The public knowing the name of the person or place the puppies come from will not mean anything to them. They have no way of knowing the conditions of the dogs there or how they were raised. Whether the breeder is registered, commercial or BYB will give no indication. Some pet shops do not visit the "breeder" of the pups they sell. The pups are brought in to them. They have to record name, address & sight ID of person selling. That is all. Some people think a council permit for a breeding establishment means they are professional & knowledgeable breeders & must care for the dogs properly. Many puppy farms are council approved. Re post about rules in the UK. They are also having a problem with puppy farms, particularly in Wales at present, so this does not work there either. There is no way of making pet shop sales all ok & ethical. The only way to buy a puppy is to go to the persons home/kennel & see for yourself the conditions, anyone can say anything on paper, documents or the internet. Or get a rescue pup & take a chance but save a life.

I lost my 10 year cat to cancer in 2009. In 2010 I lost her 11 year old sister to cancer. With my first girl I found a lump, as tiny as a grain or rice & suspected. It grew slowly & then she had a biopsy. It was malignant. I had time to watch her & see how she was. When her appetite went down & had changes in behaviour & the lumps became more lumps & grew quicker I had her PTS. Before she got very sick. Her sisters came up rapidly & grew huge quickly. It was aggressive. I had her PTS 4 days later. Knowing how people suffer with terminal cancer & the great pain & knowing animals often do not show their pain & can not tell us how they feel I chose to let my girls go before they suffered to the degree that I know was coming. I did not want to see my girls getting weak, sick, thin & not know how much they suffered. Cancer is cruel & painful & if no cure or surgery is available the end stages are not worth putting them through. It is always painful. I felt I would be keeping them going for me, not for their sake. Rotten, lousy, gut wrenching decision to have to make. I felt I had killed them, well I did but better with a quick injection than the alternative. So basically I PTS before they get really sick when its hopeless.

This link may help http://www.tenset.co.uk/doggen/indexus.html

Message on my answering machine xmas day when I got home for wanting a poodle & left a phone number. Ignored. I don't keep them on the shelf for last minute on the day present. Next day person phones. Can't help but they ask questions & price of my pups. Quote price & they say too much. I point out that pups are desexed. Oh don't need desexed my boss owns & pet shop & gets it done cheap by the vet was the reply. Say I don't approve of pet shop sales of animals & I can't help. Oh we don't sell pups or kittens. There is a big pork pie somewhere in this.

I was disgusted. My friend told me she had bought a popular xmas C D & was playing it & this song came on & made her all sad. Its called Lonely Pup In A Xmas Shop. Link to words http://www.songlyrics.com/adam-faith/a-lon...as-shop-lyrics/ In the current climate of trying to encourage people not to buy from pet shops or to buy pets for xmas presents I cannot understand why the makers of this C D have put this song in there. I will be contacting them to express my disgust at their thoughtlessness. The C D is called Now over 40 classic xmas hits. I hope no one buys this nice sounding gift as a present for anyone.

Nothing to be done. If the dog was returned to you as having a fault & not suitable for breeding, if this was the conditions of sale something could be worked out but The dog has sired a litter, & should not have been bred from, therefore pups sold & kept, the breeder has compensation. The mating & DNA test was not your responsibility. You were not offered a choice of puppy or even told about them. If a dog is obtained for breeding & is bred from one can't in fairness ask for compensation after, especially if the problem was known beforehand.

I always try to put virgin studs to experienced bitches. Not always possible but easier. The dog will figure it out but may take a couple of days to get there. Help for dog not needed, only be there & help if things go amiss & don't let dog exhaust himself. I find that once they actually get the knack 1st time the next time they are much better & quicker to get the girl.

Its so hard because we have more knowledge, more available tests & the internet. We learn as we grow. I also knew very little about health issues in my breed at 1st, about 18 years ago, did know a fair bit about cats & dogs & had some knowledge of the standard, knew some shocking breeders & bred with a couple of dogs that I would not dream of doing so now. The more we try for perfection & to get everything right the harder it gets. I don't long for the old days. Think its good we are now more aware, can health test & although frustrating & expensive when things don't go to plan I enjoy the challenge of getting it right & trying to improve.

When breeders sell an undesexed dog & have no desexing policy in place or do not follow up in this they already know the dog may be bred from. It happens all the time. Just means the pups can't be registered or their pedigree get out, although a computer generated copy may be shown or given There is absolutely no way of stopping this & nothing the breeder can do. They don't own the dog now. Suppose the question really is what does one hope to achieve by telling the breeder ? Is there any point ?

Guess I was just worry as I know he should be confined at times. But he seems to be pretty well behaved outside of the crate.. and will go in there when he wants alone time. Is it ok to give him that much freedom? Its ok to give him total freedom. Dogs do not lead a normal life living in a crate. He may have to be confined at times, illness, small child pest visitors, workmen etc or if he is a stud or show dog. Should be confined does not come into it really. He only needs to be comfortable going in a crate in case you have to ever crate him for a particular reason. Pet dogs do not need to go in a crate because they should be confined, they shouldn't be unless there is a reason or issue. There is no such thing as too much freedom. No discipline is another matter but discipline isn't reliant on a crate.

I can see what they hope to achieve by mandatory desexing of pet dogs but permits, inspections, licenses for the small average hobby breed/show people what is that going to achieve ? The people with a few cats or dogs who breed occasionally, stick to the code of ethics & most registered cat breeders desex kittens before they leave for new homes anyway, are not the largest part of the problem re welfare, stray & dumping issues. For small hobby breeders it would mean getting rid of all our old pets when they are past their use by date or stopping doing it. The expenses & hassle involved for a hobby would not be worth it all. That would leave just the commercial large scale enterprises. How is this going to help ? I can't understand at all.

No minimum age for males in SA. Phoned last week & asked this question as my 5 month old Ricard was having a blast trying to hump my 2 girls in season. The girls were good naturedly skipping away & evading him which he thought was a great game. Keeping him away now as the poor little guy may be in trouble if he managed to tie Fertility can kick in as young as 7 or 8 months in toy breeds, not sure in larger breeds.

This is something that you will just have to work out. Others will have varying opinions. Wait until you both know where you are going to be living when you do split properly & assess it then. Only you really know if OH would care for them properly when you are not around to do it all for him :D Sounds like you are going to be fair & do what is best for the dogs too. Hard situation.

Smacking is not working so give that one up. Diet & desexing will not solve the problem either. Dog training will 5 month old pups are lively,excitable & pups do go through the biting stage. All normal. Your breed is strong, boisterous, can be willful but are also very responsive to training. Post your area, or area convenient for you to get to & ask for recommendations for a good obedience class you can go to. Once you start & your pup responds, enjoys & you get better control you will enjoy your dog much more. A little time spent going to classes will benefit you both so much in the long term.

May seem heartless & not impressive only having the dogs for 2 months but we don't know the story behind how or why they got these dogs. The ad is honest in respect of letting people know what to expect & about the dogs generally & they seem particular about the home. Some ads for dogs just don't give a damn, its just take the dog away & they will lie to get rid of it. Typical is poodles & all poodle crosses are allergy free, only need a shave every year or so, don't mind living in the back yard & being alone all day & other such garbage. This ad may not be "nice" but it's honest & tries to make the buyer aware.

This does need to be made very specific & clear.