cassie

Yes it does say only for use on medium/long coats. I suppose any coat that you'd normally use a slicker brush on. By the way, you don't have to pay the RRP, you can ALWAYS talk them down We ended up getting the Dyson vaccuum cleaner with an extra 4 years warranty (on top of the normal two years, so total of six) plus the Dyson Groom for $100 LESS THAN the advertised price of the vaccuum cleaner alone! Massive saving.

Do you mean are the bristles sharp? Some slickers are horribly scratchy I agree, but not this one. I made sure I tested it on my own skin before I bought it. The lady at Harvey Norman thought I was a little crazy but oh well!

When is it? We might come along

I used to have a Dyson vaccuum cleaner, but lost it when I split with the ex. My new OH and I decided it was time to buy another yesterday, so off we went to Harvey Norman to purchase. I was delighted to also find the new (at least I think it's new?) Dyson Groom tool. It's great! Attach it to your Dyson and it's like a slicker brush, then as you groom the hair that comes out gets sucked up straight away, no hairballs flying around everywhere to then clean up afterwards I love it! Zephyr was a little unsure of it at first, but plenty of treats and praise and then he was ok, and it did a great job, sucked out heaps of dead coat. Just wondering if anyone else has this tool? And also starting the thread to say that I highly recommend it! Dyson Groom

Oooooh I'm adding to my favourites list! I'd forgotten about Chow and Vizsla puppies! And I am not generally a big fan of Boxers but gosh those smiling Boxer babies are just devine! Just adding a couple Saint pics, not that there was ever any doubt over their cuteness

Damn, pics not working

Good taste! :D Personally I think any of the giant breeds make the most adorable puppies. They are so BIG yet so incredibly clumsy, all paws and ears and gangly legs, ahhhhh :D Throw in a few wrinkles and excess skin and what could be cuter!!! Some others that I think also rate highly are Dalmatians, Basset Hounds, Pointers and Corgis. Toy breed puppies don't do much for me to be honest.

Didn't see it, but wish I had, what a nice change

I like Rebus for it's originality also Although anything would suit him, what a spunk!

This

My understanding of this is that poodles are unsuited for guide dog work as they are often highly strung and need far more mental stimulation than labs do. That's the case with most poodles I've had anything to do with anyway, labs are unruly when young but settle well into this role with age. Someone with more poodle experience surely would be able to clarify if this is the case though but I would assume there was a signficantly good reason for the cross being attempted in the first place as if it were that simple it would have been done well before now. I know poodle fan has posted pics before of a poodle in the role of a guide dog but since this is the exception rather than the rule obviously there is a significant barrier to the breeds suitability for this particular job, both are retrieving breeds but that's about where the simialrity ends. Thanks for your response. I would have thought that thousands and thousands of Poodles would be UNsuitable sure, but maybe the odd couple from certain lines would be ok to be trained as guide dogs? Just like Labs, I've met so many that could never perform in such a role, but then the ones you see that do are simply amazing Like any breed, certain individuals are better suited to perform the role for which they were bred. Maybe with careful and selective breeding (as is done with Labs) then some Poodles could be deemed suitable? Or maybe I'm just talking cr@p, I really don't know, just throwing out the idea!

The origin of the breed did have that in mind - the two breeds were crossed by Wally Conran for a blind woman who lived in Hawaii and wanted a guide dog, but had a husband who was allergic to dogs. Conran's aim was to breed a dog with the size and temprament of a labrador but with the hypoallergenic and non-coat-shedding aspects of a poodle - so all the benefit of a guide dog, but without the sneezes. I truly don't understand this, couldn't a Standard Poodle be trained as a guide dog? Poodles are highly intelligent dogs, aren't they? (I'm honestly asking the question, I haven't ever had much to do with them, but I always thought they were one of the more clever breeds.) Ok so Labs are the "traditional" breed to use as a guide dog, but many other breeds have been used too, why not a PURE Poodle?

Sorry to contribute to the OT discussion, but does anyone remember why they decided to cross the "Lebarnese" on Extraordinary Dogs? Couldn't a purebred labrador or Bernese mountain dog do the job the Lebarnese is doing? EXACTLY!!!! Stupid name, stupid cross

I'd be interested to meet one of these dogs from China. They sound very different to the TMs of Australia.

That pic of him and your son (I assume) is just adorable Finally your wait is over!!! Congrats on getting him home, may you have many happy and fun years together. He looks like quite the character

I'd probably go for a male :rolleyes: Generally speaking, one of each sex or even two boys get along better than two girls do. But having said that, there are plenty of two female dog households that get along just fine.

Some giant breeds, and particularly some lines, continue filling out until they are four or five. Your breeder would be the best person to ask about their own lines. As for breeding him, WHY do you want to?

Great point, thankyou for that! Unfortunately this dog I love is an import, and as I am only after a pet I won't be importing a pup from his same lines. But thanks for what you've written as that all makes sense, and yes I understand that any pup he produces will only be "half" of him, and may not be like him at all necessarily. Thanks!

Yep, definitely putting my feelers out at the moment! I'm down to one dog and he needs a mate! New pup will be a Saint Bernard, but it won't be until the second half of this year. But ahhhhhh I want one NOW PLEASE!!! :D

Thanks to all for your advice. I see, fair enough. I would NEVER ask someone to do that though. Yes thankyou, I think this is what I will do I should have clarified, I would like to have a relationship with the breeder who uses this dog over their bitch also, not JUST the stud owner. It's just that I've found the dog first this time. But I would never expect his owner to say "You HAVE to sell Cassie a puppy" as I would like to think (as someone else also mentioned) that I could be seen as a good enough prospective owner to "earn" myself a place in their mind as a puppy buyer anyway, friend of the stud owner or not. Thanks again for the replies, you've all been helpful and I will ask my new friend to put me in touch with whichever breeder uses her beautiful boy!

I WANT A PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a stud dog owner, do you have any contact/connection with puppy purchasers? Do you have any say in who the owner of the bitch sells their pups to? The reason I ask is that I have found a dog who I LOVE and have contacted his owner, arranged to meet him, and the owner and I have been emailing back and forth for some time now, she is just the loveliest and most friendly lady. He is still relatively young, but will be appropriately health tested very soon, and other breeders have already approached her in the hope of using him over their bitches. I just wonder if my connection to the stud dog owner means anything? Like can she say to the breeder who own's the bitch "I want you to sell this person a puppy" ? Or does the responsibility of housing puppies lie solely with the owner of the bitch? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want the stud owner to say "You can ONLY use my dog IF this person gets a puppy" or anything silly or extreme like that, just wondering if she gets any say in where the pups end up or not? (Other than perhaps her wanting to keep one for herself.) I have never been in this boat before. I have always been recommended a breeder and then built my relationship with them, and then got a puppy pretty much from whichever dogs they happened to be putting together next, I have never fallen in love with a particular dog FIRST. Thanks for any replies.

Are you over the Giant Fluffy idea?

A reference before they would even CONSIDER selling a pup? ;) Sounds a little harsh to me. Unless it's a breed only for a very experienced owner? :D

That's excellent! :D