ellz

There are some lovely shoes out there and agree, as long as they fit well and have suitable soles, they don't need to be lace ups. The current fashion for the Mary Jane type shoes with elastic is BRILLIANT for dog exhibitors. I've got a couple of pairs of these and they are awesome. I'm always on the lookout now for the same style in different colours. Rivers also do an excellent range of "walking" shoes in similar styles, as do Grosby and of course the wonderful Skechers. When I first started showing, the fashion WAS for white runners, or alternatively, white or nude "nurse's" shoes but we have come a long way since then!

pics were sent privately to Aziah, but as you asked SOOOOOOO nicely...I'll send them your way too!

Definitely agree, that's why it is so very much a case-by-case situation. It's also an assumption thing. I don't mind helping somebody out if they have something come up that is totally unavoidable, for example long-planned family vacations, overseas trips, medical issues etc but if somebody just isn't "ready" then considering most will have had a VERY long time to actually prepare to me that is a sign that they may NEVER be "ready" for the puppy. And I also don't like it when you are making plans to send a puppy to somebody and then suddenly there are issues about their availability which had never been mentioned previously and then apparently they are doing YOU a favour by taking the puppy at the scheduled time for it to leave home. Heck, I'm not a boarding kennel and I will ALWAYS be keeping at least ONE of the littermates so whilst it may NOT be an issue to have an extra underfoot, sometimes it will be. I may have plans of my own, or space restrictions or it may be a particularly busy time of the year etc etc. To ASSuME is a dangerous thing, as we all know!

;) Except in my case it is 4.....3 Terrorists and Bad Alice!

See, it's still possible for a 23 year veteran to throw out a curly one! ;)

Isn't it wonderful the way we speak of our puppies. Prospective parents would probably run a mile if they heard us! ;) At least MY crew had the good sense to be born on a REAL date! :D

Definitely a scam and the only place for it is the round filing cabinet!

I've used Melbourne twice and have no complaints.

I think many people would go March 1, but as it's February 28 according to ANKC rules, then that's what it is. It would be interesting to see a show secretary try to NOT accept the entries (if they even bothered to check the dates that is).

You sucker for punishment Leanne I know.....I really need my head read. It's all Mr Ellz' fault if it goes pearshaped!

Oh DOG, tell me about it. 2 dogs and 1 bitch. Jimmy, Roger and Flame (pics on their way to you).

Well Staffords are the Peter Pan of dogs so that is kind of appropriate methinks!

Mr Ellz caught me in an incredibly weak moment! It's all HIS fault!

Well there you go Sandra! I pre-empted your possible question and you are now a wiser person for it.....not that you need any more wisdom....you already know more than most people anyway!

It's not something I've ever encountered before unfortunately (or maybe thank goodness ). My girls have usually been more considerate. And I won't name names, but on the rare occasions there has been an "unusual" date for whelping or puppy show age, certain breeders that I know have fudged the birthdate to make things easier. Highly against the rules but who is/was to know unless they were told or actually present? Of course, it is made more difficult these days when we like to share our whelpings online and give lots of photographic evidence in places like DOL or on email lists and Facebook.

It's all Koda's fault for giving me 9 cherubs to agonise over! As it is, I've just broken my own rules and we are now keeping THREE!

ok you got me I think that the bitch should have thought about being nicer and made things much easier by having them on the 28th October or 1st November I think you mean December!! But yes I agree entirely! Mind you, considering it was an OOPS breeding in the first place, there was no way the bitch was going to cooperate with what ANYBODY wanted! :whee:

Hmmm....that's interesting. Thanks AshleyB! Which effectively means that IF there happens to be a show on the 28th Feb, my friend can enter her babies even though they aren't technically 3 months old. I think I'll get her to print out the relevant part of the regs and take them with her if she decides to show the puppies then. That way she is covered if anybody gets narky with her.

Yep, that's logical for THIS year, but what about other years where the OFFICIAL show day isn't as easily worked around? IYKWIM

Thank you. I feel marginally better now. Thank DOG it appears that all of my Stafford puppies have homes to go to. I'm over the home-selection process for now!!

Lol I was going to reply 30th of Feb but there is no 30th Feb Got me stumped See my dilemma!

OK, in 23 years I have NEVER actually enountered this particular question with regard to show age. A friend has asked me and I had NO idea what to tell her. Puppy was born 30 November....what date can it OFFICIALLY be shown according to ANKC rules and regs? Sounds easy? Do the maths on your fingers and let me know what you come up with. Remember....3 CALENDAR months...not weeks!

You could try taking her off the Eukanuba for a start. For all the advertising, it isn't a good food and if I were a dog, I would be turning MY nose up at it as well. She could quite safely be on two meals per day at that age. Do you leave the food down or take it away between meals? Put it down, leave it for a maximum of 15 minutes and then take it away. Some dogs do go a bit funny about their food at this age and it can be simply a matter of staying firm and hardening your heart. If however she isn't drinking well or is not acting like "herself" then she needs to see a vet.

If it is prearranged, no worries. If it is a last-minute thing then I expect a contribution for food and my time. This came up just yesterday. One of my puppy people was worried because they are going on holidays in a few weeks. The new "Dad" doesn't want to go on holidays at all now because he would rather stay home with his puppy, but "Mum" has insisted the holiday is still on and they didn't know what they should do with regards to the puppy. I immediately offered for her to stay here with her littermates that will still be here until they get home again and get settled. She is flying interstate as well, so the extra time will be an advantage for all concerned.

Noooo! Whoever told you that lie? *goes off to delete thread about her dogs escaping...* The day my first Shiba got his title was actually the first day he proved his catlike features and that he too had nine lives! He escaped from the yard just before we were ready to leave for the show. We discovered him on the main road, happily running down the centre, leaping the white lines end-to-end! He was absolutely oblivious to the chaos he was causing and luckily couldn't read my mind or he would have kept running!