ellz

Yes, if you actually KNOW about them. Not all conditions are known beforehand and it is easy to be wise in hindsight. And there are not DNA tests for every condition known to man. And as some of the more "modern" breeds evolve, issues will arise that probably weren't previously known about. There is still some responsibility on the part of the purchaser to ensure that they are happy with the level of testing (or not) that a breeder is doing. No breeder is given a crystal ball when they start breeding dogs. If only that were the case.....

In a perfect world there would be mandatory testing of health for breeds which have "known" health issues. However not every health issue has a reliable test and some issues have only partial tests (PRA in American Cockers for example). Until then, there is only visual testing for some breeds. But at the end of the day, the responsibility lies with the breeder and the potential purchaser. The breeder should be able to represent themselves with integrity and the purchaser needs to ensure that they ask the right questions, look at the right bits of paper and then use any knowledge to its best advantage. Legislation will never take the place of ethics and morality and they shouldn't be interchangeable.

You can ring the canine controlling body in the breeder's home state and ask.

My setup...but this is especially cruel and unusual....not at all recommended unless you want to be washing your bedding every couple of days!!

:laugh: I hear you. I was going to call my next puppy Iris no matter what anyway. And hopefully she'll get my first choice as her registered name as well. There's a story behind the name really....bit soppy....but special. My dad passed away in May and I had the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls played as he left the church. It is some money that he had squirrelled away that is enabling me to purchase Iris so this is kind of a tribute and a thank you to my dad.

Reminds me of a dinner I was at a few years ago. One of the women said to me "oh you've got dogs, you'd LOVE my new puppy. I have a Cockerpoo". Mr Ellz nearly fell off his chair when I replied "I pick that stuff up in my backyard every day........"

Ohhhhhhhh !.! Iris is beautiful :-) Thanks Aso. I'm very excited. I've been waiting a long time for this little girl. Her two big furbrothers are going to love her! :)

Oh dear. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Would have hoped that the breeder (who I know) would have done a little more homework before she placed the puppy there. To be honest, I wouldn't have...........

Add me to the thread too! :) Everybody, meet Iris! :D

Sounds like a nomination here hehe....wouldn't be his first! I nominated him myself a couple of years ago! :) But anyway, I'm adding another vote to his tally. I'm at the point now where I don't think I would get anybody else to take care of shipping my animals anywhere (domestically OR internationally).

Am waiting for my new puppy now. I was asked to provide a few names for her. Hoping I get my first preference but would be equally happy with my 2nd or 3rd. I personally name my puppies with a litter theme, sometimes based upon the name of the parents, but it could be anything. I've had my Jimmy Barnes/Cold Chisel litter, my popular music litter, my U2 litter, my Rolling Stones litter and my INXS litter. I've also used Moon, Alice in Wonderland, poisonous plants, chocolates, Heaven, Angels and a few others. I have a little notebook and when I see or hear a name that I like, I write it down. You should see my list after 26 years!

Look at some of the comfort brands like hush puppies etc. there are some nice looking flat styles out there if you look around. A pair of basic black or brown shoes shouldn't be too hard to find. The other thing to do is make sure you sit down as much as possible. I was getting sore feet too until I realized too much nervous energy saw me standing up all the time. I now make an effort to sit so my feet survive the day. And good quality insoles are your friend as well. I can't speak highly enough of mine....they absorb impact and perspiration so there is less movement inside the shoes and for me, less of the horrible burning foot sensation. On the subject of flat black shoes, I have just found two pairs of flat shoes with elastic over the foot, both look a little like Skechers and have non-slip soles at KMart for $12 each. So far, they're excellent. I've been wearing them casually to see how they go and so far so good. Acid test will be next week after three days of showing dogs in a 5 day period.

The other thing is to make it clear. For example, don't allow your puppy to chew an old Dunlop Volley and then complain when he decides to chew your Manolo's. He doesn't know the difference......

OH.SHIT! Not at all what I wanted to hear. Shek, if there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to call on me.

The possibility of climbers and added stability is why I suggest adding some of the Bunnings panels to the top of the pen as a "lid". As for strength, I have Staffordshire Bull Terriers and have had the same Bunnings compost cages now for some 3 plus years so they aren't flimsy by any stretch of the imagination. I also have a baby gate dividing the house into dog "go" and "no go" areas (ie, out of the kitty litter in the bathroom and away from the wicker baskets that I brought home from my parent's home that their two dogs had apparently watered). Bought it from Target, under $50 as compared to the Bunnings and K & D ones which were in excess of $50 each and then you had to purchase extensions if the area was any wider than about 70cm. The Target one extends to about 102cm (my hall doorway is 89cm so I only had to use one of the extension pieces). I do recommend pens highly for when you cannot directly supervise, but they don't actually teach the puppy any real lessons. For this you need to give the puppy free rein so it can be taught what not to do, allowed to do the naughty stuff but be re-educated with the good stuff at the same time. If you know what I mean.

I have found that for bigger puppies and for indoor use, the wire compost pens from Bunnings are excellent. They aren't expensive either. I purchased two, used a couple of extra panels to make the pen larger and the remaining panels were cable tied as "lids" which also helped them to keep their size, shape and strength.

For some months now Dogs Tas has added to their code of ethics a clause about behaviour online. And to the best of my knowledge at this stage there has been at least one person "pinged" on this.

I've started making mine again too. I've got a nice supply of kangaroo lace bling leads for both my Stafford and my American Cocker and a couple put aside for my new puppy when it arrives as well.

In the righthands, there is absolutely no reason why a hand raised puppy cannot be every bit as healthy as one reared by a canine mum.

I hear you. My boy Roger jumped on me from behind one day and I hit the deck. Couldn't get up again. Somehow or other, I'd managed to slip a disc in my back. That wasn't fun at all! My day-to-day "love bites" however are bruises from his tail on my legs, bruises on my thighs, belly and boobs from where he lays on me and his elbows dig in and another of the memorable ones was the day he headbutted me to give me a kiss and I put my tooth through my lip!! Reminds me of a song.....love hurts!! :laugh:

*sigh* I think my boys are broken. They indulge more in "kissy face"....

I showed the Lowchen on one of my 3mm lace leads as well. Perfectly fine enough for a Papillon. Although I was braiding one in 2.7mm and that wasn't really that much finer when braided up either.

To be honest, that'll be years becks. His saddle will take the longest. I've never been one to scissor or clip backcoats so I'm going to have to make do for now and then work on growing it back my way over the long term. I'm certainly a lot happier with his hair now than I was. Bathing every 3 days or so, keeping the hair hydrated and feeding him well are paying dividends. I remember one of my mentor's mantras was "hair should be brED for, fED for and carED for!"

In Off Topic Marketplace and also on DOL classifieds. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/242345-liberty-ultraforce-dryer-for-sale/page__pid__5980070#entry5980070

I was just going to say that Steve. Many people aren't aware that each and every season your bitch has, her body and the hormones it creates are telling her she is pregnant, the only difference is that if she isn't mated, the "pregnancy" (ie the season) comes to an end more quickly. And each and every season she has slams her body harder and harder whether she is mated or not and cause more and more damage. This is why many repro experts now advocate back-to-back-to-back breedings and then immediate speying. It is the canine controlling bodies who are going against the medical information. And of course, human "ethics" (or not) which condemn people who are in fact potentially doing the right thing by their bitches.