ellz

That might be the case with Urban Dog Training (whatever that is) but I can assure you that the average "suburban" "FREE" puppy class would be no different to those classes held by many veterinary practices which are nothing but trouble for all concerned. Think a group of mixed puppies, all ages and sizes with owners of varying dog knowledge in a small space with generally one, possibly two people in charge. Many Joe Q's who have no idea what is happening probably report wonderful things, but for those of us who have had experience with such things as more experienced dog people....we tend to run a mile.

I think the puppy in this case is well aware that he is a lower-ranking member of the pack (as he should be) so whenever he feels frightened or unsure, he is looking to the other members of the pack for reassurance. He is getting this and their attention by barking. So in order to say to him, that the pack is not concerned by whatever is frightening you because it really ISN'T that scary but that your barking isn't going to get our attention either, he needs to be ignored. Sooner or later he will "get" that if the pack aren't worried, then he has no need to be concerned either and that he will get ample attention if he is a good puppy and sits quietly without making a fuss because barking unneccessarily will have NO effect whatsoever. I HOPE I can convey what I'm trying to get across.....I know what I'm saying and could probably tell you better if we were face to face. It's just that my literacy and expression are failing me badly today.

My concern with that would be the risk of damage to her neck by the collar if there was a sudden amount of strain placed upon it. Your hand would be fine with a stronger, probably wider lead, but just think of what might happen if she quickly jerked on the collar and it tightened around her throat????? Oh good point. Grr, back to square one with the collars situation. I feel your pain. It can be really difficult to find "everyday" collars suitable for walking, especially for showdogs of various breeds that can suffer from coat damage from most collars.

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I think there is a new puppy in the pipeline. As for free puppy playgroups....to be honest, I think you'd get what you paid for. A puppy "free-for-all" with little supervision, probably run by people with not a lot of experience. These usually end with big mistakes being made and puppy temperaments ruined. I would certainly think twice before either taking part or recommending them to any of my puppy people.

In this case, it sounds as though the owners don't consider themselves to be pandering to him, but the dog is still accepting the rebuke for barking as reassurance (crazy as it sounds). They may just have to weather it and ignore the barking (as difficult as it can be). Sounds like whether they sweet talk him or tell him off, all he is doing is craving the attention and he knows that by barking, he will get it. I would say that it should be "business as usual" and keep the dog in his usual routine with normal amounts of praise and encouragement for jobs well done, but ignoring him completely if he starts to carry on and look for reassurance.

There are positives and negatives to all forms of social networking, be they online or IRL. Many people seem to use FB as a place to advertise their dogs but I see this as being no different to advertising in magazines or newspapers. The difference is that you don't have to have a healthy advertising budget to afford it so it is available to everybody who cares to use it in that way.

My concern with that would be the risk of damage to her neck by the collar if there was a sudden amount of strain placed upon it. Your hand would be fine with a stronger, probably wider lead, but just think of what might happen if she quickly jerked on the collar and it tightened around her throat?????

Of course you can, provided they are a suitable strength for your dog and your dog isn't one who pulls and tugs on the lead all the time. Most show leads, whether paracord or leather are quite strong, but could be hard on your hands if your dog isn't well trained. You also need to take into account that by law, you must have your dog under control at all times and some leads might snap if there was sudden strain placed upon them. That said, I walk my dogs on my show leads all the time...don't know about other people.

PM me. I'm not entered for anything for the forseeable future and don't get to shows for a look any more because it is just too far to be bothered going without a dog!

My OKS one is definitely the lightest one I have owned and is incredibly robust, but my first trolley is going on 20 years old now and although heavy and awkward, is still going strong.

From the ANKC rules and regulations. http://www.ankc.org.au/Regulations-1.aspx Use of words in the name of a dog: 6.1.1 The following are not to be used in the name of a dog: “imp” hyphens apostrophes Roman Numerals However, numbers written as a word are permissible provided it is clear that it does not represent a numerical sequence. (Admin. 07/98) (Amended 05/02) 6.1.2 The registered prefix of a breeder must be attached to the name of every animal bred by them and such prefix shall be deemed to be part of the name. No name, including the prefix, shall exceed twenty-four (24) spaces to be used as letters or spaces. This will be increased to thirty (30) spaces when the ANKC Computer is modified to take thirty (30) spaces. (05/00) (10/06, 6.1.2) - (Implementation still pending) 6.1.3 No word that is in the nature of a known prefix and no prefix except the breeder’s registered prefix may be used in a dog’s name. (10/07, 7.4)

No punctuation allowed.

In my eyes, I class the risk as being comparable with women who have Implanon inserted for contraceptive purposes....you do what you need to do for lifestyle management choices and IF there is a secondary such as cancer then that is really collateral damage.

It isn't a new trend at all. The idea has been around for many years. Many mistakenly think that "hybrid vigour" is a good thing.

ABSOLUTELY agree with this Jed! I provide a VERY comprehensive puppy guide with every puppy. If read, it should answer many of those "oh shit" questions that occur to a puppy purchaser in the first few days/weeks of puppy ownership and I am USUALLY there to back it up if they need my reassurance and the "human" touch. But there have been times when a litter has been carefully slotted in between real life events and I haven't been as available as I would have liked to have been. But we've survived to tell the tale. I just think it important for both sides of the equation to understand that everybody is human and that "shit happens" that is beyond human control. Oh to be living a perfect life in a perfect environment with completely controllable circumstances.!!

To be honest, I'd be making it so that they weren't your friends any more.

On there now sweetpea....inbox me!

I almost hate to say this but he sounds very much like my little Purple girl last year. In the end, at 3 weeks, I let her cross the bridge. The effort to live was just too much for her. Until 3 weeks she was a normal, but slowish puppy in my eyes and I was tubing her and stimulating her and keeping her warm when I wasn't holding her onto her mother to nurse. At 3 weeks, I took photos of Pink and Purple and the difference was astounding. There were two possibilities...one that she had a porto-hepatic shunt or the second that she had taken in too much fluid in the birth canal and her lungs had scarified which was making it impossible for her to absorb enough oxygen to do everything a puppy needs to do...ie feed AND grow and not one or the other. She was vigorous enough but just not developing as a puppy should. It was like having a couple of week old puppy in a 3 week of age body. Broke my heart to let her go, but she was dehydrated and just not "right". Pink at 3 weeks Purple at 3 weeks

Absolutely. Dogs are very much like small humans in that they need consistency and firm, but fair, boundaries. It could be that the "goal posts" are set in different places in the different environments and that is causing confusion.

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A lot of the success (or failure) in ultrasounds depend upon the quality of the machine and the skill of the operator. Part of the reason diagnostic ultrasound is essentially useless late in pregnancy is because of the size of the puppies and the inability to count them accurately. For counting, xray is advised and also for final confirmation of a failed pregnancy because after a point, skeleton is really the most conclusive evidence of puppies or lack thereof.

Yeah and in a perfect world, even a breeder has "shit happens" moments! Breeders ARE human after all. I've done the forget my membership bit, a couple of times and yes, on one occasion I only remembered because I was going to register a litter of puppies. I hadn't been showing and the date had completely escaped me. I renewed when I put the litter registration in. Easy! And my Stafford litter from November didn't get their papers for quite a few weeks after their puppies went home. Why? Because I was slow paying the stud fee and didn't have the signed documentation from the stud dog owner and more importantly because I was choosing MY puppies for ME and the rest were going on Limited Registration and I wanted to take my time. I guess the big difference is that I was still accessible to my puppy people and I kept them in the loop in the same way that they had been informed during the pregnancy and early puppyhood before their puppies joined their families....at LEAST weekly via email and telephone....leaning more towards the email. I still don't think that dropping off the radar for two weeks is a prime punishable by Kangaroo Court though, given that the breeder did say the papers could take FOUR weeks!! And editing to add: Until a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't financial for this year either. But that was a bit different because I really hadn't decided whether or not I was actually GOING to renew it.

And forgot #8. Staffords cannot sit BESIDE you on the couch, they would much prefer for you to move over so that they can get into your skin WITH you!

LOVE it! May I add? 5. Their heads do not crack 6. They do not 'lock on' with their jaws Please do!!! And I should probably add: 7. They will NOT eat your baby or children and are more likely to cause death by licking!!