ellz

Personally I'd rule a Cocker out. Unless they are in a position to do their own grooming, and the reality is that MOST pet homes with children don't after the initial settling in period, the coat will become an issue. I would also say that a Cocker would be more suited to an indoor mostly home for that reason. Outdoor dogs will grow more hair and what they grow will get dirty quickly and if the adults don't like dirty dog smell, they would soon get tired of dirty Cocker.

A Stafford would be suitable for the older children under most circumstances PROVIDED it were well trained. People need to remember that a Stafford from a good breeder which has been reared properly will not START something (but most would not let something go unfinished). The standard states "bold, fearless and totally reliable". My biggest concern for a Stafford would be the mostly outside situation. Staffords NEED human companionship. It's a not-negotiable thing. The vast majority of Staffords that become problem children are those which are not with their humans for most of their days/nights. Yeah, there are the minority who cope admirably with being outdoors all the time and don't become a problem, but as a breeder, I wouldn't be letting my dogs go into such a situation anyway.

They're only kidding themselves. They can fool the judges, can fool other people, but can't fool Mother Nature!

I was very thankful that the ANKC computer was down and I decided not to show him as a Baby I can tell you! :D That over there <<<<<<<<<<< is the same dog about 3 years later! He came out of the uglies very nicely!

Oh doG! Tell me about it. Can you imagine what we thought when we realised that we owned THIS at 6 months of age? Thankfully, 4 months later....he looked like THIS!!

I would say this is a very much a breed dependent thing. I've seen bites in a few breeds go wrong after 6 months of age, even to as old as 18 months of age. As for the rest. A breeder doesn't have a crystal ball on which to depend. They can place a puppy in a show home as a "show prospect" or as they told your friend, as a "promising puppy". That doesn't mean that Mother Nature is going to play ball and that the puppy will ultimately turn out as a show dog which is really a very subjective term anyway. I think every breeder/exhibitor will tell you about the dogs they see in the show ring which they wouldn't be seen on the end of the lead with. I would think it wouldn't be fair to completely discount the puppy until it has reached the end of the "usual" growth and development period for the breed and the individual bloodlines (some lines in Staffords for example bloom early, yet others look like nothing on earth until they are 12 - 18 months old or even later sometimes) and that the breeder should hopefully be a resource that would be useful with this type of information.

Hmmm, I know this would be referring to cropping, but wouldn't ear taping fall under this category as well? (just curious) Technically no, because it is non-invasive, ethically....well that depends upon which part of the fence you sit on.

Did you happen to read any of the thread that turned a bit feral about the Tasmanian German Shepherd people? That's the same kind of thing that your question refers to Fran.

I'd be wealthy if I listened every time I've been told that story! BTW, they're called "Neuticles" ;)

I defer to those who know more than I do about Basenjis and dog breeding. Good luck Rajacadoo, hope it all turns out well for you.

With all due respect chocolate....Rajacadoo and I are friends away from DOL and I think she knows me well enough by now to realise that my comments are not made to worry or upset her. I also believe that she is sensible enough not to get into a flapping panic about a simple suggestion based upon information that she has posted here. She has been a party to all of my breedings for the past couple of years and knows only too well that it isn't in my nature to stress about something unneccessarily. Given that Ochre has obviously been displaying nesting behaviour, even on a small scale and that there has been a marked temperature drop from the "normal range" of temperatures for a canine, I don't believe that my advice is out of order. I will now however consider myself firmly slapped on the wrist and withdraw any offers of help previously made because the Lord knows I don't want to be accused of causing Rajacadoo and her family (or dogs) undue concern.

With all due respect, this is a bit of a guilt trip question. Why should what the breeder does with the puppy if they take it back have anything to do with the person returning it?

Can I just ask what you are feeding? My Stafford bitch always throws up one particular brand of dry food for no reason...she just does.

A temperature drop is a temperature drop. With modern technology and digital thermometers, the margin of error is dramatically reduced and as for operator error.....I'd think that Rajacadoo's prior experience in the medical field would count that out! Should probably add here too that given that Rajacadoo lives more than 5 minutes from a vet and doesn't drive herself so is largely dependent upon her OH being home from work, a trip to the vet on a suspicion is probably more in order than leaving things until they are an emergency and finding herself in a real pickle. BUT, be that as it may, I have everything crossed for a safe and easy daytime whelping with little or no veterinary intervention. And Rajacadoo-doo-doo my bondaged one....our previous contact methods are up and running.....you know the numbers!

Peaceful, I've got 24 years of breeding under my belt. I don't tend to panic. I'm not particularly fond of taking my dogs to vets as a rule. It has been my experience to date that vets don't tend to know as much about whelping as breeders do, but they DO have access to diagnostic tools that breeders generally don't! I think Rajacadoo knows me well enough to know that my advice, knowing her AND her dogs personally as I do, is well-intentioned and has basis for consideration and that I'm not a worry wart and tend to be quite laidback in my approach to animal husbandry.....within reason. In my opinion, it doesn't matter how well renowned a breed is for being easy whelpers, it doesn't hurt to be vigilant particularly when the bitch is a maiden and the owner is not experienced and already worrying (and literally has been since the minute the bitch was bred). I don't think that my advice to tread carefully is unneccessary.

Sorry, don't agree. If I'd not been vigilant, I would have lost not only my 9 Stafford puppies, but probably the bitch as well. Symptoms? Temperature drop on Day 58 and no progression after that. Diagnosis....twisted mess of birth canal and puppies. Placental separation. Outcome...successful c-section and 9 living puppies and a healthy mother on Day 59. Due to the placement of the puppies internally, there was NO WAY she would have been able to have the litter naturally. Gut instinct and timely veterinary intervention as well as meticulous record-keeping were what saved my bitch and puppies.

I prefer no more than 2 over 3 days maximum.

That's a terribly low drop, for a new thermometer especially for there to be NOTHING happening. Rajacadoo-doo-doo, you probably don't want to hear this, but if she hasn't started to do anything by 24 hours after the lowest drop you recorded, then I'd be thinking about trundling off to the vet for a checkup. At a guess they may want to do a progesterone reading but certainly with the kind of drop that was evident, if nothing happens soonish then you should be on the alert for issues.

I freely admit that most of my dogs are on Great Barko. Most are nowhere near the feeding recommendation amount or they would resemble the Goodyear blimp!! They also get good quality meat, bones and vegetables and for the "natural enzymes" component of their diet all really enjoy a good sneaked (or so they think anyway) feed of fresh, warm horse shit . The food nazis are naturally absolutely appalled because GB/UA is apparently shit itself and no "decent" breeder would admit to feeding such a thing. However, there are MANY "decent" breeders feeding it, as well as many, many racing greyhound breeders and trainers so it really cannot be *that* bad IMO. Costwise, at around $30 for 22kg, it is certainly not a drain on the pocket. This is my youngster at 6.5 months of age, he has been on GB for about a month now. Photographs are un-photoshopped and unposed. Like the food or not, I think if anybody is honest with themselves, they can see that at this stage, the dry food is not doing this boy any harm.

And adding that some of you may have read their story in either That's Life or Take 5 a couple of years ago. He was running his own very successful painting and decorating company and was at work one day when a speeding motorist (P plater) rammed into a parked car that rammed into another car and pinned him between the bonnet of the car and the back of his ute. I take my hat off to Mrs K....she's only a fairly small slip of a girl, and he's quite a big boy and yet she pushes him, at a run, around the ring so that Gia can be shown at the correct speed for her breed!!!

Yes, that's them. BTW, you can order from Petz Central with total confidence. They are a young Tasmanian couple (Michael and Erenie) who show an Amstaff. He is confined to a wheelchair as a result of an accident and Erenie pushes him around the ring so that he can handle his bitch Gia himself. She recently won the last points for her title! Oh cool It always puts a smile on my face to see people going against the odds and showing their own dogs when it would probably be easier just to get a handler!! :D Just checked out shipping too and it's only $12 have bookmarked and will place my order tomorrow when I get paid, thank you!!! You're welcome! Their doggy treats are excellent too and they cook a lot of them themselves with Gia as chief taste tester! BTW if you are after anything specific that isn't in their range, they get it for you at the best rates that they can!

Yes, that's them. BTW, you can order from Petz Central with total confidence. They are a young Tasmanian couple (Michael and Erenie) who show an Amstaff. He is confined to a wheelchair as a result of an accident and Erenie pushes him around the ring so that he can handle his bitch Gia himself. She recently won the last points for her title!

I have had a few different types and cannot recommend my Liberty table highly enough!!! They're not cheap but they're made to last. Lightweight and easy to store. Very robust and sturdy and NEVER move unless you set them up on uneven ground.

Lovey, I'm here! We'll get through it and you'll have some lovely new 'senji bubbas to admire!

I really don't like to disagree with your vet, especially not when you are so stressed lovey, but what she has said is a crock of you-know-what. The body doesn't pre-empt its needs, it metabolises what it actually has within so it will use what it needs and no more and if it needs more, it will react with symptoms. A bitch in labour has a massive calcium drain going on and requires every bit of assistance that can be given to it. Oral calcium is very quickly absorbed...think about a diabetic in sugar shock...it is powders that are not readily absorbed and which usually reappear as a lovely white coating on the output!