ellz

If they are of a breed where clearances from genetic defects can be done via DNA and all of the dogs have been given clearances, then technically speaking, a breeding that close is a good thing as far as inherited disorders are concerned. And provided the dogs are also temperamentally sound, physically sound and have been raised properly and the puppies are likewise, then I wouldn't be at all concerned about the pedigree. Inbreeding is not something that should necessarily strike fear into the hearts of anybody. Inbreeding with sound, sane, healthy animals is usually safer than continually outcrossing and introducing new traits into the genepool. You cannot produce something that isn't in the bloodlines already whilst outcrossing CAN introduce undesirable traits that can lay dormant for some generations.

Well, because you'd be unlikely to get to see my puppies prior to their vaccinations at around 8 weeks of age, the chances of you seeing mum IN the pen are virtually NIL!!!

I'd managed without Vetbed for many years. In fact, I only bought my first lot last year. It's certainly not an essential item. Handy...yes, essential.....nope.

My acreage is well fenced. Sheep fencing (mesh) perimeter and a separate "house" yard. I'm perfectly confident in leaving my dogs outside when I am at home. My yard (all 25 acres of it) here is better fenced than my house in suburbia was if I'm really honest.

Yep, for all that mine "free range" when I'm home, when not at home they are either inside, in my large carport which has been fenced off to provide an all-weather, safe shelter or they are with me. The only exception to this is the greyhound who patrols the houseyard and the parking area and sleeps in the hayshed with the cats. And this was HIS choice, he must be one of the few greys who prefers the great outdoors to the couch!

Ellz this dog didnt win the breed at the garden specialities?? on sunday(not sure if the results have been posted on the yank lists) BOB was handled by a small lady who was either asin decent or similiar.When i rewatch the video i wll take note of the dog but either way this dog was a stunner,he floated around the ring with ease Probably Xiomara Larson and Ch Hillsides Black Miracle.

Oh and I meant to say, watch for the black American Cocker in the Sporting Group. If Ch Casabalanca's Thrilling Seduction (Beckham) gets through the breed, he could be hot in the group. He's one of the newest "flavours of the month" in the hot BIS competition in the East and South.

Only a few breeds are up so far MM http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2010/...reed/index.html

I'm afraid you've only seen the bad side then. Or maybe it is a breed thing? And being a member of a club doesn't necessarily mean that somebody is doing the right thing.....just that they are being a tad more visible perhaps. Likewise with being well known. Sadly, as with many facets of life, being well known isn't always a good thing. Sometimes it can just mean that you think you can "get away" with more because you are well enough known that people won't cross you. To be honest, before ANYBODY gets one of my puppies they are almost literally forced to jump through hoops and over barrels. Many never get past my first stage, let alone to the point where I am happy to actually discuss them getting a puppy. And it is for this reason that I rarely have returns and to the best of my knowledge, no dog ever bred by me has been rescued or ended up in the pound. And yes, I do take back what I breed and it is clearly stated so in the written agreement that all purchasers are required to sign. I don't accept a cent until a very long way into the decision-making process and only after I am positive that there will be a puppy for the individual. And quite often, not even until the few days before the puppy is due to leave home. And as is the case with my last litter of 9 puppies, many of the purchasers had been "on board" and in constant communication with me via weekly PUPdates since before the litter were even born....in addition to phone calls and emails with cute photographs or other information or any questions/concerns that they might have. I was fortunate to have made the right judgement calls when it came to placing the puppies as well. The outgoing "talker" went to a family with a young family who are merrily wearing each other out now. The quieter boy went to a young bachelor looking for a (reasonably) well-behaved mate that he could take to work with him and have as his constant companion. The quietest girl went to a young couple who had grown up with Staffords but who had never owned a dog of their own as adults or as a couple before....she's now their "baby" as they aren't planning on starting a family for some time for professional reasons. These are just a few. I could have EASILY sold each and every puppy, probably for a lot more money than I did to any of the literally HUNDREDS of email or telephone enquirers if I didn't give a toss where my puppies end up. You have NO idea how popular Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies are. Every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks they should own one but not every Tom, Dick and Harry is good enough to own one of MINE!!! And in the last situation you mention...the last puppy, take it or leave it. Well I have to say that is quite often the norm if you are dealing with a breeder who is breeding for themselves or who has orders for the show ring or breeding. You won't always have a say. And the breeder, if they are any good will be "culling from the bottom and selecting from the top". That is, they have their particular "picks" in mind and the rest are ranked in order so once they get down to a couple of puppies, then no, there probably won't be a choice. And the same applies if they have a litter with only a couple of puppies in it. They'll make their choice and sell what is remaining, be it one, three or five puppies. Had I not had to have my second American Cocker puppy euthanased at 3 weeks of age, there would have only been one for sale from the litter of two so the purchaser wouldn't have had a choice because my choice ALWAYS comes first. I breed to keep, not to sell. As I said before, it simply isn't practical for everybody to visit a litter. I've sent puppies to Cairns, Townsville, Melbourne and Flinders Island from my Stafford litter recently. I didn't reduce my prices (and nor should I have to) and the freight wasn't inexpensive either but adding a plane ticket onto that would probably have made the cost incredibly prohibitive so they trusted me and their judgement. All of the people were very satisfied with our dealings (or so they have said to me anyway). All of them spent time looking locally for puppies and were disappointed with what they saw (or didn't see) and then took a leap of faith to have a puppy bred by me sent to them. I met three of the other new families personally at handover time. My transaction with the people in Tasmania was exactly as the same as those on the mainland and they have been the same as the ones with people to whom I have sent dogs in New Zealand and the USA. Perhaps not every breeder has MY ethics but I treat people as I would want to be treated myself and having purchased puppies in the past from people who have let me down severely (and I'm still awaiting a refund for one some 12 months down the track), I would NEVER do the dirty on somebody who is a) trusting me to give them good advice, assistance and a good puppy or b) who has paid me a not inconsiderable sum of money for the best bred, socialised and reared family member that I can give them. I like to be able to sleep at night. PS. If you'd like to PM me, I will point you to the direction of my website (if you haven't already found it) and literally take you through my "puppy placement" procedure so that you can see how somebody who takes it seriously does it. Oh and PS......when it comes to identifying a litter that all look the same.....this is how I accomplished it. All puppies were identified at birth with a particular coloured collar and that collar was only taken off them until the age of 9 weeks when it was being replaced by a larger, or less "ratty" collar of the same colour.

I'm on 25 acres which has good perimeter fencing (mesh sheep fence mostly) so keeps dogs in if they happen to get that far. BUT, despite my dogs being born and bred in suburbia, they pretty much free range but don't go far from the house unless I am with them. That includes the Staffords and the Greyhound who has decided he is #1 "guard dog and gate greeter" and takes his job VERY seriously. At this time of the year, the American Cockers aren't allowed to roam because of the grass seeds and other assorted garden debris that they tend to collect which matt them solid in the blink of an eye, but in winter when the grass is just long and wet, they can go for their lives. I've never yet had a dog go completely "missing" or get out of the perimeter fencing and I've been here now for 2 years.

I've got a grunter. He's also the monkey noise maker! When he was a toddler, I'd take him to bed with me and he'd waddle up the bed, curl himself into my neck, grunt, sigh and then go to sleep. When you pick him up now, he snuggles in and starts grunting! He's like a little brindle piglet! ;)

I don't encourage a lot of visitors (excepting essential ones and dog-savvy people) to see my puppies prior to vaccinations but those who do come are always able to see my girls with their puppies. Generally they all stay together in the box/pen, but if the mums get too pushy demanding attention or agitated about strangers handling their babies, then I will explain the situation and either move everybody away from the puppies (depending upon their age) or put mum in a safe place. I do agree that provided a suitable, sensible explanation is given, that most people will understand.

Copious amounts of newspaper and polar fleece. Editing to add: Some of the discount shops have large polarfleece blankets/panels for a very cheap price. I found these great between wash days and when the puppies were very young and were finding the dry bed confusing (trying to snuggle in to nurse from it). They're easy to wash and like dry bed, have the effect of wicking away moisture so that the fleece was staying relatively dry but the newspaper underneat was saturated.

Yes, it can be difficult to acquire your first "show dog". You'll be more likely to be able to get hold of a quality male in some breeds and you may find that some breeders will require a co-ownership until they are sure that you are going to stick around for a while. That's the worst thing about entrusting promising dogs to newbies....they start and often don't finish so a promising dog is lost to the show/breeding world. My advice would be to select your breed and do your research about which breeder/s you'd like to get a dog from and if they are local to you, haunt them. Help them out at shows. Give them a hand and they will usually quite willingly show you the ropes and let you "do your apprenticeship". And if the dogs you like aren't local, then it still wouldn't hurt to contact the breeders and see if they can recommend anybody in your area who might let you help them out instead. And the last question.....a basic CC/BOB is actually 6 points (5 points plus one point for every dog and/or bitch over the age of 6 months) and you'll only get it automatically if the judge feels your dog is of sufficient merit to be given the points.

Storm still toilets Flame and she is 1 Leanne Lick n sniff I can deal with (as long as I remember to turn my face away when it is kissy face time! :D) It's the HOOVERING that turns me!!!!!! And especially because quite often after the vaccuuming is done, she'll wander over and casually regurgitate it on my foot!

I'd never had a "real" talker until Koda came along. She never shuts up and has an opinion about anything, whether asked for or not! :D Of her 9 children, 3 were talkers and why on EARTH I've kept two of them I'll never know! :D And up until now, I'd prided myself on not having one who makes "monkey noises" like certain other dogs I used to hear at shows. Not only does Roger "talk" but he's a "monkey noise" maker extraordinaire! I don't mind the talking, but the monkey noises get the spray bottle!

Yep, and take a look at the chart...they go on 2 calendar months and 2 days!

From the day of the mating? Yep. If the mating took place for example on the 18th July, then the litter is due ROUGHLY on the 20th September. And if you count the days, you'll see it is pretty close to 63

Optimum puppy here with some raw....mince initially, then bones, veges etc. No runnies here! In fact ALMOST the opposite. Was probably only the oils in the fish that kept things moving along ok. But somebody really needs to tell Koda that she doesn't HAVE to keep cleaning up after them when I've taken over! There's something about a bitch cleaning up after 6 week old puppies that really turns my stomach.

I do it differently! I count 2 calendar months and 2 days.

DANG! Is that the time? I'd better go to bed. I have a big day/week ahead of me "unspoiling" Woger and need my rest!!

I think our main job on Saturday will be convincing Woger not to go "Mummmmmmmyyyyyyyy" whenever anybody looks sideways at him......must.teach.Woger.to.stand.on.own.four.feet!!! But I haven't spoiled him, honest I haven't!

Well...it's a rooly TUFF job but someone's gotta do it!

We used to very lightly apply a coat conditioner followed by an application of chalk (put on with a shaving brush) on the Bedlington when we showed him in the USA. He had a slightly soft coat and the chalk helped it to stand out from his body better for trimming so it would possibly work for your girl. Some Cholestrol or something rubbed lightly through the worst bits and a teensy application of chalk or powder may do the trick. Best thing is to try it. The old saying I swear by "if in doubt, try it out!"

I can assure you that nothing smaller than 2 foot tall came home, dad would have had me evicted. It is enough for him when Ripley is here LOL :D Poor dad!