ellz

Took this pic en route to the "parental units" home on Monday. We stopped for a human wee walk so I got the puppies out for a break as well. The pen made it so easy and very safe considering this park is on the side of a very busy road! Shows how portable they are anyway!

I've got a couple and they're really good. Have withstood much abuse and being folded/unfolded at home and at shows. I need to order a couple more.

Many of the breeds with larger headed whelps, British Bulldogs, Pugs, Staffords - to name a few. This is the reason many of the toy breeds are also allowed to be bred very young according to ANKC rules too.

I can highly recommend them. I've been using one for my Stafford litter. We had to go away for an overnighter on Monday and I folded mine up and threw it in the back of the wagon. It came in handy to keep the terrorists confined at my parents' home when we weren't around to supervise them. I'll also be taking it to a show in a couple of weeks so that the terrorists can get some socialisation whilst I show the American Cocker puppy. They're light, compact, fold flat and are cheap. Can't justify spending a lot of money for a custom designed jobby now that I've had the Bunnings pens!

Whippets there is some talk by repro vets that in certain breeds, a younger start to breeding can directly influence the shape of the birth canal and therefore the success or failure of subsequent breedings.

Wire composting pen from Bunnings. $26 each and you can buy more than one and either make the pen bigger or use the second pen as a lid. Cable ties and trojan clips work nicely!

Malice is also starting to grow HAIR! She takes more than a 2 second dunk in a bucket and a couple of swings through the air by the ears to bath and dry her now! ;)

A lot depends upon health testing with some breeds too. For example, it has been suggested for many years that American Cockers should not be bred from before the age of 3 due to the inherited eye conditions. However with good testing, the arrival of a DNA test for ONE of the forms of PRA that they are prone to and a lot more breeder honesty and a smaller gene pool that has been relaxed somewhat and it is now more accepted for minimum 18 months but ideally 2 - 2.5 years.

Not always an indicator unless as previously stated the smallest is also the most fine-boned. And anyway.....you all need to read one of the profile listings on DOL. The (I daresay EXPERT) "breeder" of a particular litter states that the dog he kept was always the runt with the biggest head and now he's the biggest of them all and STILL has a big head. *sigh*

I often use the one at the local car wash. $10 for 10 minutes. Shampoo, Rinse, Condition and Rinse, Flea and Tick Rinse, Disinfect. And the dryer of course. BUT, I take a bottle of Disinfectant Spray & Wipe with me and use it beforehand (with a quick spray after as well). And I don't use their shampoo. If I'm doing a show bath, I take my own shampoo/conditioner etc and use their clean water (better than using my own tank water anyway). I've worked out the timing so that for the average American Cocker I know that by the time I get home and get the dog onto the grooming table, the worst of the water has dried and I just have to do a show dry while spraying with my favourite finishing spray. Works a treat!

Nup, not coming into town on Saturday this week. Had to go there yesterday so won't be back down until Sunday to do the grocery shopping . BUT.....I'll see you at the Parades on the 20th!

Not all dogs can be rehabilitated no matter how much time or love they are given. Sometimes, they are just far too damaged to be helped.

In a nutshell...yes. In many cases there are no "reciprocal agreements" and not all states have legislation that allows an individual to either be limited to a certain number of dogs OR to be prevented from owning dogs at all. In the case of the Tasmanian situation I mentioned, the couple involved had dogs farmed out with friends who then sent them interstate. When the court hearing was over, the couple themselves moved interstate and got their dogs back. They were still breeding dogs in another part of Australia until one of the couple passed away a couple of years ago and I have a feeling that the other one is still breeding dogs even now.

I'm going to buck the trend and say that euthing the dogs was quite possibly a good move. After my involvement with a cruelty case here in Tasmania in 1989 which involved 107 dogs, I can honestly say that dogs which have lived for a period of time in such an environment rarely, even with the best of care and intentions, acclimatise. Of the 50-odd dogs that were rehomed from the Tasmanian situation, the vast majority of them were subsequently euthed for aggression and fear issues. It would have been kinder to the dogs and their adopters had they not been placed in the situation in the first place.

Shop around, chipping prices vary considerably. Vets here were charging from $30 - 50 for chipping whilst the TCA only charged $20. I had 11 done at the one time so the discount was very handy. With regards to the size of the needle. Some vets seem to make a song and dance out of it and offer a local anaesthetic. To me that is overkill. It's like having a local anaesthetic before you donate blood.....why have a needle to have a needle? I had 9 Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies, 1 American Cocker puppy and an adult American Cocker bitch chipped and NONE of them even reacted. They made more noise when they had their vaccinations which obviously stung a bit.

A packet of terry towelling nappies is a great addition. VERY useful items. I still have a couple from when my 18 year old was born. They're a little threadbare in places but still going strong and the perfect size for mopping up puppies and other spills. I'd probably add a couple more pairs of haemostats. I always clamp the cords in two places before tying off and cutting. Useful in case one pair slips which is always possible with a wriggler if you don't quite get it on the right spot. And of course, if you have a couple of puppies arrive in quick succession you can clamp off the cords first and then come back and cut and tie when things die down a bit. Don't laugh but for transporting neonates I use a small eski (without a lid or with lid chocked open with blue tack). My vet was blown away when I rocked up carrying the puppies in the eski but quickly commented how clever it was. Eskis are insulated so will keep the whelps warm if you put them in with a hot brick or a hot water bottle or if it is particularly hot then you can put in a cold brick or a cool pad. It is also solid sided so they won't accidentally get squished if mum tries to climb on top (some girls do attempt this! ). I use either Dettol or Isopropyl Alcohol (depending upon what is at hand) to put my instruments in during a whelping, either stand them "nose" down in a jar full or alternatively lay them flat in a tray. And my mentor used to dab a bit of either on the end of the cord once it had been cut. I do sometimes but I usually forget. When you are more experienced, you'll find the gloves useful for internal examination to see how far the cervix is open and what part of a puppy is presenting if there are difficulties or delay. Oh and don't forget a small box with a heat pad or water bottle to put puppies in between births if mum is agitated and there is a risk that she will tread on one. I have found that some girls are so anxious about standing on a puppy that they will stall labour so removing the puppies when birth is imminent and putting them in a small box inside the whelping box itself can reassure them and allow them to get on with the job.

I let the bitch decide. If she is an experienced mother or is obviously moving rapidly towards the puppy to do the job herself, I will let her. Otherwise, I give it a couple of seconds and if no action is happening, then I will do it. Two ties with dental floss and a quick cut in the middle. And then of course the cleaning up. If mum has recovered her senses by this time and the puppy is strong and squarking, I usually give it back to her to finish up. I draw the line at afterbirth though. I'll allow the girls to eat a couple of them if they are so inclined but the rest are accounted for and disposed of. Too much afterbirth usually leads to a messy, upset stomach and a mum who is upset because she is torn between being clean with a rumbly tum and wanting to be with her babies.

Happy to read it and pleased that what I have done coincides with it. 3 puppy vaccinations with the final dose being around 16 weeks of age. I do mine at 8, 12 and 16 weeks and have done for some years now. The only alteration to it was that I USED to have it done at around 6/7 weeks because my puppies were shunted out the door at 8 weeks on the knocker (until I learned better). I'm sorry PomsNZ, but I had to giggle. If I did my Staffords at the 1kg mark, they'd be having their first lot of vaccinations within their first week or so of life!

Thanks for the link! I purchased "Plaiting - Flat and Round" for $12 including postage! Of course, it remains to be seen whether I do anything or whether it becomes another dust collector, but at that price I couldn't go wrong.

Bad Alice is actually nice in the most WICKED way! Take a look at the expression on her face...it is very much a "not MY bone you don't!". She was also growling. Not loudly enough that everybody could hear but she was definitely rumbling! My father said his dogs have only just come out from under his bed after our brief visit the other day with Bad Alice (or MALICE as Mr Ellz calls her) and the last 3 terrorists! :D

IF I can convince her to leave her bone at home!

Well, it would appear now that CBDC will be her debut!

Well then, there's another!! I'll drop the entries into Lizzie's place when I'm out and about tomorrow! I've sent off entries for Brighton!

Nup....both wrong! It's so their bums don't fall off!

I've actually entered some shows!