Lowenhart

Afghan: Am Ch Sahadi Shikari BIS American National Specialty 1964 & 1965 Lowchen: (Top 5 in no particular order) Int/Multi Ch Wanted Inner Voice Int/Multi Ch Pridesden Pericles Int/Multi Ch Happy Lion Daughter of Snow Int/Multi Ch Bumir Enchanter Tous Aust Gr Ch Shomack Garr Ce Bern

COI is not based in biology, it's based in math. It weights ancestors but does not truly reflect the influence of the particular genetic traits of the "names" in the pedigree but gives a weighting based an instance. Having a extremely (genetically) heterogeneous dog multiple times in a pedigree is not the same as having a extremely (genetically) homogeneous dog a couple of times. A sire is has a high COI is bred to an unrelated dam (who in herself may have a high COI) and the offspring have a COI of 0%. It would be quite interesting to do genetic diversity analysis on breeds such as the Havanese (15 founders), Lowchen (6 founders, though there are inaccuracies in pedigrees and unrecorded outcrossing to other non-Lowchen), or PWD.

Chess asked the question "Genetic diversity vs. Personal Preferance?" [sick] This article possess the real good point that you can have genetic diversity short term, but it means nothing if the the dogs are not quality and utilised down the track. So it's important to consider the quality of the import and the future impact it will have in the breed.

I deal with what is an uncommon breed with a limited gene pool and have imported 2 dogs. My current attitude to Diversity versus Beauty is that Beauty wins out. If I can have both, then I'm in heaven but if I had the choice between importing a dog who will bring only pedigree diversity but is not a dog I like, from parents I do not like OR bringing in a dog who is beautiful in the flesh and has parents I like but is closely related - I choose beautiful. A quote from a 2 part article by Catherine McMillan, centered around her Miniature Schnauzers but also applies to othr breeds. Long term, it is important to have other people WANTING to use your breeding/lines otherwise they are for nothing. http://www.katewerk.com/designergenes1.pdf http://www.katewerk.com/designergenes2.pdf

Normally, COI is not calculated over more than 10 generations. To confirm the state of the breed, one would need to do extensive DNA profiling of the breeds worldwide population. My feeling is that there is enough mutations going on, enough rumours of "suspect" breeding lines (enough to split the breed!) and the fact that at each roll of the genetic dice, a dog can have an assemblege of genes that it's siblings don't have. As long as there are limitations on bottlenecks, I don't believe that high generation COI calcuations are relevant. Don't forget COI is just math, it's not biology.

We will show up to about 4 weeks - depends on how pregnant the bitch looks and her mood. Some bitches aren't too keen to run around. Showing bitches when pregnant is a personal thing, just remember you can bring KC (and other stuff) home from the shows with your other dogs and on your person.

I use human shampoo/conditioner for my dogs, aristopet tea tree shampoo & laser lites stuff.

A trip to the dog chiropractor is always on my list for underweight dogs. I worm then if things aren't improving, it's a trip to the chiro. I've had a couple of dogs I could not get weight on and they all benefited from the adjustment - some gaining so much weight as to be fat in a couple of weeks post chiro visit. It's just one more thing to consider.

I have a stack of stretchy straight skirts I have bought from places like Temt, Valleygirl etc in all sorts of colours. I match them to tops and have a few jackets as well. If you go with a knee length skirt make sure you can run in it. Mine are all stretch material and do not stop me striding out. Make sure you do the lunge test before you buy the skirt Also be careful of flowing or loose skirts, it can get windy at shows and they tend to flap when you run.t These days you can get nice shoes with some grip on them that go OK with skirts. It is more important that you have traction then anything else because no matter how nice the shoes go with the outfit, ending up on your arse is not fun. If you buy white or really pale stuff, scotch guard it ASAP. I have a lovely white jacket and 3 white skirts and it's the only thing that has saved them! I even spilt orange juice on one skirt and it washed up beautiful. Scotch guard is your friend.

If you go with the surgery, she will be confined in a crate for an extended amount of time - no play or running. Then only limited exercise until the joint can be stabilised. At Grade 2, I'd take a more conservative approach. No jumping/leaping, no stairs, crate rest and on lead walking only. When the limp lessens and her pain levels improve, then slowly increase the gentle exercise. Swimming could be beneficial. I've heard of plenty of dogs with grade 2 who live normal lives without surgery . I've also seen a post operative puppy and it broke my heart, made me rethink the leap to surgery. I think his knees were grade 3/4.

I forgot completely about this topic but just for the record want to say - There are instances of puppies who are unable to suckle normally. I know of a few in my breed. A couple of famous dogs were tube feed entirely until weaning not because of sick mothers, no milk, lost mothers or too many puppies but because they were unable to hold a teat. I do not want that to become "normal" for the breed, yet people continue to raise these puppies and use them in breeding programs. Not all tube fed pups are unable to suck, I know this. But I have set my line of intervention, which does not include tube feeding. Maybe it will change in a dire and horrendous situation, but as of now that is where it stands.

As a rule, I don't tube feed. If a puppy can't suck then it has a problem and I don't believe in perpetuating it. There are a number of cases I know of that pups that could not suck at all were tubefed until weaned then went on to be prominent dogs in breeding programs. How inherited this lack of sucking ability is, I don't know, but I don't think it's the way to keep a breed strong & healthy. It's up to each individual breeder to set the line where they will intervene on a puppy - some are just not supposed to survive. Seeing the heartbreak of a breeder who handraised (tube fed) a puppy and kept it going until 12 weeks when all the problems surfaced and the pup ended up being put down, it just showed that the bad side of heavy intervention.

And yet I have the reverse, where human massage does nothing and I need a chiro to sort things out. I had a Doctor who showed me this neat trick to fix my rib/back problems, to gently lay off a table - didn't work. The Doctor ended up cracking my ribs back into place. Just cos it doesn't work for you doesn't make it wrong. If a dog is not improved from Chiro then you look for other options - Muscle manipulation, reiki, massage, acupuncture etc.

My sister lost a strong healthy adult Afghan after a C5 vacc. It's definitely OFF my vacc protocol.

I've had pups that cocked their leg at 9 weeks, others that were 2 years old before they did it. It's really an individual thing.

I bought a box of meat-free treats by accident. Got them at Coles, something like "All Natural" in a green box. Dog like them so I don't have the box anymore. They do exist! Edited to add: Found 'em! Biopet Organic Dog Bones 500g Protein 10% Fat 3% Fibre 3% Salt 1% Ingredients Wholegrain cereals and cereal by-products, vegetable protein, Omega 3 vegetable oil, natural limestone, sea salt, natural preservative (Vitamin E)

There is the International grading system (0:0 for no luxation either knee, 0:1 and so on) and the OFA (US) one which gives "Clear". Those are the 2 I know but when I took my dogs in for grading by a orthapedic specialist, they said they had no system here, no forms and could only write a general letter. I got the verbal gradings though (all were 0:0) . AVA just doesn't have system in place.

I unfortunately can't give you the occurance rate, there aren't any statistical records. Nor is there a proper grading system in Australia. All I have is anecdotal and LowchenWorld.com. As I said previously you have to select the dog most suitable in temperament from the soundest parents. I don't believe that every Lowchen born is a suitable candidate for Agility, I've trained 3 of my own and only 1 of those was particularly interested (he really LOVED it, but I never got to trialling stage). I tried that 1 dog who loved Agility with Flyball but he just wasn't ball orientated. I've had others though who are ball nuts and if I could have cloned myself I would have pursued flyball with them.

I do not believe anyone is currently trialing Lowchen in agility in Australia. I think there is 1 Lowchen with agility titles in Australia. Some, like myself, have gone through and done the training but not titled a dog. I've even trialed twice with a Lowchen but she was dq'd both times. If you are serious about agility then I would suggesting selecting on individual dogs temperaments and the soundness of the parents. Patella Luxation is the most widespread health problem, followed probably by cataracts. So parents should have had their knees & eyes checked and the pup should also have had a preliminary knee check.

I do not expect every dog to react the same way in every situation. Many small dogs get away with murder, simply because people think it's cute. However a lot of the agression in small dogs is fear based, and going ape on the dog just exacerbates the situation. They need to be taught confidence and avoidance. The other problem with small dogs is that some never learn dog language. They have very limited exposure to other dogs and instead learn body language and cues from humans. That causes problems as they miss the signs that other dogs are giving them and also they act in a "human" way to the other dogs. The miscommunication causes tension. I expect my big dogs to restrain themselves with my little ones. They have to know they can't use the same level of strength when dealing with them. I also chastise my little dogs when they take advantage of that. For me, I don't mind when 2 equally built dogs sort themselves out but when the pair aren't matched then I step in and deem the "winner". I do not believe small and big dogs should behave exactly the same. I don't expect an aloof breed to act the same as a tenacious one.

Actually it depends on the parents. You won't get blues from 2 gold parents. Dominos appear every now and then, though there does tend to be a run on them and then none for ages. One breeder told me of their frustration trying to get really dark blue dominos and that they only managed 1 in a large number of litters where the sire was the colour. My domino cream girl was in a litter of Golds & Red Brindles. The sire and his father only throw dominos, no Black & Tans. Domino is a modification of Black & Tan so it usually appears next to Black & Tans in litters. My blues (a few years ago) came from a Black bitch (carrying Blue way back) bred to a Oyster Blue Brindle. Blues and Dominos colours are more "specialist" and will appear in only a few combinations. Most long time breeders have an idea if that colour is possible from the breeding they are doing.

I'd also like to know. thought i saw a website somewhere with that info. Another Q. Do i have a hope in hell of getting a domino or blue pet afghan? I have been exhibiting Afghans for 20 years and my family have had the breed for much longer (30+ years) and we have never had an Afghan confirmed to have HD. One dog we bred in the 80's was diagnosed with HD by a small town vet, we took the dog back and got him looked at by an orthopedic specialist and he his hips were fine - he had a pinched nerve in his back. Of the joint diseases, OCD is the most common. It is evident in a young dog so it's usually picked up before any breeding goes on. I've heard of a couple of cases of it, but I would not call it common nor regular. I have never xrayed hips or elbows on my dogs. Very much like greyhounds, Afghans are less prone to HD. The further the breed is bred away from it's original form for function, the higher the chance of developing it.

If you hold out for a pup from hipscored parents then be prepared for a wait. Only a small number of breeders hipscore, it is not the norm for the breed.

Between $500 and $1250. I'm guessing it can go higher if you're after a show dog from a well known show kennel but don't know how high they range. If you're after a companion only, you're usually looking between $500 to $1000. Thank you very much. Its just I was reading in a Dogs life magazine a few weeks ago now that they are around $300 I thought it must of been a error. But I have been wondering ever since. They are such lovely looking dogs It is difficult to find suitable homes for Afghans as pets. It is not unheard of for them to be sold for $300 to a good home or even given away. It really does depend on the situation though. $500 is the normal starting price.

You have to stop the sneezing, it's the only way to slow and stop the bleeding. My boy used to sneeze out huge blood clots and I always had to wash walls when he was done. He was really focused on me, so I used to lay with him and every time he went to sneeze I'd say "nah-uh". I'd hold his muzzle sometimes and just pat him in a way that relaxed him. The calmer he got, the less he'd sneeze. He used to sneeze A LOT when he was excited, but over time he would start to sneeze and then look at me - I'd say "nah-uh, no sneezing" and he'd try and stop it. Can't say your dog will be the same, my boy was very responsive to me. I had him swallowing on command (as he'd reverse sneeze too and that's the sure fire way to stop it) so it was just in his nature to pick up on what I needed him to do. If you need more support send me a PM and I can give you my number.