Lowenhart

Pull out the "responsible breeder" stand and let them know you need a copy for your own files! You keep accurate records of the dogs you bred and need the xrays.

Preventatic collars are good but I've also had a dog go down with paralysis and he had been wearing a new collar for 3 weeks and had not been washed etc. Vigilance is your best prevention.

In QLD, the judge can NOT dismiss the dogs and then have them re-enter (for class in group etc). A dismissal means you are done for the day. The judge can however say "Please find some shade" and have the dogs leave the ring to find the shade. On a hot day I've asked for the dogs to do an individual run into the ring and then out again to assembly shade. Then once all had run they could file in.

In Afghans it's normal to breed a bitch for the first time after 5 years old. I know some who breed maiden 8 year olds. Personally if she's a quality bitch, from healthy long living lines you can't get easily and is in peak physical condition, I'd do it. I bred a litter from an 8 year old Lowchen bitch, her 3rd litter. She lived to 15.5 years. Edited to add: My 8 year old was in show condition (full coat and muscle) and was shown when her last litter turned 3 months.

And that slightly larger spitz dog it decended from just appeared next to the campfire one day? It was molded by human wants and needs, so what you should be saying is that ALL breeds looked like Wolves at one point and as such should be tested for the same things wolves are. ;) Cos that's pretty much the only place you can identify the lack of human intervention in the breeding. They may have the same bones and structural points but they are NOT all carbon copies of each other. The angle at which the hip sits to the femoral head affects muscle attachment, which affects how the joint wears. The reason we have such differences is how we have different breeds. You can't say that you can get the same roll in a Rottweiler you get in a Pug. The roll is a breed trait, it can't come from the same pelvis that gives the rotary drive of a Dobermann. You share a ancestry, you are going to share some genetic defects. Pekingese was used in Shih Tzu breeding, Shih Tzu was used in Lhasa Apso breeding, Tibetan Spanels & Lhasa Apsos were interbred, once a "Collie" was just a "Collie" no matter if it came from the Border or Shetland island. Interbreeding happened at some point and they share some genetic material. You can't say that you should test the same things in Manchesters as you do in Basenji. Even if they are both short haired, black & tan dogs which are high on leg and have definite tuck up. All dogs have ears so we should BAER test. All dogs have blood, so we should test for vWB. All dogs have skin so should be skin punched for SA. All I'm saying is if this is going to be COMPULSORY testing of dogs, then it needs to be tailored to the breed and not one size fits all.

Actually I completely disagree. You size up a Pekingese to Kelpie size and you don't have a "normal" looking dog. Size up a Pug and you have a dog twice the width of a Bullmastiff. They are NOT proportionately the same. There is an idea that all dogs have the exact same hip shape - they don't. We've bred them to have different pelvic construction. You can't turn around and say now they all must have the same structured socket. I think each breed should identify what they are tested for and not have all breeds have the same testing requirement based on what *your* breed tests on. I am not anti-health testing (I actually known as a campaigner for it), it just needs to be applicable for breed. No point testing eyes and hearing and not Von Willebrand if dogs are dying from VW and <1% are coming up abnormall in ears & eyes.

The "Oz parent club" is not the issue and has no say in this. It's to do with the reciprocal acknowledgement of pedigree deals done. ANKC only recognises AKC pedigrees for American registered dogs. All the LUA Dallies are UKC registered. Because of the deal, ANKC can not recognise UKC pedigrees. Once AKC accepts the UKC LUA dogs into their registry then ANKC can register the dogs. If LUA dogs have FCI pedigrees, those can be imported and registered in Australia. PS. It can also be 5 generations to be "pure". Depending on who's demanding it.

The above has nothing to do with colour. Tan & White (no black hairs anywhere) are very possible from to 2 Tri's. You realise that a pup can look more like a Grand parent, and not be immediately sired by it? Runts, bad mouths and lacking teeth have nothing to do with colour.

Think about what else you do with your car. Having a great dog car is one thing, but if getting it around your local shopping centre is a pain don't do it. I have a Jazz now and love the fuel economy. So easy to park and the turning circle amazes me all the time. The crazy folding seats make it versatile for seating people and dogs and I got the 1.5l engine because I knew I would be lugging stuff about. I've fit 1 Afghan, 2 Lowchen and all the show equipment (canopy, chairs, trolley, grooming kits, matting etc) in mine with 2 people. So think about how many people you normally or are likely to have in your car, if you daily commute etc.

If you don't know how a breed or bloodline develops, then perhaps you should hold your tongue. Puppies can grow in odd ways. I remember seeing male litter mates at 8 or so months. These dogs had grown so high on leg and had almost no length of back. They were the oddest shape, and when they went to squat to pee, it came out between their front legs. They grew in to lovely, properly proportioned animals! It was just at that point in time their legs had grown but not much else had.

There is not really much you can do to boost the immunity of a dog. Good food, and healthy lifestyle is all there is. I tried the de Bairacli levy "Natural Rearing" diet with the extra herbs etc to try to boost immunity with little result. The dog wasn't picking everything up though, he just had a immune system weakness for one virus, so you might find improvements.

This old Ekka thread might help a bit.

Yep. Look around for a second hand Simpson stand dryer. I have Afghans & Lowchen and second the motion for a Simpson stand dryer. Force dryers are not good for really long coated breeds. Shorter, thick puppy coat they work well but for long silky coats it takes a deft hand to stop them causing twisted knots. Simpson dyers are my first and second choice. Laser Lites stand comes in third. Edited to say - Simpsons last 30+ years of use. Picking up one second hand is the best way

Then get out and SOCIALISE your dogs. Cover their crates so they cant see any other dogs or people when they walk passed. Myself, my dogs and other exhibitors and their dogs should not have to put up with dogs lunging at crate walls at us walking passed and carrying on barking, snarling etc. You wouldnt accept it from a larger dog, a GSD or Rotti or Dobe so it is not ok from smaller dogs. (i dont care which would cause more damage if they connected) - it is not acceptable for the dog walking down the street to behave like that and it is not acceptable for show dogs either Did you read my next line?? I was reacting to this sort of comment: Rousing at a terrified dog doesn't stop if from being terrified, it makes it more terrified! My little dogs have been lunged and accosted at by all kinds, big and small! I didn't get apologies either. There are crates holding large breeds where they fling themselves at crate walls to get at you and your dogs. You can stand pointing at the Toy ring and ignore the fact that there is ignorant and lazy owners elsewhere. I recall a poor stressed out Ridgeback at a royal who had a sheet draped over their cage but was still making unpleasant aggressive noises and "rocking" the cage. Dog really should not have been at the Royal and certainly not had it's cage in a walkway. I felt sorry for it and could see it was an accident waiting to happen. Maybe I can make a diary of walking my well socialised small fluffy and the things he has to deal with, with dogs that are 10 times bigger than him.

To be fare, there are less than considerate people in all areas of the show ring. Trying to show a sensitive breed like an Afghan all the while someone left their terrier on a trolley top unattended right on the ring ropes of the hound ring is incredibly hard. Dog went off at anything that came near it's territory (the trolley) which meant the dogs actually being shown. If I take my fluffy little toy breed into certain areas of the show, I expect reactions from the dogs. Yes the toy ring is known for its trolley loads of noisy dogs. Most are of the dogs are scared of big dogs and its fear based. Using reprimands actually exacerbates the fear and makes it worse. Not excusing those who do nothing, you need to work with the dogs or manage them so they don't interfere with others. But back on topic, sometimes dogless public can be worse. One chap was riding his bike through the assembly areas at the ACT showgrounds. Idiots with mobile phones using the video camera to chat to a friend, walking into people's setups and shoving the phone right up to cages, nattering away. I'd like to say *if* the public bring their own dogs and they show aggression then the owners details should be taken down and a letter written to their local council. No dog should get away with aggressive behaviour just because they are not owned by kennel control members.

Why can't you report an aggressive dog to it's council when it attacks your dog in public? Why can't get the address of the owner and report the dog? If the dog is not covered by the ANKC registered bodies rules, then it should come under the state/council rules. A better "welcome to the show" area with information for everyone - "Keep your dog(s) under control, clean up after yourself & the dog(s) and don't let your dog(s)interfere with the running of the show". That applies to ALL the people onsight, exhibitors or public.

I don't think COI should be mandated. COI is just a tool, one of many, for identifying inbreeding. It does have it's flaws. It tells you how related one parent is to another but doesn't tell you how much inbreeding has gone on behind the parents. I have a bitch who's COI is 0%. The UK averages the breed there having a COI at 18%. Her sire has a COI of 0%, her dam has a COI of 37.5%. I still consider my bitch to have a high level of inbreeding in her pedigree, even if the COI says differently.

Fiction. Show dogs are bathed very regularly and kept in shiny coat for years on end. A good diet and quality products makes the biggest impact. You don't have to bath dogs, as pointed out by posters some dogs don't need it. But bathing regularly doesn't mean dry problem skin.

I think the biggest things that make a handler are a good one are: Don't Panic! Nervous, panicky handlers don't listen to the judges requests, don't see the ring clearly and pass that energy onto their dogs. Practise and train. Practise with the dog, train it to be handled and shape behaviours Listen to the steward and judge. It helps Before taking off running, stop and think - what did they ask me to do? If you forgot already, ask for clarification. Realise if you stuff up or don't win, it's not the end of the world. There is another show next week. Many long time exhibitors make rookie mistakes all the time. Handling is an art form, not all forms are appreciated by everyone. It can take a little time to get the basics down and then you work on the fine tuning. I didn't train my dogs properly until I did some obedience/agility stuff, now I use some of what I learnt there to train for show behaviours. Oh and don't be too hard on the baby puppies, you want them to enjoy themselves.

Dogs experiencing huge growth spurts will have loose patellas and other abnormalities. I had a 12 week Afghan diagnosed with Luxating Patella and a serious bone problem by a young eager vet. The orthopedic vet on staff took 10 seconds to diagnose it as nothing but a sprained toe. Everything else was absolutely normal for her age. If you think there is something serious going on, see a orthopedic vet. If you are in Brisbane, see if you can get a referral to QVS at West Chermside. You may get lucky and see Dr Richard Eaton-Wells, he's an expert at growing sighthound bodies. In the mean time I'd be attempting to slow the growth down. So much growth in such a small time frame is not ideal.

I get all manner of calls asking for help during whelping in the middle of the night but the reality is that this is what vets are for and there are limits on what you should advise someone over the phone where it could result in something going wrong.I cant give that kind of advice any more to anyone who isnt one of our members because the insurance doesnt cover me but even then Im very careful about what Im saying over the phone and if its any more than real basic stuff or running them through what they need to watch for and check Im not going there.So far everyone has been happy with the outcome and it makes you feel warm and fuzzy when someone tells you they learned more in a 10 minute conversation with you over the phone than what they have learned for 10 years of breeding dogs but Im very much aware of the fact that if things go wrong I dont want to be the one in the middle of it. Giving advice on how to do what comes next is different as its not so much in the area of professional vet treatments. Remember giving something like oxy to your own dog is within the law but giving it to someone else's dog breaches the law unless you are a vet. By "on call" I don't mean give advice over the phone. And definately not a free "ring a breeder" service. But you'd have to be available outside normal working hours to deal with whelping bitches. Vets can only deal with so much, and it maybe a case of being present during the whelping and saying "This is the time we need to take the bitch to the vet" and not about giving oxy or any treatments to the bitch. A paid support, to even come in and make sure the area set up for the bitch is appropriate. The how to supplement feed, how to check for mastitis, how to tell if the bitch is stressed etc etc.

And here's the clunker. You expect that people care when you suspect there is face judging going on but don't when other people think it is happening with you being the face? The ONLY way to remove face judging is to instigate a benched or "random handler" show. For a "random handler" show, a number of handlers are appointed who are assigned dogs randomly. The owner/breeder etc is not allowed near the dog in eyesight of the judge and the "random handler" exhibits the dog on a regulation/standard lead (so dogs can't be identified by leads). Clapping or any noise from the ringside unless instigated by the judge is forbidden. And then people will still say it's rigged. :/ 99% of the time in showing dogs, it's not about being ethical or honourable but the appearance of being so. Once you step inside the ring and start judging you understand what you are missing from ringside. So many exhibitors shoot themselves and their dogs in the foot by not being prepared, by not listening and not realising their dog looks awful when stacked/run/walked in the manner they are currently doing so.

I think that might be a good market right there. A vet commented one day that I should have a business helping newbies deal with whelping/raising, especially in the first few critical days and after caesars etc. People get sent home from the vets with a basket full of puppies and no idea how to keep them all. Having a whelping assistance service, where you are on call and can be the voice of experience for those stressful moments.

I enter under judges I have never heard of and do so regularly. One of my first show trips down to Canberra (from Brisbane) was 6 shows - 4 Champ & 2 Open. I didn't know a single one of the judges but flew down anyway in the "hope" of picking up points for my 2 dogs and having a lovely weekend away. I came home with 5 Best of Breeds (3 Champ & 2 Open) and 3 Best in Groups (1 Champ & 2 Open). People could have called it a conspiracy (Why travel SO far?? Must have had it in the bag!!) But my next trip down, I again brought 2 dogs (different ones) and barely managed a single 6 point challenge between them. On my first trip down I'd taken a dog who went on to win Group and Best in Show placements in Australia, NZ and Europe, title in 9 countries, awarded Best Movement by 6 different breed specialists. Hellovadog. I couldn't have told you who the judges were that trip and my face had never graced a doggy magazine. This past weekend I witnessed the most god awful judging technique I think I have ever seen. I would be shocked if this judge had never been bitten as I saw dog after dog give them the "evil eye" as the judge manhandled, tugged, squished, stood right over etc etc. I will never ever enter a show again that has this person as a possible judge for my dogs. EVER. You will find that those consistant winners present their dogs well. Dogs are clean, unstained and groomed. The dogs gait for more than 5 steps in a row and stack in a pleasing shape. The handlers actually do as the judge asks, and can run their dog in a manner that it looks good to the judge. So many exhibitors make it a difficult task to award their dogs anything of note by their own hand. Lovely dogs made look anything but by human intervention...

Flew 30 hours.... I coped a whole load of flack when I got my boy from Norway. I was a bit anxious about the trip over due to his age (5 months) and the fact he was denied travel 2 weeks before. Plenty of people wanted to tell me that I could get a dog for free right here in Australia. But I wouldn't swap him now for all the world. Yes I could have bought a car, or gone on a nice luxurious holiday with the money but he's one in a million.