Lowenhart

Good prices on which brands? Different online stores are cheaper on different products. No point sending you to one place if they don't stock what you want.

A really key thing to remember though is with true Hybrid Vigour, the offspring grows larger than the parents. So a Std Poodle x Golden Retriever is likely to be larger than both parents when fully grown. Add in early desexing and you have a sizeable dog on your hands. If she is still keen on the cross, maybe push her towards a slightly older dog. She can then know what she is in for - in the size and coat type department. I'm sure a bit of googling can find some London based rescue/pound organisations.

You said to have rear dew claws was illegal. Full Stop. There is no LEGAL requirements involved. In *your* breed, rear dew claws are to be removed. That is not a LEGAL ruling, it's a statement in the standard. To have dew claws is a fault, it's not "illegal". I originally found the humour in the idea that someone thought a government banned dogs with rear dew claws based on how "lethal" they are. What you were actually saying was- "In my breed, dogs are not supposed to have their dew claws", which is a legitimate and understandable comment. Your original statement was however: So a Pyrnenean Mountain Dog who is taller and heavier than your breed Maremma, has to have not just 1 rear dew claw on each leg but 2.

Dew Claws didn't evolve, their absence is the evolution. 5 digits down to 4. Rear dew claws can appear on any breed of any size. You CAN show dogs with rear dew claws and some breeds ask for the dew claws to be present. Pyrenean Mountain Dogs have to have 2 rear dew claws! 50kg+ Pyreneans have them in the show ring . So do Tibetan Mastiffs and Pyrenean Mastiffs. A front dew claw can catch an artery, as can the teeth of a Jack Russell Terrier. It doesn't make them suddenly "illegal". A kick from a horse can do incredible damage, a kick from a large powerful breed withOUT rear dew claws can do a fair wack of damage too. Doesn't make horse hooves or front dew claws illegal. There was rumbling that the removal of dew claws on pups would fall under the same legislation as tail docking. In the majority of dogs, rear dew claws are removed to prevent injury to the dog not because it's illegal.

If you new import has been cleared by parentage for Prcd-PRA, it means that her parents were tested for it. I would approach the genetic testing companies (ASAP, GTG etc) and ask that they open up the options to do this test on Elkhounds. If they are doing the test in your girl's home country, they can do it here. They shouldn't need your girl for "comparison". You'd only need to lodge her DNA with one of the companies if you wish to use the "Clear by Parentage" they offer after clearing males that are bred to her. What I'm saying here is they don't have to do any research, just use the same Prcd-PRA test on the blood samples from your dogs as they would the breeds they have already listed for that test. Edited to add: Optigen does the test for Prcd-PRA on Elkhound, so whomever is their agent here can do the test here on your Australian dogs

That is hilarious!! Many rear dew claws are removed at 3 days because in a lot of cases they are not properly connected by bone and can tear off causing the dog pain and recovery takes a lot longer. Some breeds are required to have them, and not to kill things with.

I used to make a treat mix, so the dog never knew which one they were getting - cheese, chicken, liver. All in very small pieces. The activity of training and the tiny size of the pieces offset any worry about getting fat. You do have to figure out what your dog likes best and save it for the "special" training sessions.

Lots of people who should know better confuse Powder Puff Cresteds and Lowchen (yes including judges licensed to judge the breeds). Hint: At dog shows, if the butt is bare it's a Lowchen. If the butt is shaggy, it's a PP Crested.

I am keen to know what my all my dogs produce, even those boys I have sold to others. I even let people know that if they run into any problems (health/temperament) that I am eager to know and when I suspected I had a problem popping up in my lines I sent emails to everyone who had my dogs in show/breeding AND owners of their offspring. It basically said "heads up this could be problem, please be on the look out for these symptoms, please check all your dogs" so far had nothing but good responses. My suspicions were unfounded. I also host/run the pedigree database for the breed, so I have all my dogs offspring that has been registered. I have integrated it into my website so that all the offspring of my dogs are listed. If you go here you can see that I dog I sold overseas has all his offspring listed. I'm also the kind of stud owner that helps to sell the pups.

It's hard to find accommodation for employed people with dogs, I would hate to be homeless and try to secure some. Sometimes the dogs are their only real friend and to lose them..

I am not running a business breeding and selling dogs. I don't have waiting lists either. I've had 2 enquiries this week and both were responded to within 3 days. However I have nothing to sell and not expecting to have anything in the near future either. People do have businesses associated with their dogs - boarding kennels, grooming salons etc. That is allowed.

Steve, what is your point? This paragraph is almost unreadable. Please use proper paragraphs, get to the point instead of having a block of text. QCCC does not exist and never did. It was CCCQ is now trading as DogsQueensland. The lack of support for the new system does provide a way of protest. Our "Clem 7" tunnel here in Brisbane has not been used due to the high cost of the tolls and the number of speed cameras. The lack of use has lead to the operators to heading into receivership.

If money is no object - Queenland Vet Specialists at West Chermside. It's a specialist centre, and somethings are expensive (and some surprisingly are not!) but I trust what most of the vets have to say. The guy who owns/runs it is a marvel - Dr Richard Eaton-Wells. He's an orthopaedic specialist but was a general vet for a most of his career. If we think it's possibly serious, we go there.

It's a bitch that meets my approval. She maybe lovely, registered and titled but unsuitable for the male (same faults, doubling on a health issue etc). So basically I ask bitch owners to do the sell on me. Why do they wish to use my male, what they are after? If I can see their reason and logic in it, and there should be no serious health issues, then I say yes. To me a bitch owner who asks to use my male "to see what we get" or to "get new lines" (ie imported ones) is going to be a flat no, unless I've been secretly scheming to get the bitch . But that is a very rare thing.

The back in the CCCQ days, they only gave out breeder details of those who had paid $70 to advertise in the magazine (and a bit more for the web), that could be considered an endorsement of the breeder, yes? So the dollars for endorsement of a breeder thing has been going on for quite some time. DogsQLD is NOT the first stop for puppy buyers, google is. I'm wondering if accrediation with have any affect at all, as many clueless people don't even know what DogsQLD is. As I said previously, I let my actions speak for me. It means a hell of a lot more than a jpeg and 2 words.

I had a conversation with a breeder friend. Midway through her chatter I didn't know if she was talking about one of her dogs, one of her children or her grandchildren. She gives all her dog's people names and I was totally confuzzled! That's when I decided to avoid regular people given names. Make it simpler for people who can't remember all the names of the people in my life or all my dogs. But I decided to give the bitches in my last Lowchen litter "goat herder" names - Gretchen and Heidi. I kept Heidi, and very shortly met a woman named Heidi and see her often. Very confusing! Funnily most people think Gretchen is called Gretel... I love naming dogs "different" names and own - BumBum, Crumpet, Pash, Hoff, Tribbles

If someone is going to speak ill of you, they will use whatever they have at their disposal. I've seen breeders spoken about as if they are dirt because of how much they charge for a show puppy - it was cheaper than the "pet quality" of the speaker and therefore that meant they were less than pet quality. If you breed more litters than someone, then you are a puppy farmer. If you breed less than you aren't serious. There already exists ways to advertise the "betterness" - Top Breeder competitions, Number of Champions, bred by an International Judge etc etc. Just cos I don't win any of those doesn't mean I can't sell puppies. If someone wants to construe that I am less ethical because I'm not accredited, they can go right ahead. I guess it's not the first negative connotation slung my way. It doesn't make it any truer. edited to add - I let my actions speak. These sorts of schemes are about the appearance of ethics and none of the actions of it.

You can apply to have dispensation to enter (and/or exhibit) a dog in a show, pending reregistration. I had to do that for some Royals on dogs that I have brought in. Allowed me to enter shows before the dog arrived in the country and had it's paperwork processed.

Wags I can see that you have totally ignored the views of experienced breeders expressed here. Of course you know better, know more than anyone else. Especially those old, stupid breeders who know nothing. Good luck to you.

For allergies, I highly recommend the person interact with the breed. There is a bit of diversity in their hair (much like the Havanese) so better to do a "trial run" with one. They are not true shedders (like spitz or smooth coated breeds) but will drop some hair (so low shedding) but I've known people who drop more hair than my dogs. :rolleyes: I would say the ball park for a pet Lowchen is $700 - $900. Some will sell for less, some for more. Testing - Knees and Eyes for parents, knees for pups. I run an online database of health results for Lowchen at http://www.lowchenworld.com/health

Desexing removes the testes, thus removes the hormones produced by them. A vasectomy just cuts the tubes that deliver sperm from the testes to the doodle. Both stop pups being produced, but one allows for the dog to utilise the hormones during growth and development. It's like having a cake and eating it too.

Don't forget the Lowchen ;) It's the one Bichon type breed available that you missed. I find Lowchen and Bichon Frise are the most active and animated of the 4 Bichon types in Australia. Havanese are dinky charming little guys, who like to play. Maltese are at the sweeter end, still active and alert. I love the rough and tumble of a Lowchen, they are the sort to pick themselves up when they fall over and keep going. They have high pain thresholds and a real zest for life. The typical temperament is very people friendly, not shy about much and very quick to pick up on things. They love their food so clicker training is super easy, and you are never worrying if they'll eat tonight. Lowchen do bark, and I've heard Bichon Frise have been known to be vocal too... But it's a big dog bark and not a yap. You don't have to have them in the Lion trim, they can be all over shaggy and come in a huge assortment of colours, some of which hide dirt very well.

For the Lowchen, the pups stay in my room until 8 weeks. But my dogs sleep in pens in the room anyway. The last litter I had to keep the bitch from squashing the baby for the first 4 or 5 days. Baby would cry, mum would whinge but not move off the baby she was squashing. . Litter before that I had to monitor all feedings (and top up feed) for about 4 days. I was awake every 3 hours, just easier to do right next to the bed. For Afghans, if it's warm enough, they are moved to a puppy run at 4 weeks. Last litter didn't move out until 8 weeks.

The Accredited breeder system has it's failures. Those who have been breeding for a large number of years and witnessed the dodgy goings on that have happened in the past can see how the Accredited Breeder system is flawed. Their lack of participation is a strong indication of this. As it stands the accrediation system does nothing to weed out the unethical. And it does not provide a significant improvement for buyers. So why should a breeder who is highly ethical pay the extra money for something that gives no more protection to buyers and that they do not believe in?