sandgrubber

Both with kennel clients and with my own dogs, I've found that the most effective diet is small portions of a very high quality dry food, with treats a few times a week. The best treats for weight loss are things like chunks of carrot and apple . . . the same sorts of things Weight Watchers would recommend. Protein rich/low fat things, like an occasional egg or a tablespoon of yoghurt are also ok. It's soooo easy, when you do barf plus this and that to be generous here and there. My dogs do better with smaller portions of a quality regular food than larger portions of the low calorie version. They generally cut calories by cutting fats, and I find that if I get the fat down below 8% range, the dogs coats go to hell. I think the reason this works is that it's so easy to measure dry food and to avoid feeling sorry for the little beggers and giving them a pinch more.

News? Well . . . if you're in the mood for weird blogs, try this one (occasionally dogs) http://crappytaxidermy.com/ a sample

Something stupid, like approach a dog? Or something stupid like taking a dog that bites into an environment where it is likely to be provoked? Now if both sides took responsibility . . . people minded their manners approaching dogs and people with dogs that bite muzzled them before taking them in public / crowded places or playgrounds . . . there would be a lot fewer dog bites.

Doesn't mean he hadn't done it before; and you also can't believe everything you read in the papers. The public NEVER gets the full story. But the public often gets a lot of trumped up junk, some part of which is racist. Remember the story about eating koala a few months back . . . .except it turned out that the animal was a bamboo rat.

It's also wrong that people are tried in the media based on heresay, and that the media beat-up is used as a basis for slagging off different cultures and letting Trantor portray herself as a hero. If they had found any evidence of a meat market catering to the small minority of Asian taste that believes snake or dog or other exotic meat has some magical power (usually sexual), there would have been basis for bringing up the dog meat question. But even then, you have to allow for and respect the fact that the vast majority of the Asians in Australia are as horrified by animal cruelty as the Anglos. . As for 'reliable sources' . . . lynch mobs in the US South have acted on 'reliable sources' as well. No reporter identifies their source as 'someone with an axe to grind' even when this is clearly the case. I'm reminded of that stupid 'eating koala bear' thread where the koala turned out to be a bamboo rat. To my eyes, the dog shown would be ~ 4 on the profile scale (where 5 is starved, 1 obese, and 3 just about right). That's probably better for health than lots of our overfed pooches. The cage looks ghastly, but we don't know that that dog was actually confined to it. Dirty water? You should see my dog water bowl after the dogs have been digging in the mud and come in for a drink. No one stated that the dogs did not have water. Not one of the supposed dog meat customers was named . . . if they exist, at all, who is to say they aren't all good Aussies of convict descent? There appears to have been a firm basis for trying these guys on drugs, weapons, stolen goods, and keeping wildlife and unregistered dogs. Why make a big deal about allegations that were not backed with evidence.

Agree 100% There are some places where a mean (reactive) dog should not be allowed to react. Like a public park, a crowded street, or tied up outside a supermarket. In such circumstances a 'reactive' dog of the biting variety is ticking bomb. If you take a reactive dog into situations where he is likely to draw blood, you are responsible. We also expect people to be able to tolerate surprising approaches without turning around and slugging the person who approaches . . . especially if the person who approaches is under a meter tall. No question, people should teach their children to ask before patting a dog. But welcome to the real world. Lots of people don't do what they should do and kids don't always do what they are taught to do.

I agree completely. . . With respect to homozygosity, function is important. It matters where, on what chromosome, homozygosity is found, but navigation of the genome is a subject I've put in the 'too hard basket'. I'm inclined to believe that MHC/DLA matters with a lot of immune functions and may be important in hormonal balance, but I wouldn't bet much on it. Research is ongoing fast and furiously on this subject . . . hopefully we'll know more in years to come and some useful tests will become available. We all have to make our own decisions, given that evidence is not conclusive and there are some hot opinions on both sides.. But questions of inbreeding aside, I think the tendency to premature delivery is roughly equivalent to inability to free whelp. If the dam had it and the daughter has it, I'd think twice before breeding . . . or keeping a daughter/granddaughter to carry on the line. Good luck, whatever you decide.

13 months is about spot on for the average tempered dog. The more self-assured individuals start months younger, particularly when they live under the same roof. And then you have some super sharp cases that think they're all that by 12 and 16 weeks. I should have said, after several years of working with thousands of dogs in a boarding kennel (I did most of the feeding, cleaning, and exercise supervision for 5 yrs), I'd say 13 mo is young . . . and if its bad now, it's likely to be much worse six months from now. Your breed may have a higher propensity for males to fight . . . and start relatively. Or my observations may wrong. Our problem Akita didn't start being a problem until ~ 2 yrs . . . the GSD problems show indications at a year or so, but don't seem to get nasty till ~18 mo. With Labs (my own breed), well socialised entire males are generally ok together, but caution is needed when there's a bitch on season around.

It's widespread. Not sure why that article focused on Hunte. Many US puppy mills sell ACK registered pups, and it's not hard to build a case that the AKC is dependent on puppy mill registration revenues.This is just the first article I pulled up on Google . . . you can find hundreds. http://www.citizensagainstpuppymills.org/pmakc.php

The lifespan data came from the UK Kennel Club 2004 health survey and the Finnish Kennel Club.

Could be there's a market for dog meat. Could be that the newspapers know they will sell more copy if they draw the attention of dog lovers and racists sorts who think all Asians love to eat dogs. Donnow. There are lots of self serving people and groups out there and sometimes it's hard to find the truth.

sounds horrifying and traumatic. Your poor dogs. What a creep! Such attacks are totally unacceptable, as is refusal to provide ID or take responsibility. THE IDIOT IS RESPONSIBLE. No one should tie a dog up outside a shop unless the dog is 100% reliable. Where are you in WA? People may be able to give you tips about specific councils. I wouldn't make a big deal about the breed. There are aggressive individuals in most breeds . . . even though Staffie crosses are especially common and tend to end out in not-so-good homes, I think it's better if the law is interpreted based on what the owner and dog do, not what breed the dog is.

I resisted replying earlier cause I wanted to hear replies from the OP. A few further variables that need to be considered in the equation - 13 mo is quite young to start showing male-male aggression. With larger breeds it's not uncommon to go through a temperament change between 1 and 3 years. Guarding responses generally get stronger in my experience, as do dog aggression problems. - The Neo is a breed with lots of health problems. Breed longevity data is absurdly bad . . . but the two data-based estimates I can find for life expectancy of a Neo are 2.2 years and 4 yr 11 mo. Labs, on the other hand, tend to be good for at least 10 yr, even in the sources that give short lifespans. Before deciding to rehome your Lab and keep your Neo, you might do well to make sure the Neo is in very good health. You can Google the breed health problems and find out what to look out for. You're going to feel horrible if you rehome your Lab and then face major, painful, and expensive health problems with the Neo. X-rays, at a minimum, to rule out OCD/HD. A breeder's website to look at http://runestone.neapolitan.us/Health.html p.s. some puppies are laid back because that's their temperament. Others don't like to move because they hurt.

I don't know the answer, and may be flamed for suggesting this, but is your girl from a breed that commonly has reproductive problems? Is she from a breed that has a small gene pool? This is the sort of reproductive failure I'd expect from dogs with a high degree of homozygosity, either due to inbreeding or due to a small founder population and/or some bottlenecks in the breed evolution. This may seem harsh and forgive me for suggesting, but personally, I don't think a girl who can't carry pups to full term should be bred from. I wish someone could tell me a reason this happens - and the trouble is that you don't know it is going to happen to you loose pups - I know my girl's mother was an excellent breeder and I must say except for the fact that she had to have the suppliments to get her to full term all was extremely good - she delivered the 8 pups without a problem - and out of the 3 other dogs I have bred it was the easiest delivery yet. She reared the pups very well and came through it all as fit as a fiddle - I would love with all my heart to keep a pup from her if I do decide to let her go again - I don't know any other breeders of my breed who have had this happen - the two dogs I put together were not close at all but you don;'t always know what has happened several generations back - its still a mystery to me but all I can say is that I am not sorry I did it - her pups were all beautiful and healthy and she is her wonderful bouncy self. I wonder how she would be with a different mate though. If mini = miniature bull terrier, there's a good theoretical reason for it to happen. This is a pretty technical article http://jhered.oxford...nt/94/1/81.full It looks at the genetic diversity of 28 breeds by looking at the amount of 'mixing' (heterozygosity) in different alleles. The bull terrier and miniature bull terrier had the worst scores of the lot. Excess sorting out of genes (homozygosity) can cause all sorts of problems, depending on where it happens. It also leads to very predictable 'type', so breeders like it. For some less technical descriptions of these problems . . . though a little militantly pro-diversity . . . see http://www.astraean....inbred-mistakes I'd read the one on lab mice first. Your girl isn't a lab mouse, and that's a much much more extreme situation . . . but the MBT is going that direction. There are people on DOL who deny that inbreeding depression happens . . . but on the far end of the spectrum (very highly inbred) it has been observed in many species and there's every reason to expect it to be found in dogs (the article on Island Wolves on the BorderWars site is pretty convincing). Yes, a different dog might help. Go for the genetically most distant dog you can find. As the gene pool for minis is very small, it's important to go back many generations, like 10 or more if you can. Or alternatively, you might want to use the testing route: http://www.petproduc...og-litters.aspx or http://www.wisdompanel.com/assets/1/7/canine_chronicle.pdf edited to fix quotes

You might also want to ask your local vet about distemper. It is almost extinct in some parts of Australia. It has been a big problem in Southern California, where Dr Dodds lives, because native fox and coyote populations can carry it. This is dynamic. The grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus . . .not closely related to the fox you have in Oz) suffered a horrible distemper epidemic some years back, and the disease moved into the unvaccinated dog population. The fox has bounced back . . . presumably now a much more resistant species.

If the dog is pedigree, you might want to talk with the breeder. Addisons is believed to be hereditary. Univ of California, Davis, is currently studying it in bearded collie, great dane, leonberger, standard poodle, Portuguese water dog and West Highland white terrier . . . I think most breeds can get be affected. There's a good chance that a genetic test for it will be available . . . here's a short description of UC Davis work on Addisons (they're also studying Epilepsy). http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=TUFTSBG2005&PID=10627&O=Generic Complex segregation analyses confirm the genetic component and suggest that the best fit mode of inheritance is autosomal recessive with modifying genes. In other words, Addison's appears to be polygenic but with a major controlling gene. The lesser genes likely regulate the age of onset and the progression of the disorder. Of note, is that there is no sex affect in any of the breeds reflecting an equal number of males and females diagnosed with Addison's disease.

Thanks everybody for playing this game. My girls didn't bark, but jumped up from a cold sleep and did their little dance at the door saying "URGENT, let us out!" They are familiar with coyotes, racoons, and grey foxes. (Thank Dog they haven't met Mr. Skunk yet). It would be interesting to re-do this in a more serious way. I'd love to know whether the dogs that responded saw coyote as dog, or as "something like dog", or "some sort of animal out there". Hard to know whether dogs who slept through it were tired, or had gotten blase' (how do you do accent marks ?) from hearing a lot of animal recordings, or just aren't reactive to such things. Guess I should have included an option for vocalizations. If anyone knows a highschool kid who needs a science project . . . re-doing this in a more serious way would make an interesting little experiment. Could add the cat fight noises and do cats (or dogs).

I don't know the answer, and may be flamed for suggesting this, but is your girl from a breed that commonly has reproductive problems? Is she from a breed that has a small gene pool? This is the sort of reproductive failure I'd expect from dogs with a high degree of homozygosity, either due to inbreeding or due to a small founder population and/or some bottlenecks in the breed evolution. This may seem harsh and forgive me for suggesting, but personally, I don't think a girl who can't carry pups to full term should be bred from.

I did a 3-way share on import of frozen from Auckland to Perth a couple years back. If I remember right, my share came to around $180 . . . so the total cost was ~$550. Of course, surgical insemination wasn't cheap.

In my opinion, if you dump a dog on your parents and give them all the responsibility, you parents own the dog. If there's no microchip and no puppy papers, what's the vet going to say?

If you want to get your cat going they've also got cat fight sounds: http://www.soundboard.com/sb/cat_fight_catfights_clip.aspx

I found this on a 'sounds' website. Loved the comment: I finally found a legal way to get back at my neighbor and his undisciplined dogs! Thanks, this should keep me out of jail. http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Dog_Sounds_sound.aspx ie, If the rangers won't respond, record it and play it back at them!

Do dogs who have never been around coyotes recognise or respond to their calls. Play a little experiment. Go to this site, play a few selections, then vote. http://www.soundboar...ote_sounds.aspx p.s. If you play around with this site you can also find dog sounds with a lot of barks. My dogs were more impressed by the coyotes. http://www.soundboar...unds_sound.aspx

If you ever see Castor & Pollox, it's good competition for Taste of the Wild. Maybe some importer could be convinced to look at it. Mine have been thriving on it. Their ingredient list for Natural Salmon begins: Salmon, salmon meal, herring meal, menhaden fish meal, dried peas, dried potato, tapioca starch . . . It's very rich/concentrated, so small portions: 30% protein, 15% fat, 2.25% Omega 6 fatty acids, 1.75% omega 3's . . . and I feel fine about letting them a few carb-rich scraps on the side.

certainly new to me I did not suggest they are dogs, but they're in the same family as wolves, coyotes and jackals. the point I was trying to make is that I believe that dogs and foxes although primarily carnivorous, are opportunistic feeders, if they come across ripe blackberries they might eat them, if they come across windfall fruit, they might eat it and in the case of my own dogs they eat lots of leafy green plants they find on their daily walks. From Wikipedia . . . reference: Heptner, V. G.; Naumov, N. P. (1998). Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears). Science Publishers, Inc. USA.. "Wolves will supplement their diet with fruit and vegetable matter; they willingly eat the berries of mountain ash, lily of the valley, bilberries, blueberries and cowberry. Other fruits include nightshade, apples and pears. They readily visit melon fields during the summer months." Seems likely they would be happy munching on grapes, bananas or carrots if they were available.