sandgrubber

This should not be the case with an experienced breeder . . . who should have a baseline of experience raising dogs and seeing the outcomes. There is genetic research being done on this . . . unless they have folded for lack of funding. See http://www.k9behavioralgenetics.net/updates.php One thing they found is that Border Collies are more prone to noise phobias than GSD's or Aussies.

I remember Snake Catcher saying something about dogs that go for lizards are likely to go for snakes . . . and training dogs off lizards is likely to train them off snakes. How about some aversion training with lizards as they show up? You should get anti-snake training at the same time.

We hear a lot about autosomal inheritance . . . also about popular sire syndrome. I found the following story interesting. It goes into both sex linked inheritance and sire lines into detail by example. The author traces his two dogs, and the top 30 winning border collies' pedigrees back to the time the stud books closed and speculates a little about it . . . thoughtfully . . . with a message, but without gloom, doom and judgement. http://www.astraean....sire-lines.html p.s. I found a good -- at least for me -- tutorial on sex linked chromosomes at http://www.ksu.edu/biology/pob/genetics/xlinked.htm It doesn't look like many dog genetic diseases are sex linked. Haemophilia, perhaps some vision problems. But who knows about complex genetics.

oops . . . answered without reading carefully.

Scary! I don't understand the statement: "There's no rabies in Australia other than bat rabies . . ." In the US, bats get the same rabies as all other mammals, and picking up a sick bat is one of the most common way the disease is transmitted to humans. Is 'bat rabies' just baby talk for Hendra virus? The Torres Straight is only about 150 km wide and has islands in it's middle. I'd think transmission by bat would be a real concern.

Murdoch Uni Vet School used to have a pet-oriented poison garden, with labelled plants, to teach people about things to avoid. Don't know if it's still there . . . it may have fallen to building expansion. Anyone know of similar gardens elsewhere? Seems like a good thing to suggest to some of the botanic gardens.

The puppy tooth fairy comes and takes them ;););)

I have gun dogs and I would not breed from a gun shy dog without a damn good reason.

The fireworks woke me up, but the dogs slept right through them. They're used to target practice . . . we're rural and not a no shooting zone and have neighbours who provide a wide variety of booms. I think they like it. One advantage of a well bred gun dog.

Good luck with the litter! I can't remember which antibiotics are ok and which endanger teeth, but I'm pretty sure some ABs are safe. Amoxicillin and Clavulox are ok if I remember right. But don't go on my advice. I'm just kicking the can down the road. Someone else will have more info.

Sooo cute! I've never been around a pup who was blind from an early age. Looks like she has a little hesitancy about things . . . but enjoys life like a normal pup.

Rehoming is a bit like divorce. Sometimes it doesn't work out and all are better off if the sides part. I agree with the sentiment, but where the dog is happier in the new home than the old, I think rehoming is good. Sure, some people should never have gotten a dog in the first place. But you can't turn the clock back. We all need to be grateful to shelters, foster homes, Gumtree, breed rescue orgs, and all the other institutions that help with difficult transitions for dogs who ended up with the wrong family. And breeders need to be careful in screening puppy buyers.

Ehem, like my ex neighbours... They had a Rottie. They stuck it in the back yard and ignored it. One day I had a knock on the door from a guy from the council. The neighbours had called and reported they found a stray dog and shut it up in their back yard, can someone take it to the pound. They weren't home when he came around so he came over to ask me about it. I looked over the fence, "no, that's their dog" He left without taking her. A week later the dog was gone, a week after that they got a new puppy, a staffy cross. Because, "The old dog destroyed the yard" What lowlife wankers

There's a lesson here: Dogs can be really stupid about going over cliffs. Do not allow them off lead around severe drop-offs, and for dog's sake, don't throw anything over a cliff when there's a dog nearby Some 25 years ago I went walking with my mother, her Lab, my Lab, and a GR I was looking after in a large area of public land in Pennsylvania. Suddenly we had only two Labs. After much looking and calling we found the GR had fallen over a cliff face. When I scrambled to the bottom I found the poor girl drawing her last breaths. Much trauma. It's bad enough seeing a dog die. Worse to explain what happened to the owner of a dog you were looking after.

And then there's the tragic story of the old Labbie who was taken to the vet because she bit one of the kids. After he gave her the green dream, the vet noticed that she had a number of staples through her ear.

The local parks department is holding a dog walk, in one of the local on leash parks. It's billed as teaching lessons in dog etiquette! I hope they get good attendance.

I got Sprocket, my first Lab as a rescue. According to the shelter she was surrendered because the family who bought her was told that once a girl was speyed her pee wouldn't leave green circles on the lawn. They had her speyed, and she continued to detract from the perfectly manicured lawn, so they put her up for adoption. Sprocky was a wonderful dog . . . easy to live with, and with a terrific sense of humor.

Good on you for doing your 'research' by fostering dogs. As a Lab breeder, it's good to hear someone confirming the effort that good pedigree breeders put into health and temperament makes it worthwhile for an intelligent puppy buyer.

I think this is one of the reasons why Joe Public are wary of 'show people'. If you see a dog with beautiful temperament, multiple sports titles or a great working ability yet are dismissed as not worthy of breeding because they have floppy ears or a white blaze on their chest, people are going to question the value of the standard. +1 Also please read the 'born to suffer' thread in the News Discussion . . . in breeds where show conformation has serious health consequences, it may be better to breed from a 'pet quality' dog than a 'show quality' dog.

I've had that dream too . . . forgot all about it . . . remember waking up and thinking 'how weird'.

Depends a lot on what you are hunting and what sort of dog you want. Eg, some are better for flushing game, others for retrieving, some better for water, others for dryland. Some people like long hair, others want only short; some breeds are more headstrong, others softer. Within the breed you'll also find great ranges . .. eg, some Labbies are more built for running and jumping, while others are more suited to swimming and beating through heavy bush.

YOu think the Australian system is bad. Here in California, the county (read council) registration system generously cross registered the two dogs I brought with me from Oz. . . then the Registration company sent me a bill for $21 for each dog to continue the registration. Apparently they soak you for an annual fee to keep your dog on the database. Don't you love the free market.

Anybody else have strange dreams about their dogs? A couple nights ago I dreamed that I looked at Bonza's belly and was amazed to see that she had four rows of teats . . . giving her a total of 20. In the dream I was surprised that I hadn't noticed them before, and was little worried that someone was going to say it was the result of inbreeding. [Odd notion: She has only one repeat name on her 5 generation pedigree. The repeat is in gen 5].

Get involved with council. As permanent residents, you are in a position to see that the Ranger patrol gets its numbers doubled during the holidays.

Why not just leave the dog inside?