sandgrubber

If you're breeding and required to chip, might be worth putting out $220 and getting your own scanner . . . they're available at that price from whelpingsupplies.com.au. I would not want to mix up the pups once they've been chipped. Not again . . . I did it once and it caused a lot of drama/trauma.

Rose actually threw herself on top of Barbara in an effort to stop the Labrador-cross from doing more damage. The attack happened so quickly. Another neighbour who heard the screams and Rose's cries for help, phoned the Police. Rose's son was 19 years old. It was amazing how the local press ran with the suggestion that it was a Pit Bull cross. Anyway... that fatal attack changed the Local Laws forever. The resulting Court case was horrendous for both Barbra Stringer's Family and for Rose. That's where the quote that the 19 year old was going to make his dog a killing machine originated and every Pit Bull Terrier in Queensland paid the price for that brag. What a horrible and strange story. I've never seen a dog be waggy friendly, then turn vicious, jump the fence, and attack (much less kill) someone who wasn't doing much to provoke attack (waving a wheel lock and saying 'you naughty boy' doesn't sound that offensive), then go back to waggy friendly at the vets. Making a dog savage requires some dedication and skill . . . the kid's brag sounds to me like hot air. Makes me wonder if someone missed something. It's Australia, so unlikely the dog was rabid . . . maybe a tumor or something? Guess we'll never know . .. but it's a poor reflection on governance that the case has fed BSL.

Here's another charmer: What is the dog show circuit like in Australia? The dog show circuit is active in Australia and is taken very seriously by the pedigree dog breeders who frequent them. The dog show circuit uses the written breed standard as the basis in determining ‘winners’ just as they do in the UK. The RSPCA would like to see a fundamental change in the attitudes of show judges, with much less emphasis placed on physical traits. Unlike footy, rugby, cricket, basketball, cycling, and a dozen other sports, whose supporters don't take the game seriously at all. What is the show circuit supposed to use for judging conformation if not the written breed standard? The judge's reading of the dog's aura? Fine with me if they say some standards should move back toward earlier, less exaggerated forms . . . I'd agree with that . . . though respect people who would be opposed. And I think it would be good if some standards included more health-oriented criteria, such as making signs of allergy or shortness of breath explicit faults. As for 'much less emphasis' on physical traits . . . health criteria are physical traits. You can't say on the one hand that standards should include health criteria, and on the other that standards should place less emphasis on physical traits. Not to mention totally ignoring other parts of the show circuit, such as agility, obedience, herding, tracking, retrieving, dancing with dogs, and the rest. The person who wrote this stuff must have been asleep at the time . . and not known much about pedigree dogs.

Could add, Labradors . . . and most pedigree dogs . . . aren't any more prone to joint disorders than humans. What fraction of us will suffer some sort of arthritis in old age? I'd guess it's well over 20%. yes. Idiot owners who dont train them, feed them a rubbish diet, let them get to double the ideal weight, let them jump about as pups then complain all the problems are the 'lines' or 'genetics'.

Their comments about individual breeds are, in some cases, quite silly. For example, my breed seems to be praised with faint damnation: "Are Labradors predisposed to any disorders? Labradors in Australia can also have eye and joint problems. Responsible breeders screen their animals via the Australian National Kennel Council/Australian Veterinary Association Canine Hip Dysplasia/Elbow dysplasia and Eye Scheme" Duh! Most breeds and most crossbreeds can have joint problems . . . in Australia, and everywhere else. Registered Lab breeders are required to screen for hip and elbow problems, and if you do breed comparisons, Labs come off pretty well. And they can't even get the names of the screening programs right, or make the distinction between genetic screening for PRA and annual checkups.

No. I'm crazy. My dogs are all sane. But I'd be crazier if I didn't have dogs. :D

I'm having a lot of trouble posting . . .This may come out a mess. Thanks for details. I tend to like Lab X's but had one very bad experience with a Lab X APBT in kennels. So I like to get the details. these are probably obscure in this case. Cross breeds are a crap shoot. the HA/DA problem sometimes gets worse, sometimes gets toned down. I wish I knew what the system is doing .. . it doesn't allow me to edit anything. bugger, bugger, bugger bugger bugger. There will be nothing on the net about labrador x as related to this. The dog was named as a pitbull by the media following the fatal attack. The dog was in fact, a cross bred obtained as an adult from the local pound. After destruction, a pm was done by the poundkeeper, a very experienced dog person (and judge), and he and several other witnesses said the dog was a "labrador x some sort of bull breed" The rest is as Justin says. . . . We have told you the facts, what more do you need. Mrs. Barbara Stringer was feeding the animals of a friend, who was on holiday. She stopped and spoke to the next door neighbour, who was the mother of the owner of the dog. The dog, which was in the neighbouring yard with the owner's mother, came up to the dividing fence and barked at her. She was holding a steering wheel lock (not 100% on this, something similar), and she waved it at the dog, saying "oh, you're a naughty boy", at which the dog hurdled the fence and attacked her, causing fatal injuries. The dog was seized by the council, and put down. When interviewed, friends of the owner ( who was a youth), said he boasted that he would make the dog savage. . . . What a joke. Seems to me that the facts are hard to come by . . . I breed Labs and find them much more inclined to go under than over fences, and I find very low propensity to HA/DA. Any black, yellow or brown med-large dog with ears that flop down and short coat is a Lab cross -- no? I've had people ask me if one of my girls was a Pit Bull. No intelligent person with any breed will deny that it's possible to have strong aggression in their breed. I think, given an accurate set of statistics, some breed tendencies would show up.

http://www.rspcavic.org/campaigns_news/ima...d_Questions.pdf Copying the first two paragraphs Is there a problem with pedigree dog breeding in Australia? Yes. A wide range of serious welfare problems currently exist in pedigree dog breeds in Australia due to selective breeding to breed standards. This is a major concern for the RSPCA. These problems include: - difficulty breathing - difficulty walking - difficulty giving birth without veterinary intervention - serious problems with their eyes - serious problems with their skin - chronic back and hip problems Are the issues in Australia similar to those in the UK? The documentary – Pedigree Dogs Exposed – uses specific examples about problems with pedigree dogs in the UK, however, we do have similar problems here in Australia. All the breeds featured in the program are present in Australia. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is the 4th most popular ‘registered’ breed, Pug 7th, Boxer 11th and Rhodesian Ridgeback 19th. While the full extent of these problems in the Australian pedigree dog population is currently unknown, there is no evidence to indicate that they are significantly different from those experienced overseas. Dog breeding in Australia is subject to the same breed standards and breeding practices as in the UK. The only major difference is that the pedigree dog population is much smaller, which means there are less individuals in each breed.:

I think the only serious problem with chicken is bacteria load. babies don't handle Salmonella at all well. I've raised many litters using a lot of chopped frames . . . had a few cases of the runs. One of my vets says he's seen baby pups die from salmonella.So if you do feed chooks, make sure it's fresh and avoid the gut region of the carcass.

The link provided point s to Page Not Found. Last time I looked at registration states, Lab and SBT were about equal for most popular. Most of the Maltese I see in kennels are not pedigree, and many are x breeds, mostly shih tzu x maltese.

Good on him or the people who paid him. Dog shows get stuffy/boring. Would be good to have both sexes represented, though .

I vote for tolerance. Some idiots have loud car stereos too. I don't like it, but can't be bothered to complain. It's not likely to resolve the situation, and if I concentrate on staying calm, it's no problem.

Ultrasound is not a commodity. You have to know something about the quality of the machine and the skill of the operator before you can say whether results are likely to be meaningful. I stopped using ultrasound to confirm pregnancy when Murdoch Uni stopped offering the service at a reasonable price. They not only confirmed pregnancy, but were generally on the mark about numbers, and they also let you know how many pups had been absorbed. They were moving toward doing sex determinations. Then they stopped offering the service. If it's just to confirm a pregnancy . . . I'd just wait a couple weeks. By then you should have a pretty good idea. Ok . .. if your girl phantoms, ultrasound may tell you what's going on.

Note, if daily walkies don't work for you, a treadmill may make it easier . . . just one thing discuss with whoever you end out helping you on the training/behaviour front.

You're getting good advice. Training is the key. I train my dogs to understand that 'crazy' is not acceptable on a walk and they all get over the crazy stage quickly. If you haven't learned how to teach a dog what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, you will find a trainer helpful.

I'd be willing to bet the puppy is trying to do the right thing. My little guys often choose the spare room. Instinct tells them to go away from the nesting area and the spare room doesn't have 'people nest' smells so it seems like a good place to unload. I'd recommend closing the door of the spare room . ..the problem will probably take care of itself as the pup ages.

If the conclusions could be predicted in advance there's no point to doing the research. "It's complicated and there's no simple answer" is a valid and useful conclusion. It sounds to me like the direction of the research asks questions that are crucial to the initial stages of a rescue dog's adoption. It may turn out that dogs that don't greet the stranger will often cosey up to the stranger after a few days of the owner's absence. I don't see the study leading to full conclusions or unambiguous conclusions . . . but if the data are sorted out, I think they could provide a good first step in predicting which rescue dogs will thrive and which present problems . . . .and perhaps insight into how to prepare the adopting family to deal with the problems that come up (eg, 'give it a week . . . be friendly . .. the initial 'coolness' is likely to go away')"". Sounds like some interesting observations are being collected. Sorry I'm in WA or I'd be happy to flood the study with Labradors."

She may even surprise you and get milk. Mine do.

In my book it's fair to lodge verbal campaigns. If the PETA mob manages to convince the world to forsake the old three litter word 'pet' -- which is often used for beloved people as well as non-human animals in favour of the clap-trap 'companion animal' we have ourselves to blame. If there is real evidence that a bunch of animal lib loonies are killing show dogs, and 'rescued' dogs that could easily be rehomed are being PTS, it's sad that the dog world's PR is so poor that this isn't effectively used to discredit PETA and get a few people locked up or fined big-time. Sandgrubber, it is not the random horrible acts by PETA, or promoting themselves as a shelter, and then euthanasing all the dogs, it is the long term propaganda campaign they mounted which is the biggest worry. The success they have achieved to date shows that they are likely to achieve all their stated aims. They have stated and well publicised aims, yet people do not believe them. Ingrid Newkirk said that changing the language was important, "companion animal" had different connotations from "pet". She said that in 1998/9, when all pets were named as dogs or cats, or pets, even in scientific papers Now pets are referred to as companion animals everywhere, scientific papers, on this forum, in the newspapers, everywhere.

I'd guess that a 6 kg dog will only produce less than 300 g of ash, maybe as little as 100 g. I would think you could find many pleasing ways to store the remains . . . a pretty box . . . an urn . . . and if you like th the green side of things . . . yes, you could mix the remains with potting soil and allow something to grow again. I also like the idea of sprinkling ashes in one of the dog's favorite spots . . . that's what I hope someone does with my ashes when I go.

Long ago I had a Mexican friend who liked the US because people joined at the end of the que . . . rather than the front as happens in Mexico. In the time I've been on DOL, I've notice a bit of the problem that happens when everyone joins at the front . . . and the bottom entries just keep moving down. I think we're loosing active forums as Breeds 101, In the News etc. move to the top of the que. And I think the pinned discussions are great, but I tire of seeing them every time I go on to a forum . . . when I've seen them several hundred times before. I don't mean this as criticism. Just reflection . . . if no one else has the same sort of concerns, I'm happy to shut up. I know it won't be discussed if it ends up next-to-last in the forum que.

I've had a few Groodles (booked in as GR X) in kennels and have no problem with the cross, other than it's wide range of variation. A few groodle owner have confessed to me that they didn't understand that X poodle could mean mini, standard or toy -- mostly people who were shocked when it was X standard. 100 years ago, the Labrador was pretty much of a mish-mash cross breed, and the breed has turned out pretty well -- from my biased perspective.

I like the idea of a studies about dogs header somewhere and have been watching the one in the General Dog Discussion. I don't think it's working very well. Only a couple people have posted. I think it's unfortunate that there's no discussion of what has been posted, as some studies warrant discussion. It isn't evolving into a useful reference compilation, as I -- and no doubt others -- had hoped would happen. As the number of headers on DOL grows, some important topics, like training, go off the list and you have to scroll down to see them. This should have gone in the forum suggestions area . . . but I don't think very many people scroll down to the bottom in the list of forums . . . so that area is a waste of breath.

I did some taxidermy as a teenager. It's ok if you want to make a museum specimen out of some road kill. The thought of doing it to someone's dog is horrifying.

Jed states: "When Mrs Stringer was attacked and killed in Toowoomba Q, the headline should have read 'LABRADOR CROSS KILLS WOMAN' - NOT 'pitbull' etc." I have never hear of Mrs Stringer (I only move do to Oz in 1996) and nothing I can come up with using Google says Labrador Cross .. . I do come up with some "not pit-bull" statements. Can you give better references? ok . . . no bites. Is "labrador" just being used figuratively as the epitomy of a dog not thought to be aggressive? Seem to remember a doco that said APBT dogs bred specifically for fighting were exported in the EU by labeling them as Labrador X boxer.