sandgrubber

I wonder how other KC's are going to react. I presume that if the Norwegians start outcrossing the pedigrees won't be recognized in Oz/UK/USA/etc. Will the Swedes and Finns join along? Germans? If they meet their health objectives without outcrossing, I'll bet there will be a lot of people looking for Norwegian pugs to import.

http://web2.nkk.no/e....b7C_wlHMWm.ips Focus on brachycephalic breeds Published 11.04.16Last updated 11.04.16From veterinarians, concerns are frequently raised regarding suffering and reduced functionality among the brachycephalic breeds. The fact that a shortened nose creates a predisposition from problems are by now well documented. The Norwegian Kennel Club has for a significant time focused on the problems regarding respiratory issues and problems with temperature regulation for the brachycephalic breeds. The Norwegian Kennel Club's work has so far consisted of the following: Spreading information and raising awareness among owners, breeders, breed clubs BSI (Breed Specific Instructions regarding exaggerations in pedigree dogs) – this includes both providing general information to judges as well as incorporating BSI as a part of the education of judges), to prevent exaggerated dogs being awarded Breed standards have, in general, been modernized in recent years. However, there are still descriptions in several standards that will make dogs predisposed for reduced functionality and health problems In 2015, the NKK sent a letter to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, encouraging them to make registration of surgery to improve respiratory function for brachycephalic breeds mandatory. The Norwegian Kennel Club offered to manage the register of dogs having undergone this type of surgery. The Norwegian Kennel Club has no information of which dogs, or how many dogs, are currently being operated on?. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority declined the suggestion to register these operations. The Norwegian Kennel Club is currently part of a working group for dog welfare, with several other animal welfare groups in Norway. This group has worked extensively over the past six months on concrete suggestion to improve the health for these breeds The Norwegian Kennel Club wants to establish an endurance test for the brachycephalic breeds – this work is well underway Recently, the Norwegian Kennel Club board voted unanimously to intensify the work to improve the health for the brachycephalic breeds. The intensified efforts will begin this spring, and will include the following: The Norwegian Kennel Club will raise the issue during the Nordic Kennel Union meeting in April 2016 The FCI will be contacted to ensure dialogue with the countries responsible for the breeds in questions. The Kennel Club may also be contacted directly regarding this matter, as they are responsible for several of the brachycephalic breeds. The dialogue with the various countries will include: Outcross projects, with the intent of improving the anatomy of the exposed breeds, without reducing the genepool Extensive revision of the breed standards with descriptions predisposing for health problems/reduced functionality Revision of breed standards for breeds where even shorter noses are likely, or who are close to being at risk (nose/skull=1:2) The Norwegian Kennel Club will establish a voluntary register where owners can report that their dog has been operated for respiratory problems. This will be registered in DogWeb, the Norwegian Kennel Club health database, open to the public. Letters with information regarding surgery may also be sent to breed clubs and breeders Statements from the owner(s) of parents that these dogs have not undergone surgery for for respiratory issues will be registered when the litter is registered. Profile photos of all dogs being shown at dog shows will be taken and registered.

At 10 yrs old, yet! Looks like a very happy, healthy dog.

where I get p.o.'d about the $ is in the markups done by big pharma . . . not the vets. Ivermectin is cheap. I buy the horse/cow formulations and work out dosage for my dogs and an $30 bottle will last me a couple years. I'd be paying $30/mo if I bought Heartguard or other formulations specific for dogs. Likewise spinosad, as an insecticide, costs a tiny fraction of what it costs as the active ingredient in flea meds (no, I'm not brave enough to formulate my own flea meds from insecticides, but I wish someone else would work out a safe way to do so). The big pharma companies view pet meds as a cash cow. Charge what they're willing to pay. And pet owners love their pets enough to open their wallets wide.

The point is that every breed standard for every breed calls for healthy dogs with no breathing/conformation problems which can do whatever their job is. Where things go wrong can be the INTERPRETATION of that standard. A breed standard that can be and is interpreted to favor a type that is inherently unhealthy, such as extreme brachy, is a breed standard that needs to be rewritten. If 'broad head' and 'powerful build' in the Labrador standard got emphasized, and the words with respect to balance got ignored, leading to muscle bound hulks with monster heads (not saying this has happened or is likely to happen), I'd say the standard needed rewriting. Good on the Norwegian KC. Here's hoping they continue on to other breeds whose standards have been pushed to the extreme (Peke comes to mind) and other KC's follow their example.

The best way to 'be seen to be breeding away from' the problem would be to move the goal post. CHANGE THE BREED STANDARD and have BOB's that have at least some nose, open nostrils, and no bug eyes.

Another vote for Bravecto. Going on nine months with no ticks . . . or fleas!!!

I've gotten mixed responses from asking vets about this (with killed vacs). One side says, vaccinate. Even if the bitch is protected, the jabs will up the maternal antibodies and protect the litter. Other side says you don't want to up the maternal antibodies because it will goof up the puppies' vaccination schedule.

I'm impressed -- maybe unjustifiably so -- that a judge gave BOB to a relative outsider. I've never understood how a judge picks #1 among a lot of extremely good dogs . . . all of whom have their strong points and weak points. Seems arbitrary to me . . . and often weighted in favor of the safe option . . . giving the win to the dog who has previously won the most. Hard to imagine lawyers getting involved. Boss' owner must be a very bad sport. Guess it's not beyond imagination that there was some funny business going on and he has a case.

Tetanus is an awful disease . . . though rare. It's worth keeping up with the decadal booster schedule. I'd say the chances of getting tetanus from a dog licking a wound is near zero, but it might be a good excuse to get a booster if you're due anyway. Your own case is something to discuss with a doctor, however.

IMO two bull breed bitches is very high risk, but a bitch and a dog is still high risk. In my boarding kennel days, we found that bull breeds did not confine themselves to same sex violence . . . some will go any dog, particularly other bull breeds. As huski says, with proper training and management, it could be done, though I suspect there is some genetics involved, and a dog that is wired for dog aggression is pretty hard to get unwired. Why risk it? If you do go for two bull breed dogs, you might check with breeders and find a pup whose lines are deliberately selected to breed out dog aggression. I have Labradors and have kept mostly females. Never had a problem . . . they get quite attached to one another. Bull breeds are a different story.

This one isn't bad http://www.revivalanimal.com/articles/active-ingredients-in-wormers.html Given that tapeworm is relatively uncommon and highly apparent when present, I can't see the point of praziquantel on a regular basis. It's an expensive drug. Seems by far to be the preferred treatment for tapeworm, but not good for much else. I just use Pyrantel paomate for worming. I buy the stuff meant for human babies. It's cheap, easy to give, and dogs, including small puppies, are ok with being treated. It also works. I don't give it routinely . . . only when I see worms. The only routine worming I do is Ivermectin (1% stuff sold for livestock), monthly, for heartworm. I measure Ivermectin in a 1 ml syringe and give it by shooting up the yolk when the dogs get an egg. Some dogs, mostly collie lineages, have a mutation that makes them unable to tolerate Ivermectin, so this solution is not for everyone, but when it works it's an excellent solution. There is a genetic test available to make sure your dog doesn't carry the mutation that makes Ivermectin unsafe. Sorry for awkward writing. I don't have time to rewrite.

http://dogsinthegarden.com/plants-friendly.html Lists it as dog friendly as do many other sites. Can't see anyone claiming it has medical bonus, though.

I feed pork neck bones (widely available and cheap in my area) to my dogs (Labradors) from time to time. They are more than ok with them. They don't last long. I suspect they are a lot softer than beef or sheep bones. You'd have to ask your vet about whether they were ok for kidneys though.

Yep! no...only domestic dogs are man made; there are a lot of other dogs out there where humans didn't interfere much with breeding, e.g. dingo. A lot of 'breed histories' are bulldust. What the hell does 'man made' mean? Teriers did not evolve by natural selection in the wild . . . if that's what is implied.

What a cluge! Looks like no science and a whole lot of politics. LGD breedes in both 12 and 24 mo categories . . . Lab 18 mo, Chess and various larger setters, 12 mo; afghan 12 mo, saluki 24 mo.

Aux contraire, photos are essential for learning to recognize what snakes are dangerous . . . especially when the juveniles look so different from the adults. If snakes gross you out so much, avoid the thread

Maybe someone should create a list of the thumbs up charities and put it in the stickies.

Two of my dogs (Labs) were raised in WA and may have been influenced by my alarm at seeing snakes and cutting a wide swathe around them. The other (2 yr old) was born and raised in Florida. We have dozens of small lizards on my property, and lizard hunting is a favorite pass time. But I've seen them within a few meters of a snake half a dozen times. I can't believe they didn't see or smell it. But, no reaction. I think some of the snake reaction is breed related. Small terriers seem to have a death wish. One of my dog walking buddies in WA dragged her JRT's away from a dugite. When she was what she thought was a safe distance away she let the dogs off lead. One of them ran right back and attacked the snake. It did not survive.

Svartberg did a major study on temperament of dogs by breed, based on a huge sample of Swedish pedigree dogs ... all went through a standardized temperament test/ His data shows Lab and flattie as both being exceptionally human-social, playful, and fearless (the goldie was nowhere near them in these respects). Ie., bonkers. In breed groupings, flatties cluster with Labs, boxers, and AmStaffs. http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591%2805%2900160-7/abstract I used to have a link to this article for free . . . it's probably around somewhere.

No longer breeding, but pig rails saved many a pup when I was doing so. My girls averaged 9 pups and weren't so great at keeping track of all of them. Yes, they need to be at the right height, and wide enough.

Pretty obviously, it's all over the place. Breeders are people, and vary immensely in their habits. Two thoughts 1. If they publish their phone number, they have invited legitimate calls 2. Always begin a phone call with something like: "I'm calling about puppies. Is this a good time to talk?" I find phones intrusive, in general. Being asked if it's a good time to talk quickly disarms my resentment of the phone . . . and allows me to say please call back later if it isn't a good time.

Have had that problem often. I just delete the body of the post and change the title to something like 'Oops! Duplicate Post".

You asked about trends . .. Show breeding has steered the golden away from darker shades, and toward a heavier coat and heavier build. It has also produced a temperament that is pretty different from the working / hunting golden. I'd recommend this article: http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591%2805%2900160-7/abstract If you want a beautiful dog with a flowing rich cream-colored coat, go for a show dog . . . though you may find you need to select around some temperament faults. If you're looking for the traditional, somewhat rougher, reddish coat dog that is at home in the field, look for someone who breeds working goldies. Scottie Westfall of the Retrieverman Blog has written some good posts on working goldens. Here's a couple posts: http://retrieverman.net/2009/01/28/a-good-page-on-the-working-golden-retriever-in-britain/ http://retrieverman.net/2010/01/31/so-you-want-a-golden-retriever/ Sadly, Scottie has gotten so fed up with the social (and antisocial) aspects of the dogworld that he recently stopped writing about retrievers.

There is a HUGE difference between the F1 hybrid cross and a breed. Most of the 'oodles and doodles and puggles and chiweenies and all that stuff WILL NOT BREED TRUE. The F1 generation is relatively predictable. Future generations are not. You have to do a lot of selection to end out with consistent traits. And if you don't start out with a large stable of dogs to begin with you're likely to end out with a lot of inbreeding before you get to a consistent breed. I would love to see some breeds modified by well thought out crossing. But willy-nilly cross bteeding and selling for high prices (ie., most designer dogs) is profiteering first, dog breeding second.