sandgrubber

I'm aware of some kennels on 5 acre properties up for sale 15 min drive from Perth . . . also some land in kennel zones . . . ~15 min from Murdoch Vet School. Is there any hope of getting the resources together to make one of these work? With the fees they are charging for quarantine, I would think there's an inviting economic proposition for someone. It's absurd that WA people have to import through Melbourne.

Actually, they were used in the days before the invention of barbed hooks. Their job was to catch cod that slipped off a hook line. They probably helped with hunting in the woods, hauling wood, and other shore-side chores. With the invention of the barbed hook, they became obsolete, hence the ancestral breed, sadly, more or less died out in Newfoundland. (see Richard Wolters book on the Labrador . . . Wolters went back to Newfoundland and managed to trace down a few elderly dogs from the original fishing lines.)

Williams is not explicit on this point. She does say that dogs of different breeds were allowed to run together in the English countryside, and that it wasn't always clear which dog (or dogs) sired what litter. Purity seems to have become a greater concern in the decades after WWII. I seem to remember a story about a puppy from one of the Queen's Labs being given away and it kept growing to an enormous size . . . at which point they decided it must have been a Newfie x Lab. So breed mixing still goes on, even in the 'best' (from the perspective of Hyacinth Bucket) circles. Who is going to seriously question it if it happens in a prestigious kennel?

. There is but one breed standard if you judge by 'conformation'. Some people judge their dogs by something other than conformation, eg, performance, temperament, health, movement. Technically, the breed standard covers temperament and movement, but the ring doesn't provide an great forum for evaluation and these things sometimes get put in the 'too hard basket'. Not to judge the judges. I couldn't evaluate 10+ dogs in 5 minutes, as often happens in the ring. And if I were a blind person relying on a Labrador, I would not care if it has strong retrieving instinct or was a good water dog. I might hope it has a 'poor' coat by breed standards so the dog would have better tolerance of heat ... and shed a little less. With respect to Labradors, I'm happy there's a great variety. I think it's healthy for the breed. The original purpose of the dog -- landed gentry's fetch dog, or before that 'dog that catches fish that have slipped off an unbarbed hook and is also good for some game hunting, pulling carts, etc.' -- is long gone. I love the breed and am happy to see it move into Guide Dog and drug sniffing work. I can see that some of the traits in the original purpose become irrelevant in the new purposes. It's the carping that bothers me. I get p.o.'d when someone tries to slander a dog as fat when they have no evidence of fat . . . may just be a well boned, heavyset dog with a thick coat. But this is the thing, regardless of how judges in the ring judge, the breed standard reverts back the original function of the breed. The breed standard may not specifically point out performance, but the way the dog is conformed and thus, the way the breed standard is set out, does. Unfortunately many judges and breeders decide to disregard the standard and go for 'fads'. It is the responsibility of not just the breeder, but the potential owner as well to understand that. To hope that your Labrador ' has a poor coat by breed standards because I don't want it to shed as much' is silly. Surely you would just go for another breed? It it's true that a blind person wouldn't care, but where the dog comes from ( the breeder) would and that is what keeps the Labrador being a Labrador. The fact that they are great at drug work and seeing eye and all of those things is because of the gundog traits, again going back the original function of the dog and group itself. They are and were bred to work with the handler. Yes, but Guide Dogs tends to prefer less heavily built dogs and doesn't give a hoot about otter tail or thick double coat. They do not not like dogs of the 'Arnold' type because the coat is too thick and the stature, unnecessarily heavy, and there's no value to being a water dog. Soft mouth and retreiving instinct don't matter much either if there's strong bite inhibition. Labs are not the only breed that was bred to work with the handler.

No. Williams was a much respected breeder, judge, and fancier in the UK. She is stationg that Labs in the UK were crossed with Greys . . . and in other places she suggests other hounds. The US scene is/was different, as breeders were not typically landed gentry (with packs of dog that do get mixed) and the rules of field competition were/are different.

I am not surprised by this but was unaware. Makes me feel guilty for not showing more appreciation. Mosts of the vets I've used have a bulletin board or equivalent on which they post thank you notes and little stories about how their pets are doing. It seems like the contributions to these have gotten leaner in recent years.. I don't know if that's compensated by Facebook, Twitter, etc., but I sort of doubt it. Maybe more of us should take the time to provide an occasional bright light in our vet's day by sending a thankyou note of some sort.

Lovely breed, rare in Oz. I would suggest advertizing on DOL mature dogs. I wouldn't be surprised if there was someone out there who wants a Catahoula and can't find one. I would be surprised if there are enough of them in Oz to justify a specialized rescue.

. There is but one breed standard if you judge by 'conformation'. Some people judge their dogs by something other than conformation, eg, performance, temperament, health, movement. Technically, the breed standard covers temperament and movement, but the ring doesn't provide an great forum for evaluation and these things sometimes get put in the 'too hard basket'. Not to judge the judges. I couldn't evaluate 10+ dogs in 5 minutes, as often happens in the ring. And if I were a blind person relying on a Labrador, I would not care if it has strong retrieving instinct or was a good water dog. I might hope it has a 'poor' coat by breed standards so the dog would have better tolerance of heat ... and shed a little less. With respect to Labradors, I'm happy there's a great variety. I think it's healthy for the breed. The original purpose of the dog -- landed gentry's fetch dog, or before that 'dog that catches fish that have slipped off an unbarbed hook and is also good for some game hunting, pulling carts, etc.' -- is long gone. I love the breed and am happy to see it move into Guide Dog and drug sniffing work. I can see that some of the traits in the original purpose become irrelevant in the new purposes. It's the carping that bothers me. I get p.o.'d when someone tries to slander a dog as fat when they have no evidence of fat . . . may just be a well boned, heavyset dog with a thick coat.

p.s. One could also say lank and lean Labradors were a worrying trend. Here's a quote from Mary Roslin Williams Advanced Labrador Breeding (1988 with reference to the previous ~ 50 years) talking about how the show/field split developed after WWII...."the tempo had changed from wanting to find out the real merit of a shooting dog to just a plain 'first-past-the-post' red-hot competition. The dice was now loaded against the keeper and amateur's home-trained Labrador and went in favor of the professionally trained and handled hot-rod type of racing machine, bred and looking like a Greyhound, yet with, as almost its only asset, the ability to take hand signals rather than using its own nose. To get this, first Greyhound blood was used which gave speed on to a racey long-loined lightly got-up Trialler, and then much later and indeed fairly recently the black and white working Collies now known as Border Collies. Thus the speed and agility of Greyhound was wedded to the handlerability of the sheep-dog, the present day Trial dogs showing both these crosses". . . (p 110).

The Labrador came out of dogs used for extreme cold water work in Newfoundland. They were stocky dogs, which makes a lot of sense from a perspective of staying warm when working wet in the Bay of Fundy. A little blubber might also be helpful for work in cold water. The photo below is from the 1850s. I think the bitch in the OP is reasonably true to the look of the early Labs. Jed is correct: you can't be sure the dog is fat without feeling her. She has a heavy coat and black hides shadows. I'd guess she's carrying a bit or excess weight, but not a lot.

Had a quick look about 5 references to Dickendall Arnold in the great great grandsire/dam and one in the great great great section [think that's the right terminology]. We usually go by generation numbers . . . it's easier. I got six Arnolds on a five generation pedigree, three at four generations, three at five. http://www.k9data.com/fivegen.asp?ID=591274 Arnold was a great dog, but I find the line breeding more worrisome than the heavy build.

This is hardly a new trend in the US show ring. Look up pictures of Dickendall Arnold (1988-2001), one of the more famous 'peripotent' stud Labradors in US history. eg. http://www.dickendall.com/arnold.html Arnold was built like a tank. For my taste he is too heavy, even in younger photos when he was working (he was a great hunter and sired a lot of JH's and MH's). Many US judges favor this look. I owned an Arnold granddaughter. She was a great dog for temperament and I wouldn't trade her. But she was anything but svelte. It wouldn't surprise me to find a fair amount of Dickendall Arnold on that winning dog's pedigree.

Depends on how many people are coming and how much luggage; and the exact dimensions of the crates. I've often been surprised at how much I could pile into the back of a normal hatchback with rear seats removed. When I was in Oz I had someone custom weld some dividers for a Ford Festiva and was able to carry several dogs, plus a lot of stuff with no problems.

Is there a bad journalism award that can be given to that article. Nothing about it is credible. It doesn't even give the date the thing happened! Could have been years ago and dragged up to spice up a slow news day. "Gary Simpson, senior crown prosecutor with the Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said Sulley and Woods should have time to reflect on their actions." So what happened? Did they get fined? Jail time? What were they found guilty of? Or did they get let off on the basis that thinking about the awful day.

Here's a link to another article that gives a little more detail http://dogtime.com/researchers-may-have-stumbled-upon-cure-for-parvovirus.html

Bad science is all over the place. This article doesn't improve my opinion of PETA: it's pretty much what I'd expect. Non scientists, especially those with an agenda, grab anything that supports their point of view. The comment on small sample size in the critical article is also bad science. If the outcomes are dramatic, 26 or 30 may be more than adequate for a definitive conclusion (p<0.001). Eg, if I were testing a blood pressure drug and an initial double blind trial on 30 subjects showed that it raised rather than lowered blood pressure for 2/3 of the subjects, and there was no placebo effect with the controls, I wouldn't spend a penny more on that drug. It's when the outcomes are weak that large sample sizes are required. You'll find equally bad science in some of the pieces saying pedigree dogs are more -- or less -- healthy than mixed breed dogs.

I can't find the article I read about frito feet and pheremones. I remember it as a credible source. anyone else seen it?

Every kennel has its own style. What is good depends on what you are looking for. Kennels face tradeoffs in trying to: keep prices reasonable, give dogs exercise, avoid fights and accidents, make things comfortable and fun for the dogs . . . not to mention decisions about what to feed, what hours to keep, and how to advertize. Whatever kennel you choose, I'd make sure the owners and managers live on premises and avoid any place where the staff can't give wholehearted recommendations. Typical signs of a bad kennel are high staff turnover and trumped up marketing. How do you want your dog cared for? Do you want it to interact with other dogs? Would you like to be able to pay extra and get the dog walked periodically? Does premium or ultra-premium dog food matter to you? If you want your dog to get some play time, I'd recommend looking into Dogz and Catz . . . just down the road from Canning Vale in the Banjup kennel zone.

Amazing! It doesn't even look dirty! I don't know why, but I think it's so sweet when they get attached to a toy.

Reportedly, the Bakersfield shelter has been flooded by offers to adopt the dog . . . including, rumor has it, one from Ceasar Milan.

The 'yeasty smell' from the paws that smells like corn chips is a normal odor. It's a pheremone that, unlike most pheremones, humans can smell. Its function in dog to dog communication is appeasement . . . it reduces aggression in the other dog and tends to create a friendly encounter. I would expect it to be strong in a fear aggressive dog. Ear yeast: yeasts require a high pH environment. In Australia, for some reason, vets don't recommend vinegar, but in the US, all the vets I've talked to are happy using a 50:50 vinegar and water solution to treat yeasty ears. No recommendations about bad breath . . .

Lovely pictures and an amazing story. Such a big girl and such an easily-destroyed toy!

Personally, I like sun bleaching. Shows be damned. I can't understand why people think sun bleaching is beautiful in their own hair and offensive in a dog. A working breed should be in the sun, and there should be no shame in having its coat show it. I have seen no evidence that sun bleaching does any harm. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

What an ugly, horrible, thing to have happen. I would be boiling with a stew of bad emotions: grief, hate, guilt, anger. I don't think anyone has suggested going after the landlord. In your shoes, I would be insisting that the landlord evict the dog's owners for breaking a lease in such an overt and damaging way. I would not want to have them next door to remind me. I don't know what the law says about this, but if you know the landlord, there's a good chance you could do this without having to go through legal channels.

I caught this picture of my puppy and her favorite toy this morning. It struck me that the toy had been her mother's favorite toy for several months, and has been hanging around the place since Xmas 2012. Anybody else have any spectacularly successful toys to show? p.s. if you don't recognize it, this is a wooly mammoth. Squeaker is gone.