sandgrubber

I took one of my girls to be mated a few weeks ago. I didn't think to have Bruccelosis tests done so the stud's owner insisted on doing an AI. (This is my first time doing a mating in the US, and Bruccelosis isn't a problem in Oz). Everyone has their own system for doing AI. This woman put the girl over her knee after insemination and used her finger to prevent semen leakage for 15 minutes (ie, mimicing a tie). She mentioned that my girl had a 'stricture' in the birth canal. From her description, it was membrane-like, and something that could be torn. Has anyone had experience with such a thing? Is it worth having a vet check it out, or is this pretty common in virgin bitches, and something that will simply push out of the way when pups come through? Do bitches have 'maidenheads'? (edited in light of comments to, hopefully, draw further comment)

From what I have read, none of the measures you have described would have prevented the death of Ayen Chol . . . the tragic event that initiated the insipid looks based-dangerous laws in Victoria. Education of kiddies will help them avoid doing something stupid that sets off a dog attack from a somewhat-controlled dog. Most dog bites occur in the home, and most dogs that bite are not particularly dangerous. Learning to ask before patting the dog, and learning to recognize warning signs will not prepare a child to deal with a dog who is loose and truly dangerous. Leash and containment laws are fine, but accidents will always happen, and there will always be places where dickheads abound and enforcement is weak. As I read the news story, the reporter is making it sound scary to sell papers. I doubt laws that persecute owners if their dogs scare easy-to-scare children would be passed in many jurisdictions in the UK, the US, or Australia. The legislation seems to be looking for a way to target people whose dogs act like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park . . . and, like the velociraptors, are kept contained until one day when they get out . . . and cannot be trusted if someone goes over the fence. Dogs that don't just scare the kids, but also give the parents nightmares. If such dogs are kept in densely populated areas, they require fencing that can't be climbed --by kids or dogs as well as secure, locked gates. .

I think it's a great example of what differentiates a country vet from a city vet.

Dog legislation is difficult to write well. Unfortunately, we only know which dogs are REALLY REALLY dangerous after they maim or kill someone. The law in discussion has not been enacted yet, and is likely to be revised. Hopefully it will be judicially enforced in whatever form it takes. I do think societies need some way to give notice to people that keeping a 'junk yard' dog in the front yard is asking for trouble. I'd much rather see menacing dogs get reported and owners warned, reprimanded, fined, etc. than to have 100% of a dog breed banned because a small minority are truly dangerous. The article says "Speaking to the Commons last month Mr Heath added: ‘It is different for a garden, or sometimes even a shed. A child going to pick up a football that has been kicked into a garden should not be set upon by a dangerous dog. ‘They may be an intruder, but they are nevertheless not a burglar or anyone with malicious intent. A public–interest test must be satisfied before a prosecution can be brought. I hope that the guidance to the prosecuting authority will make that distinction clear,' The Daily Telegraph reported. With clear guidance to the prosecuting authority, I think such a law could be a big improvement over the Victorian approach to dangerous dogs.

I have known urban vets to make some pretty awful mistakes, too. Eg, a a friend had a Ceasar done: they sewed the bitch up with a pup still inside her. Fortunately, the bitch survived, though the pup died. Or another vet who said 'sure we can take you' on an emergency Ceasar and then left the dog waiting for two hours (instead of referring on to another vet) cause they already had two operations in progress (three of nine pups died). Vets make mistakes, especially when they get called on to make decisions at all hours. I think the OP should remove the Inexcusable Negligence from the title of the original post. That is a criminal charge and could be considered slander. What is described is human error, with blame to be borne by both the vet and the cat owner. As for desexing on the kitchen bench, I used to go to a mobile vet who was quite happy doing this for male dogs. So? They castrate livestock out in open paddocks.

You can be sued BIG TIME if a child comes into your yard and drowns in the pool, particularly if you don't have child-proof gates and pool fencing of specified dimensions. In Oz...in the USA...probably in many other countries.I think this is less crazy than BSL. It's likely to result in warnings and mild punishments before the law comes down like a load of bricks and has the dog euth'd. I do think they should institute parallel punishments for the parents of kids who harass dogs. Note in Sweden it is illegal to own dogs that are " inclined to direct aggression at people or other dogs."

Sorry to be a downer but subsidized and/or free Spey neuter services are available in many parts of the US. Including places where shelters are full of pits. Badrap Is a great organization, but if you look for pit bulls available for adoption in Oakland, you'll still find shelters are still overflowing with them. http://www.adoptapet...r&family_id=801 Lists over 300 dogs in the APBT category. Where I live we have http://www.nmhp.net/OperationPetSnip/tabid/142/Default.aspx . Locals are generally pit friendly....most of my neighbors have owned a one at one time or other (though some of them swore off the breed after owning one). But we're still awash with unwanted pits and pit crosses. I hate to think what it would be like if there weren't free and subsidized clinics available.

This comes down to linguistics and dialect, but in the USA, most dogs called pit bulls are back yard bred. serious muscle dog fanciers or dog fighters may track pedigrees, but mostly 'pit' means a dog bought or given away ...coming from a friend, neighbor, or shelter. Classification is so difficult that many places with BSL lump the Staffy and the Am Staff into the pit bull classification.

Those of you who blame the vet, is the vet who suggests benedryl for an after-hours bee sting reaction also negligent? My mom had an old arthritic dog and couldn't afford the recommended treatments. The vet told her aspirin was ok, but might cause stomach ulcers. The dog didn't live long enough for ulcers to become a problem, and the aspirin provided relief. Was that negligent? How about the vet that suggests pumpkin for diarrhea? Or dilute vinegar for yeast infections of the ear? I am grateful that some vets are willing to put themselves out on a limb by deviating from the industry-endorsed pharmacopia. I wasn't there, and don't know what the vet said about how to measure the dosage (the simplest and most common way would be something like 'half a tablet of baby aspirin', cause lots of people aren't clever with dosage calculations) and whether anything was said about avoiding overdose. I think we should be slow to condemn until we have all the facts.

I want to see photos taken two weeks or a month later. Does that stuff wash out? Do the dogs spend months getting their coats back to normal after an hour of glory? Personally, I don't get it. I don't think it's especially cruel, but it seems more like a stunt than an art or craft. And the dogs look silly. There's a lot I don't get.

This has been appearing in Craigslist's pets section (Gumtree equivalent). At least half the dog ads in our local Craigslist are for pits or pit X's. The other problem with a breed that attracts irresponsible owners is that those same irresponsible owners are likely to become irresponsible breeders. PITS PITBULLS PIT PUPS PITBULL PUPS (EVERYWHERE) Pitbull breeds and mixes are OVERBRED !!!! The shelters are FULL of PITBULLS, PITBULL PUPPIES, PIT MIXES Thousands are killed every single day because there are so many of them and not enough homes....... Why in the world would you continue to breed these poor dogs when there is such a horrendous OVERPOPULATION.. For EVERY Pit you breed.........one dies due to a lack of a home... If you need money.....GET A JOB and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP BREEDING THEM !!! Location: EVERYWHERE it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

As an example, here are my two girls, a 9 yr old bitch and her 3 yr old daughter. They groom eachother regularly and have never had a squabble. The old girl has lived with several of her girl pups. She gets milk when her pups have pups and by five weeks, is more interested in nursing the pups than their mother is. I worry more about separation grief than fighting with the bitches I've raised together. I've run on girl pups together with no problem, and placed siblings together, with no problems. I don't deny that there are sometimes problems, but in nature, canine packs are usually made up of parents and their pups, and it is not uncommon for sibling bitches to be in the same pack as their mothers. Sibling rivalry is probably present in some packs . . . but so, too, is cooperation between siblings. I would guess that the problems are worse with some breeds than others, but that there is quite a bit of difference between breeds. I agree with Steve, breeders can do a lot to avoid such problems by selecting for 'civil' temperament and observing temperament before they place pups in a home.

Sounds like gun lobby propaganda to me. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."The intent was more to protect the state than to protect people from it.Part of the support came from the slave states, where guns were useful in preventing slave revolts.

I happened across a database that may be useful for people trying to decide what breed.It's from a company that does DNA based breed identification.This one pays a lot more attention to temperament and needs for things like good fencing, exercise, early training, grooming, etc. than most I've looked at and is pretty comprehensive on medical problems. For the breeds I know and have looked at it was pretty much spot on. http://www.dog-dna.com/breeds.php

A very interesting read Mita, thanks for posting that. :) +1 :thumbsup:

The cause of dog attacks, ultimately, is a combination of dog temperament and dog management, plus other factors such as health, child management, and bad luck. There is a large hereditary component to temperament. It is hardly breeder bashing to say that breeders are, to an extent, responsible for turning out pups with antisocial temperament and placing them with people who are likely to manage them poorly. I used Labbies as an example to AVOID breed bashing. They are my chosen breed. They also happen to be a good example of the fact that pedigree breeders are not held to the temperament of their breed standard...despite your assertion that "it has never been a free for all for registered breeders". Nobody is saying that breeders are the whole problem. But breeders are in a position to do their bit to reverse the dog attack problem through being more mindful of temperament and more careful about where they place pups.I would love to see the authorities make an attempt to work out the origins of problem dogs. And if some breeders, registered or otherwise, seem to be behind a string of problem attack dogs, then those breeders need to be held to account.

Kudos to the reporter, or headline writer. The fact that these were ROAMING dogs is much more important than the breed. If you want to high drive dogs who may be DA and/or HA, I think you're an idiot, but that's your own business. You can't outlaw idiocy. However, if you let your menacing dog roam, or don't invest heavily in preventing the dogs from getting out, you are a serious public nuisance and you deserve to be treated as a criminal. I think the owner deserves a felony on his record, and his dogs should be confisgated until he (or she) can prove that containment is adequate. If the owner's dogs are ever found roaming again, I think the owner should face a LONG jail term. Castration (of owner and/or dogs) might also be appropriate, but that's based on my personal warped sense of humor/justice. Don't think the law will ever take that line...well, maybe for the dogs.

In my experience, temperament/behavior is not only genetic, it can be hard to breed out. I, unfortunately, started with a foundation Labrador bitch who wasn't fond of water and had zero retrieve drive. Her sire was the same. I've tried to counteract that by choosing studs with retrieving qualifications. Three generations later, I have dogs who like, but don't love, water, and still no retrieve drive. Actually, it's more complicated. I kept a pup from my first litter with foundation bitch. Sire had his RRD plus a bench Ch. I was living by the beach at the time, and the pup got an early intro to water, and surf. She ended out very aggressive in approach to water. She would plow into a breaking wave, get rolled, and come back for more. So maybe the potential is there, but requires early training to bring it out.

What I'd like to know is whether bull breeds are getting better or worse over time, and if they are getting worse or not improving, whether the bad element is concentrated in some lines. I am no expert on bull breed history, but it does seem to me that the average temperament has probably gotten more social since the days when dogfighting and bull and bear baiting were popular sports. If the bad name is coming from, say 10% of the individuals, and the temperament problems are concentrated in certain lines, the solution is to regulate the problem lines, not the entire breed(s). The Staffy is neck and neck with the Labrador for numbers of pedigree registrations in Australia. I can't believe SBTs would be that popular if most of them were inherently problematic.

Well I must be fortunate because my dogs are mother and daughter and there has never been any aggression between them. In fact they seem to adore each other. This may be a Lab thing...or at least common in Labs. I've kept a lot of mother daughter pairs together. The bigger worry is how they will grieve when separated, not whether they will fight. Here are my present two, Jarrah, aged 9, and Bonza, her 3 yr old daughter ...oops file too big ....damn iPad. Anyway, they groom eachother regularly, and preferentially sleep touching one another. They also play together, though the old girl doesn't last very long.

Link leads me to a video error. Please check.

I came across an interesting discussion of temperament on a GSD breeder's website. They define temperament as 100% genetic (as opposed to behaviour, which can be shaped), and go on to catalog describe various unsound temperaments, including sharp, shy, sharp-shy, submissive, temperamental, hyperactive, overaggressive, dominant, and independent. For details see: http://www.videxgsd.com/understanding_dogs.htm I like the idea that undesirable temperaments are genetic and can be bred away from, if not out. The notion that there are different temperament faults, and each needs to be considered specifically also rings true. But does it work in practice? Are people like me who advocate more breeding for temperament as opposed to cosmetics, full of hot air? Could breeding for temperament be done more systematically?

I can see them as beautiful. But lions and tigers are beautiful, too. If I wanted a muscle dog, I would avoid a breed with white skin (sunburn and deafness issues) and a very narrow genetic base. Temperament aside, the dogo has the hallmarks of a health disaster.

I am of very strong belief that breeders be it registered breeders or BYB's need to be scrutinised and held accountable for their reproductions. I am really tired of the fact the breeding of dogs is a complete free for all, breed what you want when you want, personally, I would like to see it as an offence to breed dogs without a licence with the introduction of a BSL....."breeder specific legislation" It is not, and has never been a "free for all" for registered breeders. Registered/show breeders face amazingly few restrictions with relation to temperament. I would have no problem registering a Labrador that is gun shy, hates water, and is dog aggressive. Such a dog could even be titled, provided that the DA can be curbed in the ring. However a cosmetic fault, such as light eye colour (which. btw, gives the dog better night vision) seriously affects results of competition in the ring.

Does the fault also lie with the owner who pts's the dog because they cannot modify the dog's behaviour sufficiently to make it an animal they can live with?Temperament defects occur in all breeds. But it is much more common for some breeds to be euth'd for behavioral reasons than others. I think we need to blame breeders as much as owners...and support subsidized Spey/neuter programs.