sandgrubber

If pet insurance, on average, paid for itself many times over, the companies would all go broke. The people who come out ahead are quick to tell their stories. I suspect there are lots of people who pay year after year and never make a claim. These people aren't so quick to speak up. A company that has been good is likely to turn difficult if word comes down from on high that the're running in the red and need to reduce payouts.

I know someone with a Gr Ch stud who had tracheal collapse at around 11 yrs (Labrador). She brought his weight way down to the point where you could count his ribs. He had his collapse in 2009 and is still living.

Germany is generally 'tier-leib' (animal loving). But I doubt dog ownership numbers are above 1 family in 4. It's very expensive keeping a dog in Germany, and people take the responsibility about as seriously as they take raising children. (I lived in Leipzig for almost three years . .. with a dog).

Hate to disillusion. The US is diverse, and the places visitors / tourists go are no more representative of the US than the Sydney Opera House and Uluru are of Australia. Carmel is a bit like Disneyland. I'm a dual US/Australian citizen and have weighed anchor in many ports, including Germany/Austria, Taiwan, and Brazil as well as East, West, Central, and South US. Every place has its dog problems. Some regions in the US (Ohio, Pennsylvania) have serious problems with puppy farming. In wealthy, progressive parts of the West, the animal rights movement has made adoption from shelters the moral high ground and put breeders on the defensive. There are strong movements for mandatory spey/neuter in many places. Minimum wage in the US tends to be $7 to $8/hour. The poor can't afford pedigree dogs or decent vet care for their pets; many have uneilightened attitudes. Eg, I respect prong collars used properly, but it hurts to see an unattended pit bull in someone's back yard, chained to a pivot, with a prong collar around its neck while the family is off at work and the kids at school. I'm now living in Gainesville Florida, a small city with a very large university. I feel like a freak cause I walk my dogs every day. I almost never see anyone walking dogs on the street. Dog ownership isn't very widespread. The best place to meet people who care deeply about their dogs is a wonderful dog park . . . for a few hundred bucks a year you get access to wonderful off-leash dog exercise area, complete with attendants who pick up pooh, places for swimming, more tennis balls and frisbees than you can imagine, and free use of towels. Trouble is, there are only a couple hundred members . . . in a city of around 100,000. 'Hobby" breederrs are having a hard time in many parts of the US. I'll bet that many of the pampered pooches you'll see in places like Carmel were purchased from large commercial dog breeders who treat dogs more as a commodity than as pets . . . or companion animals. Another large fraction will be from rescue operations that cope with the huge number of animals that are bred without planning and selection, placed with whoever will take them, and then rehomed through rescue operations when the original owners allow them to stray or place them in with rescues.

I once tried a sonic device that was supposed to inhibit barking in a boarding kennel. It had no effect.

I don't think Pampered Pooch accepts entire dogs.

Attempt to copy The Humane Society's TV campaign to adopt shelter dogs, combined with the hidden profit behind spay and neuter is castrating show breeders. January 2013 - Barbara J. Andrews, Editor-In-Chief, TheDogPress.com Forced into hiding by animal control, handcuffed by zoning regulations, local and state laws, most of which are lobbied into fruition by animal rights groups, "responsible dog breeders" are facing extinction.. As with any product, from sofas to shoes, when someone else makes it cheaper, quality merchandise disappears from the shelves. Mass distribution through local outlets further secures the buyer market. Premium wine, cheese, and tobacco specialty shops have all but disappeared, giving way to Wal-Mart, Target, and warehouse outlets. So it is with well-bred purebred dogs. Show breeders study genetics. You breed sound, healthy, mentally stable, well-reared, wonderfully socialized family companions and show dogs. You don't do it for the money even though the quality of your product is proven in test markets across the country. Creating a canine masterpiece is your life and holding the newborn in your hands and dreaming of his future enriches your life. At that precious moment, you are not thinking about how and to whom you will sell him. 12 weeks later, reality sets in. He is still with you instead of his own loving family. So are several of his littermates! A decade ago he would have been reserved months in advance. This article will pinpoint how show and hobby dog breeders got into this untenable situation and invite you to help explore solutions. We are not the family farm or brewery but we are faced with the same mass marketing and retail outlet reality. Do we sell out to the wholesalers? Not an option! Do we just give up? We may have no choice. How do YOU see this? A Working Dog breeder said "I think part of the problem is that responsible breeders have been driven underground by the animal rights crazies. People don't buy puppies from us because they can't FIND us. We don't openly advertise because we're afraid of being targeted. Some have websites and may be listed on the parent club website's breeder referral listing, but that is as far as we'll go to put ourselves out there. I'm sure the dog-buying public would prefer to purchase their canine companions from the responsible breeder you've described, but we have to be willing to widely market ourselves and our puppies. In the current climate, that's a very scary thing to do, especially when AKC does not have our backs. And if you don't mind, I'd prefer to remain anonymous since I don't know who is reading your site. I don't want to be the next target on an animal rights group's list." She hit upon two very important issues confronting breeders today. Her observations were underscored by a long time breeder-judge who said "It is nearly impossible to sell a quality puppy because most pure-breeds can be found in a shelter." The breeder-judge explained "HSUS has won the battle. People have been conditioned to go to a shelter to adopt a dog, for which they will pay several hundred dollars and if it has health or behavioral problems, which is likely, that 'free' dog will be even more costly in the long run." As I agreed, she continued "and of course it will be spayed or neutered, so statistically it is doomed to serious health risks." {1} In the brief silence that followed, her thoughts went in one direction and mine in another but ironically, they arrived at the same place. "So the veterinary profession has been sold the concept of adoption because consciously or not, shelter dogs increase the vet's bottom line?" She patiently replied "Of course. Shelter dogs are all sterilized and the veterinary literature is full of articles on the higher incidence of health problems encountered by sexually neutered dogs." "But wait" said I. "Spaying and neutering can't be good business practice because eventually the vets wouldn't have any animals to treat!" She didn't even let me complete that thought. "But BJ, there will always be USDA licensed puppy mills to provide grist for the shelters and sustain the practice of veterinary medicine." Oh. I called four other show breeders. At first I got denials, "no way can shelters hurt me" and "I don't compete with puppy millers" and "I always have deposits for my show puppies…" pause, "well okay, I don't have any pet homes for this litter." A well-known breeder identified a huge problem in surviving the animal rights onslaught, "One important point that gets overlooked in favor of the animal rights discussion is that breeders who widely advertise are often quietly but harshly judged by their peers for doing it. In some ways, we 'responsible' breeders are our own worst enemy...." One Toy dog breeder mused "I used to do very well with Dog World but I heard the online 'puppies for sale' sites put them out of business." I knew the answer but I asked anyway. "Well then Tom, why don't you use those puppy listing sites?" "What?" he shrieked, "Never! Never! Never! BJ, I am a show breeder. Whatever are you suggesting?" When he calmed down, I asked what he would suggest to reach good homes. "I tried the AKC breeder listing but it didn't work for me. I use the glossy mags and my show homes sometimes refer pet people to me. My litters are small but I have two friends in Hounds, they have huge litters you know, and they've been forced to run on pet puppies." I murmured sympathetically and after a quiet moment he replied, "I get it now. Actually, they've just about quit breeding. What can we do?" That is the question. Three years ago TheDogPress proposed TUBA, The United Breeders Association. {2} We need LEADERS but traditionally, show dog breeders do their own thing. We all have close friends we work with but basically, we're a competitive and independent lot. If we are to survive, show breeders must work together, come up with a plan, and adapt to the current environment or follow the platypus into obscurity. SEND US YOUR IDEAS on how Show Breeders can survive AND Preserve The Well-bred Purebred.

I once had a neighbor try to put a restraining order on me because I repeatedly called the Council about a number of infringements of the law. It was no fun going to court, but the judge threw the case out.(This was when I lived in WA).

For those of you wondering about whether to use a kennel, a few notes. 1. No kennel is perfect, but some are excellent...and some are to be avoided totally. 2. In really bad kennels, worse things happen than wounds. I've been told that one of the neighborhood kennels where I used to live in WA overbooked at Xmas and was keeping some of the extra dogs outside at night. The kennel owner doesn't live on premises. Some dogs dug under the fence on Christmas Eve. Three were killed by cars on a busy road, and one was seriously hurt. 3. If something bad is going to happen in a kennel it will happen at Xmas. Kennels are fully booked for three weeks in a row and its the hardest time to find staff. This is worse for larger kennels who can't rely on family and friends to fill in for shifts. 4. Read the contract before you book in. Some kennels use contracts carefully written by lawyers to absolve them from all responsibility. 5. No kennel is better than its staff. Good staff leave bad kennels. Look for places who have had their workers for years, and avoid places where the manager and or owner doesn't sleep within earshot of the kennel.

I'd say PDE was more a symptom than a cause. I think an increasing number of people are turned off by the show scene and associate it with pedigree dogs.

Here in the US it's easy and cheap to buy vaccinations online...and works well UNLESS you need proof of vaccination. DIY isn't accepted. And rabies shot proof is needed for dog registration or entry into parks, etc. There are lots of public clinics that offer vaccinations for $15 to $25, however. Strangely, though, heart worm medication requires a prescription, and vets generally charge for both a consult fee and a lab test before they'll give you a script. Many breeders use horse ivomectin for heart worm to get around this.

I know a few Costco wholesale outfits have opened in Oz. In the US, the Kirkland Nature's Domain product is pretty much the same as Taste of The Wild and very reasonable . . . around $30 for a 15.87 kg bag. That's salmon and sweet potato, grain free. I'm sure it will be more expensive in Oz, but even if it's twice as much it would be worth looking for.

There are many sorts of 'bad' breeders. Some of them may be in it for the money, some are ignorant, some may be reformed by codes and policing. But I've noticed that some of the cases that hit the news are of a different sort. In the years i spent living in a WA kennel zone, I came to know a couple of breeders who had low standards of dog care. I mean basic things were wrong. Poor grooming of coated breeds, filthy kennels, no regular exercise, etc. The two individuals I'm thinking of we're both ardent showies and quite knowledgable about both breed standards and dog health. At some point in their lives, i think both were excellent breeders. But their lives went downhill. Relationships, health, money, booze .... the usual stresses that cause lives to crumble. Both ended up getting rid of all but one or two dogs and got out of breeding. If either had been busted during their period of decline, they could have become ugly news stories. It is sad that when people's lives fall apart, their animals often go down with them. Sometimes personal intervention, peer pressure, and sympathy may be more effective than the heavy hand.

Good idea, sort of. But I'd much rather see adult dogs used rather than puppies. As in the Ogden Nash ditty:The trouble with a kitten's that, Eventually it becomes a cat.It's not good to encourage love of puppies that doesn't extend to love of adult dogs.

unlikely. Glyphosate is the world's most widely used at chemical. It is among the most heavily tested, and in the USA they tested on dogs. I have a vineyard and could not break even without herbicides . . . I did a lot of checking...and couldnt pin much on glyphosate.

I'd recommend reading the original . . . .great photos. Here's the text. Tuesday, Oct 09 2012 The 9/11 rescue dogs: Portraits of the last surviving animals who scoured Ground Zero one decade on By Anna Edwards UPDATED: 09:09 EST, 5 September 2011 Comments (119) During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors. Now, ten years on, just 12 of these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled 'Retrieved'. The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public. Moxie, 13, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived at the World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble Travelling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11. Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved, which is published on Friday, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted 'Retrieved' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs. More... The Twins of the Twin Towers: Of the 3,000 killed on September 11, 46 were twins, ten years on the surviving siblings tell their haunting stories US issues worldwide travel alert ahead of 9/11 anniversary 'I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human stories involved,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam. 'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.' Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days Bretagne takes a break from work at the 9/11 site with his handler Denise Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days Most of the search and rescue dogs are Labradors or Golden Retrievers and Charlotte feels that the title works across many aspects of the story. 'I found the dogs, I retrieved them, they were there to retrieve the victims, it is nicely rounded,' explained Charlotte whose work is being exhibited at the Julie Saul Gallery NYC opening on September 8, in time for the anniversary. After working on a project about police canines and other working dogs, she was inspired to concentrate on the animals that played such a huge part in seeking survivors. Contacting the NYPD, the New York Fire Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Charlotte discovered that out of the nearly 100 dogs among the first responders deployed by FEMA, there were in fact only 15 still alive last year. Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines Abigail, left, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors 'They were there for the first few weeks, they were trained to find people alive, although that is ultimately not what happened,' said Charlotte, who will hold a fundraiser for the First Responder Alliance at Clic Bookstore in New York on September 29. 'I traveled across the United States to meet with the owners and portray the dogs. They are all retired and I spent time with each of their handlers learning about their experiences. 'It was moving talking to Denise Corliss, who is the handler and owner of Bretagne, one of the Golden Retrievers. 'She told me a touching story of one fireman who was there in the rubble, and how taken he was with Bretagne who comforted him as he sat down to catch his breath. Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days Searching for survivors: The dogs worked around the clock in the vain hope of finding anyone still alive at the World Trade Center site 'Years later at a Remembrance Ceremony, the same fireman recognised Bretagne and her handler and they had a touching reunion. 'It developed that even though the dogs couldn't find people still alive, they could provide comfort for the brave firemen and rescue workers of the emergency services.' Wishing to tell the other side of heroism from 9/11, each of Charlotte's encounters with dogs such as Gabriel and Orion and Scout stayed with her. 'The dogs are now old and they will soon pass away. Even during the time it has taken since my first work on the 'Retrieved' portraits to now, three of the final 15 have died,' said Charlotte. 'These portraits are about how time passes, and how these dogs and their portraits are offering us a way to deal with the things that happened as well as relying on them for comfort.'

Be glad you're not in the USA on this one. The AKC not only allows pet shop sales, they facilitate them. See, eg http://www.thedogpress.com/ClubNews/AKC/PRIME-Pet-Shop-1001.asp

Also tolerance, which is often sadly lacking. Save the venting and raving for people whose actions are dangerous, not for those who are merely annoying. If you have to walk away from some situations, walk away. Lots of people out there are less than perfect :D. You're not going to bring all the idiots around to your way of doing things. One person's common sense is another person's twisted and warped point of view.

Worth noting that the tubal ligation can be done during a Ceasar with virtually no extra time or expense. Where do such bitches/dogs fit in the show ring? Are they considered neutered? Or is a hormonally intact dog complete with balls considered intact?

Sounds to me like Spud requires assessment, and the OP is doing the right thing seeking it. I don't think any of us can form credible judgement with no information other than the breed types and ages of the attacker and the attacked. It's always regrettable to PTS a young healthy dog, but if, after getting help in assessing the situation, the OP decides that's the right thing to do, I think she or he deserves our respect and sympathy. It's a painful call to have to make. In some cases it's the right decision. Sadly, there are lots of dogs needing rescue. If Alyosha's hunch is correct, and the pup is the outcome of breeding by a wanna-be pigger with no scruples about temperament, pts may be the best solution.

I find that a) corgis are chondrodystrophic . . . built in to the breed standard . . . ie, they are bred to have a form of dwarfism that results in short legs in proportion to the length of the back b) chondrodystrophic individuals have a much higher risk of disk problems (specifically, IVDD = intervertebral disk disease) c) many corgi sites, and veterinary dog sites, warn that corgis are prone to disk problems It is sweet that the Queen cares for her dogs. As the Beatles said: "Her Magisty's a pretty nice girl." Even people who think Royalty is silly widely admire The Queen for her strong, upright character. Nonetheless, I think that it's going in the wrong direction to cross two chondrodystrophic breeds. It's a bad example for the Royal-adoring public that the Queen has done so. Labrador breeders shrug their shoulders on a regular basis to people saying that Labs are prone to HD. In reality they are #87 out of 164 (where #1 is worst) in the OFA's list for incidence of HD (see http://www.offa.org/stats_hip.html). Sure, you can find incidences of Labs with severe HD . . . they're the most common pedigree dog in the English speaking world. But in terms of incidence, 86 breeds have worse statistics. The 'bad' reputation has a good side. It means that many puppy buyers pay attention to hip and elbow scores . . . as do breeders. If and when they get good genetic tests for HD, they'll be rapidly adopted by breeders. I don't know why corgi people are so defensive here. Defensiveness is bad for the breed. The corgi, by breed standards, has a form of dwarfism that is bad from the perspective of skeletal stability. If there were a back scoring method equivalent to the hip scoring method, all quality corgis would have bad scores. It may be true that this weakness only leads to clinical problems in a small minority of cases.. . just as a minority of radiographic HD result in clinical signs of dysplasia. Nonetheless, it's a genetic weakness. If you're going to cross breed, for dog's sake, breed away from areas of genetic weakness. In my book it is not acceptable to cross corgis to a breed that is much more severely chondrodystrophic. A dorgi is an abomination of a DD . . . just as a KCCS x pug would be a bad idea.

I have an 8 yr old desexed female and her 2 1/2 yr old entire daughter. . . both females. There is no clear dominance . . . the mother sometimes tries to direct the pup's behaviour, without much success, and is somewhat dominant re. food. The pup is dominant when it comes to greeting people and seems to lead the hunt for gophers and other small prey. The dam humps her daughter every morning for about 20 seconds in the excitement that ensues when I first wake up and they stomp all over me wagging and looking happy. I have no idea what this means to the dogs, but it's harmless.

Are they? I think that's quite a generalisation. I don't agree - at all, particularly not when it comes to Corgis...it's not a "common" problem for them IMO/E My sister in law gave up corgis after two of her three had serious spinal problems. See, also http://www.corgi-tra...ealth-problems/ Are you saying the 'dorgi' is a good cross?

I was surprised to learn that the Queen has only two corgis . . . and two dashund x corgi's. See the royal website at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/RoyalAnimals/Familypets.aspx Sure killed my respect for the animal sense of the royals. I'm not rabidly anti DD, but I can't see the sense of crossing two breeds, both of which are prone to back problems,

Can someone explain to me what is so awful about spiders. OK. Some of them bite and are poisonous, but most are harmless and prey on obnoxious insects. It's pretty easy to learn which are dangerous in your area. (I am female, but don't get it. Why are girls so upset by creepy-crawlies . . . and mice?).