SparkyTansy

I didn't get any cookies... and i was there I saw you walk past Mirawee but was too shy to say anything Rubystar what happened with Ruby? was she ok? Ptolomy we met unofficially (mostly cos i didn't want to say Ptolomy! i'm SparkyTansy!) when i gave you your numbers.

RS it's not too late to join... when you come on sunday you could probably join then. I'll find out how much subs are and let you know.

hey valley Ari's (older) niece got a third in novice retrieving the other day... there is hope for us yet!

you are right valley! but... you have to be a MEMBER!! although i dont blame you for not being a member... unless you are into field or retreiving, or showing, we don't really offer that much more... oh except an exquisitely written newsletter been meaning to do something about that but haven't got around to it!! maybe we need a sub committee for gundog meets or something...

RS NOone will be laughing!! I am just really glad you entered what we really need is some gundogs winning the gundog club obedience trial no pressure though btw RS are you a member of the GDC? Valley that is a bummer I was totally hoping you were free...

valley are you serious? if you are you can steward with me! but if you have to work on Sunday you might be pushing it! it is a good way of seeing a trial in action though, and we usually finish before 12pm cos it isnt a huge event. I am thinking you are probably like the first member who isn't on the committee who is willng to come down and help without being asked... ETA - i think i'm confused... on the 18th i am at an OES open show but THIS sunday (when the last retrieving training day is) i am at an obedience trial...

I woud have loved to have gone too valley but GDC has an obedience trial and I have to be a steward... when i went up to toodyay one i of course kept Ari well away from the action but we did hear the gunshot each time... i went right up close with the crowd without dogs to watch the action though so if you can trust lincoln tied out you should be ok. My mum held onto Ari when i went to watch and photograph.

LOL you poor thing RS! Last year I drove up to one of the trials which was east of toodyay... the long drive doesnt bother me too much so upper swan is probably ok! Valley Ari may be in season by then so i won't be able to bring her along bt i'd still like to come and watch... i'll keep you posted though.... Actually scratch that... I'm going to be at the OES open show that day just checked...

might be interested valley... i got the notice yesterday but haven't had a chance to really look at it... where is it again?

Ari has got nearly everything down... except that she will drop the bumper on return... and she is never interested in the "hold" game...

you could also try a different shampoo... different shampoos work for different dogs, just like humans... I wash my weimaraner (silver) in a shampoo that is supposed to highlight whites, greys and silvers... it isnt a blue or purple shampoo though... Also not sure about blues but in dilute browns (silver) as well as browns/livers, they can sunbleach... if your dog likes to sunbake either prevent from doing it too often or look for a product which contains sunscreen (I htink Plushpuppy sells one in the form of a coat conditioning spray)

BISS MBISS, BIS in front of the names aren't official titles, mind... just something to add to non-official adverts etc to show that your dog has won at specialty or all breeds level... Official titles are Dual Ch, Ch and Gr Ch... i cna't think of anymore... but there probably are from other disciplines...

even though he is desexed, he might still smell a bitch in season...

completely agree with poodlefan good advice.

one thing to keep in mind i guess with "types" in different countries to work, is the different working conditions... and rules for trials... is the landscape different in the UK to the US? Do the labs in the US do different work to the ones in the UK? Would that explain the difference in type? Just one difference i can think of with the pointer and setter breeds in the US is their 12 o'clock tail... they love a 12 o'clock tail even though the setters and the pointer should carry their tail lower, the setters level or below the level of their topline. both pointers and setters should have a slashing movement to their tail which wouldn't happen with a high set tail. Sure, a tiny difference but what does it to to them structurally? This applies across the board and would explain such massive differences in type between working and show lines...

Lol you will just have to come to dog shows :p Toby won't even be able to go the 6th of June because I have a Rally Seminar. There's a fair gap in obedience trials after this weekend too, me thinks Hate long waits, especially now that I am just chasing one more pass for her CD title! I've only just started agility and I am getting hooked! Can't wait to be at trialling stage there in about 5 years It will only take 5 years if you wait till your perfect. If you copy me and start trialling before you dog knows weaves or contacts and had only done a broad jump about 7 times you could start in just over 6 months of training :D .

Harsh reality is that sometimes, we dont always bond as well with some dogs. Not saying that this is the case, but it does happen. Doesn't mean that you love them any less and doesn't mean they don't see you as part of their life, just that they are very happy to co-exist with you, but that they are well adjusted enough to do other things as well. I have a cling bitch... i can't take my other dogs out without taking her because she screams the house down... but that is her breed and it's very common. It may be common for her to be the way she is too. I think perhaps accepting who she is will probably help you bond with her. Eventually you will know exactly what she likes, what she doesn't like, and you will find that the bond was always there. In saying that, my cling bitch was quite an independant puppy... she became clingy and sooky after her first season.

8-12 weeks is fun... but with Spartan puppyhood was hard. He was my first English Setter and I just didn't know what was going wrong... he was quite sick a lot of the time but it turns out he was allergic to chicken and that was what he was eating... he had constant ear infections, he would get car sick, and to top it off he took a while to toilet train. He was also a very naughty puppy, and this ES pup could quite possibly have been the devil's spawn... and their angelic faces are there to lure you in. I am not going to go into what he destroyed, what he ate and the fact that he went through a window... as soon as he hit 18 months he went from devil to angel...and has been that way ever since, except for the food stealing and general laziness. Yes, i did question many a time what did i do to deserve this, was I wrong about this breed... but they do turn into nice adults as long as you can get through the first few months of their evil existence.. and yet I did it again, with James... James was a much easier puppy... he crate trained well, slept a lot, bottom line, he was an angel. He also took ages to toilet train... and he did have an evil streak too just no where near as much as spartan... who almost seemed like he did things on purpose, cos he knew they were wrong... James just did stuff... he pulled up reticulation, destroyed beds etc... but lucky for me he actually grew up at about 14 months of age, and has been angelic ever since. Ari was not my first weimaraner, but she is by far the most energetic and crazy weimarner i have ever had. She is 3 this year and has still not grown up in any sense of the word... she still destroys, still digs, andstill hassles the boys... i am hoping that one day she might just choose to grow up for me... but it doesn't look like it will be happening any time soon. The minute she walked out of the crate at the airport I asked myself why bottom line, i love puppies, but i love them more when i can hug them and give them back to their owners. I much prefer adults however maybe it is just the breeds i have which makes me lean towards that! However, I would always see it throrugh unless the pup was just not bonding well or didn't fit into my family... not because it's hard... that is part of owning a pup, hard work and rewards later... in my case with Ari... much, much later... butter wouldn'tmelt I'm not evil, i am way too small and cute for that

fetchindawgs - i hope you come back in here soon.. i just want to ask one question about retrieving (anyone else who has done it feel free to answer) when you have the dog to heal next to you, do they need to sit or can they be in a down position? did some practice the other day and Ari had a great wait, but she seemed to be much better in a down position than a sit... is there a rule there that it must be a sit?

ValleyCBR you can make me a siggy i'll email you some pics of spartan now.

Thanks for that Aidan i never realised that!!

I think that ValleyCBR can do good signatures Doodlebliss

Thanks PF - sorry i actually read it wrong anyway... i get what youmeant the first time now! I love the photos of the clumbers btw

working a labrador in "field trialling" would consist of what? It was my understanding that labs were bred to retrieve only... that the job of finding the game was done by the spaniel (flushing) and/or the pointers. I take it the evolved labrador does a bit of both now?

tassie and ness, of course we accept honourary WA members! you automatically got a pass when you picked an awesome WA bred dog... My dogs can't even boast being WA bred... Two english setters from Vic, a weimaraner from QLD and an OES from SA! Someone asked before what a working OES was like... i think now days they actually carry more coat than ever, so they are usually clipped, as are most pets. However, the idea behind the OES coat is that it is harsh enough to "break" and actually grooms itself (excess undercoat gets stripped out and coat will break if it is too long) when it is exposed to the elements.