espinay2

www.liamjperkfoundation.org is a great website with lots of resources about children and dogs

I have a dog on Previcox long term and have had another dog on it in the past. Both without issues. We do a blood panel every 6 months to check how things are going and so far no effects on any values after about 2 years of use. I have found it to be a useful medication with less side effects than many of the alternatives.

I have had: Zebby (Was short for Zebedee. From the Magic Roundabout. As a pup she was on springs) Halley (Named after the comet because as a pup she was a little ball of fire with a long tail) Cookie (was a Dalmatian - choc chips! LOL!) Milou (named after the dog in the Tin Tin cartoon) Liza-Jane (A rescue who came to me as Liza, but was too blonde to be called just that. Her personality was 100% hyphenated) We have: Hamish (my other half named him ....what else do you name a French dog with Norwegian parents .... ) Grace (she is named after the Neil Diamond song 'Pretty Amazing Grace'. Held a lot of meaning right at that time. This pup was meant to be called something else, but she was 'Grace' from the moment I saw her) Louise (my other half again ... He gets to name every second dog and I just have to wear it. Have to keep the peace after all :D. She gets called Cheezle a lot though ) Nena (ok, back with the fun names. It is pronounced Nay-na. It is Spanish slang for sweetheart or baby. Her sire is from Spain ) Sookie (My other half actually chose a fun one! She is named after the Steppenwolf song Sookie Sookie, and she is a total sook) Oh yes, and the cats are Twistie (because life is pretty straight without her) and Teagah. I have a looong list of prospective names. Some of them include Yogi (not your average bear), Neska (Basque for young girl), Vida (life), Loca (crazy) and Cochon (pig). I have also always thought it would be fun to name a bitch Karma (as after all, Karma is a bitch ;) ). One name I have heard that I always thought was fun is Taxi. Try calling that when you are out in public.

Just a note - the breed is not called 'Great Pyrenees' in Australia (or anywhere except North America). It is Pyrenean Mountain Dog. I recommend going to the website of the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club if Victoria for info on breeders (more than you have listed in Vic). Agree very much on comments regarding temperament as the breeds on your list are all very very different. A good basic guide to Pyr temperament: http://itsdogornothing.com/so-you-want-a-great-pyrenees/ The two issues health-wise you have mentioned are certainly the main ones to consider for the breed, but not the only ones. Here is a basic summary on the main ones (though I still need to add info on Neuronal Degeneration) http://espinay.com/health-issues

The Solvit ramps are great quality. I have one of the early models over 10 years old and still in fantastic condition. Very strong. Whether a ramp will suit your situation though will depend on your dog. I have had some dogs that take to the ramp easily. Others find it harder particularly if it is quite a slope. For these I use a large step. Mine is basically a home made wooden box. One of these days however I will see if I can sort out something with folding legs that is easier to transport.

Call Cryogenes. Located in Victoria. They can give you a quote. Really when it comes to shipping semen I am in the don't take risks category. You want it to have every chance of working so paying for proper handling is worth the expense.Cutting corners can mean the difference between getting a litter or not.

May be a strange question...do you think that those highly competative in your sport could potentially be doing exactly the same as they do in Greyhound racing to improve performance? About as likely as flyballers doing the same to improve their dogs desire to get the ball ..... In other words, just not going to happen.

I could be wrong, but I had heard it had closed due to illness? I have always used Cryogenes, who are excellent (BTW, love your kennel name. I have a dog named Sookie after one of their songs )

Ditto. I have as a trainer seen far too many issues when people buy siblings. They are often quite focussed on each other, get separation anxiety when separated and generally there is either one or both that just couldn't care less about paying attention to their owners. With two there is a strong pull towards letting them entertain each other and 'cutting corners'. The only time I have seen it really work successfully is when there are two owners who can devote individual attention to each of them and do individual activities with them away from the other, and also when they have other dogs they can put each of the pups with to separate them. I have raised two siblings at once (out of necessity when one pup from the litter was staying longer before going to its new home and I was keeping one) and the amount of work to give both the same attention and training that you would give to one (even with other dogs and a good setup to separate them) is at times exhausting if one person is doing most of the work (the pull of cutting corners is strong!). It is not something I would recommend to the average pet owner.

you can get human grade ones for reasonable prices. Often from bulk supplement suppliers. For example from here: http://www.daintreequalityherbs.com.au/glucosamine-hcl/

I use www.petguardians.com.au which are a registered charity with all profits going to aged pensioners and their pets. Definitely great savings buying online. I save about $70 every 6 weeks for prescription meds and postage is free and pretty fast (my vet does charge a small script fee and while the script has several repeats, we have a vet visit in between to check on status, do blood tests and renew the script as necessary, so the vet really isn't losing out).

How to match them? Talk to the prospective owners a LOT. I do like the prospective owners to visit if they can (even if it is a week or two before the pups go home or even before the pups are born) so I can get to meet them in person and see how they act around the dogs etc (puppies are sucker bait. I want to see them with my adults in particular). But lots of long distance conversations where I find out about their family, their lifestyle, what their aspirations are for the pup, what they plan to do with the pup and so on so I can get a feel for what life will be like with that family and what they are like as a family. I have a questionnaire that starts the process, but talking and asking lots of questions and basically letting me into their lives really helps. From there it is assessing the pups to determine who I think would be a good fit for them. That involves mostly lots of observation (based a lot on 'gut feeling' which is based on experience with dogs and lots of practice observing and understanding them/their behaviour etc), but can also include formal testing. One of my pups was going to an interstate home as a prospective therapy dog. With the assistance of the program coordinator we did some formal testing to confirm the puppy I felt was most suited to them as a family also responded appropriately to certain tests (usually you would test a whole litter and I would recommend this generally when doing formal testing). This was more for their benefit too as it meant they had something more structured than my word to see how the pup responded. His prospective owners engaged with me fully throughout the whole process (we still talk a lot LOL!). Dog in question is now a certified therapy dog and has been a fantastic fit for their family. But yes, they have put in the work to shape the 'clay' I sent them (and the fact that I believed they would is part of the reason they were even allowed to have one of my pups ;) )

As mentioned, registered breeders must under ANKC (and relevant state) regulations not place a puppy in their new home until a minimum of 8 weeks of age. State government legislation varies, however most such as Vic and NSW state they must not go to their new homes before 8 weeks. From memory Qld is an odd one out in this respect and does not specify a particular age? Many breeders will place pups later (noting 8 weeks is the minimum, but what is good for the pup can vary from breed to breed and also based on an individual pups needs). Studies show that pups need that vital time up to 8 weeks of age with their littermates (more so than mum in the last couple of weeks) to help learn 'dog language' and that pups placed early can have a greater risk of aggression and fear related issues etc as adults. Claims that a pup is 'old enough' at 6 weeks because it is 'weaned' is just cutting corners and not in the best interests of the pups or their new home.

Spinning Pyr hair has a long tradition. The fibre is beautiful. Very warm and really too warm for our climate. I have a beautiful Pyr scarf that I got in the US. The photo doesn't really do it justice. Very beautiful and soft with seed pearls through it. None of the Pyr hair items I have seen/worn have ever smelt like dog. I would suspect that any that does hasn't been prepared properly prior to spinning.

Agree with showdog. No breed is necessarily cat proof. Things can get out of hand in an instant when natural instincts kick into high drive even if they have never happened before (or even if there have only been small signs of interest/chasing when you are around). Safe zones and management to protect cats in your absence are generally a good thing regardless. High cat stands are good. I also have baby gates so the cats can have 'safe zones' in the house that the dogs don't go in when we are not supervising. I also separate them when we are not home. In my case the dogs are outside. But if you want the dogs to stay inside, having the separate areas for them (closed door or baby gate) when you can't supervise may be a good idea.