armahani

The lower the score the better. A score written like that isn't a fraction , basically one of the numbers denotes the score in the left hip and the one other the one in the right hip. Sometimes they are added together to give the "total" score, but this can be sometimes meaningless (eg a total score of 12 could mean 1/11, 2/10, 3/9, 4/8, 5/7, 6/6 - all of which are quite different scores ) Yes, 0/0 is the best. That basically means "perfect" in terms of the hip structure. After that you are talking a degree of either fault in the shape or "fit" of the hip joint, or signs of degereration in the joint. There are scores given for a number of different factors, and these are then added up. Highest possible would be a 53/53 and that is VERY bad. 0/0 is not impossible - there are a handful of Lappies in Aus with that score - but it is pretty damn improbable most times (in the UK - which uses the same scoring system as us - they have far more Lappies and have never seen a score better than 3/3, so we are lucky). Basically the idea is to breed around about the breed average or better (ie lower). It is hard to know what the breed average is here, because they haven't been collecting and anlaysing the data for a number of years, but in the UK is somewhere between a 12 and a 13 (in total) which is probably the same here, so that gives us an idea. Of course, you would think about the individual scores in making that assessment. Theory goes that if you do that, you should maintain the breed average. If it is a breed with a known dysplasia problem, however (which Lappies generally aren't - we'd be talking one of the bigger, heavier breeds where it is a known problem, and surgical intervention may be required in bad cases), breeders probably would have a more strict strategy of only breeding well below the breed average - with the intention if actually bringing the average down. And obviously, a breeder will generally be looking at more than just the parents, but also scores in relatives etc (sibling, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc) to get an idea of any patterns that are emerging. But as Lappiemum says, it isn't that simple. Hips aren't one of those easily understood things. So many factors can play an influence, and even what part of the contributing factor that is genetic isn't simple. The reassuring thing is that Lappies aren't known to have a big problem in hips. While we do see some scores much higher than we would want at times, in the main part, even those dogs tend to show very little sign of mobility problems, even late in age. It is a very rare case indeed that would need any kind of surgical treatment, and I don't think I've heard of one (although no doubt there must be a case or two somewhere in the world). Most lighter breeds are the same. So hips is definitely something to be conscious of, to be careful of, to watch for, and to be breeding in consideration of - but not generally something a prospective puppy-owner has to be super super worried and/or panicked about like with some other breeds. Oh, another thing. You may also see letters being used against some Lappies (A, B, C etc). That is the system used in Europe. So any dog scored in Europe will have a grade like that, rather than the numbers we use here. And sometimes even if they are scored over here, the person doing the scoring may have provided what the x-rays should have been graded if they were submitted in Europe. You can find various conversion charts to work out the equivelents, but these are notoriously inconsistent depending on where you get the chart from because it isn't a simple matter of converting the final numbers - (1) it would depend where the number fell in the scoring - numerous low scores across a number of the measurement elements can have less of a negative impact on the final grade than a really high score across one or two of the individual elements, (2) the letter grade is always based on the worst hip - and the conversion charts try to predict the letter grade according to the total (so the average of the two hips). Okay - I've probably lost you now - so I'll go on that note!!!! Thanks for that. I had realised, and have fixed it on my local server, but in the middle of a whole pile of updates at the moment, so haven't been able to load the fixes onto my remote server.

You obviously know how to train for obedience exercises. So I suspect your problem is more that you are not expecting to have to train this the same way . Imagine if there was an obedience exercise where you had to leave your dog in a stand stay, walk away, then the judge would come up, grab their face, look in their teeth, examine their head, etc etc. My guess is if you had to train that, you would easily work out how to do it. So treat this as the same challenge. Break it down into the simple steps and train. So, if you have the stand stay with you holding the collar all figured out, go the next step and have someone approach your dog's head which they are in the same position. Once they have that figured out, go the next step and train for the person being able to touch the head. Then next step with them grabbing for the jaw. Etc etc. Until they can do the whole exercise. Says me who never trains that thoroughly for the show ring

They'll generally be full height about 9 to 12 months of age. However, they won't have "filled" out by that age, and will still look quite puppy-like. Around 18 months you see a change in terms of filling out, but they do still change and mature long after that, and you'll notice differences each year until they are about 4.

Depends what you mean by "maturity".

Hi Esky. A number of breeders have placed Lappies in pet homes in SA. It's fairly normal for us to get an enquiry from someone who is interested in the breed, hasn't met any yet but wants to meet some to find out a bit more about what they are like, and is keen to know where they can go. So if you contact a few breeders along those lines most will try to at least link you up with some pet people near where you live who may own a Lappie that you can meet. Coat thickness can be a combination of genetics and living climate. As a general rule the undercoat will be "blown" once the weather starts to warm up, and yes they will have a thinner coat then. But so many things can inflence that. Girls (entire ones), for eg, will tend to blow their coat in line with their seasons - which can be irrespective of weather. Desexing a dog changes its coat type, and often the normal patterns with which they blow or don't blow coat. Often they will keep a thicker coat all year round and lose a lot more coat all year round. With coat thickness you will also get the genetic influence. Some just have a thicker coat genetically more than others. Regardless of that, they will still tend to have a lighter coat if they live in a warmer climate, but because of the differences you might have a Lappie living in Queensland with a thicker coat than one living in Tasmania - just because of what they naturally have. Still, swap those Lappies around and the Queensland one would probably get an even thicker coat living in Tassie and the Tassie one an even thinner coat living in Queensland. Does that make sense? They would certainly surive your 0 degree winter nights . That would be a picnic to a Lappie ;) . And everyone forgets that Finland has a summer too . So yes, they will survive the weather you get in Adelaide just fine (keep in mind there are some living in the NT and far north QLD, or further afield in the south of the USA, and I know of one that was living in Arizona). They won't love the hot weather, but they will survive it. It is just about being careful (as you would with any dog). No exercise in the heat of the day. Cool areas to rest. Plenty of fresh water. Be prepared for nesting holes to be dug under bushes and shrubs etc etc. Access to the indoors is always best on the really hot days.

Ah no. Fran was right. Not hond as in pond. But how the german word hund is pronounced. Lapphund isn't a Finnish word, so how the Finnish would pronounce it would be just how they would naturally pronounce letters. The breed in Finland isn't called Finnish Lapphund, it is called Suomenlapinkoira (and they know how to pronounce that much better than us! ). Suomen = Finnish Lapinkoira = Lapphund Most Finnish people will look at you blankly if you say you have (or want to have) a Lapphund. Say you have (or want to have) a Lapinkoira and they are more likely to know what you mean. I'm not sure the origin of how we ended up with the "english" version of the breed name. Obviously Lapp for Lappland. And Hund for the German word of dog. So the breed name means Finnish dog of Lappland. In Finnish the word for dog is Koira. So again it is the same meaning, but written (and pronounced) differently.

See I'm just paranoid. This is why I parentage test all of my litters, and all my "clear by parentage" litters are certified as such - so they have that status as a tested status, not just because I say that's what they are . I also prefer not to do a carrier x clear by parentage litter - would prefer always to have the second dog actually tested clear. But as I said - I'm paranoid - perhaps it's overkill

Under the code these breedings are allowed (if you are talking GPRA - which is recessive) if under the auspices of an approved breeding program for that particular breed. Words from the code are: 1. Breeding is not recommended. Must only occur as part of an approved breeding program. 2. All progeny must be tested for the heritable defect. 3. A diseased (Affected) animal must not be disposed of to another person without advice of the animal’s heritable defect status 4. Affected progeny (or any juvenile off spring confirmed as ‘Affected’ on test) should be de-sexed unless they are to be used in an approved breeding program, must not be permitted by their owner to suffer from their condition if it develops and should be under the supervision, advice and monitoring of a veterinary practitioner. Unlikely but possible No - not possible. Not from a carrier x clear mating for the recessive form of PRA. You could have all carriers though - but no affecteds. Because animal cruelty legislation (which is where the "prohibition" comes from) is State based law. For is to be the same situation elsewhere, other States would have had to have passed similar laws and codes of practice as in Victoria. I think the main time you will find breeders "knowingly" breeding affected dogs of any condition, is where tests reveal that the incidence rate of carriers and affected animals in that particular breed is so high (hardly any "clears"), that the only way of not completely depleting the gene pool, "breeding into a corner" and possibly losing the breed from existence is to do those sorts of breedings. Not a decision I would want to be faced with, and I know many people would just stop breeding if they were faced with those sorts of decisions. But this is why "approved breeding programs" established by breed clubs may allow these sorts of breedings in certain circumstances - if they feel there is no other way for the breed to continue successfully with a viable sized gene pool.

Well I guess they have to really. It would be pretty stupid if there was some rule that insisted that if you an import a dog you have to change the name it has been registered under since birth just to fit an Australian letter-limit. All of the dogs in an import's pedigree have to be included into our database too, so it would make it a disaster for accurate record keeping if many of them had to have their names changed to fit the limit.

30 letters (including spaces and prefix) is the rule now (has been for some time). Of course, some of the names you may have seen may be imports. Other countries don't have the same restrictions, and they will obviously be registered here with their original name regardless of letter count. One of mine has 41 (I think - may have miscounted) letters and spaces - not including the IMP suffix . Sure can be a pain fitting it on show entry forms! I think the administrators of showmanager had to change the programming just for me when he got his title .

Everyone seems to get completely confused by this. The odds with a clear to carrier mating is NOT that 50% of pups will be clear and 50% of pups will be carriers in an average size litter. This is an incorrect way of describing the odds, and just leads people to have an expectation that is very rarely met. The odds are that for each individual puppy, they EACH have a 50% chance of being clear and a 50% chance of being a carrier. Does that make sense? Same as tossing a coin. Each time you do a coin toss, you have a 50% chance of getting heads and a 50% chance of getting tails. That does not mean, however, that if you tossed the coin 8 times (as an illustration of 8 puppies) you would get 4 heads and 4 tails . You could end up with 8 tails and 0 heads, 7 tails and 1 heads, 6 tails and 2 heads, etc etc, through to all of the possible combinations. I know the common (easy to understand) explanation given is that you will get 50% carriers and 50% clears with a carrier x clear mating. But that would be only the case if your sample was hundreds of puppies. Given most litters are far smaller than that (thank goodness!) it will very rarely turn out exactly 50/50. Instead think of it as each pup has an equal chance of being either .... but the combination you will get in the litter may vary considerably. Edited to add that carrier x carrier matings can only be done in Victoria under an approved breeding program - so no doubt if there were particular reasons that a breed club had decided to allow such matings, I imagine there would need to be guidelines give on when and why it could be done and what protocols should be followed re affected pups. Not sure which breeds (if any) this applies to. But might be worth while checking with the breed club of the breed you are curious about.

angelsun, I would avoid longer quarantine if at all possible. That's not about cost, but about your dog's welfare. Dogs don't get exercised daily in quarantine. They are in their pen day and night. Although the staff I've encountered are pretty good, and love their jobs, and the dogs under their case, they only have so much time in the day, so your dog's interaction with people is likely to be limited to feeding, pen-cleaning, the occasional bit of interaction. Obviously they are seperated from all other dogs. You can visit, and take them into exercise runs, but most stations that is limited to twice a week, and sometimes with time limits as well. If you can't visit, you can sometimes arrange for staff to take your dog into the exercise areas for a short run - but again, that will be limited to twice a week if you are lucky. I've imported a few times, and all of mine have survived the experience (and so have I ... just) but I'd hate to have to leave them in there longer than the minimum 30 days! If she has to leave your friend early, can you look into having her kennelled in Canada for the extra time - at least with a facility where she will be exercised daily? And then for a transport company to arrange the final vet checks etc required?

Really??? I have always had my girl crated while we are inside, with one boy loose to lay next to her crate in his bed, and the other boy in a crate next to hers. I've always found everyone is far calmer and relaxed in that arrangement than if I have her elsewhere in a seperate room/yard where the boys can't be near her. I swear if they can't lay next to where she is they go nuts just being sure that she is being "got" by someone else. If they can be next to her they "sort-of" relax. It is only when she has her runs outside and they are inside apart from her that they go insane. When I only had the one boy I had him loose and her crated. But that doesn't work when both are determined to lay the closest to her crate I've tried seperate rooms / areas of the house, and it is usually a disaster and terribly stressful for all concerned (particularly me ) Of course, in your original scenario - it wouldn't matter if you did want to eventually mate the two together - you are not going to want to everytime

Will be interesting the explanation then.

Did you use a company that uses a test that has been scientifically verified to reliably test for colour in your particular breed? Some are very clear on this. Others will take your money to test for any condition or any colour, regardless of whether there is any evidence that the DNA markers are accurate in that breed.

Poor thing. She doesn't have a cast at this age - just a scaffold and bandaging. And her rear leg - so good thing no dew claws there :-). But I'll remind them about her normal nails.

Hi Jules - yes that is Kirra . She won't be back to obedience for a few weeks obviously.

Well, have to say, it doesn't cost anything, and is just a little bit of time in paperwork, so I can't see any reason why not really. It has come in handy for a few of them a few times (nothing quite this big though ), and a number of my buyers have ended up taking out a policy, so I suspect it works out well for the insurance company..... generally ...... I might be blacklisted now though! ;)

Great ideas! I'd already suggested that this would be a good time to work on her scent work - but they might find some tricks a bit easier at first

I know a lot of people across Melbourne suffered a lot of damage to home and property after the freak hail-stone storm on Saturday ... but damage to a family member? Well, this has to be one of the most freakiest things I have ever had the misfortune to be a small part of. Got a phone call from one of the puppy buyers from my last litter, very upset, from the vet on Saturday afternoon. The puppy (aged 12 weeks here, two weeks before the weekend we have just had): The storm hit their place suddenly while she was outside playing (she has free rein in and out of the house when they are home) - her owners heard the first hailstone hit and then her scream almost immediately .... The result: The treatment: The aftermath: The cost: For just the weekend's vet bills alone - over $5000 (thankfully, $3000 of that will be covered with the 6 week insurance policy I send out with all of my pups - which believe it or not, runs out tonight!) For ongoing weekly check-ups, x-rays, surgery to remove some pins, then surgery to remove the rest - one can only guess, but thankfully covered with the insurance policy they have just renewed!!! The good news ('cause apparently there is some!): Prognosis is excellent for a complete recovery. If she had to be hit by a hailstone anywhere, and had to break anything, apparently what happened was the best outcome. The break was clean, and no where near any growth plates, and they expect she will make a full recovery (just might not make that show debut quite as soon as we were expecting - but heck, I think she deserves a cheering squad when she does get out there!). The challenge: She's to be kept quiet for the next three weeks .... and this is one active and mischievous puppy!

Sounds like you've just described a Finnish Lapphund

Well I never posted up the 8 week old photos - largely because someone else took them for me and I am still waiting for them to be sent to me :D But I thought for those following, you might be interested to see the new babies with their new families. This time it is in order that they departed .... First up was Keila (previously known as Snowflake). Her new mum fell in love with her, when she was just visiting, sure that she wanted a black and tan male LOL - and was the first on my door step the day they were allowed to go home. She stays in Victoria. There are lots of plans for Keila in all sorts of doggie disciplines, and it is hoped she may become a Delta dog one day. I couldn't quite let her go entirely though, and she stays in co-ownership with me. Keila and Michelle ... I had only just wiped the tears away, when the door bell rang again. This time it was Taija's (previously known as Star) new mum, with extended family in tow, including Lappie Willoughby (who was much more interested in playing with my adults, I must say!). Taija lives with a friend of mine, and is co-owned by me. I'll be showing her here in Melbourne. Taija and Cherelle ... And then, that evening, the lovely Quito (previously known as Angel) headed off to her home in Sydney. Her new parents had spent the night visiting, and it was time for the new family to fly out together. We may get to see Quito around the Sydney show ring in the future. Quito, Liz & Keith ... The next evening it was time for my boy Dolce (previously known as St Nick) to fly to Canberra. There were lots of tears at the airport. I was a bit of a mess saying goodbye to this funny little character. Dolce will also be co-owned by me (yes that is 3!! I couldn't help myself!!), and lives just out of Canberra with his new family which includes the beautiful Mischa from my last litter (now 15 weeks old). Dolce, Shareen & Glen ... Just cause I couldn't help it ... a couple of extra photos I got sent today of Dolce and Mischa (hard to believe Mish was his size just six short weeks ago!!): This one cracks me up! Not sure what he is saying, but I suspect it may be along the lines of "I've just raised 6 sisters, did you really need to give me another one!?!" I raced home from the airport, to meet Kirra's (previously known as Holly) new owners here to pick her up. She was pretty keen to give her new mum and dad the little nose kisses she is renowned for! Kirra also stays in Melbourne, and her new dad has lots of plans to try out various doggie pursuits with her. Kirra, Brett & Belle ... So I had a day to enjoy the last two girls and their antics, before they both flew out last night (with thanks to the Spitz forum in sharing my angst with flight delays etc!). To Queensland headed Myrre (previously known as Noelle) - my crazy one (well, that is what they asked for LOL). I love this story. Myrre's owners emigrated from Finland a number of years ago. Anne has always had a Lappie in her household, right from when she was a little girl, and with them came her two dogs - including Lappie Doris, who just happened to be from the same kennel in Finland as my Emmi (Myrre's dam), and whose sire is Emmi's great-grandfather. We have spoken a bit over the last year, and then very sadly Doris died of old age late last year. Anne approached me for a future girl, as she just couldn't bear to be without a Lappie in her life, and really had her heart set on a Doris-relative. Well, with all my girls being born, and mostly boy orders, it just worked out perfectly that I was able to offer them a baby. So Myrre (which apparently being an Australian I have no hope of pronouncing correctly!) is learning her home-language. She will be learning lots of fun things, and will hopefully head for the obedience trial ring in future. Myrre, Anne & Janne ... So lastly is little Mistletoe. She arrived into loving arms late last night in Adelaide, where she also has a life of doggie-pursuits planned with her mum Kellie, including hopefully an agility career one day. We are awaiting her family photo still (and her final decided name LOL) so that one will have to wait.

Ah-ha!! Finally someone has picked out my favourite I think she is stunning, is she staying with you? Not at home - but she is my keeper. She'll be living with a friend of mine, co-owned by me, and I'll be showing her.

Ah-ha!! Finally someone has picked out my favourite