JulesP

Amber isn't great at the moment She stopped eating at the beginning of the week and was looking depressed again. Last night she had a fit (walking strangely and muscle tremors). She ate well today but has been having tremors today. The tremors and fits are caused by ammonia getting into her brain. I've got her back on antibiotics and hopefully I can get her stable again. She is still bright but very sooky and worried looking.

That is nice Janba

Strauss did great! That was a bit of a full on atmosphere! Truly vomit worthy, lol.

You did the right thing Kirty. RIP Nessie

The only breed that I will not pat for fear of being bitten is Chihuahuas.

Pretty much anything big enough to do serious damage. One of the attacks recently reported really stressed me out, that was a dingo that was attacked and killed. I am not so worried about myself but am very worried about the dogs.

Great news they are both home now

I was thinking Aussie Shep. We hang out with a lot of them and the girls don't mind them. I also have a breeder I like should I want one. Similar but not so much the same that it hurts to look at the pup. I'll probably end up with another border though :D

I've always preferred to have a male and female. I did have a male and 3 females at one stage and the girls all got on. With just Poppy & Amber now they are also fine together. So depending on the breed I wouldn't rule out 2 girls. I've had borders close in age and a pup with an old dog. Haven't noticed much difference. It is fun watching the younger ones play though. I personally wouldn't have a border at home by itself. I would always want at least 2. What breed are you thinking about? After 20 years of having borders I am thinking about a different breed because events this year have been so painful. The whole replacing thing.

A badly bred English Staffy?

Woohooo Have fun with puppy.

Cosmolo do you have a run? If you don't it may be a good idea to get one. Just in case. It might prevent the dogs from being removed if you already have a run set up. Just in case someone complains about them.

Agree with this Steve. Just looked through the puppy listing on DOL for my breed and as usual was Heaps of 'puppy farmers' merrily posting on there. And they do the health tests. This thread has helped clarify for me what I expect in a breeder.

Same here. I am really pissed off at the breeders of these dogs. I find it curious that more anger isn't being directed at them considering the feelings of people here towards DD. Cosmolo I do feel for you.

It is a lottery with any animal with its health. Yes there are some things that you can test for but they are living creatures and there is a whole heap of stuff that can go wrong with them. The only thing I would say is a lottery with a DD is what the coat is going to be like and what size they end up.

It sounds like you want her dog to get sick

There is absolutely no point in saying stuff about dogs people already have. Apart from to give advice about feeding & training etc.

DDs are not going to faze out. Pretty much everyone I know that owns one would buy another one. Why is it going to be interesting if Julia's pup gets sick? Would it have been interesting if she had got a purebred and that had got sick??? That would not have been good publicity. I doubt very much her dog getting sick will make the news anyhow. I hope her and her dog have a long and happy time together.

I actually don't know any oodles that have had problems and I imagine that I got/get to see more of them then the average dog owner as a groomer and obedience instructor. Know a shitload of purebred dogs with serious problems though so really that isn't a good argument. Billabong actually offers a 1 year health guarantee so if the pup has a problem on its first birthday it may be covered.

I found the oodles pretty easy to groom. That is the poodle x spaniels. Lab x just took ages because of the size. All the owners wanted them clipped off. Didn't have any that wanted to keep a long coat. The SWF were a frigging nightmare. I also found the oodles to have better temperaments. Didn't have any try to have a go at me. Unlike the SWF. Same with teaching them obedience. I way prefer the oodle crosses to the SWF crosses.

Everyone at my work knew I was the crazy animal lady so they all tended to come to me for advice anyway. I doubt anyone would have just got a dog or horse without speaking to me first. Stopped a couple of people there from getting oodles, helped a couple of people get dogs for themselves or family members.

I would do an elimination diet with her.

Do you know what their policy is on taking back pups and general back up?

Isn't the DNA profile of a Amstaff the same as a Pit bulls?

People want these dogs. No amount of talk about purebreds is going to stop that. People like these little fluffies. They need to be bred responsibly. Until that happens and we can send people to responsible breeders these 'farms' are going to win. If I sent that website link to non-crazy-dog-friends they would think it was ace and a super place to buy a dog from. And it might be. I haven't been there. All they might be doing wrong is breeding cross breds. They are breeding rather a lot but so are some ANKC breeders. Are they health testing? Can't see that they are. But again not all ANKC breeders are either. At least they are desexing the puppies. The hefty price tag will hopefully make people think twice before purchasing. Were did they get their breeding stock from? Mmmmmm I dunno from now on I am going to judge the individual not just what they breed. I see a heap of stuff from ANKC breeders that I think SUCKS. Judge the deed and all that.