SkySoaringMagpie

Re whiskers on or off, google win and advertising pix for your breed (local if you can) and take a close look. I think in Dobes you'll find people take them off. In Salukis you definitely don't take them off. Only way to know is to take a close look at what most of the winners do.

Gremlins.

Yep, tho' I've also seen exhibitors reverse out for a specialist. One day dog is titivated to within an inch of its life, next day under specialist the dog looks more "rustic". Dunno what they do, find a handy hedge to drag it through backwards I suppose - LOL!

http://www.dogchannel.com/dogsinreview/judges-on-grooming.aspx

Also depends a bit on the bitch herself and the breed and whether she is just started, in full standing heat, or on the way out. Is she going to be cranky, flat or aggressive? If so, leave her home. Is she going to go around the ring flagging her tail showing her goodies and you have a breed that is meant to carry their tail down? OTOH, perhaps she is going to be "Oh boy, look at all these BOYS!" and on her toes showing off in which case as long as you're polite about it you might get a good performance from her ;) Also depends whether you have boys you want to show at the same time and how they will react to having "their" girl in season around other males. Keep her out of people's faces, don't let her toilet in or around the rings, warn the judge and usually you are OK. Personally I can't be bothered unless it is a super important show, and there aren't many of those.

If Troy cannot stand in the shoes of the regulator as you say, then the condition of people's kennels is hardly something he can be expected to monitor. I hear this a lot: "X has terrible kennels" - well, if we have seen the kennels ourselves and confirmed it's not breed bitching, either we talk to X about it and offer to help, or we report them to council if they decline to clean up their act. If I were Troy, and I'm not Troy, I'd be uncomfortable with being a vehicle for farmed dogs, and would probably put in place something similar. Not because I consider myself a regulator, but because it's my business, and I'd be running as I liked.

Agree with this, will be glad to see it implemented. I particularly like the idea of uploading health testing results.

I have nothing to say about junior handlers, but I agree with the crickets on the subject of new adult handlers. I know I've said before that double income no kids couples who love dogs and have a bit of a competitive streak are great candidates for boosting numbers. They've got the money and the time to put into it. That said, I think there is already a class that could be used for them (eg, Limit) but because it's perceived as a "losers" class people tend not to support it when it is offered. As for the original topic of the thread, when we run neuter classes the neuter in show gets the same prize as the class in show winners. They don't get the same value prize as the BIS and I think that's fair. If they start to compete seriously with numbers and are therefore financing half the show, then I would revisit that.

Keshwar's Afghan has it sussed, he stands in front of the TV and wags his tail. Another of our dogs is pretty keen on "let me out so I can come back in again".

Great news! Congratulations

Also I sympathise. I had my very well educated boss who I quite like tell me about the kittens he is trying to home. When I asked him why he hadn't taken mum cat to the vet, he said "we never got around to it". Anyway, they have had her desexed now and all the kittens have had their vaccs but hoo boy...

www.dogstardaily.com "Training Textbook" - > "Raising your puppy"

What sort of thing did you have in mind? Breed specific art for a perpetual trophy, or something cheaper to give people to keep?

I think this may well be part of the ideological approach underlying the proposal. Because breeders are not socially respected, the answer from the GP will be "well duh, breeding is bad".

Something which doesn't fit us, for example. We have athletic breeds and we live rurally and we both work full time. It is safer for the dogs and surrounding livestock if they are kennelled while we are at work rather than being cooped up inside where they can't toilet or running loose getting into trouble. When we are home, they have freedom to wander around the fenced house paddock which would be somewhere between 2-3 acres or to plop themselves on the couches. They are probably kennelled about 35-40 hours a week and never overnight. The tricky thing is that breeds vary, circumstances vary, and what is being created with the NSW proposals is a one size fits all approach that just fits the large dog farmers. While I agree with WIW that they'd be better off just enforcing the laws they have, I know that is neither cheap nor an easy announceable - unlike passing yet more legislation. So I think what needs fixing in the proposals is the requirement to kennel dogs just because you breed. Perhaps they need two standards - one for home rearing and one for kennel rearing and you declare when being "licensed" which you are. Edited to fix verb declension.

I think you are asking too much of your animals and not enough of yourself.

I feed all of our dogs separately, and I supervise to ensure that no-one takes anyone else's food. Like you I dislike bad manners, but my dislike of bad manners is directed at other dogs taking food that isn't allocated to them, or staring down others who are trying to eat. I don't consider animals defending their food against others who are being rude, "bad manners". If I'm in a restaurant, and a stranger takes chips off my plate, should I smile and let it happen? Or should I tell them to stick to their own plate? If I can take the bowl/bone/biscuit from my dogs then I am happy but I don't do it unless I really need to, because I understand it can create anxiety. If they growl at another animal for trying the same thing, then I have screwed up in my management of the situation because it should never get that far. Cats are another situation again, as others have mentioned, they speak a different language to both humans and dogs. It's up to you to keep the cat away. How you do that is up to you, but allowing a child or other animal to interfere with a dog while it is eating is acknowledged by experts to be a high risk situation for bites and attacks. If that bothers you, then perhaps dog ownership is not for you.

You're in Sydney, so I think probably the best you could do is book a session with K9Pro. We can give some advice, but I suspect paying for a lesson with him will save a lot of drama very quickly - www.k9pro.com.au FWIW, I have Salukis and no interest in his business, so I'm not spruiking for him. It sounds as if your housemate's GSD has a few things that are tricky to sort out unless you are experienced tho', and so I think you need someone who understands working dogs to eyeball her and come up with a plan. The fact that she doesn't appear motivated by you or by food, and is also fearful, is something for the experts.

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/nsw-act/rspca-insists-dog-muzzles-are-cruel/story-fndo4bst-1226612819716 THE RSPCA has supported NSW farmers' concerns over plans to muzzle problem cattle dogs. Farmers and dog breeders have vented their anger at draft options tabled by Animal Health Australia and fear working canines are being forced from the land. While the RSPCA said its policy on dog management accepted, but did not support, the use of muzzling of dogs it warned improper use could: "Prevent the dog from being able to properly swallow, pant and take water." Dogs could wear a "properly fitting muzzle that allows it to easily pant and drink" for the duration of work, it said, but said muzzling dogs should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. "Pressure from the harness may also cause discomfort to the animal," Chief Inspector David O'Shannessy said. "A loose fitting harness may cause rubbing and skin irritation, again causing pain and discomfort." Farmers said there were already enough risks to working dogs on farms without muzzles adding to them. "For most farmers their dog is their best mate. You don't want to do anything that puts them at risk or could get them hurt," sheep farmer Ted Fenech said. "If your dog is hurting the stock you run the risk of your dogs getting hurt too." Cattle dog breeder Narelle Hammond-Robertson said she thought the measure - part of a set of draft recommendations revealed by The Daily Telegraph - was an attempt to take dogs off the land. "You cannot have a dog muzzled. They can't breathe properly, they overheat. They can't pant, and can't drink properly through a muzzle," she said. "The dog would only be able to work for very short periods of time." Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said: "I fully recognise the importance of working dogs on rural properties. A good dog is worth three people."

I have a Lucy, and that has to be in the top ten most popular female dog names too. Bella is bella, it suits her :)

Yep. I have a couple of relatives who have been sucked into the "rescue is best, breeders suck!" campaign. I rescue, but my question for those who "hate all breeders" is: where do family dogs come from in an ideal world?. Because in an ideal world they don't come from people who don't set money aside for vet care and health testing.

DOL really needs a like button.

Agree with this summary. The only other thing I'd add is that where a judge is sending a dog through to a different judge for General Specials, there is additional pressure to send through something "credible". If the GS judge doesn't select any of their candidates many judges will be disappointed. So sending through a bumbling newbie with a remarkable dog that the newbie has done an excellent job of making look as terrible as possible isn't something most will do. Some will, but that's not enough to build a showing career on, so I think you have to ask yourself each time "what did they do/have that I didn't?" instead of complaining about face judging.

Yep, just begging for trouble. Speaking of which I'd not give a dog a 'naughty' name.... asking for the dog to live up to it. Agree with this, I have a Mab, and she is exactly like her namesake, a mischievous stirrer of the worst kind.

Yay!