Gayle.

But dogs still need to be walked every day, so while you're waiting for a slow result, how do you walk the dog comfortably without it pulling your arm off? And walks are meant to be enjoyable....not an hour-long disciplinary session for your dog.

I love all my dogs equally, and very, very much. but Dusty makes my heart sing.

How did they cope before a/c became standard? It's only in the last 10-15 years that aircon has become a standard fixture in most homes.

No, I'm saying that of the 236 breed listings on Dogzonline, most of them are Champions, Grand Champions or BISS, or dogs with the same prefix are. They ARE show stock, and among them are breeders who list their puppies for sale on DOL.

I think one reason for the lack of participation in neuter classes is that most neuters (aside from retired champions) would be on limited register and can't be shown in a championship show. I have one neuter, he is a lovely boy, moves beautifully and might be fun to show but he's on limited register and even if I wanted to, I coudn't show him.

Out of the 236 profiles, an large percentage of them are Champions, Grand Champions, BISS etc and if they're not, there are others with the same prefix that are. So I'd say on the DOL breed listings, they mostly ARE show stock. And only registered breeders can advertise puppies on DOL.

And while the dog is being trained.....in my experience, it generally doesn't happen overnight....it still needs to be walked and anything that makes the walk more pleasant and comfortable for the person holding the leash means the dog is more likely to be taken on that walk.

Bulldogs aren't rare. Check the breed listings on DOL, there's 236 profiles, 170 breeders, 14 puppy notices and 5 mature dogs for sale....not rare at all, just expensive. Rare doesn't always mean desirable either. Many rare breeds sell for much, much less than you'd expect.

So just cause people are prepared to pay x amount for a purebred dog justifies the breeder to take advantage of that? As for crosses going selling for more than the average pedigree pup ? Not so sure about that, in fact I beg to differ. I paid $1500 for my cavalier and I haven't seen any crossbred dog selling for that kind of money. breeders can charge what they like. They aren't regulated, they don't have to justify their prices to anyone and if people are willing to pay hihg prices, more power to the breeder. Lots of pedigree dogs are sold for $500-$1500, check my recent thread on pedigree puppy prices. And many many mutts are sold for over $1000. I have seen bulldog crosses advertised for $1800. Aussie bulldogs, which are nothing more than mutts sell for $1500+.

In between finding a trainer and learning how to teach the dog to stop pulling, the dog still needs to be walked. I find a no-pull harness to be very effective, especially the ones that clip the lead on the front.

I use a program called Entry Form Australia to print entries. I just save each dogs details and can use the same forms for trials as well as shows. The only hand writing I need to to is to sign each form, and write a cheque.

Yeah, we've already figured out our agreement, but I thought it was between us and didn't realise we needed to present it in writing to DogsVic. It just means the transfer is more complicated that going from one name to two.

I have Burmese and Maine Coon, they all get along with the dogs just fine. In fact, the Burmese think they are actually dogs and would like very much to be able to go outside and play with the dogs. But they're way too naughty.

The form is self explanatory, the written agreement isn't though, and I can't find anything on DogsVic site about what it's to include. Thanks for your help though. I think I've figured it out. SW, I'll call you later.

I have recently acquired a puppy in co-ownership with the breeder. She is in SA, I am in Vic. She sent across his registration with her details filled out on the back and signed, all I had to do was fill in my part, sign it and send it off with a cheque. Which I did. Now I have been sent another form from DogsVic, "Syndicated Dog Details" which we both have to sign and send back, plus our written and signed syndication agreement. I am going to sign everything and send it off to the breeder, but what needs to go in the written agreement? Do we just put that the dog resides with me and the breeder has access to him for the purposes of her breeding program? Do I need to add anything about agreed costs? The breeder co-owns another pup with someone in SA and she didn't have to do any of this. I spoke to her last night, she is happy for me to type it up and sign it then post it to her, but I need to know what to write first. I don't want it coming back again because it's not correct and I can't find anything about co-ownership on the DogsVic website.

Saying that a breed of dog is very prone to health problems then listing them doesn't mean that person isn't a fan of them. It just means she's observed a lot of health problems in the breed. I've not seen in any of Kirty's posts where she says she doesn't like the breed.

Why are they so expensive to care for and maintain? What costs are associated with them that wouldn't be associated with other breeds?

If breeders can get people to pay those prices, then good for them. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of buyers who will happily fork over big bucks for a dog, but like someone else said, high price tags on pups lends itself to being very, very attractive to BYB's. And they tend to "breed" more of the same....more BYB's, more poorly bred dogs but still with big price tags and there are still people flocking to pay it. Even crosses go for heaps of money, much more than the average pedigree pup would sell for.

My husband makes up stories for the dogs and lays in bed with them, telling them their stories, of which they are usually in the starring role. I swear the dogs understand every word he says and they lay there in rapt wonder listening to his stories. It doesn't really matter what you do with the dogs, what games you play or even if you play any, just as long as they are with you and happy about it. Dusty's very favourite pastime is to snuggle on the couch with me with her head on my lap while I watch TV. If she could get closer, she would. She also loves having a nana-nap with me on a weekend afternoon. We sneak off to the bedroom and snuggle under a blanket on the bed and have a snooze together.

Work is a reality for a lot of us, I don't make a big deal out of leaving or coming home, and neither do the dogs. They just do their doggy stuff during the day.....sleep, mostly I suspect....while I'm not there. When I get home we walk, play or just hang out together, or all three. Doing stuff outside, mine help with the gardening, usually one of them lays where I want to pull weeds so I work around her and she eventually shifts. One will take cuttings and put them in a pile for me, although it might not be where I want the pile, he also bites off rose heads for me....often with full blooms still attached. Like kids, it takes longer but it's a lot more fun with the dogs involved. They like to come to the compost heap, I tip the barrow of stuff on, they dig around and make a mess. Raking leaves is one step forward, two steps back, but they have a ball getting in my way and scattering the leaves faster than I can rake them up. Now we have a puppy it's even slower but more fun cos he makes me laugh, he's so cute. We have a few projects on the to-do list, as we only recently moved to this property. One of them it to fill the fishponds and add some goldfish, and I can see where the dogs might be very helpful with that. Maybe we'll just fill the ponds first and see about fish later. I just get on with what I want to do and the dogs "help".

Aaaaaahhh puppies. Our resident baby has perfected the art of getting underfoot, he poops faster than greased lightning, before I get a chance to whip him outside and his favourite toilet is the lounge room carpet. He harrasses the big dogs by leaping on their heads, he annoys our oldie by stalking her at mealtimes (and gets growled at for his trouble). And then he flops down exhausted and sleeps. Those fat little paws, that soft fuzzy muzzle, the stubby little face, that fluffy feathersoft coat, that smell of new puppy........just brings me undone every time. He is adorable. There's no getting around it, they are hard to resist.

I work fulltime and have 4 dogs including a 10 week old puppy. But my work schedule means I amoften home by 4-4.30pm. We have no social life and spend all our time at home in the dogs company.

That's how I feel. They aren't human babies, and if you start as you mean to go on, they cope really well with your absence. We don't turn leaving into a drama, and we're very matter of fact about coming home and the dogs just accept that we come and go and they stay.

Just for future reference, there's an excellent kibble called Uncle Albers, which is about $30 for a huge bag. My dogs had it for a while and did really well on it. Dusty has developed a bit of a sensitivity to too much raw (she vomits it straight back up) so I might very well put her back on this. Also, a lot of breeders feed a kibble called Woofbix from Big W. It's also not expensive but they are feeding their show dogs on it and it's apparently very good.

My newest pup was collected on a Sunday and left for 8 hours the following day, although my husband dropped home at lunch time and took him out for a pee and a play. He's been left alone each day aside from weekends, and he's fine. He has a large tiled area to play in, a crate with warm bedding, lots of toys and a 180 degree view of the front yard and the other dogs at the side of the house. He can see the cats through a glass paned door that separates his area from the rumpus room, where they are currently jailed for the day. They hate it as they usually have the run of the house. My husband has doubled back a few times to check on him and it seems as soon as we leave, he puts himself to bed in his crate. When I get home in the late afternoon he's generally asleep. We got him when he was 8 weeks and 4 days old. We got Benson when he was 10 weeks old and he was pretty much the same, except he was left in the yard and not the house. When I got Dusty I took 2 weeks holidays and she slept for most of it so I might as well have been at work. When I went back, she was put in a puppy run in the backyard for the day but she had Benson for company. As adults, well, we try and take them everywhere with us, so 12-14 hours would be about the maximum I'd leave them but if I'm not at work I like them to be with me, doing stuff with us. We have a pretty nice set up for dogs where we live now, the property was bought specifically with the dogs in mind, and they definitely aren't deprived if left alone.