Diva

I am very sorry for your loss

It makes sense for those of us who want to have as few as litters as possible but are interested in more than one sire. I agree the fewer numbers means you see fewer combinations from the one pairing, but for me that woukd be outweighed by not having to breed the bitch a second time to get the second combination. The stud fee cost is irrelevant to me, money has nothing to do with why I would breed.

Thanks for the heads up, will have to go check what was used on the pups. I know one failed and the owner rechipped, we assumed it had come out, didn't think of a batch failure.

Agree re neutering effect on coat, my one neutered female Borzoi changed coat texture quite a lot, from silky to woolly. A when she had a serious operation requiring an epidural, the shaved injection site took 8 months to grow back.

I considered a two sire litter but decided against it because of the odds one sire would dominate anyway and I would be wasting one lot of frozen. Numbers of puppies and stud fees didn't come in to it, if I could guarantee a small litter I would be stoked, as long as I could get the gender I wanted. Mind you, if it was an economic decision I wouldn't breed at all, lol.

Yes, given that most of us have multiple dogs, choosing the worst incident amongst multiple dogs is going to skew the results towards the bitey end of the spectrum quite a lot. Even with that distortion, the results show most people haven't had a break the skin, or worse, injury to dogs or people.

Mine have never bitten a person or other dog, but they have caught a couple of the Myna birds that come in after their food, and they would likely kill rabbits and such. When I lived more rurally many wild rabbits, a fox, 2 chickens and several snakes were killed, but those dogs passed long ago.

Thanks :) , I am very, very fond of them but I know their challenges too.

Weirdest place, on the roof of my car clinging to the antennae. I had been visiting a friend, her dog likes to drop toys off their second storey balconey. I drove all the way home not knowing she had dropped one on my car, it was about 16 kms. Next morning I noticed it there still on the roof. It was a toy I had given her too, :laugh:

That made me laugh ssm. Borzoi (based on the 7 I have owned, I wouldn't dare speak for all of them) An adult Borzoi may not be much interested in you if you are a stranger. They will be polite and might even deign to grace you with their interest for 5 minutes or so but then they will be back to important 'zoi business like resting, playing, resting some more, and looking good. If they know you, and like you, it's a different story, and you might end up wearing them like a fur rug. They are incredibly dedicated to the people they love. My young Borzoi have liked everyone pretty much, they were all affection tarts as puppies, but some can be shy at certain ages - either way, they often find very pushy people a bit tacky, best not to force yourself on them. Telling them they are beautiful and clever is usually welcome, and it shows you have good taste. They have a fine sense of their own place in the world and also a well developed sense of humour which doesn't mind using humans as the butt of the joke. And leaning on humans, any human, is a good way to take the weight off their feet they reckon. They also like to back up to chairs and sit their bottoms on them like a human, front feet still on the ground. And they assume the most awkward contorted upside down and folded positions to sleep in, and are perfectly comfortable. They tend to be fine with small dogs and cats if they have been socialised with them as youngsters, but don't let your small dog run with a loose Borzoi unless you know for absolute sure they are fine - they are fast and most love to chase. Be doubly careful if there is more than one 'zoi running, they pack up, chase harder, and even if they mean no harm a collision at high speed is hazardous. If they haven't been socialised with cats or stock or kangaroos or whatever, assume they will chase until you know otherwise. Mine have good recalls and I still don't let them loose within cooee of a road or possible prey animal - they may recall 99/100 but the 100th can be fatal. At a gallop they can cross an oval faster than I can say their name. They are good with children if used to them and will play with them, but they don't generally like a lot of fuss and rough handling so if they aren't used to kids the kids need to be well mannered. Training a Borzoi is not difficult if you recognise they don't have the need to please that more traditional working breeds have. They might seem to have a good food drive at home, but that can also evaporate when out in the big exciting world. Positive training methods combined with clear boundaries and a calm rational trainer work well. They are naturally clean, and very easy to housetrain. They are usually very well behaved in the house, a 'zoi breaking something (after puppyhood) would be very rare. They are very touch and voice sensitive, and seldom require much in the way of correction - and many may offer a little sheepish tooth display in apology if someone they love has expressed displeasure, or a big, lips back, top teeth on display, grin of pure welcome at first seeing a loved one after an absence, which can be disconcerting if you aren't used to that kind of smiling. They don't do well with people who lose their temper easily. There is nothing much servile about them and they can be very stubborn if they don't like what is going on. On the other hand, in a crisis mine have always just known the seriousness of the situation and been impeccably behaved. You can sweet talk them into just about anything, but if you try to force them, they may just remind you that you are are only human, and they are rather more.

Used to be in Fyshwick, but they now practise out of a couple of spots around town on an as needed basis, so whichever is close to you. I think one of the principles is actually based in Bungendore. Pretty sure the person I saw was a fully trained human physio first and still does that as well as animals. She was really very good.

As you are based in the Canberra region and open to alternative therapies, I would suggest a consult with Capital Animal Physiotherapy. A friend of mine is having great success with them for her dog, it has made a huge difference to her mobility. They even coped easily with the dog being terrified of vets and reactive to pain after having had a lot of it to deal with in her life, and she now accepts the physio very readily. I went along to one treatment and they seemed very capable and frank. Worth a shot for the cruciate?

The nature of the breed and how it is kept would give me more confidence in an estimate too. For example, The Finnish stats give an average lifespan for Bassets of 8 yrs 6 months taking into account all causes - illness, old age, accident, and euthanasia for any reason. I don't know anything that would make me think that was a breed likely to vary wildly in its average lifespan between the two countries (average age of death from old age alone, natural or euth, is 12yrs 3 months but the other causes bring it down a lot). Nor would my breed vary much from Finland I think, with an average lifespan there from all causes of 8 yrs 7 months and from old age alone 11 yrs 1 month, which would correlate very closely with what I would guess for Australia. But in other breeds I would expect to see greater regional differences due to lifestyle or genetic concentrations of particular diseases.

No, it would be more accurate than picking a figure from the air.

It is new registrations. I don't think keeping track of deaths is very accurate, tbh. But if you knew an average age for a breed (including accidental deaths which brings it down quite a bit for some breeds) you could have a good guess at the likely population at any point. The Swedish or Finnish, I forget which, keep good stats on cause of death and average age, by breed, for their country.

For ANKC registered, yes. 1986-2012 by breed ANKC stats for non-ANKC, I don't know.

The Borzoi get a lot of attention, especially the white one. Fortunately she is a party girl and laps it up.

Fantastic, thanks for letting us know.

Often accompanied by 'will only let her go to the very best of homes'. Yep, I believe you. Not.

A lot depends on the temperament of your current girl, the temperament of the new one, relative ages, and your management. I have always run girls together without a problem but have been very blessed in the temperaments I have had. Do people with your breed generally run multiple females together? If so that is a good start. If not, take it as a warning. If it goes wrong between girls it can go very wrong, so be careful in who you choose.

Give Sascha a good long walk before you go? One of mine is happy to get the occassional day alone, but the other suffers from 'fear of missing out', and can get unsettled. If I walk her first she doesn't whinge. I also leave a few toys and bones.

22 months was my longest. Large breed. Cycled regularly at 8 monthly intervals afterwards. Don't know about fertility, not bred, but very healthy.

Report it with as much detail on the dogs as you can remember. Did the owner call them by name? If so include the names, as well as the fact that she did little to interrupt the attack. If you are at all unsure your pup is injured get him to a vet, injuries can be internal. From now on always check who is around before using the area, and be ready to leave if somone you are not sure of turns up. And hardest of all, go back to your previous demenour when dogs approach yours, or your pup wil pick up on your stress and reflect it back -- I have been there and made that mistake after a scary attack. The biggest impact on my dog's confidence was my reaction afterwards, the attack itself she could deal with but my losing confidence worried her.

Sigh, I thought I had my addiction under control and then a thread like this comes along.

leave the lid up and teach them how to flush!