Diva

It can be risky keeping your prices low when the market price is high, you create arbitrage opportunities. I wouldn’t have thought of this except a colleague in another state had a puppy she bred ‘flipped’ - bought at her normal price which was what she had sold them at for years, then sold on within a few weeks for a much higher price into a ‘hot’ Covid market. She found out by accident, and now doesn’t know where the pup is. Very upsetting. She thought she had checked out the buyers and it was a good home. But some people lie very well, and she now suspects they always intended to onsell. Not really a problem in my breed, our prices are still very reasonable. But another thing for breeders to watch out for.

Borzoi have a reputation for having a quirky sense of humour. They don’t chase balls and such much, but they come up with behaviours that make their people laugh, and presumably amuse themselves too.

I want to suggest Meander as a name, but only because Meander Valley is my favourite brand of double cream, . He’s gorgeous.

One of my entire males is a target too. He’s never off leash away from my property or dog club and doesn’t go to off lead areas but even on lead he attracts hostile attention. It’s a bit sad as he has gone from being very social to hating loose dogs running towards him. He’ll stay entire as he is shown and will be bred from. But for your boy maybe desexing will help. I practice avoidance mostly.

Mine won’t touch any of the pre-made patties. They aren’t really that fussy- they will eat raw I make, cooked I make, Prime 100 rolls and most kibble but they refuse to touch those patties. I don’t know if it is a texture thing or a flavour thing.

Animal road transport companies are doing a roaring trade as the flight situation can be difficult. But some flights are still happening. You could try calling someone like Moorholme Pet Transport to see what’s possible.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-21/victorian-dog-death-toxin-indospicine-revealed/100311346 it’s turned out to be Indospicine again, same as the case I posted about earlier

So sorry, such a loss

Maffra abattoir has been named as the source of the meat. I remember years ago dogs dying from liver failure after eating camel and horse meat - the animals had been grazing on native Indigofera species, and the naturally occurring Indospicine toxin had accumulated in the meat. Heart breaking for the owners.

Pet address should tell you what registry the chip is on- but I don’t think it includes the NSW government one, access to that is limited I think. http://petaddress.com.au/

Does he train easily? You could try and teach him to use a scratch board as a ‘trick’. I’ve linked a YouTube video on them but if you Google you will find lots more info https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MKDb_M0YktI

I’d ring Dogs NSW, or one of the clubs that run RATG, and ask their advice. There may be particular judges who often undertake the assessment. This is a list of NSW retrieving clubs. https://www.dogsnsw.org.au/media/1393/retrieving_clubs.pdf

There are things the breeder didn’t do that would not sit well with me. Not providing diet, husbandry and breed info is not good. But your level of emotion seems to only partially be about the breeder, and I doubt complaining to Dogs Qld would get too far if the puppy is healthy, chipped and vaccinated, and paperwork may be on the way. Still, you could always phone them to discuss your concerns as you feel so strongly, and check the litter has been registered. If your husband found the ad on Dogzonline, which is the site that makes this forum possible, the breeder is registered with their state ANKC body, so Dogs Qld, and the pups are indeed supposed to be purebred and ‘papered’. They don’t take your ads if you are not. But if it was a similar site but spelt with an ‘s’ that is quite different and I don’t think those requirements apply. Many resident dogs take a week or two to adjust to a new puppy, especially if they are not used to youngsters. That is nothing to do with the breeder. I agree that your level of emotion would not be helping either of them adjust ‘Why this happened’ is not a question I really understand. Why what happened? Your husband bought a puppy. The breeder’s processes are not up to your standards, and I understand that disappointment and concern and that you would have been much more diligent. I understand also that you didn’t want a puppy at this time. But you haven’t said there is anything wrong with the puppy, it is microchipped and vaccinated, it sounds like a legal transaction, and apart from the lack of husbandry info/not knowing if registered I don’t see that you have a basis for a formal complaint. I’d still call the breeder if it was me and I had such concerns, and at least let them know where the pup is going.

Have you spoken to the breeder and asked about the papers? I don’t really understand the assumptions you are making about the pup being unregistered (assuming it is pure bred and not a designer cross) as sometimes registration papers aren’t available immediately and follow on. I am assuming it is a toy breed for you to think it is too young to leave home, as in many breeds 9 weeks would not be at all unusual. Did the pup come with a diet sheet, breed info and such? If not your concerns may well be valid. But I think I would start by calling the breeder, in a constructive spirit, to find out if the pup is registered/will be registered.

I’d probably look at Ridgebacks, the ones I have known haven’t been hard to train but I am a hound person so might have different expectations. You do need to pick a breeder whose dogs’ temperament you like, a few in the ring here are atypically nervy. I’ve also known Weimaraners that were more protective than most gun dogs without being over the top, but they are a very active breed. I love Dobes but have heard concerning things about longevity and health.

Some behaviouralists do video consults, so I wouldn’t dismiss that option. If they are on fb there is a group called something like anxious dogs australia which has lists of certified professionals and knows who does remote consults. I wouldn’t dismiss medication in the short term either - if they pair it with behaviour modification it is just a transitional tool to get the dog’s brain to a place where it can learn new responses. Fearful dogs don’t learn well.

Yes, returning him to you would have been the best thing. But I can put myself in their shoes too - if he was in great pain, and their vet told them the kindest thing was to euthanise, and raised doubts about future quality of life? Maybe cast doubts on the accuracy of your prognosis, and forecast a much more difficult and painful life than you told them was likely? Most people would listen to their vet over someone who says they are not even a breeder, but just had an accidental litter. I know that sounds harsh, and its just speculation, but it is not hard to see how it could play out.

If their vet advised euthanasia and they can supply proof I doubt you have any recourse except to refund the purchase price. You sold an unwell/special needs puppy and you have nothing in writing, or so it sounds, to show that you did so with full disclosure and they accepted the risk. You might even be in breach of animal welfare laws for selling a sick animal. I would ask for their vet to confirm their story but if they acted on vet advice and take you to a small claims court, I would expect them to win.

Are you suggesting there is a big increase chance of cancer because the dog will have reached three before being neutered? A minor increased risk of mammary cancer probably, but possibly a reduced risk of other diseases- desexing has pros and cons health wise and what they are varies by breed as well as age. There are a few research studies around but generally I’d just say that having reached three entire would probably encourage rather than deter me. Just desex her when you get her. I would be more cautious about her socialisation history and behaviour. As a pug x she possibly comes from a commercial breeding set up rather than a hobbiest and she might therefor not know how to be a house pet yet. You will need to be prepared for that possibility, not that it should rule her out but she might need some help learning to be a pet. Also as Powerlegs says be aware of scams.

The sires I have wanted to use have been overseas so I have imported semen and used ai for both my litters. I will do so again without the slightest compunction. The access to genetic material that would otherwise be unavailable is invaluable and I find it much less stressful than importing a living dog which might suffer distress in flight or quarantine. I am now contemplating a natural mating but if I didn’t have easy access to that particular male I would be doing ai with frozen again most likely. If that means I am making it ‘routine’ I am more than happy with my decisions. I don’t have the same amount of experience with Caesarians so won’t comment on those, except to say they are not common in my breed but are sometimes necessary for veterinary reasons, like a stuck pup. I have not heard their use in that situation poorly judged by other breeders, I hope I never do.

No, I doubt it puts anyone off. GST isn’t a threat even if you are a business. It’s just a little more paperwork as far as I am concerned. I have non-dog related businesses that are registered for GST purposes that I do the returns for and I class it as mildly annoying but that’s all. Also, you only have to be registered for GST if you have a revenue over $75,000 per year from that business (might be a bit off but it is about that). I’d never make that from breeding at the hobby scale I do it. Now income tax might put people of, but you have to have some expectation of making a non-trivial profit in a reasonable number of years to be considered a business at all for tax purposes. Those making high profits - pedigree or not - probably have more to fear from that than GST. But not small hobby breeders, we don’t rate.

You could try kcr pet transport, these are difficult times for flying pets with the flight reductions but I hear they are good.

She should get a prefix before breeding any girl, not the the other way around. Technically I think it’s before whelping, but given it can take a while I would do it before mating. The dog used doesn’t have to be owned by another registered breeder. However, it does need to be mains registered and owned by a financial member of one of the state ANKC affiliates. She can own both. I have just read the become a breeder page and it doesn’t suggest otherwise. To own a male and let him be used at stud you need to be a financial member and the dog on mains. For some breeds there are mandatory health tests too. But you don’t need to be a registered breeder, as the pups are under the girl’s owner’s prefix. To get her own prefix she needs to meet the length of membership, have a mains reg girl, pass an exam and I think have a premises inspection. Edited to try to be clearer

My big question mark is the weather. I find puppies usually fly well, but heat is a major risk. Dogs have died flying in summer - mostly from the amount of time waiting around on ground and the conditions in which they wait. I would only do a crack of dawn direct flight, and even then probably wouldn’t this time of year. If you do, have a plan b and be prepared to cancel and reschedule if it looks dangerous or you strike a heatwave.

Not the same in my breed I don’t think. More consistency, much fewer non registered breeders. There always has been some variation because of the way the breed was developed in its country of origin- large hunting estates spread over a large country, variations in topography, mix of prey etc and there still is. Not a cookie cutter breed. But I could pull some of the dogs I see in hundred year old + photos and take them into the ring or field today by and large (setting temperament & grooming aside). Of course we are numerically less popular than ESS, that makes a difference who gets involved in breeding.