WoofnHoof

I'll just add a little bit as it's actually my mum's dog, she was from rescue but we were told she is a purebred Swedish Vallhund and she very much fits the descriptions above in terms of temperament however she is a cream colour which is actually a fault that sometimes occurs. While I love the cream colour apparently the coat is not as hardy as the traditional colours and we have noticed that she does get some skin irritations that sometimes require treatment especially in summer, not sure whether this is common in creams though. Apart from this she is a very healthy and hardy little dog. If she is representative of her breed they really are amazing little dogs huge character and drive she will fetch a ball for hours and will happily spend time with you on the couch we love her

Well I reckon an entire chihuahua is the randiest little thing you'll ever come across I heard this song many years ago it always cracks me up

This bit is really interesting I'm interested to know which animal rights groups are arguing for pet ownership that'd be a turnup for the books surely.

And you know he hasn't treated the leg how??? I don't. If he has he has nothing to worry about, if he hasn't then it might prompt him to.

You may want to point out to the owner that it's an offence to fail to seek veterinary treatment for his animal, if common sense and decency wont make him look after his dog maybe the threat of prosecution will?

Depends on whether the mistake can feasibly be 'fixed', depends on the welfare issues it creates, depends on a lot of things too many things to list in fact. I don't have to like cane toads no one does but they are now a part of our environment, currently there is no way of eradicating them completely, our native animals are finding ways to adapt to them, crows prey on them turn them over and attack their bellies. Nature adapts, some species die out some emerge, the relative 'wrongness' of our involvement in these changes is perception only. 'The way things are meant to be' is a relative term, are humans meant to be laying waste to vast tracts of land for the sake of mining? Were humans meant to clear forests to make way for grazing and farming? Are we replanting thousands of hectares of forest to try and 'fix' that mistake? No because it's not convenient for us to do that, hence why it's ridiculous to assume the mantle of environmental caretaker when we pick and choose which part of our environment we'd like to 'fix'. There is no such thing as 'meant to be' there is the way things are that's it.

Actually I'd really like some links to this proof of which you speak, my understanding is that the most recent research on the topic suggets that nerve development at that stage may or may not be enough to convey the pain message to the brain, and the brain may or may not be at the developmental stage to perceive and express that pain. As I understand it there was also some question as to whether the feedback systems were developed enough to prevent the pain message from continuing to be sent. So unless you are aware of some more recent research I was under the impression that the jury is still out as far as the perception and expression of pain in newborn animals during tail docking.

Love the way people refer to the word 'wildlife' as if it only pertains to native species, introduced species are allowed to be called everything under the sun as long as it's not wildlife. It's all well and good for people to want to control introduced species but don't make out like it's some kind of community service getting rid of 'evil pests' when in reality the only difference between these animals and native ones is they had the misfortune of being put here by people (or their predecessors did anyway). They are not evil, they are not 'destroying' our environment they are just animals doing what animals do, if we wish to minimise their impact for our own reasons we need to be honest about that and not clothe it in emotional words to make out like these animals have done something to bring about their own demise or 'deserve it' somehow. Yes they kill and eat native animals, so do many native animals. Wild animals often do tend to prey on each other they don't generally worry about things like species diversity and niche preservation. The environment is not a static thing that can be preserved for eternity, it's an evolving, changing state that can be impacted and altered by any number of natural and unnatural events, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, evolution, species migration, climate change, land clearing, introduced species, building and development the list goes on. By all means control populations of certain species if you want to but don't pretend it's anything more noble than humans attempting to control their own environment. If we want to control certain species' populations we should be continually striving to find ways to do so that are as humane as possible, just as we should for all methods of animal management, and not justify below par methods by dismissing the species an evil pest. If hunting with dogs is the best and most humane method we've currently got then that's the best we've got, but we should always be looking to refine it and replace it with better ways.

Oh poor little bloke :D mine was very woozy for quite a while after desexing he couldn't walk and he was crying the poor bugger, I should have realized something was wrong because he was worse than my chi was although the sibe had dew claws done at the same time so it could have been that making it worse.

Yeah in my case it would have been very handy to know but I suppose it's an extra expense too, I do think it's good to offer as an option to make people aware of though. I don't know whether I would have chosen it back then as he wasn't obviously sick at the time (although he did have a few issues that were later identified as shunt symptoms) but it is peace of mind and I likely would have taken it as I like to be on the safe side.

Not so much with the desexing he didn't bounce back well, but it would have picked up his liver shunt and saved him getting a lot sicker later on. It also would have saved a lot of time, money and heartache with misdiagnoses too. He's fine now had the op to repair it but I nearly lost him from the effects of the shunt because it wasn't picked up early on.

I first heard of it on DOL, I wish my vet had offered it when my boy got desexed.

I don't know of any animal that hunts another for several hours at speed, not very efficient in terms of energy expenditure. Most hunters in the wild stalk and pounce, chase over a short period or wear the animal down at a slower pace over a long period, if they haven't caught it quickly it's a waste of energy to continue pursuing it at signficant speed. There are signficant welfare issues associated with this type of hunting both for the animals used (horses and dogs) and the animals being hunted (foxes and coyotes), people would do well to remember this and remember that two wrongs (ie 1080) don't make a right.

Yeah there is a test the do can't remember what it's called but your vet should know they take blood before and after feeding and compare the levels of various bile acids to see if the liver is doing it's job.

I'd get full blood tests done to check for liver function too, my dog was underweight and eating would make him feel sick so he would be very fussy and didn't eat much, he eats normally now since the problem was fixed.

They are Eurohounds Eurohounds have heard of them but don't know much about them. Cross of??? Alaskan Husky (that is a newish breed, was or is a cross of Husky and ?), they look and sound hound (what kind?) and maybe sight hound too?? guessing on this? Absolute fit for function, they are beautiful dogs. This is why I can not get that exceited a out cross breeding or attempting to breed new types of dogs that are appropriate for what the person or persons want to do with them. If they over time become a stable breed, then that is good too. They are pretty much a cross between the Alaskan Husky and Pointers. Over time though, the percentage of Husky has been watered down to being very small. Purpose built for speed and they absolutely clean up in the European sprint races. Hence why he can have them off-lead and they for the most part, do what he asks them. Not like a bunch of Siberians Lol that's what I was thinking the whole time, bugger all sibe blood in that lot!

Hey SB saw your work today very nice! didn't make it as far as the dog rings though I got to the berghofer pavilion and I was too tired to go any further

That's a bugger It does take the fun out of it when there is not a lot of competition

Hey SB I didn't manage to hobble up the hill today but will probably go back Saturday, I watched the working hunters and as predicted was totally spewing my horse would have been right up there in the placings as there were only a few decent jumpers out of the lot! You going Saturday? I'm going to see if my mum's scooter works and scoot around on that, far too difficult to hobble around I was dead just getting from the horse floats to the main arena! got my Shannons chips though!

Of course there are behavioral differences between breeds, this is a measurable and quantifiable characteristic, there was a study done which observed behavioral characteristics including aggression, and found that there was a distinct correlation between the closeness of appearance of a dog to it's gray wolf ancestor the closer it's behaviour. There are also genetic indicators which show that some breeds are more primitive than others, that does not always correlate with aggression however, as others have said the purpose of the breed plays a huge role in the likelihood of strong aggressive tendencies showing themselves. There are also morphological issues as some breeds/individuals may tend nip (not just small breeds) and depending on whether they are capable of much damage will also impact on whether it is considered dangerous (by the general public I mean not doggy people on DOL ).

I agree with ozjen my chi is short haired he doesn't shed much at all, some can be snappy a lot of it is associated with their size and the way people approach them. Many people will bend down and pat their heads from above and it's pretty confronting for a little dog, similarly the first instinct for a lot of kids is to pick up the dog and that can be very stressful too. As long as you go into it with your eyes wide open and are able to manage all the issues you should be fine.

TBH I wish I'd been offered bloods at the time of desexing with my boy it would have shown up a serious liver condition and saved a lot of money and heartache, however I agree that you were ambushed and they should have alerted you to the options prior to booking. The prices seem excessive to me too, when my dog was finally diagnosed he had full blood work (not just pre anesthetic) and it was $160.

People don't search for obscure breeds they search for Labradoodles because they have been marketed as the ideal pet. A Google search for Labradoodles comes up with breeders and the ALA, no information about alternative breeds, so how do people even know there is a pure breed that might suit them? Why wouldn't they just go and get a labradoodle when they have been told that it's great? Car companies still pay for advertising even though all of the information is on google so clearly google is not the be all and end all of promotion.

Some people, not all people. I think back to dogs we had as a kid, none went to obedience training I don't think they even knew how to sit! But they were good dogs, mostly outside dogs though so of course undesirable behaviours were less noticeable. What has changed? Well since I got a husky I've found that everyone notices dog hair (actually they usually think I have a cat lol!), I think that the hair thing has become one of the main things because of smaller yards so dogs are closer if not inside so hair is more noticeable. That's the main thing I've noticed that's significantly changed about dog ownership, yes there is less tolerance for normal behaviours but I guess that is also a byproduct of having dogs living closer with us too?

Sounds like the closest thing we have So the next question is how many are there in Australia and how do we go about promoting them so they are the first choice for people who want this type of dog? This is the point I'm trying to make, if there is a breed you think will fill the requirements that people have then get out there and make sure people know about it, at the moment only pure breed enthusiasts know anything about the range of breeds and how to get one, unless that changes people will go and buy labradoodles because they are the ones being promoted and are the easiest to find.