Miss Danni

Exactly Showdog. A deposit from a purchaser is part of the contract of sale, once you accept a deposit you are legally obligated to complete the sale and provide the puppy. You cant just change your mind and give the deposit back, unless the purchaser also agrees to void the sale. We dont keep a list as such and we dont take deposits from people that we haven't met. We usually meet the prospective owners at 6 weeks and once we offer them a puppy, we ask for a $200 deposit. $200 really represents a commitment from the buyer, but of course they can still walk away and not buy the pup. But at least it gives us a better idea of how many puppies we have left for sale!

You could try a surgical AI rather than a normal AI, so that the sperm is deposited right into the uterine horn. Some years ago, a well known German import GSD was having major issues getting bitches pregnant, despite all of the boxes being ticked. Once surgical AI was used, there were no more issues. It appeared that some bitches were "allergic" to his semen and developed anit-bodies that destroyed his sperm. Somthing to consider if you have your heart set on using this particular male.

Most racing greyhounds are born by AI/frozen semen and they have a very high success rate. Frozen Puppies gave us a talk some years ago, I'm pretty sure something like 70% of racing greyhounds are from AI/frozen semen.

Quite a few GSD puppies get very, very itchy while they are changing coat. Once their adult coat is through, you should see a vast improvement. Anti-histamines wont make any noticeable difference to the scratching. While changing coat, make sure that they are getting extra fat/oils and zinc in their diet. Sardines/mackeral every few days in with their dry food, fish oil capsules on the other days, maybe some flax or maize/corn oil in some meals as well. Lots of meaty bones too, such as chicken frames/carcasses/wings depending on how your pup eats bones. Wash them in a shampoo that wont dry out the coat and make them worse, such as an oatmeal and aloe vera shampoo/conditioner. You can use Calamine lotion on any parts of their body that they scratch and break the skin, which will also ease the itch. Brush every day to remove the baby coat. I have also used Aloe Vera Juice with Manuka Honey with good success for itchy coat changing pups. For an 11 week GSD, probably about 10mls twice daily before food really helps. If they are still very itchy once their adult coat is through, you will most likely be looking at allergies, but at this stage, I'd be more inclined to suspect a horrid coat change.

DOL Mature Dog section has worked for us over the years. We have always had a preponderance of good quality enquirers and, I think in all cases, that the dog has gone to someone that came to us via DOL. I have also put adult dogs on Gumtree and Trading Post, but since I have GSDs, from these sources I tend to get enquiries from people that want a cheap "guard dog" rather than a family member. You just have to be careful with your screening no matter what medium you use for advertising .

One of my girls does this when she is too hot. She also did it when she developed mastitis in one of her teats. As soon as I drop the room temperature a bit, she is more comfortable and stops her digging.

Black will also make your trailer much harder to see in the rain, a situation where you want the trailer to be most visible to other motorists. I love black cars but I would never have a black dog trailer.

Thanks Jeff. Hadn't seen your reply as I had not been on for a few days last week and it slipped through the cracks! :rolleyes:

Does anyone know if the Sydney Dogsports Club is still operating? If so, where and when are they training these days and do you have a contact phone number/email address? It used to be at Castle Hill but was supposed to be moving to Londonderry and I'd really like to get back training.

Thanks mumof3, what an excellent tip

We recently had a very large cyst removed from the hock of one of our show girls. The incision was very deep and long but because of the location, it could not really be stitched except at the very top and bottom because the skin could not support the stitch. So it had to heal "open". I had to clean and rebandage the wound daily (sometimes more if the bandages were chewed off!!) and would have liked to have had Lotagen but could not get it at the time. So I used saline to clean the wound, dried it and then applied Quit Itch. When it started to granulise, I began to get worried about being left with a horrible scar (proud flesh) so I replaced the Quit Itch with White Ointment from my horse first aid kit. It took weeks for the incision to close up properly but it healed cleanly and absolutely no scar. You can only see where it was if you know where to look. I have used White Ointment for years on my horses and it has always done a wonderful job on wounds and fungal problems like greasy heel and it never seems to go out of date! You can buy it in a handy tube for travelling first aid kits or a tub for home. You might need to visit a saddlery or produce store to buy it.

We have placed an adult female with pet people on Breeders Terms. She was 17 months when she left us and only after she obtained her A and Z stamps for hips and elbows. We did not charge the family for her and we always stated that we would only have one litter with her. We placed her because she did not like the show ring but was the only female in the litter and we wanted to keep the lines in our breeding programme. Also, we did not bother with much of a "contract" and she was never transferred into their names. We decided that if we could not trust these people to do the right thing, a contract sure as hell would make no difference. So we spent a lot of time with them before she went and maintained excellent contact and visits after she went. We have only bred her last year at almost 4 and they will now desex her. I have now signed all of her paperwork over into their names. They came for visits when she was with us having her litter, played with puppies and then went home! Because she grew up in our home there were no issues with her coming back to us, she slotted into the family like she had never left. :D Her brother is in a pet home in Brisbane, we showed him and put him through Breed Survey and then decided to sell him too (but he is not on Breeders Terms). We do have access to him for breeding if we need it because of our friendship with the family, we spent time with him and his family when we went to Brisbane for the GSD National in 2009. I think that the key to good Breeders Terms is personal relationships and regular communication, but I know plenty of arrangements that have fallen into a screaming heap. My best show bitch ever was given to me on Breeders Terms, but I was already a breeder and showing, so a little different - no written contract there either, just a verbal agreement. My partner in that dog is still one of my closest advisors in the breed and a personal friend because of our partnership in the dog over many years. I would do Breeders Terms again with pet people, BUT ...... I think that realistically, you can ONLY do it with a dog that you are prepared to LOSE. If they are that integral to your breeding programme, you CANNOT take the risk of letting them out on Breeders Terms, they must stay with you.

There is a very well known vet that feeds her dogs cooked chicken bones all the time, doesn't seem to do her dogs any harm otherwise I'm sure that she'd stop doing it!

I have successfully used a hose to break up 2 of my own dogs, by turning it on full bore and shoving it up the nose of the aggressor. But I would not rely on it. Out walking, I only feel safe with my maglite by my side. I'm pretty sure it would shatter bone no problems if needed.

That will cause heaps of problems for GSD breeders that microchip and tattoo. We register first so that the tattoo is linked to the microchip and the registration name and number of the animal. Here in NSW, most of the tattoo officers also microchip our pups at the same time as tattooing and that info is then recorded on the registration papers. Having to microchip before registration will be a major pain in the arse and possibly open our schemes up to errors that wont be known about until you come to xray at 12 months for hips and elbows. I hope that the GSDCA jumps on this from a great height.

Hi Kristin, welcome to the forum! ;) Your dogs look lovely, great photos. :D Re your next dog breed, you sound like an ideal GSD owner, but I might be biased ;)

Some breeds are more prone to problems with zinc absorption - Siberian Husky for example. Dogs of those breeds may need zinc supplements for their whole lives. I always supplemented my Huskies and now that I only have GSDs I still find that zinc supplements are of benefit to my dogs. We give a tablet daily in their food, it contains 33mg of zinc, a lot of "vitamin supplements" for dogs contain only about 3mg of zinc. We currently have a young male going through a horrible puppy coat change and I know that he would be even more itchy without the zinc he is getting (half a tablet per day for his weight). Steve, can you tell us more about the Aloe Juice?

Red_BC, what has happened to parents teaching children any manners at all? Recently, we have had puppy buyers at our house with children that scream over the top of their parents (and us) to the point that you cannot hold a conversation with them or give them any information about the pups/dogs. When I was a child (and yes, it was a while ago :D ), you were seen and not heard. I would never have dared to have interrupted an adult conversation without asking permission first and you'd better be damn sure it was important to start with, or watch out. Not these days, children have no self control at all. And while I'm unlikely to bite you if you yell and scream over the top of me while I'm talking, a dog may not be so kind with that type of behaviour!

Peter Higgins should pull his head out of his derriere. What a disgrace our CC's are. :nahnah: Spend oodles of money hounding board members over some personal vendetta and then suggest this crap I think that it's about time that a member's revolt happened, chop off all their heads and start again with people that can see the wood AND the trees!

I remember Phoenix, she was a bit younger than my Spike and Sierra. So very sad for you all to lose her. Lovely photo to remember her by at Dinner Plains. Hugs to you

We have slate throughout the whole house except the bathrooms. I would not have anything else ever again. Unlike tiles, slate is softer, easier on feet and legs and is warm in winter and cool in summer. It is easy to clean (sweep, vacuum or mop), non-slip, non-allergenic for people like me that suffer from asthma, doesn't scratch (or if it does you just paint it with sealant and it looks like part of the stone again!) and you can give it a brand new look in one day just by resealing it. We have mats for the dogs in the rooms and when they are hot from being on the mats, they flop onto the slate to get cool. It's brilliant in summer! And in winter I can still wander around in bare feet because the slate never gets really cold. It is expensive, but when I bought this house almost 12 years ago, the first thing I did was rip up all of the carpet and lay slate. A decision that I have never regretted!

Subzero, I spent years and years with bitches that hated each other's guts. I could have them together under my close supervision, but they were always seperated when I was not around. My husband could not control them, they ignored him and they had a few nasty fights because he could not follow the "rules of seperation". This situation only ended when one of them died. It is a horrible way to live. It caused extra problems if we wanted to go away, one of the dogs had to be boarded while the others were at home with the pet minder. When kids were around I had to have everything key locked so there could be no accidents. Over the years we have had other bitches that have not liked each other and I made the decision a long time ago that I would never live like that again, so, as long as they are fine with other dogs and people, one of them has to to be rehomed to an appropriate household. Bitches will absolutely kill each other, they will never "get over it" like males can, no matter what you do. Even with a behaviouralist's assistance, I think that you would be looking at seperation forever. For the last 6 years my new partner and I have had a large harmonious pack of entire bitches that all get on, can play, sleep and eat together even when in season or pregnant. They even tolerate the odd temporary resident without issues. But I will forever be on my guard watching for signs of trouble and not be complacent, because bitches are bitches. I wish you the best of luck and hope that everything works out for you.

The breeder bag is Performance, it is targeted for dogs with a higher energy requirement. We have found that it was very very close to Large Breed Puppy, so we dont bother to wean our pups onto LBP anymore, they go straight onto Performance with the adults. Mind you, since it has been made in Australia I am less happy with it and I will have to recheck to ensure that it is still close to LBP formula and that I can use it with the pups. :rolleyes:

For next time - including when you notice the onset of mastitis - get yourself some cabbage leaves, put them in the fridge and when cold, apply them to the teat(s) that you are trying to dry up. When they are no longer cold, change to a new cold leaf. With mastitis, you can alternate the leaves with a warm compress - I have used just a facewasher run under hot water and wrung out. Massaging the teat is also helpful, although I would imagine that some bitches would object to it because they would be sore so it depends on what your bitch will let you do. If you want to dry the bitch up entirely, just use the cold cabbage leaves until she has no more milk. Sounds like an old wives tale, but it certainly works.

+1 I would be more than happy to pay to upgrade a LR puppy to MR if I assessed it and thought it would do well at shows and that the owners would actualy SHOW it, not just say that they will. We now register all of our pups as LR except what we are keeping. Saves lots of hassles.