DeltaCharlie

We got ours from cleanrun :)

Nobody should ever be doing a merle/merle mating in Aussie Shepherds! That would be the height of irresponsibility in my eyes. Double merle in Aussies is just as bad as it is in the other working breeds, it can result in deaf and or blind puppies. Correct me if I am wrong, but pretty sure Merle in Great Danes works differently. I don't believe there are any health issues associated with merle/merle breedings. Like I said, could be wrong though :)

I think the main issue is that the sable can mask the merle and therefore a genetically merle dog may not actually look like merle. If that dog is unknowingly put back to a merle down the track, you run the risk of double merles.

This wouldn't be the same person whose older trialing dog is called Frigate :laugh: ?

We are trying to get a seesaw plank from Windsor area to Canberra in the next few weeks, the sooner the better. Annabel from Wolf's Den was originally going to bring it but it doesn't fit into her trailer It is 3600mm long and about 250mm wide, not very thick. There is a base that goes with it but I don't think that is very big or takes up much room. Ideally the plank would need to be brought down on roofracks or in an open trailer. If anyone is able to help out it would be greatly appreciated :)

My apologies for the OT but this is the most likely place to find someone to help as there are no performance sports happening any time soon. We are trying to get a seesaw plank from Windsor area to Canberra in the next few weeks, the sooner the better. Annabel from Wolf's Den was originally going to bring it but it doesn't fit into her trailer It is 3600mm long and about 250mm wide, not very thick. There is a base that goes with it but I don't think that is very big or takes up much room. Ideally the plank would need to be brought down on roofracks or in an open trailer. If anyone is able to help out it would be greatly appreciated :)

As a kid I always wanted a female BC called Chloe and a female ACD called Codie. My first dog turned out to be a mix of both and a male- Cody was easier to masculanise :laugh: Delta chose her name LOL I was really stuck on what to call her so I was sitting on the floor at Mum's place with her while Mum read out dog names off websites. When she got to Delta, this little puppy stopped playing and ran over to her. Later I was telling my sister the short-list of names I had come up with and when I got to Delta she once again stopped playing and ran over. So... Delta it was! Charlie came to me with his name and I didn't know how to change it :laugh: Not necessarily a name I would have chosen as it is so popular, but as it was already on all his paperwork so I left it. I used to get a lot of jokes about having 2 "phonetic alphabet names". So I then named my cockatiels Tango and Whiskey :laugh: There are a few names I wouldn't mind from the NATO phonetic alphabet but I think 2 is enough at any time :D Whip was named as I was involved in dog sports by that point and wanted my next dog to have something with 1 syllable that was quick and easy to say, while not being popular. I had been tossing up a few names then suddenly thought of Whip and my mind was made up. He wasn't even born at that point in time but luckily the name suited :) My latest baby (2 weeks old) is a female BC called Shock. Once again I wanted something that was quick and easy to say on course but didn't want one the same as anyone else. I had the name Ryze picked out but it just didn't suit her.

Charlie loves salmon heads (although I haven't given him one in years). Delta on the other hand just stares back at them :laugh: I did remove the eyes once and she was much happier to eat it (she loves tinned salmon so surely the taste isn't that different). Still not as eagerly as other meals, but it saved it being wasted. Not that I enjoyed removing its eyes though

Delta came off a working sheep station and wasn't chipped. The breeder gave me the option of chipping her myself or him chipping her and adding $100 to the price. Needless to say I got her chipped myself LOL Many working dog people are under the impression that the microchip is not necessary, however, many of them chip regardless to avoid potentially losing a great dog. Perhaps better education is needed to clear up the confusion? An information flyer at working trials might be the place to start? Then word may pass around from there.

Yep, most common flyball dogs are kelpies and border collies. Tigerjack used to have a Ridgie cross (I think) and he was a great dog, certainly much bigger than a kelpie LOL

Mine get either 2 or 3 puppy shots (depending on timing, what they have prior to me getting them etc) and then they are tested at 14-18months (whenever I get around to it). So far every one of them has tested off the scale (>80) for distemper and parvo with only puppy shots. I had them retested last year when Whip was nearly 2 (and I figured I should actually check his puppy vacs had worked) and they were all >80. Charlie was 7, Delta 5, and Whip 2. I will never give an adult vacc unless testing shows their levels are low, which to date they never have been. I retest every 3 years or so but thats more for piece of mind for training clubs. In theory, if they have immunity they should keep it for life.

The other thing you need to remember with Vets is that the commercial food industry sponsors their university degrees and provide the nutrition information that they study. There is an awful lot of bias in the whole thing. So, it isn't necessarily the vets fault entirely. They have been taught throughout their degree that the best diet is a commercial one and that raw is bad (commercial companies aren't exactly going to promote raw are they?)

10% of expected adult weight is way too much. 2% of expected adult weight is the way to go, and work up from there - usually 3-4% is for smaller breed puppies. If you have a mutt and don't know how big he will grow to, feed 10% of current weight. Oops, yes other way round. Should be 10% of current or 2-4% of expected. Shows how long it has been since I've paid attention to actual quantities and not the current appearance of the puppy :)

I usually work on the rule of 10% of expected adult weight, spread across the day. In saying that though, just go by the puppy. If he is carrying weight feed him less the next day, if he is too thin feed him more. I like to keep puppies quite lean, so there is less pressure on growing joints. ETA: 2-4% of ideal weight is the guideline for raw feeding of fully grown adults :)

With the pup we bred they tried the conservative route first, injections and lots of crate rest (6-8 weeks worth). Only after that time did they then decide to go with the surgery. Recovery isn't hampered by waiting (so long as they are not in a position to further injure themselves) so if it was my dog I would probably go conservative first. We offered to pay for the treatment and surgery but it wasn't taken up by the new owner. Difference being the pup went to someone we have known quite well for many years. So not a run of the mill puppy sale as such. I don't know the situation with you and this puppy owner, but you have to do what feels right. I know of an ACD that developed OCD (environment related) and the breeder paid for all treatment costs.

I know of a number of performance dogs who had OCD as youngsters and went on to make a full recovery and have long agility/flyball careers, some of them reaching championship status in their sports. Where is the OCD? Shoulder is apparently the best place to get it :) My sister's dog has it in one of her hocks but it was never operated on as she is purely a pet. She had 4 shots of cartrophen at 12months (when it was first diagnosed) and has had no issues since. One pup we bred had it in his shoulder and you wouldn't know it anymore, he was competing in agility as soon as he turned 18months. His was injury related (chasing a frisbee at 6 months old on frosty ground). He was a prime candidate too- purely commercial puppy diet, growing way too fast, and injured himself during a growth spurt. In layman's terms OCD is essentially a bit of cartilage that has broken off while the joint is wide open during the growth phase. The faster growing the pup, the wider the joints can open, and the more chance that some exposed cartilage can be damaged, especially if pups are not kept quiet etc at this time. Surgery removes the bit of cartilage that is floating around in the joint causing issues, and the dog in theory goes on to lead a perfectly normal life :) Obviously that is in an ideal world, but that is how it is supposed to happen. Life has no guarantees of course.

OCD is generally not considered to be a genetic thing. Yes, there can be a genetic component to it, but that is more a genetic predisposition to growing too big too quickly (a big contributing factor to OCD) than to the condition itself. I would be looking at environmental factors that may have contributed to it. - Has the dog been doing too much during growth spurts? - Have they been on a predominantly dry puppy diet (a big no-no in my books for large or fast growing breeds)? - Have they sustained a seemingly minor injury during a growth spurt? - Have they been allowed to chase balls/frisbees/sticks etc? We never allow chasing of anything until maturity, all fetching and play is to a toy that has already stopped moving to minimise the risk of turning/sliding injuries on growing joints. - Are they living in an environment where stairs/rock walls/ledges/furniture are all freely accessible? Just because they have raised others in the same environment doesn't rule anything out, they may have just been lucky with the others (or unlucky with this one). Edited to answer: Yes, it can occur from purely environmental factors. In most cases, from my understanding, this is usually the case and it has nothing to due with genetics at all (other than being a medium-large breed).

Really sorry to hear that Monteba RIP little one . We share out our leave amongst ourselves so that someone is off work for the full 8 weeks. I am a teacher so it is easier for me to stick with my normal holidays and Tailwag takes the rest of the time off. Our last litter was perfect as they were born in Dec- she was able to take the first 2 weeks then I was off the next 5-6 weeks anyway :) This time they will be about 4 weeks old when I am off, she will catch up on stuff at work those 2 weeks, then stay home again for the following 2. Tailwag sleeps beside the litter until their eyes are open (as I am working so need the better sleep) and someone is always home with them for the first few weeks. After that if we go out it is only for short periods initially, obviously as they get older we can go out for longer periods of time. We take the time off work as there is just so much that can be done with them at that time, and so much initial training that can be put into them. They are little sponges at that age and it would be a shame to waste it at work :)

Well done on the 2nd litter. Puppies galore at your place at the moment :D Do you have them near each other? I've always wondered how people manage multiple litters at the same time. 1 takes up so much of our time :laugh:

If her last season was about 2 months ago she could be having a phantom, the timing would be right for it. Is she swollen? Blowing her coat? Any other "pregnancy" signs. If she is having a phantom she could decide to go all out :laugh:

Proud Mum and her 3 daughters.

congratulations on your new littlies sorry about the one that didnt make it And the same to you. Hard losing them, but thankfully mum has taken it all in her stride and didn't even go looking for the dead pup, was perfectly content to dote on the 2 she already had, and concentrate on the final delivery.

Link has given us 3 beautiful, healthy girls who are all doing well and have inherited their mother's strong vocal chords and highly-active gene LOL Unfortunately a 4th girl was stillborn Photos to come once everything is cleaned up and presentable :)

Cash or Petrol Vouchers :)

OMG ! Hats off to you Delta Charlie. I think your amazing. 9 dogs & all the training yours would have, cause I think you do Agility/flyball from memory. I am flat out with 2 much loved pet BC's LOL. I struggle getting basic one on one training done. What your secret?? :) Yep, our main issue is finding time to actually compete with them in the different sports, the training part is easy to find time for as we enjoy doing it :) The 2 little ones (eldest in the pack) don't really do much in terms of training these days, although if we have the fitball out they get to have a turn :D Sometimes I will teach them little tricks for something to do if I'm bored :laugh: They both actively competed in agility, Brooks until a few years ago and Jaz until she had patella ops on her knees. We currently have 7 border collies trialling in agility and 4 competing in flyball (Delta and Dash are recently retired, Whip is still in training). We also have a few who are ready to compete in DWD if we had the inclination to do it, 3 who could enter an obedience trial tomorrow if we wanted to (and a few who are partway trained to novice level), and 5 who are ready to trial in Rally-O and probably will once this next litter is over and we have a spare weekend :laugh: We also travel to a 3-sheep trainer when we have a spare weekend, and plan on dedicating much more time to sheepwork with the next pups. I think the secret for us is 1. we enjoy doing it and our lives revolve around the dogs, which we are perfectly ok with and 2. We have all the gear we need at home (except sheep) so don't need to rely on fitting in with club trainings and weather conditions. We do attend club training for agility when we can, just with the young pups so that they get used to the distractions etc, but they are also trained at home.