Greytmate

I agree too. The breed isn't safe if registered breeders are going in that direction.

My dogs are never on dirt. Hard surfaces are essential for cleanliness and disease control in kennels. Soft surfaces are essential for exercising growing dogs. I could give my comment of the proposed code if you want to post it. Would it hinder a breeder's obligation to provide the appropriate exercise for growing pups? I don't really like the idea of dogs living on dirt. But they do need to be exercised properly for some time each day.

Part of the issue for me is that all of their ideas and codes seem to come from what is best practice for boarding kennels. You know places where dogs stay for short periods but surely dogs who are there for ever need different environmental conditions to remain healthy? I would have thought that a dog would need the appropriate enrichment regardless of whether it was boarded for a month or for five years. I can't really think what the difference would be. A dog doesn't know whether it is leaving the kennel that day or next year. Is there an example you can give of a condition that would suit a short term dog but not a longer term dog? At what length of time do we say the dog is being kennelled long term and its needs are now different?

No idea if that exists however, I have spoken with 4 different vets who specialise in canine reproduction, I have knowledge of another in Brisbane who is preparing a paper on it and Dr Hutchison a canine reproduction specialist in the states who feel there is no benefit to a bitch to not breed her on every season if she is in good condition. Personally Id love to see studies on this but who is going to do them? None of us can as its against our codes of conduct. The scientific fact is that whether a bitch is pregnant or not she secretes the same hormones. In a pregnancy the hormones released which cause the whelping and subsequernt rearing of the pups counteract the hormones battering her uterus. If you hold her off before you mate her she is more likely to have fertility issues. This is what Hutchison had to say http://www.doghobbyist.com/CanineRepro.html I agree with merijigs. Nothing on that link you posted says anything about breeding every season. There are people in Australia breeding their bitches every season, and I would have thought that there would be a lot more than hormones battering a bitch's uterus with that level of intensive breeding. From what I have seen, bitches that have been bred from too often tend not to last as long as other bitches. No studies done, just looking at the poor old things. But I guess the high number of puppies produced by them proves their fertility is better than that of bitches not so intensively bred? Welfare is the utmost concern to me. Fertility is a lower priority. I disagree with those that prioritise fertility over welfare.

Are you pushing for law reform? Or reform for members of your own organisation?

Good explore this What do you think should happen when a bitch cant be bred any more? There should be a code of practice for the management of any dog at any age that includes appropriate care, enrichment and exercise. If a breeder cannot comply with the code, they shouldn't have the dog in their care.

Canine Reproductive Specialists depend on bitches being bred for their income. When I say every season, I mean every season. For her whole life. I don't like people that do that, and I wouldn't trust a repro specialist that tried to say it was better for the bitch than to give her a break once in a while. Given the value of a litter of dogs, maybe no bitch should be bred from without undergoing a veterinary check up first. Maybe a system needs to be set up where the vet should be asked to sign a certificate to say that the dog's bloods, teeth, etc are all ok and that the bitch is not too old or decrepit to be put through it. I can't see that happenning though, because there is too much money in canine repro for vets to turn away the type of customers that bulk breed.

I am not going to define puppy farmer. I am going to list some commercial dog breeding practices that I do not like. Breeding without providing adequate kennel enrichment or exercise. Providing no veterinary care for pups because it is not cost effective. Breeding from stock with no knowledge of the dog's pedigree/genetics. Breeding from unregistered stock. Breeding every season. Breeding with a bitch up until the time she dies. I will add more when I think of them.

The school term finished on Friday. Go into a boarding kennel right at the start of school holidays and you would expect them to be fully booked and extremely busy.

I have heard somewhere that dogs express their anal glands when they poo on their walk, territorial pooing. But not when they poo at home. Years back we had a dog that only ever pooed at home. She had to have her glands expressed. Then we started walking her at poo time and got her in the habit of pooing out in public. And we never had anal gland problems again. Worth a try if anyone thinks it will help their dog. Doesn't cost anything except the price of a roll of poo bags.

I have done appliqué and embroidery on my squares. I didn't use a backing fabric on mine.

I will answer you anyway, even though you posted in the wrong place. Are you talking about a motorhome or a campervan? I wouldn't go away in a campervan with a family, bit too small. Motorhomes are a lot more expensive than caravans. They tend to keep their value (not appreciate or depreciate) and can be easily traded. I am not sure how well caravans hold their value. It would be cheaper on fuel to tow a medium sized caravan behind a normal sized car than to use a motorhome to tow a small car. If you want the space of a really big caravan, you will need a larger tow vehicle. You can reduce a lot of the weight in a caravan by being very careful about the type of things you pack. A small caravan packed very efficiently can even be towed behind a four cylinder car. You should go and look at both and get some figures from the sales people and see what best fits your budget.

Woody was terrified of the bass guitar. Not the acoustic, not the electric guitar, only the bass. He is a bit better now, cause we did some training with him. He now realises it won't hurt him. Do you think it was the noise or the guitar or a bit of both? Not sure. We suspect he may have knocked it over once, and perhaps he associates the noise with the pain of a bass falling on him or the fright of a loud bang if the bass hit the floor. I suspect there are frequencies coming out of it that can't be heard, but can be heard and felt by him. It doesn't matter whether it's plugged in to the amp or not. Woody is so terrified of fly spray, that he won't go in a room where there is a can of it. But we threw the fly spray out rather than try to train him to accept it. I don't know if he had a previous bad experience, but I would guess that he did.

Woody was terrified of the bass guitar. Not the acoustic, not the electric guitar, only the bass. He is a bit better now, cause we did some training with him. He now realises it won't hurt him.

Susan Dawson from Anvet Kedron. Not too far from there.

Coconut has shiny pink toenails at the moment. :cool:

Yes, I would.

An aggressive dog may have hackles up or it may not. Its tail may be wagging or it may not. Its tail may be up, straight or down. Its ears may be up or laid back. Some aggression has no growling.

Dogs are not usually just plain mean. Aggression usually has a reason. Whether that is fear or defence or prey drive or whatever. Occasionally it is a physical brain problem. This dog has shown that under stress it is extremely aggressive. So regardless of what it is like when in a relaxed state, there is the potential for it to become aggressive again if stressed. I wouldn't take the dog. Even if you had behaved 'threateningly' by staring, standing over or approaching too quick, a good pet should be able to deal with that stress without showing that level of aggression. Move on to the next pen that has the dog that is happy to get some attention and save that one instead.

That is what came to my mind too. If it is mega E, the dog would be better with a moist meal than a dry one maybe?

If your dog is an amstaff, the benefit of papers is that you can prove it isn't a pitbull, which are illegal in some areas.

She is. And she is one of those hounds that have white go-go boots. So cute! ;)

I have one other done, and am nearly finished a third one. Love the birdie too.

Wow, I must be in the minority, and please don't me, but I would like someone to risk their life to save my pets. God forbid it actually happened, and maybe I'm just selfish, but my dogs are almost as important to me as my family. Yes, I would want somebody attempting to save my pets. I would trust a trained firefighter with specialised equipment to know whether they should enter a burning home or not. Not up to me to say they cannot take that risk. I know nothing about fires.

T. I guess you are lucky in a way that you still have two dogs alive to love.