tdierikx

I'm not arguing that breeders aren't looking for the best homes for their pups/dogs Bjelkier - but I am querying whether those who sourced their first pedigreed dogs as novice owners ever felt that were looked upon with the same suspicion as they now look upon prospective pet owners. I'm thinking that there looks to be a whole lot more distrust of the buying public now than there used to be many moons ago. T.

The article looks like it was a setup for another excuse to put the boot in about dangerous off lead dogs. Only 1 line of the article related in any way to the headline... T.

May I ask what sort of requirements your original dogs' breeders asked you for? Were they as stringent as your current requirements for prospective puppy buyers? T.

I'm lucky as Zeddy isn't prone to going outside at all when there are fireworks, or when there is a thunderstorm. She has access to both the house and yard, and will find a safe spot inside if it all gets too much for her. T.

My Lab scratches like a demon when she's doing her annual shed... even if brushed and bathed, she scratches until the drop of coat settles... T.

I do find that having the TV up loud - even if it's playing the NYE fireworks - tends to settle my girl pretty well. She can tell the difference between the real thing and "fake" sounds from the TV, so having the TV louder than the outside bangs works for us. T.

It wasn't THAT "rescue" group, was it? Cowboys give ALL of us a bad name... grrr! Rescue should not be about how MANY dogs you can "save", but more about how WELL you can match dogs to owners/families - in the same way that great breeders select great homes for their dogs/pups... T.

Ahhh - but therein lies the rub... how does the novice dog owner manage to source a well bred pedigree instead of a BYB/petshop/rescue/pound dog? As for the RSPCA temp tests - they aren't exactly designed to have dogs pass in great numbers - they are more designed to justify the high kill rates. T.

When did they change the points system for showing - the smaller shows started attracting less points didn't they? To slow down people from going where there was less competition to get the required points? T.

In all honesty, there ARE a lot of perfectly appropriate dogs in the pounds I frequent - however, the fact that most decent registered breeders can offer more predictability with their dogs should be a big consideration. Then again, the availability issue raises it's ugly head, and the average Joe starts to believe the trash the AR groups are spewing forth to the media about registered breeders "contributing to the problem" - as they see it anyways... I am involved in rescue, and I know that I'm not completely likely to want to adopt a dog straight from a pound - and part of my "duty" with rescue is to select pound dogs for my group to take in, so I'm possibly a little more savvy about what I'm looking for than the average member of the public. Those of us who choose to be completely informed of the "situation" KNOW that it's NOT registered breeders pumping out most of the pets out there... BYB are by far the largest group - even surpassing the DD farmers. The advent of the silly "breed" names didn't do any of us a favour either - people are crossing all sorts of things in their back yards, giving them a cute "breed" name and selling them off for exhorbitant prices. Gone are the days where the FTGH crossbred pup is the norm - people can see that the silly "breed" names translate into dollar value... Oh - and hybrid vigour isn't a myth, but it certainly doesn't mean that any old cross is going to be healthier than a well thought out outcross in a breeding program by someone who does it to further their breed's health and wellbeing. T.

Harper has a nice soft dog bed on the floor in my lounge room, but when she's tired, she still wants to snuggle with mummy... she's over 16kgs now, so it's a bit heavy and hot having her lying on me, but we seem to manage... *grin* She also has her night crate in my bedroom for when I'm asleep - still teething, so don't want her eating the house while I can't supervise... T.

I mean it FM, if you ever see a foster pup of mine that you'd like to join your family, just give me a yell, OK? We get good rates with Dogtainers for transport too... *grin* Although, I think all has worked out nicely this time with you getting Luka and me adopting his "twinnie" Harper... lol! T.

If you have the chip numbers, then it's probably not all that hard to find someone with enough access to the registries to check whether the dogs have been listed as deceased, or in someone else's name other than the breeder's... they don't have to tell you where they are, the Privacy Act being what it is and all... T.

Could she have a trapped nerve? Maybe a dog chiro visit - take your xrays if you can - would be the go? I'm sure someone here may have a recommendation for a decent chiro... T.

Greylvr - your history here on DOL indicates that you do very much seem to believe the AR line regarding "adoption" of a poundie/rescue, rather than the "purchase" of a pedigreed dog. As others have said, there really isn't one nice easy answer to the problem of animals ending up in pounds - but you have to agree that most good breeders of pedigreed dogs do try to ensure that none of their dogs end up there - be that by careful selection of prospective homes, actively helping out if the owners' circumstances change, etc... I don't like seeing the numbers of dogs in pounds we currently have, but I also know that there are going to be a number of them that really shouldn't be "saved" or, god forbid, "adopted"... All that said, the attitude of some people who own/breed towards the general pet wanting public does very much come across as "elitist" and/or "guardianship" of their breed - as if to imply that no-one from the general public is "qualified" to share their lives with one of "their" breed. To those people I say that's all very well and good, but somewhere, sometime, somebody trusted YOU enough to have one of their dogs so that you could enjoy all that they bring to your life, yes? You can shout from the rooftops all of the benefits and joy that a well bred pefigreed dog brings with it, but if it's impossible for the pet desiring public to acquire one, then where else is there for them to get a dog? Others have seen that gap in the market and are making a nice little living producing pups for it... usually to the detriment of the dogs and their owners... but there are also many more for whom "pot luck" has worked out just fine. If you really want to raise the profile of well bred pedigreed dogs, you are going to have to make sure those sort of dogs are highly visible to the general public. T.

Harper only gets on the couch to lie on me... she loves her couch cuddles time... T.

I can't bring a Greyhound home either... not enough couch space here... *grin* T.

I've had bitches running together quite happily in most of my dog owning life... but at the moment I have 2 that while they get along fine most of the time, if there is a scrap, then it's on to the death. I choose to separate those two and play switchy swapsies as part of the routine... mainly to avoid the chance of serious injury. I have 4 bitches currently - and it's only 2 of them I have to play swapsies with - they each get on fine with the other 2 girls. T.

One of mine has the issue with thunderstorms and fireworks... if she's particularly freaked, I put her into the bathroom with the light off and she settles there happily. She refuses to go outside if there's a thunderstorm or fireworks going on, so she always has access to the house if I am not there. I don't comfort her as I don't want a 30k trembling mess on my lap every time there's a storm, but I will let her lie by the couch or my computer chair and occasionally pet her without any noise - which is pretty much the norm around here anyways... *grin* T.

May I interject here and state categorically that not all people in rescue share the same views as the vocal minority? Greylvr - may I suggest that given the fact that you are posting on a PUREBREED dog forum, that maybe you could tone down the emotive AR sounding rhetoric... or at least save it for the Rescue forums where the rules are a little more relaxed due to the nature of all things rescue... T.

Katdogs hasn't made any mistakes yet with her latest addition... but he's made it easy on her by being a very good boy... It certainly sounds like sheenat has most everything ready... T.

It's kind of telling that only a small snippet of my post has attracted answers. Please feel free to read further than that initial line for the overall picture I was attempting to convey... I think I prefer SSM's answer to it best so far though... *grin* T.

So - breeding less nicely turned out pedigreed dogs and having a completely distrustful attitude to prospective pet owners is the answer? If we are trying to educate the masses about the diversity and general wonderfulness of being a pedigreed dog owner, it doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to set a goal that can't be achieved... ie. to own a well bred pedigreed dog as a pet. Sure - not all people who want a dog are "qualified" to own anything more than a stuffed toy - but I have a sneaking suspicion that those are somewhat outnumbered by those who ARE "qualified" to give a dog a wonderful home. Take this board as a small indicator of the general dog owning population - some have pedigrees, some have purebreds without pedigrees, some have mixed breeds... but generally we ALL have the best interests of our dogs at heart, yes? Translate that to a larger pet owning public, and you'll probably find that a majority of pet owners really want to do right by their pet - just that we all do it a bit differently to each other. I'll say it again, I am NOT advocating breeding copious numbers of pups to supply to any Joe with the funds to "take it off your hands" - selection of good homes for EVERY pup should be a primary goal for ANY breeder - be it pedigreed, pure, or mixed breed. I just think it would be awesome if there were MORE well bred pedigreed dogs available than there are right now. If your statistic of 20% is accurate - we can all only wonder at the sources of the other 80% of pets out there. T.

See now, there are generalisations from both sides of the argument... *grin* I'm not denying that there are people out there who look at their pets as possessions - but is it fair to taint the whole group with that generalisation? The numbers of dogs that end up in pounds is a nice statistic, but when compared with the actual number of pet dogs out there, it's not the largest pool to base any really useful facts upon. Too many people are using pound numbers as a crutch - how many really nicely bred pedigreed dogs do you ever see in pounds? Break it down - the number is miniscule, yes? Then we could look at WHY dogs end up in pounds/shelters... and that would predominately be that "the dog didn't live up to expectations"... pedigreed breeders have the means to match their dogs to the right homes due to the predictability of their breed characteristics, thus negating the numbers that "don't live up to expectation"... BUT there are not enough breeders of dogs that WILL live up to expectations - as opposed to the many who couldn't give a shit as long as the money comes in for their farmed or BYB pups. I am NOT advocating the selling of dogs to unsuitable homes - no matter the breed or mix... The more great examples of pedigreed PET dogs we have out in the public arena, the better publicity towards them as a great choice for a pet, the better for the whole pedigreed world, yes? Not to mention better for the general public who really only want a lovely pet dog to share their lives with. T.

There's a photo of Harper and her brother Rex on page 4 in this thread... he's smaller than her. All of the rest of the pups were tracking as ending up smaller than her by the time they were adopted. She was always the one with the longest legs... *grin* The blue and white boy was looking to end up like an Aussie Bulldog - built like the proverbial brick sh!thouse he was! ... and if you ever want any of our rescue pups FM, all you have to do is yell, and we'd be happy to adopt one to you! Actually, you could adopt me too if you want... lol! T.