dog geek

Thanking you for the extra info, it is reassuring. And I should reveal that I have no - other than having provided temp care for an Afghan Hound from Hawkesbury over the New Year - affiliation with any rescue groups. I have neither the emotional, nor the financial, resources to support dog rescue. But. End of 2009, I was carefully compiling cross-referenced lists of dogs transferred from the RSPCA to the pound, against dogs at the pound that were not rehomed but instead euthanased. Why? Because I had noticed over several months there were dogs transferred from the RSPCA to the pound that were then euthanased; yet the RSPCA were proudly and loudly declaiming that they no longer euthanase. Now, I have respect for people who work at the RSPCA as volunteers. I have respect for people who work at the RSPCA in a paid capacity. What I object to is the RSPCA hierarchy making claims that are based on less than the whole truth - fudging stats like that, when they could use them to highlight that not even the holy RSPCA can save all the dogs surrendered to them, is a tactic that calls into question the credibility of all their statistics. If there was a gracious acknowledgement of the efforts of the DAS crew; and the rescuers who organise temp testing, foster care, medical care, and fundraising for the dogs on death row - then I would be quite satisfied that justice was being done. In finishing; I had already begun correlating the RSPCA:Pound:death data months before I began keeping records. And had already confirmed that there were dogs that were euthanased at the pound (despite the best efforts of some very dedicated, organised volunteers) that had come from the RSPCA. It therefore irked me that the 'powers that be' at the RSPCA are glorifying their own efforts, so I feel justified in bringing this to the attention of others, so that they may then take all the information available into account.

Hey - can we pin this thread?? Not quite now; there are sure to be other wonderful insights to vome. But it has some EXTREMELY relevant opinions, and I think would be jolly useful for not only newbies but for those who are feeling a bit... resilient-less

I firmly believe that the RSPCA should be emphasising that even they are not able to cope with the flood of dogs looking for homes - and so have to send dogs almost weekly to Domestic Animal Services (aka the Pound). The people who rescue from the pound then have to temp assess these dogs, advertise them, work their butts off trying to find homes for them - and mourn them when they are put down. So: the RSPCA is ommitting to mention that YES they do indeed put some dogs down... by default, sending dogs to the pound when they have no space. Which is reasonable; but neglecting to acknowledge this comes off as ego-stroking at the worst, shifty at the best. If the RSPCA were sending FUNDS over with the dogs they surrender to the pound, I wouldn't have a beef. As it is, the RSPCA are raking in money by playing on people's sympathy, without ensuring there is a flow-on to the rescue people who are dealing with the RSCPA's overflow.

WARNiNG, WILL ROBINSON!!! This one is a bit... cheeky: Never assume that a BYB's Blue Heeler bitch is as safe as they say she is, when you are helping with garden maintenance and said bitch has 3week old pups in her kennel...

Yes! There we go - another maxim for me stick up inside my gazebo... together with a reminder that it may be me reacting badly for those reasons, so Take The Opportunity To Say Nothing...

thanks - I voted and linked it on my Facebook page.

:D :p Weren't they supposed to help retrieve craypots?? So - where is her craypot! ;) You know, she looks like she is HUGGING it; as in, "...and I will Love him, and Hug him, and Call Him George..."

:D Wowsers, the OP should try owning sighthounds!!!! If you CANNOT feel their hipbones jutting up over the tops of your fingers when your hand is laid between them - your sighthound is fat. If you CANNOT feel the three vertebrae at the top of the arch over their loins - your sighthound is fat. If you CANNOT feel their ribs as though you had your hand closed in a fist etc - your sighthound is fat. What you CAN feel - if your sighthound is healthy and not just emaciated - is chunky shoulder and thigh muscles, and wonderful, springy planes of muscle wrapping over other areas like the point of the shoulder, up to the neck and up the back of the neck to the skull, and the lower thigh... I was in the local cafe/shopping area once with a Saluki I had had for a week - he was in show condition, so you can imagine the gleam on his coat and healthy his skin was - and heard a kerfuffle behind me. I turned around and some late teens were dragging their friend away: she was outraged at my emaciated dog and was trying to get over to yell/cry at me about how cruel I was. :D I always keep my hounds looking like the diagram illustration of the fit, healthy and lean Lab (which is a little plump for a sighthound), because otherwise I get glares from passersby, and have arguements with the vets I go to about dangerously underweight dogs. Vets go and on about the dangers of GA in underweight dogs, and I spose they have a point - but when my Afghans are lookin' amazingly fit, lean and healthy for the ring I get really cranky about comments like that! humfp! *rant over* Back to topic!

Hey - I forgot! Console yourself with this mantra: Yep. Around here, we consider dog hair a CONDIMENT I love that poem up above! Especially the last line... Hey, I put up with my kids' little drawbacks; so somewhat less pristine surroundings are no sacrifice at all for my dogs' companionship.

You'd be talking about Noisy Mynahs. They are native. I like them for their full on and bravado personalities. I like the Butcher Bird too (native as well, I believe). I've never had either of them try to swoop or worry me. In fact, when I lived on property with my folks, we had flocks of them that became somewhat tame and proved to be the most excellent "watch birds". If they started shrilling, we never ignored it. We'd look up into the trees to see what they were pointing at. On a couple of occasions it was a snake. And on another, there was a suspicious man who entered our property. The noisy mynahs are such characters and if you get a chance to get to *know* them, you can identify the different personalities from one to the other. :D at CL. ;) um, Noisy Miners is the spelling I believe. They are the loveliest little guys.... And then there are Wattle Birds, they can get pretty feisty.

I the Roombas - I want too, and I want to 'personalise' it so it looks like a Pokemon or something ;) I console myself with this thought pattern: Clean house does reflect a clean mind (or is that tidy house/tidy mind :D ) so being stressed by less than immaculate surroundings - well, that MUST be good, right? :D And then - there is a bit of status attached immaculate houses. It used to denote hordes of servants, scuttling around the back corridors of your mansion, getting up at five in the morning to clean the grates sort of thing. We still have a bit of that snobbery inbuilt in us... I am SURE many generations back some of my unfortunate ancestors lived on slave wages, living miserable lives working their fingers to bone to maintain the gentry. Just chill out, and remind yourself - if it irks you, that is a good indicator you still have a tidy mind. But don't stress the dust bunnies, make yourself stick to a schedule of cleaning up after them once a day, then only only every two days - when you notice them other than that, just make a mental note where they are for 'ron (later on).

I know the regulars are all going to say "oh no, not again" but:

I agree. Why would you pay the same for a dog that's halfway through it's lifespan when you can get a new puppy for a similar price and have it for a lot longer? Now, see - to me, if it was a pet owner rehoming their no longer wanted pet, then I say "BAH!" If it was a registered breeder rehoming one of their oldies, then I would pay the price as asked; in honour of - and in recognition of - the blood, sweat and tears poured into creating the dog as it is about to come to me.

Parti Poodles do indeed exist - just google them, there is lots of easily found info on them. There is a breeder in SA, I think, with pure bred poodles in particolour. You could google her with Australian particoloured poodles, I think.

Zing!!!!

Well of course eedjits would be pumping what ever they thought would work into their poor dawgs - however, they do genetic assays to check if the Whippets have one or two copies of the myostatin inhibitor gene, as one copy will give you a 'chunky-bun' Whippet rather than a 'crippled with extra muscle' Whippet http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myo...statinMutantVar iationsWhippet.jpg http://www.whippetracing.org/Information/Club_Notice.pdf

Yeah, it is really fascinating... it is the result of a gene called myostatin being switched off, it happens in humans also. Myostatin inhibits muscle growth, if it is switched off muscles keep developing. It is a recessive, you need two copies to get the really abnormal growth. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2004/06/24/512617.html Oh - Belgian blue cattle, ever heard of those? They have it too. In the US, the Whippet coursers like the whippies with just one copy of this gene - it gives them heavier muscling. So if you don't like the heavier muscling it is a good idea to look very carefully at your Whippet lines if they are American. Here is a link to the Wikipedia page on Myostatin Hypertrophy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myostatin

... and then there was the busy 'boutique' vets that had one of those god-awful 'kitties in a basket' on the reception desk... aren't they freeze-dried, or something?? Made in China, in any case, very very And my own vet who I love for his dedication to his patients - but who has a young working dog that is dominant and turning into a right little sh!t because it wanders the surgery and everyone is usually too busy to appropriately correct its behaviours...

>.< Gnnnnnn! >.< Seriously - Mita, you are contributing to my 'dog hoarder' reputation! She should find a lovely home up top, though, she is beeeoooytiful. I once had a little black Tibbie girl on one of my regular walking routes who was The Sweetest Little Girl... I think I used to make her owner nervous, I was a tad enthusiastic 'bout being charmed by her little dog! Even with my Afghans being clipped in a 'Saluki', I still have people correctly guessing them (damn arthritis, I got Flarfy dogs because I like playing with hair...) which always startles me!

oh, Mita, are you sure there is no prize... like maybe a lickle smoochie faced Tibbie? Since I am given to moments of irrational certainty... I guess I just remind myself that guessing breeds is always a sign, at least, of interest in dogs.

Mita, is that a short-coated Tibbie? Cause it's GORGEOUS, regardless! Actually I had to laugh, I walked mine down to the shops this morning and it was nearly half an hour before I got into the actual chemists, I had soooooo many people wanting to 'chat dog'. In fact it is usually - 'Oooo - they are Afghans, aren't they... and ... a .... Whippet??"

I am no expert either but I can think of three things to try! 1. If he is losing his puppy coat and growing his adult coat, then brushing, brushing and perhaps a bit of brushing will be excellent for him, experts please step in now to disagree. But it should stimulate the skin follicles and their oil glands, and will give the new hair a glossy and healthy shine. 2. You could add a tin or four of no-name mackerel in its own juices to his weekly diet; it should be introduced slowly, but will help keep the dryness away. 3. His colour will most likely fade out as he gets older - I believe it happens to most dogs and he may not stay the rich chocolate he started out. Sun fading can be avoided if you like, by making comfy beds available in the shade, and/or by using UV-filter conditioner (human hair conditioner) made up in a spray bottle with a few tablespoons of conditioner to plain water. But I am fairly certain that he will fade in case...

Sorry, Franco!!! I am sitting here, remembering my first ever ringworm; my first ever HEADLICE; my first ever scabies.... The first time you come across them it always blows your mind - but don't worry, if you check out the procedure to reduce the chance of the organism spreading and THEN FOLLOW IT UNTIL THE INCUBATION PERIOD has passed, then it will cease to be a problem.

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) I have two Afghan Hounds - the first, Bluey, I got nearly four years ago; the second, Miffy, came to us fifteen months ago. 2. Where and why was the breed first developed? There seem to be similar dogs all way from the Indian high country through to Afghanistan and up into North-Eastern Russia - this particular variant is from Afghanistan. Afghan Hounds developed in a manner similar to other Flock Guardian breeds. They guarded human settlements, taking it upon themselves to patrol boundaries. They hunted for their humans, being trained to leave the hunter, track down and kill the prey, then wait with it until the hunter joined them. They also herded the flocks down from the mountain pastures to the summer grazing, with minimal instruction from the shepherd. They also lived in close proximity to their humans, sharing living quarters and receiving minimal portions of food. This developed a canine which was an independant thinker, bonded with humans but not compulsively focused on human needs and instructions. 3. How common is it in Australia? Not as common as in the '70s... there were so many then that the breeder of my two talks about there being hundreds in the breed classes at the big shows... Now, there are twenty-odd breeders around Australia, which means you don't have to wait too long to get to the top of the list to purchase one. 4. What is the average lifespan? Now, I am going on what I know of personally here - entire adults seem make it regularly into the teens; but I have a friend who has had two Afghan Hounds, one died at the age of 21, the other at 17! 5. What is the general temperament/personality? They really like to get time to size new people up - which can be difficult to manage, I get swamped by enthusiastic strangers wanting to pat my dogs when we are out and about. Mine will back-pedal to get away from people reaching out for them too eagerly; but they never react defensively. Discretion is the better part of valour, for my dogs, anyway! My male in particular finds the whole 'latte hot spot' nerve-wracking - he seems to expect dog-eating coffee-drinkers to pounce... Take him up to the school to pick up the kids, and he delights in small children swarming all over him! They do seem to be family dogs from a cellular level - one of my kids has significant autistic behaviours, but Bluey never even flinched from the moment I brought him home (and he had never had up close and personal experience with kids before). He still stands like a rock when Rowley impulsively flings his arms around Bluey, and will scoot out of the way if there is mayhem, but delights in my kids, choosing to sit with them on the couch or outside etc. Miffy is more likely to be wary around Rowley - but still trots around after him in the backyard, and even though Rowley can be unexpectedly irritated by it, will examine him closely with snuffles now and then - and patiently retreat from flailing limbs with a 'Hm. Just checking!' look on her. She is better with strangers; and has little groupies at the school who flood towards her and are welcomed with delicate snuffles. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? To be honest - when the other Afghan Hound owners say "at least an hour a day", I have to check and think about whether we own the same breed! In the cold weather, when my arthritis acts up, I take them down to the off- leash areas to self exercise for an hour or so maybe once a week. They do have a large backyard, which they examine carefully and comprehensively several times a day - and joyfully excavate smallish holes in - and in the warm weather we walk to school at least several times a week, but they have unlimited time inside with us, which I truly believe is much, much more important to my dogs. Yes, they make superb athletes, and can willingly exercise serious amounts - but they are pretty happy being couch potatoes, too. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? If you were able to get an older dog being re-homed, maybe, but - well, I would hate to see someone new to dogs let an Afghan off-leash anywhere except a securely fenced dog exercise area, and newbies would perhaps not be inclined to follow that advice. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Well - if they were anything like mine, they would most likely spend the time asleep. However - if their humans were home but ignoring them for days at a time, I am not so sure that they wouldn't abscond. Getting quality time at some point in the day would perhaps make the difference. 9. How much grooming is required? When my dogs were in coat, it took at least one bath a fortnight, an hour of grooming post-bathing, and thorough brushing at least once a week (about forty minutes for a thorough brushing) to maintain them. This routine is impossible with my arthritis, so I sadly and reluctantly clipped mine off. Now they get a bath maybe once a month or earlier if they have been and found something smelly to roll in. I guess I will clip them off maybe once every three months, maybe more - their coat grows quite quickly - somthing similar to the routine for a Poodle, I guess. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? I have not experienced puppy Afghans - mine were each three years old when I got them - but they are extremely gentle dogs. That said, they do jostle us when we are all in the hallway near the front door getting ready to go out... and have been known to single-mindedly head for the kitchen at dinner-time without much thought for the smaller humans in the way. 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? They should NOT be overfed - they will not be well. Small amounts of lean meats, lots of bones - not too many marrow bones - no grains, and a fairly high proportion of oils (sardines in oil, any other omega-rich oil BUT NOT MACADAMIA NUT OIL) and regular (but not huge amounts of) vitamin and mineral supplement keep mine on good nick. Also - they do not seem to tolerate regular vaccinations very well. I use monthly Advocate on my dogs (possibly overkill, but we have a large population of possums which bring fleas and god know what else) and they of course had their inital courses of vaccinations; but the impression I get from those more knowledgeable in the breed is that they are not vaccinating after the first 12 months in puppyhood. Apart from that - some lines have a predispostion to cancer, in America from what I see; and they can injure themselves when in full flight - but that is rare and I have not seen many references to fatal or serious injuries. 12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) Terribly sorry, I haven't bought a puppy! But I would think, from what I have read, that there are not many breeders doing hip or elbow, or knee, scoring on their Afghan Hounds - merely because complaints of those joints do not seem to be seen in the breed. Eye problems, again, I get the impression that there just isn't a problem in the Afghan breed with eyes; and so really, I would personally give the breeder as accurate and truthful an account of my personal circumstances in order for them to select the right puppy for me.