gundoglover

slightly OT but may be relevant, but I was told the ANKC had rejected Penn Hip scores, and I believe the FCI has just recently had meetings and the recognition of these scores is considered no longer viable. Sorry I cant help with the topic, but thought this may be of use. Wow...well that is very interesting. It certainly is recognised by the OFA in the US and therefore the AKC. Can you advise where you heard this...is it on a website or through a Canine association? I would love to get further information? I have sent a PM, as noone else seems interested! I think that this would be of general interest if you wish to post the information - otherwise please pm me too

You can also feed a lamb rib in place of a chicken neck - get a set of lamb flaps and use your kitchen shears to separate each rib, the meat flap part can also be fed. The lamb flaps are good for putting on weight, particularly coming into the colder part of the year when the pup may need more energy.

A truly heart-warming story!

Congratulations to all the winners & to MDBA for organizing this event that showcases good dog breeding & ownership.

Have you tried an obedience club? There are a couple of obedience clubs in ACT. The obedience clubs will train you to train your dog. You can get the details from the ACTCA website. You should be able to join the club training days a lot faster than getting to see a behaviourist. Alternatively, the secretaries of the obedience club's may be able to recommend local behaviourists. The obedience club contact details from the ACTCA website are: ACT COMPANION DOG CLUB Pres: Gary Kingdom ~ Sec: Toni Magi Club: 6295 7764 or email: [email protected] web site: www.actcdc.org.au BELCONNEN DOG OBEDIENCE CLUB Pres: Barbara Brown ~ Sec: Jan Horley Phone 6241 7999 or email: [email protected] web site: www.bdoc.asn.au TUGGERANONG DOG TRAINING CLUB Pres: Mr Peter Ridley ~ Sec: Miss Amanda Bateup Phone 6293 4122 or email: [email protected] web site: www.tdtc.asn.au

That's good to know. Thankyou.

Well, it will be interesting to see the results. Were you given a likely time-frame for the study outcomes?

Good news! I hope he continues to improve - eating is certainly a good sign.

Yes, that puts a different complexion on things. I do wish you a better experience with your next puppy.

I don't know if it is normal, but it is certainly not usual. I's phone the vet & describe the symptoms. I seem to remember that there was a bad batch of vaccine a while ago.

This is what I recommend too.

I wonder if she had a nasty experience during the plane trip. At 8 weeks she may well have been going through a fear period & an adverse experience with a stranger during the trip may have triggered this fear of strangers behaviour. The breeder claims that the pup was normal & outgoing prior to the plane trip, so this may be an explanation.

I wonder if it feels and maybe even smells like a trip to the vet for these dogs? If so, their reactions will differ depending on previous vet experiences. Or is it really set up like a visit to someone's home? From the description it seems a bit sterile for that.

I would not change her diet just now in case it causes her to abort and then make any changes gradually. The caution against too much chicken is wise. Lamb & veal are safer raw meaty bones. Sheep & cattle are usually raised on grass in Australia without expensive antibiotics or growth hormones that may be used in raising chickens.

The thinning shears are used for blending to give a natural look to the neck. However if you are able to blend using your shears & comb, then that should be ok. Some Brittanys don't grow a lot of hair around their necks anyway & tidying with a razor or coat king is enough. As long as the Brit ends up looking like the "after" view, it will fit in at the Australian shows. The "before" photo is closer to what the UK Brittanys look like in the show ring, but Australian fashions follow the US. Also, I am assuming that the Brittany is orange & white. If so, be careful with blending the orange parts because sometimes the coat is a lighter shade of orange where it is trimmed.

How did you get on with the show grooming?

Agree with the other posters - full vet check. There can be a number of organic conditions that could cause a sudden change of behaviour, eg, brain tumour, thyroid imbalance, partial complex epilepsy, etc. A degenerative blindness or deafness can also contribute to sudden behaviour changes around children who move quickly & talk in high voices. This can be frightening for a dog slowly going deaf or blind.

Well, this information is hearsay for you, so that will reduce the impact of any report that you make because it is little more than gossip when not a first-hand account. The best option is for the "somebody" who provided the information to you to make a report to (depending on the cause for concern): RSPCA - cruelty Dept Fair Trading (or whatever it is called this week) - misrepresentation or lack of fair dealing with customers State CC - if breach of COE & breeder is registered

Well, talk about "net-widening" (sorry about the pun). This looks like a good little earner for the legal profession as well as animal rights activists.

Interestingly, the sudden alarming development of high levels of depression and anxiety disorders in dogs coincided with the expiry in 2001 of the patent for the human antidepressant fluoxetine, marketed as Prozac. With generic versions of fluoxetine taking so much of the profit formerly delivered by Prozac, finding a market for a new patentable version of fluoxetine, marketed as Reconcile for dogs, has provided a new source of profit for the pharmaceutical company.

This is the best site for show grooming a Brittany complete with pictures: http://www.brittanygrooming.com/

Black & Silver genotype: atatkkEE - homozygous for tan points, non-black and normal extension. Will be black-and-silver (this and atatkkEe are actually the only genotypes which will result in a black-and-silver, making it just about the most recessive Schnauzer colour). Salt & Pepper genotypes: awawkkEE - homozygous for non-black and normal extension, homozygous for wolf grey and tan points. Will be salt-and-pepper awatkkEE - homozygous for non-black and normal extension, heterozygous for wolf grey and tan points. Will be salt-and-pepper (wolf grey is more dominant than tan points). Black (carrying Salt&Pepper and Black&Silver) genotypes: awawKkEE - homozygous for wolf grey, black and normal extension. Will be black (genetically wolf grey). awatKkEE - homozygous for wolf grey, black and normal extension. Will be black (genetically wolf grey, carrying black-and-silver). atatKkEE - homozygous for tan points and recessive red, heterozygous for black. Will be black (genetically black and black-and-silver). So, two blacks: awatKkEE x atatKkEE Can produce: atatkkEE (black-and-silver); awatkkEE (salt & pepper); awatKkEE (black); awatKKEE (black); atatKkEE (black); atatKKEE (black) Or two blacks: awatKkEE x awatKkEE Can produce the same as the above plus awawKkEE (black) & awawKKEE (black) & awawKkEE (salt & pepper) & awawKKEE (salt&pepper) One of the blacks may also be heterozygous for red (Ee) which would give more genotypes as above but with the Ee variation. It is also possible that both blacks are Ee & by chance there were no red puppies.

There was less knowledge about the importance of vaccination, so probably a lot of pups died young. I remember seeing strays that were sick with distemper when I was a child.

At 20 weeks, he is still a baby puppy. You migt want to consider entering the 3-6 months sweepstakes as well as his breed class. Sweepstakes are usually judged first thing in the morning & you & your puppy will be in the ring with lots of other baby puppies - great practice at having other baby puppies around & behaving & being stacked. You may find that he behaves better in the breed class after the practice in the sweepstakes. Also, it's a good idea to let the steward know that you are a new exhibitor so they can tell you what you need to do in the ring. You need to practice having your puppy trot on your left side with your puppy on the inside of a circle, and a triangle. You can take food in the ring, so you can use food to train him to stay with you. Practice stacking him in front of mirror if you can, or at least lean back and make sure he looks balanced on the side nearest you and make sure the legs on the side away from you are parallel with the ones closest to you. Your local all breeds dog club probably holds show training classes. It is worthwhile contacting them & going along for some practice sessions.

KK - your posts about the pressures on uni's is accurate. I can attest to that from non-dog-related academic activities. From the uni's point of view this was just a seminar to act as a vehicle for PhD students & try to get some funding for research. I've gone to some of these events for my non-dog-related work & experienced similar spottiness in presentation & quality of talks to that described by people who this seminar. For rigorous peer-reviewed research you need to go to the quality science journals. The good news is that 250 people attended this seminar, and there can be no doubt that pedigreed-dog breeders are interested in these topics and willing to engage in serious debate. Uni's are also supposed to consult stakeholders to get ethics approval for their research. The attendance by the pedigreed dog breeders and owners makes it clear that we are stakeholders and should be consulted. I think this is a good thing and may lead to more informed research in future.