mersonmalinois

You bring up a good point. If the dogs are not in high demand/use, why bother to train them? It's awesome to have an elite dog team, but if their not utilised but every blue moon, I suppose the handlers will have a great time training? I personally feel the dogs on the video are a great liability. If the hostage who sat down in the car had sat up, the dogs would have nailed that person too - they do not discriminate as they are into biting whoever is in their line of vision. They are not able to be called off and they do not have a reliable out - so they are a liability if they attack an innocent person. The dogs in the video are suicidal in my opinion - they live for the bite at all costs and would die before losing out on that opportunity. Impressive dogs, but not trustworthy.

How long does one of the French hit hard & fast dogs last in the streets? It would seem their working career would be short lived due to their intensity and disregard for their bodies.

The more I think about the French dogs, the more I worry about them. Their balls-to-the-wall drive/athleticism is so cool to watch, but truly they are going to get injured/f*cked up because they have no respect for their bodies nor where they are going when they strike. I wonder if they set up a scenario where the perp is on a roof of a tall building if the dogs would realize and respect where they are. I think they would fly over the top of the building and would go splat on the ground. Control of dogs like that is SO important and their health is dependent on wise handling.

I visited the USPCA website and saw the results from the police trials. Rudy won 3rd place in obedience and 8th in agility.

I agree with you 100%. Control is paramount, not just athletic ability/drive. I LOVED the call off in the final sequence of Rudy's video - the dog is listening and responding to his partner/handler. You can tell he loves working with his partner. There is no way the French dogs would have done that as they are only focused on one thing - getting the bite and that's about it. I was disturbed that the French Malinois had to be pulled off the perps each time, but maybe that's how they want them to be?

From the pics, they do look a bit too thick for greyhounds. People always complain about GHs being too skinny, but that's their proper fitness level. Btw, those dogs are BEAUTIFUL!!!

Your dogs would be the ones to sell you on it. You can tell if a food, super premium or otherwise, is good by the condition of your animals. If their skin, coat, teeth, eyes, muscle tone, eagerness to eat are all top notch, then the food is worth the money spent on it. ;)

YAY!!! Pics, pics, pics.....can't wait to see all these stunning handlers in their threads!!!

I LOVE seeing the pics of the show outfits! As most of you know, I am the ultimate clothes HOUND!! Norskgra, can't wait to see you, Maria and ellz in the outfits. Warley too!!! I hope luck flows freely to all of you and yours.

Oh Lord, I cannot even waste the space here on the forum for all the stuff I have accumulated for the dogs over the years. I love my British slip leads for agility (I think I have 5 different colours/lengths) I love our agility equipment in our backyard (a-frame, teeter, dogwalk, jumps, tunnel, table, tire jump, weaves, etc) I love the 25+ fluffy crate pads of various designs for the "kids" But my most favourite things are our two East Coast Metal crates for transporting the dogs. Those are the most expensive items I have bought for them too.

Thunder, I wish you had gone shopping with me yesterday at Syms...many lovely skirtsuits in your size! I found two lovely pantsuits for a friend and one skirtsuit that I will judge in.

Maria, Truly, you would be surprised about sizes. Also, I LOVE to shop at Syms (the place that has the killer deals on outfits) and I may find something to suit you and your BSDs. Sus

Maria, I don't charge anything for my suits or accessories nor do I even want postage. If we barter something, great, but I want others to get enjoyment from my clothing. What size do you take? If you are near me in size, I will reserve my next batch for you. Just let me know if you are interested. The box is scheduled to arrive in Oz in 4-10 days. Last time I sent a box it took FOREVER! This time I wanted to speed up the process. The box weighed around 16 pounds. LOTS of fun things in it.

I went through my closets and packed up several show outfits to send to Oz. Does anyone else share/exchange their show clothes with others? When I tire of an outfit, it usually has a lot of wear left. Just wondering what others do with their show clothes.

Nice job on your jumps! You can make weave-o-matics with the same pvc piping. Super easy, super cheap. Have fun with your training. p.s. Here is a website that shows the design and way to build the weaves. http://www.agilitytrial.com/dog-agility-equipment.htm

Like others have mentioned, canned food is fine for some dogs and not for others. I don't think a blanket statement "canned food is bad" is a fair one. From time to time I use a bit of canned food to flavor up my dogs' meals. They love it and there is no yucky poos to pick up.

SO SORRY to hear about your dog. Please know heaps of positive wishes, prayers and hugs are coming from Texas.

My dogs line up in the bathroom to get it done. I do the external method too. No big deal, just stinky. I'm sure they feel much better after it is done.

Amen, Morgan!

My dogs under 8 years of age get yearly vacs and those over 8 do not. Now that Texas allows it, I have the 3 year rabies given (it used to be yearly for our state). I personally feel pets are over-vaccinated.

We have a blind dog with hypertension, but he is not diabetic. He was diagnosed a year ago June.

Hugs to you and Stewie. He is a gorgeous boy! We lost our Rottie boy "Gunther" to osteosarcoma almost 7 years ago when he was 7.5 years old...our hearts are with you during this difficult time.

We remove all declaws from our puppies when they are a couple of days old. Cut them off and use surgical glue to close. Easy. I have seen dogs have the surgery to remove dewclaws later on in life and it is much more difficult. Often they will chew on the sutures and scars may happen too. If I had an adult dog with dews I would not bother to have them removed.

Are there professional handlers in Oz that specialize in terriers/coated breeds? Hire one of them to put your dog's coat into proper show pattern/texture. Can your puppy's breeder suggest anyone?

Your kidding.........right ? I'll never eat that carp again Our imitation crab meat is made with some sort of whitefish, maybe cod. No tripe in our blend (thank God!).