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ish

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Everything posted by ish

  1. Lavelle is still a popular choice amongst GSD people
  2. It’s important to note it can be much, much quicker to get to the point of no return than this video depicts - don’t think you’ve got time to stand around wondering, get in the car and get to the vet (I understand in this video those around didn’t know what was happening, but for those playing at home you DO NOT have time to wait)
  3. RSPCA put an end to ear tattooing a few years ago unfortunately
  4. I heard one of the animal lib representatives use this phrase on telly and it’s really stuck with me (because it’s such bullshit, not because it’s deep & thought provoking) In the past 6 months I’ve had my 2 very old dogs put to sleep. Did they want to die? I’d say no, though I didn’t ask them. Once, I put a dog to sleep for behavioural reasons, she definitely didn’t want to die - she was young and healthy. Is there ever an animal who wants to die? We, the humans, get to make the call and get to make it humane for their best interests. My animals definitely passed away humanely, despite any protests about it anyone not involved in their situation could imagine they had. I wonder if you’ll remember those words to yourself when it comes time for you to say goodbye to your pets?
  5. Puppies change so much week to week before they go to their new homes, I can’t understand why a breeder would allow someone to choose from a photo at 5 weeks anyway. I tell my buyers when they visit not to get their heart set on the first puppy that runs to them or the one that sits on their foot because I spend hours and hours with the pups before they leave for their new homes and there’s no way you can get that insight into their personalities in a visit or 2. Once you get your puppy home, the others turn into a distant memory anyway. Good luck
  6. This topic is one that resonates with me after experiences in recent months with 2 of my elderly GSDs, one 12.5 and one 14.5 years old. Both on different occasions with different vets and different health concerns were inaccurately diagnosed mainly because the vets couldn’t get past the idea that their issues with due to arthritis/bad hips. Yes, they both have arthritis to some degree but both also were hip scored in their youth and have good mobility for elderly dogs. The older dog actually ended up hospitalised for 4 days with a huge temperature/infection when I took her to my own vet for a second opinion later in the day after the local vet said she had arthritis and suggested I have her put to sleep (and failed to take her temperature) Thankfukly she’s home and well again now Its so hard to find a vet that you can trust
  7. Sorry you had to say goodbye to your furry friends - thinking of you xx
  8. The key is to find a vet you trust, then you can be confident the bill at the end of the day is justified. I do agree it isn’t easy, and the trial and error can cost both your pocket and pet. I travel 2 hours to see my trusted vet for this reason and he’s never let me down Hopefully someone will be able to recommend a good vet near you
  9. We made one for my old dog (and pups). My house has a verandah and about 3 steps off it directly in front of the front door. My old girl was getting down without too much trouble (though it was often just leaping from the top) but if she wasn’t really concentrating she would often run out of push to get back up. We were able to build the ramp off the end of the verandah so the stairs remain as they were. I used the thick rubber mats from Bunnings glued over the top and it’s got plenty of grip, even when wet. The hardest part was training her to change her routine to going around to the ramp, and almost 12 months later I still have to block the steps off before I let her out - she’s good at remembering to come back via the ramp but not down.
  10. ish

    My 2 Oldies

    Checa went back to the vet yesterday. Earlier in the week she had a couple of funny turns, very minor, only a few seconds but enough to have me worried. My vet could actually see good improvements with her perception and coordination - I guess it’s hard to see it yourself when you’re constantly around them and they’re still away from what you consider normal for them. He’s prescribed another med which will hopefully resolve the new issue and believes there’s still tricks up his sleeve for the future, which gives me good piece of mind. I’m away next week for nearly a week and Dad is house sitting, I’m worried about leaving the old girls but neither would enjoy such a long trip away from home. Dad does a great job looking after the dog but might not pick up on the little things
  11. I couldn’t get past that the dogs we were guessing were made up of at least 10% of each of 3 different breeds - to me that could still leave a lot of dog! If it’s 70% lab and 20% beagle you wouldnt expect to see many if any traits from the 3rd breed, or even the second. Also ageee that Kelpie was a necessity in the breed list and gave up
  12. Were you giving her calcium during whelping and after the puppies were born? I guess everyone you ask will do things different ways, but my girls are supplemented with oral calcium in fairly high doses from birth to weaning. It certainly seemed to help one of my girls who found it hard to settle and concentrate on being a mum and other trusted breeders/friends swear by it too which makes me stick with it. For GSDs it’s common to use a up a 1lt bottle of calcium for the bitch
  13. My advice would be not to believe all that you see in photos on websites and actually go at meet some dogs of the breeders you’re interested in. Lots of photos can look extreme and concern people, but the dogs don’t look like that in everyday real life. If you were you were upfront about your need to have a fairly chilled out dog to the breeder I’m sure there would be a working line dog that would suit - but I also think you’ll find what you’re looking for in show lines too. Not everyone breeds for extremes. Working line dogs also suffer the same health issues and there are plenty of dodgy breeders breeding them too - it’s a big problem when they sell highly unsuitable dogs to anyone with the money. Go out to shows/trials/obedience clubs/the local dog walking places and find out where some of the GSDs you like come from Personally I have show lines which are sound, happy and healthy and we have lots of fun together so I am always saddened to hear people recommending against them
  14. This is the only time I have an issue with people asking about price in the first email, these nuisance one line emails. An email outlining who you are and what you are looking for, that also asks for price will usually be well received by breeders A breeder who keeps one or 2 bitches and owns their own stud dog, or uses the closest local stud, doesn’t show their dogs etc is sometimes cheaper. I’ve seen pups from such a breeder for $1800 in the last 12 months. Breeders who use imported dogs/frozen semen etc have dogs that are proven in show/work often charge more as they have additional expenses/the bloodlines are more sought after. There’s plenty in between too, small breeders who breed well and big breeders who do a bad job. I can understand price being a factor but there are lots of other important things to look into also. Definitely look for good low hip and elbow scores, breed surveyed stock (or if not, why not - sometimes there’s a good reason), testing for DM is available but not mandatory and of course temperament. Puppies that have been socialised and exposed to lots of different experiences. In working lines it’s a bit different but health testing still applies, as does temperament - though you might be looking for different attributes
  15. ish

    My 2 Oldies

    Does photobucket still work here? Chili - first pic taken Nov last year and second pic taken this week Checa - first pic Nov last year and second pic this week Chili still enjoys getting out so I’ll take her to training on Sunday to celebrate her half birthday - definitely some chicken nuggets are in order. We had a party and cupcakes for her birthday last year. Checa prefers to stay at home with her boyfriend Monza (he’s 10 and my 3rd oldie) and enjoys a wander in the paddock to sniff where the bunnies have been
  16. Expect to pay $1800-$2800 for a pedigree GSD puppy from health tested stock. Good luck with your search
  17. ish

    My 2 Oldies

    Thanks RP, nice you understand The girls have both had good days today so I feel happier about things. Hoping for lots more good days for them
  18. ish

    My 2 Oldies

    I’ve got a couple of elderly GSDs and whilst I know how lucky I am to have had them in good health into their old age, sometimes seeing them declining is hard. Chili is 14 and a half this weekend. She’s bright, happy and always hungry! Last year she started having difficulty with her back end, dragging feet and stumbling a bit and was diagnosed with (I think) lumbar-sacral instability, which is a degeneration of her spine. She’s had good improvement with cortisone and at the start of this year I was able to half her dose, but she got a bit wobbly again recently so is back on 2 a day. She has fish oil and omega oils, but no other medication so far. My vet said we can try rimadyl and other such things if need be. She’s very bright in her mind and her body lets her down a little bit - she’d love to play fetch and chase the young dogs Checa is almost 12 and a half, very sound for her age and up until a fortnight ago had no health complaints. I noticed she seemed to be bracing when I was out with her one day, and she lost her balance and toppled over the same afternoon. She was well in herself and still hungry - didn’t look like vestibular to me. The local vet was little help, said it was her hips due to her age despite it not matching her symptoms. My vet says it’s something CNS affecting her perception, possibly brain inflammation/trauma/tumour. She’s a few days into a course of cortisone to try to reduce inflammation. I thought she was a bit better the last few days but today she toppled over and lay there as though she wasn’t sure what was going on. After a bit she got up and wagged her tail and seemed to get on with life again. I don’t want to put her through any suffering for only a bit more time, but feel she’s still happy enough to see if the cortisone helps Why does time have to fly with our beloved pets?
  19. I lost my GSD puppy at this age last year due to seizures and I’ve been suspicious it was a vaccine reaction. She had her vaccination on the Monday and showed some strange behaviour Thursday with first seizure that night. She was never normal after that, and lived in a zombie-like state for almost a week while we tried medications but was then put to sleep. None of the vets we saw thought it was vaccination related and likely a brain infection, brain tumour or encephalitis Wishing you a happier outcome with your pup
  20. What a terribly sad tale and ordeal you’ve been through - I am very sorry you had to make the hardest decision for your pup. As a breeder of a different breed which is also prone to HD, providing the scores of the parents of the pup were low and your pup was exercised and fed appropriately, unfortunately you’ve just been dealt a very unlucky hand by Mother Nature. Hopefully your breeder is sympathetic at least Wish you much better luck in the future
  21. I’m a GSD breeder - short answer is nope, that’s how much they cost. Everything costs more now than in 2002, vet costs, health testing, stud fees, canine association charges etc. Even BYB dogs are over $1000 with no health testing or support! For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t place a female GSD in a home with another female. Sure, sometimes it’s fine but when it’s not it’s hell for everyone
  22. Could you email BPP again and hope to speak to someone else who might be more sympathetic? Pretty disappointing you had such crappy treatment, from a company so many of us use with usually good service. Perhaps it was one person having a bad day you were unlucky enough to strike?
  23. My sister had a bitch who wouldn’t stand for a mating, so she ended up doing surgical AI with frozen semen. She did pay an extra fee for the frozen, so yes, stud fee + vet costs + frozen semen fee. Can’t remember how much extra it was, can find out if it’s of interest. ETA The frozen semen fee she paid was $250 on top of the stud fee ($1400) so not like in the OP where it was equivalent to the stud fee
  24. I make up a very weak solution of no tears baby shampoo and wash their face in the bath - a weak solution doesn’t need much rinsing so although they don’t like it, it’s not too much of an ordeal. I do it last thing before they get out
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