ish

I looooove my springer and use it most days during the mild weather. I bought a new one this year after having the previous one for over 10 years (and it was second hand when I got it) Never been pulled off the bike and trained 4 dogs for the ET with us, as well as keeping the show dogs fit

Mine is attached under the seat but I do secure it with a screw through into the bike.

[And all the studies come to the conclusion that early de-sexing will increase health risks (it is not only cancer) and ligament and joint issues.

But we aren't talking about EARLY desexing, we are talking about desexing at maturity

I breed German Shepherds and the owners of a pup I bred had the JPS surgery suggested to them by the vet when they went for the pup's vaccination (she wasn't lame but had the typcial GSD puppy looseness in the hind end) They actually did xrays and said her hips were bad - I sent the same xrays to a specialist who said there was no issue at all. Anyway, my research into JPS at the time said IF the puppy showed severe signs of HD at that young age, the JPS procedure could be of benefit. If there was any hesitation that the puppy didn't have problem hips, there was no value in doing JPS as the other surgeries for HD available when the dog is fully grown are as, if not more, successful in ensuring the dog is pain free and sound - in the case it goes on to actually have a problem. There was no real disadvantages of the JPS aside from unnecessary surgery.

I wouldn't go ahead if it was my pup

Some of the less common ones I've had for my GSDs:

Checa

Monza

Bouncer (registered name Crowd Control)

Peach

Mittens

Yoshi

Termi

Yasso

Sia

Chompy

Spix

Mars

Norton

Blyss

Basically, this small white fluffy (ain't it always...) blindsided me and Thistle while we were talking to the trainers over our tasks for the next week. It came up behind us and apparently came on fast (obviously neither Thistle or I could see it coming from behind, so this is what i was told afterwards). It went right up in her face but Thistle managed to stayed in her drop, watched it, then looked at me. I wasn't very useful, I was "what should I do?" but I tried to be calm, keep the lead loose, said "leave it" and "good drop" praising thistle for staying in her drop.

I read this thread quite a bit but this is my first post here. My reactive dog is coming up to 13 years old now and has mellowed in her old age, but I still find this thread interesting

Thistle, I think you give your dog too much choice in these situations with the things that trigger her reactivity. Instead of taking control, you seem to adopt a bit more of a wait and see what she'll do response - and thats not always going to end how you'd like it to. In this scenario, all was well - she told the dog off without hurting it, the dog didn't retaliate (and wasn't of a size that would have been a huge threat), no harm done. But what if it had been a bigger dog, with a nasty intent?

When I sought help for my girl, leadership was the main lesson I had to learn. When I left my dog to make choices, she didn't always choose the right ones - so I had to always make the decisions for her. That worked 2 ways - I always took her out of situations where she felt she needed to react, so nothing bad ever happened again and because of this, she eventually trusted me enough that I could put her into situations where previously she would have reacted. She knew I would keep her safe. I completely took away her decision to meet other dogs - she wasn't allowed to at all, not for months and basically not until she stopped worrying (and then I would only let her meet dogs I knew were ok) Happily she got to the point where I could even trial her and do the out of sight stays without her worrying about dogs around her.

Any unknowns, unexpected meetings, dogs you don't know etc - high tail it out of there! The little dog showing up would have seen me put myself between Thistle and the dog, and take her directly to the car while it was removed. That dog wasn't something you could control so it was never going to be a good learning experience. Don't leave it to chance, missing out is better than having a bad experience.

Its really lovely to see how hard you try for Thistle, and I hope what I've said helps

I've had good success with Royal Canin Maxi Light in the past for my good do-er! She was able to have a decent sized meal of it whilst keeping her weight at bay, so she wasn't starving and scavenging like she did with tiny quantities of normal food. Bulking the meals up with veggies is a good idea too and my girl learned to love carrots as treats

Also, having their pedigree registration certificate in the breeders name has nothing to do with ownership of the puppy - lots of pet puppies stay forever in the breeders name.

Something people could watch for, prior to the bitch actually getting pyometra would be weird seasons. Or barely there seasons. Amber's have always been odd, which may be her or may be her other condition (liver shunts). I don't know if there is any connection with her other condition and Pyometra as dogs with her condition don't tend to live long enough for it to become a problem. Whilst her bloods aren't normal they aren't really tragic and she isn't prone to getting other sicknesses. Of course other dogs could be operated on with less stress.

My old girl, who was bred from, and my sisters old girl (never bred) were kept entire into their older years - neither of us had any great plans to have them desexed. I had really always intended to have my girl done but as she got older and surgery became more of a risk, I decided against it. Then both these dogs at about age 9 started to have strange seasons, more frequent, heavier or split seasons - basically things started going wrong and the pyo chance increased. Both were desexed at age 10 and what a relief to not have to worry about that anymore in much loved older dogs. Both had significant cysts on their ovaries. My sisters dog has had a mammary strip to remove a growth on one side but thankfully at 12.5 and 11 years old they're well and happy.

So, you can be as careful as you like with management but you can't control everything.

I've got a 6 month old GSD puppy and a 9 month old corgi pup - they're good friends, and both being working breeds are quite similar in energy/play styles. However the GSD pup just pummels the corgi into the ground with her roughness and size advantage (and she's not a big GSD) - when they play together I put the GSD pup on a long line so I can have some control over the intensity. There's no way they could be in the backyard together unsupervised. I also find that the GSD values her little friend so highly that she loses all focus around her, which hinders her training and again makes it difficult to umpire their play. I wouldn't trade either of them but just wanted to share my experience

Previously I've had a 3 month old corgi with an 8 week old GSD which worked perfectly, and also young adult corgis with any of my older GSDs has worked really well too

So sorry you had to say goodbye to your special friend Maddison She was a very lucky girl to be so loved with you and your family. Thinking of you

The original question wasn't from PossumCorner - she was just thanking a poster for some advice she found helpful to her own situation!

It wasn't the name I had picked out for her, but there's a good reason for it and it was her name from the moment she was born! Didn't know at the time she would be the one who stayed but it was too late to change it then :)

Thought I would share a couple of photos of my 5 month old GSD puppy Mittens :)

One short video of one dog does not represent a whole breed and its health. Anyone in Sydney over Easter should come see the German Shepherd National show and trial (also herding) for the real life animals that represent the breed in this country

Beautiful puppies, congratulations :) You've done really well in stressful circumstances and should feel good about your choices now that everyone is safe and well.

I had a tiny GSD puppy born in my last litter - 250g or thereabouts . He thrived on his own with very minimal intervention (I made sure he was plugged in for the first few days but that's all) and was the same size as his litter mates by 6 weeks.

My sister asked one of the dog food companies about coloured plastic bits she found in dry food and their answer was its probably pieces of ear tags

Although same-sex aggression does seem more prevalent among German Shepherds as I know other people that can't run bitches together because they will try and kill each other.

Yes I would agree with this. I've had a few instances of fights amongst my GSD girls. They generally get along well until maturity at about 18 months/2 years and usually it involves hormones either due to seasons or being in whelp. Worst fight caused a broken leg to one bitch and puncture wounds for the other bitch and myself - these are not the kind of fights where a hose or loud noises will break them up, physical separation and waiting for them to let go is the only option. Once they've fought, they're enemies for life and require careful management.

sable GSDs are "black and gold" or "black and mahogany"

Black and gold GSDs are black and gold or black and tan. Sable GSDs are sable or grey. Sables are not called black and gold.

Mahogany - there's no such colour in GSDs although some breeders, particularly overseas, do use it to describe rich red gold colour.

I think something along the lines of what HW just posted is perfect. Anyone considering fostering a WL GSD should already have done research and know a bit about what to expect - so the finer details need not be included. Some cutesy stuff like that she enjoys playing in water or toys etc is good as it reflects her individual personality but I'm another who feels the sob story attracts the wrong sort of people

Beautiful dog in lovely surrounds - looks like an awesome way to spend a morning

Aww!! Adorable! Lovely to see them on one of my most favourite dogs :)

The lake is generally pretty safe but I've heard Vic park is a free for all at times so I don't risk it

My dog that was on cortisone long term definitely suffered from weakening of the enamel of his teeth and they quickly wore almost completely down to nothing.

I've got a Lazor too and love it for my GSDs

The GSD adult kibble is much bigger in size but smells the same. It won't do her any harm if she's not overweight to stay on the puppy longer. I doubt she would turn her nose up at the adult but there's no rush to change over either