mita

SSM, that's a beautiful photograph, made me teary. :) Speaks volumes about the temperament of that lovely dog. And your imports from him. A video that also spoke volumes to me, was when the final Tibbies were being judged for Best of Breed at Crufts last year. The judges announced winner was a British breeder with his little black & tan dog. That breeder didn't turn to judges & audience and raise an arm in victory. He looked straight at his dog, who was looking up at him, with tail wagging... & opened his arms. The little mite flew up into his arms for the biggest cuddle. Undoubtedly had been there lots of times before. :) And, yes, a NSW breeder had already imported a tib from this man. I show pics like that and yours, to people interested in getting a pet. So they can see the wonderful results that registered breeders get ... by putting all together .... temperament, health, conformation.

Sorry, didn't mean to confuse. I was telling you all that they do .... real-life socialization and experience in real-life situations. Then the training is classic training as it's always been .... no deviations into the less usual.

Yes .... happened as Rosetta said. The video makes a point right near the start, that it's not meant to be a world-wide naming of 'new' breeds. It's just for the purposes of their shelter in their part of the world. They're kind of saying 'Looks like.......'.

Sandgrubber, the Military Dog breeding & raising program up at the Amberley Base in Q'ld, has real live socialization with people, of puppies from the time they're born in the specially designed unit. Then they interact with people around the base.... the officer in charge once said he often had to rescue a puppy from swinging on a lady's skirt. When all vaccinations are in order & they're getting closer to 4 months of age, the puppies are taken out to community events. I saw them at one of the Council's K9 Capers in a local park. They loved all the attention.... draped over people's shoulders & nodding off. At 4 months they go out to live a normal family life with civilians in the community .... who are encouraged them to take them out and about. Later they're returned to the base, extremely well socialized, to start actual military training.

Very well said.

A big yes to this.

Along with the Chihuahua called Bruiser that I know of, too. Named after the Chihuahua, Bruiser, in the movie 'Legally Blonde'. Heaven help us if being a 'bogan' means you have to call your dog 'Cupcake' or 'Sweetpea', for safety reasons. :) And also if your dog's name is on the' Is This Person a Bogan?' checklist. :)

Exactly, BlackJaq. Shows how research can come up with something that sharp-eyed observers have already noticed. And I think, again, you're spot on, in what significance this has for people who want to breed a particular kind of dog that has not-readily pet-compliant traits in its standard. May also likely mean that certain of those traits don't lend themselves to the show situation. As that paper said... high level in traits such as inquisitiveness.

Your comment about selection for behavioral traits in working dogs differing from what would be selected for show dogs, is borne out by this research paper. http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/AnimPersInst/Animal%20Personality%20PDFs/S/Sa-Sc/Svartburg%202006.pdf Interestingly, sandgrubber posted this paper up in the research papers section of DOL. No, what I meant was that the standard Labrador Temperament would be completely incorrect for a Working Anatolian Shepherd for example. Just because the OP prefers the particular temperament that their pups have, does not make it correct for every dog. Sorry if I was not clear on this before. Yes, that's the consequence of those findings. A dog with a 'working dog' breed label that's bred for showing tends to have certain differences in pattern of behavioral traits from any of the breeds that are actually used as working dogs. Because the actual working dogs require certain traits, to do that work. Those certain behavioral traits tend not to be consistent with what's required for dogs to be shown... The Conclusion section of that research paper neatly summarizes it. And I think your comments are spot on.

Your comment about selection for behavioral traits in working dogs differing from what would be selected for show dogs, is borne out by this research paper. http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/AnimPersInst/Animal%20Personality%20PDFs/S/Sa-Sc/Svartburg%202006.pdf Interestingly, sandgrubber posted this paper up in the research papers section of DOL. I'd define 'temperament' as 'relatively consistent pattern of behavioral traits'.

You are not alone in valuing temperament in purebred dogs. A good example is P'zazz Tibetan Spaniel Kennels in Sweden. Australian breeders have imported this breeder's dogs & P'zazz has imported at least one Australian dog. This breeder puts temperament early the list of what she breeds for, along with health. And her end product is always the social benefits for her dogs eventually living in a good pet home. I can support that.... I own one of her imported, retired showdogs. Glorious temperament. From P'zazz website: My goal is, and I feel dedicated, to breed with healthy animals, only breed with animals that have good temperaments , and beneath this, frames bred as close to the breed standard as I can, to give lives to tibbie-puppies (so they) have the best qualifications for a good long life and a loving home for the rest of their lives. Her approach fits well with also producing exceptional dogs in the showring. One of her girls won Best of Breed at Crufts.

Ligarde is a family (farm) in northern Finland. More pics of their Tibetan Mastiffs here. They say their Tibetan Spaniel's name is Rasmus. Fantastic little guy, true gutsy Tibbie. He does much of the chasing in that video & doesn't miss a beat around those big pounding legs of the Mastiffs. http://www.liagarde.com/startsida%20engelska/family.htm

No, it's a Tibbie that was rescued by a rescue group some time back. The coat was in a neglected state so they clipped him right back. But that's the look Annie gets on her face when she gets clipped... like a little lamb ready to dance. :) Just like Andy... look at his face, too!

I promise this is the last. :) Beat this.... Tibetan Spaniel takes on three Tibetan Mastiffs. By 3/4 time, the TMs are on the ropes... so they bring in a 4th Tibetan Mastiff. Still can't knock the little guy out. His biggest threat seems to be running into the back of a Mastiff as it flees... & being sat on when a big one needs a rest. :) :)

I love Dr Art Barksworth. If there's a Nobel Prize for Canine Veterinary Medicine, he should get it. :) Veterinarian and canine behavioral expert Dr. Art Barksworth says he has seen this many times before.“We refer to this condition as Partially Recognized Irrritating Canine Knowledge Syndrome. Owners seem to be aware on some level that they are annoying people with their off-leash animals, but fail to give a shit.” said the doctor. His clinic offers a six week treatment program.

And Vienna, all grown up, still sparring with a wagging tail. :) (Still great mates!)

You want a stemroller? Bring on Vienna, the baby Tibbie. :) (The 2 are great mates, actually!)

Pepe, just up the road at Nambour, is one of the Q'ld rescues I can't recomment more highly. 4Paws Animal Rescue. And they presently have a Tibetan Spaniel, Tibby, whose lovely nature (& with other dogs) shows why some of us are Tibbie tragics. In foster-care, so his carer would provide a full description (says she's fallen in love with him.... well, she would :) ) I'm sure 4Paws would be very helpful if the lady has any worries getting to Nambour.... even tho' it's close to Brisbane. Fine people at that rescue... & a lovely dog. (I'm about to mention him on the Tibetan Spaniel list). Scroll down to see Tibby with his big, happy grin: http://www.4pawsanimalrescue.org.au/dogs.html

Westie, until you find Andy's first clip after being in a seriously neglected state, here's a pic from a similar situation. A rescue had to do likewise for a tibbie that came in. No other choice. The look on the face says it all (click to enlarge). I agree how the clipping of a double-coated dog can spell the end of the coat as it was. Our excellent groomer laid it on the line when it became clear that Annie would best be clipped in this climate. She was happy to do it, agreeing with the need, but said I must first accept the risk of permanent changing to the full coat. But, as I'd be doing the same rotation that you've described, that risk wouldn't count.

Don't worry, TT. Annie tells me that !!!! means 'smiley face with love hearts' in Swedish. :)

The University of Qld School of Veterinary Science has its own Adoption Program.... both cats & dogs. We adopted our cat, Sarah, from UQ Adoption. She was one of 30+ nice cats which the University rescued from pounds around SE Qld. The pusses lived at the University for 12 months. They were in a non-invasive research program looking at the effect of different diets. During that time, they had their own big, airy playroom where volunteers came to cuddle & play with them. And it was common to see students walking around with a puss draped on their arm. The Professor in charge of the Unit, would take a different puss each day to lie on her desk as she worked. The cats were given excellent physical & medical care. New owners had to apply by filling out the best screening 'test' I've seen in rescue. And also have a face-to-face interview with staff. The day I was taken to the huge playroom to meet the pusses, I was gobsmacked. They'd been so well socialised, it was like visiting a bunch of well-socialized dogs. Apart from descriptions of the individual personalities, the staff had tested each one for how they coped around dogs .... with ratings. We were helped pick a puss that'd blend in well with our 2 gentle Tibbies. She turned out perfect....the loveliest pet cat & great mate with the dogs. I highly recommend adopting rescue dogs & cats from UQ. Details here: http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/adopt-a-pet

And power to you if it makes your lives easier, sure he may not win Crufts but if he's happy and you're happy I doubt anyone will be tearing you apart. Haha. That can be left to the relatives. :) My Annie's 'auntie' won Best of Breed for Tibetan Spaniels at Crufts. 'Auntie' lives in Sweden (where Annie came from) & her Swedish breeder entered her in Crufts. In sub-tropical Qld, & now a desexed pet, Annie gets clipped of her heavy 'Swedish' coat in summer. Here's Annie's Swedish relative, with Crufts' Best of Breed medal on display. My Annie is the spitting image of this sweet girl (click to enlarge):

Funny you should say that! We had a sheltie with a strong tendency to get hotspots. The vet pointed out how that was ratcheted up along with the high humidity. Never, ever shaved back any of our glorious shelties, nor did they need it. Except for him.

Thanks for posting that. You're right, it's a summary but a very useful one designed to help parents 'see', when supervising children & dogs. I followed the link for the book recommended at the bottom.... about managing kids and dogs. As promised, it fills out the picture. It picks up the point that parents need to manage their children, too, and help them learn. Just as they're doing for the dogs. Puts the two things together. Even the youngest children can learn (by example, over-learning & being praised) some basics for how to behave around their dogs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933562129/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1933562129&linkCode=as2&tag=rbc0e-20

Yes, lady down the road lost her p/b Staffy. She phoned all the pounds, even those just outside our north-western suburbs. She thought it'd make it easy that her dog was a purebred, totally true to the Staffy type. Before microchipping was mandatory here. No luck for days. Then a pound 1/2 hour drive north, phoned her to say a p/b Staffy had been brought in. She drove like a lunatic up to this pound. It was close to closing time. They led her to the cage.... & a very, very Staffy CROSS.... looked out at her. So disappointed ... she made her way back to the car. Glanced at one kennel on her way out. There was her Staffy looking out at her. He was labelled Staffy CROSS. So the p/b was labelled a cross & the cross labelled a p/b. Then there was another Brisbane man we know, whose male German Shepherd went missing. Another p/b & very big to miss! He kept phoning the pound who said only German Shepherd that'd come in was a female. But he was getting desperate... & he went to the pound. Yes, it was his GSD that'd somehow got labelled a female on the paperwork that the office staff referred to.