dragonwoman

Most of the affiliated clubs (with Dogs Victoria) that I know of could be regarded as "casual" in that they don't run structured courses of so many weeks duration, you just work your way up and get back what you put in..................plenty of natter time before and after and friendships there to be made...........however many people are time poor and to have the dog they want in the shortest time, they need structure and regularity...................you get what you make of it

Have used Ray Ferguson at Monash for years, used to have scores done by Wyburn before he retired, now use Rawlinson, been s couple of years but last lot I had two done and it was under $800 all up

It is actually cheaper to register before three months than after, might be incentive for some.............

Friend recently had one puppy in a litter diagnosed with "cellulitis" at vaccination site, kept puppy a bit longer but all OK and gone to new home

I have just read the VCA Code of Ethics and there is nothing like this in there so it is a porky by the Whippet Club. I see no difference advertising on a website or in a newspaper. What is important is how one evaluates the prospective buyers and the initial contact is IMO irrelevant. It is purely a sign of the times. when I started breeding in the mid 1970's the standard for advertising litters in Victoria was Saturday's Age Newspaper and the (then) Sun (now Herald Sun). We also sent adverts to some of the Interstate capital city newspapers. There were of course not the options but I'm not sure where this assumption that breeders only breed when they have enough sales. I always bred when I wanted something for myself and as this was mainly only one litter in a year I never maintained a waiting list. And in the days when Saturday's Age was the place to look to buy dogs, the KCC as we were then actually had the first ad in the Dogs For Sale column advising people to contact them for a list of breeders, the larger breed clubs also had regular ads........and if you wanted a good country reared registered pup you looked in the Weekly Times!!!

Any dog's motto, have nose, MUST track.....they can all track but the catch in Tracking is that they must track what YOU want, not what take their fancy LOL............it's all in the motivation and I have seen herding trained dogs track through sheep and gundogs ignore birds and game...................sometimes they even trip over the tracklayer, so intent in their work...................maybe nearest to huskies I have seen are samoyeds, and several have done it well over the years.............so give it a go, your dogs and you will love it!! Dogs are multi-skilled and they soon understand what is wanted by the context.............bring out the harness and watch the tails wag..........

That was my impression, too, reading the Victorian draft laws about dog breeding establishments. The guidelines actually legitimized bulk breeding practices .... like they were supporting a business model, rather than a welfare model. I was gobsmacked to see a research paper contained in their References, where the findings contradicted the inadequate socialization guidelines in the laws themselves. Talk about the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. New Victorian code plays right into hands of big business and legitimises farmimg of puppies hand over fist

The trouble is in today's market, this is what we will be reduced to. Same as the strangle hold that Woolworths and Coles have. I used to think I was supporting a small wine shop, only to find it was part of chain owned by Coles, I think. Even the local "family" funeral director we used recently is actually owned by one of the big undertaking companies

Could some kind person tell me what NSW regs are to do re S/S prizes? Percentage of entry fee? Thanks

I changed vets when mine went to a franchise

Fixed this once with an adolescent boy, quietly watched him eat then go to girl's dish, raised the leg..................bugger it, a bucket of water thrown over his head.................I didn't say a word and he never did it again......just a boy being a boy

Vet Products Direct have some vaccines in their catalogue, you could try their website

Most of my dogs have become more sensitive to noise as they aged, even the ones who couldn't have cared less in their youth about storms and fireworks. Just part of the ageing thing and needing a bit more TLC for the old darlings

The brother of a Border Collie I had many years ago was eventually pts with severe allergy issues which got beyond what his owners were prepared to treat. It was believed to have started from them giving him milk in the dairy at milking in cheap plastic bowls, they were advised these had some coating on them from manufacturing which must have penetrated the surface. Think we know a lot more about food grade plastic containers these days but my dogs all have stainless steel bowls just in case.............and I buy vinegar in glass bottles!!!

That's odd .... in someone else's house , he goes looking for the dog ? I find it very odd too and very rude and disrespectful - honestly he's been asked not to do something and ignores your request? He might seem harmless but i'd go with the dog's behaviour - he has to have done something that you are not aware of. Never force a dog to interact with someone they feel like this about. Trust your dog's instincts - unless they are like it with everyone and the dog has a serious issue. I can't believe people sometimes. I'd believe the dog, this person has done something to her or she connects him with a bad experience.

You can use anything as long as it is same proportions as a SD article or no bigger than. After years of leather SB articles I have resorted to a wood which seems to be preferred by the precious one. Some handlers use a piece of garden hose, which should divorce memories of past experiences with usual articles. In the early days of UDX handlers chose metal because it was not as likely to be grabbed without checking scent by an enthusiastic dog used to a leather SB in UD. Once decoy thing was understood by dog, some handlers went back to whatever, others stuck with metal I had issues with dog committing to correct SD article so I resorted to rubbing with bit of soft microwaved liver, and rewarding with liver for retrieving to me. Weaned off rubbing but still rewarded with liver for a while, with livery smelling hands!! Amazing what you do when nothing seems to be happening......it worked....very positive now. Dogs need to have the courage of their convictions and trust their judgement but sometimes even the best of dogs have wheels fall off and sometimes we never work out why!!

Enlightened vet!!

You'll probably find the person thinks that Bull Terriers are Pit Bulls - every time someone has said that they don't like Pit Bulls because they're so ugly I've asked them to describe one and they describe the classic shape of the Bull Terrier head (which I love!). I think this website is awesome... http://www.pickthepit.com/ I showed it to my OH and he failed miserably. :laugh: Got it right, red nose gave it to me but do all PBTs have red noses? Don't think so. Hear that many council officers believe if it has a red nose it must be one, but so do other breeds!! I have to admit I used to think Bull terriers were pit bulls when i was younger but Cesar Millan showed me I was wrong

Never used a Furminator but do they actually cut coats? if so, it would be removing the black you need and exposing what you don't want?

yes, yes and yes, we have been doing pivot turns, but he and I have issues with them and whilst we are improving, I feel that we would be better to go to left about turns (roundabouts) he does them 50% at least of the time flawlessly, but I believe that the issue is my signaling? the turn? or failing to signal it clearly to him. I'm going to try to get some video of him/me to show what I'm doing wrong (and yes, I believe it's me, not him somewhere) I believe it's a lack of shoulder indication, but have trouble remembering to signal that way I guess I'm looking for confirmation that that is what I am doing wrong??? I think what you call pivot turns are what I call military turns (where you both do a left about)and what I call pivots are what you call roundabouts? lol. The military turn simply involves your dog dropping back slightly so its head rather than its shoulders are level with your leg and a different command to right turns, I use 'back' because I want a slight drop back, then it is just experience and your dog learning to watch your body..........................."every little movement has a meaning of its own" but only old people would remember that song!! Dogs are masters of body language.

Not unusual for very fit females of any species to have delayed menstruation, or if they are below an optimum weight, think it below about 80% of ideal in humans...........greyhound bitches often don't come in until they have a break or retire

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Had a tattoo disappear within a week of a spey!!

Years ago we had a fight on the beach, they had played for an hour but one got too close to the other's owner, dog locked on, after all else failed we carried both into water and dunked offender's head under, he soon let go!! It didn't help the other one's temperament though, gave him the idea he should get in first from then on so I would advise avoiding issues at all costs...................you live and learn