Scales of Justice

Because of that magical hybrid vigour they all have! Didn't you know?? :laugh:

You mean like inheriting a hip joint from a cross mastif mother and fitting into the hip socket from an 'oodle' father???? Yeah I know what you mean. That should guarantee good hips :laugh: :laugh::laugh:

Crossbreeds are more likely to escape the exaggerated physical features or inherited diseases plaguing some pedigree animals.

What a pearl of wisdom - I don't think. I know someone who had a crossbreed that had an overshot bite and hip dysplasia. I wonder how they figure crossbreeds don't inherit problems just like purebreds do.

Get your vet to test for Rat Lungworm disease

That's exactly what I was thinking and then saw that poodleslave had already suggested it. It would be wise to rule it out.

Some maiden bitches prefer to be in a den type arrangement with a hands off approach to help them settle. Sounds like she is looking for a better place to put her pups. Perhaps the whelping box with a table and sheet over the top (making a cave type den) will help her settle. A dark and quiet room.

Very good advice.

I had a 4 month old puppy who had a similar break and had a pin put in the lower hindquarter. The vet said at the time that it would have been possible for the growth plates not to grow properly and for the leg to be a different length from the other one. After rest and removal of the plaster and pin she slowly made a great recovery and got her CD title after 12 months of age. She was completely normal as an adult. So hang in.

Shooting is very quick and humane if done properly, not my euthanasia of choice but if I was a reasonable from a vet and had say a dog who had a 1080 bait then I would get the dog shot rather than put them through the symptoms of poisoning and the drive to the vet for euthanasia.

We have a vet 15 kms away and if I have a cow who needs euthing they are shot with a high powered rifle standing in the paddock. If I was to get the vet out I would have to get them into a crush then they would require and IV injection - very difficult with an animal not used to being handled int hat way.

I'm sure we would all agree here on this forum that dogs are very intelligent animals. So in that vein, what would the 11th dog waiting to be shot be thinking as all the others meet their fate?

As was showed in the cows in Indonesia footage each cow that came for the kill appeared to be terrified.

Stop for a moment and contemplate the horror.

No it *may* not be a life sentence, I was purely going by what the vet said and none of what he said was positive. He basically said we would be fighting an uphill battle for the life of the dog and it will be costly and time consuming, more than likely continually reoccurring for the life of the dog. He said by about age 4 he would probably have thickened black skin and no hair on his legs etc....but as I said I am getting another opinion.

I have to take the pup back to the vet this morning as he is having an adverse reaction to the ivermectin.

I want to keep the dog and just desex, keep as a pet - but the point is we paid a lot for this dog under the understanding it was a good show/breeding prospect and it is not. That is what my husband is so annoyed about.

And yes bad luck does happen, maybe it was just bad luck.

Talk to another vet. Get a second opinion.

Demodex is treatable and not necessarily a lifetime problem.

Consult your vet for treatment or perhaps get a second opinion.

All dogs carry demodex as latent, just some react and break out for some reason. Demodex is the result of an immune response, but that does not mean that you will have lifelong issues.

It is quite feasible that you could go on with this puppy, after treatment, and for it to have a normal life without recurrence.

dog-owner

When does it all stop, I would love to see what your reaction would be if you were in the same predicament, its an awful situation - I am grieving for my dogs whilst at the same time, feeling guilty because A) i was at work and couldnt protect them or the chickens B) feeling angry and actually sick when I think of that sign and the garbage bags c) i also am trying to calm the community down because the majority of residents want to know their details and are after revenge

You tell me all the things I have done wrong and how bad an animal owner I am and then you can also tell me how to feel?!

Sorry for the rant, Im just sick of it all, I have to look at that street sign where they were left every time I leave my front door.

Sometimes in life there are incidents that just happen no matter how much you try to protect yourselves and others around you from them....

I do feel sorry for your predicament, and I can imagine the heart ache you are suffering. I did not mean to add to your angst - I was talking generally, I hope you can get some peace soon as you obviously did love your dogs.

I am not triviliasing the point of the death of the chooks, but forum members seem to think a gun is the answer to about anything here..."lets shoot the landlord" etc etc.

In my quotes I said nothing about using guns - I advocate a "can't happen" approach on the part of owners of all dogs. If owners figure that some day a gate may be left open and house their dogs accordingly the "oops moment" would not happen and neither livestock nor dogs would lose their lives at all.

Wow sounds like a lot of dog owners need a reality check.

It is not ok for dogs to roam at large and menace, worry or attack livestock.

For those of you that think it is just a few chooks, that is simply irresponsible.

Spend a few months working on the land or for a rural vet and go out to calls for mauled animals.

Just a few chooks

Crisovar,

I agree. All life is precious whether chooks, dogs, or livestock of any kind. It makes me dismayed to read answers here that trivilialse the death of the chooks who probably died a horrible death. All animals deserve respect.

If people love their dogs they will go to whatever it takes to make sure the dogs do not leave their property.

If the dogs leave the property then the onus is on the owner, not the livestock owner. If someone leaves your gate open, its your fault for not padlocking it or leaving your dogs inside a locked kennel instead of a yard that is not really secured.

Too many times I've seen dogs wandering free and I'm sick of being accosted by dogs loose on the street. Its time owners realised that it is THEIR responsibility to keep their dogs in.

I will leave gracefully as i know angelsun is bringing in the goods :laugh:

Nobody here is interested in a one-off demonstration that denigrates the breed we love. Every thread that involves the German Shepherd gets hijacked. There are always other breeds to visit for those who don't like to see the breed prosper in the public eye, which is what this thread is designed for. Constructive comments would be a pleasant change.

wobble with great abandon and constantly stumble...these have gone on to win groups/bis etc....because few judges walk the dogs, or if they do, pay attention to the weakness.

There may be individual GSDs whose hocks wobble, but this is a long way from your statement about GSDs who simply cannot stand upright on their feet and fall over completely on the ground.

To continually focus in on the individuals in this breed that have loose hocks and then overlook the fact that there are many more individuals who are correct, it appears you have a beef about the breed for whatever reason and I don't believe this thread is the place to air it.

By the way, I'm sure we can all dig up the dirt on any breed with unflattering videos.

Bloody irresponsible owners. Some people should not have dogs, let alone dogs that require owners with dedication and maturity.

I agree there are unfit people out there when it comes to owning dogs BUT as breeders we should be sifting out the unsuitable ones BEFORE they get a dog. This is a protection for our respective breeds. No doubt there are always some breeders WHO will sell to the first person who brings the almighty dollar and that is bad for all breeders.

I believe it is up to the breeders who sell the pups to instil in the buyers about their responsibilities of keeping their dogs on their own property and on lead in public.

If people do not have fences or are unwilling to take those responsibilties I deem them unsuitable to own one of my breed.

There is only one way to keep dog hair off carpet - a Dyson vacuum cleaner with a rotating head.

No matter whether you don't physically have a dog on the carpet or not, the dog hair attaches to your clothing and still manages to travel around the house. The Dyson is the only way I know of for making your home look unlived in by dogs.

It takes up to 3 months for the hormones to settle after desexing.

I have seem some hocks that make me cringe but i am yet to see a GSD fall over because their back legs cant hold them up

After looking at the website Angelsun has advertised on her avatar it seems that her expertise is with German Pinschers.

Angelsun,

however many of the dogs fall over because they can't use their own back legs to hold them up

What a devisive statement that is and it is clearly untrue.

Deleted - double post

Wolfen,

It is VERY unlikely to be haemophilia. Haemophilia has never been common in the GSD in Australia and in the past the GSDCA required all sires to be haemophilia tested. As there has been little evidence of haemophilia in recent years these rules were relaxed by the GSDCA which now only requires imported males and sons of imported bitches to be tested.

In any case with haemophilia in the GSD, females are carriers and males are affected. In this case this female would not be affected, but would be a carrier if it were Haemophilia - so obviously it is not Haemophilia.

I agree totally with Poodlefan whose post is very sensible. It is far more likely to be an "environmental" problem rather than anything that has a genetic cause.

They found her in a pool of blood. They tried to get her to a vet but 10min later she was dead. The vet opened her up and said that her intestines looked quite purple and inflamed, like they were dying. She had some small bones in her intestines which is fairly normal i think,

So sorry for your loss. My vet told me that he has done more operations on removal of chicken necks in the intestines than he cares to mention. I would have high suspicions. I do not believe it will be a bleeding disease.

Perhaps black snake??

They found her in a pool of blood. They tried to get her to a vet but 10min later she was dead. The vet opened her up and said that her intestines looked quite purple and inflamed, like they were dying. She had some small bones in her intestines which is fairly normal i think,

So sorry for your loss. My vet told me that he has done more operations on removal of chicken necks in the intestines than he cares to mention. I would have high suspicions. I do not believe it will be a bleeding disease.

First mistake is using puppy pads imo, they then feel its ok to toilet inside and dont understand why they then cant pee on your carpets or mats.

I agree with this comment. Puppy mats are the problem. I presume you leave the puppy mat down because you leave the puppy inside while you are not home. The pup's psyche is for her to pee inside, not outside. It is important to train puppys to use the grass, not a puppy mat if you want a reliable house dog that does not pee inside. The only way to retrain the pup is to remove the mat (at least while you are home) and watch her behaviour like a hawk, so that when she is likely to pee you take her outside and she does not come inside until it is done outside.

Can you consider leaving the pup outside in a pen which has some grass in it while you are not home?

Sometimes anaesthetics causing frequent urination. Check with the vet.

I've been getting stuff from Priceless Pets up till last month with no issues.

Our last mail order from them came from a mailing house at Maroochydore, not the vet surgery as before.

Has anyone had a successful order this month from Priceless Pets? I am a bit worried now after reading this thread.