Salukifan

The other question i'd ask is "how hard to you want to work at putting boundaries around the dog's behaviour and enforcing them". Some of the breeds being suggested are more work for an owner than others. Personally I like the fact that my dogs don't tend to push boundaries with me. Not all dogs are like that.

So you want a trainable, people focussed dog that will deter unwanted attention? Any big dog will do the deterence thing. They DO shed but I think a nice black Labrador Retriever would do the trick. Any big dark or brindle dog would deter people.

Gee there is a lot of misinformation around about dog food. Holistic Select contains a range of ingredients including potatoes, peas, and beet pulp. Those three ARE fillers. There is also a fair bit of information starting to surface that feeding peas to dogs is not great. "Grain free" foods are NOT filler free. Many "grain free" foods contain ingredients just as questionable in terms of dog health as grains. Soy products and legumes are two. Canidae contains flax seed meal - also now questioned in terms of dog health. If food has no fillers, the protein content goes off the scales - not good for any dog. "Grain free" food for most dogs is a fad. We've been feeding grains to dogs ever since we domesticated them. It's companies simply cashing in on pet owners ideas of what is "healthy". My advice? Find out what the breeder feeds. If the dogs are happy and healthy and you're happy with the quality, stick to it. For every person who disses a food, there will be another who is happy. Royal Canin is a case in point. I swear by it. You are better off ensuring that the fat and protein, calcium and phosphorus contents are up to scratch and that the food SOURCE is decent.

Not for money thank God and lets pray it stays that way. Animal welfare and big money often don't go together.

Cream is not listed as a colour option on the Greyhound database. I've seen some very, very pale fawns. As has been said before what colour a dog is registered as may be different to what they actually are. Maybe Whippets got cream from the IG.

quote name='Kirislin' timestamp='1449191588' post='6769598'] Is cream a dilute of liver because I've seen cream whippets. I've no idea how dun/liver got into the breed perhaps it has been there all along and just incorrectly recorded. According to my favourite Whippet colour genetics website cream is a masking gene. Whippets and greyhounds apparently have identical colour genetics. Note that this website lists the white spotting gene. Some of the unusual colours are pretty interesting.

Sable is at the bottom of the K hierarchy (K, kbr, k). "Red" in greyhounds is sable so it's actually a sable to sable mating, which should NEVER produce black because both dogs should be kk. As for the colour originating in Australia, I'd call bullshit on that also. Premier Fantasy's sire was Irish. His pedigree is mostly Irish dogs (with a few US dogs) until it gets back to the 1890s where it was UK dogs, until records runs out in 1820. I'd be very interested in seeing what information the author drew her conclusions from. The author’s source on the dun colour was an article entitled Colour Inheritance in the Greyhound by Gavin Fitzpatrick, written in 1996. Mr Fitzpatrick was at the time of writing the article Keeper of the Australian & New Zealand Stud Book for Greyhounds He was also Secretary of the National Coursing Association of Victoria Inc. and his wife had been a greyhound breeder and trainer tor many years. Her notes on the origins of the colour were derived from discussions in the greyhound press after the article was published. The author goes on to note:

But it doesn't make sense to me when you use colour to refer to genes instead of the visual appearance of the dog. That is because colour can be masked by other colour genes. What a dog is genetically dictates what colours it can pass on. What a dog is cosmetically can be different. Most people interested in genetics are interested in inheritance.

Was reading a paper on Whippet colour genetics the other day and it mentions "dun" in Greyhounds. According to the author, the colour seems to have originated in Australia. She says that genetically "dun" greyhounds should be sables and if mated to red, could produce black. If they are indeed "liver", this colour is unknown in both Whippets and Greyhounds. You can draw your own conclusions about how it got into the breed.

I've coined a saying I think fits these situations: "you're not choosing a dog, you're choosing a lifestyle". Most of the multi-dog homes I know are breeding and/or dog sports homes. They have dogs in work, dogs maturing and retired dogs. They manage the multiples because it goes with "doing something" with their dogs.

This is one of the reasons I specifically asked in my first post for the experiences of those who own more than two dogs. Anedotally no issues between two dogs is common. Triple that number and things can be very different, especially as dogs age or are introduced and when they are entire. Boundaries and rules keep dogs safe in households where there is a pack and where you run breeds where dog to dog issues are not uncommon. "Being a dog" as you see it can mean maiming and killing other dogs. THAT is also "conflict resolution". Best not to forget that when reviewing the experiences of households outside your own. "Let them work it out" is not an option for many households any more than it is down the dog park. I think you missed the point I was trying to make. From an ethological perspective, killing other dogs is not common as far as any data published on the issue in free ranging dogs goes. It may be more common in households with multiple dogs, but you have to ask yourself why that is if it's not that common in free ranging dogs. I expect that free ranging dogs can move out and hide and successfully avoid other dogs if need be. Not so easy in a multi-dog household. I was not suggesting dogs should be allowed to work it out. I was suggesting it is common for them to do so peacefully if the conditions allow it. If the conditions do not allow it, or the dogs are not inclined to pursue this, the likelihood of escalation and injury dramatically rises. Zoos face this kind of problem all the time. In a natural setting, animals can escape and this can be a huge contributor to peaceful relations. In a zoo enclosure, they can't, and animals die, sometimes out of the blue. In the case of two dogs in a household, often there is enough room for those two dogs to adopt measures that avoid trouble. There is nothing like tight spaces in a house to highlight this. Equally, yards at least are big open spaces, but if there are no obstacles to break it up, the only place a dog can go for refuge is into a fence where they are cornered. I'm not saying it is everything because household aggression is a notoriously difficult problem in behaviour. My only brush with it (two dogs, several vet visits, large house and yard) suggests that even when you have an environment that facilitates good relations you don't necessarily have dogs that want or are particularly good at that. Yes, I did. I still don't get the point you are trying to make. I don't see how you denigrating boundaries and rules is in any way justified by your explanation. Your examples of zoos and free roaming dogs, while clearly of interest to you, have little relevance to a domestic household. As you've discussed, the situation is different. I care about how I manage the dogs in my home to ensure continued harmony. That's the subject up for discussion. If you think it is the norm for conflict to be resolved peacefully between household pack dogs then all I can say is you clearly don't have a heck of a lot of experience with households with more than two dogs. Two dogs do not a pack make. The experiences of knowledgeable posters here should at least prompt you to consider that your zoo and free roaming dog behaviour knowledge may not cover the field for household pets.

This is one of the reasons I specifically asked in my first post for the experiences of those who own more than two dogs. Anedotally no issues between two dogs is common. Triple that number and things can be very different, especially as dogs age or are introduced and when they are entire. Boundaries and rules keep dogs safe in households where there is a pack and where you run breeds where dog to dog issues are not uncommon. "Being a dog" as you see it can mean maiming and killing other dogs. THAT is also "conflict resolution". Best not to forget that when reviewing the experiences of households outside your own. "Let them work it out" is not an option for many households any more than it is down the dog park.

There is very little difference genetically between a lion and a tiger. The species can interbreed. This does not mean that their social behaviour is anywhere near the same. We have selectively bred our canine companions over 10's of thousands of years to diminish some behaviours and to encourage others. They are still a territorial pack animal but personally I think comparisons with wolves are unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst.

Rule 1: Eliminate a medical cause for it. I'd get him to a decent canine chiropractor.

This mutation occurs naturally in some Whippets.

Well, its pretty obvious from a pack dynamic who would win any dust up. Supervision, correction and separation when I wasn't there. Visitors can be challenging to pack dynamics and at about the three week stage, they're going to figure that they're staying. Much would also depend on the attitude of the older dog.

Not only unpopular, unnecessary. The oldest dog in my pack is a not far off 18 year old bitch. She has vision issues. Do does the 12 year old mini poodle. The Whippet boys are very tolerant of them. I have heard of cases where the pack turned on a frail dog but touch wood, I can't see it happening in mine.

Over simplistic is right. Most of the more knowledgeable dog owner I know who've had scuffles in their home know what their pack order is. It's when that pack order is CHANGING that you can have issues. Dogs mature, dogs age.. it's a dynamic thing. Anyone with an ounce of dog knowledge knows dogs don't do democracy. But the alph Can we restrict this topic to fights WITHIN packs please? We've had plenty of dog to dog aggression between unknown dogs. SSM is right, there is a stigma that goes with this issue. Some think they are the better dog owners because they've never had issues. Breed, age, sex, sexual entirity all add to the mix. The trick is not to confuse good luck with good management. Crates, for me, are an inevitable part of that management when you get above three or so dogs. So is not confusing what might be normal pack squabbles with serious intent to take another pack member out.

:cheer: :happydance: :cheer:

Use of a good silicon coat spray would probably lessen the the number of "passengers" picked up by these flarfy tails.

Was reading a few posts on the Canberra dog attack thread and the subject turned to fights between dogs in a household. It has certainly happened to me, most notably when my old boy Teddy (undisputed pack leader) passed away and two of the other males decided to debate who was the new boss. A couple of incidents in the following weeks saw Darcy the Mini Poodle pinned on his back by Dodger the Whippet and, not being entirely stupid, he ceded the leadership. There have been a couple of scraps over resources but I control most of the desireables so that rarely happens. My dogs are fed in individual crates and treats are always supervised. When it has happened, a roar from me has broken it up. It is usually just sound and fury with no contact. We've had a couple of vet visits for punctures and scrapes but *touch wood* two or three such incidents over the space of two decades. I don't consider this unusual. Most of my multi-dog owning friends experience similar but most of my friends have entire dogs. What are other pack (more than two dogs) household's experiences?

Can I ask what the big attraction is for anaesthetic free dentals? I can't see how anyone could effectively clean a dog's teeth above the gum line with the dog conscious or at least with its mouth anaesthetised. I have it done on my mouth and I can tell you, it hurts like hell. What happens if an extraction is necessary?

Good trampoline bed with a wool futon on top. :)

Always a challenge when you don't know what you don't know. Popular depictions of dogs simply have them as the same animal in different sized and shaped suits. Of course, that's not the case. I see it as the role of pedigree dog breeders to educate them. :) With some of the more challenging breeds, you're not just buying a dog, you're choosing a lifestyle. I think if that message got better coverage the pounds would be a lot less full.

This is a very important point that is often lost on people who think they "just want a pet". To be quite frank, it gets lost on some people breeding for the show ring also. Lets take Golden Retievers for example as they are so popular AS pets. In Canada, they just about top the bite statistics on kids. You could write that off as just sheer numbers (which is true) or, you could dig deeper. People who breed dogs for hunting need a soft mouth and a fairly high level of activity. Those dogs work HARD. People who think its a great idea to breed quieter dogs as pets might choose calmer dogs. What seemed to be happening for one researcher (and I can't find it now) is that what ALSO went out the window with breeders breeding away from function was bite inhibition and what increased was resource guarding. So does being a "retrieving breed" matter for a Golden Retrieve as a pet? Absolutely it does. You don't want it guarding food (something a hunting dog cannot do if retrieving to hand) and you do not want a hard biter. You may not think it matters when buying a family dog that your Golden Retriever comes from lines with good instincut but it actually does. Function matters. Function determines bite threshold, bite inhibition, independence or people focus, levels of reactivity and protectiveness, and aggression to dogs and people. This is why you need to do your homework on breeds AND find a breeder who has done it on breeding to a specified breed standard informed by function. The whole rationale for pedigree dogs is about predictability of these traits increasing the chances of getting a dog fit for function. I think sometimes that gets lost.