Salukifan

Running the lead under the dog's chest from its collar and bringing it out behind the front legs does the same and provides a lot more leash for you and a lot less leverage for the dog. Works exactly the same as most no pull harnesses. However, if you have to walk a dog on a harness to stop it pulling, have you really taught it what a "loose leash" means? Or is the dog simply avoiding an aversive (the harness pulling on its body). Never ceases to amaze me how many supposedly "Positive' dog trainers are happy to use haltis and harnesses on dogs. At least corrections applied by a trainer are ONLY in play when applied. Haltis are constantly unpleasant for most dogs. They don't pull because you shut them down.

Then don't. For the life of me I do not understand WHY people want to put this gear on their dogs when TRAINING is what is required to stop a dog pulling. Most front attach harnesses cross a dog's chest, restricting their front end movement. Why you'd want walk a dog that cannot fully extend its frontl legs beats me.

Thinking about this a bit more - did the vet eliminate the CRATE as a source of the injury??

This. It doesn't take much to put a nasty tear in a Whippet's skin. If muscle was involved too, that's a bit more serious. I think it's a good idea to separate them for sleeping if you cannot be there to intervene in any disagreements.

No amount of socialisation or training will change a dog's genetic hard wiring for certain traits. Far better to select a breed that's been bred for what you want as an adult and train FOR it than to try to make a dog be what it wasn't bred to be. Besides, what one owner considers "bad" another will consider highly desirable - that's why you need to do your homework on the breeds that best suit you.

This. I think dogs benefit from variety. I feed beef, lamb, pork, turkey, chicken and occasionally duck. Sadly I can't get rabbit anymore and my dogs don't like kangaroo. What size dog have you got - any reason they can't have chicken wings or larger parts of chicken? If your dogs are fat, feed less quantity, not less variety!

Do your homework on their temperament. RRs are hounds. They aren't the kinds of dogs who will turn themselves inside out for you unless there's something in it for them. That doesn't mean they are untrainable (far from it) but they simply don't live to hang off your every wish. I imagine that for people used to working dogs like a GSD, that could become quite frustrating.

Off topic but as the days shorten, if you work full time you might want to consider how much Vitamin D she'll get if she's inside during the day. Growing dogs need access to unfiltered sunlight.

I'd not recommend a double coated dog to someone averse to pet hair

Are you saying that the dog would not have access your yard during the day? I honestly do not think you could raise a happy healty GSD pup in such circumstances and I think, if you were honest about your plans to keep the pup this way, you'd struggle to find a reputable breeder who would sell you one. You are dealing with a forum of passionate dog owners who want their dogs to thrive, not merely survive and hopefully you want the same thing for your dog. 30 minutes exercise and mostly social isolation is not what I'd call a good life for a dog. Did you spend a lot of time outside with your family dogs as a kid? Did both your parents work? Maybe that's a factor that's missing from your consideration of this.

Eddie I appreciate that these are probably not the responses you were wanting or expecting. I agree with other posters that this is not an ideal situation for getting the pup you want to develop into the dog you want to own. You want a biddable, trainable, people focussed pup who looks to you and that will be, with appropriate training, very obedient. But you propose to give it access to you for how many hours a day? I guess you work? You want the dog to live in the garage? Thats mostly social isolation and that's not a good recipe for any people focussed breed, selectively bred for generations to want to be with people. Garages are also quite unsafe places for dogs to be, if you keep a car or other garden related things in there. They also tend to be damn cold. A kennel would be better. Is compromise possible? Can you allow a dog inside, into a restriced area with you, or even crated at night and when you are home? If not, I'm incllned to agree with other posters that you and your chosen dog are likely to be unhappy. Unhappy dogs express themselves through barking, destruction and escape. Not an ideal situation for you or your dog.

Easy, be diplomatic but honest. Explain that you've decided you prefer a particular type and why. Most breeders don't find any difficulty homing dogs. It shouldn't be any skin off their nose if you don't take a pup.

Oh shite. I'm so sorry.

Not before they have finished growing.

Every hole you'd cut in it would weaken it structurally. You could not leave dogs in it at shows or for roadside stops in summer as it has no internal wire doors. It also has no crate or trolley storage and no tack box. Nor does it have a proper rear bumper so where is the spare tyre? The catches on the doors look like they'd shake open pretty easily too. Did you ask him the last time he replaced the bearings? A decent dog trailer is constructed to carry dogs in safety and comfort both moving and stationary. Some of them cost a fair bit of money for a reason. Transporting your prize show dogs in a dodgy show trailer is false economy IMO.

Bugger all ventilation and my guess is no insulation. No internal doors or windows which means you can't open it up at shows. My guess is it wont pass a roadworthy either. I'd not put my dogs in it

The difficulty with upper age limits as I see it is that it doesn't account for breeds (some are going to be going strong when others are flagging) OR is a disincentive to those who DO manage their dogs to keep them sound into older age. What might be sensible and practical if enforced is that JUDGES excuse from the ring any dog they consider unsound (which I think they can already do) and for some instances, require a veterinary assessment before a dog can compete again. I can hear the howls of indignation already.

What does that mean? If it causes or exacerbates injury, that's enough for me.

I have to agree. You get some people who want to take on a special needs dog, thinking it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows and happy feelings (and, let's face it, the admiration of others). Anyone who thinks dogs can't be the victims of Munchausen by proxy Syndrome needs to only search the internet for evidence. Dogs with disabilities can attract a certain kind of attention seeker.

I don't feel sorry for her at all. A chiX chained to a crappy little plastic kennel at night in a known area of snakes, she's an idiot and the poor little dog paid the price for her stupidity. x 2.

Just to clarify this regular chiro will not necessarily prevent a dog from suffering a cruciate ligament rupture. My girl was only at the chiro about a month before she ruptured a cruciate. My understanding is there is that you can do everything to keep the dog in appropriate condition and the dog can still do the cruciate if its going to do so. However there is also no point in wrapping a dog in cotton wool because they are likely to injure themselves. My chiropractor would disagree to some extent. He'd argue while it might not prevent a traumatic rupture, it CAN prevent unnecessary strain on ligaments caused by skeletal misalignment. He has told me that dogs that get 'out' in their hips and stay out are more prone to ACL rupture and it makes sense to me. It may not eliminate every cause of ACL rupture (and structural issues and unnecessary weight are two) but it may reduce the incidence of it. I'd also disagree on the last point to some extent in the context of dog sports. I do not agree that a dog prone to injury should be asked to perform tasks that are going to exacerbate or cause injury. I'd no more jump an unsound dog that I"d jump an unsound horse. You just stop. My poodle's agility career stopped the DAY he was diagnosed with a skeletal malformation that made him prone to IVDD. He was 5 years old and competing at Masters level. I did not as some suggested (and have done) "just finish off his title". It was my responsibility to give him the best quality of life I can for the longest possible time and if that meant retiring him immediately (which the vet advised) then that's what I did. That is not "wrapping him in cotton wool" as he still has an active life but it does mean avoiding forms of exercise I know will exacerbate his condition. Unsound is unsound. A dog prone to the same repeated injury caused by dog sports is unsound. The only appropriate action for an unsound sports dog is retirement IMO.

Just to clarify this regular chiro will not necessarily prevent a dog from suffering a cruciate ligament rupture. My girl was only at the chiro about a month before she ruptured a cruciate. My understanding is there is that you can do everything to keep the dog in appropriate condition and the dog can still do the cruciate if its going to do so. However there is also no point in wrapping a dog in cotton wool because they are likely to injure themselves. My chiropractor would disagree to some extent. He'd argue while it might not prevent a traumatic rupture, it CAN prevent unnecessary strain on ligaments caused by skeletal misalignment. He has told me that dogs that get 'out' in their hips and stay out are more prone to ACL rupture and it makes sense to me. It may not eliminate every cause of ACL rupture (and structural issues and unnecessary weight are two) but it may reduce the incidence of it.

I would. You dog regularly performs an activity that is not "natural" and for which it requires training and a certain level of fitness. Labradors are a breed prone to cruciate ligament rupture. Hip misalignment places considerable stress on cruciates. This is one breed I'd have chiro'd regularly. You can't see ligament tears or partial ruptures and the dog won't be lame.

For what it's worth, I think you have made the right decision. Sadly the kind of homes attracted to such pups are not always the right ones and the chance that such dogs may end up bouncing from home to home is not remote. You have done what is best for these pups IMO.

Of course not all wear and tear is visible in the early stages. I have been asked on many occasions why I have my dogs chiropracted regularly if "they don't have a problem". My answer is that I'm trying to prevent problems, not cure them. I also have my oldies done and frankly I think they are the best proof of the value of decent husbandry. But yes, trialling on the way to and from Nationals? Entering every class a dog is eligible for on every possible weekend? It happens. Some dogs cope, but personally I do question the wisdom of it.