Pjrt
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Posts
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Days Won
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Posts posted by Pjrt
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Speaking generally it seems in an effort to 'stamp out puppy farms' it has become unethical for ethical registered breeders to ACTUALLY BREED DOGS! Along the way in the last twenty years or so something went awry and now it seems to be held up as ethical you can only breed 'when you want something for yourself'.
Unfortunately other factors in the 'war against puppy farms' has led to breeding being legislated out to only the most dedicated and wealthy breeders, and those willing to live in rural and semi rural locations.
Registered breeders need to actually breed dogs as Steve said someone else will fill the demand, not always with the best or ethical intentions.
so many breeds suffer from supply and demand. Breeds like Maltese & ShihTzu. Everyone knows what they are, and every second person seems to own one, but in reality there is a minute percentage of Maltese & ShihTzu that actually are registers pedigree examples. But Jo publics breed expectations have been so eroded that they actually think small mixed breed dogs of Maltese & ShihTzu type are close enough, good enough. Because they just can't find or access registered breeders, and even when they do, there are no puppies to be found. The same thing happens to most breeds that go through a popularity boom. What comes out the other side is usually a diluted expectation of what exactly that breed should be.
It needs to be sexy for registered breeders to actually breed dogs to meet demand, hell even make money *gasp* doing it.
And there needs to be more breeders but everything goes against people becoming registered breeders and remaining registered breeders.
meanwhile the nice big shiny registered wholesale puppy factories actually thrive under new legislation and go forth to become, in the eyes of the general public, the new 'registered breeders'
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Hah I love the man with the monkey toys!
And all the security, walls, bars, boomgates etc is interesting for a perspective on life there.
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Yes!
Depending on how/where you are holidayIng, sweeping landscapes are all well and lovely, and some of them would be great to see, and any neat wildlife you see, but I'd also love some 'street level' pics of a place I've never been, probably never get to. Things like street art, buildings and architecture, people watching, pets, just some little Windows into everyday life there.
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Ooh I get to,see all the gorgeous pics for another year! I stalk
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8 hours ago, DeltaCharlie said:
My dogs only ever get puppy shots. I titre at about 12-15months and then every 3 years. So far I have never needed to revaccinate. Ages are 12, 10, 6, 4 and 2. I would never just assume they are covered and always titre to make sure, but I refuse to vaccinate if it's not needed.
My dogs train and compete in agility regularly which I believe contributes to their high levels of immunity. They would be frequently exposed to low levels of the viruses which keeps their immune memory active and no boosters are needed as a result. A dog that rarely leaves the yard would probably need topping up as their levels would drop without exposure.
This is me too. I've really come around to not doing that first booster 'just because' and would rather test to see if it's necessary.
I think when I talk about only doing puppy shots (which also are probably oversubscribed 'just in case' ) and that's it for life, people mistake me for a whacko anti vaxxer. Not so at all, I firmly believe in vaccination, but am vehemently against over vaccination. I think we have only started to scratch the surface on the detrimental effect to an animals health from repeated unnecessary vaccinations.
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Oh dear, even with my glasses on I read the title as "A new underwear system for me"
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4 minutes ago, Papillon Kisses said:
A cat attacked my little dog. A cat that had been stalking him for a number of months and was considerably larger than him. This was true predatory behaviour when we were out on a walk, my dog on a leash as required by law. I was being very careful walking well away from the cat's property but it went a long way out and sneaked up from behind. Thankfully neighbours were around to help.
It is not hard to contain a cat. Keep them inside with suitable environmental enrichment if you cannot afford a cat run or those roller things for fences.
Ywp years ago now I was walking my enormous Bouvier past a house with a knee high wire fence. A cat came tearing out from the porch jumped the fence and tackle jumped my Bouvier landed on his back and was tearing shreds off him! It was truly the last thing I would expect walking down the footpath with my dog on a lead! It left us both a touch traumatised. I can only imagine how a tiny dog would feel about it
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I have sympathy for cat owners who normally contain their cats properly, but have an unfortunate escape.
I have no no sympathy for cat owners who knowingly let their cats out to roam. For reasons ranging from the nuisance they cause by fighting, toileting, arousing dogs etc, to the position they put others in by say their roaming cat is bailed up by a dog that was minding its own business inside its own property. It is dreadful for the innocent and compliant dog owner to deal with the aftermath caused by the cat owner. And as someone who has run over a cat at large, I can tell you I have zero sympathy if that cat had been let out to roam by its owner. It's a truly awful thing to go through. Or even just the myriad of dead cats in gutters that I see almost daily in the city.
Like I said, if it's a genuine accidental escape, I have sympathy. Let your cat out on purpose to roam free and I consider you a dick of a pet owner who clearly hasn't thought out the consequences to your pets health and safety or the potential consequences to other members of the community.
I don't condone cruelty to cats, don't get me wrong. I am also taken aback by some of the other postings here.
I am am currently without a pet, and have really considered something other than a dog for the first time. But, I cannot condone wandering cats, but I cannot live with the thought of keeping a cat in a state of confinement for life either. Other people can, that's fine, but not for me. So, I don't have plans to get a cat.
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20 minutes ago, Rappie said:
Occasional cases are appropriate candidates for outpatient treatments but always with several caveats, they need daily or twice daily rechecks (usually with a repeat consultation fee), meds, dedicated home nursing care and an understanding that at any point the pet may require admission to hospital (which is best done early on), or as is often the case, euthanasia. It's not the 'easy' option and it will still require a reasonable financial investment as well as a significant time / emotional one and it comes with the risks of further contamination of the home environment, risk of exposure of other animals and so on. It is unfortunately one of those time where prevention is the best cure, as once they are infected treatment is primarily supportive given that it is a virus (and a very good one at that).
Thank you for your usual informative & considered information @Rappie.
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Do you mean health insurance?
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12 minutes ago, Rozzie said:
How do you know that it's parvo if you haven't seen a vet?
I was was thinking the same thing. I find it hard to think a vet would send a parvo case home but not 100% sure how it works in cases like that where there is no finances ?
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11 minutes ago, Paul777 said:
While they're at it, why are cats still allowed to wander, kill native animals in my yard & use my garden as a toilet?
I live in an area where everyone chops down anything green & living, while I plant trees & bushes. Naturally the filthy animals have a preference for my yard.
I'd sunk my fingers into soggy poo while gardening once too often, so I got myself a cat trap & take offenders off to the pound.
I have to agree. Why is it cats can wander and create a nuisance with impunity while if a dog is loose it's an entirely different story. Both create a nuisance and a danger to others and themselves. The tide is turning slowly against cats at large. Can't come soon enough for me.
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Hi. If you go to the 'dogzonline pages' tab at the top of the page use it to search breeders and puppies for sale in any breed you're looking for.
Its likely that if May or June rolls around you won't just instantly find your sex and colour preference sitting somewhere ready to go. Start communicating with breeders now about what you want.
Oh, ps, I see you're in SA. Look up DogsSA and search their website too, or give them a call and ask about breeders, whether there is a GD club here, and also when the next shows are coming up. The majority of shows in SA are held at the DogsSA grounds at Cromwell Ave, Kilburn, most weekends, but there are also a sprinkling of shows held regionally too.
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Juice I just saw a post come up on the Sa groomers group and thought of you. Almost 3 yr old very sight houndy looking lurcher scruffy desexed male looks to have been a family dog.
If your on FB send me a PM here and I'll link you up to the Ad. I'm not allowed to share off the closed group
Ok I got permission to share
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http://www.ava.com.au/about-us/policy-and-positions/topics/veterinary-medicines
Here's what the AVA have to say. Use the links in the text.
It irks me that so many vets just seem to just go with the outdated protocols if no challenge is given by the owner.
Personally I do puppy vacs, and used to think yep, the first annual booster, but now I'm really not sure if that's even necessary. If I got a new puppy I think I'd titre for the first booster to see if it's really necessary. I don't do canine cough at all. I'd certainly not do heartworn injection either. I chose to not treat for heartworn at all but luckily in a low risk zone.
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When I ran my grooming from home I had to have separate biz ins to cover injury to clients dogs, cash and equipment etc. your situation is different. Umm is it possible to have bus insurance that covers the home as well?
Or once you've declared a business at home perhaps it's clear cut in the eyes of insurers that you need biz insurance separately?
Just another knock on effect of punitive laws
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Yup! You beat me!! Thanks Gruf!
Cute dog isn't it. Lucky they had insurance.
They're not a dog that float my boat but Jones sure is lucky to have landed on his paws with the owners he got!
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Boys for me too.
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2 of my favourite places! Lucky dogs.
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Gorgeous!
I was down around grange last night and met a pair of Bracco ! I have some pics of them on my FB if anyone want to see them.
Saw lots of other lovely dogs too. I'm thinking I need one myself
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I have met precisely one oodle with a serious temperament flaw in researching and in behaviour consulting. The owner contacted the breeder, who was reportedly hugely surprised and tried to help and then gave up (the problem was extreme) and withdrew. I have met many oodles that have some problem behaviours but their owners are happy to work on them because the dog is otherwise a good dog they are very happy with. I think it's easy to assume people must be disappointed with these dogs, but I have met people that have been so happy with their designer crossbreed they went and bought another one. I met two Border/poodle mixes recently. Quite different dogs, but both of them were really good companions. Who would think it? Not purebred dog fanciers, I guess. I have met lab/cocker mixes that were gorgeous family pets, and pug/beagle mixes that had broad appeal. I can accept that good dogs come from all backgrounds and still not recommend designed crossbreeds on the grounds that you don't know what their early life has been like, necessarily, or their health. While supposedly we have purebreds for predictability, I have had more clients with purebred dogs that are disappointed than clients with oodles that are disappointed. People have an amazing dog of a particular breed and then they want another one and get a rude shock when they find themselves with a very different dog. Or they thought they wanted x, got one, and then found out breed x is maybe beyond their skills or unsuited to their environment after all. Assuming that there are going to be major problems with a designer crossbreed because it's a designer crossbreed is why purebred dog fanciers don't understand why people want oodles. Talk to people with oodles. They will tell you how great their dogs are. It really is that simple. They will tell anyone that will listen how great their dogs are, just like anyone else that loves their dog will.
Yep, I work with them up close and personal every day, for many years. I have come to love them too. I ask a lot from a dog during a full service groom and the oodles very very rarely cause me any issues. Unfortunately I can't say the same for most of the pure breeds I see. Add to that I rarely speak to a client with an oodle that is anything but delighted and besotted with their fluffball. Call them mutts, or oodles or cross reeds or whatever, they are really popular, on the rise, and here to stay, because people love them.
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Personally I think much of the problem is that we seem to value a dog for its breed or its pedigree or its breeder, rather than seeing the value in the dog itself. Maybe there's something wrong with me but I am for dogs, all dogs, no matter their breed, breeding, breeder.
I think generally we've lost the ability to appreciate a good dog for what it primarily is, a dog (rather than a breed or a pedigree etc)
I've seen superbly sound of mind and body mutts, and rubbish with an extensive pedigree. And vice versa.
A good dog is a good dog. A bad dog is a bad dog.
I see people call all oodles as rubbish, and all pedigrees as superior, for example.
Me, I'd rather say, well lets have a look at it and judge it as a dog first. Just because a mixed heritage dog can't be judged to an exacting written standard doesn't mean you can't judge it as a dog.
Ok I'm probably ranting on here......
Whoa there, Gruf. You're mixing the sensible with logic. :laugh:
I don't disagree that a dog's worth should be judged to some extent on its function but with the oodly dogs, function is an unknown. They can't be claimed to be hypoallergenic, they can't be claimed to be non-shedding, they can't be claimed to be good family pets, and really, they can't be claimed to be anything because it's all rolls of the dice. Comparing an oodly dog to.. a greyhound: The greyhound will be a big dog, probably weighing between 25-35kg. It will have a smooth, short coat that sheds fairly minimally. It will have most, if not all, the traits of a sighthound. When you breed two greyhounds together, you know what the basic template will be. On the other hand, the lab x poodle could be a smallish dog, it could be a medium dog, it could be quite a large dog, its coat could be one of many things. It's impossible to predict which traits from which breed will end up in each puppy and because of that, you can't say it's good for [X] function (such as non-shedding pet) because it's an unknown.
An update for anyone interested, regarding the BIL's lab x poodle.. Yesterday, it was confirmed that its other knee has now gone. Below is a quote taken from the breeder's website:
[breeder name removed] puppies have sound health with a hybrid vigor.I guess that sound health with hybrid vigor doesn't include hips or knees. Their dog will likely be crippled with arthritis before it even gets close to being an old dog. Great family pet, right there.
Cos hybrid vigour is about species not breeds. Actually, I think it was originally about peas.
Oh, I know. And the BIL and SIL are both educated people who should also know better. Arguably, if you cross two unrelated breeds (with no coinciding genetic health issues), you would probably end up with a fairly robust dog, provided body types were fairly similar, and also assuming it is a first generation cross. I think the genetics issue is where people get confused. Multi-generational sounds like a selling point until you consider that recessive genes can be doubled up on in multi-gen mixes and what you're actually doing is introducing the possibility of two sets of heritable diseases, instead of just the one.
Maddy, you're not telling me anything new or different, and I know you're not trying too. I'm the personality type that needs consistency. In the cat world I've discpvered that a moggy is most acceptable... I'm about to buy two purebred Burmese when I have the choice of thousands of moggies. In having said that, it is my personality type. I like precision. I like the expected. I like to know exactly what I'm getting. That's me.
However, back to the point of oodles vs purebreds. All in all, a dog is a dog as a cat is a cat. Most oodles are not walking disasters, and neither are most purebreds. In the end it comes down to the fact that it is just a dog and people just want a dog.
It's also easier to buy a cross bred dog. This bizarre situation we now have where 'responsible' means that a breeder has to put the purchaser through the 5th degree is crap. Most people just want to buy a dog. Most people are responsible enough to be able to do this without being treated like they are idiots.
Every time I read ethical and breeder in one sentence I want to feckin scream. We've made it such an ordeal. We've made it so hard for ourselves.
Most people still just want a dog.
Oh, I'd absolutely agree with you there. After losing Bosley- a very loved, spoiled, cared for, inside dog- we discussed future dogs and made some decisions: for me, a borzoi (for a number of reasons) and I contacted a breeder to put ourselves on a waiting list. Breeder replied and I think we're on the waiting list for mid next year, no worries. Then, after further discussion with the OH, we (he) decided that we (he) also needed another whippet. The OH doesn't understand the dog world all that much so I looked for breeders who had litters planned and finally narrowed it down to one. I wrote them an email outlining our family, our dogs, included a few photos, tried to make sure that everything a breeder might want to know would be covered, including the fact that we were interstate (not many whippet breeders down here). A lot of time and thought went into that email, we're certainly not first time dog owners and I feel that we could offer a puppy a really great home. But they couldn't even be f***ed to send us an email with something like "We don't like you, no puppy". Just silence. We weren't even worth a reply.
I'm willing to give the pedigreed dog world a whole lot of leeway because I want to be reasonably confident that the puppy is coming from a decent home but if I was the average person, I think it's more than likely that a BYB whippet breeder would've just scored themselves another customer. Yes, I get that people are busy and have lives outside breeding but if you can't find two minutes in three weeks to write a one line reply, you can't complain about losing people to BYB because the BYBer will find time to reply.
My post was not meaning to compare an oodle to any other dog, not judge a dog against another dog. But o judge the dog in front of me. Just because I can't refer to a written standard for the curly haired mutt in front of me doesn't mean I can't assess it as having a pleasant nature, a sound balanced body type with apparently good structure. No apparent major faults of body or mind. A functional dog, for a dogs sake.You're missing the point- those things can't be determined until the dog is already in front of you. You could breed a litter of oodles and get HD all though them, scatty, awful temperaments, hair that sheds like a lab and terrible overall structure. Or it could go the other way. Whether or not they produce a dog that has the desired traits is entirely up to luck. The vast majority are not being "developed", they're just crossbreds being bred for money.
No I get that point too. I'm not focusing on predictability because breeding for that is not good for dogs generally, in the long term. We breed for predictability because it's what we want. It's a dead end road for dogs though. Unless we just want a bunch of predictable generic dogs.
I understand that loads of people want that, but loads of other people want to roll the dice and take a gamble. That is after all how we got most of our predictable cookie cutter breeds in the first place.
The rise of oodles is no different and I'm not entirely sure it's trying to standardise varieties of them is a good road to go down. Well just end up with a new set of self limiting predictable cookie cutter breeds.
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Yes Anne I concur.
My post was not meaning to compare an oodle to any other dog, not judge a dog against another dog. But o judge the dog in front of me. Just because I can't refer to a written standard for the curly haired mutt in front of me doesn't mean I can't assess it as having a pleasant nature, a sound balanced body type with apparently good structure. No apparent major faults of body or mind. A functional dog, for a dogs sake.
What the pure breed thing has led us to is the inability to recognise good outside of the standard, so all we get is standard, or the best shot at standard. I guess that's ok if you think all we should ever have is pure breeds judged to written standards.
However, I see more benefit in say for example, farmer John is out in his sheep yards and farmer bob drives in. Bob says hey john I have just gotten my hands on the best yard dog I've ever had. From bobs ute jumps a dog that looks a bit like a chihuahua crosses with a cocker spaniel. John has a giggle, but trusts his mate bob, and gets some sheep into the yard and puts the dog to work. Turns out it's the best yard sheepdog he's ever seen too. So farmer John arranges to put chispaniel over Molly his prized kelpie mix next season. Well wouldn't you know it, Molly throws some funny looking pups, but several of them turn out to be champion yard dog, and so the story or the bobjohn sheepdog begins. But because bob & John arent bound by standards, anytime some other dog with attributes they desire comes along, they can throw the dice and see if their gamble pays off. This is what I mean when saying we've lost the ability to look at a dog and assess it for what it is, in relation to what it can or can't bring to dogs generally.
It also makes me laught how pure breed folks will fight passionately about what breeds and types went in to developing their breed, but poo all over any mixed breed dog or breed in development
the 'smartest' dog breeds, according to a canine psychologist
in In The News
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Ha I'll never understand why people want 'smart' dogs as per this type of test. Who wants to live with an animal that it always several steps ahead of you and practically reads your mind!
My heart breed will always be the Chows because they're too 'stupid' to bother chasing anything they can't eat and too 'stupid' to be willing to learn pointless tricks or perform for anyone.....which for me actually adds up to a pretty darn smart animal