espinay2

As MV says it can depend on a lot of things. I have introduced both adult dogs and puppies to cats. My first cat I got as a kitten when dogs were older. Multiple Pyrs and a Dalmatian. The Pyrs were fairl easy to introduce and once the cat 'belonged' it was theirs. In fact the kitten (who was a 'feral') bonded with one of the dogs before me! The Dalmatian was another issue. High prey/chase drive so She took a lot longer. Though eventually accepted them and no longer chased (took about a year). I am guessing that introduced as a pup rather than at 5 years old it may have been an easier process. I have also introduced a 10 year old cat chasing GSD. Who after 6months to a year gave up the chasing. This of course took work, supervision and persistence. All my current dogs were introduced as a pup. You do need to supervise and teach the rules of 'no chase' etc. but that will be the case with any pup. I do find the Pyrs are excellent with small animals. Though this is not the easiest breed to own overall, so not the only category to consider if putting them on your list. This goes for all the livestock guardian breeds.

General advice I have seen with an aggressive bitch is to give her calcium. This has often helped turn them around. Did pups get any colostrum? If not if the bitch has milk can you aspirate some milk from mum to try and get some in the pups. I love the Leerburg formula if she is able to put it together: http://leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm Maybe some probiotics added to formula if not. My favourite is protexin soluble. You can order it online. In the absence of that, try any probiotic you have I guess.

What Showdog said. Talk to your breeder first. Poodles are not always the easiest for new starters due to their particular grooming requirements. You may need your breeders help in this in the beginning. Hopefully your breeder will be able to tell you if your dog is a suitable prospect for showing or not. Your pup will need to be on the Main register and you will need to join Dogs Qld. If the pup is neutered, this will need to be noted on the registration in order to enter neuter classes (you will ned to submit a vet certificate). If the pup is neutered you will not be able to enter classes with dogs that haven't been (onlt the 'neuter' class - but you can work towardds the title of Neuter Champion). You may want to take a look at the Facebook group 'Australian Dog Show Newbies'

Baby gates and crates and doors and dog runs etc for most of the time (always at least 2 doors/gates between them unless fully supervised). I keep some kind of physical barrier between them from the day she starts till about a week after he is no longer interested (can be up to a month depending on the bitch). If you can get one, a dog run is a big help even if you only use it for one of them when a girl is in season. My boy is only 'full on' for about the five days the girls are 'ready' (some are interested though whole time though) so while general separation works well for the most of the time and all are calm about that, for that week we have to step things up a notch as he is a maniac. We end up sleeping in separate bedrooms at night...me with the boy and my other half with the girls...at separate ends of the house. It keeps the peace as my boy is calmer when he is with me (and a lot less noisy - boy can he make a racket!). Alternative is to board one of them (the boy usually) for the period. I have a boy I bred that comes back here while the co-owner has a bitch in season as she is not fully set up to separate when she is at work. I have also 'day boarded' my boy in the past while I was at work so I could be sure no one was breaking down any gates or fences.

Agree that more information is needed to know for sure in this individual case. In general though, in large breeds supplementing extra calcium can be a bad move: http://personal.palouse.net/valeska/Growth-calcium-energy.htm http://www.lgd.org/library/Optimal%20feeding%20of%20large%20breed%20puppies.pdf http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/09/slow-growth-diets-for-giant-breed-puppy.aspx https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

Hi there First step perhaps - talk to your girl's breeder? Do they show their dogs? They may be able to assess your girl or suggest someone who could assess your girl for you. That way you will know if it is worthwhile having a go at showing your girl. It could be a good way for you to start, even if you have no plans of breeding her. Even if she is not a top show dog, if she is reasonable it may be a good way to start to see if you like showing and whether you want to continue with another dog. If you don't plan on breeding her, having her desexed if she is not already may work in your favour with other breeders, particularly if you are looking to get a male (you can always show her in neuter classes too). Just to get into the mind of breeders for a minute, they may possibly be wary of selling you a male in particular if you have an entire female and are an 'unknown' out of fear that you will breed them. (I don't know where your girl is from or what she is like, but if you have mentioned you want to breed, this may be something they are wary of) Have you done anything apart from showing with your girl? Doing things like obedience/agility etc is a good way to get started too, and something you can do with her (and will all be good knowledge for you if you plant to breed eventually). Best thing I can suggest is to make friends with a breeder whose dogs you like. Talk to them a lot. Friend them of facebook even if they are open to that. let them get to know you and you get to know them. And be prepared to wait for the right puppy. It can be a slow process, requiring plenty of patence particularly if you are after a dog to show as there may only be a small number of dogs in any one litter that are considered suitable - and the breeder may want to keep at least one of them. See if you can go along to a few shows to watch and/or help someone out. There is a FB page called 'Australian Dog Show Newbies' that you may find interesting too and you may get some ideas there. Join the Labrador Club (if not one in your state, join one in another state perhaps) and join some educational (not just pet) forums for your breed if you can find some. Basically get involved. Have fun!

Poor thing. So no microchip?

Try cryogenes. I have always found them very easy to work with and have answered any of my queries fairly promptly. I find SOI good for the insemination side of things, but find the business side is not very responsive.

I tried it as a test for my 'emergency supply kit' and found my dogs had the runs big time on it (yes, dark and sticky runs) despite usually having cast iron stomachs (fed a wide variety of raw). Otherwise it looked ok. I used most of it as training treats rather than meals in the end as they could only seem to handle it in small amounts. I prefer the K9 Natural dehydrated one and they seem to too.

I wish the myth would die. It was based on one single study when egg whites only were fed in a diet which was already biotin deficient. Sure if you are feeding raw egg whites only and no meat then yes that is not a good idea! But somehow Chinese whispers converted that to 'eggs are bad'. As mentioned, feed the whole egg in a diet that also contains meat etc (which also contains biotin which is a type of bit B) and no issue. My dogs eat plenty of eggs from our chooks here too.

I saw the movie Thursday. It is only on as part of the Australia wide French Film Festival and screening is nearly over so be quick if you can find a session still on. The movie was great and I loved it. I have been watching as they filmed it as a pyr breeder in France was involved with her dogs. Seeing the film takes as it was made was great and I have been waiting impatiently for the full film lol! The director did a wonderful job of portraying the pyr and captured the little subtle (and not so subtle) mannerisms perfectly (even the bark - no generic bark used here, it was all pyr!). It was almost like seeing my own dogs on screen. Will definitely be getting a copy on DVD.

Even with a class of just 8 or so dogs and no other dogs around you will find that many dogs will be quite distracted for the first lesson or two. That is natural and expected and I see it in every new class I teach. However, as the weeks progress and settle in the class environment and by the end of an 8 week block they are generally totally different dogs. So don't be discouraged if your dog is 'off with the fairies' for the first few weeks in class. The important thing is that you take the lessons home and practice at home without distractions. By practicing at home and getting your dog used to the distractions your dog will pay more and more attention to you rather than what is going on around it.

I have imported several times with cryogenes (though not from Germany). Have been very happy with their service and attention to detail all times.

Lots of free running play on undulating surfaces if you can (i.e. up and down small hills rather than on all flat surfaces). This is the type of exercise where the pup can self regulate their activity and play in 'bursts'. If you want to take them out to do this sort of play, but dont have a safe fenced area to go to, get a long line or horse lunge line and take your pup to a quiet park or open area. This allows a bit more freedom to have a run around while still safely on lead. you can play a game with a toy too. You can go out on lead, but this is for the purposes of socialsiation, not exercise. So rather than 'going for a walk', do things like going fun/new places and seeing and experiencing fun/new things etc etc. The importance is placed on the experience, not the 'exercise' (i.e. mental stimulation). Good muscle development is important, so don't wrap the pup in cotton wool, but while growing, on lead walks should be kept short, and limit stair climbing and jumping down from heights too (all these place pressure on soft growth plates because of their percussive/repetitive nature).

Without knowing exact prog numbers, I wouldnt know. Ovulation occurrs generally around 5ng. You need more than one test to chart the rise and pinpoint the time of ovulation. One test that shows a range where she may or may not have ovulated is IMO not too much help.With chilled you do have a wider window than frozen, but it depends on how accurate you want to be. At the moment it is 'best guess'.

You can vaginally inseminate, yes. Depends though if you would prefer to inseminate via TCI (gets it past the cervix and into the uterus entrance) or surgical (puts it right near the ovaries in each horn). Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. With chilled I would personally probably want to do at least TCI to decrease the distance the little fellas had to swim.

Eee-ther, eye-ther, tee-ter, tie-ter, let's call the whole thing off

Dr Ronald Shultz pronounces it 'tie-ter' so I will trust his pronunciation ;-) I note too that Dr Shultz has mentioned that it is uncommon for a dog to be a non responder to both parvo and distemper. Usually if they are a non responder to one, they are high for the other. A good idea to have Dr Dodds run another test - will be interested in the results!

Good idea to contact Dr Dodds. She is very approachable and helpful. You can contact her yourself.

I have used frozen successfully, but haven't personally used chilled. I do however, have a pup from a mating using chilled. Bitch was inseminated surgically (I was there for the procedure). Important thing when doing AI is going to be timing. Using an experienced repro vet is a BIG help, and dont skimp on progesterone tests. In respect to dual matings, I know a few people overseas who have done them. From what I recall, pretty much all of them ended up being from only one sire.

Relatives recently had a 13 year old bitch speyed after a week of misdiagnosis and her being very sick - was a closed Pyo. (lets no go there on my thoughts on the vet they were going to). Desexing saved her life (after them spending thousands of dollars on testing and hospital stays and emergency vet etc.... again lets not go there). She is a happy healthy old lady now thank goodness and once the operation was done, her recovery was fairly quick. Agree that fluids is a good idea for an older dog.

I am sorry for your loss. It can be so hard when this happens. My immediate thought with sudden death incidents is to look first at the heart. There is often some kind of pulmonary/cardiac event IMO in these types of cases. You can't know for sure without a necropsy. Just remember the good times and try to find some peace in the fact that right up until her death she was enjoying life and did not suffer.

Some breeders simply feed a different style of diet. As you say, there are as many opinions on diet as there are people.

I have had pups come here at 8-9 weeks or so that have had some raw foods but no bones. They have had no issue at all learning to eat raw meaty bones. I should mention I don't just feed raw meaty bones. My dogs a fed a variety of foods. And puppy owners are guided through a range of suitable options for feeding giant breed pups to suit their needs and lifestyle.

Nice to know. A good conclusion I think. VERY interested in the Hydrotherapy pool. This region desperately needs one!