espinay2

Deafness is associated with a lack of 'pigment' in the inner ear (using non-technical terms ;) ). Good pigment on the skin around the head and ears can be one possible indicator that the dog is less likely to be deaf but is not a guarantee (though patches on the ears, which are different to spotting, Can provide more assurance). Dr Bruce Cattanach has a good article on the subject: The Dalmatian Dilemma

When I got my first Pyr I told the breeder I wanted an all white one. An all white one wasn't available and while I wasnt so sure about getting a pup with markings at the time, I decided that as everything else was good, I would learn to live with it. Best move I could have made. I have since learnt to appreciate the beauty and benefit of marked pyrs. I have also chosen dogs with less than ideal markings because they were the best dog in other respects. Asking for an 'all white' Pyr is a reasonably common request among first time Pyr owners. Most will have to wait a long time for one if they are determined to have one and I have not met one who didn't change their mind once they had owned a Pyr with markings. When it comes to Dallies, while the placement of spots can create an optical illusion which can sometimes influence in the show ring (though if a judge is actually half decent and puts their hands on the dog it is not soo much of an issue), when it comes to a pet spotting is really not important to me. My girl Cookie (who was also shown until she had to be desexed and then shown again as a veteran) was not perfectly spotted, but she was not badly spotted either. She was not chosen based on her spotting. In fact I had a choice of another bitch in the litter who had better spotting. Cookie however ticked more boxes overall. A lot of pet owners also seem to not want Liver Dallies as they are not 'proper' Dallies . A lot change their mind once they have one or own the breed for any length of time and many come to prefer them.

Agree with the above. I don't like them and won't give them because while they are not 'cooked' the drying process results in the same thing. An occasional Pigs Ear I will give - no bone in them. Confusing I know, but just because something is sold for pets doesn't mean it will really be the best thing to buy. A big case of buyer beware and being an informed owner. (gold stars to you for thinking before you buy )

If you can't find a crate tray, try a piece of corrogated cardboard under the bedding. Or get a wooden board cut to fit (if you cant do this yourself, Bunnings etc can cut to size if you have the dimensions). If you are worried about splinters with the board, glue a piece of lino or similar to it. Choose the thinnest board you can that you think will last if you plan to take the crate places rather than just use at home - the thicker the board the heavier it will be! If you know someone good with metal work you can also get them to make a new tray for you out of sheet metal.

From my point of view - contracts are for any puppy whether on limited or main and stipulate the terms for the specific puppy in the individual contract (health, intentions regarding the pup, what will happen if things go wrong and/or pup needs a new home, whether it is on limit or main and what that means etc). Contracts are there to protect the new owner as well as the breeder as they make the conditions and rights and responsibilties of both parties clear. When it comes to giving a contract - at the time an individual puppy is identified as being available and possibly suitable for that home and before any money changes hands. That is when specifics of the contract rather than generalities would be discussed in relation to that individual puppy (I.e. a copy of the actual contract produced for discussion and agreement). Note that a lot of the generalities included in the contract would have been discussed beforehand anyway so there would not really be any major surprises as such. FWIW

Have to agree with PF about the on lead walking etc. Taking a pup out with a lead attached to socialise etc is a must of course, but pavement pounding and longer walks on lead for 'exercise' is a real no-no IMO. A pup needs to be able to rest when it wants to avoid over stressing growing bones and joints. Free play is a much better form of exercise for growing pups. Keeping lean is also essential. I have a page on my website which discusses my philosophy on this here.

Garlic is fine in small quantities - everything in moderation. Ososwift, when we get sheep done pretty much every bit we don't eat goes to the dogs and when it comes to lamb we mainly eat only roasts We do keep the lamb shanks for ourselves though. I am sure your friend will appreciate them if you prefer not to give them to the dogs ;) . Agree, if you are going to split the necks, better to split them lengthways.

Yep, important thing to remember is they should be raw MEATY bones. And also try to avoid artificial saw cuts as much as possible as these create artificial/unnatural surfaces and shapes. Bigger and as whole as possible is better. Agree that those sawn up lamb 'neck chops' are a big no-no. Never had an issue feeding whole lamb necks or roo tails. If in doubt if they get down to just bone take the bone bits away. For a smaller dog maybe go with Turkey necks first up if you are concerned - same type of bone but softer. I would personally not have an issue giving a lamb neck to a whippet though.

Mine eat the lot bones and all. Doubt they stay together as they all get crunched up together and down the hatch ;)

Most of this sounds like it is an adaptation of Juliette de Bairacli Levy (The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat) who was a visionary and leader in her time and is where the modern 'raw diet' movement really started. Many people have found success over the years feeding a Levy style diet and some long time breeders still feed this way. But there are a few other things added, including the kibble, which means it isn't exacly Levy any more. Not what I would feed, but I do suggest you talk it over with the breeder and get them to explain what everything is for. The logic behind providing the 'roughage' on the bone was to imitate the role of the hair and skin. It was originally thought that the dog needed to eat prey with the skin intact to 'protect' its stomach and intestines from the bone (because when bones came out the other end they were often wrapped in hair and hide). In the absence of that the above was a method that was thought to help imitate it and make the bones 'pass through' easier. We now know this to be not true and it isnt necessary, but the practice does persist in some quarters.

In dogs energy that is used most efficiently comes from protien but moreso from fat. Feeding things like turkey necks, rabbit and roo meat provides very limited fat content. Chicken is better, but as most of the skin and fat is generally removed (most of the fat is just under the skin) these also do not always provide adequate fat particularly if you have dogs that are very active and 'burn energy'. Note that kibble often has a higher fat content which is why some find that if they are feeding the above raw foods and then switch to kibble their dogs maintain weight better. It also contain carbs which provide 'fast' rather than long term energy (scientific studies have shown that dogs fed a low or no carb diet maintain energy better than those fed a diet containing carbs). Lamb is probably the best food going when it comes to adding better fat content to the diet and putting weight on high energy dogs - particularly flaps and offcuts etc. Raw fat is also in a much more digestable and 'healthy' form than cooked fats. I will warn though that the 'exhaust fumes' from lamb can be deadly if it is fed often . As a result what I usually do is feed it intermittently every couple of days rather than several days in a row if I am wanting to put weight on a dog. Of course as you probably already know and have likely tried (I see you have), feeding more can sometimes work too which is a no brainer really as losing/gaining/maintaining weight is purely about the equasion energy in versus energy out ;) . If feeding more doesnt work then the above applies - i.e. feed a higher percentage of 'energy dense' foods such as high quality fat and protein.

Yep, best bet is to find suppliers and buy in bulk. Having a good size freezer (at least a small chest freezer or similar) can help. How much you spend will depend a lot on your sources. Best tip otherwise is to keep things simple. For example: Chicken frames are cheap so feed them as your main RMB. One fish type meal a week - home brand cans of salmon or sardines or even home brand sardine cat food (check the label - buy the one that is pretty much sardines only). Feed other RMB and meats that are more expensive for one or two meals per week. Or find a butcher that does a good 'pet mince' that includes organ meats to use as your main addition to the chicken. Either feed this as a separate meal once a week or so or add a little to the chicken frames each day. That is probably the cheapest way to do it. Healthy leftovers, an egg or two a week and the only supplement I really bother with (unless a dog has particular needs) are fish oil capsules which can be bought for under $20 for 400 capsules from a discount chemist. Feeding raw to multiple big dogs is not expensive as long as you don't 'over complicate' the process. A few more bits and pieces on my website here

Some people do have and breed good dogs and win consistently. Some people do have sour grapes, love to whinge and need to be less 'kennel blind'. Face judging does happen I am sure, but not as frequently or to the extent that some people would have you think. I always remember the quote below by Mary Roslin Williams in her book 'Reaching for the Stars': "...what the ringside can't see and might not know enough to realise, is that the judge may find that the ringsider's choice does not stand looking into, the basic conformation or some other essential being wrong. But the judge finds the top breeder's dog in the same class does not fall to bits under his hands, so up goes the breeder's dog and down the ringsiders choice. Here comes the crunch because the ringsiders demur, and agree among themselves that once again wrong has triumphed and the top 'name' has won and there is no justice or honesty in the game. This is a very big millstone, because the novice listens to others instead of looking to see why the winner went up. The middle-ranger is all too glad to find an excuse for his own lack of top wins, so instead of looking at his dog and also looking at the top dogs, he joins in with the novices and comes in time to subscribe to the idea that 'names' win because they are 'names'. Once he really comes to beleive this he will be a middle-ranger forever, because he will never discover why the good breeders' dogs win. For many years I have seen promising novices come up into the middle-ranges and have felt hopeful that they would eventually become good breeders and my heart has sunk because they have come up and said that very thing, that 'Mrs Blank can win with anything'. As soon as they start thinking that, I have no further hope for them. They have mentally evaded the issue that it takes a better dog to win."

Let me be very clear. Your best and ONLY real recourse to a reasonable solution is to TALK TO THE BREEDER. CALL the breeder and explain your situation. See what they say. A polite and open discussion may see this resolved quickly to everyone's satisfaction. At the moment as you have not spoken to them everything here is conjecture at best and you are doing yourself no favours AT ALL. And if you have to abide by a contract that YOU agreed to, SUCK IT UP and take some responsibility for your own actions. By not doing so you are doing yourself no favours AT ALL (not to mention the dog or the breeder). At the moment you are on a very self destructive path. I would highly recommend taking a step back and taking a VERY good look at yourself and your proposed actions before going any further. You are not a victim here. You and only you have a choice about how this will turn out. So what is it going to be?

Some links to articles you may find useful. From my friend Lew in the US (she knows her stuff): Liver Diet The Liver Dogs and Protein Vegetarian Diet Special Health Needs Also ones specifically on a low purine diet: Billinghurst: Preventing Urate Stone formation in Dalmatians Healthy Dalmatian Diet: Preventing Urinary Stones

That is so spot on! I have heard that more times than I can count <sigh>. HEre is another one many groomers may be familiar with: Small White Fluffy owner: (proudly) We get him groomed every year! We want him looking nice for Christmas when the family comes. We let him keep his coat over winter so he stays warm. Make sure you leave him fluffy when you clip him! We don't like it when he is all shaved off. (said SWF is one large matted dirty and often flea ridden mess who has obviously never seen a brush in its life)

Oh gosh I so relate to this. I saw maggots on more than one occasion when clipping off dogs (horrible), along with weeping stinking sores from dirty matted coats, dogs that you couldnt tell which end was which, dogs with dew claws grown around into their leg, stinking infected ears so bad the dog was deaf from the damage, infected eyes from all the hair and junk around them, fleas so bad that the bath and my arms were black with them (I still have nightmares about that one - I had to fumigate everything including myself afterwards - we are not just talking a few fleas here - there was literally more fleas than dog!), dogs that would take your arm or face off as quick as look at you (unfortunately not uncommon), dogs the owner wouldnt touch in case it bit them, but expected the groomer get up close and personal and not have a problem (not uncommon either), owners who expected you to 'leave him all fluffy' when the coat is so matted that the only option is to shave it all off and start again (so you get abused even though you explained it was the only option),....... I know some people have this idea that dog grooming is a fun profession - you get to play with dogs all day and bubbles and snip snip with scissors and make dogs look pretty.....sure there are clients that I loved...my regulars who were simply wonderful and so were their dogs. They made it all worthwhile. But at the end of the day it is usually an aching sore back, sore wrists and hands, grot from head to toe, itchy from the hair and in real need of a long hot shower or soak in the tub. Overall I did enjoy grooming when I was doing it and the good did mostly make up for the bad. But it is far from a glamorous or easy profession.

The one on the left is definitely a Briard - it has cropped ears. Definitely not a Berger/Pyr Shepherd.

I would probably go the stable door. There is a bit of an old joke about dog doors for giant breeds. Put a sign over it to warn would be intruders. Something like this: "this door is for a dog....think about it" ;)

Love love love this video!!:

Info on health issues relevant to Pyrs here: http://www.espinay.com/healthissues.cfm At a minimum I would recommend hip and elbow scoring.

Well done for putting so much thought into this. The dog world needs new folk who have their breed at heart. Ditto what others have said. I would be starting with the bitch and go from there. You are really boxing yourself in if you get a male anyway and there is no guarantee when he matures he is going to be the right dog either health-wise or structurally for your girl. Your better option is to get the bitch and then choose a mate when she is more mature. You can always import frozen semen from the same lines, or you may find something that suits your bitch elsewhere. Finding someone to co-own on the terms you mention is fraught with issues and it can be hard enough finding good folks to co-own at the best of times. If you really want the male too, you would be better off setting yourself up to be able to keep both dogs and bitches on your property. But as mentioned, IMO you would be better off starting with just the bitch and proceeding from there.

you said "its legal here i doubt its dog fighting", hence my comment on illegal activities. i was walking my dogs, they didnt have neighbours, a spare block of land on one side and bush in front of them. if they are innocent parties and doing the right thing (which i have already learnt they have been with the dog sign and containing their dog in another pen) then they have nothing to worry about do they. Nothing to worry about except maybe people walking past who buy into the media hysteria, jump to conclusions and perpetuate that hysteria leading to more and more breeds being banned, dogs being confiscated for no reason except their breed and the end of dog ownership as we know it. And all because someone saw them with their dog in their backyard and their immediate reaction - when all these people may have been trying to do was make sure their legally kept dog did not just sit in a pen and slowly go crazy from lack of stimulation and boredom - was that they were suspicious and obviously doing something wrong. I am sorry but IMO it this is the type of thinking that ALL dog owners should be worried about. It is the type of thinking that leads to and creates 'mob mentality' and running people out on a rail (or in this case breed hysteria and BSL )

Depends on the lifespan of the breed and breeding history of the bitch's lineage. This. In the right circumstances with a healthy bitch I would consider it. In my breed it is not that uncommon. Earlier is much more ideal of course and matings tend to be less successful in older maiden bitches (in that they may not actually take in the first place - though this is based on my first hand knowledge of this type of mating, and many of them were frozen AI which have a lower success rate anyway - I probably wouldn't recommend bothering with frozen AI on an older maiden bitch), but I have not heard of any particular issues in my breed at least with older maiden bitches wher the mating does take. The litters I know of (here and overseas) have been successful and the bitch has remained healthy and happy throughout the process.

When we are having a game and my dog is playing with a toy I cheer and praise and whoop up the game (and sometimes the men of the household will do this too). My dogs are in my own yard when we do this (and sometimes in their big mesh dog runs). I have large dogs designed to protect against predators like wolves and bears. Are my dogs next on the hit list? According to the above, just by playing in my yard, with my dogs, and having a secure area for them makes it is 'sinister act'