sandgrubber

Have you ever consider this is not the right forum for breeders of xbreed mongrels. You knowledge of animal husbandry appears to be very limited. I'm totally in the pure breed / pedigree camp, but agree with KatrinaM. There are backyarders I would fault for not doing genetic tests, etc., but who breed primarily because their dogs have been fantastic companions and they and some friends want a pup . . . as well as backyarders who end out with pups through carelessness . .. and those who try to get the perfect teacup -oodle. . . and those who breed FOR aggression. But many pedigree breeders will use a Gr Ch with known temperament faults, and some breeds seem to have gone downhill in the temperament spectrum (eg, the rash of aggressive Golden retrievers) through bad breeding. I would say this is a good reason NOT to get a pup from a petshop . . . . cause there's no way to find out what the sire and dam's temperament were like.

Lots of 'depends' in this question. If the dog can easily get out and has been trained to get out, it's pretty safe. Probably safer for a dog who loves water and goes in all the time than for a dog who may fall in and panic. Dog hair may be rough on your filter. If the dog can stand in the pool and accidentally falls in, it is unlikely to drown unless it gets stuck for hours. If you have doubts, better to leave the dog somewhere where it can't reach the pool when you go out for a long time.

No. Of course there are degrees of drive and lots of variation. But in general, I think the term high-drive, used to explain an inherent tendency to energetic and, without proper training and exercise, excessive behaviour, greatly helps the discussion about dogs, training, and behaviour. I hope people can be educated to look out for high drive in selecting a puppy . . . and only take a pup who is likely to have it if they want to deal with the consequences of high-drive.

A small, happy-go-lucky dog may have a hard time in a kennel for many reasons. Perhaps his well being was strongly tied to pack and environment and he goes adrift when his anchors are cut? I would be clear about kennel practices, especially if and how they socialise dogs. Are Loki and Wylie close? Did the kennel separate them? Was Wylie left on his lonesome, or did he exercise with other dogs? How much play/socialisation time did he get? If you can pinpoint what it was that didn't work for him, there's a good chance you can locate a kennel or home-sitting situation where he will have a good time. I'd guess Loki basically likes to have a pack, any pack, and he found the kennel socially comfortable. Sometimes little dogs feel threatened when there are lots of bigger dogs around?

Come on Coat, how many "breeders" stay in the game long enough to say they make an actual difference to the disposition of a breed as a whole? many just do what it takes to get their championship points, get a website, breed a few litters then it all gets too hard. Dogs bite for a lot of different reasons, ridding dogs of fear aggression or their pre disposition to DA, isn't as simple as you make it sound. People forget the same breeders that breed for temprement also provide loving homes, training and socialising. Take the Staffy for example, there is 538 registered breeders listed on the DOL home page, now I will absolutely guarantee in that 538 listed, there will be Stafford breeders who know them inside and out and can supply dogs of good temperament, infact I know 3 Stafford breeders who's dogs are excellent with generations of providing quality pups, not all breed enthusiasts breeders are fools, there is one Stafford breeder I know who can name dogs in a pedigree renowned for producing dog aggression in the progeny, regardless, there is more opportunity attaining the right temperament from people who know their breed than the BYB who knows nothing more than a male and female makes puppies? In the years I was doing a couple litters a year, I was amazed by the extent to which both sire and dam affect temperament. Breeding for temperament is no silver bullet, but it would be a big help. And it would make a lot of people's experience with their puppies a lot more positive.

Guess that's part of the reason that quality dry food brands cost me about half as much in the US as I was used to paying for them in Australia. Not only transport costs . . . but a lot gets thrown out or discounted for being out of date.

Assuming it was just an overexcitable dog bouncing around and being an idiot . . l This takes newspaper distortion to a new low! Out of curiosity, are the worst of the newspapers involved all owned by Murdoch?

I would have purchased the entire animal ALIVE and rung some kind of bloody sanctuary or something like that They make me sick to the stomach Oh really! Have you been following. It was a bamboo rat . . . a big rodent. Now if you're in to rat rescue, I'm sure there are some farmers who would be happy to sell you their rats for live rescue! If you brought your own live trap. Oh, but I'm not sure you'll find a rat sanctuary.

If I were in your shoes, I'd be calling any and all local Rotti breeders. One of them may have a little extra kennel space . . . and they will have had experience handling large dogs. I'd guess that someone who knows what they're doing is going to be able to avoid setting off fear/aggression. Having run a boarding kennel . . . if you're looking for Xmas boarding, you are going to need more than luck to find a place that will accept a problem dog. Most will be booked out.

This attack was preventable!!! The council has a lot to answer for with, a) not impounding the dog earlier and, b) not monitoring the dog after it's previous impoundments. That was the part I found shocking, too. Also interesting that Jess Bretherton (the student) described the dog as being normal, not aggressive. Wonder what turned it vicious. Confusion about dog breeds is widespread . .. and no surprise. More such incidents and you're likely to find other places borrowing the definitions used in Sonoma County, California (where they aren't banned, but sterilization is required and highly subsidized): "Pit Bull" means any Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, or American Staffordshire Terrier breed of dog, or any mixed breed of dog which contains, as an element of its breeding, the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit <a name="hit8">Bull Terrier, or American Staffordshire Terrier as to be identifiable as partially of the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier.

Statistically, there are two sides of normal. We also need to pay attention to dogs who are better than average . . . sweeter tempered, more nurturing, calmer, more steady, intuitive of human ways, biddable . . . These are the dogs we should be breeding from . . . particularly as yards get smaller, lives get more hectic, and dogs in general get less opportunity to run free and 'be a dog'.

No problem with loving, guiding, and adapting to a special needs dog, an unstable dog, etc. But they should not be bred from, even if they get their Gr Ch. And people with high drive working dogs should be extremely careful about placing pups in the 'burbs or city. Even if they're normal for working dogs, they're likely to go nuts without a job to do.

Couldn't agree more. I wish the deterioration of temperament was as visibly apparent, and as media friendly, as development of extreme physical characteristics. In my book, the first advice to anyone with a severe behavioural problem should be "don't breed from him/her until you are sure it's not hereditary" . . . and talk to the breeder to make sure it's not a problem running in the bloodlines. Far too many folks are willing to forgive behavioural problems in a dog who does well in the ring.

I've never found the noises dogs make are indicative of much. In my experience, a sick dog usually shows lack of vitality, low energy, and other basically down symptoms. 12 isn't that old for a JRT . . . blind or not. By all means, work with your vet. Sounds like you have a good one. Hope your old puppy is fine, and has just found a new voice.

The can of worms I'm not competent to open relates to deterioration of fats, and possible formation of carcinogens. This will not show up as mold etc., but may show up as the stale/rancid smell of vegetable or other oil that has been left to sit in the back of your cupboard too long. Dogs digestion is very different from human digestion, and most dogs don't live long enough to be vulnerable to some human cancers. Personally, if it smells at all rancid/stale, especially if it's been stored in a warm place, I wouldn't use it. I'm not that bothered by parlour moths and creepy crawlies that occasionally show up in a bag . . . unless they're in there from the first day I open it and the bag looks like a worm farm.

Where I live, we are required by law to do rabies vaccination every three years. Rabies is so awful I'm willing to comply . . . even if the scientific basis for vaccination of older dogs is weak. Once you create loopholes in a protocol, people take advantage . . . eventually this may lead to an epidemic.

Yes, absolutely. Sadly a lot of breeders dont take the genetic predisposition to atopy seriously In my days running a boarding kennel I once called a vet for an opinion on a dog who seemed to be scratching too much. Vet said: "Is it a Staffie?" Skin conditions are all too common in SBT's and ASBT's. Unfortunately.

If they've tied and she's at the right point in her cycle, I don't see why you want a second mating. If she's not ready . . . no problem waiting 24 hours. When she's just hit the peak, she'll still be ready in 24 hrs. There are horror stories about 'letting them run together' . . . mostly to do with breaking the bone in the male's penis. This may be some sort of urban legend. Don'know. I would rather do a supervised mating every couple of days than letting them run without supervision. My understanding is that a boy with lots of swimmers will again have lots of swimmers a few hours after mating. Recovery time is short. Not sure if that's right.

Experts in packaging and food safety are quick to recognize that 'use by' dates are not at all accurate. If the stuff gets warm and stays warm for a long time, eg, it's left in summer heat in Australia, deterioration may set in well before the use-by. The label probably says . . . somewhere . . . store below 30 C. If you store above 30 C it will go off much more rapidly. On the other hand, if you're able to keep stuff somewhat cool, it will probably outlast the use-by date by several months. The other, and much more complicated question, is how bad is it to use food that has gone off by a little. My biochemistry and vet science isn't up to tackling that question. My dogs, however, don't seem to mind if their kibble is a bit over-the-hill.

Dogs are pretty good at re-installing their gut flora . . . if you give them a chance to eat kitty pooh and all the other lovely things they love to munch on. They're happy to do the santitary version as well, if you want to pay for probiotics.

Not always. In my community the police had to PTS a Belgian shephard (imported from Europe) because it escaped and killed a couple small dogs. In my kennel-management days, I used to board a GSP belonging to a police couple, the husband of whom was a drug squad dog handler (his working dog was a Lab). The GSP wasn't DA in kennels . . . but apparently they were unable to keep both dogs at their house cause they had horrible fights, and they couldn't risk harm to the sniffer dog. If you Google you'll find many reports of police dogs going joggers, postmen, etc. Eg Police Dog Attacks Boy At School Demonstration - News Story ... www.wsoctv.com/news/25357963/detail.htmlOct 11, 2010 – SALISBURY, N.C. -- A police dog attacked a 5-year-old boy at Koontz Elementary School and now the child's family said they will sue both the .. Stamford police dog attacks Greenwich jogger - StamfordAdvocate www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/.../Stamford-police-dog-att...May 12, 2011 – A Greenwich woman was attacked by a Stamford police dog while jogging by a Stamford police officer's home in the Glenville section of town ...

accidental dual post, sorry

As a breeder I feel guilty either way, but usually leave them on. The front dew claws are essentially thumbs. Dogs use them when they chew up a bone, and occasionally when scratching. I hate to watch dewclaw removal (on the newborn pup) and couldn't do it myself. My dogs have pretty compact feet and the dew claws don't stick out much. I've never had a dog pull one, and never had a puppy buyer report a problem with one tearing.

I completely agree. I think it would be good if posters be encouraged to say a few words about why the article is important. Eg, the importance of the effect of dextroamphetamine on Beagle dogs isn't clear to me . . . but I'm happy to be educated. It would also be useful if people could indicate whether the article is freely available for download, or whether it's going to cost $20+ do download the full article.

1) Be clear what you want the pup for. Companion? Guardian? Competition? etc. 2) Talk with breeder, who is probably going to have a large role in determining which pup you get. Make sure he/she understands what you are looking for and make sure you are not the last person picking up a puppy. Discuss the 'which puppy' question with the breeder. 3) Read up a little on temperament screening and try a few tests on the pup you and the breeder agree on. I am intolerant of HA and DA, and biddability is important to me. I've been told to hold the young pup upside down in a cradling secure hold. If the pup fights, it's not likely to bond well with people and is likely to be willful. If it looks you right in the eye and seems happy, it's likely to be sweet tempered and bond well. I also watch how the pup interacts with his/her siblings . . . and go for the 'medium' range between aggressive and passive. I've found these tests works for me . . . but I'm not an expert. I hope others will add their own favorite screening routines.