sandgrubber

Get a pallet. Nail (or screw) a bit of carpet to the top. Change carpet as needed. That's what we did for destructo dogs in the boarding kennel. My own labs have a nest, made of old doonas, blankets and other soft stuff from OP shops and garage sales. Destruction is permitted.

it's warm enough to leave the window cracked. My little Springer kept her nose to the window the whole way and did 50km without puking .

Yup, I can see that happening. I have labs. Just because a Labrador can eat it with no bad effects doesn't prove it's digestible . I can't remember the last time one of mine got constipated.

Don't be surprised by hard dry white turds. More bone than they can use, but doesn't seem to do any harm.

My 10 mo old Springer vomits on 20 minute drives. However she's crazy wild about wanting to come. I worry that some day she'll sneak into the car and get locked in. I just put her on an old blanket and let her vomit.

Only if they are lean... Lest you end up with a 35 kg collie. When I had a source of cheap frames I spent a lot of time filling the trash with gobs of fat.

I walk two Labs and a Springer together. I'm in a small town in a rural area and opportunities for socialization are limited, and it's a long drive to get to any sort of training. It can get crazy when another dog approaches, especially if the dog is off leash. I tend to walk before dawn, which avoids most other dogs and there are a few streets I avoid. The Springer is much better in a harness than a collar. A prong collar (initially used under guidance from a trainer) has helped to teach the younger and more reactive of the labs not to pull me off my feet when a dog approaches.

Neuter : boy or girl? Very different sets of possible complications.

If only humans played by such rules.

A taxidermist/school teacher I once knew was in the habit of putting road kill in the freezer. His wife wasn't impressed. Occasionally he would find a small bird sandwich in his packed lunch.

There are good reasons to broaden the number and range of dogs used at stud. Show ring criteria don't always improve a breed, IMHO. I'd rather a dog with great temperament and some conformation faults than one with great conformation and problem temperament, especially in a bull breed. That said, almost everyone thinks their dog is special. You need to define and make clear what makes your dog worth breeding.

Why are you getting him scored? Health? Stud work? My experience is that scores aren't very good at predicting problems... some dogs who have 'bad' hips go to old age without ever limping and some with good scores go lame. So unless there's a clinical problem or you want to breed him, why bother?

Hardly hysteria. Are you God that you have Answers (as opposed to answers) and can judge what is bad and good? There's a serious lack of studies on long-term effects of diet on dog health, and a generous abundance of fads that aren't backed by much research, but greatly increase the cost and/or trouble of feeding your dog.

Yes, health testing is needed. If he's not on main register, you, or the bitch's owner, won't be able to get puppies on ANKC Pedigree registration. It would be a good idea to get someone to mentor you because mating can get 'interesting' and it's best to have an experienced person around (eg, if the bitch isn't ready she may attack a dog that's acting too frisky... an inexperienced dog may not be able to insert and tie properly... the bitch may not want to stand still when tied).

It makes sense in financial logic. Hey, insurance is a business. They're in it to make money, not to help you and your dog.

I wouldn't make that assumption. Dogs do OK gumming it. Plus the front teeth are choppers while the back teeth are grinders. So she's still equipped to crunch the stuff. At 14+ years, there are a lot of things that can depress appetite, not all of them sicknesses. If she still seems to enjoy her food, I would not change it, and I'd try soaking before changing in any case.

I said guess, not conclude Taking a wild guess is often a good way to get someone to expand on a subject.

I was going to say that I've never seen a smooth mini in cream... But kept quite cause I don't follow dachshunds. If they exist they are rare

Yoli (10 mo old Springer) likes to chew on plastic and has killed a dozen or more pens and a variety of other stuff. She seems to be happy with discarded tooth brushes. Is that OK? Or is it worth trying to 'wean' her off onto some commercial product like nylabone?

It's not inappropriate, but some breeders respond poorly to emails. You may have better success with a phone call.

The sick puppy thread has been going off track. Though I'd move a bit of the discussion to the health thread. DNA testing has its good side, but it worries me, especially as breeders are increasingly being held liable for breeding dogs with genetic defects. Take exercise induced collapse in Labradors. A simple recessive gene. Not the worst of diseases by a long shot... many affected dogs never show symptoms. It's estimated that 39% of Labs carry the gene... mostly as a single copy. Everyone wants to say their pups are clear of genetic diseases. So do we take a big chunk out of the breeding pool to get rid of it? Is that wise, given that a large number of dogs have already been removed from breeding because they are PRA carriers. And what comes next? Maybe some undesirable coat and eye color genes? Or genes that may result in a higher risk of some cancer or some form of epilepsy. If you drop 30% and then drop 30% of the remainder, you end up with less than half of the original breeding pool. And do it again and you're down to 34%. It gets scary.

I'd rather see a review that quantified the increase in risk. In the studies I have seen it's not large.

Actually, it's not that simple to balance whole, natural foods. Say you feed chicken carcass with skin and some fatty tissue. Hard to guess what the ratio of fat to protein is. Very likely there's too much fat for some individuals and some breeds. Similar problem with lamb flaps. The stuff they sell for raw feeding is, in some cases, more meat byproduct than meat.

29 kg would be heavy for a Lab at 6 months. If you have to press hard to feel the ribs, it doesn't count. But if you feel the indentations just running your hand along, I'd say you're good. Ask someone knowledgeable to check for you if you're not sure. Too lean is better than too fat for retrievers.