Hobbit

Jacsmom, Carolk9's: I love you guys!! :lol: :lol: [size=2]...I was joking. [/size] :oops: ....um....bubble wrap so he won't do anything else to his leg. Remember he's been snake bit twice, caught his shoulder (same one he broke) on something, invisible to us, in the yard and tore a big gaping hole in it, has broken a toe (same leg he broke), loves to climb on top of the highest point in the house and wait until we look and dive off (as we are diving to catch him)!! :roll:

[quote name='alicat613'] It's the same way with kids. I mean, our family is planning to breed our neice when she has her first period. She's a lovely child, smart, well-behaved. But for some odd reason people think we shouldn't breed her so young and some people are against breeding her at all. But what is so wrong, if she is going into heat, then she's ready, right? Why wait until she's 18, such an arbitrary age? We already know she's breeding quality. [/quote] Will you be seeking an outside male? .... or breeding her to her father or brother? :o :lol:

[quote name='Poofy']A dog does not HAVE to be two years old to breed. There is no sudden magical transformation at this age that will reveal what your dog will produce genetically, physically or mentally, and it is not a magical age which any and all faults will suddenly be revealed. In dogs, some people choose to breed them younger, that is a personal descision. B*tches should not be bred as early because raising a litter pulls reserves they need for growth. HOWEVER, the longer you wait to breed a dog, the better. The more time you give a dog to develope an anomilie, so you don't have to look back, years later and go "darn" the better. Also, breeding *often* changes the behavior in a dog. Once this behavior is established, it is usually irreversible. Male dogs will begin urinating and deficating in your house to mark territory. This behavior can also be seen in bitches who have been left intact. Breeding makes a male more territorial, and his hormones levels will rage everytime something goes into heat, even if it is a mile away. If this dog is a PET and not a show dog, or an important stud dog in a breeding program, neuter him and enjoy him. Stud dogs RARELY make good pets.[/quote] Guys, I think what he/she was trying to say is that: the longer a person waits to breed (if the bitch/stud is breed quality) the better. He/she was trying to say that at 2 years old, a person does not have to breed, but can wait until the dog is older to breed. If you skim the post > it does look pretty bad. Re-read it slowly. Maybe, I'm filling in the blank spaces > but it seems this poster is FOR neutering and spaying ....... and waiting [b]well after the dog/bitch is 2 yrs old to breed. :wink: [/b] (despite the statement [i]"In dogs, some people choose to breed them younger, that is a personal descision"[/i]).

Totally none of my business but, I'm going to ask anyway: if this dog lactates after a heat cycle, she is having a false pregnancy and is going thru EVERY emotion that a normal pregnant goes thru. Her hormones are that of a *normal pregnant bitch. Why on earth doesn't your mother have her spayed?? A false pregnancy is like a women carrying a child full term only to miscarry (in her mind). That is cruel to her emotionally and physically.

The Dr's appt came out good yesterday (31st). The radius is growing together nicely, as is the ulna. The Dr. said he wanted to pull one of the pins, but needed to consult with the Dr in North Carolina > he was off for the holidays. So, he decided not to pull the pin. He thought by pulling one of the pins near his ankle that maybe he'd start using the leg. They want him walking on it and by all practical purposes ... he should be walking on it. He's still vomitting sometimes (totally out of the blue). The Dr. can't figure out why he's doing that. Hobbit used to do that when he was younger. And I had to feed him more often (like at 3am, then again at 7am, then again at noon, then again at 3pm.....well, you get the schedule). He produced too much stomach acid. So, I just started leaving food out and he ate free choice. He hasn't had a morning vomit in a long time, but this is off the topic. Guy would rather eat when one of the other dogs eats. I guess subconscienously (I know that isn't spelled right, speller isn't working this morning).....okay...... *in his mind* his misses his sister. They ate together, napped together and pretty much were best bud's. When you saw one, you saw the other. And as silly as this sounds, he still likes to have lunch with his mother. The eat, gossip, play with toys, roll around, take a nap together.....you know, all those motherly things. The halo has to stay on for at least 3 more weeks to make sure the bones have adequate time to heal without ANY stress or trauma. Then......he's going to wear a bubble wrap cast for the REST OF HIS LIFE! So, that's about it in a nutshell. HOPEFULLY, he will regain the full use of his leg. The way things went, that is my concern (not being able to use the leg after all this and all the pain and agony was in vain). Only time will tell on that one. I promise to get pictures of the halo while it's still on his leg (haven't done that yet). AND.....since we paid for the darn thing .... WE'RE KEEPING IT! :wink:

[quote name='HazelNutMeg']Hobbit, I'm not even goin to bother arguing with you, you obviously don't realize I HAVE tried to get her Aggression under control... but that's only ME. That's all I have to say to you. [/quote] I was not looking for an argument. You did agree that since you do not have a job that you should not be responsible, 100%. That is what I'm getting at. [i]"I HAVE tried to get her Aggression under control" [/i]--- YOU are not a professional, nor do you have the experience to deal with this sort of behavior. Since, you do not have a job --- your parents should be willing to send her to a professional trainer.

[quote name='ArtfulDodger'] I don't know how many times I have been harrassed by territorial toy breeds and small terriers like silkies, aussies, jack russells etc when I'm out walking. These little dogs can be very angry little customers and if they were a larger breed they would attack without hesitation. We all know a person with a nasty little dog who barks and snaps and nips at people, imagine if that dog was the size of a labrador, say your prayers!!! [color=red][b]An Aussie? If you are referring to an Australian Shepherd, they are not a Terrier. And who's responsible for these nasty little dog's temperment? THEIR OWNER.......it's NOT the dogs fault, they have been ALLOWED to act like this by their irresponsible owner! AND should NOT have to pay the ultimate price (their life) when they do bite someone. [/b][/color] [/quote]

CHILDREN should NOT be in charge of nor should they have the sole responsibility of a pet. If a parent is not willing or unable to properly care for an animal, then they shouldn't allow one in the home. Proper care also includes all medical tests that may be needed, along with training. I'm not sympathic to YOU, especially since you or your family is willing to kill (or get rid of) Hazel one day and get another dog the next. I am sympathic to Hazel, at no fault of her own, she'll be destroyed for BEING ALLOWED to act as she has for the past 4 years!

Connie --- sorry, I missed this completely. We were supposed to be able to bring Guy home after the Emergency trip, but the Dr decided to keep him until Friday. While there, he done some extensive therapy on Guy and radical adjustments > so severe that Guy was sedated thru both treatments. He also took x-rays. The growth plate on the Radius has now closed, indicating that he is thru growing (in theory -- the other leg was not x-rayed). We picked him up on Friday and will continue the therapy and adjustments until the 31st. He goes back in for more x-rays and hopefully the adjustments are over. He will have to wear the halo until both bones heal (for about a month or two). Then, more x-rays. If everything looks good > the halo comes off and he'll wear a cast for about a month. He has been a MANIAC since we brought him home on Friday. He will use ANY excuse to get outside. Then, he'll use any tactic, not limited to extreme begging and pleading, to stay outside --- especially when it's freezing cold, pouring down rain, hailing or at 5 in the morning! He still is not using his leg. He will use it only if he's sedated to the point of NO FEELING, then he'll walk on it.

:o

I could not get the darn thing to work!

[quote name='Marble']hey hobbit- this would be a great excuse to post a whole bunch of pictures of your dogs :)[/quote] :D YES, it would!

[quote=Mary's Mama]Hobbit, I am sorry, I did not know you had many mouths to feed. I understand your position. I can say though that even though the premium foods are more expensive, the dogs eat a lot less, so overtime you many not actually put out more money. I wish you luck in your research. And thank you for listening.[/quote] Diamond is a premium dog food, we pay more, but they do eat less. I searched for Wellness in this area and was not able to find anyone that carried it within a 75 mile radius. I know what you are saying about overtime, but Wellness is still too expensive for the amount of pounds we feed per month.

[quote name='gigishiba']So Hobbit, did you decide whether or not to go with this food?[/quote] We haven't decided if we will switch. We are giving it a try and so far, everything is going well. We're using Naturally Premium: Chicken meal, Ground Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken fat (mixed with Tocopherols, citric acid & Rosemary extract), Lamb, fish meal, beet pulp, flaxseed, dried egg product, brewers dried yeast, chicken liver meal, yeast culture, vitamins and minerals. Compared to Diamond - Lamb & Rice: Lamb meal, brewers rice, brown rice, rice flour, fish meal, chicken fat, egg product, beet pulp, flaxseed, natural flavor, brewers dried yeast, vitamins & minerals.

[quote name='Anonymous']Than u all guys for evey single advise u made, they all helped much i got a better back-ground now, i will buy the dog as a family dog, any dog can do bark against a burgular if found, and this more than enough, i will buy a dog mainly as family dog, and i will buy a German sepherd from a well known breeder as u all advised mr, thank u :D[/quote] Glad you are going for a family dog. I wouldn't advise a GSD for a first time owner, unless the breeder is willing to extensively help the new owner >> so don't include the word "all" in your "all advised". :wink: Personally, a good family dog can be adopted from the shelter, rescue, pound.......

[quote name='bk_blue']Would you be able to breed something widespread like PRA out if you only bred from the dogs who didn't carry it? I thought the whole point of breeding was to better your chosen breed, not add to its problems. :-? But I can definitely see your point GP...[/quote] In my opinion YES. If would take some time and the breedings would have to be very selective. And just not breeding because it was a champion. There are other things that go along with breeding ---- an affected or carrier PRA champion should be neutered/spayed and NOT bred! If her statistics are correct, there is NO ONE to blame but the AKC breeders who continued and continue to breed carriers and affected ACD's .... for what? FOR SHOW, FOR THE PRESTIDGE, FOR THE MONEY. Makes me sick. They dont' care about the dog. They only care if it can become a champion and/or be shown!

[quote name='ILuvelabs']It is called a "snow nose" the pigment changes from a blakish/brownish to a pink- you see this more often in Yellow labs. During the winter, their nose will either have small pink spots or sometimes- even turn mostly pink. Its nothing to worry about. The pigment does go back to its original color. :)[/quote] [color=blue][size=6][b]Caused by tyrosinase enzyme.[/b][/size][/color]

[i][b]"One simple genetic thing" [/b][/i]:evilbat: SIMPLE? Going blind and passing this on to offspring, is SIMPLE??

I got this email and wanted to share it with some comments and discussions. Of course, being an owner of working ACD's this inflammed me to no end and just adds to my "EVIL EMPIRE" AKC show people. This person has NO problem whatsoever with continuing to breed a carrier of PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy). I, on the other hand, have a HUGH problem with this!! Then I felt like she was giving me a butt chewing because of it. I did email her a response to the effect that OUR ACD's are NOT carriers nor are they affected --- and we will continue to look elsewhere for NON-affected, NON-carrier dogs --- and it's ignorance of genetics and people as this that will be the demise of the breed. It still boils down to MONEY and PRESTIGE. To set the picture: I inquired about a male ACD that was doing well in herding trials. Here is her response (in [b]black[/b]) & my response (in [b][color=red]red[/color][/b]): Ok, I have a good friend who lives in Waco, TX. He owns Leader's sire actually. would you intend to have him neutered or do you think one breeding back in the future would be a possibility? [b][color=red]Since he is Pattern B, carrier for PRA -- I would have him neutered. [/color][/b] Also, do you intend to breed him? [color=darkred][b]No, since he is a carrier for PRA. [/b][/color] Ok, I would not have a problem with him being neutered if you choose to do so, since you don't have intentions to breed ACDs (I assume). However, Please think carefully about discluding dogs from a breeding program because of one simple genetic thing like PRA. PRA is a very easy thing to breed away from now that we have a test for it and it's a simple recessive gene. PRA in one form or another (either carrier or affected) is in %75 of the ACD population. We as breeders would never be able to sustain a genepool if we only used clear dogs. ACDs would become genetic nightmares and more serious problems would pop up like more severe dysplasia, dysplastic elbows, Epilepsy, intermittant rage disorder, other eye diseases like junenile cataracts,.... not to mention temperment, herding ability and breed type would go down the drain. All that said, obviously, I'd prefer to keep a breeding option on Leader so I could have one litter of puppies, since he's a top ten breed CH, OFA good, OFA elbows Normal, BAER tested Normal, and PRA-B. But, I still think this could be a very good place for Leader esspecially if you intend to do herding trials with him. So, I would want to collect and freeze some semen before he was sent to you, And then the price I'll ask is $700 plus any shipping costs.

Finally, someone agrees with all the preaching we have been doing!!

[quote name='alicat613'] Three you can't roughhouse with them because they are generally asleep on the couch. [/quote] NOT true!! Deep is normally on the couch..... :lol: :lol: :lol: I guess they would have to wrestle over WHO gets the couch! :lol: :lol: ....sorry Deep, couldn't resist.

I KNOW the trapped feeling!!

An AussieXBorder Collie should weigh around 40 to 45 pounds, depending on the bloodline(s), some BC's I've seen weigh 50lbs. I'm will K, get new scales or what you have is NOT an Aussie/BC or a very, very obese one. :wink:

Too much :drinking: :drinking: :drinking: before posting. :wink:

Those are darling!