imported_Kat

I don't agree with letting animals go straight from an adoption day to a home. I think there should be details of the interested party taken and then a home visit arranged with a background check to ensure that the person has no cruelty charges against him/her in the past.

Yikes I haven't heard of that before but I'm not sure if a well trained dog would be thrown off he scent if it was an evident dope scent.

how tragic that the breeder died with her furbabes. Good luck to your parents with their new pup. Remember to get some pics when you go to visit :wink:

I have to agree and comment on the Border collie. It is the most representative breed to end up in a shelter in the United Kingdom due to behavioural problems. When people come to me asking for advice on a BC I try my very best to discourage them because I always say they are the worst dogs to own but can also be the best dogs to own. My thesis research was spurred on by the rising number of BC's that are in shelters and I studied the social behaviour of the breed by splitting it into 4 groups. -pet -obedience dogs -agility dogs -working farm dogs I observed a variety of social behaviours and through constructing a statistical canonical distribution, I was able to identify two common behavioural dimensions which I called compliance and neuroticism. One very strong trend was evident in that working farm dogs scored higher on the neuroticism axis than the other groups. This was extremely evident from a canonical distribution that I generated . I strongly believe that this is because working farm dogs are allowed to exhibit a wild predatory trait. Herding is encouraged in working farm dogs and it is essentially a form of hunting with the kill part eliminated through years of careful manipulation. Border collies I feel are extremely high maintenance dogs and they need fine tuning from puppyhood to obtain "desirable behaviour". If that fine tuning is not put in place with stimulation such as basic commands, obedience or agility then the herding instinct will kick in and will convey itself in a series of behavioural problems from biting to car chasing on a wide scale of behavioural problems. On a personal note I love the breed and my next puppy will be without any doubt my chocolate red tri-colour pup that I have wanted for a long time. Meg is an amazing dog and very quick to respond to commands and loves to please me. However she is from working parents and still shows evidence of herding traits which I believe are due to genetics. She will still veer to the right slightly when doing a sendaway and will still a circle the training bag when I am getting something from it. I strongly believe observing these traits from her and other BC's that if they are not given stimulation then they are a nightmare dog to own. I certainly know that Meg would be an extremely hard dog to handle if she had not had training from an 8 week old puppy.

hehe thats one great looking akita for 33 years old :P

lol sounds like great fun :D

Seijun I am by no means an expert at all but I have seen wolves and wolfdogs through behavioural consultations and through fostering and just by the photos it looks like those pair are hybrids. Beautiful animals and they shouldn't be condemned if they haven't done anything.

That is indeed strange. Have you had Zebra's eyesight and hearing tested lately? Sometime when a dog has one sense compromised they become hostile to the world that exists outside their safe haven. When I was a kid of about 9 yrs old I used to walk 2 Border collies, lurcher and 2 shelties for the man and woman who has Meg and her friends now. One particular BC called Glen suddenly wouldn''t come out of his kennel when I went to walk the dogs over the fields. He was taken to the vets and it was discovered that his sight was failing and on top of that he had a stroke a few days later. When changes happen in a dogs body they change their behaviour so it would maybe be a good idea to get Zebra checked out. Good luck :wink:

does this woman have pedigrees for the dogs to substantiate her story?

wow you learn something new every day! :wink:

they really don't look like malamutes at all... To me from what I have seen of wolfdogs they are hybrid timber wolves.

Ensure that you aren't letting the inner hairs grow excessively. Schnauzers along with other breeds are prone to little tufts of hair growing and blocking the ear canal which blocks the flow of wax and air and results in a horrid smelly yeast infection. Keep the hairs out by gently plucking them and also make sure the outer hair has the hair well clipped back so that the ear can be aerated. Use a few squirts of olive oil in each ear and massage gently. Using a tissue rolled up (not cotton bud) clean out the goo and gunk from the ear. Repeat this a few times every day. Most importantly if it isn't clearing up then let your vet see her, as at her age she is susceptible to secondary infections which could compromise her immune system and ultimately her longevity.

yeah thats exactly what I mean. Its supposedly pc to call them travellers these days though the thieving little sods who do nothing for the community but thieve have no respect from me. :evil:

so people put a special effort in to get their dogs groomed for Christmas? I would have thought that would be just a time for the high street stores to be busy! :o

Good luck! You have a lot on your hands!

Happy Birthday Zo! :D :bday:

In age order: Zoe: 13.5 yr old Golden Retriever Mandela: 9 y.o South American Blue headed Green Iguana Meg: 8 y.o Border collie (love of my life) Nemo: 1.5 yr old Goldfish Bailey: 6 month old Netherland dwarf lop rabbit Phoenix: 5 month old red d.s.h kitty

What exactly is 4-H? :-?

Star just wanted to say the GSD in your avatar is stunning!

Meg and Zoe are getting tuggy balls and some hum nums :D

Usually dogs are stolen for fighting or pedigrees are there to be sold on through the trade. The amount of stolen dogs that exchange hands between Ireland and the mainland UK is phenomenal. :o

I'm talking to a brick wall so at this point I will now stop.

Thanks for the heads up Mouse. It sounds like travellers which I absolutely hate because they are always thieving. I remember at a dog show once there were travellers and Meg was tied in the back of the car with the boot open because it was a good day. The buggers tried walking away with her but luckily one of my fellow doggy people spotted that she was being taken and raised the alarm. Anytime now at shows we padlock our cages.

The fact that you are even considering breeding a crossbred is worrying.. He is a crossbred, mutt, mongrel whatever you want to call him. A lovely pet I am sure but with there being so many unwanted puppies in the world you don't need to add to the problem by intentionally breeding yours.

sounds like great preparation for an actual registered show. Its a bit like exemption shows that they have in mainland UK but unfortunately they don't have them in N.ireland.