imported_Kat

Whoo hoo go you! :D I am so glad that you got inspiration to do something different when you were frustrated about the agility situation. S&R is great fun and the adrenaline is just such a buzz for the handler as well, plus you are making a real contribution to society :wink:

I would have to say he definitely looks like a Staffy BT as well. He looks to be too small and compact to be an American bulldog/Pitbull.

Good prep but as Kendalyn says its only human nature to bend schedules. Just be flexible with your new puppy and take things as they come, so that the pair of you can bond first then you can start training after that, but having a good bond is priority and the foundations of a good pet/working dog. All puppies develop at different rates both physically and mentally, which is why strict guidelines won't always work. Good luck and keep us posted! :wink:

Its somehow reassuring to see when your dog protects you :D Meggie was so jealous when I introduced her to saner and if we walked with his arm around me, she would wiggle her furry little butt in betweenus, or if we were messing about at Crufts in the guest house, she would do wee whiney noises and poune up on the bed and wuffle at Sander hehe. Its so cute!

lol did they actually show a couple of seconds out of all the breed! I'm amazed! What exactly of the obedience did they show ?

Well I have to say I have read the posts that have developed over the past few weeks in regards to the incidents and as I usually am extremely judgemental and forward I kept my mouth shut, so that I didn't jeopardise my existence being on what I have found to be a good dog discussion board. When I read the preliminary posts I thought it was dodgy to say the least and I didn't buy the story of the photos being stolen. I may be judgemental but I have a speciality 6th sense that zones straight in to spot someone untrue. Now that I have seen this post, my first words were "I knew it". I truly believe that we have been lied to and crossed. The only person however who has ended up looking like a proverbial fool is him himself. If it was a situation of him breeding his dogs then fair enough, we can't dictate to people. We can try to educate about smart breeding but we have no control realistically. The fact of the matter is that it was taken further and one lie has spiralled into another and come up with a huge cumulative effect. My outright view is to ban. Too many coincidences? Murphys law isn't different for one person than another.

On another doggy site I'm on, I've been told that Crufts is being aired this weekend. I'm not sure of individual times but I guess you would get that in your tv guides. Animal planet filmed the obedience world championships and took details from me and a few others after we competed so I think Meggie and I might be on it if anyone is watching it. You all know what we look like I think. I'm the blonde one with the prettiest black and white Border collie that was at Crufts (not that I'm biased :wink: ), and our team are in green and navy ruby shirts.

LOL its funny you guys say about the determination of little dogs. A few nights ago at the park, I had Meg in a down by the car while I locked it. This wee JRT came up yapping and next thing I knew it the wee sod had mounted Meg! :o Poor Meg just looked at me pleading to be freed from her down stay lol. Wee dogs really are determined when it comes to hormonal influence! :wink:

If you get one of the reasonably large metal Rosewood style cages he will thrive in it, plus he will be safe and feel secure most importantly of all. As far as the forest goes, wait until at least 2 weeks after you have his vaccinations before taking him into forests or woods or where any wild animals are. After he is vaccinated just walk him on the pavement and get him used to being on a lead, and try to avoid crowded dog parks. He is only a baby yet, but gentle exposure little by little to help build up his immunity is essential.

Run backwards with her on the lead and down her using a really fast command and if necessary physically put her down as she does it. As soon as she does it treat her very fast, with no hesitation then tell her yeahhhh and run backwards again. She should catch onto the excitement and be more willing to down for you. Also you can alternate running backwards with her running at your left side(not in a heel position but reasonably close on the lead) and then turn into her quickly and down her just as before and treat her very fast. Do this loads of times before you tackle the table, then repeat the same fast treating when you do have her on the table. Good luck :wink:

Loki I promise to post my lit review tomorrow. I will see if my boyfriend can host it on his server so that it can be read as a document then give you the link. I can't post up my actual thesis (Social behaviour of Border Collies) just yet, as it is currently in the hands of the invigilators, who will all hopefully like it and be nice and give me a good mark on it :lol: We were told though that its risky to show it in case someone steals it and uses their own name to have it published, so a few weeks and I shall enlighten you :wink: My field is Zoology specialising in Canid social behaviour, and I'm hopefully graduating with a BSc. Honours degree in Zoology. 2 exams to go and I should know the outcome of my 4 years degree by the middle of June! :D Needless to say I can't wait to graduate! My ultimate aim is to study social behaviour of wild wolves, and hopefully if I get accepted for the TopMasters scholarship that I applied for, I will get a chance to go to Poland in year 2005/2006 to carry out my own research with wolves that are currently being tagged and observed over every few months for social hierarchical behaviour :D

It sounds like it was a perfect small show to start Webby's show career off on! Congrats and now that you have got the bug for dogshows, you will be addicted :wink:

Mutts in answer to your question, we have just started to see the Johnson bulldog in the past few years. These dogs cannot be kept, let alone be registered so in answer to your question the Johnson is the same as your Johnson. What they are calling the American bulldog here is like a cross between a staffordshire bull terrier and pit bull terrier but is nowhere near the size of the Johnsons that I have seen. I actually only came across the Johnson last year when I was involved in a confiscation case, and that dog was the most powerful animal I have ever seen, and the way that he was being brought up he had the potential to do some very serious damage. Idiots over here are experimenting dangerously with mixing the bull terrier and bull dog breeds and its getting out of control, so any that they claim here is a true breed, I disregard.

A few things to clarify very quickly before I go up to uni. The dog is not a sub species. The dog has been classified as [i]Canis familiaris [/i]and is a different species from the Grey wolf. I just completed a year long thesis on Canid social behaviour and evolution so believe me I have done a great deal of geneaological studies into the evolution of dogs arising from wolves, and they are most certainly a classified separate species. Dogs are effectively Grey wolves. They share the same diploid number of chromosomes as Grey wolves, but other evidence comes from mitochondrial DNA which is maternal DNA and has a high rate of amplification in determining evolutionary trends.. Chromosome number alone cannot consolidate the Grey wolves and domestic dogs as the Jackals, Grey wolves, Red wolves, African wild dogs (Cape hunting dogs), and Coyotes all have 78 chromosomes. Red wolves and Coyotes are thought to be the result of hybridistion but I don't have time to go into this factor now. What I will do is to post my literature review later on which I completed so that any confusion is cleared up. Dogs have been domesticated for around at least 15,000 years, and indeed many behavioural traits still exist but those traits have been channelled into something that is beneficial for human use. e.g Border Collies herd, and this herding behaviour is a modification of the initial stages of hunting in wild canids, only it lacks the final lunge and kill. I have worked and completed behavioural studies on wolf like breeds,. Indeed its a shame in my opinion why people are not content with the breeds that we have, and that yet again history is being repeated... only this time it is not accidental hybridisation when wild wolves are purposefully being bred when in many areas of the world they are threatened. The wolf "breeds" are beautiful and having a very special affinity to these animals I love their beauty and behaviour, but I would much rather be seeing wolves in the wild being left alone to support the ecosytems, and to avoid the endangerment and collapse of other animals through human ignorance, who don't understand the long-term effects of removing not only the wolf, but the other creatures that depend on the wolf in the complicated eco-web of life.

HF This is the best news to wake up to! :angel: You really are so wonderful for taking on a dog like Rocco and can I just say he looks like one of yours now all content and happy :D

Being a member of the KC in the UK, I've been aware of this case for a while now, but all the petitions in the world will not persuade the KC to register the Saarloos or Czech Wolfdog. They live in a time warp and are very reluctant to take new actions or register new breeds, especially those breeds which have appeared in the past 20 years from cross-breeding wolf hybrids. Additionally there is not nearly a substantial number of Saarloos or Czechs in the UK to even contemplate starting a KC register. Its a sad situation, but thats what the KC in the UK are like. In one respect I would like to see these breeds registered several years down the line, but in another respect I wouldn't. Having seen so many idiots go to "breeders" in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and bringing back a pup which turns into an out of control adult dog that they can't handle, the breed would become another listed dangerous dog breed and banned, like the American bulldog, Pitbull terrier, Johnson bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Cane Corso etc etc. Most of my experiences with wolfdogs have been through treating behavioural problems and owners who get in over their heads who resort to having to either give up their dog or have their pet put to sleep. Unfortunately in N.Ireland there are no wild animal licenses and people can have wolves as pets, which is certainly not recommended judging by what I've seen. Consequently the wolfdog "breeds" who exhibit similar behavioural traits I fear would end up as another statistic on the banned breed list.

Yes definitely wait until your pup has had all his vaccinations before he ventures outside or makes contact with any other dog, except obviously your own but bear in mind your own dog may still be a carrier of diseases and infections through his experiences outside. Even if you have your puppy outside in the garden, make sure that when you bring him inside that you wipe his pads of his feet to get rid of any birds droppings which carry salmonella, leptospirosis and enterobacteria, which are all potentially dangerous to a young puppy. This time of year the birds are very active flying back and forward to their nests to carry food to their chicks, and these spring months and autumn/early winter months when birds begin to migrate are when puppies are most at risk from bacterial infections. Congrats with your pup and don't worry you will have plenty of time to expose your pup to the outside world. Just get him used to a collar and lead with lots of praise and treats at the moment in the house.

Oh yeah you can teach loads of things. When my exams are over on 25th May I'll post some things up for ya that Meg does for heelwork to music routines. Right now its back to learning about tree shrews and stress mathematics :o

Having just had a very unintelligeble conversation via live chat with "Ricky", I am sitting here cursing them to hell and back for creating innocent little puppies that cannot be classified as dogs. It makes me so so very angry and pi**ed off :evil: I asked about a "tea cup" Border Collie and he was ready to give me the name of one of his friends who bred them :evil: Total Bas*ards! :madgo: :chainsaw1:

Oh gosh Aurora, I am so so sorry for your situation with Lily. One thing that springs to my mind if she won't respod to behavioural training is that she may have a retinal condition called mirror retinolatrophy. This is where the retina of the eye is cloudy. The dog sees objects in shadow and its almost as like he has blinkers on, so you can appreciate that she would be spooked if someone approached her from the side or from behind, and in a startle reaction the dogs first reaction is to snap. If you hold her near a light and can see through to the back of the retina when the light fully shines on the eye, then it may be an idea to get the vet to take a closer look at her. This condition is notorious in Golden Retriever, Border Collies and Boxers. Just a thought but please keep us updated and we are all here for you no matter what :wink:

I had Meg in a down flat stay in the park while I went to put my training bag back into the car. When I got back there was a crowd around her and I thought uh oh whats going on. One of the doggy brigade (group of wee old ladies and men with wee dogs :lol: ) said to me that she thought the wee collie dog had a wee turn and wasn't alive. I said the magic word "free" and Meg bounced up from her "dead" position and wondered what all the fuss was about :lol: . While they had all gathered around her, she hadn't moved at all hehe

Neutradol room deodoriser that you plug into the wall is a really nifty wee device that works wonders too. :)

Certainly genetics plays the biggest part in breeding any animal. Animals with close relatedness may have an allele on a gene that codes for a certain characteristic (lets say for example retinalatrophy which is a condition that causes partial sight in dogs). Lets say the dog and bitch both had the recessive allele coding for the condition, but in these dogs it lay dormant. In the offspring a certain percentage of those puppies (25%) will have the condition, so you can see how continuous matings will produce a continuous percentage of that litter that will most certainly have a particular condition. Its is much better to have genetic diversity but to always ensure that you have healthy matings whilst maintaining the genetic diversity to ensure a healthy F1 offspring and subsequent offspring generations.

Aww that really was an awful day for you but with a happy ending with finding India. That feeling when a pet goes missing and you find evidence of them being hit by a car is soul destroying. October 2 years ago I was at uni at night and my Mum called to say my neighbour had said he had seen a little tabby and white cat hit by the side of the road with blood on her face and she ran off before he could get her. Abby my little scottish wild cat is the only tabby around where we live so after bombing it home in the car and going out to look for her, I found her wee name disc smashed up in the middle of the road, along with spots of blood. I sobbed my heart out, as I looked for that wee cat that night and had Meg with me. I had given Meg the scent of Abby from Abby's blanket and we searched all around and in the orchard near us, Meg ran up to me with a tiny fragment of Abby's collar in her mouth. She really does have a great nose on her. That give me fresh hope that she was still alive after she had been hit, but after searching for hours I came back home and cried myself to sleep. At about 2am, Mum came into my room and said the words I had been longing to hear; Shes back! She was cut all over her pretty little face, with a broken tooth and she was very sore all over, and Zoe my Golden sensing that jumped out of her bed and nudged her very gently and Abby slept in Zoes bed for a few nights until she could jump again. That night changed Abby psychologically and for some time after she was terrified to go outside, which was incredibly unusual being a wild cat and she had always loved being out. She became more affectionate too, and even now 2 and abit years on, that wee cat will still not stay out for any length of time. When you feel that moment of knowing your pet has been hit is just horrible and I am so so very glad that you got your India back.

Carol, have you tried a silver heat reflective coat? I have one for Meg that I keep on her if its really warm at a competition (ok so I say warm and that would be up to about 20c! :lol: ). It really is very effective and I would also squirt her with cool water before we would run and make sure that her head especially is well soaked.