For dog lovers Pt. 2

[Liesje]

Even better, I love kelpies as well, but they are hard to find in the US.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Even better, I love kelpies as well, but they are hard to find in the US.

Haha, we've got more than enough over here! I'll send you some.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

i'm getting so excited..


here's the latest from my breeder who just emailed me an update this morning:

I took her temp this morning before we went outside for our morning walk and it had dropped to 99.1. After we came back in and she ate some it went up to 99.5.
Today is day 60 from our first breeding, tomorrow day 61. Mon. 15th will be day 60 from the second breeding. We all know we have a full moon on Mon.
Trish if she has them tomorrow that would make it 61 from our first breeding,I'm good!! If that's the case I hit it right on the day her eggs were ready to be fertilized.
I'll keep you all posted, Peggy
Maybe I will get alot of boys! I only need 1 girl for Amy, the rest want boys.

 

[Liesje]

Amy I am excited for you! Honestly, I'm not terribly excited about my puppy, but probably already having 2 dogs helps with that. I'm not looking forward to getting up in the night when there are blizzards and such! I did already buy him 2 ex-pens, a Halloween shirt, I'm getting a used crate from someone at work, and I plan to hit the thrift store for old towels and blankets to use while he's potty training. My sister-in-law married a guy from Malaysia and right now his parents are living in town here b/c the dad is studying at the school where I work. I think they are more excited about my pup than I am! My breeder is at German Shepherd shows in Germany right now but when she gets back there better be new puppy pics. I have not seen them yet because my dogs were sick. Since I am around so many dogs, we are waiting until they are more robust and healthy (she has a runt girl that was not doing well). There are just so many things I need to figure out and get done! The pup needs to be registered with the AKC and UKC here AND the SV in Germany, which requires that his ear be tattooed. The breeder has never done tats so if she can't do it I've got to find someone else that does dog tats...

 

[youvedonewhat]

Ok, I'm hoping to get a dog very soon. It's been a long while since I lost my beloved Goldie. Time does heal but it never quite goes away. Mr YDW has ordained that 'it's time we had another dog'. So, I'm about to go and find out about breeders etc. The only thing that puts me off is that the Kennel Club has a bad reputation just now for interbreeding and apparently some 60% of pedigrees have health problems as a result. I'm considering maybe a rescue or maybe a dog who is not 100% pedigree. I've always had pedigrees before so I wondered if anyone has any experience of rescue dogs.

Thanks.

 

[Liesje]

Every dog is "pedigreed" b/c it is analogous to a human having a genealogy. A dog may or may not be registered (or "papered" as it is often called in marketing schemes). Whether or not a dog is registered is very little indication of the quality of the dog or inbreeding quotients. A non-registered dog can be heavily inbred and a registered dog can have no inbreeding or line-breeding for seven or more generations.

When looking for a breeder, I would not worry about the dog's pedigree at first, but first and foremost make sure to find one that breeds for proper temperament and does the appropriate health screening. In the USA, hips and elbows are examined and certified by the OFA. You have a veterinary radiologist take X-rays and they are submitted to the OFA. The films are reviewed by three expert vets and scored. Dogs cannot be OFAed until age two because most breeds (the larger, the later) are not mature until at least two years of age. I'm not sure what the standard is in the UK, but whatever it is make SURE the breeders you look at are certifying their dogs' hips and elbows. Likewise, no dog under the age of two should be bred. Anytime I see young dogs being bred that sends up big red flags to me. A retriever is not mature until it is at least two years old, breeding one that is younger means the dog does not have the appropriate health certs and is akin to an 11 year old girl getting pregnant.

I assume the bad rep of the Kennel Club you are referring to is due to the Pedigree Dogs Exposed program? If so, just remember that program was made by someone with an obvious agenda. Inbreeding and linebreeding does is exist but it is not always a bad thing. Generally, I like linebreeding because it indicates to me that the breeder has clear, specific goals of what they are trying to achieve and what strengths their program is capitalizing on. I like breeders that have very specific goals in mind, it proves to me they are breeding to improve their breed, not to make money or carelessly supply puppies.

Currently I have one purebred dog who I can trace back to the original German Shepherd dog ("Horand") and I have a rescue dog who is a mix. Both have their pros and cons. My purebred dog has certified hips and elbows, and she had her eyes certified as well though I have not renewed it (CERF for eyes has to be done annually). My mutt just turned 2 in July so I have not had his hips x-rayed yet. Of the two dogs, he has had more minor health issues, but that could be attributed more to his coat type (he gets hot spots) and the neglect early in his life than his breeding.

 

[youvedonewhat]

Thanks for this Lies. I suppose since I lost my dog seven years ago things have moved on regarding hips etc. Hopefully it's better now then it was then. We lost one dog to hip problems at age 7. We were luckier w/our last dog. He was 13 when he passed away. We didn't have any hip problems w/him so I guess we were lucky. We're very much doggie people and I want to give one a good home. I'm torn between getting a pedigree and a mutt because there are so many dogs out there looking for good, responsible owners. Trouble is if I went to a rescue center I'd probably end up bringing them all home. (Mr YDW would have to travel home clinging to the roof of the car, hee).

Anway, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I'll keep this thread posted when I get one..

 

[Liesje]

I suppose since I lost my dog seven years ago things have moved on regarding hips etc. Hopefully it's better now then it was then.

Sadly not. Hip dysplasia is a huge problem and common occurrence in many breeds.

If you do go the breeder route, make sure the parents are cleared for hip dyslasia (and not just by a vet exam, but experts who have evaluated proper x-rays), and preferably the grandparents too. And check the other progeny of the sire and dam, make sure they are not producing health problems.

 

[angelordevil]

A few recent doggie pics...

Sleeping Shadow.

Coco, asleep in my lap at my grandfather's birthday party. She stayed like that for about an hour, the little weirdo.

A friend's dogs...I started laughing out loud when I saw the expression on the poodle.

 

[Liesje]

Aw too cute! But you know I have a soft spot for Shadow.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

WOOHOO!!! MY PUP WAS BORN!!


I just got the email this morning:

Good Morning,
Journey gave birth to 8 lovely puppies Sept. 14th. We have 4 males and 4 females. Can't get any better then that.

Gawd, now I can't wait for the pics of mom and pups...

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

HERE ARE THE PICS OF THE PUPS AND MOMMA!!


one of those lil beauties is gonna be ours!

look at that happy momma..

so in 5 weeks we will go and pick out our lil girl. And then mid november we will bring her home..

 

[bonocomet]

omg

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

^ i know! i am just over the moon right now after seeing those pics..

 

[youvedonewhat]

They are gorgeous. How do you pick just one? I'm so jealous..lol.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

They are gorgeous. How do you pick just one? I'm so jealous..lol.

they are.. yummy chocolate colour..

Exactly! I want to take them all home..

 

[bonocomet]

chocolate puppies

 

[arw]

WOOHOO!!! MY PUP WAS BORN!!


I just got the email this morning:



Gawd, now I can't wait for the pics of mom and pups...

congrats! They are soooooo cute! What are you going to name yours?

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

congrats! They are soooooo cute! What are you going to name yours?

gawd, I don't know yet.. I think when we go visit her(to pick her out) in 5 weeks we will be able to tell more by her personality. I want to let my son help choose the name I think too cuz this is both a surprise bday present for him and a special gift for me (i have been wanting a dog for the last 15 yrs).

 

[kafrun]

Aww, congrats, Amy Those puppies are gorgeous! I just want to gnaw on them

 

[Ava79]

:

I can has them all, please?

No? Okay, I'll just keep staring at the pic then

 

[achtung_girl]

I love the color U2Fanatic! I once had a horse in this color...

 

[mad1]

OMG what a gorgeous pic!

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

I can has them all, please?

No? Okay, I'll just keep staring at the pic then

hahaha.. that is exactly what i did all nite just kept staring at them..I am mesmorized by these pics.. I just want to walk into the picture give them all kisses..

 

[Angela Harlem]

A few recent doggie pics...

Coco, asleep in my lap at my grandfather's birthday party. She stayed like that for about an hour, the little weirdo.

A friend's dogs...I started laughing out loud when I saw the expression on the poodle.

Coco has to be the maddest, cutest thing ever?

The poodle is priceless!

I think my dogs are a tad neglected lately. I wish I had more time for them. Sally is going to the groomer soon. We will need before and after pics. I should have taken a photo of Archie with the snake the other week, too. Little bastard.

Anyone got some good tips on socialising? I can't walk them much these days because I have to push a pram and had wrist surgery, so walking a 20kg and 15 kg pair of wild hounds while pushing a pram with a very sore wrist just won't work...

 

[Liesje]

Agility class tonight was really fun. Last week was canceled b/c of the temps. When it's higher than 90 and humid, we cancel b/c the dogs are too hot to work. By contrast, tonight was really cool, we could see our breath by the end. I think there's a neat variety of dogs in my class.

Powder

Leo

Justin (Kenya's boyfriend)

Rider, such a ham

Star (lab) and her brother Nicholas Flamel (standard poodle)

Wesley

Star

Rider

Nick

Rider

Wes

 

[Liesje]

Wes, Music, Swiper, Kenya, Star, and Nick

Swiper

Kenya

It was actually almost dark at this point so these are getting more blurry but I love these ones of Skyler and Star. Skylar's just a kid, usually she runs her poodle Nick but we let her run her mom's dog Star (who is fast!).

 

[angelordevil]

HERE ARE THE PICS OF THE PUPS AND MOMMA!!

Ha! That pic is so great! I love the two little guys resting their chins on the mom's leg.

Coco has to be the maddest, cutest thing ever?

She'd be flattered to hear that! She's an original, there's no doubt. I'm not really sure what kind of dog she is...maybe a mix of chihuahua and several other kinds. The great thing about her, aside from her craziness and cuteness, is the fact that she absolutely adores the outside and running around/hiking. I can't keep up with her, and she actually pushes me to extend walks around the trails.

Case in point! (I'm actually running full-out here...and she's winning, with ease!)

A few more...

Aw too cute! But you know I have a soft spot for Shadow.

She's truly a wonderful dog...next time I head across the province to my mom's place, I'll be sure to take a few more pics.

Great pics, once again, Liesje. Your Shepherd dedication would go over extremely well with my family...Shadow is actually the latest in a long line of Shepherds my mom's had had throughout her life...starting back when she was a little girl. I think it's true that families often repeat with the same breed. Why not, when you're onto a great thing?

 

[Angela Harlem]

She's great! Such a cute and sweet looking little nutter I agree she looks part Chihuahua, too. Maybe she has a bit of Terrier, also? I'd love to see more photos!

Lies's photos are making me feel even more guilty about mine. Those pooches are all so well trained and obedient.

 

[Liesje]

Lies's photos are making me feel even more guilty about mine. Those pooches are all so well trained and obedient.

Haha I beg to differ! Working in drive is often not synonymous with being obedient!