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Fraction: Mouse is fine, though we're still working through diagnostics on the discomfort she's been feeling in her legs and she's on very reduced exercise until we figure out exactly what's going on. While speuter-chat is always fun, the thing i found most interesting about that article was the deconstruction of the definition of 'responsible breeder', particularly the stuff about foundation bitches/starting your own 'lines'. quote:You’ll buy your ‘foundation bitch’ and finish her and she’ll pass all her health tests with flying colors and you’ll breed her to the absolutely most perfectly matched boy dog ever and they’ll produce perfect little puppies and you’ll pick the most perfect little bitch ever to carry on ‘your lines’ and you’ll just be the bestest most responsible dog breeder ever! I think for those of us who are wondering about maybe-possibly breeding dogs later in life, this is the party-line we tend to follow, so it's interesting to see it being called into question.
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Oct 13, 2012 07:45
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ButWhatIf posted:Oh hey did someone mention Michael Vick? Cause the humane society let him have a new dog. Seriously. This doesn't deserve to get buried at the bottom of a page. Link here.
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Oct 13, 2012 07:52
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notsowelp posted:I think for those of us who are wondering about maybe-possibly breeding dogs later in life, this is the party-line we tend to follow, so it's interesting to see it being called into question. Topoisomerase posted:btw I want a Karpat jersey where can I get one shipped to the US? Superconsndar posted:breeding stands are pretty standard for hotter dogs because it would never occur to them to do anything to another dog besides eat it
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Oct 13, 2012 09:31
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Rixatrix posted:Took me a while to understand what you were asking for, but then I realized you prob asked Riiseli for a reason. Why Kärpät? I like SM-liiga style of play better than KHL, and was watching some games and decided that was the team I was going to follow. Around here you can usually get practice jerseys fairly inexpensively with screenprinting or something. I'd love to get a Kärpät practice jersey to wear to shinny. 
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Oct 13, 2012 09:58
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Any Vegas goons going to Hallowiener in the morning? I'll be there with Oscar. It's a Dachshund festival with races, costume contests, and some other cool stuff. Lots of people apparently show up every year. It's my first year going though. Really excited!
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Oct 13, 2012 10:42
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I have no problem with breeders keeping intact dogs. I just think that for most people, (not spergy dog people), a neutered animal is easier to handle and more enjoyable to own. From personal experience at training class, the tricky dogs are inevitably the 5-7 month old intact males. There's a lack of focus that seems to come with being an intact male dog, regardless of breed. If it means the difference between getting basic obedience, or a surrendered dog when the owners give up, I'd rather they be neutered. If they can manage it, though, I'd prefer people to at least wait until they're mature since there seems to be less growth and health issues that way. If my next dog is a puppy, it'll probably be a female deerhound, and I'll likely wait until she's 18-24 months to get her done. The other plan is an ex-racing greyhound which would be fixed already. I have the sads today because my foster kittens have gone to a new home. It's just a fostering arrangement at the moment but I suspect they'll worm their way into the house for good.  The house is really quiet without them and my dog is sad. On the other hand, I'm taking care of this cute-rear end dude for 7 weeks.  His name is Louis and he's a maltese x poodle I think. A bit barky but a cool little guy so far.
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Oct 13, 2012 12:50
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E^^^^^ He made my brain melt into "WHO'S A FUZZY BUTT? WHOSAFUZZYBUTTYBUTTBUTT?" squeals. Is he a foster? 'Cuz I bet he gets adopted so fast.Topoisomerase posted:Anyway my philosophy is spay bitches before 3rd heat if you have no chance of breeding them, but if you are not sure and they get past #3 I'd pretty much say don't bother but keep an eye out for pyometra and monitor for poo poo like false pregnancy and be responsible. v See, I like that philosophy. Because the general opinion amongst most the dane folks I sperg with is that danes seem to do better when they mature intact. And by a 3rd heat, they're probably pushing 2. Long as the vet knows what they're doing regarding potential spine issues I think that's perfectly cool. Spaying a dog at like, 3 months, sounds kind of crazy to me. Obviously I don't know the risks but it's just kind of a knee jerk reaction. Pup hasn't even finished it's shots and you're already doing intrusive surgery on it? At the same time, I feel like the general public would do better at dogs if vets did more than just tell them they need to speuter because they do. Like, if when someone gets a puppy in the puppy kits most vets give away there was a little insert explaining you know like, pyometra and potential tumors and what to look out for, what they'll be dealing with if they keep the dog intact, etc. Because really, you vet folks. How often do you get someone in the office with an intact bitch that has a clue what pyometra even is? I don't vet but in my experience (just sperging with dog owners) they've never heard of it. I'm not saying that's you guys' fault at all, but I think a speuter insert would do worlds of good and probably convince more people to sterilize. Kinda like the heartgard freebie and the frontline freebie in there help convince people to work with those products. I've gotten questions about keeping the dogs intact at the dog park and petsmart and all that. I usually shrug and tell them it's more work than keeping sterilized dogs, but I have the time, effort and ability to do it. Then they ask about the upkeep and I get to tell them all about getting Amy's giant stupid rear end to roll over so I can check her chest and belly for abnormalities and all the other stuff I do at least weekly with everybody. Most of the time I get "Oh wow, I don't think I could do that. I'm so glad my dog is spayed/neutered." and I'm glad their dog is sterilized too. notsowelp posted:I think for those of us who are wondering about maybe-possibly breeding dogs later in life, this is the party-line we tend to follow, so it's interesting to see it being called into question. I think it's a good thing. There's so much more to it than just health tests/balancing the bitch and dog/etc that throwing that out there at people is a good thing. Because there's a hell of a lot of people that think responsible breeding ends at health tests/finishing the dog/balancing/having money on hand. Balen's breeder im'd me going off about something similar a week or so ago because she'd sold a pup to someone ages back under a spay contract, they falsified a bunch of poo poo and convinced her they spayed the pup and oh hey, look, puppies that they thought they responsibly bred because her OFA scores came back good and she'd been finished (on the other side of the country).
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Oct 13, 2012 13:36
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:E^^^^^ He made my brain melt into "WHO'S A FUZZY BUTT? WHOSAFUZZYBUTTYBUTTBUTT?" squeals. Is he a foster? 'Cuz I bet he gets adopted so fast. I'm just taking care of him and his house while his owners are overseas. He's really sweet. And bigger than the photo makes him out to be; when he stands on his back feet, he can reach my waist and he's pretty lanky. I'm hoping I can introduce him and Gary so that Gary can come for sleepovers. Gary's staying with my folks but we have training on Sundays and he always gets fat when he stays with them so it'd be better to have him with us. Also I miss him.
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Oct 13, 2012 14:08
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Rixatrix posted:
Actually no, from what I've seen they don't really care one way or another. Opposite sex DA is not something that really matters because dogs are never matched against the opposite sex (or very rarely) so they're kind of whatever about it. Some people will avoid using the stand if the dogs will breed naturally, and some people will use a stand without even seeing if it's necessary just to not have to worry about the possibility of a fight. Breeding the hottest dogs possible is never a goal, and some of the best dogs are dog tolerant outside of matches. I would even say that in a lot of cases, if they were going to breed a mediocre dog and they put up such a fuss they needed to get the stand out, they'd just as soon not breed it because  . Dogs that are super hot and a lot of trouble are only bothered with if they're really amazing and worthwhile, otherwise everyone just goes  at them and they either sit on their chain or are culled. I think 9 times out of 10 a stand is used more as a precaution than anything- no one wants to have to detach two dogs from each others faces while they are tied.  I think once you get to the point where "breed dogs that hate and want to fight other dogs above all else" is the basis for your breed, you're already in "not natural" territory soooo,
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Oct 13, 2012 14:10
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ButWhatIf posted:Awww, poor guy. Looks like you opted for TPLO? How much did that end up setting you back financially? And what was recovery like? Was physiotherapy intense? Yes, we did do the TPLO. First, a short history of Scooby's medical problems: I adopted Scooby last October. A friend of a friend was helping her coworker rehome his dog because he had to move out of the country to care for his elderly mother. I found out about the dog on a Friday night, the guy was leaving that Sunday, and Scooby was going to the pound on Saturday if he didn't find a home for him. Scooby was a 9 year old Lab/Border Collie mix and I got all  about an elderly Big Black Dog dying in a shelter because no one would adopt him. We were told he had "some arthritis" in his left leg. When I took him to the vet a few days after adopting him, the on-call vet happened to be an orthopaedic specialist and took one look at him and told us the ligament was torn. He also had two rotting teeth, a mysterious oral tumour (that later disappeared) and has a seizure disorder. We decided on conservative management for the left leg (rest, metacam and time) and he did really well. Losing 20 pounds and getting down to a healthy weight also helped. Then the right ligament tore over the summer and I felt that surgery was the only option for Scooby to have mobility and quality of life for his remaining years. His surgery (including vet visits, x-rays, drugs and all) was about $4000. The first few days of recovery were absolute hell because of how he reacted to the pain medication. He spent the first 48 hours whining, panting, pacing the house and not sleeping more than an hour or two. This went on until I took off his fentanyl patch in my sleep-deprived state of desperation to do something, anything, to make him feel better. He was back to normal within an hour of being off the fentanyl and he we kept him on other pain meds for his recovery. My vet said he's only seen a few dogs react to pain medication this way, so it will probably not happen to you. The physiotherapy wasn't difficult. We did the range of motion exercises, the cold packs, hot packs, sit-stand exercises, figure-eight exercises, etc. Scooby's not a fan of water so we haven't tried swimming yet. The stair restriction was difficult because he's a good 65 lb and a lot of dog to carry to and from the backyard. His recovery has been slower than expected - he's still not putting full weight on the leg and we're almost 11 weeks post-op. He's still moving better than he was before the surgery though, so I'm glad I went through with it.
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Oct 13, 2012 14:33
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RurouNNy posted:With Halloween approaching and all, does anyone who has experience with dyeing their pets want to start a thread (*cough*Fluffy Bunnies*cough*)? I actually made it kind of a catch-all for holiday outfits, clothing in general and dyeing. And it's here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3511686 . I couldn't really think of anything else to add (maybe sizing or something?) so if you guys have anything you think I should add to the OP, by all means, tell me.
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Oct 13, 2012 15:16
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Wanna dye my dogs weird colors! I dream of seeing PI pets in a glorious rainbow 
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Rixatrix posted:Do that many people really think breeding is as easy as "buy a quality bitch, establish line, breed bestest puppies ever"? I think its more that the idea is often presented to newcomers that the route to becoming a 'responsible breeder' is to fulfill a laundry list of obligations (5 years of ringside study under a mentor, buy show quality bitch puppy, title it in x,y,z, health test for l,m,n,o,p,q), breed to a carefully chosen male and BAM you are now Responsible and on track to becoming an Established Breeder of Quality Lines. It's not a terrible model, but it is a huge oversimplification of the realities of breeding (all the health testing in the world won't guarantee a healthy litter, you can't tell at 8 weeks which puppy(ies) will be worthy of breeding at 2 years, and all the other stuff Jess lists in her blog post).
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Oct 13, 2012 16:03
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Superconsndar posted:Actually no, from what I've seen they don't really care one way or another. Opposite sex DA is not something that really matters because dogs are never matched against the opposite sex (or very rarely) so they're kind of whatever about it. I had to ask, since I really like certain types of pit bull, but I find breeding animals which are incapable of reproducing naturally pretty repulsive, personally. I don't know why it gets to me more than producing animals which are incapable of, say, breathing normally (English Bulldogs and similar abominations, which of course also tend to have reproductive issues on top of everything else).
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Oct 13, 2012 16:35
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notsowelp posted:I think its more that the idea is often presented to newcomers that the route to becoming a 'responsible breeder' is to fulfill a laundry list of obligations (5 years of ringside study under a mentor, buy show quality bitch puppy, title it in x,y,z, health test for l,m,n,o,p,q), breed to a carefully chosen male and BAM you are now Responsible and on track to becoming an Established Breeder of Quality Lines. It's not a terrible model, but it is a huge oversimplification of the realities of breeding (all the health testing in the world won't guarantee a healthy litter, you can't tell at 8 weeks which puppy(ies) will be worthy of breeding at 2 years, and all the other stuff Jess lists in her blog post). Yeah I agree with all that, and I would say that's even common knowledge for anyone really interested in becoming a breeder. It's not like that info is hidden from you; I've seen many other blogs posting pretty much the exact same thing. What I don't get is how 'exposing the idealization vs reality of responsible breeding' leads to a long rear end rant about keeping extra non-breeding bitches intact for seemingly no reason.
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Oct 13, 2012 17:16
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ButWhatIf posted:Seriously. This doesn't deserve to get buried at the bottom of a page. Link here. I'm wondering what kind of dog he adopted. Obviously I think people are going to be twice as pissed if it's a pit.
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Oct 13, 2012 17:23
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I had Max neutered because 1) I had absolutely zero desire to breed him especially since he's a former stray shelter dog with no known history (and he's my first dog, why the hell would I get into breeding with my very first dog); 2) I would feel horrible if he got loose and knocked up someone else's dog; and 3) walking an intact dog is a pain in the rear end since he had to stop and mark every 5 seconds. There hasn't been any noticeable personality change after the neutering. He's still the snuggliest dog I've ever met. On that note, most people I run into while I have Max with me regale me with tales of how they owned a blue heeler once, and gosh darn it was the meanest dog they've ever had! Do I have an abnormal ACD because he's super friendly and cuddly? Or is it that the majority of people don't realize these dogs needs Things To Do or they go stir crazy? I'm leaning towards the latter, because the people who live on farms always tell me how ACDs are the best dogs ever and people who live in apartments/suburban houses tell me they're mean. He gets really annoying and mouthy unless he gets at least a 45 minute/two mile walk every day plus extra inside playtime or training, but I wouldn't classify his annoying mouthing as "mean".
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Oct 13, 2012 17:59
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So I have to find a new home for Spock. He's an awesome dog, really trainable, but the fact is, he's aggressive to strangers at the house. Pizza guys, my kids' friends, my family, it doesn't matter. I love him to death, but I can't afford a behaviorist, and he's already gone after my mom. Luckily there was no damage, but what if it was a neighborhood kid? We have him crated, but he's starting to get aggressive enough that he's trying to break out of his crate as soon as there's a knock, or the doorbell rings. I'm pretty broken up right now, because I can't find a shelter that will take him that isn't a no-kill shelter.
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Oct 13, 2012 18:55
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ToastFaceKillah posted:So I have to find a new home for Spock. He's an awesome dog, really trainable, but the fact is, he's aggressive to strangers at the house. Pizza guys, my kids' friends, my family, it doesn't matter. I love him to death, but I can't afford a behaviorist, and he's already gone after my mom. Luckily there was no damage, but what if it was a neighborhood kid? We have him crated, but he's starting to get aggressive enough that he's trying to break out of his crate as soon as there's a knock, or the doorbell rings. I don't have any great answers for you, unfortunately. I just want to dispel the myth that no-kill shelters, if they were available, are a good solution for this type of situation--they won't have an easier time adopting out a stranger-aggressive dog than any other shelter, but they may very well keep him in a kennel for years because euthanizing is not something they do. Not saying all no-kill shelters and rescues are like that, but I have definitely see it happen. If no suitable home can be found, euthanasia is much kinder than warehousing problem dogs.
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Oct 13, 2012 20:02
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ToastFaceKillah posted:So I have to find a new home for Spock. He's an awesome dog, really trainable, but the fact is, he's aggressive to strangers at the house. Pizza guys, my kids' friends, my family, it doesn't matter. I love him to death, but I can't afford a behaviorist, and he's already gone after my mom. Luckily there was no damage, but what if it was a neighborhood kid? We have him crated, but he's starting to get aggressive enough that he's trying to break out of his crate as soon as there's a knock, or the doorbell rings. This is going to make me sound like a dick, but what do you think is going to happen if you bring him to a shelter? Even a non-kill shelter will euthanize dogs with severe behavioral issues like this. Rather than bringing him to a shelter, the best thing to do would be to personally find him a home with someone who has experience working with dogs that are human aggressive. Local rescues may be able to help you out, but it's not a sure thing by any means. You didn't mention if he has ever bitten someone, and if he hasn't, make sure you emphasize that to anyone you talk to. I hate to say it, but if you can no longer handle him and can't find him a home, you may want to consider giving him one last happy, fun day and bringing him to be put down yourself, so at least he'll have someone he loves there with him at the end. I mean, that's just what I would consider if I was in your position. I'm not saying you that you should put him down, as I don't know anything about him beyond what you've posted here. It's just that dogs that are aggressive to people do not even get put up for adoption at shelters, and the fact that he'd be around strangers constantly would be even worse for him and his chances of being considered adoptable. It's also worth asking, has he seen a vet about this? Sometimes these things can have underlying medical causes. I hope it works out for you and Spock, I really do.
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Oct 13, 2012 20:11
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I know. We have already decided that will have to be the course of action if we can't find a place for him. We are being open with all shelters. We have also decided that if that is the way it has to be, then he is going to have the best goddamn day a dog can have beforehand, I love my buddy, I wish none of this ever happened, but I can't just pretend it ISN'T happening. He's the best dog I've ever had other than that, and drat I wish I had the means to help him. He's fine with strangers outside of the house, other dogs, cats.
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Oct 13, 2012 20:15
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:I had Max neutered because 1) I had absolutely zero desire to breed him especially since he's a former stray shelter dog with no known history (and he's my first dog, why the hell would I get into breeding with my very first dog); 2) I would feel horrible if he got loose and knocked up someone else's dog; and 3) walking an intact dog is a pain in the rear end since he had to stop and mark every 5 seconds. I think ACDs are some of the easiest dogs to make mean. They're more stubborn and willing to bite than most other popular breeds. They also can have a tendency to be territorial and possessive, which most people don't handle well in my experience and so it escalates into inappropriate aggression. So those behavioral tendencies combined with their huge need for exercise that most casual owners don't meet and you have a pretty perfect recipe for a mean dog. And exercise is a big issue. One of my ACDs will get really nasty to my GSD if the ACD hasn't been worked enough for a couple of days. He picks on poor George because George is the only one nice enough to take it. He's not trying to kill George or anything, just being pissy. ToastFaceKillah posted:I know. We have already decided that will have to be the course of action if we can't find a place for him. We are being open with all shelters. We have also decided that if that is the way it has to be, then he is going to have the best goddamn day a dog can have beforehand, I love my buddy, I wish none of this ever happened, but I can't just pretend it ISN'T happening. He's the best dog I've ever had other than that, and drat I wish I had the means to help him. He's fine with strangers outside of the house, other dogs, cats. For what it's worth, I really respect you for handling it like that. It's a lovely situation but it sounds like you've done everything you can and are doing the right thing.
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Oct 13, 2012 22:47
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Eva is totally loving awesome.  I bought a cheapy petsmart frisbee for her on Tuesday and she really enjoyed chasing down my crappy rear end throws. My best friend texted me and asked if I'm going to enter her in the competition this weekend because she's going. I figured that we're waaay too green to try to compete but it would be great to get her into that environment and see how she does if disc is something she really takes to. I was able to switch workdays with a co-worker yesterday and took Eva and my friend out to the competition. It was a small event, registration for novice was just $5 so I figured what the hell, we might as well have some fun. I borrowed a Jaws disc and braced to embarrass the hell out of myself. We tied for third.
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Oct 14, 2012 04:38
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Way to go Eva! Today Lola actually whined and pulled toward a policewoman in reflective uniform, trying to beg for attention. After that she pretty much ignored a dog straining at the leash to see her because I was telling her she was a good girl, and ignored it on its return journey when its idiotic owner loosened the leash so it could pass from about a foot away.
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Oct 14, 2012 18:21
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Oh man, go Eva and Lola! Some close acquaintances who run Derby City Dog Rescue also do Derby City Disc Dogs, so I get to see a lot of disc dog stuff. The best part? The hilarious photos that typically come out of disc dogs.
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Oct 14, 2012 19:41
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My friend and co-worker is throwing a birthday party for her 3-year-old Dachshund, and invited all our co-workers with dogs. I will be the only dogless one there, but I've agreed to do photography and make a meat-cake for the dogs. I'm thinking this may be an early sign of madness.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:42
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Oh god. My aunt's dog is a jerk. Last week she pulled a half-eaten burger out of the garbage and ate it. Today, we went to the market and picked up some stuff. The stupid dog pulled out and ate 1/2lb of sliced chicken breast. She weighs maybe 7lbs on a good day, her stomach is all sticking out now. Gonna have to do something about this dog. I wanted that chicken breast for sammiches, dog. 
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Oct 14, 2012 22:17
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Drum posted:My friend and co-worker is throwing a birthday party for her 3-year-old Dachshund, and invited all our co-workers with dogs. I will be the only dogless one there, but I've agreed to do photography and make a meat-cake for the dogs. This is the best. There had better be party hats. Bash Ironfist posted:Oh god. My aunt's dog is a jerk. Last week she pulled a half-eaten burger out of the garbage and ate it. Today, we went to the market and picked up some stuff. The stupid dog pulled out and ate 1/2lb of sliced chicken breast. She weighs maybe 7lbs on a good day, her stomach is all sticking out now. How is there chicken so close to the floor that she can reach? Also, trashcans with secure lids are a must have for any dog owning household. One of my sheep is in heat right now and its driving me insane. This must be how people with intact cats must feel. The other ewes just try to sneak off at breakfast to make googly eyes at the boys when they're in heat. Prism yells nonstop. All day it has just been BAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAA. All day. I can hear it inside my house with the fans on. It's a good thing sheep estrus is just 24-36 hours long and in ~17 days when she comes in again it will be time for her to shack up with the ram anyway. Otherwise I would be looking in to sheep spays.
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Oct 14, 2012 22:27
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Instant Jellyfish posted:This is the best. There had better be party hats. We just brought the groceries in, and my cousin let the dog out of her crate. The bag was on the floor because the counters were full, it was on the floor for maybe 3 minutes when she got it! We have a can with a lid for garbage, but my cousin put the burger in the recycling bag  Also please video that, I wanna see your sheep goin' nuts for sex.
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Oct 14, 2012 23:04
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Drum posted:My friend and co-worker is throwing a birthday party for her 3-year-old Dachshund, and invited all our co-workers with dogs. I will be the only dogless one there, but I've agreed to do photography and make a meat-cake for the dogs. My coworker is having a party for her dog's birthday this week too. I hope there's meat cake.
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Oct 14, 2012 23:22
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Wheatley has already figured out that, in his new cage, if he climbs onto my hand and then quickly flips up onto the top of the cage he can get much closer to the ladies  ...He doesn't seem to realise that he is a mouse and they are rats and would probably eat him.
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Oct 14, 2012 23:39
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My family's old girl Katy passed away earlier this year, and my parents were completely devastated. Katy was one of the best dogs I've ever known, absolutely sweet and smart (well...for a lab) and lovely. She lived until 14 with zero health problems, so my parents went back to her breeder (who's fantastic and mostly works with workin' dogs). This is all a long excuse to post this picture of new pup Lily.  Can't wait to go visit her at Thanksgiving .
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Oct 14, 2012 23:45
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I tried to get some nice shots of Fionna, but it is literally impossible unless she's asleep. I spent an hour taking photos and this is the best one I got.   Snapped this one earlier, thought it was pretty cute. 
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Oct 15, 2012 01:09
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Geeze, guys, I quit checking this thread for a couple days, and it takes me a week to catch up.  notsowelp posted:I think its more that the idea is often presented to newcomers that the route to becoming a 'responsible breeder' is to fulfill a laundry list of obligations (5 years of ringside study under a mentor, buy show quality bitch puppy, title it in x,y,z, health test for l,m,n,o,p,q), breed to a carefully chosen male and BAM you are now Responsible and on track to becoming an Established Breeder of Quality Lines. It's not a terrible model, but it is a huge oversimplification of the realities of breeding (all the health testing in the world won't guarantee a healthy litter, you can't tell at 8 weeks which puppy(ies) will be worthy of breeding at 2 years, and all the other stuff Jess lists in her blog post). Yeah, this is exactly what I pulled and loved from the article. The more I've gotten to know breeders, the more I've seen that some people that look good on paper have NO idea what they're doing, and you can't knock out a breeder because 1 or 2 red flags come up without ASKING about said red flags. If they know what's up, generally you'll find a good reason (not just an excuse) about their decisions. Case in point, there's a GSD breeder around here that I really want to like, because she health tests for EVERYTHING (even the long-coated gene, just for fun, haha) and she has some really pretty dogs, but she seems awfully haphazard in her plans. She has a good eye for matching structure (because she does UKC and working conformation) but she seems lacking in knowing the health history in her lines (only having her own dogs tested) and matching up temperaments. In that same vein, the breeder I HAVE chosen to go with will flat out tell you that she doesn't necessarily test for everything, and even when she does, it isn't the end all consideration. She looks at the health history of the lines, both in the pedigree and in siblings, and while it's still a huge factor, she won't throw away a dog because of a less than perfect score when it's a fluke and the dog is amazing otherwise. If you were to do that, you'd bottle neck the genetics to the point where OTHER (possibly worse) problems would come up. I really trust getting a healthy (and temperamentally sound) dog from her than from the first breeder. Captain Foxy posted:What I don't get is how 'exposing the idealization vs reality of responsible breeding' leads to a long rear end rant about keeping extra non-breeding bitches intact for seemingly no reason. It sounded like this issue in particular is up for legislation wherever the author lives. You know, "More than 1 unaltered bitch, it's A PUPPY MILL!!!" sort of thing.
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Oct 15, 2012 14:02
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I am sad. Here are some puppy pictures I looked at to make me feel happier. It is my puppy and I'm now going to go home and hug and kiss him (though he will probably bite my face in return).   
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Oct 15, 2012 14:08
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Omg puppy . Did you change your mind on which puppy to go with? (He looks quite different from the pup in the first post you made!)
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Oct 15, 2012 14:29
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notsoape posted:Omg puppy
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Oct 15, 2012 14:35
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Sukka is the cutest puppy! I can't decide if I like the undecided ears or the teeny eyebrow dots more I'm really glad it's not me raising a herder puppy again though. Edit: Captain Foxy, where were you talking about eugenics to get that fantastic CRT? It's not even red so clearly someone was slacking off. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Oct 15, 2012 |
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Oct 15, 2012 15:24
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I am so glad Bailey is easy to pill- the vet recommended some benedryl for his itchiness (and it's been helping). I've been dreading doing it because Bailey can be such a sensitive soul (WHY DID YOU SPRAY ME WITH SOOTHING SPRAY I HATE YOU) but apparently so long as I wrap it in cheese he doesn't give a poo poo and will actively come and pester me if I move pills/ pill wrappers around. Also he got to go to his first big dog park with lots of other dogs. He was pretty good with all of the dogs, including a tiny puppy that kept trying to bite him on the face and a shi tzu that kept getting right in his face. Then, right before we left, he got all weird and tried to tackle another dog and got kinda loud about it. Once I separated them, he was okay, but I took it as a sign that maybe he'd had enough- kinda like a toddler having a meltdown because they're over tired and don't know what to do about it. The only downside was people talking about their dogs and the dogs needing to be MORE ALPHA and getting used to PACK LIFE while I politely nodded and tried not to say anything.
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Oct 15, 2012 15:41
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Instant Jellyfish posted:
Go look at the 'puppy breath' thread. Guess someone got their panties in a bunch  SIG HEIL PUPPIES SIG HEIL
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Oct 15, 2012 15:46
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WolfensteinBag posted:
The bottleneck idea is an interesting point--I was just reading about polycystic kidney disease in Persian and other related cats, which is a dominant trait. You would think that would make it easy to breed out--just don't use cats that are affected in breeding programs. But, if almost 40% of Persians are affected, you just created a huge bottleneck and other undesirable traits are bound to pop up more frequently than before. So, yes, health testing is important, but you're right that it shouldn't be a black and white matter in a lot of cases.
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Oct 15, 2012 15:49
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