Samantha E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLScvGLR-Nc&feature...

My goodness it's bow legged, has badly shot jaw, flat skull, squashed face & waddles. Peks did not always look like this extreme either as the link below shows.

http://www.oakhillpekingese.com/thepekingese.html

I can not imagine the winning dog would be able to rough house & chase cats & all the other naughty but great fun past times most toy dogs enjoy, he'd never have enough oxygen & his poor legs would not cope in my opinion only of course.

So whats your opinion?

http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2012/02/11/...

Dear me awarding the offspring of a seriously impaired dog & therefore promoting breeding's of very poor ethics & now they dump pedigree because of there adopt a dog campaign.

So should we really swallow that they have all dogs best interest at heart? Should breeders & show dog owners & handlers all start to boycott shows like this that have such little integrity? I doubt it will happen but really where are we going to draw the line

I'm really enjoying http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2012/02/westmin...

at the moment it's so refreshing to see someone willing to actually tell it how it is.

My fave website is Tibetan Mastiff info it has some great stuff & the Dog Star one is a great one for different training ideas.

http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2012/02/westmin...

An offspring of the double merle Wyndlair Avalanche has just won bob at their show. Wyndlair Avalanche is the product of a very high risk merle to merle mating that only produced a singleton pup being Avalanche who is for the best part blind & quite possible death too. He is genetically flawed & in the words of a breeder who used him basically blind & deaf with shocking movement, her litter to him produced 4 pups. 2 of these pups have eye problems but that's Ok in her eyes as they did get 1 wonderful merle b#tch pup to go on with!!!!!

So should dog shows allow the offspring of disabled dogs through genetic malfunctions to compete bearing in mind that when they win it will cause more breeding's to Avalanche & his get?

What do you think about dogs being used for personal protection & protection of property?

interested to know what is common knowledge about vaccinations & their side affects & how long they can last. Would love as many links to read as is possible.

I don't other than having a quality dry kibble as back up. I'm amazed at how many fall for the vets telling them the only good food is something they sell. You can have a home made diet & keep your dogs very healthy as long as you keep it simple. I find dogs that come to me with skin conditions nearly always do better once taken off a fully processed commercial dog food diet.

So whats the go with all this only feed your dogs this recommended kibble surely people are bright enough to know a home made diet needs to consists of protein, fibre, carbs, fats & vitamins & minerals. We breed, raise & butcher or own chickens, sheep & cattle for meat so understand I'm lucky to have plenty of protein sources without paying a huge price for it.

Oh by the way not interested in hearing about cruelty to animals because we butcher our own as we do it to be sure it's done right & as humanly as possible. And the big upside is knowing they are not full of hormones & chemicals. I have worked in both feed lots & abattoirs & know what goes into out cattle & how they are treated & I did not agree with it at all.

So what do you feed your dogs & why as i'm always interested to hear new ideas & recipes?

I think many many dog owners are using crate as a living area instead of a safe & comfortable sleeping area & to confine dogs to for short periods of time of a day or for traveling. I think if your dog needs confined during the day whilst your at work or school you should spend the time & money on building or buying an outdoor dog run. For those in cold or overly hot climates they must have an insulated kennel as part of the dog run. My dogs love their crates but I'm quite sure they would feel differently if I used them as a babysitting devise & had them confined to crate for hours on end nearly everyday of the week.

So am I a nut & dogs are fine left in crates all day with no toileting opportunities & then crated of a night as well. Or do you also think crates are being totally over used these days?

I love it when I take them all for a pack run down the paddock till we get to the irrigation for them to swim & then we wander home in no real hurry. I love when I lie down in the long grass & hide & they all coming looking fo me too when we go on our walks around the farm too. I also love the look on my teenage Tibetan Mastiffs face when I get home & he'll just lay his head in my lap & look up at me with an adoring look in his big baby browns.

Without these heart warming & for filling times spent with my dogs I swear I would not even be here today.

So what are your fondest moments spent with your dog/s?

I'm a little amazed to hear of people crating their dogs all day whilst at work & then again over night. I don't like to crate for more than 3 hours 4 tops of a day & never on a daily basis either & those that are crated at night don't get their doors shut until last pee at 11pm & are let out a 5am on the dot. I only crate those that must be crated for good reason too.

So I want to know just how common it is that dogs are spending so many hours in a crate in every 24 hour period & whether you have ever tried not crating or closing the door now your dogs a little older or better trained? How many hours & how often do you crate ?

Not just the guardians either people are forever getting a certain breed then whinging when it displays classic breed traits. I suggest people learn more about genetic traits that affect a dogs temperament & choose their dogs with open eyes. Want a family dog get 1 suitable for the job after all you don't buy a mastiff when you want to herd sheep do you.

So what breed traits do your dogs show?

I was surprised (although I did spell it wrong) to find some breeders don't understand the term. What dose a Landrace breed of dog mean to you? If you do understand about landrace & sub breeds do you think we should be trying to breed a land race breed & it's sub breeds to fit a standard? Is it right to say several types are wrong & only include 1 in the standard & breed to reduces the different types within a land race breed?

I asked yesterday but it seems there where not many breeders on at the time so will ask again. Here's a link to the question I asked yesterday.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnZBH...

What do you think is breeding to type so closely loosing diversity within our breeds genes? Is it right to turn land raise breeds into true breeds with a set type just to suit the show ring the right thing to do? It's something that really has me thinking!!

What are your feelings on this, make sure you read the link as it explains more?????/

I have Tibetan Mastiffs & know they where a land raise type more than a breed originally & that within 1 litter it was not uncommon to find more than 1 sub type. Still now after over 50 years of pedigree breeding in Europe & America mainly there is still a lack of consistency in type in many bloodlines. I have seen pups mature out of 1 litter with many being of average TM size but with 1 giant & 1 more much smaller pups more of Shepherd type. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing although I know many are striving to produce litters with very consistent type & size nearing on little clones really. I feel it will be a sad day when we loose the different types & all TM's look just so as I quite like watching a litter mature into different sub types. And really is it right for us westerners to be turning a land raise dog into a breed instead just so we can breed true to type for the show ring?

So many things to think about the mind boggles but for myself I breed like to like but don't mind the occasional Shepherd type turning up in my litters but I know many do & will even deny they do still turn up.

So what do you think should we be so determined to breed litters of very very similar litter mates or is diversity the more natural way & should be acceptable. I also wonder if we are having more health issues in many breeds because of the lack of diversity & types now being breed within each breed. Generally if you study pedigrees far enough back you will find like types have similar pedigrees & the type is often the result of 1 or 2 individuals further back setting the type through very close breeding's.

Just something that been buzzing around my head & I'd love to hear what others think about the matter?

Do you like the short legged squashed faced look or prefer the more old fashioned longer legged, plain headed type of Bull Dog? Also why do you prefer the type you do? Do you think it's Ok to breed dogs that are not capable of birthing naturally due to the change in their structure & skull type? Is it Ok that the dog that's today shown as an English Bulldog is no where near capable of doing what they where originally breed for? Not that we need bull baiters or fighting dogs but I do believe you can keep the type & temperament needed just has to be channeled into training for for dog sports etc.

So is it Ok that we have totally re invented a breed & made them a health statistic while we where at.

I have no idea why the breeders of these snub nosed breeds with terrible bites can not see what has happened to their chosen breed over the last 50 yrs or so. A quick google of the history of either of th breeds I mentioned in the tittle will reveal photos of what the breeds originally looked like. Both had longer legs & plainer heads & where capable of being true working dogs & there is no way they looked anything like the mess we see today.

When I was involved more in foster & re training we had 2 Bulldogs come in that had been a breeding pair on full papers & had had 3 litter we knew of, both dogs had heart issues(1 a mummer & 1 an enlarged heart), terrible teeth issues due to jaw shape, skin conditions & breathing problems. 1 had to be PTS due to the heart condition & the female had to have an operation to open her airways more. When we put their photos out many commented on what good show types they where especially the female, what a joke.

So what is it that allows these breeders to be so blind to the state of their breed & why are the breeders choosing to breed plainer dogs that can whelp naturally put down by the show breeders?

I'd love a Old English Sheepdog but know their coat would be an issue here in my part of Australia & don't have any work for 1 & believe working dogs need to work. I am also not sure how my TM's would view a big hairy faced dog either, lol. This is just a bit of fun so have fun with your answer.

I have an incredibly little foal out of a min x Shetland mare & by a Shetland stallion dose anyone know if dwarfs are known to be within Shetland bloodlines or is it just a Mini problem? Vet thinks he's most likely just a preemie with a big head & he is doing well, is day 2 & all seems fine drinking well etc. Vet is going to take bloods on next visit to be sure? But I just want to know a bit more about dwarfs & if they are not as badly affected is it common for a vet to miss it by a visual check over?

I'd love to hear about what you do for exercise with your dogs as in where do you take them, how often & for how long?

I prefer my large & giant breed pups on the light side if anything & had to knock some weight off a recent new pup as she was so fat she snored & had issues going for a walk at times. She is now perfect & dose not snore & races around like a greyhound, lol. Some may say she could be slightly heavier maybe.

My dogs have dry ad lib plus meals yet stay at the right weight which makes me wonder how people even get dogs so fat although mine do get heaps of exercise.

So what do you think is the best weight to keep your youngsters at right on perfect a tad over weight & remember you should be able to feel their ribs easily & if not they are overweight or a tad under weight.