I have got a new puppy!

[ClichéGuevara]

Obviously? I got it from the breeder at 7 weeks. If you count that as second hand then I suspect 99%+ are second hand dogs. Not sure what your point is?

Apologies, no real point and no offence meant. I was posting tongue in cheek.

 

[SD1]

Not a Spanniel, she's our 3 legged Staffie (leg lost in a car accident before we got her). She might have her back left leg missing, but her tail is intact, albeit with a kink in it.

Staffies get such a bad press, but if brought up properly, that's half the battle. Also, Cindy was a Pedigree, but as rescue dogs, they loose their papers, so that you cannot go about buying up lots of cheap dogs for show. We think she was intended for show, but when she lost her leg, the owners didn't want her any more.

She's a lovely dog, and here she was at the weekend meeting @flyingfifi. I can't account for the idiot with the lead though, and who cut the bottom of her off?? :

View attachment 104122

She was very dark when young, but she has faded with age so now had large bits of brindle and grey too.

I can get much better pictures of her if you want

Go on. The breeder has another dog a blue staff. His staffy and Springer play constantly. The Staffy shows no aggression towards visitors the Springer will put a little effort into barking at them, while crabbing sideways due to excessive tail wagging. Also the Springer eats quicker and then sticks its head in the staffies bowl. They (Staffies) don't appear to be much of an aggressive dog if brought up proper.
My dog is clearly bored as it is jumping up and pulling tomatoes of the hanging baskets. So needs an hours walk...again.

 

[SD1]

Dogs do communicate a lot with their tails, whatever brand thinks about 'hackles'. Some of the arguments in favour of cutting off a perfectly healthy dog's tail are so weak they would be laughable if they weren't supporting something so cruel. My friend's Dalmatian has whacked his tail on the furniture so hard it sprayed blood everywhere, and the healing took months - should she have had his tail cut off to save the inconvenience and expense in future? Spaniels get wounds and burrs in their ears in the undergrowth, how about we cut their ears off as well - they don't really need them do they?

Burrs? I can remove them with my fingers or better still with the grooming brush used after her walk. I haven't seen a spaniel with cut ears but probably do cut their ears. If you were to remove the ears that would obviously make it worse.
"and the healing took months - should she have had his tail cut off to save the inconvenience and expense in future"
Months? How about the pain suffered during those months never mind the possible future inconvienence.
". My friend's Dalmatian has whacked his tail on the furniture so hard it sprayed blood everywhere"
Not the best statement I have read in support of not docking tails. In fact neither were.
May I suggest you look again at the length of her tail?

 

[SD1]

FWIW:

http://www.britfeld.com/tail-dock/facts.htm

Be careful you don't walk her too far too soon. Doggy leg bones don't join up for a few months. Vet will advise but I think short five minute walks in first few months increasing slowly.

My reading is that vets are not tought anything about this. As apart from the Swedish experiment/survey there is no reliable data. Even this 600 dog survey produced contradictory findings. I am afraid that 5 minutes for a 15 week old Spaniel would be severely damaging to its mental health. 3 hours in total (3 walks) appears to little as she still wants to play after. Must walk her now as she has chewed up two plant pots as I was typing this.

 

[buggi]

You haven't let facts get in the way of your opinions have you?

What facts..? O you the mean the fact that you're cutting of an appendage? I don't need a rocket science degree to tell me its cruel. Just because they choose to justify it bcoz its a "working dog" doesn't make it any less painful than doing it to a non working dog.

 

[SD1]

What facts..? O you the mean the fact that you're cutting of an appendage? I don't need a rocket science degree to tell me its cruel. Just because they choose to justify it bcoz its a "working dog" doesn't make it any less painful than doing it to a non working dog.

Your not grasping it are you? THERE IS NO PAIN. Surly you can grasp if the dog doesn't wake up, there was no pain.
http://www.britfeld.com/tail-dock/facts.htm
Vets would be in trouble if there was.

 

[Spinney]

So as long as it doesn't hurt, let's cut off any inconvenient bits of a puppy? Riiiiiiiiiiight.

I don't think that was what SD1 was saying.

Mod Note: this is the cafe, and started out as a light-hearted thread about a new puppy.
If anyone wants to continue to discuss the ethics of tail-docking or other 'treatments', please start a new thread in SC&P.

 

[SD1]

I am sure that a total of 3 hours exercise should be enough to tire her out. In fact I am not happy with that much but she would just run round the house or garden anyway. When I got back from an hours exercise she still wanted to play.

She has been running round the garden with the mushroom box in her mouth for 10 minutes after a 1hour walk.
@buggi suggestion? No drugs!!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

@SD1

Enjoy your lovely dog!

In the light of the preceding Mod' post I'm def' not continuing with the 'ethics' theme but I was amused to the 'dogs need tails to balance with' comment in a post further back.

Here is one docked Weim' (sadly now in the great kennel in the sky) who clocked up umpteen crossings of Striding Edge (ridge top, not the side paths), around half a dozen trips across the CMD Arette and 3 crossings of Crib Goch. Plus lord knows how many other assorted ridge walks.

All sans tail - and definitely not unbalanced.

Some mountain pic's of my boy:

Ben Nevis - full winter conditions crossing of CMD Arette. In his light harness to stop him investigating the corniced edges of the plateau. His big Ruffwear full harness that was used to belay him on a couple of points along the ridge is under my rucksack.

He hated this neoprene coat - can't remember where this was but we were very high on some Scottish mountain and it was bitterly cold.

I think this was on Cockly Pike Ridge on the way up to Ill Crag and then Scafell Pike. He loved scrambling and was always 'out front'. You would've thought he took the obvious grass rake up but no, he spent an age scrabbling about up the little groove directly below him. He loved clambering up rocks!

 

[Spinney]

The colour of that neoprene coat makes it look as if it's been photoshopped onto him!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

The colour of that neoprene coat makes it look as if it's been photoshopped onto him!

@Spinney

I got it from a company in Morpeth that made wetsuits for divers. It actually smelt of oranges too. He hated the thing.

He was about 2 years old in that pic' and still had some filling out to do - eventually it fit as intended ie fairly close to the torso.

He was quite happy in cold conditions and even when snow was on the ground he would get into tarns and rivers etc and start swimming. Nonetheless I stuck this on him when it was very cold (he also had a goretex jacket to keep out the wind) in the mountains just to make sure his core was warm.

 

[SD1]

Maybe we should have some more posts about peoples puppies not just mine. Although I doubt they will be as good looking as mine!!
I have tried to charge people to pet/hug my dog. £1 a minute or £1.50 for 2 minutes. Family £3. Most people tell me to sod off and refuse to pay but I have made a £5 so far!! No Mrs goodboody puppies thank you.

 

[SD1]

Update trying to cut down on her exercise in the field but that just means she gets bored and exercises herself in the house and garden. Today she ran out of the house with a plastic demijohn. Took it of her and gave her a plastic sweet jar to play with....mistake it had had dog food it it. The lid popped of and she stuck her head it. Well you can guess the rest chased her round the garden trying to get it off. Looked like a doggy spaceman! Once I cought her and took it off her head i glued on the lid. She must of enjoyed playing with it as she is asleep and wagging her tail.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Update on Cindy's sudden weight loss... Her blood test are normal. The real culprit appears to be that my parents are on a diet, so Cindy is getting less treats than normal!!

We are careful about her weight because of her back leg, so its not as if she was overweight to begin with or anything, hence the blood test!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

So is Cindy, although she will be more pleased at getting more food again!!