General dog chat

[BiteyShark]

Anyone fancy a general dog chat thread?

BiteyDog is now almost 15 months old and it's about time we ditched the puppy survival thread for general chit chat but it's still nice to chat about our doggie dilemmas and days so if anyone wants to join me in wittering on saves BiteyDog having the listen to my incessant talking at him then welcome aboard.

How's all the dogs coping with the snow in the northern parts? I am sick of the rain and I guess fortunate enough that BiteyDog doesn't like it much either so apart from a 20 min ball run we are snuggled up in the house today.

With a limp I would always wait 24hrs, if still there after that I go straight over.

It depends on the injury/illness I think, with snowydog2s snout this week we took him the day we noticed as it looked quite bad, but my puppers have been known to overdo it on the running front and are both really clumsy as well so we’ve had the odd wee limp over the years that have also cleared up after 24hrs restricted (as restricted as I can get them) movement.

If it’s a dodgy tummy I don’t bother with vet unless it continues a couple days as in the best when I’ve rang about it they’ve told just to starve them and let them work it out of their system

thanks all.
the timing is crap, I am off tonight for work with the car, and won't be back til Saturday afternoon, today I am frantically getting things done to go for work, and then we have to get dd2 and head off for ds parent's evening, so I would have to cancel something to get to the vet.

So, he has had a quiet day today, with short walk (enough to get him to poo) and we will see tomorrow. If he is still bad, tomorrow Dh will have to get a lift with someone to the vet.

I hear what you are saying about spaniels making it worse, (like the mad dash after the birds with no limp, ie, pushing himself.)
I think I will tell dh to keep him on the lead.

btw I will be off-line, so anyone asking me nicely how he is will be met with silence
please don't be offended!

Don't have a dog yet, but I'm desperately trying to convince my OH to get a cockapoo. I want some company since he's always away training since he plays pro rugby - meaning a lot of time spent just in the house with just myself for company
Does anyone here know anything about this breed and could anyone offer any tips on how easy they'd be to train etc?

A combination of two breeds can be a bit of a gamble as you won't know whether your dog is more cocker or poodle. I would look at both breeds and see if you can cope with the negatives of both e.g. cockers can have quite a high prey drive. Cockerpoos wont necessarily be hypoallergenic either but are often marketed as such as they are a combination of two breeds and I don't think any dog is fully hypoallergenic depending on what triggers certain allergic reactions.

When you look at pedigree puppies there are usually a number of recommended DNA test for the parents (different to a vet health check) to exclude certain generic conditions. A cross breed can be affected by all of them but more often than not you will find the breeder does not test the parents for any of them. This can also be true of pedigree puppies but my cockers parents were tested for FN and prcd-PRA to exclude a couple of nasty conditions.

Saying all of that I know people who have bought cocker poos and are happy with them. I can only comment on training a cocker and they are very smart and will run rings around you if you give them an inch. However I love my (working) cocker to bits and think he's the best dog in the world (totally biased )

A cocker poo isn't an actual breed. They gave become very popular which means most will come from puppy farms. (No decent breeder would touch this.) They are unregulated and you have no idea what you will end up with. You could get the worst of both breeds.

@BiteyShark thanks for the reply! I'll be sure to check out the disadvantages of both breeds.. I actually didn't know a lot of what you said, you've been very informative. My dp keeps telling me to look into it more, he must know I clearly don't have a clue! Lol.
He has two springers, well his mum does, and they're an absolute pleasure. Are cockers similar in temperment since theyre both spaniels?
Is there a way to tell if a cockerpoo pup is more cocker or poodle, maybe from appearance or is there a test we could take or request the breeder to so we know exactly what we're getting? Sorry if I sound dumb, most of this stuff normally goes over my head but since I'll be spending the most time with the pup I want to be involved in the decision making as much as possible!

@Wolfiefan shows how much I know lol, I just love them they're soooo cute!

There is no way of knowing whether the puppy has more of a temperament of one breed than the other.

Spaniels are lovely (biased again) but you get working and show types and they have different traits (mine is quite a laid back dog for a working breed). I think springers generally are the bigger of the two spaniels but at our gundog training group both are taught together and I see no real difference in how they behave.

Just love them. They're so cute?
Sorry but not a reason to buy a puppy farmed dog. Potential major health issues. You are taking on a bright dog that will need plenty of exercise and training. Choose a mongrel, rescue or actual pedigree.

@tafftum

I walk with a few cockapoos - they can be very different.

You can get American cocker mixes as well which are more fluffy.

F1's spaniel and poodle crosses are more variable than F2's which has 2 cockapoo parents.

I have 2 cross breeds (an Australian Labradoodle x Goldendoodle and a French Bulldog x Boston Terrier

@BiteyShark I'm sorry if I sound dumb during these posts too. You all seem to know a lot about dogs and I don't know much!
I do love the springers his mum has and if I got a dog half as well behaved with a lovely temperament it'd be a dream! Looks like I have a bit of research to do!

@Wolfiefan sorry that does sound a bit dull from me, I just think they look like little teddy bears. I have to ask, what is the difference between a puppy farm and if we got a pup from a someone who bred them "properly" ? A puppy farm I imagine them in small cages in a barn somewhere... is that what it's like?

@2pups ahh so if we were to get a pup where both parents were cockapoos there's be less of a difference in temperment.. like they'd behave how their parents do (so we'd view the parents behaviour and temperment?) and theres less chance of them being completely different?

@tafftum

Sorry posted too early

I do find the whole if you get a crossbreed it is from a puppy farm thing bizarre.

I love cross breeds - the uniqueness of the pups even in the same litter. I also know a lot of people who feel the same - including the breeders I used.

Unfortunately whenever The is potentially £££ to be made some people will exploit it.

There are plenty of good breeders of cross breeds.

Anybody buying a pup (crossbreed or pedigree) needs to have there eyes open and be careful to make sure that the pup they are buying is from the right background.

@tafftum

Yep!

The F1's can be more like the spaniel parent or poodle and their is a lot more variety even amongst pups of the same litter.

The F2's are much more similar in all ways.

tafftum don't worry about sounding daft as it's better to ask questions before committing to a dog. I researched a lot about cockers before I got one but I have to say my knowledge was mostly gained when I started to go to gundog training where the trainers really explained how they think and how to train and manage them. I think they make lovely pets but like all breeds they have their challenges.

*there is

@tafftum

This is my Aussie Labradoodle boy as a pup

@2pups
I genuinely didn't even know what a puppy farm was I just have a picture of one in my head and it doesn't seem nice from my imagination.
I'm so glad you've had a positive experience with them though it's very reassuring. Travelling to find a good breeder doesn't bother me either, I'd drive wherever. We live in South Wales so there's a fair few dog breeders around here, especially ones that breed working dogs. But if we had to go further afield I wouldn't mind as long as I knew it came from a good home. We have a young nephew too so I'd want a puppy that was used to young children.
Looks like getting one from F2 is more ideal then since its more of a "it is what it says on the tin" lol, do you know of many breeders that solely breed two mixed breeds together?

@BiteyShark
Oh I'm not expecting the puppy to be easy, I can be a bit too soft at times and I'll probably let it run rings around me at first! Do you think it would be worth speaking to a few breeders.. would they mind even if I was just contacting them without stating I wanted to buy from them?

@2pups he is absolutely precious!! He looks really big for a pup too! My dp team mate and his wife have a labradoodle he's absolutely gorgeous, he's huge though haha! Cockapoos are a bit shorter aren't they?

If you are still at the checking out breeds stage something like discover dogs at crufts is brilliant as you can chat to owners and meets 100s of breeds first hand (I had lots of doggie cuddles when I went). Every dog and puppy of any breed (or cross breed) has its own temperament and personality but obviously different breeds have their own traits. For example my dog is a spaniel so typically he loves to hunt and when he picks up a scent he's off . Flushing out pheasants from bushes is another of his pleasures (we live in the countryside).

Yep - he's a big lad - cockapoo's a atleast half his size (although you can get miniature Labradoodle's which are a miniature poodle or toy poodle and Labrador which are a similar size to a cockerpoo).

There is a lot of snobbery around cross breeds (dressed up as concern) there are also lots of passionate crossbreed lovers who appreciate what cracking dogs they are.

@BiteyShark
I've just googled it then, I think I should definitely go along to that! I'm gonna find someone to go with me since OH will still be in his training camp that week / playing that weekend. I'm sure it'll be an easy job because who doesn't want to spend the dog meeting a load of cute pups!

Haha that's so adorable, has he ever caught any? One of the springers, Layla, is a lot faster than her brother and she caught a squirrel once when we were walking her. Didn't kill it, no, she wanted to play with it and tossed it in the air

Such gorgeous dogs though!

@2pups well I was just trying to attach a photo of the 2 springers which live with his mum but my account won't let me, oops!

googles miniature labradoodles i'm too indecisive for this, I want them all! I'd have a house filled with dogs if my OH would let me

Looks like I have a big decision to make haha!

We lost our old Goldie just after Christmas. She was almost 15 and had been gradually going down hill. She made it through Christmas and gobbled up her Christmas dinner and got in the middle of the DGCs opening their presents, the vet gave her painkillers which kept her comfortable and she was ok, until she wasn't. She is buried in the garden, we both cried including my tough builder DH.
My "little" goldie she's 4 and huge has never been an only dog until now. She is so quiet, we go for a walk and she just trots along, no mad racing about, no playing. She has started saying "hello" when DH gets home , but I suspect that's just "where's my dinner".
She's not particularly sociable, we can make a fuss of her but she will avoid other people if she can, and now she is on her own she almost always hides behind me if we see another dog, especially if it's a lab or a spaniel or anything black.
I am thinking about another, we have had two for 30 odd years, but not sure I want another puppy, all that chewing and housetraining!
And I'm not sure about a rescue- could I be certain of it's temperament?
Sorry. Just waffling!

Anyway, a couple of photos.

Tafftum look at what is on each day. (I would make sure you come on Friday as that's the best day EVER! Over 160 wolfhounds on show. Hopefully including my madam!!)
A puppy farmer is a breeder who repeatedly breeds from the same bitch. They don't do health tests of parents before breeding. (All breeds need different tests. Eg wolfhounds need heart tests done before breeding.) They don't select parents of puppies to produce healthy specimens. Likely inbreeding. They may or may not keep puppies in awful conditions. You could end up with a sickly pup.
Almost 9/10 puppies sold in the UK come from that sort of set up.
Rescue or do the pedigree route properly. Contact the breed club or society. Meet breeders. Expect to have to wait. Expect to be interviewed or have a home check to ensure you are a suitable home. Don't expect to have the pick of a puppy.
Do lots of research. Grooming. Health needs. Insurance. Best dog training schemes near you. Know the law.
Good luck.