Siberian Husky - where?

Tranceypoo

IK09 wrote: »

hey vince32.

Just a note, about walking her. Im no expert (Midnight is my first pup!) but ive heard its near impossible to break the habit of a dog pulling on its leash. I have been bringing her out the estate and just letting her run around, she loves the freedom and it saves me the hassle of correcting it later. She will wander around but wont leave my sight. She chased a car there yesterday, but only for maybe 5seconds, then realized she wasnt gonna get near it and came back to my side. Have you had Thunder around cars at all? Midnight was

Sorry maybe I'm misunderstanding this, but you're just letting your puppy run around the estate to save you the hassle of lead training, is that what you're saying? Like I say maybe I'm reading it wrong, can you just clarify for me?

Vince32

Maybe you misunderstood, I Touch her nose, not tap, not hit, not slam it in the door, its a touch, and a word "no"

I never hurt an animal in my life save accidently stepping on a paw, I've seen corrective training videos and I don't like it, I see no reason to enforce my will with hurting an animal, when a hand signal and a word will work just as well.

put a finger on your nose and say the word no, that is the extent on the correction I need, and quite frankly i'm a little offended at the implication.

@ Ik09

It is nice to give the dog her freedom, in safe areas where she can run free without having to worry too much, but trancypoo's concern is right, you should leash train her alot more than free running. The technique is very easy, and it doesn't harm the dog in the slightest, in fact it's better and easier to leash train while she is young.

There are lots of videos around on the subject, and from one amature to another, I strongly recommend starting it as soon as possible, but ultimately how you train your dog is up too you, thanks again for the hot water bottle tip and if you learn any other little nuggets let me know.

laters

ISDW

Vince32 wrote: »

Maybe you misunderstood, I Touch her nose, not tap, not hit, not slam it in the door, its a touch, and a word "no"

I never hurt an animal in my life save accidently stepping on a paw, I've seen corrective training videos and I don't like it, I see no reason to enforce my will with hurting an animal, when a hand signal and a word will work just as well.

put a finger on your nose and say the word no, that is the extent on the correction I need, and quite frankly i'm a little offended at the implication.

@ Ik09

It is nice to give the dog her freedom, in safe areas where she can run free without having to worry too much, but trancypoo's concern is right, you should leash train her alot more than free running. The technique is very easy, and it doesn't harm the dog in the slightest, in fact it's better and easier to leash train while she is young.

There are lots of videos around on the subject, and from one amature to another, I strongly recommend starting it as soon as possible, but ultimately how you train your dog is up too you, thanks again for the hot water bottle tip and if you learn any other little nuggets let me know.

laters

Usually, if a dog is mouthing and you try to touch their nose they think that you're playing and continue to do it. Sorry for the offence, but can you please explain your reasoning then behind doing this, as I've never heard of this training technique before.

Irishchick

If she is mouthing too hard the best thing to do is turn your back or make a noise as if your in pain. It teaches her what level is play and what pressure is too much.

It's better not to tap her nose as its only confuses the dog. It won't mean anything to her.

Ignore her for 2-3mins after saying ouch and she'll get the idea that bite hard = play stops

Vince32

well its kind of like what you said about yelping and moving away, but I reinforce the "no" command with a finger touch on her mouth / nose. This indicates to the dog the reason for the "no" / yelp is because of the bite.

At first she might go for the finger as a game, but louder "no's" and another touch sorts it, you probably wont find it in any training books, but just like any other training, a hand signal, in this case a finger touch or close to touching and a word command, followed by praise when she gets it right.

Sorry to bite at your comment, I know you only had the dog's interest at heart, but I don't want people to get the opinion that I hurt my dogs. I'm sure you understand.

I was at the vet's tonight, and everyone said she was the best behaved pup they ever seen, and thats because I don't tolerate bad behaviour not even a little bit.

EDIT:
I've had my pup for just a few days, and we already play with 4 commands.

1. Sit - Hold a treat above its eye level and slowly move it backward, this puts the dog in the sit positon, praise "good girl" and a pat + treat
and repeat, make a hand signal, I use a flat palm facing down with thumb and first finger curled in, and repeat with the gesture and the hand signal, when the dog repeats the sit 3 times succesfully, and the word - the word is always added last - and in this manner it learns to sit on command.

2. Stay - With the dog sitting on your left side, four fingers straight down at its eye level, creating an invisible wall and as your foot is a full stride away, create the wall and keep walking. It will propbably follow you the first few times, but just take it back to the original postion, and without words, repeat the command. Now once the dog learns not to move, you can work on increasing the stay time, I find 10 seconds is a good starting point, and work up to 30 secs in the first week, then increase by 30 secs everyweek. To release the dog from stay, re-take your postion on its right side, clap and walk forward.

3. Down - This is a hard one, but easy to master, put the dog in the sitting postion, and place a treat close to its nose - get it interested - then lower the treat slowly to the floor and away about 2-3 inches. This will automatically put the dog in the "down" position. praise and award the treat immediately. Agian this will take alot of attempts, don't get frustrated just repeat, or break for a play session.

4. Heel - The easiest of commands to do, although its not actually a command, if done right, Place the dog on leash, with a training line or long thin cord attached, Find a wide open place, a field or unused tennis court is fine, With the dog on leash, Ignore it and move in an imagined square about 20x20ft and stop at each corner of the square for 2 mins - use a stop watch - and complete the square 3 times. Then loosen the leash to the training line / cord and repeat this again. You will find the dog stuck to your leg or very close. If the dog can't learn it the first time, repeat it on 2-3 walks a week.

We're doing very well, and the Husky is a very smart animal, but these training tips have worked on my Jack Russel, and 2 Malteese Terriers, and should work for anyone with enough patients to stick it out.

Alot of people treat the puppy's like children and slap, poke and push them around, and quite rightly that sort of behaviour from an owner is unacceptable on any level, and slaping or tapping the dogs nose would cause anger and create a situation where the dog might snap to avoid punishment, as you said.

To train a dog to do anything, requires infinite patients, the will to reset the dogs positon and try again, let the dog know you wont take no for an answer, without punishing it for mistakes.
If the dog doesn't get it the first 10 times, take a break, come back and try again, soon over the course of days or weeks, the command will sink in. For best results make it a game the dog can win time and time again, reward good responces with praise or treats, or both, and ignore bad ones and start over.

Biting could end up with the dog being destroyed, and for that I use "no" and touch the nose - level with the eyes - , I think it's very important to train your dog not to bite.

If you know of a better way to enforce the no biting rule, I'll happily try it. but its counter productive to tell your dog not to hurt, and then punish it for biting, or anything else.

I hope I made my meaning clear, and thanks for your concern, we should all be as vigilent when it comes to animal cruelty.

vince

Irishchick

I know where you coming from, I know you don't hurt your dog

However your dog doesnt understand what no means, nor does he understand what a tap on he nose means.

You need to use a language she will understand. She understands what a yelp is and what ignoring is.

That's the advice I give my clients and it seems to work. It's just my opinion, I'm not arguing or accusing, just conversing

Vince32

sure I understand what you mean of course, but perhaps I should expand,

When it comes to praise and admonishment,

Praise is givin verbally with a high pitched, high energy tone "good girl" or "good boy"

and admonishment is a stern, not playful, not happy tone from deep in the throat "Leave it" "no"

The animals dont understand sit, stay or heel, much less yes and no, the take their cues from us, as long as the "no" command is firm, it "should" learn not to bite.

At least mine did, it may not work for everyone, and if in doubt take the pro advice, I'm just sharing here.

Cherry Blossom

OP, you say this tapping on the nose business is so that the dog knows a hand-signal so as not to bite people. With all due respect how does this translate to people who don't know this signal? I use hand signals, but that's exactly what they are, they don't involve touching the dog at all.

The pup needs to learn proper bite-inhibition. Puppies explore the world using their mouth, if this taken away from them they are going to end up extremely frustrated. If a situation arises where you, a vet etc. needs to examine the dogs mouth or you need to forcibly remove something disgusting/hazardous the dog has picked up, what is going to happen in this case when the dog sees no valid reason why someone is touching it's nose/mouth and has done nothing wrong? Teaching a pup the limit of what is acceptable is very important. A human touch is what every dog craves most and should only be used as a reward/affection, what you are essentially doing here is telling the dog what she has done is wrong while rewarding her for doing it with a touch at the same time, how does that teach her anything? Eventually when she figures out what it's all about, you may have taught her that the human touch means punishment, so what happens when some child reaches out to 'punish' (ie an attempt to stroke it's nose) an extremely willful, independent breed who does not take kindly to being given orders from a stranger?

I don't mean any offence but you seemed to come into this thread with the attitude that you know it all, and dismissed vital information on the breed because you have this attitude that your dog isn't going to do x, y, z because you won't let that happen. Some of these things are instincts that are hard wired into the breed, in fact, they are the whole point of owning a huskey. If you don't find suitable outlets that can use these instincts in a positive way the dog will eventually decide it's had enough and find it's own outlets to satisfy it's instincts. I think you really might need to do some reading up on the breed because you give the impression that you have either missed some of the most fundamental things or have glossed over them.

you yourself said:

Vince32 wrote: »

I'm no where near ready to have a dog in my home yet, atm I'm just doing some research and trying to dog-proof my house and its soon to be living area. I think around feb/march I'll be ready, so im in no hurry to adopt before xmas.

Then someone came along and said they knew were you could get one and you seemed to go a bit mad, ignored the advice you had just asked for, the idea of advance preparation and research went completely out the window and you jumped on the bandwagon and took the first pup that came your way. Now I understand that you had criteria that had to be met and probably didn't want to let an opportunity pass you by, but it just looks like you have got caught up in the excitement of it all and I want to point out to you that all of that research and preparation you planned still needs to be done, so slow down and relax a bit until you figure out exactly what you need to do.

Vince32 wrote: »

if in doubt take the pro advice, I'm just sharing here.

I've never heard of a 'pro' (a person with academic qualifications in dog behaviour) in this day and age advising that human touch should be used to correct a dog.

Vince32

I've re-written this post about 9 times now, and deleted a ton of stuff, because I can't reply to that without starting a huge arguement.

So your right... touching the dog to correct it is bad.

This is my first husky, but its not my first picnic and I've trained all 3 previous dogs in the same manner and never recieved a bite complaint, not from a vet, and child or a stranger.

Maybe.... probably the technique is flawed or completely wrong, but you can just point that out, instead of that self gratifing rant I had to read. You don't know me, my experience with dogs, or how much I do or don't know about the breed.

So clear it up for me, what have I missed? What is the point of owning a Husky, and what info would I of glossed over, send me some links, so if anything the dog can benifit from my education.

If it's about the work rate they will need as adults, Siberian Huskies are still used as sled dogs in sled dog racing. Siberians are still popular in races restricted to purebreds and are faster than other pure sled-dog breeds such as the Samoyed and the slower but much stronger Alaskan Malamute. Today the breed tends to divide along lines of "racing" Siberians and "show" Siberians. Racing Siberians tend to have more leg to enable them more reach when running. Show Siberians tend to be a bit smaller.

Apart from sled racing, they are very popular for recreational mushing and are also used for skijoring (one to three dogs pulling a skier) and European ski-hi. A few owners use them for dog-packing and hiking.

or about thier behaviour, The Siberian Husky has been described as a behavioral representative of the domestic dog's forebear, the wolf, exhibiting a wide range of its ancestors' behavior.
They are known to howl rather than bark, If the dog is well trained, it can make a great family pet. The frequency of kenneled Siberian Huskies, especially for racing purposes, is rather high, as attributed through the history of the breed in North America. They are affectionate with people, but independent. A fifteen-minute daily obedience training class will serve well for Siberian Huskies. Siberians need consistent training and do well with a positive reinforcement training program. They rank 45th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of average working/obedience intelligence. They tend to run because they were at first bred to be sled dogs. Owners are advised to exercise caution when letting their Siberian Husky off the leash, as the dog could be miles away before looking around and realizing its owner is nowhere in sight. They are excellent "escape artists" as well, and have been known to climb chain-link fences and find other ways of escaping a confined area. They also get bored easily, so playing with toys or throwing a ball at least once a day is essential. Failure to give them the attention or proper exercise they need can result in unwanted behavior, such as excessive howling, marking, chewing on furniture, or crying.

or about their instincts
Predatory instincts in the Siberian Husky are strong. While the Siberian is normally gentle and friendly with people and other dogs, owners MUST be aware that small animals in and aound the home, such as squirrels, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, and CATS, are potential victims of their strong predatory instinct. They are swift, cunning, and patient in their hunting skills.

The Siberian Husky is a comparatively easy dog to care for. He is by nature fastidiously clean and is free from body odor and parasites. He is presented in the show ring well-groomed but requires no clipping or trimming. At least once a year the Siberian Husky sheds his coat, and it is then, when armed with a comb and a bushel basket, that one realizes the amazing density and profusion of the typical Siberian Husky coat. Some people feel that this periodic problem is easier to cope with than the constant shedding and renewal of many smooth-coated breeds.

Please tell me what I have missed. My education is only what I can read or experience

john t

most dogs have prey drive one owner one leader one basic command too stop what we dont like... simple.. we teach train our own dog too our recquirements..my 26 month old daughter can boss my 24month old german shep female . so if u teach people too train interact dogs woth all ages we will have less problems.. op you enjoy your husky...

Vince32

yeah I know, sorry if I sounded like a jackass but telling to read up on the breed and not providing the info to read bugs me a little lol and I over reacted.

My point is unless I read what you read I can't begin to understand what your talking about, I've looked on wiki, and googled the breed info, listened and thanked posters for their advice and comments, but still somehow you don't think I'm fit to own one, and I'd like to know where that idea came from, and what info I can read to make me more aware of what the dog needs.

I've been training, albeit the nose touching didn't bode well with more experienced owners and I have to concede that. Also as you probably read, I've been reading on their prey instincts, their recall which is practically non existent in adults, their need to work hard and be stimulated daily with games, toys and socialising, their weight and height for a healthy dog of a certain age and much more besides.

So in all seriousness, If I have missed some fundamental facts about them, please tell me what it is, or show me a link that describes your point. Because I can't think of what else I can do for this dog, now or in the future.

Cherry Blossom

Vince32 wrote: »

I've re-written this post about 9 times now, and deleted a ton of stuff, because I can't reply to that without starting a huge arguement.

So your right... touching the dog to correct it is bad.

This is my first husky, but its not my first picnic and I've trained all 3 previous dogs in the same manner and never recieved a bite complaint, not from a vet, and child or a stranger.

Maybe.... probably the technique is flawed or completely wrong, but you can just point that out, instead of that self gratifing rant I had to read. You don't know me, my experience with dogs, or how much I do or don't know about the breed.

So clear it up for me, what have I missed? What is the point of owning a Husky, and what info would I of glossed over, send me some links, so if anything the dog can benifit from my education.

You missed the part where you need to calm down, chill-out, don't push so hard and expect so much from a little puppy - it's only a baby, not an adult husky. At this point you need only to understand the mentality of the breed and figure out how to use what you have, the same goes for any breed. The best resource you could possibly have when it comes to huskies has posted on this thread, I know virtually nothing about them, I've never owned one.

Vince32 wrote: »

If it's about the work rate they will need as adults, Siberian Huskies are still used as sled dogs in sled dog racing. Siberians are still popular in races restricted to purebreds and are faster than other pure sled-dog breeds such as the Samoyed and the slower but much stronger Alaskan Malamute. Today the breed tends to divide along lines of "racing" Siberians and "show" Siberians. Racing Siberians tend to have more leg to enable them more reach when running. Show Siberians tend to be a bit smaller.

Apart from sled racing, they are very popular for recreational mushing and are also used for skijoring (one to three dogs pulling a skier) and European ski-hi. A few owners use them for dog-packing and hiking.

Please stop dumping loads of stuff from Wikipedia and other sites into a thread and claiming it as your own knowledge. If you must demonstrate this stuff, provide proper links to it and give credit to the actual people who wrote it.

Vince32 wrote: »

or about thier behaviour,

more wikipaedia

Vince32 wrote: »

or about their instincts

I believe that one is originally the work of the Siberian Husky Club of America but seems to be plagiarised all over the internet.

Vince32 wrote: »

Please tell me what I have missed. My education is only what I can read or experience

You or Wikipedia?

Wikipedia has zero credibility as an information resource on anything. I liked loads of reliable resources for you at the beginning of this thread, also - buy yourself a decent book on the breed.

Vince32

Wow your just a troll huh...

Where exactly am I supposed to get the info, if not from wiki, and husky sites???
So I copy and paste what I've read, for YOUR benefit and this is how you reply, if your going to carry on in this fashion I'll find another forum to get info on the breed, I mean christ on a bike! what is it you want from me?

Maybe you can provide the info I need?

EDIT: I play,walk,train and enjoy the pup, she enjoys me, I come to a support forum and get treated like this, you can just go to hell.

Irishchick, andreac,Ik09,ISDW thank you all for your help and support I've learned alot about what I need to know, and without your help I would of made some terrible mistakes.

Cherry Blossom

Again- you need to calm down, it's not a race to collect as much stuff as you can and post it all in this thread, buy a proper book - with pages, that you can read at your leisure and take in properly. Not trying to be funny here - but you come across as being a little manic, copying and pasting stuff from all over the internet.

Vince32

Deleted

ISDW

Vince I hope you're still reading this thread. It does sound as though you're excitement is running away with you a little bit, which is totally understandable, sibe puppies are the most gorgeous little bundles of fur and you want to do whats best for her, but just chillax:D Although rottie puppies I think are also the cutest puppies in the world but thats a whole new subject.

I pmed you with a link to a website, the other absolutely fantastic site that I'm on a lot, which is full of very, very knowledgeable and helpful sibe owners is sibespace, which is a UK based forum.

Its funny though, in Ireland, show sibes tend to be smaller than their working relations, but in the UK, I presume because the breed club has a dual championship, most champion show dogs are also working dogs, so they tend to be bigger than here. There is always at least one sibe team running in the big sled dog races in the USA, the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. If you're on Facebook, search for Karen Ramstead, North Wapiti Kenels, she's a musher based in Canada who only runs sibes, and she accepts friend requests from all over the world and again, is an enormously friendly, helpful person. She is also on sibespace. She may be a bit busy now until March, as she prepares for the big races, but she puts a lot of great photos up of her team. She was looking for a winter handler this year, someone to go and stay with her and her family and work with the dogs, I think it was someone from Australia who eventually went. If I was younger and didn't have my own dogs, I would have gone in a shot - 6 months working with those dogs would have been amazing.

Vince32

@ISDW

I've been looking at "tails&trails" and it looks fab and not too expensive which is a bonus, I'll be getting in touch with them in a few months for lessons and membership, I am curious as to how old the dog should be e.g +6 months, + 9 months before we can start working on scooting and biking.

I've seen the commands page, and it looks easy enough to teach, but we have plenty of time and right now I just want her to enjoy being a pup and playing around.

Thanks for the pm, when she is old enough we will definitely spend many weekends there maybe as many as 1-2 a month. It looks like alot of fun for both of us, and she will have plenty of opportunities to socialise with other dogs of various breeds.

If I'm honest, I can't wait lol

Edit:

Please don't confuse me wanting to learn as much as possible in a short time frame as being excited or frantic I thought I would have until feb / march to gather all the info I would need, I guess I still do. But that doesn't mean I'm letting it get away from me, it just means I'm eager to learn about this fantastic breed, and who can blame me :P

ISDW

I've just come in from a day in Lough Key forest park running 8 dogs, 4 lots of 2, and am cold, wet and happy:D A steaming bowl of coddle is sorting me out, the dogs are all fed and asleep.

Tails 'n' Trails is a club, we don't give lessons as such, its just people who get together to have fun. Anybody is welcome to come along to our meets, whether they're running their dogs or not. We are half way through a National Race Championship series, which is going fantastically, first time its been done in Ireland, and we're having great attendance at the rallies. I'm aiming for the Red Lantern:P

Vince32

best of luck with that lol

Maybe I'll pop down with the lady and see what we're getting into, it's a ways out from Dublin but I'm sure its worth the trip.

rofl, I'm having fantasies about breeding my own sled team, and trekking across the Arctic Circle, I understand now why everyone says they are addictive and one is never enough

But for now at least I'll stick to my girl and in 18 months to 2 years from now, you might have some competition for that red lantern

Squall19

Who took down my pictures on page 4?

Why?

Yee make enough money from that crap advertising plastered all over the site, to pay for a little bandwidth!!!

Cheapskates!

Gran Hermano

Squall19 wrote: »

Who took down my pictures on page 4?

Why?

Yee make enough money from that crap advertising plastered all over the site, to pay for a little bandwidth!!!

Cheapskates!

Still working fine for me.

ISDW

Vince32 wrote: »

best of luck with that lol

Maybe I'll pop down with the lady and see what we're getting into, it's a ways out from Dublin but I'm sure its worth the trip.

rofl, I'm having fantasies about breeding my own sled team, and trekking across the Arctic Circle, I understand now why everyone says they are addictive and one is never enough

But for now at least I'll stick to my girl and in 18 months to 2 years from now, you might have some competition for that red lantern

We're a nationwide club, we have meets in different parts of the country, so anything you come along to may not be that far from Dublin, it could even be in Dublin.

ISDW

Squall19 wrote: »

Who took down my pictures on page 4?

Why?

Yee make enough money from that crap advertising plastered all over the site, to pay for a little bandwidth!!!

Cheapskates!

Still working for me too

Vince32

Pics are still up m8, maybe you had a loading problem, I'll put up my pics soon as soon as I figure out bluetooth lmao.

T&T looks like tons of fun, good muddy fun I'll check out the next date closer to Dublin, if you find out before I do, post here and I'll see it.

Cheers m8y

Vince32

Ok I might be over reacting here but I noticed my pup hopping when its running, and maybe its just because its a pup and there is nothing to worry about, and maybe it's a sign of hip dysplasia I can't be sure yet.

What I would like to know is will pet insurance cover the surgery? and if so, what company could I go to for cover.

When I got the pup, I got a free 6 week insurance card, which I filled out and mailed off, but I'm not certain if they will cover it, the company was Allianze, but their site doesn't specify what's excluded.

As I said, it may be nothing, or it may be a €6000.00 vet bill and if the worst comes to worst I want to be prepared.

I've seen some vids on YT and the signs are eerily similar, I'll be off to the vet in the morning to check it out but there is no way I handle that kind of financial hit.

star-pants

Squall19 wrote: »

Who took down my pictures on page 4?

Why?

Yee make enough money from that crap advertising plastered all over the site, to pay for a little bandwidth!!!

Cheapskates!

As others have pointed out - your photos are still visible - there is obviously an issue with your browser or device. I would suggest you watch your tone also - that's very insulting.
Do NOT respond to this post on thread, you can PM should you feel the need to.

ISDW

Vince32 wrote: »

Ok I might be over reacting here but I noticed my pup hopping when its running, and maybe its just because its a pup and there is nothing to worry about, and maybe it's a sign of hip dysplasia I can't be sure yet.

What I would like to know is will pet insurance cover the surgery? and if so, what company could I go to for cover.

When I got the pup, I got a free 6 week insurance card, which I filled out and mailed off, but I'm not certain if they will cover it, the company was Allianze, but their site doesn't specify what's excluded.

As I said, it may be nothing, or it may be a €6000.00 vet bill and if the worst comes to worst I want to be prepared.

I've seen some vids on YT and the signs are eerily similar, I'll be off to the vet in the morning to check it out but there is no way I handle that kind of financial hit.

What were the hip scores for the pup's parents?

andreac

Vince32 wrote: »

Ok I might be over reacting here but I noticed my pup hopping when its running, and maybe its just because its a pup and there is nothing to worry about, and maybe it's a sign of hip dysplasia I can't be sure yet.

What I would like to know is will pet insurance cover the surgery? and if so, what company could I go to for cover.

When I got the pup, I got a free 6 week insurance card, which I filled out and mailed off, but I'm not certain if they will cover it, the company was Allianze, but their site doesn't specify what's excluded.

As I said, it may be nothing, or it may be a €6000.00 vet bill and if the worst comes to worst I want to be prepared.

I've seen some vids on YT and the signs are eerily similar, I'll be off to the vet in the morning to check it out but there is no way I handle that kind of financial hit.

Did you see the parents hip scores?

I would urge you to sort insurance asap. There is a time frame from when you take out the policy until you can claim so the sooner you sort the insurance the better.

How much exercise are you doing with this pup? As i said to you already, please make sure you arent over doing it as you can cause joint problems if you are doing too much.

Vince32

The parents were never scored, the breeder found it too expensive and too inconvenient to have them scored. He said if I massage the dogs hip gently or run my hand down its side and it yelps, i'll know if there's a problem..

It's too early to say if she is in a growing spurt or the hips are forming badly, I've gotten proper pet cover, that will cover the surgery, but not if its pre-existing. So fingers crossed they don't contest the claim if it comes down to it.

We walk for 15-20 mins twice a day, if thats still too much, I'll cut it too once a day, the rest of the time she is sleeping or playing in the garden

andreac

Vince, im sorry, but thats not good enough. If a breeder cannot even be bothered to hip score before breeding then they shouldnt be breeding. Saying its too inconvenient and expensive is not what a reputable breeder would say.

Im sorry, but massaging wont do anything to help your dog if the hips are bad. The only way you will know if the hips are ok is to get them x-rayed. I really really hope for your dogs sake that it doesnt have hip dysplacia.
God, people would tell you anything to make you believe them. Hes talking utter crap about the massaging thing:rolleyes:

Someone like this shouldnt be breeding if they cant even carry out the most basic health tests for their dogs. People like this really make me angry when they are putting potential puppies health at risk. :mad: