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Try a fancy mouse club – the only one I know is the London and Southern Counties Fancy Rat and Mouse Club, can’t remember contact details though. Do a search, they’ll come up. That’s your best bet – they can put you in touch with breeders. Ask pet stores where they get their mice – the guy you talked to was right, the vast majority of pet store mice are from overbred parents and so are weak and less healthy than they should be; but the odd shop takes surplus and sub-standard mice from show breeders. I got all but 10 of my mice (I’ve had a few!) from a shop lihe this – I’ve had blues (i love them too, gorgeous colour), fawns, blacks, golden agoutis, all sorts, and sll excellent quality. One of the first males I got, a fawn, is still alive and healthy today – he’s 2 in a month. And the offspring of the show mice are living long as well.
My doberman Remy was named after my favourite character in the X-Men – Remy LeBeau, Gambit (not in the movies, dammit..). Most people think he was named after the Remy Martin whisky drink, and usually I say he is – much easier to explain! It suits him though, he is a fawn, so a french name somehow seems to work for his look 🙂 my rott X is called Opi – she is named after my Springer X Irish water spaniel who died a few years back, Opie. Opie we aren’t sure about – we got her at 8 years, and the theory goes that the owner’s other half was a bit of a drug addict, hence opium became Opie. We think. Opi is nothing like her namesake though!!
If you don’t mind me asking, why do you want to breed her with a pom? Cross-breeding can potentially increase the risk of genetic problems being passed on to the offspring. Also, has she had the necessary health tests (talk to professional breeders about these) to make sure she is a good dog to be bred? The same for the pom, if you are determined to breed them. I would look for a good maltese stufd though. As for her legs, I honestly don’t know what to suggest :p
Has she been to the vet to get the legs checked out? It could be arthritis, there are pain meds that can help. Also Nzymes antioxidant treats or granules can help tremendously with bad joints, you can get them at first4pets.co.uk . As for the soccer – if it might damage her legs more, I’d stop doing it. Give her other things to keep her busy – chew toys, stuffed kongs – I give kongs to my dogs to amuse them, I stuff them with a mix of crunchy peanut butter, cat biscuits, broken grvay bone dog treats and choc drops (doggy ones, of course), all mixed together. I put the kongs in the freezer before I go to bed, then give them to the dogs in the morning – keeps them busy for quite a while, and they are mammoth chow hounds and chewers! Other things like treat balls (balls that you fill with kibble that the dog has to roll around the get food out of) are great, they give the dog good mental exercise and have been used to treat depression in kenneled rescue dogs before with great success. Get the dog checked out first of course, hopefully it’s nothing serious. Is she very old?
I have mice and rats – mice do stink, hell yes! But I prefer them because they take up less space, and the toys are cheaper!! I’ve got 30 mice at the mo, sadly they are all 18 months and starting to wind down now. One of my rats is aging too, he’s 3 in two weeks – and he didn’t age well, bless him. Can;t walk too well. But he’s a fighter, he’s hanging on! My other 4 ratty boys are only a year tho, much fun left to be had yet 🙂
Well said! That documentary is on UK tv on Thursday, I’m going to watch it – I’ve seen something about it before, it does look frightening. I’m already out of the weight/low energy rut, but your simple advice could do with being broadcasted to that 65%!
It is harder than it seems to get in shape – just a walk to the shops sounds easy to you and me, but to someone who is already overweight and unfit, it’s a hell of a task. To think of getting up and doing that walk seems so difficult many just don’t bother – used to be one of those myself! I used to be so low on energy that the shops seemed an awful long way away, and honestly, if I hadn’t got my two dogs, I’d still be that way. So the solution – get up and get exercise – sounds simple enough, but in reality it is very hard for a lot of people. Heck, even my brother has problems getting physically motivated – and he’s not overweight! Once you’re in that sedentary lifestyle, it’s a beggar to break!
If I had to pick, probably a chihuahua – my sister has one, I’m quite smitten with them! Odd for me, I’m a big-dog person at heart. Pugs also rate high, I don’t know why – very ugly! – but I am fond of them!
To be honest, the only ones that incur a lot of cost are the dogs and cats – the goldfish cost me about ?2 for a bag of pellets that lasts a couple months, and the millipedes cost ?1 a week in bags of salad. Rats and mice eat the same food – about ?5 a week I think, so nothing major. I keep them on newspaper, so no big cost in litter there. The dogs and cats are def the worst – ?25 a week dogs and ?8 cats. So I’m looking at maybe ?40 a week, my dad is helping me a bit for now until business is a bit more fruitful. millipedes – I have about 470 african olives (give or take, they breed a lot), giant blacks (not sure how many offhand), one bronze and two giant chocolate.
Book her in at the vet’s. They’ll give her a thorough check-over for her health, then talk you through what shots she needs and when. typically, she’ll need her first vaccinations at 8 weeks, and then again at 12 weeks – a week after the second lot she can go out for walks on the ground. Until se’s fully vaccinated, be sure you carry her with you absolutely eberywhere you possibly can, and let her meet as many different people and see as many different things as you can, so she grows into a happy, well-adjusted dog. The first few weeks (until 12 weeks old) are crucial for this socialisation. Boot fairs and garage sales are great for this – loads of people 🙂
Sounds like you’re doing a good job, though hip scoring would have been a good idea. It may well be that the neighbour’s dog is just too old – it’s hard to say. As for your vet – I’m sure he/she is reputable, but to be aware that many, many reputable still spout utter nonsense such as "you should let a bitch have one litter " and things like that. 2yrs is really the minimum age, to ensure full development of the mum. Good luck, hope all goes well with your girl!
well, any that are easy to handle (i.e. tame-able) are usually ones that make a fuss – if by that you mean a lot of noise. Budgies and cockatiels are the best for handling to my knowledge, apart from the big expensive guys. Most other inexpensive birds you can get – like finches and so on – are not tame-able, finches especially – you can hand-rear them and they still won’t like you when they grow up! Do remember that any bird you can buy is a flock bird – they like company of their own kind. They are kept alone, but are better off with a friend (or several!).
Oh, I’ve got pets alright… 35 mice 5 rats ~ 480 millipedes ~ 25 goldfish ~ 30 tropical fish (mostly 9" barbs and 8-10" catfish) 2 dogs 4 cats that’s what, 581 pets? :p
I have heard of infertility in dogs and bitches before, though it’s nto that common. Bear in mind pregnancy can take a while to show – I read recently of one bitch that was bred and shoed no sign of pregnancy, visibly or through ultrasound scans – then one day she just gave birth to 5 pups! Do you mind if I ask why you are breeding your girl? For one thing, she isn’t old enough – no bitch should really be bred from before she is 2 years old at least. Also, has she had her hips x-rayed and assessed for hip dysplasia? this is a serious problem in labs, and not something you should ever skirt round if you are breeding them. I would take her to the vet for a scan to check for pups – and if she isn’t pregnant, then wait. at 18 months she isn’t really mature enough physically to have puppies, she needs to finish growing herself first.
Pinning down another dog is _not_ dominance. Dogs you see that look pinned by other dogs put themselves there in a show of submission. What you describe sounds like the Pyr saying to the pup "stop doing that (whatever it is), I don’t like it!". It’s basic correction from an adult dog to a pup. I would work on the pup’s behaviour – clearly she’s doing something that’s annoying the Pyr, and it needs to stop. All dogs use signals to calm each other down – these are called calming signals – but unfortunately younger dogs seem to be less inclined to pay attention, and end up like your pup. Don’t worry, mine were the same when they were pups 🙂 I would watch the Pyr, and when he starts looking annoyed – look for him turning his head to the side, or bending to sniff the ground if he’s standing; quick licks of his nose (1 second quick), or him turning himself away from her, things like that – I would take pup away to calm down, if she doesn’t calm herself down. That should help diffuse the situation. It will take time for him to accept her – both my dogs had to be accepted by my brother’s dog, a 7 yr old rotti X dobie, and she is not a tolerant dog! Honestly, it sounds like pup is pushing her luck and Pyr is telling her off – it’s natural dog behaviour. give it time and they should sort themselves out, but obviously be very vigilant – you want them to sort their ranks out, but not at the cost of physical damage. And whatever you do don’t punish Pyr for telling her off – just separate them to cool off. If you add punishment to a situation that’s already stressing him out, chances are he’ll get worse. As for the season, I’ve never heard of that. But if you are not planning to breed from her – and if she is a mix, then it’s not recommended anyway – I would get her spayed before she has her first heat. That will cut out (excuse the pun!) the risk of her developing mammary cancers.
