Yaris v Ferrari ?

Paul | blog | February 20, 2011

People often ask me why certain breeds of dogs advertised on pedigreedogs.ie are offered at €250 and the same breed bred by somebody else ,then offered for sale at €500

I always say you have to compare apples with apples.

A lot of time,effort and expense goes into producing a strong and healthy litter.

One of the most popular breeds in Ireland is the Labrador, and you will see them offered price wise at both ends of the scale.

Whilst promoting our site at last years Pet Expo in the RDS I was asked this on quite a few occasions.

Some of it has to do with what you require the dog for in the first place. Now if you want it for it’s original function then the amount of field trial winners in it’s pedigree will be of concern to you, and as the saying goes you get what you pay for. It’s like comparing a Toyota Yaris (Fine car in my opinion) to a Ferrari. Both will get you from A to B, but a bit more engineering has gone into the high end model.

Having said that, health screening of the breeding stock should be paramount, and it’s pups that result from such matings that are considered the high end model, or Ferrari if you like.

Labradors should be hip and elbow scored, and correct me if I’m wrong have their eye’s tested.

Hip and elbow dysplasia can affect up to one in five Labradors and there is currently no cure for it.

A welcome development in testing for the above has been announced by scientists.They are hoping to create a diagnostic DNA test to assess the genetic risk for hip and elbow dysplasia in Labradors.

The current procedure requires dogs of a minimum age of 1 year going under aesthetic to be tested for these ailments, which if develop in the older dog, apart from causing unnecessary pain to the animal, will cost the unsuspecting owner, a lot more than the initial saving in medication and veterinary visits going forward.

So is it going to be the Yaris or the Ferrari ?

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Dog found in Deep Freeze

Paul | blog | February 18, 2011

Some of my recent blogs have been based on the message we are trying to promote, i.e responsible dog ownership, and trying to educate the potential dog owner, into researching the breed, and breeder before making a life long commitment to owning a dog.

Recently I blogged about are we fighting a losing battle and are we a country of animal lovers, but when you read page 32 of yesterday’s Cork Independent, it’s easy at times to think we might be.

The ISPCA were called into a facility where a “young terrier dog was being kept in a disused deep freezer with a block of wood used to allow air ventilation and the tiniest amount of light through”

“It was made know to the ISPCA that the puppies bred on these premises were being sold at a country market”

Who in their right mind would buy a dog at a market ? In the UK pet stores that sell pups are constantly being harassed by the majority of the dog owning public to stop this practice, and the one or two pet stores in Ireland that did carry out this practice have since stopped.

Dogs are not a commodity like a suit or pair of shoes that you can exchange if they don’t match your lifestyle, so a “little” bit more consideration should go into the purchase of a dog, than buying off the shelf items.

There is a lot of hope out there that the dog breeders establishment bill, if finally signed off on will eradicate this kind of carry on, but you would wonder how far under the radar, some of these operators fly.

Another point is that if the 6 or more bitches are kept in OK conditions, the resulting offspring can still be sold at these country markets in Ireland, but that’s another days work.

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The Dog Breeding Establishment Bill

Joe | blog | February 4, 2011

Do you remember all the fuss about the above ?

Well now implementation of the proposed law will now depend on which government takes power after this month’s general election

A spokesman for the current department said the implementation would be a ‘matter for the next government’.

This is the bill that if signed in will generate € 3000 revenue per annum from facilities that house 101 to 200 bitches, and a further €1,600 for each 100 bitches thereafter.

Here’s some links to the debate that have already been posted on the pedigreedogs.ie blog, some of which I’m sure, you will find interesting reading

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/?s=legislation&submit=Go

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/2010/05/15/dog-breeding-establishments-bill-2009-discussion-with-canine-breeders-of-ireland/

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/page/2/?s=legislation&submit=Go

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/2010/02/25/ikc-strance-on-new-legislation/

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/2010/07/10/canine-breeders-of-ireland/

http://www.pedigreedogs.ie/2010/07/09/excerpts-taken-from-the-dog-breeding-establishments-bill-2009-seanad-friday-02-07-2010/#more-881

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Pedigree Dogs – Has Robbie gone to them ?

Joe | blog | September 22, 2010

Robbie Williams recently showed off some fetching new hairdos – by balancing his pets on his head.

The chart star is seen trying out a series of new hairstyles by posing with his beloved dogs to create the effect of wigs.

The private photos of the star – which give a new spin on the phrase “poodle perm” – are among the candid shots in a new book, You Know Me.

He explains in the book: “The press continually do the same story, the headline that should be Guy That Used To Be Young Gets Progressively Older .., Hair Turns A Different Colour etc., etc.

“So I was just trying out different colours to see what would suit me if I dyed my hair, using the dogs as colour pods. I think there could be a new website in there where people send pictures of themselves with their dogs as wigs.”

In the photos, taken this year, he says his white-coated pet Poupette gives him a “very Louis XIV“ look, while his dog Wall-E makes him appear “Andy Warhol-esque”.

Another shot shows him with Maggie – which he says makes him “look demure – or like Davy Crockett”, while the photo with his dog Abba makes him look “afro-tastic”, Mr Williams concludes.

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Afghan Aerobics

Paul | blog | September 20, 2010

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Police Dog Drug Training

Joe | blog | September 17, 2010

People often wonder if dogs sniff out hidden drugs because they want to eat them, or because they’re addicted to drugs themselves. In fact, the dogs have absolutely no interest in drugs. What they’re actually looking for is their favorite toy. Their training has led them to associate that toy with the smell of drugs.

The toy used most often is a white towel. Police dogs love to play a vigorous game of tug-of-war with their favorite towel. To begin the training, the handler simply plays with the dog and the towel, which has been carefully washed so that it has no scent of its own. Later, a bag of marijuana  is rolled up inside the towel. After playing for a while, the dog starts to recognize the smell of marijuana as the smell of his favorite toy. The handler then hides the towel, with the drugs, in various places. Whenever the dog sniffs out the drugs, he digs and scratches, trying to get at his toy. He soon comes to learn that if he sniffs out the smell of drugs, as soon as he finds them he’ll be rewarded with a game of tug-of-war.

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My Dog Tulip – Sometimes love really is a Bitch

Joe | blog | September 15, 2010

The distinguished British man of letters, Ackerley hardly thought of himself as a dog lover when, well into middle age, he came to adopt Tulip – a beautiful, yet intolerable 18–month–old German shepherd. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the “ideal friend” he had been searching for in vain for so many years. In vivid and sometimes startling detail, the film reveals Tulip’s sassy, often erratic behavior (and very canine tastes) and Ackerley’s fumbling but determined efforts to ensure an existence of perfect happiness for her.

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Pedigree Dogs Vet – Tail Dragging

Paul | blog | September 14, 2010

Quite often dog owners think their dog has worms because it is dragging its tail on the ground.  This activity is instead a sign that the dog is having trouble with its anal glands (sacs).

What are anal glands?  They are primarily used for territorial marking and communication, not only in dogs, but all predators.  They are small pouches located on each side and slightly below the anal opening, at the 4 o’ clock and 8 o’ clock positions.  A small duct leads from the gland to an opening directly beside the anus. The sacs contain a thick, strong-smelling liquid that is pressed out when a dog relieves itself.  This allows other dogs to recognise each other because each dog produces its own unique scent.

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The ENTLEBUCHER Mountain Dog

Seamus | blog | September 8, 2010

THE ENTLEBUCHER Mountain Dog looks set to come off the Imported Breed Register and become eligible for full KC recognition.

Despite there being only 13 in the UK at the moment, the EMD Club of GB is determined to give the breed the best start possible, and hopes to see the breed gain in popularity and become a real contender in future competitions.
Entlebuchers fist arrived in the UK around 10 years ago, when Lucy Denman brought two over from France. Eight years ago they produced a litter, and the breed was officially recognised on the Import Register four years ago.

Continue reading »

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Showing Dogs..How about this for a start !

Joe | blog | September 7, 2010

A QUITE remarkable feat in show terms has been achieved by a new exhibitor.
Charlotte Whittaker’s Alaskan Malamute Chayo Vanquish (Cruz), has won the group with each of his first three CCs – at the National, Bournemouth and Welsh Kennel Club – becoming a champion in the process.
This in itself is a rare occurrence, but in addition to that he is Miss Whittaker’s first show dog.
Cruz, who has just turned two years old, is by Int/Dutch/Lux/Am/Bel Ch Snoquest Limited Edition (Diesel) ex Sue Ellis’ Ch/Int Ch Chayo Forget-Me-Not (Topaz), the bitch record holder with seven CCs. Topaz won the BCC at WKC this year and the group last year, and also produced both RCC winners there in 2010.

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Let’s hope that Dogs in Ireland never face this…

Joe | blog | August 26, 2010

On Monday, August 2, an off-duty police officer pulled a 9mm weapon loaded with deadly hollow point bullets and gunned down a dog in a suburban off-leash dog park because he was playing too roughly with the officer’s dog.  Keith Elgin Shepherd of Severrn, MD, claimed that he and his dog were being attacked.  Shepherd sustained no injuries, and according to Animal Control, not “a scratch” was found on his dog after the incident.  Not only was the dog shot needlessly, but when the owner tried to get to his mortally wounded pet Shepherd threatened him back with a taser.

(Correction:  An officer who responded to the call is the one who threatened the owner with a taser, not Shepherd.  However, this still illustrates the point of this article that in the eyes of law enforcement officials, the needless shooting of a dog is acceptable.)

Continue reading »

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Is this cruelty to dogs ? “You want me to do what?”

Joe | blog | August 24, 2010

This is undoubtedly the most expressive picture I’ve ever seen of an animal
You can almost hear him say these words; 

“You want me to do what?”

The look on this dog’s face is priceless…

Undoubtedly bought the criminal a little more time for the getaway!

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Tralee & District Canine Club Championship Show 2010

Seamus | blog | August 22, 2010

Next week is the start of the Rose of Tralee festival. Beautiful girls from all over the World will compete for the Crown “Rose of Tralee, but Yesterday in Castleisland just a few miles from Tralee there was a festival of other sorts it was the annual Tralee Dog Show.

Tralee Dog Show committee has had to move the venue for the dog show over the years, many moon ago it was in a school, some rings were in the school yard while other in an adjoining sports pitch. This was followed by a  moved to the Rugby Grounds just outside the town, this was a friendly place and occasionally the bar opened at night for the people staying in camper van and caravans at the top end of the field, to meet and relax and a song or two could be heard too.

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Limerick All Breed Championship Show 2010

Nedine | blog | August 20, 2010

A light drizzle of rain stayed over Limerick show yesterday, but luckily not like other years the ground was rock hard at the Woodlands Hotel venue, so unlike previous years the ground under foot was not like whipped cream and straw had to be put in the entrances so to get people in and out, leaving a terrible mess for the committee to later have to clear up.

The Woodland Hotel, Adare  is really a superb venue for Limerick show, its a real treat on arrival to go in and enjoy a  cooked breakfast and lunch time a hearty meal in Timmy Macs Bistro is a real must.

Limerick show is always very laid out and this year was no exception, at every corner you can see committee members in their very smart blue jackets keeping a good eye on what happening and group timings etc seem to work just like clock-work, just proving how much work the committee put into the yearly show.

The large Best in Show ring as usual was well decorated with seating for the judges, as soon as the Groups were completed the BIS was called. Ten lovely dogs came in for Mrs E Haapanie from Finland  to judge. Interestingly of the ten dogs, five of the dogs were new to Group winning, also noticed many of the placed dogs in the Groups were new to top honours so it most certainly must have been a very exciting day for all their proud owners.

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Killarney All Breed Championship Dog show 2010

Nedine | blog | August 18, 2010

Killarney All Breed Championship Dog show is the only Irish dog show that is set amongst a busy town, not alone this but Killarney without any doubt is one of Ireland’s most beautiful and popular tourist towns,

So therefore at Killarney show there is a good mix of local people visiting and holiday makers having a day out to see the dogs which adds nicely to the relaxed atmosphere of “Circuit” week.. The show is looked down on by the magnificent St Mary’s Cathedral, this August celebrating 155 years since its consecration .

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Worlds Oldest Dog Bone

Paul | blog | August 17, 2010

German scientists have identified the world’s oldest dog bone, proving that humans kept dogs more than 14 000 years ago, Tuebingen University said on Tuesday.

The canine jaw was found in Switzerland in 1873, but has only just been analysed by researchers across the border in Tuebingen. The findings were reported in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

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Clonmel & District Canine Club

Seamus | blog | August 16, 2010

Yesterdays Clonmel and District All Breed Championship proved to be a real sizzler of a day, most certainly holding the record for 2010 as the hottest show day with temperatures at about 25c all day.
Most certainly a day for dogs and humans to seek shade and try to keep cool, good to see bottles of suncream being handed around amongst exhibitors, and being lashed on in all the right spots – not many folk wished to start the circuit week looking like red rooster.

Many judges took consideration of the new founded Irish heatwave and in the more heavily coated breeds and only kept the exhibits in the ring the minimum of time for assessment and movement.

The Clonmel lay out for the show is in complete reverse to Fermoy Show held earlier in the year in the Ferry House Complex, now a pretty regular show venue for Southern shows.

The rings for yesterdays show were laid out in what many will remember as the car-park area, while they use the normal show ring area now for car-parking. All the rings were pretty spacious and being blessed with such wonderful weather it gave the show a nice relaxed holiday atmosphere.

The Clonmel entry was excellent just under 2000 dogs from Ireland, the UK and farther afield in Europe of course for many folk Irish and overseas visitors make the Circuit their annual weeks holiday.

As every year the committee of Clonmel, invite a good mix of Irish judges and overseas judges, this year hailing from as far afield as France, Canada, Finland, Greece, US and Denmark

As always Clonmel show seems to run like clock-work, as breeds were completed the respective Groups were called, so the task of adjudicating the Best In Show fell on the capable shoulders of Mrs Jean Westren, originally from the UK, but now living over here in Ireland for some years.

Ten excellent examples of their respective breeds came into the lovely decorated BIS ring, some of yesterdays group winners were new faces other well know to everyone.

After careful examination, Mrs Western handed the big BIS rosette to the winner of Group 6, also the BIS winner at Saturdays Hound Association Championship show. The Rhodesian Ridgeback Ch Rottzridge Walk The Walk, to an over joyed Jane Anthony co-owner and handler and yells of delight and complete happines could be heard all over the show grounds, and what a lot she and husband Geordie had to celebrate and also what a super way to kick off Circuit week. The just gone two year old home bred Kofi, already last year, this cracking young bitch won the final of the IKC Junior Champions of Champions Competition and so far in her show career has notched up some 30 Green Stars and multi Group placings.

Mrs Westeren called into reserve spot, the winner of Group 10 and last weeks “Bangor BIS winning Whippet” Ch/UKCh/IntCh Collooney He’s The One CJ’06/’07AnCh’06/’07’08’09, owned by Linda Cutbert-Matthews and Colin Matthews.

Third place was awarded to the beautiful Miniature Smooth Haired Dachshund Ch Hasmur Missys Ticket to Dazzle Luvs Chrishane Ch Hasmur Missys Ticket To Dazzle Luvs Chrishane J.CH.,J.D.(C.W.08,10) Camille also topped Group 4 at the St Pats Day show and has been regularly placed in Groups during her show career.

And in fourth place was awarded to, the Kilkenny based Group 5 winner the Siberian Huskey Ch/Int Ch Leorient Artic Blue Lady An Ch 09,CW 10 owned by Mr Jason Duggan.

And so Clonmel and District 2010 came to a close, many congrats to the hard working committee headed by long term secretary Margaret O’Gorman for once again putting on a excellent show. And so the car/vans/campervans and caravans headed out the gates of Ferry House most heading towards the Kerry region to continue on the “Munster Circuit. Enjoy your week and safe driving.

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Hound Association of Ireland Group Championship Show

Seamus | blog | August 15, 2010

Best in show at today’s Hound Association of Ireland Ch Show at Nass Race Course under Spanish judge Mr Adolfo Martinez Noguera was Geordie & Jane Anthony’s Rhodesian Ridgeback Ch Rottzridge Walk The Walk Jnr Ch CW 10. Reserve Best in Show Mary & Tony Smith’s Ch Uella O’Hogan (Jnr Ch CW 08). The new venue proved a major success, and left us wondering why it had not been used for this show before now. Situated en route for the next day’s Circuit show in Clonmel, it had perfect facilities for this 3 group show. The large equine parade ring provided great space for the 4 rings on an immaculate lawn surrounded by low hedging and a railing and fixed seating for onlookers.
Many congratulations to the commitee of the HAI for again running an excellent show, but a first this year the show was blessed with proper summer weather, hopefully the sunshine will continue for the rest of the Munster Circuit week.

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Irish Kennel Club

Paul | blog | August 13, 2010

Dogs that have attained the title of CHAMPION with another FCI Kennel Club who win a Green Star at the Irish Kennel Club International Show on 11th September 2010 will be awarded an Irish Kennel Club Championship title.

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