B&B Happy Goats....journal

[Mike CHS]

Friends in upstate SC have a couple of large bamboo groves situated around their herding dog training pens and had areas cleared out where you could set chairs to watch the handlers work their dogs. It would literally seem 10 or more degrees cooler among the plants and it always felt like there was air movement in there although there was very little outside. This was also giant bamboo.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Absolutely love the sound that the giant bamboo makes when they blow in the breeze ....guess I may need to see if they would grow here...

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

This is an interesting discussion on bamboo. I had thought of bamboo as akin to kudzu, i.e., something that if you ever planted you would be battling for the rest of your life.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

This is an interesting discussion on bamboo. I had thought of bamboo as akin to kudzu, i.e., something that if you ever planted you would be battling for the rest of your life.

Bamboo is a under used resource for all kinds of things STA, ...The running bamboo is very invasive and a pain to control once it's established....clumping bamboo is awesome

 

[Bruce]

I am giving much thought on the offer of putting in the trip wires

It is probably illegal but wouldn't it be fun to make the mailbox hot? Turn it on after you pick up your mail, turn it off in the morning. Let's light up the criminals!

I have been told that dalmations are one of the worst for biting

I gather the breed has been pretty well screwed up by inbreeding. Seems to be a common thing with "improvements" made by people.

 

[Mike CHS]

Those "improvement" outfits is why everyone that I have known with Border Collies only get their dogs from members of the Border Collie Handlers Association and not AKC.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

@Bruce....yes it would be fun to light that puppy up....220 ?...110 ?

 

[Ridgetop]

Instead of a hot wire by which you might get sued, how about a loud screaming noise as soon as it is opened? Or one of those loud, angry, mean barking dog recordings that are triggered by doorbells. Could you hook that up so if someone touches or opens the box it goes off?

Those "improvement" outfits is why everyone that I have known with Border Collies only get their dogs from members of the Border Collie Handlers Association and not AKC.

Yes, @MikeCHS, that is why I always recommend checking out a breeder, their dogs, health guarantees, ask for test results, etc. Get references if possible. If you are serious about a WORKING dog, get it from a breeder who has working dogs. This holds for herding dogs, hunting dogs, LGDs, etc. Show people breed for their concept of the ideal dog of their breed. However, most GOOD and REPUTABLE AKC breeders are not to blame for the decline of different breeds. The AKC is a registration agency only. Unlike the German dog registries, they do not test the litters before registering puppies. German registries require the owners of litters to euthanize any puppy not meeting strict breed standards or temperament testing. In the US, while the dogs may be advertised as AKC, sadly there is no oversight as to quality, temperament, or health. other than by the word of the registering breeder. Many of these registering breeders are people breeding inferior dogs for the money. The only thing AKC registration shows is that the owner of the bitch at time of breeding is saying that she was bred to a male of the same breed. For a good, healthy puppy, you need to do your own homework by checking out the breeder, their dogs, and their health testing. Unfortunately for those wanting a cheap dog, this kind of quality costs more than a couple of hundred dollars or free. Reputable breeders have waiting lists for their puppies.

Once a breed becomes popular by way of advertising/movies/TV - Fox Terriers - "The Thin Man" movies (Asta), Cocker Spaniels via "Lady and the Tramp", German Shepherds - "Rin Tin Tin", Collies - "Lassie", Dalmatians - "100 & 1 Dalmations", small woollie mutts - "Benjy", Labrador Retrievers - "Ol' Yeller" and "The Incredible Journey", and any other recognizable breed from any movie you care to mention, their fate is sealed. Not necessarily by show breeders, but by those backyard breeders and puppy mills who want to cash in on the demand for those puppies. It happened to Arab horses after the "Black Stallion" movies. People acquire mediocre specimens and set up as "breeders" without knowing the health, background, or temperaments of what they are using, breeding, or producing. Eventually after several generations of poor genetics the entire breed gets a bad reputation for health issues, temperament issues, etc. and buyers move on to the next fad. And don't get me started on so-called "designer breeds"! Cross breeding dogs whose genetic coding is opposite to each other just because the resulting pups are "cute" can be disastrous, particular when sold to owners who have no idea of what the original breeds were used for.

We are seeing it now in the demand for LGDs. People are acquiring LGD breeds cheaply and breeding them indiscriminately. The pups are sold as guardians. Many don't guard, many are not good with livestock or people, have severe health and genetic issues, and end up in shelters or must be euthanized. Breeders breeding and selling inferior puppies (or any type of animal) for a quick buck are a danger to any breed or species.

Before the screams of protest erupt, let me say that not all breeders of any species who offer their animals at a discount are bad, money grubbing individuals. In 4-H we sold our animals for much less than market value to the kids who needed an animal for a project and were limited on funds. I have known very nice people with nice dogs that bred them for fun, sold the puppies cheaply or gave the puppies away to friends. They did not do genetic testing on their apparently healthy dogs because they did not know the risks. Mostly because they don't know about genetic testing and their dogs "don't have that problem". No one believes that their animal has "THAT PROBLEM". Anyone wanting to take a chance on those animals may do so and hopefully nothing will be wrong. It is the people that breed just for the quick cash. advertise their animals as suited to the use without any testing, or knowledge of the animals they are breeding an selling that I have major problems with. When Bay reported Sentry's extreme hip dysplasia to the breeder, did those people say they would immediately neuter the parents? Probably not. They probably thought it was just a fluke.

I will get down off my soap box now. Sorry for the rant.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

@Ridgetop...per @Bruce idea of making the mail box hot...., we are wiring the mail box with 220 and building a puddle of water around it.........we like long term lasting satisfaction .....bawaaaaahaha

 

[Ridgetop]

I am assuming you and other BYHers know about testing, etc. If you breed dogs, you certainly know that breeding dogs is not cheap! Raising a healthy litter costs more than you often get for the litter. Puppies are a lot of work and finding good homes is hard. Particularly if you guarantee to take back the puppies if the owners won't or can't keep them. (Latestarter and Southernbychoice)

I was referring to those breeders that jump on the bandwagon of popularity, produce poor dogs for a quick buck, and destroy the breed in the process. It is not the AKC that ruins breeds, but the breeders themselves.