Let's See Your Dogs!!

That's a good name.

 

Anybody know what i can do for my Dutch Shepherd the inside of his ear is really red and he constantly flaps his head and tries to itch the inside of his ear it looks like there is some kind of white discharge the first time we went to the vet for it they say it was an ear infection so they gave him meds and it kind of cleared it up for a little while but its back and it looks worse then it was the first time so im not sure what i can do for him besides take him back to the vet and let them see whats going on. Anybody have any experience with this?

 

I'd go back to the vet

 

They may have to excise the infection (scrape it all off surgically) and hit it hard with antibiotics and put him in a cone of shame for a couple of weeks.

 

Not sure what the difference between a short hair and wire haired are other than the texture of their coats obviously, but my grandpa has always had wire haired pointers for his huntin' dogs and I've been around them enough to know some pros and cons.

Pros: They are awesome bird dogs. They are very athletic and can scout and run around all day, they are silent, don't think I ever heard his dogs bark once. They are quite friendly too.
Cons: They are not family dogs, these dogs are bred to hunt and do only that, don't expect much affection out of them. Sure they will wag their tail when they see ya and whatnot, but don't expect to have much cuddle time with one. I believe they are prone to heart problems as well, one of my pa's died from a heart attack when she was still quite young. And they got a big sniffer on them, that nose tends to get them in trouble sometimes, they will follow it wherever it leads them. Make sure you have a safe place to keep them, a good fenced yard or kennel.

Other than that, enjoy your dog and happy hunting!

 

Banjo! All our animals have always had "B" names. He is about 6 months old now

 

^aussie? Good looking dog either way

 

Bentley

 

You are one fine looking hunk of a man..."BENTLEY!"

 

Hope the cone of shame doesnt go on him, it will drive him crazy!

 

Buddy sent me a couple pics of Cooper over the weekend, he's getting pretty big, about 45 pounds now and about a year and 3 months old now.





In case you guys forgot, this was when I first got him

 

She looks like she has a great personality. Nice find. Reminds me a bunch of mine.

 

Man. Time's flown and Cooper's gotten huge!

 

What a great picture. Awesome dog.

Great looking dog man.

 

I've never heard of heart problems being a common issue. That sounds like a breeding or isolated problem to me. As far as them not being family dogs I don't see that at all. Maybe they're raised different or something, but mine loves to be around people and is extremely good around small kids. She is also a huge cuddle queen when she gets tired, you literally have to wrestle her out of you lap. Like I said maybe the ones you know are raise differently but my experience is that they are great family dogs.

 

Red border collie. Thanks

 

I couldn't disagree more with the cons. GSP's are some of the most affectionate dogs I have ever met. They are extremely loyal and love to be with their family. They are excellent with kids, just a bit rowdy for little ones.

In fact, they get so attached to their owners that they can suffer from separation anxiety. Something to be careful of when they're young. Make sure to leave them alone for some period of time to get them used to being away from you.

Heart problems are not in the breed. They are overall a very healthy breed, but with some traits of bloat and epilepsy.

As with any dog, get to know your breeder and their history. Make sure they are an AKC breeder of merit at the very least. Also contact the GSP club of america...or the national website for any breed you choose. They'll help you find a good breeder. http://www.gspca.org/

Good luck!

 

Oh man. I was sitting at a coffee shop the other day with Riley. Some guy comes up and says "Chocolate Lab? I love Labs." then proceeds to tell me I'm an ass for getting dog from a breeder and that pure bred dogs have health problems (Riley was cone-tained for a hematoma) and blah blah blah.

I had to politely explain to him that yes. Some unethical/uninformed breeders to give breeding purebreds a bad name but then so do those who let their pets stray and become pregnant. And that spending time to research your breeder is worth the effort.

What a jackass.

 

^ that's how mine is. She goes with me 90% of the time and gets depressed whenever I leave alone or with other people. As far as health when I was researching breads the GSP was always one of the top breeds as far as health is concerned. I will say the are prone to injury due to how hard they play. Mine has had some close calls where I thought she broke something but didn't, I've also heard dehydration is a problem due to their drive. Like you said finding a good breeder is the biggest problem. Here's a website I used
http://www.gundogbreeders.com/

 

I have a sneaking suspicion that people hang on the belief pure bred dogs are prone to health issues because owners are more inclined to go to the vet. idk. Just tired of the pure/mix breeder/pound arguments.