Dog stratification scheme

Re: Dog stratification scheme

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 21:30:47 GMT

[quote user="CatherineThomas"]

I still think greyhounds are the best dogs to have as pets and not enough people realise it.

[/quote]

They were great dissection specimens at college - that's about it as far as I am concerned.

They attack other dogs, will chase wildlife and not come back. Low pain threshold so if kiddy pulls on the ear liable to snap. Awful teeth.

I think they are awful pets, personally. Sweet little JRT savaged by greyhounds would tend to agree with me.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

CatherineThomas — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 21:10:01 GMT

I still think greyhounds are the best dogs to have as pets and not enough people realise it.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

John Flynn — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:54:30 GMT

[quote user="CatherineThomas"]think of all the money you would make from the regular dentals and stitch-ups they would need.[/quote]

Maybe I could trade in my TPO plates for a never ending supply of tissue glue and my video otoscope for a dental x-ray unit?

But seriously, I already make enough money from my "lawn pebbles" and aloe vera energy drink that I can pretend to approach the topic from a more academic and less self-serving position.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

CatherineThomas — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:45:23 GMT

[quote user="John Flynn"]

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]John - what do you want the dog to do?[/quote]

Be a pet suitable for e.g. a first-time pet owner that for perfectly acceptable reasons wants a puppy rather than a rescue dog..

Furthermore, I want the dog to remain relatively free of chronic, intractable health problems, especially otitis, atopy and hip dysplasia.

Is this a big ask?

[/quote]

Well in that case you just want to encourage people to get greyhound puppies, no need to cross them with anything. And as a bonus, think of all the money you would make from the regular dentals and stitch-ups they would need.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

John Flynn — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:29:37 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]John - what do you want the dog to do?[/quote]

Be a pet suitable for e.g. a first-time pet owner that for perfectly acceptable reasons wants a puppy rather than a rescue dog..

Furthermore, I want the dog to remain relatively free of chronic, intractable health problems, especially otitis, atopy and hip dysplasia.

Is this a big ask?

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]The BVA scheme has helped a huge amount in terms of hips.[/quote]

Has it?

I appreciate that the median score of submitted hip radiographs has reportedly declined in many breeds over the last decade or two, I've just never been sure that this has translated into improvements in the clinical population.

Why not introduce some genes from a breed without hip dysplasia?

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]I'm supportive of pedigree dogs[/quote]

And I'm supportive of pedigree sheep, but I still recommend crossing them to produce the end-lamb-product.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

Miriam Lodewyks — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:16:23 GMT

I'm all for "hybrid vigour".... But not sure I can deal with the inevitable outbreaks of bizarre names:"Jack-shit", "Cock-er-poo". Seriously?!!! ;-)

Re: Dog stratification scheme

Rachael Winder — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 17:27:41 GMT

My experience of these trendy crossbreeds is that they just wind up with the problems of both the pure bred parents! It's a shame

Re: Dog stratification scheme

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 16:14:11 GMT

John - what do you want the dog to do?

That is my starting point. If you want it to herd sheep/flush game/assist blind people?

A greyhound has much too firm a jaw for retrieving. As opposed to a trainable lab you may end up with the tendency to run away and rip other dogs to pieces (repaired a badly injured JRT last week that has lost a fight with a greyhound - sucking chest wound and everything).

As long as you know the parents you can predict with decent accuracy what the dog should be like. Cross two random breeds and who knows what you will get.

I'm supportive of pedigree dogs, just need a little more care in the choice of breeding. We do need to be mindful that by concentrating on a single problem (hips in labs, for example) then we may a small gene pool smaller and suddenly end up with a different problem is labs that we have bred for. The BVA scheme has helped a huge amount in terms of hips.

Re: Dog stratification scheme

Gerbil — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 15:35:00 GMT

Oh God. the thin skin of a greyhound crossed with the loonyness of a labrador. It doesnt bear thinking about