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Latest Animal Stories on Animal-World (21121)

GSDGenes - 2010-09-06
A GSD should NEVER weigh 140 pounds! The breed wasn't meant to be gigantic. Neither the AKC or SV breed standard calls for a dog taller than 26 inches at the withers for a male, 24 for a female. GSDs are meant to be agile and versatile, in fact some of the most knowledgeable police or working dog handlers will tell you the best working dog is a small quick tough bitch. Dogs within the standard of size are much better able to do such tasks as search and rescue, especially in sites such as WTC 911 where dogs had to be small enough to get into small openings and agile enough to balance themselves on precarious footing. Standard size dogs are also more adept at drug searches because a smaller dog is more agile and athletic and can go where a dog who is too large cannot go.
Oversize also contributes to health and soundness problems. Contrary to popular belief, the GSD is not one of the breeds most prone to hip dysplasia. Breeds such as the St. Bernard and English Bulldog top the list, dogs who are broad and heavy in body build.
Many people exaggerate the size of their GSDs too. Who is going to check and see if someone's claimed 140 lb dog really weighs that much?
Longcoated GSDs appear to be larger and heavier boned because of the illusion of size added by the longer coat and heavier quantity of undercoat. Likewise a very short slick coated GSD can appear small and fine boned because of the short slick coat.

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Editor's Note - 2010-09-06
That does seem to be very large! Here's what we know from the experts...

The American Kennel Club (AKA) does not have a weight for these dogs, either on their website, nor in their official publication "The Complete Dog Book / American Kennel Club" (20th Edition). In the standards for the German Shepherd they do state "...ranging in size from 22 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder"

60 to 140 pounds, however is stated as the lower and upper weight limit for these dogs by author Kristine Mehus-Roe in her book "Dog Bible: The Definitive Source for All Things Dog".
Rebecca - 2010-11-12
I have a 90lbs 3yr female. She looks huge *L* specially as she is a black longcoat. All her siblings are large, her sire being a big male (he'd be over close to 120lbs. She is from working lines, some of her siblings work in security etc. My girl is a pet but does do obedience training, which she loves!
Bekas - 2013-05-20
My family has had four genrations of GSDs. Each one was a delight and joy .once they were about 18 months old. Puppy obedience school is essential and you must have someone in the house who is Alpha. We found that the dogs did well when they sort of belonged to a single family member, particularly when it came to going to obedience school. By dog #2 we figured it out.You do need patience with puppies. One jumped up on a child's desk and chewed up her homework. (The dog really did eat the homework. She had to redo the chewed/torn pages, but was allowed to take a few pages with teeth marks as evidence.) Shoes were found with pieces missing in the back of closets. Digging was a past time of one of the dogs. We woke up one morning to find the arm of a sofa slightly munched.But yes they are wonderful with kids and love to play chase and tumble and being in a tent made from two dining room chairs. Lots of great memories.My dad now has a Rottweiler that stole his heart the day my brother brought him home as a puppy. The puppy parked himself on my dad's foot & fell asleep.Dogs are the best;-)
Chance - 2013-05-22
Every dog and breed is different but 95% of the time the dog is mean is becsuae it was trained to be or it was raised bad most people think Pitt bulls are all vicious killers witch is so not true its how u raise them. German shepherd s are the 3rd most wanted dog in the country and the first in military and police work, that's got to mean something!

Linda Pries - 2013-05-21
I have been breeding cockatiels for several years now and am currently setting up pairs from my own breeding. I have normals, pied, albino pearls and what I have always called lutino pearls. I'm not sure if this is the proper name for these as I have seen them also referred to as opaline pearl. The birds are soft yellow with the grey pearling. Last year I purchased a pair consisting of an albino hen and a whiteface pearl cock. They produced all whiteface pied chicks until their last clutch which also produced a gorgeously stunning whiteface pearl hen. I am keeping her and breeding her back to a normal male who is split to pied. Also will be starting a pair who is a whiteface pied split to albino hen bred to a lutino pearl cock. I'm very anxious to see what these pairings will produce. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, is lutino pearl the proper classification for my yellow birds with grey pearling?

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
That Whitefaced Pearl hen must truly be a beauty! A Lutino Pearl Cockatiel has white plumage with yellow pearling, not grey pearling. Lutino's lack all grey pigment. It's probably either a normal pearl mutation or a cinnamon pearl mutation (which has a lighter coloring than the normal). Also males do not retain the pearling, it molts out as they mature. As these birds are crossbred, specific characteristics can become less distinct, so a good knowledge of the genetics as well as the birds lineage (who were their parents/grandparents, etc) is helpful in choosing crossings to get the results you are looking for.

scallies - 2011-06-07
I put a gold, flame, coral beauty and potters together in a 1200 lt coral tank. That is a beautiful site, they have been together for about 9 months with a gimatum, yellow tang, gobies and 2 mandarins

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Charlie Roche - 2011-06-07
Very creative and interesting. Must be gorgeous.

Unnikrishnan - 2013-04-30
I have got a pair of lutino fischer and Fischer.My Lutino Fischer pair and Fischer pair laid their first egg around 27 Mar 13. They are incubating the eggs all the time and both are cutting the paper and dipping in water and taking to the cage. In this lutino was layed her last egg at 06 Apr 13. But today 30 Apr 13. No egg is hatched. what might be the problem what may the colour of the egg when it is going to be hatched(1 or 2 day before chicks come out). Lutino was mating every day upto last egg layed.In this both lutino's are always in the cage. Hardly in rotation they are coming to take food,bath or tear paper. Today I noticed the fischer's butt is bulged like when it started laying egg.Kindly advice I am a starter in this issues. I clearly sea yesterday 1 of my lutiono's egg is light blackish and 2 have got some bubbles on it and rest 3 are normal.Earlier all 6 are look same.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-01
Lovebirds are very good at taking care of their eggs and their young. It the eggs aren't going to hatch, then the female will simply abandon them. The eggs, if fertile, will take about 28 days to hatch.

When breeding there are a few things to consider. Do not disturb the cage when they are breeding or after the eggs are laid. Just feed the birds during this time and make sure they have fresh water. Usually the first few attempts are unsuccessful, and the eggs won't hatch. Also female Fischer lovebirds ares very prone to egg binding, so they must be given plenty of calcium in their diet during breeding and afterwards. Young birds should be discouraged from breeding.
Suraj Sadasivan - 2013-05-02
Thank a lot for your kind attention to my post and give reply to my Beginner’s curiosity. That means still hope are there for hatching. Both not abandonded the cage. Last egg was laid around 06 Apr 13.
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-02
Thanks a lot for your kind attention to my post and give reply to my Beginner’s curiosity. That means still hope are there for hatching. Both not abandonded the cage. Last egg was laid around 06 Apr 13.
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-02
I understand how concerned each little thing can be, and glad they are still doing okay, maybe there will be babies. If not this time, maybe soon:)
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-20
Today after 54 days also my lutino is incubating the eggs.What should I do now. Today I checked the fischer's nest. There is 15 eggs in that(including the old 5). What should I do now.
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-21
As per ur advice nest of both lutino as well as Fischer has been removed. All 6 eggs of lutino has been candled found all infertile. Surprisingly in Fischer's nest there were 18 eggs. Positioned 9 each and different places.We never see Fischer's are mating. But lutinos are mating frequently.All 18 eggs were candled but none is fertile. As here we doesn't have any DNA testing facility. Is there any way to differentiate male Fischer and Female fischer.We confirmed that our both Fischer's are female. We want to buy two male. Kindly help us to find out which is male and which is female.Thanks for ur all support and kind advice
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-20
With that many eggs, it sounds like you may have two females. A normal clutch is 4-6 eggs and the incubation period for Lovebirds is 21 to 26 days. Eggs that are 54 days old are infertile. To check to see if the eggs are fertile you can candle them. Hold the eggs gently near a bright light. If you can clearly see a dark spot surrounded by blood vessels, the egg is fertile.

Be aware that successive egg laying takes take a toll on females which can cause them to become eggbound. An eggbound female will require immediate vet care, and can still die. Your best bet may be to take down the nest box and not encourage breeding.
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
So glad to know that helped and you could determine if the eggs were fertile. As far as sexing, these birds are very difficult to sex so it's best to work with an experienced breeder. But some things that can help to indicate differences are: when you feel the pelvic bones on the females they will be wider apart than on the males. Also in behavior, when the birds are undisturbed... (like they don't know they are being watched), females will tend to hunch down more on their perches while males tend to stand more upright. Still, its \difficult to tell. Good luck to you guys, and let me know how it goes!

Jim - 2013-05-20
I have a parakeet that makes a 'squeak' sound almost every second. At night he will do this almost all nigh(we are in the other room it doesn't bother us at night wile sleeping). Every now and then he will stop then start again. It sounds like almost every inhale/exhale produces a squeak. Worrying about him but he seems to be OK in the daytime. Every now and then in daytime he will do this.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
That is a strange habit. It could possibly be a respiratory issue, but if he's eating and active, it may not be anything to worry about. A vet checkup may help determine if he's got anything that can be treated.

Bree - 2012-03-19
My chorkie looks nothing like the one in the picture and she does not look like either breeds but she is tan and so cute and her name is dutches

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Charlie Roche - 2012-03-20
Sometimes offspring just don't look like either parent. It is that you love her and she has a great personality that counts.

Victoria Key - 2011-02-21
These horses are so fun to ride and watch in the show ring! The way they pick up their feet so high is amazing!

tammy - 2011-07-23
We got a 5 year old female boston who is the love of our life!! Previously we have only had rotts and mastiffs, but our baby has changed our whole outlook! The new boston will be ready to join our family in about 4 weeks, however am concerned about the ear cropping. The owner said it was cosmetic and I'm not sure if I want to have it done or not. This is going to be a part of our family for our children to play and grow with, not to take to dog shows and compete. And no I dont think that showing dogs is wrong, I just dont feel that is the right path for us to take. Does the ear cropping have any advantages or disadvantages???

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Charlie Roche - 2011-07-23
I know of no reason to crop the ears on a Boston. I had 3 dobies and the first one came with the ears cropped. The tape, the bandaids etc - The second one, the ears were not cropped and I asked the vet and he saidcropping was for cosmetic reasons for AKC onlky. No reason to crop. The dobies are shown in England without cropped ears. It was an AKC thing. Third dobie - did not crop. I had no problems at all - I sorta liked the no crop - They didn't look as ferocious and more cute. I wouldn't bother - not fun for the dog or the human and no reason to at all.
jerry Vinson - 2012-07-13
Cropping to me is cruel. I certainly would not want my ears cut to size. And it is so much fun just to watch Baby turn her ears when you talk about her.
J. Bailey - 2012-08-18
NOOOO!!! We have had a Boston in the family since the late 1800s = NO CROPPED EARS. Besides being CRUEL it is totally unnecessary. Once they lose their baby teeth their ears will stand-up naturally - barring any unusual circumstances breaking the fragile cartilege. Mine is happily sleeping under my desk - haven't been able to attach to any other breed. Only Bostons for me...

MS. H. Ollava - 2012-01-26
Are these the horses that walk with their hind quarters down? PLS reply.

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Charlie Roche - 2012-01-27
They have a unique walk to them and are very comfortable to ride. Narrower an the walk and smooth. Not exactly sure what you mean by hind quarters own? Tucked?
Charlie Roche - 2012-01-27
I did some research on hindquarters on a walk in a horse and any of the material I found said that some horses can be 'trained' to walk with the hindquarters lower or tucked but it is a training. It is not a natural thing and in fact will disrupt the natural gait of the horse. It is used fo show, tricks and is not a natural gait for a horse and if the horse appears to naturally walk like this, there is probably something wrong. On this note, vets went into breathing in the abdomen and the side to side gait and why it is there etc and it was over my head on the terms. Regardless, anything I could find said not natural for hindquarters to be own.

Beth Covert - 2010-10-08
In March 2010 we rescued a beautiful 18 month Percheron filly from possibly going to slaughter. With proper nutrition she has grown up and filled out. A breeder has looked at her and said she appears to be well bred and very nicely put together. All that and she is an absolute sweetheart! She will be heading to a training facility in January 2011 to start her driving training.

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eva - 2012-02-19
A SWEETHARt - sweet! I am all for animal rights, killing any-thing is cruel especially a little baby like your filly. I'm soooo glad you saved her!

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