Central Park (outside 1U) or Desa Park. MNAWF holds ttheir puppy classes at these two locations. The current classes just started tho.

This post has been edited by dishwasher: Sep 19 2013, 05:39 PM

http://mnawf.org.my/?page_id=93

Since the GSD topic seems to be quite lively currently, I'm gonna throw out this question:

What do you owners feel about showline GSDs compared to working line GSDs? The entire controversy where showline GSDs have been bred to have a severe roach back. The end result seems to be dogs that can barely walk.

I grew up with a GSD, almost 30 years ago, and even back then, the dog had severe hip problems. Personally, based on my own childhood experience, I can never ever support the breeding of dogs to match an aesthetic, especially when it comes at the cost of the dogs health.

This is what concerns me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...jROjFPAis#t=412

The picture you linked shows a dog that has a typical roached back. And if that affects the dogs ability to walk and run properly, why are we breeding them to look like that?

This post has been edited by dishwasher: Oct 2 2013, 11:25 AM

Easy. A dog that's not socialized, kept at home all day, under the hot sun outside on the porch. Not saying this is the case in this particular incident, but Malaysian dog owners are a terrible bunch.

A dog that barks at everyone who walks past the house is NOT a good guard dog. It's a dog in need of serious help.

You bring up a good point. Why are some Malaysians, the Malays in particular, so eager to demonize dogs? I've seen Malay parents chiding their kids for showing interest in my dog while we're out for walks, or grabbing their kids by the arm and pulling them into the house when I'm across the street with my dog leashed.

They're teaching the kids that dogs are to be feared, and then these kids take to bullying dogs that they know can't get at them. Except dogs do escape sometimes, and then it's the dog's fault when a kid gets bitten.

Owning a dog in Malaysia comes with so much baggage and stigma it's not even funny.

The one big difference between show lines and working lines is the roached back. A quick google will give you a bunch of sites with more info, but from a personal point of view, show lines are a horror. I've seen GSDs with backs so curved that they can't walk properly. They drag their hind legs along because it simply isn't at the correct angle for locomotion, and it pains my heart to see such a beautiful breed end up like this.

Regarding the undescended testicles - this happens in dogs, and can be related to genetics. Basically the testicles fail to 'drop' into the scrotum and remain inside the dog's abdomen. When this happens there is a high chance the undescended testicles will develop into cancer, so surgery to remove them is highly recommended.

Pictures can only tell you so much. Can you view the parents? Do the parents have a health record you can check? And dear god, the image is from mudah.com.

Regarding the poop:
You should always take it easy when switching food. Mix a bit of the old and new, and slowly increase the amount of new food mixed in. Otherwise, your puppy is going to have a hard time getting used to the new food. That's why the poop is like that. Also, if you're feeding better quality food (higher in protein), you're going to see softer poop. That's normal.

As long as your puppy has had all her shots, you should be good to attend obedience classes. For a big dog like a GSD, I'd highly recommend teaching at least basic obedience.

Why am I spending so much time on the GSD forum omg. My Rex passed away almost 25 years ago.

1. There really isn't such a thing as 'large boned', 'small boned' dogs. I'm not sure where the usage of this term started, but breed standards never advocated that a breed (any breed really, not just GSDs) had to have 'large bones' to be a good example of the breed. More and more, it's being used by backyard breeders to sell dogs to people looking for large, intimidating dogs, whether because they think this makes them better guard dogs, or maybe because they have small penises and feel the need to compensate by getting a huge boner.

2. Hip dysplasia is a problem for many large breeds that are badly bred. It's tied to genetics, i.e. parents with hip dysplasia will breed puppies with a high chance of the same problem. That's why hip scoring is important - the dogs are x-rayed, have their hip scores taken, and are only bred if the scores meet a certain standard. Again, the problem you see today is by and large due to bad breeding by backyard breeders, who don't take precaution against hip dysplasia. They breed to make a profit, and will breed dogs with bad hips, resulting in puppies with bad hips, that get further bred, resulting in worst hips. That's why hip dysplasia plagues popular breeds the most - Golden Retrievers, GSDs.

How do you avoid this? Get your dog from a breeder who checks the sire's and dame's hips before breeding them. Say no to backyard breeders.

3. Specifically, for GSDs. Hip dysplasia becomes a huge problem in showline dogs due to the effort to breed a dog with an excessively sloping back. You're specifically breeding for dogs that have bad posture - why is it surprising that these dogs end up with hip problems and can't walk properly?

If you still have your heart set on a showline dog, please make sure you ask about the puppy's parents hip scores, and whether they are health tested before being bred. Bear in mind that getting the parents tested cost money, which trickles down to you as a buyer. That's why good pups will cost more, always.But that's the price of having a healthy dog.

Or you could get a cheap, backyard bred dog, and then either dump it when the health problems become apparent, or pay thousands and thousands to a vet to give your puppy a better life.

Hopefully, that's helped a bit in your efforts to get a dog. You have my utmost respect for the amount of research you've been doing. Most people I see simply visit a pet shop and grab the first cute puppy they see without thinking twice.

The so called pantang is mostly a precaution against parvo. Parvo spread through faeces, and is deadly in puppies. Once the puppy's been vaccinated against parvo, the risk is much smaller, and vaccination only happens at 3 months.

Ceser Milan, bless his heart, is what many consider an 'old school' trainer. Many of the ideas he has are considered outdated - dogs don't see their human masters as the leader of the pack, for one thing. There's a whole new school of thought when it comes to training dogs nowadays - read up on positive reinforcement.

If you breed a working line and a show line, you're going to get an unpredictable dog. It might have a sloping back, it might have a high working drive... Basically you're playing dice with the outcome, because both lines are so far apart right now in terms of temperament and posture that they might as well be considered two different breeds.

See, the thing is, dogs aren't humans, don't think like humans, and don't look at punishment the same way as humans. Hitting a dog 2 hours after it pees in the house? The poor dog isn't going to connect 'pee in house' to 'wrong' and 'that's why I got punished'.

Beyond that, some of Cesar's ideas/methods are proven to be wrong. For one, dogs don't see humans as part of their pack, and they sure as hell aren't 'asserting their dominance' over you when they don't listen to you. Hitting a dog is just going to make it wary of you. Hitting a dog when it growls at another dog will probably make it think 'oh, when another dog appears, my master hits me. I must growl at the dog and chase it away'.

TL;DR? Dogs aren't humans. Don't treat them as such.

P.S. Kids definitely need discipline, but caning? The hooligans in my school were caned daily and remained hooligans.

Dogs see us as giant treat dispensers. And a source of comfort and protection. They may even see us as 'leader', but that's completely different as considering us 'part of their pack'. They know very well we're not dogs.

Positive reinforcement should work for most dogs. Some trainers advocate 100% positive reinforcement, but personally, I think there is value to teaching a dog 'no means no'. Ultimately, each dog is going to be different and require different methods. What matters is correct usage. Even shock collars have a place in dog training - if used correctly it can give wonderful results. If you shock the dog for no good reason tho, you're going to end up with a fear reactive dog.

I like Emily Larlham (kikopup on youtube). Her dogs are incredibly well trained, and she's 100% positive reinforcement if I'm not mistaken.

The guidelines are just that, a guideline. Every dog will be different, so use your best judgement. You can google up ways to check if your dog is overweight or too thin, but an easy way is to touch the chest area and see if you can feel the ribs.

Remember, it's always better to have a thin dog than a fat one.