LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[BelovedBirds]

It's a succulent, growing medium should be 30% potting soil and 70% sand/ pebbles. This formula makes the pot heavy so don't use a deep pot.

Oops, I think I've been neglecting my cactus for a few years, I can change that up though
What kind of sand is best? Would aquarium sand work?

 

[fluffycrow]

I know I can go I have been before but it mostly ended up with us getting a little bit of information on the breed (we where their asking about breeds then) and other wise just standing around doing nothing. I struggle to talk to people so I am worried that nothing will happen if I go


The dog I am considering breeding is thankfully a very rare mix (partially why I want to breed her) Giant schnauzer cross Labrador. The reason why I want to breed her is she is my assistance dog in training, she is exactly what I wanted personality wise and hopefully will be size wise as well. I found it really hard to find a breeder that had previous dogs be assistance dogs or even let me have a puppy, also most breeds didn’t seem to fit what I needed. I want to keep a puppy for myself and find the rest of them working homes preferably as assistance dogs

She is from a accident litter both dogs where health from good lines and where working dogs, so she isn’t a unknown mix

OK, so this might not really be the answer you're looking for. Assistance/service dogs aren't a trait that can be bred. All the breeders that claim to breed service dogs are BYB. NOW, that being said, certain breeds are better at service work than others. Since you want to breed your dog, it does make things a LOT more complicated. First of all, you need to make sure your dogs breeder is ethical. I don't exactly know the reason you want that particular cross, so I say just breed her to her breed. The most important thing before breeding her though is, that she's proven in something. As I said, assistance work is not something that can be bred for, so you'll need to at least prove her in the show ring, or in a dog sport such as agility, etc... or a mix of those. Then, you'd need to do EXTENSIVE health screenings, more specifically the ones your breed club requires. If you dont have a mentor/breeder, I wouldn't do the breeding, breeding dogs is hard, and without the right mentor you could easily lose track

 

[fluffycrow]

Oops, I think I've been neglecting my cactus for a few years, I can change that up though
What kind of sand is best? Would aquarium sand work?

Yes aquarium sand works great. I used pebbles and sand I found on the beach, and just rinsed them with fresh water. Some succulent mixes carry more sand than others, I've found that after watering my succulents (I bottom water) sand would be left at the bottom of the water bowls, so I would just collect it and sprinkle it on my lithops

 

[Tonyroo]

Oops, I think I've been neglecting my cactus for a few years, I can change that up though
What kind of sand is best? Would aquarium sand work?

Any sand or river sand will work.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I shall give my cactus a change of life! And try not to kill it
I Google searched a photo of it close up and the search engine seems to believe its an "Evie's pin/needle" which looks pretty close
So I shall name it Evie, Eve, the mother of future little plants, hopefully...
I need some plants for my room once it's redecorated, so upgrading this ones care is a good first step!

 

[Tonyroo]

If your pot has large drain holes, you should use a mesh screen to cover up the hole. Screen door material or 1/4 inch hardware cloth will work.

 

[SpotTheCat]

OK, so this might not really be the answer you're looking for. Assistance/service dogs aren't a trait that can be bred. All the breeders that claim to breed service dogs are BYB. NOW, that being said, certain breeds are better at service work than others. Since you want to breed your dog, it does make things a LOT more complicated. First of all, you need to make sure your dogs breeder is ethical. I don't exactly know the reason you want that particular cross, so I say just breed her to her breed. The most important thing before breeding her though is, that she's proven in something. As I said, assistance work is not something that can be bred for, so you'll need to at least prove her in the show ring, or in a dog sport such as agility, etc... or a mix of those. Then, you'd need to do EXTENSIVE health screenings, more specifically the ones your breed club requires. If you dont have a mentor/breeder, I wouldn't do the breeding, breeding dogs is hard, and without the right mentor you could easily lose track

Thats where I disagree assistance dog work can be bred for, just the same as anything else. a lot of assistance dogs charities breed their own dogs for this reason! It takes a specific temperament to be assistance dog. assistance dog work can be considered a dog sport with how much goes in to it, if you wanted to do a specific sport wouldn’t you pick a breeders who's dogs where proven to do that sport?

and thats what my rant was about how am I supposed to find a mentor with out all ready being part of the dog showing community?

She is a giant schnauzer cross lab there are many reasons why I would consider breeding her, I don’t think I can find a dog breed that has her temperament

 

[fluffycrow]

I shall give my cactus a change of life! And try not to kill it
I Google searched a photo of it close up and the search engine seems to believe its an "Evie's pin/needle" which looks pretty close
So I shall name it Evie, Eve, the mother of future little plants, hopefully...
I need some plants for my room once it's redecorated, so upgrading this ones care is a good first step!

I stand corrected. It's not an euphorbia (austrocylindropuntia subulata is her scientific name if youre interested). Good luck with her, she's gorgeous! Welcome to the plant parent (and more importantly succulent parent) club

 

[fluffycrow]

Ahh got it, she's already a mix. While temperament CAN be bred for, service work can. It still stands that you'd need a dog proven in what I mentioned above, since she's a mix agility or flyback could be best. You could still do the breeding, flyback especially has a lot of purpose bred mixes but you'd still need a mentor, that's the main thing. Mentors can be found in every dog sport, not just agility

 

[fluffycrow]

Thats where I disagree assistance dog work can be bred for, just the same as anything else. a lot of assistance dogs charities breed their own dogs for this reason! It takes a specific temperament to be assistance dog. assistance dog work can be considered a dog sport with how much goes in to it, if you wanted to do a specific sport wouldn’t you pick a breeders who's dogs where proven to do that sport?

and thats what my rant was about how am I supposed to find a mentor with out all ready being part of the dog showing community?

She is a giant schnauzer cross lab there are many reasons why I would consider breeding her, I don’t think I can find a dog breed that has her temperament

Facilities that breed for service work choose dogs with the right temperament and breed, they still don't know for sure if all the puppies will be up for the task. But it really comes down to selecting temperament, not service work ability. Also out of curiosity, what is her temperament like? Really important to do the health testing as well, if she doesn't pass that unfortunately she shouldn't be bred