I1

In my opinion there is a big difference between giving bad, incorrect, etc. advice and not giving advice. The company concerned did not give incorrect, misleading, etc. advice, just failed to be interested. Also, they did not mislead me by saying they would do something then failing to do it. My financial situation is certainly of interest to other UK IFA’s so I don’t think their “lack of enthusiasm” was due to my inadequate funds, etc. In effect they are wasting advertising. If they want to “throw their money away” by paying for advertising and then not capitalising on the interest it generates then fine (their (questionable) choice). Were they offering “faulty advice”, failing to undertake agreed actions, etc. I would agree about it being appropriate for them to be advertising (anywhere). However, I believe there are other organisations who monitor such things both from an advertisement perspective and from their work as an IFA (though on the latter they may “fall in a gap” as working in UK yet advising on France.

When I used to use the Wanadoo software (with a PSTN dial-up modem) the modem would “lock-up” every day of so (I never turn the computer off). I could still use it, just not hang-up (or dial with) the modem. When “restart windows” all sorts of internal processed were “locked-up “and I had to press the “end-now” buttons for them. The computer would then not switch-off but stay on “saving settings” for ages (till I used the power button). I then stopped using the Wanadoo software (created a dial-up connection manually) and have had no problems since. Not the identical problem to your own but possible that its related ?

“when the recipient of further education can and does go on to earn a lot more due the the education paid for by the state than them that do not go on the said further education during their working life” Unfortunately I think this is no longer necessarily the case. Use to be, but these days is often not. Problem can come when somebody takes 3 (or more) years studying rather than starting their career means they are 3 (or more) years behind somebody who started their career after leaving school. Depending on what is studied (and the chosen career), the delay in starting working can put you several years behind others and, incomes often grow fastest earlier in ones career.

[quote]When does it stop becoming a right and start to become a privilege,11 years state education not enough.[/quote] My own answer to that would be “when somebody has achieved (close to) their potential.

[quote]Chezshells, Please believe me - I am not a Volvo driver, not I hope pathetic, but I simply could not vote for TB.I cannot forget Iraq and the strength of public feeling he chose to ignore. Or the way ...[/quote] In complete agreement. I would add to that how he lied (or misled in a major way) the people over the facts about the Iraq War. He may not have personally crossed out the qualifications - but he was in charge and responsible. If he appointed morally inadequate people to do the work then in my book he is still responsible. I suppose I sympathise with (some) socialist ideals (equality, health service for all, decent education for all, decent housing for all, etc. - maybe they are not socialist but you know what I mean) - yet now have no party to vote for.

[quote]My partners into dogs big time, showing her particular rare breed of British dog around Britain and at Crufts. We bought him with us to France. We wanted another dog and at first looked to our freindl...[/quote] I did the same for my 2nd Border Collie (moved over from UK with the first). I actually found my vet's attitude to may changed when he scanned my French dog's microchip. He had always been friendly, etc. but when he scanned the micro-chip for the French dog, say the French prefix on the number and then realised that I really had moved to France and was not an occasional visitor. Since then he has been a great laugh, helping me with French language each visit, etc.

Maybe it's the highest given rating, or maybe each person can only vote once) - as its still showing 4 I'll give it another 1 immediatey after this post.

I've posted it as 3 (in a few moments) (4+3+2)/3=3 (is this what you meant ?)

Why do some topics (in the list of topics) have some stars against then (at the right hand side of the column containing the topic title ?

[quote]I'm pretty sure breeders placing restrictions on export are aiming to stop their pups being exported by puppy dealers for resale overseas. If you are clearly a private client, buying a dog as a pet an...[/quote] The few I’ve come across (Border Collies – no experience of other breeds) give a variety of reasons. Some because of potential quarantine, some because of the way dogs are treated in some countries (and the protection dog have under the laws of some countries. Sometimes its to ensure the breeder can “fully assist” the new owner and, worst case scenario, to help re-home the puppy. However, I guess such “endorsements” cannot affect getting and using a Pet Passport. I have seen it expressed as “endorse papers such that puppies cannot be issued with an export license”. (I’ve also seen similar constraints that prevent offspring from being registered). I only came across this when I first moved out here and was discussing the ferry trip with the breeder of my UK born dog (and he checked and they had not placed such restrictions and he would have happily lifted them anyway). An example is Mastmariner (Border Collie Breeders). I’m not passing opinion on such endorsements as it is up to each breeder to establish principles to ensure they are happy with the future prospects for their dogs.

Also, another option may be: If you have Windoze XP (certainly Pro version but I think Home version has it as well), you can install a Fax Printer driver. This will allow you to use your modem as a fax machine. For incoming faxes it is not as convenient (as who answers, you, an answerphone or your modem, etc.). You just create your document in e.g. Word or whatever then print it and select the “Fax” as the print device. The Fax Printer driver will then pop-up a dialog asking you about destination fax number, message of the front coversheet, who its to (you can send to several people if you want), etc. it queues it, retries on busy/failure, etc., etc. just as a fax machine.

Do you want to be notified of these type of things ? If you do: Would they be better e-mailed (and if so where) rather than starting rather "dull" treads (i.e. dull for anybody else to read and that you then have to "spot" amongst all the other posts) ? Or something else (e.g. maybe a stick thread where IS delete out a post after they have investigated or whatever; a sort of “Report Problems Here” type of thread).

I understand that some pedigree breeders place restrictions on their dogs that they may not be exported. I discussed a few things with my UK dog’s breeder before moving and he had to check with his wife if they had placed export restrictions on the dog. I have seen other Border Collie breeders explicitly state that they do not allow their puppies to be exported. May sound obvious (and not meant the wrong way), but do check with your breeder that they do not place export restrictions on their puppies (or are prepared to provide you yours without such restrictions. That said – when I have travelled back and forth, had my dog had restrictions, nothing would have stopped me. Might have been a problem had he had restrictions and had I tried to show him in France – no idea.

Have you tried your local SPA or refuges. You might not find a puppy there but they may easily have other dogs (in need of homes). Just a thought.

From my personal experience (not in your area): If your pet is micro chipped s/he does not need to be tattooed. Micro chips are not that uncommon in France and everybody knows that they are an option. Without personal experience, I would suggest that you get a French vet to check they can read the chip (i.e. it is of a type that the French scanners can read) and that should be fine. When I got my French pup I asked the breeder to have her micro chipped rather than tattooed as I was not keen to have a “dual identity” (e.g. rabies vaccination recorded against the tattoo number and not the micro chip number and then issues returning to UK because whilst they are the same dog, the numbers recorded on certificates is different, etc.). Probably not a problem but I wanted to avoid the potential source of confusion. My UK dog is just micro chipped and his chip read fine every time with French vets scanner. Once your pet has been in France for 3 months they become French resident and should be registered with the SCC (normally through a vet). The reaction you get when you ask about this can be varied (my local vet has taken over a year to stop giving reasons why this is not necessary and is now supposed to have the forms). My UK dog is still not registered (though vet should have the paperwork by now). Petlog (UK database) can record a French address for your pets chip. French vets are generally pretty aware of the re-entry to UK requirements and know what is needed. DEFRA produce an A4 sheet with the relevant English/French phrases (a phrase “sheet” for getting your pet sorted for re-entry to UK). My vet (and a couple of others I’ve visited) do not “register” your pet with their surgery. They don’t tend to keep much in the way of records of treatment for your pet (exception being rabies vaccination certificates and expiry dates). They do have vaccination certificates but just one booklet for all vaccinations (in the UK I ended up with one vaccination record for the CHPPi2L and another for rabies). In France the first time your dog is vaccinated for rabies you will get a blue certificate. In subsequent years red/pink (this is quite important document and my dog club advised me to carry it with me when I was going places with my dogs). Unsure about the legal requirement for being rabies vaccinated in France but in practice you will want to do it (just to maintain the ability to return to UK assuming your done the blood test, etc.). In France rabies vaccinations are every year despite what UK and many vaccine manufacturers say about vaccination frequencies. None of the above in any way suggests that French veterinary care is inadequate. My experience is that it is excellent, vets helpful, etc. and have no criticisms. Based on personal experience and what I read and been told. I’m not professionally involved – just have a couple of dogs. If I can be of further help, do ask.