Rysup

Peter Schofield is fantastic, highly recommend him.

Their hair does not continually grow like in a Maltese, Shih Tzu or Poodle. It grows, stops, hangs around, falls out and grows again. Some adult males may hold a coat for a number of seasons, some change coat annually, and some with each season. No dog is the same. However the ones that would normally hold a coat for a number of years at a time, are the ones likely to look like that. The coat is not told to GROW when its cut off. It's told to grow by other influences such as season, age, health etc. So that is one good reason not to clip a Spitz breed. It may not grow back for many years. And at 4 years of age, the OP may just have to wait until the start of summer to encourage a coat change, if health issues are not identified.

I would look into Alopecia X or Coat Funk. Some dogs never regrow their coat, and I would never recommend having a Spitz Breed clipped off.

Plenty of Amstaffs get imported.....so as Raz says, if the dog is registered with AKC then you wont (well should not) have a problem.

Ah ok, cannot help sorry. I would just be ringing around until you find one.

Isnt it just the same vaccine? I did not think it was a new vaccination at all, just a new protocol, of three yearly boosters.

Oh Julie My LORD that is expensive! I had my last few done for around $140 each.

Did you breed your puppy? She is very young. Unless you see fleas I would not worry about using it. And personally, I find Frontline does not work, better to use Advantage.

Yes it could be fleas - my dog got some at the show on the weekend and I had to treat him. It is still rather warm for this time of year, so they are still around.

Yes what breed is it? My OH is a little allergic to his Amstaff if he gets too cuddly with him. I also suggest Advantage over Frontline.

Dogs become lactose intolerant when you stop giving it to them. I use cheese & milk when I raise my babies, so when they leave home there will be no lactose issues if the new owners continue feeding it.

You trim around the anus and then lightly on the longer coat if you must, but unless a great big piece of poop gets stuck to her hair, there should be no reason for scooting. Worm her, with a good all wormer, have her glands checked and her anus checked by the vet. If she is doing firm poos then it should not stick to the hair. I dont trim any of my Kees butts and I rarely have a dirty bottom.

If people knew how much spare cash I had on hand for vet bills, I would be howled out of DOL forever. You dont need to be rolling in cash to own and care for dogs properly. I feed a kennel of 10 dogs for around $150 a month. I buy flea and worming treatments online, doing my homework. When it comes to non emergency vet stuff, I shop around there too. I've travelled as far a 1 1/2 hours to get a good deal. Of course I've also had to use the emergency vet where it is $100 to walk in the door. I get old towels & blankets from various sources...friends, family and the op shop. I dont use a lot of toys. Rather get some big meaty bones for the bored kids. The one who loves toys has 3, and he only has those at shows anyway. The Reject Shop often has good quality, but cheap bowls/leads/toys/chews. When I see them stocking raw hide chews, I stock up, because they are far cheaper than any other place you can buy them. Always buy things that will last - eg stainless steal bowls rather than plastic. There are plenty of ways to economise on dog stuff. And the OP's cash issues are temporary, as is normal life, I can't believe some are questioning whether they can really afford a dog.

Yes milk is OK, its not going to kill your dogs any time soon. A dog with a lactose intolerance my get the runs or have a bit of an upset tummy. Puppies who are weaned from mum to a milk substitute should handle lactose just fine. Its only if you stop milk and then start it again, you will most likely notice a difference. The pet milks you can buy in the supermarket are lactose free though, so there is always that option if you like giving them a drink of milk and are concerned.

I use long life milk once my pups are about 11 weeks old, before that they are on Wombaroo. Dogs become lactose intolerant because they dont have it, so they are not used to it, but if you have babies who are raised on milk, they will tolerate it fine. I dont supplement as a good brand dry food will meet all their needs.

Closed mouth smile and a wink, he will have the lady dogs swooning

Does he want a date? Just tell him to smile with his mouth closed

Doubt its his diet then. Is he a nibbler of bones? I have dogs here who chew bones with their front teeth....which would wear them down faster. I would not feel bad, it's just one of those things that happen. I have plenty of old dogs here with worn down teeth, broken teeth, missing teeth.....

What was his bite like before the teeth got worn down? I think level bites tend to wear faster than a scissors bite. But its just a natural thing and I really dont think the toys are to blame. It might be more to do with calcium levels to keep the bones/teeth strong? What do you feed him?

Do the next doors dogs get complained about?

Yeah I know that they say 2 weeks for ticks and 4 weeks for fleas however, I have read *somewhere* that those figures are not really true, and you can double those times. Might have only been for fleas though. I would consider using tick collars for a while, and reducing how often you apply the treatments? If Advantage/Advantix ever stopped working I dont know what I would do, as Frontline is like pouring a vial of water onto the dog, and the spray isnt much better. I had to use the spray on my last litter, they were only a week or so old and had fleas. Well the spray which is supposed to last like 8 weeks or something, didnt even last 1 week. I have since then worked out that the Advantage on mum would have been a better option than frontline on the babies.

I wonder if you using it so often is not helping? I dont use it over winter, and I only use it "as needed" in summer, which probably means every 6 to 8 weeks. Basically when I see a flea, its time to retreat. And I have had no trouble at all. Advantix works well. I wont ever go back to Frontline.

The vet at Wollongong has cheaper rates for dogs that need to be re-done. Some do, I think I might have to get two of mine re-done - they are the worst barkers and I had trouble keeping them quiet during healing.

Umm no, young babies often have cloudy eyes, especially in photos.

You can get Pscittacosis (sp) from birds. I guess there is always a chance that any virus can mutate and cross infect species.