Wabbit

Some girls have lighter discharge on their first season too, so your girl may not be particularly messy if at all. I keep disinfectant on hand, put polar fleece blankets and sheets down and wash a lot. The knickers are good to have on hand but they can be a lot of work and some girls really object to them. The most important part is to make sure your girl is secure when she's in season when you're away from home even if you don't have an undesexed male. It's very UN-FUN at my place right now as my girl is Day 13 and I also have a 5 yr old ratbag boy who knows all about pretty girls. He is day boarding at very secure kennels for these main few days while I'm at work so I can be sure of no mishaps or injuries. Giving her chlorophyll helps too.

For a trainer in Brisbane area I'd recommend Nicole Leyden Synergy Dog Training

Another ditto here for training with K9Pro and Steve's awesome puppy raising programs. I train with K9Pro with two of my Staffords - their programs are very much individual and we use different approaches for each dog based on their needs. Last year Steve did a litter evaluation to help me select a pup. She started in Steve's puppy raising program at 8 weeks and is now 14 months. I can't even put into words how much we've enjoyed the process. Do yourself a favour and invest in the next 12 years of your puppy's life

I have an order from Pet Panels arriving on Friday. So far they've been great to deal with. I made a couple of changes to customise on one of their standard products and it was no problem. Another business I contacted took weeks to acknowledge my request then another week or two to provide the quote.

Willowlane I am sure you won't be disappointed. Steve and girls at K9Pro are great! The email and video follow up works very well for me, and I only live 7 minutes from K9Pro headquarters! I first took my boy Archie at 5 months old for a puppy program consult with Steve. Had no idea what to do with this wild puppy who it seemed to me had an attitude problem LOL I'd never had so much trouble with a puppy before and his prey drive and rank drive were beyond my skills. I thought I'd be given some info on how to train my puppy and that would be that! Instead, everything I knew got turned on its head. Two years on and they're stuck with me :D The journey of learning how to build such a great bond with my dog has become addictive - the benefits of our 'team-ness' have flowed through to the show ring, our home life, and now we're starting to make inroads in our training goals for obedience. We had some dark days. A couple of training sessions have become behavioural consults when I've really messed things up. But nothing ever felt impossible or too big to overcome. He's a trainer, behaviouralist, educator, and above all, a dogman. There are few true 'dog people' around. He's one of them.

Ditto - another vote for Steve at K9Pro

Staffords are not a breed for the faint hearted, nor for the dog park. For every happy-go-lucky, easy-going, carefree little 'dude', there are 10 more who are very much NOT. Their extraordinary love and devotion to their humans does not translate to other dogs. I don't let my Staffords play with other dogs, known or unknown, outside our family. EVER. The consequences of overexcitement or a perceived boundary overstepped are too significant, even for a youngster. And yes I've learned the hard way. We have pedigree Staffords - we show, train OB, and they live in our home as family. A multi-Stafford household is not easy, and depends entirely on the dogs themselves. For years we had no problems at all, but our guys need firmer management now since our high prey-drive boy came along, and we moved house. Yes, dog-dog aggression can be more prevalent in particular lines. Don't assume socialisation will address it - its like believing that clipping a long-coated dog will make it smooth coat. The underlying genetics will always prevail. A male Stafford pup would likely be fine with an older terrier bitch. Puppy selection is a whole other topic.

Huge vote for Steve at K9Pro at Londonderry :) you can't go wrong.

Helen Nicholson and Naomi Boyd are both absolutely fantastic. Couldn't recommend them highly enough - both professionally, and as lovely people. Helen's undergrad degree was in human physio, and her Masters and PhD in animal physio. Naomi has degrees in both vet and physio. I have been working with them both regularly at ARH Homebush for some time, for various sport and hyperactive dog related injuries. They were recommended to me by a vet nurse who runs a dog hydrotherapy pool. We had had limited results with a well known dog chiro, plus massage and acupuncture. After starting physio with Helen and also changing chiros, the results were dramatic. I particularly like that responsibility for my dog's injury rehab rested with me - follow the daily program, do the weekly reports back, see the results. When I've slacked off (buying/selling/moving house etc) I see the difference too. When an injury has occurred, I've had an immediate response to my panic call - sent through a video, get an assessment of whether a consult is needed or not, and move forward with a plan. Nowadays, we don't do weekly reports as we're past the injury rehab program. We just go back for fine tuning, and for little niggles and soreness that my cannonball dog inflicts on himself :)

Can give a big thumbs up for Velmas Pets as Therapy. I was involved with that program for 5 years and spent 3 years visiting Ronald McDonald House at Westmead Children's hospital as a VPAT team with my dog Audrey. A fantastic organisation, and really enjoyed volunteering with them. I 'retired' my girl as one of our other dogs passed away and we both were grieving very deeply for his loss, and she needed time out. Have also had some exposure to the K9Pro Angels program, and the Angels are doing some fabulous work too :) I've seen some extraordinary things through working in pet therapy, and they are memories that will last a lifetime. Some dogs have an amazing gift and ability to connect. I wish you the same experiences :)

Strongly recommend Steve at K9Pro!! I see Steve regularly with dog sports training, but last week desperately needed his behavioural expertise. Just moved house and we've had problems with posturing and fighting between two of our dogs, who have been affected by the upheaval and changes. With Steve's help, and a clear plan for addressing the issues, things are already back on track. :) Wish you the best of luck. Sounds like you've had a terrible time, and I hope it all works out for the best.

Yes we have a large snuggle pod in the chocolate cord. Great concept and our dogs liked it, but IMO not a great quality bed given the cost. The seam on the cover fell apart the first time I washed it (after 1 month), even though I followed the instructions exactly. The suppliers were very nice and replaced the cover. Quality of the filling is fairly poor and it disintegrated after a year - it became impossible to get the cover back on after washing as fluff went everywhere. Far more impressed with the round Instinct beds that K9Pro stock (if they have any left!!!). They are heaps better quality and have lasted well, and our dogs love it.

Yes have been feeding ZiwiPeak for some years now, together with a raw diet. It important to take time to transition over approx 10 days - slowly increasing the amount. If you up it really quickly over a couple of days, you will see gross poo, as its very rich and has no 'fillers'. e.g The Venison and Fish is 90% meaat including venison meat, fish, organ meat, green lipped mussel, the rest is herbs and some supplemented vitamins/minerals. Typical analysis is also well over 30% for protein and fat. I had a bitch who had trouble with her skin and allergies, had tried various 'sensitive' kibble formulas. After years of managing her, and giving her daily anti-histamines in summer, all her allergies disappeared after a month on ZiwiPeak. I also use it for training treats, and stretches/exercises for the dogs. Its brilliant for travelling to shows with, particularly interstate, and for stuffing in kongs and boredom toys! Mine get about 1/4 of the daily recommended amount every morning for brekky, and for dinner have raw. Can't recommend it highly enough

I would strongly recommend a specialist animal physiotherapist. I had a young dog who tore his gluteals, strained his SIJ and also T4-5. I went through the whole gamut of crate rest, chiro, laser/acupuncture, bowen/massage, tried Canine Vital Rosehip supplement etc. At the 3.5 month mark the chiro said he was all good, and sent us on our way... but he just wasn't right, and started going backwards again. I was devastated, and kept looking for answers. At 4 month mark, I found a specialist animal physiotherapist group www.k9physio.com - I wish I'd found Helen at the very beginning. After being under their care for 8 weeks now, with fortnightly appointments,(now at the 6 month mark since injury), he's a different dog. Not 100% yet, but not far off. I also changed chiros, and much happier with the new one. We just returned from a large interstate specialty where he physically coped ok with the travel, showed his socks off (tells me he feels good in himself) and placed :) His coat is glossy, his eyes sparkle, and he's feeling good about life again. You have to do exercises and work at it every day, but its well worth it. They're in Sydney, and do consults out of ARH Homebush, but I believe they also do online-type consults for patients not in Sydney. Good luck. I understand how you feel.

Steve @ K9Pro :) His puppy raising program is fantastic, and even one session will point you in the right direction.

Gary and Neil Barnsley are great, but they're Western Sydney so bit of a drive away. Tim Norris (google Both Ends Of The Lead) is a dog myofunctional and bowen therapist, and is brilliant! He's on the North Shore. Mine go to both Gary and Tim (holistic approach...) and I've been very happy with the results. Good luck.

We have the RuffWear K9 Float Coats for our Staffords. Very happy with them. Bought them from K9 Pro.

Yes, I have used Vit C to help with down on pasterns/splayed feet in puppies. Over the years I've heard about it from several people with decades of experience in dogs, and in my limited experience think it helped - perfect feet and pasterns now. Greenpet make a Vit C powder that is odourless, tasteless and can be sprinkled on food, and is the non-calcium salt of ascorbic acid (ie sodium ascorbate, not calcium ascorbate). For me this is important when you have a puppy growing at a rapid rate, as I don't want to supplement with any form of calcium (even tiny). There are directions on the pack, but I seem to recall 1/4 - 1/2 a teaspoon for a 5 - 7 kg pup? I don't think Vit C can fix the issue alone though. I'm not sure about older dogs, but for fast growing puppies, make sure its not spending most of its time on concrete/tiles/floorboards - get it out on grass and sand where the feet have to flex and actually function. I also make a clamshell with sand available, and encourage lots of digging. Saw a dramatic improvement in 2-3 weeks. Good luck!

Hi OSoSwift, thanks I like the name too - its a nickname we use for one of our girls. Staffords are renowned for laying on the ground stretched out like a frog - she seemed too ladylike to have a nickname of frog, so Rabbit and Rabbie often becomes Wabbit Re ZiwiPeak, we buy from Bowhouse online, the Aus distributor. I agree re supermarkets and stockfeed places. To me the main barrier to take up of ZiwiPeak is comparing it kg for kg against kibble, as then it does seem horribly expensive. We couldn't justify feeding all our dogs on it as their entire food source. Our 5 kg bag of Ziwi lasts just a little less than it did for a 13.6 kg bag of Holistic Select. The way we feed it, as a supplement to a fresh raw diet, it works out only a couple of dollars more per week per dog than Holistic Select. Its also very handy if you suddenly need a handful of bait! :D

Have been feeding ZiwiPeak for a couple of years and cannot recommend it highly enough - our Staffords do beautifully on it and seriously love it. We feed it for breakfast in place of kibble (at about 1/4 to 1/3 of the recommended daily qty). Dinner is raw - meat, fish, eggs, veg, meaty bones etc. We moved over from Holistic Select and within 1 week we saw more energy and a change in weight (slimming through the flank but no change across the rib covering - like the equivalent of a human being bloated and then losing the bloating if that makes sense), and no more allergies in one susceptible dog. Saw an improvement in coat in 2 - 3 weeks. Yes its expensive but for us its well worth it. We also have a pup being raised on it after transitioning slowly from his breeder's kibble. Very happy! The best food is the one your dog does best on - give it a try and if you don't get good results then look at something else :) Good luck!

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We feed Ziwipeak and very highly recommend it, together with raw/meaty bones diet. Our dogs get approx 1/3 of the recommended daily portion as breakfast, and then raw for dinner. We transitioned from Holistic Select 12 months ago and have been so much happier with coats, energy levels, stools, etc since feeding ZP. Our 10 week old pup will gradually be started on ZP (when his growth rate slows down) but for now is being continued on his breeder's kibble (again Holistic Select) together with a raw/meaty bones diet. Like all foods and kibbles, different things work for different dogs. ZP has been particularly good for our old girl, as she finds it much easier to eat than dry kibble. Good luck with your research! :)

Hi, no I don't know any specifically for Wyong Hospital. Depending on what you're needing, give Velma's Pets as Therapy a call. They are a fantastic NFP organisation based in Sydney and have therapy dog teams on the Central Coast. I have been involved with them for a number of years and only recently retired my girl from Ronald McDonald House. Good luck!

Hi there Have been to Macquarie Towns. I learned a lot, but it wasn't right for us. Have heard really positive things about the Obedience group at Hobartville (Richmond). I don't have the details but I think the people at Chalkiz, the pet supplies place in the Coles carpark in Richmond would be able to point you in the right direction. Cheers

Hi Steve, I have emailed you too on behalf of my friend (not computer literate). We live in Kurrajong Heights too, just around the corner from you. Cheers Kim