noisymina

My Wahl was well under $200. The battery trimmers are good too. Specially for a beginner like me who finds missed bits for a week after! :laugh: And for the face/feet . eg .. http://www.ozgroomingworld.com.au/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=35_56&product_id=75

My Dobe's registered name was ..... Secret Society. :)

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@ (@ SBT wearing pink! of course) Bring her over and show me, PS! :laugh:

Oh - and you should tell your vet that my Dobe lived to 12 - very good for a Dobe. No arthritis except in one foot - which we think was from a previous injury. I got her at 4 and she was on raw (mostly) for the best part of 8 years. Died with every tooth still in her mouth and in perfect condition! He/she can chew that one over. :) :)

Spot on! Enjoy your girl!

:laugh: When I first started going to our current vet, she asked me what I fed and I said BARF. She looked at me funny but did not comment. There is now a freezer chest in her waiting area stocked with .....you guessed it ....barf patties and raw bones form the local BARF supply company! Even tho my dog was always on the "light" side, I thought, she used to say she could do with a bit less weight and it was true. I could tell by watching her run whether or not she had a bit too much weight to carry. Dogs are beautiful creatures in motion when fit and not too heavy. :) Healthy with good coat etc is all we need on top of that.

Ask the vet about her weight. From what I can tell, your dog is getting more than enough food. People are so used to "fat" dogs, they don't know what a fit one looks/feels like! You should be able to feel her ribs. They should not be protruding, and should have some cover, but you most definitely need to be able to feel them. Three percent IDEAL body weight (if 28kgs is ideal for her) comes to only 840g per day. So, no, she won't eat 1.5kg. You would end up with a very fat and unhealthy dog if she did. My Dobe had built in weight control too. When she started burying her bones, I knew she had enough - for every time that happened (at first) I took her down to the vets and weighed her, and yep, she had put on a bit more than she really needed. You might like to do some weigh ins and just observe what happens while you "listen" to what she is telling you. I bet you will find that is all you need to do - and then stop worrying! After all, what is a "natural diet" for? :D

I forgot about that! They don't worry me on smaller/lighter dogs and I obviously didn't even register seeing one on Woo. It is larger and stronger dogs and ones that pull badly that scare me. I have this image of something snapping and the thin bit of leash whiplashing someone in the eye as much as the dog getting away. You see people holding those handles with all their strength trying to control their dogs by pushing the button down to stop any more leash coming out, like that is all they need to do to control their dog. It frightens me! Definitely not cool for big dogs. Personally. I think anything over 7-8kgs is not OK in public with a retractable. I did use the harness as Woo was taking off after birds down the back. I really don't need the green dog from dam experience again! :laugh: However, it must be that she was just not used to birds flying over her head and she's much better now. Ran past a couple of ducks waddling around this morning at last twice and never even saw them! OMG. If she had, they would have been history because they never even tried to get away from us. I just don't get it.

There is a lady at our park who uses one of these with a stafford. It is one of the thin rope type ones - I really don't think it is suitable for the dog. When the dog sees another dog it takes everything she has got to hold him on it - she actually holds the rope part, and winds it around her hands. You can see it is hurting her but she said it gives him more freedom... He seems a nice enough dog but I wouldn't be using one like that on a stafford. We did have one for Ollie (it was made of the thicker leash type stuff). In saying that, I would never use in with Zig, I think he would break it. I have a retractable for Woo and, for her ,it is the best invention ever - when teamed with a harness. I always have it locked on short when needed - eg roadside etc. The huge benefit is that she now does not get herself tangled in the lead every few steps when loose leash walking. I do think that Staffyluv hit the spot when she said it needs to be suitable for the dog. There is no way on earth I would have used one on Kaisie - she would have ripped my arms off with 30kgs of lunge by the impetus she would have got up at 3 metres! Until I got Woo and found the use for them, I was a bit nonplussed as to why people would use them at all. So again, it's a case of horses for courses and equipment used correctly according to the circumstances.

I class roo tail as a weight bearing bone - I no longer feed them, though the dogs love them. My Belgian has sustained two slab fractures to molars through chomping on roo tail Oh dear! I don't feed them now as they are a bit on the big side for a 5kg dog anyways! Never a problem with the Dobe until she went off Roo - and then started chucking it. Must have developed some intolerance to it. Maybe too lean and rich for her?

What bad luck for a good dog - and for you!

I won't eat chicken wings - they ARE really fatty. So I don't give them to my dogs. I get the necks in preference. Although the Dobe used to get the odd one, but the Dobes do need some fat in their diet, so a bit different to some. I don't give them weight-bearing bones either. Simple rule of thumb here. I stopped giving the big bones to the Dobe as she used to dig up around the fruit trees to bury them. Then I read a recommendation somewhere that said non-weight-bearing bones were preferable - for a number of reasons. So I'm comfortable with that. :) Turkey necks, lamb flap/rib (with the worst of the fat removed, roo tail are other options.

If you don't have a snake friendly environment, they will move on. We seem to be part of a snake highway here, but they just go through, don't stay. Most of ours are non-venomous and sometimes very pretty! We also have Toad eating snakes and they are most welcome! The nasty ones are next door where all the rubbish is. I fear the day it is cleared - THEN we will see snakes! I want to convince them to start this side and work away from us. :D If the yard is a jungle, maybe you need to look at that.

Sardines don't always agree with them. Other fish like tuna or mackerel can be used instead.

So what is the rationale regarding the head eating and leaving the rest routine. Kinda freaky finding a headless rabbit caught in the fence. What a waste of good food if they only kill to survive? Strange experience here a few weeks ago. I was walking my dog down the back paddock and we came across a dead fox. Definitely dead. Dead as they get, you know? Later I casually mentioned it to my DH, so he went down to check it out. Fox gone??? Yep, in a couple of hours daylight, dead fox totally gone. ?? Not easy for any dog to drag it though our fences, nor would they have a reason to. So ..... a what happened mystery?

Good fencing does not stop feral kids from teasing and stirring up the dogs. I know this! :) Pity it also stops the dogs from eating said kids.

Cool! Hopefully someone will be able to team up with you! :)

Hi Bonnie! What breed is your pup? I think it might be best to wait until your pup has had the appropriate vaccs to be sure. Oh - and can you give an approximate idea about your locality? That would help. The chances you'd get 4-5 pups of that age wanting a play date within easy distance and at the same time would be pretty remote. Is there anything wrong with older dogs of appropriate size and temperament? Pups do learn from older dogs too!

I was not talking about merely training only. If a dog heads down to the back fence trying to get away from the hose or a broom, then they have "issues". If they take off aggressively at every teen male that come sin the gate, it is an "issue". Etc. It takes much more than the usual "training" to break them from steam train pulling.... all that is not what you can term "training" in the normal sense. I never had a pup with any of those "issues" - as I call them. Maybe you would prefer the term "remedial training" if you want to argue semantics? The things you are referring to could simply bf lack of socialization which falls into training, not necessarily abuse or bad handling. You are kidding me, right? Whateva.

I was not talking about merely training only. If a dog heads down to the back fence trying to get away from the hose or a broom, then they have "issues". If they take off aggressively at every teen male that come sin the gate, it is an "issue". Etc. It takes much more than the usual "training" to break them from steam train pulling.... all that is not what you can term "training" in the normal sense. I never had a pup with any of those "issues" - as I call them. Maybe you would prefer the term "remedial training" if you want to argue semantics? Teaching a loose leash walk is only hard or lengthy if you are shutting out any sort of punishment and plugging away at rewards only OR you have a very large dog with a small person and refuse to use a tool that will give you control. Pups need leash walking training as well. Lots of pups and even adult dogs sourced as pups take off away from a scary object. A dog barking aggressively a teen males is definitely a behavioural issue that needs training. IME very few rescue dogs actually have those kinds of issues. An ethical rescue group wouldn't home a dog that was still doing that, it wouldn't be up for adoption until that was sorted (or if it was too far gone the dog would be euthansed). It is easy to teach a pup lose leash walking. It takes longer to break an undesirable habit taught by a previous owner. How long it takes is not an issue. It just does. I guess my lovely girl would have been euthed many times then if she had not come here. :laugh: The aggression was due only to abuse in the past, not an innate trait. Fortunately, she was not likely to actually do anything unless they posed a threat to one of us. And any Dobe would act in that situation regardless. I'd be the first to say a dangerous dog should not be re-homed. She was not dangerous. She had "issues" and she suited this home. We got around or solved all her problems. No, she would not have suited just ANY home. :D We must be very special. :)

I was not talking about merely training only. If a dog heads down to the back fence trying to get away from the hose or a broom, then they have "issues". If they take off aggressively at every teen male that come sin the gate, it is an "issue". Etc. It takes much more than the usual "training" to break them from steam train pulling.... all that is not what you can term "training" in the normal sense. I never had a pup with any of those "issues" - as I call them. Maybe you would prefer the term "remedial training" if you want to argue semantics?

I wouldn't say that. Plenty of dogs are just fine and it's their idiot owners who had the issues. Umm......regardless of the REASON, one has to realise that MOST, not ALL will need some training, adjustment, support, and assessment of reactions and behaviours with origins that are totally unknown. The dog may not be "at fault" but owners with the wrong dog handle them wrongly, lose patience, yell and sometimes hit them etc. So they come to you with needs to address that. NOT THEIR FAULT - but something that should be understood, even tho it is usually quite manageable. My Kaisie came here a hyped up and fearful mess. A couple of years later, she was not the same dog with handling in this environment, space to run etc. The fact she pulled like steam train was an issue too. But fortunately we had the space to exercise her off lead. :) And take the time to gradually reduce the pull stuff. What we saw when she first arrived was DEFINITELY not her basic nature. Nor was it her "fault" - but we still had to put work into understanding her and addressing the issues without actually knowing where they came from. Wonderful dog who was out friend and protector for over 8 years. I'd do it all again if I could. :)

IMHO, most re-homed dogs have some sort of "issues" - not always significant ones. Even one from a breeder may or may not be suitable in your particular home. I'm guessing that one suggestion will be to talk to another rescue. That would be the best way to go as you can take the dog on "approval" and return if it is not suited. If a breeder comes up with a suitable one in the meantime, then go with that. After my last dog search, I have come to the conclusion that what will be, will be. When you come across the "right one" it will just click - no matter the source or type of dog. :) :)

Isle of Dogs No 12 - triple Evening Primrose Oil. Found it does not need a conditioner as well. Just too much! Very soft and fluffy finish. :) Like the smell. Tried one of the scented ones and it did in my sinuses big time. Can't use it. Rescue have received a bonus gift! :laugh: