Sandra777

I think you will find there has already been multiple attempts world wide to place all sorts of different breeds on "dangerous dog" lists - most overturned or blocked by reasoned debate in the correct arena - which doesn't include ranting and raving on a dog forum. I find it extremely difficult to believe that "the Government body" (whatever that may be) did not have the information to know they were excluding "staffies" (which sort ) Bull Terriers etc by wording the legislation as they did. The people manning the front office may well be idiots - the guys in the back room writing the legislation generally aren't.

That makes them statistics Sorry I see an enormous difference between an "attack" which involves a dog, no matter what the breed, attacking another dog, no matter what the breed and an "attack" which involves a dog, no matter what the breed, taking the life of a child. The "breed" at the top of the list is crossbred dog of unknown origin. So you think all dogs which do not have a certifiable pedigree should be PTS? Ah, now there you have got it wrong. BSL has never been about stopping dog attacks. BSL is about politicans being seen to do something about a problem they know nothing about to appease the masses and the idiot tabloid newspapers. No it wouldn't - because BSL hasn't stopped the breeding of APBTs so why do you think it would stop the breeding of other breeds? (or crossbreeds as the case may be) I would like to know the provenance of those statistics - who identified the dogs? obviously someone who doesn't know that "Bull Terrier (Staffordshire)" is not a breed. What method was used to determine the dog in question was a "Bull Terrier (Staffordshire)" cross as opposed to an "American Pit Bull Terrier" Cross.

I would leave the pup on the food for about a week after he comes home. You can buy small bags of Supercoat so don't have to buy 20kg If you decide in the meantime that something else suits you better and it's properly researched like you are doing, then change the pup after the first week - 10 days by mixing the new food with the Supercoat 1/8th or 1/4 at a time over a series of days. I don't have an issue with supercoat but do have issues with the person that promotes it!

He certainly won't if he spends 1/2 his life locked outside and allowed to pee where ever he wants (outside). Buy a crate and google crate training. Poor little mite, I hope the breeder didn't sell him to you knowing you were going to lock him outside all night, he's a companion dog and needs to be with his people.

I hope this isn't what the breeder recommended. Totally unbalanced diet for a dog, and especially bad for a growing puppy. No calcium in that diet! Also, feeding one type of meat alone can sometimes trigger allergies to that protein or a sensitivity to it - especially in bull breeds. I would be feeding the widest range of protein I could at this age (think everything from chicken to camel to horse) but introducing each protein on a schedule so if he reacts to one you know which one it is! Dogs can't use carbs as easily as we can and can't digest vegetables at all unless they are cooked to a mush or pulverised. Please get some expert advice from the Amstaff people on here - quickly

Sounds like all of mine - fed raw/prey model for 5 generations. No sign of allergies - sorry that's NORMAL

The Stafford breeder within is cringing. Staffords aren't meant to have a soft coat

Put the dog outside for ten minutes a day. Cod liver oil in the wrong proportions causes the calcium to become inaccessible, not more accessible and has been proven to CAUSE rickets. Personally I would not be supplementing Vit D in any animal that can go outside. IMO this is a very old hold-over from UK breeders, who can be in the position of not being able to get adequate sunshine for their pups for weeks at a time in winter. Honestly I don't think this is an issue in Australia!

Just back from the supermarket and because I was buying birdseed I was in the pet poison aisle (oops, sorry pet food aisle) The cans of nature's gift I looked at all had 7 or 8 % protein and were labelled lamb rice and vege or roo pasta and vege etc - just the sort of food to feed an oppotunistic carnivorous scavenger. I couldn't find a breakdown of what % of what were in the can - which I thought was extremely odd if not illegal????? Perhaps my eyes weren't working properly. In comparison the woollie own brand stuff was 11% protein and 1/3 of the price to boot. Yes, I know not all protein is created equal!

So sorry for your loss

Won't be any Mouse photos for a while, she's absolutely paranoid that someone is going to pinch her puppies and won't stand for anything new or different near her without picking them up and "hiding" them in corners. Last litter she had only one puppy which died at 3 days so I'm hoping that after three or four days she'll realise these puppies won't disappear too.

Is she one of the dogs in the pic? If so I really wouldn't consider a dog of that size "old" at 11.5 years - definitely a vet check for UTI and there are meds to help with the problems spayed bitches can have because of the lack of hormones. They do feel very bad about it don't they - is a dog door an option if it's incurable? If not I would supply newspaper or training pad or whatever suits (there are indoor dog loos available) and lots of praise when you discover her "accident" on this place - so she doesn't think she's done wrong even though she couldn't help it. Confine her to a smaller area as you would a puppy while she's getting the idea that this new place is OK to pee on.

I doubt the bones would be the reason he was choaking but all the chicken mince I've ever seen is very sticky and stays in a lump so would easily cause choaking. If you're prepared to try again I have found that if you keep the chicken mince in a fairly flat open container in the fridge it dries out a little (don't need to petrify it ) and it's easier to divide into appropriate sized pieces for the size of the dog. With dogs that hoover everything in their bowl up into their mouth and then try to swallow (pelican dogs ) you sometimes have to either feed them bit by bit or lay a trail around the floor so all the food isn't in one place at one time.

Can't add much to what has been said, when you get the fence fixed are you intending to leave him in the yard during the day? I certainly wouldn't as he's proven his jumping ability! Any chance of putting the lab in the run with him and seeing if this helps - not a permanent solution but perhaps a stop-gap measure until you can get his problems sorted.

Just back from the zipper-fitter with Mouse. 3 bitches 2 dogs but whoo, big babies. The record is all yours Koda! She wasn't progressing well in labour and just wouldn't settle so I went for an 'almost elective' caesar Lucky I did, vet opened her up and the first thing I heard was 'oh crap'. She had a very large area of her ueterus that was beginning to tear, another hour and a few more contractions and we would've had a rupture. Was an area as big as the palm of my hand - ouch!

The pup that's having feeding problems - don't be fooled, nothing much is happening. Silly angle for a puppy to try and suckle on but it is a red Stafford bitch and you can't tell them anything Disgraceful heart-tugging shot

Frilly collars are cute Waiting on Mouse to explode, she's been bed making and grumping since 11am, now gone to sleep so wish me a pleasant afternoon

Mummy is always pleased when there's girls - daddy however is hanging out for a show dog. Hope Mouse is working on that one

But humans can be infected with hydatids (even though they are only intermediate hosts, so the lifecycle of the parasite ends there) and they can cause serious, sometimes fatal consequences in humans. So even though they can't spread that way, it doesn't explain why humans are allowed to be consuming offal if it is so subject to parasitic contamination. My understanding (and it's hot and I've just been battling the shops so I'm no doubt foggy!) is that the worm only cysts after it has been through 2 hosts - sheep (or goat) & dog were the usual suspects in NZ. I think humans only get hydatids from dogs who only get it from sheep (or goats) they can't get it directly from sheep (or goats). Good chance I'm confused and you should consult google

OK, I know I'm going a bit here, and I apologise for that, but I am gobsmacked that it is OK for people to eat offal from the butchers but not OK for dogs. I just don't get it! *scratches head* Sorry, nothing useful to contribute; everyone has already said what I would have said anyway. Because human's are not a step in the hydatids tapeworm lifecycle.

China short changed us - vet scanned her with 3 but nope, 2 red bitches. Welcome to the world little girlies. Photos tomorrow (maybe!) ETA: born the old fashion way and in less than 25 minutes (it was nearly dinner time and the world has to end before China misses a feed)

The theory behind the pineapple is that it is a meat tenderiser and acts as a probiotic, so that what comes out isn't viewed as food any more. Sometimes it works, sometimes not - with a Labrador anything can be viewed as food of course A diet high in bone content and lean meat usually helps - the dog can digest the meat almost completely and the residue of bone is crumbly and usually not all that appetising. There are low residue dry foods if you want to go that way too.

Only if the front door's open

Can't figure this one out actually. Either you don't groom for long or you feed your dog enormous amounts of peanut butter. Took me over an hour to groom Ms Portie dog after she'd been running in the paddocks.... Also, thie licking would drive me demented in about three seconds!

Little and often and it is not a game. Five minutes (or four or three or two :D ) once every two hours where he actually stands still is teaching much better habits than 20 minutes once a day where half of it's a game and the other half a big fight to keep him still. Put him up on a table with a good non slip surface get him standing up or lying down (maybe save that one for later) and subtly hold him in position for 10-15 seconds, then treat then lift him down and IGNORE him for a minute or so - otherwise all he wants to do is get off the table so you'll play a great game or give him a big treat. Slowly introduce the brush when he's on the table but at the same time you can start brushing him when he's tired and lying quietly on the floor (assuming mobility for you isn't an issue) so you you are reinforcing the brush = calm and quiet as well as table +/- brush = calm and quiet. If he mouths the brush or your hand this is an ah-ah offence, not a reason to give him a treat - he will figure out the connection quicker than you think! Personally I always did the major groom on the Portie when she was lying down and it was pretty easy to teach her to lie quietly on her side - she was the laziest dog I've ever met :-)