Sandra777

Congratulations!! :thumbsup:

Yep - that's as an adult, at 10 weeks he needs puppy food. I have Staffords, they have jaws at least as powerful as mini bulls and my guys all have bone - but edible bone, not great big leg bones and such like. I think it would pay to phone the breeder and have a chat because you seem a bit confuzzled and concerned

Did the breeder not include info on this in their diet sheet Usually by 10 weeks mine are eating quite a bit more than they are at 8 weeks and as they're about the same weight as your mini will be when full grown I would have thought the same would apply. Basically if he's well covered (no too hard to feel his ribs) and active and healthy he'll be getting about the right amount of food. Later on you want to be able to feel his ribs quite easily (but not see them) but IMO pups need to carry just a touch more weight.

I feel like an in law here,Sandra777. Bull mastiffs are a great dog as are wolfhounds. As a mix, it doesn't always work as well due to conflicting instincts. But every purebred dog has to deal with the situations crosses cause and blame falls on the innocent. I'll go out on a limb here and say that Sandra777 knows full well the blame purebreds get from crosses going off the rails. I also don't believe she was dissing either distinct breed. to the OP: everybody has given you the only piece of advice you need from this forum: get professional help. The quicker the better. No limb SoL - not quite sure where you got the idea that I was anti either breed kinsella. Weren't the words rant and the sad face enough of a clue Dumbarse crosses like this drive me crazy - mastiff types are guardian breeds bred for centuries to be slow to react, utterly reliable and totally dedicated to the protection of their place and people. Sighthound breeds have been bred for centuries to be easily aroused by movement and to chase and bite what they catch - why would anyone with two brain cells cross such breeds? I must really think more before I write - I knew what I meant to say and it's come out ar*e up. By in law, I meant I had the same point of view as yours but coming from the other side of the family (wolfhound) I didn't mean to imply you were anti either breed, just that I understood your frustration. I spent too many years in IW rescue to not understand. Sorry if I didn't make it clearer in my post. efs. All good

Glad you're getting someone out to help - hope all goes well! Updates required

Meat on it's own (without bone) is not suitable for a puppy. They MUST have minerals etc. to grow properly and these minerals for the most part are in the bones of the animals the dog eats. The problem is if you offer meat and dry food the pup will (naturally!) prefer to eat meat so you might end up in a situation where the dog eats meat and leaves the dry food so isn't getting the diet you think it's getting. Me, I would be ditching the vet and getting one that is at least willing to entertain the idea that dogs, which are carnivores, are designed to digest meat, sinew, offal and <gasp> bone! It depends a little bit on the breed but for most rice and vege is not ideal for any dog and especially not for puppies - with little ones it fills them up without providing anything they can actually digest, with the big breed pups it can unbalance a diet and give you huge bone issues as they grow. Did the person you bought the puppy off seem to know what they were talking about? If so I would be inclined to believe they know a fair bit more about how to raise their breed of choice than the average vet does! IMO all meat for dogs should be raw unless there is a very specific reason to cook it (sick dog, allergy etc)

Not saying it's your fault and of course it's not the dogs' fault. It is the people who breed stupid crosses without any knowledge of the temperament of the breeds they are messing with who need a kick up the butt.

I feel like an in law here,Sandra777. Bull mastiffs are a great dog as are wolfhounds. As a mix, it doesn't always work as well due to conflicting instincts. But every purebred dog has to deal with the situations crosses cause and blame falls on the innocent. I'll go out on a limb here and say that Sandra777 knows full well the blame purebreds get from crosses going off the rails. I also don't believe she was dissing either distinct breed. to the OP: everybody has given you the only piece of advice you need from this forum: get professional help. The quicker the better. No limb SoL - not quite sure where you got the idea that I was anti either breed kinsella. Weren't the words rant and the sad face enough of a clue Dumbarse crosses like this drive me crazy - mastiff types are guardian breeds bred for centuries to be slow to react, utterly reliable and totally dedicated to the protection of their place and people. Sighthound breeds have been bred for centuries to be easily aroused by movement and to chase and bite what they catch - why would anyone with two brain cells cross such breeds?

Ouch - dangerous advice. In your breed it may well be so, Blitz has a Stafford, training & leadership means zero to these guys sometimes - when they go they go, and sometimes don't stop when asked to do so no matter how well trained or lead! Personally I would never recommend someone with one Stafford buy another one of the same sex unless there was a considerable difference in age (your boy's only young isn't he Blitz?) and they are prepared to accept that it could well be that the pair will not get on and permanent and complete separation may be the only solution - and a crate/wire netting or a glass door won't do the job in all cases. Stories abound in the terrier world of dogs which got on for many years then one day decided to kill each other over a leaf or a crumb of ten week old bread.

What have you done to train him that this is not acceptable behaviour? What have you done to try and socialise/desensitise him to things that scare him? For me this would be a job for a professional to observe and give you advice on how you should be handling him. Until then, don't run around him, if you have children definitely make this a rule and if you only have children visiting then keep him strictly separated from them. The last thing the world needs is another mauled child and another media rant about the evils of bull breeds

No advice, but welcome to QLD! So you ended up a little out West then - hope things go well for you

x2

Wow that's nice Since when is a dog defective because it is the wrong colour for the ring - and it's not just the nose colour, a liver dog has no black on it anywhere, coat, skin, nails etc. The breed standard does not allow the colour so ethical breeders will never breed "for" it and OP wanted to know someone who was breeding this colour - to which the answer is no one ethical will ever breed this colour on purpose so if they find someone who is they should run a mile - let alone someone who is importing dogs which are disallowed colours (and presumably incorporating them into a breeding programme) OP - personally I find liver to be unattractive because it is wishy-washy and liver dogs often have yellow or light coloured eyes which I personally find ugly on a dog. Does this mean I would "hate" a liver coloured dog, nope. Why do you find it attractive would be an equally valid question. And my comment about finding a healthy puppy was not sarcastic. If the only thing you want to know is how to find a specific colour and you make no mention of it having to be an ethical breeder who breeds healthy dogs, just the colour - then what conclusion do you expect people to come to? If you want a liver dog buy a Labrador or GSP or Dobe, the colour is accepted in those breeds (and others) and you will find an ethical caring breeder doing their best to produce quality dogs in the colour you desire.

Um, finding a healthy well reared puppy from a good breeder isn't enough? It is considered a fault because most people find it pretty unattractive and 150 or so years ago when the standard was written people weren't so afraid to say straight out - we think that's ugly and we don't want it! It's possible that the older breeders thought it was contected to some weakness which modern genetic science shows to be an incorrect belief, but I would expect it was understood that it had the power to become entrenched in a breed, now we know it's because it's a recessive gene and can hide behind the dominant black pigment gene - back then it was probably just understood that it could pop up anywhere if it was allowed to spread. Can't say I've ever seen a liver Bulldog tbh

Congrats on the new puppy! Yes, a neutered male can still mate with a bitch. Some will, some won't and until it happens you won't know if your boy is one that will or not :D What's probably best is to separate them if the dog shows a lot of interest and seems to be getting too friendly! Obviously nothing will come of it if they were to mate and since it's a perfectly natural act some may well say don't worry about it, but there's too many things that can go wrong to take the risk IMO.

I had a bitch with dry eye and there is a product available made by Craig Irvin (canine eye specialist in New Zealand) which has had some success in re-starting the tears. In her particular case it worked while I was giving it to her but within 10 days of her going off it, her reading was zero again but she had long standing issues (mainly involving incompetent vets). Some people have had great success with these drops but they do costs a fortune (called golden drops for a reason!) and of course it does depend on what is actually wrong - the tear duct or the glands themselves. Another option offered to me was repositioning or redirecting a saliva gland to take the place of the tear gland but this wouldn't restore her sight and she was quite elderly by then so I decided that it wasn't worth doing.

I personally wouldn't be concerned.

Little fat crossbred? Maybe a breed we don't see here, but definitely not a collie or sheltie.

I think there is a distinction between a BYB and a PF too - but it has nothing to do with quantity. IMO a BYB is someone who doesn't do the "right" thing through ignorance or through lack of understanding. IMO a PF is someone who doesn't do the "right" thing because it would cut into the profit margin. And what is "the right thing" changes dramatically through time - when I started out it was considered perfectly acceptable and correct to allow a dog to have his first mating at around 8 months (small-medium sized breed) and breed a bitch on her second heat at around 13-14 months, then again on her next heat then miss a heat (or more) These are just two things that were considered "right" then which are almost universally frowned on now.

????? OP has specifically stated the shop doesn't sell animals so how do we go from this man has 84 dogs to this man is supplying the shop he works in ?????

I think you have hit the nail on the head. :D I don't really think that is fair. A puppy farmer in most peoples eyes is someone who breeds large quantities of puppies without proper health/temperament screening for the purpose of making money. IMO quantity has nothing what-so-ever to do with someone being a puppy farmer. A puppy farmer is someone who's SOLE intention is to make money. If they breed one litter or a hundred is irrelevant - IMO it is the intention not the quantity.

A silent season is not common but happens. To have some idea of when to start thinking she's ready you will need to pay attention to when she starts swelling, then monitor her behaviour, then get blood tests as already suggested - unless the dog you end up mating her to is local and experienced - in which case it's just as simple to pop around and see hubby and see what they have to say about each other Bitches usually have a set pattern, and will come in season 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - more months apart. After two or more seasons you usually get the idea. Six monthly is considered "normal" for most breeds but anything betwen 5 and 8 months is certainly within the bounds of 'usual'. The time of the year has nothing to do with it. can't help with that one What specifically do you want to know - generally speaking the process is the same for all breeds so your breeder friend should be able to answer most of your general questions, the owner of the stud dog you choose will probably help out with most of the rest. but if you have specific questions you'll get a great variety of opinions here to consider

Ever heard of kennel staff

2 baths in one week probably hasn't helped (yes I know you had too :D ) Sorry - he's a dog, he's not exactly going to smell like a horse is he? Get him checked but there's nothing wrong brush him daily, sponge bits that might need sponging and let his skin and hair regain there natural balance and then see what happens.

At six weeks I think most breeds should be pudgy(ish) and well covered. If he's got plenty of cover over his ribs (IMO at this age you should have a little difficulty feeling the ribs) then he's probably the right weight for him. Sounds heavy for a Sibe though!