Sandra777

Yes, some people can never get their heads around this can they?

I have seen exhibitors (experienced ones) do this in training, same as deliberately setting the dog up with their back feet at the edge of the table so if they prop or pull back they will "fall''. If you consider that to be an acceptable training method or not there is no way is this acceptable from a judge in a ring - and WTF was the exhibitor thinking, if she'd done it to one of mine she would've got a gob full and the dog would've been off the table and out of the ring so fast it would've caught on fire. Got to have a rueful shake of the head though at the next exhibitor sweeping up their dog and taking it to the table - are you blind or stupid mate?

Awesome athletic and well trained dog. But a) it says the dog is an Amstaff and b) why should a postman be concerned about such an obviously well trained and well socialised dog? Yes, I get you were probably being funny.

Lots of rubbing and rolling. A firm shake while holding them head down (don't like to swing them) then more rubbing. Mouth to nose has been done too. A vet years ago revived one after a caesar by putting a needle in the fleshy bit immediately below the ''join'' in the nostrils. Apparently this is an accupuncture pressure point??

Please, stop thinking of it as a "all meat diet". Meat alone is not the correct food for a dog. Stop and consider what is actually in a prey animal - meat, brains, bones, offal, even eyeballs ( :p ) - and what is in your dog - meat, brains, bones, offal... are you getting the picture? If you feed a variety of raw meaty BONES along with offal and chicken feet (Asian supermarkets) and anything else ''weird'' you can find locally (pigs heads are always a big hit with the check out chicks ) you are basically feeding your dog everything the prey animal is made up of. It's not quite that simple because of the diet the prey animal might have eaten may be deficient in something, but this is why variety in meat sources is considered important. If you adjust her food and put your hands on your dog every day if she ''goes all skinny" it will only be because YOU haven't been proactive in making the changes to her diet she needs. It takes longer than a day for a dog to get skinny, so if you see her looking a little slimmer up her food, if you see her getting fatter, reduce it. Really no different to what you would do for yourself or a child even Sardines or mackrel in oil. Flaxseed oil is suggested by some but a lot of dogs are sensitive to it. Salmon oil is recommended but some might consider it pricey. Don't start adding a whole bunch of stuff straight off. Firstly her digestion isn't used to it and secondly, if she reacts to something you have no way of knowing what it is. One new thing at a time, and the length of time between adding a new thing depends very much on the dog (3-4 days in most cases but a dog with complex issues, maybe 10-14 days) Reeelax. Dogs have been eating random stuff for centuries and have thrived.

ALL breeds are dogs first. He is behaving like a DOG. Get it out of your head that because he is a certain breed he isn't a dog first and foremost.

I don't think this is peculiar to first time owners

Except for small creatures such as rabbits and the like - wolves do NOT consume the stomach contents. There are numerous modern studies to show this, the wolves will rip the stomach/rumen/whatever and shake the contents out. Makes sense - the stomach of a herbivore is full of very strong acids to break down cellulose etc. They DO eat the contents of the intestine - which has already been partially digested. Anyone who's ever had their dogs around cattle horses or sheep will know how much they enjoy the poop of larger herbivores - which is also full of predigested vege matter.

Yep - the carcase minus the meat. Don't do anything to it except maybe trim off some of the fat if it's a particularly fatty one and the dog isn't used to fat. You could occasionally just give him a half a chicken (raw) as a whole meal - you can buy the frozen ones pretty cheap sometimes and it's a meal in itself.

We had many of those ''easy'' Labradors owned by novices in the boarding kennels we had over the years - all noisy, destructive, untrained and often extremely dog aggressive (and the odd one pretty dodgy with people too). Nope, I wouldn't recommend a Labrador to a first time owner unless they understood that a Labrador is just a dog, they don't come pre programmed, they are dogs and need training. Worst thing for the breed IMO is the perception that they all behave like little guide dogs when they come out of the womb. (And this is not necessarily a compliment anyway - I have worked with Guide Dogs, the only dog which has ever bitten me and meant it was a Labrador Guide Dog) First time owners should choose a breed which suits their own temperament. Some people love the focus and constant challenge of a Border Collie, others can't stand them. Some people love the love-sponge idiot which is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, others can't stand them. If a novice owner asked me for an easy breed I would direct them to the nearest garden ornament shop.

The show starts at 4pm - doubt anyone will be there in the morning I would be surprised if there were many Scottish Terrier breeders there, the last year or so there's only been one or two Scotties shown up this way at random shows, so you might see one Scottie if you're lucky. Come along anyway - you never know what else might take your eye!

An adult dog would probably do well on between 2 & 3 percent of it's IDEAL bodyweight per day. Puppies, up to 10% or more may be needed. So, assuming your bitch is a good weight at 22kg this would mean between 440g & 660g of food per day. Depending on who you want to believe about 60-80% of this should be meat, 10-20% offal meat and 10-20% vege matter or carbohydrates The meat however shouldn't be lean meat as we would eat (unless advised otherwise). Dogs are designed to eat meat on the bone. If you aimed at 80% ''meat'' then IMO at least 1/3 of that weight would need to be edible bone... 440g of food and 80% is meat = 352 (350) grams = 116g of bone Of course it's hard to judge how much is bone and how much is meat without taking it all off the bone which sort of defeats the whole exercise, so in reality.... if you want to feed 350g of meat/bone a meaty bone(s) (ie can't see bone through the meat) weighing about 120-150g & the rest in plain raw meat with no bone would be about right. Sounds complicated but sit down with a sheet of paper and a calculator.. 22kg dog = 22,000g x 2% = 440g 22,000 x 3% = 660g. If she is hard to keep weight on maybe start at the higher figure - I will use 500g Between 60 & 80 % meat/bone I'll use 70% so 500g x 70% = 350g. 1/3 bone = 115g. So roughly speaking a meaty bone weighing 150g + 200g of plain meat is about right Offal (heart, kidney, liver) say 15% so 500g x 15% = 75g. Other stuff (pulped vege or other carb) = 75g. Don't get wound up about balancing every single meal, it's balance over time (7-10 days) that matters. When raw feeding the amount is really dependent on the condition of the dog so if she gains weight give her less, loses weight give her more - you need to be hands on and assess the dog and what she's been doing every day (lazy day in the backyard, less food; busy day running up and down the beach, more food)

Yep, have a C Crate made for 2. Personally I don't think they're quite big enough when it's hot but OK provided your dogs are strictly standard size. At the moment it's OK as we're showing a young dog and a very standard sized bitch

The Smithfield I am familiar with is an extremely old English breed (or type), not Australian at all. I would expect the Stumpy descends from Smithfields brought to Australia. The breed (type) is not uncommon in NZ where it's a pretty popular cross for pig dogs.

Enough puppy food for a Pug so you can make a transistion to some other food would be a fairly small amount! How is the pup getting to you? If you're picking the pup up, no big deal if they're flying the pup to you can they get a tin and send you some in the crate with the puppy? (Note I said tin not plastic bag or container LOL)

It would depend very much on the breed and no I don't think a Mini Dachshund is an outside dog (even if it is just a temporary state, how does the breeder know this?) When we first came to Australia we rented a house where the dogs weren't allowed inside, and they didn't come in (neighbours were too close to cheat ) They adapted but they were adults and it was only temporary (6 months). I wouldn't sell a Stafford puppy to someone who was going to keep it as an outside dog. It's all very well to say she's home all day, but how much of that time will actually be spent outside in close contact with the puppy? Hard I know, but understandable.

Shut up you, I'm doing my best to be polite

And the really scary part is that they are NOT rare. I still can't understand how seemingly intelligent people can look through the adverts on here (just as an example) and see that of the 90-odd adverts 50+ will be for blue pups - and still believe the colour is rare. I think perhaps people allow themselves to be deluded so they can rationalise their desire to own something which costs way more than any sensible person would pay for an otherwise substandard item.

What exactly are these tests? Both are genetic conditions caused by simple recessive genes and we are blessed to now have DNA tests which can be done via simple cheek swabs L2-HGA is a neurological condition which causes epileptic type fits which become progressively worse until almost all affected dogs need to be PTS. It affects dogs from a very young age (6-7 months) Curiously L2-HGA is only known in humans and Staffordshire Bull Terriers - which tells Stafford lovers something they already knew HC is hereditary juvenile cataract which affects dogs prior to their 2nd birthday. It has been in the breed for a very long time, and is also present in breeds with a similar background - I might be wrong but I think the Boston Terrier HC test is for the same marker as the Stafford one.

It's all about the $$$$$$$$ People perceive a certain thing to be "rare" so they perceive that this is worth more. Unfortunately people don't see that what is becoming increasingly rare is pedigree dogs bred by ethical people who choose their breeding stock with the first considerations being temperament and health - but they aren't the ones charging mega-bucks.

Two weeks old. Poor baby, worn out already

Mine are weaned on to meat with bone in, so any age. BUT if the pup has never had meaty bones before, take it slow and don't expect miracles - bone is more difficult to digest than cooked rice/wheat/corn/dead things found in dry food. Start with something like a chicken neck or a wing portion and see how the pup's stomach reacts to that before filling up the freezer

Not every litter has a runt. A runt is a puppy which fails to thrive and is sickly. It could be the biggest puppy born and just not grow like the rest. Personally I would never buy or keep the runt of a litter. The smallest in a litter is a whole different story, some end up as big as their brothers and sisters, some are just smaller sized dogs. No real way of telling which it will do, but if the pup is vigorous and in all ways out there and healthy, it's size wouldn't concern me greatly as a pet

He's a dog. Food + room in my stomach = eat! The fact that he's eating more later and maintaining a good weight etc suggests that the amount of food you are feeding is about right, so yes perhaps you still do need to feed less more often. He's only a smallish pup - with (I expect) a pretty high energy level, I'd go with more frequent meals, or perhaps two larger meals and a snack.

Is he a good weight, plenty of energy and not changed in any other way? In that case, he's getting enough food