Sandra777

You must be so relieved. Jerry's an excellant vet, As an aside I thought he'd moved on from Morten Greencross to Springfield Lakes?

My lot eat ANYTHING that falls on the floor of the kitchen (including silver paper :D ) and the only thing I never persuaded them to eat out side of the kitchen is lettuce - and that fish head that glared at them from the back lawn. It was real scary mummy :rofl:

nods. As per the Australian Vet Association's own recommendations which were released about 8-10 months ago from memory. The US Vet Association has had these guidelines in place for at least 18 months.

There's no need to have it solely one or the other. What's wrong with RMB and one meal a week of mince with the offal you want to feed her (liver, kidney, whatever). You could add some vege if you feel you need to (jury's out on that one ) The whole point of this sort of feeding is balance over time - a dog doesn't need a balanced diet every day any more than a person does, If it really bothers you, you can give her some mince with all the additives you want to use for one meal and a RMB for the other each day. Personally I wouldn't bother but it's up to you. I raise pups on a very simple diet - I don't feed additives in the form of garlic, oils etc and have never had any issues. They get RMB mostly, offal once every 7-10 days (mine will eat anything) and vege scraps almost daily - which they probably can't digest but they love chewing up anyway. These are Staffords, so not a lot lighter weight than a Border Collie, but without the longer bones so I'm not saying what suits them and me is perfect for your girl.

What do you actually want from obedience classes? Is there some part of her training you feel unable to do yourself? If you just want to teach her to work in a distracting environment you can do that anywhere - shopping malls, carparks, streets etc.

Mine just looked at the big salmon head I brought home and came and hid inside. No one would go outside until the big dangerous fish stopped staring at them This from a bunch that luuurve pig's heads (which also look at you while you're eating them)

If everything went right, from matign to whelping to bitch rearing the pups without any hassles and the "breeder" doesn't bother with niceities such as worming the bitch, feeding her puppy food, buying/making a whelping box or feeding the puppies decent tucker I would say the minimum would be 3 or perhaps 4 bags of Cobber, Uncle Albers, Coprice or similar @ say $40 each for the pups and as extra (over and above her normal food) for the bitch. Worm the pups once (don't bother about mum) $2 per puppy but I guess you could forget about this if you wanted to. That's about it isn't it? Things going wrong..... Bitch dies in labour before you can get to the vet OR: As happened in the UK, bitch needs caesar, you can't pay up front as vet demands and they won't allow you to take the bitch elsewhere (animal welfare issue they were told) only option was to have bitch PTS with pups inside her. Bitch whelps but lack of calcium or just plain bad mothering skills means she kills them all Bitch gets eclampsia, dies or needs to be sedated and pumped full of calcium at the vet at 2am. $500 might buy you one night. Pups would probably need to be handraised, at least for a couple of days Bitch gets "black" mastitis, requires operation to repair damage (or dies in agony). ABs, surgical dressings, feeding puppies, surgery to repair damage - $1500 + time off work $$$$$ $1000 for a caesar, non-emergency, double or triple that for a larger dog and/or emergency $500 for aftercare when the stitches break, assuming no major infection Handraising pups, say $10 per week for formula per pup + $$$$$$$$$$$ for the time off work to actually manage to do this every 2-4 hours Raise pup to 6 weeks then it needs to be PTS due to nerve damage sustained at birth. My accountants heart can't stand thinking of many more

Glad to hear you know what's wrong - did the vet give you any advice about the transmission of the infection from her mouth to the pups? I have heard of someone having big problems with a litter born to a rescue bitch with broken and rotten teeth, don't know that tonsilitis would cause the same issues? Certainly hope not!

Has the breeder been contacted?

I have always used an in-house dog sitter. But not one of those franchise types so I can't comment on those sorts. My dog stitters have always been other dog people, who understand the situation I'm leaving them from their own experience with handling multiple dogs in their own house over many years. Never leave your dogs with friends is my advice - if it goes bad you lose your dog and your friend.

The term is Breed Standard. ""breed standards" is a bastardisation used by people who don't know better - which no longer includes you Your parents have been showing for a year or you have been showing their dogs for a year (I think you mean the former but maybe not) First step would be to go to shows, perhaps even show one of their dogs if you aren't already. ETA: check if you have to be a member to actually go in the ring or not - I can never remember. Get yourself known in the breed and make it known that you want to buy a quality bitch with a view to breeding if she is worthy, but primarily as a show dog and companion. No you don't need to have a prefix to show or to buy a puppy. You don't even need to be a member of the CCC to buy a puppy, so if saving some money matters you can wait to do this until after you find your bitch. You won't need a prefix for at least a year so don't worry about that until you know the bitch you have bought is actually worth breeding from - and it's perfectly possible that the first bitch you buy won't be. Be prepared for a long apprenticeship - especially in a breed so abused by puppy farmers. Approaching a breeder and saying I want to buy a bitch to breed from will almost certainly get you cut dead by any ethical breeder.

8 weeks old from NZ to Aust, and no hassles registering them in QLD - Dogs Vic are a law unto themselves by the sound of it

If they're puppy canines don't even worry about it, they'll be gone shortly just keep an eye on her adult ones coming through. Unless she is very unusual it's not an ''open wound'', it's an indentation, the skin is closed. Not really a big deal as long as she is happy chewing on things. You would be surprised by the huge number of dogs who go their whole lives with their adult canines driving in to their upper gums, converging canines are a problem in a LOT of breeds.

I would not be concerned - very small amount compared with his weight. But keep an eye on him, any problems straight to the vet no matter the time of day, but I really can't see it being an issue

Perfectly normal. Sometimes in adult dogs their testicles seem to sit on top of each other instead of side by side as you might expect. As long as they're both fully descended and one doesn't do a disappearing act on a regular basis, nothing to be concerned about.

Sometimes this will right itself. When the canine teeth first come through they head straight upwards, then turn out and forwards. For some dogs that last little turn forward and the last 1/8th of an inch growing takes some time - I've got a nearly 9 month old here who's canines are still growing and moving into the correct position. Keep an eye on it, and if it doesn't seem to be bothering her wait until she is absolutely fully grown before making the decision to have it removed.

IMO Mastiffs are not a Guarding breed, they are a Guardian breed. Big difference. Guarding dogs seem to be hard wired to be more territorial and I've seen many that don't actually care what happens to their people if those people are not in their usual place, they are more in to guarding a place than a person, which is not to say they can't be trained to guard a person Guardian dogs seem to be hard wired to guard living things, people or livestock, which is also not to say they can't be trained to guard a place. Just my take on it anyway. ETA: yes I think any dog regardless of heritage should be socialised enough to understand the difference between a casual passer-by and a threat. Military dogs possibily excluded.

Oh that's not good, the breeder being disinterested. Perhaps you could contact the owner or breeder of the sire or dam of your dog and get some specialised breed help in conjunction with the behaviouralist?

A lot of bitches keep themselves pretty clean so provided they are taught to sleep on their own bed OR you cover your bed with a sheet or towel the mess shouldn't be enormous. Some people use bitches britches or baby nappies (depends on the size and shape of the bitch), personally I've never bothered - bitches in season don't come on the carpet here, it's a rule they learn very quickly. What sized bitch are you talking about? The mess from a Chihuahua bitch may well be more manageable to most than that from a Great Dane My bitches are crated inside when in season, out in the yard when we're home only and then only under supervision for the few days when they're standing. Exercised on leash only, on our land the last time but now we've moved they'll be taken by car at least a km from home then walked (on leash) there, but not when they're actually standing. It's really not all that difficult. Most bitches are only receptive to the dog for a couple of days, generally some time in the middle week but never assume that is the case!, so it's really not like you're in for three weeks of mad stray dogs leaping onto the roof and crashing through windows. Assuming you live in a reasonably decent area - how many entire dogs actually live around your area? Most reasonable suburbs these days - probably not that many.

A good breeder will choose the best pup for your family - so be sure to give them all the details and give them as much info as possible to work with. Most reputable breeders basically choose the pup for the buyer anyway (or might give someone a choice of two or three pups in a bigger litter) so you really aren't missing out. Pups with a decent human orientated nature will all rush to meet a newcomer, so all "picking the first on that comes to you" proves is that the pup is faster than it's brothers and sisters

Can't speak for anyone else but my answer is no. Allergies have their roots in the immune system, a faulty immune system is a very serious matter to me. Temperament and health rate equal in my book, and above conformation.

Some bitches have silent seasons, which means they don't bleed. But these aren't too common. More likely, your bitch is starting to come in season, her vulva is swelling and bleeding will appear in due course. Some bitches can take (literally!) weeks to really come in to season swelling a bit then stopping, swelling a bit more then finally starting to bleed, and the first season can often take just as long even if the bitch later on doesn't do this.

I don't think anyone's arguing that most stuffed-up dogs aren't ultimately the result of poor ownership, bad choices of breed etc etc etc - but in what way does this make it OK to have a dog which is a danger to the community? Just because it's not the dog's fault doesn't make the problem go away. What choice do you have if you have a dog which has been so damaged by someone's mismanagement and plain cruelty that it can't be trusted to respond appropriately in situations it feels uncomfortable in. I guess it boils down to which the owner feels is more important - being able to keep a dog which could potentially maim or kill someone (probably a child) or doing the responsible thing for other people and having the dog put to sleep. No NOT the dog's fault, but all the owner's responsibility. How do you avoid a dog with "weak nerves" if the breeder doesn't have the knowledge or doesn't care to pick this up in the litter and the buyer doesn't have the knowledge or doesn't know they need the knowledge or doesn't care and fails to pick up on this trait when choosing their puppy? IME a large part of a dog's temperament in terms of it's reactivity, bite threshhold, warning threshholds etc is genetic. Never letting a dog be around kids is an unrealistic and unachievable goal for most people. This would mean the dog must never be taken to a park or beach or even walked on the footpath (unless muzzled), never be in the back yard (unless muzzled) in case some kid jumps over the fence or the fence blew over in a storm, never be taken to the vet (unless muzzled) never anywhere except in the owner's house (unless muzzled). Yes - SOME people are responsible enough to be able to achieve this, but these people don't tend to be the ones who have problem dogs in the first place (unless they're second-hand stuffed up dogs from someone else of course) Anyway, this is still a bit of a distance from OP's current problem

He is a Mastiff. They are a guardian breed which means he is hardwired to protect his people and his space. If you didn't want a dog with these tendencies your should not have bought one. What information did the breeder give you about training your dog to accept things which are against his basic nature (ie strangers in "his" space). What steps have you taken in the past year to train your dog to accept these things? How is the dog apart from this - is he obedient (yes I know Mastiffs don't believe in speedy obedience responses ), ignores you, rebels openly against doing what he's told? I would fifth sixth and seventh the suggestion to get a behaviouralist to assess the situation in your own home. However I also agree, a dog which has shown aggression to a child which had not threatened the dog in any way (if this was the case) would not be drawing breath in my back yard either. ETA: I don't have children and my dogs don't have day-to-day contact with children either

And I often reply "your kid likes Maccas too doesn't he" - so that makes Maccas a suitable diet for a child?