Sandra777

Some questions - how big are the benches - can I bring the bigger crate or the smaller one I need to know. How strictly do they police the no-covering-up -your-dog rule? Is there any place to stow a trolley if I bring one to cart c**p from the car park? Is there room for our own chairs? No WAY is Diva going to cope with being on an open bench all day just tied up, think she's going to be demented by the time Staffords go in (last) anyway!

Frankenprey is prey model for people who can't get hold of whole animals (head/fur/insides included) so you make you your own "whole animal" from what you can get. (Chicken bones, beef tripe, sheep kidney, pig liver, turkey meat for example) It should include bone, and all internal organs including tripe. Obviously not suitable for dogs with medical issues, but IMO the most normal and natural thing for a carnivore to eat. No need to mess about with fruit and vege if you can get tripe, but sadly not all that easily found in some places.

A grooming block (from a show caravan or horse place) will help. If you have someone to show you how to use it properly a stripping knife (comb) is also good. But you might just have to accept that it will take some time no matter how much you groom A good bath once a week and a blow dry with a high power blast drier can help too.

You will get a very wide range of opinions on this. It is my opinion that larger breeds should not be neutered prior to them achieving their full adult height - which wouldn't be 5 months old in a Dobermann AFAIK. I personally don't have an issue with allowing a dog to become fully mature (not just height) prior to neutering, provided the owner can train and restrain the dog appropriately.

Depends very much on the breeder, the breed and their circumstances. Many people find it easier to have a couple of litters at the same time - we only have so many holidays from work each year so if you can take the time off and raise two litters then it makes more sense than separating the litters and having to take a couple of weeks without pay to look after one or the other. 2 litters of Chihuahuas is a different proposition to 2 litters of Labradors in terms of space required, numbers, etc so you need to consider this too. Not saying anyone with two large litters at once is doing anything wrong, but it is a different proposition to 2 litters of 2 each! If someone has an excellant breeding programme, breeds high quality dogs, does all the health testing, does everything right and they have the time and facilities to breed two-three-four-five litters at once - then why is it a problem if they do so? Would you prefer everyone has only one litter a year, great breeders and useless ones???? I have had 2 litters at once on a number of occasions - it's a lot of work but makes sense for me. Oddly enough, I have 2 bitches here who are 5 years old, they are 6 weeks apart in age. Last November they both had litters, 2 days apart. So now I have 2 bitches here who are 8 months old and 2 days apart and who are quite likely to have a litter at the same time at some point in the future - maybe even on the same day

Should a breeder be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of their program ? For example a specific number of titles ? Just thinking of really popular breeds here with strong breed clubs. Someone who only shows at speciality shows has virtually no chance of titling large numbers of their dogs, but a could have all their dogs placing highly in classes of 20 or 30 5 or 6 times (or more) a year. Are they inferior breeders to someone who breeds the same amount, plays the game, knows the "right" judges and gets multiple dogs made up but is never seen out under a judge they know won't be facey?? Performance/Obedience titles are different obviously, so I mean specifically conformation titles here. How would we view a breeder who shows regularly and successfully, breeds excessively, and uses the proceeds of their breeding to finance the importation of good specimens of the breed ? These people used to be viewed as the lynchpins of the development of breeds. Breeding high quality dogs and importing high quality dogs to improve the breed can only be good things surely? People who obviously know what they're doing surely should be encouraged to do it, rather than allowing the weird mentality to creep in where those that are good at something have to be judged by the standards used to judge those that shouldn't be in charge of a pet rock let alone a breeding programme.

Gotta start somewhere.

DDASG ECHO ROMFORD MP’S ‘URGENT’ CALL FOR ‘DEED NOT BREED’ LEGISLATION The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), made up of the UK’s leading animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities has today welcomed an urgent plea by Romford MP Andrew Rosindell to radically overhaul current dangerous dogs legislation. Andrew Rosindell echoed the aims of the DDASG by calling for the Dangerous Dogs Act to be scrapped and replaced by new laws, highlighting the need for “new laws that address this problem with owners properly held to account”. The DDASG has lobbied against the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for many years and believes that current legislation has failed to protect the public and instead caused a significant welfare issue whilst creating the problem of so called ‘status’ dogs. Speaking during his Ten-Minute Rule Bill, Mr Rosindell said the freedom to choose to own a dog had to go "hand in hand" with the responsibility that came with it. A new Dog Control Bill designed to do just that and deal with the other end of the lead, the dog owners themselves, is currently making its way through the House of Lords after successfully passing its second stage this month. The Bill also looks to remove breed specific legislation to better focus resources on dealing with all dangerous dogs instead of specific ‘types’. Andrew Rosindell’s Bill mirrored this, emphasising the DDASG’s principle of "deed not breed" and stating that banning a handful of breeds would not solve the problem of dangerous dogs. Caroline Kisko, member of DDASG and Kennel Club Communications Director said “We are grateful to Andrew for continuing to keep this issue on the parliamentary agenda and in the public consciousness. The Dog Control Bill will go a long way towards improving legislation on ‘dangerous dogs’ by focusing on prevention rather than cure, by better protecting the public and emphasising responsible dog ownership”. For more information on DDASG, Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill and current ‘dangerous dog’ legislation visit <http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/928> http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/928. ENDS

Poor Indi - she'll need lots of extra special love and cuddles If you haven't already done so, please phone her breeder and let them know, this sort of thing in their pups is something any good breeder needs to know about

Because when blue was included in the standard (and it wasn't acceptable when the breed was originally recognised by the KC) a lot less was understood about genetics and (I'm convinced) the people who wrote the revised standard understood perfectly well what they intended. Those closely associated with blue at that time (and their weren't many) were aiming for a very dark "pigeon blue" which comes with an extremely dark almost black nose. I believe they weren't really considering the existance of the silvers/ greys/washed out browns that get around as blues now, with the light grey nose to match - because they had a lot of experience in the breed and wouldn't have considered dogs of this colour to be correct so wouldn't have bred from them. The same standard requires the muzzle to be "short" but accepted wisdom is that the muzzle should be 1/2 the length of the skull, which isn't really all that "short" in most people's minds There are many things in many breed standards which don't make sense unless you understand the history of the breed and it's purpose.

In a home with no small kids, yes that would be the best option, but it is biting and growling if they go near it.....i wouldnt risk my toddler for one day with a dog like that let alone the time it takes for a trainer or behaviorist to assess it and work with it. It needs to either go to a home where someone dedicated will try to rehab it or it needs to be PTS. She said it will sometimes let her touch it but other times it bites. It also has a large lump (?) on its head. Ive told her repeatedly to take it to the vet, dont know if she has or not. And I just got a reply from her regarding PTS and she wont do it. She is going to try to give it away......*shakes head*..... Its so frustrating to try to educate someone who wont listen. Crap. So she is willing to pass on an aggressive dog? Just the same ethics as the breeder who dumped it on her. Can you offer to take it to be PTS instead? Yeah I should hey......wonder how much it will cost to transport it up to QLD tho....she is down near Sydney and Im in Brissy. Any ideas? I think it cost about $150 to fly Elliott up from Canberra last year....shouldnt be much more than that should it? Im only asking because Im in the middle of moving and were already strapped with moving costs....ugh i hate being so povo! Please don't beat yourself up because you can't afford to get rid of a problem that's not yours in the first place! You're doing all you can and sometimes there's just no more that can be done I agree with MRB and Greyt, a behavioural assessment needs to be done stat and if she is in Sydney then Steve from K9-Pro would be the perfect choice I think. In addition to this - even if you could easily afford to fly the pup to you - think how terrified and stressed the poor pup would be shoved in a crate and put in a plane.

Sorry SparkyTansy obviously you do not do sarcasm And the correct amber eyes on a well bred Wei are very different to yellow eyes. shudder.

And any criticism or advice is viewed as being jealousy from other breeders or motivated solely by snobbish beliefs that a Staffordshire Bull Terrier should look a certain way where as the truth is that "unless they're for show it doesn't really matter". Blues apparently don't win in the show ring because of prejudice from judges and the jealous show people telling judges not to put them up. I don't understand the fascination with the colour myself, if I wanted a silver dog with yellow eyes I'd buy a BYB Wei.

The whelping problems could likely be no more than they are breeding from a family of bitches with bad whelping tendencies. Of course any ethical breeder would stop doing it, but if you are breeding for colour you breed from bitches because of their colour, regardless of their ability to free whelp and care for their puppies well. Huge, well blues are not alone in being WAAY over sized, but again breeding for colour means you breed from a dog or bitch regardless of how it fits the breed standard for size - and if you get a couple of big dogs/bitches in there then chances are you'll keep getting more of them. Also if you don't know anything about what you're doing apart from "breeding cool blue dogs" then chances are you would think bigger is better - doG knows some show people AND judges! seem to think this. There are some who suggest the Amstaff has more than a passing acquaintence with some blue Staffords and by the look of some I would tend to agree with this sentiment.

Google lethal merle genes. Now THAT'S a health issue caused solely by colour The gene itself is not actually lethal. A double up of the merle gene causes blindess and deafness in some/most pups. The name came about because and double merle pups were usually put to sleep at birth. And merle is a colour gene is it not? Merle isn't a colour, it's more of a pattern gene, I suppose. But it definitely doesn't set the colour. The dilution gene which causes blue isn't a colour gene either, but a modifier of an existing colour. So question stands but is modified too LOL. Merle x Merle results in health issues which would mean the animal would be unlikely survive in the wild. So yes, coat colour(markings) can affect health.

Google lethal merle genes. Now THAT'S a health issue caused solely by colour The gene itself is not actually lethal. A double up of the merle gene causes blindess and deafness in some/most pups. The name came about because and double merle pups were usually put to sleep at birth. And merle is a colour gene is it not?

Can Blue Staffords be well bred? Well define "well bred" first Can Blue Staffords be healthy? Yes of course they can - but it is a matter of odds. Which would you bet on - someone who choses a breeding pair because of the colour they are or will produce or someone who choses a breeding pair because they are both healthy, have correct temperament for their breed and are good examples of their breed? Another issue is that with a recessive gene (blue is a recessive dilute) the dogs carrying that gene are necessarily limited in number and are often very closely related so IF one or two of the original dogs used had a specific issue then the chances are that issue will be passed on (allergies have a genetic component) Add to that the fact of dilute alopecia, and a breed which if not bred with care does suffer from skin issues more than average for dogs as a whole then you open a whole pandora's box. Google lethal merle genes. Now THAT'S a health issue caused solely by colour I have seen one blue SBT in Australia and 2 blue SBT in the UK which I would consider to be good examples of the breed.

In addition to PF's fine response - breeding dogs of a specific colour because they are that colour is not a practice used by ethical breeders. Aussie3. Staffords from ethical breeders don't tend to have major skin issues. Good breeders avoid breeding from animals with allergy issues so don't tend to produce these problems. "Good flea protection" - how does that help a dog which is allergic to grass

Is that directed at my reply? I was AGREEING with you ;) Doesn't negate the fact that the APBT Club of NZ would hold shows which drew a larger entry than any single breed NZKC show.

Nope, but back in the 90's the APBT club in NZ used to hold bigger shows than any NZKC breed could muster. I find it astonishing that they'd have APBT shows in Rotorua - the council there classifies pure bred NZKC registered Amstaffs as 'pitbull type' and applies all the menacing dog laws to them. Very unpleasant council to deal with, I am surprised they would be welcoming to a APBT show!

Huh? This is not the "teacup" size - this is the correct size for the breed. I have no doubt they come bigger, because nature works like that but a Pomeranian isn't meant to be a 5-6kg dog, it's meant to be a 2-3kg dog. No different than saying you'd like a Saint Bernard but that's a bit big so lets get one that is only 1/2 the proper size. Yes of course you can buy a Pomeranian that will grow to twice the correct size for the breed, but have a look at a breed that's meant to be the size dog you actually want to buy is the suggestion being made. "Teacup" is a term used by puppy farmers and backyard breeders to make their runty undersized badly bred puppies sound cute and different so they can charge lots of money for puppies which could well be very unhealthy and abnormal.

Off to the chiropracter.

1/2 a zyrtec twice a day for my 16kg girl worked fine. She had 1.5 tablets and the whatever-the-heck-she'd-stuck-her-face-into-and-got-a-rash-from cleared up fine. I was planning on giving her the last half but swept it up off the bench with the dish cloth and chucked it in the sink instead I would be much more cautious and 'scientific' for a dog which had on going issues.

If the OP said the pup was sleeping in the laundry they'd have fifty people telling them the laundry is the coldest room in the house, they're mean and should let the pup sleep in the family room/bedroom/ensuite OP - confining the pup to a small-ish area and regularly going out and taking him to the desired toilet spot would be the best idea IMO When you say he's in a basket - do you mean the basket on it's own or inside the kennel? If the former - where he's sleeping IMO it needs to have a "roof" so he is only warming a small space with his body heat - an open basket on a patio at this time of year - he's trying to heat up the whole world with his own body heat.

Haha pappylove, just beat you