Sandra777

It is possible for a bitch to have a silent heat with no bleeding at all, so don't count on bleeding. Shade cloth may not be sufficient if the dogs are determined enough - personally I'd go with a solid barrier or two fences (says me who had a dog scale three six foot fences to do the deed) If it's her first heat she may swell for several weeks prior to the actual start of the season, she's maturing. Dog may well be interested long before as her scent is changing. Experienced dog is less likely to be as interested but this isn't universal either!

Depends on the breed and the individual dog - small breed dogs could be fertile as early as 4.5 - 5 months. I know of a Stafford dog that sired a litter at just on 6 months old. Border Collies, probably around the same age. I have a dog pup here who was very interested but totally confused by a bitch in heat, he was not quite 4 months old. She totally ignored him, didn't flag or stand for him, he never tried to mount her though. Personally I'd introduce him to a bitch who will give him what-for and teach him some manners.

Schipperke? Something a bit different.

Sorry dogmad but it's not just "these types of dogs" who have idiot owners. I cannot even count the number of idiotic owners of small yappy dogs I have met, and don't even get me started on the brain dead owners of ''Labradors'' (many aren't really).

You could teach her to ring a bell if she wants to go out. Very annoying the ones that won't say a word LOL. I have one that will go and stare at the door, but unfortunately we can't see the door from anywhere we're likely to be sitting in the house so we only know when we realise we haven't seen her for 5 or 10 minutes

Blues are dilute brindles. How many solid blues have you personally seen? A lot get advertised as "solid" but these are often the same people who advertise "english staffies" so their perception of reality is perhaps best taken with a grain of salt I've seen maybe 25 or 30 blues and even though I don't recall having ever gone over any except for one with a fine tooth comb only two looked like they might be considered "solid" blue from a distance of a metre or so. If you look at the same number of black brindles from the same distance you'd probably find the same percentage could be considered "solid" black. ETA: and because "solid" blue is considered more desireable by some the number will probably increase - because if you consistently mate non or lightly striped brindles together you are consistently choosing for lack of stripes - same as if you deliberately chose the darkest black brindles and mated them together. As an aside: some black black-brindles are actually tan patterned which means they will have brindle marking on their legs, cheeks, vent and a solid black body. Combine this with the really intense lack of stripes and you can get a dog which is black with a couple of coloured hairs sometimes only on one or two feet (usually a couple of hairs on all the tan points though) These are REALLY hard to see and are actually way more common than many would believe. My assumption would be that a black-and-brindle marked tan point with the dilute gene may only have one or two fawn hairs on each leg for example.

They are all separated whenever we leave the property. No. All separated - however if the weather is OK they are in kennels & runs (walk in kennels) so they can snooze in the sun, watch the roos go past and play with their toys (puppies) You mean "quality time'' and training? Lots of juggling and scrupulous adherence to a fair routine. Too bad if you like one dog a bit more than another, they all need one on one and time alone with their people.

Did anyone actually notice the pictures shown of the dogs? One was an outline, obviously no picture available, the other was a picture of two indeterminent crossbred mutts. Staffy crosses, don't make me laugh - that would imply at least one parent was a purebred Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Mutts, what the f*** is so bad about saying the dog is a crossbred dog of no particular breeds at all. The one at the back of the picture looked more like a heavy-headed lippy Rhodesian Ridgeback than anything else. GRRR at ACA. Yes they should be PTS because they have already proven themselves to be liabilities (not their fault at all) and the chances of finding people able and capable of either retraining them or ensuring the same thing doesn't happen again is small - but more importantly the owner should banned from owning another dog and should be made to hold the dogs he has already ruined as they are PTS. ETA: and I question the use of "pet dogs" in the thread topic - and I assume in the news article? IMO these dogs weren't his pets but an extension of some part of his anatomy.

According to one thread on here you're a time waster if you reply to an advert advertising a brood bitch and want to know what her breeding is. I would say it's the same as 'serious enquiries only' but less polite. ETA: I wouldn't bother responding to people like this if I was still just looking for breeds and ideas - go with someone who says help freely given and notes experience in the breed.

It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle It is not a poodle I was going to get this put on a T-shirt when I had my Portie ;)

See I would look at this totally the other way around - IME Staffords are much better at agility than formal obedience. OP wants a dog which is going to be OK meeting random strange dogs which would make a SBT unsuitable IMO.

Certain forums are not general access - breeders forum for example. Anyone can read, start a thread and comment on their own thread, but you need to be approved to do anything else. Off topic is another one but can't remember what the limits are

Not a helpful answer - I've always bought them at the vans at shows, so if you go to shows that's one suggestion anyway

Yes, I remember it wasn't so many years ago now that car accidents were frequently reported as ''the car went out of control'' - now it's rare to hear this but common to hear ''the driver lost control of the vehicle''. Owner error should be investigated much more enthusiastically, but I guess the easy answer is to kill the dog and stick it on a list somewhere

Get a covered litter tray or place the tray somewhere the pup can't get it. Not gross to the pup - perfectly natural really & AFAIK they don't ''grow out of it''

Have always stayed and cannot understand people who say ''they can't'' - don't blame them or judge them, just can't understand it. My heart dog had to be PTS while I was away (accident) and I still feel guilty about not being there for her, 15 years later.

The degree of striping is determined by genes other than the single gene which determines the dog is brindle. You can get dogs so lightly striped they appear virtually red, but with one or two stripes, or dogs so heavily striped they appear black with only one or two red bits showing through - and everything in between

No, you have seen a black brindle with few or no stripes. I have a bitch here who is ''black'' - she does NOT have any stripes on her. But she isn't actually black, she is black brindle You are talking about a standard which allows blue but demands a black nose. Lets just say the standard lists phenotypes which may or may not be genetically possible Could do

There's no such thing as a black Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They are ALL black brindle. The odd one will show no brindle, but most will have a little bit of brindle on them somewhere I had a litter here born in November (and definitely live between Tweed & Hervey Bay LOL) that were very black brindle, and advertised on here as such. If you just want a friend for your bitch why the desire for ''full papers''? Most ethical breeders sell their pet puppies on limit register.

Some aren't ready at this age and the more you force the issue the worse you will make it. Personally I'd tell the puppy school instructor to get stuffed if they said my puppy "needed'' to do anything by a certain age! Have you put his collar on him and just left him to it? From there progress to giving him treats if/when he follows you, gradually making it only if he's somewhere roughly around where he'd be on leash that he gets a treat for. After that, get a piece of light cord or rope about a metre long, tie it to his collar and leave him to it. Treat when he follows you, when he follows you closer. Let him play with the cord (since he's probably a bit over the whole leash idea, let him learn this thing hanging off him is fun) Pick up the cord, then drop it as soon as he walks one pace, treat. Then two paces, treat. Buy a different lead to the one you've been using (only needs to be a cheap one) and repeat. After this if you have a friend or relation with a placid well behaved dog then it could help to walk the two together - first just on the lawn, then out in public. Don't rush him - Staffords, especially the dogs, can be incredibly slow at this age, the bitches' brains seem to start working a bit earlier than the dogs'!

I wonder if this means they'll be recognising the Am Staff so AKC registered Amstaffs can continue to compete in UKC events?

Because I didn't know any better I gave three adult bitches the Proheart12. When I learned better I didn't start on any other preventative until 13 months after they'd had their shot (which is not a "vaccination") and then started them on Dimmittrol daily. Due to OH having a terrible memory I have now switched them to monthly which I will be stretching over 6 weeks until the start of the mozzie season again. I was told that if they were going to have a reaction/were affected and were going to go into shock it would happen within 12 hours. If it really bothers you that much you could have Charlie tested for Heartworm (not expensive) but frankly - if there was a problem you would know by know according to what I was told. Heartworm is a LOT harder to catch than many vets will have you believe.

A chicken neck is the last thing I'd give him - the absolute perfect size to go straight down the "wrong pipe" - terrible things for any dog big enough to swallow on whole

Staffords Raw - prey model, with some scraps and leftovers not technically ''raw'' None None. At about 7 weeks depending on the bitch their food gets split in to 3 meals instead of 2 and more meaty bones given (chicken thigh instead of carcase for example)

Excess calcium during pregnancy can cause primary or secondary ueterine inertia, so definitely not a good idea. But the diet needs to be rich in calcium and the associated minerals, either by using puppy food or by raw feeding natural calcium and other minerals in the form of bones. Once the bitch is well established in labour, calcium can help keep the contractions going, and after whelping calcium levels can drop dramatically which causes eclampsia which can be fatal and can cause the bitch to attack her pups. So..... if she's on a good diet no extra calcium during pregnancy, but as soon as that whelping starts properly then it's fine. It's virtually impossible to overdose a bitch on calcium so don't be shy with it for the first few days, then you can taper off for 4-5 days (depending on the bitch and the size of the litter) then pump it back in to her when the pups really start taking a lot out of her (10 days +, again depends on the bitch and the size of the litter). All mine get raw food all the way through, but I'm quite happy to give them a three times the recommended dose of Calcium Sandoz for the first three or four weeks if they have a large litter.