dancinbcs

Up to 100gm of liver per day should be fine for a 45kg dog. Just make sure you don't also give dried liver treats as well or it may all be too much. I have found the dried liver sprinkles from "Luvem" very useful for putting on the food of picky eaters. They go a long way so you can get away with feeding a smaller quantity than you would with fresh cooked liver. Finely grated cheese, mashed sardines, or sieved hard boiled egg over the food could all be worth a try as well for a change.

Have just pm'd you some more detailed information.

I have had both male and female desexed at nine. The female was recently because her phantom pregnancies where becoming more intense and even though I could have kept showing her I don't show often now, so opted to spey. The dog was many years ago and I had lost his dad at 11 to prostate cancer so when he had to have a benign lump removed from his thigh I decided to neuter him at the same time. I had nothing I wanted to use him over so thought he would be better off. Most of my friends spey their show bitches between 9 and 12 when they retire them from the ring. If they could be shown speyed they would probably be more likely to be done closer to 9 when they are finished breeding. BCs are a breed where 10 year olds can and do win Best in Shows so they are not considered old at 10. Dogs are left entire if they are wanted for breeding or neutered if they are no longer needed for showing or stud work.

Yes, you are right. Before I changed mine to BARF 10 years ago I thought one of mine couldn't digest raw bones. Once I cut out the dry food completely he was fine with the bones. If you still want to feed some dry feed it at the opposite end of the day to the raw.

The most important part of a BARF diet is the fact that digestion starts when the dog chews the bones. Whole meaty bones should always be fed, not minced meat which lands in the dogs stomach in one big lump. The rest of your menu is fine but ditch the mince and get some meaty chicken or lamb bones instead.

There was an ad in a recent Canine journal for some new treatment that vets have for motion sickness. Ring you vet and ask about it. Other than that the only thing I have found to make a difference was with a dog who got sick when she was in a car harness. Put in a crate or loose in the car she was fine. The best remedy is constant small trips starting with just down the driveway and back. It can be a long slow process to build up to a longer journey so it is too late now to start getting ready for the Christmas trip, but do make the effort to do this later. Some dogs are better when they can see out of the car and others are better on the floor where they can't see out. Plenty of fresh air is important and try to start off the training where you can drive in relatively straight lines. Roundabouts are the pits when training a bad traveller to get used to it. For future reference make sure the next puppy you buy has already been trained to travel well.

No idea about switching to dimmitrol but I switched mine back to Interceptor monthly after two years of the Proheart injection. My issue (apart from all the bad reports coming out of the US) was I suspected the dogs had developed severe itch problems from the injecton. Vet advised to wait 13 months from the injection to see if the itch problem started at the same time of year or not. It didn't, so I was more convinced the injection had been the cause. I advised the vet I wouldn't be using it again and was told it was fine to just start the dogs again on the Interceptor, 13 months after the last injection. They didn't need to be tested as the injection covers them for the full 13 months. Once again I have itch free dogs so I am now totaly convinced that the whole cause of the problem was the Proheart injection. These two dogs had no itch problems until I used it but had to be treated contantly for about 9 or 10 months after each injection. If I had made the connection after the first one they would never have had the second one but it just never occured to me until it happened again. I have always started babies on heartworm prevention at 8 - 11 weeks depending on the time of year. In the summer it is always 8 weeks but in the cooler months I usually worm them at 7 weeks and give the new owner the first monthly heartworm/ wormer to give them at 11 weeks. I think from memory we used to start dimmitrol at about 10 weeks but I haven't used it for about 20 years so cannot remember exactly.

I just heard the whole tragic story about this tonight. I have been in the dog world a long time and have heard some horror whelping stories but nothing to compare with this. My heart goes out to you LMWS and I feel so much anger that this had to happen to you and your precious girl and her babies. It is bad enough to lose a bitch when it it no one's fault but I cannot even begin to imagine the pain you must be feeling knowing someone was responsible.

We use Martha Gardners Woolmix because of people with allergies to washing detergents. We do all of our washing as well as dog mats etc in it with no problems and it is environmentally friendly so the water can be put straight out onto the lawn with a grey water hose. The least allergenic fabric softener we have found is the original blue Huggy.

Glad all went well. Sorry I was unable to make it but I look forward to seeing the rest of the photos.

Pretty much par for the course with Borders. Guaranteed to hurt themselves just when you don't want them to. If you come dogless I will definitely come out Sunday to watch your routines. Dancing with Dogs without dog should be very entertaining .

Agreed, Ness. The off lead parks can be a nightmare. I only use the tiny local one if no one else is around. My two dogs have both had a 24 hour vomiting bug this weekend after going there in the last few days so will giving it a wide berth for a while. If the main purpose of this meet is to take photos then a more controlled area would be a better idea than a free for all in an offlead park. Erskine Park is a lovely ground, clean and well kept, which is a lot more than you can say for the average off lead dog park. The general public do not use EP as it belongs to the members of DogsNSW. It is not a public park and the average pet owner would not know it exists.

The main perimeter of the whole complex has fences yes but I'm not sure where we will be meeting. There are plenty of taps. There is a GSD show on so the main ring areas should be free The gates are always open, there is no fence between the carpark and the rings, so it is not dog proof fencing. There are also sheep on the property for herding so the dogs need to be kept away from them and there is an open show and obedience trial for the GSDs on their ground so they won't appreciate other dogs running over to their side. Lovely place to meet, some shade, plenty of water taps, and large flat grassed areas for photos but it is not an off lead park it is a dog showground. If your dog has a rock solid recall and won't worry anyone else then they can be let off but otherwise no. The road out the front has an 80km speed limit so don't take any chances. I only ever let mine off on the GSD ground when it is empty because it is furthest away from the road. Also remember if you are taking clam shells, make sure they don't make mud holes in the grass. The groundkeeper will not be happy if you do. I may drop out to meet you all if I get a chance. If not hope you all have a fun day.

You can use the volumising cream as is like a conditoner, after shampooing and before the final rinse, or dilute it in water and mist through the washed coat before drying. And yes it does work wonders. Also take some diluted in a spray bottle to mist and groom with at the show.

I only recently started using the dremel again after several years break. My current two wimps were terrified of it until I bought a Pedipaws. They were quite happy to accept the pedipaws but it wasn't strong enough to do more than a tidy up. After several sessions with it I decided to try the dremel again. This time they were much better about it. They are still not fussed about nails in general and I need someone to help hold them still and importantly to hold all the hair out of the way but they are much happier now with the dremel than with clippers. So a pedipaws might be what you need to use as a training tool. As to the dew claws, just trim them the same as you do the other nails. If they are white trim back as short as possible without touching the visible vein. If they are black trim back the point until they are evenly rounded.

they are very rare and I dont see them every being for showing. THey are predominantly a working breed hence why when the OP said she's getting it as a pet I was a bit taken back. I would never recommend a dutchie as an average pet. The dogs are recognised in many other countries, but I think a lot of breeders would be loathe to hand out proper papers even if they were ANKC recognised (which happens with a few working breeders) so morons do not go out and perpetuate their lines and misbreed. The problem with any new breed that is not properly recognised by the ANKC is that anyone can breed something that looks like them and call them that breed. The Dutch Shepherds the OP is talking about may be purebred from imports recognised overseas but how hard would it be for someone to jump on the bandwagon and market brindle crossbred GSD as "rare" Dutch Shepherds. Particularly as puppies it can be very hard to identify a breed if it does not have official papers proving it is a particular breed. If the puppy grows up to not in fact be the breed it is supposed to be the buyer has no comeback whatsoever. Malinois are very rarely shown but they are still an ANKC breed and anyone who buys one to work, can at least be assured of what they are getting even if it is with limit register papers. ANKC registration is not just about showing it is about identification. I am always sceptical of anyone breeding a "rare" breed that is not ANKC officially recognised.

Dutch Shepherds are not an ANKC breed. Are they planning on becoming a recognised breed in Australia?

I never let puppies grab feet or legs for fear that they will trip someone and end up getting stepped on. As soon as they start grabbing feet or shoes at about 4 or 5 weeks I put a stop to it. If they latch on I grab them by the scruff, give one little shake then hold them still while giving a big growl. This is exactly what the adult dogs do if a puppy grabs them so they understand. It usually only take a few times before they learn that it is unacceptable behaviour. It is really important to immediately follow up with a happy praising voice as soon as they let go. They pick up very quickly that a growl means "stop whatever you are doing" and a happy voice means " everything is wonderful". Being consistent is also very important. they must always be corrected when it happens and always be praised for doing the right thing. You can also offer a suitable toy as a substitute for human feet and legs and make sure you praise when they make the right choice.

I would not consider selling a BC puppy to anyone who lives in an apartment but they cope fine with the run of the house and a small yard provided they receive lots of attention and exercise. Two that I bred were successfully raised in an inner city terrace house but it did have a small yard and a large park across the street. Many well trained adult Borders would cope in an apartment but a BC puppy in an apartment would be a nightmare. They need lots of room for zoomies and climbing, not to mention all the gardening they like to do Most Border puppies are never still unless they are asleep so the more room they have the happier everyone is. This is not a breed that sits around looking cute as babies. They are much too busy for that. They usually settle down somewhere between 6 months and 3 years, depending on the individual dog.My current two BCs (aged 9 and almost 6) are very much house dogs but they do like to play together in the yard as I don't allow zoomies in the house. The 9 year old also likes to chase skinks and herd the local pidgeons around the yard for a large part of the day. I have successfully kept up to four in a normal suburban yard but found five was one BC too many.

I used to work for a large pet supply company and despite selling a huge variety of fly remedies the one that most of our customers swore by was vaseline mixed with citronella. The vaseline softens any scabs on the ears, creates a physical barrier and doesn't rub off easily so the citronella repels the flys. Also if you have a litter in an outside run try using wood shavings (not sawdust) on the floor of the run. Just pick up any wet patches and poo at least two or three times a day and replace the whole lot once a week. The only smell is fom the shavings and the flys hate it. Much easier than newspaper with the added benefits of dry clean puppies, no odour and no flys.

I believe the Specialist Centre at Strathfield in Sydney has a good cardiac specialist that visits. Just ring and enquire. That would only be about 3 or 4 hours from Yass depending on traffic.

I would ring them again and ask to speak to the general manager. If they don't agree to pay the vet bills I would threaten to go to the media with this one. I am sure that A Current Affair or Today Tonight would love to cover a story like this.

Vickie, Your inbox is full for private replies.

I feed raw but have friends that swear this is the best dog food they have ever used. Out of curiosity I tried my dogs on a small quantity of it and they loved it. I have one who will not eat any dog food or dog treats unlessit is just dried liver, etc. Even he would eat the Nutro Natural Choice. I have also managed to find out that it is made in Australia with all local ingredients except for the rice, that comes from Asia.

I was taught many years ago by an experienced breeder to always feed my dogs together and remain in control. I always feed them in the same place, put the bowls down in the same order (pack order) and make sure everyone sticks to their own bowl. They are trained to wait at their spot untl the bowl is put down. The bowls can then be removed immediately if needed or if I have dogs like the easygoing ones I have now they are allowed to lick each others bowls once I give the word. The bowls are then removed. They also eat bones together and if anyone leaves their bone or tries to bury it, the bone is removed. Buried bones or any food left around can cause fights. This has always worked well for me with feeding up to about six or seven dogs and even when I have had males that I could not run together, they always ate together under supervision. Even new puppies and visiting dogs all seem to get the hang of this well established routine in a matter of days. Anyone who doesn't want to stick to the rules is fed on lead until they accept my terms for eating dinner. If the OP could feed both dogs together and then remove the bowls immediately it would solve the barking problem.