Diva

Yeah MfM caused 2 of mine to lose condition badly, even though they ate well enough on it. But when it suits, and it does for many, it seems to be a very good food with lots of loyal customers.

People have told you why already. You may need to add some dietary fibre and/or raw meaty bones to the diet if you want to keep feeding those foods. I feed Ziwipeak and my dogs have never had an anal gland issue, but they haven’t on any other food either. Some dogs are just prone to the issue and especially it seems like small dogs are susceptible. Many of the high end brands have extra fibre to prevent it. The more natural brands sound like they do not.

There are several places in Victoria, I am yet to find a good one in NSW but others might know of someone. http://www.surefindkennels.com.au/ https://puppybars.com/

You see lots of that sort of thing around obedience, agility, coursing and show venues. I am trying to arrange a time to get mine set up.

I would be inclined to just leave her be and let her come out in her own time.

She just sounds stressed to me, probably thinks the move is temporary and doesn't realise it is home now. Maybe get an Adaptil diffuser, it might help her relax. There are other things you could try but I would give her more time first. About the going to her 'gently', some dogs find an overly soft approach a bit creepy. I would be gentle but also very matter of fact, not tentative at all. Sometimes ignoring them a bit helps them settle.

It is not just Australian dogs I am concerned about

I just hope dog food is regulated in the country of manufacture.

For the little it is worth, I am very sorry this happened to you. Most ANKC breeders take pride in the dogs they export.

The state bodies have disciplinary processes and will suspend members if they have proven complaints of breaches of regulations, but proving can be difficult. Generally they stay out of disputes between buyers and sellers, as they are considered civil legal matters. However, if there is an accumulation of evidence of actions bringing the 'fancy' into disrepute I would be disappointed if there was no action, especially around health issues. Your breeder, if they live in the ACT, will also have a government breeder license, I don't know what avenues that might open. Is the breed known for kidney issues? If so more reason the breeder should have checked before sale. Any dog can get anything, but breeders are most alert to the common breed risks and rightly so. Nature still throws curve balls and bad things happen to good breeders, but it is how they respond that matters. Note that the Canberra dog scene is a small place. Everyone knows everyone pretty much, especially if they run shows. I would bet your breeder will know about this thread before long. Not necessarily a bad thing, if they are not answering your emails.

Canberra is Dogs ACT if you name them do so by private message, if you post a name here the thread will most likely be deleted. I don't understand the comment about having their own kennel club. I assume you mean they are part of the executive of a club. The kennel control affiliated clubs are associations, usually incorporated.

You probably need to talk to your local fair trading people, it is a purchase after all. Your locations shows as 'overseas' so can't suggest who that is. To get your money back you may need to go to a small claims tribunal or similar. Maybe the purchase price is too high for small claims, I would try a solicitor for legal advice at that price. whether you can get financial redress might depend on what your purchase contract says, and if this problem should have been apparent to the seller. But I am not a lawyer. You can complain to the state kennel control the breeder belongs to but they have no power to get you redress. If it is a pattern of behaviour by the seller or in the breed generally they might investigate or already be investigating, but they can't get you any money.

That is a cut and paste from Wikipedia, I would hope a manufacturer would know enough about their method that they would not have to rely on that. And as stated by Wikipedia, meat is salted in confit as part of the preservation process. Trying to present a cooked and salted food that is high in cooked fats as somehow 'tinned raw' is extremely odd.

I don't think the protein is low, the well known brand raw patties I feed sometimes are more like 13% protein. But the fat % of this food seems very high. And the reference to it being salted for preserving purposes bothers me too.

Depends a bit on how your dogs treat their beds. Mine are a bit heavy for the cheap ones.

Maybe have a look at the Newfoundland. They slobber, which would stop me ever owning one, but if you can deal with that they might be a good fit. Also the Bernese Mountain Dog, but I believe they often have a shorter life span.

I walk my dogs around the ordinary streets of Canberra. A lot. We have a problem. There is a failure of compliance, enforcement and education. That is why it has become a political issue. To say that big dogs have been attacking small dogs for centuries, as a society we can't contain our dogs on our properties, and they attack when they inevitably get out is a line of argument that leads to the conclusion that small dogs cannot be walked on the streets with a reasonable expectation of safety unless big dogs are banned. I don't accept that. It assumes only small dogs are getting attacked. As a big dog owner I know that isn't true. It also ignores the willingness of the dogs in the reported attack to turn on the human to the extent they did - that isn't just dog on dog prey drive. I just hope new legislation is well designed and I sn't seen as a cure in itself. It needs to target the irresponsible owners hard and it needs resourcing. If I saw a dogcatcher patrolling my suburb I would break out the champagne.

There was another attack today, a woman walking her on leash dog has been hospitalised after a mauling by two loose dogs. To be honest these attacks alarm me more than the poor woman killed by her own dog, no doubt because the victims are random. My own dogs have been attacked when out for an on leash walk on several occasions, I don't know why it is so but Canberra has a real problem with aggressive dogs. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-woman-in-hospital-after-dog-attack-in-lyons-20171108-gzh4xn.html

At 5 months he might be teething. Ears do weird things then. In my breed they go back to normal without intervention once teething is over.

They might know. Pit bulls are legal in Canberra. It could easily be registered as that.

You dont have to be this dog's guinea pig, I would ask her to put it away unless she is working on its behaviour within a structured plan worked out by a behaviouralist. If she won't see a professional I would also suggest she should muzzle it or remove it when new people arrive, or she could end up with some legal liability next time it bites. I suspect you remind it of someone else in its past. I have had dogs get very happy when they see a certain body type, age etc because of good associations and it may be the same in reverse.

Why not buy her more time, if she isn't in any discomfort? If quality of life is good, buy her all the time you can.

Your love for Bubby always shone through your posts, I am sorry for your loss.

An Akita cross who bites his family warrants a professional behavioural assessment (or sadly pts as above). They are powerful dogs with strong natures, and crossing with a herding breed mixes the very different drives of those two breeds, he might not be very stable. It is not ideal to judge off a second hand report, but personally I would not mess around with well intentioned but unqualified attempts to fix it with family members at stake. Trying to get dominate with him, if that is your intention, could escalate into something serious. I would take him to a qualified vet behaviouralist, a trainer very experienced in aggression and highly recommended, or just accept he needs to be euthanised.

I hope you gave them good strong feedback. I was going to buy a few off the website, so glad I didn't. It could have cost my dog its life walking in high traffic areas. Poor collar construction is just negligence. So unimpressed.