Staffyluv

Sending good health vibes for the little guy..

It seems to be OK for them.. They both love it and woof it down. Which is unusual for Zig because he is the worlds slowest eater. I have noticed her poos seem not so bulky or offensive and the farting has all but gone in a week. My poor foster baby has demodex. She is being treated bit she was asleep today and rolled on her back and I realised that she has scratched herself red raw under her chin and jaw.. Poor baby must be so sore. So I took her off to the vet this afternoon and they did a skin scrape to check and found only dead mites, so the treatment has worked but now my little angel has a secondary infection. She has antibiotics now so hopefully that will clear it up..

Oh Tris, how exciting.. I hope you share lots of pics when the babies arrive.. We so rarely get to see Fauves at the best of times and puppies are even rarer.. Back on topic, I think the last purchase was his new K9 Pro training bag.. That was a while ago now.. Must be time for a new present.. Edited to add a pic of the boy with his fave bag Zig's new bag by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

What an adorable boy he is CM..

All the years I have been coming here and because I lean towards the rescue stuff, I have always been huge advocate of desexing so as not to add to the 'rescue' problem. Our behaviourist was the one who pointed out to me that I had limited Zig's development (physically) by desexing him at 6 months old. She seemed to be of the belief that dogs should be allowed to get to their full potential before desexing..

Oh, yeah!! :) triple yeah! so you two obviously don't ignore me :D How could anyone ignore you? Your dog is super cute. There is a couple that prefer not to see me blathering on about 'stuff'

Oh, yeah!! :) triple yeah! so you two obviously don't ignore me :D

The block button is awesome

Another vote for Heike - she is amazing..

How gorgeous - thanks for sharing.. Beautiful, happy dogs

T she has it on her tummy, under her chin and neck, her legs. There are patches all over her and some are more 'red' than others - most of them are just hair loss patches. The only thing she is on is the ivomectin (spelling??) once a day (half a mil). I have Zig on Advocate (he is normally on Revolution but this doesn't treat the demodex mite apparently, only the other mange mite).. Vet seems to think she will make a quick and full recovery. She seems a lot happier here and not stressed when the humans go out (like she was where she lived before). She will have to be rehomed with another dog or someone that is home all the time. She is a lovely pup, doesn't pull on lead, scoffs her breaky and dinner, is learning very quickly to leave room at the door when someone comes to allow them to get in, waiting for treats and dinner. She gets so excited when she is getting a pat that she stomps her front feet.. She is very gentle with kids but very reactive to the birds in the yard (she chases them).. I think once she goes up for adoption and people meet her, they will fall for her, she is an absolute sweetheart.

This is true about pugs and I dare say a few other breeds. My boy experienced pugs at the vet and was frightened of them at firs and hid under the chair. He was fine when seeing them again a bit later after they had all seen the vet. Also, dog language, is beyond most of us - the move and exhibit some very subtle gestures that we often don't see (before it is too late). I agree with taking him out of the dog parks and seeking professional assistance. If you really want to see him having a good run, once these issues are under control, you could try your local obedience club for fly ball or agility training. Good luck, he sounds like a charm (apart from his new behaviour, which I am sure you will get on top of).

She has settled in nicely and is a really great little girl. Not much staffy in her from what I can see - she is more boxer than anything else when I look at her. Zig doesn't care what she is - he adores her. Zig and Zipp cuddles by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr She is really cute Zig and Zipp by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

So true sas, Ollie always had issues with chicken until I bought free range for him. Zig has only ever reacted to paspalum grass at the training ground we attend.. I just put sorbelene cream on him before we go (gives him a bit of a barrier on his tummy, the only place he gets itchy) and that seems to have worked for us. He started scratching again when he got into the foster dogs supercoat kibble.. It makes her fart and do huge poos, so I thought changing her (slowly) was a good idea. I have read good things about the Earthborn, so wanted to give it a go.

The pup here seems fine on it (apart from the huge poos and farting) but my boy has itched since he has been into it. I probably should have fed them separately but it is easier when you are busy and don't have dogs that have food issues to just dump it on the floor and get on with dinner. I have removed it completely from his and she is up to 1/3 supercoat, 1/3 Euk and 1/3 Earthborn. I don't want to upset her tummy too much by changing but I really think this stuff is good. Zig is getting half and half at the moment until his Euk is gone - then it will just be the Earthborn.

If we have a foster dog, the food is picked up after about 10 minutes and offered again at the next meal. When it is just Zig on his own, I tend to leave his food and he eats when he wants - he always gets the same amount. Chook carcass or lamb rib or kibble with sardines or egg or cottage cheese for breaky, and some meat and kibble at dinner. If he is peeing in his crate/bed of a night, make sure you take him out right before bed. Mine always go out on the way to bed. Then they don't need to go again until I get them up in the morning. Surprisingly the foster dogs get this right away.

Thanks guys. I might try the Coastal Catch as well when this one runs out.

I think I know what it is but wanted others opinions as well. Zig has been fed BARF or raw meaty bones and a bit of kibble since he came here. He started on Nutro, then went to RC and finally ended up on Eukanuba for large breeds. The new foster arrived with a large bag of Supercoat for puppies and I have been mixing hers with the Eukanuba to wean her onto it (so I am only buying one food) and because her poos are huge and she farts like a demon (they really smell). In a week she is now hardly farting at all. Which makes for a much nicer home. Zig and her swap food bowls and then swap back a few times during their night meal (the only time they get kibble with some meat). For the last few days, Zig is scratching quite a bit. I think it is because he is getting into the supercoat - it is the only thing that is different. He hasn't been anywhere different or had any other different food. He was that bad last night I gave him an antihistamine. He isn't red anywhere, just scratching heaps. So today at the pet food shop, I noticed a grain free product called Earthborn Holistic - Primitive Natural. So I bought some and gave them both a taste of it when I got home - they love it. Being grain free, it has to be OK right? I still have a bit of Eukanuba and will mix it in over the next week with the Earthborn (I think she has had enough of the Eukanuba to remove the supercoat completely and not upset her tummy). Anyone else use this? Anyone had any issues with it? I did a search for it but mostly it is a few people saying they use it - no further information.

One is a boy and one is a girl, so there's no need for the owner to rush off and desex anything. Desexing is not going to instantly cure what could potentially be a bad situation, however given the dogs have met and from the sounds of it all they want to do is play, then it's unlikely to result in aggression. Stafford bitches do not normally fight with male dogs of any breed or cross, once they have been introduced. If she was going to rip him a new one, she would have done it when the first met. My suggestion would be to take them both for long walks together and keep them separate for the first couple of days. Get them walking side by side and comfortable with each other and let the initial excitement wear off. Then bring them home and let them off together supervised in the yard. We have introduced many adult Staffords into the home without incident. Same in this house - we always take them for walks to the park for a while and then come home and walk in together.. I rehomed a female stafford and then the owners bought a female malt cross - the two dogs love each other and have from the first day (they took them both for a good walk on my suggestion). I have also rehomed a female staffy cross to a home that had a female malt cross and they got along great from the first second they saw each other.. A lot of how it is going to go, depends on the dogs themselves and their personalities. Still goes that they should be fed separately and don't have toys around that they might argue over.. At least until you know how they live together.. Edited to note they are both male dogs in question but I think males are more relaxed then females..

Good advice IMO. I have an over the top staffy cross and we have fosters here - it is all fun and games but the play can be full on, so has to be monitored so no one gets hurt in all the excitement (because we usually have recently desexed dogs). Believe it or not, even though the play seems full on, they often regulate it themselves. Ziggy plays with the littlest puppies at training and the biggest dogs as well - he has a play style to suit the situation. It seems that most of the dogs I know are the same - they play to suit the style of the dog they are with.

For toilet training in this house, we just make sure we do regular toilet breaks. When they wake up in the morning and after any naps they take, right after they eat, if they stop playing, right before bed.. My boy pees on command now - which makes life easy and it also helps teach the foster dogs when they come through.. The new foster girl has seen him pee on command each night and after the second night here, she knew exactly what we were doing when we went out to the yard before bed.. They soon get the gist of it, if you take them out and praise like crazy when they do the right thing. No point at all in going crook on them for doing the wrong thing (just clean it up and don't acknowledge it).. But when they do good - lots of 'good dog' and pats..

Zig only wears his for training - he doesn't wear a collar at home. Our gates are padlocked and very high - there is no chance of him getting out of our yard, so not wearing a collar, isn't an issue. For just going out, he also has a flat collar that we use.

If you socialise him while he is young with others who have dog friendly dogs then he should be fine and there may be no need for a muzzle in the future. Obedience training is a great start. I took my boy (staffy cross, adopted from the local pound when he was 6 months old - with no training at all) to obedience and he hasn't looked back - he came first in the beginners class and we just did the next level up (intermediate) and he came third.. I am very lucky with Ziggy, he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body and is super friendly with all dogs (even cats). Most of us are in the same boat, learning with our dogs as we go along.. One of the best things about DOL is how so many are willing to help and offer advice. We have a fantastic group of professional trainers here who share their advice with issues. If you have training questions, visit the training forum, or health issues, visit the health forum. This is a great place to learn about dogs.

Saffi just doesn't suit her DD.. She really is a Zipp.. I just had a call from the vet - she was desexed today and they also told me she has demodex.. What are the odds on rehoming a dog with demodex? Can I? Or should she stay with me until she is completely clear? Poor little girl. I am just about to go and pick her up and bring her home to a nice warm crate.

Mel, I think the owners should be allowed to see the dogs, train the dogs the whole time they are locked up. I don't think they should be locked up at all but in the even that they are, the owners should have access to them. Council should have to pay for a behaviourist to help the dogs assimilate back into society (after being locked up for so long). Wouldn't it make much more sense to leave the dogs with the owner and set rules as to the dog can't go here or there without being on lead/muzzled etc until the court crap is finished - at least that way the owner could train and continue to bond with the animal. Christ, it is all so bloody ridiculous, isn't it! These dogs have proven, it has nothing to do with what a dog looks like - they need to change the law already.