Staffyluv

Poor Zig, has been scratching since Sunday. He had an off lead run at the fenced park on Sunday (early) and found a little mud hole (about 40cm), it was at least 3 times that size when he finished digging and rolling in it and it stank. He had a shower as soon as we got home with Aloveen and I made sure to wash it all off (no conditioner) as I know he can get itchy. I gave him a polarmine last night and it seemed to settle a bit but this morning it is worse. He has scratched under his front leg and under his collar red raw poor bug.. So we are off to the vet at 4pm. I don't think it is fleas but he gets sick (vomits them up within half hour of taking them) with comfortis and any topical stuff seems to make him itch more (tried advantage and advantix) - so will go hunting for a natural flea treatment this weekend.. Same with his worming tablets, he brings them back up within about half an hour of taking them...

That is interesting tlc - I thought it was me.. I have the 50mm 1.8 and although I loved using it on the 400D, I don't like using it o the 7D..

Dogs regurgitate what they cannot digest. That is normal canine behavior. Weight bearing bones of animals such as shanks/marrow bones/chicken drumsticks are not as digestible due to their density and growth pattern, hence a dog will vomit them up, usually black too. What your dog can digest depends on their diet. Dogs on a raw diet will regurgitate less often as they should have the stomach acid to handle raw bones. Dogs on processed diets that do not eat them regularly will have trouble and they're usually the ones that have them get stuck. I love this forum - I did not know that they bring it up because they can't digest it.. I know Zig has issues with to much fat in his diet, so brings that back up. Just a quick question (sorry to go off topic a bit) - would this also be for certain raw meats? For example, Zig eats chicken, turkey, roo and beef on the bone and off the bone and has no issues. I have tried him on lean lamb and he vomited it back up within about 15 minutes of eating it..

I don't know how it happened but this morning we were walking and he got to the end of the lead in front of me and I said 'wait'. So he stopped and waited for me.. I use wait when I want him to sit and wait for something (toys, dinner, don't come out of the car yet)... Why on earth, didn't I think of it before.. Every time he got to the end of the lead, I said wait and he stopped and waited for me.. I still wish he would walk beside me. He does when we are in training and I ask him to heel - he walks with his head level with my thigh, watching me. But out on a walk, he won't heel and he always has to be out front, preferably at the end of the lead.. At least he isn't really pulling my arms out of the socket, like he was originally. Zig is definitely a challenge and a work in progress..

I am loving the black and white images. I have never really played with it and might give it a go..

I think it is totally awesome in low light. I have a lamp in the lounge room of a night and it takes really nice pictures in just that small bit of light. I had a 400D before the 7D (still have it, can't part with it)..

Staying on the food theme.. 10 of 100 10 of 100 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

What has happened that has changed his attitude? Are the dogs working closer together? Are you allowing him play time during the class? It could even be something as simple as you allowing him to strain on the lead on his way over, which may be causing him to become over aroused. LAT could work for you, but it would definitely be useful to figure out what has triggered him to act this way. Sometimes it's really obvious (like the pug biting him, poor baby!) but sometimes it's a thousand times more subtle. Ziggy over reacts at most situations. We are learning to curb that exuberance as most other dogs don't like it when a 28kg staffy cross comes running at them to say hi. He doesn't get anything unless he is calm. He doesn't get his lead on (to go to the park or to train) unless he is sitting calmly and waiting for it. We don't go out the door, unless he is calm. We don't get in or out of the car until he is calm. We don't enter the dog park unless he is calm. He doesn't get his toys unless he is calm. I find it very challenging with Zig because he really couldn't care less about food. Occasionally he is interested in cheese or liver treats. We had about 10 minutes of success with hot dogs and the same with turkey. Once he has tasted something a couple of times he is not interested. We use a squeaky ball to train with. Slowly I am introducing a non squeaky ball as the squeak tends to bother some other owners at training as it disrupts their dog and their training (I completely understand and we spend a good deal of time, way out of the group).. We tried the clicker but again it only seemed effective for a short period of time. The biggest thing with him is that he doesn't get anything until he calms down. We don't even walk forward, we will remain still and wait. Once he shows he is calm, then we walk, play ball, do all the things he wants to do. If we go off leash, I have to watch his excitement levels. If it starts to escalate, his recall becomes affected, so I call him, leash him and we leave the park. Look at me has been really good for us as well. Blocking is another resource I am using now. I block him from other dogs - I put myself between him and the other dogs. At the moment I am using fences and buildings to block him on one side, so I can block from the other side. Hopefully one day, I will be successful in just using me. They are a challenge

I feed mine twice a day too only the other way around. They get the RMB in the morning and the meaty part in the evening. Same, Zig gets his chook carcass in the morning and roo meat at night..

I think I would under very controlled conditions. I wouldn't have with my old Stafford but Ziggy is such a happy go lucky boof head and although he can be a bit in your face (he gets very excited at the sight of other dogs and we have made huge imprivements in this area),he has shown no aggression at all. He is not deterred by dogs lunging at him, he just moves away and ignores them.. So an onlead walk where they don't come into contact with each other to help the other dog become accustomed to other dogs near them would be fine with me. I am no expert in this sort of thing but would be happy to work with a behaviourist to help another dog. I don't think Ziggy would be adversely affected by this sort of thing..

Most dogs are fine and don't have a reaction (other than it hurts).. However be aware that if he chases them and gets stung in the mouth or on the face, it can be a whole different story. If stung on the face, watch him for a few minutes and if he is going to have a reaction you will see swelling and he may start panting - get to the vet, get someone to call the vet and tell them you are coming in with a dog having a reaction to a bee sting. Lucky for us we live only minutes from our vet. The first time Ollie was stung, it took all of about 15 minutes in total before he had passed out, his tongue was blue and he stopped breathing for a few seconds as well..

I offer sardines in oil but if they don't have it, I will buy tuna in olive oil and he woofs that down. My lad will also eat tinned salmon...

Gorgeous pers..

Trying to catch up.. Went to the markets today and these were so fresh, I just couldn't resist. 9 of 100 9 of 100 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

Day 7 7 of 100 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr Day 8 8 of 100 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

I am so sorry, I used to love Stevie's updates..

It was nice of him.. A few years ago I helped him out one day when he just had his girl.. he needed someone to hold her. We have crossed paths many times over the years and his dogs are really lovely dogs.. I used to use the walk on command with my old boy and I have been trying it with Zig but he just doesn't seem to get some things - he is definitely more of a challenge to train than my old stafford was.. But then, we had the old boy from a tiny pup (about 5 weeks old as his mother walked away from the litter and wouldn't have anything to do with them). Zig was at least 6 month old when we got him and had NO training at all. He wasn't even house broken. I think I will be practising this exercise until he learns that is the way it will always be...

I saw an ad today for purebred staffys... 6 males and 4 female puppies. The father is a purebred American Staffy and the mother is a purebred English Staffy. Both parents are purebred, so it seems the pups must be to.. OMFG!!! Are people really that stupid???

You could show him all the badly bred staffys and crosses in pounds.. Get him to read the rescue section (urgent section) and let him see how many are put down each week.. Hopefully he loves his dogs and is not just looking at them like they will make him money.. To be honest a lot of BYBs are probably not going to care or spend the money on vet care for the bitch or the pups.. His girl will probably just pump out a couple of litters, will be sold off to whoever and he will make money, cause none will be vaccinated or microchipped..

Maybe some cooled chicken stock. I know my dogs have always preferred stock to other stuff (make it yourself if you can, just boil up a few of your carcasses and strain to remove bones). You can add some carrot and celery and a few other veg like spinach etc while it is boiling but strain them out to. I also give turkey mince made into little tiny meatballs in the chicken stock to add a bit of bulk to the soup.. Or beat and egg and let it cook in the soup stirring, it will go stringy but that's OK. When you get to the vet ask for a full blood work up to check if he has high or low levels of anything (including thyroid).. I hope he picks up and feels better soon..

I had a bit of a break through this morning with Ziggy.. A guy walking his 2 staffords, stopped by me and to offer some advice with Ziggy (he was having another tanty cause the dogs were there and I wouldn't go near them).. What a great guy he was. He used his 2 to show me what he does when his bitch is reactive. So I held his boy and he walked his girl past us, all the time blocking her. She was walking against the fence and he was between us and her. Every time she tried to get around him, he would stop and put himself between her and us. They have done it a lot but he only had to do it twice before she just walked past (albeit, giving me the evil eye).. Then he let me walk past him and his 2 dogs a few times, having Zig against the fence and me blocking him.. Crikey, it worked - the third time past, he walked on because he must have realised I wasn't going to let him near the other dogs. We tried it again past a little JR that he is allowed to say hi to and it worked again... No tantrumm, no loud screaming and no pulling.. Now I just need to make sure there is always a fence or a building that I can use when we walk..h We have also been using his new martingale collar from Ruthless instead of the sporn harness.. Just trying different things to work on the pulling.. He seems to sort one thing out and start another..

Gorgeous.. I love the second one down on the right - he is just divine..

Anti cancer diets for dogs are best if you eliminate all grains.. There are also a lot of veg that are really high in carb levels that are not suitable for an anti cancer diet.. My old boy was on an anti cancer diet for over 6 years (he was given 12-18 months by the oncologist).. Diet and supplements is what kept him alive and mostly well IMO..

Unless they are just feeding more and exercising less, there is a good chance the dog has a medical issue. Our old boy kept gaining weight after chemo and although I had cut his food so much that he was starving all the time, he kept gaining.. Blood tests showed his thyroid had all but stopped working. Meds and about a month on low fat, good food and he was back to his old self...

Most of the pet mince has a fair bit of fat.. Zig seems to have a bad reaction to a fatty diet, so he gets roo and beef - both lean and less fatty than the pet mince. That and I can't stand the smell of pet mince