poodlefan

I buy all my treats from the Australian Pet Treat Company Lots of bits and pieces there to look at.

Considering that the same levy applies to trials run on non DogsNSW ground and equipment, the short answer is no, it's not to cover maintenance costs. Dog clubs mostly do that.

She has eaten furniture before. Nope she actually eats it. She doesn't get anything to chew on at the moment because she suffers pancreatitas and i don't know anythign she can stomach yet. How will i know if it punctures her insides? will she become sick? Pain, any sort of difficulty swallowing and lethagy would be the things to watch out for. My friend's dog with pancreatitis handles beef tendons OK - you could ask your vet about those. Roo tendons might be good too.

Clearly they're not planning to improve the camping amenities at Erky Park. ;) It's blatant milking of agility trials. Same thing happened in the ACT.

Lots of dogs enjoy eating wood. It's probably better that its the firewood than your furniture or decking. Dogs can end up with internal punctures from wood splinters. Watch her very closely though - is she actually eating it or chewing it and spitting it out. What other chewables does she get?

These are normal breed shows. Any Main Register dog aged over 3 months may be entered.

I'm seeing a lot of Blackdog IG, greyhound and whippet collars on other breeds these days.

Probably best you head over to the Staffy Thread and ask there.

Male, female, activity level, fat content of food all affect weight. Go by feel and don't worry about other people's dogs. Most Aussie dogs are carrying too much weight anyway. By the way, his breed is Staffordshire Bull Terrier - no such breed as an English Staffy.

Is he too fat or thin? Can you see his spine? Can you feel his ribs with the flat of your hand?

What city/state do you live in?

I agree that a chat to your local butcher or a visit to a supermarket will help. I don't buy any of my dogs' meat or bones in pet stores. I feed human grade only. You can buy lamb kidneys, chicken giblets and all kinds of RMBs in a supermarket. Lamb necks, flaps, pork ribs, chicken frames, drummies and wings and turkey wings are all in my local Woolies although I get all my chicken from Lennards or the chicken processing place. My Woolies also has pork, lamb, chicken and turkey mince.

Are they talking about the wire the lure is attached to or something else?

Life is not without risk. It's up to each of us to determine what risks are acceptable to us with regard to our dogs and what aren't. All we can do is learn from the experience of others and decide whether the benefit makes the risk worthwhile. You could also feed BARF patties if you can't come at bones.

Is he on medication for his arthritis??

Chicken pet mince will contain the nutrition of bone but will not exercise developing jaws. You can continue to feed the mince but I would add some 'recreational' large bones for them to munch on. If the bone is too big to be swallowed whole, that will prevent choking. Try quartered lamb necks, lamb flaps or beef soup bones. Raw hide chews are a much greater choking risk that bones will ever be.

Trishlouise: Had the Staffy been harshly corrected with it, or was it the chain itself. Either way, it was not going to be an effective tool for that dog. Erny: The APDT here is no different. Now you know why I'm no longer a member. Any training organisation or trainer that promotes a single training tool while condemning certain others as "cruel" is not open minded to the idea that its handers, not tools that are the "cruel" ones. Any tool has the potential for abuse and if trainers can't see that, they're deluding themselves. Many of those who condemn prongs, ecollars and check chains have never seen them used correctly by a knowledgeable trainer. That's dogma as I see it.

No way??? You??? Really??? :p

I'm a positive trainer poodlefan....I dislike headcollars intensly. I am also a positive trainer Willow and I cannot comprehend how the halti has become the tool of choice for so many self confessed 'positive' trainers. Clearly they haven't thought too much about how they work and how many dogs find them highly aversive. In case you ain't figured it out yet, I'm no halti fan. :wink:

The irony of the halti being promoted as "positive" is that many dogs find them highly uncomfortable, whether they are pulling or not. I have yet to see a dog rolling on the ground clawing at its neck trying to get a check chain off. "He'll get used to it" you'll be told in a cheerful voice by the PP brigade if your dog does this.... what crap. Some dogs are so depressed by the installation of these devices on their faces that they lack the drive to pull. Positive my @rse..

Find another vet.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities? For pups to grow strong bone, they need the correct balance of calcium and phosphorus. Meat alone would produce an abundance of phosphorus but very little calcium. All meat (calcium deficient) diets were once a common cause of rickets in pups.

Quality of life is the key issue. How would you rate it? How do you want to picture his last days... relative quality of life or something less than he has now. No dog deserves the distress of incontinence and a pissed off owner when its beyond his control. Sounds like its time to me.

If the pups ribs are well covered, they are getting enough. Pups don't eat that much. 2 staffy pups... gusty play. Just out of nnterest, did she buy them from a registered breeder?

Pups and older dogs often offer common handler cued behaviours to attempt to gain reward. Sitting whenever a treat pouch is open is a common example. Ignore the barking that isn't cued. Perhaps teach a few more behaviours that are quieter too. :wink: