sheena

Our BC puppy has just turned one. I have already posted this on the Border Collie thread & on Facebook, but thought I would like to share it with my other doggie friends. What a fun year we have had with this "little" guy. He has brought us so much joy & laughter, as well as being such a great playmate for our older dog, Bindi. I thought it only fitting to make a video to celebrate the first year of his life & may he have many, many more. The music I have chosen for the video is "Thank You for The Music" by Abba. He has been such a joy to train. The last little clip, taken last week, is his first introduction to proper jumps. We have been training him with just poles & will continue to do so till he stops growing. Here it is

If she is clicker trained, you could try playing the LAT game with her . It is a game that counter-conditions the dog to stimuli in it's environment

I had a similar light bulb go off just this week. My BC girl is not very good at strategic pairs, even though she has managed to get into the next level. Her problem is that she thinks the other dog running on the same course as her, is there to be rounded up & "I can hear mum yelling at me, but she doesn't know how important it is that I don't let this one get away" :laugh: . So this week I thought I would do some serious training with her. Hubby down one end, playing with the pup & me up the other end practicing contacts. As soon as she saw the pup having fun, it was, pick up the nearest leaf in her mouth & run off to round up the pup. Of course in frustration I yelled at her & she stuck her finger up at me, leaving me feeling cranky with myself for raising my voice. Then in my head if I put her on a lead, then she can't run off. Started again & this time when she wanted to run off, I said nothing, just gently turned her around & repeated the exercise, clicking, treating & praising her for doing it right, & after a couple of minutes I could run her off lead & she took no notice of the playing puppy. After that she was fine, it was as if she didn't understand that she had to stay with me & stay focused. Now every morning I start her off with her on lead while hubby plays with the pup & within 30 seconds she is all mine She just didn't understand until then. Good training for the pup too...if he comes running up my end hoping for a treat, I ignore him & he runs back to OH.

The booties will distract your dogs from the cold for long enough for them to chew them off ;) We take our guys to the snow yearly-both double coated breeds ( toller & GSD x kelpie) and the first year I spent a FORTUNE on jackets and other keep warm gear for them and the first thing we discovered is they were much happier playing out in the snow all nekkid!! The toller rolls in it constantly and sticks her head down all available holes and burrows, and my Doofus just eats it. Constantly. (avoids the yellow stuff, thank god!). If you can make them a nice cosy den (box, covered crate) which is enclosed on 3 sides and top, with the open side facing away from the wind, and has blankets to snuggle into, they'll be fine. They are tougher than we realise!!! My BC's are outside during the day, but like your staffies, they have access to a veranda. On the veranda, out of the weather, I have given them each one of those canvas kennels in which I have tied down their bedding to avoid it being used as a tug toy. They also have their trampoline beds for when it gets too hot. They love to snuggle into the back of their canvas kennels, though the youngster has done a bit of decorating with his :laugh:

My daughter tried one of those cheap ones from Ebay...the ones that give an ultrasonic when the dog barks. It was going off everytime the dog scratched, yawned, ran or what ever & just confused the poor dog. Better off with a hand held ultrasonic (you can get them off ebay) & when she barks push the button at the same time as you say "no" or whatever your're "bad" word is. Or you could just try a spray water bottle. Problem with both methods is you have to be there when she does it. At two years old, you might be pushing up hill a bit, but others might have some better ideas.

Well, yes, like I said, unless it can't be sourced in Oz, then there is no other choice. Personally, if I HAD TO HAVE all grain free kibble, then instead of shipping it all the way from over the other side of the world, I would feed RAW. ;)

Apart from some of the ingredients, my main objection to feeding it, is that it has to come all the way from America....that's a lot of food miles. Sure, if you've got a dog that can only live on a particular food which can only be sourced overseas...go for it. But, I for one, care a bit about my planet & my carbon footprint as well as supporting Australian farmers where I can.

My favourite detanglers are the human Schwarzkopf leave-in conditioners. It makes it much easier to get the knots out of my girl's tail. I also have Show Sheen diluted, but I find this makes the floor very slippery. The young fellow, he won't let me near him with any sort of spray, so if needs be, I will mix up a little bit of YU conditioner with water & gently sponge it on, but he still hates this. I have found the best way of keeping their coat shed is daily swimming up & down in the pool...the water just lifts the loose coat out as they swim & I catch it in the skimmer box. But of course this has it's drawbacks as well as it's advantages. Another thing I have noticed with my two BC's is the way the younger one just seems to shake off the dirt & is always squeeky clean & percil white, no matter how much mud he digs & rolls in...it just dries & fall off him. Whereas the girl, I always have to make sure she is dry before being allowed outside as she seems to attract dirt like a magnet I try to avoid towelling them.

Thanks everyone for the tips. She eats raw oats for brekky, and I was giving her a cheaper dry(smallish amount) mixed with Kangaroo or beef mince.I regularly get her meaty lamb bones as a change. I think she might just like rubbing her bottom :laugh: as she did it again breifly at a walk this pm/ Re: other dogs, no we haven't, and any that come over she will let them eat her food I will try the starve thing( hope hubby and kids don't sneak her food!) for a little bit and if the sardines don't work I will donate it! \BTW, how long does it last...its a very BIG bag! It is good for 18 months from the date of manufacture & it would have been very fresh when you got it if it was in the new look bag. I don't have any other suggestions except for what has been made, like sardines, mackerel & just not giving in to her. Just give her little bits at a time, & try making a game out of it, like throwing it on the floor. It's worth persevering with...I wouldn't give up just yet. I havn't personally come across this problem with BH, but like all kibble, I am sure there will always be some dog that will turn it's nose up. Good luck & don't give up just yet, the bag is good for 18 months if kept in a fairly air tight container. Had some success! My daughter hand-fed her a bit when she was going to bed and realised she wouldn't get anything else! She then ate the whole bowl! Sheena, is it a complete meal, that is no supplements needed except for the odd meaty bone? So glad you have had some success. Yes, it is a complete meal, but I also feed a daily RMB like 1/2 turkey neck. At dinner time I add a bit of mince, mackerel or an egg. Not much, just enough to make mealtimes interesting for them. I also add a tablespoon of coconut oil or a little high strength fish oil, only because they swim daily in the pool which plays havic with their coats. The oil helps to counter this. They love their BH so much, I use it for clicker training....just the right size & doesn't dirty the carpet

Gotta love those Labs

Thanks everyone for the tips. She eats raw oats for brekky, and I was giving her a cheaper dry(smallish amount) mixed with Kangaroo or beef mince.I regularly get her meaty lamb bones as a change. I think she might just like rubbing her bottom :laugh: as she did it again breifly at a walk this pm/ Re: other dogs, no we haven't, and any that come over she will let them eat her food I will try the starve thing( hope hubby and kids don't sneak her food!) for a little bit and if the sardines don't work I will donate it! \BTW, how long does it last...its a very BIG bag! It is good for 18 months from the date of manufacture & it would have been very fresh when you got it if it was in the new look bag. I don't have any other suggestions except for what has been made, like sardines, mackerel & just not giving in to her. Just give her little bits at a time, & try making a game out of it, like throwing it on the floor. It's worth persevering with...I wouldn't give up just yet. I havn't personally come across this problem with BH, but like all kibble, I am sure there will always be some dog that will turn it's nose up. Good luck & don't give up just yet, the bag is good for 18 months if kept in a fairly air tight container.

Is the area around it sewered or septic systems. Also, bird poo, especially water birds, which are carnivorous, contains as many nasties as dog poo. There is not a real lot of problem with cow poo, as it is only reconstituted grass, but meat eating birds can put lots of nasties into the water & maybe your dog is eating their poo. Do you have any bats (flying foxes) in the area???? They can be a real problem for dog health.

Going by your previous posts, you have been trying several things over the last month including Paws "fresh" pet mince, rabbits, beef. Anyone of those could be the problem, but maybe it could be the fact that maybe you are trying too many things at once & her tummy is in a whirl. Love the vision of the chicken running around with it's head stuck in the dog's backsides getting it's "fix"

I would have thought if it were the kibble causing the wind, then it would have shown up within a week of starting her on the new food...not 2 to 4 weeks later. I know with humans, if a certain food does not agree ie, causes bad wind, it shows up within a few hours. Why would it be different for dogs. Just wondering what do you use for training treats ??

Calendula tea

No, it's the same. Most dogs are fine with it. Most, if not all, of the top premium brand kibbles are a similiar size. Cheap, inferior brands mainly have the large kibble.

The distributors have to pay freight all the way from Melbourne, so it stands to reason, that the further they are located away from Melbourne the cost of getting it to the distributor will be greater. Maybe those distributors situated in Victoria get theirs delivered for a very minimal cost from Melbourne...I don't know. But the ones in other states have to organise their own freight & it can get expensive. We try to keep our delivery charges to customers @ $10 a bag, even if we have to subsidise it ourselves.

Have you read the article above on Reverse Sneezing Link to Reverse Sneezing It is probably KC as the others have suggested, but when my girl got an attack of reverse sneezing, it was worrying, not knowing what was happening to her

If anyone would like Black Hawk Adult, Puppy or Feline brought along to the Coffs Harbour Dog Agility Trial on the 17th & 18th March, please get in touch with us either via Our Website or Email me or you can PM me. We are happy to bag down to smaller quantities & I will have a few sample there to give out.

I've had my BC puppy on Black Hawk Adult since he was eleven weeks old, on advice from a lot of people & his breeder was happy with that. He has grown beautifully

Thanks for the reply, Suziwong. I think I would probably be looking at the best in the domestic range. Everytime we get a beast butchered, we never seem to have enough mince & sausages & frankly, I don't trust the butchers to give us back our own mince & sausages, which is important cause our beast's are organic. I could of course feed the dogs, whole pieces of steak, but they tend to gulp them down without chewing, but if I mix mince into their kibble, then they take their time to enjoy the flavours & it gives me something to disguise their tablets in ;) I think the commercial ones would be far too expensive for the amount of use it would get.

I am thinking of getting a good quality electric meat grinder & sausage maker. We have our own private kills & want something that will do the job, both for human consumption & for the dogs, so it would need to be able to grind up chicken carcasses etc. Any suggestions ???? Not sure if this should be in "off topic", but I might post it there as well.

How long is a piece of string??? You are going to get a multitude of replies, as everyone has their favourite healthy dry food. I feed my BC's Black Hawk Holistic...they love the food & do well on it. It's all natural & made from human grade ingredients & is reasonably well priced for a top quality dry food. And before any of my critics get in...yes, I do distribute it for BH, because it is a food I believe in. ;)

Same here...My first BC was on it all her life together with daily bones. I wouldn't say she was always healthy or even looked that good, but it was the best I could afford at the time & she lived a very active long life. My now BC girl, I started her on Bonnie Puppy, then went to VAN & now I feed her & my new pup Black Hawk, which is a premium food at a reasonable price & they are both doing well on that. But I agree with dobesrock.

I will PM you with my personal email address cheers, Hi BC Crazy....I have PM you...your order is I tried to email you but gmail wouldn't recognize your bigpond address....so not sure whats going on there If anyone else is having trouble contacting us, just make sure you don't put an "au" on the end of the gmail address. The address should be [email protected] or you can contact Mark on 0412749499. thanks, Shee na Just to let you know that I received my order without a worry & very fast service as usual. Thanks again sheena for your trouble, appreciate it. Always good to know BC