sheena

Clean Run are giving a free electronic issue of their magazine for those who want to try it. It is October 2011 Free Issue

Have you properly crate trained her ie; trained her to the extent where she just loves to go into her crate. Susan Garrets Crate Games DVD is a good one if you can get hold of it. But you have to train her so the crate becomes her den, her place of security. And, yes, make sure the crate is covered at least on three sides & over the top. The crate has to become her den

We got our housesitters through Ausie Housesitters We had a lot to choose from & have been very happy with all of them. We now just have one couple who keep coming back each time & the dogs just adore them. They have a 5 hour drive to get here & we book them up in advance with plenty of notice. Of course you have to make your home welcoming for them as well, as it is a two sided agreement. They come to your place for a free holiday & in return look after your dogs & house as if they were their own for free.

Wow...that's scary. When we go out to the ADAA Grand Prix at Tamworth we have to take our dogs up & down in the elevator to get to the events & sometimes the elevators are quite crowded with all sorts of dogs. It has always worried me that one might get its tail caught or something, but was told that the elevator would reopen if it detected something obstructing it. Now I'm am not quite sure

Thought I might publish this letter from a very happy BH feeder as it may help Newsensation Cleo :- "Thought I’d let you know this too. Since buying the Black Hawk, I’ve been giving my dogs more kibble than I used to in the past (roughly half-and-half with their raw meat now)... I thought it might give my old boy Dash (14 y.o. Lab) a bit of a boost. Now, here’s the interesting part... Dash had a bit of a gunky belly rash prior to starting on the Black Hawk – he’d had it earlier this year too and the vet did a scraping and said it was part bacterial/part yeast infection and he recommended Malaseb baths to clear it up, and it did go away after the baths. But when it showed up again this time we were having really cool weather and I didn’t like the idea of a course of Malaseb baths, when I’d have to leave poor Dash cold and wet for 10 minutes each time. Well, it was around that time I started feeding him the Black Hawk and now I’ve noticed the gunk has completely gone and I’m wondering whether it’s due to the emu oil in the kibble... OR just the fact that he’s getting a much healthier product now. Maybe a combination of both, but it’s great that he’s got nice clear skin now, that’s for sure!!"

Maybe donate the Pro Plan Puppy to dog Rescue & go back to what you were feeding her before the rash. ETA...you might be interested in the last comment I have added to the BH thread ;)

It's also been very hot & humid where you live with lots of rain over the last couple of weeks...certainly wouldn't help.

Border Terriers are nice too

Hope your girl will be OK, but I can't understand why anybody would want to mate with an unhealthy bitch Could you please explain to a "dumb" person like me, WHY are you breeding from her?? Are you trying to "better" the breed?????????

There seems to be a few outlets selling BH in Vic, are there any in the Sydney area? Hi Luvsdogs, I sent you a PM. last night..did you get it??

A big one for bathing in Calendula tea, here, but you are already putting on the Calendula ointment. Have you changed washing powders lately? If it's a contact rash it could be coming from her bedding??

Thanks Wuffles...I thought there would have to be something in the rules. At the workshop I went to a while back she just said that tight leads lost points but that we could talk & touch the dog without loss of points. Yes, I guess it could be construed as "guiding" even though there is no pressure on the dogs neck...it's a bit like guiding a horse by leaning the reins against it's neck. Regardless, it is a very interesting way of walking your dog but doesn't take the place of proper training, of course. I have never really got into "Formal" obedience, but would like to give Rally O a go if ever it gets going up my way. ETA...thanks Huski. I agree with you re the training & my guy is really going great with that, but he is only 10 months old (BC) & still a work in progress....gets excited sometimes. It is just a very gentle way of walking your dog & like I said, my two BC's respond very well to it.

This may sound like a really dumb question, so be kind to me :laugh: Rally O has to be done with a lead & flat collar...right ?? What if I were to loop that lead under my dogs front & back up to shorten the lead & it becomes a bit of a handle (like a service dog). Both my dogs are like putty on my little finger with this method & they really love being led that way sticking right by my side, tails wagging & absolutely no pressure on their chest at all. The lead just loosely dangles there. I am still just using a lead & flat collar, so I wonder what the rules would be in Rally O. Are there any rules which specifically say HOW the dog must be restrained apart from a flat collar & lead (for novice). All those posters that are going to hop on here & tell me I am just dumb, please don't bother replying, as I already know that. :laugh: I am after some constructive thought on the subject.

I give the whole egg, but I crush the shell roughly, otherwise I am inviting them to go steal from the chooks I don't bother washing it if it looks clean. I give my eggs a wipe when I collect them from the chooks before I put them in the fridge.

We live with ticks & I have always just grabbed the tick down low & quickly pulled it out. Hard to do with paralysis ticks, but not impossible, as they sort of half bury themselves. I have always believed that if you put something on the tick it will inject more toxin before it dies or releases & the only time we have done this (put t-tree oil on tick) the dog who wasn't even showing any signs at the time, 12 - 14 hours later was fighting for it's life @ the after hours vet. If I found a tick in an inaccessible place, I would take the dog to the vets & get him to remove it. When we first moved to the farm, some 30 yrs ago, an old-timer told us to remove the tick & rub condy's crystals on the wound & get the animal to swallow some with a little milk. It worked every time for us with some calves which were way past it, also saved cats.

I always worry about those things that go in the bottom of meat trays to soak up the blood. They go straight into the garbage, but they must smell awfully nice to the dogs. Does anyone know if these are dangerous if ingested Possibly, I guess, as they are already swollen with meat juices, then the gel would probably pass straight through

I havn't read through all the post, so fogive me if this suggestion has already been made. My 10 month old BC puppy is going really well with his LLW & also his heeling, but I mainly train him on a front attaching halter, tho he is also pretty good on the flat collar & without a lead. On occassions when he gets a little excited & starts to pull on his flat collar, I hold the lead in my RH then pass the lead under his neck, giving me 3 leads. It rests very loosely on his chest & forms like a sort of handle you see on Service dogs. Not sure if I have made the description clear, but it is so simple & I can walk all 22 kilos of him with just my little finger holding the lead. It's not a substitute for good training, but it gets you out of trouble when the environment is just too exciting.

But if it has fresh roo meat in it..you wouldn't put it in a plastic tub in the pantry. I am asking about the premium stuff which already has the meat added..is sit a dry mix or is it a fresh mix......maybe I should find the website & have a look, but others have said they couldn't find the info they wanted.....I will get off my butt & have a search :D From what I have seen the premium stuff sits in the fridge at the pet stores and is already made up. I personally don't find it toooo expensive, but I feed my dogs less than the recommended amount. I find it great for putting condition on dogs ;). My youngest pups are the 5th generation on VAN!! I don't feed it exclusively as I find kibble easier when going away and I use fresh veggies etc. I am actually wondering as some of the dogs don't do amazingly well on kibble if there hasn't been some selection over those 5 generations to do well on raw rather than kibble?? Thanks for that info....I have had a look on the website & couldn't find anything to do with prices re the Premium Mix....so how long does it last in the fridge & can I freeze it?????? What do you pay for it ????

But if it has fresh roo meat in it..you wouldn't put it in a plastic tub in the pantry. I am asking about the premium stuff which already has the meat added..is sit a dry mix or is it a fresh mix......maybe I should find the website & have a look, but others have said they couldn't find the info they wanted.....I will get off my butt & have a search :D

Hi mushka, The Premium Choice is an 'all in one food'. There is no mixing required. It is raw, preservative free kangaroo, grains and vegetables. Basically the Complete Mix with the meat already added. The suggested feeding amount for a mature 20kg dog is 550g/day. If I were to feed this to my two BC's @ 20 kilos each @ 550g/day what would that work out at, cost wise, per dog??? When I was feeding the standard one, I was feeding 1/3 cup soaked in water, not sure what that was in grams, but 550 grams dry mix sounds a lot. One of the problems I had with VAN was, that I would make the mix up with water & let it stand for 24 hours as per instructions, but in Summer time on a hot day it would develop a furry fungus & I would have to toss it to the chooks & find the dogs something else for dinner. It would worry me further if the mix had meat in it. I was told it had to ferment, like the gut of a freshly dead animal, but the furry bit was a bit off putting. I used to pay $49 for 5 kilos at Petstock, so using over 1kg a day for two dogs would be quite unaffordable. We are happy to answer any questions, however I will start ignoring questions from people who have made it clear that they have ulterior motives. Firstly though, I was answering mushka's question regarding Premium Choice, not Complete Mix. The feeding guidelines was for 550g of premixed meat. Yes, feeding over a kilo of straight grain mix would prove expensive ;) I don't wish for this to turn into a VAN vs Black Hawk attacking match. We have our product that we 100% stand behind and you have yours. Please, we don't come looking for an argument in the Black Hawk thread so we would appreciate the same. I would like to avoid this http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/232758-dr-bruce-syme-in-sydney/ All genuine questions we are happy to answer. Oh, the 'furry fungus' is not fungus, it is the seed fermenting. This was a genuine question & I have made it clear in my posts that VAN is my next choice of food from what I am feeding. I have only had experience with the dry VAN which you mix with water, so I think I could be forgiven to think that the Premium Choice is also a dry which you mix with water. Sorry if I have missed a post somewhere that tells me differently. I dont "have a product", I only have what I feed my dogs & if it wern't for BH I would be feeding them VANs. So I am genuinely asking you, in what form does the Premium Mix come????....is it a freshly made mix which comes refrigerated & how much would it cost me to feed my two 20 kilo BC's per week. This is a genuine question. If it is a refrigerated product, then I would have to freeze it as I live a long way from town. Sorry, but I still couldn't bring myself to feed my dogs on a mixture that looked & smelt like a very furry fungus...if this new product is a fresh product that doesn't need fermenting & is affordable & storable, then maybe you could reform me ;)

Hi mushka, The Premium Choice is an 'all in one food'. There is no mixing required. It is raw, preservative free kangaroo, grains and vegetables. Basically the Complete Mix with the meat already added. The suggested feeding amount for a mature 20kg dog is 550g/day. If I were to feed this to my two BC's @ 20 kilos each @ 550g/day what would that work out at, cost wise, per dog??? When I was feeding the standard one, I was feeding 1/3 cup soaked in water, not sure what that was in grams, but 550 grams dry mix sounds a lot. One of the problems I had with VAN was, that I would make the mix up with water & let it stand for 24 hours as per instructions, but in Summer time on a hot day it would develop a furry fungus & I would have to toss it to the chooks & find the dogs something else for dinner. It would worry me further if the mix had meat in it. I was told it had to ferment, like the gut of a freshly dead animal, but the furry bit was a bit off putting. I used to pay $49 for 5 kilos at Petstock, so using over 1kg a day for two dogs would be quite unaffordable.

Don't get me wrong...it is a good product...I have used it myself in the past till I found something my dogs & I liked better.....It's just that...well....something in the way your posts are presented...that screams "advertising" rather than just discussion. This latest post is even advertising a pet shop

Have you done any clicker training with her? It is magic & there is a very good thread going on this forum ATM

Vets All Natural seems to be getting a lot of Free advertising lately, whereas when I & others talked about Black Hawk on other threads we got howled down & deleted as it was considered advertising......maybe one rule for some & another for others ;)

We have housesitters & they are great. Got them off www.ausiehousesitters.com. In a few weeks time it will be the 4th time back for ours & the dogs love them...we had a few to choose from & you can ask for all sort of security checks & references etc. Costs them nothing for their holiday & cost you nothing to have them there..its win, win both ways