Starkehre

Absolutely. Provided you ensure they are fit prior to endeavouring endurance type work (as you would with any dog) they can run marathons. Any reasonable fit adult Rott can do a 4km @ 10kmph on it's ear. For further distances I would build it up. I used to take mine our horse riding with me which was a couple of hrs at a time. The same bitch I did very competative afility with for several years, right throughout Summer, (except when trials broke over Christmas). It would be nothing for her to do 8 Masters level runs on a 38 degree day and she either won or placed almost every single time. She would even have energy to burn afterwards. Rottis do ETs, and yes this is done in cool weather, but with conditioning, warm weather is OK also. Herding can take a lot of energy work (when the dog works harder than it needs to) and there are a lot of Rottis in Vic herding at the moment. Are the 2 you walk fit and of optimum body weight? Are they dogs that have been worked all their lives or are they just house dogs that only go for a walk. That will make a difference. Also, are they suffering or are they just panting a lot and it appears to you that they are suffering. Even super fit Rottis can be loud panters, and may appear to be suffering at the end of exercise, but all they will be doing is resting and cooling themselves down. Rottis are also fantastic swimmers. My 8.5 year old girl here can swim pretty much endlessly, of course I wouldn't allow it, but she has so much strength an stamina for her age. The trick with Rottis is to keep their body and mind active right throughout and they can do almost anything. Obviously doing a lot of hard exercise with any dog, owners must let sensibility prevail and know what they are doing, know the dog inside out, but I get the feeling that ETH knows what she is doing

Nope, it's only awarded breed points (even if it goes Neuter in Show) Spot on itsmeg. In explanation of this, the Neuter Classes are considered in the same way that an age class is, therefore gaining no additional points for Group or In Show wins. My Dyzney has won 5 NIG and 1 NIS, and sadly these have all only gained her 6 points each time, as she is the only Rottweiler in her Breed currently showing at Neuter.

This is only the 2nd time I have done this as I tend to not willy nilly recommend my breed to just anyone.... but what about the Rottweiler?? Ticks all your boxes and I have a feeling your OH might be partial to this idea ;) They are for all intents and purposes, a working breed. Bred and raised correctly they will work all day. Super strong and have been bred to pull carts so not difficult to teach a Rott to pull a sled. Wash and wear coat, about as loyal as you can get, most of them are very affectionate and most that I know including all mine, have excellent "off" buttons. In fact they are pretty much lounge lizards when I am not requiring them to work. Rottweilers will live with any other species of family member when introduced sensibly.

They are so gorgeous Stolz. Looking really lovely. I love that fat little purple girl's belly. It needs some serious kissing :D

I am so envious PM. Borzoi have been on my wish list for a long time. I always admired Oberon, and now little Adonis. Oh I wish I could give him snuggles and a raspberry on his belly. :D

Winterpaws, I think you misunderstood the tone of my post. I apologise if you felt I was attacking you and you felt you had to describe my thoughts as rubbish. That was not my intention at all. I was merely expressing some thoughts and things I was wondering about. I was not directing anything towards you personally or suggesting anything that I would have thought warranted a defensive response. It was a genuine question, not a suggestion. I was genuinely to understand what excessive meant to some owners, which you explained well. And then also adding my own experience. Each owner needs to do what they are comfortable with. After having heard several different people mentioning the drinking over a period of time, I wanted to add my thoughts and queries.

Personally I have not noticed my dogs drinking more on BH, and I certainly am a very astute owner, so I would notice. I am wondering what people call excessive drinking. I would have thought that drinking a lot of water is healthy and encouraged, as it is with humans. Yes, there is such a thing as drinking too much water, but if these dogs were doing this they would be dead, so how can it be excessive? Are the dogs drinking amounts that make it inconvenient for the owner ... requiring larger bowls or having to empty during the night? I believe that in more recent times manufacturers of premium foods have included herbs etc that encourage more drinking for kidney health etc. I am wondering if some of those that have noticed an increase level of drinking by their dog when switching to BH has been a result of them not drinking enough previously. My dogs have always been fed on a combination super premium foods and raw, so they have always had a good diet, so is this why I have not noticed an increase in water intake. If one was switching from a food that is not said to contain ingredients that encourage more water intake, could that be what owners are noticing The only time I have ever seen what I would believe to be excessive drinking was when my bitch was on serious doses of cortisone several years ago. But she needed to drink those quantities of water to assist her body to deal with the affect the drugs were having on her organs. Dogs will drink what they need to drink to remain healthy or they should do. If a food is assisting my dogs to drink plenty of water and is not loaded with salt (BH is not) then I would be happy about this... but that's me. When changing your dog's diet, it is normal to notice a difference in your dog's weight. Every food is different as is every dog. You alter the food intake accordingly... it's not rocket science. My dogs are cut. They are lovely and muscular and in excellent condition. They have been on BH for almost a year. I am thrilled with the product and believe me, I am not easily convinced by just anything. Yes, I distribute the food, but that happened after I became completely satisfied with the results on my dogs.

I am so so sorry for your loss Jase. No matter how long we have our dogs for, it never seems long enough I am glad you popped back in to let us all know what happened with your gorgeous old lad Jock. It is wonderful that you are sorting through your feelings about getting another dog when the time is right. I feel pretty confident no one would have been cranky or upset by your comment re pound dogs being the best, or at least I certainly took no offence. It was a very sweet comment that clearly came from the heart. IMO we all have the best dog (no matter where it came from) and I love it when I hear individuals saying their dog is the best. Such words exhibit our absolute awe and unwavering love for our dogs.

I dremel all mine on their backs on the couch. No issues and I do it 2-3 times per month depending on activity, time of the year etc. I am sure they don't love it, but they comply or there are consequences, simple :D For difficult dogs that are having their nails clipped, I find doing them like a horse as mentioned previously is easier as they tend to behave better if they cannot see what you are doing. And standing means they have to concentrate on balancing.

Very out dated type of diet and seriously, not much about it is natural as we see the meaning of the word natural today, as so many of the ingredients are processed.

And this was a pencil that David did of Dyzney also.

Hi LC, I had these 2 beautiful paintings done of Dyzney and Jag by David Oakley, a pet portrait artist of Rivid. We just love them and will be getting one done of Fame when she is a bit more mature. These are oil pastel style, but he paints in many different medium. He did these on museum archive quality canvas and they are both 20" x 24" He also took these reference photos to work from. His photography is amazing too. If you want to view his most recent work, you can check it out here facebook.com/RividStudio

My thoughts precisely Brennans mum. Stolz, you are absolutely most welcome, Mark and I would do it all again and any time. Just so relieved by the excellent outcome.

... and you forgot the bit where if she didn't care, she would have got rid of the dog ages ago I hope OP realises that the Rottweiler world is tight knit and looks after their own. She will have definitely done her dash in our breed community.

Gorgeous sweeties aren't they Phillipa. I am sure they will enjoy their pressies, so very generous of you.

Agreed. Yes, it is very sus. We suspect whomever took them knew they were friendly and when there was no one home. We have our suspicions how these people may have been connected. But, at this point, just the girls being home is enough.

We believe they were dumped in the neighbours yard. The gate had been closed behind them and it was done in the dark, no other dogs in the yard. We believe the thieves knew the dogs would be safe there and found soon. Well, thank goodness they were returned to a safe place !!!!! Absolutely. They could have dumped them anywhere or disposed of them. I guess they had second thoughts and were fearful enough of not doing the right thing or of being caught. I am so glad they chose to do what was right finally.

We believe they were dumped in the neighbours yard. The gate had been closed behind them and it was done in the dark, no other dogs in the yard. We believe the thieves knew the dogs would be safe there and found soon.

FF, that is exactly what we were aiming to do... smoke them out. With all the media coverage and networking it all just got too hot for them. Too hot to even go for the reward. We don't care, the beloved Chevy and CJ are home with Karen and Paul, who are incredibly relieved. Alls well that ends well.

This is Stolz' "G" litter. I was just thinking of some appropriate names for the puppies of this very special litter, (of course assuming they are all alive and healthy, which we pray they are, as well as CJ and Chevy) .... Great Gatsby Gold Digger Golden Child Grand Entrance Grateful Return Glad To Be Home Grand Theft Golden Opportunity Gaol Break :D

I was thrilled to get an early called from Stolz this morning to let us know Chevy and CJ have been reunited with Karen and Paul. Such a huge relief. Just the best news. Stolz will explain in more detail later, but the girls were none worse for wear, not hungry or dirty and will be off to the vet for a thorough exam this morning. CJ is still in pup, and we will know if pups are OK soon. Thank you so much everyone for assisting in getting the word out there. All the networking paid off big time. Well done everyone. A very special thank you goes to Nikki Phillips, who sole handedly and relentlessly did all the media contacts. She was the one behind the push to get such excellent media coverage in such a short time and also arranged her friend to start up the CJ and chevy facebook page. Nikki spent hrs on the phone, relentlessly pleading the case for help. Great work Nikki. And also another special thank you to Trina, who is a superwoman. Trina arranged advertising and coverage in many areas that my half asleep brain can't even think of right now, but she is a net working queen and is always so ready to help in suvh a time of crisis. And thank you to all the wonderful DOLers for networking, flyer drops and just helping us all get the word out there. It really is just overwhelmingly incredible the way everyone pulls together in times like this. The empathy among dog lovers is inspiring. Stolz will be very busy this morning seeing to Chevy and CJ. We will need to now ensure that everyone is notified of the girls' safe return, flyers will need pulling down and so on. Stolz will pop back in when everything settles for her, it has been a harrowing few days to say the least.

Bugger, I missed the chanel 2 report. I didn't know it was on so late. Would anyone please be able to provide a link for us here to check it out... for those of us that missed it, please? :D

Thanks Sylvia, and well done to foodworks in Bacchus Marsh. These days fewer businesses are willing to post flyers etc around, and I respect this. The staff have policies they must adhere to and I think we should try not to become disheartened over this. When we posted flyers around Gisborne I always ensured I was respectful of where we put them. Afterall, they are unsightly and seen as litter, so it is understandable when the locals and council do not like them. For private businesses it is quite unsightly. They are always being inundated with flyers for this and that and I am sure it gets to them after a while. If we rub the locals up the wrong way, they are less likely to want to help. There are great community notice boards in many towns that are great places to post the flyers. When I entered shops to ask them for assistance, I would calmly and quietly explain the situation and appeal for their help. I would not begin by asking them to post the sign, but instead asked if they would please take a flyer as it had information on it and keep it in mind and keep a look out for anything suspicious. Towards the end of the conversation I might gently mention that if they felt it was appropriate we would greatly appreciate it if they would post the flyer on their window, but we understood if not. In pubs, we would advise that there may be people coming in wishing to sell puppies. All the publicans were very sympathetic and eagerly took flyers. Everyone is doing such a wonderful job pitching in to help. Going out of your way to post flyers is so greatly appreciated, thank you so much. It is truly amazing how our dog world bonds together at times like this. We ask that when posting or handing out flyers please try to be respectful of the locals and business owners, though I am certain everyone is doing just that.

Oh Phillipa, Yesterday when we went inside the Village shopping Centre, we noticed the very big and quite empty community notice board that is locked up. We made an inquiry, but were told centre management were not there to assist. would you mind please making an inquiry tomorrow and also pop one of the flyers into that locked board. That would be excellent if you could possibly do that for us.