Starkehre

My guess is the real reason they don't sell them over the Christmas period is because of all the days they would be shut, and have to make extra tips in the clean and feed the puppies. They probably wanted a break over Christmas Perhaps that sounds a bit cynical, but if they are selling them throughout the year with no conscience, then I canot imagine why a few extra dumped puppies would bother them. Just sounds like a nice excuse, to male them sound like ethical pet shop puppy sellers to members of the public.

Hi NewAmstaffOwner. Your pup has grown into a lovely lad. Re the collar, what he wears when he is in the yard (if he needs to wear anything at all) can and usually should be a totally different collar to what he wear for walking in. Collars that are worn in the yard are for identification if the dog escapes or for a quick grab and guide if need be in and around the home for behaviour and training purposes. Collars for walking are a different requirement and usually a different collar is used, to indicate to the dog that he is now expected to behave in a different manner. Find a collar that does not cause rubbing issues for long term use in the yard, if you really need one at all. My dogs never wear collars in the yard, but my yard is very secure, not visible from the street and my dogs are well trained, so I do not need to grab and guide. I do not recommend no collar if your circumstances are different. For walking find something that is strong and that you feel secure and comfortable with. As far as your lad being strong and pulling, these are merely training issues and can be overcome within a few short sessions of quality training. Of course he is strong, but this has nothing to do with him pulling. A dog trained to walk nicely on a loose leash can be several times stronger than your boy, but still walk very easily and gently on a loose leash. Your boy is pulling as it is getting him where he wants to go. My 52 and 40 kg dogs are strong, but can be walked with one finger on a loose lead with a soft fixed collar, or no collar at all at heel, because I put in the time and effort to train them this way. And it is easy and takes little time. You can do this too. I know you are working on this, so that is terrific. May I suggest searching "loose leash walking". If you put in the effort, you will be rewarded with a happy dog and a happy owner walking with a confident and secure feeling. it doesn't get much better than that. I wish you best of luck. You will be surprised how easy this is to achieve.

In my opinion, provided your family are strong assertive leaders with good training skills, have plenty of time to spend with and train all 3 dogs, have a valid reason for wishing to add another dog to the pack, have the funds to cover daily expenses plus unexpected vet bills, own your own home or have permission from your landlord/agent and have no issues with council owning 3 dogs, then I do not see why you should not get another pup. Unfortunately there is no way of knowing whether or not the bitches will get on, or for that matter even the new pup with your existing male, so you will also need to be prepared to call in a behavourist if problems crop up, and follow up with extra training. Remember fairness or favouring in a dogs' eyes is different to ours. If you plan to use your enclosure it will need to be sheltered, big enough and also be warm in Winter and cool in Summer. If you can tick all these boxes, then it seems OK to me. Just a friendly tip, there will be a few well meaning, Stafford fanciers and DOLers that will gently wish to advise that the breed you own and love is actually called Staffordshire Bull Terrier, not English Stafford.

Thanks for that advice thelinks and Staff'n'Toller.

Well that all sounds like great news. Hope she is feeling back to herself very soon.

Geo, my personal opinion is to wait until the dog is atleast 14 -18 months of age, but this depends on the breed. Smaller breeds reach physical maturity younger than larger breeds and individual dogs mature at differing rates dependant upon their lines etc. And the information you post is quite correct, but less noticeable in toy or small breeds and sometimes difficult to notice in some medium breeds also. It is typically the large and giant breeds that these factors are more relevant to as it is more obvious and as they are heavier can be more of an issue. So, for your situation, IMO it depends on what breed you have, and when that individual dogs' growth plates are closed and he is fully mature structurally.

Please pass on our condolensces to your friend Ptolomy. This is very sad, way too young for any dog to be taken. RIP little girl

Wonderful new Trish. I am so glad they finally got to the bottom of Grover's infection. Have a great New Year. ;)

Roight, 3 American Cockers and a Pug on their way to you as I type! Beauty ellz, more the merrier.

Puggerup, bring em here. I love bathing dogs. I did mine 2 days ago, so I have nothing to bath.

Belinda, if you mean the vents on the side of the float door and/or panels, they are manufactured in angles that will not allow any water in. The vents all face downwards. My float gets no water at all in the berths. We have driven in torrential down pours. As long as the float is made well and by a reputable company, you should not have any problems. I have travelled in my float in heavy raisn also and held my face right up to the vents on the doors to see if I could feel any spray, and nothing. The doors on my float are caravan doors. A couple of pics to show you.

All my thoughts are with Grover and his family.

Kimzy, I am so very sad for your loss and then on top of that the awful experience you have had with these people. You must be going through a really horrible time right now. If you are still looking to do something else to honour the passing of Princess, I have a suggestion... My beautiful girl Ruby passed away a few years ago. A good friend of mine that is a celebrant (and also owns one of Ruby's pups) and does both pet services as well as weddings and funerals, held a most wonderful service for us in honour of our Ruby. It was down along the foreshore where we used to run her often and all her human and dog friends came along also, including her breeder. We played music and tossed flowers into the water. It was very sad, but at the same time it was such a special day that we will never forget. We have photos also. Our celebrant gave us a copy of the writtenservice in a scroll of lovely paper in a beautiful box with a candle she made that had a photo of Ruby on it. This candle was burning during the service. ... now I am crying. We did also have her cremated, as we have with all our dogs. Luckily we have not encountered problems as you have. There are a few celebrants that do pet services. Maybe you would like to arrange one for Princess. You could have it how ever you like.

Oh shit, what a bugger. Hope the vet can get to the bottom of this time. How stressful. Hope he is OK.

Glad you contacted the breeder and now feel much more at ease about the whole situation. Thank goodness you popped in here first and got great advice from some lovely people. I have only just read this thread, but was also going to say after reading your opening post, to contact the breeder immediately. It had originally sounded like you were ensuring you had mounted a solid case of evidence against the breeder before contacting her. Whereas it is always far more constructive and amicable to work WITH the breeder and not AGAINST them. I wish you the best outcome. And excellent news to hear your breeder is being supportive and interested. Ethical breeders will usually always behave this way when approached correctly

Hi Belinda, gal is probably not an option on these frames as it is only used where it will come into contact with weather elements. For instance a gal draw bar is a good idea. Ply frame work in a float is IMO the best option. Steel is welded at each joint only. Timber frames if well made have so many different angled joints etc that they finish up being better made and quite often much stronger. Steel frames can split. The timber is not accessible via the berths. It is all inside the walls and well protected. A good float will all be waterproofed inside the berths either by steel or something else. Our float is rhinoes throughout all floor and walls of the berths as well as the centre storage. The vents are designed with a lip to prevent any water access. Hope this helps.

It may not even be separation anxiety. A very common used term that is thrown around when dogs have not often been clinically or behaviourally diagnosed. I am not saying that your dog does not suffer with separation anxiety, but it may have a simple case of being overly dependant on your company, which is not the same thing. Often symptoms can be quite similar. If it is over dependance, then this is usually created by similar reasons and some, that spottychick has just explained. It is not uncommon for rescue dogs to have feelings of abandonment. Also, previous owners may not have ever taught the dog to be confident and comfortable in it's own company. But as you are aware, you will never really know for sure. As you are keen to resolve the issues, and I think that is wonderful, it may be a good idea to have the dog assessed to see if it is actually separation anxiety that you are dealing with. Best of luck with improvement.

Hi jass, how is Boots tonight? Any improvement as yet. Is her temperature down at least? Big hugs from me for the sweet little girl.

Photos will be great, and what is her name jass. You must be very relieved you have a plan to go on with now for her recovery.

Thanks for the update jass. I am so glad your little girl is at the vet now. All going well they will diagnose and treatment will start straight away, and there will be a quick response. Poor little possum. Thank you for responding to my PM. I totally understand your situation and how OH was upset. Best of luck with it all, and please keep us posted on how things go.

Well done Jed. I do hope Jass drops back in to read your post.

Sorry Ams, no news. But no news is usually good news, so that is hopeful. A lot of people feel unable or embarrassed to accept offers of assistance, rightly or otherwise, and that is OK and understandable. Perhaps that is why we have not heard back. I feel fairly confident that OP will take her pup off to the vet tomorrow.

Excellent new Trish.

Sweet of you to say jaymatt... but I don't need anything good to come to me. I get a good feeling from being nice. Anything good that comes to be, I will warmly send on to Lauren