Red Fox

Pick out a few breeders that you like and give them a call. It pays to have a good relationship with the breeder and by speaking to them you might find one or two that you really click with. Then ask if you can come out and meet their dogs Even if your breeder of choice doesn't have any pups at that particular time you can still put your name on the waiting list and learn as much as you can about them in the meantime. Now- I dont want to put a damper on things but didn't you lose you last puppy Duke to parvo?? If so you might want to look into how to properly treat your house and yard to make sure that the new pup will be safe. Or even look into an older puppy or young adult dog that has had all it's vaccinations..? Good luck with your search :D

I bought my crate from C-Crates and had the correct size recommended to me then. I was actually going to go one bigger but now I'm glad I didn't - otherwise it wouldn't have fit anywhere! (ours is an AP7/107cmL x 79cmW x 84cmH) It might be helpful to ask your dogs breeders or other owners of your breed what they use to give you a starting point. In my opinion if the dog is already toilet trained and you have the room you are better off going bigger. But in saying that said Kei (40kg Ridgie) still prefers to cram himself into his old 90cm x 60cm crate that he had as a puppy and seems perfectly happy in there (though I dont close the door anymore ) The other option (if you are happy to have both dogs together) is a secura pen http://www.ccrates.com.au/secura.html basically it's a big crate without a floor. I think Bonofido make a similar pen as well which is much cheaper

It's going to be hard if she doesn't speak English. You would think that after walking past the same dog a few times or seeing that the owner is mindful of keeping out of her way that she would relax a little Her behaviour is only going to make things much, much worse - especially if she ever does come across a particularly aggressive, reactive or fearful dog. What i don't understand is if she is that fearful of dogs why does she not move away, cross the road etc?? Though if it was me I could only be patient for so long. Then I think I would end up screaming at her like a banshee if she raised that pole one too many times Maybe you need to make her see you as the scary one Huski eta: We have Muslim neighbours and the teenage girl used to be terrified of Kei. I walked past her almost every day on the way to pick up my son from school and eventually she came to realise that he was on a leash and I would not let him near her. She now looks quite relaxed when we pass, even smiles and says hello ;)

I agree with this one. Door knock, find her, report her. Sit outside the front of your house (or even where you saw her) with a big burly male and a camera. Film her and get it to the police! I'm sorry but I couldn't (and wouldn't) live in fear of that happening again Report her to the local council for off leash dogs. Go into the office and insist that they file a proper complaint, dont bother with the phone. Same with the police - Formal complaint in person. And maybe start carrying you own block of wood Yes, yes and yes!

SecretKei's young son is ahead of you with this theory, he has put it into practice ;) ...and so has my Mum if you read my last post ;) She has run off to Adelaide with it at the moment, I wont have it back until the weekend. I might have to buy her one too! I have to say though, I think the humans are getting more use out of it than the dog ;)

I'm still learning about prey drive and how it all works (LOTS to learn ) but I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jRCTmP91yg&feature=fvsr when I was cruising around YouTube the other day. I would say (from my limited knowledge) that it's a good example of a dog working in drive. Gorgeous dog too, I think he is a Dutch Shepherd

Get hold of the Dr Billinghurst books Shelle, they explain it really well. With RMB's I think it really depends on the dog. Some will gulp them down and need bigger bones, others (like my boy) will chew everything so you dont have to worry too much. As far as meats/bones go it's endless chicken, pork, turkey, rabbit, roo, lamb, beef, venison - whatever you can get and whatever your dog does well on. With Kei I give him chicken (wings, thighs, drumsticks, necks, frames etc) and roo bones (mainly spine and tail, occasionally a leg bone). I choose these because they are cheap and easily accessable to me, plus they are what my dog prefers. Sometimes I give him lamb flaps or shanks or pork ribs too but he doesn't like those much. Offal is supposed to be around 10% of the diet. You can feed it however you like, a little bit daily, a meal weekly, whatever. Chicken frames sometimes have goobly bits left inside them so I count that too lol. I use whatever the supermarket has when I go in to get it, so brains (lamb), liver (chicken, kidneys (lamb - I think) or hearts (chicken). Kei HATES offal so I blend it up and mix with the rest of his food. Can't comment much on the VAN as I've never used it. It does sound like an easier option though... Supplement are optional I suppose. I just use them so that I know Kei is getting everyhing that he needs. The Billinghurst books speak a lot about supplements but I think they also say that they are optional?? I can't remember. For Kei I use ACV, Kelp, vitamin C, Sashas Blend and Melrose Omega Pet Oil. Omega and flaxseed do pretty much the same thing, that is supply the dog with essential fatty acids. I sometimes use flaxseed if I cant get the Pet Oil. I've just bought some Livamol too so I'll have to see how that goes I don't use all the supplements every day. With the exception of kelp (I put that in with the vegie slops) and ACV the others I just give every few days. I think you'll get lots of different oppinions on this. Everyone does it differently, and we all (probably) think our own way is best. (otherwise we wouldn't do it ) I'd say read up on it as much as you can and then experiment to see what works well for Shyla. Hope that helps ;) eta linky for the books if you're interested: http://www.barfaustralia.com/products.php?pid=2

I found a new use for my dogs Polar collar this-morning - an ice pack for my ankle Did the job though The Polar Mat has gone to Adelaide with mum. She is staying with my Grandma who has no airconditioning and is sleeping on it

Started with Aloveen, then tried PAW but have gone back to Aloveen again. I love that the conditioner is leave-in or light rinse and I don't have to be sooo thorough about rinsing it all out like I do with the shampoo Another DOLer (Erny) recently suggested using Calendula tea for irritated/dry skin so I'm going to give that a go too

Mum usually cleans the house but seen how they are away I have been doing the house work now I know why my mum yells at me all the time but she thinks it his dribble dare I tell her what it actually is eewww I wouldn't tell if I was you It's worse when it lands on your feet when letting the dog outside for a morning pee though Or in OH's case - when you fall asleep on the floor and wake up with the dog standing over you and something dripping on your head Thank God Kei keeps himself clean 90% of the time

Willy whacker sounds like something I would say As far as the discharge, Kei has this too. He has always had it ;) I panicked a bit when he was a pup and took him to the vet. The first vet said it was a grass seed We got a 2nd oppinion! The second vet said it was a possible infection, flushed it out and gave us antibiotics. Antibiotics did nothing so he gave us another type - which did nothing. Gave us a cream -which did nothing! Got a 3rd oppinion from the breeders vet. This one did a swab which showed up nothing. He said it was fine, normal - JUST LEAVE IT ALONE! I've read that it's normal for some male dogs, especially when they enter puberty so I wouldn't worry too much -unless it's green or smelly or Boss is having problems peeing etc. If it's something new it might be best to get him checked out though - just in case. ...and I know exactly what you mean about the tiles too :D Hot water and domestos gets it off

I do a big batch of vegie/fruit slops every 8-10 weeks. Basically I put it all throught the blender in batches (until it's mush), stir it all up together in a big bucket, then divide it into ice-cube trays and freeze (also have to do this bit in batches too) then when frozen I pop them out into a big container and store in the freezer. With my meat/bones/offal I buy it all in bulk and bag it up in portions. Basically all I have to do is to pull out whatever I want to feed the following day to defrost overnight - Usually a chicken frames or Roo spine/tail for breakie and a bag of mince for tea (occasionally a bag of offal too). For breakfast all I have to do is take the bones out of the bag and for dinner I pull some vegie cubes out and defrost them in a mug, tip that into a bowl with a bag of mince, a scoop of yogurt, a few supplements, and then either an egg/some offal/tin of sardines etc, mix it up a bit and it's good to go. It's not difficult or time consuming once you get in a routine If I was time poor or couldn't be bothered with vegies and supplements I'd probably go with VAN, mince and RMB's instead but I'm happy to do my own for now

Hmm, I buy everything in bulk so it's a bit hard to work out. I might spend $40 on mince one week then $20 on chicken frames the next then nothing for a month and so on. I would say that for a 39-40kg Ridgeback it is costing me around $20 a week. I'll give it a shot and see if I can work it out... He has: Breakfast: 400-500g RMB's, either chicken frames or Roo =around 75c per day Dinner: 250g roo mince -$3 per kilo so =around 75c per day + vegie slops (minced fruit/veg, garlic, kelp, parsely, eggs, omaga blend oil) - cost me around $30 to make up approx 2 months worth so =50c per day + natural yogurt -$4 per week =60c per day +either Chicken necks ($2-3 per pack, enough for a week), sardines ($2 for 3 cans, does us for 2 weeks) or offal (around $3 for a pack of whatever is on offer and this would do us for 2 weeks -I bag it up and freeze) -$7 per week = $1 per day Supplements- probably averages out to $5 per week =70c per day So lets see... that around $4.50 per day/$30 per week More than I thought! But then I spoil him and could probably do it for a lot less And to be honest, by buying in bulk I dont really notice it at all.

I used to live in that area around 12 years ago. We would walk wag school and walk down to the beach during the days in summer It stank then too... yes, like sewerage! Don't know why though?

YES! what a good idea- like a gated porch.... This actually could be an option since I have an archway leading to my front door The gated porch sounds like a really good idea You could even use a puppy pen (pegged into the ground in a semi circle around the door/archway) if you have grass out front and wanted a quick temporary fix. If it was me I'd put a baby gate up on the door that leads from inside to the garage too. We have the ones that swing closed automatically which are great because I'm never worried that someone will forget to close the doors (they were around $60 each from Target) eta: just realised that Erny beat me to it with the baby gate and Ness with the puppy pen

We are also with PIA Accident and Illness cover with the $100 excess. I think it is around $35 per month for 1 dog I didn't bother with the routine care option as even if I claimed everything on offer every year I would only be $20 or $30 ahead - much easier to put away $10 a week and not have to make the claim.

It would worry me. Our cat was poisoned a few years back. The vet thought that he has most likely eaten a rat which had been bated with Ratsack. He came out of it okay after a night at the vets having his stomach pumped but it was NOT a nice experience

pffft what a load of crap. Dogs are not the only animals who eat meat. So what should we do? get rid of them all?? My dog eats roo... It's wild, free-range , whatever you want to call it. But definitely NOT farmed I doubt all those chicken carcusses and necks my dog eats were farmed especially for him either -they're left overs from the HUMAN food industry. Or do the writers of the book think that there are specific chicken neck and frame farms out there, shipping thier purposely bred chickens out to the dog food factory What about a book about how to chose an environmentally friendly brand of dog food? I think THAT would be more useful Chuck it in the bin I say :D

I have bullbreeds...a lot of tatts, I wear dark shades. I have a crew cut, I'm a big bloke and I walk around the streets. So that means I've got the bullbreeds to look tougher heh..? Stereotyping because of how someone looks huh? I've got something for you that might come as a shock...he might love bullbreeds. Christ. So it was YOU BT?? Sorry, I'm not in the most serious of moods tonight. I think the heat has fried my brains! Actually, the OP could almost be describing my bro -except for the fact that it's the wrong state, and there would have been bulging muscles added to the list too cos he's into body-building ....Oh that and the fact that his Amstaff would have been on a leash Priceless! :D

Dont know if this has already been said as I was too lazy to read the whole thread But my guess would be that it's the ingredients and manufacturing process that makes it unsuitable For example human meats have to pass a certain number of inspections before they are deemed suitable for human consumption -dog meats do not, some pet foods use cast off products from grains that we don't eat etc. But I think I read that it's the law that even dog foods made with human grade ingredients must have a label that states 'pet food only' or something along those lines ...Did anyone else get stuck into those dog choc drops as a kid? ;) Actually, come to think of it I ate some of Kei's yogurt drops a few months back. Polar Paws Vanilla flavour - YUM

Snooza are supposed to be very good...but they are expen$ive! Try Great Rugs www.greatrugs.com.au they have a good range and do custom sizing too Reasonably priced too I've ordered from them twice (both custom) and had my beds arrive in SA in under a week ;)

Your puppy school doesn't sound that bad at all - though an hour and 20 minutes is a LONG time for a puppy! Personally I wouldn't allow play time (at class) if you are wanting to improve her focus, but each to their own so it is whatever works best for Dakota IMO they are there to work, so play time should be completely seperate I dont attend formal obedience classes anymore - the classes are too long and boring and not structured well for the way Kei learns. He does much better with short, fun bursts of training rather than long repetative heeling. It's also much easier for me to train him in a low distraction environment (well dah! lol) and then build distractions up gradually. We are not yet ready to be training that close to other dogs. Ah, the things we can see with hindsight eta. Just thinking, if you think the 20 min play at the end of your classes is causing you probs you could always take her home before that or cut the play time down slightly. Say 5 mins play rather than 20....??

Thanks for that PF. I always wondered why poodles have pom-poms It actually makes a lot of sense when explained like that Someone posted a photo here recently of a poodle with corded dreads on his head then clipped off short everywhere else. It looked awesome! Definitely not a foofy poodle ;)

Hi There, sorry if this is too OT, but I was wondering if you could elaborate a little on the puppy school thing, because I think I've had an epiphany (sp?)! Is puppy school why my dog thinks every single dog is her new best friend?!!? We just thought she was the friendliest, most mentally excitable dog ever? Have we done this to her? Yes, this is the problem we have had with Kei too. At puppy school the pup's were allowed to play with each other non-stop. We thought that we were doing the right thing and it was the best way for Kei to learn bite-inhabition/appropriate play etc. Ummm... WRONG Level one of obedience classes also included lots of socialisation (read play). Now I have a dog that sees other dogs as the highest reward of all. BIG problem when the dog in question weighs 40kg and I am only 55kg! It has made any form of group training (obedience classes etc.) near impossible since he is just too excited to be around the other dogs. As I said in my previous post, I did the K9 Force LLW program a few months ago which has made a big difference to Kei's behaviour during walks. He no longer drags me over to other dogs and I am able to snap him out of it before he becomes OTT (I had previously landed on my butt/been dragged across roads/had my arm almost wrenched out of its socket! ) But I do worry that I will simply be managing the behaviour for a long, long time If I could do it all over again I would work more on neutralising my puppy to other dogs rather than continuous socialisation. Others may disagree with me on this one but I think it (socialising with dog's outside of our own 'pack') did more harm than good. I would not use a dog park for the same reasons. I suppose it all depends on what you want out of your dog in the long run, and I believe that as new/first time dog owners we rarely know what that is until it's too late.

I don't buy dry anymore but when we did it was the 20kg bags of Nutrience which took me forever to go through I bought one of the small rubbermaid pet food containers from Big W which holds around 5kg of food. I would fill it up and then seal the Nutrience bag up with duct tape and store it in the spare room until we ran out. Then when the small container was empty I would give it a wash, fill it up again, reseal the big bag and so on. I figured that the less air the food was exposed to the fresher it would stay and this worked really well. And the bonus was that I could still easily lift the food container when need be -no way I could do that with 20kg! Now Kei is on raw I use the container to store all his dry treats ;)