Georgieboy

Thanks guys!

Hi there DOLers, We are in the process of doing up the back yard with garden edging etc, and want to put mulch down when we've finished. My OH heard somewhere that Garden Mulch is a carrier of Parvo and other nasties that can make dogs sick. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this? We'd be looking to get the mulch from the local waste transfer station who turn all the green waste into garden mulch. As we have two beautiful Staffy's we want to be sure what we put down in their back yard is safe for them. Thanks in advance! Carly

George loves it, has it for breakfast, though he prefers the beef one over the others.

Congrats on Izzy's recovery! I've read some horror stories about Parvo on DOL, so its awesome to see a happy story! I cant offer advice, having never dealt with parvo, but can offer my best wishes! Staffords are wonderful companions!

We pick up George's sister Mildred (milly for short) in 7 weeks from today! Cant wait!!

Thanks Luvsdogs! I just want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible!

Hi DOLers, You've been a great source of information and advice so hoping you can help me with some more advice. We are picking up our new baby girl staffy in around 7 - 8 weeks and we have a 12 month old (his birthday this Saturday) male staffy at home. George is very layed back, relaxed and loves other dogs (even if they dont like him! he just falls straight on his back and goes submissive). Growing up I've had two dogs before, but they were mother and daughter, so I've never had to integrate a new one into an existing 1 dog home. Some facts on what happens at our place 1/ George has been doing obedience twice weekly since last October. I'd eventually like to trial with him. 2/ George sleeps on our bed with us (i know, probably a no no but we like it) 3/ George has been well socialised with all kinds of dogs from 12 weeks of age 4/ I'm planning on taking a week or 2 off when we bring baby girl home We dont have kids of the human variety, George is our first fur baby, and (yep, you guessed it) Mildred (Milly for short) will be our second. Any tips or advice on how to do this as seamlessly as possibly without too much stress for George or Milly will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

We had that problem with George at about 5 months old, however his joy was digging in our 1/2 wine barrels (all 3 of them) which had an Olive tree, a Lime tree and a Grape vine all being trained on lattace screening. You can imagine my joy when I came home to find we were minus a grape vine, its screen pulled out into the middle of the pergola and the olive and lime trees on an interesting lean... , especially after nearly 12 months of trying to get them to grow! We tried the sprays from bunnings, pepper, white vinegar and all the other home remedies recommended to us by friends and family, all to no avail... Then we got garden stakes and staked plastic lattace around the pots which proved effective, but only for a month or so before that too was dragged out into the yard... After speaking to numerous people I went to the local stockfeed place, brought an electric fence controller (battery operated so it didn't have the 240 volt kick), electric fence tape and plastic step in's to hold the fence in. A short star picket from bunnings worked as the earth. (the stockfeed place said they sell quite a number of these units for exactly this use) Needless to say, it has only had to be turned on twice (and yes, I zapped myself to make sure it wasn't going to hurt our boy). Now I can move the tape around the back yard, without even having the controller attached and fence off the washing line etc and know that it will all remain safe. (I'm sure people will probably think I'm cruel, but I do love my boy, he sleeps on our bed and is a right mummy's boy!) if this is a path anyone wishes to go down, just be sure to check local laws around electric fencing as I was told there can be fines if people touch the fence while its on, even if its in your own back yard.

Well, not sure if I'm more informed or more confused now..! I want to whats best for George, but worry that all these chemicals cant be good for him :D . Have been using advocate for the last 6 months and a worm tablet every 3 months to get the wom variety that advocate doesn't get. We've had no flea problems (touch wood ) and I've just used our last tube. I know its a chemical, but by god it smells and feels yuck. I guess I'll continue using it and keep my eyes on the market, they're always coming up with new products...

I used to feed my first dog Pet Chicken Mince, but we use to boil it up with some veg... Used to stink the house out , but I'd just do a big batch then freeze in meal sized portions (and make sure I could do it on a day where I could open the windows). Not sure on feeding your older one puppy food, but IMO so long as he's happy and healthy your doing ok! Sorry if thats not much help...

I Agree!! George was exactly the same, but training him has helped heaps! I know it might be the last thing you feel like doing at night when your ready to sit down and have a rest but a little more work now and you'll reap the rewards later! George also did exactly the same thing, I'd point and he'd instinctively just nip at my finger cheeky little bugger! They do grow out of it. Awesome dogs SBT's, they really are great!

A friend of mine uses buffered asprin from the chemists her vet put her onto that for her Golden Retriever who has a bad hip. Not sure of the quantities thou. I also recall my ex-inlaws giving their old girl half a disprin or asprin in her dinner for arthritis.

Welcome to the wonderful world of owning a Staffy! Or at least a similar world to my experience anyway! Firstly they do grow out of it! We tried ignoring him, pushing him away, telling him off etc, but what worked for me was to yelp (loudly) like another dog would if it were bitten then pulling my hand away and moving awayfrom him. We found this technique to be really effective. They really are beautiful dogs, keep trying and eventually you'll be rewarded with kisses instead of bites!

George sleeps on bed with us, has his own doona on top of ours, but he usually ends up snuggled into either my or my OH's back! Funny, the OH was dead against dogs on the bed, but George wormed his way into my OH's heart and now even if I'm away George still sleeps on the bed! I personally think its whatever works for you and your dog!

What are you cleaning the area with? Our vet told us that antiseptic such as pinoclean and bleach have ammonia in them and actually attract the dog back to the same spot... I just cant remember what it is that he said to use to clean the area with... We actually use a Bissel Pet Wash (upright vacuum cleaner that washes the carpet) and use the products that bissel make for their machines and this seemed to discourage George from going back to the same spot. There's also a spray that I've seen in the pet food aisle in the supermarket, its with all the puppy stuff and its got a green label with a sad looking black and white spaniel type puppy on the front (again sorry, I cant recall the name). Never tried it but might be worth a look?

My heart breaks for you and all your puppy buyers. I cant imagine you heartbreak and (probably selfishly) only hope that I never have to be faced with a situation such as that. The way you've handled this is a credit to you. I can offer no knowledge on parvo to you, but thank you to opening my eyes to this devestating virus and I'm now going to do some research on it. RIP little ones, know that you were loved very much both by those that brought you into the world and those who took you into theirs.

I have to say I'm scared to give chicken necks as my SBT swallowed the only one I've ever given him whole. I watched him like a hawk for days after that! Made me so nervous. I also struggle with the Chicken Frame thing... Goes back to when I was a child and was constantly told that Chicken Bones aren't good for dogs. I'd really like to give him frames, but I'm worried part of it will get stuck I wont know how to help him! Has anyone else overcome the fear?

My parents had 2 mini foxy x jack russels and both of the girls were fed Pal their whole lives. Missy (the mum) :p lived for 16 years, and her daughter Penny was 18 when she passed away . Both got a chicken wing a couple of times a week, along with raw hide chews and the like. They had great teath, good breath and lived long happy lives.

Whippet of Mass Destruction!!!!! :D I love it!!! George (SBT) loves most things but anything new he takes in his mouth swills it around a bit, spits it out, then if he likes it he'll eat it. He's done it several times with his antibiotic tablets this week! Even chewed one up! He also LOVES marie biscuits.

So sorry to read your story. Im crying and I dont even know you. Your doing all the right things, give her lots of love, cuddles and kisses and her favourite things. You have to go for quality of life now. She'll be forever greatful that she's had such a wonderful mum to love her. Sending you all love and hugs She will always have a special place in your heart.

Unfortunately yes... water goes everywhere! but I will try to get him to drink more before bed, even if it does mean getting up thru the night for a wee break.

Might give that a go tonight then, I have sardines but no pumpkin yet. Thanks! He sleeps inside with us, (spoilt boy gets to sleep on the bed ). His water bowl is in the kitchen and we dont close the bedroom door, so I guess if he wanted he could get a drink. I usually wake if he gets off the bed and let him out, which doesn't happen very often... Do you think the 7 - 8 hrs of no drinking would make the first one of the day a bit harder than the rest? I'm also going to avoid the good o's in the kong and see if that makes a difference, now when I think about it he didn't have an issue before I started using them in his kongs, so they could be the culprit!

Thanks! Will give that a try. Stuffed his Kongs with tinned food this morning, will give the pumpkin a go tonight.

Hi there, Not the best topic for first thing in the morning, but George our 6 month old stafford seems to be constipated. I put him outside this morning to go to the toilet and he always wee's and poops first up. He did poo, but it was little marbles that looked dry. We went for our morning walk, then when I got home I cleaned up the poo. (sorry, this is going to sound bad) but when I picked up the one he did this morning it was hard and so I squeezed it and it crumbled like dried poo thats been in the sun too long . Any ideas on what I can give to help him? He does not seem to be in any pain, his tummy is not hard and he's running around playing. He gets bonnie puppy in the mornings with a bone to munch on, then tinned food mixed with bonnie puppy at night with aditives like cheese, garlic, olive oil or a sardine (not all these aditives at once, spread out over a week). He also gets a kong with a small handfull of good o's in it to help keep him occupied thru the day. Any advice greatly appreciated! :D

I feed our 6 month old SBT Bonnie Puppy, on its own for breakfast and for dinner mixed with Pal Puppy canned food, sometimes some grated cheese, sometimes some crushed garlic, and once a week either a sardine or olive oil. He's in great condition. I get comments all the time on how his coat shines and how healthy he looks. He also gets a raw bone ever second day. A good friend of mine has 2 lab's, she's recently switched to Bonnie Light for them and the Chocolate Lab's coat has never looked better. Her Black lab also gets royal canin mixed with bonnie as she's got a few issues, but both are doing really well on it. I guess it just depends on the dog.