Rebanne

so sorry Olly for your loss. At least Hapi had a wonderful 4 months with you.

K9: this really isnt true, if you never expose your dog to washing & teach him that it isnt acceptable, you will be forever in management. Me:Funny how I can now leave my washing out all day, dangling all over the place without a worry in the world K9: there are three stages to training a dog, the learning stage, the correction stage & the distraction stage. If you never expose your dog to washing that he might want, you have missed the most crucial stage of training, the distraction stage. Me:See above. It has worked for me with many dogs. No need for a correction stage with my method so far. K9: greys have a strong natural prey drive, if you dont teach this breed they cannot chase & bite everything they find prey stimulating you have an out of control dog, management wont work when prey drive is a subconscious reaction to stimuli. Me:Thanks I am quite familiar with greys and their prey drive. I have 4 cats

I've always avoided hanging long flapping washing out when I've had a pup. I choose a time that the pup would be supervised then hang out the towels and sheets etc. I belive this is setting up the dog to succeed. If you prevent a problem from starting by a bit of management in the beginning the dog is a whole lot better off. Prevent the problem first rather than play catch up by correcting, has worked well for all my dogs and the fosters I have had, including the current 10 month old greyhound boy who just loves to pick up everything in his mouth, just like a toddler.

Chicken giblets are hearts and livers. My dogs love them. Pet mince depends where you buy it. My butcher has a great mixture of organ meats, chicken carcasses etc. I buy chicken carrcasses for a $1 a kilo and I can get big bags of offal, hearts, tongues, liver etc for about $1.50 a kilo. Ask your butcher what they can do for you, ask around. Here it is cheaper to go through a butcher than a supermarket. 10 kilos of chicken carcasses does my 3 dogs for a week. One greyhound, one GSD and one beagle X.

dog rocks seem to be working for us though Tatum did remove them a few times I only have them in the inside water not the big bucket outside. My dogs prefer to drink from inside so that's not a problem. I got mine off ebay

I know there is soemthing around for cats. I have an 11 yo moggy who was speyed at 7 months. Tilley could be quite nasty to both us and the other cats. She has had two injections of a female hormone when she was younger and the difference they made was amazing. If they could give cats something years ago ( last injection approx 6 years ) surely there must be something for dogs by now.

Thanks. I may have to think of having a go with Piper. The stand for exam was always going to beat me so I didn't try.

where can I go and get a look at all the rule changes? Will you be able to go straight into novice or have to do the CCD first?

Both my greyhounds were/are squatters. Sam wasn't desexed until 4 1/2. Piper at 18 months. Piper will, very rarely, cock his leg. I prefer them to be squatters as they don't seem to have the same need to mark everything!

I've posted about Sunday on my email list and there has been a lamant or two about previous engagements. I've promised to find out more So is this a regular event and if so how often and when please? If I get enough notice I can make the greyt trek down too. I so want to bring the gang

I have a friend, Jane, who may be going on Sunday. She will have 2 or 3 female greyhounds with her (not sure if the oldie is going) please take good care of her as it's her first time. Gee I wish I was coming

It really would depend on the dog of ANY breed. Plus my cats are confined to the house and cattery, not loose in the backyard with the dogs. Sam chased anything that moved, it was movement that would set him off. I could walk him down the street, a cat would run across the road ahead of us, he would be very keen to chase, we would walk past same cat sitting still on the footpath right under his nose and Sam would be looking for the thing that moved quickly. Couldn't care less about cat sitting still. Yes Sam would often pull up sore after a run but I would never deny him his basic right to run hard and fast. It was his life. I did was put him back on lead if I thought he had done enough. In his eyes he had never done enough. It's a judgement call, may be best to see how Al reacts to the cat first. I've had Earl, my foster for 2 weeks now. He's fine with my cats but I wouldn't let him lure course yet. I would want to know him way better.

Poor Al. My Sam had a few old war wounds from his racing days. He'd have loved lure coursing he'd chase paper blowing down the street, he was very keen, but oh so gentle at home with the cats.

Ok I just posted a link to this thread to my greyhound email group, then I read this. Why can't greyhounds compete? Or is it only Al who won't be allowed because you don't want him too? And could someone please post details of where and when, ie what time. If I was in Melbourne I'd bring my lot along

I don't. And I only did kennel cough when I went on holidays. I vaccinate for Parvo every 2 or 3 years only, depending on which dog.

Thanks Grossco57 for the offer but all my research indicates that man made food is not natural and that is what I prefer to feed my dogs - natural food that they evolved on.

dog biscuits are not natural, they are human made. Dogs fending for themselves in the wild do not find biscuits scattered around for them to eat. My dogs are fed raw meaty bones every day and get cut marrow bones about 3 times a week. Never had a problem. They also get the occasional pig ear but they are very fatty so it is a rare treat for them. I have been feeding a raw diet for over 11 years now with no problems related to the diet.

Stormy I was so sorry to hear about Angel. I thank you and your family for wanting to take her and spoil her. I'm sure she knew she was loved even from afar. Sweet is the sleep that ends all pain. Run free Angel with all who have gone before you and tell Sam I miss him.

Tatum is 10 months old and never had a proper bath. Her coat is beautiful (long coat GSD), no smell and she sleps on my bed most nights at the head! Piper and Emma would have been bathed sometime at the height of summer. Emma is the only dog I have ever owned who has a doggy odour. She has it all the time including straight after her bath LOL

Animals adopted from animal shelters do not automatically contribute to the large amount of unwanted pets. Bad owners do and thye do not adopt from shelters! There were very, very few animals that were not desexed at the required time at the shelter I managed and I was there 10 years. Most pets can come home the same day they are desexed. I understand why shelters do the early desexing but I don't agree with it and got my 2 kittens from a "free to good home". Getting a pup or a kitten from a shelter is no longer possible for me because of the early desexing. My vets do all the shelter's desexing but they don't agree with it.

On the container of joint food powder that is my choice for dogs it clearly states that it can't be used in orange juice or other acid juices. I always fed the vit C at a different meal and just used human tablets broken up.

Acupuncture can be a good help too. My GSD had gold beads inserted into her acupuncture points which gave her constant pain relief. Zoe also had human joint food powder and for the last 3 years of her life 1 or 2 disprin a day. We practicually live at the chiropractor but it all helped her get to 11.

Not so according to Billinghurst himself. I have lent out my copy of his original book so am quoting from memory. "Egg white does inhibit the uptake of Biotin. The good news is the yolk is full of the stuff so overrides the the egg white. Feed the whole egg and your fine." or words to that effect.

I fed/feed Tatum a mixture of raw chicken parts, lamb bits, offal, tinned mackeral, beef heart, minced beef/chicken, eggs. I also bought one 4 kilo bag of supercoat puppy as she was used to that in her diet. Once it ran out that was it. She also got/gets small amounts of vegies - both cooked and raw, rice, pasta, fruit and left overs.

Totally agree Louise. I will re read the book, it's been a couple of years since I last read it but I didn't think it was for me I have a Piper too, but mines a boy