ish

8 more sleeps ;)

I've missed a few weeks Checking out the view from a vantage point in the state forrest 6/4/10 Getting to know one of her new siblings 17/4/10 Love the colours of her coat in this one, they're even nicer when she's dry 20/4//10 and another from today, just because I think her face wrinkles are so cute!

On the 30th of April and 1st & 2nd of May, the 38th German Shepherd National show and trial will be held at KCC Park in Melbourne. There are 2 judges flying over from Germany to judge (flights permitting with the volcano situation) and just under 500 GSDs from all over Australia are entered in the conformation aspect, and 62 obedience entries. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is curious about the breed to see the best of the best in action GSD specialties shows are quite different to all breeds shows, lots of action and noise and heaps of fun to be a part of. The top 10 in each class are critiqued by the judge at the end of the class, so there is a great opportunity to learn about GSD conformation and why the dogs were placed in that order. On Friday, the baby puppy, minor puppy and junior classes are held - starting at 8am Saturday starts with the puppy dog and bitch classes at 8am and then the Sires Progeny parade at 10am (all stud dogs with 5 or more progeny of 6 months old are presented like a show class, while the judges explain the good and not so good traits the dog is passing on) Breeders groups are next, followed by Intermediate classes and the offical opening and awards at 12:30 Obedience is on Saturday also, starting from 8:30am Sunday sees the Open dog and bitch classes which is always competitive and exciting. There are 78 open bitches and 61 open dogs battling it out to be crowned gold, silver and bronze medal winners. Classes start at 8:30am. Please - no comments on the structure of the breed or show/working line debates in this thread

Our family's Golden Retriever turned 15 last month. For the first 5 years of her life, I'm sure she was fed Pal dry food and pet mince, I can remember the different coloured biscuits like peas and carrots She used to be a bit porky so for the last 10 years she's been on Supercoat light and mature, with some pet mince. When the pet mince supply became unreliable we switched her onto Ecopet loaf. She suffered from ear infections when she was younger and has a bit of stiffness now that is mostly controlled by Sasha's Blend and occasionally half a Rimadyl if she's having a bad day - but she's generally healthy and happy for an old girl

What a cutie!!

I know of an imported GSD (sire of one of my dogs) who bloated and I assume had a Gastropexy of some variety - however a couple of years later he 'reverse bloated' which I found out meant his stomach twisted the opposite way to however it was tacked, and he didn't make it :D

Can I please add another 2 large size for me, if the order hasn't been placed yet?

I'd expect to pay $1200 to $2000 for a show potential GSD puppy depending on where you are and which breeder your get a pup from. Specialty show entries can be quite dear - entries for the upcoming National were $42 and often $30-$40 if a German judge is involved.

The break-away collars are a good suggestion but I'd be very careful leaving loose collars on dogs who have other dogs for company while unsupervised. Dogs have been strangled by their collars being caught in the mouth of another dog and twisted during a game gone wrong

I think a large would be too big for a GR

Here are my babies at 2.5 weeks old Red girl, a longcoat Maroon girl Apricot girl last but not least, the boy and a couple of family shots

Mine get locked up - in crates, in the trailer if we're away etc so they have little chance to anything much other than rest. My house dogs are usually sensible enough to lay on their beds before tea, but if they start playing or won't settle, they get split up and crated. I worry about my dog who is on cortisone - he drinks so much water and his whole life is about food. I can't restrict his water, and he rarely settles in an hour in his crate because he's so excited about his tea arriving. Not helpful things to keep bloat away Hopefully he will be able to come off the cortisone at some stage

Check if there is a little tab that slides up and down on the side of the card - it may have been moved into the lock position accidently

I recently bought some from here http://www.peperonepetsupplies.com/ Great service and price ;) The litter I have is 2 weeks old and this is the first litter I've used vet bed for, so I bought some pieces of rubber backed and some of green backed - but as yet haven't formed an opinion either way as to if one is better than the other. I'm sure other breeders will have better replies for you I have a 6kg front loader washer, and I can't fit our whelping box sized pieces (1.2 x 1.35m) in it Its quite stiff and bulky.

Can I please have one medium and 2 large? Thanks

27/3/10 A walk in the afternoon sunshine - a rare still moment from Termi 1/4/10 Checking out her new brother and sisters, such amazing little grubs :D

This is a large size i-squeak

I've used one for barking - I was having issues with a dog who was fence running and barking just for the first 15 minutes after being let out in the mornings. I started letting her out with the husher on, in the beginning she'd still do a muffled bark but eventually gave that up too. The husher was only staying on during that initial period of excitement and then coming off again. I thought it worked well for that purpose

I'd take it back - the super premiums all have a money back guarantee and it sounds like theres something not right with it. They should let you exchange it, though they might have to wait until the next time the RC rep is visiting to ok it.

Termi has taken to running straight down to the dam once we're out in the paddocks recently, and she's not a very attractive dog dripping wet! I took her out on lead today, though of course, when I was fiddling with the camera she took the opportunity to dash off and came back wringing wet So, I present the only dry bit of Termi today - the top of her head

Usually born dark and fade with age to the typical tan/gold and black markings These pups should have nice dark masking on their faces though, the smaller/less tan markings as pups, the more likely they'll stay dark

Our pups arrived early this morning Had one stillborn bitch but ended up with 3 bitches and one dog, all doing well

Congrats on your beautiful pups Whippets! Aww, they're so lovely! Wanna trade one for a GSD?

Termi 12/3/10 - tired after a swim HATE trying to take photos with the point and shoot, can't wait to have my DSLR back next week!

Michael Bell at Craigieburn