TYLER23

A big thumbs up for toilet training with a crate. I'd never even heard of this with our previous dogs, but after a lot of reading we decided to give it a go this time round and so far so good. Pup has been with us for almost a week, NO accidents inside the house, and getting up twice a night to take him for a pee when he cries. Last night i was playing with him in the family room, then he went and started scratching at the back door... i thought it was a little strange, so i took him outside and he went to the toilet straight away... what a clever pup!

We have had our little fella (9 weeks old) for just under a week now, most things are going well, no accidents inside the house, and we are working very hard on his mouthing although he has broken skin a few times i built a 5mx5m dog run which will be his confinement area when we aren't home and i want him to get used to it as quickly as possible. He woke at 0730 this morning, so i put him in the run with his brekky and some of his toys and went back into the house. i was watching him from the back window (but he couldn't see me), he sniffed around for a bit ignored his food and starting jumping at the gate and yelping non stop. I gave him 15 minutes, but he didn't settle, so i brought him back into the house as i don't want to upset the neighbours. Any tips on how to get him in there? When i'm in there with him he's fine. The run has a small shed in it which i have put a kennel in. He has his crate inside the house which he loves... but i don't really want to be carrying a crate back and forth from the house to the run.

I've read a number of threads covering vaccinations, but quite frankly, i'm none the wiser, and after a few phone calls to different local vets (who are giving me different opinions), i'm even more lost. Our SBT received his first shots at 6 weeks (C3 + C2i), and i'm trying to work out when the remaining shots should be given. The breeder's vet recommends C7 at 10 weeks, and another C3 +C2i at 13 weeks. One local vet is telling me two more shots at 10 and 14 weeks, and the other is saying only one more at 10 weeks. Any help would be much appreciated. The other question i have is regarding worming and flea/tick. The breeder has already started the little fella on Sentinel Spectrum which i'm told also has flea control in it, but since we have bandicoots and possums in the yard, i've been told to get him onto Advantix asap. He is currently 9 weeks old, is it ok, to give both Sentinel and Advantix? The other issue is, one vet told me that if you have cats (which we will in a couple of weeks), there is a ingredient in Advantix which is toxic to cats if a dog comes into contact with them. Is this true? Cheers in advance!

Where abouts are you? They sell it at stock feed stores. Sydney - Northern Beaches

Why are there no GB or UA distributors in Sydney Metro?

Yep, i'm aware there are better brands, but price is a factor. Optimum is $78 for 18kg , Advance is $100 for15kg bag, which is starting to push it...

Are these two ingredients enough to justify choosing Advance over Optimum?

Ok, we know the same company produces both products, Advance is almost twice the price, but on close inspection there doesn't seem to be much difference in the ingredients. The ingredients are identical except for the following. Optimum: - Chicken by products - Cereal Protein - Wheat - Beef Tallow - Ferrous Sulphate - Selenium - Sugar Beet Pulp - Salt - Sodium Tripolyphosphate - Glucosomine Advance: - Chicken Meal - Chicken Tallow - Maize Gluten - Poultry and Meal - Vegetable Fibre - Barley - Iodised Salt - Iron Sulphate - Sodium Selenite Are any of the extra ingredients in Advance really worth the extra $$ or are any of the extra ingredients in Optimum inferior and should be avoided?

Where do you guys source your pet mince (with bone)? Do you ask your local butcher to make it up for you, can you find it at woolies, leanords?

The reason why i will feed dry in the mornings is two-fold. One, we are always in a mad rush and it's much easier to measure out 1/2 cup of dry, and two, as stated before we aren't going to get too technical with calorie and nutrient counting so supplementing raw with a good quality dry should make up any deficiencies for a growing pup. Yoghurt seems to be mentioned a lot on these forums, so i figured it must be good for the dogs. So if i were to go 100% raw from day dot, and don't want to spend time in the kitchen making up stews etc, what would you recommend for a 8 week old SBT? mince for brekky, chicken wings/necks for lunch, mince/liver for dinner? that sounds about right for your 80/10/10 ratio

Morning All, What a wonderful and informative thread! We pickup our Staffordshire Bull Terrier shortly and just have a few questions regarding feeding. The breeder has the pups on a dry and mince diet which we'd like to change to a dry and raw diet with the intention of going fully raw by 12 months of age. Questions: 1. Is 2.5% of adult body weight the correct amount to feed from day dot? Say and adult SBT is 15kg, so that's 375g per day. 110g for a cup of dry and 265g raw? 2. In terms of raw foods, our list includes, lamb flap, brisket bones, chicken carcass, chicken wings & necks, chicken maryland, turkey wings, lamb liver, lamb kidney & hearts minced, roo mince and pig trotters. Any important bits we've missed? 3. Obviously not all of these foods are suitable for a young pup. Should we just stick to the softer meats like chicken wings, necks and carcasses initially? 4. At what age should we introduce the harder boney meats? 5. We don't intend to spend a lot of time measuring quantities, calories, and nutrient intake, so is it safe to just give a meaty meal (eg. chicken maryland or mince) for brekky and a meaty bone for dinner? 6. We also intend to add sardines, yoghurt, and eggs. Should these be included from day dot? raw or boiled eggs? 7. Should we still apply the 15 minute feeding rule even when the pup is say 6 months+? Does that mean we take away a big juicy meaty bone after 15 minutes or let him have it for as long as he wants? Thanks in advance.

Just wandering how much hair SBT shed inside the house?