KJJ

broadly related to this topic - a friend shared this link today http://leemakennels.com/blog/dogs-and-politics/where-do-puppies-come-from/ I think it raises some valid points

kangaroo is lean, but because it is lean it is low in EFA's (essential fatty acids) so is not something I would feed as the primary food source without adding things like oily fish, flax seed oil or some fish oil. Personally if I think one of my dogs could stand to lose some weight, I just feed them less and increase the amount of daily physical activity without changing what I feed them (I've just switched them to k9 natural and so far I'm pleased, it's also less hassle than preparing homemade raw), but ultimately I think it's down to what works for you and your dogs, what works for one person may not for another - so trial and error will hopefully give you the result you are looking for :)

I just gave my sows ear a pat, she looked at me like she was asking why I woke her up. I'm not sure if my girl is a sows ear or not - but I'm damn sure she would nom one up given the chance :p

my BCx would alert bark regardless of whether people were home or not, I do not think he has the physical confidence to take direct action though, I suspect he would be extremely anxious if I were threatened but I doubt he would bite - growl maybe. My other dog has the typical staffy attitude of 'a stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet - especially if they might give me food', she doesn't alert bark and I have no idea if she would react at all if I were threatened, maybe she would surprise me? The dogs I grew up with were a different kettle of fish, one was a rescue bully x ACD former pig hunting dog and was very protective of all the family, other dogs included - but would take action against a perceived threat in total silence. The other was a GSD, highly adaptable in his approach, he was a very special boy (and took his responsibilities very seriously). I have no doubt that those dogs would have not hesitated to protect me against any threat.

The only dog I have been badly attacked by (as in jumped a fence and unprovoked bit me multiple times resulting in calf wounds that required medical treatment) was a Labrador, I'm a 6ft tall woman so I shudder to think what would have happen to a child in the same circumstances - and that was from a breed that is universally thought of in the media as a 'good dog', family friendly etc (hell from what I see on TV the main issue is stopping the damn things from bringing you toilet paper :p ), that coupled with the fact that I own (and have owned) a bull breed makes me skeptical about banning specific breeds - I'd much rather ban irresponsible people from dog ownership, some people just don't deserve it

I haven't read the entire thread, so my apologies if this was already mentioned - petbarn in the ACT now stocks the K9 natural frozen raw diet, including frozen green tripe (I got rediculously excited about finding the tripe :) )