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I can join this thread now...but I'm going to be a year long resident! Because my mentor has decided to breed her girl for the 2nd and last time in her next season, and not in a few years time I'm shelving some other plans I had and will hopefully be getting a foundation bitch this time next year (or anytime between Feb-May depending on her season). Im even more excited that the pups will be descended from a dog (or three) that my current dog is descended from, dogs that I LOVE! Im so excited that I can confirm it!

Hi dotdashdot, Firstly, how old is Cleo? As an adult (18 months+), she should technically be able to work all day long for you. If she is of adult age, one hour would be ample exercise daily. It is important not to wear her out. If she is 12-18 months, probably half an hour. Under 12 months, I wouldn't give much extended exercise at all. M Thanks heaps, she's two in April so I think our bike rides will be good, maybe I'll increase them slightly as my fitness increases as our rides are only about 15 mins currently. Thanks again :)

I see what you mean - poultry can be other than chicken/turkey/duck I guess? Exactly, I wasn't saying there was no meat, but they aren't very specific about any of the mea in the food And how can a recipe be a recipe if the #1 ingredient can change from turtey to chicken to duck? That's what gets me. Sure they're similar but they're not identical in composition. I know Turkey contains tryptophan (sp?) which can have calming effects.

My dog has had Royal Canin on one instance when I got a bag cheap from work (I've tried nearly every premium by now!). Looking back now, I would never have bought it. It's not cheap stuff either, for the amount of filler. I do love their packaging though with the drawings of the dogs. A rep from another premium food company put something to me the other day that I had never thought about. I feed Earthborn Holistic, which is the food he represents but aside from that he was explaining how the grains in their grain containing varieties are grains that existed before humans developed wheat and corn (maize). I feed the grain free anyway, but that's an interesting point that he raised. Makes me want to talk to the Royal Canin rep some more and pick his brains a bit

I've got a question Abbiestar, more a general dog exercising quesition than an ET question. Since discovering that biking with Cleo is a fairly easy way to get her exercise needs without killing me, I want to ride with her as exercise, not just for the ET. Have you got any tips on how much is too much? Cleo is a dalmatian with insatiable appetite for exercise and running with a fair level of fitness already. I appreciate any feedback, I don't want to burn her out.

Just took Cleo for her second ride with me - nearly killed me when she stopped to sniff light poles! At least by about 3-4kms she gets the idea of running beside the bike and not pulling me along! I love how I can see Cleo doing what Dalmatians are meant to do - run! She's got awesome stamina and endurance. I have to say the new bike seat I bought today makes a WORLD of difference to the butt bones. Glad I work next to a bike shop! They even gave me a discount! Elise+Hudson, I picked up my bike from Big W for $98 then I spent $40 on a better bike seat. It's quite a good little bike too =]

Cleo's always done two, no matter what food. My parent's lab (who is fed supercoat) goes 3-4 times a day. My in-laws' dog is the same. My parent's mini schnauzer fed optimum goes 2-3 times a day.

I must have been lucky that it did work for Cleo! I was only feeding about 1.5 cups (and 1 barf patty) a day, which is the same I feed now of Earthborn. She doesn't need much. Compare that to Advance (which I got a free 3kg bag of) and she has a whole cup for brekky instead of half.

I think I can jump into this thread now! I've been keen to do the ET and now my dog is old enough and I bought a bike today! We just went for our first ride together (my first ride in a few years) and Im impressed how she took to it. She jerked on the lead a few times when I was going too slow (because she wanted to sniff the ground, she was cool with the bike) but she enjoyed it once we got going. The 10kph will be hard for her I think, she wasn't even breaking into her show gait at that speed! We had to do 16kph so she wouldn't stop and sniff! Anyone doing Grafton's ET? And are the entries published in the DogsNSW gazette?

Oh yes agree info should have been checked first. Though personally I think the response at the time could have been better. Just to clarify - it was me who started that "issue". What happened was that my work (who is supplied by Rudducks, a company that distributes BH among other foods) was sent an email by a girl at head office telling us about a recall of Black Hawk. I immediately asked in here because at the time I was feeding BH and concerned of course. A few hours later (and people accusing me of incorrect things) we received another email, citing Black DOG which as some will know is actually a treat brand. As soon as I discovered this, I posted in here. It was a simple misunderstanding, I was a concerned user of BH. I like BH as a food and Cleo never got the runs or lost condition, even if I don't use it anymore because I prefer totally grain free kibble. I would never try to hurt a company in any way, any one who knows who I am would attest to that.

I eat much worse quality wise than Cleo does. Mostly because I make a conscious choice to eat junk food if I feel like it, Cleo gets no choice other than stealing bird seed and eating poo. I will try to be healthier when I have children, but right now my sister is on a anti-everything that tastes good (basically) diet and I'm so sick of hearing about it that I think im rebelling. Mind you my mum think's im too skinny (im not, my BMI is 22) and I do love my veggies so Im not all bad.

I live smack bang in tick country (mid north coast of NSW) and I use Advantix regularly. Just can't afford not to, I hear about too many death stories or near misses at work. I also have Permoxin in the cupboard which I will use for added protection if walking through the bush or anything. But usually I feel Advantix is enough (applied fortnightly-3 weekly in summer). Im not sure if Permoxin is waterproof, hence why I only use it if walking thru the bush (we live near the beach). Proban is out of production.

Yesterday when walking Cleo down to the river we were approached by a pug (offlead) while his owner was preoccupied (fishing). I tried to scare him off (stomp and loud "AH! in his direction) but that didn't work and I was getting worried because I've had Cleo very nearly attacked by smaller dogs. Eventually, while I'm still dragging Cleo away, the guy appears and tells me to kick his dog! Twice! I said no, I don't want to hurt him. He ran over and the dog tried to dodge him, Im guessing the boot treatment has happened before. No actual mistreatment occurred in front of me, but I was a bit put out that someone would tell me to kick their dog for them!

I've never run out of dry food, working in a pet store helps with that. I tend to stock up and not buy food for a while. BARF patties I do run out of because I forget I need them every now and then, and then if we're low on supplies I'll leave it so a customer can have the chance to buy it. I don't like Cleo having too much of a routine when it comes to what she eats, one day it might be kibble and patty, then just kibble or maybe a chicken frame. If I ran out of food altogether, I would probably give her some of our meat to eat.

I understand that you are keen to import, but I would ask why and what you are hoping to add to the Australian Pap's that you cannot get here? As Greytmate pointed out, generally people that import are importing for a specific reason/trait/line. I.e im hoping to be a part of importing semen soon to add a much needed gene to Aussie Dalmatians, to stop them getting urinary stones. I'm not trying to be negative, but as someone who is currently going through this process, there is a lot more involved that it first seems! (I'm lucky im in a group of people who've done this sort of thing before!)

But if neuter was only for already titled dogs, I and my dog would not be able to participate at all in shows (my meager entry fee is still money that clubs use, clubs gain more by having us there! and we have fun). There is no reason why my dog should not be shown, other than the fact that she is missing a uterus. The reason for this is nothing to do with her, it was MY circumstances that dictated her being desexed. As has been highlighted in my previous posts, I think it's important to see not just a dog or bitch in the showring, but siblings and other relatives as well!

I have a Cleo. Named for a seal I knew, not the pharaoh (although she acts like a bloody queen!). I want my first male dog to be called Solomon (for another seal I knew) but my next dog will probably be another bitch and I was thinking Lulu as a play on LUA (low uric acid) because that's the sort of Dalmatian it'll be but it's not growing on me. Was a nice joke =] I think i'd like to have a Nala again, Im a die-hard lion king fanatic. Growing up we had a Bindi, Nala and Meg and my parents now have a Benji. My birds get strange names, Squeak, Ruby (for her red eyes) and Pheonix, and the babies are Popeye and Cricket. Working at a pet store where we engrave dog tags, I see lots of variety in names and only a few Bella's.

If I had this last year over, knowing what I know now, I would not have desexed my bitch. But I had to for several reasons but instead of our show career ending, we could keep having fun in the ring. Having a title at the end gives us a goal, I would not enter if it was sweepstakes. My girl was not the pick of the litter, but was sold on mains with no restrictions. Rare, I know, but this breed is not the breeder's first breed and was more of a first dabble. However, I know my girl's sister (the pick of the litter) and could possibly direct anyone who likes my girl, to this breeder. My girl is a representation of this line in a different state where I haven't seen many dogs with very similar lines. We all know that for the true determination of health in a line, we should look at aunties, uncles, etc not just the straight line of sires and dams.

The reason I said neuter classes might be a nice starting point is because I was a newbie not too long ago and jumping straight into the main ring was daunting. I was up against dogs trying to get their last few points for their championship and the owner meant business (as they should, they were lovely dogs) I was still nervous when entering her as a neuter, but felt less pressure, it's more about the fun because neuter's have the "can't be bred from" factor. It's also hard for a first timer to get a dog good enough for the ring. My girl was sold on mains and I was basically told I could do what I liked, not something that happens too often. Obviously if people are going to use neuter classes as an entry, the dogs have to be of quality still (but maybe just not the pick of the litter, like my girl who probably lost out because she's more heavily spotted than her siblings).

I like the page. And Zora OMG

At the moment, I only have a neuter to show! She is my learning curve and we have learnt a lot together. I've just filled out my entry for one show today, and hopefully another one tonight if hubby agrees to go away for 3 days! These will only be my 3rd and 4th shows. Unfortunately I live in a regional area, and can't travel too far (my answer to the 3rd question In the poll reflect this, I would show in the city if I could get there!) I wish my hometown club would do class 18, I was disappointed that they didn't last year. I think it would help encourage more "pet" owners maybe, introduce them gently to the dog world. I've come across one gentlemen (who I got talking to at my work) that was a judge and he didn't agree with the neuter class at all. I just explained, as I my circumstances at the time prevented me from keeping my girl entire, neuter classes are the only way I can enjoy a show right now. He seemed to agree somewhat. Even when I hopefully get my new pup, I want to keep showing Cleo. She enjoys the day out, and she's a good specimen! She may be heavily spotted but if you look past that her structure and movement are good. We currently have 94 points to go!

As someone who's trying to look around at different breeder's pages now (not Australian) I get annoyed when I have to "dig" to find what I consider basic info, like info on a specific dog that they own. Rather than a tab with "boys" and "girls" and a dropdown list of names, having a tab to "our dogs" which would lead to a page with list of names with pictures that you can then see and then delve further. (I hope that makes sense) That's one thing that I do like about some pages I've seen. Outdated info is annoying, or if you have more than one breed, have clear sections. I've gone to go to one website for one breed, end up looking at a completely different breed and can't find the info I wanted! Blog style sites are sometimes hard to navigate (IMO) because all the ones I've seen go backwards in date. I would link to a blog but not have the main site as a blog.

There are risks with importing a dog too. There was a thread a short while ago in the Breeders forum about dogs being bought out who proved sterile even though they had pups/were tested in their home country. Not good to lose money either way but $5000 on dud FS is cheaper then $15000 for a dud dog. OS breeders often send more then one breeding unit over anyway in case of a miss, it's something you can negotiate at the time. And I had read that thread too. I believe that it would be best if we had more than one unit sent over, and I think that's what will happen.

Unfortunately importing a dog just isn't an option at this point in time. I would love to, and Im aware that it gives you more options but there are a group of us who chatted about this (and who've imported semen before) and this is what's going ahead. Down the track, one of us may import a dog, to add to the LUA gene pool but at this stage, just trying to get the gene established in the Australian population is our first goal and I guess we've just got to take the risks associated with importing semen.

And this is why I asked, I was really hoping that I would hear enough positive to feel confident enough to go ahead. I can deal with issues if they arise and being organised is important to me! I love the temprement of the male dallies that I've met, so much more snuggly than my girl, but I love my independent girls as well. And the ability to match a good dog to a bitch I might have is, as you say, less restricting. I hope that soon I'll be announcing when this is all happening (and there is a bit happening!), it's great to see that so many people are hanging out for LUA dals and are so supportive. The first I read of LUA dals a few years ago was quite negative (before they were accepted by the AKC) so Im so happy to hear the positive!