becks

I think he goes WAY over the top! If the parents are of sound temperaments, then they'd need less then a quarter of what he goes on about. I sometimes think these people who spend all day with problem dogs forget that there are normal dogs out there who can cope with change and meeting people and new things without flooding them with everything in the first few months.

The stone looks like its so easy to use on the Eric Salas video tho! He makes it look so simple! I was looking at getting the pupkus brand thinning shears but they are made by Wahl ( Wahl doesn't have the best rep in human hair tools) so now I'm not sure which ones to get. Wahl don't have a good rep with dog grooming tools either! Roseline is a good brand and their scissors last well (I have some 15+ years old) I use a double sided thinner and they don't ever get sharpened Stripping stones are great and you won't cut the coat, which can make orange parts go fluffy and paler do you mean cutting the coat makes it go fluffier? or the stone makes it go fluffier? Sorry Im a bit dopey lol. I have been recommended the roseline brand by someone else too, Im glad to know that thx. cutting the coat can make it fluffy

yorkies are a similar size to a maltese. Do you mean Airedale as the other breed from Yorkshire?

raw chunks of veg will add bulk and not be digested, grating and pulverising veg will be digested

desexed males have still been known to mate a bitch, so his bits still working is perfectly normal!

The stone looks like its so easy to use on the Eric Salas video tho! He makes it look so simple! I was looking at getting the pupkus brand thinning shears but they are made by Wahl ( Wahl doesn't have the best rep in human hair tools) so now I'm not sure which ones to get. Wahl don't have a good rep with dog grooming tools either! Roseline is a good brand and their scissors last well (I have some 15+ years old) I use a double sided thinner and they don't ever get sharpened Stripping stones are great and you won't cut the coat, which can make orange parts go fluffy and paler

We had a well known judge go over our breed and picked out all the dogs by one breeder and later in the write ups basically said only that breeders dogs were any good. Next time they judged they got a coouple of new exhibitors and that breeders dogs - judge said in write up 'small entry but at least the quality dogs turned up' next time this person judged, they got even less (less then half the average entry for the breed at the time). Same judge also used their position writing for one of the dog papers to on 3 occasions promote one dog in the breed (a breed they had nothing to do with). So that judge is in the very small 'don;t bother with' list.

I've always just used 'away' (for UK) for teaching the IPO/working trials sendaway, I am told they start off using a ribbon tied to the fence/hedge as a marker to teach the dog to run out straight. Not sure how they then work in the redirect on the sendaway for working trials.

I'm getting more and more fond of Rotties, nice to see they are as versatile as the Giant Schnauzers!

We have 2 lovely rotties in my obedience class and i could happily take either home, such friendly dogs and great with people and other dogs.

That's the idea. Can you get a friend to go over him? He might be rolling on his back because he thinks daddy has come over for belly rubbings and a game. Remember, showing is meant to be fun and we have all made a fool of our selves in the ring at some point or had our dogs show us up - there is even a thread on here somewhere where we all told our embarrassing stories!

Any conditioner used on a harsh coat will soften it (I never use it on the stripped jackets of my schnauzers, even bathing will soften to coat a little) Vehs - i was taught the opposite and always condition coats i will clip or scissor, i just water down the conditioner (but then i rarely use conditioner neat!), using a light conditioner protects the hair while not weighing it down.

I have a bitch like that, stays in season for a good month 9although only cycles every 8 or 9 months) she was mated last time about day 18

and don't be frightened to tell him 'NO' when he is being silly about being picked up, then when calm you can reward him. and hold him against you so he feels more secure

To be honest, I would just stop worrying about where his legs are for the moment. Get his front feet straight and have him stay still for a few seconds and reward that and build up the time. Once he knows to stay still, then you can work on where they back legs are going. The more you keep fidling with his legs, the more he will fidget and squirm. Also get someone to take photos of your stacking, it can show up faults you didn't notice. Watch that he is standing in a straight line, I notice a lot of beginners in our ringcraft class have a habit of pulling the back feet out at different places and from above the dog is standing on a curve. You can practise a bit of stacking and show training while on walks each day, so there is plenty of fun associated with him being still.

I only have one judge in my black book and that judge is there because they dragged my young giant schnauzer forward by the beard - took me years to get her happy about judges handling her face again without filling her mouth with treats all the time. Same judge was also picking up and dropping the mini schnauzers. There are other judges I know don't like the same type i have. If my dog hasn't done well under a judge when it was young, i will give the judge another try when the dog is mature

That's interesting, I find dogs dry faster when conditioner has been used. Conditioner is great if you have a dog that tangles

I'd start when he is on your lap, keep hold as you stand up and carry him into another room where you already have his dinner ready or another room where you have some treats waiting, or carry him to get his lead before going for a walk. Just generally pick him up for a few seconds for a quick cuddle and pop him back down. If he likes to jump, you can teach him to jump into your arms.

I thought it was just the aussie thing of adding an 'o' to words - or is that just peoples names?

Dump them in rescue or put them down. I was told years ago that they go back to the "breeder" In that case it would be dump them on rescue, put them down or use from first season for breeding the next crop

I used to tell my vet, that if they shave the leg, they don't get paid! I took a retired bitch in to be spayed last week and they didn't shave her leg at all and I didn't even mention not to shave her! It really does pay off to train your vet and their nurses! :) As others said, a bit of chalk to hide any skin colour showing, but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

If you don't like moulting dogs, what do you feel about slober? Something Bullmastiffs can do a lot of!

Have you contacted the kennels that have the top bloodlines (however you define top bloodlines - working? show? combination of work and show?)

When talking about stiffness, we are talking about the backing of the vet bed, the top is the same from wherever

Monah, which part of the UK are you thinking about moving to?