Nekhbet

I have. He's obsessed with dental disease ... yes I agree with him most animals have disgusting teeth. but you catch more flies with honey then vinegar. Running into conspiracy theories and writing things such as 'the lack of dietary information for the animal must mean it was not on a natural diet' makes no friends. That is not factual information, that is not an educated paper that will convince other vets at all. I dont like this at all.

my lot could eat until they pop and new year means NEW EXERCISE REGIME!!! so we're all going for a bit of weight loss. I find that giving them rice and veges (which they actually wait for, you should see them crowd around when its cooking) keeps them full and prevents any constipation from the carcasses. Plus its a great way to get rid of 'fridge deaths' hehehe and i have a heap of silverbeet growing in the garden so that goes in there too. They seem to love it! maybe he should be hitting the vet schools and associations instead of the owners who then go on to be berated by their vet who has the blinkers on view of 'only dry food is good for your dog'. Well why change anything since between crap dry food causing medical problems and 'prescription diets' fixing them, plus a few kick backs, the vets are raking it in. Change needs to come from the inside - out.

I mean if your dog is happy, healthy and doing well on the current diet then why fiddle because someone else has a 'new theory' on what the dog should be eating. As I said there seems to be a little lack of true education and a lot of fashion following ... oh BARF is fabulous, oh no fillers just RMB, vege pulp etc Then Orijen came along WELL lets all jump on that bandwagon ... Now a few people are running to PPs range of 'grain free' foods and now we have the 'Prey Model' diet A dog is not a wolf and has not been for a while. Thousands of years of breeding AWAY from a wild model does not mean your dog is a wolf or needs its diet. Guess what? Theorys say the first dogs that were domesticated were scavengers around human camps and ate anything. Dogs and wolves still do eat everything, they will scavenge, eat grass, fallen fruit etc so putting them on a meat/bone only diet IMO it is rediculous and not a true prey model if you want that. As I said just my opinion anyway but not directed at those people who's dogs have GENUINE health problems are require a diet in order to fix it. ETA I dont like most commercial foods, especially those supermarket 'glorified chook feeds' but i've had dogs since the day I was born. My parents knew no better and fed cheap foods as a base but the dogs got all the scraps, off cuts etc. My dogs now, I wish I could afford RC again but are on a diet of chicken carcasses, rice and veges plus any scraps from the kitchen. They are not just surviving on the diet they look pretty good actually after being on it for a few months. You would probably be suprised what a dog could live rather well off, and all poos are nice and solid, even crumbly, no doggy smells, skin conditions or farty bums :D

dog have prey drive but many do not have the skill or personality to be able to cope with all 3 disciplines to the required level. A dog requires a firm grip, a full mouth bite etc most herding breeds are not natural biters like this. Nip yes, but to teach a full mouth grip to something like a BC, then the revier, is just beyond many breeds instincts, personality and character. There has been the occasional odd breed that has popped through, but hey whats the problem with that. If the little bugger can do it then let them. I think I saw a Daschund once attempting it, quite funny. Ambulls in the US are doing quite well, as a bandogs, cane corsos etc all of which are hunting/guarding breeds.

There is a video on youtube of CAO's doing manstopper work. You can see they are not really comfortable with doing it as say a GSD/Mal/Rottweiler would be. Yes they have the drive but the way they bite is more 'I'm warning you to stay away' then 'ok you're getting a new one now' :D

I'd throw away the advanced before the EP mixing foods is not a good idea with these breeds because when you haev a problem you cannot pinpoint what the cause is. I say go with the raw meaty bones and veges. Mine are all on chicken carcasses, boiled rice and grated veges and they are LOVING it. The rice is in there to bulk out the food as they tend to get a little porky

cripes is the prey model diet the fashion now ... first everyone was raving about BARF and now THATS not good enough either if your dog is happy on what you are feeding it why change it. I dont like the prey model diet and never will, especially for growing large/giant breed pups. But that is only my opinion. And before anyone starts, your dogs are not wolves. They have different dietary requirements from wolves because of their breeding - size, shape, growth rate, dietary requirements, metabolic rate etc. Chuck them whole rabbits if you want an authentic prey model diet not butchers offerings.

just to add ... my rottweiler was a wandering baby, picked up off the streets at about 8 weeks. When I got him a month later he had been kept with a FA rottweiler for a spell and hence gobbled ANYTHING he could find and quickly! What this dog ate, not just chewed, ATE and swallowed ... - garbage - rocks - plastic bags that had or still did contain food - grass (he still mows like a cow) - anything made of leather especially shoes - clothing - dry yucca fronds (yup I found a foot long poo a few weeks ago) - a dozen eggs, the shells and the CARTON - plastic toys (although now he just chews them and spits out the bits but all chewable cheap toys are banned here) - fruit, vegetables and anything edible growing in the garden - although somehow grapefruits are not to his liking this year - sheep poo, wallaby poo, roo poo, possum poo ... so basically anything that Diesel decides is a good idea he will go for. Critical period problem because he has this part of his brain that drives him to scavenge like he will starve (tell you what no chance of a fussy eater which is nice) but for a while nothing was sacred and had to be hidden away from him or he would at least chew it to complete obliteration. So Diesel came with me pretty much everywhere. He was happy to go for car trips and sit at work watching people work, crunching on a pigs ear, meeting other dogs etc. I got him stuff that was OK and unchewable for him, my dogs get bones every day to crunch on and the radio left on. He is slowly weaning off the problem, you occasionally find the odd poo with some interesting additions but keeping him well fed and happy seems to be the key in supressing his desire to eat whatever is lying around.

Sandy was trying to control the situation and she didnt like your friend showing excitement with another member of her pack or didnt like the body language displayed (especially with her young pack member in a crate vulnerable in her eyes). Frankly I would be putting her in a crate in another room if she doesnt like people. Sandy too is not at that age of maturity and being a bitch she will try and be top dog. I would get a professional in to at least give you one session of understanding what your dogs consider the pack structure in your household and what you can impliment as the 'new world order'

kateshep I understand that shtuzhund is not only based on prey. It is a test of nerves, handling and stability as well. KNVP and ringsport are something that europeans embrace that is uncommon here but goes beyond Sch. very true. Service dogs without titles though are also seen in pedigrees, although I understand what you are saying. If it was simply a test of prey then they wouldnt get very far using it as a decider in the viability of a dog to breed from. I know of some Sch dogs that have gone on to become service dogs, and some which are more then happy to be sport dogs I've seen both types of training and there are differences in the during and after wayrod ... isnt the legislation just a massive maze ... bit here, bit there try and piece it together if your brain doesnt explode from how open some of the legislation is.

I would up the raw food as well as it can stem from vitamin and mineral deficiencies (not normally sought in blood tests) most commonly iron. I would be adding some huge meaty bones every day! Pica comes from either a deficiency of some sort or a behavioral problem. Nothing wrong with buying something like a crib-stop spray for horses and slathering common items in that until the dog gets the hint. sounds silly but leave the TV or radio on for the dog as well to give it a source of stimulation.

no its not and its not willing to be embraced by many people either which has never worked in its favour. If our own kennel council cant see it for what it is what hope does the general public? Steve Austin showed us a fabulous video for the NDTF course - when he went to the Czech republic and they did a military dog demonstration in the middle of the street. Parents, children and government officials were all there watching these high class dogs work (not just sport, real working military class dogs) and take down assailants in full bite suits, even while firing a gun near the dog etc. It was incredible and everyone watched and cheered as the dogs worked, with no more then a simple barrier between them and the dogs. Why is it so acceptable in europe? Even a russian lady was telling me how her GSD was trained (pet only) in Schutzhund so it could be a fully trustworthy family pet. She remembers it doing sleeve work and obedience but she was never scared of it (actually she is more scared of the average pet dogs here in australia then the trained dogs in Russia) and finds it strange that no one here does it at all. Many of these Sch/IPO dogs are also multi purpose, but how many people are willing to out themselves and their dogs here in victoria publicly now? Go look at Amandas website malinois.net.au to see how dogs can be multi purpose, achieve to a great standard and go own to protect and serve with our armed forces. Its Schutzhund that has helped improve the genetics and quality of animals in this country as well, given our services a source of working animals and genetics that would otherwise been out of reach due to import and time and financial constraints. We under appreciate and now punish a valuable service and resource we have here in Australia.

how rediculous. Geez sorry you were treated like an idiot be careful they can be VERY disparaging and try and get you to give up but DONT LET THEM GET TO YOU :rolleyes: its pathetic. was Aztec registered before he got lost with another council at all?

you would think the military and police departments would kick up a bit of a stink since they source their dogs from working kennels too. Anyone hitting them up, interstate and otherwise? Erny whether they know or care ... I dont think so. I think to them a biting dog is a biting dog and they are all a liability, if they knew the difference they would see the sport for what it is - an asset and a place for people with large breeds to learn control and high end international level training.

you would think so although I'm not holding my breath on it, when the blinkers are on to some people the facts dont matter.

protection training and Schutzhund are two separate things. A protection dog is an animal trained for real life situations and is not just a sport dog, its training goes above and beyond. They are trained with hidden sleeves, in buildings and yards at night to simulate finding, stalking and chasing down a criminal, and are using defense not just prey drive. Shutzhund dogs are not used for this, capable of this or trained in this manner.

agreed. Look at what happens to prisoners in solitary confinement - the dog will go mad and become super destructive or end up hurting itself. what about building a concrete run for daytime hours, decent size, and putting in a sand pit, bones, kong, Aussie Dog Toys make some pretty indestructible stuff as well. Then they need to join up a club and train at least once, twice a week and even start trick training to keep her stimulated during the week ... I invested in a treadmill for my Malinois so she can burn off the extra energy she has (working line) and it does work as the dog has to concentrate on keeping 4 legs moving together at the same time. GSD2 that condition is called Pica :rolleyes:

excelpet is rubbish try something like Frontline or Advocate (which does worms too) if you have too. I would lay off the chemicals until you get the runny poo under control and go to the vet NOW. A baby puppy should not be left for more then a couple of days with diahrreah as they dehydrate quickly and can go downhill fast. Is he vaccinated? What kind of breeder does he come from and what were they feeding him before? He sounds sick and needs medical treatment asap. For the fleas I have used a shampoo called Flea-Di by Rudducks, safe for little puppies (we did the rescue kittens in it) and has natural pyrethrin in it. ETA puppies should be wormed every 2 weeks until 3 months then every month until 6 months, then every 3 months. If his stomach is upset DO NOT WORM HIM since you cannot get him to a vet do not risk upsetting his stomach further

worst thing is the bitch went through 2 seasons in the pound surrounded by other dogs, but spent it alone in a pen by herself. I am helping the owners resocialise her (not that she needs it she's such a sook) but just needs her stability back. She was also obese when she came out of the pound and now she's STILL on a diet .. she got stuck behind the couch (backing onto a window) and all we could see was this fat gut and skinny legs peddling to get her back up over the couch we were rolling in laughter. The whole thing was an utter utter crock.

friends of mine recently got their dog back who spent 12 months in the pound (Melbourne) as a suspected DD and APBT ... it is now back home suggling with the kids and no restrictions. Dont listen to the council or rangers as the sh@t spun to the people who were originally given the dog was beyond rediculous.

yup sounds like a Belgian .. .put mine in the backyard and she has to let anyone that comes close know she's there (which is annoying for the bloke in the unit next door who has 3m of backyard ) unless I tell her not to so he is happy inside guarding the house, annoying the cat. it must be mandatory to have a cat with all belgians :rolleyes:

technically the law is trying to stop underground training - I dont have a problem with the IDEA but the practicality is stupid. But Southern Cross was actually acknowledged by the council and even on the city of Casey website as a dog training club. A club is not a business unless registered as such (something like ADT) and I would think restrictions came from 1) training done in a public space as authorised by council and 2) insurance restrictions. You do have a point. You cannot train dogs in bitework (sport or otherwise) unless you are part of a domestic animal business and even then if council authorises you to on the registered business property. are we talking Schutzhund dogs or the stereotypical 'attack' dogs here. I dont know how a macho numbnut who wants a vicious dog could survive teh intitial talking to before joining a schutzhund club let alone train their dog to be a DD. Again this is the misconception - people who backyard train are not training 'schutzhund' they are training 'attack' two very different things, two very different methods and two very different outcomes. If we temp tested or trialled more dogs before breeding I think we would have half the problems we have today. Read up on what is required for a Sch/IPO dog its actually quite a lot of control and skill before just running out and biting a sleeve. If the dog is not controlled or calm it fails, if it shows signs of aggression, dangerous or nervous behavior its not considered for training.

yes thats what I dont understand. Makes for rather a useless security dog no? Although I dont know if security dogs are all technically considered 'trained' if you get my drift.

but dont most training facilities technically double as boarding kennels? Unless you are just having obedience classes on your property a trainer that works from home etc is not technically an animal business since they do not have animals on premises in a commercial manner. So if you are having dogs stay at your facility you would be considered a boarding kennel?

steve I'm wondering if there is a reason that was written? did someone in the purebreed community stand up and point fingers or what?