Willem

of course :D ...I just wanted to highlight that there are absolutely no merits in spending good money for quality dog food and then ruining the whole diet with not so good treats!...problem with our dog is: she likes the 'rubbish' treats more than the healthy ones!...like our kids when it comes to fruits vs. sweets...

...maybe not if the clipping is too short, My link ...IMO assisting the normal shedding with a good deshedding tool is all what's needed and best for the dog's health. Might be different for breeds that have a fur that is bred more for fashion than for function.

after sorting out my email account issue and sending my RFI again, I received a very comprehensive response from XP2030 approx. 3 hours later stating that the salt concentration is only 0.4%. That's actually very good - most other brands will have something like "...max. 1%...' or even a higher threshold on the package. Still, should be mentioned on their website or the package in the first place. Salt is a crucial mineral for every dog, but as it is appealing to dogs (humans are not different here) they usually will prefer food with a higher, unhealthy salt concentration (again, like their owners). I guess that's why a lot of treats (most?) have a very high salt concentration, e.g. 3-4%...so the dog accepts them as 'treats'. Just an example: for a scenario where you feed 50% of the daily consumption normal food that has a salt conc. 1% and the other 50% as various treats where the treats have an average salt concentration of 3% your dog's daily diet has indeed a salt conc. of 2%!!!... which equals 2 gr of salt in every 100 gr of food...far too much and therefore really, really unhealthy.

...my mistake, there was something wrong with my email account...their email address worked now...

conversely to humans, dogs can't control the body temperature by sweating through the skin...they only can do it by evaporating fluid over their mouth / tongue. Hence the coat becomes an insulation like the insulation for a fridge or your house to maintain the temperature inside their body. If it is 40 deg C outside a 'naked' dog would suffer much more and would likely overheat earlier than a dog with a healthy coat.

are you sure about this?...I couldn't find anything about dog food linked to "XP3020" on US websites ...all information is linked to Australien websites. Furthermore I used the contact button "Email Us" on their webpage asking them about the salt concentration just to get the message 'The following recipient(s) cannot be reached'...

Oh goodness.....that's not quality on any level. I wouldn't be so harsh, but comparing this food with similar food reviewed on this site, I wonder why it got 3 stars out of 5 while similar ones are rated with only one star....especially considering that the salt concentration is not even disclosed in the 'guaranteed analyses'.

...scary My link

you Mexicans are still lucky wrt paralytic ticks - here in the Illawarra they are very common, one dog of our agility class just recovered from a tick bite. When our dog was younger, my wife removed once 17!!! ticks (none engorged) from her - not sure how many have been brown or paralytic ticks or whether there was a paralytic tick at all; when I came home for R&R the dog seemed to be a little bit tired, but overall showed little or no signs of impact :), lucky little bugger. Advantix last only 2 weeks for ticks, I might give Nexgard a go.

you could try MASTERS ... they claim - like Bunnings - that they are the cheapest, so if they have the same product they might have to beat the Bunnings price by 10%; if they are cheaper you can ask Bunnings to beat the MASTERS price by 10%. nice design BTW - lightweight and won't rot; what did you use for the panel? ...cable tray covers?

IMO there is a good chance that you underestimate your dog as she has a lot of smart breeds in her - once you start the training to tackle her unwanted behavior you might see success sooner than expected. Yes it is time consuming and you have to be persistent, but it is also very rewarding. I was a little bit skeptical wrt all the advice I got here from the forum members regarding my dog's behavior (she gets nuts when she sees other dogs respectively wants to play with every dog My link...), but once I started consequently addressing the issues (her lack of focus when other dogs are around), I could see a positive change in her behavior in less than 2 weeks. Your task maybe a little bit more challenging as your dog is already a little bit older, but persistence and many little steps will get you success.

sorry my ignorance, but why desexing a dog that's shooting blanks anyway?...

...if you can't do it in front of your house / flat because you live on a busy road, take her out to an area with 'medium' traffic...or even no traffic...every alternative environment away from your home is good for training. Every time she looks away (bird, sound...or you use a toy to distract her) you try to get her focus back...and slowly you increase the stress level (bicycle in the distance ... closer etc. etc...)...

Yes, I have tried that! I do like it, and so does she, but am yet to see it work in high stressed situations! She gets too focused on the other thing, and tunes me out - and the clicker. I totally think it would work to gradually work up to more stimulants, but how would you do that? Every day is different, as different people walk around at different times, and its never the same. it takes some times, but it is a simple and very efficient trainings methodology without stress! ...just don't expect that when it works in her comfort zone that it automatically works in a high stress situation - you have to increase the stress level slowly! Once she masters a slightly higher stress level, you increase it again, and so on....it is all about getting her attention back. I do it in front of the house, my dog looks at passing cars, bicycles, birds ...she is still pretty relaxed when doing this (she goes only nuts when she sees other dogs as she wants to play...) ...and once I see her focusing on something else I just try to get her focus back...a game without stress. When I walk her and we approaching other dogs, I play with the trigger distance, make her drop and stay till the other dog arrives or passes...

...it's not meant to offend you ... just some food for thoughts... :)

hm... the issue might be that she doesn't trust you?...at home, in the garden it is easy to be obedient, you have to train her outside her comfort zone, you can play with the distance to other dogs, reduce the distance slowly...

You didn't mention what breed your dog is? ...by not trying to change her behavior you reinforced it obviously over time ...you definitely need other dogs and experienced owners / trainers to help you out here. As you don't know how she would react if she would be face to face with another dog, you can't try it out with a dog owner you just met during the walk. For me it looks like she behaves like this because she never learned a different behavior - it might not be too difficult to change this...talk to an experienced trainer and give it a go...

...that's not how a responsable breeder does it....

Dame Aussie beat me... :laugh:

how about using hessian bags?...they don't cost much, last a while and if ripped apart just replace it with a new one...

...have a look here My link...but the map might not be up-to-date if they found this tick (ixodes holocylus) in Daylesford?

...Applaws is grain free and has a very good rating, was just reduced at Woolworth (2.7 kg for $10, normal price is $18)... there is also Natures Goodness, also grain free... (also from Woolworth)....on both packages is states that they are made in Australia...

....There needs to be a warning on Revolution and other dangerous meds, that it may cause neurotoxicity in certain breeds with the tendency to inherit MDR1. They all claim that it requires the right dosage to be safe; the link I provided in my previous post (here again My link) mentions even the thresholds also for MDR1 mutations. However, I can see some problems with topical applications (e.g. Revolution - Selamectin: first it is not so easy to get to the skin and not just to the fur, especially if the dogs wiggles a bit. If not taken great care a small amount will end up on the fingers .... the docks licks the fingers or hand and that can cause immediately an overdose....or you treat 2 or more dogs at the same time and they play with each other....

...I noticed this too, not only with my dog but also with the other dogs in her obedience and agility classes...the trigger zone becomes really very small for them during training; conversely, in the morning the first steps out of the house and everything, especially a dog - also if it's at the end of the street - becomes a huge distraction.