kelpiecuddles

I would suggest doing your own research, asking questions of independent people(like you are doing here) and making your mind up off that. Interceptor is good but so are others, I used to work at a vet and also and pet shops and the drug and dog food companies do provide plenty of perks for vets to recommend their products. Do some research and choose the product that suits your needs. :)

I think this is one of those situations where you do what is right for you. If it is possible to put of the Bali trip and you would rather postpone it until potentially Hunter is no longer with you then do it, if anything were to happen while you were away you would regret going.

You don't need to worm every month, it might work out cheaper to use Heartguard or Valuheart monthly and you could use the interceptor on the third month to cover your worms as well or use a seperate drontal tablet every third month. ETA: Unless your dog is a Collie and that is why you are using interceptor?

Wow Pirate, wish I could justify spending $400 on that, most of our large house is tiles and I spend so much time mopping them, it gets really good reviews. Might keep an eye out for a second hand one!

Just so you know The reject Shop has basic pet loos at the moment for $30. I didn't look too closely at them but they looked like they were a reasonable size, might be worth checking out. We have a large F & P top loader and have found it excellent, the only time I've managed to clog it was when a pillow imploded in it LOL We also have a large F & P external vented sensor dryer(we have it in the garage so it just vents into the garage) and that has been great, my parents have an LG condensing dryer and it's caused them nothing but trouble and takes forever to dry things. We sell the Superior flea frees with the pull on cover at work and have had very good feedback on them. Can't help with the steam mop

I'm not getting kelpies Tapua, I'm getting bassets. I've already been researching for over 5 years since getting my current basset, I'm now just working towards the next step in my plans :)

I got a boston terrier! I know the expression was supposed to be neutral but I felt I could see concentration in it's eyes, like maybe mum/dad was holding a treat to get it to stay while the photo was taken LOL. I just answered based on the way that particular dog made me feel since I haven't spent much time with bostons. I suspect it would be harder if you had a lot of experience with the breed you got.

Yep, most commonly caught from snails, a few kids have contracted it that way

I do intend to talk to him fairly soon but I'm waiting until we meet each other at a show in the next six months or so. I'd like to go and watch him in action with his dogs at a show first. I'm not going to wait until only 12 months out and then approach him but at the same time it's a 5 year plan so 6 months or so isn't going to really make any difference, he's just had a litter and the next ones aren't planned for another 18 months or so.

I do intend to talk to him fairly soon but I'm waiting until we meet each other at a show in the next six months or so. I'd like to go and watch him in action with his dogs at a show first. I'm not going to wait until only 12 months out and then approach him but at the same time it's a 5 year plan so 6 months or so isn't going to really make any difference, he's just had a litter and the next ones aren't planned for another 18 months or so.

Is she actively peeing or is she leaking? My kelpie suffered incontinence after desexing, treatment with oestregen tablets resolved it completely. She only really ever leaked on her bed, not when she was walking around.

OK, thanks. Hopefully a little bit of early intervention might at least mitigate some of the damage that could be done to these puppies otherwise.

LOL, sorry, didn't even notice I'd done it!

Thanks DDD. So if it were a choice between Hills, Pro plan, RC, Advance or Eukanuba is there a variety out of those that would be better? I imagine one that was based on chicken would be the best start. At the store they are fed Science Diet puppy, is this a suitable food for them?

Looks like Royal canin has a dalmation formula. I might encourage them to recommend that, at least it will be a suitable complete food.

The pet shop has two dally puppies at the moment and I just want to give them an info sheet so that at least anyone who buys them knows that they have specialised needs. I can't do anything about them being there but hopefully I can ensure that whoever does buy them is well informed of what their needs are. I also would like to have an idea of which dry foods are most suited so that I can make sure they go home with something suitable.

Does anyone have a link to a particularky good basic info page about the dietary needs of dallies? Also is there a dry food that is particularly well suited?

Thanks all, is interesting to hear the different ways breeders go about it. To be honest I'm not really worried about the cost, it's only about making sure that I can take an opportunity when it comes up. I haven't asked him for further info yet since it's so far in the future, I'm happy to just put a chunk of cash away and then it's there for whatever it's needed for.

The breeeder my neuter girl is coming from is local to me but the one I am particularly keen on is from Sydney. To be honest, unless I flew interstate to show I suspect I will probably play second fiddle to his dogs anyway :laugh: , he has some pretty spesh puppies coming up now from imported lines. I'm happy to source my first bitch more locally to me from a breeder who as far as I can tell seems like he would be very supportive in helping get started and then look further afield for a stud and for future bitches or keep one from my litter if one suits, if it means playing second fiddle that's life. My parents live in Melbourne and I plan to travel down that way for shows as well as to Canberra and I can head down the coast from here too. As far as I can tell he tends to do more Sydney and inland shows so we won't always be at the same shows.

My girls have lived together for 5 years and will still get on the biff if there is a food bowl or bone between them. I would just assume that resources may be an issue for quite a while if not forever and just keep everything seperate and feed them well away from each other. I found food items to be the catalyst for most arguments here and the simple act of removing the empty bowls and not leaving them lying out there made a big difference.

Thanks Dyzney. The breeder knows I am getting in to showing and plan to register as a breeder down the track, he has facebook friended me LOL so I'm keeping a good eye on his dogs via that and staying on his radar that way for now and I'm sure I'll meet him in person down the track at shows as well. He actually messaged me the other day to ask if I was interested in a show puppy he had but the timing just isn't right. All that considered I am hoping that when the timing finally is right in a few years time he'll be amenable to me taking on something special, especially since by then he'll be even further down his very interesting breeding plans! For now I think I'll plan to budget about $1000 more than what I paid for my girl and that way if i have any left over I'll use it buy a new bed or something :D

OK, well a few hundred dollars is nothing, I was more worried about it being a gigantic price difference

I'm just asking out of curiosity since it will be relevant to me sometime in the next few years. In approximately 4-5 years I'll be looking to purchase my first breeding dog. I already have one girl of my breed and will be getting another soon, my first was purchased as a pet and the second is coming to me as an adult from a good breeder and I will start out by showing her(she won't be bred as she is neutered). I have my eye on a particular breeder who's dogs are really standing out to me and I have a small idea of his breeding plans for the future and I really like where his dogs are heading so i am hoping to get my hands on one of his girls as my foundation. Just wondering whether breeders would share whether they charge any different for a pet versus a fabulous looking show dog? I guess I'm coming from a background as a breeder of show budgies where the price for a show bird can range from $50 in to the tens of thousands! I know how much I paid for my pet girl from a very well regarded breeder with great lines but want to prepare myself if I should expect to pay more so I can ensure that when the opportunity arises I don't miss out on my perfect dog because I didn't put enough away..

Mini update, first official play date in T minus 8 days. Hoping they all play nice!

Also does anyone have a good tip for the orangey stains in the loose skin on her neck? I've been using a white shampoo and it certainly helps but isn't getting it anywhere as nice as I would like. They are just stains from skin oils, nothing nasty