Flames_Daddy

Fdiddy I wonder why Divani didnt get it?, after all she is on BARF as well Hey Myszka its because Diva is a living legend and like all such entities is not appreciated initially. She is too kool for skool! Trust me one day her time will come when she matures maybe and you put the final touches on your already excellent presentation in the ring. I've seen a bit of what you can do and its brilliant... those judges must be frikkin' blind or jealous...

Hi there Tollersowned. Personally I have no doubt that BARF will contribute greatly to optimizing a dog's health and longevity. Our Dobe breeder has tons of empirical evidence that I have personally observed, and the theory that dog's do best on the natural food they evolved with in nature is rock solid in my books. When we rescued Scooter, he was very sick and weak. The vet fixed him up, and then he started on the full BARF diet that Flame has enjoyed and has taken her to Royal Easter Show "Challenge Bitch" status this year. His natural golden colour returned, and his eyes are bright and keen. His behaviour is friendly, focused and energetic. He is enjoying life. As we see in ourselves when we eat right, we see in him the massive restorative benefit of Bones and Raw Food. Nature DOES have the answers. I'm so grateful to Ella from Fireax for giving us reading material on BARF... we also bought the official book. She insisted we read it before we were deemed worthy of becoming Flame's new family.

Amazingly enough... Scooter LOVES sardines bigtime! And Flame too... I should go out tomorrow and get some more from the local co-op. I have always liked sardines too actually. I have been known to open a can at work from time to time much to the amusement of my colleagues. They assume its some wierd European cuisine! At least its not the stinky shark they like to consume in Iceland huh?

Tapferhund, I have just had a look at your website on http://au.geocities.com/tapferhundshepherds/ and I am very impressed with your attitude and devotion to GSDs. From your website: I am passionate about the breed being a working dog first and foremost, believing in the ideals v Stephanitz set for his beloved breed in tests for the maintaining of the breed’s excellent temp/char and working drives. In this the 21st century if that ‘ideal’ can not be through IPO, then it should be at least one of the other following available dog sports, Herding, Obedience and/or Tracking…especially for those who want to Show and breed their animals. I believe that when Germany set ‘the tests, rules and regulations’ for the breed, other countries throughout the world, including Australia, should have followed suit by adopting ALL those tests and rules from the very beginning. That, to me, says it all really. You combine passion with science and your results speak volumes. You see the big picture and don't get bogged down - you see the trees yet don't compromise your ability to scope out the entire forest in the process.

Kavik you have forgotten more than I will ever know when it comes to dog training! I don't buy your modesty... but it IS CUTE!! Seriously though, you make an excellent point. The dog, assuming you are the dominant entity in the relationship, looks to you for guidance on an emotional level. It picks up on your vibe, and if you're tense it inherits this state of mind... perhaps even triggering an elevated response because it is thinking of how best to please its master. BTW I learned this from inspector rex last night... obviously we know its best when "the dog takes over control" :D

ALOVEEN... you KNOW what I mean... ;) I once used some on myself when I ran out of Shampoo. I kinda turned myself on actually... is that SO WRONG???

The term OBEDIENCE means different things to different people, that's for sure. For me, Obedience is about the dog understanding it is not the alpha entity in the household, and must be a good canine citizen at home and in the wider community. Conversely, what IT IS NOT is isolating the animal and brainwashing it into some kind of sick servitude, where it thinks that all fun and rewards come from one particular bozo who is compensating for lack of control of their own human lives. I don't tolerate this attidude with human beings, and I certainly don't with defenseless animals. Bottom line, there is a "deal" between man and canine that goes back in History. We look after them, and they look after us. The moment you slip up in your part of the bargain, there will be consequences one way on another. This is how NATURE works - and by the way, it works just fine without human interference. Good on you SwaY, great thread!! ;)

Hang in there WOLF82, if anyone can get through this drama then YOU can. :D

Good on ya! I like the Belgians... they are a tough bunch... they don't use Malinois in the US Army for nothing. Although I do lament that they made Dobes "obsolete" - I still like looking at pics of Dobes with US Marines in WW2. "...Some of the dogs made the supreme sacrifice. They lie buried in the Marine Dog Cemetery on the island of Guam. The graves are marked with small headstones and a plaque."

Awesome Video Kavik. And nice drive too! I think youtube is getting so hammered these days that timeouts are getting more and more common. A victim of its own popularity. When I upload I convert from the native AVI of my Canon Ixus to MP4 (using NERO digital) and then uploading to youtube. Works well and sounds seems to be synched too. Ensure you have the optimum codecs installed. It helps if the latest FPS shooter is NOT running on your PC when you are re-encoding or uploading however!! Anyone for a "Fear" Session!!??? Lock n Load!

I am very sure this works but I cannot divulge how I know this. Secret men's business. VERY HUSH HUSH. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

A good friend suggested that breeding is about "Temperament first, then conformation" - I really think this is a sound approach. Thing is, physical and mental health are so intertwined that you really need to consider both to get a holistic healing happening. Just my 2 cents...

Cosmolo you're too cool for your own doggie skool! ;)

You melbourne guys sound like a lot of fun to hang out with. Especially if they are as cool as shoemonster! :D

Methinks an occasional sardine makes an amazing omega 3 oily treat for them dogies. YUM YUM MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hi Becks, you make an excellent point with the anti-flea treatment. Now on to more important issues... since you are in the UK and obviously devoted to the Monarchy I am wondering if you wake up an sing "God save the Queen" or if you secretly hum "Deutschland uber alles" when MI5 and MI6 are busy working to hush up the latest Lady Di scandal Documentary? On a serious note, during WW1 the Brits, in effort to show how "patriotic" they were started to wantonly kill all German Breed dogs... and our beloved "Sachs-Coburg" family bebadged themselves as "Windsors" to sound English and not German. Of couse Queen Victoria, the most sacred of Monarchs, loved a mad Prussian... the plot thickens. Remember after WW2 in Australia how the GSD was "banned" until the 60's... and then had to be called the "Alsation"... another propagandist "rebadging" to allow acceptance from a ignorant public. Makes me mad thinking about how superficial people are, and how its the animals that need to suffer. As if they could help it that Churchill stuffed up at Gallipoli and sacrificed "Colonial" Aussies as his cannon-fodder... or that he started the first concentration camps in the Boer War to teach some European Farmers a lesson that he was "number one" - and yes civilians were deliberately starved and let to die in unsanitory conditions because the Dutch, French and other free-thinkers did not fear the red-coat and fought to keep their farms. And all the time fearless Winnie was carrying a German Mauser Pistol as his beloved Side-Arm. Hmmm... Can anyone spell "Hypocrite" ?

This advice is GOLD people. If you want to see some decent tricks then positive rewards are definitely the way to go. If I was a doggie then I reckon that's what I'd want bigtime. I am still puzzled as to why the phrase "Gitoudavit" or "Get out of it" is so popular in Australia. Reminds me of Yosimite Sam is Looney Tunez Cartoons saying "Go on... Git.. ya Vaaarmint!!" Hmmm... but then again again he is a Hessian with Aggression issues. <inserts gunshot sound effects here for comedic drama>

Hi SKS169 - if it was me in this sitation then I would simply give Mum lots of normal Milk from the fridge. The calcium and fat content will be of huge advantage. I would not waste money on fancy "supplements". The good old KISS priciple (Keep it Simple St_pid) is one in which I am a true Believer.

Some nice products here. Hmm... as a devotee of the "crew cut" may I recommend products by the company "Wahl" - German quality that will last a lifetime with proper maintenence. They make a battery powered beard trimmer which is perfect form small touch ups just before showtime, and the AC powered device has all the "bells and whistles" and you can go to town on your dogs. Quiet too so if you're trimming you won't disturb anyone. ;)

Good Point Hazz. The way I see it, in nature a dog would eat the intestines of an prey animal and within there you find predigested, mixed up healthy ingredients of all kinds... vegatable matter included... so its a kind of "mince meat". And since our pooches cannot hunt for themselves these days then the least we can do is respect nature to the best of our ability. MMMmmmm I feel hungry already!! ;) ;)

Indeed allow me to echo Myszka's comments and referring you to this randomly selected website with lots of excellent links about BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet, the dangers of processed foods (big bu$iness profit$) and other eye openers. Please enjoy with me now? ;) http://www.fireaxdobes.com/links.html

Never truer words were spoken Myszka. Neither we nor our dogs stop learning, and that's what makes it all fun IMHO. And Centennial Park is sensational. We used to ride through it on bikes a few years back and it was always so serene and a highlight was watching those "mysterious dog people" train and have fun with their pets. Of course being a dog person now its not that mysterious... just a bit! ;) Cheers, FD

And I won't tolerate aggressive kidz with my dogs.... ;) Good on you SAS you have style. :D My rascal Flame probably needs to suck down a few thickshakes before going in the ring. You know how frisky she gets... and if she's got a full tummy of milky fluids then she won't have any excess energy to play up, let alone go for some guy outside the oval. Or maybe a few stern words and a look of disapproval will send the message... hey I'll try anything to get compliance. "Stand Down Flame"..... "STAND DOWN".... <reminds me of Seymour Skinner yelling at Bart HA HA HA> :p

I discovered this social group too late. I would have loved to have brought my puppy along. I see you are in Penrith, I work in Emu Plains and live in Springwood. Are there many other locals who might like to organise a get together locally? My puppy needs socialising with well mannered adult dogs. It's not quite a party when no one turns up but you. I know the feeling. At least we can console ourselves that we have our dog(s) with us so its no great loss really IMHO. Nice to see this meet still happening. One of my fondest memories is my first Rouse Hill meet, when Flame attempted to round up some "lurker" outside the oval boundary. I had to pretend to reprimand Flame but the old phart deserved it. I don't think he brushed his teeth :D and for that kinda thing there is no excuse! ;) Maybe one day we'll come along, I guess anything is possible in this life. See ya, FD

I guess the true answer is - we don't know because we're not dogs, we can only assume until proven otherwise...however we can take into consideration some of the findings in the last 50-100 years. The whole 'humanising a dog' thing really annoys me, it's almost like the 'dominance' thing....it gets overused and taken out of context far too often. I certainly do not feel that dogs should be treated as humans because clearly they're not as they have their own langage, they're own social workings and way of life, but there is no way a person can say with scentific evidence that a dog does not have emotions....they very well may not be the same as ours or are experienced to the same that ours are, however scientific clinical trials have shown that dogs are capable of complex thinking....complex thinking can very well include emotion/s. I think 'Guilt' is one the emotions a lot of owners believe their dogs feel, however we can now tell you why your dogs cowers or gives you a look that is percieved as guilt. However, emotions are many, does a dog feel Pain? Grief? Pleasure? Anger? Some would say of-course.....others would say you're humansing......those are the ones that bug me because science already tells us that animals feel pain, they feel anger, they feel pleasure, and in scientific clinical trials into behaviour, scientists were convinced that grief was also felt....the level of such an emotion is however unknown....we can't know...we're a different species. HOWEVER.....how could we possibly admit that a dog is capable of feeling emotions as deep as humans do because then we are faced with so many ethical and moral issues..... We've learned a great deal in the last 100 years, you would be horrified to learn (if you weren't already aware) that some of the most respected behaviourists back in the black and white days believed that dogs felt no pain, they we're simply giving off mechincal type reactions similar to that of a clock, for example if a clock fell from a wall and hit to floor you'd hear the inner workings of the clock clanger about, this is what the behaviourists way back when believed happened to a dog when you kicked etc......so therefore giving a dog a good old kick wasn't an issue because they felt no pain.....was this a way of justifying how poorly some dogs were treated back then? Hey SAS that was truly an excellent piece of writing. Thank you so much for that. Your concepts are reminiscent of the writings of Stanley Coren and the Mexican "Dog Whisperer" (sorry forget his name). Bottom Line, treat animals like you would have them treat you. And just a quick question... how many of us bipeds enjoys being "trained" and treated like a dummy? Any hands up? Yeah, thought not. I'm off now to get some emotional honesty and the leash won't be needed.