cassie

Good answer, can I say ditto to that? :p Thanks for the replies so far, interesting already :rolleyes:

Just a silly little query that popped into my head today while out shopping for meat and bones for the boys ;) I am curious to know, as the title suggests, if money and availability were absolutely no issue to you (I'm talking you could afford to spend ANY amount per day, and could get your hands on ANY food, be it raw/whole/pre-packaged/whatever) then what would you feed to your dogs? Some fancy dry food only available overseas? Porter-house? Quail? Lobster? Or perhaps many would stick to what they are currently feeding? Just curious as to what people think are the absolute best foods possible for canines, in a perfect world where we are all rich and have access to everything :p Personally - I have no idea! :rolleyes:

no i am in Qld, know anybody here? Aha, they wouldn't be the people with Diva the bracco Italiano by any chance (I'm sure they must be!!)?? The very same

Re. bloat, for every rule I've heard to prevent it, there seems to be the exact opposite rule as well For instance some people swear by feeding from a raised surface to prevent bloat, others say it can cause it. Some people say to soak dry food in water first before feeding, others say not to do this. It's hard to know what to do sometimes.

Best of luck, please let us know how you go.

You're not in SA by any chance are you? If so, I could put you in touch with a fantastic vet who actually breeds Dogues and knows all their ins and outs.

Thanks to both of you for your input, much appreciated!

Ohhh dear God I feel absolutely sick to my stomach WHY? Because I could have written that exact story myself, practically word for word. I will PM you OzzieLioness

Ohh yes, don't get me wrong, I've taught all my dogs past and present initially with food, basically as a lure, but I want them to be able to perform when the food is not there also. Yeah I realise it's a problem with the way I've trained him, hence asking for advice on how to fix it. And I don't believe my club is irresponsible and the class sizes ARE small with 5-6 dogs max to each instructor, but meh that's your opinion, no probs As you said, you wouldn't attend a club, whereas I find it very beneficial, and this one is close to me and very reasonably priced and I am enjoying it, as is my pup Thanks Leema, I like your method of teaching the drop, will try that with Huds Great video also, you're a great trainer and have a very clever student Thanks I'll remember that

Yeah, exactly, thanks You put it into words better than I could have; basically I want him to be able to work for whatever, anything, or nothing (other than pleasing me). Not "I will oooooooooonly sit if you give me a treat!" Many clubs that don't allow food see it as distracting and sometimes dangerous due to a class situation. If everyone is flipping food around, particulary in the beginners classes, there can be dog fights and personal space issues. In some clubs that I have been in, there can be 20 plus new students in beginners who don't have a clue about reading dogs. The same can be said for some of the higher classes. It was explained to us in the first lesson why food wasn't allowed, and although I don't remember the exact reasons, it was pretty close to what you've just said Dogdude. Basically people may be rewarding at the wrong time (eg. dog sits, handler fumbles through pocket to get food, finally rewards a good 10-15 seconds later...) and yes also about the distraction issues, if one dog is being fed and one isn't, or something similar.

Is there anything wrong with a club that doesn't allow food? ETA: I can't portray what tone I meant the above question in! Hence the edit... But that is a genuine question, not having a go at you Midol and the question is aimed not necessarily at you but at anyone. IS THERE anything wrong with such a club?

Thanks Corvus, I will start making him drop instead of just sit for his dinner Good idea. LOL Chicko, I used to have Zephyr at the point where he wouldn't do anything unless I had food! Didn't want Hudson to be the same (although Zeph is much better now and does as he's told ) only because I want him to obey me and work FOR ME not the food as such...but then again I don't understand all the info on drives etc!

Thanks for the further advice Kavik And thanks Rocco! Glad to see I'm not the only dummy who taught it the wrong way :o

Thanks Kavik - I do/did originally use food to teach simple commands when he was young, (sit, drop, etc, I would lure him into position) but the obedience club I go to doesn't allow food rewards to be used so I haven't done so recently, only verbal praise which he loves anyway. But perhaps I should go back to the food to train the correct behaviour first do you think? Then fase out the food? ETA: Obviously it's a bit late now, but for future reference is it always better to train dogs to drop from a stand rather than from a sit? I trained Zephyr to do it from a sit first, and he had no problems progressing to doing it from a stand, so I didn't realise it would be such an obstacle for Huds.

Thanks Chicko He can already stand on signal/voice command when heeling, so yeah will just have to try progressing from there. Thanks a video would be great

Hudson is my 10 month old Saint Bernard pup. We've reached level 3 at doggy school, and our latest challenge is to have the dog heeling by our side, then straight into a drop/down when the command is given. I've never taught him to drop from a stand, only ever from a sit, so in class I was having to command him to sit first THEN drop but this is not correct, and not what I want ultimately. We've only had one lesson in level 3, and I was going to ask the instructor more about it at the end of the class but she had someone else hanging around asking questions, so I thought what the hell I'll try DOL. Keep in mind he's a giant breed, weighing 60+kg, so physically "putting" him down or any such suggestion may not be so easy Thanks in advance, and my apologies if this has been done before.

Oh my goodness what a shocking tragedy! Totally a freak accident, please don't feel guilty. What a thing to happen to a baby puppy I feel so much for you, and for Ripley. Rest in peace little guy Also Indigirl I am glad with the pay out that you will be able to afford another companion when the time is right. Take your time to grieve first

I'm going to love this thread Great idea Lynai That 15 week old photo of him is just stunning, doesn't he have the most precious face Is he at home with you now or is that still at his breeder's house?

Thankyou all very very much Your support and kind words are appreciated

My goodness what a gorgeous boy he was RIP dear Duke, you will be sadly missed by your friends and family

I can hardly believe a whole year has gone by since I said goodbye to my beloved Saint Bernard puppy Oakley. ;) Oakley boy, I walk past your ashes every day and smile often when I think of you. You were the gentlest soul I know and didn't have a mean bone in your body. You would have loved our new addition Hudson, he even lies in the same spot you used to under your favourite tree, and has added to the little pit you were digging there. I'm so sorry your life was cut short, there is nothing more unjust in this world. The few months you spent with us were incredible, and you instilled our love more than any other first dog could have in such an incredible breed. I love you so much puppy, and all I can do is hope and pray that you are happy and healthy now over the Rainbow Bridge. I would give anything to see you again, I bet you are even more handsome these days. RIP darling, we'll meet again some day xoxox Many thanks to Harminee for the gorgeous photos and poem she's put together for me

If feeding kibble, you can also spread it out over the grass, then he has to go around picking out each piece, keeps them busy for a while

Hi and welcome I take my Saint pup to Golden Grove Canine Obedience. They have classes on Mondays, either in the morning (start at 10am) or the evening (start at 7pm). They cater for puppies, beginners, right up to advanced dogs and those who trial etc. The classes are small and I've found all the trainers so far to be lovely and helpful. If you'd prefer some one-on-one help first, before you dive into a class with other dogs (if yours is easily distracted perhaps?) then I can't recommend Mark Singer highly enough. Check out his website.

Just to put in a different opinion, I feed my Saint pup on Royal Canin Giant which is what his breeder recommended to me and is what he was weaned onto. Recently I have been feeding more of a raw diet to both dogs, but his main diet up until a few months ago was the RC and he looks in fantastic shape. His breeder has used the same food for years and years and never had any problems. I also know of other breeders of giant dogs who feed it and love it. ETA: I also like how there is a different food for each life stage, Babydog up to 4 months, then Puppy up to 8 months, then Junior up to 18 months, then Adult. (This is going by my very rough memory, the number of months may be slightly out.) Each formula is specifc to that particular life stage.

So sorry Danois My heart is breaking for you, how tragic RIP dear Angus :rolleyes: