ellz

I'd be heading to the vet. Coughing can be nothing, or it may be something sinister. I had a Stafford bitch who only used to cough in the mornings at certain times of the year (spring/winter) and it turned out she had a form of hayfever.

I'll go against the flow. I live on a 25 acre property. For at least half of the year, I have terrible issues with grass seeds and revolting sticky weeds. My show dogs don't get to have free range time except in one of the paddocks that is kept short and largely weed free. The others (American Cockers) are shaved down and can do as they please. Depending upon the dog, I may or may not clip off the saddle coat. If I have intentions of growing the dog back in, I leave it natural. The others at some times of the year have a modified puppy trim where I leave the fullness on their legs and sides, but I clip up underneat their bellies, inside their armpits and back legs and shave their back coats short and only leave minimal feathering on ears. With a bit of work, even these could be grown back in successfully and I haven't noticed any difference in texture. Thickness maybe, but not texture or coat type. I have also grown a fully shaved down adult back into show coat, shown him successfully to his title and an All Breeds Best In Show. And he was shaved TO THE SKIN prior to entering quarantine as a 7 year old.

Thanks jerojath. I think the worst is behind us now! She's a real sweetie. I am in awe of something that small which could fight THAT hard to hang on.

Well everybody, you've heard lots about her! Here she is, Purple Puppy, complete with black, shiny little peepers!

Well done SwaY, you've got your "heir and a spare"!

Your just stressing now Koda is so big cause she has LOTS of bubbas in her Leanne I know....I'm getting a bit toey. It's just so scary when every day I'm greeted by this amazing gutz that grows before my very eyes! I hope you're right about her having nothing wrong but lots of bubbas, but then on the other hand....oh BOY do I hope she doesn't have TOO many!! Mind you, I think it's a darned good thing that I have cleared my books for the next few months and intended to spend summer at home anyway. No dog/horse/cat/child sitter in their right minds would babysit my crew at the moment so that I could go swanning off and enjoying myself.

yaaaaaaaaayyyyy a turning point maybe? what are you going to call this girl ellz? Well, barring anything major going wrong now, I think she's here to stay. She hasn't had a tube feed for a couple of days now and is really strong and her eyes are almost completely open as well. No signs of any retardation or other problems at this stage. Just a little black puppy learning how to be exceedingly CUTE! As for names, well, I've got my litter theme and know what call names they're going to have in accordance with those, but I really really want to keep one of them in particular so I don't want to put a final "handle" on the girls until I know in my heart (and head) which is which. At this stage, if Purple doesn't turn out too small...I REALLY like her a lot for various reasons. But of course, it is also quite on the cards that both may stay! Maybe an omen too but after Cup Day and a win on Crime Scene, I had a couple of dollars in my online Sportsbet account. Yesterday at Flemington in the race after the Emirates, there was a horse named Purple so I backed it and it WON!!

And she is even bigger today than she was on Thursday!!!! She is having trouble getting in and out of the car now because she can't swing her back end wide enough to get past her gutz! I'm looking forward to the xray on Friday, but dreading it just the same. What if there is something wrong and that is why she is so big?

Probably because the APBT is illegal in some parts of Australia so they have to get rid of them somehow.

Very pleased to announce that Purple has reached the 300gr mark!

So sorry Fordogs. C'MON Dane puppies......I want to see if SwaY gets her lil black dog! :D

What did she think she would have to pay? Initially I think she was thinking around the $1000 mark. Well, considering that from some breeders a companion Staffordshire Bull Terrier (as "common" as they are) is around the $1000 mark, she'll definitely need to up the ante a bit. They're not easy to breed, tend to have more whelping problems than other breeds and are definitely not as easy to find as other breeds so you could probably double that $1000 and still have trouble finding a puppy.

How long from subsequent matings?

How's little miss purple doing? Is she completely out of the woods Ellz? Well, until she's up on her feet and bopping around the box, I'd never say at 10 days that she's completely out of the woods but she has certainly rallied and hasn't had a tube feed since yesterday but is still mainting weight and energy and managing to find AND latch onto the milk bar by herself. So I'm quietly confident that we have seen the worst!

Nicely rounded. How many are you thinking Ellz? Dropped into my vet with her this morning for a weigh-in and he said a VERY rude word when he saw her! ;) When I mentioned the litter of 11 about a week ago from the same bitch line, he said he wouldn't be at all surprised if there were almost that many in there. He has seen bitches at term who aren't as big deliver almost as many puppies and Koda still has 3 weeks to go! We're xraying next Friday (50 days) and a decision will be made then about if/when we book her in for an elective c-section. He didn't even hesitate to agree when I asked about the possibility.

Congratulations on the arrival of the new bubbas Supermum! And Leanne.........don't even think about it! But the poor dear, even though she looks rather large in profile is actually almost as wide as she is tall from above. I'm seriously considering sticking a "wide load" sign on her bum!! :p

We have eyes!

Koda at 42 days.

I've been waiting FOREVER!! And I tell you, if it isn't as good as has been promised, I'll throw a tanty!!!!!

I found it ok on some dogs but not others. On the other hand, Show Stopper has received rave reviews from everybody that I've spoken about it with for every breed of dog.

No, it's nothing to do with irradiation. It is an ingredient issue and something to do with the way it is manufactured. That's why they want to see the plant before they'll issue the permit.

Aargghhhhh.....it's a Wimpet Monster!! Lookit the size of that mouth!

BB, I'm so sorry. I feel so guilty now that my girl is hanging in there. You've been trying to save an entire litter. I've had it easy.

BB. I'm so sorry. I am just so very thankful that Vanni went full term (over actually) if these girls hadn't been well-cooked I think I would have been in the same situation.

I hear you and feel your pain! :p My first husband was a chef. A VERY skinny chef, skinnier than whippet-thin chef. Needless to say, I should have listened to the old saying "never trust a skinny chef"!!!! This might sound really stupid, but you know how they tell we humans that we shouldn't eat after a certain time because it won't burn off if you don't exercise it and that we should eat little and often to lose weight etc etc? Well maybe look at the "perfect" weight loss rules and do the opposite. Does that make sense?