ellz

I'm afraid I'm a soft touch like Silverblue. For the first few weeks, until the puppy is at least sleeping through the night, I either have the crate next to my bed or the puppy sleeping on the bed. That way too I know if it is stirring and therefore likely to want to go out to the loo. Remember that puppies are like babies and will need to go to the toilet after they've slept, eaten or played. And sometimes the only way you know that they need to go is when they start scuffling around looking for "the spot". At least if they're close at hand, you can attend to them quickly and easily and hopefully without disturbing the rest of the house. Once they're pretty much night toilet trained, then I move them to wherever they are going to sleep on a permanent basis. I used to do the tough love bit and make them sleep in the laundry or wherever and all that happened was an even more broken sleep each night and lots of noise from a very distressed puppy. As long as the end result is a good one, it doesn't matter if the journey there takes a few twists and turns.

I breed and show American Cockers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and own a greyhound (GAP dog).

Hi quoll I did when I was in suburbia but I'm a fair way out now so probably won't do much any more.

Yes, we're aware of that. Thanks. I know what my needs are having had my breed since 1986. I was merely offering suggestions as to other suitable dryers based upon the OPs requirements.

Pricey but a good dryer. I wasn't overly impressed with the service of MDC I'm afraid. Not only did they take ages to answer enquiries but the replies weren't all that helpful to boot. And like you, I was intending to spend quite a bit of money.

Another option for you might be the Melbourne Dog Centre Turbojet series. They're pretty darned good too. I'd go for one of those in preference to Liberty. They're noisy but they DO have the puff to go with it!!

Any particular reason for a Liberty? And which one, Ultraforce or Stand? Personally, I don't like the Liberty stand dryers one little bit. Too much noise for too little performance for too big a price tag for my liking. I made the mistake of selling my old Beacon stand dryer and replacing it with a Liberty stand dryer. Had it for a short time and promptly sold it again. For some time I was drying American Cockers with the Ultraforce to blow the water out of the coat and finishing with a human blow dryer. Have just taken the plunge and purchased a new model Beacon and am thrilled with it. Took exactly 4 days from the time I paid for it via internet transfer for it to arrive from Melbourne. Editing to add: Classic Show Supplies would possibly be able to help you with whatever you're after although I'm not sure where they are located, apart from in Qld. Website is here.

When I was looking recently, I narrowed my selection down to: Oldfields Laser Lites Simpson Beacon Jetstream Mk II I ended up going with the Beacon because I previously had a Beacon which I purchased secondhand when it was about 15 years old and it went for another 17 years or so without missing a beat. I sold it and replaced it with a Liberty and regretted it sorely. Sold the Liberty but kept my Liberty Ultraforce and purchased my Beacon a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it.

This might be a really really obvious question, but did the vets test for L2-Hga? <cut and pasted> L-2-HGA (L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria) in Staffordshire Bull Terriers is a neurometabolic disorder characterised by elevated levels of L-2-hydroxyglutaric acid in urine, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. L-2-HGA affects the central nervous system, with clinical signs usually apparent between 6 months and one year (although they can appear later). Symptoms include epileptic seizures, "wobbly" gait, tremors, muscle stiffness as a result of exercise or excitement and altered behaviour. <end paste>

If all else fails, give Mrs Harvey herself a call. She's a very nice lady and is very approachable. I'm sure she wouldn't mind clarifying things for you.

My advice would be to contact your breeder and ask them for a list of the tools that they use. I don't know about other breeders, but when I sell an American Cocker puppy, it goes to its new home with a comprehensive puppy guide which lists all tools required for both minimum and more specialised grooming as well as a brief "how to" and other grooming references such as websites, books and videos. I would imagine that if you watch what Mrs Harvey uses in the video, you could also get an idea of the tools she is using too.

It is certainly not a disease that is normally associated with the Stafford breed and I doubt that many people will have had experience with it. I was under the impression that it is more common in smaller breeds such as Maltese, Min Pins, Westies etc and not larger muscle-mass breeds such as Staffords, Bull Terriers etc. Hope your boy makes a good recovery, it's always such a worry when they're ill.

They are just a small, lightweight, cordless clipper. They are here.

I don't feed canned foods but do feed Optimum puppy dry and think it is a really good mid-range priced food.

Look out Charlie!! Good on you charliesmum for taking the advice as intended. And I truly understand where you are coming from, sometimes it is so much easier to give advice than to follow it, especially when it is YOU dealing with those big brown eyes and sad faces!! Good luck. I'm sure you'll be fine. He will probably lose weight initially, but when he realises you aren't going to cave, he'll start eating properly and you'll have no future problems (unless he is ill). Let us know how it goes.

If what you are doing is working, then unless there is a need to change it, I'd probably leave things as they are. I don't want to sound rude, but by not INSISTING he eat when it is meal times, you've actually created a rod for your own back and a very spoiled puppy who is doing his best to educate you as he wants you to be. Personally, if it were my dog, I'd be going back to basics and enforcing the 15 minute rule. The last thing most people need is a picky animal. A dog won't willingly starve itself, unless there is some other issue, most will eat what they need to keep themselves going. I would be concerned that if for any reason he had to go to kennels or there was a need for him to eat at set times, that it WOULD create a problem for him in the future. In my case, I can't leave food down because I have too many other hoovers willing to eat it on behalf of the slow one/s. And I also live in the country and have problems with rodents, snakes and other uninvited guests being attracted by food left down all the time.

Will be around to drop the dogs off *snort* Bugger that, it's a DYI jobbie!!! BUT, I WILL put the kettle on!!! Clearly you have never seen anyone attempt to bath Kovu Daegon is fine, he will even let you blow dry him ;) OK, I'll supply the Drizabones and gummies too for Kovu. No comment about the Dags.....he's a "spethal" dog who should have been in the teddy bear assembly line, NOT the dog assembly line!! B1 and B2 miss him.

I can now also highly recommend the Laser RX clippers from Clipperworld for large jobs. I used mine last week for clipping a horse and they did a brilliant job. Cordless, lightweight, not too noisy and don't vibrate a lot. My horse hadn't been clipped for a VERY long time and with a bit of encouragement, she didn't seem to mind a bit!

Something else worth knowing is that you can save money by buying an unheated model if you have a good hot water supply. You just fill the tanks with warm water from the tap instead of having a hose attached to the hose for refilling like you do with the heated models. I got a good deal on my heated one as well as a discount pack of over $100 worth of disinfectants, shampoos etc. but the prices vary so it does pay to shop around. I chose mine based on the price and ease of ordering but most importantly on the fact that they were so very helpful and answered my zillions of questions before I made my decision. After all, when you're shelling out a not inconsiderable amount of money for a product, you want to know it is going to do exactly what you need it for.

Mine (same model as Ellz by the looks of it) has a hose attachment so I just plug the outside hose into it and the tank is heated so warms the water. Drainage - I wheel mine onto the lawn and let the water go there. Mine lives under the verandah when not in use and I bought a cheap BBQ cover that fits over it. Yep, that sounds like mine! My baby lives outside my back door on the verandah and I've got a cheap BBQ cover for mine too! I'll be doing the same thing with mine as far as using and emptying, although in winter (which gets BLOODY cold here) I might take pity on the hoonds and wheel mine into the bathroom and bath them in there. I've measured and it should fit. And I LOVE those wheels!!!

Will be around to drop the dogs off *snort* Bugger that, it's a DYI jobbie!!! BUT, I WILL put the kettle on!!!

Oh you and your pink!

Err...no....I've still got American Cockers too remember. Just because I don't show them doesn't mean that they don't need to be bathed. Zen's mother is about 3/4 in coat at the moment and I'm thinking about growing her back in. The main reason for the bath though is because I'm on limited tank water with dreadful pressure. At least with a hydrobath I can monitor my water usage a bit and do a good job with less wet stuff.

Isn't it just luvverly? I keep going out to look at it...I'm so excited!! Yep, doesn't take much! :rolleyes: Was a good deal too, got a bonus pack with it with shampoos, disinfectants, a snap-strap and a spare hose nozzle.

I have wanted one of these since I started in American Cockers in 1986. If I had $1 for the number of hours I've spent on my knees next to a bathtub, I could probably buy 100 of them!!! No excuse for grotty dogs now! :rolleyes: