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The plastic containers that chinese and other take away food comes in.

I'm another Oster fan. I have Osters and Wahls here and will only ever use the Wahl's if I'm too lazy to change blades. I just prefer how the Osters feel in my hand....different balance or something.

A dilute.

Red = Class

Genetically there is no such thing as a pure black stafford. Wrote more but was beaten to the punch by the previous poster so have edited but am adding the following link. A good article by Alec Waters (Ashstock, UK) about colour breeding can be found here.

Thanks Staffy-Lover, I think she's pretty cool too! She's literally my constant companion and I'd be lost without her! Mind you, this is how she spends most of her days now! With or without a cat!

Ice is ok. Most puppies quickly work out whether it hurts their teeth or not and many will lick it instead. Rawhide chews are an absolute NO NO!!! They quickly get chewed down to a dangerous size and many a dog has required surgery to remove large chunks of rawhide from blocked stomachs.

Really quite common. The brindling may increase slightly as she grows, but on the other hand it may not. My old girl Dolly is a very dark brindle. For quite some time she only had brindle on her off show side but the brindling did become more obvious on the show side as she aged. Now of course, she's going grey!! :D This photo was just before she turned two. She became a stripey brindle not long after this. Her puppies have ranged from almost black to tiger brindles. The more obvious the stripes, the nuttier the pup!! :p

I can see a troll... Please don't feed the trolls, they're like seagulls....feed 'em once and never get rid of them!

I'm no expert. Had used RR previously on other animals (and myself) but didn't notice a discernable difference. HOWEVER, recently I have tried a young and VERY nervous dog (14 month old American Cocker) on RR plus Bach Flower Essences and have noticed an amazing difference in his behaviour and attitude. So I'm not sure, but maybe if you tried the Essences added to RR as Midniara suggested to me, you might see an overall improvement?

RIP Dallie and Archie. I didn't get to meet you guys, but I know plenty of your new friends over the bridge and I have no doubt that you'll have a blast!!! To everyone at Rajacadoo. The pain will ease eventually but the memories will remain forever! :D

I think I'd probably be careful of it as well. Fresh poo (of any variety) is one thing but DL has generally been bagged (if purchased) or carefully composted and encouraged to get hot and wet if created at home. Hot and wet environments are a breeding ground for bacteria.

Cottees Country Blend is another. The Australian Cricket team were the guinea pigs for this. Some years ago now they were in India or Pakistan or somewhere like that, where the water is questionable. Half the team apparently got ill and half the team didn't. The half that didn't had been drinking the Cottees. One of the universities did tests on it when they returned home and it was something to do with the preservatives that killed salmonella and (I believe) E-Coli.

t-time! Oh and of course, provided you are feeding a good mix of raw food, kibble really isn't necessary for all dogs anyway. Unfortunately, many dog owners turn their own dogs into finicky eaters by offering a menu selection instead of simply offering one balanced meal and removing it if not eaten in a reasonable timeframe.

No, I've got medium brown hair. I was wearing black trousers and a green shirt. Will you be at Hobart Royal? That will be my next show after Combined Breeds. Being a captive audience as we will be I daresay we'll have time to catch up!

Livamol also helps to enrich colour which would be lovely for a Viszla. Did you show at Brighton the other weekend? If so, I would have seen you. Speak up next show you go to, I've got the dizzy blonde male American Cocker...you can't miss him!

Actually, now you come to mention it, I haven't had a problem with clipped Yank hair either and that really surprises me because it was a MAJOR issue previously! TMI warning for following!! My poor 14 year old son had a MASSIVE inflamed spot on his lower lip that looked just like a really yucky boil when he was a wee baby. He was put onto the bottle and shortly afterwards I was doing something to him...wiping his mouth or something (can't remember now it was a LOOOONG time ago) and I knocked the top of this boil-thing and it ERUPTED and I mean it GUSHED ooze and pus and there, right at the very very base of it was a clipped black Yank hair that had obviously embedded itself in my nipple and he had managed to spike himself on it when he was feeding. Poor little mite. Needless to say, I started wearing more layers to clip the dogs and my son never wanted to breastfeed again after that. I wondery why? :D

This last sentence speaks volumes. A good breeder will ALWAYS have time for emails and phone calls from puppy people, no matter HOW many other litters they might have on the way and no matter how long after the sale of the puppy!

Making a puppy go for a walk onlead, anything beyond a few turns around the front yard, a gentle amble in the park (IF fully vaccinated) or at show training or in the show ring is akin to asking a 2 year old child to go for a jog around the block. You just wouldn't do it. Gentle play, ball games and supervised activity are far more beneficial for a puppy than rigid walking and roadwork. They not only help with the exercise side of things but also with the social interaction and early training.

Plush Puppy Shine And Comb is good. Pixie Dust also helps to give it a little bit of "sparkle". Ring 5 have an excellent spray on product which has mink oil in it, that's good too. You could also up her oil intake in the time leading up to the specialty for that special "inside out" shine. Sardines a few times a week, fish oil capsules, linseed meal added to food would all help.

I worked at a large Whippet and Afghan kennel in NSW for a time and the breeder always insisted that the hounds were fasted once per week. They're not exactly weight-carrying breeds either but they didn't suffer.

Yes, that happened 20 years ago but now there have been many studies done and education has prevailed. Actually, it wasn't even the "norm" 20 years ago. I've been breeding for 20 years myself and it was really only the breeders of "older vintage" who did it and many of them refused to vaccinate as well.

Some dogs are like kids and NEVER sleep in. She may sleep for longer as she gains more control over her bladder, but then again, she might not too! The 4 month old Stafford puppy that manages me now sleeps all night. She generally goes to bed when the loungeroom light goes off and doesn't stir until 5.45 - 6am, depending upon how hard she has played the day before. I'd rather she wakes me then though because it is much better that she does her first morning business outside. That said, I'll be VERY glad when my custodial duties end and she goes to live with Dumb and Dumber across the highway (DH and his grumpy old Stafford) and then I can reclaim my sleep!

to all concerned and many thanks to the OP for asking the questions AND taking the advice on board with such good spirit. We can be a fairly intense lot here on DOL and many have been scared away because of that. BUT...in the words of a large pet food company...."we're for the dogs".