ellz

Is the colour an "undesirable" or a DQ? There's a difference. It's kind of like the old potato of blue, liver and black/tan Staffords I guess. The three are colours mentioned in the standard. Two of them, liver and black/tan are "highly undesirable", the other, blue, is accepted BUT because our standard calls for a black nose and the genes that produce the blue coat in Staffords cannot physically produce a black nose, it's a bit of murky grey area (pardon the pun). Anybody can show any of the three colours at their own risk. Some judges will put up blue. In GENERAL, dogs with blue coat colours or the blue with white are NOT the same quality as their other coloured counterparts and many also fall short in eye colour which is also mentioned in the breed standard so a kind of double whammy. On the other hand, I've seen liver and black/tan Staffords which are in my opinion exceptional type and more worthy of being shown than the vast majority of blues, but the standard means that only a very brave (or ignorant) judge will put them up. I have been beaten by a blue which I would have registered on Limited Registration and which I believe was desexed when it was older. At the time, I was rather miffed. Now I can laugh at it because the judge has shown her true colours many times since then. BUT, it was the judges' opinion on the day and apparently she either saw something in the dog which she really liked, or she knew the handler. Whatever..... I have no respect for people who will blatantly show a dog which does not conform to the standard in colour or certain other areas such as health or if the dog has been "fixed" in some way to enable it to be shown or to live a normal life. I have no respect for judges who do not judge to the standard, unless they can convince me that their decision was made for good reason. And in those situations it is often a case of "better to shut your mouth and look like an idiot, than to open your mouth and remove all possible doubt".

Dear old Fang Greyhound (Dark Speed was his name in his "other" life) has crossed the Bridge. Foster failure, benevolent dictator to anything smaller than him. Bedwarmer and couch hog extraordinaire. Yard protector, watch dog, possum hunter and master of zoomies. He was a loving and gracious hound but he had slowed down so very very much of late and I didn't think it fair to put him through another Hobart winter. He didn't have to wear his muzzy (his wire muzzle which he hated more than anything on this earth - except for possums that is) for his last car ride or the walk across the lawn to the vet and he peed on anything that would stand still for long enough for him to lift his leg and squeeze out a few almost invisible drops (but hey, HE knew he was peeing and that is all that matters!). He was smiling as he slipped away and he wagged his tail for me when I whispered that I loved him. He'll be missed A LOT. Have fun over the Bridge old boy. Run free with Koda and the rest of your merry band of mad things. No more pain and no more bonechillingly cold days where even your PJs can't quite block the cold, just peace and warmth and comfort. We'll catch up again one day and your boy will greet you with open arms and tears of joy. We love you dear old boy. You're leaving a huge gap that nobody will ever be able to fill.

I've also found that vets in Tasmania are very quick to diagnose Parvo when it is in fact Corona so be aware of that too Shek, especially in the dog that was vaccinated but still succumbed. Sadly, your suburb is one where there are lots of contagious illnesses for dogs and cats, and you probably don't even hear of half of the illnesses or fatalities. As you know, I lived around the corner for many years and despite the threat of illness to my dogs, thankfully, none ever got ill so I'd be careful but not necessarily anal (if you know what I mean). Your guys are vaccinated and healthy and through good diet and management should have pretty good immune systems.

Another vote for apple cider vinegar. Helps the burn marks on the lawns. Helps keep kitty litter tray smell down. Helps to prevent staining around eyes and mouth on white dogs and on lick marks on legs and feet. Great for helping to prevent UTI in humans as well if drunk regularly. And I'm told good for arthritis as well. Make sure it is pure apple cider vinegar though, some have caramel and colours added. The best stuff is the type from the health food shops but there are a couple of supermarket brands which are acceptable.

I use clippers or even scissors - again appreciate that you mightnt need to use them but certainly with the pugs if you dont let the air get to it and you take away that bit more hair - I find the hot spot spreads.. I have tried numerous remedies over the years and the one I mentioned earlier works best for me, and my dogs, but I am sure it is horses for courses Knowing how dense pug hair can be at the skin level, I'd be surprised if a hotspot on that type of coat could be healed without close cutting myself. They need air to heal and my experience is that a pug absorbs water like a sponge and stays wet for yonks!

Yep. I had one girl who scared the life out of me. She jumped up to greet me one day and this absolute POOL of pus hit the concrete underneath her. I almost had a cow. Raced her to the vets. She was treated with ABs and whelped a healthy litter a month later.

No, the Breed Class No is where you put 1A for Baby Puppy Bitch. You only use the Special Class No section if you are entering at say, a Specialty Show, which may offer classes for Best Headed, Best Gaited etc. I haven't entered a sweepies class for a loooong time but we used to have to provide one entry form per class entered so unless the rules have changed, if you are entering 3 - 6 S/S you need to fill out another entry form. You don't need to worry about referring to the Utility Group anywhere because the show secretary will be able to ascertain that by what breed you write on the top of the form.

This is called "topping and tailing" and is quite common in many breeds. Many, possibly most, American Cocker handlers do it. Also, if you watch many breeds, their handlers will use their tails to make them "pull into" a stack and then maintain tail pressure to encourage them to lean into their fronts to give the illusion of a good topline.

The trolleys rattle and the rattles and vibrations make them fall apart at the joins, unless they have improved their workmanship and figured out a way to secure the corners. The doors also come apart...the upright that the locks are on slips out of the sleeve of the bottom of the doorframe. Maybe they have fixed them....but personally, I'd rather spend the money on an OKS trolley. More expensive but quality.

I think things have changed. Last time I submitted a championship application you only had to write down the shows, dates, judges and points on the application form but things change, sadly probably due to dishonest people.

Sowwy! Sadly we aren't as advanced as the AKC where you could just go online and do a points search! ;) Moral of the story is....remember to pick up your CCs when you win them!! Incidentally, the TCA told me that even though DogsVic were accepting the letter they wrote to verify points...if the situation had been reversed, it wouldn't have been accepted here. Yet another reason that a single controlling body with uniform rules would be wonderful.

Sadly, no. You'll probably need to work out which shows you went to and contact the show secretaries to see if they still have the certificates or if they are willing to write a letter to verify the wins. I don't know about other states these days, but recently I needed to verify some points for a dog that I had bred and sold so I went into the Tas Dogs office, went through the catalogues and pulled the relevant ones and had them write me a letter to verify the points won. This was then emailed to DogsVic who accepted it as proof and processed the title application.

Just bear in mind that even another shot may not stop her from getting it. Especially if she has already been exposed and if it is from a different strain.

Sounds like canine cough to me....and unfortunately a C5 vaccination is like a human flu shot....it may stop them from getting one strain of the flu but won't necessarily stop them from getting ALL strains...but may lessen the severity of symptoms if they do get it.

I would think just $7. I have recently entered a breeders class and the cost was $10 for the entry not $10 per dog. Yep, one class, one entry fee. As Rebanne said, if you enter a breeders class or sire/dam progeny you only pay one entry fee regardless of how many dogs you have in your team.

I have always had good results on hotspots when using Preparation-H or any other good anti-haemorrhoidal creams. They contain an antiseptic to heal and dry as well as an anaesthetic which helps to prevent the itchies which are often the thing that stops healing because the dog won't leave the site alone.

OK, let me preface this by saying that I have absolutely NO experience with either of these products so am throwing the floor open to those here who know more about it than I do. I am perfectly happy with my own feeding regime (as are my dogs) but my friend is wanting more information on doing it differently so I have told her that I will ask the collective "brains trust" here at DOL. So, for an adult Stafford would you use the Vets All Natural Complete Mix + meat + raw meaty bones or would you just stick with a complete "premium" dry food from the Eagle Pack range? Or alternatively, would you mix the two.

Firstly, look at my bolded replies above. And to add to that...during my time in dogs I have imported 3 dogs from the USA, one from the UK and one from NZ. The first US import came via Hawaii and then into Australian quarantine. The second US import came from the USA, into quarantine in Hawaii and then into a home quarantine situation in NZ. The third US import came from the USA, directly into quarantine in Australia and to be honest, I think he faired the worst, probably because he was the biggest "pet" having always lived in a home environment even when being shown by his owner handler. It's a big decision and not one that anybody can make for you. In addition to the emotional outlay, there is also a quite considerable financial cost involved. All of the lead-up tests in the USA and the Australian quarantine fees, plus the transport costs can add up....quickly!! Good luck with your decision.

This reminded me of a name my son gave one of my very naughty Burmese kittens..SOAC....s#*t of a cat. Remember the old television ad that said "if it wasn't for snack packs a kid would starve"?? People we know called their cat Snackpack.....because if it wasn't for snackpacks a dog would starve! Not funny, until you discover the cat was 14, the size of a cocker spaniel and had EVERY dog in the street scared absolutely sh!tless! ;)

:laugh: my first Stafford bitch was Olive when she arrived, I hated it so changed it to Dolly. But here, it really doesn't matter what their "proper" names are because they get changed anyway. Fang is Fangles, Fangdog, Mangle, Long Nose and a few others. Tino is Onit, T-Man, Teapot and Teeny Weeny Little Peeny Roger is Bogdog, Boggles, Dodger and his friends all know him as Woger! :D

Somebody I don't know, I tend to stick to 9am - 9pm in the latter part of the week. From Sunday to say Wednesday, 9am - 8pm. If I know them or know their personal situation (ie work, studying, age, caring for somebody etc) I will ring according but usually never later than 9pm by arrangement or 8am by arrangement. Friends are open slather and those people who have my numbers know that they can ring any time of the day or night because I take the phones to bed with me and due to health conditions I keep weird hours anyway.

Current bedwarmers are Fang the Greyhound, Tino the Lowchen and Roger the Stafford who named himself! :laugh: Have had a wide variety of names....Buzz the black/tan American Cocker because bees and black and yellow (ie black and bright tan markings) and bees "buzz" :rolleyes: Ybot because he came when I already had a dog named Toby.... Rosie Bucket the Devon Rex cat... just to mention a few! ;)

I think you'll find many people asking the same questions. It seems to be a common discussion point in dog AND horse worlds at the moment. Have no answers I'm afraid, only empathy (my Greyhound is shedding bucketloads of hair when he should be getting woollier for our cold Tassie Winter) and a nod in agreement!

You'll be good to go. Sadly, to be perfectly frank, I think there are probably more dogs out there who have not completed their puppy vaccinations than most of us would care to think about.

Agree with Miranda. I think you may be part of the problem there....not meaning that in a nasty way. Sometimes, through our actions, we reinforce the wrong messages with our dogs. If you are cossetting her and "sooking her up" you are giving her the message that it is ok to be like this. Act normally and treat her normally. The health ramifications are no longer. In the scheme of things, 6 weeks along after a litter, her body is probably starting to think about cycling again. Move along. PS. How many litters has she had vs how many has she actually lost? I'm not sure of your situation and I don't want to sound nasty but if she continually "loses" litters I personally would be thinking that there is a problem and things either need to be investigated pretty strenuously, or she needs to be retired from the breeding program. Bitches with breeding issues tend to, if they even manage to have puppies, produce bitches which have breeding issues. Not something that most people need in a breeding program.