ellz

There have been scats identified within a matter of 20km from here according to the guy from the taskforce that I spoke to this afternoon. He asked me to describe what I saw, he kind of deliberately wasn't saying much but when I gave him the description of the colour, shape and movement and particularly the markings I saw on the back of the ears, he got rather animated. Mr Ellz says he is feeling a bit like he has seen a UFO!

They do believe they were introduced illegally and there is also evidence of them stowing away on boats coming into Tasmania. There is definite evidence that they are here (scats, carcasses and sightings) but the whole point of the taskforce is to identify, find and eradicate them before they can develop a large breeding program and have an adverse affect on our own unique wildlife.

But I swear that Mr Ellz and I have literally just seen one!!! I've phoned the Fox Eradication Taskforce and told them what I saw. And between starting to write this post and now, the tracker has rung me for details of our location and will be coming out here tonight to do some calling.

One thing at a time. Editing to clarify: I wouldn't be changing her diet just yet until you see if the new regime has any effect. You don't want to cause a dietary upset whilst the other stuff is going on.

No, what you have shown here is a snap-on comb which adjust the length of hair cut when using single sized blades (does that make sense?), which makes me think you have a pair of clippers with a non-detachable clipper head. The clipper blades themselves are the metal things that are attached to the end of the clippers. They are generally a #10 on most fixed head clippers. When dealing with detachable clipper blades, the higher the number, the closer the cut. So a #40 blade will take the hair off more closely to the skin than a #15 and that will be shorter than either a #4f, #5f or #7f which are all blades that leave longer, more natural looking hair. The "f" means finishing and it creates a much smoother look. The snap-on combs will generally leave approximately the same length hair as they state on the comb. ie 10mm hair length, 7mm etc.

It's not completely about price for me either. Some of my dogs do exceedingly well on UA/GB plus the other stuff they get so I am not really prepared to chop and change and lose what I already have achieved. My comment about price was in response to what Nekhbet said. But as I also said, if it is better and more cost-effective for you to feed completely raw and if your dogs do better on it, then all power to you. In my case, it is NOT cheaper to feed raw and some components of a completely balanced RAW diet are illegal here as well.

Not everybody is in a situation where raw food can be bought more cheaply than one of the cheaper dry foods. As I have said frequently, feed what your dogs do best on and too bad if others don't like it. It isn't them that has to buy it, feed it or clean up after it.

BTW, this is a puppy after almost a month on UA. I don't think anybody could say that he isn't doing well on it.

I have never yet met anybody who follows the recommended feeding guides on UA/GB. If I fed anywhere NEAR what is recommended to any of mine, including the Greyhound, they would look like the Goodyear blimp!! I tried feeding almost the recommended amount to the Greyhound at one stage and not only would he not eat it all, but I swear he got cellulite!!!!!

Yep, I repeat....thyroid is REALLY ringing bells for me with this puppy!! The skin thickening and discolouration, hair loss etc are classic symptoms.

I've had eyes start to slit at 8 days and be completely open at 9. I wouldn't be putting anything in the eyes though and if you think they are inflamed or have pus, then I'd be consulting a vet.

I'd be asking for a thyroid screening panel. The dark skin discolouration and hairloss worries me.

It really is a state-by-state scenario. Some States allow you to enter babies as long as the registration application has been submitted to the canine council for processing, others don't. All I can suggest is that people contact their state controlling body for clarification BEFORE they enter! Don't necessarily take the word of the secretary for it. Just because "they" allow it doesn't mean you can't cop a rap over the knuckles if the controlling body happen to audit the show.

See maybe I'm missing something but none of my animals are SHY of spray bottles as in the sake of a spray bottle directed at them for drinking purposes in the show ring, or even grooming purposes at home or ringside. Those who have needed the "voice of God" seem to be well aware of the difference between a spray bottle directed for correction and a spray bottle directed for other things. Perhaps it is in the body language and tone?

Agree with Danois. Too many puppy owners think that toilet training a puppy means that they just open the door and push the puppy outside to go potty by itself. Then they wonder why the puppy spends 15 minutes outside and then comes inside and squats (or worse) straight away. The puppy is a child with a short attention span. It goes outside, loses track of what it is there for and spends the 15 minutes playing, digging, sniffing and doing everything BUT toileting. YOU need to go with it. Take it to wherever you want it to empty and stand with it until it does what you want. Make a HUGE fuss of the correction action and then take the puppy back inside. It'll soon learn that you are happy with it when it toilets outside and that it can go back inside when it is done. If the bigger dog is a problem, then take the puppy to an area that the bigger dog cannot access, or isolate the bigger dog somehow until the toileting is automatic for the puppy. By the time this happens, the puppy will probably be getting large enough to also spend time playing with the bigger dog SUPERVISED and AFTER toileting has been completed.

I'm NOT saying that a dog who cowers away from a newspaper or a spray bottle is any different. If a dog cowers away from either/both then they have obviously not been used correctly, that's what I am saying. I will also add here that the spray bottle is NOT my first method of choice for correction either. Actually, it is a long way down the list of "tools" that I use with my animals. And more often than not, I don't need (or want) to use it on some animals or situations at all. BUT it CAN be effective if done correctly! I really believe that as with any form of training, no matter whether it be dogs or horses....TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!!

I agree with this. Obviously there are ways....and there are ways. I would certainly think that a spray bottle is a completely different thing to a newspaper! My dogs are far more likely to drink from the spray bottle and pee on the newspaper than they are to cower away from either! And adding here for clarification......I am well aware that both a spray bottle and a newspaper can be equally as "harmful" (mentally) if used the wrong way, but I still believe that a dog which has had a squirt from a spray bottle is in a much better place physically than a dog which has had the bejesus beaten out of it with a newspaper!

+1 If you really don't want her on certain garden beds....either fence them off or contain her to where she CAN play!

Well, all I can say is that I have been using a spray bottle for correction for years and it seems to work for my household. Nobody "shies away" from the spray bottle (except for the children) as I've mentioned, the dogs are happy to drink from a spray bottle so it can't be that negative for them. And as the behaviours that I want to correct seem to stop after a couple of corrections (with the "ugh" noise as well of course), I can't see that I've negated the correction, caused them to behave only in the presence of the spray bottle OR learned to ignore it?

If they're doing the right thing by their bitch, then why would you not want to sell them a puppy if they tick all other boxes?

You could also check out the Victorian Club website. They have apparently got some A&E collars (the authentic ones from the UK) for sale.

Where abouts do you buy this brand from? Is it a pet shop line? I feed my Cavs on Royal Canin breed specific but between 4 of them it is a little exy if you no what I mean Rule of kibble/dry food is that the first ingredient on the back of the pack should be a meat or meat by product. My DH did hours of research online and discovered this little tip. Anything other than that usually use a wheat product as their main ingredient and that can be bad for your dogs skin, it can cause allergies We feed our bigger dogs Supercoat as it has a meat product as its first ingredient. But be aware that a dog food company can change their ingredients and not have to update their packaging for up to 6 months!!! Many produce stores have it. You could also contact Laucke Mills in SA (the manufacturer) and ask them for stockist information.

Very much depends upon the food. I feed MUCH less than recommended of either Uncle Albers or Great Barko to the greyhound and any of my others who are on it or they start looking like the Goodyear blimp pretty quickly. Other foods, I need to feed more so I end up spending more. You won't necessarily know until you try it. Each dog's metabolism is different.

You should probably remove the name and prefix. If Troy wants it to be known, he will do so, otherwise it could cause him trouble that isn't necessary.

I'm in the process now of making some leads for a German Shepherd lady for show so I don't see why you couldn't use kangaroo lace leads with a choker. I also get some lovely kangaroo lace leads from a lady who makes them for me. she uses an inner core for extra strength, so would probably be fine for a Rottie in the show ring. That's what I use. It is a 50lb monofilament, normally used for tuna fishing! And I also splice extra lengths through the handle and clip ends so that there is more support as well. They're certainly not flimsy!