ellz

The puppies came out green and stinking. Healthy but not a nice experience at all. One of them was a red/white and it took nearly three weeks for the green colour to leave his coat. The smell was very "organic". There were no dead puppies or infection so it wasn't that. All these years later, having not used raspberry leaf for any other litter, I've NEVER had another like it, not even when there was suspected infection or neonatal mortality so I can only blame the raspberry.

Adam Ali Andrew Andy Angus x 2 Angus Rip Anzac Apollo(different spelling!) Appollo Archie +1 Archer Arkhan Armand Arq Ash Ashke Attila Atlas Bailey x 6 Balki Baloo Balou Bandit x 2 Banjo Bardigrub Barney Bart X 2 Barton Baxter Bear x2 Beau x 2 Bender Ben x 2 Benji x 2 Benny Benson BERT! Billy Bing Bluey Bob Bomber Boo Boof Bosch Bosco Boxer Brady Brian Custard O'Doggle Brock Brockie Brody Bronson x2 Brownie Bruce Bud Buddy Buffy... he came with it Bumble Bundyx3 Buster byron Caleb Cannon Caramel Carl Cash Casper Champ Changwe Charlie x 5 Chester Chevy Chief Chip x 2 Chok Chubba Chops Clifford Coco Columbus Cooper x3 Cory Cowan x 2 Cowboy Crikey Cruise Cuba Daniel x 2 Dancer Danny Darcy x 2 Dashx2 Deakin Dean Declan Delgado Denim Dennys Dog Diablo Diesel x2 Digby Digger x2 Dillon Dinky Douglas Dominic Dumas Duncan Dylan Ebon Echo Eddie Edward Elijah Elliott Elvis Edge Ernie Esky Fang Fergus x 2 Finn Fox x 2 FlashBazil Fleming Fletcher Fly Flynn Focus Forester Foo Frank Fudge Galahad Gandor Geo Georgex2 Gordon Gossy Greedy Grover Guiness mcGuinness Hail Hamish Harley Harper Harri Harrison Harry Hector Henry Henschke Hey Dog Hogan Hudson Hugo Ian Ivan Jack x 3 Jake x 2 Jasper x 2 James Jay JayDee Jed Jethro Jet Jett Jonsey Joop Jordan Joshua Joxer Judd Juggie Kahn Kai Kaiser x 2 Kane Kasper Kaos Kiba Kei Kingston Kippy Kisho Kuga Kynan Kyzer Leo Lincoln Lenny Leroy x 2 Lestat x2 Logan Louie Luca Lucius Ludwig Lughie Lukas Lukon Luther x 2 Mac X 2 MacKenzie Mandrake Mark (the cat) Mars Mason x2 Maverick Max x 7 Maxie Maxwell THE DOG Maze Mel Merlot Merry Milky Milosh Milton Minook Mistral Mojo Mokha Moo Morris Mr Darcy Mufti Nammu Napoleon Nelsson (yes two s's) Nicky Nigel Noah Nova Nudge Nugget Occy Oliver Omar RIP Onslow Oscar x 3 Oz Pal x 2 Payton Pete Phoenix Phantom Piikki Porsha Puck Punch Quick Quincy Raffy Ralph Rambo Randy Raymond Reeve Reagan Reginald Rex Ricky Riku Riley Rimes Ripley River Robbie x 2 Rocks Rodney RIP Roger Rolly Rory Rove Rover Roy Jones Jnr Rudnick Ruff Rumour Rupert Rusty Sam x3 Sampson Sarge Satchmo Scooby Scout Scrap Scratch Shadow Seth Silas Snitch Sonny Soul Spartan Speed Spencer Spike Sport Spud x 2 Sterling Stig (The) Storm Stryker Sumo Swanky Tag Tally Tana Tanga Tazz x 2 Teddy Terry Tey Dog Thomas Thunder Tiger Tirra Toby x2 Tolkien Tommy Tournie Tub Tusca Tye x2 Tyson Udo Ulf Valdez Wags Walker Wally Watson Weave Whisky Willow Willy Wilson Woody Wookie Wycomb Yoshi Zac x 2 Zedley Zeppelin Zephyr x 2 Zeus Some are current, some are departed.

You won't get a change of heart from me. I used Raspberry Leaf once, over 20 years ago and will NEVER use it again!! I didn't even use it on myself......wouldn't have even considered it and probably would have refused if even a doctor had told me to do so. THAT'S how strongly I feel about them!

Personally I think if more people realised that having your puppy on your bed with you makes for easier/more convenient toilet training, then the furkids would rule the world!

Ahhh...see in actual fact my dogs shed less, snore and fart less and don't demand "favours" all the time so they're much nicer bed companions than my OH! The funny thing is that Mr Ellz will ring me each morning in winter and ask me "how many?". To which I will usually reply "oh 3 and 2" or "2 and 3" or some other combination. This translates to "how cold was it last night and how many dogs/cats did you take to bed to keep warm?"

Well, I've been busily learning and practicing....here are my latest creations.

If it is an ISO microchip (15 digits), you shouldn't have a problem with it being read over there.

The question in our houses is usually "does your DOG allow your OH to sleep on the bed?"

My parents just lost an old girl a week ago. She was 19. She had eaten supermarket dry foods (mostly chum or home brand), canned food and table scraps for most of her life.

Feed whatever they do best on. Not all dogs are lactose intolerant. Dogs only become lactose intolerant if they AREN'T give lactose. All of my dogs love milkshakes and egg flips and leftover weetbix and cornflakes and porridge and all manner of other milky foods. They are also given on a regular basis, every single leftover that you have mentioned and they love them. This week's "extra" will be a big pot of vegetable soup. Mr Ellz cooked it yesterday but got a bit sidetracked during the football and let it burn. Bad news for the hoomans but great news for the dogs! Editing to add: If you're feeding chicken frames, necks and wings and lots of meaty bones, you probably wouldn't have to supplement with calcium. Calcium powders are a waste of time really, they aren't easily digested and in many cases, their only effect is to make white, powdery poo!

Looking back over this thread, I guess might lead you to believe otherwise, but there are a lot of people who make an effort to wear suitable clothes and look the part, at all of our shows, no matter where they are held. And you will often hear of people talking about their new suit purchased for the big shows, it's all part of the fun. :D I certainly do. I dress nicely even for a parade. I still have a brand new suit tucked away which I've never even worn. Just waiting for the right occasion to bring it out! :D

No change in my food either. I purchased a 22kg bag of UA last Tuesday for $32.65. Nothing has changed, output is the same. Reasonably compact, holds together. No voluminous fluffy surprises. Might mention too that DOLer Huganewf saw one of my dogs that is being fed UA last weekend. I think she was impressed.

My girl Koda is a big, solid, well-muscled girl. I don't do any form of obedience or agility etc with her but I probably should. She is insanely fit and LOVES to run with the horses, swim through anything and jump whatever happens to be standing still! Even when she was in whelp, despite my best efforts, she wanted to do nothing but jump. If there is a gate open on the farm, she'll still opt to jump the fence beside it!! She's a maniac.

That sounds like it sorts the wannabes out very quickly. It appears to have done the trick for now but this is my first litter so who knows what I will get over the years to come. Sadly, I think you'll probably find it won't last. I clearly state on EVERY listing that I make ANYWHERE for my puppies that all companion puppies are sold on LIMITED REGISTRATION ONLY!! Still doesn't stop people from asking if they can have Main Register, or telling me that Limit doesn't matter because they only want to breed ??????.

What an interesting study. I do believe dogs understand a reflection. My first Staffordshire Bull Terrier used to go charging up the stairs in the house we lived in when we got him and stack himself up proudly in front of the mirror in the front bedroom where I used to show train him. He'd also watch himself in the black windows of the old Myer store in Hobart when we were out on walks. I used to run him up and down there to see what he looked like on the move. Never once did he try to talk to his reflection, or even show signs that he thought there was another dog there. In my opinion he clearly knew it was himself!

You never STOP learning...that's the beauty of being "in" dogs!! Don't ever be afraid to voice an opinion. Many older, more experienced exhibitors have learned from newer exhibitors. Sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see something that you're looking at every day, if you know what I mean! Just understand that if you DO voice an opinion, there will always be somebody waiting to shoot you down so don't take it personally (or try not to....it can be VERY difficult!!). It doesn't mean that you are necessarily wrong (although you could be and somebody may be able to explain why you are wrong), just that somebody doesn't agree with you. The dog world (and life in general) would be a very boring place if everybody got along all the time and liked the same things in dogs and had the same knowledge in every area!

Nobody is trying to put you down. All I can read is a lot of people adding to your education process....IF you will let them! One of the easiest ways to fit into the show scene is to sit down, shut up and listen. You'll hear some amazing things, many to your benefit. Don't just base your friendships on the people within your breed or group. My best friends are from outside the Stafford breed and outside the Terrier Group. You'll also learn more about your dog, and dogs generally by learning about other breeds. Your naivety is showing in your opinions about the dogs you have seen thus far. There is no doubt you will see a wide cross-section of styles in the show ring. Judging and breeding is a largely subjective thing. BUT regardless of how you personally see a breed, the one thing that should ALWAYS dictate the appearance of your dog is the breed standard. There are certain things within this standard which are COMPLETELY "not negotiable", others which allow a little leeway. As an exhibitor and I presume, potential breeder, the onus is upon YOU to not only read the standard regularly but to know it off by heart, be able to pick things from it to apply to a dog as an instinctive, instant thing and most importantly UNDERSTAND the components. There are a couple of websites which you can not only get the breed standard, but also the breed standard extension which is a valuable tool if understood. The ANKC website is a good place to start. One of the more important things that I have to mention to you is "don't believe everything that vets say about Staffords (or many other breeds for that matter)". Vets are wonderful when animals are sick or injured....absolutely essential in fact....and I'm NOT bagging vets out for that reason. BUT, unless they are a specialist breeder/exhibitor of a particular breed, they will not tend to know much about the finer points of the dog....the breed standard in particular and many other domestic things in general. And I hate to say it, but if the many breeders you have spoken to have referred to your dogs' nose as black, then they are uneducated in the breed and should probably take a few steps back and add to their knowledge base prior to adding too many more dogs to the gene pool. Aside from that, enjoy your experiences at the show. Look, listen and learn. Take the best dog to the show with you and no matter what the judge's opinion is, take that very same dog home with you and you've got half of the show "bit" in hand.

One of the major issues with the Tasmanian RSPCA is that the idiots are running the asylum. They deserve whatever they do to each other. Any animal welfare organisation which will employ a known animal rights activist to head them, no matter how briefly, has got to have its motives questioned.

There are a couple who are trying, I would say that some of their blues are as good (if not better than) many BYB dogs of other colours (even if I don't particularly like them and would never register a blue that appeared in my breeding program). But the reality is that if a judge is going to judge TO THE STANDARD (as all should if they are worth their salt), a blue simply CANNOT win because it does not FIT the standard. The standard calls for "nose black". A blue Stafford cannot have a black nose.

Adding an interesting link... http://abnormality.purpleflowers.net/genetics/noses.htm

This should be pinned somewhere for future reference. No doubt the same questions will be asked again.....this isn't the first time they have been asked and won't be the last.

This is correct. Editing to add a link. http://abnormality.purpleflowers.net/genetics/noses.htm

You'll probably find that there are no difficulties whatsoever with a complete frame. Because they are such an irregular shape, it is difficult for a dog to just sit down and chomp through one without at least pausing a few times to consider the next mode of attack. I find that gulpers have no problems literally inhaling chicken necks, and not much more of a problem with wings. I can slow this down marginally by freezing them and puppies get necks crushed.

I had a steel one which was purchased when I was pregnant with #1 son (he's 18 next month) and it has only JUST started to fall apart. But it is very heavy. I purchased one of the Horse At Home trolleys from ebay and it is STRICTLY a USE at Home trolley because it would probably fall apart if it moved from where it now lives in the loungeroom. I also have an OKS and would definitely go another. Lightweight and easy to move around. Only criticism is that you cannot lock the swivel wheels into place so I have to remember to take chocks or the trolley goes walkabout on a slope. Found out recently that the OKS manufacturer (now that Ozzie himself has passed) is Hilary Pederson's (All Breeds Judge) son and he lives at St Helens in Tasmania. Which could be REALLY handy because my parents live there too! ;)

Definitely tube him. Even with a strong sucking reflex, at that weight he will use up a good part of his caloric intake in energy expended by sucking. If he is basically healthy, then don't worry so much about "remedies", just get good amounts, regularly of a good quality milk replacement into him. And I'd be thinking probably 3 or 4 hourly around the clock wouldn't be inappropriate. Wombaroo and Animalac are my two supplements of choice. They are higher in solid contents which results in slower absorbtion and slightly longer between feeds than Divetelac. You can purchase everything you need from Sway and she is prompt and easy to deal with. Cannot recommend her services highly enough.