ellz

Let the dog keep the name. My experience with having 3 sons aged 11, 12 and 18 is that the dogs are more likely to respond when they're called anyway.

In this regard, I can reassure everybody. Having been into HS myself and physically sighted the merchandise, unless the HS you happen to deal with via mail order is shonky....then they are the real deal.

& progeny is often an individual thing dictated by the club. Best thing is to have a really good squizz at the schedule and if it doesn't say how many, give the secretary a call. Also, unless specified, you may not need to actually name the progeny on an entry form. I can't say for sure with all breeds, but at most American Cocker Specialties, it was quite common for owners of a sire or dam's progeny to be approached by the owner of sire or dam on the day to ask if they would go in the class with them. I think as long as the progeny are already entered in the show on the day, that is usually sufficient. When paying by cheque, as long as the cheque is in there, there is money in the bank and the entry details are complete, that is really all that matters.

Very common in many breeds. Google "winter nose" and you'll get lots of reading material.

The thing about dogs is that many of them have owners. The thing about those owners is that many of them have a life outside their dogs. The thing about having a life outside dogs is that it gives lots of people lots to talk about. THAT'S why there is an OT section. If you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to read it.

She has a very big adventure headed her way. In about 40 days, she will be put on a big silver bird and will be winging her way to the land of Cherry Blossoms. Japan. I'm going to be sad to see her go, but she has a wonderful home waiting and at the end of the day, that is the best any breeder can hope for.

Absolutely. A dog is a dog. A dog isn't a human with four legs. But a dog still requires a balanced diet, although they don't require the balance to be present in each and every meal as long as it balances OVERALL. I still believe that is where many people come undone. Yeah, sure I feed a dry food that many call rubbish. My dogs happen to do well on it. They look good, smell good and have plenty of energy. BUT...it isn't the ONLY thing that they are fed. In fact, it would probably make up less than a 1/4 of their overall diet. They also get meat and lots of bones (one of the joys of living in a country environment with two abattoirs within a few kms in either direction). They also get plenty of plant and vegetable manner. And their way of scavenging to get other minerals and nutrients is to enjoy the "spoils" of the output of the horses. And yes, many will at that....but think about it......even Billinghurst discusses why they would do it. It is readily processed vegetable and grain matter with trace elements and minerals already partly processed and easily digested. And then of course, there is the hooman food that they enjoy as treats and the yoghurt, cheese, eggs and other goodies that are added on a regular basis too. So yes, I feed a less-than-quality dry food, but it is supplemented by a very watered-down version of a raw diet. And I'm very happy with the results and don't plan to change what I do in the near future.

Feeding dogs is like politics and religion. Everybody believes they are right and any discussion invariably turns into a shitfight. And nobody has the right to dictate to anybody else what they should feed, or belittle them or talk down to them from a superior height just because they believe they are right and the other person is wrong. Nobody has a crystal ball. Only hindsight is going to tell you whether a particular food was good for a dog its entire life. You can't say at the age of 2 if a dog is going to live until it is 20. All you can do is base your opinions on what a dog looks like, acts like and how many trips it makes to a vet. Live and let live people.

To clarify....I use the term Food Nazis to refer to ANYBODY who dictates to others what they should feed their dogs and yes, that includes dry food nazis. Nobody has the right to refer to any other form of food as "rubbish" just because they don't feed it. Many do that and have never fed the food that they are trashing. I have said REPEATEDLY (and you'll see this if you search my posts).....the best food is the food your dog does best on. Whether others agree with your choices or not. You need to balance the equation of the individual dog, the availability of the food, the cost and what you can afford. The food that ticks all boxes, or most boxes is what you should feed. I feed what I feed because I get the results that suit me. Nobody has the right to tell me that I'm doing the wrong thing. I couldn't give a toss whether you feed RAW, BARF, or a dry food that has a "name" and costs you the equivalent of the national debt for a small bag just because your dog doesn't shit much. I'd think the same of you if your dog looked great on no-name dry food from Coles as long as you were happy with how your dog/s respond to it.

Yes, to confirm, Trafford is the official photographer at the Royal this year. He told me that himself. Personally, I can't wait until he's on holiday in Tasmania in a couple of months....he has already invited himself here for a few days (and I don't mind in the least) and will be taking some photos of my feral bunch! I cannot believe this guy's memory! He took photographs of my first American Cocker back in 1987 and not only did he remember her, he remembered me AND the address that I used to live at! When you think of the sheer numbers of photos he takes in any calendar year, that puts him right up there for good recollection skills!!!

The Harris Scarfe ones are DEFINITELY Oztrail. Are packaged Oztrail and have Oztrail logos and contact information all over the box. Marked down from $229 and say so on the signs in front of the display. And they're heavy! But not as heavy as the Deluxe. There's no way I could fit a Deluxe in my car so I'm thrilled to have had the heads up for the Compact. It won't just be useful at shows, I'll be able to use it over the puppy pen here at home in Summer!

Oh.dear. Like the stuff on the left even LOOKS like it could make something white without the assistance of some sort of flaming miracle!

Thanks for the heads up Sway, I put one on layby this morning!

Or disagree with me just because you do! If the food nazi cap fits......wear it with pride. That's your prerogative! And FWIW, we in Tasmania are not able to follow a "true" BARF diet because legally, we cannot feed offal to our dogs. And as offal is such a major part of the raw diet, it leaves our dogs at somewhat of a disadvantage.

Yes and I agree that he should and was right to do so. But reading the OP, his responses of "Is that so?" sounds (if I take what I imagine the tone would have been correctly) goading to me. That's not something I expect of anyone, let alone an officially appointed office of government or council. Erny, I think if you re-read, you'll find that the OP's OH said "is that so"....NOT the ranger. And yes, that's MY point....it sounded goading so if it were me and I were the ranger, I'd be a bit taken aback and probably somewhat hostile to the reception as well.

Well....without wanting to offend you....if the tone was similar to that which you are using in this thread, I can probably understand why you got him offside. When dealing with situations like this, the old saying "you catch more flies with honey, than you do with vinegar" really does hold true! You could never offend my ellz......the tone im using in here is probably similar to alot of threads on these forums.....Im sure not many in here would take kindly to anyone coming on to your property, you politely telling them that your dogs dont leave the yard day or night, and then them telling you are you sure about that. The question was answered POLITELY. Take it how ever you want to read it. Fair enough. And in response...as I said in my other reply. The same thing happened to me. I answered the questions, they went on their way to investigate further. And I didn't hear any more about it. They have a job to do and in many cases, they do it quite well.

Well....without wanting to offend you....if the tone was similar to that which you are using in this thread, I can probably understand why you got him offside. When dealing with situations like this, the old saying "you catch more flies with honey, than you do with vinegar" really does hold true!

He has to ask the questions and all you have to do is answer them. Many years ago when living in suburbia, I had a visit from the ranger because of a complaint that my dogs barked all day and fought all night. Now at this stage I had a VERY young baby, a Saluki and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. If they fought all night, I'd have known about it because at that stage, both dogs slept on the end of my bed and if they barked all day *I* would have killed the beggars because they would have woken the baby!!!! I calmly told the ranger about this and introduced her to the dogs who didn't even bark at her standing there on the front verandah. I don't know what happened after that because she never returned. My guess is that she went back to the complainant and asked for more information, maybe did some more investigating and found out who the real culprits were.

I tend to mix the GB and UA together. And remember, a little tends to go a VERY long way! Especially if you add extra stuff to the diet like I do (meat, bones etc). As far as price is concerned, I think the average is around $35 for a 22kg bag.

Stonebridge, I can name multiple BIS winning dogs that eat Woofbix from Big W as the basis for their diets. And I can even name one breeder whose dogs eat Chum dry food. DEFINITELY not my choice, but they're ok with it. And likewise, there are many people here (but who are probably too scared of flack from the Food Nazis to admit it) who have changed their dogs to GA or UA for various reasons and who are absolutely delighted with the results. I can honestly say that feeding GB and UA doesn't affect fertility or litter health. My Stafford bitch had her first litter in November. 9 puppies. All are big, strapping puppies now. The only time she wasn't fed GB/UA was late in her pregnancy and again during weaning because I couldn't obtain the food locally and she started scratching on another brand of food (high-end Supermarket food which I could obtain easily) and didn't stop scratching, or put condition back on until she was back on the GB/UA and she is looking marvellous now. Quite a few people saw her at a show a couple of weekends ago and were stunned at how good she WAS looking considering the size of the litter such a short time ago. She'll be hitting the show ring again the weekend after Easter, she's looking that good!!! If people like the results that they get from Supercoat, then by all means they should feed it. I USED to feed it but didn't like the end result so I changed. I've not fed it again since so cannot say whether or not things have changed again. I'm not willing at this stage to give it another go because I've found something else that does work for my dogs. BUT, I will add that one of my puppy people couldn't get Optimum so got Supercoat instead because it was available at the local supermarket (large country town) and it was on special and despite giving it a good go, they quickly went back to Optimum because the volume of smelly, fluffy output was quite mindblowing for them after having become used to nice, small, formed, dark stools.

Obviously your dog does well on what you're feeding Stonebridge. That should be the guide to feeding a dog....not what "name" it is, or whether it is part of a current fad, or is popular, or cheap or anything else. Despite the food Nazis, MY personal choice when it comes to feeding my animals is what they do best on, that I can obtain, that I can afford.

Gee, that's terrific isn't it....NOT! I may not like all of the Plush Puppy Products but at least they bend over backwards to assist if you have a question or problem.

Was the bowl on the ground? Perhaps she is accustomed to it being above ground level?

Most Staffords are juvenile until they're old enough to be senile.

This I'm going to have to dispute. Because I simply don't agree. Many people, including myself, have had excellent results with GB and UA. Just because it isn't RAW or a so-called "premium" food doesn't automatically make it rubbish. It is a "budget" food...no denying it...can't complain about 22kg for under $40. BUT, it is a budget food that for my dogs (and many others) get good results. They put on weight and maintain it easily. Their skin and hair is in excellent condition. They don't scratch constantly. Their eyes don't run. Their ears and breath don't smell. Their teeth stay clean. And the output is small, crumbly and very easy to dispose of. What more can I ask for?