ellz

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?

Reminds me of quite a few years ago, an eccentric older woman judge who was wearing this HUGE cape....we called it her bat cape that day! She was judging Dobes and walked around to the head of one Open Dog and said to the handler as she LOOMED over the dog "I want to see the soul of the Dobermann in his eyes" and the handler replied (barely hanging onto the dog) "Lady, if you keep doing that, you'll be wearing the TEETH of the Dobermann in YOUR eyes!" I'll never forget it.......

Oh dear. Sounding like neighbourly relations are going to deteriorate. My advice to you now is to document EVERYTHING, even if you think it is insignificant. Dates, places and times as well. The conversation you had with the mother, the conversation about the knives. The date you contacted the police and what they said. And EVERYTHING from here on in.....noise disturbances, anything over the fence, visits from animal control etc etc. At least if you have it documented you can provide evidence of their harrassment of you (because that is effectively what it is). You may never need to do anything with it, but as sure as eggs, if you don't have it...you'll need it.

AND, another tip for those with foot/leg problems.....take more than one pair of shoes. I've found that changing shoes at least once during the day helps considerably.

You'd be better off buying a small bag of Optimum now and mix it in with the other whilst you do a gradual changeover.

It is manufactured by Laucke Mills in South Australia and should be readily available at the larger places. If not, they could probably get it in. Many rural suppliers have it as well. The Uncle Albers is higher in fat than the Great Barko. I should advise you though that I don't follow the recommended feeding amounts. If I did that, I'd have whales, not dogs!

Many will not agree and will tell you that it is rubbish but I cannot recommend Great Barko/Uncle Albers more highly. My dogs which are fed these products are as fat as mud and as shiny as wet seals. The longhaired dogs do well on it and the smooth haired dogs positively gleam. Teeth are clean (they get bones as well though) and no issues with itchies or yeasty smelling ears. My Stafford bitch was not being fed this immediately during weaning and lost condition AND scratched all of her back hair out, but since putting her back onto GB/UA the hair has grown back, she has put on weight and many who saw her at a show the other weekend (she went for a social outing) were amazed and said that they wouldn't have thought she had had a litter of 9 only 4 months before. Editing to add: It is also kind to the budget. 22kg for around the $35 mark depending upon where I buy it.

YES!! Just one of the reasons I stopped feeding it some 4 or so years ago. I was a diehard Supercoat supporter. Fed it to my puppies and adults and recommended it to puppy purchasers. It USED to be a reasonable quality "budget friendly" food. It appeared to undergo an ingredient, manufacturing change and was no longer the same. You'll find many others had the same experience. I now feed most of my dogs a combo of Great Barko/Uncle Albers. Still Australian manufactured (by Laucke Mills in South Australia) it is a budget friendly dry food that most dogs seem to do very well on. TOO well in some cases. I highly recommend it for adult dogs. I use Optimum for my puppies.

BTW, Ruth is a DOLer too!

Another one who uses Petplan. You register with them as a breeder. When you sell a litter, the day the puppy leaves home, you enter the details online and they give you a policy number. They also email the new owner with the number and some information about their coverage. The puppy is then covered for 6 weeks free and the new owner has the option after that of continuing the policy at, I believe, a discounted rate.

As long as you are a financial member of an ANKC affiliated body you are allowed to show anywhere in Australia. Some States you can show for as long as you like, provided your membership is current, but I believe Qld is the exception to that rule. Same as with showing a dog that is registered in another State. Qld I think it is only 3 months that it can be shown before being transferred to a Qld ownership, but other States it doesn't matter any more.

I couldn't get this one to work on my computer. Ended up uninstalling it and had to do a system restore because it fouled the entire thing. Then I went to a simple Word template, pre-filled which I just printed. Now I use Show Manager and it keeps track of the shows and fills in the entire entry form. And they look lubberly too!

Have you checked out http://www.showmanager.com.au ? MUCH better than doing it yourself IMO. No affiliation, just very satisfied site user.

Mine are opportunists too...they quite happily tolerate cats etc wandering around amongst them....but put a cat in a crate for whatever reason and the crate becomes the object of attention immediately and the dogs aren't at all gentle with their nose-nudging either!

The reality is that some dogs, no matter what the breed, have a high prey drive and ANY movement from a smaller animal will whip them into a frenzy. Either the containment of the other animals needs to be made stronger, or the dog needs to be kept in an area where it cannot access the smaller animals. That is the only solution I can offer.

Exactly. And if you read a post I made a little while back, I pointed out that the purpose of this thread was to post photos of YOURSELF making fashion faux pas, not to embarrass or shame other people. ellz, Isn't the thread also for helping others learn how to avoid fashion blunders in the future? I think often we don't look carefully or think about how we look before venturing out - and that goes for regular life too, not just dog shows. If we can share ideas, suggestions and tips, I think that is a good way to let folks know that appearance does matter and each person should be proud of how they look - regardless of their size or health issues. Absolutely! And I've made some ripper blunders and don't mind sharing them. I'm also an "extra" challenge because I'm an "upsized" version so dressing nicely, yet complimenting my dogs can be a challenge. I'm a lot more confident in my clothing now thank goodness. There was a time when I would never have been seen in colours like fuschia or watermelon or bright greens and blues because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. But I'm over that now and get a real buzz when I make a fashion "find" that will accentuate or compliment my dogs (and my figure). And you were also instrumental in that too!! I do have to add again, that now that I have discovered some super-sucker boob-holders, the picture is "more" complete and the confidence that contained puppies alone can give is......pardon the pun......uplifting!

Elfin, my bet was distichiasis due to the breed. Very common in Staffords unfortunately.

Exactly. And if you read a post I made a little while back, I pointed out that the purpose of this thread was to post photos of YOURSELF making fashion faux pas, not to embarrass or shame other people.

There's a dog in the photo? Thank you for posting.........that's EXACTLY the kind of thing I was hoping others would post too!

Could be saliva staining if he is licking himself. Could also be start of an allergy. Or could even be staining from flea dirt. What do you feed him? Does he scratch a lot? Do his ears smell at all?