ellz

Just the basic one Plaits - Round and Flat. I don't want to get too in depth. IF I stick with it, I'd just like to be able to satisfy my addiction to leads!

I understand completely Mystiqview. I just like the look of what is in the plaiting book and they recommend it as a first project so I'm happy to stick with that and see how I go from there.

I'm not trying to make anything at the moment. The plaiting book has a really nice pattern in it for a dog lead. The handle is single thickness 4 strand round plait. You do that first. Then at a certain point, you double it over so that you are effectively "merging" the two separate lots of 4 strands so that you do each part of the plait with 2 thicknesses (strands) and not 1.

That's a darned good question. According to the plaiting book, for a 4 strand doubled dog lead of just over a metre, they quote 4 lengths of cord, 3 metres long. You braid the handle first and then braid the rest doubled. THAT will be my first "real" project I think!

I hear you. BYBs have natural breedings with any old dog, huge litters with no whelping issues and sell their puppies for inflated prices with no repercussions from puppy purchasers with unreal expectations. Oh to be so lucky! Sometimes I wonder why it is that I'm so dead-set keen on doing the right thing by the CC, my dogs and myself. And then I kick myself and remind myself that I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't put 250% of myself into it all!

Do any of the places you have mentioned to mail order?

I don't want to upset you with my answer and no doubt there will be other opinions but.... If it were me, if she were visibly contracting and obviously uncomfortable, I would probably have erred on the side of caution and I would have called the vet on the Sunday night. This is almost what happened with Koda. She got VERY restless and was obviously not happy at about midnight on the Saturday night after her temp had dropped at midday Saturday. I watched her all night and when nothing was happening by about 5.30am Sunday morning, I rang the vet. I was at his surgery by 8am and the first puppy was out by about 9am. At the time, it wasn't a true "emergency" and we could have proceeded a few ways....oxy shots and monitoring, do nothing but watch or go in and take the puppies. As it turned out, it was lucky we went in because the placentas had started to separate and two of the puppies were showing meconium so they were definitely ready and starting to stress. The vet commented at the time that had we not acted when we did, or had I waited until the Monday there probably wouldn't have been any puppies alive. As it was, there were 9 and all survived. BUT...we can all be wise in hindsight.

No, many bitches have some form of mucous discharge at various stages of gestation. It doesn't necessarily mean that labour has begun.

I've got an awl already. I use it when I'm making my Arabian Show costumes. Thanks for the feedback and the advice. I have literally just discovered that I can use my cross stitching stand as a temporary, portable holder for my braiding until I can find the wooden toot roll holder that I know is hiding here somewhere! I really enjoyed the braiding the few times I managed to find and keep the "rhythm". I found this listing for different coloured kangaroo thonging....is it any good? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

The Supercoat probably wouldn't be helping matters much either. Get him off that and onto a better quality dry and you will probably find things to be rather different.

Obviously I stand corrected but I do still wonder if the breeder may have been feeding raw to their adult dogs and whether the chicken was in addition to other foods? Yes, head into the Dane thread but the BREEDER should be first port of call.

Over or under "ripe" potatoes can be dangerous for ALL species (not just dogs). Nobody should ever eat a potato that has a green tinge to the skin and any fermented food of any kind has its own particular set of risks as well.

Yes and yes!

There was a Saluki litter born not so long ago from dual sires. Not sure of specifics but it was a decent sized litter and there were progeny from both sires in the litter.

Have a look at http:www.showmanager.com.au. You can use the "trial" function for one dog and it is a very easy, user friendly and efficient website for show entries! :rolleyes: Hahahahah ellz, I said I was going to! Except I don't understand, I put in the show info then go to print it and it just brings up this (see attachment). Don't I have to nominate which dog I'm taking and stuff? Am I just not using the site correctly? Everything seems to be conspiring against me *huge dramatic sigh* You need to spend a bit of time playing there to fully understand the site. From what I can remember off the top of my head, you have to first go to the section where you enter Luuka's information. From there you go to the community section and add the shows you want to enter to your personal listing. Then you click on the show, add Luuka's information to it and save the updated show information. If you don't put in the entry fee amount, it won't save is something that I discovered. Then when you go back to the front page, click on the print icon and your PDF should appear showing your completed entry form and the entry summary.

It is the biotin issue that many people are referring to when they discuss egg whites. Research has shown though that moderate amounts of raw egg white if fed in conjunction with the yolk and an otherwise balanced diet are not going to cause great concern. With regards to the macadamia nuts etc. As I mentioned, sometimes a "once off" may have no effect whatsoever. BUT it may also be that the once off reaches the tolerance level in the body and if it happens again, there MAY be issues. Some things in the individual have a slow build-up effect. This isn't just the case with animals, it is also the same with humans. One known example is the preservative 282 in bread products.

Yes. If they've walked somewhere that is harbouring the disease. Now....this leads me to a question. You say that the cats have been eating the dogs food....does that mean you leave food down all the time? If so, if it were me, I wouldn't be doing that any more. Your vet says your puppy has parvo and they have obviously done the necessary testing to diagnosis it so I'm not disputing it in the slightest, but there are also many other diseases that a dog can pick up from eating contaminated food. If the cats can get to it, then so can rodents, flies and all manner of other not-so-pleasant dining partners.

The virus is shed in Faecal matter, so you can literally walk it in to your home, drive it in on your cars tyres. Or dried stuff can simply blow into your yard on the wind or be dropped there by birds which have walked in it.....and you won't know it is there unless your dog shows symptoms.

Okies.....here is my first attempt at a round 4 with a little bit of pretty blue rattail. It's a bit wonky in some parts because even at my advanced years I kept getting my rights and lefts muddled (or maybe that is BECAUSE of my advanced years? :rolleyes:). Once I got the diagrams worked out.....and colouring them in really did help for those who are yet to attempt it....it wasn't so bad. I'm going to try and get hold of some kangaroo thong now and give it a go on some real leather but for now, I've got some black and gold rattail so I'm going to have a stab at a two colour piece! And then if I can do that without stuffing it up, I may have a stab at a round 6. But....I love your setup Mystiqview and will try and cobble together something like that for myself. It's got to be better than my temporary setup last night. Don't laugh but I tied my braiding to my toe first off and sat on my bed listening to a DVD, and then when my back starting aching, I tied it to my leg! Brings back memories of my macrame phase where my poor father succumbed and hung hooks from a lot of doors and ceilings in the family parts of the house so that I could play with my knots!

Have a look at http:www.showmanager.com.au. You can use the "trial" function for one dog and it is a very easy, user friendly and efficient website for show entries!

For numbers I'd say Crufts. For pzazz, spectacle, showmanship and a fabulous time, I'd say Westminster any day!

Psssst.....edit your title and take the apostrophe out of Litters....it doesn't belong there!

Doesn't sound normal to me either! Aside from the risk of infection through the open drip site, there is also the issue of the dog crashing during treatment which can (and does) happen.

Many breeders still do the whole "cereal" bit (ie weetbix or farex). I'm not one of them, but my puppies DO get supper each night (warm milky drink and a biscuit - I have found they sleep better with something warm in their tummies) and they help clean up the skinkids breakfast bowls when they're finished with them (waste not want not). It simply isn't necessary to feed puppy food to bitches these days. A good balanced diet will provide all the caloric requirements a bitch needs, without the extra expense or bother of puppy food which can often be an overload anyway. It is the same as extra calcium supplementation during gestation....not necessary. A good NATURAL source of calcium on a regular basis for life is what is more sensible.