Hafhafa Hounds

Shnoodles could be Schnauzer x Poodle or Shitzu x Poodle mixes. On the link you supplied it tells you what the shMoodles are: Maltese x Shih-tzu x Poodle Website also says she doesn't vaccinate her puppies, that new owners need to do that themselves... Sonia

I think every new owner who gets a dog should give it a go, from the point of view that it can provide structured bonding time. But not every obedience group is right for every owner & dog. You have to find one that suits you and your style. I go with 3 of my pack of 6. My 2 Salukis are trained how I want them, but it's good socialising for them, as they are not very dog social, preferring their own company. My Kelpie goes because she's needed structured training from day dot. She enjoys the one on one time it provides her with me. Sounds weird, that it's one on one time in a large group (our beginners class has around 15 - 20 dogs at present), but she's very focussed on me and not on the other dogs. I enjoy socialising with people who love their dogs and I enjoy helping new owners learn about their new relationship. (I help instruct at times when we're very busy.) I did obedience classes through to advanced & trialling levels with my two oldest dogs (now 15 & 16). They both loved it too. ETA It's never boring, because I MAKE it fun. Treats, socialising, extra stays, running, games etc. Sonia

Hey InSha-llah, Nice pooches!! :D Sonia

They're great, but it is very late to book there for Christmas too. Good luck. Sonia ETA - Here's a link to their website: http://www.mbbk.com.au/ Try calling them now, cos they're open between 4 - 5pm on Sundays for pick ups.

I use the dishwasher for my Kongs. I put in mince meat & chunks, peanut paste, cheese pieces, table scarps... whatever's going. Sonia

My dogs use MY bed as their bed. They don't chew it up and I wash the sheets regularly... So using an old bed & base is fine. If he's a puppy he might chew a dog bed up too. Are you talking about inside or outside? While you're there or away from home? Permanently or as a short term solution til he's finished chewing? What about crate training? Good beds for dogs are ones they are comfortable in and what you can afford. My outside dogs have two old couches a couple of armchairs plus a couple of trampoline beds (with the steel frame and the wool sack). My inside dogs have small fluffy beds from cheap as chips, plus a couple of baskets (a cane one and a foam one) and my bed. Sonia

Nope... Sally - begs, screams at the door when she's on the wrong side, which is always, pees inside (but she is 16 years old...) Meg - barks a lot (but not constantly), hates Saluki bitches. Arella - howls a lot (but not constantly), gets on the bed, hates Kelpie bitches. Moss - whinges... a lot!, pees on stuff... tools, crates, boxes (well, put them away!!) & occasionally, James!! Tom - hates Moss, but loves all other dogs, barks a lot, gets on the bed. Zoom - ummm... dammit - he's perfect!! :D ...Yep!! :D

Easy - networking. Firstly, I made sure potential puppy owners understood that they would get a puppy from me IF I chose to sell them a puppy, not if they handed over some cash. Then I did a written questionaire, house checked or asked for references from anyone whose personality/answers/face I wasn't fully satisfied with and I have done home checks after the puppies went, too. ;) ...and before you flame me for the "face" comment - my puppies, my rules. I haven't yet sent one of my own puppies interstate, but have rehomed rescue dogs interstate. Didn't need to do a check (both were friends of trusted rescue associates or checked by the organisation I rehomed through) I but did ask for refs & vet phone numbers. I'm also the second contact on all my microchipped puppies (I did breed a litter pre-microchipping) and rehomed rescues. Sonia

Wendy & Rick at Murray Bridge Boarding Kennels. I was a very nervous first time boarder with my two Salukis and Wendy was FANTASTIC! They were together in the same kennel and exercised apart from other dogs. I know it's a way to go from the Western Suburbs, though, but I think it's worth driving somewhere you can trust, esp. if you're nervous about it. Suggest you go for a drive to several over the next few weeks and have a good look around. Sonia ETA You should get on to this quickly, because good kennels will already have lots of booking for that time.

No problem... what works, works. My preference is that my dogs don't get commercial food because it contains grains and my dogs are carnivorous, but it's not everyone's deal. I like that I can quality control and I like that my dogs are healthy on raw. Everyone has to do what's best for themselves and their dogs. Sonia edit for spelling

You can't stop anyone buying a puppy... but.... With a bit of luck they do choose an ethical & responsible breeder who does ask for refs, does a house check and calls their vet. I'd tell. I'd want you to tell me, if I was the breeder. Sonia

But there can't be 60 people in a smallish capital city who want an Amstaff ALL IN THE SAME MONTH?? Can there?! Sonia

Not in the Oct journal - only Amstaffs, but now I'm going to go look back through a few back issues... Sonia Yikes, another 7 litters, same breeder, in the July Journal. 34 more puppies. All Amstaffs, all born in Dec/Jan/Feb... plus another breeder, different kennel name with two parent that have the first breeder's kennel name... Sonia ETA - Every journal I have opened so far has puppies bred by this one breeder, and I'm talking multiple litters per month.

Not in the Oct journal - only Amstaffs, but now I'm going to go look back through a few back issues... Sonia

Hi Belladonna, I have 6 dogs ranging in age from 16 years to 2 years and in size from Salukis to Tenterfield Terriers. I've fed my dogs raw (in a variety of forms, beginning with BARF and progressing to prey-model as I learned) for over 15 years. I have had great success, raised 3 litters of pups on raw and will continue to feed raw until the day I no longer have dogs or I die (probably more likely!). I switched an itchy-all-the-time Tenterfield Terrier to raw 15 years ago and haven't looked back. She's now 16 and going strong! I feed a franken-prey-model diet, made up of chicken carcasses, lamb, beef & pork meat, lamb & beef heart, lamb tongue and liver. It's approximately 65% muscle meat, 25% bones and 10% offal. That's not even close to the "model" diet recommendation of 80:10:10, but it works for my pack. Possibly you haven't persevered long enough, or tried feeding too much variety/fat too soon. A lot of dogs get "loose" when going thru a change of diet, but it can be reduced by giving more bone or sticking to one protein. Eggs DO contain an ENZYME INHIBITOR in the WHITE which can make them difficult to digest for very young puppies, sick dogs, old dogs, or dogs with pancreatitis. Apart from that, unless a dog has an allergy to eggs, there should be no problem. Egg whites contain a substance called AVIDIN, which binds with the vitamin biotin (a member of the B Complex group), making it unavailable for your dog. The only situation where this has been a problem was when an experimental diet, totally deficient in biotin was fed together with lots of raw egg whites for several weeks. It is possible that lots of egg whites could precipitate a biotin deficiency, in a dog fed a poor quality dried dog food. If that dry food was low in biotin, as they often are, the dog may suffer a biotin deficiency. It's worth noting that egg yolks contain lots of biotin, so feeding whole eggs is very safe. Nope. My dogs are wormed when they have worms - no more often and no less. Disagree. Not that raw meat contains Salmonella & E. Coli, but that dogs can't cope with it. Healthy dogs are designed to eat raw meat & bones, their digestive tract is short and food passes through more quickly than humans. Besides which their stomach acids are stronger and "kill the germs" as it were. Have a read here: http://www.rawlearning.com and please note that all of the above reflects my opinon and what works for me, may not work for you. Regards, Sonia PS No comments on the avo or nuts - I feed neither to my dogs.

Only from the one bitch. And not how many pups - how many litters she can have in a given timeframe. The only restrictions as far as total numbers go would be council/government restrictions, as all the litters were from different bitches (in this case - 8 litters for 57 puppies registered). Sonia

I can't think of the right section to put this comment in, so I'll put it here in the Amstaff thread... I just noticed in my latest (Oct '10) journal that there were 58 (yup!) Amstaff pups registered from one breeder IN ONE MONTH!!! WTF?? One or two litters is enough to cope with in any one YEAR, let alone 8 litters in one month!!! Sonia (picking up my jaw off the ground...) ETA: Sorry counted wrong... it was only 57... whew!!

100% raw fed pack here!! chicken carcasses, wings beef, lamb & pork meat lamb tongues beef & lamb hearts lamb liver whole mackeral all raw, all the time Sonia More pix here

This just adds credence to the fact that it is the owners to blame and not the dogs. Sonia

RIP Hamish. I feel for the poor old lady. A pup I bred was attacked brutally in the street as my father-in-law walked her a few years back, but nothing was ever done. (Our pup survived, but carries the scars and limp to this day.) I don't think it's something you ever get over. We (as a society) need to get much tougher on what happens to the offenders - and I don't mean the dogs. Sonia

lucky in love

Don't want to start an arguement (and have put on my flame-proof suit), but does no-one have any reservations about vaccinating a sick puppy? Vaccinations should be performed on healthy individuals only, and clearly, Carter is NOT (yet). I'd think about waiting til he's well before inflicting a vaccination on him. You're not taking him off your property for walks atm anyway, so he's not about to pick up something that way... More is NOT better when it comes to vax. It is entirely possible that his illness is linked to his vax to begin with. Sonia

Great story & best of luck to them. I have renamed a 9 month old (Zazoo -> Zoom), a 5 month old (Angel -> Arella) and a 2+ year old ("unknown" -> Tommy). Never had any issues... Sonia

ROTFLMAO at this one!!! Where do I get me one of them mugs?? Sonia

My pack from a few years back: left to right Tom, Moss, Arella, Sally & Zoom I still have all 5 of these, plus now Meg as well. (won't be a pic of the 6 of them together as I have two that don't get along :D ) Sonia