vic2010

Lovely Would really love it if everyone would spread the word, especially as we enter storm/flood season, oh and the silly season LOL

Pawpals Pet Treats has decided that we are going to donate $1 from every bag of pet treats sold to Red Collar Rescue Inc, a charity that helps save dogs from death row in pounds. So come on over, join the Pawpals family and grab some yummo treats for your furbaby and support this worthwhile organisation Visit their facebook page, join and share http://www.facebook.com/groups/pawpalspettreats/ thanks Victoria

That's good advice. No, I don't have my iggy anymore. He is no longer with us, sorry I don't want to go into too much detail as its upsetting . Its also part of the reason of the long break from showing. There is a particular type that I do like and it is making it a bit easier going through all the breeders. I am also going onto the appropriate canine council and seeing which breeders are on there and what sort of dogs they have. Its always such a big task going through pedigrees and talking to breeders but i actually find it kind of fun and extremely interesting.

Thanks Sandra I have always done showing for the social aspect. I did notice the start of the blue craze at the end of when I use to show years ago. I was showing Iggys and it was starting to get rampant with them then and when I watched the staffys (the group 2 ring was next to the ring I was in) I did notice a lot of blue staffys making an appearance. I am willing to look at breeders in other states and I think I am really going to have to study the lines and stuff to be able to sift through all the breeders that are around. I guess one thing i value in a breeder is HONESTY.

I guess tips in the way of suggestions as to how to stand out when there is so much competition. How to get the edge so to speak. I am getting excited about the prospect of doing it again. I never really stopped enjoying it just circumstances changed, but things have settled again which is why its on the cards again. i am looking at staffys cause I have just looked after one for almost a week and I had no idea that they were such loyal dogs, exactly what we are looking for in a dog with having lots of kids With the two other breeds that I have shown there was so much narking and nit picking, as well as people not being honest with themselves and therefore not doing things in the best interests of the breed. i think due to this I have learnt not to neccessarily go with someone with the loudest voice, or someone that majorly talks themselves up and boasts. Avoid snobbiness. i think the best thing I was ever told about showing is that you need a tough skin. I have always done it cause I enjoyed it first and formost, which is why I am looking at it again, I do miss it. It also gave me time out from the kids and gave me some ME time with my furry friend I really want to do well and I know that its going to be a lot of work, but doing it with the right breed makes a huge difference.

I am looking at showing a staffy. What tips can ppl who do show them give me with this breed. I use to show about 3 years ago, different breed, but wanted to get an insight into what its like showing this breed. I know that there was always a lot of staffys getting shown and seemed like the competition was fierce. Just would like to get some tips and advice. thx guys

I am not sure about your situation but wanted to send healing vibes your way for your little guy. Hopefully there will be some chi breeders that will imput here but I though I would add the link to a chi forum started by one of the breeders. CHI FORUM. Maybe post the probs you are having in there and then specific chi breeders and other owners can post replies and hopefully you will get the response you need. Good luck.

I changed from Advocate to Sentinal Spectrum cause I was finding the Advocate not as effective as I would have liked. I also feel a lot better about everything being absorbed from the inside out then you know that the dog is getting the full dose and none has the potential to be rubbed off so to speak. Am very happy with the Sentinal Spectrum and have not had one flea, scratch or worm issue with it at all where I was still actually getting the odd flea with advocate, mind you this was mainly when I had the Belgians. I also found with the Belgians that my dogs skin use to go really flakey and dry after the advocate would dry which isnt the best look on a pure black dog.

So sorry for your loss. Just a thought that popped into my head. Could it possibly be something related to the Equine Flu?????? Maybe a dog form of it or something.

Most places for dog training/boarding require at least the C3 vac and 1 or 2 C5 minimum. My concern is that even though its cheaper for her, you are more than likely going to have to get the C3 anyway and therefore its going to cost you more in the long run. I would check with the Canine Association the code of ethics with regards to vaccination obligations for a breeder. IMHO I would be asking for her to give your pup the C3 and I wouldnt settle for anything less. If she doesnt want to comply with that, then I would look elsewhere as it doesnt really sit right with me. In the end though its your choice and its great that you have come here for others opinions and are getting as much info as you possibly can.

This is similar to what my Italian Greyhound's canine looked like. It wasnt until he was about 6 months or so that it finally fell out. I would say that it might be a good idea to base it on the breed cause if it was my case it would have then been a waste of money for me.(not that I would get my boy desexed as he is my show boy) I would probably advise owners first to offer a couple of good bones over 1-2 weeks and see if it comes out on its own and then if it doesnt then look into it further etc etc. Just my opinions but I think it is important not to jump the gun and put our beloved dogs through undue pain.

Have you brought your concerns up with the breeder? With the biting, he would be teething and so if he goes for your fingers distract him with one of his toys and encourage play with the toy. This is totally normal behaviour with a pup. With the barking, he could either be wanting you to play with him or he could just be bored. Being a BC they are a working dog breed and require maximum stimulation and activity. Considering what they were initially bred for, they can get bored very easily. Maybe take him to obedience training, say that he is a potential show dog, and generally the instructors will be ok if instead of sit you teach stand. This would give him the interaction with other dogs that he needs and also direction with his general training.

With regards to the biting of your hands etc, try replacing your hands with one of pups toys and play with them using the toy. This might then get pup to play more with the toys rather than hanging off you so much. One thing we have done for my boy is we put his toy that his breeder put in with him on a bit of rope and we play with that. He runs and chases after it and then brings it back and has a chew etc etc. Ofcourse this only sort of works if you dog is sort of knee height or under.

When I had my Belgian Groenendeals I used the black on black shampoo. It worked great for getting rid of the ugly redness which comes from the baby fur. Obviously for these dogs, being completely black, there was no harm in using the shampoo as there were no other colours or dillution of colour to worry about.

I thought I would add to this. When I was having huge probs with my belgian girls coat another belgian breeder told me to try Performa-3 The Good Oil. It is primarily for horses but I gave her about a teaspoon a day with her food and WOW!! the difference was amazing. She had a full coat in about 1-2 weeks. I would recommend this and think it might be worth a try.