westiemum

Bub if you see this, please can you check your PMs.

Sorry I missed this too Perse.  Please give our condolences to the Boss, and have fun with Mac and Sarah Leo. 

On 20/10/2018 at 10:51 PM, alpha bet said:

Processed food is processed food... no matter how much you pay nor how pretty the packaging... The trouble with the commercial companies is they really care more for the bottom line and will feed you any line to convince you to spend your money on their products.....
If you were happy using the Vets All Natural Roll but find it difficult to source - why not consider using the Vets All Natural Complete Mix with raw meat - we also add some yoghurt each day and sardines a couple of times a week...
You can buy the Complete Mix online and have it delivered and source your meat from a local supply... 
I worked out that I can feed my dogs for about $4 per day each...  so very much comparable to a supermarket processed food.... and I believe they are getting a good balanced diet without having too much fuss.

Great post - couldn't agree more. 

On 08/10/2018 at 9:48 PM, Rebanne said:

My dogs always got itchy on Blackhawk

So did my old girl Sarah - I've never seen her so itchy and miserable as she was on Black Hawk.  And it stopped the moment I stopped feeding it to her.  Back to raw for her.

Yes do let us know how you get on   

All the above is true - and yes purebreeds can be unpredictable too - but usually less so.  

And while this is clearly a pure-breed forum, the number of people with 'designer' cross-breeds who are coming here for help appears to be increasing.  So although we'll help if we can (hence my recommending Adelaide Pet Dog Training seeing the OP is in SA),  its not  unreasonable to remind people this is a pure-breed forum and that's why we are here and what we promote and believe in - particularly those of us who have had and continue to have pure-breed puppy farm rescues who were used and abused to breed masses of these cross-breeds.  And I'll never apologise for that. 

18 hours ago, Dame Danny's Darling said:

  

 

Yes, this is just absolutely crucial for all new puppy owners to understand.    

And I say this with kindness - you've played the genetic lottery buying a deliberate  Schnauzer x Poodle cross breed (no such thing as a 'Schnoodle' - its a marketing term only, not a breed) and it sounds like it may not have been the best breeder either - so you need to expect far more variability in appearance, coat, behaviour etc - particularly when compared with a pure-breed.  So you'll just need to deal with whatever happens/eventuates as best you can.  People here are good... very good with dogs... but our skills don't extend to predicting the outcomes of cross-breeding.   And next time you want a puppy we're happy to help recommend pure breeds which will suit you and your family really well - just ask.  (As this is a pure-breed forum you will not find people recommending cross breeds here  ).

As to an Adelaide trainer, I can't recommend Adelaide Pet Dog Training highly enough.  I put a new adult westie who lacked confidence through their 6 or 7 week puppy course and it made the world of difference to her.  She was a new dog after she blitzed their puppy course.  They will also visit you at home for one-on-one sessions. 

https://www.petdogtraining.com.au

Good luck and do let us know how you get on

My Westie girl arrived in Adelaide from Port Macquarie back in May on two Virgin flights - didn't use a pet transport company - just booked direct with the airline -  and it went really well.  The Virgin staff looked after her brilliantly.

I'd avoid it in the future. 

Yep agree with all the above - IMHO you need to consider temperament first - and find a dog who will happily live in an apartment, doesn't get upset if they can't get outside during the day and generally has low maintenance requirements - in other words a lounge lizard! Like a westie or a greyhound.  But a grey would be a great choice.  I love staffs, but not for apartment living. Good luck with it all.

My new 4 year old westie flew Port Macquarie to Adelaide via Sydney on Mother's Day on Virgin.  I was nervous about the Sydney plane change and stopover but Virgin were great - no problems - and she was already off the plane and waiting for us when we picked her up from Adelaide Airport at 3.05 pm (we watched her plane from Sydney land from the runway viewing area on the dot of 2.55pm and then drove around to collect her).    She was calmly sitting in her crate at the pet pick up point with the Virgin staff all fussing over her. 

I then let her out of her crate (on a lead) for a wee at Adelaide Airport and then tethered her on the back seat of the car, gave her a small liver treat and she was absolutely fine for the bit over an hour trip home in the car.  The Virgin staff were terrific and clearly took great care of her.   Would use Virgin again.  

Oops Sorry sags - it appears I've well and truly shut down your thread!  Apologies. 

Sags I don't have an scientific knowledge pertaining to pet food - but my common sense says, pet food companies exist to make profits and as big a profit as possible for their shareholders/owners.  That means keep ingredients in pet food as cheap as possible (which is why the vast majority use cheap and nasty fillers) and  ensure it has the longest shelf-life possible.  

If it has a list of ingredients a mile long and clearly has fillers (meat meal, corn etc) I avoid it like the plague.  I feed my dogs the same way I feed myself - with fresh, real human grade food where I absolutely know what's in it.  The number of recalls in what is essentially a self-regulated industry IMO is truly scary.  In my view, anyone who thinks commercial (especially dry) dog food is healthy, and the pet food companies are open, honest and transparent with the health of your dogs at heart needs their head read. If I can't tell what's in it it without a PhD in food science then it doesn't go anywhere near my mouth, nor those of my dogs.       

Flame suit on.

19 hours ago, Animal House said:

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear you lost your dog, it's so hard. 

 

But this a great place for advice on all things to do with dogs, and also from knowledgable people who can help before you potentially buy a puppy.

 

I wouldn't buy from a backyard 'breeder', because they don't test for health, and you'll have no idea of what the parents temperaments are like, what genetic faults they may have (which will cost you money and heartache if they do have them).

 

There's plenty of rescue dogs, including puppies I'd rather be giving a home to, and my money to.  $750 for a backyard bred mutt is ridiculous, and no, I wouldn't pay a holding deposit.

 

Just an example from here on the breeders pages (if you are in Qld)

 

Pure Bred Shih Tzu's

 

and on Pet Rescue Website, here's the list of small dogs available for adoption in Qld, some beautiful dogs there. 

 

HERE

 

 

 

 

I agree with Animal House.  The issue in my mind isn't the deposit or size of it or price of the puppy.  Its that this is a Backyard breeder and I'd run a mile.   Go for a proper registered breeder (see the DOL breeder pages) or a rescue here.  No offence Animal House - but I think Rescue Network is the more reputable site these days   

What Perse said. ^

Good luck. Sally sounds beautiful and she's lucky to have you. 

Mac was on gabapentin for the last couple of years if his life - and because he was so old I was more concerned with pain control so I wasn't worried about addiction.  And it worked very well - seemed to help Mac enormously.

 Great post Big D.  

Rescue Network?

Just delightful!  Thanks for posting B.    And some surprisingly up-to-date advice in there too. 

On 7/27/2018 at 12:48 AM, Jumabaar said:

If it slips out easily then it is not a normal joint.... I check for patella dislocation on all dogs I work on and the vast majority stay in place regardless of what I do. I also get owners to feel the bone slipping out and how easy it is when the tissues are not developed or have been injured.

Thanks Jumabaar - thats my experience too. 

My puppy farm rescue boy Andy has a funny skip in his back left leg when he runs.  My brilliant vet keeps an eye on it but every time he's checked it over the years, he says he has trouble getting it to dislocate, there's no pain behaviour, its not getting any worse and there's nothing that needs to be done.   So IMHO,  some vets do know what they are doing here, but I'm sure there are some who don't.   I completely trust my vets (and now drive significant distances to see them! ) but if required, I wouldn't hesitate to get a second opinion before putting my pups through surgery.

LOL! Pleasure!   

Yep I do similar - keep it simple, feed fresh, raw and real.   And don't get too hung up on it.  

Mine get a brilliant raw mix made locally along with eggs, yoghurt, carrots, zucchini, a little leftover pasta and rice, cheese,  woolies canned mackeral and sardines, chicken necks (natures toothbrush for dogs) and anything else suitable and on special at the supermarket - all human grade - nothing labelled 'pet food' or 'not for human consumption' (why?) - and 'roast chook' on Friday nights (skin on!).  Mine do the westie dance for their dinners and its soooo much cheaper than the expensive rubbish in packets.  And its not hard.  I just shop for them when I shop for myself.  All my dogs lived to well over 16 years so I like to think their diet has something to do with that. 

On 8/15/2018 at 12:08 PM, Zena's mum said:

 

Personally I wouldn’t be buying any food for my pets knowing it comes from overseas. Maybe the Applaws dry food doesn’t but I would stick to Australian Made and Owned. You never know what might be in it. Despite what te packaging says.

Actually IMHO you never know what's in it regardless of where it's made.  The biggest rendering plant in Australia (Australian Tallow Producers in Victoria) has recently come under scrutiny for micro-plastics, stock tags, collars etc in their products.  As Karen Becker says, anyone who believes you can feed a dog dry little brown balls for the whole of their life without detrimental effects and without knowing what's in them is crazy (sorry - my words, her sentiment). And you can never know what comes out of those plants because even they don't know what goes in.  

@juice - yep OK - just trying to be helpful with a cheap sometimes effective option. . 

@juice IIRC there was a thread or website  about swaddling of dogs which had the same or better results - sort of like this?  I remember my old Sarah always seemed very relaxed in tighter fitting jumpers and I think they had a similar effect to the thunder shirts. 

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