Sandra777

I've never been too convinced about the connection between protein and aggression/fear - the presence of preservatives, the presence of sugars, the presence of 'additives' or inferior protein chains from inferior sources, yep I'd buy into that, but it makes absolutely no sense to me that a carnivorous social predator would become aggressive through eating meat-derived protein. "Excessive protein" and irregular growth patterns I believe is a problem but is the protein the problem or the lack (or excess) of other things in a diet derived from sub-standard sources?

Flower pot (the plastic ones) or for larger pups a plastic bucket, remove the handle. They have great fun working out how to carry it without killing themselves Can chew on it as a team or use it for a great game of 'keep away'. A wooden or plastic platform, doesn't have to be very high, is also great - or failing that a small pile of dirt so they can play king of the castle. Also much appreciated by smaller sized pups is a hammock type dog bed - they love playing pounce on the one underneath the bed.

Has the vet ruled out a sprung toe? (minor toe fracture) Unfortunately it can be very difficult to confirm a diagnosis in many cases especially in a puppy as the crack often won't show up on xray. Combined with the flat feet and the long toenails and the fact the puppy is very young anything to do with feet could be hard to diagnose. Only time cures a toe fracture and it's not uncommon in active dogs with loose sloppy feet. I would have gone for the second opinion & the phone call to the breeder long before allowing any vet to put such a young puppy in a splint. Good luck

Back the bus up. Dog aggression does not equal human aggression. Yes every dog should be safe in it's own back yard Yes I think the attacking dog should be PTS and the owner fined & made to pay all the vets bills for the other dog.

I wouldn't use Hills but if you have some don't throw it out, just do some research so next time you can buy something better. Biscuits in the morning and other food at night seems fine to me - IMO you should give a puppy as much variety as possible to cover all the bases so to speak. If the pup is being fed only dry food then change it to a new one slowly but as your pup is getting variety I wouldn't worry too much - I've always fed pups and adults a different thing every day (twice a day) so if their tums are used to variety you can chop and change as much as you want, it's only when they're only used to one specific thing that you'll have major issues... Of course every dog's different so watch your pup's reaction to change before taking that advice A bit of beef mince won't hurt but as already said, meat on it's own is not the right food for any dog and most of all a growing puppy. Plain minced meat occasionally with biscuits is fine, but minced chicken bodies or whole lamb rib or flap or anything else with bone (bone that he can actually eat) is better. Onion - depends on the dog. I had a dog who would steal raw onions out of the pantry and would eat three or four in one sitting if you didn't catch him. He was fine but this certainly isn't something I'd recommend encouraging!!!! A small amount of onion in scraps is not going to hurt most dogs, but give him a VERY small amount one day and wait three or four days to see if it's a problem. If he's fine certainly don't overload him with onion, if you can pull most of it out that's better, but a couple of pieces is not going to hurt most dogs. I know someone who would give their dogs vege scraps including onion skins and offcuts and those dogs must have been eating 4 or 5 whole onions each a week - all three lived to over 16. Again, not something I'd recommend! Read up on the effects of onion on dogs and make sure you understand what to look for in cases when they are causing a problem.

However if you were to ask "the general public" if they thought it was right that the innocent should receive the same punishment as the guilty then you would get a totally different answer - which is the absolute basis of BSL. Show me a politican who is immune to public opinion... It's a matter of educating the public (even if 'just' the dog owning part of the public) to see that we are ALL affected, we are ALL at risk. I don't imagine that the "little old ladies" with their Pekingese were expecting to be the object of such a vicious backlash in the UK, but they were. Public opinion is the key, and presenting the argument as being about keeping people safe is the way of winning public opinion. Surprisingly many people are intelligent enough to understand that the media exaggerates to sell papers and politicans over react to make themselves look liek they're doing something. I would guess many GSD enthusiasts believed the ban on their breed would never be overturned either.

As things are going at the moment, with the mindset of the politicans I would agree with you PPS, but given that The Netherlands recently realised that it's deed and not breed and the Iowa (Idaho? Ohio? always get those mixed up) laws are being looked at again, then I honestly believe that there is plenty of room and precident (sp!) for the politicans to recant and realise they are adding to the problem and not solving it. We need a whole new mindset about a whole bunch of things (finance, pollution, trade, climate for a start) and dog control.......

Well apart from the 15" 15kg Pit Bulls of course (Yes they do exist). This is not a new law - it's the old one revisited....

Read it again - this is the original 1991 law we're talking about, not a new law. They just never got around to using half of their hare-brained ideas. And yes it is OR OR OR, not AND.

I know one big winning dog 15+ years ago that the owner was proud to say weighed 65 pounds (29.5kg). Bearing in mind that 65lb is getting on for 75% over the permitted weight standard that's a pretty scary idea. I have seen a fair few dogs at shows which would be 45 pounds (20.5kg) if they were an ounce. There are plenty of Staffords (very well bred ones!) getting around the UK which would be closer to 18 inches than 16.

My understanding was that at the time it wasn't *intended* to be aimed at registered breeds - bearing in mind that the Amstaff wasn't in the UK then so really didn't get considered. Since the legislation has been introduced however (not in the form posted mind you) KC registered Staffords have been caught up in the net - bigger than standard ones but still registered Staffords. So, in theory perhaps they did intend to not include the SBT in practice they did include (some) SBT. Like all laws written by idiots and for the wrong reason, it was never going to work. According to some there are now many MANY more 'pit bull types' in the UK than there was before they were banned.

You're out - no brindle markings allowed. Actually I'd like to see them try to apply a law like this (no, not really!) no white markings - that takes out all the collie types and most of their crosses, plus a huge section of the Lab and Lab x population. No Liver - whoops sorry Chocolate Labs, Liver GSPs..... And no black - WTF? What does that actually leave if the dog's not allowed to be white, liver, brindle or black? Red, Merle, Blue ?

OK 5 out of errr 5000? (25000 in the UK) I've got a black brindle bitch here with no white on her front, but she has white in her groin area - show me underside shots LOL I read it to be over 20kg or over 16 inches (wonder why there's the mix of imperial and metric measurements???) or no liver or no brindle or no white not "and".

Dogs carrying liver, black, white or brindle markings. Show me a Stafford without white on it.....

Assuming the complex doesn't forbid pets or pets over a certain size (check it out), get confirmation in writing before you even start. I'll play the Greyhound card... If you want a gentle, loving "soft" dog, consider a retired racing Greyhound. Happy to do virtually nothing most of the day, practically never bark, very easy to keep. No, not exactly a Labrador puppy but perhaps a suitable alternative? Love the breed and certainly a breed I would go back to in a flash if I couldn't have the Staffords any more.

At 7 weeks, IMO she should still be with her litter mates. Wait until she is asleep before putting her in the play pen. When she wakes up let her come fully awake and even play a little perhaps, but before she starts crying, get her outside to pee. Feed her in there every single time. Put her in there for a few moments with some really exciting toy or treat. Make it a nice place to be, not a place where she is ignored and gets distressed. She wants to be with you - this is normal and I think you'd find it pretty strange if she didn't want to be :-) - so of course she's going to cry and carry on if separated from the only comfort and safety she knows. IMO she's better off being with you than being alone (which is not right at her age) in a pen. Yes, she does need to learn to be alone (being alone is not a natural state for a dog) but 7 weeks is too young for this lesson. She will not learn to be alone in the next 36 hours so Monday is going to be absolutely awful for her. Personally I think it's appalling someone has let you take a seven week old puppy home knowing that the pup will have to be left alone during the working week.

Just 'cause I haven't posted for ten minutes or so...... The 'open book test' you have to complete to get a affix has a question about the age to vaccinate pups with 6 weeks being the right answer according to the accompanying 'information for breeders'. Of course I ticked the 6 weeks box - I wouldn't even think of doing it that early............ (getting an affix after shifting countries)

Well I'm a big bad mummy because sometimes I do feed the dogs from my plate, but other times I don't feel like it or I'm hungry or there's nothing really suitable for them and they don't get anything. Regardless, they never try to help themselves or get pushy. With a very young pup like yours more consistency would be a good idea LOL but the idea of ignoring her is great, and if she persists just growl at her - a good meaningful GRRRR and "the look" and she'll get the idea that pawing and pestering only makes "the boss" cross. She could definitely learn to stay on a mat but be prepared for a very long drawn out dinner time to begin with. You could give her a stuffed kong or a pigs ear or something like that so she has something to do while you eat, while she's learning to stay away.

Interesting that this vet considers roo ideal for allergy-problems. My contrary cow reacts badly to beef and roo but is great with chicken/turkey, rabbit, mutton/lamb and pork.

Hi Jin - you are no doubt giving him tiny pieces of schmackos - but a toy poodle puppy's stomach is a very tiny thing itself. Why not use some of his kibble for rewards instead of rubbish like schmackos? As you say, you give him his training treats around meal times so if he's going to get something to eat it may as well be his dinner. Save the *really* good treats for when the time comes that you need a really great incentive for training.

The diet sounds fine to me although I'd agree with others that maybe Science Diet isn't the best choice and be aware that *some* dogs react very badly to beef. Definitely don't do the canned food idea - it's mostly rubbish and not much use to a puppy. Get the food in ahead of getting the puppy home, but perhaps buy only small amounts and after the first 2 weeks or so you could start giving her chicken mince for one meal instead of beef, or mince lamb instead of beef, and if you buy a small bag of some other sort of biscuits you can gradually mix more of them in with the Science Diet and change her to a new brand if you choose to do so. The basic idea is just as you know - while she's getting used to a new home don't change her diet as there's enough things to stress about. After she's settled then you can substitute things as much as you like as you figure out what is best for HER and YOU. There is no absolutely right or wrong way to feed a dog!

A whole lot of things are toxic to some dogs in some quantities - not to ALL dogs in ALL quantities. Bit like peanuts and people - some people have no reaction, some people die from inhaling the residue of the oil. Personally I'd have no problems giving a 10+kg dog one of those little 'kiddie packs' of raisins on occasion, but I don't see the need to when there's plenty of other things you could feed them. We've been buying seedless grapes lately and if there's any yucky ones on the bunch the dogs get them. They're still alive. Start with ONE and see how the dog reacts, don't feed them a whole bunch of grapes or a kg of raisins and be surprised if it turns out badly.

Well you haven't taught him anything at all by "going mad" at him - except that when the neighbours lights come on something really scary must be about because mum/dad comes out and yells at the lights. Firstly, stop "going mad" at him for being a dog, he really can't help it OK? Is he an inside or outside dog. If inside and when you let him out he barks at the neighbours light if it's on, then go out with him (him on leash) and divert him from barking by praising him for not barking. Make it worth his while not to bark - and certainly don't raise your voice (bark in his eyes) to make him stop or you'll just tell him that when he barks you will bark too. If he's an outside dog then confine him in an area where he can't see the neighbours lights then when they're on, go out, put him on a leash and take him somewhere he can see them - and divert him from barking by praising him for not barking. Make it worth his while not to bark - and certainly don't raise your voice (bark in his eyes) to make him stop or you'll just tell him that when he barks you will bark too. Check what he can actually see when the neighbours lights are on - is there something which casts a shadow? Also have his eyes checked in case he has some sort of vision defect. Does he look directly at the lights or is he looking somewhere else?

Black poop is almost always a sign of dried blood. The bleeding is so far up the digestive tract that it has dried and gone black by the time it's expelled. As he now has normal colour poop I wouldn't freak out about it, but keep a food diary for a while and note changes to demenour, poop, energy levels etc so you can track things if they become recurring. I have a bitch who reacts badly to beef, it took almost a year to figure out what it was because I really wasn't paying proper attention to where-when-what. A diary can be a simple as a sheet of paper on the fridge. Doesn't need to be a permanent fixture for the rest of his life. My dogs have almost white poop, very dry (a bit less so if they've had something quite meaty) - the white is the bone residue. When starting on raw it isn't unusual for the dog to have digestive unpsets and even a bit of the old dire-rear or constipation, it's their system getting used to the hard work now required of it. It's also not unusual for them to have 'serial poops' as he did - instead of one big sausage it's more small portions and sometimes they seem to get caught out - almost like "hang on for the last three years it's all happened at once, I already DID that". Is your vet supportive of raw feeding? You might find it very difficult to get helpful advice if they are very anti...

And the one biggy - don't make a great big fuss about it. Pups just looooooooove attention, good or bad who cares. Pineapple works because it helps with digestion of meat (mainly), so maybe he's a bit off colour or been fed something new he can't quite digest fully so thought 'why waste it'