Sandra777

Some sort of separation anxiety type of problem? What do they do with the pup when they leave the house? Is she allowed upstairs?

That's not quite accurate. Mostly white coloured dogs of some breeds can have very challenging skin conditions such as White, Merle-a-quin and Harlequin Great Danes, Blues in the Great Dane breed also seem to have a number of challenges with their skin. Some colours are affected because they become on-trend and are bred by those who don't know or care enough by what they're doing and as you mentioned ethical breeding... But a defective skin barrier is what it is if Atopy is a problem and this is known to have a genetic component and that means Mum & Dad can be free of symptoms. Sorry SAS I don't quite get what you're saying... In my experience, the careful selection of breeding stock has far more influence on the skin health of the dog than the colour of the dog. We can argue the influence of trendy colours, over breeding and genetics until the cows come home but it has been my experience that if the pup isn't bred with care and attention to the health of the parents and their relations then it really doesn't matter what colour it is. I have had a number of white Staffords over the years, they have had no skin conditions. I have seen white, brindle, red and blue pups from well bred litters, all with no skin issues. I have seen white, brindle, red and blue pups from poorly bred litters, some with skin conditions, some without. It's been my observation over the years that two perfectly OK parents can produce horrible skin conditions, but you only have to dig a wee bit deeper to find close relations with horrible skin conditions. Which is where buying from someone who does the right thing is vastly more important than the actual colour of the dog.

All blues are brindle. An ethically bred dog will have far less chance of having skin issues. Colour is nothing to do with allergies. Dilute alopecia only affects dilutes, but you don't have to have allergies to have alopecia (nor do you have to have alopecia to have allergies). As I mentioned above I've had Staffords for over 35 years, I have bred ONE dog with a beef allergy and ONE dog with generalised skin allergies - which cleared up once the owner stopped throwing chemicals at the dog. You need to buy off someone who knows and cares about the breed, about the ancestors of their dogs and who breeds for the right reasons, not to make even more little time-bombs. "Normal staffy skin" is the same as any other dog skin - if it's bred by people who don't know or care you have the possibility of issues regardless of what you do. If it's bred by people who pay attention to the important stuff you have pretty much zero chance of issues unless you stuff it up yourself.

Unsurprisingly, yes she is SM

If she wants food - feed her. If she gets fat, feed her less If she keeps a consistent weight then you're feeding her the right amount. I've had Staffordshire Bull Terriers for over 35 years and this is the standard advice I give to anyone with a SBT pup. Watch her when her adult teeth come through. Now she has no baby canines to guide the adult ones into place you run the very real risk of her adult ones converging as well. Shame the baby ones were removed - they are really important to the future of her having a good adult bite. Clipping the tips would have been a far better option. Can't be helped now - so just be very alert and aware of this. Kangaroo generally agrees with Staffords pretty well. She could have roo bones (tail is great), raw whole fish and instead of feeding her chicken, try lamb as this seems to be more suited to her. You can get lamb offcuts from most supermarkets with bone and fat still on, which is great. If you want to continue with the chicken despite it being higher on the allergy scale - get thighs or drums when they're on special and feed her them whole. I buy whole chickens on special and chop them in to 3 or 4 depending on who I need to be feeding. Personally I wouldn't feed her the grains, give her meat with the bone in instead to bulk out her food as this will supply important nutrients. Google dilute alopecia because it sounds like you may need to know about this What do you wash your floors with? Her bedding? Her? :laugh: What worm/flea treatments have you applied? ETA: meat with bone in it - ALWAYS feed this raw.

Sorry, just picking one thing here. Is the boiled chicken all he's getting? For a couple of days until you get him to the specialist and get an idea of what's going on it'll be OK if this is all he gets, long term it's a really bad diet for a growing pup. All the best with whatever you decide.

Border Terrier - cheeky cheeky cheeky but very clever, can definitely run and jump LOL They're not easy to come by so an adult, especially one which has been raised right to reduce prey drive (they're terriers, they have it, it can be controlled), could be asking a bit much. Easy to care for, robust and cheap to run :laugh:

They can smell a bit if they pee in the same place all the time, but it's about training - ours aren't allowed to cock their leg on the porch or close to the house, so they don't. If you can't be arsed toilet training your dog (male or female) don't get one!

Outside dog... I think you need to think of something more independent and quiet than any of the terriers or companion breeds. Something more like a Cocker Spaniel, but I don't think they do being locked outside either. If they are regularly clipped (I know, I know, but this is a pet!) they need very little in the way of brushing.

The one thing that leapt out at me was the little girl dotes on the dog and hugs him.... Some dogs simply do not like being hugged, some dogs take it as a threat. This dog might just be confused and anxious, but if they continue to let her hug the dog when the dog growls at her (whether in this context or not) it will not end well. Agree they need to get some expert hands-on help, immediately. And in the mean time, please keep that little girl safe!

Don't enter the microchip number instead of the dog's rego number - that gets really confusing Can't think who might have tried that little trick.....

Pretty much what mita said :) Also, as you are responding to an advertisement for a dog which is for sale I don't think it's unreasonable to ask basic questions about the health of the dog in question - it's not like you're asking if they might have a dog sometime in the future, the health of that specific dog is known to them. It might be a lot quicker and simpler to pick up the phone and talk to them.

Consider the introduction of the bobtail gene into the Boxer and how quickly they came back to looking 100% Boxer. Re-creating some breeds would be reasonably simple, others would take a lot more work I suspect. While on the subject of re-creating a breed though, what would you actually try to re-create? The original breed or the modern KC version. Huge difference in many breeds.

Just wanting to say good on you for doing research and thinking about all the pros and cons. Sounds like whatever dog you end up with is going to have a great life!

So So sorry Ellz.

Definitely don't encourage her to pee in the crate no matter what - that breaks down their natural instincts not to pee where they sleep and makes for a very smelly future. Small crate or bed (if you have no other reason to crate train her) and a play pen with a toilet area will work fine. If you want to train her to use a doggy loo, do so right from the start - later on it could be moved outside and in wet weather if you intend to physically prevent her going onto the lawn/dirt then she has already learned that the doggy loo is the place to go. (You would have to teach her that the doggy loo is the doggy loo whether it's inside or outside as dogs tend to learn places rather than objects).

http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/poodle-standard.asp http://www.poodleclubnsw.com/ Two places to start :-)

Aloe juice...more info please? How much and when do you start?

Get a Chris Stic (sp?) Is it permitted - probably not Is it used - a LOT Does it work - Yep :D

Another one apparently to be very wary of is flaxseed oil (linseed)apparently this has a serious affect on the hormones of *some* bitches.

Just using the much-debated Staffordshire Bull Terrier standard as an example. The SBT standard allows red, fawn, black, blue or white or any ONE of these colours with white. Any shade of brindle or any shade of brindle with white. Black and tan or liver coloured undesireable (in the USA B&T & Liver are DQ) There is no definition of the difference between red and fawn. Genetically there probably is very little difference, (if there is a difference it probably relates to random modifiers rather than a specific gene). Black does not occur genetically. Blue is permitted but since SBT's are not genetically black, they cannot be gentically blue either (blue & black as in Great Danes) Only problem is the standard is fairly blunt and says Nose: Black. Genetically impossible in a blue (or blue brindle) Any ONE of these colours with white - where does this leave the red and white with a black mask? Black masks are very common in some lines and are quite desirable. Are they permitted? Black and tan is fine, except for the fact that you can also get black-with-brindle-markings. Are these acceptable? According to the standard they must be since black & tan is undesirable but black & brindle isn't mentioned - or does this come in as "any shade of brindle" (personally I say no, but that could be an argument used) Liver coloured is undesireable. What does this actually mean - Liver can turn up as 'liver brindle' where the dog is actually a liver (has a brown nose) but is brindled so is this "any shade of brindle" then you can get very liver-looking dogs with a black nose so genetically they're not liver but they look like they are. And just to rub salt in the wound, what difference does it make to a fighting dog what colour it is? Colour has absolutely no bearing on the function of a fighting dog, unlike other examples given (not seeing gundogs in long cover, white flag on the end of a Beagle's tail etc etc) The original breed standard didn't even mention blue, this was added 15 years later. Why was blue put in but the other dilute, liver, not? Did someone with blues have more political backing than someone with black & tans? Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for a specific point in a standard, but it is tradition. Personally I don't have a problem with tradition, but it should be updated to make sense now we know more about the genetic side of things. I wouldn't want to see black Samoyeds or brindle Rottweilers become accepted, but things like a standard which allows blue demanding a black nose needs to be addressed.

I couldn't imagine why - you're not doing any "damage" to their property.

Stafford rescue in Victoria frequently has oldies needing homes. This would be a win-win as they can get the size they want and get a dog with an appropriate energy level. The downside of course is that they would also be getting another old dog to grieve over too soon. 15kg is the middle of the standard, so not small, just average :laugh:

Definitely no calcium supplements, that will make the matter worse not better. (And consider finding a new vet!) I don't breed a large breed but have seen this a couple of times in rescues over the years. Personally I prefer to feed primarily raw, but in cases like this I think a super-supreme quality giant breed puppy food is the way to go until you have this under control, take the advice of people who breed giant breeds as to the brands to consider. Good luck, and please phone the breeder for a chat.

Hope it's all OK this morning. Years ago I had a dog which ran into the house (no, don't ask but it was a Stafford so that explains pretty much everything). Same thing - eye lid closed, swollen, red eye. Turned out just fine :)