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Bugger Staffords, what about Hound results. :D Sway needs to beat her minions more often.. they're tardy today. hmmm, OK what about the hounds? I know my place.......

Hi Ladies, any news on the Staffords?

Not my original , stolen from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkushin/2326672905/ But very appropriate for DOL I think.... :-)

The best thing to do is to make your yard completely dog and puppy proof. Not just for your dog but for dogs trying to get in. I have quite a big front fence that is locked whenever I am not home. It is to keep other dogs and people out more than it is to keep my dogs in. I just don't buy the excuse of "my dog accidently got out" ( i know you didn't say this , just making point) I have two SBT's and they are very important to us and thus they are protected not from themselves but outside things. A 3 foot fence would keep both in as they are not escape artists, however a 6 foot fence keeps eveything else out. While the puppy is young put together a temp dog run using the mesh panels from Bunning, for 300 bucks you could build an awesome run that will last forever and be able to be moved , folded up etc etc etc.

Sums the whole issue up succinctly and accurately.

1/ Triangle of temptation (See top of Puppy thread) and Steve's article on Socialisation (search DOL) 2/ Read above article 3/ Get another one, two is not twice the work and we don't fell guilty if we get stuck away from home at times hi thanks I assume then that anyone who works 9-5 (which would be most people?) would therefore own 2 staffies then? Most dogs sleep while their owners are at work, providing you spend time with them in the morning and afterwork you should be all good. The other thing to keep in mind is that I believe you shouldn't say hello or goodbye to your dogs when you leave/return so that these don't become ques for the dog to change its behaviour. As a rule I never say Goodbye to the dogs I just walk out the door , close the gate and go about my business. 9-5 is not a long time for a dog to be on their own IMO.

1/ Triangle of temptation (See top of Puppy thread) and Steve's article on Socialisation (search DOL) 2/ Read above article 3/ Get another one, two is not twice the work and we don't fell guilty if we get stuck away from home at times

The four things I follow are 1/ Triangle of temptation 2/ Steve from K9 Force - Socialisation strategy 3/ Crate Training 4/ Dog is outside when I am at work and inside when we are home. No dog door, they learn to stand at the door when they want to go out. My reasoning for this is I control whether the dog is in or out.

Things you really 'NEED' for a puppy Somewhere warm for the pup to sleep - Carboard box and a cheap blanket $3 Puppy Collar - $10 (max) Lead - length of rope - $3 from bunnings Puppy toy - plastic drink bottle with pebbles in side -Free Spending time with your pup - free Secure yard - Cost depends Food - $25 a month Vet bills - could be anything but realistically $200 per year. ($4 per week) This really sums it up. There are plenty of people in this world who have loads of cash and still can't look after a dog. Dogs are actually a cheap addition to the family. nearly all the crap pet stores sell is superfluous to having a well adjusted dog. Just my view Roo

Clyde you sure you want to know......

I have no idea how it works either but was curious hence the copy and paste google findings.

Listerine has a blend of essential oils in an alcohol base. That combination could have an antifungal effect. It contains eucalyptus and menthol, both soothing agents. fresh from the internet

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/dog_mange_cure.html it is published in the internet so must be true

Back in the early 1900s, the makers of Listerine actually advertised that their product could fight dandruff. It hasn't been advertised as a dandruff cure in years, but there are still people who swear by the stuff. The original formula (yellow) is the one that supposedly works best as a dandruff cure. Not sure how it works on Mange though.

I disagree with you, there are plenty of people on this forum who feed diets based on meat and bones and their dogs and puppies are perfectly healthy. Feeding a commercial diet is certainly not the only way to feed, dogs have a carnivore's digestive system and a lot of dry foods contain far too many cereals and fillers which is why some dogs produce high volumes of faecal matter when eating them, they just cannot digest the excess carbohydrates. Also if you're going to feed a commercial food some puppies may do better on the adult version of the food as the puppy varieties can be too rich in protein and nutrients and cause rapid growth. I feed a combination of super premium dry food, meat, offal, raw eggs, fish, yoghurt, bones and leftovers. Dogs are scavengers and don't need every meal to be balanced, as long as they receive all necessary vitamins and minerals over a week or so they'll be fine. I have nothing against those that choose to feed a commercial diet as long as their dog does well on it, but to suggest that commercial dog foods are the ONLY way to feed your dog a correct and balanced diet just isn't true. My apologies to the OP for going OT. Great post :p

OT again but I would love to see the actual research (not opinion) in to what constitutes a balanced diet for dogs. (this is not a jab at Chuxstr) but there is enough debate on a what a balanced diet is for humans and I am guessing the amount of research done with dogs would be a tiny fraction of that done for humans. Also anyone is not a little wary of commerical driven research needs to get their heads out of the clouds. At the end of the day, if your dog is looking healthy then you are probably feeding the correct food.

a pointer perhaps

I am no expert, but you do need to contact the breeder just out of courtesy. It is very important that they are aware of things like this. Even if they are unable to do anything it is still good for them to know. When one of mine got a minor case of mange. I immediately let the breeder know. Not for any other reason except to let her know.

Nope Im not joking Ive been on here for a while and Ive never read anything that makes me think PPS tells lies she comes across as a decent sort of person to me.I dunno why it is if anyone posts anything negative about a pitbull there nearly always called names and insulted. I agree 100% and on top of that PPS is a top shelf person. I know her personally and she is currently looking after one of my dogs . I have nothing but the up most respect for her. she knows a thing or two about a few things relating to dogs. You would probably benefit by active reading rather than getting defensive.

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. This is what I was implying, unless you educate the public and present a common arguement nothing is going to change for particular breeds. And from what I have seen most APBT owners are too busy arguing among themselves. Once you tackle 'the man' then you can discuss the minor differences.

But BSL is not just APBT specific. Don't worry they will come after Staffy's and Amstaff's soon enough, maybe then you will be concerned? Where did I say I wasn't concerned!

My post is APBT specific

So does that piece a legislation aim to cover those dogs not registered with papers? In other words if you had an American Staffordshire Terrier with papers then that is ok (unless the actual breed is banned)? I can't help thinking the legislation is aimed at dogs of questionable parentage as oppose to registered pure bred dogs with papers? Just missing the "unless dog is a registered approved breed" bit. Similar to here AST is allowed but a APBT is not Or am I a bit simple? (eta "I") Oh and nice Stafford PPS

As PPS says! Anyone forces one of my dogs to the floor, that last thing they need to worry about is my dogs reaction. Both of my dogs would stand patiently while at vets this is acheived by gentle handling.