helen

I would go with B because of the extra protein and fat (may not if it is 4 X more expensive.

When I first got my dog's hips scored at Werribee I asked the person who x-rays and is also one of the few people who is qualified to score hips this exact question, what do these numbers actually mean. Even he could not give a straight answer. He said size of the dog could be a factor. A high score may not mean that a dog will develop problems (but of course is does not mean the dog will not). When purchasing a pup it is the parent's scores you need to look at, you will not know the score of the pup, it is too young. In breeding I use the current average score of 11.7 as a guide. I think the Rottie club look at the total of both parents, not the individual dogs. I will in future use penn hipp scores. Don't overlook elbow scores of parents. The bit of paper Werribee University Vet Clinic gave me has a bit of paper attached. It said they do not recommend the use of dogs with a higher elbow score than 1-1 for breeding. Personally I would want to breed a 1-1 with a 0-0 elbow score. Just think of the pressure put on the elbow of a dog jumping regularly in agility, triple that for a flyball dog.

Dogs can suddenly become more protective of food when they go on a diet if they are a bit hungry (not saying that you should stop the diet of course), it has happened with one of my dogs- could it be a factor of the new dog and the diet?

Sounds like it. Has anything else changed though, have you been training him differently or has he gone on a diet recently?

Be fair, most people competing are great owners who look after their dogs extremely well!!!

Are you anywhere near KCC Park (Skye)?, there is agility club there which trains Thursday nights

If Altona is handy the agility club of Victoria is great. They start with a foundation course which is the basics you need before you start on the equipment, all positive training.

$80.00 doesn't sound that bad to me. How long did it take to groom the dog?

Start by practicing somewhere with no distractions, once he improves then gradually introduce distractions. Just wondering if he was in my class as I joined with my dog not long ago, was away the 2nd week though - I was there with a Brittany. If it is the dog I am thinking of I think he wasn't doing too badly at all. Anyway, have a look at this website under training, there are great links for attention exercises - http://k9events.com The release is a totally separate exercise so should be taught separately.

Wow, she looks great with the new style

My vet recommends Flexicose too Tracey, I have the human variety

I'm not going but it sounds like you are all in for a treat

Oops, my mistake Most intelligent dog - Flame Closely followed by Brittanys Closely followed by Fernstaff's Staffy

Brittany is the most intelligent breed :-) edited to add - closely followed by your staffy of course

Very true Becky, the handles are great aren't they - this is the link if you want a great lead and to support Greyhound Rescue a the same time - http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...0&hl=lupine Here is Chazer modelling one (I got his before I discovered the great deal from Layka so it is probably a different design to what is available) Who could possible do without 1 or 2 of these leads

I have just got myself a few 6 ft lupine leads, they are fantastic and have a lifetime guarantee - even for chewing. The greyhound rescue in Queensland have some going very cheap at the moment, search for Lupine in the rescue section.

I really believe you get out of a dog what you put into it. A couple with a Rottie told me that at a tracking trial recently and that is the truest thing I have heard about training. Apart from that, yes, the dog did live up to expectations and had even more drive than expected, wish I had have known about tracking back then and I would have started when Bella was much younger

I would do what I have done with Chazer, start any formal training at a later age (doesn't mean don't train them at a younger age, just do what you need to get by to begin with)

I don't think you could do much better than 6 passes in 6 trials myself, enjoy your success and don't worry about what others think - I thought the scores were bad at all myself. Oops- I meant to type I thought the scores weren't bad at all

I think the size is the most important thing so they are not mouthing it too much if it is too wide. Weight probably depends on the dog. Bella has a very soft gundog mouth and really hated the heavy plastic one I had so I order a very light weight wooden one from J and J Dog Supplies in the USA and she loved it.

I agree. Bella didn't like dumbells at all. I taught her to hold it correctly using clicker training. Once she knew how to hold it I basically taught her to retrieve it using it like I would a toy

Three passes in three trials - pretty amazing - just goes to show what a clicker trained dog can do. Good luck next year with the open.

I did both, trained for both at the same time too. I had stopped obedience when I started agility but to get my dog in working mode I used to do some heel work when our turn was close, she was doing so well I went and did her CD title.

Congratulations!!! That was very quick after getting your CCD, well done. I am getting itchy feet now LOL. Think I will start with one of my younger dogs.

I don't think it is fair to blame the breeder for this to happen. Unfortunately there is so much pressure put on breeders now to desex pups before they go to their new homes, without consideration for the pup itself. This story probably demonstrates one example of why it is wrong. I did ask my vets (who's opinion I trust 100%), they do not like to desex early and recommend around 6 months. This is proof enough for me and no pups will ever be desexed at 8 weeks that I have bred.