Gayle.

Haven't the councils who represent the registeredbreeders made a decision not to act? There is your answer.

Take a look at Black Hawk Holistic, it's a top quality food available through the distributors. It's packed generically but all the product info is available on the pack and it's far more economical than any other premium quality kibble. http://www.kylainknls.com/food.htm

I sold my beloved convertible to buy an SUV as it was more practical for dogs to travel in. Then we sold our house in town and bought a property out of town because we wanted to give the dogs a better lifestyle. Now they have their very own "off leash park" down the back of our block.........a fully fenced and gated 1000 sq metre block which is perfect for doggy games, frisbee chasing and training. And it's all ours.

No there isn't but as a few people have pointed out, some of the questions asked here are more likely to be answered by emailing the distributors/manufacturers direct. And Sherel provided her email address for people to do exactly that. Did you email her with your questions? And most of what you need to know is clearly available in the links that have been provided on the various threads. It's no more or no less than you'd be able to find out easily about any other food product available in Australia.

Aaah, yes I see someone asked a few questions, but in all fairness, Hungry Hound has a total of 8 posts and hasn't been back since that last one. He may not have seen the questions yet and probably doesn't realise DOLers require a response in a nanosecond.

Hungry Hound asked if anyone had any questions in the other thread, and no one replied.

Part of doing it responsibly is teaching the dog to stay on the left and by the bike, not out in front towing you along. I also had to teach Benson he couldn't pee on every tree we'd pass, and to ignore other dogs. A few times I had to make a rapid stop when he saw something he wanted to lift his leg on, so just went and did it. I used to bike him down a bike path, past the police station, turn around and go back. I have started biking Dusty, although she's done it before with my husband when I was training Benson for his ET. We'd all go for big lokng bike rides and she loved it. I stopped for a while but have started training her now and she is so well behaved. She just stays right next to the bike and being a girl, doesn't need to lift her leg. She's never been one to bother with other dogs, she's ery focussed on me and it's a delight to take her out for a run.

What questions did he avoid answering? I'd email him if I were you. He might not hang around here much and might not have seen questions asked yet. The only question I saw that wasn't answered was what breed of sheep was used, and I personally think that is a very unreasonable question.

Well, we collected our 40 kg's of Black Hawk kibble today and the dogs had it for dinner tonight. Happy hounds all round, they absolutely loved it, even my fussy girl who was busy snapping up the bits that fell on the floor as I dished it out. I am very impressed with the freshness of this product. The pieces have a clean, just baked sheen to them, not crumbly or dusty such as store bought kibble often looks like after having sat on various shelves for months. And it has a nice, fresh, meaty biscuity smell. I will use it for training treats as well as meals, because the dogs like it so much. I used part of the sample I was sent as training treats and the dogs were more than happy to work for it.

Some of the questions asked on this forum though, could only be answered by the manufacturer so to ask them here then chuck a hissy fit because they're not answered within seconds is just plain childish. The info on the pack is the exact same info available on every pack of dog food in this country. The sellers and distributors of eagle pack, royal canin etc would not know where the produce was grown, raised, slaughtered so why should the distributors of black hawk? The manufacturer are highly unlikely to know what breeds of sheep are used as they'd be bought in bulk from an abbotoirs, not directly from a farmer. Eta I have contacted sherel a number of times to try and arrange a delivery to my very out of the way address. Each and every email has been replied to within hours and she has gone right out of her way to make sure I can get a regular delivery. I cannot say the same of nutro who took 7 days to get back to me then gave me the wrong info.

There are no inconsistencies coming from the distributors. The only inconsistencies I've seen are the innuendo, suspicion and rumours that abound on DOL. The information from Sherel has always been clear, concise and prompt.

I "think" there is a company making dog (and cat) food that resells the same food to different people/companies who then market it under their own brand name. Note the "think" because it is confusing Thanks for the clarification. BUT, if the food label shows the ingredients; confirms where it is made and where the products come from; confirms whether or not preservatives and other 'treatments' affect the product ................. does or would it matter? Genuine question as I have a habit of being naive of these things at times . It doesn't. But apparently now it's fashionable to need to know the breed of sheep used in the product, how the sheep was raised, how it was slaughtered, whether it was coated at night against the frosts, wheher it's parents were blue ribbon winners at the Royal Show, how it's progeny are doing in the ring etc. etc. OK, I'm being facetious, but bloody hell, it's flippin' dog food. The dog eats it, it shits it out the other end. If it goes through the dog without making it sick, and leaving the dog healthy, happy, and looking good, what does it matter what bloody breed of sheep was used in the manufacture?

Dusty doesn't have a tail so she wiggles her bum instead. She can be sound asleep and my husband will whisper "She's mah girlfriend" and she wiggles in her sleep. She wiggles as she runs too, if she's going towards someone she loves.

I fed mine raw from when they were puppies, but Dusty started throwing it back up after every meal a few months ago. So I switched them all to kibble with just a small amount of raw and I'm much happier with their coats, their weight and their general wellbeing. Even on Supercoat, they look better than they do on mostly raw. They still get a chicken drumstick for their breakfast, and a raw meaty bone to chew on every now and then but their main meal is now kibble, with or without sardines, table scraps etc.

They are beautiful. They are a breed I would love to own, I love wathcing them at dog shows, so so stunning. And they always seem as nice as their smiling face.

When dad had his dogs, there wasn't much available in the way of specialised greyhound food....although I do recall one that was advertised everywhere. Yellow bag with a black and white checkered flag. Can't remember the name though. The trainers would just make their own food, and sheeps heads were the flavour of the month. Gross.

Years ago, my dad used to breed, train and race greyhounds. He was passionate about his dogs....which is where I think I must get it from, cos mum hates animals....and he only ever used to feed them what was deemed to be the most nutritious meat.....sheeps heads. Which he stewed up with vegetables, rice and god knows what else...but it was the whole head, skinned but not "gutted". He did it in his shed because it made the worst stink, and he used a big pot that looked like a witches cauldron. And I'd often peer in there only to find an eyeball or two peering back up at me from the stew pot. Now that's the stuff nightmares are made of.

In Dusty's case, I'm just ecstatic if she likes it. If it's ground up eyeballs and chook toenails and she'll eat it happily, I'll feed it to her. If it's the best fillet steak, cooked slowly in the finest truffle stock and she spits it out the side of her mouth.....her way of saying "What's this shit you're trying to feed me tonight?" then nup....not good enough.

We got Benson when he was 11 weeks old. He was born on a farm and had left it only to have vet check and eye tests done. When we visited, the pups came roaring out of the house and bounded right up to us, full of cheek and friendly as anything. We chose him and brought him home a week later. We got him out and about right away, on the breeders advice and he has always been a dog with the best tmeperament ever. He is friendly to everyone, lovely to be around and simply a really nice dog.

If I can, yes I do. And if it makes claims to be organic or holistic etc I want to know even more about that. And I certainly do that kind of research on manufactured pet food - again - especially one that claims to be special in some way - eg holistic. I dont bother asking questions of brands like Chum and Pal because I can read their ingredients and immediately know they are rubbish. But if theres a new brand that has the potential to be a good one because it's saying it's holistic or whatever then yes I do a lot of research on them before using their product. If I find a lot of smoke and mirrors when I try to get info it tends to put me off the whole deal. I don't use much manufactured food for my dogs but if I do feel the need to feed them something pre-made I want to know a lot about it first. That's just me. But how do you know that what they are telling you is the truth? They could tell you anything.......the beef is Angus cows bred in the highlands of Scotland and fed only the finest grain grown by the holy monks of Nepal.....and how are you going to prove it's true?

No, because if you check the ingredients list for Natures Gift kibble, which is clearly listed on their website, it's very, very different to Back Hawk.

When we moved, I declared the dogs were no longer sleeping in our room. And I stuck to it. They slept in the rumpus room....each had their own bed, although Benson preferred the couch. We didn't have Isaak at the time, just the two big ones and my old girl Kassy. Benson was happy enough, Kassy didn't care where she slept as long as she had her bed, but Dusty hated it. She'd look at me each night when I shut the door like I was breaking her heart. So...I stuck to it. For 2 weeks. Then I couldnt stand it anymore, so they came back into our room. Now she sleeps on her bed next to my side of the bed, Isaak sleeps next to her and benson sleeps under the bed. Kassy still sleeps in the rumpus room cos she doesn't care, plus she snores. We are all happy again. They sometimes come up for cuddles before the light goes out, but I rarely have a dog sleeping on my bed anymore.

Do you ask these questions of all the manufacturers of all products you consume? My dogs have tried this kibble, they loved it. They are going to be switched over to it. They have recently been eating Coprice, Uncle Albers and Supercoat. Do you know where any of their ingredients are sourced? And if they say so, how do they prove it? Sometimes these questions take on a "forum mentality" and cease to make sense or mean anything. They get a bit overpicked and some of the questions and statements become a bit ludicrous. Such as the people who claim that human grade meat is the only meat their dogs should ever eat and all kibble should contain human grade meat etc. etc......but in the next breath, they recommend giving the dogs green tripe. Something that is deemed not fit for consumption in this country. So definitely not a human grade meat.

Why? Retailers of generic brand products are under no obligation to disclose who makes their products. By law they have to state an ingredient list on the pack and the country of manufacture, but they don't have to state which factory or company produces it. Other dog food brands such as the ones you list don't advise who makes their products, where they source their ingredients etc. so why should the distributors of Black Hawk have to?

I never realised that "herding instinct" in a herding breed was an undesirable trait in a pet. Out of my dogs, the one with the most herding instinct is the best behaved....she's quiet, calm, very easy to work with as she's very focussed, and she's the most wonderful pet. She has never destroyed anything and would simply die rather than get into trouble. But she's the frisbee chaser extraordinaire, loves running beside my bike, and lets me know things by running to them then running in circles around them....such as when the other dogs are misbehaving, or if I'm looking for where the frisbee landed.