Gayle.

I love the Plush Puppy Conditioning shampoo, and the Groomers products I've tried have all been fantastic. But they aren't generally available in pet stores, I don't think. Dog shows are the best place to source the higher end grooming products.

Benson does it in the bedroom corner. He doesn't bark......I think he did once and gave himself such a fright when it bounced back at him.....he just grumbles away to himself, and once he's finished telling himself whatever story he's chosen, he heads under the bed to continue sleeping. Oh yeah....he only does it during the night. I just ignore him now but I used to leap out of bed thinking he wanted to go out for a wee, but he never did so now I just leave him to him nocturnal gossip. He cracks me, up, he's definitely a dog with "quirks" and most of them are cute and unusual.

This is something that bothers me too. If they are using cheap imported ingredients, why is the finished product so expensive?

Why are grains unacceptable and potatos are? They are carbs and I daresay are also used to bind the kibble. In nutrition content they would be (for a dog) about as nutritious as rice, barley, oats etc.

I can't even begin to imagine what havoc my Burmese cats could create outside of a carrier in a vets waiting room. The laps they would find, the mischief they could get up to, the talking to strangers they could do. God knows they create enough mischief here, the little monkeys they are. My poor husband had a kitten run up his shin once, and scratched him from knee to foot. He didn't think anything of it, but the scratch didn't heal up and about a week later I noticed he was limping really badly. I asked him what was wrong and he carefully pulled up his jeans to show me his shin was swollen, red and purple, and was looking extremely unhealthy. I took him straight to the hospital and they gave him a variety of vaccinations, much to his disgust, and some heavy duty antibiotics. Nasty things, cat claws.

Wrong side of the continent for me. I am unimpressed, I emailed the company yesterday about where to find it locally and they haven't yet replied. Really not good enough. Emails from potential customers should be responded to within 24 hours at the very most. I have never seen it for sale around here, despite being a regular shopper at various pet stores and stock supply places.

What's the difference with Evo? They do. They are on the bags and on the website. INGREDIENTS Uncle Alber's is formulated from a selection of the following ingredients. Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, poultry or pork. Cooked fish or fish by-products. Fat, cooked cereals and wheaten bran. Products derived from canola and soyabeans. Lysine, methionine, antioxidant, bentonite, vitamins and minerals. Vitamins: A, D3, E, K, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine), B12, niacin, pantothenate, folic acid and biotin. Minerals: Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc

Such a sad turn of events, especially for the new owner. I too, have waited for a puppy to arrive......waited for her to be born, waited for photos, waited to choose which puppy, named her, watched her grow via photos, talked about her constantly.......and I can't imagine how devestated I'd be if the same thing had happened to her.

I have emailed them after trying to find a stockist in my area. I live in a well populated regional area in Victoria, but no matter which major towns postcode I typed in the box, I got no local stockists. And the pet shops I've been to around here definitely don't have it. So as far as I'm concerned, it's not widely available.

I saw a group of Pharoah Hounds at the last show I went to, and oh my goodness, they are stunning. I had never really taken any notice of them before but they were in the ring next to us and were all together waiting for their turn and I thought they were absolutely beautiful.

Nutro isn't widely available and I think it's one that's up around the same price as Eagle Pack.

I got Benson from a breeder who was advertising a litter on DOL, she was local to me so we were able to view the pups the day after I contacted her. She was lovely and cares very much about her dogs, the breed in general and is also a highly respected lecturer in animal psychology, in particular, dogs as companions. She chose the best puppy for us and it was a perfect match. The next puppy came from a breeder on an Aus Shepherd email list. I posted a general enquiry about finding a black tri bitch with particular markings and she contacted me to let me know she had a litter on the way and expected black tri's. She had exactly what I wanted and Dusty came to us from interstate. I didn't meet the breeder and chose Dusty from a series of photos. My next puppy came from the same breeder, and he is co-owned by her and I. I've still not met her, but we have an email friendship that is easy and comfortable. She was very happy for me to take care of this very special little man, and I am very happy to be in co-ownership of a puppy with her.

There is only one size. Clover's Breeder now breeds Mini Australian Shepherds. Not AKC ANKC or ASCA registerable, but yet she wants to breed them. That's such a shame because she was very influential in the Australian Shepherd breed being established here, and lots of current dogs carry her very good lines in their pedigrees.

The price I was quoted was actually less than the one in that link. I have got Benson on Uncle Albers at the moment, and he does really well on that. But Dusty doesn't like it at all and because she's become sensitive to a totally raw diet....she just throws it back up......I want to find something that she likes and does well on. But something that's value for money, because now I've got 3 Aussies, I can't afford to keep feeding stuff that costs $130 a bag. Right now she is on Supercoat which she loves, and I have to admit she looks fabulous but I think we can do better.

I had exactly the same problem with Benson. I started him off on EP puppy, then switched him to Holistic when he grew up, and he always had dandruffy, flaky skin. Eventually I switched to a cheaper kibble as a change in finances meant I couldn't keep feeding EP or anything that expensive. I tried Uncle Albers and within weeks, his skin was clear and healthy and his coat looked better than it had ever looked. Eventually I went all raw, rather than a combo of raw and kibble, but Dusty developed a sensitivity to it. While on 100% raw, Bensons coat was awful....dull, dry and harsh. Once I switched back to Uncle Albers, we're back to a lovely coat, clear, clean skin and a dog that looks amazing. Being that it's 31.00 per 15kg bag, it's a pretty cheap fix, it's also Australian made, and lists meat as it's first ingredient. He likes it, Dusty doesn't. So I'm keeping him on that and trying other kibble for her.

Contact collies02, who is a distributor for Black Hawk Holistic dog kibble. http://www.riverlandskennels.com/holisticfood.htm I was looking for something similar and she is sending me a free sample to try. It sounds exactly what I want, I can't wait to try it.

It can't be rejected on someones "opinion". This is government, albeit local, who are often nothing more than jumped up wanna-be's. However, all government, even at local level, have to work within the bounds of legislation and they can't reject someones application for anything without a legislated reason. If it's been rejected because the land size is too small, they have to be working on an actual equation....how much land you'd require per dog etc. They can't just cast an eye over your property and deem it to be too small. They should be able to tell you the equation they're working on. If it's been rejected because a neighbor objected to the application, they have to say so. And the neighbor has to have a valid reason for objecting. Not liking dogs isn't a valid reason. Proof of dogs nuisance barking is. And a counciller has to be able to put aside his prejudices and look to the local legislation when making decisions on resdents applications. Not being a dog-lover isn't a good enough reason to deny an application for someone to keep an extra dog.

I buy pet mince then make up a mixture that includes eggs, vegetable mush, oil, tinned fish etc. Much easier to mix them with mince. My dogs get a raw meaty bone every day but I've switched largely to kibble as one of my dogs has issues eating too much raw meat/bone.

I think I have seen Boomer in the local Petstock store. I hadn't heard of it before so grabbed a bag of Supercoat for now.

Is there a website?

Not if you've got a dog that can't tolerate it. Poor Dusty, she loves her meaty bones but it's heartbreaking to see her heave and gag and vomit everything back up within minutes of finishing it. And she's not a fussy dog either, as far as food goes but seeing as she can't have raw, feeding her a kibble she really likes but also keeps her looking in top shape is now my priority. And to be honest, both dogs look and feel a lot better now they are on mainly kibble. Their coats are a lot softer and silkier. When they had all raw, their coats were quite harsh and dry. I think you need to do a fair bit of research to get the balance of a raw diet correct.

Hahaha, that's funny although I'm sure the poor home owners didn't think so. Amazing what dogs find amusing. I have a 4 month old puppy who's just discovered swimming in the fishpond is the best fun ever. Even at 7am when the water is almost frozen.

The one I have looks a bit like the Black Dog brace. It's two short leashes attached to a ring, to which you attach your own leash. The short leashes each have a swivel clip for the dogs collar.

It's a size large...big enough to couple two dogs Aussie size or larger. PM your address to me and I'll post it this week, as soon as I can get to the PO.

How gorgeous do you need it? I got a red one from the local Petstock store for the big Aussies but I hate it. You can have it if you like.