Gayle.

Bensons coat is far far better on Uncle Albers than it ever was on the premium kibble. He doesn't have a lot of it, maybe two meals a week, three at the very most, but the difference is incredible. Not just his coat either, but his skin is no longer itchy, red and flaky.

I need one of those too! Benson and I put some km's under our belt today. I had the day off work so took him for his very first run around the neighborhood footpaths and bike tracks. We usually ride around the local school oval a few times then home which is just around the corner. But I figured we'd done enough of that so we ventured further and he was absolutely fantastic. Stayed right with me, didn't pull, and the only minor problem was when he stopped suddenly a few times to lift his leg. We did about 6 kms, he barely even raised a sweat. We rode home up a slight hill into the wind and I definitely did raise a sweat!

I got my bike for Christmas but hadn't ridden one in 30 years. Gawd.....what a sight I was the first few days. I'd "hop" along to get started....but I could only start on a wide flat area so no good near my place as it's at the bottom of a hill! I'd have to walk to the top of the hill, then hop along til I got up enough speed to pedal without falling off. Stopping was about as interesting as starting too. I couldn't use handbrakes cos I'd grown up with pedal brakes so I'd just put my feet on the ground. My runners have no soles left on them now. I am much better now.

I'm teaching my Aussie Shepherd to ride beside my bike to get ready for an ET. We practise on a footpath which has a fence along one side of it.......house fences or a laneway with paling fences. Ride slowly with dog between the bike and the fence, don't give him much room. If he surges ahead, turn the front wheel to block him so he can't go any further. If you go slow enough, he won't run into the wheel and you won't hurt him, he'll just be blocked from pulling ahead. I use the words "back" when I block him...."closer" when I want him right next to the bike (I also use this in obedience when I want a closer finish, so he knows that it means to get nearer to me.) He gets treats AFTER the ride, not during....and now as soon as I stop the bike and get off he sits patiently waiting for me to produce the reward.

I cut mine down to one meal a day but Dusty developed a weight problem and the vet suggested giving her two meals......a small breakfast to get her metabolism moving and a larger evening meal. So now they have a chicken drumstick each for brekkie, then their normal meal of raw meat or kibble in the evenings. Works well, Dusty is now slim and they're both happy with the arrangement.

Dusty used to do the same thing. She cries all the way there, but it's because she's so excited she can barely contain herself. She used to do it in class too, and being a herding breed....she ain't quiet! My daughter takes her to class, and Dusty would spend the whole class trying to get across the ground to Benson and me. Eventually she just grew out of it. Now she's very good in class, very focussed on my daughter and has lots of fun. But she still cries all the way there. Oh, we never gave into her either. She was told firmly to shut up, turned away from where she wanted to go and my daughter just kept working with her, despite the pitiful squealing.

I'd be inclined to give him 48 hrs to get over his mild upset tummy.....just to let things settle down as you're about to put a very strong chemical on him to be absorbed into his system and having been a bit under the weather, it might compromise his health. Would probably be ok. but better to err on the side of caution.

Rogz for Dogz are luvverly and come in some very cool patterns and colours, but at the Big Day Out for Dogs in December, I got the dogs Paw Stars leads and they are sensational. Our current favourite. Dusty's is pink and aqua striped, and Benson's is green and brown. Very man-pretty for my gorgeous boy. Teamed with plain coloured Rogz limited slip collars, they're just the trick for the well turned out obedience pooch.

SwaY - Great Dane / Smokey - Dally Club Saturday 6th JUNE 2009 Rebanne - Greyhound / Fern - Dally Club Saturday 6th JUNE 2009 Gayle-Australian Shepherd / Benson - Sale 4th July 2009

My name is Gayle and I have a lead and collar addiction. And obsession. They have to match and each dog has to have their OWN set for various occasions. They absolutely cannot share and there can be no hand-me-downs. Boy dogs cannot be dressed in pink, even accidentally. Leopuppy and I occasionally hold support group meetings in the Knowles gazebo at various dog shows. Anyone else with a similar addiction is welcome to join us (so long as they let us know first of any specials they come across!) Leopuppy is the only person on earth that I know who shares by obsession and understands the importance of having a tack room for collars and leads.

I just "block" with the front wheel.....Benson has never been jammed, just blocked. Hmmmmm....greyhounds are bred for speed not endurance, she'd be a whole different deal to train because you're going against hundreds of years of genetic coding. How is she on long, long walks?

When we got Benson we were guided by the breeder. Although I fell in love with a pretty little red merle girl, the breeder recommended her black tri boy as being most suited to us. I wanted a dog that was calm and pretty much "bombproof". A pup I could take anywhere and he'd cope. I got it in Benson. Best thing I ever did was listen to the breeder. Benson takes everything in his stride, with a happy outlook on life and is everyone's friend. Can't ask for much more than that in a dog. Plus he's grown up handsome (man-pretty, my daughter calls him!), well-mannered and with a cracking sense of humour. We have an elderly Lhasa Apso who we put with Benson right away. She coped fine, Benson was a huge puppy but Kassy kept him in line and wasn't above giving him a nip to make him behave. She's got hardly any teeth so it was a token reprimand but he got the idea that Kassy was there first and therefore deserved respect.

I've hit on this trick to teach Benson to stop pulling. We ride/run on a footpath which has a fence alongside of it (houses, laneway etc). I keep the bike fairly close to the fence with him between the bike and the fence. We go very slowly and whenever he starts pulling, I turn the front wheel slightly towards the fence. He doesn't have space enough to get through then, and has to stop pulling or run into the wheel. After a couple of minutes, we stop when he's NOT pulling and he gets a treat. The whole time he's not pulling he gets lots of praise. As soon as he surges ahead, the bike wheel blocks his path and I say "DON'T PULL!!!!" He is getting much better now. Another trick is to wear the dog out with play, then go for a short ride. He won't pull if he's already tired and that's a good way to instill in him that he has to run alongside the bike. But don't go far too far. We often do this at the local school.....play frisbees for a while, then go for a ride around the oval.

Train him on different surfaces. We're training on dead grass, concrete and asphalt at the moment, and have also done some on a gravel rail trail.

Hmmm, that's a fair bit longer than what I use. I prefer 1.2 metre leads so I'll have to invest in something longer. Do you have to leave it at the full length for the ET? I fold up the lead and just give Benson enough to move out a short way from the bike, otherwise it gets tangled around the pedals.

When I got my second pup I took 2 weeks off work to settle her in. She was 8 weeks old at the time. She slept ALL day....I needn't have been there at all, she wouldn't have missed me, that's for sure. When she was 10 weeks old I went back to work and left her in a puppy run in the backyard, with our older dog on the other side of a mesh fence for company. Within weeks she was in the yard with him. I don't think 10 hours is too long to leave a puppy, she will sleep for a good part of it. Maybe leave a radio on or sometrhing for company, some toys and chew things to amuse her and a couple of different places for her to sleep. She might like something soft to spread out on, and something hollow and dark to burrow into.

I think they only come in the big bags. I've never seen Uncle Albers, The Great Barko, Cobber or Coprice in small bags,but I think Bonnie might come in 4kg packs.

It's not sexual behaviour, it's dominance. Start displaying some very strong leadership to him, he needs to know who's in charge.

Hmmm......I would never think to do that, it would be pretty difficult to do without hurting the dogs neck, I'd have thought.

I was thinking large lamb offcuts......big enough that she can get her jaws around them and lick or suck the meat off and give her remaining teeth a clean.

I have tried both the Gentle Leader and Sporn brands (the Sporn is the most similar to the Black Dog, I believe) and neither of them will stop a dog from barking, biting, eating, drinking. If they are properly fitted, they shouldn't interfere with the mouth mechanism at all......the nose band should sit high enough on the nose that the mouth is unobstructed in any way.

Here's a list of Vic distributors: http://www.lauckemills.com.au/distributorsvic.html

Uncle Albers has meat and fish as the first two ingredients, and I'm am just as happy as can be with it. After 18 months of super premium brands, I can't believe the improvement in Bensons coat and skin. And at $30 for 22kg, my purse is equally as happy with it.

Pumpkin and sweet potato both contain a fair bit of natural sugar and plenty of fibre which will get things moving.

Jed, that's a beautiful tribute to your little mate. You summed up her life wonderfully and made me smile at the big personality that was a little Cav named Poppy. (Can't understand why the black and tans Cavs aren't the most popular colour cos I think they look fabulous!)