Steve

One of the best things you can use for increasing milk is oats as these contain groats which increase milk production but its a supply and demand thing the more they suck the more she will make .

Not that odd unfortunately donatella. I have collected 6 dogs from BP and 2 out of the 6 have had their microchips found on day of release prior to their new chips going in. Fantastic that the owners got a chance to reclaim their pets (and they both did :) ) but it's unsettling chips are being missed. Unsettling is a bit of an understatement . Why? Why? Cause it happens sometimes. I well remember a kelpie type dog we had come into the pound, scanned - no chip. 2 days later his owner turns up and goes ballistic at the staff for not ringing her cause the dog is chipped. I took her and the scanner out to the dog and spent 15 minutes running the scanner all over the dog before the scanner picked the chip up, right where it should be. Took scanner in and ran it over some chips in the office, never missed a beat. Bought scanner home and scanned my dogs no problems. Why that dog who knows, but when he came back a little while later, again the scanner did not pick up his chip but I knew who he was so was able to ring the owner to come get him - again. If it can happen to one dog at a small pound, why not more dogs at a bigger pound. Geez I didnt know that - bit scary.

I take my girls temps twice a day for about 2 weeks before whelping and I never take any notice of a temp drop that isnt one degree down and stays there for several hours. Its unusual for any bitch Ive ever whelped not to have a temp drop around 36.5 and stay there for several hours with a puppy within 48 hours. I expect whelping between 57 and 66 days from the first mating but Ive had them whelp without a problem up to 69 days from first mating.

Me too.

Not that odd unfortunately donatella. I have collected 6 dogs from BP and 2 out of the 6 have had their microchips found on day of release prior to their new chips going in. Fantastic that the owners got a chance to reclaim their pets (and they both did :) ) but it's unsettling chips are being missed. Unsettling is a bit of an understatement . Why?

O.K. So what am I missing here - is there a difference between someone advertising their stud dog on face book to advertising they have a dog available for stud on dogz or anywhere else ?

O.K. So what am I missing here - is there a difference between someone advertising their stud dog on face book to advertising they have a dog available for stud on dogz or anywhere else ?

Even without correction mine learn what is normal and as they get older they don't bark as much at the things that usually occur but they bark more at the things which are out of the ordinary. Mine - by the time they are about. a year old only bark when its serious they go through a stage between about 6 months and then where they bark more often.But my adults which are out all night with stacks of different sounds don't bark much at all. The ones which are in the house yard rarely bark of a night at all and the one in the house never does but Im not in suburbia and I've got Maremma.

Yes.

I used to use petplan - never had a complaint but Bow Wow Meow do a deal for our members including our rescue members for the free insurance period the same and some of our members purchase a 12 month insurance policy for their puppy buyers which is much less expensive that the 12 month insurance on petplan so Ive swapped over

in this type of ststem you will get good and bad stories and the pound or those working from it are probably the last to hear of them. Pacers received a call for help about 4 weeks ago from someone who had 19 dogs and the council were onto [Victoria] - we didn't help them because they didn't fit the criteria but 8 of these dogs came from Blacktown pound - the rest form various pounds around the country some via pound rounds .These people certainly sounded as if they cared and loved the dogs and provided them with their needs but I couldn't help feel they had been set up to fail by being able to take on so many without some screening. Mind you if someone wants 19 dogs they will probably get them anyway but Id prefer them going through some greater process than just putting their hand up first. This just exposes the system for what it is.

The fault is in the system. Any dog can go out to anyone and just because private rescue screen people who are taking them fact is NSW pounds could care less.

Quite the opposite IMO. I've had a lot of different breeds and Maremma are by far the easiest I've had. Very low maintenance provided you get their way of thinking and work with it, rather than against it. Rottweilers are far more challenging in my experience. Me too . They suit me right down to the ground.

yep thats why we have different breeds so we can choose the ones that most fit in with our lifestyle - I don' like Labs and they wouldn't look after my sheep and my goats and my chicken the way the Maremma do so its lucky we all still have choices and get to live with what most suits us.

these guys work brilliantly - you never see livestock or poultry or humans in danger when you have them and they are the best pets ever but just like any breed has its management issues so do these but part of the way they work is by barking . As they get older they work out what is normal coming and going and bark less at what is normal but in suburbia it is a management issue and you need to take that into account - you cant just train them to stop barking ALL OF THE TIME because its part of the breed instincts - so you manage it.

LGDs bark - full stop - its how they work and as they get older they get worse . Sometmes you can control it if you are there but they are bred to determine what is a threat without your help so in suburbia you need to live with it as if it is a child and truly a part of the family and either be close to them all the time or lock em up where they cant see or hear potential threats. training to control it when you are there is a hard ask but trying to find a way of doing that when you are in bed and they are outside is way too hard for me to try to do.

I put in an airlock . Get out of the car open the gate drive though to the next gate, get out of the car and shut the first gate then open the second gate , drive through the second gate and get out of the car and shut the second gate - do in reverse as you are leaving. My house Maremma would always go out in front of the car to clear the paddock as I was going out - I had to turn around and act like I was going back in before the rat came back so the double gate prevents her needing to make sure where Im going is safe and there is nothing there which will hurt me .She just yells at the fence now to tell anything thinking it might come and hurt me that she is watching and that they will die if they get near me. the lesson is - know your breed and manage its characteristics rather than trying to fight them because if you try to fight them under pressure they revert to insinct and its a constant battle with everyone including the dog being miserable. the way I did it isnt the only way but you need to come up with your own solution which works with where you live and who you live with.

Well the alternative is baiting - I know what Id rather .

I don't see it as 'bad behaviour though', not with LGD's anyway. It's simply what they do. When I say good boy to mine barking, the way I see it, is that Ive acknowledged that they're on to something and I take over from here. It hasn't heightened their barking, it really does work. I've been using this method now after advice from other LGD people and it has really helped over the past year or so. Before, it was excessive and now a quick Good boy stops them and they usually just stand and watch the 'threat' from their initial position or come close to me and watch still. For the SBT and Pug though, I yell out the window STFU and that works pretty darn quick for them :laugh: The SBT is good and comes back straight away but the Pug was raised with MAremmas and fancies himself as a LGD. Agree but I dont see saying good boy in a soft tone as a reward - maybe it is but I dont see it that way. I see that as letting them know you are O.K. same thing as I do.

for the turtles.

ive had to learn to control my body language and my tone of voice .In my opinion you dont want to praise her because that's rewarding her for doing what she is doing unless you do it when she stops and not before. With my beagles I can "Shuddup ' and they get it but shouting at a Maremma makes them feel you are upset even if your body language is conveying stress they will see this as a que to bark and protect you . In a paddock with sheep for example they take their moves when they pick up even the smallest difference in body language. Stamp of a foot , flick of and ear sudden movement etc. the only way to stop it when you arent there is bring her inside because she will bark to guard you and your property - its how they work.

Foxes dont just do damage to farm animals people are making a living off. Perhaps if were your animals whIch you consider to be your familiy and feel responsible for keeping safe and well you wouldnt be so O.K. about the cute little foxes left alone to breed and become killing machines. .

well perhaps you should come on out to where we are and see how cruel it is to see baby lambs and their Mums with their entrails eaten out - poultry with their heads eaten off ,milking cows with their udders eaten out , rams with their nuts eaten out where for every lamb standing in a paddock there is one dead one beside it - lessor of two evils and killing them quickly and humanely is the only way to keep their numbers down to a half manageable level.

OK my knowledge level on GSD is limited so Ill back out .

O.K. If that's the case that changes how I read it so I guess we will have to wait for a clarification from the author. I certainly dont agree that a dog should be isolated from everything all its life to test it's temperament because its hard to imagine how you would know how it reatcts if you never give it anything to react to.