Red Fox

Until he works out he can walk out after he rips it apart with his teeth or toenails yeah I'd say the same thing Soft crates are great for older dogs and dogs who are already crate trained but I wouldn't be game to use one on a pup. Well not unless you are planning on doing some pretty intense crate training from the get-go anyway. Steel crates are heavy but sooooo much easier to clean if (no when) puppy decides to puke in it, or if they have an accident. And more peace of mind knowing that puppy wont eat it's way out the minute you turn your back

Which one? I have Steel crate - bought 2nd hand when Kei was a pup (advertised on DOL classies) C-Crate (AP7) K9+ Royale2 (soft crate) MASSIVE Soft crate from TopBuy (on it's way) Yep they are I do prefer the K9+ crates but the ones from TopBuy are very decent quality for the price you pay. eta: they are the same as the soft crates that Vebo Pet sell

Do you want food toys or chew toys or both? Tug-a-jugs are pretty indestructable http://dstore.com.au/search/Tug-a-Jug/ The Kyjen toys are pretty good too, I've found them to be just as (if not more) durable than the Tuffy toys, and cheaper too. eta, Aussie dog http://www.aussiedog.com.au/index.php?main...dex&cPath=1

Me too. I never attempt to incite barking, that would be daft, and I'd be annoyed too if I saw anyone deliberately getting my dog to bark or teasing her. But if I'm walking on a public footpath minding my own business & a dog rushes barking at us from behind a fence, then I won't proceed along the footpath until my girl is walking nicely. I don't want to let her pull, even if another dog is barking, that just teaches her that it's OK to pull. If she's not walking nicely, sometimes we deliberately walk back & forth past the loud dog a few more times in order to get some loose leash walking practice in. I figure, we're allowed to walk on the footpath. If us walking on a public footpath upsets someone's dog, that's just too bad. The dog might think it owns the public footpath outside the property, surely the owners are smart enough to realise that they don't? If somebody super-soaked me, or said anything at all unpleasant to me as a result of their own dog's excessive barking, I would report their dog to council. Yeah but training your dog and standing outside someone elses gate while your dog goes off and "praising it for being fierce" or yelling are 2 very different things :D And I'm sure that those who use the opportunity as a training exercise would have no trouble calmly explaining what they are doing if the owner of the house happened to ask. Narcissa- there are a few things that you can do here. Firstly, block of access to the front yard/fence line. Even if it means penning off part of the back yard for them only. Don't let the dogs outside at the times you know people are likely to walk past (or that your neighbour is likely to stand out there and yell). And, if you know that the dogs will continue to bark from inside the house move them away from the front door (or anywhere they can see out from) - so either another room where they can't see the front of the house, or crate them. Teach the dogs an alternate behaviour other than barking. My dog will go off his nut if there is someone hanging around our fence too. So rather than let him tear down the curtains, bark and whine or scratch at (and destroy) the front door I tell him "in your crate", close him in and give him a treat instead. Problem solved

"Dogs recovering from kennel cough, please do not approach" should be quite effective

I bought one too I already have an awesome K9+ soft crate, but at that price I just couldn't pass it up. It will be good as a "throw in the back of the car just in case/take down the river in summer/don't worry if it gets dirty" crate as admittedly I'm a little precious about the "good" one

In the case of HD you would need to look at the breed average to determine how common it is, and what is acceptable in that particular breed. A breed with a low average would have less chance of developing HD than a breed with a high average. Finding out more about breed related problems and how common they are is not really that difficult. Google the breed, google the health issues that may arise in/are common in that breed, google the averages, (and if looking at a puppy) ask the breeder about the problems, ask to see certificates/results. If you've already done your research you will know roughly what the results mean and if they are acceptable. You would also want to look at the health of other dogs of the some line or breeding - so parents/grandparents/siblings of each/other offspring from those parents... But when it comes to buying a cross breed puppy this all changes.. the breed related health problems might be completely different, so instead of having say 3 common hereditary issues to worry about there may be 6 or 7, or you might be doubling up on a breed that shares the same issue - say high risk of PRA. Not to mention that the conformation of some breeds being crossed to create DD is so entirely different that it becomes a problem in itself.. In some cases your average mutt may well be healthier, but in the case of DDs being produced by PFs for the pet market that's normally not the case at all. At least with pedigree dogs you are able to trace back health problems and have some idea of what you may be getting

I'd be putting a sign up on the gate or something.. Then again I'd probably go out there and yell too if someone stood there for 10 mins! Or at least say something along the lines of "can I help you?, no? well you are upsetting my dogs!" Or tell them "Oh don't get too close, my dogs are just getting over a nasty bout of kennel cough"

You have a point Jacqui but when you have a high profile public figure mouthing off about pure breeds being unhealthy, unsocialised mutants and DD being a picture of health and happiness (when more often than not it's the opposite way around) then what message is that sending to the public?

Just a heads up for anyone interested. Topbuy have large/XL soft crates our really cheap at the moment but the offer ends tomorrow by the looks of it http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Carries...Houses-c161.htm

If you have full accident and illness cover then you should be able to claim. Your excess will depend on how much you get back. I don't think you can claim for the food at all. When my dog had a belly upset early this year it cost me around $300 for vet visit, anitibiotics, some scourban and a blood test. I am with PIA and had no troubles claiming. Generally they are very quick on payments too ;) With PIA you just download the claim form straight from their website, have your vet sign it, attach a receipt and then post it off (send it registered). If it's your first claim you will need to include a full history from your vet too. http://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/Pe..._Claim_Form.pdf

Just having a look around the Greenpet website and came across Supa-Greens "A high energy blend of organic green barley, wheatgrass, alfalfa and spirulina. A super-food supplement for dogs, cats or other animals. Contains all human quality supplements." I'm not normally keen on "multi type" supplements (prefer to give single supps as needed it instead) but this one sounds like it would be a good health booster, and it's not overly expensive either. Has anyone else tried it? What do you think of it? Thanks ;)

Nope, not all ridgeback crosses will have a ridge. Even a small percentage of pure bred Ridgebacks are born ridgeless Ridgies have a very short, straight, single coat, so no, not wavy at all. I have seen kelpies with thick, slightly wavy fur through their backs though.

Ridiculous If the councils are to be given the power to make the decisions, they should at the very least be required to have the basic knowledge to do so. Being able to read a tattoo and identify it's meaning (or simply register in their brain that the tattoo actually means SOMETHING) is a very BASIC thing And how do you identify whether or not an animal is registered or no by simply looking at it? Glad I don't live in Vic any more

OT, but would a dog who is tattooed (ear tattoo with breeder prefex/no.) be considered "unidentifiable"? Or what about a dog who has the M (microchip) tattoo, but a quick scan fails to find the chip? Collars come off and chips move, but perhaps a tattoo is a more reliable form of ID? eta, by reliable I mean harder to dispute that the dog was "unable to be indentified" if that makes sense

Baby gates :D Get them from target when they have a sale, generally happens once every month or two. Sometimes you can even pick them up half price The metal ones with the extenders and the springs are good as they close automatically. They are anywhere from $60-$90 (less on special) Otherwise the sliding wooden ones are MUCH cheaper at around $20. You can't open them so they need either removing (easy, you just pull it out) or stepping over when you want to go through. We have both.

There's your problem Yep PF's advice is good.

I'm with PF here. You need better management. Lay down the groubd rules with her, get some leadership happening. She shouldn't have the opportunity to jump on/nip/scratch your kids. She should either be on lead or crated in the house at all times until she earn the right for you to extend her freedom. Toilet training is 100% your issue not hers. If you can't be supervising her -as in you can't control her every move at that time, she needs to be crated, penned or outside. If she is destroying or stealing yours or kids belongings you need to be confining her to a smaller area where this can't happen. This might sound harsh and in reality it's not easy. Toilet training is not easy, dealing with a screaming puppy at 2am is not easy, watching puppy have a tantrum at the end of her leash in public is not easy. But laying down the law now will pay off big time as she matures. Promise

Can a few people please advise of the basic costs involved with breeding a litter (medium/large sized breed), presuming everything goes right and the "breeder" owns both the dog and the bitch. Along with a few of the unforseen events that may occur and costs incurred if something goes wrong. I will need this info by tomorrow afternoon. If anyone would like to know the breed or the circumstances please PM me. Thank you

I have 2 premium leather leashes (4ft and 6ft) and 2 6ft grippy leashes. Of all of them I LOVE the grippy leash with the 4 rows of rubber. Personally I'd go for the rivetted if you want a stronger leash. Email K9 Pro and I'm sure he will point you in the right direction ;)

Bumpety bump Is that Orbit I see in the new Peter Alexander Spring Catalogue?

Toys for training or toys for keeping pup entertained? For the latter anything interactive is good: Kongs, Orbee toys, tug-a-jug, treat balls, squeaky toys... Pigs ears seem okay when the puppy is really young and takes days to get through, but they stink and can be a choking hazard. A real bone or a chew toy is a better option IMO

They do smell a bit odd, but they smell a LOT better when you warm them up. If they've only been opened for a week and refridgerated they should be okay. If they were THAT bad your hubby would have definitely smelt it

Raw or scrambled egg once or twice a week, canned sardines or mackeral once or twice a week. Raw eggs with shell are also included in veggie slops that I give every day (approx 10 eggs in a batch that lasts me for around 8 weeks) so I guess that adds another egg to the weekly tally..

There is Do a search on raw food or BARF and you will come up with plenty of info. The Ian Billinghurst books are widely available, well known and explain it clear and simple, as do a few others.. It's not a matter of the info not being available or difficult to understand anyhow, it's just an issue of people not being aware of that option. At the end of the day feed whatever you can afford, what is available to you and what works - whether thats raw, commercial or a combo of both. To put it simply: commercial food will NOT poison your dog and raw food and bones will not kill your dog or give it salmonella. I choose raw for my dog as he does well on it, it's affordable, available (more so then premium commercial for me), I can buy in bulk and I feel comfortable feeding him this. My cat gets premium commercial and scraps because it's affordable, I can order it in bulk (lasts ages for 1 cat), he does well on it, and I feel comfortable in feeding him this. Feed what you want