Red Fox

Any bones really - chicken necks/wings/carcus/drumsticks, lamb necks/shanks/flaps, roo tail/spine... eta, if it's only a wheat allergy I'd certainly be adding a lot more variety into her diet

The book also states that you should crate before training so that the dog wants the interaction (so yes, a form of deprivation), though the down time afterwards seems to be aimed more along the lines of having the dog absorb the information. I do get the impression that it doesn't neccessarily have to be crated time as it does peace and quiet. Pretty much what bedazzledx2 is getting at with the latent learning

It should be around 2-4% of the dogs ideal body weight (more for puppies) but the best way to feed is simple - if the dog looks too thin feed more, if the dog is looking to fat feed less In general you want to be able to fell the ribs easily but they shouldn't be sticking out. Meat and potaoes doesn't sound very balanced though. Are you feeding any bones? I also feed my dog a lot of roo meat. Typical diet would be roo tail in the morning followed by roo meat mixed with veggie/fruit slops (includes pureed raw fruit, veg, raw eggs and shells, parsley, garlic, kelp and omega oil), a dollop of natural yogurt, ACV and pehaps some chicken wings, liver or fish (depending on the day) in the evening. You have to be careful with allergies but I'd certainly consider adding some bones, eggs, yogurt, fish (canned or fresh) and perhaps some veg besides potato into your dogs diet.

Yes, normally I'd take Kei out for a short run after his morning training session too. However lately I've noticed that by giving him a half hour of quiet time after most sessions -either in the car while the kids play on the playground, on a tie out, or we go straight home and he will rest in his crate, seems to be helping with his learning. I'm curious if this is simply co-incidence or if the downtime really does make a difference

I also decided on giving the puppy shots and first yearly booster. I don't plan on giving any more and will titer test if need be, however I would consider a Parvac vaccine if my dogs levels were excessively low or if there was an outbreak of Parvo in my area

Was it pink? Could have been Hibiclens (which is a chlorhexidine solution). You can buy this from the vet fairly cheaply

The book I'm currently reading (Schutzhund Obedience Training in Drive - Gottfried & Booth) suggests that dogs should be given quiet down time after each training session, preferably crated, as "Much learning goes on in the hour following a training session, if you leave his mind free to absorb what just happened." I'm just wondering how many people actually do this with their dogs?

Could be any number of reasons for it. Perhaps he tears up bedding, or doesn't like it. Perhaps he is only outside for a small part of the day or has a dog door, perhaps he simply likes the towel...

I'd also call the ranger. Hopefully the breeder is now aware and will be having strong words with this family.

Try Great Rugs http://www.greatrugs.com.au./store/index.htm Their prices are reasonable and quality is pretty good too

If your dog has anal gland problems perhaps a natural diet might help? There is nothing wrong with adding things like eggs, fish, bones, meat, vegies, natural yogurt, etc to your dogs kibble. What type of milk are you giving? Some dogs are okay with cows milk if they have been given it from a young age, some end up with upset bellies though. Goats milk is a better alternative. Go with what your breeder suggests over what your local pet food store/vet's suggest (unless the vet has recommended a certain diet for medical reasons). More than likely they will simply recommend what they sell :D eta, just read your above post. If you want to add bulk to your dogs poop try psyllium husk. Bones are good for emptying anal glands too - poop needs to be firm to do this which bones can help with :p

I have one of those lights in the link and LOVE it. Highly recommend them We tried one of the cheaper flashing pet lights and it lasted all of 5 mins. The ones that Canine Perfection is selling are awesome - waterproof, sturdy and virtually indestructable. Best of all you can have them on either a constant 'on' setting or flashing rather than the strobe effect you get from most pet lights. They are really bright too, you can see the light from well over 1km away in the dark! Certainly worth the money

What a nasty comment Not sure how someone could even feel justified to speak about their own breed like that. I hope karma comes along and bites her in the arse one day

I don't get the whole "you are killing a pound dog by buying a purebreed" bullsh*t that people come out with. If more people were putting in the research and buying well bred dogs from good, ethical breeders and not lucky dips from BYB's/petshops there would be a hell of a lot less dogs dumped in the pound in the first place

I recently had the pleasure of being told that Ridgebacks have weak spines because their ridge is a defect bred by show breeders and that the ones that don't have mental problems I did attempt to explain to the woman the history of the ridge (came from the native African Hottentot dogs which were bred to the imported european hunting dogs) but oh no, that wasn't true as this woman had studied every breed in a BOOK She also went on to tell me that you should never push a dog with training (okay partially true but not in the sense that she was implying) and that I should be grateful to have a calm dog (though he probably had mental problems) and that she spoke to a girl earlier who had a GSD that was "crazy" and wouldn't relax. (Hmmmm... gotta wonder if the dog was simply not having it's needs met...) All this from someone who supposedly had 20 year experience in treating dogs with natural therapies.. :rolleyes: Man I was angry. Normally I would have bitten this womans head off but we were at one of those 'Mind. Body, Spirit' thingo's where all is quiet and mellow and OH was convinced that we would be cursed with bad vibes and quickly ushered me out the door

Some of the replies posted to that forum would do well to be forwarded on to local newspapers IMO..

Fiona, how old is your dog? Am I right in thinking that he is still a young puppy? Most Ridgies will become more protective as they mature, but Nekhbet is right, they are NOT the right breed for personal protection.

It's not aggression, he's just playing Barking, nipping, tugging and chasing are all pretty normal puppy play behaviours. As has already been said, crate him or put him in another room when you are sweeping or vacuuming, it makes the job much easier! As far as things like the whipper snipper, keep him inside and well away. Way too dangerous for any dog.

From my understanding not all dried bones are cooked. (If I can remember where I read that I'll post the link). Smoked bones are definitely cooked and would likely be brittle but dried bones tend to be more crumbly I have given mine dried roo tails before and find that he just picks all the meat out and only eats a little bone (before I chuck it out). I've given the leg bones too which are okay but throw them out once he has chewed off the knuckles. I only give them very rarely though. Mainly as we simply we don't need them (I feed raw bones every morning), secondly they STINK! and thirdly I do worry that dried bone might not be as digestable as raw - perhaps that it would compact in the bowels if fed too much?? (JMO though, I don't know if that would/could actually happen).

Same here. I've tried flaxseed oil, fish oil and vitamin E but have found the Melrose Omega Pet to be the best as it's balanced I saw this one, is it in a liquid form in a white carton?? I almost bought it, I think I might try it next, as my boy seems to have trouble eating the capsules, and it's a pain to prick them and squeeze them into his food. The one I buy is in a black bottle in the refridgerated section of the healthfood store. If you're having trouble pricking the capsules try a 'splinter picker' thingie from the chemist. Really easy to prick a little hole in with one of those and squeeze the oil out into the dogs food Don't try to do it with a knife or a needle though ...been there, done that, not pretty

Same here. I've tried flaxseed oil, fish oil and vitamin E but have found the Melrose Omega Pet to be the best as it's balanced

There have been a few - but not enough.

In WA is is only 72 hours regardless if it is over a weekend... My pound tends to have schedule kill days as tuesdays and thursdays. Yes it is the same here, 72 hours.

I saw this when I was at the supermarket today. Didn't get to read the article but had a quick look at the pictures (which looked to be of some kind of poodles/'oodles? Not sure?). Did the article say anything about petshop puppies or did it just focus on the puppy farms themselves?

I understand that but reading this line I managed to get between Max and the attacking dog but unfortunately the damage was all ready done. makes me feel that the dog wasn't focusing on the human it was to the other dog so don't know that you could call it Human Aggressive or that you could say it would attack a child ETA That I think the attacking dog should not allowed to be off leash or without a muzzle while at the training club, lets hope the committee on that club do the right thing by Cuchulain and Max The dog probably wouldn't "attack" a child but if the dog happened to attack a childs dog then it's logical to think that the child would jump in the middle trying to save their dog and be severely injured. Kids aren't able to weigh up the risks, nor would they have the knowledge or ability to break up a dog fight and will just dive in without thinking about it. Cuchulain, I hope Max is okay.