Polgara's Shadow

I love the bungee lead for me... but not for the pup. It has a comfy handle and takes the jolt out when he suddenly decides to sniff something. I bought it because he was pulling and I thought it might help - I expected him to start to feel the tension increasing and that this would be a signal for him to pull less. WRONG! It encouraged him to pull even more, probably because it was comfier and because I could no longer give him a correction through the lead. I consider it a failed experiment - we are back to standard leads, corrections when needed and consistency.

Hi JulesP, I also recommend doing an elimination diet. My youg boy had rashes, open sores and hairloss and I couldn't work out what was going on regardless of how many different kibbles I tried and how many of the usual suspects I removed from his diet. Did an elimination diet and turns out he's allergic to sardines and lamb. Never would have figured that out without the elimination diet, they are not common triggers for allergies. The vet put my boy on Hills Science Z/D kibble for 6 weeks and his symptoms pretty much dissapeared. It wasn't difficult and my boy loved the kibble. He's now fed Hills Science Sensitive Skin - one of the few kibbles that has no lamb or sardines/fish plus Vet's all Natural Complete mix puppy mixed with chicken carcass or kangaroo

Backcountry k9 ended up having the lowest price, even with shipping from the US. I got him a lifejacket too as we are starting to take him sailing with us. I could take advantage of their lower prices and shipping :D Thanks for your reccomendations!

Wow..super cute! Those shoes make me go 'Squee'!

Thanks people! Ive seen both sites before so its good to have you 'vouch' for them ;) . I'll have to figure out which will end up being the best price. Edited to add.. dang two big dogs only have a large available ;)

I want to buy the ruffwear singletrak pack for Vulcan. We do a lot of walking and it would be great for him to carry the water, phones and keys. I'd love to hear reviews from anyone that has it. I've seen it at some australian online stores for $150, so it's pretty expensive. Can anyone recommend reputable online stores either in Australia or overseas where I might be able to get the best price for one. I'm always a bit sus on putting my credit card details online so it would be great to hear of stores youve used before. I'm not adverse to paying $150, but if I can get it cheaper with confidence I'll be very happy. http://www.ruffwear.com/Singletrak-Pack Cheers, Pol & Vulcan

We live in Victoria and picked our SBT pup up from NSW - about a six hour drive for us. He now loves the car and sleeps pretty much the whole trip. My family lives in NSW so we do the trip, with pooch, fairly regularly. We spent about 1.5hrs with his breeder and one of his siblings (we had the choice of either) after that time he was happy to come in the car with us no worries. One word of warning would be to avoid the standard truck and roadside stops to let puppy out to toilet. This is because these are the areas that most people let thet dogs out to toilet so if a parvo dog has been through the soil might still be contaminated. That said we didn't realise this when we picked up our pup and stopped at the standard stops and he didn't get sick.

Maybe where I live is where responsible dog owners retreat to... but I've never experienced a dog fight here. At the park, down the dog beach, walking around the streets - not one fight ever. I've been here 5 years. My SBT pup (now 14 months) has been going to the local dog beaches since he was old enough to be immunised and we have only come across people and dogs who are dog friendly. The older dogs have allways put him in his place when he's pushed their limits, but it's never gotten close to serious aggression. Maybe it's only the responsible dog owners who go out and about with their dogs here The only comments people make to me about my SBT is how handsome he is, what good breeding he must have and what great pets SBT's make. I have been stunned to read how many people have had bad experiences with staffies going for their dogs. This is our third SBT and none of them have been dog aggresive, we also have friends with Staffies, Bull Terriers and Rotties, possibly considered scary breeds by some, they all get along well. I feel awful for those who have experienced dogs being aggressive to them and theirs, especially those who say their neighbourhoods are full of aggressive dogs I don't think I'm trying to make any points, just expressing my suprise (and dissapointment too) that so many of you have had bad experiences. edited for typos, grammar etc

We have taken our (now 14 month) SBT pup everywhere with us since he was past his injection period. I'm a big fan of giving pups as many experiences as possible. Vulcan was 5 months when we did our first two night trip away. If I were in your shoes I'd: Have pup sleeping in my room with me Have him inside with you the majority of the time (teach him to settle - bring plenty of chew toys) Supervise play with other dogs and when outside Take him with you when out visiting beaches, cafe's etc - even if he jut hangs in the car and you let him off on leash for pee and sniff breaks (this will only work if the weather is cool). Most importantly - try not to stress to much. Pups are pretty resiliant. Edited to add.. I'd probably break the rules and have my pup on leash next to me while sitting upstairs.

Ideally we do two walks a day. On week days we aim for a short one in the morning - 15-20 mins and a longer one in the evening - 1hr-ish. In the warmer months our evening excercise is usualy a swim at the beach. We can't allways fit both in but if we miss walks we know about it! Weekends are varied as we are usually out and about so he gets longer walks, car trips, visits to friends and family and their dogs, helping us garden :rolleyes: going to cafe's or spending the weekend away. This all seems to get his brain and his body working and we usually end up giving him a rest day on Monday because he's often pooped

Wow Raineth what an amazing story. Truly a hero! The fish were here before he was so I can only assume he sees them as part of the pack? Skinks however are a different story and get chased and gobbled up

$10,000! Thats one lucky pooch!

This is the second time he's done it... ...saved the life of our big yellow fish! The first time we were down the back having a barbie and we heard a splash. Thought nothing of it until Vulcan rushed to the pond and started yipping. The big yellow fish had jumped clean out of the temporary pond and Vulcan was yipping at it to get back in We popped him back in and covered the temporary pond until we did the pond extension. In the meantime weve significantly extended the pond. Fast forward to today. I've pulled up the driveway and opend the gates, expecting Vulcan to wait for the gates to open and jump in the car like he usually does. But no he takes off to the pond. I open the gates and he rushes back to jump in the car. I let him in. I pull up the driveway and open the car door. He bolts out back to the pond. Me curious walks across to the pond and finds the same yellow fish gasping for life flopping around on the dirt. It's a fair jump to get up on the dirt outside of the pond! Not a tooth mark to be seen on the fishy either. I picked the poor bugger up and held him in the stream till he looked like he was ready to swim again and let him go. Seems to be doing ok now. It's my favourite fish too! If it wasn't for Vulcan it would probably have been at least half an hour before I wandered out to look at the fish and by then it might have been too late. Yay Vulcan ;) ;) Anyone else got a hero dog story?

Tiles and carpet here. Carpet in the lounge & bedrooms and tiles in the wet areas. The carpet was brand spanking new when we got the puppy and it has held up exceptionally well (puppy is now a year old). It's 100% wool, extra heavy duty, short pile and dark (grey/brown). We bought a steam mop to clean up puppy accidents and haven't felt the need to get it professionally cleaned yet. I wouldn't give up the carpet - you just need to be sensible about the type of carpet you choose and have products on hand to help you deal with accidents. In winter the pooch likes to lay on the carpet in front of the wood fire. Also in winter he stands right on the edge of the carpet watching us while we cook, won't put a paw on the tiles if he can help it. The tiles came with the house and are fugly but functional. The pooch doesn't slip on them and enjoys laying on them in the heat. I hate that the grout gets dirty and is difficult to clean. We have a staffy, so not much hair to deal with. I'd like to change the tiles to floor boards one day... so have been reading the comments about them with interest!

Methinks we need doggy version of twitching! I can totally see myself with a notebook ticking off all the 'rare' breeds I've 'spotted'. YAY! for you two spotting 'rare' breeds too. It's a bit of a kick huh? I was bragging to my OH ...but he totally didn't get it. unfortunatly there's no Shiba Inu in Dog Breeds 101 on here - I was hoping to read some of it out to him.

As the owner of an allergic dog I recommend you discuss it with your vet. On eliminating the sources of irritation from Vulcan's food and environment he is now itch free. For what it's worth Vulcan is allergic to sardines, lamb and grass. I never would have figured those particular things out without my vet's assistence.

...confirmed Shiba Inu sighting! I've seen the Shiba out on his deck a few times when Vulcan and I have walked past. But today we were both out walking and I had a chance to ask the guy if it was a Shiba. He was mightilly impressed I recognised the breed! And I only recognised the Shiba Inu because I've had a chance to learn about them on here . We had a brief chat and he said they tried to train it (sorry didn't get the sex or name, but will ask next time) when it was young but gave up. He also says he never lets it off lead. I understand they are difficult to reliably train with strange people and dogs? Anyhoo..beautiful looking pooch and I was stoked to be able to correctly identify it . Is there a dog equivalent to being 'twitcher'. A 'twitchog' perhaps?

LMFAO!

Glad to hear everything is going well with Gypsy now. It sound like she is loving living with you.

Definitly pig hunting dogs. Looks lots like the ridgyxmatiff I used to have - miss him heaps - he was originally bred for pig hunting and I took him on after owners decide he was too much of a sook for pig hunting. My guess would be ridgyxmastiff and mastiffxdane.

Thanks for sharing our little sucess with me Stand has been such a pain to acheive! Ages ago he nailed sit, drop, stay, off, no, leave it, come, sit-stay, drop-stay etc etc etc.. but stand, stand-stay, stand-come etc has been ridiculously elusive. He just kept getting confused and sitting, or trying to sit, or rolling over to wiggle on his back in frustration. So excited we have 'stand' I now have hope that we won't be the dunce of obedience class for much longer Bwaaahahaha Luke! :p ;)

Hi al :D l, I had a small training win today and wanted to share with people who 'get it'. Soooo.. Vulcan my 11.5 month old SBT figured out what 'stand' means today! Yay Vulcan :p I've been teaching him, admittedley somewhat half-arse-edley since he was 3 months. Since we joined our local obedience club in August I've been training him a bit more intensely. And today.. he.. just.. got it! Every day except today I've I had the treat in front of his face..and when I say 'stand' got a half sit-stand and a very puzzled look. He was obviously unsure about what I wanted. But today... for the first time I got a proper level-backed stand! He did it a few times in a row so I thought I'd up the anti and ask for a stand-stay and OMFG he did it...several times! :p ;) And... and... and... I even got him to come (from the stand-stay) and stop in front of me in a stand! What a breakthrough! Now I just gotta get him to do it at at obedience club in front of the other dogs ;) Baby steps Polgara...Baby steps!

I have been using Vet's All Natural Omega Blend with great sucess on my allergic staffy pup. He's allergic to sardines which I was originally using for coat health. I discovered the Van Omega Blend and have been very happy with it. I chose it because it contains vitamin E which I understand should be given with Omega's. "A blend of pure, cold pressed Flax Seed Oil, Shark Liver oil, Sunflower oil and Wheat Germ oil. The oil is human consumption grade. Omega Blend oil provides a pure natural sources of Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids, combined with fat soluble vitamins A, D and E." Heres the website FYI http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/products.html

Vulcan zoomies http://www.flickr.com/photos/48813799@N06/...ith/4649474358/ What is it with zoomies and crazy eyes?

Hey there 2staffys, I feel your pain! My now 10month old staffy has been itching since we got him. By six months he was itching constantly and had many open sores on his feet and his 'armpits'. It was very upseting. We got our vet to have a really good look at him while he was knocked out for desexing at six months. The vet thought it was atopic allergies, but suggested we do a food elimination trial first to rule food allergies out. He was put onto Hills Z/D prescription dry food for about six weeks. He got 90% better over that time. We have figured out that he reacts to sardines, lamb and couch & kykuyu grasses. We currently feed him Hills Senistive Skin dry food for breakfast (the only brand without fish oil or lamb that I can easlilly source) and Vet's All Natural complete mix (puppy) mixed with minced chicken carcass along with Vet's All Natural Omega Blend. I sometimes use kangaroo instead of chicken carcass mince and give him beef brisket bones to knaw on. He is 100% better - his coat gleams, his skin is no longer pink and his itching is minimal. As long as we keep him off the grass that is The Hillz Z/D prescription has had the proteins broken down to such a miniscule level that his body doesn't recognise them as allergens. So it's great to figure out if your pooch has an allergy to food or not. Unfortunatly you can only get it through a vet. Good luck. It's a slow and painful process!