GoldenGirl85

Lol, Jane must get a lot of business off DOL, I need to arrange a time to meet with her for my girls

There are a lot of big dogs that dont require the sort of attention a Border does...did you get the pup from a registered breeder? or was it a petshop? I was going to suggest some temporary fencing to block him from peoples view, at least a second fence will stop someone reaching over to grab him, he will need to be outside, if he is inside he will get very bored and destructive He is only 9 weeks old, you cant expect him to be switched on all the time

Oh good stuff, I have to take my GR to get desexed soon so Ill ask them about it then

So how do I know if my dogs dont need annual vaccinations? my JRT hates the vet

Every 3 years...really? can I ask how...and why?

I moved to Brisbane from country NSW in October, in November my parents brought my JRT with up to be with me. Tess wore a collar at first because she had never moved house, and is an escape artist so I was worried she would get out and not know where she was. Ive only just taken the collars off both my girls because if Tess hasnt gotten out before now it means she wont (Ive secured the yard pretty good) and I was sick of them having 'collar fur'

Ditto lol I just paid :D looking forward to it

Keep in mind, BigW is a discount store, and they are aiming at discount shoppers, if they are selling it they bought it at an incredible price, its not about who the producers are selling the food to, but what the distributer is paying for it. My guess is that like Supercoat, which was once only available in specialty stores, it is now freely available in supermarkets and petstores alike, and the product is not what it used to be. Im guessing Hills will take the same path, they will slowly change their product to make it cheaper to produce

Are you saying you dont have a fenced yard? if you dont then you need to make sure you have a decent sized area fenced for him. BCs are smart dogs but they get bored easily, they cant be made to live in a house, they need a yard and lots of exercise. Like Poodlefan said they need a job, they are sheepdogs, are you not on land (and if you are renting Im guessing you arent) then you need to give him lots of stimulation, you will need to take him for daily walks and get him to an off leash area where he can run a few times a week if not every day, obviously this is when he grows, dont take him out unless you carry him until he has all his puppy shots and then you need to work up to that sort of exercise slowly, when he is old enough get him involved in a dog sport If you are serious about that second bolded part then maybe you are right, you have already said this is your first pup so its a big learning curve, but it seems to me that you are expecting a pup to suit your lifestyle. When you are choosing a pup you either need to find a breed which will already suit your lifestyle (which rarely happens) or you will need to change your lifestyle to suit the pup (even if its just a few small changes)

If you dont have a secure yard that is one thing, but it can only be temporary, if this is the case get your yard secured. Did you have any knowledge of working breeds before you got your puppy? if you dont then Id be doing a lot of research on them, otherwise without the right early training and constant stimulation you will have a very difficult dog on your hands

Put the dog outside! he is a working breed he will need to be outside when he is older, start now

the playpen will only help if its big enough to allow him to have a designated toileting area, I have no idea how big they are Why cant he be left out in the yard?

That is bad news for my wallet lol, Im already winning my bids so far

Those sort of companies at least have a much smaller staff base and it is easier for the producers to educate their staff about their product, its then up to the staff if they choose to take the info on board before they start trying to sell it. Big W provides no such training and the producers would have a hell of a time trying to educate them, there is just too many people working there who just see it as a job and dont take an interest in their stock. Im not saying all BigW employees are worthless, I was one of those who took the initiative to try and learn about the products I sold, but there is no training provided and there is a lot of casual staff employed there, it would be impossible to get "pet specialists" in that sort of store

That is why Ive decided not to get Hills for my JRT, I was a bit iffy because of a few comments on here, but this thread has made me decide for sure. Big W doesnt buy premium brands of anything unless they get it for an incredible price, my guess is that Hills might not be selling enough product, a Big W purchaser has approached them and made an offer...but in order to make a profit off that offer they need to find a more economical way to produce the product...hence Hills becomes the next Supercoat

None of the BigW's I go to have these so called "pet centres" but when I was working in the country store they brought out a brochure for staff to show what the finished refurbishment will look like, I saw that there was supposed to be a pet centre and thought it was a bad idea, but I wasnt sure if it actually went through because I hadnt actually been to a store with one The staff selling the super premium foods would have no idea unless they happen to feed it to their dogs, they would just look at it sitting next to the woofbix and think "wow...thats expensive food"

Awesome! Hopefully when I get home Ill have a package or two waiting for me...or at least early next week

Exactly, super premium products are sold at vets and specialty stores because it is much easier for the companies to educate their retailers on their product, I can promise you that not many BigW staff are sent for training with manufacturers (the cosmetics attendant and management being the few) and there is no "pet specialist" there is a person who works the whole hardware side (could be more in the city stores, the store I worked at was in the country) but the only reason why they would be knowledgeable on an item is if they took the initiative to find out about it for themselves. If BigW is selling Science Diet it has made me change my mind about getting it for my JRT ;)

I dont think I explained myself, I didnt mean they would make a different product for BigW, I was relating it to brands like Supercoat...once upon a time Supercoat was a very good product

After having worked in BigW I can tell you that if they have started selling the same brand there which is available in pet stores you can presume that they have downgraded their product and that is why its available at those stores...and Im guessing its at a much cheaper price?

Huga I was actually referring to a few comments like this one, the size of the dog has no effect on the reaction, its the individual dog, obviously not all dogs have a reaction to the chocolate, some can wind up at the vets after only a small piece

Hmm, Petbarn is listed but neither of the stores near me are on there...Im sure Ive seen EP in at least one of them, surely they would also carry the Holistic Select range if they have EP

They are really efficient and respond to questions quickly as well. I am also 100% happy with them, and my dog also eats less of this food than any other brand so the bag lasts longer which makes it very cost effective. I think I bought my bag around the 20th of February ( a 14Kg bag or 13,7 or whatever it is) and I am not even half way through it and its April!! Yeah well I was going to get my dogs through their SC before getting replacing it but Im considering just turfing it when I try these samples Do you know if Holistic Select is available at Petbarn? Im on holidays atm so I have no idea how much food I even have left at home...and Im out bush so Ive got quite a drive to find out if petbarn sells it LMAO

Ive asked for samples from both Eagle Pack and Royal Canin, so far I just got a reply off Lexie from EP, she is sending me Holistic Select Large and Giant Puppy for Lexi, and the Salmon and Anchovy Dry Food for Tess, she was so friendly and when she found out my GR is called Lexi she asked for photos of my girls Im Impressed and I havnt even tried the food yet

In your sample size of one dog? That makes no sense The dog I mentioned above would have been 4kg, on more than one occasion, at least 3, she ate a huge amount of chocolate and suffered no ill effects and had no vet treatment after eating chocolate ETA: This is not a "sample" this was our family dog we had when I was young