Dave-o

I have absolutely no idea :laugh: I've had that message before saying you can't reopen an old thread. I was just researching the food and it let me reopen it. MAGIC!! Lot's of Aussie manufacturers have arisen since 2012 - Black Hawk, Ivory Coat, Stay Loyal, Meals for Mutts, Applaws (made in Aus, although company is from the UK). XP3020 was imported from the US but is now becoming an Australian food. They're changing the formula to include brown rice instead of corn, but I'll have to see if they change anything else.

Why stick to one brand of kibble? Why is changing kibble bad for a dog? It's not.

I've never had much trouble with slow auto focus speeds of Canon lenses, but there's always ways to counteract that - i.e. by setting shutter speed to 1/2000 ish and adjusting aperture and ISO to match, or auto focusing to whatever distance you need then switching to MF for faster shots. I've had the 70-200 f4 USM lens for about 8 years and it was well worth the money. Spending money on decent glass is much more worthwhile than spending it on an expensive body (in my opinion).

Thread revival - does anyone feed this food? I was asked to write a review, which I've done so here - http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/dry-dog-food/xp3020/ As well as the corn it has a few suspect ingredients and chemical preservatives that can become toxic or carcinogenic.

Oh do I have a tip for you!! Get "WikiCamps New Zealand" on your phone. You can set a filter for dog friendly campsites. It shows you all the campsites and caravan parks that accept dogs, and there are loads!! I'm heading off on an Aussie trip in 2 weeks and this has been the most useful purchase I've made. It's about $7.99.

When you tap the screen on the phone it will focus and adjust expose to that point, so whatever you're taking a photo of tap it on the screen first (if that makes sense). Most phone editing aps, like Photoshop Express, let you quickly adjust highlights and shadows. That can really impact photos of black dogs. Here's an example of a photo I took yesterday. In the original photo the girl's hair was black with no definition, but tweaking the highlights and shadows gave it a lot more definition. I do the same for most of my photos to get definition, take a look at my Perth in Pictures page on facebook :D

I recommend putting all your furniture in storage for the next 8 to 12 months :laugh:

Yep, saw this on Facebook earlier. It's how my first dog died, so brought back memories...

I'm a self confessed expert on this having (1) undertaken doggy training, and (2) having sat in on a course of child psychology and learning... ...ok, so not so much of an expert... The key is called "toggling". One part of the brain says "Yeah, there's something exciting over there so I'll pull on the lead" and the other part is reason, "actually I know I should walk alongside my owner calmly". Teaching a child (and a dog) at a young age to toggle between these two parts of the brain is fundamental to their intelligence and rationale as a grown up. i.e. kids who don't learn to toggle at a young age become serial killers... ;) Walk your dog in the park on the lead. Pass by something exciting, like another dog, and when they start to pull towards it you lure him back with a treat. Make him realise his owner's actually pretty cool to hang around, so instead of pulling away he'll think twice and stay by you (in the hope of getting a treat). It takes time and persistence with a pup. At 8 months mine is nearly there... I think...

I was amazed at the information provided by my breeder when I bought Archie. She had a family tree going back many generations, all tests for both mother and father, reams of other information and advice. She knew the temperament of each pup and how they would develop. I signed a contract giving her the right to reclaim the dog if he was ever found to be mistreated and so forth. From having a Border Collie previously I can't imagine ever having a different breed. They're incredible dogs in many ways, personality and intellect.

I've never gotten over the death of any of my pets, but in a good way. Fond memories. I feel sad at times I'll have to go through the same with my current pets at some stage in time, 10 years or so from now...

I think you have a very very lucky dog Yonjuro. It's a better diet than what I feed myself :D

I think you need to contact authorities and confess to being a ziwipeak addict.

Yes, especially in Staffies... very common.

I'm not surprised given the diets most people feed... If you take an average kibble and compare it to a properly thought out homemade diet then there's no comparison. But for anyone feeding raw you really need to put the research in to ensure you're covering all bases, same for us humanfolk - I was getting really tired for a while then realised I hadn't had much iron in my diet of late. A meat binge rectified it almost immediately :D It's so easy to miss something, especially when you're feeding a diet that doesn't vary much day to day.

I can recommend a very good BC breeder in WA...

Puppy foods are usually formulated better than adult foods due to their additional nutritional requirements, so I'd ignore what your breeder said. Most adult dogs would chose to eat a puppy food over an adult food. Puppies go through growth and teething stages, so the amount of food they eat will change accordingly. I've never cared much for feeding guidelines as they're usually more for marketing purposes (i.e. with this calculation you'll pay x amount per meal). Both my last 2 puppies I've fed as much as they've wanted to eat, but ensured they've had a high quality diet. Generally obesity comes from feeding the wrong food more than the quantity.

Occa :D

Looks pretty diabolical to me Sacha. There's very little info online, no manufacturer website. It's made by Paul's Stockfeeds in Mulgrave NSW and they make cheap "food" for pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry, horses... dogs... Here's their digs:

What does your anti-cancer diet comprise of Ci? Is it a preventative diet?

Both are pretty good, better than Optimum. Stay Loyal is meat based, MFM arguably more a veggie-based kibble. Allergies can be caused by a number of things. Grains are common culprits which means either of those two foods may help. Or it could be a protein source such as chicken (less likely). I've reviewed both these brands on my website so have a read - http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au

The trouble with the world today is social media hearsay and "activists" reacting by assumptions not facts. I read a lot of posts about this on Facebook when it happened as it went viral and I had a few friends on the bandwagon. I believe it was very damaging to Rose and her business, and understandably anyone facing activists will feel threatened or afraid of abuse/violence. It's appalling when such events occur out of hearsay and not legitimate facts, which is what it felt like to me (although perhaps it was justified). I don't know what the facts were, but I heard Rose wasn't really aware of the terrible conditions the puppies were brought up in. She'd been duped to some extent. I believe the puppy farm were using a front, which was only exposed by a veterinary certificate in the known location of the puppy farm? Rose had allegedly visited the farm and had no reason for concern, and apparently after the event also claimed she would still source puppies from there - no idea if that's true or not. The puppy that died was checked and cleared by a vet in Wembley, like all their puppies are. The farm was known about, and had been known about, by the RSPCA for some time, but nothing was done about it. It seems the blame could go in a lot of directions.

I'd also be wary of pet mince... can be dubious quality, and might be the cause of your allergies (unless they've fully cleared up since stopping the Black Hawk)

Forgot to say, with my last two puppies I haven't been overly bothered about how much I feed them. 3 meals a day is recommended, but they're growing and go through growth spurts where they'll need more food. I've concentrated on feeding them decent foods, as much as they want, and making sure they're active. I see feeding cheaper supermarket foods in high quantities as being a much more significant health risk.