Scrappi&Monty

Go Thistle!! (& Mum!)

As mentioned, there are a lot of areas that can go wrong with homemade diets & pups, especially large/giant breeds. You don't want to risk nutritional imbalances because so many health issues could arise. Speak to the breeder, and if need be other professionals such as your regular vet. Or you could speak to a veterinary nutritionist who could help you. (I feed raw, but I have adults and I also still feed kibble) Perhaps the pup is not eating the food from the breeder because it is overwhelmed being in a new home, so maybe just give it time to see. Get a second opinion, but if you want it might be ok to add a tiny bit of something on top of the kibble to make it more appetising sometimes. (Like a little bit of mince, or a little bit of natural yoghurt or an egg (but not very often), or some banana/strawberry/apple/carrot)

Oh no. Do you have a virus protection on your computer? Might need to talk to a trustworthy tech-savvy friend/family member if you don't know how to sort it out. If things like that ever pop up, NEVER click or call the number. I have no idea what the poodles Australia website is but the virus/scam was probably not related to them as such... sometimes they just pop up which is a bit scary. (They're designed to panic you usually) I'd be looking just on DogzOnline because you know this website is relatively safe & bug-free. Or your states Poodle club

Just found a paper on an independent (I think) scientific study of Nexguard vs Bravecto; quite interesting! (But also kind of sad for the dogs, living in cages and getting ticks on them weekly...!) Ticks study; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304401715000473 Fleas study; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304401714006281?via%3Dihub

Oh ok that's good thanks PK I'd just heard some people didn't like using ones like that because they felt it was unnecessarily strong/long lasting dose and a bit much, but I think that's just some people's skeptical ideas... I suppose if it is on the market with good reviews it should be ok if the vets recommend it. By strong I meant as in a stronger/longer-lasting drug (like say paracetamol as opposed to stronger or longer lasting pain medication) which some people might think is unnecessary (like if the weaker one does the trick use that) I don't know

I use Advance but that's just because our vet recommended it when Scrappi had Flea Allergy Dermatitis. (Used to use Sentinel spectrum which says on the front "kills fleas" but it actually only kills the early life stages and makes the adults unable to reproduce... so they are still able to bite the dogs. So one or two jumped on, bit him, then jumped off (we never even saw any fleas. Just bites & a little Flea dust) and he had an itchy allergic reaction to the saliva and was itchy for weeks.) We won a free sample of Bravecto which I will use in Summer (lasts 3 months for fleas and 4 months for Paralysis ticks), and we'll see how that goes. I feel like Bravecto must be quite a strong dose though since it lasts so long... and it's oral. Advance is topical.

Oh I never really thought of that... I've never had a an entire female dog so I've never had to really think about it. Just assumed if they were desexed all would be fine.

True, that's probably case actually. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a little bull arab in him, that would be more likely than mastiff.

I think he might just be bored with that, it's sort of like eating cereal every meal for us. We used to feed kibble for breakfast and wet food for dinner, but that was back when we had no idea and used to buy supermarket junk.... But quality wet food would be good as a topper on the kibble sometimes, we don't buy it much anymore because it's a little expensive with 2 dogs. We buy fresh meat instead and portion it out to be balanced. Or Big Dog Raw. And they get a high quality kibble at breakfast. Some toppers you could try: - a tsp of coconut oil (GREAT for their health, and my dog loves the taste.) - A sardine or two (or a little bit of tinned tuna in water) - Natural yoghurt - Fruit/Veg & leftovers (banana, pumpkin, carrot peels, strawberry tops, apple (seeds are poison) etc) - An egg (shells and all if he'll eat them, it's more balanced that way) - Tinned food (Holistic Select, Black Hawk, Nutro etc are all pretty good) - Frozen premade raw food (BARF) e.g. Big Dog brand - K9 Naturals Remember not "too much of a good thing" (don't give yoghurt every day, or don't give egg every day)

I'm with Rebanne on that... why do they labelling them as "bullmastiff crosses"?! The two dogs mentioned barely look like bullmastiffs and there's no point creating even more stereotypes about breeds & bsl etc. They're just going to make the public afraid of bullmastiffs like the media has with "pitbulls" etc. The dog in this article looked like a Labrador mix to me... to me it doesnt look like a bullmastiff at all whatsoever...!

What a cutie!

They look like they're having loads of fun!! (And working hard!)

Oh. So it runs in the family. How on earth can people be so terrible? Obviously they aren't a very nice bunch of people to be around! Also so dangerous to humans w/ regards to burglary & traffic offences.

I can't speak for Spotted Devil, but some dogs just don't really like walks. One of my dogs doesn't like walks that much. Some days he can get very overwhelmed by the whole experience. It all depends on the day and how much he can tolerate that day. Sometimes he loves walks and has fun (bravely meeting cows, going for a run, practicing heeling & manners, sniffing, exploring etc.) Other days he is clearly overwhelmed, and some days it's all too much if he sees another dog walker he can be leash reactive to some other dogs. But we're working on it. Also some dogs just like to be let loose in a paddock and go crazy! (Rather than structured leash walks)

@french fries you're welcome (and wow it's so cheap for little doggies!)

Yeah this was the first time in years I'd bought it from a pet store, usually I buy it online (so much cheaper!!) But I realised they were due for it the day before and the shipping would've taken too long (I hadn't realised I'd used it all up.) I usually get it from Budget Pet Products or Pet Circle, or sometimes My Pet Warehouse.

I talked to our friend at our local pet store and she said that for us at least Interceptor would be cheaper. (A 12kg dog and a 21kg dog) If I were you I'd just figure our which is the most cost effective option for you and go with that, unless you were concerned about overdosing (sort of) on milbemax, then stick with Interceptor.

I know an article about phosphorus calcium ratios but it is in relation to raw feeding... but there may be some helpful tips relevant to kibble perhaps: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/bone-food-values-for-raw-feeding-dogs/ This might be more helpful: http://ivcjournal.com/feeding-large-breed-puppies/ Or maybe this: https://www.google.com.au/amp/healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/09/amp/slow-growth-diets-for-giant-breed-puppy.aspx

Yeah that's quite true, @persephone they are pretty restrictive and only a last resort kind of thing. Only use it if you HAD to. And probably for older "teenage" pups/adults not baby puppies. I think I'd prefer it to a choker/full slip collar though.. and no jerking heads up of course, just gentle guiding + a treat to lure to heel?

I do the 180°/turn around thing too, and also stop & wait til they come back to loose leash. I also use clicker/marker training; Mark & reward for heeling. I practice around the backyard/house since it isn't distracting. Best to practice loose leash/heeling in a distraction free environment, and then once successful build up to a little more distracting and more and more. Maybe try not to be in too many situations where pup will pull like crazy if possible (they get in habit of being naughty, then you have to train them out of it.) If I were you I'd try him on a halti/gentle leader sort of head halter. It's good since you have control of their head when you need it. Make sure you train him to like having it on his face though (if you don't know how, look up a video on how to get dogs to like a muzzle or harness or collar, it's all similar.) We briefly used a sporn head halter on Monty but it would rub up into his eyes so we returned it. I have used flat collars and leather slip collars (told by a trainer, got me to do corrections which I really disagreed with. Also I didn't feel safe using it with my dog reactive dog incase he choked or slipped it in a frenzy), and I haven't liked either. I have also used the sporn head halter, which was pretty good but kept slipping into my dogs eye. I have used the sporn anti-pull harness which I do like, stopped using it for a bit but I found it again recently and it's useful. (But can sometimes rub armpits) And assorted other harnesses. The all time fave is Ruffwear Frontrange harness (very exxy but we scored 2 for $40 on gumtree!)

Yep... it's happened before A little too curious/territorial towards passers by... you need to know if you can trust your dog before leaving it on a balcony

I agree with @Little Gifts on that. No, by the sounds of it you aren't a terrible dog owner, but still the situation is not ideal. For some dogs that would be a nightmare but for some dogs that would be nearly sufficient. I've PMed you btw. It would be a bit different if you had a yard, but since you only have a balcony you need to put in a load of extra effort, even though of course it isn't your fault, you don't get to choose where your family lives. Even though your Mum & Sister have allergies, could they work around this to try and better the life of the dog? (Like could they help you do some things that won't trigger their allergies? Or could they get medicine to stop their allergies?) Do you have any other people living with you that could help? Could you hire a dog walker once or twice a fortnight to take your dog on a big day out while you're at school? You will need to just give your dog a tonne of mental enrichment wherever possible. Feed her meals in food puzzles or kongs and switch them up. Leave her things to do/play with/chew up (safely). You could maybe get up a bit earlier for school and go for a smaller walk in the morning (maybe 15-30mins) and then one long (1hr+ walk) in the afternoon after school. Switch up your routes & if possible (depending on the nature & obedience of your dog) take her to dog parks/beaches sometimes too. Go to weekend obedience classes or dog sports & go on adventures to dog friendly places on the weekends. Make sure the balcony is dog friendly, that she has a dry and warm kennel with blankets/beds and that the railing is high enough that she couldn't possibly jump over it.

World for Pets (RSPCA online store) seems to have quite a few from different brands. Also I'd recommend; - Black Dog (they have a range called "Beachcomber" I believe) - Ruffwear (expensive but great quality) - Ezydog

@Maddy Holy crap, yeah they shouldn't do that without anaesthesia!!

I had been meaning to go there. But recently we found this guy in Lorn who sells chook frames (and beef mince & lamb chunks etc) but apparently some of the steggles employees go to this bloke instead for dog meat because his prices are even better than their staff discounts! I think it's something like $12.5 for 10kg of chicken frames! Compared to woolies which are more like $3.50/kg!