ellz

A fair price is whatever someone is willing to pay. It isn’t like a production line in a factory where every component has an item price so an exact cost to manufacture plus markup percentage can be calculated. We’re talking about a living thing. There are so many factors involved; timing, location, breed, pedigree, expenses etc. If an individual doesn’t think the price being asked is “fair” then they are welcome to walk away and keep looking. There will always be another individual who is happy with what is being offered for the price!

A final observation..... Whilst I do agree with bites in some breeds being a minor issue and other faults being far more serious (particularly those which relate to health and longevity), in general, Staffords are very popular in the show ring and when you've got a lineup of otherwise good dogs with many virtues and no great outstanding faults, it would be very hard to compete with a dog with an obviously incorrect bite. Many get away with a misaligned tooth, TOO many get away with inverted canines, but the majority would have, at first glance or quick glance, a bite which isn't far off scissor. I've got many tales of winning in the show ring with dogs that had faults in various breeds as well, but because Staffords are very much a WYSIWYG breed, bite is important. Definitely get involved in breed clubs and do some networking and look into performance sports which are great fun for man and dog alike.

Sorry but at that age, my personal experience with the breed and looking at that photo says that it's not going to change enough into a bite that wouldn't be penalised in the show ring.

Staffords are a tough breed, very competitive. Personally, if the bite is as bad as it sounds, I wouldn't be bothering even attempting to show her. You're not doing her or yourself any favours. It can be difficult enough to win with a good dog, let alone one with a major fault such as a really bad bite. You're just setting yourself and your daughter up for disappointment. If you really want to do something with your Stafford, other than allowing her to be a pet, maybe consider obedience. Bite problems aren't an issue there and it can be a lot of fun as well. For myself, I'd also be wary of a breeder who is happy to allow someone to show a dog carrying their prefix if it has a major fault. I wouldn't dream of showing a Stafford with a bad mouth myself and I'd be horrified if any of my puppy people were to do so.

My DNA profiled, champion Stafford came back as a Labrador x Rhodesian Ridgeback. Disclaimer....I won the DNA test and thought I'd have a laff.....I laffed......

Actually, not true. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is known as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier universally and the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier or English Staffordshire Terrier by those who simply don't know, are ignorant or don't care....... Just as the American Staffordshire Terrier (no "Bull") is known as the American Staffordshire Terrier, or Amstaff. In the USA, the Amstaff is sometimes referred to as the Staffordshire Terrier (again, no "Bull"). I think you're possibly getting confuzzled with the Cocker Spaniel which is known as the (English) Cocker Spaniel in most parts of the world, except for the USA, where the breed name Cocker Spaniel actually refers to the Cocker Spaniel (American) which is called the American Cocker Spaniel pretty much everywhere else.........

Stafford x German Shepherd. I can't even begin to describe the offspring but they weren't overly attractive. And for a scary cross, just yesterday saw an ad for Tibetan Mastiff x Sarplaninac. Tibetans have their own foibles, let alone crossing them with a breed that is known to be non-affectionate to all humans, including their owners........

Depends. For show, they can't be shown after 6 months with only one testicle. I've had one drop the second one at 9 months of age and he has gone on to sire litters and none of his sons had the same issue. The disclaimer here is that he did have two at 8 weeks, then it disappeared when he was teething. So if you have the luxury of time, I would say maximum 12 months and if no sign of it then, it's time for neutering and retrieval from inside.

Re-entering a zone I thought I had left many years ago and many of the "lotions and potions" that I swore by are no longer current (or in some cases, available). Not wanting (at this stage anyway) to remove any staining, just looking for recommendations on keeping already sparkly whites, white. Located in Tasmania, so probably most would be by mail order. Have used Plush Puppy whitening shampoo (but not overly fussed with it) and can easily get whitening horse shampoos. Any other suggestions or recommendations gratefully received. Pictures would be nice too if you can do it. Thanks in advance!

I have found Bravecto to be brilliant! It can also be used with great success on demodex. Not licensed for demodex in Australia but studies have shown it to be superior to other treatments by far. I can personally recommend it for this purpose.

I'm a Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeder. I don't agree with juvenile desexing unless there is a reason why it must be done (ie social reasons, medical reasons such as in the case of a monorchid etc). IF it is to be done, then yes, it is best to wait until sexual maturity to do so.

Interestingly, at the Launceston Royal (just finished yesterday), one of the judges was very pedantic when it came to singleton dogs in a breed. Many no-awards and challenges withheld, even on Multi Best In Show winning Supreme Champions. So yes, it can and probably will happen. You're at the mercy of the judge on the day.

Personally, I don't change the type of food at all. I largely feed raw and calcium rich foods like cottage cheese, yoghurt, eggs, sardines/pilchards are all part of a good diet. I may increase quantities slightly as the bitch gets hungrier and definitely divide the meals and feed smaller meals more often as she gets larger, but that's about it. They also stay on the same diet afterwards, again with increased quantities due to the nutrients sucked out of the lactating bitch. Research shows this is healthier and bitches fed normally on calcium enriched diets are far less likely to have issues with hypocalcemia (milk fever). My vet explained this as the levels of calcium being maintained at constant levels in the body so there is no fluctuation which is what can cause issues. And a good calcium rich diet can also help prevent issues during whelping. I'm also not a major believer in switching bitches to puppy foods during pregnancy. Dog foods have come a long way overall since this was considered "necessary". If all you feed is a decent quality dry food, then check with your vet but there should be no problem adding the calcium rich foods mentioned. Also worth noting is that the old practice of giving puppies liquid calcium is redundant if mum has been fed a decent diet and puppies are weaned onto the same diet. And feeding calcium carbonate powder really only provides white-powder encrusted poo, it isn't absorbed readily by the puppies or mum. (Calcium carbonate makes a great grooming and whitening product when grooming however! :laugh: )

In theory, a judge judges the dog against the Breed Standard, not against the competition, so it shouldn't matter whether a dog is the only representative of its breed at a show. The judge also signs the declaration on the Challenge Certificate that states that in their opinion the dog is clearly of sufficient quality to warrant being awarded the title of Australian Champion. Because it is subjective, some judges might be happy to award a dog, others mightn't. As Mjosa said, Group and In Show awards are also there for the winning with a minority, or numerically small breed. Just this past weekend, as the only Lowchen entered at three shows, my puppy won Baby In Group at all three shows and Baby In Show at the third. He's now won 6 Baby In Group and 1 Baby In Show from just 8 shows. He has had breed competition at only one of these shows and he won Baby of Breed at that as well, so it's not nececessarily a fluke. Basically, if they're good enough, they'll win. If they're moderately acceptable, they might still do ok, but you can't fool all of the judges all of the time.

I do. I must confess to amazement and bewilderment when I encounter situations where people don't. And these people usually have the worst behaved dogs. See my thread "What would you do?" for another difficult situation with people/dogs.

Owner has been stupid so far... will this be enough to change her. Time will tell. I'm thinking not, but who knows? I suggested that he may have to choose his battles, private schools have started their school holidays now. He may have more than just an unruly dog to contend with next week.........

Soooooo...today the dog had a run-in with a freshly painted wall....well, not so freshly painted, it was just on the tacky side of dry. But tacky enough to act like flypaper and attract a big golden-coloured pest. Owner wasn't amused, boss totally unimpressed, son had to take an early smoko because he had the giggles and the dog spent most of the afternoon in the bath at a local grooming parlour (might hurt the hip pocket a bit). It will be interesting to see if the dog is allowed to run free on Monday when the painters are on the premises..... :rofl:

Some progress....boss is on side. Owner......well the owner couldn't see how her dog could POSSIBLY be a nuisance to anyone and doesn't think that her dog should be confined or that it needs to be kept under control. My son did get hassled first up but it picked a bad time and he turned around and apparently roared a massive NO!!!!! at it and it slunk off like it had been physically assaulted. Chris (boss) witnessed it and is prepared to back my son if the owner gets narky.. Since then, it has followed at what it apparently feels is a safe distance and has spent most of the day licking its paws neurotically while staring at my son. The boss thinks it is plotting something from the way it is looking at them ????????

...but that is exactly the point here! First time in this thread that I've actually agreed 100% with you Willem. Corvus, my son's not a complete novice...he's not going to risk doing anything to himself or the dog that is going to lead to trouble for any party. He has been involved heavily with dogs since before he was born (in fact the earliest photo available of him is at 7months gestation helping me to show a Saluki puppy)..... The treats etc comment was very tongue in cheek. He won't even give MY dog a treat without asking me first. As for the deep heat suggestion....funnily enough, being a sportsman Deep Heat is actually his fragrance of choice and barely a day goes by where he isn't treating something with it, and I can tell you that it didn't work anyway because the dog was still overly interested. Maybe it gets turned on by the smell....who knows. The upshot is that he is VERY aware that it is an OH&S issue and he has read this thread and being a reasonably intelligent person, he has reached his own conclusions in consultation with me. He knows that as with every facet of his working life, there are procedures to follow and he also knows that his first priority is his safety. My feeling is that the owner is a pillock. Anybody who would allow their dog to roam at liberty with tradesmen coming and going through gates directly opening onto the street and with direct interaction with those strangers, is asking for trouble. I'd never dream of allowing strangers free access to my property without securing my dogs first, but that's me. From what I understand, the owner is completely oblivious to their dog's issues. And I also understand that the owner probably wouldn't take too kindly to being asked to lock their dog up so while on the outside it looks like an easy "fix", the reality might be somewhat different. I don't like to use class and status as an argument but in this case, one of Hobart's wealthiest suburbs, 3 storey house, 2 "Toorak Tractors" for taking the 4 children to their private schools and a little BMW for doing the shopping in, a very expensive "Groodle" that is absolutely brainless and needs grooming and I think you may be able to get an idea of what it would be like for a "mere tradie" to suggest that their dog needs some sort of training or control.........

I've had a chat with him and shown him this thread. They were at a different worksite today but I think he's going to mention the situation to his boss and ask him to deal with it when they are around the corner on the other worksite tomorrow. As he said, a loose dog is dangerous for lots of reasons and what if he were scared of dogs in general or had a really bad allergy to dogs? I'm happy that he has obviously been thinking things through and understands the need for his safety and that of his colleagues. He's not a small boy (rising 6'2 and 85kg) and is a State rugby representative, so not a weakling, but he also knows better than to attempt to manhandle an unfamiliar dog. He also knows the difference between goofy dog play and attempted dominance and aggressive overtures and has seen first hand situations where things have escalated badly so he wouldn't dream of attempting to train someone else's dog. I did actually manage to see the dog today (in action at the gate) and I believe what I saw was a Golden Retriever X Poodle, and not a small one either. I'm meeting with the Apprenticeship Board rep tomorrow to sign his paperwork for the apprenticeship so I might get an opportunity to ask some benign questions about what to do in various situations in order to act "by the book". In the meantime, he has pigs ears, vege snouts and a packet of Schmackos in his lunch bag. He commented that no matter how hungry he got, he wouldn't be tempted ????????

My 17 year old son has just started his apprenticeship as a Painter and Decorator. Now my son isn't exactly a novice with dogs, but today he's had nothing but trouble with their client's dog. It's a large, fairly nondescript crossbred dog and has spent much of today alternatively "humping" my son's leg and getting narky with him and attempting to bite him when he tells it no and tries to stop it from acting up on him. At one stage, he and a fellow worker were carrying some heavy scaffolding and the dog went for his legs. Obviously it's an OH&S issue, I suggested that he speak to his boss and get him to ask them to keep the dog under control and away from the painters, but he's a bit worried about rocking the boat so early in his new job. I did suggest that if nothing else, maybe a quick call to Animal Control at the council might be appropriate, but he's really not wanting to create an issue. The owner is apparently quite happy to let this happen and to allow the dog to wander at liberty while the painters are there. My son said that on the few occasions when the gate was shut, the dog spent much of it's time barking at anybody who walked past and getting quite worked up at other dogs walking past. There hasn't been a serious bite attempt YET, but how far would you think it appropriate to let things go before some sort of action is taken? .

Bargain! Just managed to pick up three solid sides for $70! Considering spending the extra I had put aside on a fly screen side for it.

Sorry, I meant to add earlier. Brittanys are nice. I think some also call them the "sane Spaniel". If you're after a somewhat taller dog then they will certainly fit your requirements. Be warned though, they DO shed!!

So sorry to hear this. Definitely write to the controlling body, detailing what has happened. I daresay nothing will be done, but at least it will be on file. Definitely follow through with the breeder and claim the refund that you were offered. I know it won't be much consolation, but you do have some rights in this situation. The law says that purchases must be "fit for purpose" and your puppy clearly wasn't so if the breeder jacks up, contact Fair Trading (ACCC). Horrible situation really because animals are essentially relegated to being an "item", but the consumer law does cover you in this regard. I only wish that I had a puppy left from my recent litter that I could send you. I really feel for you and your family. This is a nightmare outcome, but probably the best choice for your puppy. Hugs to you. And please, know that not all breeders of Staffords are as seemingly uncaring and shallow. Nobody likes to admit that they are producing problems in their breeding program, but we must ALL be accountable nonetheless. RIP little puppy, your suffering is over now.

Lowchen are wonderful pets! Long haired but non shedding because it is a single coat. They don't need to be kept in a lion trim if that's not your fancy and with regular grooming are very easy to care for. Funny, portable, very affectionate. HEAPS of fun!! A big dog in a small body. Some inherited eye conditions and some can be prone to slipping patellas but that isn't just hereditary, it can be environmental. Most get on great with other breeds of dog. This is my baby "monstering" the nasty big Bull Terrier (who you can see is clearly smiling at the camera with a glint in her eye! :laugh: ).