Clyde

My neighbours dog is a Lab who I feed a lot. They feed RC Lab and she hoovers it down in seconds. They also feed the same food to their Kelpie who looks amazing on it after yrs on being on Bonnie.

No, Mel's post said it was a BULL TERRIER, not a Staffy.

My Stafford Esme, did all this as a pup. She stood back from the litter, was very submissive and shut down when picked up. So much so that people would ask what was wrong with her and if she actually did anything at all! She has turned out to be an awesome dog. Something changed in her at about 5 or so months. She is still a nervy dog and very intense and needy, but she is now just so affectionate and just perfect for me. I chose her as she was the runt and I felt sorry for her. I wanted a gentle dog, training wise she is incredibly responsive as she is desperate to please. In the wrong home she would be a mess, absolutely crushed, but she is in the right home and everything I could have hoped for.

What are you feeding the pup? SOmetimes they can have very sensitive tummies. I hope you can get it sorted soon, you must be very worried

He is a beautiful looking dog, well done

Me too! Pleased Scout is home and on the mend

I've not ever met a snappy JRT either, I think they're awesome little dogs and great for (well trained) kids. Beagles are SUCH cute puppies though! They do seem to escape/wander a lot - but with any breed good fencing is a must.

We had less attacks 50 years ago because the dog breeds around then were very different. No SBTs, Pitbulls, Amstaffs, Rotties, Mastiffs of any kind, or crosses of these, were owned as pets and many of those breeds had not been imported. There were GSDs but the public were scared of them due to the notion of them crossing with Dingos and owners tended to keep them well confined. The only terriers around were Foxies and Scotties and the bulk of other breeds were Cockers and Labs in the city and Cattle Dogs and Kelpies in the country. There were lots of small/medium heinz 57 variety mongrels but no large powerful dogs available to moron owners. Unfortunately the reason for these attacks is the type of dogs being bred and sold to the public who have no idea what owning them entails. They are all powerful agile dogs that have no trouble escaping the average suburban yard and have the tendency to attack with no provocation. I do not buy the notion of not blaming the breed, it is too late after an attack to blame the deed. We need to stop the deeds from happening in the first place. Any dog can bite but there is a huge difference between a warning nip or bite in play from an overexcited dog, to a full scale attack by a powerful dog that grabs and shakes their victim, leaving them dead or scarred and traumatised for life. This made me think about my recent trip to Tahiti and Bora Bora. Lots of street dogs in Tahiti and lots of owned, but poorly cared for dogs in Bora Bora. In Bora Bora most of the dogs were bull breed types and there were also a lot of pure looking APBT's. The dogs all roam, a few tense moments when they stepped in to another dogs territory, but no fights. The local kids get right in the dogs faces, doing things which would make me freak out. The dogs dont always knows the kids either (we had a 9yr old cousin with us who was shoving her face right in to dogs) and the dogs just take it all in their stride. I mean, these dogs were everywhere - they follow their owners in to the village, owners go in to shops, dogs wander off and find their own way home later. However my other cousin who lives there, said there is never a problem. Makes you wonder that all that roaming makes the dogs more social with each other and people, whereas here, our dogs are all confined, not socialised as much etc etc and we are starting to see more serious problems. Not that I'm saying open your gates, but I think it says something about the way we keep our dogs these days.

What about being released under DOC though? He could at least have been kept warm and comfortable in someones home. I realise there is possibly two sides but at this stage it's not looking very promising for the pound. Poor bloody dog

I used to use champion tails silver highlights shampoo on the saints. Not only does it whiten but it also intensifies colours - dogs would look awesome! Cheap too.

Yeah, don't mention all the brushes, colognes, shampoos, coat products...... Liberty tables are good. But if oh is handy, my first table was built by my step dad and is still going strong (altho used for chook feed now out of pug reach!). He just welded four legs and put some sort of non slip stuff up the top.

Very exciting! Have you got a force dryer?

The taps are just on the wall above the bath. I also use the taps to fill up the wash tank, just much faster rather than waiting for the element to heat the water. So basically I dont use the element at all and only use the pump for when hydrobathing the dogs.

I agree No doubt with some sort of PTSD too. So sad for all involved. I saw one of the dogs being carried out to the car and in to a crate, her little tail was wagging the whole time

I have a 14 yr old Conmurra. I had a hot and cold tap set up which has saved me so much hassle and time. I actually set it up when I had Saints. I found the rinsing tank would run out of water before they were rinsed properly, thus the element would sometimes blow as the water travelled out faster than it covered the element and then the rinse off was always finished in cold water! The hot cold taps are what I use now. I dont bother with the rinsing tank at all. I have the wash tub which I hydrobath the dogs in, then scrub the dogs by hand (as I dont feel just hydrobathing them gets them clean enough for a pro groom) and then they are rinsed with warm water from the hand held shower head. This way I can take my time and really rinse the dog well, conditioning too, if necessary. The hot/cold taps are just really handy to have all around! eta: Just make sure you take out the little water saving thingy on the hand held shower head, it gives you much better pressure and makes rinsing faster.

I think given she was so adamant about it I would probably trust that she knows her lines and go with that. You can still feed partially raw. I've not ever fed what the breeder has fed but only because the dogs I have were fed inferior diets when I got them ie coles dry food, pal, weetbix and milk etc. But if a breeder were to be already feeding a quality diet and has shown some knowledge in what their dogs do well on then I would be inclined to listen and somehow incorporate their feeding recommendations in to their diet.

This is exactly what Esme does. I am so impressed with her recall. She can be in full flight after the neighbours cat (who comes on to my property to kill birds, attack my defenseless cats etc). I let Esme go after the cat and she is full flight, when she reaches their property boundary I can call her off and she is back in an instant, very impressive - awesome dog. *disclaimer, this cat has given me nothing but grief since Ive lived here, she is now feral and always gets away safely - I just let the dogs chase her off to give her a fright in the small hope she learns her boundary.

:laugh: You've just described my Pug to the letter.

Can I just say, I'm SO not a fan of this. Twice a day visits don't tell you how often or for how long the dogs are barking, won't give you early notice of a missing dog, and certainly would be too far apart for successful intervention in the event of a veterinary emergency like bloat. Whereever you leave your dogs, leave them somewhere with better attention and monitoring than twice a day visits to an unattended home. If you live in the burbs, spare a thought for your neighbours and don't leave dogs home alone for long periods, especially overnight. What's the difference when the owners go to work all day and an evening out........plenty of dogs are left alone during the day and at night and cope well. For dogs used to living like this and there are plenty, a home feeding service is far better than the dog adjusting to a strange environment in a kennel I agree. I leave my house dogs with my neighbour checking twice daily. I used kennels for them and they fell apart, I hired a professional in house pet sitter and my Pug disappeared for 5 days. The yard I leave them in is hotwired so no getting out, barking isn't an issue and checked twice daily (like many dogs with owners working). I dont agree with doing it for such a period that the dog will get lonely, but for a short period (2 or so nights) sometimes this is what suits the dogs best. You can only go by what you feel is right for your own dogs. THe Maremmas are best left at home too.

Thanks Wire

I am no good at deciphering ingredients and just go by the look of the dog. Your assessment though perhaps explains why my dogs looks better on HS than TOTW, when I had assumed TOTW would be better for them when it was grain free and still in that premium market.

This sounds good. Have you tried it out yet? I'd be interested to know what you think.

I havent used it before but saw someone recommending it the other day on a grooming forum.

If you try try a different food make sure you switch it over very slowly across the week. A sudden change can cause tummy upsets. But if your dog is doing well on the ProPlan and is fit and healthy then I think you have your answer :) My neighbours dogs are a picture of health on this food. They did try Royal Canin which I think maintained their weight a little better (they are fatty boombas) but they like to try to buy Made In Oz where possible. It's not Oz owned but made here iykwim. They jumped on BH when it first came out as it is Oz made and owned but it didn't suit their dogs at all. My other neighbour feeds Royal Canin and the dogs look fabulous too. They have a working Kelpie who was fed working dog food, he looked fine, but when they go their Lab they switched to RC Lab and just fed it to the Kelpie too as it was easier. It's amazing the difference it's made. His coat is SO glossy and soft.and he doesn't smell as much too. His coat was a bit dry before RC.

Your thinking isn't off but if he gets the all clear from the vet I would still consider going. He could well go another year!. The last 3 winters I've worried I would lose my old girl. I couldn't be a slave to the worry in all that time and have holidayed when necessary. Sometimes you need a holiday for your own sanity. I would weigh it up after the check up versus the outcome and how much you really need this break. Is it already booked and paid for, how long has it been since you've had a break from life, how long you will be gone for, who will be caring for your dog etc etc.