For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Nick
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1799596
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You have seen Will my best mate before. This is his partner in crime, when she was a puppy 8 weeks old here, the day she arrived. They have been inseparable since.

Minnie will soon be ruling the house......

Nick
avtur3, eltonioni, T6Harvard and 1 others liked this
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By eltonioni
#1799613
Those pictures have brightened up the day already. Top puppies! :)

Ours will be four on Halloween(!) and is just coming out of the angry velociraptor stage. Puppy time is bliss.
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Last edited by eltonioni on Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
Nick, T6Harvard, avtur3 liked this
By avtur3
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1799948
Maybe not the most significant news alongside today's other news events. but today we had Minnie checked over by our own vet, who was happy to give her a clean bill of health.

The buying process (sorry that sounds horrible but thas what it is) is fraught with worry about dealing with crooks and puppy farmers. Searching for and buying 'our' Minnie was not the enjoyable process it should have been. It is beyond doubt that the Covid lockdown has had a massive impact on the price of puppies, with prices not just doubling but increasing fourfold, with Caverpoos (King Charles Spaniel cross Poodle) selling for £4,500 .... its just ridiculous.

Thankfully the breeder we bought from appeared to have some interest in where the puppies were going, above and beyond asking the maximum price.

Anyway, all that is behind us, we now have our little girl fully vet checked and providing us with a huge amount of focus on our daily lives. Alongside everything else in our daily lives, this is a wonderful step forward. It is amazing that such a little creature can have such an impact on our lives
T6Harvard, Bill Haddow, PeteSpencer and 3 others liked this
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1799949
Great news, Avtur. Please post more pics to cheer us all up every so often?

It's ages since I had a dog (wire haired fox terrier) so I make do with being an auntie to my brother's adorable Border Terrier - a super intelligent, swimming-mad, Teddy bear.
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By eltonioni
#1800003
@avtur3 what means / process did you eventually go through to find Cutie, I mean Minnie?
By avtur3
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1800063
eltonioni wrote:@avtur3 what means / process did you eventually go through to find Cutie, I mean Minnie?


We found her on https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/ this appears to be the single largest resource for pet advertising, a few days ago there were nearly 24,000 dog adverts on the site. The search parameters can be tailored in many different ways meaning that you can easily get to see relevant adverts, so you can set, breed, price, distance, and several other variables.

Also, there is some information about the seller, for example when they registered with the site. One of the reasons we took an interest in Minnie's seller was because she had declared herself as a breeder (the site imposes a maximum of 3 adverts per year on none breeders) and she had been registered with the site a couple of years, so to our way of thinking she wasn't 'hiding' her breeding status.

Another feature of this website is that you see viewing statistics for the adverts, which can be quite alarming when you see daily viewings at 500 - 600 per day when the ads are first posted, so you have to be quick off the mark to respond to an ad.

Other places to see adverts are Gumtree, Pre-loved, and Friday-ads, and from what we've found out it is not uncommon for breeders to use these advertising options.

We also registered with a couple of breed-specific owners clubs, typically they have lists of breeders, though you're more likely to find a place on a waiting list for pups that haven't even been born than pups that are actually available for sale, well that was our experience.

There appear to regional price variations, not surprisingly the southeast is home to the highest prices, we traveled 75 miles to northeast Hampshire
By avtur3
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1800781
Well, it's obvious the Flyer membership has a healthy interest in canine matters so I'd like to tap into the combined experience of members, please.

So, now we've got our new girl Minnie home and settled we have to think a little bit more about feeding her. The breeder had weened her onto Pedigree Puppy food, a very convenient way to feed her. However, when we had Minnie checked over by our own vet there was no doubt that she (the vet) was somewhat disapproving of the choice of food. We're feeding Minnie Pedigree Chum Puppy food to be consistent with what the breeder had started her on, which is the consistent advice out there.

Now from our previous dog ownership experiences, we were aware of the choice between wet food and kibble type food, but speaking to the vet she introduced the notion of 'raw' food, this was an unknown to both me and Mrs Avtur. The vet spoke in the most enthusiastic terms about choosing a 'raw food' diet, though she was quick to explain that it was a topical subject with many supporters and detractors. I was particularly interested in dental hygiene and the vet said that beyond the nutritional benefits of a raw food diet that raw food was far and away the best for dental hygiene.

We understand that we should not make any sudden changes to Minnie's diet, so we'll continue with the Pedigree Puppy food for now, but we're fairly certain we should investigate alternative foods/diets. Now we've had a few days to look into the idea of a raw food diet, it seems like it might be a sensible choice, given that our domestic pet dogs are descended from a somewhat wilder heritage that probably makes sense.

So I'd be interested to hear from others about their experiences (good, bad, and ugly) of choosing a food/diet for their four-legged friends.
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By seanxair
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1800802
So briefly I have at various times fed everything or have been involved in feeding all sorts of food, raw meat included (fallen stock to hounds). I have a vet friend who swears by the barf diet (worth a google).

I choose to feed my dogs a dry biscuit all in one food (Skinners Field and Trial, Chicken & Rice Hypoallergenic for sensitive stomachs as both lurcher and spaniel seem to be that way and are settled on this. Other brands could be equally good)

1. The dogs eat it willingly albeit slowly for the lurcher - fussy tart would like to have lobster every night but so would I
2. They always, fingers crossed, seem healthy and not too fat but they do get a fair bit of exercise albeit not excessive
3. Very little or bearable smell from turds - zero farting (unlike raw meat in my experience)
4. Turds are of a firm enough consistency to make lifting and binning easy if that is required

Roxie was on Eukanuba puppy but is migrating to Skinners puppy equivalent which she is loving. Was having to add a bit of scrambled egg to the Eukanuba to make her really want it.

Have found in the past that a fussy eater will prefer a certain taste (often though not always fish based) but if you find something they like whatever it is stick with it. They generally don't like change.

I'm a fan of all in one dry but would feed whatever is required to keep my dogs healthy and happy.

The children eat what they are given. :D
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By Trent772
#1800806
eltonioni wrote:Those pictures have brightened up the day already. Top puppies! :)

Ours will be four on Halloween(!) and is just coming out of the angry velociraptor stage. Puppy time is bliss.
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Manchester Terrier....
By Nick
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1800835
We always feed Chappie dry dog food, but keep a pack of Chappie wet food in tins, for the odd time they may be under the weather and don't want to eat. They usually perk up at the different smell and taste. The chicken and rice diet is easier on thier stomachs as Sean says. Avoid feeding very high protein foods. The bonus of Chappie is it's not as expensive as some and they do very well on it.
Keep Mini on puppy food for the recommended time and then move over gradually over perhaps a week.
Our 3 dogs all have the same diet. Also being a dry biscuit type of feed it is handy to have some in your pocket for training, but for the odd treats you use as rewards remember to subtract from the daily meal or they can get rather fat.

Hth
Nick
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By Flyingfemme
#1800852
On a vet’s advice I used to feed my GSDs Chappie ( the tinned type); they had delicate stomachs! The Dalmatian got it as well, for simplicity, but a Dally will eat practically anything. Both were healthy and never got fat and the low price was a bonus - given the quantities that went down.
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