Puppy Questions

Hi everybody, new to forum and have basically wasted my whole Saturday reading through this brilliant forum.

Any who I am picking up my new pup in about 3-4 weeks, he will be exactly 8 weeks old as I put a deposit down on him when he was 3 weeks old. SBT are very hard to pick up in my state as there a lot of more Amstaf and backyard breeders so picking up a SBT from a quality breeder is quite the task.

Anyway I have a few questions in which I have are;
What brand dry dog food are people feeding there pups in Australia?? I have read a lot on Candae and Orijen being great but upon visits to a few local pet store non of them have it and have said they don't recommended imported food. Two recommended Nutro puppy mix, one recommended Optimum puppy mix (which breeder also recommended) and one recommended royal cannin. So what are owners opinions on this, I will obviosly keep him on Optimum or whatever he is on at the breeders for at least a week but then would like to move him to a bit of the best dry food and turkey mince etc.

I want him to sleep outside in a dog kennel, it will be completely insulated and will have cushions blankets etc. in there to keep him warm, it will also be completely under cover under a pergola. At what age would it be suitable to move him in there permanently for sleep or is it best to do this after a couple of days.

Last but not least, bit of a continuation of the second question, I work for at least eight hours a day, when I pick him up I will have nine days off but then back to work. So whilst I am at work I am planning to have him outside as it is a very secure yard and will be plenty of room for him to play and amuse him self. Whilst I am home with him should I let him have some alone time outside whilst I am there just to monitor how he goes? Any suggestions?

I thank in advance for all advice. ><

Hi and welcome to the forum from Chiquito and I

Why don't you come over here and introduce yourself and your soon to be new baby

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

For the dry food ...

Have a look at this link - a lot of the brands are not available here in Australia, however it will give you a good idea of what you need to be looking for

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

You can also look at this link - it rates dry foods by giving stars. Again, a lot of the brands are not available in Australia, however Artemis is in the 5 star group and it is made in Australia (available online if no stockist near you)

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php/cat/1

Canidae is quite difficult to find - it is also available online though if this suits you though

This link will explain why Orijen and EVO aren't available (and also may be the reason you were advised against imported food)

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/natura-pet-expands-recall/

As you said, it is important to make any change gradually over a week to ensure no upset tummys - so the food your breeder has been using to start will be best

I am still in the process of trying to find a dry food I am happy with - Chiquito was on Royal Canin however it upset his tummy so we had to make a change.

Hope all of that helps

Thanks heaps for that Kell, appreciate the advice. The Artemis looks very good, I suppose budget would also be be in every bodies mind when purchasing food there furry friend. Also as you said he may not even agree with whatever I wish to feed him.

Will he be left completely alone when you're at work? Is there nobody who can call in at least once during the day?

If not, then you will have the devil's own job to house train him as he won't be able to learn that it isn't good to toilet indoors. Also, staffords are a breed that thrive on human contact, and at such a young age, he will suffer from the lack of it.

You being in work so often and him being outside long is a big problem if you have no-one else. Training him might take longer, as Caryll said, house-training might take longer, and more importantly, they love human affection. He'd get pretty bored and lonely by himself so much, toys or no toys.

hiya also from Adelaide. Just curious if you don't mind me asking, what breeder did you end up going with? My partner and I are currently trying to find a good breeder and having a bit of trouble too... We are on a waiting list for puppies due to be born in about a month but haven't had a chance to get there to see what they are like..

We feed our dogs Advance. Both wet and dry, dermocare for our older girl and puppy for our little guy. Some times we'll give them wet and dry together, dry on it's own, dry with a bit of water or puppy milk. Depends on how fussy they're being. We give them Greenies every so often as well which they absolutely love!
Hills Science Diet is very highly recommended. I think it might even be a 'super premium' food from memory?
Both Advance and Hills are available from petstock and petbarn, and quality local non franchise stores.

The only breeder that I know of in Adelaide is Adonis Kennels or Anadonis Kennels, something like that. They definitely have AmStaffs, I'm not sure about EnStaffs. I don't know much about them as a breeder but I saw one of their dogs down at Semaphore Beach for the Greek Festival this year and he was quite the impressive specimen.

Cheers for all advice guys, seems the girlfriend can pop in for a bit through the day whilst he is young.

Also thanks for the advice on the food Aurora.

There are quite a few breeders here in Adelaide just long waiting lists, or you basically have to put a deposit down whilst they are 1-3 weeks old as there all gone by then. Amstaff are everywhere so not so hard.

katty_89 wrote:hiya also from Adelaide. Just curious if you don't mind me asking, what breeder did you end up going with? My partner and I are currently trying to find a good breeder and having a bit of trouble too... We are on a waiting list for puppies due to be born in about a month but haven't had a chance to get there to see what they are like..

Try this... http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/staffordshire-bull-terrier.asp?state=SA

I bought from Savion(there litter would be 5 weeks old now, I put deposit down when 3 weeks old an 4 had already been purchased), but like you said a lot of them have long waiting lists...

byrnezy wrote:

katty_89 wrote:hiya also from Adelaide. Just curious if you don't mind me asking, what breeder did you end up going with? My partner and I are currently trying to find a good breeder and having a bit of trouble too... We are on a waiting list for puppies due to be born in about a month but haven't had a chance to get there to see what they are like..

Try this... http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/staffordshire-bull-terrier.asp?state=SA

I bought from Savion(there litter would be 5 weeks old now, I put deposit down when 3 weeks old an 4 had already been purchased), but like you said a lot of them have long waiting lists...

oh yeah that's the website we've been using as well. we are on a waiting list for the first one (Riverhaven), pups due to be born in about a month. got told we could go see them at 2 weeks and pick one, I suppose if we get there in time and put a deposit down then we'll get one! you must be so excited, only a few weeks to go for you

katty_89 wrote:

byrnezy wrote:

katty_89 wrote:hiya also from Adelaide. Just curious if you don't mind me asking, what breeder did you end up going with? My partner and I are currently trying to find a good breeder and having a bit of trouble too... We are on a waiting list for puppies due to be born in about a month but haven't had a chance to get there to see what they are like..

Try this... http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breeders/staffordshire-bull-terrier.asp?state=SA

I bought from Savion(there litter would be 5 weeks old now, I put deposit down when 3 weeks old an 4 had already been purchased), but like you said a lot of them have long waiting lists...

oh yeah that's the website we've been using as well. we are on a waiting list for the first one (Riverhaven), pups due to be born in about a month. got told we could go see them at 2 weeks and pick one, I suppose if we get there in time and put a deposit down then we'll get one! you must be so excited, only a few weeks to go for you

Yeah not long now. It is hard picking one out when there so small, thats the only downfall.
Riverhaven, good choice. Uncles boy was purchased from there, amazing looking dog

aurora wrote:Hills Science Diet is very highly recommended. I think it might even be a 'super premium' food from memory?

Hills really isn't a good food. The first named ingredients are cereals and the meat content is very poor quality!

Caryll wrote:

aurora wrote:Hills Science Diet is very highly recommended. I think it might even be a 'super premium' food from memory?

Hills really isn't a good food. The first named ingredients are cereals and the meat content is very poor quality!

Oh I don't actually know much about it other than that it's in the premium foods section at one of my most frequented pet stores (I think the other only stocks it as a cat food?) and that our local vet recommends it quite highly. The only time any of my dogs were faced with a Hills product it was Taco at a puppy pre-school thing. He had a sniff and turned his nose up at it I guess he didn't think to highly of it no matter what the vet said!

byrnezy wrote:not long now. It is hard picking one out when there so small, thats the only downfall.
Riverhaven, good choice. Uncles boy was purchased from there, amazing looking dog

yeah I bet it will be hard to pick when so small. oh that's great, thanks for that! It's nice to know someone has got a pup from them and they were all good thanks

aurora wrote:

Caryll wrote:

aurora wrote:Hills Science Diet is very highly recommended. I think it might even be a 'super premium' food from memory?

Hills really isn't a good food. The first named ingredients are cereals and the meat content is very poor quality!

Oh I don't actually know much about it other than that it's in the premium foods section at one of my most frequented pet stores (I think the other only stocks it as a cat food?) and that our local vet recommends it quite highly. The only time any of my dogs were faced with a Hills product it was Taco at a puppy pre-school thing. He had a sniff and turned his nose up at it I guess he didn't think to highly of it no matter what the vet said!

Unfortunately a lot of vets seem to sell & promote Hills! I think it's mainly for their prescription diet for when a dog's had an upset stomach or surgery etc. Don't get me wrong, the prescription diet works (if your dog isn't chicken intolerant like Dempsey is!) but Chappie is basically the same & does a similar job for a quarter of the price!

Vets are great with nutrition in a general sense, but aren't actually taught which foods are good and which ones aren't.

You should look for a food that lists meat as its first ingredient, (not meat meal) & has little or no grains/wheat.

hiya ! welcome. Cant wait to see pics

5 weeks old

Aww she's adorable

Darcy-may wrote:Aww she's adorable

His , thanks

Heya, we are also from Adelaide, Western suburbs! We got our Bella last Monday at 7 weeks old from my best friend. Her two staff's had their second litter and were both getting de-sexed after so we knew it was our last chance to get one of Sasha and Cooper's pup's (they are both lovely dogs).

I think I can help you with the sleeping outside at night situation. Bella and her littermates have been living outside with their mum since they were born so we were confident that she wouldn't have an issue with that but we were worried that she would be cold on her own and lonely. I took a blanket to my mates place a few days before we collected her to get the smell of her littermates on it - then we brought it home with us when we collected her. I think that she found comfort in this for the first few nights. She sleeps in a wooden kennel with a plastic flap over the door with a warm dog bed inside, a blanket and a toy cuddle doggy. We were quickly reassured that she was warm enough in there because she was very toasty whenever she came out She cried for the first two nights. First night we went out at about 1am to reassure her and she settled with a bit more whining through the night. By the third night we didn't hear her and haven't since.

We allow her to come inside when we are home - before she comes in I take her to the backyard for the toilet and when she does that we come inside. She goes straight to her bed inside. We take her every hour or so for toilet. When we are at work and during the night she is confined to the patio area with a child-gate - until we get grass (at the moment we have exposed subsurface irrigation and other dangerous objects that she could chew and won't allow her out there unsupervised). SO unfortunately when we return from work or get up in the morning there are poo's a wee's all over the deck. We tried the puppy pads for the first week with feramones on it to encourage her to toilet there as well as taking her there for toilet but it didn't succeed and she eventually began to tear them up. Now we take her out the back for toilet - I just hope that when we do open up the backyard for her that she doesn't continue to poop and wee on the deck. We realise that in this toilet training will take longer but we are going to persevere when we are home.

So not a conclusive answer for you but rest assured she will be plenty warm outside. It sounds like we are in similar situations in the same climate. I will let you know how we get on with going to work during the day - at the moment she is whining a bit during the day when we are not home but it is still early days and I am hopeful that she will learn that we are coming home. I may also need to reassess when the temp drops below 5 degrees at night and bring her into the laundry. At this stage she is OK.