noisymina

Yesterday I bought a 2kg bag of Nutro (thinking that I might get a bit lazy) to try it - as a way to reduce the amount of time/effort in keeping up with the BARF mixes. WOW - it cost me $18.95 for the one small pack. And it only has 2 months to the "use by" date - so, considering it is only a small part of her (proposed) diet, a larger bag is out of the question. According to the pack, she would need somewhere between 255 and 470g per day (as a full feed). If she needs, say 350g per day, even at the cheaper price of $85 for 15kg, it is almost $14 a week. At the price I paid, it comes to $23.30 per week. At the moment, we are running about $10 - $11 per week to give her an approximation of a BARF diet. There is nothing in the Nutro ingredients list that either she does not already get, or could not easily be added to her BARF mix - or is not needed - eg there is a lot of cereal type stuff, including wheat flour. Her slice of toast each morning would account for any need for wheat flour anyway. :D And bread comes a lot cheaper than $7-9 per kg. I also have an entire bag of rice bran in the shed - and that doesn't come in at $7-9 per kg either. Chicken frames come in at $1-60kg from a local supplier I've found etc. So much for gettting out of doing the BARF mixes. :p :p

I just got quotes from two vets for C5 and annual Heartworm (she was on this when I got her, so have just continued it) The C5 came in at 68.50 and 65.00 The heartworm at 82.00 to 88.00 from one vet and $100 from the other. This is for a 30-32kg dog.

One option with thenecks is to freeze them in meal-sized batches and feed them slightly defrosted, but still frozen enough to be well stuck together. This means the dog has to work at the hunk to get them separated - and slows the process somewhat.

It is possible to use the whining in a positive way. When I had the poodle, she learned to make noise on command "Speak" - and she'd be off. She also learned "Quiet" When my OH sarcastically stated that I could not possibly teach the Dobe to open the sliding screen door (It has a magnetic catch), I managed to do that in about 2 days flat. Of course, that meant she could come on in whenever she liked. But closing it is another matter! So OH had a problem, didn't he? :D Now he has taught her that she has to "Ask" before she can open the door. And now she never opens the door without "asking". If I ignore it or don't hear her, she goes around to the front door and lets out a one-off bark - Hey, where are you? I am asking! Even tho she could well open that door, she doesn't until we tell her she can.

If you are going to feed them potatoes, they do have to be cooked. Raw potatoes don't go down well and, at times, can be poisonous. Carrots are best juiced and re-combined with the pulp, as are many other veges and fruit - apples, celery etc. Why would you bother to cook the mince? Don't have to - they are fine with it raw - so why waste your time, effort and electricity? I usually get chicken necks, pieces, frames or wings - not the mince anyway. Makes them chew and cleans teeth, does not have preservatives etc added and does not go "off" as fast as minced stuff does. Do a search on "BARF" - here and on Google and you get lots of info.

Thanks mojo. I am glad you re-appeared before we got around to telling you that you need to leave the country. Blue Tack is not much good for it's intended purpose - but it does make good ear plugs.

I don't think they get as much out of the carrots (digestion wise) if they are fed whole - as opposed to the juiced ones we include in BARF feeding. Mine gets hers in Barf mixes, juiced at 2kg over about 4 weeks - that's 500g a week - and she gets whole carrots from time to time in addition to that. But she is a 30kg dog. I guess you would have to adjust according to the size of the dog - to some extent - but I do think they would have to eat a lot of carrrot to reach toxic levels of Vit A - just take it into account if you are also giving the dog other Vit A rich stuff - like Cod Liver Oil. Or check the levels in any commercial dog food you are using. In any event, one a day sounds fair enough. There are also rawhide bones around - a bit expensive for my dog who woofs them down in 5 mins flat - but smaller dogs can make one of them last a week or more, which is a better proposition.

Firstly, it would be intereting to know what sort of bones you were feeding - some are softer than others. However, you may like to ask your vet if it is OK to try carrots. My dog just loves them and eats them like bones (she gets bones as well) - that would be one thing that would help to clean the teeth after meals, I should think.

Ok. This is geting worse - where are you, mojo? I recommend you re-appear soon before we tell you to leave the country.

Mine's a girl. But it sounds like the boys are worse. cough, cough

for the neighbours as well?

Darn it - there IS an easy answer. :rofl mojo - ??? Where are you????

No, I don't get "presents". But if I dare to stop and stand or sit with "unoccupied" hands - she's right there instantly - nudge, nudge. A lot of the time I just automatically start patting her - specially if I am talking to someone - and she knows it. If I ignore her, she will go to the next person and do the same thing. Any guests we have are "trained" very quickly. Although there are exceptions - occasionally we get someone here that she will not go near. And yep, they will control you as much as you allow. :D That is why they are not usually recommended as a "beginners" dog.

Mine does that too - grabs the squeak, drops it and pounces on it - SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK - SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK Makes a deafening racket. Most effect, with least effort. They are not stupid. :D

Quote from my fav vet when he first met Kaisie - "Oh, lovely, another sooky Dobe" How did he know that? "They are all sooks" :D

Well, I have no easy answer - our present one does winge a bit- but I know I've spoilt her - They do like to be with you. Mine would be under my feet 24/7 if I let her. I guess it is a compliment, but sometimes I nearly fall over her! Is the Dobe with the GSD at these times? Or are they separated? Do they have toys, kongs, a warm bed etc? I know mine is more restless if her bed is uncomfortable for some reason. When ours starts up, we firmly send her to her bed, tell her "down", praise her for doing that, "stay" and leave it. If she starts again, same process, but she has never been as persistent as yours seems to be. They can be strong-willed - just like kids can.

Of course, the dog will take this speel hook, line and sinker and proceed to chase tins of cat food all over the house.

Quite true, I second that. The one main reason I wanted to change vets was because of attitude - the other things were add-ons that just re-inforced the impression that a change was needed. In a community where people "talk", this is not going to bode well for the future of the business. It is not good business sense to walk into a new business that relies on customer loyalty etc - and immediately increase prices, without notice, before most of the "customers" have even met you! If the previous vet, for instances, increased his charges and did it "nicely" (which he would have,'cause that was what he was like), I would not have even considered changing. I would have considered him well worth it. Can't say I'm happy with him selling out - BUT he did tell me it was coming - and he did send a letter out to everyone telling them. And the new one did what? People, in general, are pretty tolerant and forgiving - specially if the heart is in the right place, if some thought is given to things etc. Yeh, you will get the odd one, but overall, that is the case. By the way - this one we just left was not a young, newly qualified kid on the block - he would have a good 15-20 years experience under his belt - he just hasn't learned much from it.

What sort (flavour) of cat food? I do tend to mix other stuff with the veges - like a little liver or kidney, some sardines, yoghurt etc. Maybe you could mix a little of the cat food with the veg - and gradually change over to mixing in some of the above suggestions instead. I don't usually give mine cheese, for example, but some here do give cheese on occasion. All these are "flavours" that attract the cats too. Actually, our cat eats the dogs vege mix as well. I think a little cat food would not hurt over short period - our dogs over the years have been the regular garbage disposal, always cleaning up any cat food left over. However, as a regular or significant part of the dog's diet, I'm not so sure it is a good thing.

Mine doesn't get any kibble. Raw meaty bones and veg mix with a few things added - She's fine.

I reckon you're cool. The written communication bit can be a quite a learning curve at times - for me too. edited for gramma hehe

;) Yes, Aber - I can just see it. A bit of Cat-justice. ;)

We use the hose, hooked up with an adaptor (Bunnings) to the warm water and wash outside. When Kaisie first came it took two of us, and she used to snap when I got to the rear end. But She's settled now - I can do her alone and don't even have to tie up - the frequent treats have now been reduced to two handfuls - one at end of wash and another when finished. I'm sure that is all she thinks of now. ;) There is a book called "Getting in T Touch With Your Dog" by Linda Tellington-Jones which you might find interesting.

There is just so much to learn, isn't there? I learned a lot from doing a search on some of the stuff mentioned, even tho it did not fit this particular situation - next time it might, who knows? I like vets who listen- they learn from their clients just as much as the clients learn from them - you can tell the experienced ones, I think. Also, some are more familiar with Dobes in particular and their quirks. ;)

Thanks to all who responded. As I said in the original post, I was considering taking her to another vet, not no vet at all! I was seeking opinions - and am grateful for them all - because I wanted to canvas possibilities that I am/was not not aware of and so that I could gain information (whether general or specific) that would help me decide about changing vets. In addition, I was hoping to have more "up my sleeve" so I could ask intelligent questions when I got there! ;) lillysmum - the other vet was very informative about his theory - it's just that it was a bit "off beam" There were also other things that we were not "comfortable" with - his manner and the raised charges that we had not been warned about prior to consultation, for instance. My OH was with me on that visit and he felt the same! So, let's see how things go. It could have been a lot worse.