noisymina

Lamb "off cuts" and Lamb "flaps" are usually different things, although the "off cuts" can contain flap,. At our local Woolies, the "off cuts" are usually just chunks of fat and bone. The Flaps are more expensive - but at least thay do containe SOME meat - and one can pick though to get the meatier ones.

My Dobe is inclined to do that anyway - she jumps and nips as she zooms pat - doesn't get me tho as I rouse if she gets too close. And I haven't even read much about prey drive, let alone tried it. I now take the wise path and hide behind trees when she does zoomies.

Well, we saw new vet this morning. He's more the "sort" I have confidence in, thank goodness. So his name has been recorded and I will ask for him next time, too, if only for consistency. He was really positive and informative - and is the first one to actually manage to get a thrmometer in the required place. I told him that either she was getting better, or he was really clever. He said she would be getting better. Modest, too. Any way, he reckons we are looking at a wear & tear, callous type thingy - rubbing on the skin, blocks sebacious (sp?) glands, blocks hair follicles, hair does not grow out, body "sees" foreign stuff - fights it - fluid, swelling and infection follows. This is logical according to the position on the leg where the lumps are located and, bright guy, found the very bginning of another one on the opposite leg in the same location - sort of confirms the theory. Obviously she has a favourite side to lie down on and that one presented the problem first off. And I already have soft mats everywhere because of the elbow callouses. OK - long term management required - keep up the cream, get washer and anti- bacterial shampoo (Pyohex or Malaseb) and give those areas a good scrub each week to keep the skin clear of built-up gunk. It's not so bad right now, so no anti-biotics needed (yep - they could be out for more profit here, but not so) but if it gets bad - swells up etc, anti-biotics will be the way to go. We also discussed a couple of other things and he did checks of lungs, teeth ears without my asking. So, hopefully, it will all be good - and we will have a vet we are happy with. Thanks for all the info and "prodding" everyone. ;)

No. Want to make me? ;) Appointment is 9.30 in the morning - with new vet. petaj It seems to be inflammatory rather than a growth type thing - but I'm not the expert here :D Re the potato: Do a search on "Solanin" - not sure of the spelling. It is a poison that is produced when potatoes are expose to sunlight. It eventually becomes apparent as a green dicolouration in the potatoes - you've probably seen that. As I remember it, this stuff is produced during harvest, transportation etc - but is not immediately apparent as it takes time for the green colour to appear. Even cutting out the green will not help as the poison is spread throughout the poatato. Since it is not immediately obvious and we have no way of knowing whether or not our potatoes have been exposed to the sun, we have a problem. The poison is rendered harmless throught the cooking process, so, it comes down to the fact that we have to make sure our (and the dogs) potatoes are well cooked. Raw potato could, but does not necessarily, contain this poison - and we have no way of knowing for sure either way by just looking at them. Hope this helps.

So what did you do to deserve that?

;) :D Who is training whom? ;)

Thanks, Aber - would like to try it, but it's not in a spot I can bandage easily. I'm lagging on the vet, but will probably make a date for Friday if I can.

A what???????????? And I thought it was a prickle. :p Now googling that one.

It's a big dog. Soft object. Plenty of fluids and kept active, I reckon there is a chance it will pass through. However, if it does get "stuck" and surgery is required, I don't think that will be any more risky, in fact a lot less risky, than the process of trying to get it chucked back up - because of the chocking issue.

Thanks, Erny - pretty close to my guess, too. We can't both be wrong, now can we? :p

Kaisie had a lump appear on her hind leg - was growing, losing hair in the area, not hot but a bit tender and seemed to contain some fluid, but also some hard sections. Trip to vet confirmed a cyst type thing - possibly due to a prickle or similar, combined with a skin "infection" causing the hair loss. Prescribed a course of anti-biotics and also provided some cream to apply to the area. This was a few weeks ago now, but the lump, while it went down almost completely, has not gone away and unless I keep applying the cream the hail loss in a small area continues. But, now there seems to be another lump developing a bit further up from the original one. The cost of the trip seemed a bit steep and I compared what I could, namely the consultation fee and it is a couple of dollars more the than our original vet was charging. As Kaisie is due for her annual visit soon, I rang and got quotes from that vet surgery and another one for comparison. The one I rang for a comparison came in at about the same as I paid last year, but the new guy here charges several dollars more for that service also. If I take her back for the lump thing, I'll be up for more, but since I did not feel particularly "comfortable" with the new one, and since the prices have obviously been increased across the board, to varying degrees and WITHOUT notification to the clients to this effect, I think I will have to give the other crew a try. I would appreciate opinions regarding the lump thing and the treatment given - whether or not it should have been lanced to get rid of the foreign material causing it - whether or not the treatment given was the normal treatment etc. Thanks in advance.

I can assure you that, if my old Poodle had a short coat like a Grey, you would have been seeing bones! And you can also see the bones on our Dobe right now, just, but specially if she is streteched out a bit. She is not starved - she is actually a bit overfed at the moment. When she is in peak, working condition, you can see the ribs - just a bit - not sticking out and all. I also use other criteria in assessing my dogs condition - like her energy level - it goes down when she is overfed and the condition of her coat, the "look" in her eye etc. We had a Grey here yesterday - and his cost was even shorter and finer than the Dobes coat is, so I really think you will have to get used to catching the odd glimpse of a rib now and then - or else you are going to have one very fat Grey. :D Just as a matter of interest, a Greyhound trainer who used to live just down the road here told me one day in passing "If you want to take wait off a dog, just feed them Pal". Yours looks absolutely ............... spoiled, Country Girl. BTW..........do I really have to get used to the name change? :D :D

I just feed mine in fair sized chunks - so they have to be chewed. No problem, but they do tend to be fatty. I try to get ones with the least fat and don't feed too many of them. Mine gets her chicken necks about half frozen and stuck together, so she has to work at it a bit before she swallows. She has slowed down a lot since coming here because there are no other dogs competing with her for food. :D

Sorry about that, cactus. You did what you could. You were good to him and unselfish - which is not easy, but the right thing to do.

That would have been even worse. ;) Mine gets one egg a week - but, hey for a short time, if she will eat it and needs the food, one at a time 2 or 3 morning a week would not hurt her IMHO. Just remember that meaty bones are pretty much what you get in the mince, except all chopped up, so more of that would just replace the mince she won't eat. I know it has been said that veg have to me juiced etc, but mine just loves a whole carrot or pear or some apple pieces etc - maybe, for a short time, she would prefer some fruit or veg pieces - better than nothing. If she is reasonably healthy, a short-tern hiccup won't be the end of the earth - think skin kids! Sometimes, they will be choosy, but still eat a reasonable diet over time - just not on a daily basis. edited - to get quote right!

Increase meaty bone meals. Mine gets meaty bones every night. Try mixing offal and veg (with eggs, yoghurt etc) and leave out the mince - to see if she will eat that - if you haven't already done that - hard to tell from your post. Or see if she will just eat an egg or plain yoghurt for her morning feed. Maybe she just has a case of "morning sickness" ;) and will get over it in due course.

Love those ears. Well done - lovely coats. ;)

13 month old bones? I guess they really are determined not to eat them. :D When mine starts to bury her bones, I know she's not hungry! But then, she does eat them a day or two later if I go very lightly on the food. Maybe, after they have been on a full BARF schedulae for a while, they mught be more interested. :D Yeh - I'm a dreamer, too. Amongst other things. :rolleyes: :D

The meaty bones I currently can get include Lamb breast (can be a bit fatty, so I get the leaner ones, but I also believe that some fat is needed anyway, specially for the Dobes), Lamb off cuts (if they are lean ones), Pork trotters (occasionally, once every week or so), Pork off cuts (if lean), Chicken frames, chicken necks, chicken wings (in moderation as they are also fatty), chicken pieces or maryland, thighs etc according to cost at the time. I will be widening the search soon - looking for proper beef brisket (the stuff in the supermarket is rubbish) and other things like turkey necks, roo tail etc - for variety. Eza - do you know if the mince has preservatives etc in it? It really is hard to know what additives are in mince or how much of it is fat - one can get some idea if it is still whole, but not once minced. The teeth also benefit from chewing the bones - assuming the teeth are currently up to the task, that is. :D

It will be interesting to see how it goes!

I don't really understand why mince is needed in BARF - if meaty bones are being fed, the meat component is covered - at no extra cost and with a whole lot less trouble! Mine started to gain weight on BARF - partly because I think I was getting a bit generous witht he meaty bones, so I weigh them now. She is 30kg (normally) and was gaining (32kg) on 400g meaty bones and about 250g of other stuff - offal, veg etc. The 400g has now been reduced to 300g and the rest left the same - to see how she goes on that. Her activity levels vary greatly, which makes it a bit hard to judge how much she needs, but if I was feeding her 3% of her ideal body weight, she would be getting 900g per day That would make one fat Dobe. She is shiny, healthy and very playful. We have zoomies every night.

Great, but actually getting access to it is another story - at least where we live.

Have you observed the pup nip or do anything that deserves said response from the Dobe? If so, natural justice I guess, and if it is not doing damage, then nature can be left to take its course. However, I see a couple of options. One, as mentioned, is to avoid the situation where it is occurring and maintain supervision until they get a bit older. Another would be to muzzle the Dobe for short periods during the times this happens (if the pup does not deserve the nips, that is) so that the Dobe gets used to dealing withe the pup without using the nipping option. My Dobe is funny with the horses, some she will nip, others she won't - and I can't work out the difference. It has nothing to do with them kicking her either - the one that kicked her got nipped again, but the one here now has never kicked her, and has never been nipped.

I wrap in some buttered bread and vegemite - strong smell, taste. I cut the crust off and have two or three bits, one with the tablet in and, as above, get her focus on the second bit - she just swallows the first without noticing. It's good if the cat is around 'cause that makes her really greedy

I've just been using plain, unsweetened yoghurt - whatever is going cheap - or, if none are, I buy Bornhoffen Acidophilus as that is mt first preference. If you are really keen, Inner Health powder or capsules can be used - but I've never given them to the dog myself - but, now I think of it, maybe I should. However, if we have fruit yoghurt going past the "use by" date, doggie gets it (I always buy the natural ones without artificial sweeteners anyway) - as she does get all "dog friendly" leftovers.