koolietas

My boy gets offal about once a week. I aim for 10% of his diet to be offal and 5% of that is liver. The other 5% is usually kidneys. More often than not lamb offal - but occasionally chicken as well. I steer clear of beef - only because my boy suffers from dermatititis when he eats beef.

I remember reading the book and watching the movie Never Cry Wolf.. the author went up to the tundra to solve the mystery of what wolves ate when the caribou weren't there. It was rodents mainly - whole. From reading some of David Mech's books...wolves when they eat small prey do eat the stomach contents. The stomach contents would be very minimal in such a small animal! But they certainly don't eat the stomach contents of large prey - this is discarded. They don't even bother to eat the stomach lining in most instances.

Tiramia - frames/carcasses are whole chickens with all the meat removed. They are very boney - and not something I would feed as a meal on it's own...but would feed with an offal meal or with additional meat...or at least would feed a whole meat meal next. I feed whole chickens - much better proportion of meat/bone than the frames. It is true that wolves will eat fur of their prey - but only sometimes...it is often discarded like the stomach contents. I don't feed fur/feathers - and I've had no problems at all with my boy's poops. Wolves/dogs are carnivores - they have no need to eat vegetation. That is not to say that dogs won't eat vegetation - after all, they are opportunists. My dog has eaten many strange things before (foil, glad wrap, sandwich bags, balloons etc.) - there is no nutritional requirement for him to eat any of that! (he's just a pig!)

Thanks for the tip! Do you know whether this product works for bees/wasps etc? or just flies?

I started my research with the Billinghurst books - but then it was recommended to me to read Tom Lonsdale's book which I did. I'd recommend reading a couple of different types of books about raw feeding...I was a huge Barf fan to begin with, but now wouldn't go back to feeding veg/fruit/supplements - my boy is doing much better on prey model, and it is much easier for me too. You really need to do your own research and decide for yourself the best option for you and your dog.

Koolietas where do you get all of the variety of above? I find it a challenge to find lamb necks and marrow bones half the time. Lots of places! All pretty close by - except for one place (chicken/meat wholesaler that sells direct to the public where I get the offal and whole chickens plus the salmon pieces from). Roo tails/meat & rabbits from the butcher. I can get most of what I need at the local shops so really convenient.

Hi my2boys, I too know how confusing raw feeding can be. I started my sheltie with BARF in the true sense of the word...(ie. Billinghurst) raw meat, bones, offal, fruit & veg with supplements (ACV, kelp, flaxseed meal etc). After a few months of my boy suffering from ear problems and varying degrees of dermatitis, I did much more research and decided on a prey model diet. Prey model is based on 80% meat, 10% offal & 10% bone - no supplements other than fish oil. I do add eggs a couple of times a week. All raw. Adult dogs - feed between 2-3% of ideal body weight. So for my boy - 18 kgs - so he gets between 360-540gms food per day (usually around 400gm) Since my boy has been on this (almost 12 months now) - I've had no need to clean his ears and he's shown no signs of dermatitis. Just to err on the side of caution - unless you are chopping up the chicken necks - I would not be feeding a goldie whole chicken necks due to the risk of choking. He should be eating size appropriate bones. Just an example of what my boy gets fed...roo/wallaby tails/meat, whole chickens (not frames), whole fish (usually trout), salmon pieces, chicken hearts/giblets, quail, rabbit, lamb necks, pig hearts, wallaby hearts, lamb hearts, lamb liver/kidneys etc. I do not feed recreational bones (ie. marrow bones) as they can cause tooth damage. Hope this helps, Koolietas

Hi JAG, What kind of issues does she need to work on with her dog??? I have a friend that runs classes (which I take my sometimes reactive dog to) who may be able to help... PM me if you want further info... Koolietas

Raw egg and salmon oil should help...

Hi 7point6, Congratulations on being a sheltie owner! Firstly - you really need to decide/research as to what diet you think is the most appropriate for your dog. I started my sheltie with premium dry food & raw chicken necks (as this is what the breeder had been feeding him) - but after a short time, moved onto a BARF diet. He seemed much happier on BARF then the dry (he often left the dry food - no matter what brand I bought - he really wasn't interested in it) but not once did he leave any BARF food. After about 18 months on BARF, I started doing a lot of reading & research and after doing this, I decided to start him on a raw food/prey model diet (ie. no veggies or supplements). After him being on this for around 12 months now, I wouldn't go back to anything else. His dermatitis has cleared completely, no longer has any ear problems and his weight is easy to maintain. His skin & coat are awesome. I also found that it's much cheaper than BARF and definitely much easier. A raw food diet should be roughly 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% offal. My boy gets fed once a day (he's almost 4 years old). The principle is to feed an adult dog 2-3% of his ideal bodyweight on a daily basis. He gets things like pork/wallaby/lamb/chicken hearts (hearts are treated as a muscle meat - not offal and are really cheap), roo meat/tails, whole chickens, chicken/duck giblets, salmon heads, lamb necks, pork roasts, whole rainbow trout, lamb liver/kidneys/brains etc. He gets a raw egg 2-3 times a week (shell & all) and 4-5 times a week he gets salmon oil capsules. Unfortunately, a lot of vets know little about diet/nutrition so they're not always the best people to ask and will probably just try and sell you the brand they stock in the surgery. If you choose the dry food path - there are a few really good dry foods around these days...and there will be plenty of people of the forum that can help you with that. Good luck!

I wouldn't. Too small for a large dog. I'm careful giving them to my sheltie... Strip the meat off though - he'll love that.

We've had a couple of pekignese with this problem. It does get worse with age...the sooner the surgery is done the better. Ours have had the surgery (specialist) - and they have improved - but we have to watch that they don't get over heated (either a warm day or too much exercise). Definitely don't leave them in cars at any time of the year. Walk them with a harness (not a collar), keep them in a healthy weight range (don't let them get overweight), keep them fit (short walks) and definitely don't breed! From memory - the surgery was around $1,200

My sheltie gets a salmon head about once a week - he loves them! (but then again, he will eat literally anything) Sometimes I'll give him a piece of salmon with the head when the budget allows.

PM diet is based on approx 80% raw meat, 10% offal & 10% bone ie. no vegs/fruit/supplements. I do choose to feed salmon oil capsules & several raw eggs each week to assist with skin/coat but many PM feeders do not add any supplements (not that you would class eggs as a supplement). PM is literally feeding as closely as possible to what wolves eat and that dogs are carnivores not omnivores and do not require vegetation in their diet. I Barf fed for almost 3 years - and after much research, I began PM feeding almost 5 months ago. In that time, I have noticed a much softer coat, no skin probs, no ear probs and much more energy from my boy. I also find it less time consuming and cheaper to feed than Barf (not that cost was ever an issue on Barf). Hope that kinda answers your question?

I feed my boy a prey model diet - so the only supplement he gets is 2000mg salmon oil daily (except for the days when he gets salmon as a meal). I used to have him on BARF - and supplemented then with acv, kelp, flaxseed meal, brewers yeast, garlic & yoghurt.

If that was an option for me - then I wouldn't support them based on principle...but it is not as it is the only place in Tas that sells this food. Remember also that there are no PP stores in Tas. Pets Good Direct are not selling animals (other than hermit crabs and fish).

Pet Goods Direct @ Cambridge Park have a special on most of the 'Natura' Range of dry dog & cat food...including Evo & Innova. Most sizes are buy one bag, get a second bag free (use by date is end of July). I bought dry food for my cats 6 kgs (normally $120) for $60!

Thanks for the kind words! Hey - you know me...I'm not being kind just honest.

Sure have! I've attended Aidan's classes on a regular basis and have seen wonderful results with different dogs with varying problems. Aidan has also helped me out numerous times with questions about my own dog and I have been more than happy with his suggestions (which have worked well)...and I never thought I'd see a dog tracking with pegs either - but that's another story! Aidan...nice work replying to a forum topic about yourself too!

My sheltie is exclusively raw fed, but I bought a couple of cans of Evo for the pekes and a bag of the dry food...they didn't go much on the wet food - but they love the dry! They have loyalty cards for Evo/Innova/California Natural - so you can get a 25% discount everey 4th and 8th purchase with the 12th purchase free.

My vet sells the Feliway diffuser for $104. I can get it online for $64... Anything that I need from the vet (obviously not prescriptions) I'll look elsewhere first.

No sign of any animals there on Saturday...not even any fish (although I believe they are on the way)

Just thought I'd let people know that Pet Goods Direct @ Cambridge Park (next to K & D) are selling premium foods...like Evo, Innova & California Natural as well as the usuals like Advance and Proplan. Whilst my sheltie is raw fed, I will be buying the Evo products for my cats to try.

I have had my boy insured with AFS Pet Med since he was a pup. I've only made a couple of claims (all for pretty basic things) but they've been excellent.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I've been raw feeding (Barf) for 3 years, but in recent weeks have altered to prey model diet...so my boy has gone through a few changes in meals. Maybe I've rushed it a little and need to give him more time to adjust. I'll fast him today and then start him back on chicken frames with some Slippery Elm Powder and see if that helps.