huski

My ultimate goal is to trial with my beagle She has the potential I just need to commit to putting the effort in. When I get my Finnish Lapphund in the next couple of years I will trial with it too I would also like to trial with a few spitz breeds, including Sibes of course!

I agree Luke W - I would assume as a vet he would see many dogs with no dew claws and unless there was obvious signs it had been ripped out, how would he have known? Daisy had her dew claws removed as a pup, but one has since grown back - so she has one partial dew claw and one that is gone.

Well I finally made my own BARF mix tonight, I used chicken mince that I got from a chicken specific butcher - its one for dogs with minced chicken frames and innerds in it. I will probably use plain beef mince (fatty human grade stuff) next time simply because after I defrosted the chicken pet mince, it was quite bloody and smelly for this reason - the yoghurt counteracted the smell though. But anyway, I grated some vegies and apple into it (I only did 1kg of mince just to see how the dogs liked it) with yoghurt and a couple of tins of sardines. I forgot to get any livers/kidneys but I will make sure I get them next time! So I let the dogs all have a sample, and they thought it was the best thing ever, including Daisy who gobbled hers up! Now lets just hope she doesn't go off the mixture after a few days like she did with the BARF (although I will be interspersing it with chicken frames/lamb necks etc). Even the cat wanted some! I gave her a spoonful and she gobbled it up too Does anyone know if this sort of BARF mixture is ok for cats occassionally too? She would never eat it as 100% of her diet as the dogs do as she likes her dried too much, but I thought it might be good for her to have a bit? Ultimately I am SO glad I changed the dogs to BARF, its much cheaper and easier to feed and the dogs are loving it. Another BARF convert here!

When Cherry had the terrible rash and allergies (she had them for years!) we finally changed her over to Royal Canin and she loved it, completely stopped her scratching Now I've changed her over to a BARF diet, but I wouldn't hesitate to feed RC again if she needed some dried.

Id have to agree with this post, I was bitten on the face by my cousins corgi when i was 3 as I patting it while eating. This made me more determined to have no eating issues when we got our German Shepherd... so I can understand why you want to do it... I've never had a problem with my dogs and touching them or taking their food away whilst eating because I teach them that food is a resource I control, by doing things like Triangle of Temptation at food times - to me, the whole process teaches the dog that they look to your for permission to eat, and you control the whole thing - so they build respect for you and know you're boss, without needing to touch them or take their food away all the time. ETA: My dogs happily give up their food for me if I need to grab it.

Does he know the sit command? I would teach him 'sit' when he wants to come in and out - that's what I did with my beagle, so now when she wants to come in she goes straight to the door and sits quietly

Ditto to Miranda - my dogs rarely if ever get pigs ears, and sometimes I get sheeps ears or pig snouts instead so they are smaller. I think of them as doggy junk food. Have a look at lamb necks and marrow bones from the butcher too

Vary the veggies (do you have a blender, juicer or food processor), add a bit of offal and some fruit and you've pretty much got my BARF mix Huski. If you don't have an Eziyo.. get one (thanks for the tip JBBB). Definitely the cheapest way to get good yoghurt. Great, thanks PF. I have a juice and a blender. I'll add some apple into it too, the dogs love it

Thanks for all the tips guys. I am definitely going to start making my own BARF mix up, as well as feeding the chicken frames and other bones regularly. I am thinking of mixing up some mince (beef or chicken) with natural yoghurt, sardines, grated carrot, raw egg etc. Does this sound ok? Then I will alternate it with the chicken frames etc. I also got a heap of lamb necks from Coles last night, they were really cheap - the dogs loved them and they are practically a meal in themselves.

Thanks guys. I will try phasing out the BARF patties

So scrap the patties all together? I am happy just to feed chicken carcasses, wings, necks etc as well as some vegies, sardines, yoghurt etc. I was just worried about it not being 'balanced' enough, and thought the patties might be a safer option than DIY

Thanks for the tip Greytmate. However, the patties I fed the dogs today were the last of the box I had. I have another one in the freezer that I haven't opened yet. The fact Micha and Cherry are happily wolfing them down made me think it was a problem with Daisy, not the patties

LOL - Daisy LOVES her dried food! She's would rather eat her Royal Canin than the bloody BARF patties Thanks Anita. There have been no apparent side effects from changing her diet - she is farting less and her poos are smaller so I thought she was doing well on it. Do you think it would be worth trying a beef or lamb based BARF? ETA: I always thought if a dog was being fussy you didn't pander to them, I never thought of it from your angle She did happily eat the patties for days before refusing them which is why I thought it was a bit odd.

No she has been offered new ones. The one from this morning I defrosted last night and it was fresh out of the packet when I gave it to her. ETA: I forgot to mention, that she gets excited when I am preparing the patties and putting it in her bowl, we do triangle of temptation etc all as normal - its when I release her to eat that she just sits at the back of her crate and refuses to eat.

LOL - I actually find the chicken ones quite odourless!

I have recently switched all the dogs over to a BARF diet. I am feeding them the Dr Billinghurst BARF patties and every second day I feed some bones like chicken frames etc. All the dogs LOVE the patties (I am using chicken based ones) - in the first week Daisy was scoffing them up, she loved them, then suddenly a few days ago she decided she didn't want to eat them. She would have eaten them with gusto for four days in a row (before I got some chicken frames) and now she won't touch them. Cherry and Micha are still going wild for them. Daisy only eats once a day in the morning, and this is the third day she has refused a BARF patty. The first day I took it away after 15 minutes, but my sister didn't realised I'd tried to feed her and gave her some dried food once I'd gone to work. The second day she refused, I took it away and she ate nothing that day - the next morning I had chicken frames so fed her those instead. Today is the third day she has once again refused the BARF patty, so I've taken it away and she won't eat again until tomorrow (will feed her the same patty). Food refusal is VERY strange for Daisy, being a food orientated beagle, she has never refused food before. I can understand if she just didn't like the patties, but she ate them for four days with no sign of refusal and now she is suddenly off them Do I just keep taking it away until she's hungry or should I try a new flavour? Its just so odd for her not to eat! Normally she'll eat literally anything.

I can't believe its been 12 months already, either. Thinking of you today Springy

Hi Kate I can't speak for Shibas but IMO, when it comes to breeds like Sibes its a combination of traits: high prey drive, stubbornness, the breed is bred to think for themselves and their instinct to run is very strong. That and many spitz like to take advantage when they know they can! Give them an inch and they will take a mile. Many sibes are known escape artists and a secure yard is a must. When it comes to how do you motivate the dog and are they sensitive etc - I would definitely say it does depend on the individual. My sibe has a high prey drive, but I have unintentionally conditioned him to retrieving - that is, every time I bring a toy out he expects me to throw it so he can chase it. So whilst I could develop his prey drive the way I want to, he also has a very high food drive so its easy to train him this way. Where about is your friend located? LOL I'm no expert, I just believe attaining a recall with a Sibe is possible ETA: When my sibe was young he got out of the yard and would bolt, he ran onto a busy main road and narrowly avoided being hit by a car. The times he has gotten out of the yard have been very rare - but in more recent times since I have been working on his recall, the front door was left open by a guest and he got out: as soon as I called him, he can running back and went inside. Not saying his recall is 100% or anything, but boy was I glad that he listened to me!

What Stormie said - dogs need fresh bones and things for their teeth, if nothing else!

I gave my condolences to Veanna in the white shep thread but I just wanted to say again here, RIP Odin, I am so sorry for your loss veanna Run free Odin :rolleyes:

Our club made the same suggestion, because softer or more moist food is easier and faster for the dog to consume. I also make sure that the food I use in training is very high value to the dog, and as such is not something they get at any other time.

I boil a chicken breast if I am training with food, perfect softness etc for the dog and isn't too smelly for the handler

Micha had an undescended testicle and our vet advised waiting until he was around 12 months to ensure it hadn't dropped - it didn't but we did want until he was 12 months to desex.

So 'ok' is the word you use to release the dog from stays etc, not necessarily the word you use to acknowledge the dog has done something right? I use the word 'yes' to pre-empt the release word, so I use 'yes' as an indication to the dog that they have done something correct and a treat or praise or release is coming.

LOL - Pets Paradise staff wouldn't know jack about animals! Any opportunity to plug their own stuff. I refuse to shop there (or anywhere that sells animals) - I'd rather go somewhere where the staff know what they are talking about! As for waiting for your pup.... no tips here, I am useless when I am waiting for my puppy to come home and its all I can think or talk about