Danois

Chillydog Chilly Sweaters are awesome. My dog is currently in one that's now about 9 years old and still in great condition.

I know other people who own Great North and Slicker and are also very happy.

A coat here is a practical item not a fashion item.

I was getting the pathetic look tonight combined with the curl in a ball pose. Chucked a coat on and he's happily taken himself off to bed and sprawled out in his usual sleeping pose. Also saves me waking up with a rather large lump trying to curl into my back for warmth.

Hi, do you mean raw diets or Natural gluten free kibbles or freeze dried foods ?

I went thru Jacqueline Rudan at Naturopath in Victoria & used her Natural Animal Solution products to balance the raw diet she only recommends to use human grade meats & blended fresh veggies....

here's her Maintenance Diet if your dog has any health problems scroll down & you'll see raw diets for certain health problems, send Jacqueline an email & she'll answer your email then you can

book a consultation, a consult over the phone was cheaper then seeing a vet, she rings you & she spoke with me for 1 hour only cost me $60 that's was 1 year ago...all her products are excellent..

http://www.naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/natural-diet.html

human grade meat (and other food) is not automatically healthy for dogs...the meat will be very likely treated with 220...225 and can cause fatal Thiamine deficiency...conversely 'dog' grade meat treated with 220....225 contains additional Thiamine to address this issue.

If any raw human grade meat has been treated with preservatives then it has been done illegally.

show us the legal definition of 'humane-grade'....

Easy - meat that is safe and suitable for human consumption.

It's located in this really obscure document called the Food Standards and their explanatory notes.

Lol! I don't need to read - I find it easier to talk to the people actually in the industry.

How about all the money that goes into developing those products, all the testing to ensure it is safe, cost of bringing it to market, product improvements etc

Your own post says it - wish someone would work out a safe way. That's what the costs get spent on...a company developing same medication.

Yes they desex.

I've been in a couple of countries lately (Peru and Sri Lanka) which have large numbers of dogs wandering around - mix of strays and owned dogs. Not saying they don't happen but we never saw a dog fight once, or even any behaviour looking like it could head that way.

For the most part the dogs ignore one another.

The Petersham vet is a Greencross.

In an emergency your closest vet is the Sydney Uni which is open 24/7.

If you want large breed experienced and bloat familiar then head to Pennant Hills Vet Hospital and see Dr Ian Murdoch. It would be about 30 mins straight up the freeway and M2. I would suggest that he has seen more large breeds than the average surburban vet and owns a giant himself. His hospital is set up for big dogs ie a decent size crate etc

Can I suggest NOT Sydney Animal Hospital in Erskineville. I know someone who was happy with the care they received there (was specific to a vet I believe) but my experiences were not so good.

Based on what I see in the areas immediately surrounding Sydney Uni, the majority of the bracchy type dogs are badly bred pugs and frenchies or cross breeds or Pets Paradise specials...

Chilly Dog coats are awesome.

A DOLer has D & D Dog Coats on FB and makes to order. Many a Dane in AU has her coats.

I'm impressed -- maybe unjustifiably so -- that a judge gave BOB to a relative outsider. I've never understood how a judge picks #1 among a lot of extremely good dogs . . . all of whom have their strong points and weak points. Seems arbitrary to me . . . and often weighted in favor of the safe option . . . giving the win to the dog who has previously won the most.

Hard to imagine lawyers getting involved. Boss' owner must be a very bad sport. Guess it's not beyond imagination that there was some funny business going on and he has a case.

Wasn't the owner or handler also the secretary of the Dane club? not really an relative outsider if so?

Person involved is/ was current president of Dane Club. Winner is a past president (for several years) of Dane club. Not sure if an overseas judge who was not a breed specialist would know this.

The fact your dog has numerous points to its name is really not relevant given dogs accumulate points from all manner of shows. My dog got 1/4 the way to his title without ever beating another dog!

Doesn't that make the whole system a bit irrelevant though?

That's not at all aimed at you personally Danois, but if it's a points system but dogs can get points without ever beating another dog, and a dog can be awarded at a Royal based on one judge's opinion without points from elsewhere, and that may or may not be better indication of the quality of the dog than points, then where is there any objective measurement?

On the other point about getting points without beating another dog. It is not my fault that no other dogs (meaning males) were entered at the shows I attended or turned up after being entered. Why should a competitor be penalised for something not within their control. It is always open to a judge to non-award if they consider the single dog not to be worthy of awarding.

I'm impressed -- maybe unjustifiably so -- that a judge gave BOB to a relative outsider. I've never understood how a judge picks #1 among a lot of extremely good dogs . . . all of whom have their strong points and weak points. Seems arbitrary to me . . . and often weighted in favor of the safe option . . . giving the win to the dog who has previously won the most.

Hard to imagine lawyers getting involved. Boss' owner must be a very bad sport. Guess it's not beyond imagination that there was some funny business going on and he has a case.

Wasn't the owner or handler also the secretary of the Dane club? not really an relative outsider if so?

Person involved is/ was current president of Dane Club. Winner is a past president (for several years) of Dane club. Not sure if an overseas judge who was not a breed specialist would know this.

The fact your dog has numerous points to its name is really not relevant given dogs accumulate points from all manner of shows. My dog got 1/4 the way to his title without ever beating another dog!

Doesn't that make the whole system a bit irrelevant though?

That's not at all aimed at you personally Danois, but if it's a points system but dogs can get points without ever beating another dog, and a dog can be awarded at a Royal based on one judge's opinion without points from elsewhere, and that may or may not be better indication of the quality of the dog than points, then where is there any objective measurement?

I don't understand your post. A dog is always awarded at any show based on that judge's opinion on that day of that dog compared to the other dogs in the class/ breed and compared to the breed standard (being the objective standard, which can't be applied any way but subjectively). A dog's prior wins have no relevance to the judge on the day - and nor should they. It is the best dog on the day in that judge's opinion.

I'm impressed -- maybe unjustifiably so -- that a judge gave BOB to a relative outsider. I've never understood how a judge picks #1 among a lot of extremely good dogs . . . all of whom have their strong points and weak points. Seems arbitrary to me . . . and often weighted in favor of the safe option . . . giving the win to the dog who has previously won the most.

Hard to imagine lawyers getting involved. Boss' owner must be a very bad sport. Guess it's not beyond imagination that there was some funny business going on and he has a case.

Wasn't the owner or handler also the secretary of the Dane club? not really an relative outsider if so?

Person involved is/ was current president of Dane Club. Winner is a past president (for several years) of Dane club. Not sure if an overseas judge who was not a breed specialist would know this.

The fact your dog has numerous points to its name is really not relevant given dogs accumulate points from all manner of shows. My dog got 1/4 the way to his title without ever beating another dog!

Was going to say Henry Hottie! Or Snooza D ones.

Otherwise the big outdoor cushions that pop up on Catch of the Day with a doona on top to soften the noise.

Key is getting something that has good support for those joints - so quilts on the floor won't make the grade - and something raised as it's a long way down for them!

I use a Snooza Cudler at the moment but in the past I went to Clark Rubber and got a single foam mattress and had them cut a chunk off the end. On top of this I had doonas which I had stuffed into an inner (homemade) and then a cover on it that could be removed for washing. If you go down a path like this then check out D & D Dog Coats on FB as she has been making bed covers (and is/ was a DOLer).

Generally speaking, around 16 degrees but judge it on how he is acting as he has a thin coat and low body fat so gives himself away by curling into a ball etc. Also a sure sign when he moves from the spare room to my bed at night!

Someone was looking after him for me last week and shared a pic and I commented he was looking out of sorts. Was mentioned weather was not great so recommended he had a coat on. Coat put on and immediately he was looking much happier and not pulling sad faces.

In a true emergency I would not even attempt to spend the time administering first aid beyond a tourniquet etc. It would be straight into the car and to the closest vet, knowing I have a 24/7 one less than 10 mins away.

Food choices in NZ are generally broader than here where there is a lot of domination of private label. You also find more boutique or small producer products on the shelf in mainstream supermarkets. Butchers are also a lot more common and I've found butcher vs butcher to be a lot cheaper in NZ and the meat much better vs here.

GPs - walk in doctors are simply not common there as there is no concept of bulk billing like here. I remember moving here and thinking wow walk in clinics.

Cars - prices in NZ are cheaper on the whole as the country allows Japanese imports. I was horrified when I moved here at the high cost of cars, then add stamp duty etc. Whitegoods got more expensive when they stopped local manufacturing.

No one I know in NZ uses eBay. Everyone uses TradeMe. Mind you - I barely know anyone left in AU that uses eBay too!

What a complaining consumer often overlooks is that if they are claiming the puppy has a major defect (as opposed to a minor one - as those terms are meant under the Consumer Law) is that the seller of the puppy is the one that gets to choose the remedy the buyer receives - which includes returning the puppy/ dog for a refund. Except the majority of consumers will not return it.

There was a case a few years ago now where the seller was only liable to reimburse some vet bills until the date the buyers refused to return the puppy.

I don't know if things have changed but I worked for one of the multinational major pet food manufacturers for a long while. The product had a shelf life for dry kibble of 18 months from date of manufacture.

Treats (hard biscuits) were 12 months, cans were 24 months.

Once opened it was recommended that food be stored in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight. It could also be frozen without loss of nutrients. There was no specific guideline on how long you could keep a bag of kibble open for.

The best before date is not a hard date ie 5 days after that date means it can't be eaten. The date is the date that the manufacturer is stating that the nutritional composition of the product will still be as stated on packaging and any vitamins and minerals which are claimed to be providing a benefit, will still provide that benefit.

This is the same rational that applies to the majority of food products for humans.

It's common sense that if you don't store it properly once opened then the quality will degrade more quickly.

Shelf life is until at least the date stamped on packet. It has to be there somewhere. Regardless of whether it is open or not.

I would use dry food not wet - most has at least 12 months shelf life. Shortly before it expires, replace it and feed the bag that was stored. Also deals with needing a spoon and also having to wash out bowls that have had wet food in them.

If I was you I'd pack it all into a bag and then pack that into his crate.

I'd also include a small tube of shampoo in case they got into something and an old towel.

I would not store paperwork but instead have a copy on email and have a photograph of it on your phone.

McDonalds KFC etc... love to display their nutrient values of their products... however remember that these are calculated PRIOR to cooking... anyone with any basic understanding of chemistry will accept that the minute we cook the foods we change the food. Hence the idea of a raw diet is that the nutrients DONT change.

The same applies to EVERY dry dog kibble... what is written on the packaging... is PRIOR TO cooking..... hence these nutrients are changed and in some cases even cooked out... and even if the packaging says "no artificial colours or preservatives" that doesn't mean they haven't added so called natural colours or preservatives.... sugar and its many forms along with salt are forms of preservative.

You are somewhat off base with these 2 comments as that is not how it rolls under legislation in this country.

Firstly - on the Maccas example, under Food Standards the nutritional composition including kJ count is based on the as consumed product ie what you get in the box. It is not based on the input values.

Similarly, nutritional composition for pet foods is based on the values of the output not the input ie raw ingredients.

Finally - it is pretty well known that no artificial colours/ flavours/ preservatives does not stop a product including actual (not so called) colours and flavours - meaning things taken from nature and not created in a lab.

And they look like baby ewoks when they are puppies!

I've come into contact with a number of them and love them. Very chilled dogs, love a cuddle etc

They are on my list of maybe one day dogs.

chicken bone (frames) broth has been known as an excellent aid for digestion in humans, my grandma used it when us kids were feeling seedy or had a cold.

here is some info anyhow...the info on the right hand side of the Marcola page is the shortened version http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx

I'm hoping it works in large quantities! My dog has been on chicken, rice and pumpkin the last 2 days and stole a takeaway container of bone broth off the bench. It was still frozen and he managed to eat 2/3 of it...he found it, stole it, opened it and ate it in the 15 mins I ducked out (and he's not a counter surfer as a rule).

You don't need heartworm in NZ. It is not present there - relates to temperature.