Steve

To be honest Im not sure but I figure it cant do any harm and just in case it works Ive got the stuff here ready to go I have to travel about 30 mins to get to a vet and Ill stick a needle of vit c in on the way.

This is why I dont feed alfalfa. CLINICAL SUMMARY Alfalfa sprout extracts exhibit potent estrogenic activity in vitro (9), therefore patients with estrogen sensitive cancers should be careful about using alfalfa supplementation. Rats fed with alfalfa are more susceptible to colon cancer, however similar effects in humans have not been observed (2). SCIENTIFIC NAME PURPORTED USES Allergies Asthma Diabetes GI disorders High cholesterol Lactation stimulation Menstrual disorder Promote urination CONSTITUENTS In the Foliage: Carotinoids: lutein Triterpene saponins: sojasapogenol A-E aglycones medicagenic acid, hederagenin Isoflavonoids: formononetin glycosides, genistein, daidzein, biochanin A, coumestrol, Coumarins: coumestrol, 3’-methoxy coumestrol, lucernol, sativol, trifol, medicagol Triterpenes: sigmasterol, spinasterol Cyanogenic glycosides Seeds: L-canavaine Betaine: stachydrine, homostacydrine Trigonelline Fatty oil (1) (3) MECHANISM OF ACTION Saponins present in the herb act on the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems (1). The hypocholesterolemic and hemolytic activity of the leaves and sprouts of alfalfa are attributed to a steroidal saponin fraction. These saponins and fiber contained within the plant bind to cholesterol in vitro. Alkaloids such as stachydrine and l-homo-stachydrine found in the seed are thought to give alfalfa its emmenagogue and lactogenic activity (2). Extracts from alfalfa were preferentially agonistic towards estrogen receptor beta and alfalfa was shown to increase estrogen-dependent MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation even greater than estradiol (9). The non-protein amino acid constituent, L-canavanine constitutes 1.5% of the dry weight of alfalfa seeds and alfalfa sprouts. It has been shown to affect human T-cells in vitro and to induce hematologic and serologic abnormalities characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus syndrome in monkeys (12). This mechanism has been proposed as the way in which systemic lupus erythematosus relapse occurs in humans as well (7), although some researchers question whether L-canavanine concentrations in alfalfa are great enough to cause this effect. (8). WARNINGS Avoided during pregnancy and nursing (11). Patients with latent systemic lupus erythematosus have had relapse after the ingestion of alfalfa tablets (6). Alfalfa sprouts have been linked to a number of E.coli and Salmonella infections in California (10). CONTRAINDICATIONS Alfalfa should be avoided in pregnant and lactating women. Alfalfa should be avoided in patients with hormone sensitive cancer. Due to the high content of purines, alfalfa should be avoided in patients with gout(4).

BYott Commercial dog food which is sold as a complete food as most are alrady have a certain ratio of minerals in them Most especially phosphorous and calcium . If you feed human grade mince then what you're doing is upsetting that balance and feeding too much phosphorous You would have the same result if you were feeding human grade mince and no commercial food. These two minerals need each other to do their job in the body They also need some other trace minerals and vitamins but the especially important ones are these two. If you have too much phosphorous and not enough calcium then you have a situation where the phosphorous will leach calcium from the dogs bdy and bones in order to asimilate and move through the body so as you can imagine you can do huge damage to growing pups if you do this If you give too much calcium and not enough phosphorous you get a similar result especuially if you suppliment the wrong type of calcium or too much. The answer is to feed meat with the bone this is just the right type of mineral and in the right proportions 9 plus week old puppies can easily eat up a chicken wing or lamb flap with no prolems. Dont feed human grade mince whether its cooked or raw .This is the perfect recipe for bone and joint problems .

Regarding raw eggs. Raw eggs contain great sources of amino acids, vitamins and minerals the white of the raw egg does also contain a chemical called Avidin which does bind biotin which is a B vitamin and stops it from absorbing However nature has given the yolk of the egg stacks of biotin in fact it is the highest concentrated source of the vitamin which can be found in nature. So eating raw eggs doesnt give you a deficiency in biotin at all unless you only ever eat the white without the yolk . Its a perfect balance which makes sure there's not too much or too little of the vitamin being able to be absorbed. Ideally especially because you have a dog with a fairly high incidence of hip problems Id like to see you feeding a raw food diet and you really dont need to feel that its complicated or difficult Its all about feeding the dog the way you feed yourself with lots of balance and variety. You dont need to put heaps of energy in or be a kitchen whizz or a rocket scientist. However the best advice I can offer anyone on feeding is that they ensure that they feed a balanced varied diet. Even if you choose to only feed commercial dog foods and nothing else you need to change them around , mix em together etc to prevent any over or under supplimentation of nutrients especially minerals. Also commercial dog foods dont have live emzymes, probiotics or most of the vitamins so you need to have a look at supplimenting these . No matter what the label says these things are destroyed in the processing and storage of the foods . My puppies get little bits of everything same as my kids do. The aim is to feed a varied balanced diet which aims for providing whatthe dog needs over a period of about a week . Just as you know you need to feed yourself and your kids variety and that its not possible to provide every thing they need in every meal this is the basic prncipal in having a healthy dog.

How very sad that you have had to have this news . But unless Im mistaken the tumors arent caused by the neospora ?

You know what Years ago when we first started with our Maremmas we hadnt been in town long and so we were sussing out the vets etc. I picked up a new Maremma pup and it looked pretty good to me ,fed it on BARF for 4 weeks and then took it off to the vet for its first vaccination Problem was I didnt go to the vet my husband did. The vet carried on about the lumps on his legs and how it was a true sign of a lack of calcium and husband came home very worried and about $50 worth of calcium and other crap. The lumps were the joints in the bloody dog's leg Ive never seen a dog that didnt have them and if they didnt it would be deformed. So immeadieately I putthe dog inthe car and took itto another vet . Didnt say that a vet had said anything just that I wanted it checked out because I was concerned . Within 2 hours of the first diagnosis the second vet said the dog was perfectly healthy and didnt need any calcium. Now if thats not an obviuos case of scamming people who are inexperienced for money I dont know what is . Im really glad your pup is O.K. This is great news but its got to make you wonder how a vet can be talking about putting a dog down and in a few days its all better?

Ive seen a whole litter of boxers like this because the breeder fed the little guys on weetbix and human mince 4 times a day and nothing else It only took a week and all was well after a new diet. 12 kg at 12 weeks might not be a giant breed pup but it sure is a pretty big pup by my standards.

Stop Cool off calm down This pup will be O.K. It just needs to be fed properly for a while . Cordelia had some great photos of a pup that had a problem that looked even worse than this one does and it came back O.K.. I picked up a pup once from another breeder [ sight unsen] and when it arrived it had legs just like this It took about 6 weeks and all was well. What you're seeing is fairly common in large breed pups that have been fed too much phosphorous and not enough calcium . Supplimenting him with calcium isnt the answer but lots of raw chicken wings and a multi vitamin for children ,some aloe vera and some apple cider vinegar and all will be well. For a vet to say put it to sleep because it will probably suffer with arthritis because of this condition is a bit out there and many vets dont understand the growth issues related to diet well enough to be able to make these kind of suggestions. No reason why there should be any secondary problems as long as you feed a well balanced diet from now on.

If the vet is saying her poos are a bit fibrous [and thats the problem] sardines in oil will fix the problem Sometimes in springtime my guys have poos that look like they have eaten rope BUT Ive never had a situation where they are trying to poo for such a long time and cant so Im glad you took her to the vet as it did sound more potentially serious . Now to cows milk for dogs. Firstly all mammals drink milk until they about triple their birth weight . In fact humans are the only mammal that drink milk past this time and all mammal milk is different Bitch milk is much higher in fat than cows milk and has most things hugely different in ratio. Because milk isnt consumed past the time it takes to triple their birth weight many mammals lose the ability to manufacture an enzyme which is required to break down the lactose in milk . This is called lactase and its in the small intestine and produced by the pancreas. Cheese does not contain anywhere near the amounts of lactose and it has other enzymes which help to break it down. Even in humans and animals that dont any longer manufacture lactase the natural bacteria and flora in the intestine is enough to be able to digest and assimilate the lactose as long as its in easily managed amounts and as long as there has been no antibiotics prescribed. Remember also that pasturisation and homogenisation have an impact on the assimilation and digestion of milk .Pasturisation kills off another enzyme called phosphatase which is needed for the digestion of calcium and milk is high in phosporous so there is a potential in feeding milk products that have been pasturised in large quantities that calcium absorption may be interupted. Homogenisation is a process where a chemical called xanthine oxidase is introduced to the mix which keeps the fat cells evenly distributed in the liquid rather than sitting on the top as it used to in the old days . This surrounds the fat cells in the milk and its absorbed straight into the bloodstream . This has also been looked at regarding its impact on brain cells and agressive behaviour. All this simply brings us to a situation where we can give our dogs some milk if we want to . If we want to give it gas, cramps and runny poos we should give it lots of milk . Cows milk is good for baby cows and adult cows wont touch it . As always the message is a varied diet and all things in moderation.

Its pretty rare for a dog to get this as they have a shorter digestive tract however if you're worried about it just wash the chicken in apple cidar vinegar before you feed it and that kills off any bacteria.

You dont need to be a kitchen wizz or a rocket scientist. Once again Im amazed at how ,because of the crap put out by dog food companies people have to worry more about what they feed their dogs than they do their kids. Dont cook for your dog , if they get rice or potato make it the left overs not something you've gone out of your way to make especially for the dog . You dontworry about your diet being balanced and giving you all you need or if you do you take a viatnmin pill now and then You understand that feeding yourself and your kids means you have to feed variety. Sometime you grab Macdonalds and other days you snack on chips and twisties. 70 to 80 percent of this diet is raw meaty bones So just throw your dog a bone ,soft bones that they can get a feed off like chicken , lamb flaps etc . This covers all of your amino acids, most minerals and some vitamins Then look at whats soft or a bit off in the back of the fridge, fat out of the frying pan or griller, soft over ripe fruit , raw eggs, table scraps etc . Buy a juicer You drink the juice and give the dog the pulp When you do your vegies save the peels and the bits you cut off the broccoli stalks etc and cook em up lightly and mix em with whatever else is going. And the best way of being sure you're doing it right and the dog isnt missing out on anything is to give em a childrens multi vitamin. They dont really need it but it makes you feel better and cant do any harm. When Ian billinghurst started out he was brilliant and his books are still the best starting point for anyone starting barf but the patty thing has become a method for him to make money and in my opinion its a bit overrated especially for people who only have one or two dogs. The Tom Lonsdale site is good , less commercialised and less mess and fussing with healthy dogs as the outcome. I make my own because its cheaper. I make up my own patties as I have so many dogs and table scraps wont go that far but everytime I make em they ar different and Im really against making them up or feeding a dog to a set recipe . Even if you feed commercial dog food changing brands often is the key to having a healthier dog . You know you cant put everything you need into every feed It why you go shopping and buy a variety of foods and why every meal is different so just do the same for your dogs.The less you cook for them, and fuss over what they are going to eat the healthier they will be as long as you give them a variety of different foods,the less processed the better. Peanut butter sandwiches are the equivalent to Maccas around here.

Nothing equals Aloe Vera this isnt a myth and has been proven The Russians have done some great reserach on this IT also cuts down onhealing time Calendular is good but doesnt go anywhere near the Aloe. There are a couple of different types of Vitamin E but Ive never known any of them to be much chop.

My pups start eating raw meaty bones at 3 weeks Their Mum chews em up for them and then vomits them back all warm and crushed By the time they are 5 weeks old they work over a neck or a wing pretty well all on their own. I dont feed any commercial food at all. I think bonnie is crap and its made from the same stuff Max's cat litter is made from The rice hulls that are left over after manufacturing and processing rice for human consumption Its why Bonnie started a pet food company in the first place. Here's some links Get educated and then when a vet manager wants to try to sell you on what they say they know let em have it. Ian Billinghursts Give your dog a Bone is available from his website or from any good library. http://www.bluegrace.com/barf.html http://www.rawmeatybones.com/ http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/barf_pups.shtml http://www.barfworld.com/main.shtml http://www.barfers.com/bigpicture.html

I forgot one Junket tablets work like magic as well. Just crush em up and add to the water.

For future reference Treating a pup or a dog with runny poos is no different to treating yourself or a child with the same problem . No food for at least 24 hours, some probiotics [You can get these from a chemist or health food store and keep them in the fridge ], These replace the bad flora causing the symptoms with good stuff and you can add some apple cidar vinegar or a little staminade or similar to keep up the electrolytes to help prevent dehydration . You dont want to introduce solid food again especially food with roughage until the symptoms are gone and when you do you want bland food such as cooked chicken and yoghurt for about 24 hours . Corn flour is good for the trots as well. Even if it turns out to be something more sinister these things wont do any harm .

fIN There's no more research just more published and the AMA wouldnt be able to get away with what the vets do. There is one protocol for humans based on immunology and there should be one protocol for animals but the veterinary mob arent regulated the way the medical profession is. Dogs need what humans need - a varied diet , balanced for most nutrients over a period of about a week or a fortnight. All this crap about balanced diet in every meal etc is just a scam and an advertising success story Funny how they are all complete meals and they all have everything the dog needs but they are all different. As a mother you know you cant give the kids all they need every feed and that you need to give variety its no different for dogs. We used to know what was best for our dogs Meat off cuts, raw meaty bones and table scraps then we were bombarded with propoganda until we felt guilty and incapable of feeding it all it needed. What a joke. We worry and suffer if we're a few weeks late with our yearly visits to the vet to have our yearly spend up Come in spinner. Pebbles I too came in contact with an older vet , just getting ready to retire about 28 years ago and he told me not to vaccinate past the first booster .

As far as I know in NSW its the law for boarding kennels to see vaccination certificates before they take dogs in. Personally Id rather pay someone to come tomy house daily and feed and water my dogs ,they will even water your plants and rotate your lights being turned on if you want . Here's what fasinates me. First distemper hasnt been seen in this state and most others for over 20 years. Second believe it or not my kids are more important to me than my dogs and Ive never been offered a titre test for kids . One vaccination their whole life for measles , rubella ,mumps meningococcil a couple their whole life for polio, diptheria etc and one every ten years or so for tetanus . And here's what ticks me off. Every person that walks through a vet office is treated like a bloody idiot , before you go sticking things in my dogs I should be told the truth about vaccinations and not just give a yearly shot for my money . Even if you give vets the benefit of the doubt and say they dont know these issues because they go by what the chemical companies tell them it should be their job to find out BEFORE they compromise my dogs health because they think that if us moronic dog owners arent told they need a vaccination every year we wont bring our dogs in for a yearly check up. Ive got 8 kids , the youngest is 8 and he has NEVER been to the doctor for anything other than vaccinations I dont race him off every year for an annual check up why do I need to take a perfectly healthy dog every year. ? O.K. sure there are some idiots that own dogs but we all shouldnt be treated this way and our dogs immune systems bombed under this umbrella. Parvo is our only real potentaial threat if the dog is the one in 500 or so that has a low titre and there are killed vaccines for this that dont create the problems with the immune system but if you get one of these available off the net for $7.50 its not counted for a boarding kennel because the scam of the century is that a certificate has to be signed by a vet. This may not have been a money making issue when it all first came about but there's no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what it is now. If the medical profession got all human parents to bring their kids in once a year for a needle the way vets do there would be hell to pay. Why do people stress more about the health andnutrition of their pets than they do their kids? PROPOGANDA.

I dont vaccinate anything here past their first booster Here's an article to help you think about it. All 27 veterinary schools in North America are in the process of changing their protocols for vaccinating dogs and cats. Here, in a nutshell, are the new guidelines under consideration: "Dogs and cats immune systems mature fully at 6 months. If a modified live virus (MLV) vaccine is given after 6 months of age, it produces immunity, which is good for the life of the pet (i.e., canine distemper, parvo, feline distemper). If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, the antibodies from the first vaccine neutralize the antigens of the second vaccine and there is little or no effect. The titer is not 'boosted' nor are more memory cells induced. http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm#titer "Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines. Puppies receive antibodies through their mothers milk. This natural protection can last 8-14 weeks. Puppies and kittens should NOT be vaccinated at LESS than 8 weeks. Maternal immunity will neutralize the vaccine and little protection (0-38%) will be produced. Vaccination at 6 weeks will, however, delay the timing of the first highly effective vaccine. Vaccinations given 2 weeks apart suppress rather than stimulate the immune system. A series of vaccinations is given starting at 8 weeks and given 3-4 weeks apart up to 16 weeks of age. Another vaccination given sometime after 6 months of age (usually at 1 year 4 months) will provide lifetime immunity." srdogs.com http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/news.apr.may.3.html The most recently accepted protocol that your vet should be following can be found at: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/vth/SAVP2.HTM This research above has been out for quite some time, it just takes an awful long time to change peoples old ways of doing things.Vaccinations can cause myriad problems with your pets. Here are some additional articles to read: http://www.geocities.com/~kremersark/CSAP.html http://www.whale.to/m/pitcairn6.html http://www.whale.to/m/pets.html

No worries about them choking but sometimes they wont eat the shells so a good way to recycle egg shells is to put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes , put them in a paperbag and run over them with a rolling pin This turns them into tiny peices that you can sprinkle on their food if you like. . This gives you the equivalent to naturally occurring calcium in an easily absorbed form which would cost you a fortune for if you bought it at the pet shop as a suppliment. This is how I feed egg shell to my puppies .

As long as you give the yolk with the white there's no big deal There is a property in egg white that knocks out one of the nutrients but the yolk counteracts this. The shell is a great source of calcium as well. Dogs of any age eat raw egg with no worries.

Vehs Thats O.K I admit it did bend my nose a little but I can see that if you dont know the breed you will assume that they are just like any other dogs and they really arent. Im really passionate about these guys and my aim is to try to help DA to understand what she has in the hope that it will make for both her and her dog to live together understanding each other. Too many of them end up dumped because people didnt understand before they got them what to expect .

Yes Im biased but I also own a lot of Maremma and I have done for a long time Ive got them in working situations and mooching around the house as pets. I find it pretty amazing that my experience with the breed and all of the years of hard yakka Ive put into owning and knowing them can be discounted by a comment about taking what I say as tongue in cheek because I own them and Im there fore biased, : I own boxers and beagles and Corgis and Im biased with them also but if you described the same situation with any of them I would agree it was a dominance thing . When a Maremma thinks they are the dominant dog they act exactly the opposite and they behave submissively . This isnt just my say so and Ive a great book here which tells all about Maremmas , their body language and their behaviours written by a guy who spent his life obseving them in a group and with their families. They are not pack animals [the same way beagles are pack animals] and they have been bred to work singly with their herd not with other dogs at all. When they are together in a pack the dominant dog doesnt act the same way as other dominant dogs of other breeds do. I could take all night to tell you examples of this but its my opinion that the pup was not showing any signs of dominance or aggression any more than it would have been if it had treated one of its herd this way. The site that you posted is of no real benefit to devine angel as she has a pet and just as when I first got involved with the breed conflicting stories and warnings and advice will abound This is why I owned them and lived with them in both working and pet situations for a long time before I ever bred them I wanted to be sure of what I knew so I could pass on the info to anyone buying them for working dogs or pets.I devoted a hell of a lot of my life to learning about them Im not biased toward the breed to a point where I dont know their faults or their weaknesses or the management issues and in my opinion based on the fact that this is a purebred Maremma and only a baby one that this isnt a show of dominance. The reason I own purebred Maremma is so I can have this degree of predictibility and know what to expect from them and how to manage the breed . You may consider me biased but considering my experience and face to face hands on with the breed on a constant daily basis for the past 15 or so years Id say Im as much an expert on this as anyone . However, whether you want to label it dominance and argue with me on pack behavour isnt really the issue .It was unacceptable and regardless of whether it was showing dominance or not it needs to be handled.

No she's a maremma She wasnt trying to show she was leader at all.

Dont play with this puppy like this. She's only 8 weeks old and if you continue you dont stand a chance when she is 55 kg . Forget about defending yourself , get up and out of her way and GROWL at her and put her out. What works well with this breed is an empty can of coke or similar with stones in the bottom of it Masking tape over the end . When she's naughty shake it and it will let her know she's out of line.

Dosent matter if you use the dry or the fresh . Same amount of oil in both and the hot water will pull the oil out Just let it sit for a while before you strain it. Dried is more potent because its got less water.