curlyking

I see... so all Amish are bad.... interesting! Is that sort of like saying all Jews keep Kosher? Your words and your interpretation not mine.

I have no idea whether they are old or new order but I do know the Amish in Pennsylvania both grow the food for EP and have puppy farms

This may well be but they are grown by the Amish community who are very big puppy farmers in the USA

I work the opposite way. If you are feeding a good raw diet why add kibble?

EP will cost you as much if not more than Hills S/D Both your dogs could easily go onto a BARF type diet without any problem. It is a lot of work initally but once you become more familar you will become more confidient wiht it and realize it does not have to beperfect all the time. The mantra with a raw diet is balance over time.

Stop cooking the mince. It will be much better for her to be fed raw meat

Try feeding her in the crate and when she has finished her food leave her in the crate for a short time and gradually extend the time. Stop taking her out and allowing her to get her own way now or you will never be in control

Breakfast on occassions for my 4 is sardines mixed with cottage cheese . They lick the bowl for about 5 minutes after it is empty. Also tinned mackeral is a great back up when one forgets to deforst dog food and I used tuna as part of my puppy raising diet. See the photo of my puppy raising foods here http://home.alphalink.com.au/~hendo/Whelp/whelp.html

Try a magnetic collar, bed or coat. Will not cure the problem but from my experience will make her much more comfortable and suffer far less pain. I bought my collar at Dick Wicks but there are some available on line. PM me if you would like some links. It is so hard when the dogs get old hope the rimadly helps but have you checked out the issues with it? Being a BC it may pay you to do so

Leftovers for your Airedale are fine in moderation but I suggest you wait until he/she is a bit older. Leftovers should not be the mainstay of the diet the best imo for that is a natural raw diet BUT I strongly suggest you stick to the diet given to you by your breeder. This is the most likely diet to set your pup up for a healthy life without problems associated with imbalanced diet problems. It is also the best defense you have if you have any issues with your pup that you may want to take back to your breeder. With regard to feeding portions. I feed my Airedales a raw diet and work on 2 to 3% of the dog's weight per day for adults. For pups I would feed about 10% per day. So my adult 27 kg dog has about 800g per day. I feed very little dry food as I believe it is an inferior food.

Don't know what breed you are feeding but when I changed my Airedales to BARF my food bill went sky high. The cost of ny of the "waste" items such as lamb flaps or shanks and even chicken necks is far in excess of pet mince @ 60 cents a kg. plus a middle range dry food

I also would go for a wire one first up. I do have a soft crate inside for one of the dogs to use but they all prefer the wire ones. As for using a soft crate in the car, I'd never do so. My idea of having the dog crated is more for the safety of the dog (and the inside of the car). In the event of an accident the soft crates would IMO give the dog no protection at all. Any dog with not much determination would easily destroy a soft crate but having said that for a crate trained dog they do have their place

An option may be Gold Bead Therapy. There was posts on this forum not too long ago and someone had their dog treated in Bathurst if I remember correctly. Well worth looking at and no where as costly or invasive as surgery.

MegaPet Warehouse had Missing Link on their shelves this morning. This was at Ringwood (Melb) Sorry I cannot remeber the size pkt but it was $49.00

I also use round tip scissors. If you leave the hair theyre you will find fur balls and mud balls forming and these can be quite painful for the dog. Of course then he will not want you to touch them. Also if you leave the big hairy feet you may find the feet spread. May not be an issue for you but having a breed that should have tight feet it can be important

I don't have a problem with a lot of poo. What comes out of my dogs is a small amount of hard poo. Maybe because I only feed about 1/2 cup together with chicken necks or mince of some sort being the majority of the feed. Sorry I too have emptied the bag and binned it. However, I have a feeling that the ingredient list was on the forum not too long ago.Perhaps a search would bring it up. I know Ilooked at the list and although it could have been better it was not the worst I've seen by a long shot

Yes, I have been using both this and Uncle Albers which is made by the same people. The difference as I can see it is that the uncle albers is slightly smaller. Cost is about $25 for 22kg bag and I buy it at either Robbos Pet Barn or my local produce store. All in all I think it an excellent food looking at my dogs. However, they do only get it 2 or 3 times a week as a rule

But no way could I give one nail a constant 15 seconds of application. I probably should clarify that by saying the sanding disc is being moved on the nail for that time rather then putting it on the nail and letting it stay in the same position. Maybe mine does no run with it's full rpm but I certainaly have had no problem with the dog showing discomfort.

Hi Rachelle, my grinder runs at 10,000 rpm and I have no problem with it at all. I have left the sanding disc in contact with the nail for up to 15 seconds without the dog showing any discomfort.

Mee too!

I'd be a bit cautious about what your vet is saying. My dogs have often had similar colour hair around various parts of their body and they do not suffer at all from allergies. IF this is the only basis for his diagnosis then I'd question it. How does bub's skin look? AS for it not being normal for a dog to lick themself I'd also disagree with the vet and agree with your thought of it being a grooming thing. I would certainally take him off the Royal Canine for a start but whatever diet changes you make are, as has already been said, likely to take some time to show any differences.

Sorry to hear that Mell. I know how you feel though as the girl I had used it on with great success for some time now appears to need something stronger. Still is saved me from having her on metacam or similar for the last 3 years ao I am grateful for that. If we now have to go down that track so be it. Hope you can get your boy sorted out soon. Also, I don't know it this is appropriate for your problem but i have just recently - about 10 days ago started using a magnetic collar and that has been very useful for my girl.

www.herbal-treatments.com.au have a super anti infammatory mix that I have used for ages on many and varied problems. Have a look, Robert McDowell will also do phone or online consultations if you wish to speak with him. He is at Bathurst

Thanks Erny, Wednesday is mostly no go for me at the moment unfortunately but will keep him in mind for later