Shmurps

I find the whole food thing interesting. I ask people all the time what they feed their dogs and I am surprised. example. 13 year old Mastiff x- 140 kg . 1 tin of 750gram pedigree each day, table scraps, Bonnie . Not overweight, slightly grey in the muzzle, soft coat. Husky breeder and show dog, competes around the world ,all fed tin Pedigree and supercoat. Beautiful black English staffy, with white chest..The softest( I have ever felt for a this breed) and most shiney coat...Natures gift chicken and rice and supercoat.

Just back from the supermarket and because I was buying birdseed I was in the pet poison aisle (oops, sorry pet food aisle) The cans of nature's gift I looked at all had 7 or 8 % protein and were labelled lamb rice and vege or roo pasta and vege etc - just the sort of food to feed an oppotunistic carnivorous scavenger. I couldn't find a breakdown of what % of what were in the can - which I thought was extremely odd if not illegal????? Perhaps my eyes weren't working properly. In comparison the woollie own brand stuff was 11% protein and 1/3 of the price to boot. Yes, I know not all protein is created equal! The one I had a peek at was the chicken and rice with no red meat.

Yes, that's pretty common. I have seen dogs where the whole coat has to come off. And it's not only the spoodle types, Cockers, Matlese, Shih Tzu, Cavaliers, Golden Retrievers any thing that has some sort of a coat. Not only are they mattered some of them are obese... It basically comes down to neglect and laziness.

I can't stand hair dressing salons. The smell of chemicals and the sound of hair dryers. IMO It is no environment for a dog anyway! Poor child, family and dog.

Is that true, Nature's Gift is the same as BARF patties? I have never bothered to read the ingredience in Natures Gift. I emailed Natures Gift to ask a few questions,and here is the response i got- "The only purpose dry food serves is to clean teeth unless it’s a meat based dry. As most dry foods are wheat based, they also delivery very little meat based protein to your dogs diet. As you would be aware with the barf diet, dogs require high levels of meat based protein. This is why your breeder would have recommended our canned food. Our food is 70% real meat with the rest made up from grains and vegetables. Only difference between ours and the barf diet is that we cook our ingredients in the can and seal in the goodness. " "What you have suggested about feeding one raw bone a week is perfect and your dog will thrive on our canned diet. You will see a difference in your dogs condition within a few weeks of using our food. It is complete and balanced and delivers the right amount of muscle meat protein your dog needs for optimal tissue growth and repair. " Natures Gift does read well (I think) They do say 70% real meat etc which was 10.8% protein, Nutro was 8.5% protien and I could'nt get Pedigrees breakdown out of interest.

Is that true, Nature's Gift is the same as BARF patties? I have never bothered to read the ingredience in Natures Gift.

No way... Glad it's at your place.

How big was the first one? Now I have the heebies.

I didn't think there was too much talking. The dogs were connected with their owners watching them and their body language. I think some of the European countries are way switched on. I am also a fan of Turid Rugaas.

Yes, that must be it. A friend was telling me about it but I couldn't find anything about it. That's so cool.

Same. Two different vets said the same thing. There has been several cases of parvo at one of the shelters. I wouldn't risk it especially when you could come in contact with it. Interesting read though.

Hi, Can anyone tell me how mirror training works and if it's any good? Thanks.

Could someone please tell me the difference between Main and Limited Register?

Can't help myself. Back in my days I can still remember every neighbours dogs and their names. 2 german shepperds, 1 Lab, 5 pound dogs (we have only ever had a pound dogs). They were part of the pack. They only ever had Chum or Pal and cheap dry and the odd table scraps. They were never on a leash and always hung around with us kids. They were the most balanced dogs I can remember. We were out all day and so were they. I remember they all lived to a great age and never suffered any illnesses.

I reckon EP is better but because it was getting a little harder to get I now use Nutro. Mine like it but they have never been fussy. I believe it can take between 30-60 days before you see any real difference. The Natural is made in Aus which I like from Aussie ingredience.

I am not sure how the 'inbreeding comment' is relevant to this, however, I agree that my breed in particular is far removed from the wolf but the basis that I feed them on is raw and natural is better than preservative and chemical filled products. I also feed my human family on a simialr philosophy ... just not so much is raw. I think I put that in because dogs just don't seem like dogs anymore, or resemble the wolf so to speak. Obviously another topic all together. Not going there.

Thanks all. I guess it's a personal thing. I hope that the brands I have chosen to use are ethical, unlike some that are not. I believe that my dogs have good coats, good teeth and are of a healthy weight. Can't say that I will convert to the wolf diet or raw diet. However they do get their bones and a home cooked reciepe once a week. I think I have done my head in over this issue and now it's time to let it go.

Hi all, A newby here. Just reading over the raw diet posts. Debating over it in my head over the last couple of years. A couple of questions. Are "all " the ingredients that you use organic? Considering all the inbreeding these days and dogs are so removed from the wolf what are the major benefits? Do you guys use natural products for flea treatments? if so would love a reciepe. What do you use for worming? Do you vaccinate? And what were reasons for changing. I have been using Eagle Pack and Nutro for the last 2 years. In 40 years of owning dogs we have never had an illness and they have lived to great years. Look forward to hearing from you. Jen.

Thanks to all who replied so far. Thanks for your help too Kelpie-i.

Hi all, My first post here I'm looking for advice or suggestions to help me with my rescue Jack Russell, Maggie, who has aggression towards other dogs. We have had Maggie for 18 months and she lives with our Kelpie x Sheltie, Murphy, who was also a rescue dog. They get on really well and when we introduced them there was an instant connection. I cannont pin point the time that Maggie started this behaviour - aggression towards other dogs. We have had home training, obedience classes and private training with a behaviourist who also assesess rescue dogs. Maggie is really good with people and children. She has never growled or shown teeth (at this point) and seems to have a tolerance distance of about 10-15 feet. Her tail is wagging and there is a whole lot of barking and if left she will go on and on. We walk every day and try to work on this especially when we pass other dogs. Some days are better than others. She is never rewarded for bad behavior. One of the reasons why I need to sort this out is that Murphy has been diagnosed with lymphoma. He is doing really well at the moment but I believe Maggie will need another canine friend. Do you think Maggie needs canine interaction to help her rather than human? Look forward to hear about any advice. Jenny