Odin-Genie

You could try mixing a spoon full of mince or yoghurt with the kibble. That would change the taste. It worked well with my dogs when they were puppies.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against raw food. All I am saying is that it may not suit all dogs.

But we're not talking about a millenia ago. How long do you think we have had commercial food for? it hasn't been around that long. What do you think domesticated dogs ate before there was neatly package dried food? Human food A lot of people I have talked to about dogs tell me that in their parents time, dogs were given scraps from their plates. There wasn't much awareness of dog food. The dogs probably did get raw meat once in a while, but also a lot of cooked food!!

Thanks, I'll check out the site I'm not sure if I should put Kei on the puppy or the grain free yet, it might be a little high protein at this age ;) I am thinking of starting with large breed puppy and than progressing to the grain free version Artemis large breed puppy food isn't grain free. It has brown rice and oatmeal. No corn or wheat.

I tend to agree. The old argument that because they ate raw meat in the wild a millenia ago, that ought to be the best food for them doesn't seem logical to me. I am not a dog nutritionist, but I know for sure that my elkhound can't handle raw meat more than once a week. He gets stomach upsets. So his regular diet is Artemis.

Thanks for that. I dont really know of anyone that's used the Artemis, but I really like the sound of it (checked out their website the other day) It's a bit $$ but honestly if its good food I don't mind. I think I might buy a small bag and give it a go when the Nutrience gets a bit lower. (I feed at least 1/2 raw, so 20kg lasts me ages!) What made you go with the no-grain version?? I was thinking of choosing the large breed puppy I had initially switched from Hills Science to Orijen puppy food, then the adult food (grain free) when my elkhound was 11 months old, but since that product was withdrawn due to irradiation issues, I decided to move to another grain free diet. I saw major improvements in terms of their coat, their energy levels and their poos (much smaller and tight , easy to pick up). Same with Artemis. You could ask for a sample pack from http://www.pawzazzpetz.com.au/ I initially tried a sample, my dogs loved it.

Both my male and female dogs cost about $200-$240 each for desexing (upper north shore area). The vet picked them up in the morning and dropped them back late in the evening. No extra charge for taking the stitches out (the vet came home for that too).

Sometimes (eg. once or twice a day, depending on the heat factor and whether I feel my dog needs more hydration) I will mix it with water. But only use a small amount of water (the quantity you would want your dog to drink in one go) as you'll find your dog will love it and will drink for the taste rather than because he needs all that water. I made the mistake of mixing it in too much water one time and it caused my dog to pee a lot and frequently .... not great when you're house training!!! . I wouldn't give it in water directly before bed time for this reason :p. My boy enjoys licking it off his (own) spoon in between times. When my boy was showing the coughing symptom and sore throat, I dosed (good sized teaspoon at a time) about 3 times a day. Maybe an extra one here and there to ease the cough itself, if it started up. That was only for the first couple of days. Even though his symptoms (coughing/sore throat) disappeared inside 24 hours, I dosed him 2 x daily pretty much for the rest of the week. Thanks Erny. I'll go and get some.

Do you mix the honey with water? What's the right dosage?

My male elkhound is super clean. He has never ever stepped on poo or pee, or any other yucky stuff. Never pees on himself and smells great. My female retriever kept stepping into yucky stuff till she was about five months old. Doesn't do that anymore, but loves to roll on wet grass and mud!!! She needs a bath every 15 days!! And her paws get washed or wiped when she steps into things she's not supposed to.

Hills Science does bring out a food for sensitive stomachs. I found Artemis great. My dog has a sentitive stomach, but is doing really well on Artemis.

Hi, I have recently switched to Artemis Maximal (grain free) for my two dogs. They are doing really well on it. They used to be on Hills Science but it didn't work as well. They love Artemis .

My two dogs used to be aggressive over food as puppies (particularly the golden retriever). Their trainer suggested getting them to sit and feed them treats together so that they learn to wait for their food and eat in each other' company without feeling that their food is being threatened. Now I can give them a fresh bone each and they would sit quietly side by side and chew.

My dogs used to dig so much that the backyard used to look like it had been hit by a meteor shower :D Recently I returfed the lawn during the holidays. They started digging again. I put poo around the edges. Now they don't touch it. They have part of the backyard for digging where it slopes into the bushy area. And that's ok. So yes, the poo works.

Since I have a dog door, the dogs have access to both inside and outside. I remember that the first week Genie was with us, she loved to sleep outside on the lawn, while Odin slept inside. Later of course she followed Odin and stayed in. The first night I saw her do this, my initial reaction was "poor pup, how can I let her stay outside all night"! But that's what she preferred. Even now, she prefers to sit out after dinner and get in only when she wants to sleep.

Yes, my dogs are treated differently. Odin is now past his crazy puppy stage and listens more. So I usually have to say a 'no' and he listens most of the times. Genie is in the stubborn, selective hearing stage. So I have to be more firm with her. Right now she can be quite a handful.

Totally agree. I have never used crates for my dogs. They are perfectly toilet trained. They are inside dogs. However, they have been taught that they will have full access to the house only when we are home. Otherwise they stay at the lower level. They are also used to staying at the lower level if we have guests that aren't comfortable with dogs or we need to work. But otherwise, they spend all their time with us. They are also excellent in the car. So no, I wouldn't say crate training is necessary.

I've been feeding my 11 month old and 15 month old Artemis Maximal. Poos all firm and tiny

I had the same issue with my Elkhound when he was a puppy. Everytime it rained, he would poo and pee inside. This went on till he was about three months old. We were running out of options. We even tried standing out in the rain with peanut butter for treats but he completely ignored us. Then we bought an outdoor umbrella, placed it so that it covered the dog door exit and part of the lawn. So he started going out in the rain and did his business under the umbrella. We would put the umbrella in place everytime it got cloudy. He stopped having any accidents within a few weeks. Now, at 15 months, he goes out in the rain by himself, though he still hates wet grass. Don't need the umbrella anymore.

Both my dogs are on Advantix. They get it every 15 days and haven't had any reaction (no itchies either). I don't put all of it in one spot either.

I was feeding both my dogs (including a golden retriever) Orijen as well. They just moved from puppy diet to adult. But after the irradiation issue, I changed to Artemis which is equally good. Also, Artemis is one of the brands that has confirmed that their food does not go through teh irradiation process that caused problems with Orijen. Edited to add last line.

I agree that it is a submission thing. A lot of dogs do it at the dog park, but I've never seen a dominant dog do it. Usually, the body language of the one doing the licking is ears pulled back, tail low and wagging.

A lot of dogs come up to my Elkhound and lick his face in the dog park. But the two of them don't do it at home.

What is the ideal weight for a female golden retriever? My 11 month old is about 30 kgs. I think she looks good (on the lean side) but everyone keeps telling me she's too skinny. And compared to other golden retrievers in the area, she does look quite skinny. But she's quite tall (almost as tall as the male retrievers) and is very tightly built.

I was told by my vet that there would be a lump after the desexing surgery and not to worry about it. It should go down in about 10 days.