LizT

What rot! I'm sorry but there is no irrefutable evidence that a dog will 'thrive' on a vegetarian diet. They are not vegetarian animals. Why would someone even contemplate changing an animals natural diet just because they don't consume meat themselves? It's utterly selfish and is basically an anal act of anthropomorphic idiocy. Any normal person would feed their animal what it has been designed and has evolved (over many millenium of evolution) to eat. To do otherwise is NOT normal. I have no patience with nutjobs and fruitloops and if you look under my avatar you will notice that 'political correctness' is not my preferred stance. Exactly, who's going to start adding meat to their horses diets just because that's what they eat? It's a simple question of what an animal has evolved to eat in my opinion. I don't see wolves stalking cabbages Those sneaky cabbages are hard to catch!! My stallion used to "stalk" the chickens!! Don't think he was planning to eat one though LOL :D

Yes, I've just been reading about the thread in General Discussions. Quite a bit said. Sorry, but is is difficult to 'see' everything being 'said' around the forum. Oh, and apparently the Bassett gets the "occasional" marrow bone??

Ta.

What about flea protection for your dogs, doesn't Avantix cover fleas too?

My sister who lives in London was telling me about her flatmate who owns a lovely Basset Hound that she spends a great deal of time caring for. The dog is a vegetarian (so is the owner) and gets a commercial brand of Vegetarian Dog Food. 25 years ago I had friends from England who were also Vegetarians and they also had a friend with a Vegetarian German Shepherd. ?????

Nice to hear they are getting on. I guess you don't need to be told not to leave them alone together (but JIC)...oh, and that they both will need "time out" from each other! Alot of dogs don't enjoy enthusiastic toddler hugs..too often.

You know that it isn't really a good habit for you to get into ..... the scattering of dry food. Can encourage picky eating if the dog realises that if he refuses a meal that it doesn't matter because there will be SOMETHING available for him anyway. Far better to remove the meal completely and not offer it until next meal and then he'll be good and hungry and far less likely to knock back the next meal. And another reason for not scattering food or leaving dry food down all the time is that you run the risk of encouraging rodents. Not to mention the 'fun' the winged rats have!

Hi there BB My not quite 1 year old has been on one meal a day since she was about 6-7 months old. Sounds like he's not a greedy boy.

You mean Comfrey ?? Great Stuff.

I've used the Vets at Wandin (Warburton Highway) in The Yarra Valley for years now and have always been impressed with the way they handle varying situations with intelligence and sensitivity. Always willing to take time to explain things to me. Can highly recommend them.

That's good news. ;) Don't let this episode put you off bones. She needs that chewing outlet for so many good reasons.

I lost a horse a few years back to "Protein losing enteropathy" that was caused by drinking nasty dam water during late summer after the remnants of the dam had algae present. She had fresh water available but went to the dam out of habit I guess. We fenced the dam off so it wouldn't happen again. She was an older horse (26 yrs) and they are quite suceptable to that type of thing but so are foals). That condition doesn't present like your dogs symptoms but that is my experience with algae and nasty bugs in the water.

Don't forget to set it on "STUN" (humming Star Trek theme as she types! LOL

Ahh mothers...gotta love 'em! I'm one myself so I know what it' like from both sides now LOL! The constipation (if that is the problem) could also be caused by the fat content blocking her intestines and maybe "wolfing" it down and not chewing which dogs tend to do "just in case another animal comes by to take it!". The Vet will give her something to help her 'go'.

From my personal experience tear staining is a very frustrating issue with many different theories being thrown about as to its cause and possible treatments. I spent a great deal of money and time with my first Cavalier in the first year and a half of her life trying to find out if there was a cause and therefore a possible treatment for her tear staining. Most Vets don't hold with the "teething theory", I don't find it very plausable either. She was checked by Vets, had her ducts flushed, been given the all clear by Opthamologists as having (quote) "very good eyes from an Opthamologists point of view" (unquote) but still needs her eyes wiped and dried daily to prevent tear staining. I've come to accept it as part of her grooming as no cause for the tearing has been found and I have been told it is COMMON to that type of eye shape. My second Cavalier doesn't have a tearing problem at all. Interestingly alot of dogs (white ones) have red staining around their mouths from the saliva (bacteria in the saliva??) I have also seen staining on feet where dogs lick themselves excessively, again the saliva. Oh, (don't know if anyone addressed your question) but don't consider putting Vaseline under her eyes. It's Petroleum Jelly, a Petro Chemical by product. Nasty stuff.

Tear staining can be quite"normal" for a lot of toy breeds as their ducts are so tiny that there is often an overflow of the tear onto the face. The ducts become blocked and even if flushed by a vet will most often become blocked again in time. Particularly common with breeds whose eyes are quite rounded and protrude such as Cavs and Chis. There is not necessarily anything insideous behind tear stains but it is always best to rule out any problems with your vet as there are certainly many conditions that can make it worse. It is the composition of the tear itself that causes the staining and not bacteria although bacteria can be present if the area is not cleaned and dried regularly and this bacteria will cause the skin to go yucky (technical term LOL). It is always more noticable in white fur. At least this is what I have been told by a number of vets over a number of years.

Well I bought a Pedipaws today for only $10 so I'm not expecting to get "more than what I paid for"! I must say that as a complemetary item to the nail clippers it's just fine. It make for a nice buff after using the clippers to smooth off rough edges. This said I bought it with the Cavaliers in mind. The Shepherd is fine with a standard trimmer and regular walks and runs up the road with my daughter. I don't think it would be much use on his large claws in any case. Sadly I saw this product advertised for $75.00 plus $14.95 postage and handling on another website and it's simply just not worth that kind of money!. Yes, the Dremmel is definitely a superior state of the art product, and I would like to have one but it is expensive and I can't justify the price (maybe someday). The Pedipaw does take a bit of experience in using it correctly, but once mastered is quite easy. The important thing is to keep the angle correct or you can stop the disc with the claw. I read the instructions but came up with a strategy of my own. First sit with dog on lap having a cuddle a few times during the day with unit just running and talking and making a big fuss of the dog. After having done this a few times and finding dog now okay with the noise, then just resting the unit against paws and nail so that dog can feel gentle vibration action against them. NOT PUTTING NAIL TO SANDING AREA AT THIS STAGE. (I use a similar method when clipping a horse for the first time by just running the noisey clippers near him for a while and then just resting the clippers against his skin without clipping at first to give him an idea of the vibration and noise.) Then after dog okay with this just sanding ONE nail for three to five seconds as recommended in instructions. Anyway I found it to be not as useless as some have.

So then would 'pano' be stricted to front legs only ?

What's your definition of "getting old" ?? LOL

Have you read the thread on "Limping 9 months German Shepherd"? It's just a little further down on this discussion page. Without exhaustive veterinary tests and it is impossible to say exactly what is wrong but you may find the information on that thread worthwhile and interesting reading should you have confirmation of the possible cause of your puppys limp. Have you been to a vet? How long has he been limping? I know it's hard taking a dog with an intermitten limp to the vets, I've been through this myself.

Funnily enough she's only been twice today. Once when she got up this morning and just again now after her meal. I though Advance was supposed to make smaller and lesser poos too??? Sure I read it somewhere?

Yes, it's cetainly good to try to keep Aussies in a job but it makes me mad when I think of all the Australian Companies that have been sold off to overseas concerns, so they still look like Aussie companies but all the profits still go overseas. I used Hills previously and I believe (have been told) it's more palatable than most others (not that eating has ever been an issue with my dogs) but when I bought a puppy from an "Advance breeder" and received the Puppy Pack I was please to see it was Australian Made, which I consider to be an added bonus, so I've kept on using it. Horrible thought......is the "extra" pooing because of the nasty poo eating episodes??? It does have to come out again?? Also would changing the time of day I feed my dogs make any difference??? I think most feed in the evenings.

Ah, nothing like a bit of exercise to get things moving!! LOL

Are any of these brands Australian Made? What difference would it make as to where it is made. ?.If it is better for your dog. I purchase what suits the dogs best. If it came down to a matter of health it wouldn't make a difference one little bit. I'd get the import BUT....as a person I generally try very hard (AND it's becoming extremely difficult these days) to BUY AUSTRALIAN MADE PRODUCTS. Also other countrys have a different Food Administration Standard than Australian, this goes particulary for dog food too. Some can put in many things that are disallowed here. This countrys' economy has been going down the gurgler since I first left school in 1977 and our industry is completed stuffed. The rest of the world is following suit. Check the labels on your clothes. I used to work in the clothing inductry when I first left school, now most is subcontracted offshore. I swore I would not by another packet of Arnotts biscuits when the company sold out to American in the 80's. And I haven't bought an Arnotts product since. So it makes a difference to me.

He cried when his sister went for a walk but came and sat on my lap after a few minutes to sook so he was ok hehe we're taking him to a guy in Cranbourne, John Clay, on the weekend too 'just to make sure'. he's been recommended as a greyhound trainer who does doggy massage and chiro on the side. so fingers crossed! your help has been great! "Sat on your lap"!! You might need the Chiro/massage too! Doesn't he weight 38 kg