Red Fox

What size do you have Rijbiz? Kei has a very short coat but gets a lot of dead fur up around his neck and ridge -especially right at the top of his ridge. Zoom Groom works fine most of the time but I wouldn't mind getting something a bit better for the times that he's shedding...

Deelee, I have a pretty small yard (not appartment sized, but small). I worried about it with my Ridgie but the only time he ever ventures out there is to eat bones or sunbake and occasionally do zoomies around the yard. He'd rather be inside any day! There are some breeds that might not cope with it, however in Europe especially there are plenty of well balanced large dogs living in tiny little appartments and they cope fine I guess like with anything if you put in the work (mental stimulation, training and exercise) you wont have a problem.

Hi Alyosha, I soaked mine the other day and then hung it on the line for a few hours until the cover was completely dry. It's been sitting on the couch now for 2 days with a thin blanket on top to cover it. It's been sat on, jumped on and layed on in that time (by me, 40kg dog and 25kg 10 year old son) and the couch and blanket are completely dry (crystals inside the mat are still full though and mat is still cold). I would think that if you dried the cover out properly that you'd be fine with it. I'm planning on using mine on the car seat this week to keep me cool during the heat wave. I'm pretty confident I wont end up with a wet bum lol

We have a back packers hostel here and I have noticed that a lot of the Asian and Indian back packers are quite unsure around dogs. They seem to be either afraid or facinated. I've always wondered why but never asked... I suppose that not all counties regard dogs as pets and I think that for some cultures it could have to do with religion as well, not sure We also have a family living next door to us of Middle Eastern nationality who have recently imigrated to Australia. I walk past the young girl most days on the way to collect my son from school. At first she was terrified of Kei, she would almost cover when she saw him so I always gave her a wide berth so as not to scare her. I have noticed that over the months her attitude to Kei has gone from absolutely terrified, to unsure, to curious, and now when she sees us she will smile and say hello. She has never touched Kei and I would never ask her to but it's nice to see her walk past him without feeling uncomfortable

Yep, it's HOT in SA!! 40+ all week where I am We have to get up at 6am for walks if we dont want to fry If you have no airconditioning and have to close everything up then outside is probably safer for Pete. Soaking the ground is a great idea, dogs will naturally seek out the cool areas. The other thing you could try is a cool mat (or collar). They're fantastic and will stay cool for days even in the heat outside so if you give it a soak each morning you wont have to worry about it drying out :D Have a read here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=179815 Pools are great if you can get your dog to use one, but not all will. Otherwise, and I might get flamed for this (water restrictions ), but could you leave a sprinkler running for him for part of the afternoon ie. set it on a timer?.. Good luck with your exam. Tin shed hope there is a fan at least!

I had forgotten about this thread but since it's been brought up again I may as well update. Kei has been on roo meat for the past 6-8 weeks or so and is doing extremely well on it. We get roo meat chunks and mince for only $3 per kilo and big bags of leg bones and spine/tail bones from the butchers in the link Persephone gave me below -Thanks Persephone! It doesn't make Kei fart (Thank God ) But if he has too many spine/tail bones it does seem to be a bit rich for him and he occasionally gets an upset tummy, therefore he gets them sparingly. Leg bones are fine though- he tears off all the meat and then eats the knuckles off either end I have been assured that all meat is thoroughly checked and cleared for tapeworm/hydatids on processing.

Yep, ringworm can be picked up anywhere and there is no preventative. Animals and people can catch it from many places, a local pharmacist told me recently that it is commonly picked up by gardeners from dirt so it would be easy for a dog to do the same. Normal worming treatments cover intestinal worms (and sometimes heartworm depending on the product) but ringworm is not a worm If it is ringworm it's no biggie, your vet should be able to treat it easily

ringworm

I'd really like to see something scientific to back up this "theory" which to my mind sounds like nothing more than "someone on DOL said it so it must be true". Bone and meat digest at different rates, meat and vegetables digest at different rates, fat and muscle digest at different rates. If a dog eats an entire small animal, all the parts of the animal, including the contents of it's digestive tract will all digest at different rates. I agree GayleK, it's a theory and nothing more. I've read/heard the same thing from quite a few different sources (including DOL ) but have never seen any research to back it up so no clue or not if the theory is true. In my case Kei never had an upset when I was feeding him a combo of raw and dry so definetly not true for him

OT, but my eBay wont let me leave feedback. I've tried about 5 times already, I can type it in but then when I click on the 'leave feedback' button nothing happens :D Very odd and very annoying, anyone know how to fix it?? Back on topic- Kei's Polar collar is working extremly well in keeping him cool (it's been 36-40 degrees here for the past 4 days!) The mat however has been stolen by ME to keep cool

I'm not sure that it's the mixing of trhe foods they don't do well on, as much as a particular component of the mixture. For example, if you gave a dog chicken and rice kibble, and added some minced lamb and the dog didn't do well, you might blame the fact that it's a mixture without further investigation. It could be that the dog is sensitive to raw lamb. Swap the lamb for beef, chicken or fish and the problem might very well go away. Yes, people could easily make that mistake. But I've also talked to people who insist their dogs do well on raw, and do well on kibble, but say they get stomach upsets if the two are mixed. My dogs have never had that issue, and I don't think it's at all common, but IMO it's a case of do what suits your particular dog. Apparently it has to do with raw and dry food being digested at different rates, so feeding both together may cause a stomach upset. May be true for some dogs but definetly not all ;) If she's not eating much then she's probably just not hungry. A hungry dog will never starve itself because it doesn't like its food -but a fussy, not so hungry dog will The bag isn't always right either. Just feed her what she wants and if she's not eating it all give a little less until you find the right balance. If she is losing weight then you might have a problem but if not I wouldn't worry too much If you dont have time (or freezer space) to make your own then there's nothing wrong with feeding a good quality commercial food and adding in some fresh ingredients (yogurt, sardines, chicken necks, lamb flaps etc). Not everyone can do it and its nothing to feel guilty about. You can also buy pre-packaged BARF patties if you wanted to go that way which wouldn't work out to be too expensive for a smaller dog

There are heaps of websites, just google BARF Here's a few that might be helpful: http://www.barfaustralia.com/index.php http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/nutrition.html There's also a lot of books around but personally I found the Ian Billinghurst BARF books to be the best. You can buy them through the website (first link of those above) :D

I soaked mine then towel dried the surface and hung it on the clothesline for a bit. It still took a long time for the surface material to dry completely (maybe a day?) but I just put a towel underneath it and was fine. I soaked mine on wednesday and 2 days later it's still cold -and it was 36 degrees today so that's saying something The material is quite thick and strong so I doubt a dog would destroy it in a hurry, but I guess it's possible. The stuff inside is supposed to be non toxic though... The collars are a different material, the outside is much lighter and dries within a few minutes. Hope that helps

So what states are E collars legal/illegal in? Anyone know I was under the impression that they were illegal to use in Vic but okay in other states, same as pp collars..??

Dr Billinghurst BARF patties are supposed to be very good. Expensive way to feed though. There are a few other brands around too

I Expressed Kei's Polar Pad SK, as I did not want you to have to tolerate Aust Post's tardiness again. Surprising though, normally I find them to be spot on. sorry they were slow with your Collar. Aww, thanks Dyzney Not your fault they were slow! Should be here very soon then Australia post have been shocking lately (well here anyway) Last week they took 4 days to get an express envelope to me from NSW (Yes, we are out of the 1 day zone but come on? 4??!!) And then they took 3 weeks to deliver my last order from the US because customs were 'behind' (even though I had paid a stupid amount for the 6-10 day USPS express option). Bloody postal service Ah well... at least they didn't lose it. Not quite. I had plans to wait for the collar to arrive and see what I thought before ordering a mat ...but I have no patience so I ordered it on Sunday Glad I did though eta, Kei's mat is HERE!!

Kei's Polar collar finally came yesterday (thank you Australia post for making an estimated 3 day delivery take 5!) It's fantastic, I think I might have to steal it for myself this summer oonga- I caved in and bought a mat too. It's going to be 38 on Sunday, I couldn't wait until Christmas! BCPuppy- the collars and mats that Dyzney imports are from Polar Products

I've had Kei on roo for the past 3-4 weeks or so. I've found that he does really well on it but was a bit wary at first so I introduced it slowly. He was already having 1 cup of beef mince per night so I started off by adding a little roo at a time starting at around a tablespoon and working it up gradually each night over a week until he was eating full roo meat. I didn't have any problems at all but I do find that if Kei eats too much roo bone he gets the runs. Other bones are fine though so it may just be a matter of him getting used to them Why don't you try giving your dog a very small amount every other night rather than a larger amount once per week and see how you go

Damn oonga, don't give me MORE reasons to spend I'm already BROKE this week! Come on payday!

I'm still waiting for mine, it sucks living in a rural area! Should be here very soon though I have to save up for a mat too though I'm trying to work out if we really need one -Kei is always on the tiles under the airconditioner anyway :p Collar will be fantastic for walks

Thanks everyone. I think I have found what I'm looking for ;)

Thanks for the links APBT. I was looking at the Kool collars today but was hoping that I could find something similar here in Australia rather then having to pay o/s shipping. Am wondering if its better to go for the ice type or the one that you soak in water though? Ice would be quick and easy but the other type says that it can stay cool for up to 3 days. How does that work

Anyone know where you can buy cool collars from By cool I mean the ones that stop your dog from overheating, not "cool" as in trendy I've seen some that you can put in the freezer like an ice pack or insert ice cubes into so that the water drips out onto the dogs chest but am yet to find any in Australia. Does anyone have any recommendations or know where I can buy one from at a reasonable price? Thanks **Just thought I'd do a quick edit to the title of this thread as it's included a lot of discussion re the Polar products (which are AWESOME by the way ) Hopefully it will help send those who are looking for something to keep their doggies cool in this stinking hot weather in the right direction!

I'd say that's what it is then. Kei had them with both his 12 and 16 week boosters (C5) but surprisingly didn't have a reaction to his 8 week C3 which his breeders vet did. Both times the lump grew over a few days to quite a large size (around that of a golf ball) and then took over a month to disappear I've since been told to give him an antihistamine (sp?) tablet before his next shot to see if that prevents the reaction. I'll also be going with a C3 instead :D If you're worried give your vet a call and they should be able to check it out for you

I source organic product where I can, but it would be near impossible to use 100% organic due to the cost and lack of availability in most areas. I use free range eggs (MIL has chickens), organic natural yogurt (either Jalna or B&D Farm), fresh Roo meat and bones which are all free range and home grown vegies/herbs where I can. I also use orgainic ACV The rest is made up of normal supermarket stuff which is either too expensive to buy organic or just not available in that option. So things like vegies (that I don't have growing in the yard), chicken necks/wing/frames, canned fish, offal etc. Raw makes more sense to me. I know what's in it and my dog enjoys and thrives on his diet. I think of it this way- Humans can also live on a processed balanced diet of the same meal every single day, not really knowing whats in it but trusting that it really is the best thing for us because someone in a lab said so.. (meal replacement shakes anyone??!)... but would you really want to? :D