Red Fox

Good idea GayleK :p This is going to be my weekend project now :p

If you don't have time to train, care for, groom, entertain, exercise, socialise, supervise and LOVE your dog for the rest of it's life DONT GET A DOG. If you can't afford proper diet, worming, flea treatment and health (vet) care for your dog for the rest of it's life DONT GET A DOG. Probably doesn't apply to the majority of DOL owners, but you wouild be AMAZED at how many people just don't think of these things Oh, and get pet insurance!

I got one from Catch of the Day too. I think it was about $8 so I thought I might as well give it a go. I was planning on using it more to 'smooth' the nails after clipping than to grind them down as my dog has very thick, hard nails. Only problem is that it didn't come with batteries and I keep forgetting to buy some so I don't know what it's like yet

I give my boy goats milk. The cat has it too, never had a problem. I personally wouldn't give cows milk or waste my money on 'pet' milk though... each to their own.

Best way to save money is pet insurance (we are with PIA) It's a big weight off your shoulders knowing that your vet bills are covered in case of an emergency. You may still have to pay the vet upfront though (thats where credit card come in handy ) And don't do this!! No puppy needs $200 worth of Kongs in every model ever made Cheap as chips have some good toys at reasonable prices, they also have nice big throw rugs/blankets for $4 each, cheap bowls and heaps of puppy collars/leads for under $5. If you have the crate, bedding, collar/leash, pen, bowls, food organised already, and money put aside for vet care and worming you should be fine

My dog LOVES my cat... unfortunately my cat does NOT feel the same way Appollo does his best to pretend that Kei doesn't exist, Kei does his best to make Appollo run so he can chase him I think they secretly like each other though.

Not always at the same time, but generally the same routine Breakfast is as soon as we get up, around 7-8am. (RMB's so it doesn't require much effort apart from taking it out of the fridge) Dinner is after we (the family) have eaten, cleaned up and relaxed for a bit. In summer dinner is usually late, around 9-10pm, and now in winter I'm feeding him at around 7-8pm. The night routine works especially well for us as Kei knows that after dinner he goes out to the toilet and then off to bed. If I want him to go to sleep earlier I just feed him earlier and he's out like a light

Cammomile tea is another good option for cleaning eyes. My dog gets a lot of gunk too, especially when it's been dry and dusty. We've had a bit of rain lately and his eye's seem to be a lot cleaner in the morning so I think it has a lot to do with environment But if there is lots of gunk and it's yellow or greenish and occurring constantly through-out the day it could be an infection. If thats the case you'll need to get to the vet.

I don't think a divider is necessary but it may make things easier if the crate is really big (like big enough to run around in). We didn't use one, just covered the whole area with bedding like Shellectra said and no problems. This worked for our puppy pen too, no pee if there were bankets on the ground. I thought most new crates come with dividers now though anyway maybe you should just try another retailer

Yes, you're right. I probably didn't explain that too well I would only tell him 'no' when I thought he was about to pee, ie sniffing/circling or getting into that position that they do. BUT I would never yell at him or reprimand mid-stream -too late by then- only ever a quiet 'no' or 'uh-uh' to distract him and then moved onto the grass. If the puppy has already started to go then it's too late to do much at all except kick yourself for not watching them closer. The lead is a good idea. Maybe you just need to go back to basics for a while and use lots of treats and praise until he gets it.

Kei took to peeing on the door mat for a while when he was about the same age. If I caught him doing it in time (which was 90% of the time as he was always supervised outside at that age) I told him no and put him on the grass, then gave him his 'toilet' command. If he peed on the mat no reward, but if he peed on the grass he got a treat. Didn't take him long to figure it out As PF said though, If you're not there to train/reward him regularly when he does go in the right place then you might find that the habit it hard to break.

Ooohhh, dont tell me that persephone. I want to think that if it comes from the butcher it's killed humanely (if there is such a way) I was concerned that wild roo would be full of tapeworms though? I remember something about it being mentioned during puppy class. Thanks for the link

I drive over 40 mins just for goats milk and about the same when I went to Lilydale, anything within 30 mins is a bonus even though I have a great butcher in the next suburb that I go to all the time to fill the freezers up. If I want it bad enough I just go and get it. You're right, I probably don't want it badly enough... may have something to do with the freezer I have which is already overflowing with various other types of dog bones Well that and the fact that I'm not the most confident driver and wont drive on the highway on my own I'll have to make the effort to grab some next time I'm up that way. Bonnie Parker- I've been offered free roo too, but free roo for me meant roo shot in someones block and then dumped in the back of the ute. Makes me a bit squeamish knowing that

Our local butcher doesn't sell them because he believes that people have a 'bad association' with roo meat and that it's low quality so he wont have it in the shop I have been told that a butcher in another town sell bags of roo bones though so it must be out there, I just dont want to drive half an hour to get it

Dairy is a generally a no with the exception of the things you listed above - I feed a raw diet and regularly feed natural yoghurt, it is really good for dogs and the 'good' bacteria in it can help with their digestion. I also feed tinned sardines and mackeral a few times a week. Yep, me too. A natural yogurt with probiotics is really good for them and the omega oils in the sardines and mackeral is great for the dogs coat. Both have good calcium in them too. Cows milk is not good for dogs and will upset their tummies but the lactose level in goats milk is different (many people who are lactose intollerant or suffer allergies can drink goats milk without it affecting them also). My boy LOVES goats milk and has never had an upset tummy from it. Only downfall is that if he has too much, too often he gets a bit chubby If you're feeding a good quality dry food you don't need to add anything, but most dogs enjoy the extras and it's good for them, so why not?

Kelp and flaxseed oil in the vegie slops (same as puggy_puggy) I also add eggs including shells in there as well. Brewers yeast for the vitamin B, though I dont use this every day. Fish oil and vitamin E oil, I use these on most days except when feeding fish. Apple cider vinegar. I dont use all of these every day and if I forget to put something in I don't stress about it (evens out over time anyway). The vegie slops, RMB and offal contain pretty much everything you need anyway as far as vitamins and minerals go. Personally I dont think it's necessary to use synthetic supplements like tablets when you can feed foods which contain natural sources Goats milk, cottage cheese and natural yogurt are great sources of both calcium and vitamin B too.

Sentinel Spectrum -Chewable, covers heartworm and control hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and tapeworm - and fleas INTERCEPTOR Spectrum -Chewable, covers heartworm and control hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and tapeworm Advocate -spot on treatment, Flea Control and Prevention - Heartworm Prevention - Treatment and control of Gastrointestinal Worms - controls roundworm, hookworm and whipworm.Controls Ear Mites Treatment and Control of mange and lice. Does not cover tapeworm. All monthly treatments. Interceptor is probably the best value for money if you dont have a flea problem. I personally wouldn't be giving the Proheart injection after what has happened overseas.... and here in Australia.

PIA is fantastic. They paid out on my claim within 24 hours of receiving the paperwork ETA: we also looked into Bow Wow Meow as it was so cheap. However I was unable to get a PDS from them even though I emailed several times requesting one. I dont think you can contact them by phone either so you've got to wonder how you'd go making a claim?? Make sure you read the Product disclosure Statement of any insurance that you are looking into as it explains what they do and don't cover, and some have a LOT of exclusions! Also try and find an insurer who will pay out 100% (less excess) on claims. Some companies have a lower charge but will only pay out 70-80% of the claim less excess. So if you had a claim of say $3000 and an excess of $500 you would still be out of pocket for over $1000. Better off paying an extra $3 or $4 per month for 100% IMO. Hope that helps

Some pet insurances will cover genetic condition BUT not if it is pre-diagnosed before taking out cover or if it occurs within the first 30 days after taking out the insurance. My boy had some temporary disolvable stitches put in for entropian, although he is a different breed and the problem was caused by extra eyelashes which were growing on the inside of his lid and irritating his eye, causing it to roll in. I was very lucky that it was a simple problem and easily fixed. The surgery was performed by his breeders vet at her cost (around $500) when Kei was 14 weeks old. We were told to use an anti-biotic cream every day to keep the eye moist in the weeks before the surgery and prevent ulcers. Very painful for the little pup if it happens and can lead to blindness It's best to do something sooner rather than later when it comes to eyes. I hope your boy will be okay.

Yes, this happened to my dog too with both of his puppy shots. The first one was huge -about the size of a golf ball- and took a few weeks to disappear. The second shot was done behind his front leg and although it still got swollen it was much smaller than the first time. Vet said it was a common reaction. I wonder if it was a reaction to the C5 though? When it comes time for his booster I will only be doing a C3.

What about the Black Kongs? They are pretty tough, especially if you get the King size. The Aussie Dog stuff is supposed to be indestructable and tested on lions at the zoo. Try these links: http://aussiedog.com.au/index.php?main_pag...ra27j29acouriu7 http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html

Ive seen them both online and at most of the cheap stores. We bought a few tubs from cheap as chips for $2 a while ago. I hate the smell of them but they worked well for cleaning up Kei's paws when he mis-aimed and peed on them :rolleyes: also handy for travelling. That said, I will probably just buy baby wipes if I ever needed them again, and a wet flannel works just as well for a quick clean-up. I wouldn't use them for an all over bath though... they stink!

After reading a few threads it seems that everyone has a different oppinion on how far you should walk a dog whilst it's still a pup (esp. with the larger breeds), what age to begin walks etc. I would love to hear others oppinions on this. This is the advice I have been following for my Ridgie: 3-6 months 1/2km maximum (around a normal suburban block) 6-12 months 1 -1.5km maximum (including some stony or gravel surfaces) Running and longer distances okay from 12+ months No agility training before 18 months I started taking him out at around 14 weeks for very short walks and have gradually built them up. He is now 7 months and occasionally we may have a slightly longer walk (around 2km) but most walks are kept to the 1.5km maximum. The majority of our walks are fairly slow paced and I often stop for a few minutes here and there to talk to people along the way. Usual routine is drive to the park, walk up along the river and back, then settle down on the grass and rest for 15-20 mins while my son has a play on the playground before driving home. Other days he might just get a short walk around the block or some offlead time down near the river on weekends. I dont exercise him at all on Wednesdays as he has obedience training that night. What do others think of this? Is it too much? Too little? Appropriate? What advice (if any) were you given by your breeder?

What I did was to contact a few good breeders who raw feed, explained my situation and ask them what and how they fed their dogs. I also found as many raw diet plans as I could through both DOL threads and google. Once I had all my info together I started comparing the diet plans and picked out the things I liked/could get hold of easily/worked wel for my dog etc, and disregarded the bits that were irrelevent/unavailble/didn't appeal to me. In the meantime I read up as much as I could on BARF/raw feeding/natural diets etc, and slowly I came up with a diet plan that works well for us. If you're not sure how much to feed take a bit of a guess at what seems about right. If your dog is losing weight feed more and if its gaining weight feed less The Ian Billinghurst books are a great place to start too and also give info on what you can feed and how much.

I would try flaxseed oil, fish oil or one of the Omega blend oils. You can buy any of these from your local chemist or healthfood store for about $10-$15. You could also try adding a tin of sardines to her meals every now and then too