leo01

I have been getting the green eye on nearly all my pics! Most annoying, but i have no idea what im doing yet, and dont have a flash ring LOL (Having only picked up my new cam last weekend!)

;)

Rocco1, I love seeing your work, Your one heck of a photographer, an inspiration, you (And Roc & Ralph of course) simply rock!

There's a big pet store on Paramatta Rd in Ashfield, kind of near Bunnings. I have forgotten what it's called, but it's on the eastbound side. They have turkey necks, lamb ribs, pork bones (rec only), kangaroo tails, chicken necks, wings and carcases, and they have some great mince mixes like chicken and sardine, chicken and venison, beef and vegies and so on. Also rabbit pieces. Reasonably priced, although the rabbit is a bit pricey. I also got some liver and vegie cubes from there while passing through on Monday. There used to be another store in Rockdale, but they said it had just closed.

Aussie Pet Supplies @ Haberfield I go there and buy in bulk. My dogs love the different varieties of their chicken mince!

Corvus/Poocow, can I ask for some price examples by any chance? Chicken carcass / rabbit / roo tail / lamb flaps $ per Kg roughly?? Just wanting to compair to my current supply, as it would be about a 45 minute drive for me to get there, but could add a few other stop overs along the way to make the trip worth while (If the costs/savings are worth while!)

Also, presume the chicken mince is pet quality? With the carcass ground into it? (Sorry to ask so many questions! LOL just want to investigate before I make the 1.5hr round trip

Heheh, just been through this with my boy!

He had split a toenail on the Friday, clean split, my OH said it bleed quite a bit but it had stopped by the time i got home. But after running around the park had been limping a little so took him to the vet the following Wednesday just to be sure and get some antibotics/creme or alike. Vet said same, nice clean split, should grow out, he might loose the nail case bit (My words not the vets! LOL) but in eaither case just some antibiotics and he should be fine.

So after being on antiboitics for a week, i came home last Friday and he had ripped the outer casing off the nail. (Like vet said may happen) It looked pretty raw poor boy but he was walking on it fine, just being a bit more carefull with that foot (He slammed it ontop of a cardboard box as he was ripping it apart and i saw him lift that foot back up with a bit of an ooooo ouch and softly put it down again and went on using his other foot to hold the box still... so obviously a little tender still)

Not great pics, taken on the mobile but its usually a black nail on that toe, you can see below its not black anymore cuase that bit has been ripped off, this was the first day he ripped it off, 5 days on its starting to look alot more white coloured, alot less red and sore really:

The vet said to me next time straight in for the antiboitics (I left it for 5 whole days before getting Leo to the vet) , as if you leave it the nail tissue next to the quick starts to die and blood flows to that area starts to slow. If it does get infected it is then harder for the antibiotics to treat it, as it is carried in the blood, and may then require full removal or the toenail or even the toe itself depending on how long its left

Really appreciate your info leo01,as I have never fed dry I have NO idea!

I feed prey model too

Seems like it's best to keep the meals separate then. I have heard dry and raw are digested at different rates. How do you work out HOW much raw you feed ? Also do your guys look around for bones at all after eating the dry?

TBH, i really not to picky, I simply go by look/feel of Leos weight (Leo is a 26kg Staffy BTW). I meat shop once a month and find I need around 12-14kg of meat a month to feed Leo, so I buy:

- around 2kg or so of kidney/Liver (I split this up into bags and once a week he gets in a meal with boiled liver/kidney plus some muscle meat as he wont touch it raw still!),

- Lamb heart around 4kg, Lamb tounge around 2-3kg, meaty lamb off cuts which has small amount of bone also around 3kg (These are fed together as a meat, such as 1-2 lamb hearts and a meaty lamb off cut with a bit of bone)

plus raw meaty bones such as lambs neck, ribs/flaps or chicken frames with offals attached, and chicken merrylands (These I feed as a whole meal)

I used to weigh every thing/anything raw I gave him! To make sure he was eating around 2% of his body weight daily but it just seemed so silly! re-weighing over and over to get spot on daily amount and then bag and freeze. Now, as i said, i just try to get the months worth of meat 'balanced' in terms of prey model feeding, bag, freeze then feed whichever way is most convenient/qucikest. I feel as long as it is balanced over time, plus added nutrients from the kibble & veg bits, and making sure that looking/feeling him i can feel the last couple of ribs and he isnt looking to skinny/to fat ect, he does ok.

Hi Thomas,

I feed both, keep the processed and raw meals separate too. I do a cup of dry in the morning then raw at night. My raw is based on a prey model diet- 5-10% organs (Liver and kidney), 10-15% edible bones, 80-85% muscle meat...... TBH I simply try to feed prey model, as close as what he would eat naturually in the wild, as this makes sense to me. However with the back up of the kibble this simply helps to ease my mind that he isnt missing out on anything essential. Leo also gets fruit/veg sometimes, i would say 2-3 times a week but not set amount what/amount to give him- left over seamed beans, carrot skins and capsicum bits as i cut them up for dinner and frozen peas usually Plus fish every week or 2 -Either tin sardines or fresh white fish when we are eating it)

My dog does this too! But only if its just me and my OH at home. If we have company he woofs it down from the bowl, and wont leave even a tiny peice left, weird. (As if he thinks our guests will steel his food.. ? ) If its just us he carfully takes it out mouthfull at a time and takes it back over to his blanket, and will leave a small mouthfull (say 6 or so peices of kibble) in the bowl, 'just in case'

Love your pics CM! They are all stunning pics... But this one has to be my fav

Not mine but also a few that my OH took that i really love

Keep in mind we are still working on a kodak 4megapixel compact!

I love all the photos so far,

The back lit ones make me look forward to summer, bring on the longer days and sunshine

I got out with the camera and made the most of the sunshine today, and tried some back lit photos. I was not very happy with any of my photos so got up to leave and when I turned back around I noticed a father and his daughter surrounded by seagulls. I just had to take some photos. Happier with these ones, but any feedback or tips would be much appreciated

I know he is a stranger but wouldn't it be good if you could give copies of these pics to this man, I bet he would treasure them.

I thought the same. They're stunning pics

Sounding dumb but what does FTPO mean?

Ignore me, I get it, FTPO- first time puppy owner! (I was trying to google it and kept getting first time puppy owners dol thread and replys and then 'click' ohh i get it!)

You to Gretel?!?! I just said to temp staffer we have in today 'I swear some days I feel like I am working on planet looney tunes!' (I wish I knew what some of my colleagues use cause I double dose to feel like I wasn't the freak amongst the weirdos ).

Ok one last stupid question peoples - do you defrozst the day before feeding (in the fridge) and if so what if you forget, can you zap it in the microwave???

Defrosting in the fridge the day before is good, generally doesnt thaw it completely though, but a dunk in some water for an hour will fix that. Otherwise if I forget, I pop it in some luke warm water and generally it will be thawed in an hour or so. I try not to zap, just cos it cooks the meat a little.

I get 3 days worth of food out at once and put it in the veggie draw in our small bar fridge (As my other half complains if dog meat is in our normal size fridge... but doesnt mind if it sits with his beers! ) first day I have to leave it out for 1/2hr or dunk in hot water so it can defrost a bit more, second day its still even a little frozen but OK to give straight up, 3rd day its fully defrosted and I load a new batch into the frdige for the next 3 days. I usually give the chicken on the 1st day if getting it out, as i find it tends to defrost quicker than lamb or other read meat for some reason and doesnt keep in the fringe as long either

Perhaps http://www.happypawstreats.com.au/products.cfm Perfect Apperteaser might be the solution to your problem!

I sprinkle the perfect apperteaser on semi cooked liver / kidney as Leo wont eat it otherwise. It tops! I Have been reading along in this thread but havent said much yet but had to say this stuff really is an apperteaser! LOL I also sprinkle over mince sometimes too simply cause Leo isnt big on mince, he usually eats more 'whole' food like chicken- merrylands,drumsticks, wings and necks or lamb- heart, flaps/ribs, brisket bone or meaty neck bone, tounges and brain (Sounds lovely I know!)

Actually need to do the dog meat shopping tonight, and you know what, sadly enough, I really enjoy shopping for all those 'weird' unusual meats! Enjoy it much more than I enjoy doing to human food shopping! Crazy! Im sure the ladys at the checkout counter think im crazy too, buying 3-4kg of hearts a tounges, plus a couple of KG's of brains at any one time! They must think im very European LOL

Raw here to. And forgot Beans, Leo loves beans too, he sucks up snake beans as if it were spagetti!! Surprised Leo wont eat Banana or apple, seems most other dogs do!

I give Leo carrots, peas and capsicum regularly. He loves strawberrys to but they're mine Hes not keen on apples, bananas, celery or mushrooms though

Maybe you could ring your vet for advice? I know with humans if you knock out a perminate tooth you should put it in a glass of milk straight away to stop it from drying out and get to the dentist straight away so they can insert it back into the socket.

I ordered 50 Sheeps Ears, 1KG Beef Tendons & 1KG Salmon & Beef treats - Bailey is going to be one happy girl.

Do the Beef Tendons really take ages for them to eat as that is what I want, Bailey east a whole pigs ear in about 8 min. I want something she will chew on for an hour+

Takes Leo about 5-10 minutes with a beef tendon. Pretty much same amount of time as a pigs ear. Havent tried the cow hoofs yet but going to give them a go next, see if they last any longer.

Should have placed my order for the month before i posted the link!

I like the Aus pet treat company too (http://www.australianpettreatcompany.com.au/c/181208/1/pet-treats.html) for extra large whizzers but they havent had any in stock for quite some time unfortunately

http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Dog-Food-2-U__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Love these guys (Also on oztion, http://www.oztion.com.au/buy/auctions.aspx?type5=dogfood2u- but less selection, but each do change, sometimes i find stuff on ebay thats not listed on oztion and visa versa)

I picked monthly wash which i usually ends up being cause he has rolled in something stinky.... But i do try to leave it a few months at a time if we can. He gets a wash down in the tub with just some warm water at least once a week after coming back from the big park covered in mud. Swear my dog should have been born a pig instead!

Second the staffy ball, have one and my boy loves it. He is very noisey when he plays with it though (Vocal staffys!) so he only gets to play with it on the weekends. And Old bike/car tires are great too. Iv heard the inner tubes of bike tires are great for making sping poles with (As replacment to the spring part, then attach your lure as per usual) but havent tired that one yet, as i think my boys to young for a spring poll yet and wont get one for another 6 months or so

Clydes, Whats the bushes they put in car springs? Dont understand what you mean, can you show/pic? (But I have NO IDEA about cars! LOL had to pay the mechanic $30 to change my head light globes and pump up my tires the other week so thats how cluey I am!)

LOL, great video. What is it with Lorikeets? Quite brave little birds i have found! We used to have a Lori that would call out to our older english stafford Hello Bernie (Dogs name) when he saw him (and it wasnt Birdie, it was clearly hello Bernie and the bird would only say it when the dog walked into the room) As soon as Bernie got to close to his cage he would chase him off again, then start the game over, calling hello Bernie over and over again till he came back to the cage Bernie would play along for 1/2hr until he got so sick of Lori's torments that he would storm off and go sit by the front door, as far away from Lori as possible! LOL

Same, wasnt fussed and wouldnt bother with it

I compaired it to the Eukanuba Natural Adult Medium Breed Lamb & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food & Iams Smart Puppy "Proactive Health" Large Breed and they are all pretty much the exact same product at a differnt price (The naturally wild being the most expensive!):

Eukanuba Naturally Wild North Atlantic Salmon & Rice Dry Dog Food:

Ingredients:

Salmon, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Potato, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

Guaranteed Analysis %:

Crude Protein (minimum) 23

Crude Fat (minimum) 14

Moisture (maximum) 10

Crude Fiber (maximum) 4

Omega-6 Fatty Acids (minimum) 2.1

Omega-3 Fatty Acids (minimum) 0.4

Eukanuba Natural Adult Medium Breed Lamb & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food:

Ingredients:

Lamb, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

Guaranteed Analysis %:

Crude protein not less than 23

Crude Fat not less than 14

Moisture not more than 10

Crude Fiber not more than 4

Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than 2

Omeg-3 Fatty Acids not less than 0.4

Iams Smart Puppy "Proactive Health" Large Breed:

Ingredients:

Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Corn Grits, Natural Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract

Guaranteed Analysis %:

Crude Protein (minimum) 26

Crude Fat (minimum) 14

Moisture (maximum) 10

Crude Fiber (maximum) 5

Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than 2.8

Also, Londonderry pool @ The richmond grove greyhound complex I read is now $4 per dog (Oct 2008 info so could be updated now) and they are open 7am - 7pm 7 days a week. Best to go in the middle of the day then you miss all the greyhound people and hence a line up.

What an interesting question that had me goggling and found

Londonderry/Richmond) http://www.users.bigpond.com/richmondgrove...ledFrame-14.htm

(Adamstown/Newcastle.) http://www.dogoverboard.com.au/swimming.htm

While reserching which brand of kibbles I should be feeding, I found a very interesting website that I want to share with you and some alarming results. THis is an american site (i think) but just as applicable for us.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

I found on this forum many people feeding advance or Royal Cainin or Euk and many more.... this website analyses all the dog foods and places it in the 1-6 star category and unfortunately the above brands ranked right at the bottom in the 1-2 star category which got me pretty concerned.

The last time i walked into my vet, I saw it was flooded with IAMS, Euk and Royal cainin and science diet. Why are they selling this and recommending this if it is filled with fillers and by products?

I will be getting a puppy soon and the breeder is currently feeding it supercoat.... this again is filled with rubbish so i want to switch it to a better brand. Anyone have any recommendations?

And also how should i do this? Should i switch this over straight away on the first day or should I let it settle before changing its food?

Regarding switching, change it over slowly, over a 5-7 day period, adding more of the new food each day untill by the 7th-8th day you have just the new food

I say feed what suits your dog and the best you can budget. My dog has IAMs smart puppy for larger breeds as well as raw meat & Bones, i have tried him on RC after being talked into it by my vet but it was terrible for my dog, did the slow change over but he just had really dark runs and BAD wind on it and he's coat went really wirey. I stuck with the RC for 3 weeks (Including the change over period) but it didnt get any better for him so changed back to the IAMS. Iv also tried the hills science diet, not as bad as RC but still not great for my dog, still soft stools and pretty bad wind (Only tired this for 5 days, giving it with Iams and mixing in more of the hills each day and by the 5th day had decided nup, not going here again for 3 weeks with runny poo pick ups and a really stinky lounge room from the dog farting constantly! and started working back to just Iams)

Each to there own really, every dog if different just like people. Some people scoff that i feed Iams as some think its is of poor quality and also animal testing factor (I dont know if this is true or not so), my mum scoffs at me for feeding Iams and says your dog will do just as well on chum! Why do i buy that expensive crap! LOL So yes, each to their own

I would say though when you get your pup, feed what the breeder has been feeding initially till pup gets settled, then if you want to change do a slow change over so as not to upset/shock little ones tummy. Goodluck with your new fur baby!