Little Gifts

Trishm my staffy girl has had pancreatitis since 2000. She has just turned 16. Ever since her diagnosis I have fed her a strict diet of the Hills Prescription w/d. She gets 1 cup dry in the morning and 1 cup dry and half a tin of wet in the evening. For snacks she gets bits of toast (with nothing on it), raw carrot and vegetarian pigs ears. Absolutely no other scraps but sometimes I give her leftover plain rice, pasta or steamed vegies. She has done really, really well on this diet. She drinks a massive amount of water but has not become diabetic. Her poos are HUGE. I don't know how they don't hurt coming out! My vet is very much into homeopathic stuff so in the early days if ever she has a tummy upset I keep nux vomica bolles on hand for her. My vet also found a homemade diet for pancreatitis as I was keen on doing it myself but it contained about 20 ingredients and it was too much for me and she settled so well on the Hills that I just stayed with that. I know my vet sourced the diet from a colleague OS and unfortunately I no longer have a copy of it or I'd give it to you. Given the Internet is more popular than when she got the diet for me you might be lucky and find something online.

Thanks Jaxx's Buddy!

I'd still appreciate some advice on a good dry food as that is an ongoing struggle in our household. One has a special diet but the others get mainly raw, rice and vegies. We have tried different types of biscuits but it is a pain when they decide they don't like it and you have a 10kg bag of the stuff and it cost you a fortune. There is a Pal brand for small breeds (even though they are not small) that they gobble up so when they are being fussy we just buy that, but I'm really not happy with it because I don't think it's any more nutritious than the sugary cereal kids love - hence the need for suggestions based on nutrient value if anyone has any? Dobesrock I will check out the Black Hawk.

Again I repeat that pancreatitis is about one of the most painful things a human or dog can go through so if you love your dog please get some proper advice about her diet. Having attacks on and off will just lead to other health issues when you could be managing the situation now. You can't feed her red meat here and there if it causes her attacks. Would you do that to yourself if it made you sick? Of course you wouldn't. So that means NO BONES from red meat. And roo meat looks awfully red to me when it is raw and it is a dark meat when cooked so I'd be avoiding it too (unless the vet advises otherwise). There are other options to spoil your dog. I mentioned the vegeatarian pigs ears - all our dogs love them just as much as the real thing. The vegie biscuits - the other dogs want them and raid her container so they can't taste too bad. And dogs love raw carrot - that is my girls treat food - sweet and wet and chewy. She stopped begging at the table for scraps a long time ago. She is not missing out on anything. If you don't sort out your girl's diet you will reduce her life expectancy and it will cost you more in vet bills than if you made some changes now. The other thing I just thought of is if your girl starts limping it may not be joint pain but abdominal pain. Next time it happens have a feel around her belly to see if it is linked - it could be radiating pain causing her to limp.

I read it all and it makes great sense, but what I still need is some advice on what to choose! What should I be looking for in a dry? I think wet food is pretty simple - take it back to the original products, but dry? What to avoid? What to aim for? Brand suggestions? I don't think I am ready to make my own dog food biscuits in bulk.....I still need some convenience.

That is bizarre! And Luki looks so big!!!!!

Sllebasi you really should be talking with your vet about this. My staffy girl got pancreatitis back in 2000 and after it settled went back on her normal diet but then she got it again and now has it for life. She has been on a very strict diet ever since only eating wet and dry Hills Science W/D (plus some other vegies). Pancreatitis is incredibly painful and my understanding was that any meat would trigger it in my dog - hence her diet being basically that of a vegetarian now. And she doesn't miss what the others get. She has her own special treat food - even vegetarian pigs ears! So you need to talk to your vet about your dog otherwise your dog will get sick again and even die. My girl just celebrated her 16th birthday and I would not have her now had I ignored her dietary needs.

One of my staffies got in and ate several kilos of Hills Science W/D dry, which is the diet one of the others is on. It is full of fibre so he paid for it when it was all coming out the other end! And that dog never vomited in his life that I know of, but his mother - she will walk around making these massive heaving noises, with her stomach contracting in and out, then take a deep breath and stop. No vomit. All very dramatic for nothing. And then my other one just makes this one little "cack" noise and there it is, usually on the carpet! I'm not fond of vomiting myself so like that my dogs consider my needs!

The only dog I have ever chosen for myself was back when I was a teenager and my dad got me an old english sheepdog from a breeder. But since then all the dogs who have come to live with me have all been in need - homeless, getting sent to the pound, getting put to sleep, pregnant and no longer wanted. I figured they were all meant to come into my life so I've given them a forever home and learnt about them and their individual needs as I went along. I do have a weakness for white/pied staffies these days but would never reject any dog.

Thank you for giving her some hope and a more loving transition over the bridge. She had such a trusting face and you didn't let her down.

Ricky thanks you for all her birthday wishes. Today she went with the other dogs for a hydrobath, then to the park for a big walk, then home to have a lovely long nap with the heater on. She's a bit wonky on the back legs tonight from the longer than usual walk but she's smiling and smells very pretty! I suspect the spoiling will be going on for a few more days.

Ricky was the first staffy I ever took on. She has been with me 15 years and had ups and downs health wise so I am so excited that she has made it to 16! Happy Birthday Miss Rick! :D Have a great day old girl!

"so how come they allow puppy farm dogs to stand in their own filth, day in day out , amongst other things?" This is also what I can't get my head around RSG. Why does it have to get desperate before they move in and assist or remove? If normal households have minimum standards to meet then why don't puppy farmers facilities? Maybe the secretive nature of them means they can get away with a bit more for a bit longer before the RSPCA can get enough evidence to do something? Maybe they know how to play the system? It's an aspect of this I just don't understand.

A close friend encouraged me to take in a homeless staffy pup by simply bringing it over to my house one Friday night after work. Of course I kept her. Every day at work I would do a show and tell of what she had eaten/destroyed the day before. I'd often get emails with links to contests like "Australia's Naughtiest Dog". Despite the fact that I no longer own any furniture without tooth or toenail marks I love her to pieces and have never regretted keeping her but almost 3 years later my friend is still apologising to me for bringing her into my life in the first place!

I have two comments to make. Firstly I simply don't understand how the conditions these animals are kept in isn't illegal. If an abbatoir or a kennel was keeping animals in filth they would be breaching some kind of by laws and be breached for it. So while puppy farming may be legal the conditions they are keeping animals in must also come under some kind of regulation? Really can't work that one out. And when we talk puppy farming we refer to how the bitches and pups are kept but what about the male dogs? I assume they would also be forced to breed regularly and probably are in the same filthy accom as the other dogs? Or maybe they extract their sperm and inseminate the bitches? Either way when it is done so frequently I doubt they are worried about the dogs health or safety? The males would have to be even more disposable than the bitches and pups wouldn't they? You just never much about their suffering.

So if the consensus is no then what other options are out there for exercising DA animals safely? Do you try and give them the same level of exercise within their own yard or always keep them leashed or use a long leash for them to get a bit of a run or always keep them muzzled? I was just wondering what the options were as I feel sorry for DA dogs given some can't help how they are. Are there any securely fenced off leash areas that can be booked so these dogs get a leash free run but don't come into contact with other dogs?

We mostly have the urinating under control since the advice from nekhbet and DO. We are very careful what furniture she gets on and what she is doing on it. Actually we have restricted all the dogs and everyone is still happy and comfy. The latest issue is her just being so active and so smoochy. I don't think she has any pain (as Jigsaw suggested). She's just decided sleeping is boring and that she likes being touched all of a sudden. Given she is awake more during the night she is getting off the bed more often (and waking me to get her back on the bed) but she is locked in my room so can't really wander anywhere. I'm going to get another soft dog bed so if she wants to just lay on the floor rather than get on and off the bed she can. I guess I am lucky given some older dogs can get snappy - mines going the exact opposite!

We seem to have some new behaviours from my old girl this week. I rang the vet about it today but she said not to worry but I'd be interested if anyone else has experienced this? My old girl Ricky has never been much for patting or scratching, except around the ears until she's had enough. This has been even more so since she has had her tumours. Thurs about dawn she woke me up to go to the toilet. When we got back in bed she didn't want to sleep. She wanted me to rub her under her jammies. All over for about an hour. She was standing and moving around showing me where she wanted a rub. I fell alseep or it may have continued on. Then last night instead of sleeping on the lounge while we watched tv she was crawling all over us for rubs again, and grooming us and the other dogs (the night before she spent quite sometime grooming the sheets while I rubbed her!). During the night we got up to go to the toilet and off she wandered to the most remote part of the garden where she never goes for a long sniff. And her eyesight is poor so normally she doesn't go too far from the outside light. Back to bed and even though she wasn't sleeping she snuggled up right under my arm (which she never does). She moved around the bed quite a bit during the night, sleeping in totally new places. Then today she has had the sniffs - she has been wandering around the house checking out things she has never shown any interest in before. It is all very wierd to watch and experience! I have a smoochy dog! I have a dog who spends more time awake than asleep! I have a nosy dog! As long as she is happy and healthy I'll go with it, but wonder what other changes I can expect? She turns 16 next week too which we are very excited about! Over to you again DO.....

My sister's uppity husky shep cross is nicknamed the fun police and always poo poos when my young staffy is zooming around with a toy in her mouth but every now and then we catch her chewing on one of them or playing tug with the staffy and she looks at us as if to say "oh just get over yourselves!"

QUOTE (Puppy_Sniffer @ 6th Aug 2010 - 12:23 PM) So here is another question for you. I have a very old black brindle. Her legs, bum and face are now nearly all white. So does the colour fade or lose intensity in old age like with people? Not sure what you mean here I mean how come dogs hair turns 'grey' like people? Does the colour fade or is it new hair growing through without pigment? Sorry, we are possibly moving into hairdresser territory now! And why do snouts go grey first in dogs? I even notice the greying in my sisters husky/shep cross. I hope there wont be a quiz on this later....

A second this recommendation! I was crying by about page 8 on this one!

Yep, I think I'm understanding it now! I know from experience that my 'white' dogs with 'black' markings seem to get darker over the years and if they ever get a cut in the 'black' areas the hair will usually grow back a different shade giving more of a brindle look in that area. So here is another question for you. I have a very old black brindle. Her legs, bum and face are now nearly all white. So does the colour fade or lose intensity in old age like with people? In her youth she only had a very small strip of white on her face and some patches on her chest. The chest has actually darkened while the rest has lightened considerably. Oh another question - is the brindle gene also why most whites have ticking? And is ticking just the hair or hair and skin? Based on mine it has seemed like it started as just the skin but that's also where the darker hair came from over time. Would that be right? This makes me all laugh now when I know that we basically all have spethal brindles!!!!!!

Sandra, what do you mean they don't come in black? Are black coloured SBT's referred to as something else? And what about whites or pieds? And is there a term for brindles that are different coloured brindles like red brindles or grey brindles or dark brindles? Just trying to learn some new info is all as I find all this stuff strangely fascinating! Oh and why do they call greys blues? Is that just being fancy?

Before the dementia hit my old staffy girl was a shocker but only at the vets. She would start in the drive way with these deep grunts like she was pushing out a puppy. Then once we were inside she had this high pitched staccato whine she used to make followed by horse snorts. She would always take the opportunity to pee or poo whilst in the waiting room to prove her point. It was always very embarrassing when there would be SWF's there calmly waiting to be seen, while mine was putting on a big show for what was probably just a vaccination (which she wouldn't even feel).

That has to be the cruelest way for an animal to die. Incredibly sad for all involved as I doubt staff want to see that happen anymore than an owner does. Let's hope it prompts a change in rules or better adherance to the existing rules so more aren't lost.