Jed

Get an old towel, soak it in tabasco and water, hang it on the line. IMHO, one mouthful of tabasco and water impregnated towels will probably stop this behaviur for ever. Only have ONE towel on the line, and let him get it. Tabasco is quite hot, so don't make the solution too strong. Other option, if you have chillies growing is to soak the towel in chilli water. they rub their little mouths with their paws, and go :"aw, aw, aw" but they leave the washing alone. that's how I stopped these dear little things eating ALL the back door. the boxer galoot does it too, but I find her so entertaining, I let her do it for the laughs, and he always brings me the washing!!

Agree about the plastic bowls. The amino acid methionine does assist with pigment. So if you can find a supplement with methionine in it, use it. Otherwise kelp does contain appreciable quantities of methionine. It used to be possible to buy methionine, but I don't know whether you still can.

LukeW He is quite right. The carrier for the vaccines has been proven to contain any and all the above. Not sure about the "decayed animals" though, and vaccines are not "shot directly into our blood systems" - although that may be an overview. As far as choosing who to believe, because of the evidence I had of the damage vaccines caused, and the instances where they didn't work, I did some research, and went for the people with qualifications - ie Dr Jean Dodds, Dr. Catherine O'Driscoll, Dr Bob Rogers, who had don some serious research in their capacity as vets, and were prepared to put the research forward. If you want some definitive information on vaccinations for dogs, I suggest you google the 3 above, and read what they have to say. Makes perfect sense to me. Not the local vets, who are not specialists, and who are open to suggestions by the companies who make vaccinations. I always check - if possible - anything on the net. A printed book is usually edited by somene qualified, and the statements verified to some extend, particularly in medical or veterinary matters. Things posted on the net could be originated by any permanent resident of the loony bin!! Not suggesting this person is, and indeed, I have not read the book, but that is my take on anything and everything on the net, unless it is verifyable. Sceptical!! And - for your information - For the past 10 years, I have given my dogs 2 puppy shots, and a booster at about 14 months, and then no more. And I mostly use C3. None of them have had parvo, distemper or hepatitis, or kennel cough. We have had a couple of pups visit who actually had parvo. My dogs do go out and about a bit, and I think that they gather natural immunity by doing that. When distemper was the only disease vaccinated against, the belief was that dogs would gather natural immunity bu going on walks, mixing with other dogs etc. No one these days seems to take natural immunity into account, but I do think the dogs pick up immunity by being in places where the viruses are. Have no proof though.

One of mine had pancreatitis a few years ago. The acute episode was controlled by medication, and he has been on a low fat diet ever since. Dry food, some meat replaced by vegetables or rice, no marrow bones, no fatty treats. He has been fine of the diet for several years, and not needed medication.

I have a Kambrook processor/blender. I use the processor part - seems to me the idea is to chop the fruit/veges up finely, and like everyone else, I started off by the book and .....well, adapted!! I found with the blender, it was either too mushy, or too dry, and if I added oil, it was hard to clean. But the blender is fine. It is simply that when I killed mine, I went for the processor/blender. Anything which zaps the veges is ok. I believe if you are going to feed BARF, you must read the book/s first, not rely on what someone else says. Mine get fruit/veges for the vitamins and minerals they contain. The idea is to vary the diet to meet all their nutritional needs, so they get about 20% fruit/veges. Whatever is cheap at the time. I also make sure they have some green veges too - chokos, broccoli, beans etc. I also feed cooked brown rice occasionally, vitamin/mineral supplements from time to time, Vit C, ACV, kelp, sunflower oil, flax seed oil, sardines, evening primrose oil, fish oil organ meat such as liver. Not all at once, of course. They also eat leftovers such as - bread, and soggy things in the fridge, leftover cakes and biscuits (never much of that) which all goes through the processor and is thrown in with the mince. They do get bones, of course. Sometimes, if I am late home, or tired and emotional, they have dry food. Not often - maybe a couple of times a month.

There are ok registered breeders (not necessarily cockers) who advertise on petlink. They are not in the majority, and I don't go there very often, but occasionally you see someone who is ok advertising there. A good thing too, gives the people who use that site an option of a decent pup.

Haven't checked here for a while - pleased you are both still fighting the good fight. A long and difficult journey bravely travelled. And all mine are curled up out of the rain and wind too - no interest in doing anything. I think even dreams of chasing mice are too much for them in this weather!! Hope the alternative treatments do have good effects, so will cross my fingers again. Again, a hug for Sophie. Such a good and brave girl. :D

I would get another vet. opinion, and also get an opinion from a GOOD animal chiropractor. If he is not limping, or bothered, I wouldn't operate either. And if he is not mature yet, it may well be ok when he matures.

:D Brachycaephalic and other breeds have the same number of teeth. And if it was my dog, providing the permanent teeth had erupted, I would be consulting another vet regarding removing a couple of teeth to solve the problem. Some tooth problems are self solving when the dog has a full mouth of adult teeth. Unless the dog is expected to run down and kill bison, the loss of a couple of teeth is neither here nor there. But I would be consulting a very good vet.

If you are going to feed raw, you will have found out from the replies, that everyone does something different. If I was starting out, I'd read Ian Billinghurst's book "Give Your Dog a Bone" or "The Barf Diet" (which I haven't read) and go from there. Here is his website http://www.barfworld.com/html/dr_billinghurst/meet.shtml Here is a link to the books http://www.dogwise.com/SearchResults.cfm?S...ubSearch=author You need to ensure the ratio is correct, and also that the diet is balanced.

If this was my dog, I would have a blood test carried out. At least you would know then whether it was lead poisoning or not. Greytmate, this is just one of the sites on vaccinosis. There are plenty more. The OP might like to read some of them (if the dog has been vaccinated annually) to see if any of the symptoms match. http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/vaccinosis.html

Bananas are a source of potassium. (and for dogs), and can be fed to counteract the loss of potassium which some drugs (ie, diuretics) cause instead of a sodium potassium supplement. Bananas are a complex carbohydrate are are digested less slowly, thus less likely to convert to fat, and contain important enzymes. They also contain fructoolgosaccharides (as do a lot of foods) which some varieties of intestinal bacteria utilize instead of glucose.

Thanks for that. I gather you are making your own colloidal silver? I have had good results with bought CS for external healing.

Anyone, before embarking on BARF. should obtain a copy of Dr. Ian Billinghurst's book - "give a Dog a Bone'. He is the originator or the BARF diet, and I think if you want to do something, going to the source is the right idea. It's a good book, with a lot of good ideas, and well worth reading for anyone interested in BARF. Google Ian Billinghurst and the site will come up. You can order via the site. Note - I don't get any advertising fees. Might ask though!!

I thought I was the only one who had noticed that vets now graduate at 14. They seem to be getting younger all the time. The metacam would have alleviated any pain, and the Moxylan was because he didn't know what it was, and Moxylan wouldn't hurt, and might just work, and could reduce any infection/inflammation (indicated by the elevated temperature). I would wonder if something was out of joint for him to be behaving like that, but temp up would indicate some type of infection. Is his temp normal now? If he was my dog, and I wasn't happy with the vets, I'd try to find another one, and maybe drive that distance in another direction to a better one. And sorry I have no idea what the problem could be. Some of these obscure things are cured by antibiotics etc, some are not. Unfortunately, when they don't heal, they often need bloodwork, or someone really experienced who has the years to make the call. Not criticising the vet particularly, but this has been my experience too. These days, most of the excellent vets are in specialist centres - although the odd great one is in a general practice.

When they eat something like that, you can make them vomit immediately - salty water helps. Oherwise, keep an eye on the dog and hope it passes through him. Unless it is something really sharp and dangerous which is likely to tear the oesophagus or the stomach. If it causes a blockage, he will probably be vomiting, not keen to eat, in some distress or pain, and straining to pass stools, without anything happening .He may initially pass stools, or have diarohhea, and then be unable to pass anything. He needs to go to the vet. If he eats anything which worries you, take him to the vet for an x-ray to see where it is. the liklihood is that he will need an operation to remove it. It's amazing what will pass through a dog. In this situation, if I thought the dog had eaten something which would not pass through, I would take him as soon as the surgery opened the next morning

I don't think a Mars Coat King would do much for the matts. That's not what they are made for. A matt splitter, scissors etc would do a far better job. Coat Kings are for thinning/shortening the coat, and they will cut it, so you need the right blade for the coat. I've never tried to get matts out with mine - I don't think it would work very well (not that my dogs EVER get matts, of course ). And if you don't own one, it's a lot of money for something which isn't going to work well. I advise pet owners of my cavaliers to buy a coat king instead of sending the dog off for a full clip, and to use it once or twice a week to shorten and thin the coat, rather than clipping. That seems to be what they are best at doing. JMHO

Brain tumour, or pancreatic tumor can cause fitting - pancreatic tumors = hypoglycaemia = fits. As Cavandra says, heartworm injections and vacs. can also cause fitting. And so can really really bad worm infestations. Losing weight is not a symptom of epilepsy. Good luck, hope the tests reveal something, terrible not to know, and none of the options I've given you are very cheerful, unfortunately!! Please let us know.

I'm no expert on this, but I have a dog with pancreatitis - and he is managed on a raw diet. NO bones with marrow. He has rib bones and bones without marrow for his teeth. He has dry food 1 -2 times a week. He also has chicken mince, to which I add vegetables (raw, mashed up in the food processor), brown or white rice, and occasionally eggs and some vegetable oil, sardines (or part of a can of sardine cat food) rarely, and very occasionally offal. He also has cooked potatoes. the rice/vegetables would be about 60% - 70% and mince 30 - 40%. Keeping it balanced, and the ca:ph ratio correct is the trick, and I did a lot of research prior to beginning him on it. I could probably buy other meat which is not as fatty as chicken mince, but he does well on this diet, and has not had a problem with pancreatitis for about 3 years. I feed the mince because I buy it in bulk cheaply and the others all eat it. If you only have 1 dog, and it is not too big, I would consider low fat (diet) beef mince (make sure it is frozen and thawed before feeding it, because of neosporra) or chicken breasts, with all fat removed, rice and veges. I worked this out for myself by trial and error, and although it works for me, I am hesitant to recommend it, in case it does damage to your dog. I use it because all my dogs eat raw, and it is very difficult to keep a special diet for one dog. If I had to, I would, but as this is working and it suits my needs as well as the dogs, I will continue with it. Ideally, you should speak to a vet who is into raw feeding, and ask him. A lot don't know, and will only recommend HD or other dry food. And really, that is safer, it has been developed with the needs of pancreatic dogs in mind, so it's difficult to go wrong with it, whereas, by feeding raw, you can easily feed too much fat, and have a huge problem. Alternatively, you could contact Dr. Ian Billinghurst (originator of the BARF diet) and ask him for advice. If you are going to try what I use, start with 1 meal a week, and if there are no problems, increase to 2 and so on, - over a period of time, keeping a good eye on the dog. That's what I did - mostly by trial and error, but very cautiously.

Hi Pupy, hope Deltoro is ok. He is very young, and I don't think leaving the litter early would have been very good for him. And this may be the reason for your problems. A lot of chihuahua breeders wont allow pups to leave home before 10 - 12 weeks to allow for development. What are you feeding him? Are you in Australia or elsewhere? If he is hypoglycaemic, syringe water with glucose into him every couple of hours - between feeds, not too much, because that will satisfy him, and reduce his appetite. At this age, he should be eating 4 - 5 small meals per day, and if you are doing that, it will help overcome the hypoglycaemia.

Doesn't Lonsdale advocate only meat/offal Tess? I read it years ago, and have forgotten. Oh, and I wean my pups onto what the adults have - "mince n stuff" and the bones come later. the pups do have scrambled eggs, or rolled oats or Farex baby food for breakfast, dry for lunch, so they develop a wide range of tastes, and in case someone wants to feed dry.

I put the raw pumpkin piece in the microwave for a couple of minutes, which softens it up a bit - not cooked, just a bit softer so the f/processor handles it better. I feed broccoli, brussel sprouts, beans, squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, potato (which I cook) zucchinis, spinach, apples, peaches, bananas, paw paw, rock melon, chokos, stone fruits - basically anything except grapes, onions, lettuce - anything which is cheap this week, + anything which is in the fridge and looks a bit sad. None of mine will eat citrus under any conditions. The fruit & veges are mixed with bone in chicken mince, and they have beef bones as well. If you want to feed raw, you should get Ian Billinghurst's book - "Give a Dog a Bone". He has a website, if you google Ian Billinghurst, it will bring it up. You can then check that out, and his next book, which is also good. If you buy the book, you'll know what you are doing, otherwise, you are at the mercy of everyone - some of whom will advocate BARF, when what they are feeding is not BARF, and you will be led astray. I also feed brown rice occasionally, dry dog feed sometimes, for convenience, cheese, cottage cheese, rolled oats, eggs, fish, offal, bones, yoghurt, vitamin/mineral supplements, kelp, - and whatever else happens to take my fancy on the day. So I am not strictly feeding a BARF diet, but I am feeding a raw diet. Once you have read the book, and know the principles, you can either follow it religiously, or change it slightly. But I think it is important to read the book, as it is too easy for a home made diet to be unbalanced, and the effects may not be noticed for years.

Don't bathe him every day, don't put Frontline on him, don't treat him for heartworms - except with daily tablets. He is thin, he has a skin issue, and he has diarrohea, the more you do to him without knowing what is wrong, the more likely you are to aggravate the situation --- just keep him comfortable, and feed him until a vet sees what the problem is. Putting too many chemicals on an undiagnosed skin problem could well make it worse. If you don't have fleas, don't worry about Frontline. If there is a need to wash him, use the shampoo which is antibacterial, it wont do any harm, and he probably has some bacteria with the underlying problem. If the problem was caused by floes, and he has none now, it should begin to abate. Ensure the vet knows about the diarrohea and skin problem before he vaccinates too.

Tell her to swap the dog for a rabbit. A dog can survive on a vegetarian diet - but not in optimum health - and the problems arise in middle or old age, because over the years, he has not been receiving the full range of nutrients he needs in a form he can assimilate. The greenpet site has all the ideas, but I would like the see the results of some studies - all the ones I've seen are very discouraging. A dog is a carnivore, and not feeding him the diet his teeth and system was designed for is a form of innate cruelty - as bad as some of the more obvious cruelties.

Hi cavNrott, pleased Sophie continues to thrive. Interesting about the cottage cheese and flaxseed oil. You probably don't need to know this, because you would be using the oil before it went off, but someone in a health food shop who probably knew said keeping it in the freezer extended it's life. It doesn't freeze, you can still pour it. She would be loving the different sights and smells at new places. Maybe we need a sticky with cancer retarding diets, and tips and hints or maybe we do have one that I haven't seen.