Sail_Away

Pretty much the only toy I didn't buy was the 'isqueak'... wish I had read all these posts before placing my order... I suppose I could always go back...

OK thank you. I have been trying to do variety although the only meat given is chicken so far, haven't been able to get my hands on any lamb flaps. I bought some tinned sardines yesterday in spring water, will give today as one meal. She always gets about 150g veg mix (green leafy, pumpkin, apple etc all raw blended up) each day. She wasn't too keen on the VAN and I was only going to feed that a couple of times a week in stead of my own veg mix. I heard pumpkin was good for constipation but is it best cooked not raw for that? Also I'm feeding about 10% her body weight, she is 6kg so 3 meals a day about 200g each.. that's right isn't it?

I just got a new puppy a week ago and have done ALOT of reading on RAW feeding and at this stage she is getting chicken necks, wings, veg mix, occassionaly VAN puppy and I've just purchased minced chicken frames from my butcher.. this morning though she seemed quite constipated and there was the smallest bit of blood in her stool and what appeared to be a bit of bone...? I'm not sure if the blood is from the chicken frame as when I dished it out there were bits of blood in it anyway... Puppies should be able to handle the frames minced right? The breeder was giving them frames too but I don't think minced... she is a gundog so not overly small puppy.

I have spent WAY too much on this new puppy! :eek:She really didn't need all that stuff I just bought off cleanrun! haha... I'll have to save some for xmas and when she's older too if I can! Part of me just wants to give them all to her at once, but I know thats not smart

What are you guys buying...? Recommendations? :laugh: Any of those frisbees good?

I bought some of the toys online in OZ for nearly 3 times the price! Spent $30 on the Kong Wobbler and it's only $12.95 here! So cheap!

Thank you all!

Thank you! So it's just those toys that are free?

Where does it say free shipping and it's for O/S right? Sorry I must be blind..

I wish they had this a couple of weeks ago... I just spends SOOO much money online for toys for me new pup - I checked out the Cleanrun website too and thought how great the prices were but thought shipping to OZ would be too much... Oh well I'm sure I can find other things to buy on their website... :laugh:

Thank you, I have seen this company and the only reason I can't get one from here is that it doesn't have the extension for height - I know you can buy it as an extra but our door is 204cm high and I think there was a chance that door was going to be a bit tall... just... They do look great though!

Sorry I just saw that thread after your post here... The guy you suggested above who makes these, is this like the sliding door insert or one cut into the existing glass/flyscreen door? I mainly want to know if anyone has purchased the patio door from www.modernpetdoors.com.au? - I have heard a lot about the others but not this one...

Hi DOLers... Just hoping for some opinions about which brand you have or recommend for patio dog doors? I have been reading some old posts on this and majority of people seem to have Pig in Mud or Patio Link... It seems I can only find PIM at pet stores and their is quite a difference between flap sizes from Large - XLarge. The Patio Link one's look very well made however, are fairly expensive... The other option I have seen is "Modern Pet Doors" - which is an SA manufacturer sold on Ebay or via their website... price is great and quality seems fine... Also any experiences getting a med/large dog (Hungarian Vizsla in my case) through say 27cm wide x 58cm high...? Pretty narrow... Looking forward to hearing some comments...

Excellent comments Sheena - my breeder who is extremely knowledgable and well respected in Aus. sent me an email the other day re; the current diet of the pups... she basically said everything you have just said - "why remove grain, a staple food of the world unless the dog is allergic?" - she adds some rice to their meals occasionaly and has been feeding the pups raw chicken wings, necks, frames, brisket bones, lamp flaps, veg mix and advance or bonnie puppy dry food occassionaly. She said (and I def agree) that they should be exposed to all these different foods - eliminates picky eating later on. She will occassionaly cook up chicken or lamb mince with veg/rice too but only sometimes. She also believes in not having a strict routine but a 'round about' time for feeding (most people would agree on that) and to increase/decrease food depending on look of dog or activities eg: hunting or the season. She has told me to 'relax' and not worry too much as long as it is balanced. Sheena - may I ask what food your dogs are on that you have mentioned in that comment - sounds great! :)

So is VAN meant to be a replacement for adding veg to the diet? So if I gave raw bones/meat is the VAN then meant to be my 'slop' mix? Or would you still do the veg mix + VAN... sorry confused... just finished work a bit tired

Thank you, just found that thread, having a read now :)

That's interesting Megan.... so would you use it as the 10-20% portion of their diet.. basically I am committed to raw meat/bones/veg diet - I have all the right books re; what to include however, thought occassionaly may use dry but would you recommend VAN instead and would it do the same as what I am expecting dry to do... like a filler...? Sorry - I kind of dismissed it because of 'grain' but maybe I should read more...

I emailed The Natural Pet Store today because I was about to purchase TOTW for my pup but soon realised the one's available are not tailored for puppies... they said the 'puppy formulas' for TOTW have not been introduced in Aus. yet... but apparently all there kibbles were ALS previously so would be OK, but best to go with lamb variety... back to square one again.. what are your thoughts on the % of protein found in some of these dry foods - for a pup it should be lower is that right? I also read that 'fat' should not be amongst the first 5 ingredients in dry food for large breeds as it can be a factor associated with bloat! (I have had a dog bloat twice before, def not taking risks with that).. I heard some breeders talking about Vets All Natural added to raw diet but I'm not so keen that it needs to be hydrated first & contains a lot of grain... thoughts?

I have just moved from Adelaide but I used to go to 'Torrens Road Vet Clinic' - Jenny is fantastic! They saved my Standard Poodle twice from bloat! :thumbsup:We have since moved interstate and unfortunately lost that girl at age 12.5 - They sent us a beautiful card with their condolences, so thoughtful.

Would just like to say thank you for all the comments, I have enjoyed reading everyone's opinions! I do have a lot of books here "Real food for dogs & cats", "Grow your pup with bones" & "Give your dog a bone" and used these concepts for my previous dog during her earlier years but slacked off from complete raw/dry in her older years... I must sit down and read through them again though for good recipes. I think I will make up some 'slop' which I read from another DOLer - basically veg mix and portion that off for each day + raw bones/meat + 0.5 meal supplemented with dry food (still haven't decided which one! but I will try a few to see what works best for my pup)... Hopefully I don't have a fussy eater and all this research wasn't a waste of time!! :doh:hehe

I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok... So you don't freeze your own meat for human consumption as a way of preserving it? I mainly feel that companies that 'mass produce' pet products would have to add some preservative to the meat in order for it to keep until sold... apparently Australian law has loop holes for labelling on pet food and Sulphur Dioxide is not required to be shown on the ingredients list... anyway, I have no proof of there being preservatives in the BARF mix, I am just sceptical... I will most likely just make my own bones/meat/veg mix anyway. Very interesting topic though! I think it's hilarious you won't feed BARF as it's apparently got preservatives, so you're going for a dry food instead I was waiting for that comment... I see how it sounds conflicting but I realise you can't always completely avoid preservatives and I'm still not certain if I'll even feed any dry food, if I did it would be the smallest amount as a staple. The dogs diet will be minimum 80% raw.

I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok... So you don't freeze your own meat for human consumption as a way of preserving it? I mainly feel that companies that 'mass produce' pet products would have to add some preservative to the meat in order for it to keep until sold... apparently Australian law has loop holes for labelling on pet food and Sulphur Dioxide is not required to be shown on the ingredients list... anyway, I have no proof of there being preservatives in the BARF mix, I am just sceptical... I will most likely just make my own bones/meat/veg mix anyway. Very interesting topic though!

I am only assuming it has preservatives in it because it is 'packaged' there is no way it can be 'fresh' and then just frozen meat... I know a couple of people that tried it and their dogs came up in hives! I have Ian Billinghurst's book "Give your dog a bone" here somewhere but we just moved and are still unpacking so no idea where it is. I know what you mean though, there are SO many options out there and everyone has a different opinion on what works best and then all dogs are different... I just try to avoid 'commercial' food where possible and just use fresh ingredients... I didn't really want to go onto dry food but I think a small amount each day of good quality brand should be ok...

I have also heard this about GreenCross at Palm Beach... Ormeau is a touch too far north but would def consider it if nothing better closer... great hearing 'word of mouth' recommendations though, this forum is brilliant!

Thanks guys, I think I might try TOTW... I also agree about Esky the Husky - Just gorgeous!:)