Jess the Lab

Ditto to this. Our dogs probably see our vet once every year or two, excluding Gizmo because he never has any issues requiring the vet. We're probably at the vet on average once every 1-3 months for any number of our animals so don't really need the "annual checkup" type system. I only see my vet once a year...which is to do the annual vaccination. The lab is 10 years old and it's still solely for the vaccination and nothing else (fingers crossed). Have seen several vets including the ones in RSPCA (Burwood, VIC), Parker's At Templestowe, VIC and Rowville Vet all in Victoria. All seem to indicate yearly dose. I'm no pure breed/pro so I've never heard of once in 3 years nor once in adulthood - type vaccination till I bumped into this subject in another thread. An eye opening indeed.

What? My 10 year old Lab has been on annual vaccinations for 10 times now. What, is it time to stop?!?!

Hi people, The link here seems to touch on the frequency of 'annual' C5 vaccination. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/247643-blackmores-intestinal-health/ Some say once in 3 years whereas I was told constantly that it should be once a year. My wallet tend to lean towards once every 3 years. Thoughts please?

ZoeInTheCity, I've never fed raw nor use Vets all natural so I don't have an opinion there, but for your vet to say no to raw usually means they want you to go down the path of buying their supposedly A-grade Science Diet/Eukanabe dog food. Yes, they are economically stacked in the clinic as opposed to having extra overhead to have a running fridge to keep raw food. And most of all, the vets are 'sold' to the commercial arrangement with Science Diet. Test the water by asking, "so if I don't feed raw, what is the best dog food for my dogs?" If he/she said either Science Diet & Eukanabe, then run and never look back!!! The vet industry here is rigged. It's similar to the GP/doctor (for humans) in developing countries. The very same GP would recommend the anti-biotics that he/she sells (There's no such thing as pharmacists in developing countries). The doctor is the sales man for the medicines! Sounds like our vets in Australia?!? Yah, why not convince my customer to buy the supposedly clinically proven dog food that I coveniently sell!

20% off from mypetwarehouse http://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/store/advsearch.asp?submitted=1&hideoptions=1&product_departmentid=12&product_brandname=ARTEMIS

Aust/NZ is extremely un-populated as compared to North America. The market is so big over there and hence developing a dog food that target a mass segment is more economical than us here. Therefore, our local premium price will always be higher in order to recover the profits from less people....unless we target to export our premium food to China!

Same here with my Lab. She has way too much diarrhoea and farts. Coat was also getting bad. Had to stop the Wellness Supermix for large breed and also the one for Senior. Are you referring to TOTW or Wellness?? My dog disliked the Wellness. Wellness. The 2 distinct bags I bought (senior and large breed, I think) contain questionable looking pellets. It's like as if it was 'rottened'. They look discoloured and perhaps it's because the BEST BEFORE DATE was near. I don't know. Petbarn was kind enough to accept it back as money refund. Can't complain.

That website (and others) was pointed out through other dog owners I met at the park. I was dumb to follow the precedence set up by Vets in Australia (Eukanabe & Science Diet). Those website opened my eyes. I did bought some large breed brand from Eukanabe before for my Lab....which I always thought she was a large breed. And, no I've not raise any great dane or any dog larger than Labs. My apologies. Didn't know large breed specific matters that much for large breed breeding. Always thought it was just marketing.

Well said. And hence why some of those Science Diet, Royal Cain, Eukanabe all have low star rating but yet the price paid here in Aust is like for a royal treatment. Same with clothes such as Guess, Ralph Lauren, GAP, etc are all cheap everyday clothes in the US.

Oh, that is strictly my control. It is not dependant on my Lab as she will eat the whole 20kg bag (and die!) whether she is in bad or good appetite. Let me assert something in this entire post. Feeding Advance or VIP to your dog doesn't imply you are a good nor bad owner. In fact I might wanna drop these overly expensive US imports to give this VIP a fair go.

I have been told that it is illegal in in Aust. I have no reason to disbelieve the manufactures of dog foods. Horse meat in beef pie is supposed to be illegal as well :) The 'duck and meat meal' stmt is just dodgy. What's that really mean? Is this the ratio of 1% duck and 99% any meat under the sun. I give the benefit of the doubt that in this post someone know the council who help the company source the meat, but still it doesn't mean anything. 'Meat meal' literally means anything including pork or meat that your dog may be sensitive to. Also by the way, the minerals found in VIP doesn't seem to be chelated minerals. As a result it's likely the minerals will pass through the dog system instead of being absorbed. It may be legal to have horse meat in overseas products. but it is ilegal to put it in, in this country. Europe survived on horse meat during the war. They had nothing else. You may find it in imported products but not in Australian made. My daughter ate Dog in Indonesia and thought it was nice untill she was told what it was!!!!. Heck, I'm a Chinese. We eat dogs and puppies! So I've no issues with horse meat...and now I've a Labrador.....hmmm she looks tempting now.

The minerals in TOTW are all chelated minerals. So it's good. Someone said the VIP 3kg bag is about $14.89. That's very nicely priced! TOTW would be waaaaaaaaaay pricier. Have you considered a plan B? There's a promotion here on Canidae Grain Free. http://www.robbospetbarn.com.au/products/c-362/DOGS/FOOD/SUPER-PREMIUM/CANIDAE/GRAIN-FREE.aspx It works out to be cheaper than TOTW and but still pricier than VIP.

Advance is hardly rubbish. If your pup's breeder has raised litters of healthy Danes to adulthood on it, I'd be sticking with that. Between TOTW and Holistict Select, Advance has a lower star rating. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/advance-pet-diets-dog-food/ True, high star rating doesn't mean suitable for your dog and vice versa, but at least we know where they stand from an independent product ingredient table point of view. 'The breeder is fully registered and reputable'. Doesn't mean anything. Perhaps, if the breeder did feed the dogs with a higher quality (if that exists), then the pups may have the next level of health and strength. At least that's just the theory.

Have you considered Canidae Grain Free http://www.robbospetbarn.com.au/products/c-362/DOGS/FOOD/SUPER-PREMIUM/CANIDAE/GRAIN-FREE.aspx OR even the regular Canidae All Life Stages?

I have been told that it is illegal in in Aust. I have no reason to disbelieve the manufactures of dog foods. Horse meat in beef pie is supposed to be illegal as well :) The 'duck and meat meal' stmt is just dodgy. What's that really mean? Is this the ratio of 1% duck and 99% any meat under the sun. I give the benefit of the doubt that in this post someone know the council who help the company source the meat, but still it doesn't mean anything. 'Meat meal' literally means anything including pork or meat that your dog may be sensitive to. Also by the way, the minerals found in VIP doesn't seem to be chelated minerals. As a result it's likely the minerals will pass through the dog system instead of being absorbed.

Ya, the meat side is a bit on the poor side. Check the section on 'How to Quickly Spot Inferior Meat Meals' http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/about-meat-meal/ That's American NOT Australian. Different regulations in Australia. True. The link would apply to most US Made premium food we discussed in this forum, but may not be for VIP which is made here. But still, when it says 'meat meal', it could legally mean anything including euthanised cats and dogs, dying, diseased or disabled farm animals (like the recent scandal, horse meat!). These are plausible example and nobody can rule that out. If the human consumables could include the recent horse meat scandal, I wonder what happens to dog food....especially it's opently legal to do so when it is declared merely as 'meat meal'.

Ya, the meat side is a bit on the poor side. Check the section on 'How to Quickly Spot Inferior Meat Meals' http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/about-meat-meal/

Same here with my Lab. She has way too much diarrhoea and farts. Coat was also getting bad. Had to stop the Wellness Supermix for large breed and also the one for Senior.

Which place? Robbo Pet. I only bought 1 bag of dog food from there! Pls review my other posts. I've shared about my pet warehouse as well. No, I'm not associated with any people or organisation.

Hmmm, not sure why are you sceptical about 'meal'. I think it's the same for fish, but for chicken, you are better off looking for 'chicken meal' as it's more value for money in terms of protein vs water content. This I assume you're buying dry food. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/about-meat-meal/ Artemis is super pricy! But, I must tell you most dog food had some recalls in their life. Same with human stuff we brought from Coles & Saveway. http://www.thepetdepot.net/blog/index.php/2012/05/recall-at-diamond-pet-food-natural-balance-artemis-dog-walker-in-highland-village-tx-the-pet-depot-pet-sitting-service/ If you are pedantic, most major brands produce from the same generic Diamond factory. How can we really avoid it? Agree, some brands have outsourced this task to other supposedly higher graded factories or own their own factory. For example, Canidae quite recently bought its own factory from a family business in Texas. http://ethospet.com/ Having its own factory doesn't mean it's good point, but at least they are trying to stay away from Diamond who still has some serious bad reputation of causing massive recalls for so many brands :) PS: Trust me, I'm not a Canidae sales man. My dog and I just happen to let the brand.

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If you are in Mel, I don't think TOTW can come close to http://www.robbospetbarn.com.au/products/c-362/DOGS/FOOD/SUPER-PREMIUM/CANIDAE/GRAIN-FREE.aspx Less than $90 delivered!

These guys are sellers, they don't send out samples do they? I was considering Canidae a while back and at that time read pretty bad reviews with the dogs. Formula may have changed now so will review again. I think the change affect a lot of people who didn't transition the old to new formula properly or there was an out break (recall that happened in selected parts of America but not Aust) or something. Anyway, that's all mostly with the Canidae All Life Stages (some grains) product and not the grain free range. Pretty much top reviews for the latter. Check the http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

Seems to be only 1 place. http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au Have you tried the Canidae Free Grain range? Seems to have good reviews too. There are more retailers doing this and hence you should get a waaaaay more competitive price than TOTW.

All life stages would really mean any level. I feed my 10 yold labrador with it. Also in the packing it suits puppy. And they list the cup sizes for puppy, adult, overweight, senior, etc. Well, I'm speaking for Canidae All Life Stages anyway. I'm sure it's the same for TOTW.