Yonjuro

My thoughts are that your diet is good and you don't need the vans or veggies. If you wanted to transition to no vans then you could steam some pumpkin, broccoli and zucchini etc, mash with a fork and add that to the food :) I think rolled oats make up a reasonable portion of the vans and you could just buy a bag of that for very little money, soak and add bit of that to the veggies if you wanted, you can add some flax seed meal and cracked barley as well if you wish- I honestly don't think you need to but it's just something to think about and should save you a lot of money. EDIT : I do add flax seed meal to my dogs diet and think this is a great supplement :) Edit 2: I am not bagging VANS, and know there are lots of other things in it than rolled oats etc, It is convenient and possibly a good thing for people who are not confident in going completely DIY

I have only spoken with Kathy Kopellis McLeod on the phone when I was looking for a trainer. All I can say is that she was very nice and gave me lots of advice for free and she also said that she didn't believe that I needed her services for my dog. Based on this small amount of contact I can only think she is great. I have had home visits for training from Kerry Clapton for around 9 months and she is great and does behavioural consults. http://kerrysdogtraining.com

Get a size 2, I went chest measurements with my Aussie when he was still growing and he fits a size 2 at it's smallest. No way I would get a size 1 for a GSD, he would grow out of it I agree a size 2 will be much better than a size 1, :) They really are a great harness and stands up well to the chewing his mate the greyhound does on it when they are roughhousing :D

I think that as you need to steam, mash or puree veggies so the dogs can extract the nutrients from them, give us a clue as to their primary diet. That and the way their teeth are shaped. I am not having a go at anyone and I do find the topic fascinating :) My husky is fed prey model raw, but loves the odd bit of veggie as a treat and now that my bloody mulberry tree is fully ladened with fruit he is pigging out on them which makes for interesting purple poos :D

There is much debate on whether dogs are omnivores or obligate carnivores, however I think it is safe to say they are not herbivores.

I wouldn't do it unless there was a serious medical condition that required such a diet. I am all for an individuals right to choose their own path, but I don't think it is fair to push beliefs onto a dog. If dogs evolve (devolve) to have teeth like a cow I might consider it :D

Yeah, go the fresh ones, they are heaps better. I would be a little worried about the tomato sauce, I have heard of dog pupils dilating and having problems if a tomato is eaten. I could be wrong so maybe look into this?

My feeling is that you don't need the veggies, but the offal (liver and kidneys) is required in addition to the meat and bone. Heart is classified as a muscle meat. I like adding a supplement as well, but wonder if it is really required or if it is more for my own peace of mind? :) Either way, I still use it but I don't know if it would make a suitable replacement for the offal. I would try and add small whole fish into the diet rotation, I buy kilos of fresh sardines from Innaloo fish shop for $7.95 kg. They will supply a fully balanced meal to your little one. I serve them frozen.

Done, didn't take long and was quite fun.

I agree with the others, this trainer is living in la-la-land. You are doing a great job, find another trainer and save yourself the stress.

Another fan of The K9 Pro leather leads, so soft right from the word go. It survived the puppy biting stage very well. My trainer joked she wanted to steal Ronins lead as well :D I also have one of their 10m gripper long leads and it is also quite soft to hold. It pays to invest in a quality lead as it is something you will use every day for hopefully many years.

Maybe go to a kitchen shop and see if they have anything that is used to apply decorative icing to a cake??

My husky can catch birds out of the air, just gotta work out how to convince him to hand it over :D Can also knit clothes out of the undercoat :laugh:

Ronin eats around 700g per day, the bone content he requires is around 70g. A chicken wing is around 40% bone. For evening he will have either half a very small chicken + organs, or something like a chunk of steak, organs and then a piece of beef neck. Sometimes it is whole fish which has the correct balance of bone. The recipe I suggested above is simply his brekky meal which is around 300g. :) Vet said his condition is excellent and his teeth are perfect, so I guess I must have the balance pretty okay :)

Great One of the reasons I chose coconut oil was that I feed Ronin a fair bit of raw whole fish so I figured he was covered in the omegas from that as well as the flax seed meal even though the fish oil will be more concentrated than fresh fish. I think alternating oils as you mention is a good idea. I will probably add fish oil when he is getting close to senior years :) I don't buy into miracles from coconut oil, but I do think it is a good supplement and as you say it is not expensive.

try these links for more info http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/47127324583/coconut-for-pets#.VFi6TYdLoy5 www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/ www.dogingtonpost.com/benefits-of-coconut-oil-for-dogs/ edited to add a better link.

I add the coconut oil has omegas and plenty of health benefits and it great for the coat.

If he does his usual trick of turning up his nose at something he has previously eaten, you will hear my shrieks of frustration, Yonjuro. On the other hand, if he loves it again, you can deputise for me and plant one on Trinabean :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Looks great - very "Baywatch" :D

Great news there DDD, I hope things continue to improve

I thought I would post what I give my dog for his brekky... I went from part kibble part raw to full prey model raw a few months ago. Ronins eye boogers have gone away which were quite bad when he was on Sunday pets but not when on TOTW? It was always by intention to go fully raw, but when Ronin was younger and needed three meals per day it was just a bit too much. Here's what I do to make brekky simple and easy for my wife to take a meal sized parcel out of the freezer for the morning meal. (the Mrs does the morning feeds and she thinks the whole raw thing is a pain in the butt :laugh: ) 1 Kg of regular butchers beef mince (can use cubed steak if cheap and it is probably better) You could use any meat or fish you like dependent on your dog. 500g Beef Heart -cut into cubes 200g kidney (lamb or beef) -cut into cubes - you can use a bit less if your dog gets the runs 200g Liver (lamb, beef or chicken) -cut into cubes - you can use a bit less if your dog gets the runs 5 teaspoons of organic turmeric (optional) 5 teaspoons of organic kelp (optional) 6 teaspoons flax meal (optional) I simply get a big bowl and thoroughly mix it all up together, use gloves if you hate the squishy blood and guts :D Get a bunch of small freezer bags and weigh out the meal size portions, I normally weigh the first one and then roughly judge the amount for the following meals When in the freezer bag, I just pat them down to a patty as they will stack easier in the freezer and thaw quicker when you take them out. If I forget to pop one in the fridge to thaw overnight I just feed it frozen, he will chew it so It is not a bad thing. I also feed either a frozen raw chicken wing or a couple of chicken necks at each brekky, so this additional food must be taken into account when working out your volumes. If Ronin has had more bone in the evening I will substitute the chicken wing/necks with a fresh frozen sardine. If you have a very small dog then maybe half to one chicken neck or a wing every second day. So that is basically it, it costs around $1.50 per meal. I do more meaty chewy things and bones for dinner as I have more time to select what I want to feed. I also add AA super boost in the evening with a teaspoon of coconut oil. You don't need to add the supplements but I like to :D So that is basically it, very simple and easy for a great morning meal, I will admit that mince is not the ideal component, but it is very easy and convenient to make up the meals. But you can improve on this with a bit of good shopping and prep. Also, I don't stress about exact measures you basically want to get the ratios of meat, bone and organs roughly 80:10:5:5 over a week or so. I don't do vegies but I see no problem in adding what you like and tailoring the diet to your specific needs. Oh and importantly... if your dog can't effectively chew bones you will need to grind up some to add to the food. Maybe pop a chicken frame or two in a blender on chop, or bash a few lamb flaps (covered with a tea towel) with a hammer. Roo tail could be bashed up for those on special diets. ... there is lots I could add to this post but it is getting quite long already :D but one thing I would like to add, is that regular beef mince is quite fatty, so unless you have a relatively active dog you should substitute this for something like kangaroo or perhaps turkey.

You are doing a great job DDD, This might be a silly question but have you tried giving probiotics? I am not saying this will be the answer, but a healthy gut flora may assist with the non specific gastritis??

Thats great that Bruno is doing well on the new food - yeeharr for small firm poo I am pleased to hear that you are finding the TOTW good. It's probably worth sticking to it for a while before changing :)

Yeah, I told them, it was a little embarrassing as I bought cheap lamb chops for me and gourmet croc for Ronin. I am sure they think I am mad when I go there to buy meat for my dog :laugh:

Thanks guys :) Yeah, It certainly is a "dogs life" a year went fast and they grow so quick and I can hardly remember him being small. @Tibbie - I got the croc from Meat Lovers Paradise on Wanneroo Rd Yokine. Fair warning though, it is bloody expensive so unfortunately it won't be a regular part of his diet. This butcher is good as he will cut it down, some will only sell either one or two kilo packs and they are a bit cheaper than others.