Yonjuro

I am not being argumentative for my own interest why would tinned salmon be better than a raw sardine and wouldn't a piece of raw salmon be better than tinned? For my purposes I am taking away any convenience factor out of the equations. It is pretty easy to buy a piece of salmon and freeze into portions. :)

Hearts are pretty rich, so I don't feed a whole meal of them. but they are a good addition when used in moderation. If you can feed tinned sardines then try whole raw sardines instead as I personally believe they are better fresh frozen than tinned.

Aside from the debate about grains and veggies, I will try and address some of you questions and tell you how I do it. Yep, the basic ratio is as follows; 80% Muscle meat, this can include things like heart and tongue as they are muscles 10% Bone usually best when fed with the meat on the bone 5% Organs like kidney, lung (can't remember if lung is considered a muscle right now LOL) 5% Liver I usually buy the organs from my butcher, I get a beef kidney and around 200g of liver. I then slice up equal meal portions of these and chuck em in separate small freezer bags and freeze em. You can buy chicken hearts, giblets and kidneys from woolies these days so that is also a good option. You don't need to balance every meal - you roughly want to balance the ratio over a week, but I just do it for each meal as my system works for me and I don't need to remember what I fed and when :) I also like to feed whole fish, I try to buy a fish that is equal in size to my boys meal size - which is roughly 300g (Huskys generally need less food than most other breeds due to their metabolism) I feed the fish whole with guts and scales. I make sure it has been frozen for a week or two before I feed it to kill any nasties in it. I also buy fresh sardines for around $7kg and I freeze them separately so I can add to a meal a couple of times a week. If you can't feed red meat, then try and add fish, rabbit, duck, turkey into your rotation of mainly chicken. EDIT _ Denali posted while I was typing and has given great advice!

I demand to see some photos of Herbert :laugh: Regarding Taste of the Wild, that is what I moved Ronin onto shortly after the RC the breeder recommended. His itching and puppy dandruff stopped immediately. I think it is a great quality kibble. I kick myself that I changed to Sunday Pets due to the shape as, as far as kibble goes he did best on TOTW. The fish one is my preferred choice. It is funny you mention the weight as I was thinking that Ronin was headed for a massive size although his condition was never anything but lean, but the weekly weight increase has reduced substantially now and I think it is basically that 10 month period when the big growth spurts level out. Perhaps it is the same with Herbert?

Yes that is what I would have assumed too :)

Oh gosh, I hope things improve soon and I wish you all the very best. EDIT; typo

I considered it but didn't want to add that amount of grains. I think it is even more expensive than doing Prey Model Raw. Ronin is 10 month, 1 week and I feed him fully prey model raw and add Augustines Approved Super Boost and probiotics. I am pretty sure I don't need the supplements but I have done it since he was 12 weeks old when he was on mixed raw and kibble so I have just stayed with it. Vet always tells me how great his condition - coat, eyes and teeth are so I just stick with it. I enjoy buying the various meats (poultry, beef, lamb, meaty bones, fish etc) so putting his meals together gives me a lot of satisfaction and seeing him eat and crunch the bones is great. So it might be slightly more complex and time consuming to feed PMRD but if you enjoy this process, I feel it is a great diet. My basic feeling is that I believe that the VANs is convenient for those that don't want to go fully raw - whether this be because of not being able to feed bones or various rotated proteins or other issues or believing that PMRD is too complex. I think if your dog tolerates the VANs it is probably a lot better than kibble (depending on the dog and health conditions) Like everything - not all foods and diets are right for every dog. I am fortunate that Ronin has a strong constitution so I haven't needed to have the same considerations that many do.

We had a grey day at the dog park today with a lovely greyhound called Tigger, Lots of fun - photos taken after a looney game of chase. Ronin is now 10 months 1 week old now.

Great service when you do!!!! reminds me I need more slippery elm too. Thank Dog it is salary time this week. :) Agreed :) This is where I bought my Calendula from.

Next time I will be buying from Steve's Shalarm

Thats quite interesting, have they said how to use/dose it?

I have used it when my boy has had the runs and it fixes it up straight away. I have used it when he has swallowed something he shouldn't have to prevent blockage or other problems. I have also used it when I had to switch foods immediately as a preventative for tummy upset due to change. I don't use it daily, I just always have it on hand as the first thing I use with any tummy or potential tummy upsets. I also mix in probiotics when the tea is cool - I only ever use it as a thick tea and usually 30 minutes before food. In the case of something swallowed, I will quickly make up a brew and cool it as quick as possible so I can give asap.

I use Wattle Grove Natural Slippery Elm Powder

My boy was chipped in NSW and my local vet in WA could read the chip when he was in for his neutering.

What a wonderful post Yonjuro. So much wisdom, especially the bolded part. Thanks very much Sarsaparilla, I really appreciate it :)

I don't think my dog cares what treats look like. Personally for training treats I want them to be tiny - the size of my little fingernail - or tearable uppable (eg smacko strips) so I can dish them out fast and often as new tricks are learned. But for "I'm going out now and you're staying home" treats - I want something that takes longer than 5 seconds to demolish... so cows hoofs are good, tho the enthusiasm for those is a little lacking. Rawhide tends to disappear way too quickly. Roo jerky - nice thick solid pieces seem to work well but I'd be surprised if they last longer than a minute - just long enough for me to get out the door. I do remember being given a slice of dried pigs trotter (dried or smoked bone - not my fave cos of splinters), the Tenterfield terrier and the JRT had one each and took over an hour of munching to make no visible difference. My dog made the whole thing disappear in under 2 minutes. No joy for me. So I guess I want small, tasty low cal treats for training. And long lasting chewy treats for home alone... Took the words right out of my mouth :)

Thanks Dave-o, That is pretty close to me but I don't head down that way with my boy. Good on you for following up on the incident.

Most dry and dehydrated, even jerky that you buy say they should be refrigerated if opened for a week.

I really don't like saying anything to other owners, but I have done when absolutely necessary... I had a minor incident at the fenced in dog park when a westie attacked my 24kg Husky. It was a bit vicious but my dog wasn't hurt, The man with the Westie, folded up his lead and was about to belt his little dog. I just said "DONT!" to him in no uncertain terms and he stopped. He later came in by himself and apologised to me. There was another chap with a very nervous mid sized dog in the same off lead park and he had him on lead in the middle of the park and the poor dog would be in-between the owners legs and would snap at any dogs that approached. He slapped his dog on the mouth. I told him that this was not going to help his dog overcome the fear and he can either try a short period of off lead in this area or take his dog out. Bearing in mind this is purpose built off-lead enclosure. He was so over protective that the dog must have been super stressed out so he eventually left. I didn't really want to say what I thought, as it would have simply been, "leave the park - now" as it is not my place to order someone around and believe that giving them the opportunity to make the decision on what would be best for their dog would be more diplomatic :D I really think that lots of owners will smack their dogs as a way of showing another owner that they realise their dog has done something inappropriate. It is a fine line between someone who just doesn't care and someone that cares but doesn't know what to do or how to react. If my dog is rude...and on occasions he can be, especially being an early teenage husky, I will clip on his lead and take him to a far corner of the park and get him to sit, then drop to calm him and then let him off again. If he is rude again - I will repeat and say "If you are going to be rude, we will have to go home" - now I know he doesn't really understand this but it tells the others at the park that I am keeping a good eye on his behaviour. If he does the third misdemeanour - I will clip his lead on and say - "okay, lets go, no more play" again the words are more for those around us to know I won't just let him create havoc. Having said that if the misdemeanour is more than being 'a bit rude' he will get marched out immediately. Again my thoughts are that I believe that there are quite a lot of owners who just don't know what to do - they are shocked, worried, embarrassed or perhaps nervous and they think a slap shows others that they know that their dog has erred

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/it-life-death-man-bites-4143725 'It was life or death': Man bites dog fending off vicious attack against his pet Sep 01, 2014 11:03 By Adam Aspinall, Simon Gilbert Luke Shearer bit the Staffie on the face and stabbed it with garden shears when the animal refused to let go of his husky Coventry TelegraphOrdeal: Luke Shearer and his dad Derek with their dog Sky A brave dog owner saved his pet from a vicious attack by repeatedly biting a Staffordshire Bull Terrier on the face. Luke Shearer, 26, was forced to take the desperate step after trying to fend off the berserk animal during what his dad described as "three minutes of hell". Luke told how he stabbed the vicious animal with garden blades repeatedly in an attempt to get the attacking Staffie to release its grip from his three-year-old husky Sky. Despite its wounds, the Staffie refused to let go until Luke wrestled the dog away by biting the animal on the head. Luke, who tried to fight off the animal alongside his dad Derek, 56, said onlookers even filmed the brutal attack rather then help out the frantic pair. He said: "It happened so quick. We were walking to cut my grandma’s hedge so we had the shears with us. The dog came and jumped at Sky’s neck, and it was life or death for my dog, so I just reacted and hit it with what I had. My dad was hitting it with his walking stick but that didn’t work, so I stabbed it four or five times in the spinal column, but it kept coming. I jumped on it and started biting its face until it let go." Coventry TelegraphLuke Shearer and his dad Derek Shearer. Their dog Sky was attacked by another dog. Luke protected Sky and fended off the attack with equal vigour. Willenhall, Coventry.Attacked: Luke fought the Staffie until it let go of Sky The staffie had escaped from two children who were walking it just before the attack took place. Luke, from Coventry, told the Coventry Telegraph : "The kids were terrified, it’s not their fault, it’s their parents. It’s like sending them out with a loaded gun to play with. Now I’m worried about the dog, I’m worried it hasn’t been taken to a vet to get treatment." Luke’s dad Derek, 59, said: "It was three minutes of pure hell. People were filming and laughing, not one person helped. " Luke added: “I thought I had broken my arm, they could have called an ambulance or the police but they just filmed. “What world are we living in where they stand there and film rather than phoning for help? It’s irresponsible.” Sky is now on medication, but will make a full recovery and Luke was released from hospital after his arm was checked. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said police were trying to trace the owner as a criminal offence may have been committed by allowing the dog off the lead. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/it-life-death-man-bites-4143725#ixzz3C734KhEr Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

try this link, it shows membership of holistic vets and what areas of alternative medicines they cover http://www.ahv.com.au/locate_a_vet.php

This doesn't sound good, what park is this happening at as I would like to avoid if possible?

Oh gosh that is terrible. I hope you get some answers from VIP them and I hope your babies feel better soon.

Maybe tack some chicken wire to the areas so she can't get at them. Just make sure that she can't scratch herself on any exposed areas of wire. There are plastic versions of the wire but don't know how good it would be. Basically anything that can cover a bit should work - maybe some hard rubber?

:laugh: I like it and I agree a large white plate would present so much better and perhaps stacking so the feet stick up in the air :D