Dave-o

Cheers guys :) It's so much more rewarding when people come over and say "Nice picture", and you can say "Yep, I took it myself" instead of "Yep, I bought it in IKEA".

Well said :)

I've never been very arty, and I can't work a paint brush to save my life, so I was very chuffed yesterday when some prints arrived of a few of my recent photos. I took this last month and had it printed in 1.5m x 1m. It's huge, and looks fantastic. Very proud of myself :)

Staffies are one of the most allergy prone breeds, especially purebreds. I'm surprised your vet suggested a diet of chicken and rice - two very common causes of allergies! Were they suggesting home cooked chicken and rice, or a dry food based on those ingredients?

Oh, and I forgot to say... I'm not a fan of any Hills product...

Yep, wheat and chicken are common causes of allergies in a lot of dogs. Wheat, especially when sourced cheaply, can also contain mites that are often the real source of allergy. I just said this on another post, but I always find Canidae foods work well for dogs with allergies and skin issues. I feel like a Canidae rep today.

Perhaps buy a bag of Canidae and feed her on that for a few weeks. Much cheaper than $300. It may well be diet related, accentuated by the collar. Lots of allergies are grain related, so that's worth considering too?

I know a trainer in Scarborough/Doubleview, but there's plenty in Perth worth contacting. All should be able to help to some degree?

Yep, I started looking at the start of the year, originally planning to rehome a rescue dog. After a few weeks I heard about a litter from a breeder so opted to get a puppy instead - he's now 11 weeks. The guy from the rescue centre seemed very positive during the home visit, which was why I was surprised when they had "nothing". I said a collie would be a preference but would willingly consider anything, even for foster. I have a cat (who's used to dogs), and my back yard isn't overly large (but I live opposite a dog park and a few minutes walk from the dog beach). I have to say I was really disappointed, but perhaps they had their reasons. I'm simply curious if other people have had similar communications, especially as they're constantly claiming dogs are desperate for re-homing, and I've seen them in the city and at various shows collecting money.

Alas, I was too late, but I tried... :)

A few months ago I was in a position to foster or adopt a dog, which would've been my preference over getting a puppy. I got in touch with Desperate for Love as they're always posting on Facebook with "Must re-home urgently" posts. One of the volunteers did a home visit, said everything was fine, fences are high, enclosed yard, I have the means to financially support a dog and can work at home part of the week. I've had a number of dogs and cats in the past, so it's fair to say I have the knowledge to care for a dog. Everything seemed positive. After a couple of weeks of hearing nothing I chased them up, and about 2 weeks after had an email from them saying they had "nothing available". That was a few months ago. It left me baffled - all the discussions in Perth about the number of dogs needing a home, and when I try and adopt one there's nothing available? I did state a preference of a Collie, preferably in younger years as I live an active lifestyle, but was open to fostering any dog if necessary. It's left me confused about the plethora of posts I see daily on Facebook about dogs needing a home. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Ah, that could be the issue then - perhaps he's allergic to "The Bay" :D I hope it clears up. It's worth keeping an eye on as intolerances and allergies build up over time from feeding the same food over a long period.

Did you request a refund from Black Hawk direct or PetCircle? You're entitled to a refund... and a profuse apology!

How old is he and how long have you been feeding the raw? What else does he eat?

Myth. Your dog could have good poos and survive on the lowest quality food i.e. 2 minute noodles > this is not the best food for the dog. Some foods are too rich for dogs, some dogs (most) have food intolerance, so it's finding a good quality food that is going to have positive gene expression (Nutrigenomics) and sit well with your dogs tummy. We need to stop promoting "the best food is what your dog does best on" because people often only consider the 'now' not the future and usually only consider what comes out of their dog at the 'now'. Nutrition is much bigger picture, and we know this already in regards to our own bodies but for some reason we choose to ignore it for canines maybe because cost is prohibitive or we don't have the same want for our dogs when it comes to health and longevity that we do for our human families or are we under the incorrect assumption that good poos means the dog is on the best food? Palatable is certainly important but it needs to be considered where this is coming from, is it from high quality bio available proteins or artificial methods / low quality proteins lacking bio availability? It's certainly true that one dog may thrive on Blackhawk Fish & Potato and another may not, I think it's logical in terms of individuals no matter what species. Dog guardians should consider the terms "Thrive" "Survive" "Do well on" carefully. As canine guardians we need to become experts in what goes into our dogs bodies and not just go for brands or packaging. Some of the more well known kibbles out there such as RC and Advance have some of the lowest quality ingredients in some of their lines. The ingredients panel is in clear view for all canine guardians to read, it's our job to understand what those ingredients are and what they do to our dogs bodies now and in the future. Although I agree somewhat to the "what works best for your dog" sentiment, I 100% agree with what sas says. Very well said :)

Interesting, but... Lectins are in many ingredients, not only peas. They're found in wheat, corn, soy, potato, beans, and so on. They're also substantially cooked-off during the kibble making process, making it far less of a risk in a kibble than feeding such ingredients raw. I'm not disputing the article - lots of relatively harmless ingredients can become toxic or cause intolerances if fed in substantial quantities over a prolonged period of time. But in any case, if lectins cause difficulties with the intestines then usually changing the diet will solve the problem relatively quickly.

It's a great food if your bank balance can cope. The same with Ziwipeak (Kiwipeak..!) - I generally feed dry and then every other day throw in some Ziwipeak, but I've found with my cat he's now turning his nose up at the kibble. Spoiled.

Sorry, bit of a thread revival. They've just released a puppy formula and I'm trying to find the ingredients and analysis. Yep, it's originally a UK company but the food we have here is made in Australia and not imported from the UK. It's not made in Thailand either, going by what the company have told me personally. In any case Thailand has a very high standard of food production. It's one of their key industries and it's regulated strictly, with pet food processing deemed as "human grade". That differs greatly to China.

Welcome to the forum! Some top puppy foods (in my opinion) include Canidae Pure Foundations, Ivory Coat Puppy, Earthborn Puppy and so forth, but it's a case of finding what's right for you and your puppy.

Yep, I think that's a very valid point brightstar123. I suppose if you consider the reason of feeding raw to be in-keeping with a native diet, then a native diet wouldn't include munching through a crop of wheat, corn, potatoes, and so forth. But also when it comes to research there's a lot of interpretation. There are many strains of protein and many types of carbohydrate. I'm no expert on raw so really couldn't say, but I'm definitely an advocate for "variety" when it comes to people feeding a single brand of supermarket dry food for a dog's entire life.

Sounds to me it could be chicken intolerance then. Give it a few weeks on the Supercoat to see if it continues to work. Perhaps at a later date try and introduce something other than fish to add some variety, such as Canidae Pure Land (bison and lamb, no chicken)?

What kind of dog is he, and what should his optimum weight be?

I'll tell you what I think. I think I'll throw away the rest of my cornflakes...

Does he throw up on other foods? Bonnie is predominantly wheat and corn, and fish meal is usually of suspect quality in the pet food industry. When dogs throw up their food it's a reaction from the oesophagus because it can't be digested properly, either from your dog eating too fast or what they're eating. This is what I think of Bonnie (understood that people have differing opinions). Love the tennis balls :)

I think that's the nail on the head. Can you imagine if we had to eat the same food day in day out for our whole lives? I think variety has to be the best way of reaching a "holistic" diet.