Ojay

Jo, isn't dog food included in the council's budget? I know there is usually never enough to go around for long enough, our little pound gives good quality kibble and lower grade canned stuff for some flavour. The pups I have taken from there to take to rescue have come in thin and come out fat, happy lil grubs.

I had my rottie in the days before halti's and the like, my prong collar was the only thing that kept the both of us safe, him from fights with other dogs and me from injuries. Even a flat collar in the wrong hands can be cruel, stick to your guns Jefe's Mum'n'Dad, do what works for you and your boofhead and what keeps you all happy.

I reckon by the time they get their adult coat of hair

Can I come to your house next time I feel sick???? I could use some pampering and R&R....sounds like a fab weekend....carpe diem!

From one Jodi/Olly duo to another...gut it out guys...don't think I'd want to eat either if I were him...gutsy Dude!!!

C'mon, you can't really blame her for not wanting to eat the boring, dry, crappy stuff when there are juicy veg n meat to be had!

Haven't used canned food on a dog since I was a child. We had a rottiexACD who used to fart so bad on it that even HE had to leave the room. Fed my previous boy on a mix of Supercoat and VIP loaf style stuff and he did very well on it, always in super condition, not fat, not thin and good coat, didn't stink too much either. However having said that, I would not feed it again. After BARFing with my two boys now I would never go back to processed meats, too expensive for one, more offensive gasses and I just wanna pet my boys all day because their coats feel so nice.

You've already made your decision, the matter is when you act on it. Personally I waited for a sign from my old boy, I got the definite sign but I had a preliminary glimpse two days before. From what you describe of her condition she would already have crossed over if she were in my household. Cyanosis, the blue tongue, would have been my sign. It is very traumatic when they have respiratory difficulty. Wishing you all the courage in the world to do your beloved the justice she deserves.

cooly, thanks for the feedback Sid, gives me some reinforcement of my own to know that someone else had thought of this also and had success. GREAT MINDS etc.

another friend asked me about similar behaviour in her GSD the other day and i developed a behaviour modification strategy for her to implement. Get up before the dog starts barking and give him a reward, food, play, whatever works for him. Gradually make the time you get up a little later each day. If he starts barking before you get up to go to him, do not give the reward. It will take a week or two to get going and yes it is a drag to have to get up, but a little effort in the beginning should see things come right in a short time. If you implement this strategy, please let me know how it goes as my friend hasn't gotten back to me as yet.

Probably safer than being eaten by the dog. I have been told that mint leaves in the water help prevent algae, we used it in the water on bonsai trees and it worked great.

If you've got a spare rubber curry comb send it my way, Olly just ate the only one that I had....being a bit of a minimalist! :rolleyes:

Best of luck with your girl Karma. I had a similar experience with my rottie last year. My vet thought it was initially osteochondritis dessicans and we treated with nsaid's but he just kept getting worse, my instincts told me long before that something was not quite right. He had no swelling, intermittent good and bad days but eventually the bad outweighed the good and one night he collapsed and could not move for the pain...I knew two days before that his time was not far away. Even after he was pts, the vet still could not palpate any lumps or bumps other than the usual old age lipomas. I am glad that you are in a financial position to have the x-rays and follow up with a specialist, we had just bought a house when I lost my boy so we had no extra to give him anything but final peace.

Jalna is probably the most expensive yoghurt that you can get in the supermarket. Both Peter's and Pauls' do a greek style natural yoghurt, they all contain the good ABC's and will keep a few more pennies in your pocket.

Hi Safedao, My OH isn't a big one for having dogs indoors, but my dogs have times and places that they are allowed and it is a happy middle-ground for us all. When my rottie was still with us, he would sleep in the laundry at night with a child's safety gate across the doorway. It prevented night time wanderings and didn't cause problems with any sort of separation anxiety as he could still hear us and see out. It may be a way through the picking season. Alternately you might like to try a similar strategy that is used with controlled-comforting with children/babies. Go and see to his needs when he starts barking, but then gradually increase the time it takes for you to respond to his barking.

The very best Cradle Cap shampoo IMO! Inka, check this stuff out if it is cradle cap. I used this on my second baby from birth and she never developed cradle cap, it controlled it very nicely. It is available from pharmacies but you will have to ring around to try and find it, it can be tough to get. Smells fabulous too. I think, from memory, it contains a very mild salicylic acid solution which normalises skin pH.

Poor Jenna and poor Mumsie, don't let the grief overwhelm you day by day, celebrate every moment that you have left with your precious girl and let her wipe your tears for you. I had my rottie PTS at home, mostly because we couldn't move him in the end without causing him more pain. The vet was as good as could be expected, very embarassed by my VERY public display of grief and made some stupid comment about getting another dog...BUT...he only charged a standard consult fee. Don't think he wanted to make it harder for me. I also had him cremated, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him behind if I ever moved house again. He is now sitting on my special shelf with my special things. I wish you all the courage in the world to get through this.

Makes the poor girl sound like she has a case of zits, hehehe! Sorry Inka, not laughing at you or your poor pup, couldn't help myself.

I go by the BARF principles when feeding my dog, I make up my own mixes and IMO there is nothing to worry about. Your dog won't break if things are not 100% balanced, I am sure you are not hypervigilant with your own diet or that of your children. What works for someone else's dog may not work for yours so it is a case of try it and see, also a case of VARIETY so they can get a good supply of the nutrients found in all different types of food.

We used Shane for my beloved boy in November. Great service and very compassionate. He was a little amused at our approach to it all though, my partner was un undertaker and embalmer for 13 years so H (the dog) was already in a bodybag ready to go when he arrived...we had a nice chat and compared notes on the human vs dog funeral industry...I'll give you a tip, the dog peopel are far more ethical hehehe!

I knew it was time two days before my rotti collapsed with partial paralysis with what was likely osteosarcoma. While I knew in my heart, his physical sign of degeneration was the clincher....he still had enough gumption to try and bite the vet though...heart breaking moment, pin down your dog so the one trying to euthanase him doesn't get bitten.

Tripe is high protein, low fat thus good nutritional value especially for an overweight dog. Stay away from onions and only use small amounts of garlic, too much can cause haemolytic anaemia in both dogs and cats.

Who's going to enforce your use of the prong collar for everyday use anyway - not that it will be all that visible with all that hair!!! My rottie was terrible, the prong worked but without much hair (he had remarkably thin hair for a rottie) it irritated him. The gentle leader was the best for me and yes, you can do a correction with it, use a downward pop instead of upward....it worked for my horse and it worked for him.

My ex-vet (overseas) was a great fan of flip them over and do it from underneath so that you can see where the cuticle ends...good excuse for a tummy rub too. I still use the technique even with white claws as I find you get a better, more natural angle to the claw than doing it from front on.

Don't know how much you pay for your Aloveen, but I use Dermaveen from the chemist, very much the same thing. You get a litre or so for about $14. I dilute 1:4 in a cheapo tomato sauce squeezy bottle to stretch it further and it works fabulously for the furkids.....the skinkids use it in their bath too and it's the only thing I use at home that controls my eczema.