Loving my Oldies

This is all VERY encouraging. Thanks so much. I figured that the Nature's Gift might be a bit too rich first off, so I boiled up rice in chicken stock (absorbtion method so very nutritious) and mixed it 1/2 and 1/2. They all loved it. Ha ha - I'm not about to try it either, although I thought it smelt pretty good. I must admit I have felt a bit of a failure with not being able to keep the dogs on BARF, but knowing that so many others can't or don't makes me feel a bit better.

I'm finally giving up and going with the canned and dried food - I will keep up the raw, fresh food though, give a mixture. The dogs love Optimum dry so I am happy there. However, as I have to give medication and like to put it in food, I like to give wet food as well. At Pet Expo last weekend, I bought a Nature's Gift Show Bag and the dogs seemed to really like it, so next time at the supermarket, I bought some cans of it. I also saw Excellence and bought a can of that - again the dogs really loved it. Would be grateful for some opinions.

That is some gorgeous boy you have there. I am sure he'll live up to his name, eventually.

I don't know Robbie's story, Karen, but I feel very deeply for all of you. It's bad enough when a dog is old and sick and suffering, let alone when they are young and vibrant.

Gorgeous cat, Sheree. Certainly does look better after the weight loss. Gussy is just over 6kg and the vet wasn't particularly worried about her weight when she went for her annual vaccination a few weeks ago. But I have certainly cut down on her food and she is very eager for her meal when I give it to her.

Thanks Tali. I will look for that at the vets.

;) Good idea, thanks.

There is a dark smudge almost in the middle of the photo and a little bit of yellow which is her tag. :rolleyes:

Thank you, ladies. Gussy comes walking with me around the block when I walk Tilly and Rover - the oldies. I wish I had a video of her running to catch up with her "undercarriage" swaying alarmingly. Gussy is a grazer and eats very little at any one session; as the birds come into the garage to steal her food, I am never sure how much she actually eats. I have a new system, now, that I give her little meals through the day. I will measure out 1/2 cup and spread that out through the day. Here she is sunbathing. . . . . . Thanks again.

Can this be moved to the Cats sub forum in Off Topic, please. Thanks

Gussy has a new favourite place in the garden. See if you can find her. ;) Oh dear, the pic is really small now that I've had to resize it to fit here.

Some months ago, I started feeding Gussy on Optimum Dry (she's never been overly keen on wet food) and the difference it made to her coat and general appearance was wonderful. However, she has put on a lot of weight and I am trying to feed her less. The Optimum recommendation for a cat of her weight is a cup a day. It seems a huge amount and I am wondering what others think. Gussy is a stray torti of about 8-9 years of age.

It's called coprophagia. Lots of animals do it, and it's only disgusting from a human point of view. Read up about it and stop worrying

"I believe that I have seen instances of this first hand where a dog's fate has been all but sealed due to what I can only deem to be ignorance of the breed that is being assessed. " Unfortunately this happens even when people are supposed to be the experts. At a pound where I was a volunteer dog walker, we had the most beautiful big black Newfoundland X. She was a gorgeous dog, but was rehomed inappropriately, jumped a fence and attacked another dog. She was returned and euthanised because, according to one of the vets, she was "kennel crazy" because she chased the flashing reflection caused by the sun catching one of the walker's watch. . How many happily homed, totally sane and much loved dogs chase reflections? As one poster said, it can be very difficult to assess a dog's temperament in a pound situation, but of course it has to be attempted. The main thing, which has been stressed again and again, is that a rescue group must be able to support and guide a foster carer and both the foster carer and the rescue group should have a good understanding of what is required from both parties.

Echoing the others - excellent work. What happens on DOL is that (I am making a great assumption leap here ) is that most newcomers don't read the instructions for posting, the pinned posts at the top of individual forums amd just hop on with their ideas and/or queries. Through no fault of their own, many - probably most - have absolutely no idea that rescue organisations exist let alone that there is a huge network of people working for the rescue organisations. So they see dogs listed in the pounds as needing help and immediately assume that if they personally don't do something, the dogs will die. It is as others have said a very emotive issue and people are very easily drawn in. They also start to see the good work that well organised and well supported rescue groups do and think: gee that's easy, I could do that. Etc etc and before too long they are over their heads financially and emotionally and have to be baled out. Recently a relative newcomer rescued a pregnant female, the puppies were born and all those puppies have been homed - UNDESEXED. Maybe there could be a few pinned topics that could be set up like some websites that you have to agree to the terms of conditions before you can proceed. Another clunky bureaucratic imposition, but it would help in the education of newcomers.

Sounds pretty good to me. Can I move in? ;)

I don't have puppies, but it may still apply. My dogs would not touch dried food and I had given up even buying it. In another thread on Supercoat and how it was now virtually rubbish, a poster mentioned feeding her cat Optimum. As my cat was looking a bit "scraggy" at the time, I bought some. She loved it and now looks gorgeous. I then decided to try some dog Optimum and my dogs just love that too. I sometimes give it to them as a treat if they are hanging around looking as though they haven't had a meal for a week

Chopper certainly is a handsome looking dog. Again it doesn't do anything for perceptions of the breed, but perhaps until you are alone in the park you could muzzle him? It would keep people and their dogs away from you and also give you peace of mind.

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I live in a very quiet street in Normanhurst where a lot of people walk their dogs. From time to time, I am aghast at the number of poos not picked up and have been sounding off to others who live in the street. I have even phoned the council and the reaction was, "Well what would you like us to do?" Anyway this morning I had walked all the others and was taking Tilly out on her own. She is a tiny, ancient, blind Chihuahua who loves her walk and because she is slow, I take her on her own. We were half way around the block and I was standing waiting while Tilly sniffed a very important blade of grass. A man walking along the road greeted me and I thought he was just being neighbourly. Oh no. Next thing, "Did your dog do a poo back there?" "No," I said, pulling out my supply of plastic bags. "I always have plastic bags." "You sure?" said in an aggressive accusative tone. "There's one there." "Yes, I always pick up after my dogs," I said and walked on as he turned away. I was sorry later that I hadn't asked him to show it two me because a lot of the poos are obviously from much bigger dogs than Tilly. I should have suggested he feel it to see if it was warm . I have been half expecting this, because I would bet my last dollar that this fellow wouldn't have approached a man or a man and woman walking together. It happened where I last lived. They feel very brave about approaching and accusing a woman walking on her own with small dogs. :D ETA: Whoops, posted in wrong place. Don't know how to move it in General.

Oh god. That poor family. I feel sick. All those years of sorrow, fear and fighting and now much more to come.

Not only settling in, but also putting on weight --- finally.

Many thanks again for all the responses. Everything seems to be fine now: no more sicks and no more diarrhoea. I have been giving them chicken and vegetables and rice cooked in chicken stock. I have also cut down on the amount of food I give them as they certainly aren't underweight. I did go to Woollies again for chicken frames (they didn't have any) and the sight of their deli meat was extremely off putting. Dried, discoloured and overpriced. I rarely buy anything there for myself, so I will also be going elsewhere for the dogs' food. Hopefully we are back on the straight and narrow. Now to concentrate on MY diet (says she reaching for a sweet biscuit)!!

Ellz is correct. With Optrex, I think it works because of the elimination of bacteria and also the cleansing of the eyes so there isn't as much irritation. I discovered it purely by accident when, many years ago I had two Maltese who had really really bad tear staining and I did try several of the commercial products - none of which worked. When one of them had a mild eye infection, my vet recommended Optrex. His infection cleared immediately and because his eyes looked so bright, I started using it on the other dog as well. After a while I noticed their staining had almost disappeared. And this from dogs who made one little girl comment, "They've got blood all over their faces." !! After that, I just used it every few days or even less and their staining was never a problem again. I am never with out it now and still use it on my present dogs every week or so, but more often if there is any sign of a build up of gunk.

Many thanks for the responses. No more meat from Woolworths - going to the butcher for it from now on. I used to use a lot of the chicken mince (minced up frames) from pet food suppliers, but Tilly has an intolerance. However, I am going to go back to getting that as well and just be more diligent and supervise meal times, so she doesn't get any of it. None of the dogs seems to like chicken necks, though, and they are ignored until I pick them all up to throw away. So I've stopped getting them. There is no question of its being parvo, for those concerned people, thank goodness. My newest addition has been to the vet on numerous occasions in the past 8 weeks for check ups and treatment. He didn't come from the pound, but he did come from a home where he was being neglected, but he is doing really well now. Danny has also been to the vet in the last few weeks for treatment for a mild ear infection. I have one pack of the Woollie's food left, but that's going in the bin and tonight they are on chicken and rice and veggies. Thanks again for your concern and responses.