noisymina

Some things to add to diet which may or may not help - Barley - (I cook it ) Parsley Yoghurt Apple Cider Vinegar I add all to the BARF mix. Ours had/has a slight problem and I was told she would be on meds always. She's not at the moment. Don't know if it will last or if it is a case of good luck or good management. :rolleyes:

There is nothing wrong with trying Cod Liver Oil for itchies - the Omega 3 might actually help some cases. It just so happens that Cod Liver Oil does have a lot of Vit A in it - if there happens to be a deficiency in Vit A, it will help - if it is not given in huge quantities over an extended period, it will do no harm.

The RDI for adults for Vit A from all sources is 2500iu or 750mcg. Toxicity occurs at recurrent intakes at 10 times RDI. So max intake for a human is 7,500mcg or 8000iu, depeding on where you get the info. 4 mils of the Cod Liver Oil I have gives 750mcg or 2500iu I weigh 60kgs, or twice that of my dog. So, for arguments sake, say my dog needs half of my RDI or 1,250iu daily - or 2mils of Codliver Oil - 15 mls a week - 90mils over 6 weeks. The tablespoon I use holds 10mls, so she gets 30mils, or one third of her RDI of Vit A in her Cod liver Oil. I don't know how much Cod Liver Oil they can stick in a capsule, but I hardly think it would be more than a couple of mls - thus 2 capsules, 3 times a week is not actually very much - certainly no more than the 15mils my dobe is getting, which is only 1/3 her RDI. Toxicity occurs at 10 times RDI - Or 150mils of Cod Liver Oil a week - used recurrently OR 8,000iu - 140 mils Of Cod Liver Oil a week - used recurrently I don't know, of course, whether or not dogs are more susceptible to toxicity, but even so, it seems to me that I would have to give her a whole lot more Cod liver Oil than she is getting - and certainly more than 6 capsules a week - before there is any chance of toxicity occurring. One site I've found suggests that animals are less susceptible to Vit A toxicity than humans. HERE

Our Dobe gets an average of about 3 tablespoons of Cod Liver oil over 5-6 weeks in her mix.

I'm not a juicer newbie. I had a National for 25years before I bought this one. Just a warning to those out there who have not yet bought one - it's a fairly big outlay to end up with a crappy one like I've got. :D Kit Kat - I do quarter the apples and cut out the seeds.

Only makes it easier if it doesn't shoot out huge chunks that one has to sort out from the rest of the pulp and re-process or put in the food processor to chop up in addition to doing the juicing. One also has to look out for the pulp that is shot out all over the kitchen if it is not fitted exactly right - and one has to actually start up to see if it's all Ok or not. Sometimes, i'm still cleaning up the bits a week after the event!

That is one reason I'm interested in the juicer issue. Mine, I think, is less than satisfactory - and the pumpkin and sweet potatoe just don't go through at all well - that is why I have resorted to cooking them with the barley. Great idea - I was too busy to even think of documenting it all - new dog etc at the same time.

I've been playing around with the Barf idea ever since we got Kaisie over 2 years ago, and I don't know what she was fed prior to that. One thing I do know is that the vet comments on her teeth every time he looks at them - not a sign of a problem there! Her urinary problem seems to have almost gone - I'm still waiting to see if it comes back in the cold weather while she is off the meds she was supposed to need for ever to control it. lol. Have added things like ACV, barley, yoghurt, parsley in the hope they will help - still to come to a definite conclusion on that, but it certainly has done no harm. A skin problem that was also supposed to be an ongoing thing is not evident at the moment, even tho I have not used the shampoo (she was going to need for ever) for months now. Again - don't know if it will come back, and no way of "proving" that BARF, per se, as done the trick. Again, it has done no harm. Not relly great photos, but, what the heck -- I think you can see the teeth Kaisie 1 Kaisie 2

Sounds fine. You will probably be looking at a juicer before too long. I'd be interested if you put up a poll or something on juicers - could be an eye opener!

Can be a bit of an overload. I'm all for the KISS principle myself. I get a selection of meaty bones - will be looking a bit further soon to get more variety, hopefully, but at tha moment we get lamb flap, chicken frames, necks and any other chicken that is cheap - got thighs at Woolies last week for $!.99 kg. Pigs trotters are an occasional addition. Lamb off cuts are sometimes OK if meaty and not too fatty. I freeze it all in approx serving sizes. For my 30kg Dobe, the 400g servings seem to be a bit much, so am reducing a bit and will see how it goes. She gets a serving of meaty bones each night. I have found there is really no need for mince - and don't believe it is strictly "BARF" anyway. It also tends to have preseravatives etc in it - depending on where it comes from, of course. It is also hard to tell how much is fat, meat or bone - and it doesn't do anything for the teeth! For the morning ration, I make up a huge mix about every 5-6 weeks - and freeze in 500g lots - and she gets 1/3 of one of those each morning. She gets any "dog friendly" leftovers as we go - and OH shares his banana with her and the horse each morning. She also gets a slice of toast and vegemite. Somehow I don't think that is in the "BARF" book either. The mix varies - to keep it simple, just make up a list of all the things you would like to include and just make it up with whatever you have of those - not all things need to go in every time. Mine is usually based on carrot, apple and celery, you may or may not want to add cereals (my options include raw, ground, rolled oats and cooked barley) and things like raw eggs, oils of various types, sardines and offal (mine get liver or kidney in this mix rather than at the night meal), yoghurt, cottage cheese and so on. And that's it. Hope it helps!

Or for bringing children into this world, unfortunately.

Owww - Cactus - what happened to your Avatar? I liked the wriggly thingy you had. :D Won't the council have something to say if he gets 3 dogs? Isn't it a max of two?

Would he be interested in a rope - possibly with something tied to it - attached to a tree or fence - so he could pull etc? Maybe tie a big bone to it to start with - would give him a challenge and maybe replace the garden furniture in his view! :D :cool:

Try giving her a scratch on the back - along the spine area, just in front of the tail. :cool: If she likes it, she will probably keep coming back for more - so I gues that won't actually "cure" the behaviour.

Just was called by son to see this go to air. This is causing problems for dogs as it destroys the Thiamine in their food, it seems. Story of very expesive problemsa in dogs from too much of this stuff. Details will be on theor web site.

Just think about all the **** instructors out there. You must be raising the standard. Couldn't do otherwise. ;) Congratulations for sticking with it - people like me need instructors like you. Pity thre are so few of them. You on Brisbane Southside by any chance? :D

I think the growl is a warning. You say it happens when he is not comfortable etc. The issue is with his level of "comfort", not the growling. It is merely a symptom, not the problem itself. I'm sure those more expert than I will appear here very soon! You may like to check out a book I found helpful with our re-homed snapper - "Getting in Touch With Your Dog" by Linda Tellington-Jones. It is hard to know what previous experience has shaped the "attitude" of re-homed dog. I guess that is half the fun!

Our dog gets nothing unless she is sitting - no pats, no treats, not even kind words - Just a "no" and "sit" and reward the sit. Funny to see her moving along, step and sit, step and sit - trying to get OH to pay attention to her. Some (ours have) learn that jumping up hits knee in chest and flops them over on their side - not the pats etc they want. Seems to have worked with ours as pups. I suspect it may be harder with small dogs - they don't fall so far.

Just what I was going to say - watch the poo - in some cases, I found the tinned food I gave was going through totally "unchanged" - reckon that means the dog did not get much out of it - just a theory. :D

Only with a poodle I had once. When she missed me, she used to track me down. When we were out at a farm, she would be free to roam, but would check with me often. But one day, I got on a horse and rode off, then looked back to see her with nose to he ground, folowing exactly the path I had taken, then stopped at the exact spot where I had got on the horse, looked around all confused, then went back to where she had started and did the whole thing over again. So, I really think they already know how to track if they are born to it! Guess the hard part would be to get them to track a particular scent that YOU want them to follow?

Rightly or wrongly, mine gets some raw whole grain rolled oats (ground in the processor) added to her mix. She also gets some cooked barley added - but that is only a small proportion of her total diet. I have read that raw eggs are OK - but the yolk has to be given along with the white. I include the shells as well. Sardines can be a bit rich for some dogs (ours is one of them) but they go down OK in small amounts mixed with other food. :D

Ours is in the shade - takes a few days for the algae to build up. Had plastic bowls for years, s/steel now - doesn't seem to make any difference. Ours would prefer the dam or puddles on the ground, the horse though or her clam shell (even when dirty) and out water is tank water - no chlorine. :D

Yep - my Dobe doesn't seem to mind hers.

The question re frames: I buy the frames from Woolies (at the moment) and freeze. These would be human grade meat. I feed our Dobe a whole frame about every 2nd or 3rd day as her evening meal. I was using some pet grade chicken mince - but I got the impression it wasn't good for her. The frames are no mre expensive anyway, so we are staying with them. The are also good for back teeth crunching, which they don't get with the big bones. No problems to report re feeding the frames whole - and sometimes partly frozen.

It's because of a Mr Gestapo at my very first obedience class that that I never went back - had paid a joining fee etc for about 6 months of training - left early and never returned. All our training has been DIY because of that experience. Tried again once more, many years later - and persisted longer - and never learned a thing. Can't for the life of me figure out why "socialisation" for dogs and handlers cannot be considered an important part of the exercise. It just doesn't sit well with me going to a place, spending ages with people of "like mind" and not be allowed to communicate with them. :D ;)