badboyz

Where-as I on the other hand have a bitch that had an allergic reaction (hives) from the EPO and prefer the aloveen for her. I can use the epo on all my other dogs with no problem though. All you can do is give it a try.

I've always fed dry and raw together and never found it an issue. Perhaps it is more of an issue with large breeds who are more prone to bloat. I actually find the dogs eat better with the combination. If fed dry alone they can gulp too fast and it has been known to block the airway. Meat alone is also gulped. When mixed they seem to slow down and chew the crunchy bits. As for the VIP - I'd feed use it sparingly, mixed with other foods. Variety is good for dogs and makes life much more interesting. When my meat supplier closed down over christmas earlier than I expected - so I did not get to stock up - my dogs had to make do with a fair bit of variety in their diet for a few weeks. At least the dry was consistent. They did not fade away or break out in spots or anything and accepted it with a sniff and good grace.

Bathing fortnightly seems a bit excessive too! Is there any reason he needs to be bathed so much? I also recommend seeing a vet to work out why he is scratching. Could be allergic/bacterial/fungal/mange mites. Scooting usually means anal glands need expressing - you vet can do it if you do not know how.

I'm with gareth. I start mine on chopped chicken necks (chopping them in half/thirds will slow them down), then progress to whole necks. I do not usually give wings until they are more like 4mths old. eta. (former beagle breeder here)

More importantly was the chi desexed? This sort of behaviour usually only happens when a bitch is in-season.

Tazer gets one chicken neck for breakfast, maybe a dozen bits of kibble in his bowl for lunch, 1 desertspoonful of raw mince & veg mix for dinner. Sometimes he eats it all sometimes not. He often gets a few treats in the evening from my son when he is playing & training him - maybe a little roast chicken/kibble/biscuit. He weighs about 2.7kg I think (will check a little later). He is pretty trim and fit.

Got mine of ebay - dremel golf cleaning kit - about $20.

With house training - it is a good idea not to give puppy too much freedom in the house at first, especially if you are not able to supervise. I think many new puppy owners allow their new pups too much freedom to wander all over the house, before they have taught them where they are expected to toilet. I train all my babies to newspaper (at 4 weeks they are already pretty reliable on the paper - but shar pei are known for their ease in housetraining). When they can't be watched they should have a room/pen/crate that has a bed to sleep one end, newspaper to toilet on the other end, and of course some water/toys. Good luck!

Signs of her coming in season - they generally get sookier than normal and sometimes the vulva will start to swell a little. Sometimes the bleeding is the first sign. Easisest way to check is to wipe once a day with a white tissue. I would not stress about it though. A bitch can come in season anytime from as early as 5mths to as late as 18mths for thier first time, and size/breed has little to do with it. Hope she is still showing no sign of paralysis.

I found my chi also difficult to lead train. He just wouldn't budge - and this a potential show dog. I persisted trying to get him used to it with little success. Farthest we got was a few steps forward with me sitting on the ground with a handfull of roast chicken and calling him to me. Then I would praise like a mad woman. On the day of his first show he was a different pup. There was so much more interesting things to look and see that he did not even think about the lead at all and was quite perfect. We had no issues from then on. So after her 2nd vacc pop on the lead and collar and take her off to a park. None of my dogs wear a collar at home - only when we are going out and always with a lead attached.

Wow scary stuff! And those poor owners believed they were doing the very best for their cats and buying one of the most expensive of foods. Very sad.

Just to be different, my chihuahua (1yr boy) and cat (adult female - the bigger of the 2) playfight all the time. He drags her around by the fur on her neck (which she doesn't mind at all) then she will pounce on him and look like she is going to rip him apart. Never any bloodshed.

So sorry for you loss. But how lovely that you were able to help her have a happy loving home in the last 9mths, and that you were selfless enough to say goodbye much sooner than you would have wished.

Not sure if you have seen the ANKC standard for the Samoyed. Here is a link: http://www.ankc.org.au/home/breeds_details.asp?bid=174 It does not list a weight, but lists as follows: Dogs 51-56 cms (20-22 ins) at the shoulder. Bitches: 46-51 cms (18-20 ins) at the shoulder. Weight in proportion to size. My shar pei are also 18 - 20 inches and and ideal weight for them would be 18 - 22kg, so I think the suggested 18 - 25kgs would be correct. At 12 mths she will not be at her full adult weight anyway. When you feel her ribcage with your fingers through her coat, does she feel ribby, or can you feel a thin layer of fat over the ribs. Also please tell us what you are feeding her, as we may be able to recommend a better diet.

This had me thinking: if a council decided to regulate for mandatory desexing and a dog died during the operation - should the council be responsible for compensation?

Thanks for the replies all. I have sent a link to the thread to the owners, in case they wanted more information. Of course nothing will bring him back though!

So sorry for your loss of Ripley!

RIP BOBO (photo taken Saturday - died on Monday)

They were told just that all was going as normal then his heart stopped unexpectedly and they couldn't get him back.

How common is it for a male dog to die during a castration? He was only 10mths old. Was healthy apart from being on ivomec for a mild case of mange. This has just happened to a dog I sold. Owners are obviously devastated, thinking they were doing the right thing.

Thanks all for the tips and encouragement. I've never had to diet a dog here before. Working on decreasing the dry and increasing the raw mince.

This happened to me last year. It feels just awful. It was a wallaby and I was only going about 60ks, but she just jumped out in front. It was early evening, but dark. I stopped and turned the car around so there would be light. Then I saw the joey in front of the car, so very lucky I didn't hit him too. The mum was not dead and threw herself into the bush when I approached. Luckily the lady in the house nearby heard the thump and came up. She collected the joey in a pillowcase and told me she had the number of a wildlife carer. She knew what to do, as they often dashed through that particular strip of the road. I dropped in the next morning and she said the w/c came out fairly quickly, found and collected the mum, who was by then dead, and took care of the joey, who was in good condition, thank goodness. Now I drive very slowly when going along there. RIP Roo!

When she first came she would not eat any raw at all, with the exception of chicken necks. Ex owner sent over a huge container of some cheap and nasty dry food, which she happily ate. So, she gets 2/3 chicken necks in the morning (depending on their size) and about a 1/2 cup of Optimum Weight Management dry at night. I was initially adding a few spoons of the same tinned food, and was gradually changing that to the raw mince I feed my own dogs. So now she is eating the 1/2 cup dry and small globs of raw mince for dinner. I guess the 600gms is pretty good, considering she will also be building up muscles she'd forgotton she had! I think I was just expecting her to be under the 19kg mark.

Hi, my boomerang beagle, has returned to me as a 3yr old 19.7kg piglet. I have her on a diet and she has my other dogs to chase and play with. She has lost 600gms in this first week, weighing in at 19.1kg today. I was hoping for more. Can anyone tell me if this is a good amount or should we have done better. She is certainly getting fitter, as last week she could barely run and would collapse on the ground panting. Now she is zooming around whenever she gets the chance. :rolleyes: Pic added for the record, mid week 1:

What an truly awful thing to have happen! And doubly worse due to him being a show dog! They should be giving him free vet care for the rest of his life I reckon!