FANG

Far out, that Ziwipeak sure is expensive! Also, it says on the ingredients that it is "chicory syrup" and on the website ingredients section it describes it as "chicory inulin". I think it's evidence that it is essentially sugar, not fibre. I don't trust it. Last night I tried feeding them Vets All Natural for the first time, and they threw up a lot of bits of bone. A few of the bits were flat and looked like cuttlefish but they were really hard. I am very unimpressed and will be returning the remaining packets I bought. I think I might just mix Artemis with meat and yoghurt. Aside from meat and bones, what does a raw diet entail? Just vegies and eggs? If I bought packets of prechopped vegies and mixed that with meat and eggs, would that get me out of the preparation time? But then what supplements would I need to buy on top of that?

Yes I have, but I am yet to be convinced that what he says is wrong (although I am open to the possibility of this). He does also regularly refer to studies that demonstrate the opposite of what he is saying, but he then explains exactly how those studies may be flawed. That's a big part of why I find his argument so compelling.

Scotty's doesn't have any ingredients on its website, and apparently isn't available in my state. Boomer Working Dog ingredients: Wholegrains, meat & meat by-products derived from beef & sheep, grain byproducts, poultry meal, tallow, oil from vegetable seeds, kelp, garlic, iodised salt, vitamins A, B2, D, E, K & trace minerals - calcium, phosphorus, potassium (K), zinc. Manganese & calcium propionate (anti-mould). Natural Prebiotic. I wouldn't feed my dogs this kibble... The seed oils, vitamin K and by-products are very concerning. It also doesn't specify the kind of grains and it is not a good sign that grains are the first listed ingredient. Maybe your dogs have really good genes!

I don't really know what you're getting at. Gillespie doesn't appear to have an agenda and scrutinises the quality of research that has been published in journals. He doesn't claim to know everything, and in some of his explanations he points out that not enough is known about certain aspects of nutrition. Just because I live in Tasmania does not mean I live out in the bush... Cooking... preparing... same thing! Either way it takes more time than I already don't have. I may not cook for myself, but I do eat reasonably healthily.

David Gillespie provides references to the scientific papers that his books are based on! Thank you for the advice. I am going to look into trying out Artemis and Vets All Natural... I think the best thing will be a mixture of kibble and raw food.

Thank you, Artemis looks like it has good ingredients! It seems to have a lot in common with Eaglepack Holistic and Canidae though, which didn't agree with Tyson's stomach so well. And it's not available in Tasmania, but I will enquire about having it shipped! The breeder of my dogs said that one should add heaps of vitamins and minerals and stuff to ensure their diet is balanced, and that it does end up being really time consuming and expensive. I don't have time to cook for myself, so I also don't have time to cook for my dogs. I am always burning the candle at both ends, as it is. Really? Thats interesting. If you want more details, check out Toxic Oil by David Gillespie. may I be so bold as to suggest that the AMOUNT and the carriers of oils may have a lot to do with it ? Someone who uses small amounts of these oils on salads, or to quickly cook meats , and someone who eats deep fried foods, baked pastries ...Hmmm now which one of those may be ingesting too much /rancid/chemically changed oils and risking their health?? The scientific research has taken these things into account, and the results of these studies indicate that saturated fat is not the cause of heart disease; polyunsaturated fat and sugar is. http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants/yucca.aspx Yucca is meant to make animals' faeces smell less foul, that's why. http://sweetpoison.wikidot.com/inulin Let me put it to you that sugar and polyunsaturated oils have been added to human foods for over 100 years because they taste good and they are cheap. They do not kill humans immediately; the process is very gradual. Now, consider that there are preservatives and meat products added to some dog foods that are banned from human consumption (such as Menadione Sodium Bisulfate). If you put a minute amount of bleach in someone's food every day, it'll take a long time for them to get sick, but they will get sick eventually. What's wrong with pigs' ears? I just wonder if the average lifespan of dogs could be increased if we perfected their diet...

I have two Boxers and two cats. I have recently been investigating various kibbles since discovering that the Nutro dry food I've been feeding Tyson has sunflower oil in it. After reading one of David Gillespie's books, I've become aware that scientific research indicates that polyunsaturated seed oils cause cancer and heart disease in humans. I assume it would be the same story with dogs, and since I know Boxers are prone to cancer, I am very concerned by this. It turns out that most dry foods contain either soya oil, canola oil or sunflower oil, which is a real worry. I have also read through this website: www.dogfoodproject.com . I am not entirely sure if the information is trustworthy, but it seems to be. Most of the kibbles that don't contain polyunsaturated seed oils seem to fail based on the website's recommendations of what to look for. The only kibble that passes is Eaglepack, but I am concerned that one contains inulin and the other contains yucca schidigera extract. Inulin is a fructan, which essentially has the same effect on the body as fructose (the part of sugar that cause heart disease, diabetes, dementia, obesity, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney disease, and most of the other lifestyle diseases we're faced with in the western world). Yucca is a plant that is poisonous. Obviously the poison is in the dose, and the yucca schidigera extract used in many dog foods clearly doesn't have any immediate toxic effect, but I am a bit worried about what the long term effects might be. I am now really unsure what to feed my dogs and cats, as I really don't have the time or money to feed them BARF. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

I have a 2 year old white Boxer. He is allergic to most sunscreens and although I did eventually find one that his skin doesn't seem to react to, he always licks it off anyway, so I feel like there's no point putting it on him. For the last month or so he's had these strange scabs on one side around his mouth area. I think they may have started after I fenced off some trees in the backyard, because I think he tried to get through the chicken wire and I'm guessing that's why he ended up with scratches on his face and head. Anyway, I am pretty worried about these ones on his face, because they have been there for some time now and I would have thought they'd be healed up by now. I have been putting petrolium jelly on them at night and telling him not to lick it off (for some reason, he seems to listen to me a lot more when it's petrolium jelly than when it's sunscreeen). This seems to be helping a little bit, but I still think they're taking a long time to heal. I am sorry this photo is really poor, as my camera is only 5 megapixels. I know I should just go to the vet, but I am a uni student and I'm really stressed about money right now. I will definitely take him if it's serious, but I thought I would post on here to try and find out if it is first. So can anyone who knows about this stuff tell me: does it look like cancer to you? If not, is it something else that's serious or can it wait til his check up in May? Are there any guides for what to look out for with regards to skin cancer? I know this is something I need to be on the look out for, so I am always feeling paranoid but kind of helpless about it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about how I could stop my white Boxer from licking sunscreen off his pink nose? He is normally very obedient and he knows what "no licking" means, but it's almost as though he can't help but start licking as soon as I apply sunscreen to his nose... It makes the whole exercise seem kind of pointless! I am really worried about him getting skin cancer. I would be most grateful if anyone has any ideas or suggestions. Thanks

Okay so antibiotics got him totally back to normal... We haven't had any more accidents and he lasts the night. I recently had him in to redo his blood & urine tests, and they came back normal, so the weird liver function value was nothing to worry about. Yay!

Wow, thanks for telling me this! I just spoke with the vet and there were some abnormalities in the blood and urine: Liver function is 350, whereas normal is 10-120. Apparently it is mainly a concern if it goes above 400, but it's still outside the normal range. White blood cells are 370 and normal is 0-20. Red blood cells are 90 and normal is 0. The urine culture had bacterial growth, so he has a UTI. He is going on antibiotics for a couple of weeks and then the tests are to be repeated again in a month... hopefully the liver function will be back to normal then. I will let you know how it all goes.

Yes, I notice very little water intake has occurred during the day and it is usually in the evening that he drinks most of his water. I think what you're doing sounds very reasonable. Would you by any chance be able to provide a link to the thread about withholding water? Well that would be the logical thing, which is why I am confused! His urine is not always really dilute. I have just noticed that when he's had his accidents, it rarely has any colour to it at all and it's been quite clear from his behaviour around the time of the accident that it has happened because he has needed to pass a large amount of urine. As I said in my previous post, he urinated for almost a minute and a half just six hours prior to his most recent accident. There is definitely no other possible water source in the house. I know this, because my cats are obsessed with water and will take any opportunity they can to drink from a source that is not their own, even if it's dirty dishes left to soak in the sink! I am 99% sure the only other outdoor source would be the birdbath, but as I said before, it was definitely empty when I started monitoring his water intake. I just checked the weather for last week and it rained 4.0mm on Tuesday and 2.8mm on Wednesday and has been raining every day since then, so I guess that explains why he drank almost 1.5 litres in the first 24 hours and then only about a litre a day since then. I will try emptying it again when it stops raining and see what happens. Thank you for sharing. I am sorry for your loss... it sounds like a very painful experience for the both of you. I spoke with the vet yesterday and he agreed that full blood work and urine analysis would be a good idea, so it was sent off this afternoon. I will post again when I have the results.

No, the vet didn't say his urine was dilute, that's just been my observation whenever he's had an accident. It's possible he was drinking from the birdbath... I did empty it a week ago, but it rained a few days later. So I know that for the first few days he definitely wasn't drinking from it and there are no other water sources aside from his water bowls.

Okay so I have been monitoring his water intake for a week now, and here is what I have observed: - The most he's had to drink in a 24 hour period is 1.5 litres. He weighs 25kg, so I think that is a normal amount to drink. - He does seem to not drink for a long period and then drink most of his water for the day in one go. He has had a couple of accidents again, despite me waking up to take him out at least once during the night. The most telling example occurred this morning. Last night I took him out to pee at no earlier than 10:30pm. I watched him while I listened to the clock ticking and he urinated for almost a minute and a half. Then at 4:30am I woke up because he rang the bell. I let him out and checked his bed. There were a couple of drops of urine on it and a reasonable sized puddle on the treadmill next to his bed. When I cleaned it up I noticed there was very little colour, so it was very dilute. When the vet examined him, she said he was well hydrated. I don't understand how he can be producing so much dilute urine when he is drinking a normal amount. I am waiting for the vet to call me back.

I have tried getting help for his behavioural issues, believe me! He is actually very well trained and obedient, but he just gets immensely excited around people and other dogs. The vet said that it's normal for a Boxer of his age. The vet said that the urine tests showed his kidneys are functioning properly and the glucose result was normal too, so she said it wouldn't be diabetes or a problem with his kidneys. She also said that he seemed very well and that it was therefore very unlikely to be diabetes. I am worried about him, but the vets explanation makes sense to me and I am really stressed about money at the moment... :/