raz

Well I'm up for giving it a go. One of my boys is not doing well on kibble/barf and I'm convinced it's the chemicals in the kibble rather than just barf, however, having him on straight barf for a few months didnt help either but there are extenuating circumstances and I've had some brilliant pm/email convos with dolers about it since this thread started. I'm desperate. I cant stand to see him scratching the blazes out of himself. Its very distressing - obviously for him more so than for us. Omega 3 capsules Espinay? - are you suggesting that might be better for my furkid than what Jed suggested? I break them open before giving them to him, right? I'm all ears, people. As for offal - what's the story with hydatid? I'm getting confused on this issue.

Jed???

Brilliant. Thanks Jed :D

I've PM'd you Dan. Thanks for the alert

No....not offended. He has sat me down on several occasions to tell me how much the pet food companies put into R&D but I still dont buy it (the idea that is). ETA - thanks Dan. Will do.

Well the vet hasnt actually tested him (nor have I through elimination) so I think he might just be clutching at straws, quite frankly. He does like recommending cortisone shots as well as the prescribed diet so my alarm bells are ringing. The skin irritation came on after the boys all lost their hair after that nasty snake bite incident - hair has grown back but this boy is suffering with the skin (on the aside he's also had a seizure since which we were warned could happen after red belly envenomation so I guess he's just not as stoic as the other boy).

Thanks espinay. I'm more and more convinced.

Thanks GD One thing I'm a tad concerned about is one of my boys has sensitive skin and the vet said he should be on a prescribed diet. Yes - he does sell that particular product. My concern is this - if the other dogs are getting meaty bones, allergy boy will go berserk if I feed him kibble only. Said vet is convinced his allergies stem from beef, lamb and fish products. I dont agree, but I'm not a vet.

I think Greatdanz has picked up on my aussie style of humour, Fifi. Note she has been infected by the bug. ETA: I'm actually considering taking up the challenge after reading this thread. I even subscribed to a raw food yahoo group.

Yep. Pretty good read, too. Sun Tsu's Art of War might be a good one for your bookcase as well

Have you read How to Win Friends and Influence People by any chance?

Little tearies!

Static can do that, cant it? Ignite the gas, that is???? Greentea - yesterday it was wizzing, today it's farting. What on earth will tomorrow bring? ;)

Thanks for the headsup! I'll dig around for some antibiotics.

Reverse hiccups? One of my dogs does it. Rub his throat next time he does it to see if it stops.

I for one have reaped the rewards of some of the advice on this thread. Very informative. Keep it coming. Very interesting comment on the veg fat, Steve. I often wondered about that.

Great. Thanks for that as well Steve. All making more sense. Very interesting thread.

Thanks Miranda. That makes sense.

I've been told by a pathologist at Syd Uni that raw egg whites bind to biotin preventing the absorption of B vitamins, exactly the same in humans. Maybe someone on here can clarify that. A stack of studies have been done on this for humans - dont know about the same for animals.

Hit the little pm box under Dru's post, Greentea and she'll get your message, Lovey. How's your little fuzz ball today? ETA: what page of personal photos is the little guy on, Greentea? ETA again: Oh, found it. He's gorgeous!!!!!

Yep, I get it now. Thanks for that. ;)

Now I'm getting somewhere. Thanks Nekhbet. Sexy voices, Mita, or a faint smokers cough? ;)

So K9 - with the fatalities during the debarking procedure, is that from the procedure itself or reaction to anaesthetic ?

Hey Eddie, I've been told the citronella collars only work while on ie they do nothing to train the dog. Once they come off the dog reverts back to nuisance barking. I've never used one so cant comment; maybe a DOLer with experience in those can. My check chain in a can works really well and I've had no complaints from the neighbours so cant really say if the yapper here barks while I'm out. I have asked, ofcourse, but the neighbours are all quite genteel so not sure if they're just being nice. Dogsbesotted - I'm not anti-debarking; I just dont know enough about it, but the cauterisation seems like it would be nasty. I dont know. ;)

Great stuff, Eddie. I'm just interested in the debarking stuff from the basis of learning what its all about. I dont know anything about it, so when someone says to me its cruel, or if someone says it works really well, at this point I just say OK 'cos I have nothing to add. Sure training is the way to go - I just want to learn something about a topic I know nothing about. Dogsbesotted - thanks for that. I'm getting a bit of a picture. I think if I was in a situation where follow up surgery was required due to lack of efficacy of the initial surgery I'd be none too impressed. Cauterisation? Hmmmm. I could be wrong but I'm thinking the recovery period might be lengthy and painful. Once again - I dont know. I'm just assuming.