jamie

If done with a bit of thought and research,raw feeding/barf could probably work out a fair bit cheaper than feeding Orijen,which was around $10/kg from memory.Big Dog petfoods is on the Northside and even buying their pre-made Barf patties or minces would be in the same ballpark costwise as feeding super-premium kibble. http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/barfpatties.htm http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/edge.htm

A friend of mine has had this problem with his desexed dog quite a few times,he was told by his vet to get the dog to lay on his back and to hold a bag of frozen peas on his penis till it went down.

I've heard that you have to do this with certain types of fish but not with other types of meaty bones.

thanks, i live in lawnton, i am going there first thing monday. I'd make sure they're open first,they usually close for a couple of weeks over Christmas I think.

Oops, two separate companies. So big dog deliver? I think I might buy 50/50 from the two companies, compare price & quality and go from there. I've got a chest freezer now so I really want to get at least 2 months supply at a time. If you're looking at buying any Kangaroo tails I'd get them from Aussie Pet Foods,the quality is much,much better!

I see you're at the sunshine coast,have you checked out Aussie Pet Foods in Caboolture http://www.yellowpages.com.au/bi/aussie-pe...qld-834970.html I get my roo tails/roo meat from them,they're the only place that I've found that sell roo tails in large enough peices so my dog won't swallow them.Also I've found the quality of their roo is a lot better than some of the other places around Brissie that I've purchased from in the past.They also sell several different types of pet mince and meat chunks. Jamie

Thanks.I've found it to be a good way to add richer items like heart and offal and still keep his stools firm.These meals are actually his favorite meals of the week,he really goes nuts for them. Jamie

I think chicken necks are great for small dogs

Nekhbet, Although while I agree that there are some differences between wolves and domesticated dogs,as someone who cannot afford to feed whole rabbits to my dog,would you agree that feeding raw meaty bones,whole fish and offal may be closer to a dogs natural diet and maybe more appropriate than say kibble or even minced meat and bone with stuff like fruit/vege/yoghurt added?

The whole 80/10/10 thing didn't really work out that well at my house,if I feed my boy that much meat his stools become very soft.He does much better with more bone in his diet,just ballparking %'s it's probably closer to 50-60%meat,20-30%bone and 10-20%offal. I find that he just wolfs down meat only meals,500g will be gone in about 20 seconds flat,when I feed large raw meaty bones he actually takes 5-10 minutes to eat his dinner which I feel gives him more enjoyment and also more mental stimulation from his feed time. Also,if you feed all of their meat 'off the bone' you will also be missing out on a lot of the teeth cleaning benefits that come from dogs pulling/tearing/ripping the meat off the bone themselves.I try and feed a large VERY meaty bone around once a week. At the moment I'm feeding Bosco the following and it's working out great: Monday:Roo tail + roo meat Tuesday:Chicken frame filled with beef heart and lambs liver and kidney Wednesday:Roo tail + roo meat Thursday:Chicken frame filled with beef heart and lambs liver and kidney Friday:Roo tail + roo meat Saturday:Chicken frame filled with beef heart and lambs liver and kidney Sunday:Fresh sardines or salmon frames He also gets a chunk of apple or pear here and there,a few frozen raspberries on most days,an egg every couple of days and occasional table scraps.Once a week I substitute one of his regular meals for a HUGE lamb shank (around 1kg),he gets a real workout stripping all the meat off one of these and obviously he enjoys it a lot!. Jamie

I actually called Pet Goods Direct first,the nearest store is about 45 minutes drive from me.The person I spoke to said not to bother driving all the way over there and said to just go to any Pets Paradise,there are about five within 10 minutes of my house,as they are all the same company.Their prices are the same as PP up here.

I went into my local P.P today to have a look at the Innova Evo range and must say that I was very impressed with the quality ingredients in this product.I was disapointed when Orijen was pulled from the Aussie market as,before checking out the Evo range,Orijen was the only kibble that I would have fed. I feed my boy a raw diet,but was looking at adding Orijen maybe once or twice a week but since that is no longer possible I am definitely going to consider getting a bag of Evo to try. I was a little shocked when I checked the expiry dates,a lot of out of dates,some as far back as July 07.I'm going to see if the manager will order me in a new bag. Jamie Edited to add that they also have an offer where after you've bought 9 bags,you get the tenth bag free.

This is from the Artemis Online thread - GL has had fantastic results with her girls! Additionally if you do experience softer stools I understand that adding a couple of eggs whites binds up the stools and may make the transition easier! I thought feeding dogs egg whites without the yolk was unhealthy?

Yes,but only if your dog isn't so scared of it that it won't go near it.

I've got an 18 month old Staffordshire bull terrier,he usually weighs between 16-17kg. At the moment his weekly meal plan is: Monday:Chicken frame stuffed with a mixture of diced beef heart and lambs liver and kidney. Tuesday:Kangaroo tail and diced kangaroo meat Wednesday:Chicken frame stuffed with a mixture of diced beef heart and lambs liver and kidney. Thursday:Kangaroo tail and diced kangaroo meat Friday:Chicken frame stuffed with a mixture of diced beef heart and lambs liver and kidney. Saturday:Kangaroo tail and diced kangaroo meat Sunday:Fresh sardines or salmon frame He also gets the occasional egg and a few strawberries/raspberries or chunk of apple here and there I try and feed approximately 450g-600g per day,but I don't get too obsessive about weighing everything out,I just make sure he looks healthy and isn't losing or gaining too much weight. jamie

Excellent post! My experience basically mirrors that of Koolietas,although my boy does much better with more than 10% bone.

I'd probably alternate days of large meaty roo bones with days of whole rabbit.Once or twice a week I'd feed some form of fatty fish,either large chunks of salmon or fresh sardines.This is close to what I currently feed except for the rabbit,which is hideously expensive around here.

I recently purchased a product called 'Nu-stock' which claims to get rid of ear mites.I used it on my boys itchy tummy and it was great.

My dog choked on a large chunk of turkey drumstick,I had to put my hand in his mouth and pull it out of his throat.Lost most of my thumb nail in the process,but he would have died for sure if I hadn't. Jamie

If boxerbob doesn't end up taking them I'll gladly take them of your hands!!! Thanks. Jamie

I also live close to "Big Dog Pet Foods" and buy the patties from time to time as my boy really likes them,when it's warm I give them to him frozen,straight from the freezer and he loves it.I also like to keep some on hand in case I need to get someone else to feed him as not everyone is comfortable feeding raw meaty bones to dogs. Cost wise I think they were pretty good,last time I bought them it was 48 patties for $48 and when I weighed them each patty weighed around 250g,which works out to about $4/kg.By the time I bought all the ingredients (meaty bones, meat trimmings, ground fruit and vege, heart, liver, kidney and tripe, whole egg, yoghurt, kelp, garlic, alfalfa & flaxseed) it would have probably worked out around the same dollars wise. I haven't bought them since the product changed packaging,when they told me they were changing from the roll packs to the boxes I bought 8 rolls,just in case I didn't like the new product. Jamie

My boy choked on a turkey drumstick a few months ago,it was the scariest two minutes of my life.He was eating it just fine then I noticed he was struggling to swallow,normally he would just spew it back up and start again but this time he just kept trying to swallow.After about 30 seconds he started swaying like he was drunk,he fell over onto his back and had what looked like a seizure.His eyes were closed and his jaw was clamped down tight.I had to pry his mouth open and pull a large chunk of meat and bone from his throat,lost most of my thumb nail in the process and I jumped up so fast when he fell over that I badly strained my left hamstring.He was fine almost immediately after,but I was still shaking for a quite a while longer.It happened again (although not quite as bad) with turkey so I no longer feed turkey drumsticks. Always supervise when feeding RMBs! Jamie

All of the Petcafe's in my area sell them.If you're willing to travel to the Northside you can get them straight from the manufacturer: http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/barfpatties.htm

I've used a vet at Stafford,which 10 minutes or so from Ashgrove,several times and have always been very happy with the services provided. http://www.yellowpages.com.au/bi/stafford-...qld-755969.html

I think the brand of mine is Thompsons,they were $32.95 for 1000 capsules.My dog weighs 17kg and usually gets 2 per day.