stormie

Can anyone recommend anywhere on Sydneys Northern Beaches for sourcing RMB's at a reasonable price? I get the bulk of Orbit's raw from Cliff at the Fresh Meat Store, but it's not easy for him to source turkey and when he can, it's pretty expensive. Due to food allergies, I'm limited with what he can eat. At the moment he's limited to turkey, beef and roo, with lamb on occasions. Chicken is completely out, as is duck and fish (stupid dog!). I'd love to get hold of some different meats - rabbit, goat, etc I used to get turkey necks from Myella, but I gave up using them and used to get them from woolworths when I saw them. My local woolies and coles has very limited supply of dog meat now, in fact it's rare to even find liver/hearts/kidneys etc. So can anyone recommend somewhere I could try? I'm working in Pennant Hills, so anywhere between there and Northern Beaches would probably be ok. Thanks :p

I'm starting to lose faith in our Eagle Pack rep. She never mentioned supply issues to us when we first met her in regards to stocking it. Every order we've made so far, there has been issues with supply. Each time I call or email her, she has told me they have shipments coming in etc etc, yet every time we call the wholesaler, they have a different story and are still out of stock. We've been stocking Holistic for about 6-7weeks now, and in that time have never been able to order bags larger than the 3kg - nor have we been able to get hold of any Large/Giant Holistic. Not a fan of the new packaging either. Much prefer the current one. VERY ANNOYING

I don't understand how this sort of thing can happen. Don't people communicate with the groomers and vice versa, to be sure there is a clear understanding of what the owner is wanting?

Drinking sea water will bring on diarrhoea and vomiting. But yep, I think with some, the action of their bodies in the water can suck water up their bums and wallah - DIY enema

yep - special staple remover - otherwise it can all go wrong

I once saw an episoide of Dr Harry where a JRT was getting the squirts after being at the beach and he put it down to the fact that as the dog bounced through the water it was forcing water up into its rectum effectivly giving itself an enemma. He didn't see it as a big problem, but then I guess he's not the dog or the owner who has to clean up. :D What? The rectum doesn't just sit there open letting water up it.....same as us! yours doesn't???

I believe Advocate is one of the most common for causing reactions. Whilst the majority of dogs don't react to top spots, there will always be the handful that do. Same with people and different skin/hair products I guess... Sorry that this has happened to you

Thanks Clyde!

We recently started stocking the Milo's Ear Cleaner, which is meant to be the new Leo's. Have only just had our first client take some today, so have yet to hear whether it's as good as Leo's was. Has anyone tried it that can review it?

I really don't think Cavalier is impersonating a vet (unless she's been doing so for 5 years!). Not sure where that suggestion stemmed from

Hmmm, a vegetarian dog probably doesn't have the same gut flora as a meat eating dog, then again, I've heard cat poo is bad for dogs, I know of one ate alot, got pancreatitis and died from it. precisely what my vet said, Kirislin

I did read that, Cavalier, but not everyone would necessarily go that far to read the whole site. I just don't think they stressed the importance of it enough.

Cavalier - as a vet, you would have to know that cats are obligate carnivores. Can I ask why you would chose to have a cat as a pet, if you cannot feed meat? I'm sorry, and I don't mean any disrespect, but I just find this so wrong...

Thanks for the link.. I find that website completely irresponsible.. ...what about the suffering of the poor cats who are raised on inappropriate vegan diets who don't get the taurine they need? A cat who doesn't get taurine will die. That website does not stress the importance of supplementing cats with taurine, IMO.

You misinterpreted my post. You said most humans don't eat a proper optimal diet. I was simply saying that I could live off powdered food (as an example, I could also say bread and water), but so long as I took a nutritional supplement to ensure I was getting the right amount of nutrients, I would probably survive, but that it wouldn't be ideal. I was trying to point out that a dog could survive on a vegetarian diet so long as they still got their nutritional requirements, but it wouldn't be as ideal as them getting what they needed from their intended source : meat and bones.

You're right - I could probably survive on eating powdered food and taking multi vitamins to ensure I got my daily requirements, but I would most likely not be as healthy as I would be if I ate a balanced diet of fresh fruit, vegetables, protein etc. I think you only need to turn on the radio to hear how obesity is a huge problem in today's society because of poor nutrition, eg not eating right, and it's causing health problems. If someone came on DOL saying their dog lived entirely in the backyard and never received an ounce of exercise, most would agree that's wrong. Dogs still have the instinct to be on the move, so we provide them with exercise. IMO, same should go with diet. Meat and bones are essential for OPTIMUM health. Fail to provide those things and sure, you're dog will probably survive, but it may not be as healthy in all aspects as one who receives these.

Sorry, but I disagree with the bolded part. I think dogs still have much stronger survival instincts than people give them credit for and I think many would adapt pretty quickly and learn how to hunt successfully in the wild. I think if you survey'd the DOL community, the majority would have dogs with some amount of prey drive.

For those who won't feed meat and bones because they find it gross, I don't get why not atleast feed them a good quality food like Eagle Pack or Artemis? Nothing about the dry food looks or feels like meat? Just seems so extreme to make your pets vegetarian simply because you are. The way I see it, if you can't provide the simple needs of the animal, then perhaps that animal is not for you.

I totally get you Erny and like I said, I agree with you. Unfortunately though, the majority of dog owners we've previously seen (particularly in our previous clinic) aren't like DOLers and would be the ones to blast us. Oh and Erny - you'll love this - at a recent talk put on at our Specialist Centre by the Specialist Surgeon, regarding wound management, guess what he said was one of the best things for wounds... :D

I'm sure there are vegetarian diets out there that are balanced that a dog could survive fine on. But, IMO, it's wrong. Dog's eat meat and if it bothers her that much, then I think she should get a parrot instead.

Unfortunately, PW, I think that some Vets jump on the "give a pill" button even earlier than that. I have a friend who took her dog to the Vet (not for canine cough) and he suggested antibiotics. She asked "why antibiotics .... there is no infection?" He answered "to make you feel better" :D. But if the vet didn't give AB's, and the KC did get worse and subsequently need AB's, those people would be bitching at the fact they went the first time, paid a consult fee and didn't get any treatment and the problem got worse. Not saying I agree with giving AB's for simple case of KC, but just saying sometimes its a no win situation for vets - can be damned if they do and damned if they don't. I don't get what's wrong with giving a bit of cough medicine though - pretty sure I've read people on DOL suggesting it regularly??

Why don't you just go back to feeding the Eagle Pack Duck?

Wow Cavalier, that is an insane amount of dogs to vaccinate weekly. Where do all these dogs come from? And being in a remote area, do you also then have to travel to properties for large animal consults? I just can't imagine how you could continuously be jabbing that many dogs per week, and still have the same about to do the following week!

Is it possible for you to just post some of her quotes in this thread for everyone to see? The general gist we got from her talk was not about the dangers, side effects, vaccines causing cancer etc etc, but more so that it is simply unnecessary. She stressed how important it was to vaccinate, but just insisted there were right and wrong times to do so.

As much as I want to deny this, unfortunately it is probably very true. One main reason my old boss wasn't keen on changing, was because he was worried he'd stop seeing people. That and he is also very science based, and wanted hard evidence before doing so. Thing is, where I am now (vet I worked with at that old clinic left and bought his own clinic and I went with them) we have changed to the new protocol, using annual vaccines. Obviously he's assessing each animal, but so far most people have been very appreciative of the information. He's an awesome vet who only has the clients/patients interest at heart, so we're actually getting busier and people keep spreading the word about him! We have also found that most of our clients are the first to ask if they can still come in for an annual health check.