Andisa

Thought I would share this link to Leerburg, their page to feeding and raising puppies has been a valuable read for me and thought others might be interested too. http://leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm I am currently hand raising a pug puppy and have struggled to keep him going, goats milk alone was not enough and he hated the taste of Di-Vetelact. My pup has gone from holding on and only small gains to thriving in only a few days on this formula. He was very difficult to feed, constipated and just not doing well. It was very frustrating feeding him when he just didn't want to co-operate. Now he is easy to feed - can't get enough, he is thriving and no longer constipated. I have used similar but the amount of yogurt is far greater than what I did in the past and the Karo syrup helps with energy and prevents constipation. I am converted and will be hand feeding pups this way from now on, it has not only saved this pup but my sanity too. I think this link is well worth saving so it is easy to find in future.

I am not a fan of the shear magic blades - loved them when new but were never the same once they needed to be sharpened so they sit in the back of the draw. Glad I only bought 4 - 5 of them. Have been very happy with the shear magic scissors though, they are fantastic with very thick hairy feet and matted coats. One of the DOLers sharpens blades think it is "nicest man", someone will come in and correct me if I am wrong.

I have been caught out a few times now with new blades, the last time I bought about 5 at once 2 of them were useless. I know some groomers have new blades sharpened before they are used for the same reason. Don't know why it is only some blades but it is very annoying to say the least. eta: I only buy Oster or Wahl blades.

KitKat - I have been raw feeding for many years now and have been dealing with many others who do too - including GSD owners and I am stumped at the amount of food that you said you needed to feed your dogs. My Rotties are 40-45kgs and are fed a fraction of what you mentioned above and they are in good condition. What bones were you feeding - lean or fatty meats and what bones? Not questioning you just find it hard to imagine that dogs fed on the volume of food you stated could not hold condition - my dogs would be terribly obese on less than what you were feeding.

Cut a piece of hose and split it length wise and place it over the edge of the wire to protect the walls.

Well written MellG breding can be very heart breaking... I have only had 4 litters now and I can honestly say I have had the baptism of fire....what you have written above is what I have already gone though and then some - but luckily I have not lost a bitch (hope I never do) Knowing when to go to the vet is very important. I have have only bred 2 bitches - twice each and they are now retired from breeding. I had written out a "novel" with my experiences but I doubt most new people would ever believe it. Quick run down on what we have faced with 2 bitches and 4 litters... Conception and pregnancy is easy - both bitches need extra food from 4 weeks and depending on breed costs will vary greatly. Also cost of whelping kit, box, heating, bedding, worming, vaccinating, microchipping and all the extras you figure out along the way. Rottweiler - Uterine Inertia - had it both times. Emergency C Sections x 1 in business hours was $1200 x 1 AH emergency clinic $2100. 1st litter - 9 pups delivered, 1 dead at birth, 1 pts at 7 wks old. Mastitis - em clinic $330 - hours later to our vet and she had surgery to repair damage another $350 - more AB's needed so extra $80 (countless trips to vet (not local) for check up and to monitor lump trying to prevent mastitis) 2nd litter was 6 days premature and I could write a book on problems we faced - 8 delivered - 5 born live - only 3 survived. Prem labor was trigged by death of a pup several days earlier. Pug - 1st litter was perfect and expenses were minimum. 5 puppies. 2nd litter - AH em c section at $2200. Everything was going well but did not progress enough so off to AH vet clinic - vet gave me the choice of drugs and wait or c section - I opted for c section because I felt she had been though enough already - good choice - 1st pup was stuck and was unable to deliver naturally. 3 pups delivered - 2 died within the hour unable to be revived - only 1 pup survived. Mum did not show much interest in pup and I am hand raising him now. Bottle fed every 2 - 3 hrs day/night. If you add loss of income (unable to work) to this as well you can see I am greatly out of pocket. Both bitches are now retired from breeding. Tell your friend - good luck because they will need it and have at least $2000 just for starters. ETA: fix mistakes. and again - more mistakes

I grew up on a farm and my parents also owned a bakery, our dogs all got all sorts of left overs - pies, pasties, sausage rolls, bread and cakes (including cream fillings) - could not find a more unsuitable diet for dogs but they did well on it. They were fed scraps when we killed sheep for the freezer and ate cheap dry dog food. They were hardly ever wormed, flea treated and I don't think any of them were ever vaccinated past their puppy shots yet all lived well in to their mid to late teens with the odd dog reaching early 20's. I am a raw feeder now but think lifestyle has just as much impact on their health as diet. Those dogs had plenty of exercise and even though they were fed unsuitable foods for a dog (quite often) it never hurt them.

What do your dogs do? How many kg per dog did you have to feed? I have been wondering about this too Mon Elite.... I am feeding 3 Rottweilers - 2 female, 1 male (all entire), they are medium in size and live happily on 1 barf patty and lamb off cuts. I alternate the lamb with chicken frames (often filled frames with ox cheek), chicken wings and casserole pieces. The only time I need to keep an eye on their weight is if I am feeding too much lamb because they will get fat, if I feed mostly chicken they will drop some weight. I feed mostly chicken or lamb and watch their weight. It is not hard to do being a short coat breed but you only need to feel the dog if it is coated to see if it needs more or less. When they are in work they are fed a little bit more - but not much. Some dogs do require more than others to maintain a healthy weight, a bitch I bred 3 yrs ago who is now in a pet home (daughter and half sister to my dogs) and she requires almost double to what my dogs do but even then that is not a massive amount of food for the size of dog. I have often said that my dogs are very easy to maintain their weight, if anything I need to keep a close eye on the girls because they get fat easily, the boy can handle more than them but I still need to be careful because he is not a big dog.

I have both leads but much prefer the standard lead especially for the stronger dogs, makes handling then so much easier. The standard lead is more comfortable and soft in the hand but very strong. Well worth the money and I would not bother buying any other lead - I am sold on them and recommend them to anyone wanting a comfortable quality lead.

I have always had a soft spot for Cavies - had heaps of other breeds. While I won't have one any time soon, I could see myself with one in my retirement.

Will he eat ox cheek? If he can't eat bones what about minced lamb flaps. It works every time here if any of them are off food.

I am in the process of buying sight unseen right now, after almost a year of talking with the breeder it looks like I might have my puppy within the next couple of months. eta: I also sent a pup to Tassie - they bought sight unseen but I did send them heaps of photos and we had talked lots before hand, they were very happy and so was I.

That's a shame BB - but you can't reason with some people to do the right thing. I had a stud enquiry for Hamish (not advertised at stud) last weekend, on paper it would be a very nice mating but I will not be doing it. We have different views on ethics so I just won't go there - simply not worth it. Hopefully you will find a better dog soon.

I find this a really odd comment - I grew up on a farm and if our dogs appeared to be "still quite lame" they would not go out at all. I hope for your sake that Poppy is not injured worse - if you think you "paid a heap of money for the clinic" - I would take bets you will be paying the vet a whole lot more if she does further damage. I wasn't going to get involved in this thread because I wasn't there to make the call - I had a pony who hated dogs, never caused them any long term harm but he did put the BC out of action many times. Silly bugger was so hell bent on getting back at that pony (never bothered with the others) we had to lock the pony up in the cattle yards where the dog could not get in to him. My horse paddock backed on the sheep yards so every time the sheep were in the yards/shed the pony had to be locked away. I have seen some pretty nasty horses when it comes to dogs, our pony was never that bad - but he didn't lose the fights the dogs came looking for.

Not necessarily, I know a few dogs who were done as adults and the chips have still moved - luck of the draw really.

Lizzy was done twice at about 4 months old - half an hour after she was done my daughter found the chip in her mouth, it fell out, vet had to come back and re-do her. Had we not found the chip we probably would not have known for a long time (if ever) that it was gone. When I took Pink and Hamish in for their hip/elbow xrays it took them ages to find the chip in Hamish - I told them that it had moved, 2 scanners and a good 15 mins later it was found between his chest and elbow. Pink's chip has moved in a similar area too but was easier to find. All 3 dogs were done as pups by the same vet and they were not played with, I was told years ago to leave them alone so we did. They were chipped around 10 - 12 weeks old and xrays were done about 19 months old. They are not perfect, I advise pet owners to have them scanned each time the go to the vet so they can keep an eye on where it is and that it is still working. Another reason to buy myself a scanner.

I have a magna wagon too - love it. Can fit 3 rotties in the back no problems. My OH updated his car and I use his commodore sedan most of the time now with blankets on the back seat for the dogs - but if taking more than one dog I will take the wagon. His is on gas so its cheaper to run than my wagon, one day I will have to part with it but I really don't want to.

ebay - I have 4 gates and one of the doorways is 1.6m and has 6 extensions (@ 14cms each) If you go through ebay contact the seller and ask for measurements. I have 2 of these - one is at the 1.6m doorway - both came with one ext each so bought another 4 to fit the wide doorway. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-BABY-TODDLER-PE...#ht_2663wt_1137 or Order extensions with gate. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-81CM-HEIGHT-BAB...#ht_2616wt_1137

My old Maltese boy was only 3.5 kgs on a fat day - if he snuck up to 4kgs he looked fat, he would self fast so I didn't need to watch his weight. The amount of malt x's (are huge) that I groom that are over weight would be around 10 -12+ kgs. No surprises when their legs fail them but most owners still won't cut their meals back. Feeding him quality food suitable to his desired weight will more than likely be enough for this poor bugger. Maybe a treat ball or kong to make him work for it and make his meals last longer might help with his constant chewing. Good luck...

You will need to write a brief letter to Dogs Vic explaining why and pay the fee. It might be easier to go in and do it in person. keep it simple - you have changed your mind and would like to show the dog.

Ask for brisket bones, soup bones and lamb necks.

I replaced the shower head in my hydrobath a couple of yrs back and it is just a regular shower head. Nothing special about it and it has heaps of pressure. I don't know why you would have issues getting the dog wet. (was just a cheapie in Bunnings) eta: think it is a water saver.

Ox cheek and lamb bones fed daily works great for bulking up my dogs - not that I have this problem very often.

God I hate reading these types of posts. I am so very sorry that you have had this problem too. I had much trouble reading your post knowing what your going through. When we lost our girl 5 yrs ago so I researched RIMADYL - only wish I did it before I gave it to her. One thing that I did see repeated mostly was it seems to have a worse death rate with Labs - don't know why. Personally I think if it is used at a very low rate and not often or over an extend period it may be useful to some dogs, but for our girl she was dying within a few days of it being given daily. She went in to kidney (or liver) failure and was pts. I will never forget the vet telling me that "she must have had a bad reaction to the drug". Had I known the outcome I would have had her pts sooner than put her through what we did. There was a yahoo group with thousands of stories just like yours and mine - the company have known for many years that this drug kills dog but still it is prescribed daily. Only 4 months after losing one dog I was given the same drug again for another dog who had a tooth pulled - I refused to give it to the dog and the vet argued with me telling me that the drug was not the cause of the other dogs death. http://www.rimadyldeath.com/ If you google Rimadyl it will make your blood boil.