Joypod

I'm certainly no expert so I'm not really here to offer advice but I just wanted to say, that is an amazing photo you've taken of his nose! ;) He looks SO healthy that I'm sure it's nothing sinister. Maybe just keep an eye on things and if they change rapidly, get a vet to have a look. He's a gorgeous boy.

I'm currently giving Gus all of his raw meat, offal and RMBs frozen. He's just started teething and he also has a tendency to gulp his food a bit. Being frozen helps sooth his gums and slows the little bugger down too.

Good one. Thanks guys.

Thanks Jed. Can I assume a week wouldn't be considered excessive?

Hi all, Does anyone know if freezing offal damages it in any way? Does it break down the cell structure or anything like that? Thanks EFS

Gus started swallowing chicken necks whole when he was only 3 months old..... needless to say he stopped getting them after that.

Yep, my Frenchie has had a couple on his face.

Just buy breakaway collars for your dog and cat.

Thanks Wylie.

I always thought that being able to chew a bone was what made them so beneficial in a dogs diet. Something to do with keeping teeth and gums healthy? BARF patties have ground up bone in them but you're still supposed to give RMBs on top. Surely smashing them up or cutting them up into small pieces defeats the purpose? This is a genuine question, not a criticism or anything or anyone....

It's not available in Australia and there are no plans to bring it in. 4Paws wouldn't have it. I stand corrected. I thought I'd seen it there. With regards to feeding bones, the only thing to watch for is if they start to swallow them without chewing them first. I had to stop giving Gus chicken necks because he was swallowing them whole and he was only 12 weeks old at the time! That was a diaster waiting to happen. I'm just about to start him on chicken wings because they're bigger and he'll have no choice but to chew them first. In regards to the chicken necks try chopping them up into halves or quaters. My boy pug is a total guts and would eat them whole if I didn't chop them up. Excellent idea..... except... the reason I want Gus to have bones is so he can chew them so there's not much point in me choping them first up for him. Good idea otherwise.

I was always under the impression that feeding raw food meant a dog was less likely to smell.

Exactly what I was about to ask Tess.

It's not available in Australia and there are no plans to bring it in. 4Paws wouldn't have it. I stand corrected. I thought I'd seen it there. With regards to feeding bones, the only thing to watch for is if they start to swallow them without chewing them first. I had to stop giving Gus chicken necks because he was swallowing them whole and he was only 12 weeks old at the time! That was a diaster waiting to happen. I'm just about to start him on chicken wings because they're bigger and he'll have no choice but to chew them first.

My pleasure. It's a Greenpet one and it's on their website under 'shampoo' (funnily enough ) It's called "DR CHET'S SKINCARE TREATMENT SHAMPOO" and costs $13 for a 250ml bottle. I've just added about a teaspoon of the Neem Oil to it and wash Gus once a week with it. I've only had him about 6 weeks now but he hasn't had any fleas yet. I'm like you, I don't want to use any chemicals on my puppy if I don't really have to. Natural is always best.

I've got a French Bulldog who gets Barf patties and Royal Canin atm. Where abouts are you? 4Paws in Keilor stocks the Royal Canin Bulldog kibble. Also, don't believe what the vets have told you. Brachy's can eat anything any other dog can eat, including bones. ;) ....and ignore those who are choosing to only coment on the format of your post rather than offer helpful advice.

I tried the GreenPet Flea Free Food Supplement too and found it made my puppy really itchy. I now just bath him in a natural shampoo which has Pure Neem Oil added to it. Haven't had fleas yet. ;)

I'd be getting them both to the vet ASAP with those symptoms.

Just curious. Does anyone feed pre-made BARF patties with dry food? If so, what dry and what percentage of both? Ta muchly :D

Hi Jordajake Are you talking about the babies or your adult dogs? Would lean mince be too lean to feed a puppy? I'm going to start Gus on raw meat on Monday (having given him sufficient time to recover from his illness.... caused by raw chicken mince) and thought I should get puppy mince because of the fat content. What are you thoughts?

I'm confused. Gus had a Partech C4 at just over 6 weeks, then he came to me and he had a C5 at 11 weeks and is due for another C5 at 16 weeks. Does that sound right???

Thanks Cockerlover. I'll give that a go.

Thanks RachellBuck. That's the trick isn't it? Finding something else he likes chewing just as much. He's got a Kong (not interested), some other Kong like chew toy (not interested), another plastic chew toy that again, he's not interested in. If they're bad for him, I really don't know how I can stop him from getting them. We've got a fairly large which is full of sticks.

I've done a search on this but can't find an answer. Gus is really into chewing sticks. He loves them. He doesn't swallow them but I'm sure tiny bits go down at some stage. He's only 14 weeks old. Would it be doing him (eg innards or teeth/gums) any harm? Thanks

Thanks all. He doesn't like his dry food by itself so I might try him on some Barf pattie with dry and see how he goes. The breeder had him on raw chicken and dry so it may well be that some dogs tollerate it better than others.