Staffyluv

Mince meat is OK - I personally like human grade stuff, not the pet mince (it is to fatty for my liking)... Your butcher will mince up just about anything for you these days. Your dogs will still need something to keep their teeth clean - something hard enough to chew to give them a workout (or you may end up with teeth problems later on from a totally soft food diet)... I know a lot of people bulk out the dogs food with pasta but it is high in carbs and not really that beneficial for dogs (IMO) Jodie

We use human supplements. He is about 24kg at the moment and he takes 1000mg a day of fish oil and 1000mg (500mg twice a day) of vitamin C ( we use the one that is chewable and buffered, gentler on the tummy)... I am sure someone had some info on a perth holistic vet here one day - put a post up asking if anyone knows of a holistic vet in perth in the general section - you should get a response we have a few WA people here... Don't feel silly asking questions - that is how we all learn Cheers Jodie

There are heaps of threads on this topic, if you do a search you will find loads of information. I don't think what you are suggesting is quite enough variety but that is my opinion. Ollie has chicken/tuna/beef/turkey or roo as protein and he has pretty much all veges (carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant etc etc) as well as a lot of fruits too. He also gets yoghurt and eggs and is supplemented with fish oil tablets and vitamin C. He sometimes has a drink of milk too (not often though) Dr Billinghursts books on raw food are a good place to start - so is doing a search on the net, there is heaps of info out there. Cheers Jodie PS in your other post about your girl with lymphoma, I would be changing her diet to raw food asap... But remember all dogs need slow changes, immediate change from one meal to the next could cause tummy problems...

Sorry to hear your news, We don't have lymphoma but mast cell cancer (grade 2 no clear margins on excision)... Ollie has been treated both conventionally and holistically.... And he is still here, two years after being diagnosed. He takes fish oil and vitamin C as well a other things to keep him as healthy as possible while he fights the cancer... We did do chemo and he is still in remission today. Where are you, it may be a good idea to chat with an holistic vet - we use All Natural Vet care in Sydney (we are in Canberra)...

Ollie is a 23kg stafford and has been on polaramine for two years - he has mast cell cancer that releases histamine, hence the antihistamines he takes daily (2mg once a day)

When I answered the Ops question, I answered as if it were my dog in that situation. I still maintain I would spend the money in a heartbeat to save my if it were to give him freedom from pain and quality of life. I have not taken into account the biting of the child (perhaps the dog is biting because it is in pain???) I noticed a few people have said they would not do it for the dog in question but would if it were their own dog... Just an observation... Jodie

I stopped counting Ollies costs for his cancer (among other issues) and he is dog aggressive (mostly fear) - when it reached $8000... I would not dream of not getting him the medical attention that he needs to have good quality of life... If he needed a hip operation that cost that much, I would find the money somewhere... Jodie

I just noticed this Pix, I am so sorry... Rest in peace Kaeleigh, your mum loved you so much Jodie and Ollie dog xx

Thanks, I happen to think he is pretty special too... He has been my constant companion since 19 July 1997 (he would have only been about 5 weeks old then)... I am hoping that he will be my companion for a few more years yet but only time will tell... As long as he is well enough to stay with me, I will love having him around... I am lucky enough to work from home as well and he sleeps on the lounge in my office or lays under my desk while I am working... Cheers Jodie

Thanks all, I had happy tears last night after talking to the vet... Cheers Jodie

I would suggest a bee sting - Ollie is allergic and has the same reaction... You would think they would learn after doing it once or twice - no Ollie has done it three times so far... Needless to say, he does not get left outside in spring/summer on his own anymore.. Sometimes, the first reaction is the worst and they can build up some sort of immunity to it...

Yes they are in Sydney... Link attached: All Natural Vet Care

Ollie always had an annual checkup at vacc time, until he got cancer, now we are at the vet every couple of months...

The lad was a bit off colour again last week, so the vet gave him some antibiotics and he bounced back really well but was still panting on his walks. So full blood work was done again and we have even more good news... Not only is his liver and kidney function perfect, so is his white blood cell count (still in remission)... But he is doing so well that his thyroid medication needs to be reduced as well now... He is two years post diagnosis this month - we must have an angel looking out for us... Jodie ETA a pic taken a couple of weeks ago

Hills Science UD is the perfect food for bladder stones - Ollie was diagnosed with them and they were removed over two years ago (no recurrence yet, thanks to HS)... He eats the dry food though - he would not touch the tinned stuff... From research and based on the type of stones your dog has, you can formulate a fresh food diet - Ollie has a mixture of HS and fresh foods and that seems to work fine... I had a bit of help sorting out his diet from the ladies at All Natural Vet Care (the holistic vets we use for his cancer treatment)... For the record Ollies stones were oxalate stones - it may depend on what type of stones your dog has...

How is the patient this morning - feeling a little better I hope... J

Staffords are pretty robust creatures, so a run is probably better than a walk... If it is on limited time. However, I have never been a fan of running dogs on concrete (paths etc) - it is no good for their joints. Ollie runs (very occasionally) at the park, on the grass. We walk at the park, probably one third of the walk is on the path and the rest is on the grass, much kinder to the old boys joints walking on soft ground. He is 10 now and still loves his walks - half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. You say your girl is 8 years old, if she pulls up lame, you might want to try her on softer ground (if you aren't already).

Poor baby girl... I hope she is feeling better now teebs... I had cystitis once when I was preggers with my first son - lord it is painful, no wonder the poor baby is crying... Send her down to aunty Staffyluv and I will look after her while she is sick. But you can have her back when she gets better (I am too used to the old boy now, don't know how I would handle one so full of beans)... J

Oh my, he was beautiful... Sorry for your loss Jodie

Sorry codygirl... They say it gets easier with time... Jodie

So sorry to hear about Jess... RIP old girl... Jodie

So sorry for your loss... RIP Tango

Great news - we love benign cysts... Congrats Jodie

Just to answer your question about canine chemo being toxic... Only toxic to the cancer it is fighting against... Dogs are not given high doses of chemo like humans because of the way chemo works. It works by attacking not only the cancer cells but also good cells, like bone marrow. Unlike humans we do not have the luxury of giving a dog a bone marrow transplant to counter the large doses that humans receive when they are treated with chemo... Therefore the doses given to dogs are really quite low and therefore not really toxic in that way to humans... Hope that helps Jodie PS. Ollie kept up his walks in the park the whole time he was on chemo (when he was well) - the vet said that for terminally ill patients, it is all about quality of life and to make the time here as enjoyable as possible...

I have a male stafford who was diagnosed nearly two years ago with grade 2 mast cell cancer, the lumps were excised but there were no clear margins and the disease had already spread to his lymph glands. He could not be cured, all we could hope for was remission. He underwent nearly six months of chemo - believe me, dogs do not get sick like people do. Sometimes he was a little more tired than usual but mostly he was pretty much himself. There are ups and downs with treating terminal illnesses chemo does effect their immune system somewhat. He did manage to catch a few stomach upsets during treatment - but we continued with his daily walks and did not change too much of his life. Chemo consisted of a two weeks of treatment then one week off. But weekly blood tests to monitor what was going on - in the end he used to hold out his front leg for the canula (sp??) to be put in for the chemo... (He had to have a day at the vets each time he had chemo as well)... If we had not used the chemo and holistic therapy that we did, our much loved pooch would not still be in remission nearly 18 months on... Unfortunately the cost is prohibitive to a lot of people... We used a combination of chemo with holistic therapies from our wonderful holistic vet and on a rough guess in the last two years (since diagnosis), Ollie has cost us around $8000... Money well spent in my book - our lad is still with us and enjoying being a very spoilt ten year old... What ever you decide to do, will be the best for you and your dog - I wish you all the best. Jodie ETA Ollie dogs thread - just in case you want to read the ups and downs of dealing with a terminally ill dog... Remember he is still here and it is two years in October...