Staffyluv

Thanks Staffyluv. I've also been thinking about barf patties- might be a safer option when I am first starting out at least for one meal. Thing is, I come from Singapore and the price of 12 patties is $56 (about $48 AUD?) One question I have about fish- is there a danger of choking on the small sharp bones? Only asking because I have choked on a fish bone before so couldn't it happen to dogs too? I buy fillets of fish and I also use sardines, tuna and salmon in the can. My sisters old stafford used to dive on the fish being caught and eat it straight after it was pulled off the hook. She never had any problems. I prefer fillets because choking scares me to... Barf patties are expensive. I think I pay $24 a box but the beef ones are a bit cheaper than the others. Honestly I think it is easier to just make up a mixture of meat and veg and make your own patties.

I have a 26kg staffy cross and this is what he eats: Breaky is a chicken frame or a few chicken necks or a couple of wings or a turkey neck. Dinner is a barf patty or home made mix of beef/chicken/turkey/roo and veg with some yoghurt or cottage cheese or an egg. He gets about half a cup of royal canin kibble a day but most of the time this is put into his kong with peanut butter and cottage cheese (just to make it stick so it is a bit harder to get out - otherwise he just drops it on the ground until they all fall out, which is not much of a challenge for him). He also gets fish a couple of times a week and brisket bones every few days for something to chew on... I don't give marrow bones anymore as he gets constipated on the extra calcium from all that bone.. The brisket bones seem to be a nice balance. All food is fed raw - straight out of the fridge..

Thanks, I will get some QV tomorrow and give it a go. He has sardines and salmon in his diet, so he should be right for the fish oil.

I took Zig for a recall test run to the dog park for the first time in ages on Sunday and had the wonderful pleasure of meeting a 16 week old deerhound puppy.. She was absolutely divine.. Poor little (well not so little) mite was quite intimidated by all the action and the more curious dogs wanting to have a sniff of her... She kept making a bee line for Zig and trying to hide behind him... So I suggested to her owner to take her into the puppy side with the smaller dogs.. Once in there she was much happier and she kept giving Zig puppy kisses through the fence... I am going to take the camera next time so I can get some pics of her.. I have never met one before and I am totally smitten.. Do we have any deerhound owners on DOL, who want to share some pics?

I used Aloveen on him and he seemed to itch more, that is why I tried the Malaseb.. I water it down before putting it on and I wash it off pretty quick.. I used to use it on the old stafford in spring time, as he always got itchy from the grass..I mix up a quater bottle of Malaseb to three quarters water.. The pimples don't seem to be bothering him, so I might see if they will go away on their own... As for the itches, i will try some calendula tea... Thanks all.

That is terrible - I wonder why? Maybe they have not been moving many lately.

I noticed these the other night and thought they looked like canine acne (my sisters dog had it once - she was told to stop feeding from a plastic bowl and it cleared up right away). Zig is not fed from plastic - he has ceramic bowls for water and food. He does have kongs and other rubbery type toys.. He is also starting to scratch his tummy and flea his legs but there is nothing where he is scratching (and fleaing himself) - no redness, no fleas... I tubbed him with watered down malaseb last week but it made no difference at all. I am hoping he is not like Ollie was and gets itchy every spring with all the new grass etc around... Any suggestions - he will go to the vet on Friday if they haven't cleared by then on their own.

I realise you guys are very busy and appreciate what you all do for rescue.. But they are so very cute... I will be patient and wait for more pics of the gorgeous babies... :D

I am O negative but because of a new tattoo I can't donate now for a year... I never even gave it a thought when I was getting the tattoo.

It's been 2 whole day since I was in here - where are the updates??? You can't have puppies on a dog forum and not share :)

You are preggers and clucky... Your mind is not your own - it's the hormones. Borrow a puppy or offer to puppy sit for a week - hopefully all that puppy mess will cure you. I think you are totally nuts for even thinking that you could deal with everything you have going on and adding a puppy into the mix.. Wait and get the perfect pup at the perfect time.

Thanks snook, he really did me proud today.. I can see his over exuberance though and I know if I was to let up even a bit, he could easily slip back to old behaviour... I still think I will limit his free running time with lots of other dogs. But I think it is good practice for his training... After all, how will he learn to ignore the distractions if there are none..

We had Dobes and a big old Rott and Staffords when we were growing up.. When I met the boys dad we had Staffords and he really liked them, so I guess I just always thought we would have one as a pet for the kids when we did get a dog... We did get a gorgeous blue ACD when we were in Penrith (some guy was trying to offload the litter at the local pub and told OH that he wouldn't be taking any home), so we ended up with a little guy for about 18 months. Sadly we lost him, as he was hung on our fence.. I have never believed it was an accident and always thought it was our horrid neighbours but couldn't prove it... I think I will always have a staffy.. Be it pure or a saved staffy type.

Just thought I would update on how Zig is going with the recall and in your face dog issues... I braved the dog park for the first time in a very long time today... Hoping that all the work we have been doing will pay off when he is off leash with heaps of distraction.. It is definitely paying off.. He recalled nearly all the time (nope, not perfect yet)... There were 2 occasions when I had to call him a couple of times.. But I have worked out if i sa 'Zig, let's go', he comes first time... His in your face attitude that has been an issue is still there. However he only did it once nadi called him out and kept him away from the other dog... He did pretty well for a first time out and off lead with other dogs... He was very excited to be running with the other dogs and had a lovely rumble with the biggest lab I have ever seen. He had a fun time playing with 3 Poms that turned up to. He came over to me about 45 minutes after of fun time and nudged his lead, so I said, let's go and we left.. He waited patiently at the gate while I put his lead on and mostly his behaviour was a huge improvement on what it was when we started this thread... We have used our trainers advice and the advice of a lot of people here. We now use a Lupi harness and he no longer pulls when wearing it. He is much mprived when just wearing a flat collar. His recall has improved out of sight and his other issue of getting in other dogs faces is looking like it might be under effective control. This was our first test out and I am so happy with him. I am sure we will continue to improve and I am sure we will have the occasional set back. But it just goes to show, if you put the work in, it really does pay off...

So cute... I just keep looking at their teeny tiny paws...

Just adorable. Congrats.

I agree with chuckandsteve...

Curious.. How do dogs do guilt? I know when I go out, Ziggy looks at me like he wants to come. Same when I am eating and he is in the same room (the eyes would have you think he was never fed) - is this guilt? Isn't guilt more of a human emotion? I am always getting into trouble for humanizing Zig (giving him human emotions when they are not really there because it makes me feel better/guilty/sad) - maybe he is trying to make me feel guilty for not taking him. Don't get me wrong, I believe they do have 'emotions' but I think as dog lovers we read more into them then is actually there.. Just my opinion but I am curious now as to others view on this. Maybe I should start another thread, sorry for the hijack SM. Try guilt in the other direction. How do your dogs act if they've done something wrong? I never really thought about it like that... I know if I come in and Ziggy has ripped up some tissues and I ask him if he did it.. He puts his head down and looks up at me sideways.. Would that be cinsidered guilt? Or is he just reacting to my stance and tone? This is interesting.. I think I am going to ask our behaviourist about it when our sessions start again.

Curious.. How do dogs do guilt? I know when I go out, Ziggy looks at me like he wants to come. Same when I am eating and he is in the same room (the eyes would have you think he was never fed) - is this guilt? Isn't guilt more of a human emotion? I am always getting into trouble for humanizing Zig (giving him human emotions when they are not really there because it makes me feel better/guilty/sad) - maybe he is trying to make me feel guilty for not taking him. Don't get me wrong, I believe they do have 'emotions' but I think as dog lovers we read more into them then is actually there.. Just my opinion but I am curious now as to others view on this. Maybe I should start another thread, sorry for the hijack SM.

No they don't and they don't do guilt either... It sounds like he is trying to get your attention though. Do you do anything else with him other than 2 walks a day? I could walk Ziggy 10 times a day and it wouldn't be enough... He needs mental stimulation as well. We do a few training sessions a day to wear his mind out. My old Stafford was still an idiot at 10 years old... I think a lot of dogs retain some silly puppiness...

Thanks all, I ended up taking him up to the vets (he was due for his vaccination anyway this week) - after talking to the vet and him going all over Zig, he said he thinks it was probably just the fat. He gets sardines in oil and that doesn't seem to be an issue so I am just going to make sure that the meat he eats contains as little white fat as possible from now on. I took the bone itself off him once he stripped it as I don't like him trying to crack these big bones - they are to sharp and my old boy had to have a tooth extracted after breaking one on a big bone. Ziggy seems fine now but he is not getting any food today but he can have some chicken breast with rice for dinner..

A few weeks ago after my son's 21st we had family stay for a BBQ breaky and even though I asked them not to, they fed him cooked bacon (Zig gets raw meat and veg and bones with a bit of kibble and the usual liver treats for training, cottage cheese or peanut butter to mix stuff into his kongs and rarely but he has had a couple of raw hide chews - this is all he eats).. After spending that night with a sick dog, vomiting and the runs, we went to the vet and got some hydralyte and probiotics and he came good. Last night, we were doing roast lamb for dinner. Before I cooked it, I cut off the small shank and gave it to him as a treat. In the wee hours of this morning, he is hassling me and I wake up to find him dry retching, so we run outside (bless him he made it to the back deck) and he vomits again. Could it be the fat? He does get brisket bones and sometimes they can be a bit fatty but they never seem to bother him... The vet seemed to think last time he MAY have had a mild case of pancreatitis due to the bacon fat but he was not tested. He seems to be fine now (I have not fed him this morning) and looking for food in his dish, bringing me toys in the office - he seems well enough.

I put a dog through chemo and he did fine with it most of the time.. There were a couple of times where he was a bit flat for a day after the procedure. They don't give animals the same level of dosage that they give humans as bone marrow transplants in animals are extremely expensive (and have only been done for the last couple of years-Ollie had his chemo 7 years ago). He didn't lose his hair or vomit... The chemo along with the holistic treatment gave him 4-5 more years with us then they expected.. Each case is different and needs to be assessed on its own merits in my opinion..

RIP little one...

Awe that is such a great story.. So happy you have her back with you.