poodlefan

Pause for a moment and ask yourself what your dog is learning from your feeding practices. Is she learning that feeding time is unstressful and she has no need to guard her food or something different? What's the reward for her tolerance of your proximity to her food? Right now there isn't one. However, there is punishment when she does something you don't like - does she understand what's happening though? I don't believe in interfering with a dog's food at meal times as a "lesson". If you want to teach her to willingly surrender valued resources, put your thinking hat on and ask yourself how you can do this in a more positive manner. Right now you are using aversives to punish a response she offers to your behaviour. Does she understand what your trying to teach her or are you actually conditioning an unwanted behaviour? Turn it around and ask yourself what would motivate/reward her when she gives up something she values.. you know the answer - something of equal or higher value. If you must interupt her meal, why not call her away from it and reward her with a very high value treat or approach her, offer her a treat and move away. Personally I think TOT is a far more positive method of teaching her that you control the food.

Vary the veggies (do you have a blender, juicer or food processor), add a bit of offal and some fruit and you've pretty much got my BARF mix Huski. If you don't have an Eziyo.. get one (thanks for the tip JBBB). Definitely the cheapest way to get good yoghurt. Great, thanks PF. I have a juice and a blender. I'll add some apple into it too, the dogs love it Here's my latest mix.. Poodlefan's BARF Mix Ingredients 1 kilo (Eziyo container) of yogurt 4 kg of mixed fruit and veggies (I use some root veggies, some fruit and some green veggies in every mix) celery and pumpkin always feature 2 kg full fat beef mince or other mince 1 large piece of liver or a half a doz kidneys Optional: Any nutritional supplement as per directions eg. Missing Link, Green Pet Before Serving: Egg, oil Method 1. Add yogurt, and mince to a large container (I use a 20 litre bucket) and blend well 2. Juice a little of the fruit and veggies. Add some of the juice to a blender and blend the offal until smooth. Resist urge to smell mix – you will regret it. Try not to vomit at result’s appearance and add to main ingredients. 4. Run the rest of the fruit and veggies through the juicer or blender. Add all the pulp to the mix and enough juice to obtain a firm but not sloppy consistency. You should end up with about 30% mince mix and the rest is veggies. 5. Put into storage containers and freeze. Add egg, oil (I use Megaoil) and any supplements to mix before serving. My mix is evolving over time. My large dog owning friends do the mince/offal and yoghurt and then freeze the mix, juicing fresh veggies separately to add to it. This cuts down on freezer space and the time taken to make the mix. If you find your dog is not accepting the mix, add a little more fresh mince to their feed and slowly reduce the amount of mince they receive.

Vary the veggies (do you have a blender, juicer or food processor), add a bit of offal and some fruit and you've pretty much got my BARF mix Huski. If you don't have an Eziyo.. get one (thanks for the tip JBBB). Definitely the cheapest way to get good yoghurt.

I think they stink. Make your own Huski.. not difficult and certainly cheaper. That way, as Anita says, you know EXACTLY what's in there.

Is there any particular reason why the puppy cannot be confined or have access outside while you are at work? If he's required to poo inside during the day, it will be very difficult to teach him to only poo outside when you are home. Pups aren't usually "sneaky".. but we can have lapses of concentration. Its when we have them that accidents happen.

So, from her persepective, how do you think she views being placed in there? It currently signals two things.. you're leaving or she's going to be in there for hours, or both. I'd strongly suggest you need to work on making more positive associations with the CRATE. Think of it as her den, not her prison. Its not a cage if you don't treat it like one. Feed her in it, give her treats in it, put her in it for short periods of time while you're watching TV, having a shower etc. I think she views it solely as a place for long periods of isolation at the moment. Oh, and get off the floor at night. That's not going to be helpful in the long run and must be bloody uncomfortable too! Do you cover the crate? Is it a wire one? How big is it? What breed of dog are we talking about

What does turn her on?

Yes, be patient. Your dog has to unlearn some behaviour and relearn others. If she's not clicker trained, I'd be making that a priority. How does she feel about non-food rewards eg. a ball or toy?

How long is she spending in there?

My view also. Keeping your dog lean and active and feeding a decent joint supplement don't hurt either.

Big Ted had this op in one leg 10 years ago for a Grade 4 luxation. He went on to agility. He has no symptoms of arthritis in his joint at this point (he is now 11). We won't talk about his neck though.

Head wrinkles, ear set, body wrinkle... Sharpei? Is it a young dog?

Yes, it can work. Not every dog is going to have issues with others, especially if both understand who ranks where in pack order. Things might change as the foster dog improves in health and confidence - but they might not. Not every helpful am I. You'd not choose two dogs the same in age, size and gender if you wanted to minimise the risk of conflict but plenty of DOLers have this situation and it works for them.

How do you feel about tinned fish.. ? Sardines, tuna, mackeral etc are great for dogs and can be good topping for kibble.

ClareL: I'd say they are opportunistic carnivores (as opposed to obligate ones like cats) buy anywhoo... You're right they don't eat grain.. but grain is the basis of most commercial dog foods. Read the side of any kibble you propose to feed. If one of the top three ingredients is grain (usually wheat or corn) and you see "cereal byproduct" "meat byproduct" etc, then you are feeding a pretty ordinary diet. Gluten and soy are two of the most common dog allergens and most kibbles have plenty of both.. when you see "vegetable protein" listed, that's usually soy. I can understand your reluctance to handle meat (I was a vegetarian for 20 years) but if kibble is the go, feed the best quality you can afford. You won't be finding it in the supermarket. I'd be looking at Orijen or one of the other non-cereal based ones.

A dog has a carnivore's teeth and digestive tract. They cannot digest grains at all. They derive energy from fat, not carbohydrates. Have you considered what a dog's natural diet consists of? I'm glad you are doing the right thing by your dog anyway but they are carnivores. ETA: However unlike cats, they are opportunistic carnivores and will scavenge and eat vegetable material if they can't get fresh prey.

What kind of oil is it? I feed my guys the Woolies Brand Mackeral in its own oil.. might be easier than opening all those cans.. cheaper too maybe?

mmmm bogong moths and crickets.. my boys hunt them in summer. :rolleyes:

Odin was put to bed at 10pm Friday night. 2 am Saturday morning Veanna woke up to leave for the drive to VIC for the Nationals. Odin was laying in the kitchen, not in a good way, very, very ill & rushed to the Emergency vet. Poisoning was suspected, and within hours, he passed. .... Waiting for the vet to call back with the cause, Veanna found a dead baby brown snake with a bite mark on it, in the pantry. Odin had killed it, but not before it bit him.. Very sad. Oh just horrible. A tragedy. Good boy Odin you protected your family... run free now.

OH NOOOOO!! This is dreadful news. What happened? Did he die of snakebite? RIP Odin.. taken far too soon. :rolleyes: Veanna you must be devastated.. thoughts are with you and all of Odins friends.

Dogmad: That diet would be lacking in calcium Dogmad which a young Giant breed would need in spades. Rice provides a rapidly available source of carbohydrate for dogs involved in high intensity exercise but otherwise dogs obtain their energy from fats. A talk to a decent vet would be an idea in case vitamin or mineral supplementation is recommended but I'd suggest either: * A Good raw diet (PM Espinay, she has a Giant breed) OR * Premium kibble and lots of chicken frames etc. A PM to Lilli might also be a good idea = she has BIG dogs.

If this person is talking about hydatid tape worms, this is only an issue if offal has not been passed as fit for human consumption. If you bought offal from a butcher or supermarket, that would be OK. Worming your dog with a suitable wormer also assists but this isn't the issue it used to be thank heaven because few people feed their dogs offal that hasn't been passed for inspection.

I got that but coat still looks longer and 'fluffier' than I'd expect. Have you posted in the GSP thread.. they may be able to help.

His coat looks very dry and harsh. My first reaction would be possible food allergies or thyroid issues.

Sandwich meat? Fritz? Dry bake it cut into little chunks for 25 minutes and its not at all greasy - and dogs love it.