poodlefan

My vet recommended psyllium husks. I also have upped the amount of pumpkin I put in the BARF mix. Even roast pumpkin is good - and an old wives tale says it is wonderful for adeepening gold in a coat. :D My dogs eat roast pumpkin very happily

Off to the vet Flash!! More fibre in the diet is helpful for keeping them clear but some dogs seem to get a build up regardless of what you dog. Anal sac fluid always smells somewhat metallic to me. Dead pungent though. :D

I agree, clean fresh water should be available at all times.

Unfortunately there is no "right" answer to this one cavmad. I feed them. I've never had a problem. Remember of course that a chicken neck or wing (or drumstick or frame) is unlikely to be inhaled by a CKCS like it would be by a Lab. You could give it a go. You could continue to smash them up. You could buy "pet" chicken mince that contains bone but runs no risk of choking. I've never heard the one about parasites in chicken that would impact on a dog - that's a newie. If you are not feeding your dogs digestible bone then you have missed feeding the foundation of a BARF diet. Dogs have choked to death on kibble too.

Susan a dog doesn't have to be aggressive to be dangerous. A giant breed dog that doesn't understand kids aren't chew toys can injure a child seriously. Take this seriously. Otherwise you'll have a full grown dog still acting like a puppy. If he's drawing blood he's overstepped the line - there's nothing ambiguous about that.

Blacklab: Yep, I know if for a fact in double coated longer haired breeds (like Cockers) Blacklab... because both coats are shaved to same length - coat looks super thick and curly. I reckon you can always tell a dog that's been clipped as opposed to stripped.

It will take time to reinforce the message. Give it a whole week with no accidents and I reckon you'll have it sussed. Good work though.

If you clip her you'll leave her susceptible to sunburn and unable to insulate herself from the worst of the weather. She has a double coat for a reason. She will also IMHO look very silly and her coat will never be the same again. A good wash and a daily brush will deal with the shedding. Your partner could see an allergy specialist and get a program of treatment to densensitise him to her.

MCM: Sorry if I sounded critical - that wasn't my intention. Welcome to the wonderful world of dog training - there will be many opinions and methods of training anything. Listen to all the methods, decide what you want to try and BE CONSISTENT. However, don't encourage or allow your baby puppy to do anything you don't want him to do as a fully grown dog. Next time take Angus to the loo with you or lock him outside - pups have absolutely no sense of timing.

Maggots are generally only found in protein - that's why people recommend against putting meat scraps into your compost - keeps the blowies away. What are these dogs eating? If they are pooing that much proteien, you may need to cut down a little on it in their diet.

MCM: If you want him to go outside but you are allowing him to go inside, can you see that he's getting conflicting messages about what is acceptable? He will only learn to go outside automatically if that's the only place he gets to go at all. Look for any signs of restlessness, sniffing etc and get him outside ASAP.

There is no way in God's earth I'd be offering a Great Dane pup the option of peeing inside on pads... fast forward 12 months and ask yourself if you want a dog that size toileting inside. The price of clean floors is eternal vigilance. When he wakes, after meals , after he stops playing, if he gets up and sniffs around, and even if you have a couple of minutes, take him outside, stay with him until he "produces" and praise the pants off him. Toilet training usually takes a few weeks. Didn't Angus's breeder give you any advice on this?

Shoot me down in flames but I think it's time for some negative reinforcement. Children's safety is involved here. The next time Boris goes to mouth or jump on one of the kids, do your nut. REALLY do your nut. (Warn the kids about this) Dial up banshee level volume and yell "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" grab a rolled up newspaper (you prepared earlier) and flog the floor near Boris and a wall if nearby and then turf him outside. My guess from your previous methods of dealing with this is that he won't know what hit him (figuratively speaking of course). Do not treat it as a joke - and he won't either. It will be best if you can time it so that he's about to do it rather than actually mouthing. I reckon within a few visits from Cyclone Saintly Susan he'll be thinking good and hard about doing it. Of course remember to praise and reward any good interactions too.

Saintly Susan: I seem to recall advising at the time you first raised the issue of bite inhibition and humping that you were being unrealistic expecting your small children to be able to discipline Boris effectively. I'll give the same advice now as I did then. No unsupervised interactions. You or hubby must step in IMMEDIATELY, EVERY TIME Boris behaves inappropriately towards the kids. Be very very firm with the dog about this. The kids have neither the strength nor the savvy to deal with such a large pup. It's only going to get more out of hand unless you are consistent about this behaviour immediately every time it happens. This behaviour continues because you have allowed it to continue - it has nothing to do with whether this puppy was a singleton. I wonder if you have developed a little more understanding now about why breeders may not choose to sell giant breed puppies to families with young kids. You were extremely outspoken in your condemnation of that policy at the time of your first posts.

Crap. I'd certainly be telling the neighbour but proving they did it could be a bit dicey... Count your blessings - looks like Dakota is one tough pooch.

Great news Samadii.. looks like you get to join the ranks of pet owners financing their vets' new BMW's.. I'm glad Dakota pulled through - did they say what caused the blockage?

Kirty: Probably nothing. Dogs can be born with temperaments like that. It was probably the first time the pup had been anywhere other than with it's Mum and littermates.

SengeChow: Billinghurst has now walked away from grains in his diet. His newer books don't have grains in them at all...

Bikle: Yeech.. stop listening to people like that.. you are SUPPOSED to be able to feel a dog's ribs.

RidgyGirl: Yep, I feed them to my little guys. I think big dog owners find the frames more economical. I don't bother with feeding fish apart from the odd can of mackeral. Fortunately, I have a supply of wild bunnies on tap at the moment - the dogs love them. Someone could make a nice earner shooting bunnies for dog people.

Run free Shadow. Shadow may not have had the best start in life Paula but you ensured she had the best ending.

So sorry to hear about Pyro.... Sincerest condolences to you and Xcel Warley.

Blackdog make a nice sighthound collar that is a martingale. They should be available in SA. No way would I leave one on a dog unattended - fast track to strangulation I reckon.

Howdy BARFers and other raw feeders. I was recalling why I made the switch to raw feeding the other day when I responded to a BARF question. I made the switch when I got involved in dog training. A couple of people I highly respected at my dog club fed this way (they were breeders too). I went to a talk at my club by Dr Ian Billinghurst and the rest is history. I've been raw feeding for 8 years now. What about you? Why did you decide to raw feed your dogs?

BTW surgical altering of dogs ears into a pricked shape is called cropping. Removal of all or part of the tail is docking. :rolleyes: