Static'sMum

We have an outside dog. Originally he was never going to be allowed inside at all, however my other half gave in We let him in when we wake up in the morning for the half hour or so before we go to work, and then he goes outside for the day. We let him in to sit with us of an evening while we watch tv (unless he chucks a maddie and has to be put outside). He sleeps outside by our back door. He has a kennel with a blanket (used to have a comfy cushion, until he ate through two of them, so he is going without for a period of time),and he has a frame bed, to lie on when he is hot. Static is outside if it is raining, thundering, fireworks etc if it is nighttime. If we are home, and awake, we will let him in if it is bad weather etc. He loves the rain, and sleeps through anything, so the fireworks etc aren't an issue with him. I think that it is up to the owner, what they choose to do. We don't like the idea of 'crating' a 40kg rottweiler for 10 hours a day while we are at work. I think that is cruel. He has a yard to play in - with nothing dangerous in it. His gate is padlocked, so he can't accidentally be let out (and he is much to heavy to lift over the gate) He is registered, tagged, and microchipped. I don't think we are being 'bad' owners by choosing to let him stay outside. He loves it. I know a lot of people swear by crating, but don't think it is necessary for a healthy dog - only one that needs to be restricted due to physical issues)

Static eats pretty much anything, but we did have a period of time when he would pick out certain biscuits and spit them on the ground. I found the best way around it was a smidge of gravy. I use pedigree puppy gravy at the moment (as its the only one i have found - and human gravy is a bit salty for him i think) I could get him to eat anything i wanted, if i added gravy. I usually cook up some vegies then drain 90% of the water once they're done, and then add some gravy to the hot water. Mix that through his dry biscuits, and he's licking his bowl clean, and his lips for about ten minutes afterwards. I also think that if your dog is hungry, it will eat biscuits if you don't give it too many options. You possibly just need to find a biscuit that is appealing enough. I don't think it is acceptable to feed only meat. they don't need large amounts of vegies etc, but I do think the diet will be lacking if it is only meat.

cheese and bacon cookies 3/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 2/3 cup butter 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 egg 1 tspn vanilla essence 1 1/2 cups oats 1 cup cheddar cheese 1/2 cup wheatgerm 250g bacon, chopped, trimmed of fat Pre heat oven to 180 deg C. Grease or line a baking tray. Combine flour, soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, then slowly beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. Stir in oats, cheese, wheatgerm and bacon. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto a baking tray, and bake for 15 - 20 mins or until brown. Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to two weeks. Makes about 15. This is from the book Grrrrowlicious food for hungry dogs - by Jamie Young. It also has doggie biscuits, mock choc doughnuts (using peanut butter and carob - but also chicken/beef stock). And it has heaps of main meal ideas for our dogs like rabbit stew, chicken meatballs or raw alternatives. It also has a whole list of fruits and vegies that are good for them and the vitamins they contain, and then tells you what benefit the vitamins have for our pets. Its quite a good book (I think) and it uses information from Dr Ian Billinghurst, so it can't be too bad. The only thing i'm not sure about, is the sugar. I always thought sugar was bad - but maybe it is only processed sugar. there are also some treat recipes on this site: http://www.twodogpress.com/dogfood.html

we used to feed Static his dog biscuits soaked in hot water, with some puppy milk mixed in when he was a small pup. He loved it (although he got half on his face, half in his mouth as he was a very messy eater!) We still give Static puppy milk now (he is almost 9 months), and I don't plan on stopping as he loves it. Being winter and cold (obviously) and that he is an outside dog, I give him warm puppy milk - about 200mls - every morning before his biscuits. He sits there and licks his lips until he gets it, and then when finished he picks up his milk bowl and puts it at the back door for more!!! although he never gets more. We too fed him raw carrots and frozen green beans when he was small (as it was summer) although the carrots always passed undigested - it was better for him to chew them, than other things.

It seems to me that 2.4kg plus of dog food is a lot to feed a Labrador. My 40kg Rotti doesn't eat that much, and he is a growing 9 month old pup!! I agree with the previous posters - I would move onto a premium brand complete diet - definitely stop feeding supermarket brand canned food. If you decide that you don't want to feed him on completely dry food - add some extras with each meal. Human grade beef mince / chicken mince is good. Sardines are quite cheap if you buy them in the bulk packs. We also give Static lamb shanks once a week - but always ensure we give him less Eagle Pack to make up for the extra he receives from the lamb shank. We also give for treats - carrots/green beans/apple/watermelon/banana. He eats brocolli, cauliflower, peas, snow peas, tomato, lettuce - just to add variety sometimes. Definitely try out Eagle Pack, Royal Canin, Nutro if you can come by them. Your dog will thrive and poo heaps less!!!! According to the Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken that we have here for Static, a 45kg adult dog needs up to 473g per day. Which is a LOT less than the two tins of food you are currently feeding. However, I think you should possibly visit your vet, and get them to check out your dog first, as you seem to believe he is somewhat overweight, and get them to devise a nutritional plan. That way you can slowly reduce the amount you are feeding, without leaving him too hungry. Good luck!!

I too was told to try Innova - but as already stated, won't buy it due to who sells it. (As far as I know, in WA PP is the ONLY place that sells it). I also wouldn't feed Hill Science Diet, as it contains a lot of fillers, and for the price, you can buy better products. We did feed Royal Canin to our Rottweiler, and he loved it, but I made a decision not to purchase it from the shop near us for personal reasons - although it is a good food. Now, we are using Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy and Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken. We alternate between the two (although, I do plan on trying the other Holistic varieties - Duck/Anchovy/Lamb at a later stage) We have had great success with Eagle Pack. Not only does it come home delivered for a cheaper price than we were paying to go and get our Royal Canin, Static loves the taste, has GREAT stools and hasn't had any irritations since starting it . And it actually works out quite cheap if you buy large bags, which is a must when you have a 40kg Rottweiler!! But even if you have a small dog - it lasts a long time if you store it appropriately so viola!! great value for money!

I feed my almost 9 month old Rotti Eagle Pack. He weighs almost 40kg, so is quite big, and it costs us around $5 a day to feed him on this (and this includes all 'extras' such as add-ins and bones) He has previously been on Supercoat (I wasn't so well informed when I first got him) then Royal Canin, and now Eagle Pack. He has gone from lots of lightly coloured, sloppy stools - to lovely brown, firm stools! (I never EVER thought I would be so exciting about poo in my life ... but it is now not a trauma to pick up/hose in!) We also add extras - mince/chicken - human grade, sardines, pasta/rice, vegies, fruit, etc with his biscuits, and he has fish oil. I would personally always stick to a top of the range product. We pay between $90 - $101 a 15kg bag, which is expensive if you look at price/size ration, but you feed less portions, they get more benefit from the product, and they poo less - woooo hooooooooo :cool: I am looking into the BARF diet - but Static seems to like his biscuits - and I do at fresh veg/fruit/meat etc. Haven't gotten into the organ meats yet, but looking into it. He is happy, healthy - OH ... and he farts a lot less than he used to ps. i have read also (replying to someones previous comment) that it is not necessary to feed Large Breed Foods to Large Breed dogs - as they can have just as much benefit from an adult food - providing it is a premium brand in the first place?? As I am divided in what to believe, Static is alternated between Eagle Pack, Large Breed Puppy, and Holistic Chicken (okay for pup/adults alike) complete dry food. As you get discount for buying 2 bags plus at a time, we buy $30 kilos which lasts us just over two months .... and once he stops growing, and eats less, he will be even cheaper to feed this good stuff!!

We are charged $65 for a C5. It seems that this is middle of the range from what I have been reading. I'm quite happy to pay for it though - as our vet is brilliant with our Rottweiler, and I would like to stay with him. Static actually likes going to the vet, as they all know him - and the vet always gives him a thorough going over - eyes, ears, joints, temperature etc. And I personally will always keep him vaccinated yearly. I believe that there are more risks not getting them, than the vaccinations themselves being harmful. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion :cool:

i would say yes, it would be okay to feed your dog anchovies, but only in very very VERY minimal amounts. Some premium foods to have anchovies as an added ingredient, but I always assumed this was so include the 'salt' aspect, without adding processed salt product. I agree that if you want to feed fish to your pets, go sardines in spring water - that is what we feed our Rotti. Twice weekly he gets Sardines, and on the days he does, we don't give him any fish oil supplements. We give those on 'other' days. he loves them, they are A LOT cheaper, and you get more substance for your money. Plus, salt isn't good for your dog in large amounts. He/she should get enough from the dry food that you feed them (if it is a complete food). Dogs don't need salt added for flavour like us .... so most likely they prefer the larger chunks of sardine etc, than a smidgen of salty taste ...

I originally fed my Rottweiler SuperCoat Puppy - and I regret it. He had LOADS of sloppy poos - and he developed colitis due to the large amount of waste that he was producing. Supercoat - being an inferior quality food - requires that you feed your pets large quantities of product to give them enough energy etc. We swapped to Eagle Pack - jumped from $40 for a 18kg bag of SuperCoat, to $100 for a 15kg bag of Eagle Pack - but it is worth EVERY penny. If you buy in bulk, I believe most suppliers give you a discount - we save between $10 -$15 per bag if we buy more than one - and yes, it is a large outlay - but you have to keep buying the food anyway, it doesnt go off that quickly, so it is a saving. It costs us about $5 a day to feed our boy - and he is a 40kg Rotti. This includes his Eagle Pack and any additions - vegies, rice, pasta, sardines, human grade mince, treats etc. I think that is quite cheap. In the long run, it works out cheaper to feed a HIGH quality food - your Nutro, Eagle Pack, Royal Canin. As i believe they end up having less 'issues' and less vet visits. win win situation if you ask me!!