KitKat

Nicely said

My dogs love chicken feet! I can usually get them from a particular Woolies near by - they are better there then some other places nearby as they are all clean rather then some which look like they've just been pulled off of a chook!

It could be a UTI? That at times can cause a smell similar to an inseason bitch from what i can gather - i guess it depends on what your boy's reactions to her have been like...

Had the dogs eaten it before? or did they suddenly get a full meal of it for the first time? Depending on what the dogs have eaten previously the RC is quite rich...and so could upset the tummy if they haven't gradually been switched to it..

Demodex mites wouldn't or shouldn't effect kids that way...we do however carry Demodex mites naturally in our system - they occasionally eat on our eyebrows...lol. Basically locaised demodex is caused by a bump in the immuse system the bodies natural defences weaken and the mites go nuts eating and breeding - thus the spots are noticible as they eat the entire hair or at least most of it...lol.

Nah...a week is fine

Sounds like demodex mite - if you do a search you'll find lots of threads in this forum about it with a lot of helpful and useful info on dealing with it Demodex mites usually show their signs/spots around the face, chest and front legs - you can go to the vet and get a scraping to make sure - they will do a scraping, put the scraped skin on a slide and look at it under a microscope - be warned the mites are ugly lil suckers to look at! If it's localised Demodex (most common) the spots will look ugly but will shortly grow back and not be an issue except perhaps under times of great stress for the dog. If its generalised Demodex the spots will spread to cover most if not all of the body and take a lot of effort and hard work to sort out again.

There is as much advice out there that says soaking the food will cause bloat as well that not soaking the food will cause bloat, that feeding dry will cause bloat, that feeding raw/bone will cause bloat, that feeding before exercise will cause bloat, that feeding after exercise will cause bloat, that feeding one big meal will cause bloat, that feeding lots of little meals will cause bloat...it goes on and on I also have deep chested dogs (GSD's) and the only thing i probably stick with from the above is not feeding and then exercising - no matter what i am feeding them at the time.

I'd start with checking the dog over physically - check feet/claws/pads, then go up the legs and check elbows shoulders hips etc. Has he been into something he shouldn't have lately - possibly straining something? Has it been cooler in the mornings and those older joints starting to act up since they are going from sleep to walk within a short amount of time in the cooler part of the day? As to food...it could be he's not getting enough red meat - eg iron etc. Going with raw and kibble on the side or rice on the side isn't a bad idea just to see if that makes a difference. With feeding purely raw you do have to be careful about getting the balance right...have they been feeding offal, red meats - has there been enough meat on the bones for example? Perhaps start including some fish oil capsules into his diet - great stuff for all sorts of reasons. As to Hills....i personally don't like it - however i have found their senstive version has proved very very good. Also my cats and dogs have eaten it on occasion (odd freebie bag from work etc) and have done very well on it. So don't necessarily toss it out as an option. There are some fabulous dry foods out there...just not saying that this isn't one of them depending on the dog involved etc. Hope they sort it out soon!

That's what i was thinking too - my Bronx got it on his snout not long after he got desexed as well - didn't look particularly pretty but it was kept under control and was gone not toooo long after

Chicken intolerance is becoming more common with dogs - and many kibbles and treats use chicken fat which may or may not be enough to cause a reaction - so be careful to check kibble ingredients Do you know if he is allergic/intolerant of any other particular protien sources? eg Turkey/duck/beef/lamb - beef is another one that many are allergic/intolerant to.

I've done it...the cat was in one of those hard cat carriers, either with a cage type opening etc over the top or just one with decent gaps in the plastic. The cats weren't impressed but it was over quick enough that i could get onto the nice part of drying them down and brushing them...lol. I very rarely have to wash my cats, usually a damp cloth is enough if a good brushing doesn't take care of the problem.

Also consider ProPlan Sensitive - it's based on salmon and i've seen some great results with problematic dogs. Also wondering if zinc powder (or the slightly more expensive version, curash) on the sores might be worth a shot? it's white powder so won't be noticed in his coat - but will dry out the spot and help the healing process along... BARF - is biologically appropriate raw food...basically raw meaty bones and soe vegies and offal Just search within DOL or google it for more info on BARF then you could read in a month

I personally don't like Hills...however i can't argue how well my dogs and cats have gone on it when they've had it (have gotten it cheap/free from work on occasions) - the only thing they didn't go well on was the Hills light...my dogs had sloppy poos from it Basically check out your options/price range etc...which you like the sound/details of and give it a try...go by your dogs reaction to the food and their condition and poo - if all is great then stick with it...if you think it could be better then try something else. As has been said in this thread, and my sig...go with what works for your dog

Tilly - I can just imagine the big boofer laying there on his back...feet in the air...waiting for his foot massage :laugh:

I've fed raw and dry together as well...and no issues here either! As to the one being digested quicker then the other...i'd expect that meat would digest faster then bone...yet they come together and are fed together...so... :laugh:

Yup...supermarkets and BigW - Kmart stocks Optimum instead

Iams is considered a 'premium' brand...as opposed to Royal Canin, Euk, Advance, Hills, ProPlan, Eagle Pack, Nutrience etc being 'super premium'. Euk (also makes Iams) is well known for putting weight on dogs wether you want it to or not...lol. I'd probably drop from the Giant breed type foods down to a Large Breed type - or even a performance/high energy type depending on why the dog is lean. Performance type foods pack more to their punch - which is why they are for dogs using a higher amount of energy...i'll often use this for my GSD's when they aren't keeping weight on (depending on season and what work i'm doing with them etc) Lamb Flaps and Chicken frames are a good way to go - Lamb flaps/off cuts are available usually thru coles/woolies/butchers/pet feed stores etc and chook frames much the same places as well as the chicken stores eg Lenards (sp)

Hehehe...all i know is my poor two GSD's looked terrible while i was using the creams and vasiline type stuff...they had dags on their ears and the fur would gunk up and come out in tufts when i tried to brush it out - looked as bad as the fly bite I just use the Advantix as with any other spot on (back of neck and base of tail) and find it keeps the flies of the dogs...ears and all. It's probably the main reason why i use it actually - certainly the main reason i recommend it

Advantix! Main problem with the creams and stuff is you have to apply them a couple of times a day to be effective... (and if you have a long coated dog it creates dags on their ears )

Hehehehehe...he is at that age I know...i have two of them! You need to make sure he knows you are boss and probably do things to remind him more often for a while :p As to desexing before 12 months of age - i have one GSD (Bronx) who was desexed at 6 months and the other (Sabre) at 16months (only that late due to one ball refusing to show - i wanted to gice it a chance ) . And as to pro's and cons...i just wish i had done the 2nd GSD as early. No difference in behaviour before and after desexing - at least not in regards to personality. The GSD done at 6 months was already a calm, well behaved dog with not too many bad habits - desexing didn't change that...just made the pee less smelly! The Pup that was done at the older age was still a brat, cheeky and naughty once snipped - and thank goodness made his pee un-stinky...lol. Re size etc with desexing...well...both my dogs are 45kg's lean weight, both are a solid build, Bronx is a bit taller...but he was always going to be - eg at 8weeks of age he was 11kg...as opposed to Sabre who was 7kg's at the same age. Bronx has more bulk and gives the illusion of being 'huge' as people will often remark...lol. I don't think desexing age had much to do with that look. People will often say if you desex before 12 months they will be leggy and rangy...Bronx is neither - actually Sabre gives you the idea of that more then Bronx and he had his balls for longer!

Janba - using the curash you don't have to cut the coat - which is one of the reasons why i think it's so fantastic...it takes a while for the coat to grow back on a fluffy GSD for spots etc...lol

Check out Canine Country at Woodridge - you can even get camel meat from them! ETA - you may not be able to get rabbit easily unless you know someone who will hunt them for you Most food bunnies are farmed and rather expensive.

Yup...curash is the way to go - just fluff it into the surounding coat as well as on the spot Stuff works a treat

My two GSD's don't rip or tear their toys either Also my older GSD can go all day without peeing...so can the pup if he decides to. I've toilet trained them both and they will also toilet on command so if we are to be inside all day or some such then i can be sure they will be comfortable by taking them out when i decide...but even so it may only be once during the day and they will still be fine. The peeing on the tree's probably empties his bladder for the day for starters I wouldn't be cutting off all the fat either...if it's particularly fatty perhaps cut some of it off...but it is needed for their well being. It's only really a problem if they are getting too much fat or can't process it properly.