KitKat

I'd go back to the very start...eg taking her out every hour or two and giving her a 'toilet word'. Take her out after sleeping, eating, drinking etc etc...just take it back to the start and go slowly and ignore her failures and praise her when she gets it right

Making a loud high pitched yelp/yipe noise and then stop what you are doing and ignore him for a few moments. As soon as he stops and settles/sits then give him some verbal praise...but not to excitedly else you'll hype him up again. I've got a ratbag of a GSD pup and he's learning that biting and tantrums don't get him far...lol

Nicely said Warley As to what treats i use? my Bronx will work for almost anything (kibble, cat food, fruit, sausage, salami, devon, savoys, whatever)...especially if it's something i'm eating at the time Sabre the pup is working better with toys then food so far

It could be mange...or could be demodex mite...all it will cost you is a consult and for the scraping - once you know what the problem is you can go from there...

It would be my guess then Zara that your vet just didn't want to risk the pup not getting a balanced diet and has given you the easy way of giving the pup what it needs. There is nothing wrong with feeding just a dryfood diet as long as you go with a quality brand of dry food - feel free to still give some chicken necks/wings etc if you decide to feed your dog in the way your vet has suggested.

A lot depends on the size and breed...i mean a Chi is going to be an 'adult' at an earlier age then a Dane is for example.

I was chatting to a vet student the other day...apparently pet nutrition is becoming a larger part of what they have to know.

Yup...i use Advantix as well and it's been keeping the flys away...better then anything else i've used

Some SP foods work for some dogs better then others but you'll soon see if the RC works for him and later if you go to the EP you can go from there. With your other Dogue it could have just been a matter of something in the premium food didn't suit him. However it might be worth looking into something to help strip the dead coat out of your current boy (I know a BM that is shedding like a lab at the moment ) Dead coat can make a dog smell...well...doggy. So if the coat starts looking dull...get out the rubber brush or which ever type you find gets out the dead coat.

As to the amount of protein...it kinda depends on what book you read and what opinion you take I think a lot also depends on having the correct ratio of protein and everything else required... I have personally seen a Bullmastiff,3 Danes and 1 Dogue who were brought up on RC Giant...from baby puppy to puppy to junior to adult...except one Dane who is still on junior. The owners i spoke to are happy with their condition (the BM flatly refuses to eat anything else...lol) and the dogs have grown nicely and not two quickly. I've had other giant breed owners tell me about how their dogs have gone but those listed are the ones i've actually seen in the last 6 months or so...at various age stages. (and have spoken to owners of other breeds who have been happy with the brands they use, and a couple who have fed barf/raw diets and been happy) I'm sure others will be able to tell you of other pups who have grown to quick, or had other problems. But i'm not convinced that it's necessarily food related as such...more perhaps that the food the dog was on...didn't suit the dog. I mean i tried Barf on my GSD...it didn't suit him and i was having to feed over 1kg a day just to keep him from looking liked i starved him, let alone some other issues. But since i 'discovered' RC and have had him on it he's grown very nicely, which is just one of the reasons i'm growing my GSD pup on it now. Just occured to me...BARF is mostly meaty bones...so that would make it a high protien diet?

If you buy extra check out the useby date...they are still fine for a few months after that...but just keep an eye on it and keep the bags somewhere coolish if possible. Also check the puppy against the 'performance/high energy' type food in the brand you are interested. I know in some brands there is very little difference between the two...

If you can get the oil then yeah it's fine as well...i just found it irritating to pour and it smelled..well...fishy...lol. The capsules were just more convienent. Even a smidge of vege oil is fine...but the fish oil is better

I change my dogs over at about 12-15 months. A lot of people change over early/late/etc due to their ideas of protien intake and growth rates. As to your pup's reaction to proplan...it's a matter of finding out what works for your dog as i believe that every dog is different and different things will suit some better then others. And if your dog does well on something...stick to it, if you feel they could do better then try something else and go from there :D

You should be able to get it from Petstock - at least the PetStock's up here carry the range. Nutrience is a 'super premium' food. And there is a difference in the quality of ingredients etc between the sp and prem...tho not as noticible as say between supercoat and RC for example. I think a lot depends on your interpretation of things. Eg protien....i think more depends on the quality of protien then the amount for example. Someone posted a link to a very good bit of documentation but i can't seem to find it. But the 'super premium' dog food companies have tested their theories, where as barf and low protien stuff is slowly being tested i think now. But as with all things i think a lot comes back to the individual dogs. It's not going to hurt him and it's only by a few months....and the kibble is quite a bit larger in the junior then the puppy...for all that that's a fair sized kibble as well...lol. Found it from Espinay2 in this thread here

Shift things so she can't get up onto the desk? Otherwise go back to step one on the toilet training but and start over

If you switch from Proplan to Iams you are taking a step down in quality... Euk is the 'super premium' as Iams is the 'premium' - same company just a bit of a different quality of food. So if you were wanting to change to that 'company' and quality go with the Euk over the Iams. Nutrience has a fairly large kibble for large breed pups, tho not as big as the Royal Canin. I take it the PetStock can't get the Giant Puppy in for you? They should be able to...but if they can't, i'd consider putting your pup on the Junior that little bit early. But Nutrience is i think a larger kibble then the others (proplan, euk, advance - don't know about EP) so that might be worth giving a go until your pup is 8 months or so then switch to RC? As to the adding stuff to complete kibbles as long as you aren't adding more then say...20% of extra's per meal with the kibble then you won't lose the benefits of the kibble itself.

Some info Available from... here here here

An example of Natures gift can food.

I use Natures Gift to add a little extra to my dogs meal...mind you it's like a tablespoon or two smoodged and mixed in with their dinner if i don't have any bones etc to give them. I also sometimes use some to add to a kong filling. But in general...Natures Gift would be my recommendation...but not to use as a full meal on any kind of regular basis. Mind you there are some occasions eg special treat, dog requires soft food, pick whelping bitch etc. The others are as good and as bad as each other. For all that Pal is now saying theirs is preservative free with real meat etc etc.

I tend to suggest high quality kibble and a serve of raw on the side...lol, that way people still get to see their dog getting the 'variety' they think they need :D

Only if you feed over a certain percentage...and it depends on what regular basis you are doing so

There are several threads on what you can use to combat KC...if you do a quick search you'll see what others have had success with.

Goldie - just because a kibble is a 'complete' food doesn't mean you can't add extras...Just that you don't have to. Of course to much of the extra's can lower the benefit of the complete kibble..

Oh I'm so sorry... Run Free Miss Timothy