KitKat

If the taste test is anything to go by...it's great stuff!!! My dogs are going absolutely nuts for it! Especially the GSD pup

That's the one!!! , thanks Debbi...the question was repeating itself in the back of my mind all afternoon as to the proper name for it...

No, it's a specific drying agent or something that can be used on paw wounds and scratches etc...it's in a pink/red bottle? it's available from most vets and pet stores etc that supply at least some animal medical stuff.

I jsut got some PadPaint (i think that's what it's called) from the pet place near me and sprayed that on my dogs paw when he hurt it...i didn't bandage it as it needed to dry out etc. It only took a couple of days for him to stop limping and in no time it was fine...it didn't stop him from doing anything but he made a point of looking pathetic!

Nooooooooooooooo...don't give in to those adorable little eyes! I agree with Jeanne for the most part...the only thing i'd say different is don't give him 1/2 an hour to eat the food...give him 15 mins and then take it away. Don't give him any other food, no treats or snacks just keep offering him the mince stuff. He won't let himself starve and will most likely give in and eat with in 24 to 36 hours...and he will be fine A healthy dog/pup will not starve themselves....but they will try and send us on a guilt trip!

Check with vets some of your bigger petshops...i know some vets around me hydrobath the dogs for $10 and Petwise in Brissie (petshop which doesn't sell pets other then fish) will let you hydrobath your dogs for $10 adn they provide the brushes, shampoo (fidos) or you can bring your own and they also have dryers available. They have a great deal if you are a member (free membership) which lets you wash your dogs for the grand amount of $2.00 each dog on a Monday or Tuesday. Check out your yellow pages and see what's nearby

Well...people believe it when professionals tell them what to do...people are 'pre-programed' to do so...you get a second opinion and they tell you teh same thing so you go with it...until you hear about other ways etc...and it's only then that you start to question what is being told to you. Which is happening now in regards to feeding dogs, whether people go with premium kibble or RAW/BARF...it's certianly changing from "Pal is great and Chum isn't bad either"

Raz...if the dog has issues with lamb, fish and beef then you still have chicken, pork, roo and turkey meat wise to feed him...not to mention that it would be easier for you to arrange a elimination diet for that single dog considering you will know exactly what he eats.

I think there are also as many good sites and bad sites regarding feeding of BARF/RAW...i know when i went looking for more info i found as much stuff saying why it's good to feed raw and barf as i found saying it was bad including experiances for both sides...both had quite good cases. I do however think it comes down to the individual dog and how it goes on different foods. I'm currently feeding BARF as myself and others have come across a very good supplier that makes the stuff cheaper then i can so i'm giving it another go...however i do always have kibble around for the odd night that i forgot to defrost or some such.

As ML said...or you can look around and see if there are any local Greyhound food suppliers (supplies the racing crowd kinda thing) they might have something similar...

BigDog sell 2kg bags of premade BARF mulch for between $1.00-$2.40 a kg depending on what type you get....really good value and i know my dogs luuuurve it. BigDog info thread And yes it's for Greyhounds for the most part but 'breeders choice' would suit most dogs for starters, with 'weaner' suiting the more high energy dogs...i'm looking to feed my pair both 'the edge' and 'breeders choice' (both as in which ever one i pull out of the freezer at the time..lol)

On this new BigDog diet...it looks as if i may well be feeding both my dogs pre-made BARF at around $15.00 to $20.00 (at most) a fortnight!

Somehow i don't think the vet would still have them...oh...wait you didn't mean in that context? ;)

It's probably the case...have no idea why tho as there are no toys, no bed, generally no water (I have a bucket out there now just in case), no nothing. Unfortunately i can't...because he's been getting cranky lately he tends to bark and carry on at anyone going past...school kids, cyclists, people walking etc etc. He never used to except for dogs walking past...everything else he used to ignore except if people looked as if they were going to enter the yard. Also Council requires 'free and unobstructed' access to the front door...and the Cuoncil have had a higher presence in our street lately due to a few wandering dog complaints. Harm actually has Bronx quite well trained...as soon as Harm says 'no' the games stop or if the game hadn't started and Bronx wants to start one and gets a 'no' from Harm the pup goes and sleeps or starts playing with one of his toys. Harm will generally start the games with Bronx more so then the other way around anyway. Occasonally i'll watch them from a back window so i know that Bronx realises 'no means no' as i've seen it a few times lol. Harm will also do the digging and trying to get into the front yard thing no matter if Bronx is there or not...just doesn't do it when i'm home.

At the front they do but along the sides they won't be as close...i'll see if i can find a pic or something The only 'stupid question' is that which isn't asked :p Nope...just keep up with the usual ear cleaning regime ETA - teeth pic

I went sticky beaking for some stuff online about doggy dementia...it's interesting stuff... from here from here from here Another interesting site which goes into what can be done is... this one I did fill out a form on it where it says 'if your dog is experiancing one or more of these signs' blah blah blah and Harm got ticks for about 8 or 9 of them..lol...kinda makes him an over-achiever

I would like to think it was that easy a thing as boredom... ok…a run down of what we do when I get home these days... I get home and get changed then head out with the dogs, I spend about half an hour to three quarters of an hour playing fetch and other silly bugger games. Harm tends more to mug Bronx for the toy as the younger dog comes back with it but still does a fair bit of running around. Not to mention the crash tackling and escape & evade games the boys play while I’m with them. We also do about 15 minutes of trick training or obedience type stuff (Harm already knows all the obedience type stuff anyway). By this stage Harm pretty much doesn't want to do anything else and just stands around, once the boys have almost had enough they go inside and get crated until dinner time. At this point Harm either licks everything or sleeps, he also can’t seem to sit still anymore, like ants in his pants etc…this only occurred to me as I’m trying to think what’s been different lately. In the morning before I go to work Harm is pretty much woken up to see me off, when I’ve found him out the front when I get home…he’s asleep, he sleeps most of night and a fair portion of the day (neighbours have told me). He is drinking a bit more then he used to, or at drinking more at night as I’ve often woken up to the sound of him drinking (his drinking and Bronx’s drinking sounds different) and he does tend to pace a bit these days but in no general direction or purpose…and his grass eating is getting a bit more then usual…he almost literally grazes. On weekends if I take Bronx out I leave Harm with either a filled kong, a bone to chew on for a while or I scatter kibble around so that he has to ‘seek and destroy’ all the food. If Bronx stays then they don’t get anything because I won’t take the chance that Harm’s growing grumpiness won’t include food disputes (food disputes don’t happen when I’m around…lol). Weekends are a bit lazier and we all float about if we aren’t doing stuff…but we play and smooch etc.

My darling boy...who is likely to be high and relaxed (hopefully) on Bach Flower Remedy in the nearish future

Seems the boy has gone back to his younger days indeed...for the first time in over 6 odd years he peed on my car last night, and peed on the steps and attempted to pee on his bed...cheeky sod. I got some pics of the latest hole last night which i've posted...i've come home to that each night since i buried the bricks so it looks as if the bricks are at least halting his progress but he digs along them as well so i'll have to get some more and sink them all the way along the bottom of the gate. I also have a cement slab (biiig stepping stone type thing) which i usually lay in the way...and he moves it with ease and it weighs a good 20kg's or more. I might still try the bach flower remedies...it may take the edge off somewhat still..

Thinking of you and your loss... Run free young Pirate...

Yeah...i thought it might be a matter of "take two of these and they'll feel better in the morning...drugged but better" I wasn't sure if there might be something 'softer' that i could at least start him on to take the edge off...oh well. That reminds me...i have to go fill in a big hole...lol. Thanks for your help ;) ETA - pic (all that dirt is dirt he dug out of the hole :p )

That was in the back of my mind...but i think i'm still in denial... Can anything be done? or is there treatments to ease what's going on? ETA - Pic

Aaarrggghhhhhhhhh he did it again! this time it's dug out further...i'm going to try and get a pic or two but this is driving me nuts....and i know it's driving him nuts. What also makes it worse is that Harm is going to do himself an injury if he isn't careful ETA - pic

Thanks everyone (I think part of my problem is i don't want to accept he's getting old and everything that goes with that etc) Harm is fed mostly Barf but supplimented with old fart kibble...he also gets vit C, glucosamin (sp?) and fish oil tablets... His coat is shiney adn in good condition, his breath is nice, teeth are good, no stinky/dirty ears, occasional hot spots (but he's gotten them his entire life), he's not over weight, eyes are clear, no real stiffness in joints etc unless he's over done the exercise etc thing. Umm...

I've noticed this more in the last few weeks...some of it could have been going on for longer and i've just taken more note of it recently. But here is waht i've been seeing... When inside (crated) he's been licking more...no main specific spot...just licking..himself, Bronx, the floor of the crate, he will stop when told but will either go to sleep or will start up again. He's been digging to get into the front yard from the back yard more often lately...in fact the last few days he's done it each day. I sunk some besser bricks which seems to have stopped him getting thru so far. It seems to me to be frantic digging as the dirt flung stretches back quite a way. He doesn't do it while i'm there but having Bronx for company doesn't make a difference either way. Once he's in the front yard he's fine..doesn't dig...but occasionally sits and howls. He has been getting cranky (barking more often at people at the fence etc etc) but i've put that down to just getting older. And he does have some vague moments where he doesn't seem all there then all of a sudden the light will come back on. His noise sensitivity also seems to be getting worse. Last night he caught and killed a possum. I got home to him resource guarding it and he wasn't happy to leave it either but i got him out of the back yard and stuffed him in his new crate inside and disposed of the possum. RIP lil Possum. This is the first time he's done something like that. Last night as i was getting him out of his crate he went to pounce the cat, i'm guessing the fact that he got the possum made Tango a bit of a target. But once again...he has never ever gone after Tango ever before. In fact the cat has probably done his fair share of wandering past Harm (inside uncrated, in laundry) just to see if he could get a reaction out of him....with no result. I'm thinking of keeping an eye on him for a litlte while and trying to keep a note of what he's doing, when he's doing it and how often etc etc and then popping down to the vets to give them a run down of what he's doing...but i figure they are going to tell me "he's getting old, put him on these tablets" etc etc. Now...at the moment i'm considering bach flower remedies (any other suggestions?) and i'll be seeing what else there might be that i can make use of to try and settle him a bit more. Normally he's really quite friendly, a big sook and about the most easy going dog around...and he still is...most of the time. I'm also wondering how much effect the pup is on all this, mind you the digging into the front yard, the growing crankiness was there before i got the pup and has jsut been getting steadily worse. When i'm home they get the same amount of attention, however if i go somewhere where i'm able to take a dog i usually take Bronx because of Harm's getting old and cranky etc and Bronx's need to still socialise and train etc. Oops...sorry about the epic all over the place post