luvsdogs

My Japanese Spitz was the runt of the litter & as an adult is still small for his age. He had red tear stain on both eyes when we got him at 8 w/o & the breeder said it was teething. Around 5 mths as in sig pics they started to look much better. Then he started teething & did have retained baby teeth (hadn't heard that could be a cause b4). He was desexed at 8 m/o & the vet flushed both eyes at the same time & said he had very narrow ducts. So I just have to put up with the red staining on a white dog. Then early Dec they seemed to be getting better. Time for his 1st annual vaccinations. Now they are worse than ever. I'll have to try the massage, where exactly do you do it? My 1st Border Collie had a weepy eye once & the vet told me to lightly press on the inside corner of the eye for a few seconds & it did the trick. I've done this on other dogs & my cat which has worked each time, but not on my little JS.

Got me to thinking that I heard somewhere, possibly on dol, that higher doses of vitC helps arthritis. Maybe why the rosehips give relief.

No dog should eat mince, the whole purpose of a raw diet is to crunch through raw meaty bones. Also chicken wings are too small for a GSD. Buy a whole chicken & give it to her. If she won't touch it score the breasts to get her going or 1/2 the chicken. What she doesn't eat in one sitting can be cleaned & put in the fridge for the next meal. I've 1/4 a chicken for my 5kg Japanese Spitz. There's also lamb necks left whole for a dog the size of a GSD. With the offal try giving it to her frozen or you can freeze dry or dry in the oven over slow heat for an hour (so I've heard). My dogs didn't like chicken heart but liked lamb kidney. The more variety of meats you can give the better but start slowly, introducing each one a week or 2 apart. If she won't eat any of this a little tough love is needed. After 10-20 mins put back in fridge for the next meal. She should get hungry & eat what she's given.

I feed my dogs raw because my Japanese Spitz had trouble with dirty teeth. They have mostly chicken legs, turkey wings & legs if smaller, beef chunks - they don't need minced meat - defeats the whole chewing & crunching to clean the teeth, did try pork meat but still not convinced on this one & the occasional raw egg. As said stay away from weight bearing bones especially beef & I've even heard that beef ribs are also too hard. I try & remember to feed offal but JS tends to have a funny tummy when he has something new. So far have tried chicken hearts, neither dog were fussed but liked lamb kidney. Other recommendations I've heard of are fish oil, the recipe being 80% meat chunks, 10% bones & 10% offal (I don't stick to this & my dogs get more bone content, definitely veggies are not needed - dogs are carnivores. Yes I used to give my 2 previous dogs the original barf type diet when I made up the veggie mix myself with all the additives, so time consuming. When the patties came out neither of my gutsy dogs would touch them.

Harry's very cute & has a lot of growing to do to fit his name tag. :laugh:

It was suggested to me many years ago to have my then 9 y/o Border Collie to have her teeth cleaned before she got any older. I chose not to go there & started feeding her chicken legs & wings about 5 times a week. When I took her back the next year they said how good her teeth were for her age.

Dogs don't need veggies/fruits or grains & the only supplement occasionally natural fish oil, no soy. I'm on a couple of raw feeding groups & they both recommend 80% raw muscle meat, 5% offal of which 1/2 is liver & 5% raw bones with the meat covering the bones. My dogs get more than the 5% bone. They have either a chicken leg or 2, turkey wings or legs if I can get small ones, lamb, beef & very occasionally pork. Still trying to introduce the liver & offal. They get an occasional raw egg. Chicken & turkey necks as well as weight bearing bones from cattle is not recommended because of choking hazard & broken teeth. As to the amount to feed, it's 2-3% of their estimated adult weight even for puppies but spread over the 2-4 meals they need depending on age.

It is said that dogs learn better if you train in short sessions of a minuter or 2 & then have a break of 30-60 minutes before doing another minute or 2. This would only be done a few times a week.

That's wonderful news Owey. I hope you have many years of fun with Henry, they truly are the best dogs.

This is what I do. I once asked the vet about getting the same amount of ingredient for intestinal worms that they used to get when I wormed them every 3 months. She said that the wormer kills any worms present & is not a preventative. Still not convinced but because one of my dogs is a Border Collie & can't have certain heartworm preventives which is why I switched to the monthly chew. I also feed a raw diet & on some Yahoo chat groups they don't worm or heartworm at all. I'm not prepared to take the chance.

Mine used to eat kibble but since having my Japanese Spitz & his mucky teeth, I have switched them over to raw meaty bones. They get chicken legs, turkey wings, large chunks of lamb or beef & a little pork. Vegies are not needed as dogs are carnivores & don't need them. They occasionally get a raw egg & chicken liver & lamb kidney.

I had my Border Collie done at 14 m/o after having her 1st season at 10 m/o. I had talked about it to the vet when I 1st got her of my decision & she agreed with me. The risk of mammary cancer is very low with only 1 season. I had asked the vet that did the spay to use the single hidden stitch because a previous bitch had it in 2001 & never touched the wound. Not so the Border, it looked rather tight & swollen & she had to wear an Elizabethan collar until the stitch was removed. My youngest male dog had to be done early because of retained testicles & I had him done at 8 months, when he started to mark inside.

A few years ago now when we had our 1st lorikeet, he was in his inside cage near the laundry. One of my boys hadn't closed the door properly so he let himself out & walked through the house to our bedroom & climbed onto sleeping OH's chest & woke him up by saying "hello".

From all the emails I received on the yahoo group it was a fantastic night with lots of quallies & much fun had by all. Well done to the organisers & competitors & their dogs.

Now I wish I was going to watch. But unfortunately too many things going on at the moment to keep me at home. Have fun guys!

Couldn't see anything about what to do in extreme weather conditions.

Looks like Qld is having a huge DWD comp this weekend. Good luck to those entered. I'll ask again, who's entered in the last comp for NSW next month?

I saw that programme too & the little white fluffy old dog that was pts had a bad neurological problem & was in severe pain. PTS was the only kind thing to do for him. There needs to be more done about the indiscriminate breeding from puppy mills. There's not enough homes in Australia for them all.

Many years ago when I was wanting a male Border Collie & seeing Phantom of the Opera I wanted to call him Phantom. Other names I like are Spud & Cobber.

Was feeding Black Hawk & the dogs liked it. I put my pup on to a raw meat & bones diet because of his brown teeth. I have since put Tilba onto raw but she will occasionally still get some BH if I haven't defrosted her meat.

Yes agree, the use of a double ended harness for general walking would be better.

No wonder it hasn't helped my constant cough, I've been using it in my coffee but at only 5+. Will have to suss out the 30+.

This link was on one of my Yahoo groups http://issuu.com/petprofessionalguild/docs/barks_from_the_guild_november_2012 Go to pages 11 - 12

That's so sad. Such a little baby. RIP Jed.

Thank you all for your kind words.