Stitch

Many thanks for that guys. I didn't realise that Purcells sold turkey necks but I have to say that their chicken necks are not cheap, I wonder what their turkey necks sell for. They used to be cheap but I guess they realised chicken necks were very popular so they 'jacked' the price up!! Big Gun butchers, I haven't heard of them but I will look them up but I would need them to be fresh if I bought in quantity so I could bag them up in smaller lots and freeze them.

I have been buying turkey necks at Woolworths but they are sooooo expensive there. Does anyone know another place to get them north of Brisbane that is a bit cheaper???

Totally agree, take the dog to a Specialist Dermo. Vet and get a more specific diagnosis and treatment. You can waste a lot of money on so called 'natural remedies' and also cause more problems with no guarantee of cure (if a cure is possible).

All my dogs are not fed the same thing however I used to feed everyone BARF and for various reasons had to personalise the 'menu' as all dogs are different and do well on different things. What works best overall for my lot is dry premium dogfood in the morning and BARF of an evening. They currently have very few stomach upsets except for my IBS girl and they maintain good weight an condition with poos that are small & dry. I have found Advance, Royal Canin & Eagle Pack to be the best for my lot plus I have to feed the IBS girl Hills I/D. I now think differently than I did when I was a BARF advocate and totally believe that you feed what your dog does best on as long as it is good quality.

Ummm, change to another brand of dogfood??? In my lot I have 2 dogs that eat Advance no problem and 1 that is sick every time she eats it - she can eat Royal Canin no problems at all, plus I have 1 that can eat anything at all and another 1 that can only eat Hills I/D. Don't be afraid to try new food if what you are feeding doesn't agree with your dog - they are all different!

You know its not the speed that he eats everything, I can control that to an extent, and its not the fact that he would eat and eat until he burst, I can control that too. What it is, is the vocalisations that he gives if meals are not on time or if he has to wait - I draw the line at that as it takes a bit more imagination on my part to overcome. Yesterday I took everyone for a walk down the back paddock prior to them getting fed and that worked, the turkey necks really work as it takes him 10 minutes to get through one instead of the 2 seconds it used to take for the chicken necks to be sucked down like spaghetti. :D Edited to add: Thanks for the idea JE2910!

Well it's heartening to read that I don't have the only 'piggy' dog in Australia!! I actually do feed twice daily - a small amount of Royal Canin in the morning and then the BARF & turkey neck of an evening. I don't put the dry in a bowl, I just spread it out on the kennel room floor. That way he has to hunt for it!! I can't put another dog in with him until all the food is gone or their would be a brawl over one tiny piece of dry food. All my dogs are fed separately of an evening. He isn't fat but he would be if I didn't limit what he eats. He also was the biggest in the litter but he is also the laziest dog I have had. I have bought a treadmill so he is going to be learning to use it soon. I spoke about him to the vet and the vet said that these type of dogs will always be gluttons and will always have to have the amount they are allowed to consume monitored.

Thanks for your replies. I will definitely have to try varying the meal time as you say. I have also converted to turkey necks because chicken necks get sucked down like spaghetti!!

My lot are all crated separately every night. I use newspaper until they prove they can go all night without peeing. If they shred the newspaper and need some tough love they get nothing in the bottom of their crate until they learn. Once they don't pee overnight they get a padded towel and a polar fleece. Other than newspaper (I disinfect the crate if it has been peed on) I only use bedding I can wash & dry easily. Woollen blankets are not practical as they don't wash or dry well - polar fleece is very good in fact I bought 4 today from Best & Less for $6 each.

I bath a dog when it smells, usually every 3-4 weeks. Fidos shampoos that are soap free like the Emu Oil one are quite nice and they have a long lasting fragrance too!

Normally my lot know when they have had enough, however it is becoming quite obvious that I have bred a pup that is an absolute glutton!!! He is nearly 6 months old and has always been a big pup that absolutely loves food, in fact he is now starting to demand to be fed every afternoon. I normally feed all dogs at about 3.30pm or 4pm but if it doesn't happen quickly enough this one stands outside the kitchen window and barks. This is while all the others are running around playing and not caring what is happening in the kitchen. He would much rather eat than play!! Today I went outside when he barked and claimed the area that he normally barks in - this put a stop to the barking but I know it will continue to be an ongoing battle. Has anyone else had a furry glutton in the family??? Would love to hear your ideas on how to control the problem so it doesn't escalate to wanting to be fed at 2pm!!!

I don't know what the equivalent of the Canine Control Council is in W.A. but it would be that organisation I would contact first to find your local affiliated obedience club that runs a puppy preschool.

I would not be expecting a puppy of that age to hold on for that length of time. It does depend on the breed/size of the pup and also I have found boys can usually hold on longer than girls but puppies under 12 weeks of age are very unreliable as they are just not fully developed physically. It is just a matter of continuing on as you are and then one day - no wees, occasional accidents, then dry forever!!!

Could be allergic to something in your environment/garden?? If it is a pollen allergy it can be worse at different times of the year. Many dogs have allergies that cause the eyes to get crusty or gluggy corners.

Insect bites??? Reaction to the antibiotics??

Yep, gotta agree. I always start out my pups on a martingale collar and most stay on a martingale for life however if I get a 'blonde' then I find I have to use a choker until we get an understanding, then I change back to a martingale after about 12 months. Love martingale collars - love the fact the dog can't easily slip out of them. Would never attempt to train a dog on a flat collar as I believe it puts the handler at a disadvantage. How awful would it be to have an untrained dog slip out of their collar when they are out on a walk!!! I am always amazed at the difficulties new dog owners heap on themselves by only using a flat collar on a pulling dog. Martingales forever!!

There are special internal medicine vets, have you asked your vet??? Have you tried a ProBiotic?? eg. Protexin?? It really does sound like their is either some medical condition causing the problem or else it is triggered by something in the environment. I have the opposite problem with my Dobe, he is a 'hoover' but I have a lot of experience with eating issues with my other dogs. I wouldn't discount the tonsillitis without having it checked by your vet.

If he is eating the other things you mentioned then he is eating, maybe not what you want him to eat but he hasn't actually stopped eating??? If this is the case then you just have to get him back into his old routine - presuming there is nothing wrong with the food you are feeding him & there is no medical reason for his fasting. There is nothing like a bit of temporary hunger to get a dog into a good eating routine. If he is not eating what you put down for him then after 15 minutes just pick the food up and he gets nothing until 24hours later. It sounds a bit harsh but it is up to him if he eats it or not and he is not going to suffer any ill effects by going without food for this amount of time. Then feed smaller portions so that he is kept on the edge of just getting enough and is looking forward to his next meal when it comes. Of course during this period there are no treats, bones, extras, etc. only the main meal. Keep this up for about 1 week and then gradually go back to your usual routine making sure that you are not overfeeding - overfeeding can make a dog a picky eater very quickly!! Boxers are a bit lean when they are young but will body up later on especially if you can keep them looking forward to their next meal. Crushed carcasses etc. are very high in fat so that will eventually put the weight on them.

Every time I have visited a dog pound it has been filled with cross bred dogs eg. X kelpies, cattledogs, and various mixed breed dogs. Only very occasionally do I see a purebred. Now someone had to breed these dogs in the first place!! Is this not the logical place to start in trying to stem the flow of x bred puppies that seem to be constantly available??? I always get concerned when I see Animal Liberationists being asked for their solution to a problem though, as they have a set agenda and we all know what that is. Care must be taken that responsible breeders of purebred dogs do not become victims of all the regulation the Animal Libers would like to heap upon us!!

Don't some premium dog foods have 'weight loss formulas' in their range??? If so, why not just get your parent to switch over to that instead of what they are currently feeding?? Plus feed less of the other foods they are giving the dog, this includes treats too - oh, and take the dog for more walks!! Same as us - if we eat less and exercise more we lose weight - and if you have arthritis you have to exercise or you get stiffer!!

Have you tried Dr. Billinghursts frozen BARF mix which is sold from the freezer at larger pet stores?? Mine had a bit of trouble when I was feeding home made BARF, but I found Dr.B's is fantastic. Then it is only a matter of finding exactly how much to feed your dog. I found feeding the dog separately in their crate was much better for picky eaters as it forces them to confront the food and not be able to walk away from it. I have one that sounds exactly like yours and she is doing really well now but I do have to watch that I don't overfeed the BARF. After the dog has finished the serving of BARF then I give as many raw chicken necks as I think appropriate. BARF comes in chicken, lamb, pork, beef, rabbit and combination.

I agree, don't change if it is working out OK. You can always phone Hills and get their advice, after all it is their product. One of mine is on Hills I/D and I have had times that I have tried going onto other foods, including making it myself. I have to be guided by how my dog is coping at the time. There was a time she couldn't tolerate the I/D so I switched onto making chicken and rice myself. Then after a while I had problems with that so I changed to Scottys Nutraroll.....that lasted for about 1 week. Now we are back on the Hills I/D and it is currently being well tolerated. So, my advice would be if it is working at the moment, don't change it!

One of mine is totally hyperactive and it was driving me crazy. All my others were so well behaved but not this one. Everything naughty she did, everything fast and zoomy, she did!!! I embarked on a total revision of how I treated this dog and I can report back that after approx. 1 month she is greatly improved. How did I do it?? Obedience classes and 10 minutes practice every day plus daily walking of over 30 minutes. It helped my frustration levels and it greatly improved the communication between this dog and myself. My conclusion is that some dogs, like humans just need more training than others and actually look for 'rules & limitations'. You can't communicate with a dog successfully if it just doesn't understand exactly what you want and obedience training helps with that. You don't have to turn your dog into an obedience champion if you don't want to but you do need to communicate your rules, boundaries and limitations. Give it a go - you have nothing to lose except your dogs unwanted bad behaviour!!

Yep, S'n'T thats what I found with Supercoat but I thought it was just my big boy. Time of year & Malaseb are also factors in controlling his condition! However his poos on Supercoat aren't like landmines which is always a plus!!

Gross but strangely fascinating to watch!!! Edited to add: Love the scientific & exacting way the vet attacks the problem!!