Pixie's mum

Another great idea. Straw would have to be easier to clean up than the millions of little pieces of foam and fabric that came out of the futon.

Thanks GeckoTree Sounds like he would eat it anyway.

Hi Sandgrubber Because the dogs sleep inside their beds need to be semi attractive - I couldn't stand seeing something too ugly inside

Thanks Kody's mum - some good ideas there. It's definitely given us some options when we thought we were out of them.

Thanks Odin-Genie, there were some great ideas there. Will try the aeroguard on our next purchase for sure.

Thanks Fiona I did a search and they came up, though it seems very similar to the futon with the custom made cover so I'm not sure if we will have anymore success with it. Thought the canvas cover was a great idea ($160) and would last forever - he destroyed it completely within 3 weeks.

Thanks Sounds like another failure. They need a bed but I have no idea what to do.

Hi We have a 3 year old female bulldog and a 1 year old male. Our male, Fergus, has eaten his bed again. This time it was a futon that we had a canvas cover especially made for. He does get a small walk each day though he has elbow dysplasia and we are unable to exercise him enough to stop his destruction. Any suggestions for an indestructible dog bed? Anyone tried sheepskin? Will he eat that as well? Thanks

Our 3 year old got mange as a 5 month old pup. We barf feed her, though she had parvo as a 10 week old pup, which we think severely suppressed her immune system. The vet gave her weekly injections for about 6 - 12 weeks (sorry can't remember it was a long time ago) and her skin cleared up. She had quite a few scrapings over about 2 months before they were able to diagnose the problem and commence treatment. The treatment went well - she still loves the vets and is now a very fit and healthy girl. One point to note though - the vet suggested desexing (which we were doing [and did] at 6 months anyway) as it can be a genetic issue.

We have bulldogs and our nearly 3 year old female was really good with bones until we got her a friend. Ever since then she scoffs and we had an emergency trip to the vet (she nearly died - passed out in the car, releasing her bladder and bowels etc.) We thought it was just unlucky until the same thing happened one night - fortunately we managed to rip it out as the vet was closed. No more bones for our two however they do get minced chicken wings as part of their BARF diet - not ideal we know but we think it is better than a dead dog or processed food.

Our 9 month old pup has suspected elbow dysplasia - nothing has shown up on his xrays yet however the specialist thinks it will within the next few months. Whilst we are willing to do whatever we need to for our pup we are hoping that surgery won't be necessary. We barf feed our dogs which I have read is beneficial and he is also on a few supplements recommended by the naturopath at www.greenpet.com.au They have been fantastic and cured our female's allergies about 18 months ago which prompted us to see if they could benefit our male. They have him on technyflex capsules, ester c and two homeopathic remedies. They also recommended a reduced amount of bone meal and he is now on 1/3 raw meaty bones, 1/3 vegetables and 1/3 meat (mainly chicken, turkey and salmon). They also suggested we limit his red meat intake. He's only been on the treatment for about a month and as yet there have been no drastic improvements however we figure it is worth a try. Fingers crossed you find something that works really well for you -we have ours crossed here for an improvment.

I wanted to vaccinate with Nobivac so that we could start socialising at 12wks but our vet didn't do them. I really regretted not pushing the issue as we couldn't begin socialising until 18 weeks. 6 weeks makes a big difference and Fergus was quite scared of cars etc. for a while after we were allowed to take him out. Having previously cared for a parvo pup (who got it at 10 weeks after never being outside) we were not willing to risk taking him out until he was fully vaccinated. In saying all that he is such a happy, social 7 month old puppy now and our female who had parvo is also very happy and social and just over 2 years old.

Try squirting with a water pistol - it works for us although our 2 year old still needs a squirt fairly often. :D

Pineapple definately works - our little pooeater loves pineapple and won't eat poo when he's eaten it. Needs to be daily to work though. We have a bowl in the fridge and give it out as treats.

We barf feed our dogs and from what I have read my understanding is that raw fat is fine but if it is cooked fat (like leftovers) it can turn rancid and cause issues.

One of ours is a poop eater as well. According to the vet some dogs just like the taste. I'm assuming that some nutrients would come out unabsorbed and possibly the salt also.

Our dogs only like the kongs when they are full of something yummy - but they absolutely love their nylabones and will chew on them for about an hour or so before having a nap.

We also only use water however we were told to use vinegar if need be. I would imagine most dogs wouln't need the vinegar. A spray on the backside works well however if our dog if going feral we do squirt her in the face - which stops her - as she bites really hard (rarely now thank goodness) - but if she starts to bite we tell her no and growl - if she doesn't stop - she gets a squirt. She is quite a dominant dog though.

Our 2yo female had a similar problem when she would get over excited. We carried a water spray bottle set to jet and shot her in the face (this was suggested at dog obedience). It is highly effective even with our dog that loves water. If it doesn't deter they suggested 10% white vinegar mixed in with the water as they don't like the smell (and keep adding up to 50% if need be). We didn't need the vinegar a growl and a spray stopped her every time. We used this correction for any unwanted behaviours such as barking at other dogs and still use it to this day if our dogs start to wrestle inside the house. Most of the time a growl and a shake of the bottle works we don't even need to spray her. Good luck.

Wow he is just gorgeous. Love that smile and so glad he is on the mend.

I also read Claire Middles' book and was trying to feed our 2y.o. once daily. The problem was that she can't eat as much as she needs in one sitting and two seems to make her more comfortable.

Poor little Radar. I hate toads we've got plenty up here as well. Fingers crossed he gets better quickly.

Get hold of Ian Billinghurst's "Give your pup a bone" book. You can buy it on the internet and it is very useful.

Sorry you miss out on your holiday this time but I'm sure you will have many great more holidays with your new family member.

I've read in a few barf books that as long as the bone is raw than bacteria - for a healthy dog - is not a problem.