Azurite

As someone who just recently went through the process of selecting a new lab puppy I can say I have seen this happening in the advertisements here on DOL. Right now just looking at ads from NSW only, there is a bitch for sale on mains register who "can be transferred to the limited register on request for a greatly reduced price." There is also an ad for an upcoming litter which states that all puppies will be sold on the main register. :D They have not even been born yet! Yet another ad states "The pups are priced at $1000.00 Limited Registration as Pets. Main Registration is available upon negotiation to responsible parties." We can only hope the negotiation only applies to pups suitable for main registration but it doesn't necessarily read that way. Going back to what was said earlier about breeding for colour, there is also an ad for puppies in which the chocolate puppies are priced $200 higher than the yellow puppies. These are the ads that NSW lab puppy buyers are looking at right now! You have to wonder what this is going to do to the breed over time. Then there are also the breeders with "gold" Labradors. A minor quibble perhaps, but makes you wonder if some of these breeders have even bothered to read the breed standard.

Thanks! Added Proplan to the list.

I understand the concern, but I'm not sure how else to confirm whether the food has been irradiated or not other than the statements made by the importers/manufacturers on their websites and to DOLers who have inquired. I don't know how legally binding these statements are or whether there would be any legal repercussions if they were found to be lying. Molasseslass apparently tried to obtain a list of foods that were not irradiated from AQIS but was denied as this would have violated the manufacturers privacy rights.

Thanks InspectorRex!

Thanks tpl! Will add Dick Van Patten to the list.

I thought it might be helpful for everyone considering a new dog food after this irradiation/Orijen fiasco, if we had a list of foods which manufacturers/importers have stated (through personal communications with DOLers and statements on their websites) are not irradiated collected in one thread. So far we have: - Artemis - California Natural - Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance - Eagle Pack - Eukanuba - Evo - Great Barko - Iams - Innova - Nutrience - Proplan - Royal Canin - Uncle Albers - Ziwipeak Thanks to everyone who has contacted the pet food companies and posted their statements.

Eagle Pack is apparently not irradiated. I e-mailed them earlier this week and this is the reply I got:

Perhaps the cats that didn't get sick, weren't being feed solely on Orijen? This is why I like to feed a vaired diet, at least then you're less likely to get deficiencies or excesses.

For those concerned about the irradiation of Eagle Pack foods this is the reply I got: So it would appear Eagle Pack foods are NOT irradiated upon importation to Australia.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had totally forgotten about Artemis. I was considering it before I settled on Orijen. Might have to give it ago.

This is something I'm also thinking about now. I'm feeding Orijen (make that was) at the moment. But now I think I might have to look at an Australian brand. Trouble is they just don't seem to be of the same quality. I'd like to know if Eagle Pack is irradiated or not. I was feeding BARF but one of my dogs can no longer tolerate it since developing insulinoma.

Hi Jackie. Sorry I didn't see the thread sooner, I haven't been on DOL much lately. Thanks for the link to the support group. Raffles is doing pretty well currently (and about a month out from his 14th birthday which I was afraid we might not see). Although we had to take him off the prednisolone a couple of months ago as the muscle wastage was severely debilitating him. He was unable to even support himself to do his business, so we decided the seizures were the lesser of the two evils. Since he has been off the steroids his muscles have gradually built up again and he has regained his mobility. I'm happy to say so far (touch wood) we have not experienced any seizures since taking him off the steroids, in fact his blood sugar last time we tested was higher than when he was on the steroids, which has our vet baffled. I hope Jamie is doing ok on the steroids. I think we were a bit unlucky though, as Raffles pretty much experienced every possible side effect there is.

Oh right! Sorry I can't read today! I don't blame poor Giz for not being impressed! What an unpleasant way to have to take your medicine! I've read a few websites that suggest that grains and carbs are bad for a dog with cancer as the tumour/s just metabolise them and grow, so I've swapped to a grain free kibble (Orijen) is this what you mean? His main meal is BARF, fortunately my vet doesn't seem to take an issue (they actually have a very limited stock of dry foods). Most vets around here at the very least recommend bones. Thanks again, I appreciate it!

That's awful! I've heard about the increased appetite and weight gain but not the blindness and incontinence. Thanks for the link, I'll send an e-mail and see if they can give me any advice.

Thanks for the reply JackieW. It's a tough choice to make, I'm still second guessing myself as to whether I should run the risk of the surgery or go with the corticosteroids, unfortunately the surgery is useless if you wait until things really get bad. It's a catch-22 kind of situation. Do you mind if I ask what your experience was with the steroids? What blood glucose readings does Jamie usually get? Raffles' are constantly around 2.8.

Thanks again Staffyluv, I will look into the Vit C supplement. I think most of the medical therapy is more directed at controlling the blood sugar and preventing hypoglycemia/seizures than actually attacking the tumour/s. Insulinoma is basically reverse diabetes (too much insulin not enough glucose) caused by insulin secreting tumour/s. Corticosteroids (prednisolone) seem to be the most widely used treatment. Chemo seems to be a last resort. At this stage we are having reasonable success controlling his blood sugar with diet and honey for when he has seizures, so he hopefully won't need any medication for a little while yet. I'm not near any capital cities, so my choice is a little more limited, but thanks for the recommendation, I'll check out All Natural Vet Care and maybe shoot them off an e-mail.

Hi JackieW. Did Jamie get pancreatitis as a result of the surgery and was there a large tumour visible in ultrasounds prior to the surgery? No tumours were visible in my boy Raffles' ultrasound which makes me suspect there's multiple miniscule tumours. Have you found, certain foods or a particular feeding regime have helped to keep Jamie's blood glucose stable. I hope Jamie continues to do well.

Thanks for the advice Staffluv . I had a bit of a read of your thread on Ollie, I'm glad to hear he is doing well now. I understand there are different anaesthesias, but I'm just so nervous about the prospect of putting him under. Last time he was just given a sedative, enough for a 15 kg dog (he's 25 kg, or was before the hypoglycemia) and he was an absolute mess for 24 hours, he couldn't even stand up and barely raise his head. Plus there is the added worry of his age, hypoglycemia and the pancreatitis that would result from the operation. If I felt the benefits outweighed the risks, I might be more inclinded to try the surgery. I don't actually know what sedative they used on him last time, we've actually changed vets in the midst of all this because we were so disgusted with the way they treated us when we had an emergency trip to the vet one night (you'd think it was probono ). But I suppose he may react differently to an anaesthetic than a sedative too. I don't think chemo has much effect on this type of cancer unfortunately, but I'll bare that in mind if it comes up. The holistic therapy is something I've just started looking into and is definetly something I intend to pursue. He's easy enough to get a fish capsule into, he just eats the whole thing no worries. He's currently on a sort of BARF/hybrid diet. He gets human grade minces (beef, chicken, turkey, roo etc.) wth his veggies mixed in. He also gets chicken necks or wings and a few times a week a chicken frame or lamp flap as a replacement for the mince mix. He gets about 1/2 cup of Eaglepack holistic biscuits as well, but I've been reading a few things about grains "feeding the cancer" so I've been looking into trying out one of the grain free foods maybe Orijen. Where abouts can I purchase a vitamin C supplement?

Thanks Lucknow. That web page has some good information. We're leaning towards medical therapy rather than surgery at the moment due to the risks and the fact that in most cases the relief is only temporary, he also hasn't done well being sedated/anaethatised in the past and I worry that surgery might squander or shorten any time or quality of life he may have left.

Hi, my 13 year old boy has just been diagnosed with insulinoma and I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with this type of cancer? I did a search but didn’t get any results. I understand it is considered rare (not rare enough apparently). If anyone would care to share their experiences/advice I’d greatly appreciate it?

That was one of the sources I also read. Everything else I've read seems to concur that the old studies were flawed and that high protein levels are fine. I'm probably just being overly cautious since I only just found a food I'm happy with (EP). I'll probably give one or both of them a test drive when the EP runs out. This was another article I found: Protein and Kidney Failure

I've been wondering about the high protein levels in both the Orijen and Artemis Maximal too. They look like overall excellent products but I've also heard conflicting information. Although the general consensus seems to be that high protein is no longer considered to cause kidney failure, though it may cause issues for puppies (esp. large breeds). I'm debating whether to give them a test run or not. I hope the trial goes well for others.