sheena

Sounds like she was feeding her dog a kibble full of rubbish as a lot of people do. It's pretty important when choosing a dog food to read the label carefully & avoid preservatives, fillers & anything artificial...what country has the ingredients come from....are they human grade etc etc. It would be interesting to know what she was feeding him, especially if any of the ingredients might have come from China,for instance. If I were feeding a completely raw diet, I would still be worried about what were in or on the the raw ingredients, unless I had grown them myself.

Thanks... I do the same (weigh and monitor everything that goes in their gobs).... I have one older dog with health issues who badly needs condition and the coconut oil hasnt made any difference to him and a youngster (8 months) who is maintaining condition very easily and I have cut his food back but he is getting loose in ligamentation - and I cant figure out if its an age thing or the coconut oil....and loose ligamentation is the last thing I want....... Just curious to know why you think the coconut oil could be responsible for loose ligamentation...surely it is only one small part of his diet, could it be something else you are feeding him, given that he is only 8 months old. What is his main diet?? Coconut oil is a low calorie oil & can reduce weight in some dogs or put it on in others...I think it has to do with how their thyroid is functioning. Im not sure that the coconut oil is responsible - but he has got a bit loose which could be due to his age and growth. Im a BH feeder and coconut oil is the only change I've made to their diet and its intersting watching the difference between the two dogs - one is putting on condition and the other isnt since adding it and I was just curious as to whether anyone else had noticed any changes in their dogs condition. Cheers I've noticed a HUGE difference in their coat condition & poos are still nice & firm & only two a day (I have mine on BH as well). I keep a good eye on their weight, but havn't had a chance to take them to the vets for a weigh-in since being on the oil. They don't appear to have had any weight change. Energy levels are great. I doubt (maybe wrong) if it could cause loose ligamentation, more likely to be the fact that your pup is growing....what has the vet said about it. Is your breed prone to it??

Thanks... I do the same (weigh and monitor everything that goes in their gobs).... I have one older dog with health issues who badly needs condition and the coconut oil hasnt made any difference to him and a youngster (8 months) who is maintaining condition very easily and I have cut his food back but he is getting loose in ligamentation - and I cant figure out if its an age thing or the coconut oil....and loose ligamentation is the last thing I want....... Just curious to know why you think the coconut oil could be responsible for loose ligamentation...surely it is only one small part of his diet, could it be something else you are feeding him, given that he is only 8 months old. What is his main diet?? Coconut oil is a low calorie oil & can reduce weight in some dogs or put it on in others...I think it has to do with how their thyroid is functioning.

Usually means a metric cup, like you would use for cooking. As someone else said it is only a guideline & all dogs, like people are different & it also depends on how active/not active they are. My 18 kilo BC gets one cup a day + turkey neck & my 22 kilo BC boy (10 months old) gets 1 & 1/2 cups a day for dinner, plus a turkey neck for breakfast. Plus they get training treats & if the turkey neck is not very big, then they will get sardines or mackeral or an egg or some meat with their kibble. They are very active dogs. I have also started adding 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to their kibble to counter the effects that daily swimming in the family pool has on their coats, & 1/4 teaspoon sulphur powder to help repel the ticks.

I fed my BC girl for the first 3 years on VAN + Raw + various suppliments. She looked good on it, but poos were always a bit sloppy. When I discovered Black Hawk, I switched her over to that & she just did so well on that, without any suppliments, so that is what she has had now for about a year. So, yes, I found VAN good, but I have found she does better on BH, plus it's more convenient & more economical. My BC puppy has known no other.

My two BC's are continuing to look good on the coconut oil despite their daily swim in the family pool & poos are still great. Another big plus is that I made the most fabulous Gluten Free Lumberjack Cake using coconut oil instead of butter & it turned out the best one ever. It gets a bit expensive though to use it in all the cooking compared to other oils or butter.

This pup may have been found on FB...does anybody know who the original poster was.

Hi Jigsaw I would LOVE to work out the 'off switch' but i dont know how to train that,i have been told that the dogs are in a second 'naughty' stage between 9 - 14 months. I have just started to trian them using a clicker and it seems to be having good results so far, they are putting 2 and 2 together most of the time with it and realising that each click is praise. I have been praising the dogs when they are just sitting and being quiet, and when they are going a bit mental, i call them into a sit and stay position to try to calm them down. Do you click & treat or click & just praise. Normally you would click & treat if you want them to put a high value on the clicker. If I just praised my two BC's when I clicked, they would soon lose interest in what I am trying to teach them. As soon as they realise I have the clicker, their mouths start to water & they will do anything to earn a click. Hi Sheena I do click and treat 99% of the time. One of the dogs will do ANYTHING for a treat and a click, but the other one is a bit like 'meh' when it comes to food treats as she isnt food driven. its driving me crazy trying to find her "thing" You could try the Look @ That Game (LAT) which is excellent for working breed dogs. It counter-conditions them to things they find overstimulating in the environment & I have had great success with it with my BC girl. For some yummy treat ideas here is what my dogs get I also keep dry treats on my body & a clicker, so that I never miss an opportunity to reward something good or inventive that my dogs might do.

Hi Jigsaw I would LOVE to work out the 'off switch' but i dont know how to train that,i have been told that the dogs are in a second 'naughty' stage between 9 - 14 months. I have just started to trian them using a clicker and it seems to be having good results so far, they are putting 2 and 2 together most of the time with it and realising that each click is praise. I have been praising the dogs when they are just sitting and being quiet, and when they are going a bit mental, i call them into a sit and stay position to try to calm them down. Do you click & treat or click & just praise. Normally you would click & treat if you want them to put a high value on the clicker. If I just praised my two BC's when I clicked, they would soon lose interest in what I am trying to teach them. As soon as they realise I have the clicker, their mouths start to water & they will do anything to earn a click.

This would be in part why Mandela can only handle a meal of VAN here and there .... I used the Dr Jean Dodds & Nutriscan Food Intolerance Saliva test and one of the ingredients he has proven to be intolerant to is soy. OT, can you link me to the thread where you spoke about these results? I don't know that I did, specifically, MEH. I'm sure I mentioned them in passing, as I've done here, but not so sure I spoke of them in detail or in a specific context. Why? And what results do you want to know, in particular? Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding what it is you really want to know ??? Oh - and OT, but I'd really like to know about the bad experience you've had with the use of Coconut Oil. That has me very interested. Feel free to PM me or to return to the other thread where that was discussed and asked, but I do genuinely wish to understand what negative/s you experienced. Erny...I too would like to know what MEH's bad experience with coconut oil has been, especially since she/he said him/herself that one should be very, very, very careful about claims.

I have an allergic dog and have had experience with coconut oil - I think it's very important to be very very very careful with claims. I am still very interested to know what your full experience has been with coconut oil, MEH. What the allergy was, what brand of CO, what did it do, how much were you using??????? You can't just make statements like this & not give us the details, especially when asked by those who are interested. You said yourself that you think it's so important to be very, very, very, careful with claims.

I believe it has to be given with food..did you do this. Otherwise it can react.

A Staffy pup in a canvas crate will not last more than a few minutes...he will just, one day, out of the blue, rip it to pieces, cause that's what pups do You don't want him escaping...you need a strong wire crate. With the wire tie, you can get two wire ties & stretch one, flat on the ground, between two pegs & clip the other one to it, so it acts like a runner, if you know what I mean. He can then run up & down the line.

Only tip I could give, is get him a strong wire crate with a canvas cover & also a plastic covered wire tie up line so you can tether him. Don't leave him tethered unsupervised. We find that crates & plastic covered wires for tethering, invaluable when travelling. Also remember, being a pup, to tether him well out of reach of things he can eat or destroy, like the wiring underneath your caravan or car. Good luck, what a lucky little boy.

great....I thought I'd had too much to

Please tell me I am not going mad....I was just reading a very confusing story about a blue pup "stolen" in Queensland (stolen by it's breeder ) I went to make comment & the whole post evaporated Please tell me that someone else saw the thread & that I am not going mad

Have you tried "shaping" her recall with a clicker.??

Just wondering why they call it the Gold Coast when it is 12 klm out of Ballina which is a long way from the Gold Coast It's only an unpowered camp site too.....so ummmm...not such a big deal IMO ;)

By then all the things we bought will have been worn out or loved to death, so, we will all have to start over again...that's if they have the same offer

By BH, Erny, I mean Black Hawk Holistic, but myself & others tend not to mention the full name, cause there are some people on these forums, who think we are advertising & some of us have been told not to mention it's name unless we are specifically on the Black Hawk post, so we try to abide by that. Any other brand of food can be mentioned, it seems, but not BH

Last night I had my "I must never, ever tug" BC girl tugging with me using the udder tug toy, so a big there. Puppy also thought it was great, but he would play with anything. They love the Isqueak balls. I bought a ball holder to put on my belt, from CR & the ISqueak go's in there. Tried it out on my walk this morning...they had great fun with their recalls everytime I would squeak "my horn", they would come running, sitting in front of me for a treat then off again, till I squeaked again. They didn't even get to play with the ball, just loved the sound. My shoes are great...hope you have as much luck with yours, Megan.

The oil they are getting from their BH seems to be quite sufficient during the cooler months, but it's just lately with the daily swimming in the pool & bleaching of the sun that I felt they needed a bit of a lift, hence trying the CO. The difference in just one week has been very encouraging. I am keeping a good eye on their poops & so far they are still firm & no increase. What I am mindful of, is keeping an eye on their weight as I have read quite a bit that CO can actually reduce the weight in some dogs & I don't want that.

AA...there are some people on DOL that would attack you no matter what you said....In my house we call them "Pisards" not sure if that is a true word, but a pisard is someone who will argue with you about anything, no matter what. No point in arguing with pisards, you just simply ignore them. For Hardy's A to say you should have put a disclaimer in when quoting someone elses testimonial, then why didn't HA require that I put a disclaimer in when I posted the link to "80 different uses for coconut oil". Ignore them....I am interested in what you are saying & I am sure others following this post are too. That doesn't mean I am going to suddenly throw out my tick prevention & slather my dogs in CO as HA implies. HA implies that we are all stupid. There are a couple of posters here which from now on, I am not even going to bother reading, as they are clearly just trying to interrupt the thread.

I would be getting the professionals in.

A bit OT, but Jetty, who is that georgous little dog in your aviator