Snuffle

Oh, cool. Thanks for that. I just assumed offal includes all internal organs. Wouldn't they get a little bit of grains in the wild in the stomachs/crops(birds) of some animals (maybe not as much as i'm feeding atm so i'll feed less or take it out completely). Re: complete/balanced- that makes sense Bully!! Thanks, i can't believe i never thought of it that way. So does my diet look close to complete/balanced or does it need a little more work? I might have to buy that book. So does that mean we are feeding a prey model diet with BARF, because we feed them the meat, offal and bones? Or does it include fur and the rest of it? How do people manage this? Thanks for your comments so far people!

I realized i do give her offal! She gets lamb heart once a fortnight. Each feed of veg and pasta is about 50g or a bit more. I usually boil the veg for a little bit so it's still firm but not too crunchy. I'm wondering now if that's the reason she eats a lot of grass which is passed in her faeces- she's having trouble digesting the veggies? I'll see how she goes after i start to blend it. Tia's fortnightly menu: WEEK 1 beef pieces lamb bones (ribs/flaps) & veg chicken wings & veg beef mince & pasta & 1tbs of vit/min Mix lamb hearts chicken necks & veg chicken/lamb mince & pasta & 1 raw egg WEEK 2 roo pieces lamb bones (ribs/flaps) & veg chicken wings & veg beef mince & pasta & 1 tbs vit/min Mix chicken frames chicken necks & veg chicken/lamb mince & pasta & 1 raw egg She gets a marrow bone once a week that lasts her the week, an ice block with a small bone/blood/veg/pasta/water & left overs in it once a week and, and Kramar dried treats every other morning in a Kong, treat ball or scattered around. I think i might replace once feed of the chicken/lamb mince with some kidney or liver(which is best?) and either replace a beef mince with fish or go half and half. I've often thought about fish but was unsure of how often to give it as i'm guessing in the wild they wouldn't come across it that often. I have a question. What is the prey model diet? I did a search on here and about a thousand threads popped up, most of which are in non-diet realated sections with millions of pages (which i am too lazy to search through so could someone please just tell me ) Thanks

Hey everyone, I've searched the health section but i cant really find the answers to the questions im wanting so thought i'd start another thread. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm looking for a dog 'dietician'/nutritionist or someone who specialises in formulating raw/BARF diets. Can anyone suggest names or websites where i might be able to get into contact with one? My dog has been on a raw/BARF diet for nearly two years. I've read recently that these diets can lack in certain vitamins/minerals and aren't 'balanced' and 'complete' like commercial dog food. Im a bit worried that she isn't getting all that she needs from her diet. I give her one tablespoon of Missing Link each week but somehow i just don't feel it's enough. I've never fed offal and would like to try but i don't know which ones to choose (as i've been led to believe too much of certain organs can be detrimental and cause the dog to 'over-dose' because these organs are usually high in one or two vitamins or nutrients etc. Is this true?). I've also read recently that dogs cannot fully digest vegetable matter and find it hard to process vegetable fibre. Also, i am vegetarian and am aware of the treatment of farm/factory animals and knowing that the meat that i buy for my dog comes from such places upsets me a bit. Is there a pet meat supplier in QLD that only uses organic, free range animal meat or does all pet meat come from the leftovers of farmed/factory bred animals that are kept and bred inhumanely? Thanks heaps in advance Snuffle

Thanks. She's an Amstaff cross 4yo. I'd love to do agility with her but living so far from the city makes it hard. Plus, i have other animals that need my attention so i really don't have the time either to compete professionally. I might like to set up something simple in the back yard but that's as far as it would go. She isn't social with other dogs either so at events she'd be more interested in the dogs than what we're there for!! I'll have a look on dogwise.com, ta. Obedience sounds good, but again we wouldn't go further than our backyard. A stronger bond between us is what i think we both need, so these activities will be good for us both, not just her mental state. Just gotta pull my finger out and get started!! It's going to be a lot of reading and learning but hopefully it'll do us good. Thanks. More ideas are welcome guys...

Thanks, Cosmolo, got that through. Will have a go on the weekend. Lablover- i don't want to enter her in obedience or anything (i don't think she'd ever be that good!) but i just want to do someting with her to keep her mind busy, make her feel she has a purpose. She's very high energy and i could walk her til she dropped but she is still seems unsettled. So hopefuly the mind games will wear her out. It'll be good too as she isn't the best behaved dog so the extra training will help. Ptolomy- thanks, i'll have a look at that. I think she'll enjoy the scent stuff coz she's always got her nose to the ground and is very eager to please, so hopefuly it'll all go well. Any other activities anyone can suggest???

Hey everyone, I'm wanting to involve my dog in activities such as these to get her mind working. I've been told to try the following: Scent detection Target training Tricks Obedience I live far from a major town so it's impossible for me to take her to training, so i'm going to have to learn it all myself. So are there any websites that anyone can suggest with any info or is there anyone who would be able to send me any notes on these activities? I was going to google them but decided to ask here first in the hope that i would be directed to the better sites. And please feel free to suggest any other training activities that i can teach at home. I've seen the words prey drive training and clicker training but am unsure if these are a method of training, tools or an actual activity. Any help will be appriciated Thanks, Snuffle