ClareL

"Various mammals are omnivorous by nature such as bears; coatis; canines like gray wolves or dingos; hedgehogs; opossums; pigs; some primates including chimpanzees and humans; raccoons; rodents including chipmunks, mice, rats, and squirrels; skunks; sloths; various birds whose prey varies from berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, small rodents, and snakes; cassowarys; chickens; corvids including crows, magpies, ravens, and rooks; keas; rallidae; rheas; some fish such as piranhas; some lizards; and turtles. Their diet consists of both meat and vegetable matter." Direct from wikipedia I know lots of people disagree with me and thats fine. I didn't say they ate wheat/grain but they do eat vegies which you with find included in most dog foods. Most of those animals people would say are carnivores, i have done a lot of research on the topic and i think you will find a lot of vets agree they are omnivores. Not trying to convert anyone never have never will, (the very reason my dogs eat meat) just i always have people say they are carnivores same as people say it about humans, and yes they have the teeth to eat meat thats because they are omnivores and would still eat meat.

They actually aren't carivores they are omnivores (same as humans) which makes a huge differance. Cats are carnivores so i dont own one. Not that i want to start an argument on the matter but they get meat in their dry food anyway. And ocassionally they get bones that i dont give them my partner does so their teeth are good. They have had eagle pack then advance then supercoat, refused to eat the first 2 and 3rd made one of them vomit. The greatest length i have managed with meat is smackos But thanks for all the advice

Thanks for that i'll check. I haven't put them on fresh meat because i'm vegetarian so not good with meat they get some when im not around and my partner gives them some but thats why i have them on dry food.

Just wondering what people thought of the new pedigree complete diet dry food that has come out? I have had a lot of trouble getting my dogs to eat the more up market stuff and was wondering if this is any good? Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions. I think the little one gets smelly because the slobber makes him wet and they roll in the grass, plus all his hair clumps together. We have only had him just over a month but he came from a rescue and had his hair all cut off because it got matted so i really dont want him to have to go through that again. I think we will wash him weekly and just keep an eye on him make sure his coat stays nice. Thanks for all the advice

Had the same problem with my pom X chi who is now 19. Vet said nothing wrong with her gums and cleaned her teeth but she got bad breath again days later. She did have gum disease and now she only has 3 teeth as half had to be removed and they just keep falling out now. Just be careful it isn't really gum diease.

I run a dance school and work with kids, might sound harsh to say this but there is kind of the same risks involved. We have a stage in our hall and i was running my class up one end and my sister had left her kids up the other on the stage. One kid for no apparent reason ran straight off the stage (I saw it happen but was too far to stop it) she hit the floor so hard and luckily for us she didn't hurt herself just gave herself a good scare. Now we are liable for that happening if she had to go to the doctors we would have had to pay for it, i would have offered (Mum never asked apparently the girl had done stuff like this before and she wasn't hurt so i didn't offer no need) I pay someone to watch my dog i expect them to watch the dog. This person isn't seeking money for emotional stress just for the direct costs, they haven't told her what happened so either they are trying to hide it as they know they are in trouble or they weren't supervising therefore liable and they should have insurance so they should pay the vet bill, no ongoing costs if the dog loses his leg as it was an accident but the direct costs of that accident. I drive my car into yours its an accident but you still want me to pay to fix your car dont you?

Both of my dogs made a gross going to vomit kind of cough when i got them from a rescue so i worried they had caught something while in the pound (they both came from Mildura. However my vet suggested that it was probably from have a tube down their throat when they were desexed and it would get better and eventually stop which it did. So maybe its the same thing.....

Thanks I dont think spraying him with odour things will help as his fur gets clumpy (he is maltese X jack russel i think maybe some pom too) the other dog is a staffordshire bull terrier but just using water and a cloth might help so i'll give that a go. Thanks

Hi i have to inside dogs and they both like to jump all over and mouth (bite but no teeth if you know what i mean) each other which has been fine but it makes one of the dogs very smelly which saliva all over him. I would like to bath them every saturday but i was told if you bath dogs too much it can give them dandruff? Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for your help guys, im not in nsw i am in melbourne so i feel a bit bad calling a business to ask for advice when i can't use them at all. I have looked at a few other posts and am just going to try stopping when he pulls and making him walk back before i let him go forward again with a loose leash. Thanks for the help

Hi, I have 2 dogs, one is terrible at walking on a lead he always pulls and if he sees another dog goes nuts trying to get at it. He is quite good when introduced to other dogs but terrible if not allowed to run over have a couple of barks and calm down he is the same with people (luckily he is only little we think maltese X jack russell so people aren't scared of him) Anyway we were wondering if there was any ideas from people on how to train him for this, he is 18 months and not had any training so he is a bit slow but has started to learn things like sit etc so i think he is trainable.

Why would I rehome the small dog when he hasn't done anything? We are looking into getting a trainer for Chuck the staffy, I think our real problem is he thinks the second dog is a toy to play with. He has gotten slightly better with the constant telling off for biting.

The staffy has finished all the tablets the vet gave us. The ringworm is no longer red and is completely flat so we believe its gone but we are still using antifungal cream and wash his blankets and stuff incase as the hair hasn't grown back in those spots yet. I've kept them apart the past day except when either myself or my partner is around and we have found giving him a toy more effective than telling him off. Steve (2nd dog) is getting better at telling him off too. We did take the staffy to meet the 2nd dog before we got him and were advised they would be ok together and 2 males is ok because they are both desexed. The staffy is still a puppy and trains pretty easily (he is toliet trained will sit let go of toys not steal food) so we are hoping he will be fairly easily trained to stop biting the other dog as it isn't aggressive just play biting. The other dog however isn't so easily trained as he is 18 months and doesn't know any commands which i think encourages the staffy to play up. Thanks for all the advice.

Thanks I am in melbourne. Apart from the one incident he has been really good, he has had ringworm and hasn't been able to go to training yet but I will look into it maybe he can have some one on one training. Thanks

Hi. I have a pure breed staffordshire bull terrier (we think could be a X) and a little bout 6kg mixed breed dog we have just got and just pit together. They are getting on pretty well but the staffy like to play more than my other dog and will bite him if he ignores the staffy. Wasn't a big deal the mixed breed would growl and the staffy would let go or we would tell him off and he would let go. But yesterday the staffy got the mixed dog by the ear and started dragging him backwards and he started crying really badly and they were in another room so took me a second to get to them and i actually had to pick the Staffy up. We are just worried now about leaving them alone during the day while we are at work and wondered if we should separate them or if there is any right way to train the staffy not to do this. It was just a once off incident so far I just worry because the staffy could fit the other dogs whole head in his mouth and I dont want him getting hurt. (Neither are aggressive dogs just excitable and playful. Thanks in advance

Hi my partner and I just got our second dog and i got lots of help here with the first and I just have one more question for the other dog. Our new dog is a maltese X but I dont see any maltese so i think they just said that to give him a breed he is just a little scruffy dog. Anyway he is about 18 months old and a stray, if he did have an owner he wasn't very well taken care of he had to have a lot of fur cut off and is really skinny. When you pat him you can feel every rib so he needs to put on a fair bit of weight. What is the best way to do this he doesn't eat very much and hasn't gained any weight (only been about a week but still think he should have gained some) so is there anything I can feed him that will help?

Hi all, I took Chuck to the lost dogs home in north melbourne. They gave him his shot despite antibiotics after checking his temp and everything as he is 18 weeks they thought he was better off to have it. They also said there is no need for him to go back unless his ringworm gets worse or there is a change in his behaviour. They were really good and suggested most of the other things like washing his bedding to get rid of the ringworm instead of just the antibiotics. I will keep him on them until I run out and then just continue with anti fungal, shampoo and washing everything like the 2nd vet and everyone here suggested. Thanks a lot to everyone you were all far more useful than the vet we were seeing.

He was about 13-14 weeks here we think he a a pure breed (or a breeder did) but don't know.

Thanks The vet just told us he needed antibiotics and that was it. We did however call the shelter to let them know he had it so they could keep an eye on the other dogs and they said to put antifungal cream on it and shampoo him which we have done also. I've been a little sus on the vet as they are always trying to sell us stuff and need to look at him every week, the next appointment is for the shot but i dont think they have any intention of giving it to him. But I think we may change vets because I dont think they are doing the right things more concerned about booking the next appointment and they know we dont know what we are doing yet He is about 17-18 weeks and he had C3 and kennel cough 4 weeks ago and is due to have the same again i think and then once a year after that but I just gave the vet the papers the shealter gave me so it might be a differant shot this time (C5 or something) not sure but both said he needed it. Thanks so much for the help

Hi and thanks for any help anyone can offer. I just got a staffy and as he was from a pound he came down with ringworm a couple of days after we got him. We didn't relise what it was so it was another couple of days till we took him to the vet (thought he had just been checked and was on his leg so we thought it was just a knock). Anyway our vet has insisted on seeing him every week despite telling us he would need 3 weeks of antibiotics. We were a day late going back one of the times as we just couldn't get there(would only give us a week at a time of the tablets) so it flared up and he now needs another week on the tablets. Anyway i have enough tablets now to wait out another week before he goes back but he is due for a shot tomorrow, i rang the vet and asked if he could still have it or if we should wait till he is off his tablets, they said it is important they see him again and they will check his immune system to see if he can have to shot. So basically my question is I think they are ripping us off and I dont think they have any intention of giving him the needle as he is on antibiotics so can he have the needle if he is on antibiotics? Thanks for any help

Thanks again for all the advice, he actually wasn't feed at all while at the pound as they were going to put him down and we have no histroy before that, and the shelter only had him 2 days. I understand people saying he is a meat eater but we really want him on dry food (it has meat in it but can't smell it so i am ok with it) as thats what he is going to get probably 99% of the time as that is what I can feed him (I know people think its weak saying I dont like raw meat but I haven't eaten meat since 7 years of age and I won't even stay in the house when my partner cooks it as it makes me sick) He will get some but can't come to rely on it. I will probably start mixing some advance in and see how he goes. Thanks for all the advice again!

Thanks for the suggestions, he is just on dry food im vegetarian so i dont deal well with raw meat/wet food but i might get my partner to give him some just to add to the pedigree Thanks

Hi my partner and I just got a staffy puppy from a rescue called Pet's Haven, problem is he is a fussy eater. We first tried him on Eagle Pack which he didn't like, then we tried Advance which he also didn't like, we tried Supercoat and it made him vomit and finally my partners Mum gave him puppy pedigree which he loves. Is it ok to feed him on that? We are completely confussed as I have only ever had one other dog and she is 19 and will only eat cat food so not a good basis to go on. I have read some things which say it is terrible and some say it is ok. All we can work out is that it has less calcium but we can give him puppy milk for that (I know that has a lot of fat but he came from a pound where they didn't feed him so he is too thin anyway.) Thanks for any opinions Clare