goldenclare

Awesome, thanks for all the great ideas! I did see the salmon heads etc at the fish market the other day but was worried about the bones - i guess they are pretty small and insignificant in comparison to the chicken bones they are already used to! how much do these normally cost? it's not an issue, im more curious than anything!

I introduced my dogs to BARF about 2 months ago - it's going great so far and the dogs look a thousand times better because of it. When it comes to the bone portion of their meals, I was just wondering if anyone can recommend anything except for chicken bones? They currently get frames, necks and wings but I'd like to give them some more variety. I feel more comfortable with softer bones... so what animal bones can I use?!! Any adviice would be much appreciated!

Before I switched to BARF I fed my goldens RC and highly recommend it. They have beautiful coats, nice white teeth, perfect weight and don't smell. Anyway, I thought a high % of protein was a good thing? Meat contains high levels of protein and that's what they would have eaten mostly in the wild? We still use the RC kibble as training treats.

great thanks - we'll give it a go :rolleyes: do you know how much it is (sorry for the hundreds of questions!)

We've got 2 x golden retreivers and our lawn is patchy all over! They have ACV in their water and also eat a raw diet but for us, doesn't make a huge difference. The funny thing is, when they first pee on the lawn it burns and goes yellow. However, a couple of weeks later we get this amazing green lush grass grow back in it's place!!

The patties need bone it it. You will notice in the brand name BARF patties that they have bone it it. Again I say TO FEED MEAT WITHOUT BONE CAN CAUSE LOTS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS. Use the chicken carcuss mince (puppy mince/dog mince), which has bone in it. Also ditch the quick porridge oats or cooked rice/pasta as dogs do not need this, it's not natural for them to eat, and grains cause alot of skin problems in dogs. Alot of the time people change to a BARF diet to get away from grains and to fix their dogs skin problems. The veggies should consist of alot of green leafy ones. The pattie mix only makes up 30-40% of her diet and the other 70% is chicken necks/wings so she is still getting the bone. Just in another format. I thought it was important to keep things varied? Please correct me if I am wrong. I've done loads of reading on this but it's one of those areas where you just keep on learning new things!

You can make your own BARF patties pretty easily. My pup loves these. We use Kangaroo mince which is high in protein and low in fat. She gets patties in the morning and chicken necks or wings at night. This recipe makes about 10 patties. 2-3 eggs (shells & all into blender first) 2 Garlic cloves Any assortment of fruit & vegetables, including banana, apple, peas (frozen thawed are good), cabbage, carrots, broccoli, spinach celery etc etc. (NO onion, which is toxic) Combine this veggie ‘mush’ with: 2 cups pre-cooked quick porridge oats (or cooked rice/pasta) Small carton yoghurt (100g) Flax seed oil (is best) or olive oil 2-3 dsrt spns Kelp powder 2-3 teasps Vitamins B (Brewers yeast) & C (calcium ascorbinate) –1tblspn each (These are both non-toxic & any excess is excreted via the urine). Apple Cider Vinegar, 2-3 dsrt spns Honey, 2 dsrt spns Mix thoroughly with 1kg of chicken or lean meat mince.

hi settrlvr, I did hear about this - is it at CAWA? Do i need to pay a training fee or register with anyone in particular or do I just turn up? I emailed CAWA to find out more but haven't heard back yet... Thanks! PS. That's right - it's the open show on 12th October. Hoepfully a nice day on the grass this time!

Thanks so much for the advice and Hesapandabear I'll definately check out that website. I'm really dreading it now because she is such a submissive dog and although very happy and 'brave' at home she rolls onto her back when other dogs and strangers approach her in the park. Now that's really going to look great in the ring!! We're working on it and socialising her as much as possible with nice dogs but it's certainly not happening over night!

hi - my 3 month old pup has been booked into baby class bitch in an upcoming WA show. I've been to a couple of shows before but only to watch and am really not sure how to prepare! I've been teaching her to stand on command. What else do I need to know? How am I supposed to find out? The shows in 2 weeks so its going to be a bit of a creash course! I think the canine association does show handling classes but not sure if we will make it in time! Any tips would be most appreciated!

Actually just found a picture of it to give you an idea of the size required. hope that helps. The wood is good - our new pup also used this crate while we were crate training and loved it because it was like a den.

Hi - we brought our male golden retriever over from UK and the crate was massive - jillybean is right, the dog has to be able to stand, sit and turn around. Im not sure about domestic travel but for the international flight they also require you to have a water bowl which can be refilled from the outside without having to open the gate. Airpets actually purpose built our crate and it's wooder. Where abouts in Oz are you? Ours is for sale!!

haha - sounds like Lani's lucky not to get peed on! weve just got back from puppy preschool and she had a great time. in just a week her confidence has grown so much. She wasn't visibly scared last week - just chilled out under the chair and making no effort to socialise. Tonight she decided to say hello to everyone and was top of the class when it came to learning how to lie down and go to bed - we taught that to her weeks ago! anyway, enough about my bragging - well, not quite - here's some more pics! http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp248/c...667379_8387.jpg http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp248/c...674477_4098.jpg gotta go! puppys to play with!

That's exactly what he does! He will literally hover over her until she's finished, to make sure he hits that exact same spot. It's not happening in the house anymore so I guess I'm not that concerned but just find it strange - especially as he rarely marks his territory when we're out walking!

hi ell&diesel, thanks so much for your advice - it really is useful! We're actually off to our second puppy preschool class tonight so I'm hoping she will come out from under the chair tonight! Last week it was all a bit scary plus the fact that it is scheduled at 7:00pm - 8:00pm and she is starting to get pretty sleepy at that point! She's also going to watch her brother and sister in the WA Golden Retriever Show tomorrow so another chance to socialise without her 'secruity blanket Spencer'! Thanks again and I'll try and get some more photos up soon! Clare

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp248/c...am/DSC06448.jpg Here's my babies!!

Hi All! It's my first post on the forum so be nice! My partner and I have recently added a second pup to our family. We already have a 2 year old male Golden Retriever which we brought with us when we moved over from the UK and our second pup is a 13 week old female Goldie. We had a few teething issues when the new pup first came home - i.e. if she had an accident inside the house, the bigger one would mark his territory on top regardless of the fact that he is toilet trained! Since then, everything has settled down and they are inseperable. I do have a couple of questions which I'm hoping someone might be able to address. 1. She (the pup) seems to have very little independence - she will willingly follow the older dog anywhere and everywhere but the minute you take her out on her own she cries until she sees him again. She also becomes very timid and submissive when approached by other dogs or humans which I find quite unusual for this breed. We've tried walking her on her own and holding little training sessions on her own but to no avail! I'd love to increase her confidence so any tips would be much appreciated! 2. She loves the older dog more than us! Any tips on bonding with her like we have with our older boy? 3. Will my older boy continue marking his territory forever? Thankfully, he no longer does it inside (Although we don't have many accidents anymore) but he still waits for her to go to the toilet and then proceeds to wee on top everytime she goes outside. Any advice would be much appreciated! Especially from anyone with multi-dog families! Thanks!