Fitz and Amie

Fitz does both, I think it might have something to do with grass length in his case though, as well. If the grass is higher he tends to lift his leg, if not he squats. :D Maybe its cause hes so little He was desexed at around 1 year old, and started to do when he was an adolesent, around 8/9, or maybe 10 months of age.

We don't really have a list of things to get, usually when we do go to get food, we come home with some treats, and a few new toys (like they don't already have a million, lol). Sometimes if we see stuff on sale, we buy it, even if we don't really need it (for example, we have 5 dog beds, and 2 dogs ). We like buying pet stuff, we spoil our furkids terribly, but as a result, they don't usually touch our stuff, they have enough toys, and chews to keep them occupied, and stimulated. I guess the next essential thing that we need to buy is advocate for the cat, he has a 2 month supply left, and I don't like to let it get too low, I hate forgetting it, and realising that we have to delay treatment for a day or two, till we can get some more. We like to go on doggie (and kitten) shopping sprees, and getting a lot of stuff at once, when Fitz came home, we brought heaps of stuff at once, it was like christmas, lol. Same for Chade (our cat), we did not need much when Kettle came home, but we did get her a coller, specialised puppy food, and a toy of her own. We had so much doggie stuff, that we just did not need to get any more.

Thats not really the point I was trying to make, I was suggesting that if you are feeding raw, find a supplier that you trust, and investigate how the meat is handled, and where it comes from. I have read and heard from people who have found all kinds of nasty things in pet meat, (metal filings, dyes, ect.). I just think that no matter what you feed your dog, you should investigate the source of the meat, (even if it is just to ask around the other dolers, for a good high quality source). This is by no means a put down of BARF, just a note to be aware of what you are actually feeding your dog. As to how can I speak, I feed kibble , I feed a high quality dry food, that has had proven results with my dog, it has improved his health, and that is the most important thing to me Whatever works for whatever dog is the right thing to do, we tried BARF, and raw meat, it was illsuited for Fitz, that does not mean other dogs with normal stomachs (or even those with Fitz's condition), will not benefit from feeding raw food. I was simply stating what works for us, and pointing out that buying pre killed meat is still a form of commercial feeding.

Fitz and Chade (our cat) are both on eukanuba. It is harder to find euk cat food, but he looks so good on it Fitz also does really well on euk, and his health is improving dramatically since he has been on it. We also feed Fitz Natures Gift individual servings packets, and the cat gets a tin of Dine everyday (he really prefers the dogs food though, so I am hoping that Natures gift release a tinned cat food soon ).

We tried the raw diet for a time, and it was beneficial to Fitz for a week or so, after that he began to get sick again (he has an easily agitated stomach, and throws up a lot!). We ended up switching him to natures gift dog food (in the small single serves, we find he likes it better then the tinned food, and has less of a reaction to it). We also feed him eukanuba dry food, small dog maintance, and we have seen a dramatic improvement to his health and well being. I don't think he will ever be a solid little dog, but he has put on some weight, and he looks lovely. We have also noticed a difference in the number of times he is sick. We can only give him white treats (such as dentibones, and other dental aides), this is a little unfortunate as he really loves liver treats, but they upset him too much. We also used to give him chicken wings, but after we stopped giving him these his health improved again. Basically I think that whatever works for the dog is the best thing for them. While a raw diet is wonderful for most dogs, there are some out there that benefit from a commercial diet. That being said I picked a company that I trust, they do not use colours, artificial flavours, and the meat and other ingredients are human grade. This was really important to us, as any kind of artifical flavour, or colour upsets Fitz quite a bit. I also think that it is important to pick a food that has meat as one of the first three ingredients, this is why we picked eukanuba (and Natures Gift), it is a high quality food, that has a high meat content. I dont think that we can really compare pet food, even a raw diet, to what wolves eat in the wild. We buy pre killed food for our animals, and you must trust the source of this meat. Do you know the grade of the meat? Has it had dye in it, to distinguish between human grade and pet grade? Where has it been? How old is it? How has it been handled? Does it contain contaminents (both environmental and from the animal it came from? The list goes on and on really, if you wanted to feed a truely raw diet you would just buy rabbits to release into your yard so the dog could hunt for itself (I know no one would probably do this, Im just trying to illistrate that no matter what the manner of serving, your dogs are still eating a commercial diet, and you need to look at where the food is coming from, and how it is being prepared).

I feed natures gift too, and can highly recommend them as a great commercial alternative. Fitz has a weak valve in his stomach that makes him physically ill if he has most commercial food, and strangly enough he was worse on BARF, so I tried natures gift, and he is looking absolutly wonderful. We are really impressed with it. With a little bit of medication, his throwing up is now around once every few days, instead of 5 or 6 times a day. Its been sooo much better for all of us, especially the poor little dog

We were feeding BARF for a while too, and noticed the same thing with Fitz. We switched him over to Natures gift tinned food, semi moist food, and the occasional natures gift treat, which he loves. He has put on a little weight (a huge accomplishment for us, he recently hit the 2 kilo mark, Yay!), while Frosty just looks amasing. I also feed the boys some Eukanuba small dog food, and some supercoat puppy food (to help Fitz put on weight). The thing that I love about natures gift is, the food is made with all natural ingredients, has no dyes, colours or preservatives, and is made with human grade ingredients, so I know its safe for the dogs, and I know presisely what goes in it. I add the Eukanuba, and supercoat for their teeth, and to help beef Fitz up. I don't think that it really matters what brand of food you use as long as your dogs are healthy, eating, and have normal levels of energy. I prefer a commercial diet, but I like to know that the brands I use are safe, healthy, and mostly natural. If you are interested in a commercial diet try to go for the more expencive brands. I find that with such little dogs (and the fact that I don't have to feed as much Natures gift and Eukanuba) it evens the cost of the food out, and I would be spending roughly the same amount of money anyway, so I go with the brands that I trust. I have heard some truely horrific things about pal, and some of the other cheap foods, so I try to go to the all-natural foods to be on the safe side.

The boys always have dry food available, they don't eat it much, but its there to tide them over if they need it. They also get natures gift tinned food at night. When they get their bones they get them in the mornings. This is just the schedual that I have fallen into and I find it works well for my little dogs.

I feed a mixture, still plenty of raw bones, I just switched the BARF patties with Natures Gift. I learned all about the diet here though, and am glad that I do feed plenty of raw bones. I was running out of freezer space, and its a lot easier to buy the commercial food, then to make it myself and not leave anything out. After learning as much as I have here I did not want to go to Pal or some other cheap food, I heard about Natures Gift here, and thought I would give it a go, and the dogs are loving it and doing really well. So all happy here!

Ive noticed the same thing Griff and if anything they are looking heaps better on it, I think I was leaving something out of the BARF, and our freezer could not fit another thing in it anyway, lol. I had heard lots of good things about it, and after reading the ingredients list, I thought it was probably the best option in the commercial variety :D My Boys love it too, and get really excited when they see the can, lol. Edited to add I hope Harvey has stayed clear of the allergies :p

Oh I forgot to mention, Frosty is maintaining a really good weight, and looks lovely, all shiney and healthy. We have been struggling with Fitz's weight for a while now, and he actually looks good and healthy now. His coat is shiney and he has heaps more energy .

I have been buying the canned food for the boys to replace the BARF patties I was making, (I think I was screwing it up, and we really need the extra freezer space). But they are still on chicken necks, and a lot of other raw bones. I am going to try the dry food sachettes soon as well since the canned stuff is so good. I know that with the canned food you end up feeding less because it has concentrated nutrience (or something like that ). I buy the 700 gram cans and with the two dogs (which works out to be less then a doller a day with the two of them), I find it lasts for around 3 days (although they are toy breeds ). They also have a little dry food in the morning, and a chicken neck or a briskot bone. Fitz is actually putting on weight! A huge accomplishment for us, and him! Here is a link if you want to have a look around the site, it looks really good, and they are an Australian company, they also use all human grade products, which is pretty important to me http://www.naturesgift.com.au/ I hope they decide to sell their dry food in actual bags, I am also a little uncertain how long it will last with both the boys, but I will give it a go and see how it is .

We are feeding a similer food called Natures Gift, which is really good. I really like feeding it and the dogs are going well. :rolleyes: Edited for a typo , then re edited because I spelt edit wrong! Time for bed I think

Fitz has never had a flea either, but I still have him on Frontline anyway, just to ensure that he stays clear of them. It only takes one to get into the carpets, and I hate the thought of them all over the house. I brought the excelpet flea treatment once as a stop gap measure and it really did smell bad, and it is unsuitable for use on Chihuahuas, so please be very careful when buying flea treatment. I had brought some, got it home, then found that I could not use it on Fitz. I have been using it on Frosty, and it is pretty good, it got rid of his fleas, and has kept them away, although I do find that if I wait a day or so extra to put it on (to corrispond with his bath), that the fleas are back. Frontline is a lot better and it does ticks as well. I think that if you live in an area that has paralysis ticks it is better to reapply every two weeks, but in a non paralysis area it is safe to do monthly. You have to check the dogs daily no matter what you use in a paralysis area, and using frontline will kill the little blitters. I use heart guard, and a supermarket all wormer, and the dogs are doing well on this combo.

We have been trying out Natures Gift, and are really happy with it, it is made from human grade ingredients and is free of colours, artificial preservatives, animal by products, offal and cereals. We have been feeding BARF, but Fitz started to get sick again (he has had health problems since he came home), and I was worried that I was missing out on something that he needs, or that I was getting it wrong. I decided to go for something that was all natural and human grade instead of the cheaper brands, and we still give him plenty of raw chicken necks, and brisket bones. We have just replaced the BARF patties with the Natures Gift. We have found it to be really good, he looks amasing and his stools are smaller and firmer(they were pretty good on BARF, but are even smaller now). He has no doggie smell, and loves the flavours that his new food comes in, he has always liked a bit of variety. Frosty loves it too, and is looking as great as ever. The ingredients list varies with each flavor, but it is all fresh and natural, the can I am looking at right now ingredients list is 70% real chicken, with oats and vegetables. I find that it is concentrated, so you feed less. Here is a link to their website if anyone is interested in finding out more on them ;) . http://www.naturesgift.com.au/ BARF is probably the best way to go, but if anyone is looking for a great commercial diet (If like me anyone is worried about screwing up the BARF diet ;) :p , or does not have the freezer space [another concern I have, our freezer is packed, and I am having a hard time finding space for the BARF], or if anyone does not have the time to prepare the BARF) then I highly recommend Natures Gift, with the raw bones as an extra suppliment. Oh and I don't work for the company ;) I just reread my post and it does sound very PR like :D Just a happy customer I know it is cooked, but they are still getting heaps of raw foods, we often give the boys sardines and tuna, as well as their bones, liver treats, and the occasional peice of cheese. :p