MissLotus

Double Bliss - thanks for you advice, it does sound like she could be suffering from anxiety slightly. I'll do what you have suggested about putting her in the crate earlier and popping in and out so she knows that we are still around. Gretel - personally for us, we prefer our dogs not to sleep in our room. They are indoor dogs, but if we are not crate training them, they sleep in our spare room. Plus out room isn't big enough to have a crate in it and also there is the couple intimacy part to. ;) Poodle fan - she is 1 years old and desexed. I haven't had a look into a dog door in the crate, if that is what you mean. She's booked in to get her annual vaccination, so I will also get the Vet to do a thorougher check. Thanks for the advice.

We have a 1 year old CKC who's house train however since day one, we have had some issues with toilet training her in her crate and it's now driving me insane (I have posted some thread about this a few months ago) and questioning my methods again. When we first brought her home, straight away, she slept in her crate and she would do the occasional pee at night. She doesn't bark or whimper, so I cannot tell if she needs to go. People have suggested in the past, it could have been how she was toilet train with the breeder and it will take awhile to break her out of the habit. I had divide the crate in half, so she couldn't pee and sleep on the other side. To this day, she still doesn't have full access to the crate. I would wake up about 3 times a night to take her out to pee. After a few weeks of this, I brought the crate into my room, as it's easier for me to be able to hear her. It took awhile, but she eventually got the hang of holding in her pee into the next morning. About 6 months ago, I moved her from her room into her own room and it was touch and go. Some nights she was fine, other nights she would pee again. SO again, i brought her back into my room to keep an eye on her for a few months and I have not had an accident since. She would sleep for the full 9 hrs or so until I wake up next morning and let her out. 3 days ago, I moved her back into her room and 2 out of the 3 nights, she has peed. Last night, I woke up at 3am to let her pee, my partner took her out first thing in the morning (6am) to pee, but to my surprise there is still a pee mark on her bedding. This is becoming quiet frustrating as she cannot continue sleeping in our room. Why is she peeing when she's by herself? Do I leave her in that room and wake up in the middle of the night to take her to pee? There are no accidents in the house when she is left alone. So I am really puzzled to why she would pee in her bedding. If i took her crate back into our room, guaranteed there will be no accidents. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Hi, Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried again for the second time and this time with more luck . I went back to the basics and took each dog for a walk individually around the block with the aim of tiring them out, which worked. I then took both of them to the driveway with each leash on my left hand. I didn't use a head collar for the older one, this time I used a choker chain (surprisingly, this worked well and no pulling was involved, I head the head collar on standby incase he was pulling way too much). I didn't budge until both dogs were calm and sitting by my left side. I found that if one leash is slightly shorter than the other, both dogs were easily manageable. If they were getting too distracted, I would sprint into a run to get both dogs to run loosely on the leash again then slowly go back into a walk. It's early days so we are not the perfect walkers yet, but it was nice to go for an hour stroll without having to hurry up the walk to take the other dog for a walk.

I walk one with a head collar and he walks by my left side loosely. The younger one, I have her on the harness and majority of the time I can have the lead loose, however she is still getting distracted now and then. When my partner and I walk each dog together, there may be the occasional "I don't want to be left behind" case. So when the footpath allows us, we walk side by side, with the dogs slightly in front but not pulling on the leash. When one pulls, we stop walking.

Hi, I have two small dogs and walking them individually hasn't been a problem. Today was the first time I took them for a walk together... total disaster..... I had the two dogs in my left hand with individual leashes, one kept on pulling and zig zagging across. I found it very hard to do the quick pull and release motion with the dog that was pulling without tugging on both of the leashes. So within the first 3 minutes around my court, I had to put one dog inside the house and just took each dog for an individual walk. Any helpful hints to get them to walk with each other. If I can get them to walk with each other, it would be a lot easier on me and longer walks for them :rolleyes:

Hi, I've been using Revolution for the last year and has been recently advise by the vet that Advocate or Advantage (I can't remember what he said) was better purely because it had heartworm stuff. I went to pet place today and asked for Advantage (because I thought that what the vet said) and she recommended that Advocate was better, because you don't have to give them there yearly injections. Is this true or would I still give them their yearly injections? So know I'm confuse which was the better product. What brand do you use? Brgds

Hi Jacqui, And if you do go down the track of feeding him a raw diet, check out the thread "Raw/natural Chitchat " - I'd found it very insightful and have completely modify my two dogs eating habits

Hi, my 2 year old Maltese cries and barks in the car, it's enough for "ME" to jump out of the car window. We have tried everything under the sun and he still doesn't like the car very much. He has his highs and lows. However, when we travel back him, he is very quiet and only barks when he knows we are around the corner from home. We've treated him in the back (obviously when he isn't barking), i've taken him to doggy play dates, to the vet etc, still a very vocal dog. I'm even thinking about trying to muzzle him to see if that helps. Her sister, she is perfect in the car, just curls up and sleeps. I am still working on him before I put the two in the car together. Any other suggestions would be great, as I will be taking him to classes on Monday nights for 6 weeks, I cannot stand his high pitch barks in the car.

I get the same reaction from anyone that hears that name "Mumble" what's worst is when they see him, very characteristic hehee Mumble actually came from the cartoon "Happy Feet" just never had the heart to changed the name when we adopted him from a friend of ours at 8 weeks. Huskyheaven, how long was it until Asher fully recovered from the rash? I've been back and forth to the vet for the last 1.5 months, however it wasn't until 2 weeks ago i'd realize we had the jews growing in his area. He is also on cortisone (which i think is getting him grump) and is also coned to stop him from irritating his rash even more. I might try the Primrose Tablet - i take it we are talking about human tablets? Mumble was only on one meal a day until we got Annie 3 months ago, and I guess it was a convenient thing to also give him some dry food in the morning. It's only a small handful scattered in his area. The brand is Optimum... Now that I am thinking of it, could this also cause his skin allergy? His never had an issue with this dry food. If it's not kibbles, then I would scatter some treats. I guess this is why I am taking a huge interest i this thread as I would like my furkids to be in tiptop shape, and Mumble just seems to suffer from all sorts of problems . But yes, I wont be dramatically changing Mumble's diet at the moment, just chicken and fish until his allergy clears up and I may also take your advice and get rid of the kibbles in the morning. But no harm in getting Annie started on this new whiz bang diet

Myself and the vet think both dogs are the perfect size. You cannot see their ribs but you can feel them with a layer of fat. Where can you get probiotic capsules and are we talking about human capsules? I've never feed them yogurt up until yesterday. I was reading somewhere that yogurt was good for the dogs insides, so I'd figured there was no harm in trying. I think I am going to have the same issues as everyone else with green tripe. I'd figured if I was feeding my dogs fish, would there be a need to actually feed them fish oil? what if i OD my dogs on omega 3? and if I do feed them fish oil, do I cut the capsule up and squirt the liquid into their meals? I can certainly up the anti with half an egg every second day. What is the benefit of giving them the egg shells? As for the kibbles, it's mainly for the convenience in the morning, as I'm up at 7 and then out of the door in 15. Mumble never use to get any sort of breakfast, only just snacks, however I figured there is no harm in feeding him scattered breakfast in the morning, while I'm still feeding Annie's breakfast I'm actually looking forward to using my food processor for the first time since owning one.

Hello Once again, many thanks for starting this thread and everyone's input, I have learnt quite a lot up until page 17 and I couldn't go any longer.. I was hurting my brain and just couldn't function at work (Yes, it has taken me 3 days to catch up, reading bits and pieces on and off, beauty about having the internet at work). I'm even at my desk with a notepad taking notes on the benefits of food that everyone has mentioned. I'm going to be honest and say I have no idea how you all calculate these ration / portions / mg / intakes etc. Up until now, I was feeding both dogs a mix of red meat and chicken necks/frames and occasionally some offals and egg. So I think I have been depriving my furkids (as someone has mentioned on this thread ) on a few essential nutrients. I have Mumble who is a maltese x and weighs 8k - 2 yr old. He is currently suffering from a skin allergy (if you go to my thread wandering jew, you can see a lovely picture of his rash) which I'm frantically trying to get to the root of this problem. So I am currently feeding him just chicken and fish to see if it helps with his rash. Then I have Annie - CKC, who is 6 month old pup and weighs around 3.4kilos. This will be the diet that I will put them on after reading this thread. Just wondering if I am missing out on anything. Mumble dinner is normally about 200-250g - is that enough? He is not an active dog at all.. and I don't think Annie will be either, as she has a thing with trying to snuggle as close to you as possible or even jump on your lap, even if it means killing herself. 7 days a week, it's going to be 60% red meat (either beef or lamb and sometimes pork, however the Vet advise against pork because of the high fat content, is this true) 40% bones - neck, wings, chicken frames/carcass. In this basic mix, I am going to throw in 30% mush up veggies, 3 times a week, add a small portion of offal (liver, heart, kidney) and if Mumble reacts well to the fish and it helps his allergy, I may lower the % of meat to 30% and make up the other 30% with fish/can tuna, or I can vary between red meat and fish to give them a variety. Each Sunday, i will give them a teaspoon of All-Bran into their meal for fibre (as advise by the vet ) and maybe a crack egg once or twice a month. Will also give them a tablespoon of natural yoghurt maybe once every two weeks. Obviously if I am adding egg or yoghurt or something into their dinner, I will reduce the meat or bone content so that it is sitting at roughly 200g for their meals. In the morning, I just give both dogs a handful of dry puppy food (Annie more because she is still growing) to keep them entertained. How does that sound? I've pretty much just eyeball everything as I just don't get the ratio part. hehe. I don't feed the furkids any meaty bones as Mumble has a thing with food guarding high value food. Forgot about the last night when I feed him tuna last night and boy oh boy was he difficult when I tried to wipe his mouth. Silly dog tried to bite my fingers off. (getting a behaviorist in soon to hopefully fix the issue), so I don't want to feed one dog one thing and not the other. Another question is - what is the Van diet? Sorry for butting into an existing conversation (if I have)

Hi GSD, before i start adding vegetables to their daily diet, is there any vegies that they cannot eat?

What would be the best way of feeding vegies? Steam, boil, raw? I'm also loving this topic too Neats Everything in here is easy to understand unlike some of those websites gets me a tad confuzel. What's best is that i can ask questions

Wow this thread is doing my head in.. so much to take in. Just wondering why beef would cause an allergic reaction? This is going to sound stupid, but would you say that purchasing beef at different butchers may cause your dog to have an allergic reaction? or is beef just beef? I'm just curious, as my dog is going through some skin allergy issues, which I have posted up. Some have advise to take him off red meat for awhile. I believe that this allergy is caused by the wandering jew weeds, however thinking back now, I also purchased mince beef from a different butcher...

Thanks guys.. I don't think I can even digest the thought of Mumble chomping on a fish head. I believe he is getting an allergic reaction from the wandering jew weeds and someone on the thread mentioned feeding him fish instead of red meat. So it's worth a try as I cannot afford to take him to the vet every week until it clears up. I guess it is worth a try just feeding him fish/grains/offal instead of chicken bones/meat - however that diet will be pretty expensive in the long run. So fingers cross chicken and mince will be back in his diet in the next few months.

Thanks Sandra777. He should be fine with chicken and chicken bones as he has always eaten them as part of his diet. I've only feed him a piece of raw fish twice in his lifetime. So hopefully raw fish will be good for him and his allergy. How about Salmon? I am also considering tinned sardines and tin plain tuna to vary his diet.

Hi, My dog currently has a skin allergy and I was advise that I should feed him chicken and fish (white meat) instead of chicken and red meat until the rash clears up. Should I feed him raw fish or does it have to be cooked fish? Any info on fish would be good

Hi Yellowgirl, After reading a few of these post, it got me thinking about my own dog diet and even though they are on raw diets, I haven't really been giving them much of a variety so I'm sure they are lacking in a few things as my diet only consist of dry puppy food in the morning and mince and chicken bones at night and occasionally some offals and eggs.... I am still learning all about being a dog owner Just wondering if you could provide a reason why you have chosen the food that you have and it's health benefits. Do you grab all the ingredients above and mix it all up so that each meal contains all the above ingredients?

Evening all, I haven't read through all 27 pages, but the one thing that caught my eye was feeding your dogs fish oil. Are we talking about fish oil that us human take or is this a specific fish oil for dogs only and if so, where can it be purchased? What are the benefits of feeding your dog fish oil?

If you can travel to Vic Market, I'm sure Tasman Sea at DFO Moorabbin isn't that far. Prices vary, but last time we went there we got 2kg mince beef for $9.00, tray of chicken wingets for 0.70 and they also cater for pets - think i saw a bag of pet mince for $2.00. Another place is Springvale at the main butchers in the centre (parking is a nightmare, so I normally go at 8 am). You can get chicken carcasses at 80 cents per kilo, dice beef 2k for 10.00 etc. There is also a seafood place near by which sells frozen fish (think its basset or something along those lines) which is $9.00 a kilo. I normally buy in bulk and it lasts a good 1 month. So on average, I would spend about $40 a month on meat for my two small dogs.

Hi Gretel, Sorry, when I say chicken bones, I just mean chicken necks, wings, and chicken carcasses. That is also what I am doing with the two, I tie one up and let the other one eat and vice a versa. It's more of the fact when my partner feeds them (as he tends to forget) or if and when I put them in boarding kennel. Not 100% sure what they feed and do during dinner time.

Thanks, next time I'm at the supermarket I will have a look at wheat bran. Is there any harm in feeding them mince beef? Both dogs dinner normally consist of mince beef, chicken bones and sometimes offals and an egg (for the little one, she is getting a mix of raw + optimum). Does this sound like a balance diet? Sorry, now I am getting a bit worried that I haven't been giving them a balance diet. I have thought about giving her bones with meat, however her brother has a food guarding issue, especially with bones. So I'm not 100% comfortable giving her bones, just in case if I turn my back and he lunges to get the bone or whatever.

Thanks Chiara for the insight. I have a 6 month old CKC and have been told they are known for developing HD, but I'd never really known what to look out for. She's full of beans however she tends to run funny, kind of like bunny rabbit legs that the back legs lift off at the same time which got me a bit worried and sometimes she runs on an angel, but a few have reassured me that it's just them learning to run and developing their muscles etc (correct me if I have the wrong info). Is it stupid to go to the vet and get them to x-ray their legs just to make sure all is in good order? How much does the x-rays cost these days? I would rather do that to both of my dogs just to give me a piece of mind. The part where you have mentioned that they take awhile to get up etc.. how do you draw the line from them being in pain to them just being plain lazy? All the best for Hugo and I will be very interested if you can claim the surgery on pet insurance. I haven't taken any insurance yet due to the fact that some of their clauses are " we do not cover on known diseases/problems etc on particular breeds etc"

I am sorry to hear about Hugo. I hope everything turns out well How does one notice that your dog may potentially have HD (before going to the Vet etc)? Does pet insurance cover the cost of the surgery? After surgery, do they live a normal pain free life? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm not too familiar with HD, but I know it's one of the things you have to look out for.

I think I am just being a bit of a worried wart. The first time I gave her brother chicken wings smashed up, he chocked on it and vomited and it was a trip to the emergency ward..$140 later and it was nothing.. argghh.. Thanks for the advice :p