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I did the switch too, based on recommendations here and the $$ factor, $31 for 22kgs for GB/UA vs $53 for 18kgs of Supercoat. Initally both dogs were doing great on it, looked good, had energy and poos were good. But they have slowly gone off it, like your dogs have. The only one that they will eat is GB and that is with a tin of Sardines mixed in. My parents Lab othe other hand LOVES it and has never looked better. I am now trying to decide whether I will stick with it, or try something else like Optimum. I may even look at going back to SuperCoat, if I do, it shall be interesting, as my Rottys FAD has settled right down, but I did change flea regimes at the same time. I ran out the other day, and so did the distributor not happy!! I ended up with a bag of Pedigree Natural, the dogs LOVE it, they scoff the stuff, not too sure if I will stick with it though... Will see what happens

Your quote Where did I say that? AKA Supercoat. Or were you referring to all the other drys and NOT Supercoat? No, only anecdotal evidence like yourself which suggests that dogs live long healthy lives fed on wild game such as rabbits. But then I didn't go making any unproven claims the way you did. Why do I need evidence? Yes I did say all that, and you seem intent on reading something into it that isn't there. As others have commented on and pointed out... It was a question aimed at barf feeders OR Raw feeders OR these so called food nazi's. I was putting it out there for those who are so committed to their chosed diets... I have yet to see what is so confusing about this statement It was a statement referring to Supermarket Kibble or non-premium kibble. No where did I mention nor imply a specific brand, you are the one who seems hell bent on bringing up brands. As for unproven claims, am I not allowed to comment about dogs that I have come across in my life? Ones that have not beed fed anything other than the dredded supermarket foods, yet live long happy lives. At the end of the day Ellz seems to be one who is speaking a lot of sense, feed what you want, and I'll feed what I want. I just think it is wrong that when a valid harmless question gets asked, which may challenge the opinions of some, they take it on themselves to pick it apart and insist on taking this thread OT, without offering any vaild response. Unless some valid discussion arises from my question, then I shall be the better person and leave it for now. Sorry all for the tripe that has errupted as a result of my question. Same here Rain..

I was not implying that BARF or RAW feeders are food nazis (although some do have that appearance...) it was a question to those who feed raw / barf and to the food nazis, ie. Those people who say "xxxx brand is crap, you should be feeding Barf/Raw/Premium Kibble/insert food here. Where did I say that? Observations, and REAL LIFE experience mate, personally knowing dogs, both farming and otherwise living into their teens and hardly seeing the inside of vet clinic (except for routine vaccinations, the odd snake bite etc..) sorry I don't have some fancy piece of paper to satisfy your scientific needs. But sometimes real life just likes to thumb its nose at all those theorists out there. I ask you, have you any evidence to suggest otherwise?

I have had dogs since I was a kid, and they have all been on supermarket foods, ranging from Chum, to Pal even at times HomeBrand... I agree tinned food is crap, mainly water and jelly... but dry foods are a different story. Supercoat has been popular in our family and with our dogs since we started it many years ago on our Fox Terrier cross. Since fleeing the nest, I have fed all my dogs on it. All with NO adverse effects. The ONLY reason I switched to AB & UA recently was the cost, although I will admit, my Rottys FAD appears to be much better since the switch (but that could also be co-incidental with a change in Flea Regimes). Both my Rotty and GSD prefer the GB over the AB, but they still don't seemed to be overly fussed on it. When I went to get a bag yesterday, the store was sold out so I hunted through the options and almost went for the SuperCoat again, but decided to give Pedegree Natural ago. Both dogs SCOFF the stuff, will be interesting to see the rear end results... Yet, I have a mate who feeds his Kelpies on the Aldi sold kibble and canned food. Both are beautiful, healthy dogs, full of energy and no adverse poo's etc... I admit that when I am looking for a dog food, I do read the ingredients, but that is only to find a food that does not start with a Cereal or Grain as the primary ingredient. One question for all the BARF or RAW or so called Food Nazis... If the dogs are so much better off on the above diets and Supermarket or non-premium kibbles are pretty much crap, why then are there soooo many dogs out there, on farms, in backyards, on tradies utes etc who live LONG healthy lives on this stuff?? And not to mention all the other "left overs" they get fed?

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/01/1...local-news.html The question I have, is what sort of person waits two days before calling in authorities? Seriously, watching someone laying into their dog with metal poles, then waiting until then next morning when there is more abuse before acting is not right at all... But the upside is, he did speak up and the dog is safe now. Lets just hope they catch the mongrel....

45 - 50kg for a GSD is this an example of an over size GSD? I would expect that from my Rottie at full maturity, but thankfully my GSD is only about 32kg... and i dont expect her to get much heavier... At the end of the day, size is not that much of an issue, it is shape and condition that matters. I follow these points for both dogs: 1) Cannot see ribs 2) Can feel the ribs with a small layer of fat 3) Belly is not round 4) Has a nice waist line (ie not sunken nor missing...)

Just an update, Gilly is showing good signs of improvement, his back had quite a lot more fur on it now to the point you can hardly see where the FAD was. His tail has also improved, with all but one section now with fur. We tried to wean him off the tabs, but he was back at it again, and his tail got quite nasty... so back on to them. The biggest problem we have, is not only the FAD, but environmental allergies in general. Trying to identify what sets him off is almost impossible...

Given that Advantix is pretty much Advatage with tick protection, they should perform equally as well for fleas?

Fran, I ordered the Permoxin from Vet n Pet direct, fast delivery... I am looking for a anti-flea treatment that kills before the flea bites, is there such a beast? Gilly has a real bad allergy to flea bites, so if there is something that I can use it would be great. I am looking at Sentinel and Revolution... Comfortis is on the list cause the vet mentioned it,,,

Thanks heaps for the tips people.... I am confident that he is taking it with his food, the way he eats I should have named him Hoover not Gilly.... LOL He is really great at taking tablets, so it is good to know that as long as he has food in his belly it should be okay. He was doing well on them, and we saw a massive improvement, the vet said that at this stage we could stop. It only took a few days and he was soooo inflamed, poor thing. Looks like he might be on them all summer. Although I have been put onto a Holistic Pet meds place that say they can help, might give them ago, they came highly recommended by the breeder. As for the water, we have two clam shells full that get changed daily...

Thanks Clyde, I have been rinsing him in Permoxin, as well as the daily sprays. Up until today he was showing real signs of improvement. However today for some odd reason he has attacked his tail again, this time it is looking quite nasty... If there is no sign of improvment we will be back to the vet on Monday... Maybe I stopped the Prednisolone too soon... My intention will be fornightly dosing with the top spot, but I am concerned mainly with what to do in the mean time... Revolution sounds okay, water proof within two hours etc...

Hi all, My Rotty has been put on Prednisolone to help settle his FAD (it is quite bad). The question I have, (and should have asked) is how should I give it to him. At this moment, I have been putting the tablet in his food. But I was wondering should I just give it on its own? He is good with taking tabs so this is no issue for me. Or doesn't it really matter?

My Rottie has FAD, at the moment we are washing him twice weekly in Maleseb (until it all settles), and treating him with Permoxin and Advantage. We applied Advantage but less than a week later we picked a number of fleas off him. Firstly I gave him a Capstar, then started to question the effectivness of a topical treatment when we are using such an intensive washing regime, especially since it relies on skin oils... So this led me to look at alternatives, Sentinel Spectrum seemed the logical choice, but a vet recommended Revolution. What do fellow dolers think? Once his FAD has settled, and we are back into a normal wash routine, we will switch back to Advantage / Advantix. I did treat his environment today... But it is now raining, hope this doesn't undo my work.....

Sorry for the typo

Thanks to the advice so far.... Well I went back to my local vet clinic today and saw a different vet, infact the one I did not like was not there, and the treatment I got today was by far the best I have come across, a HUGE improvement over the last person. Turns out I wa right, and my Rotty is Flea Allergic as well as hypo allergenic to other environmental factors..... A big thumbs up to Quinten at the North Nowra Vet clinic, funnily enough, the last two times I had been there, niether Cathy or Quinten saw Gilly.... Although, after the bill, I can clearly see I am in the wrong industry!!!!! :hysterical: FWIW, after speaking direct to a few local pet owners, North Nowra and Bomaderry came up as the top two, with the Kinghorne St vet being next. Hopefully that may help someone down the track.