Jayman

I have seen that in male dogs before, and also children (curiously). I guess it makes sense either way, straining pushes the penis out of its sheath and/or the movement of the stool past the prostate stimulates a slight erection (or engorgement may be more accurate). Sorry, don't know if it's a health concern in dogs but it's perfectly normal in boy children.

Does anybody have a good or bad anecdote about Pet Insurance Companies? I was insured by Petplan and they declined my first claim because after my vet diagnosed the problem I had said that now that I thought back my pup had occasionally yelped when picked up. Petplan said that this was evidence of a preexisting condition that I failed to inform them about. They used this to deny my claim. I totally don't recommend Pet Plan. I fought the rejection as far as I could and still got the same humdrum about the occasional yelping being indicative of a preexisting condition. I argued that my dog had been to puppy preschool, had been desexed and vaccinated at the same vets and none of them picked up on the condition beforehand so how was I supposed to know? Apparently the average pet owner is more qualified to identify concerns than the veterinary community - in the eyes of the insurance companies. Now I wish that I had totally kept my mouth shut at the vets. Will this sort of thing lead to people not being candid at the vets?

I haven't tried them but they apparently work for people. I used to have a dog that eventually wound up salivating and vomiting even going over to the car. I don't know about your dog but I think it can end up almost a conditioned response. If that is the case with your dog maybe slow and systematic desensiting (get in the car first without driving and reward, back up the driveway and return with reward, to the end of the street etc) might work if you are patient enough. If you reach your wits end you might just be better off travelling with him in a wire crate that can be hosed off, at least it will save your car interior. It can be a real pain, I know, so good luck with whatever solutions you try.

Thanks Koolietas and Jamie. They both sound like good diets with variety, I especially like the sound of the chicken frames stuffed with meat - sounds good enough to try myself. Not really. You've both given me a really good head start, thanks again.

You can get Kangaroo Mince (for people) at most Woolworths. It's in a sealed pack with the regular meats. I'm converting my lot over to raw feeding and started with adding raw chicken necks for the smaller ones and kangaroo tails for the bigger ones. They also have started having raw diced meat meals with some kelp or egg or an oil added. Can anyone give me their average weekly meal plan including the size dog it's planned for? I'm going to start introducing some organ meats now. I have to say I got a seven month old pup recently with horribley dirty teeth and after only two weeks on the chicken pieces over half of her teeth are now as white as the rest of my groups. Also do people feed raw fish or are canned whole sardines acceptable?[/i]