BobbyTheBeagle

Its a Beagle Ok i shall give it a try, wings/necks seems a bit boring that's all! but i think he eats anything ...

I was wondering if anyone feeds raw chicken bone such as drum stick and other bigger bones? are they fine for a 5mth old? I'm used to chicken wing/necks, but was wondering if the others were fine too! Thanks!

Vet said it could be anything....diet, grass, weather.. and told me to cut off some red meat... He was given some cortisone too along with some cream that I could use for next time.. What's the most likely thing? a seasonal allergy??

He's nearly 19 weeks (so near 5 mths?) and yes he does chew other part such as his leg, kind of hard to describe but its like as if he is cleaning his hair with his teeth... He wouldn't be going into tennager now right?? What's Melaseb? Is this worth a Vet visit?

I've recently noticed these patches on the underside of Bobby, And i've noticed he's scratching a lot lately, he scratches the underside part with his hind leg. I've checked thoroughly to make sure its not fleas.. what could it be? I've uploaded some photos as well.

Sorry, but what do you mean by "dog wind"? was it bad for the dog?

Thanks for the tips, but what i'm also asking is the amount, say if I feed him some raw meaty bones, how big should it correspond to a dry-food meal?? (does that make sense)??

I have a new question regarding raw meat bones,... How much should a puppy or any dog eat in terms of raw meat bones? would too much bone be bad? and what would be the equivalent amount if compared to dry food? Thanks!!

Well I try to get him to be calm before I even feed him. He is always very obedient just before i give him his food. I would tell him to sit/stay/leave it etc, and only goes for the food after i say so! But its the time just before meal time....i guess i can feed him earlier!! :D

Ok here's a recent issue. Any suggestions/help would be highly appreciated... Our puppy has recently developed episodes of barking (looks like attention barking) particularly before meal times. He has a big pen area in our backyard and would try to climb over the pen while barking with some whinging voice as well. The barking nature is somewhat different to the normal bark if that helps... We have always used the ignore method the means of preventing an behavior from occurring, he would whinge sometimes if we left him alone but never like this type of barking. What i've been doing is trying to hide while he barks until he stops, then go out to feed him. But i'm wondering what is causing all this?

So what's a premium brand? like sciencediet? royalcanine? enduro?

I think if you have them in the yard you will have them anyway. I've never heard of it being a problem, but I haven't had a sandpit in a while. So they'll grow out of it i presume down the track?? :cool:

No i haven't been weighing until today, took out the measuring cylinder... with the dry (i've got some purina lucky dog) and it says for dogs 6-10ish Kg, the recommended amount is 2 cups per day, is that a lot? and how does that compare with the diet i'm feeing him right now ? I know i need to research more about BARF, but in terms of raw meat, is the amount the same as for dry food? Basically, right now his diet is: half inch of chicken dog roll (morning) - will change to dry now after the advice 2-3 chicken necks or chicken wing (lunch) 1 cup of dry + raw beef/brisket (dinner) along with some veges/fish/yogurt..etc... Is this too little or too much? sometimes i'm just not sure... I'm in the South, so may go to canine country...or I'll see if pet city has them as I go there for puppy class...

Thanks for the responses!. With regards to the sand pit, i think i've read somewhere saying that ticks? or fleas? grow in sand or something? would that be an issue??

Really ?? Won't they start chewing their collars! and biting their ears off each other.. I've noticed that Bobby has started to have episodes of craziness. He would run around the garden very swiftly as if he has gone a little wild... Should I stop this kind of behavior ? or just let him be ?? Also, he likes to dig the grass.....now its quite deep probably about 15cm... We take him to walks daily, kids would play games with him in the arvo, and do some training now and then..sometimes we'll use the kong to feed him... not sure why he's so desperate to dig...but i know its their natural instinct....

No i haven't been weighing it, the dog roll i usually measure, the rest is by estimation.. So something like the composite from Canine Country would be fine ?

If you're going to give him bones try chicken necks and wings to start with. At 14 weeks old he should be able to handle this fine. Ribs might be a bit big but lamb flaps and beef brisket are a bit softer once he can handle it. When we first started giving Kei his chicken necks he wouild swallow them whole so I broke them up into smaller pieces until he learnt to chew them (a couple of weeks) I also gave him frozen wings so that he would chew them. Now I have no problems with getting him to chew because he actually finds it more enjoyable I'm not an expert on diets but I have looked into the different dry foods as there are quite a few around. We use Nutrience (large breed puppy) and find it is quite good. Royal Canin, Eagle Pack and Artemis are all good choices too. These are all Super Premium so fairly expensive, but you will use less than you would of a cheaper food and the ingredients are much better so worth it IMO. If you are feeding mainly dry food you can add things like mince meat, yogurt, minced veg and fish to it and then substitute it with bones here and there. That way you know that your dog will be getting a good variety of foods and you dont have to worry about the ratios too much. If you want to feed raw (BARF) do a lot of research before you start. I've got the Ian Billinghurst books (available from Barfaustralia.com) which have a lot of info in them on what to feed and how to do it. The ratios for raw according to the book are 60% Raw meaty bones, 15% veg, 10% offal, 10% dairy and 5% fruit but if you are feeding mainly dry then you dont really have to worry about that too much. What was your dogs breeder using? They are probably the best person to contact for advice on feeding. Hope this helps Thanks for all the advice, I will need to add some more dry food by the sounds of it. I do like feeding him raw as i've read how much better it is compared with dry-only diet. Could I feed him a mixture of raw meaty bones plus dry food with addition of some fish/vege/dairy 2-3times per wk? would there be anything major i'm missing out on in terms of nutrition?

It's a good idea to give him a good quality dry food at least once a day or as part of his meals while he is growing so that you can provide him with all the proper nutrients that a puppy needs. If you are going to feed raw he will need lots of bones as well as the raw meat and vegies, fish, dairy etc. any recommendation for dry food? so say 50% dry and 50% raw or dog roll? and how much bones is sufficient? not sure if he can take the big bones yet, but would ribs be ok ?

That's what i've been trying to do, by looking at his tummy!! Is it okay if they look quite empty before their meals? sometimes i feel i dont' feed enough, but the dog is not to trust as I've been told..

Well yes i do but not that often, but is dry food always required as I though the raw meat will be fine ? I'm currently using the VIP dog roll ..

Just wondering what everyone uses as a guide for feeding amount for your dog, I've been following breeder's recommendation with regards to the feed amount, but he is growing and growing. I think he needs more food as he is undergoing a growth spurt.. Bobby is now 14 wks...and weighs about 6kg. and at the moment i'm feeding him 3 meals: 1.5cm of chicken roll in morning, 2-3 chick necks for lunch, and mixture of dog roll + raw beef for evening (approx. 4-5 table spoons in amount) Veges/fish are added sometimes as well. Any suggestion is appreciated!!

Ok. Well I'm glad to hear that - just hope its nothing else!! What he does is, gets inside his bed sheet and it looks like he is stuck!! And he rolls inside and barks the hell out of it!! Will make sure not to give him attention next time!!

Now i want to ask if this is still normal., Bobby will bark & growl at himself (and at his toys & kennel), and quite loudly. He would go under his sleeping mat and bark for a good 10 minutes. Sometimes he would have a digging action on the sleeping mat. He would do this probably 1-2 times a day. And when we try to approach him, ( i try to do it when he's not actively barking), he would bark back at us looking angrily..(in my perspective anyway) Any ideas ??

Well I've been feeding raw since the beginning with some dog roll occasionally. Bobby doesn't seem to like veges, I guess i need to mix veges with a blender ? and what would be the nutritional benefits? more fibre??

What's the best way to get a dog to eat his vegetables? I've been adding small portion of vege to Bobby's diet recently (eg. celery, silverbeet) but he doesn't seem to like it. He simply avoids / filters it out all together, ..should I mash it up? or does he really need it?? Thanks!!