Red Fox

Hmmm, are you sure you dont share a BIL with my hubby? Wise comments from BIL so far include: "Break the dogs spirit first. That way they are easy to train" "The best way to exercise your dog is to take it out bush, throw it off the back of the ute and drive off. That way it will exercise itself when it tries to chase after you." and to teach it to swim? - "Throw it off the boat and let it work out how to swim back to shore." "Papered dogs are a waste of money when you can buy a purebred for half the price without them from the trading post" "The best way to toilet train your puppy is to tie him to his kennel. That way he will learn that this is where he has to sleep AND shit. Otherwise you can take him for a walk at the same time everyday and make him go then. That way you wont have to pick it up." And the latest one, given to my MIL after their dog had escaped from it's eternal tie out and wandered a over to her house (about 2km's away)- "If he shows up at your place again just belt the crap out of him, that way he wont do it again." Luckily MIL has the sense not to and just calls my SIL to come and pick the dog up. Oh, and the one that upset me the most (even though it is not the worst by any means): "It's only a dog. It's not worth shit - NOTHING!" Hmmm, lovely

Rice doesn't work too well for my dog so his 'bland diet' is usually chicken boiled up with some pumpkin or sweet potato. I then drain off the stock and put it aside, remove the chicken and shred it then add it back into the mashed pumpkin mix with enough stock to keep it nice and moist. I feed him that with a little natural yogurt mixed in and then give him the stock to drink to keep him hydrated. That ususally works well for us. Last time month when Kei was ill with a tummy bug I ended up feeding him boiled chicken with raw pureed carrot and a 1/4 tspn of ginger for quite a few days. That worked really well also. Has your dog been put on I/D for a specific reason? If so I would be speaking to the vet before changing it.

Honestly, if the woman really was a breeder (which I doubt) and had ANY form of people skills I think she could have aproached it differenty. As in 'Oh, is he pure bred? He looks to be slightly underweight'. That kind of thing. Which then would have given you an opening to say no he's a cross and yes he has some health problems that we are dealing with thank you. Even if she was really concerned there is no need for her to be so rude about it. But from what I have seen of Charlies pics he certainly doesn't look underweight to me ;) Considering all his health problems he looks pretty darned good LOL, I probably would have given her a mouthful too

What about adding psylium husk for the fibre every 2nd day? All you have to do is mix a couple of teaspoons of it with a bit of water, wait a minute until it forms a gel and then add it to the food. I use it sometimes when Kei is a little blocked up and it works well. It's around $5 from the health food store for a decent sized packet. You could go chicken wings for one meal and then mince (or steak) or even canned mackeral for the other which would give it a bit of balance without too much stress. Even plain yogurt is easily found in most stores so that would be easy enough to add if you wanted. I am worried about a sudden change of diet if I try the freeze dried stuff too but it is supposed to be pretty close to natural raw. I am hoping (if I can afford to) to buy 2 small bags and try one at home first to see how we go. At $26 for only a few days worth (well for us anyway) it is quite pricey - but certainly convenient for a few days away

Kei is quite a good watch dog and will bark at anyone who comes on to the property, or anyone hanging around near the fence. Being a large deep chested breed he has a pretty decent bark on him too. Generally his size and his bark are enough to put people off - Oh, and his habit of standing on his hind legs up against the front security door and barking his head off if it's night time and he can hear people but not see them. Drunks and wandering teenagers tend to clear off pretty quickly when I turn on the light and they see the outline of a dog standing up nearly 6ft tall ;) But if push came to shove and Kei was being threatened I think he would run for the hills Hopefully with Pete his size would be more than enough to scare of an intruder. Even if he simply wandered quietly around the corner it would be a bit of a shock for someone not expecting to see a dog

Mmmmm...waaaaaaay too small to be rice / grain & like tiny, tiny sharp white dots... My guess would be tiny bit of bone fragments from the big bone he has been chewing I almost always see white speckles in Kei's poo when he has been chewing on a nice big bone. Eggshells tend to do exactly the same thing as well. And when he eats chicken frames the whole poop is white and crumbly

What about putting his food in a Kong or biscuit ball? That way it is still there for him when he wants it but gives a job to do during the day while you are at work.

Titer test them and find out I (personally) wouldn't vaccinate a 12 year old dog, if they don't have immunity by now they will never have it.

I'm thinking of trying this: http://www.k9natural.co.nz/K/K9-Natural-Pr..._I.2063/_C.2070 Seems like it would be much easier than carting the esky around.

apparently Steve has a big fancy new hi def screen, although I don't think that it's going to help my handling skills look any better Nor mine Huski Jeez, I dont know if I fancy being blown up in widescreen though

Hey, that could be her plan... Go PF You sound like a BYB's worst nightmare

This might be a silly question - but what about dried liver treats? Would adding those to the food each day (as a last resort) help at all? Or even chicken frames. Are you allowed to feed those? Most of the time they still have some (or all) of the goobly bits attached inside so if you were feeding them everyday I would think that would cover it

Sorry it happens all the time In the past 6 months 2 people I know have had litters (byb). The first was a Goldie x Malamute - accidental mating (the Goldie was kept entire with the intention of breeding to the owners sisters new male who was still only a pup). The litter was born without a hitch and all seemed well, it was an 'unusual breed' (in their words) so they could sell the puppies for big $$. Then when the pups were 5 weeks old mum ran out of the gate and was hit by a car. The owners do love their dog and spent thousands trying to save her. She ended up with a shattered pelvis and the vet advised desexing (thank God) saying that she would not be able to carry another litter of puppies ever again. She then ended up with bloat from the stress of it all and had to be treated for that too! Thankfully she survived all this. In the meantime the owners told me that she was planning on keeping one of the female puppies to breed to her sisters Golden as the puppies would then be '3/4 Golden then and almost pure'. I advised her not to and printed out one of the many threads on BYB and what can go wrong. Thought it would go in one ear and out the other, apparently not. Spoke to her a few weeks ago, they still have one male puppy left (almost 5 months old now), struggled to sell what they had and ended up giving the last 3 away (complete with all the vaccinations so not cheap for these people either). She now never wants to breed again - EVER The 2nd person told me she has just had a litter of chocolate labs. She is well intentioned and will do her best by the dogs but is not a registered breeder. When I asked her why she said 'Well I always wanted to do it'. Hmmm, I asked how it all went. She told me that her bitch had to have an emergency ceasarian on a Sunday night. Also said that she had the bitch desexed at the same time so no more litters Then my son comes home the other day and says his cousin has a new puppy. What is it I ask? It's a 5 week old Staffy cross What makes this even sadder is that their last puppy was hit by a car at Christmas time. Why? Well they have a fence but no gate. But the puppy surely wont wander though because it will be with their other dog - a Lab who spends his entire life chained to the veranda. I wonder if this puppy will meet the same fate?? But you can't tell them anything because they are dog 'experts'. Just ask them. Really? I just think they are idiots

Rivsky - If you can bring mine back that would be fantastic Not from Adelaide but I can pick them up from you at the K9 Force workshop if that's okay? Ptolomy - My order on the spreadsheet is correct. I'm happy to pay upfront as soon as I have your details Thanks so much for organising this too!

There was an article in the Sunday Mail a couple of weeks back. The rooms looked pretty swish but they said they feed toast or Nutrigrain for breakfast and casserole for tea along with a few other snacks per day ;) Put me off a bit... OT but there is a letter in todays Sunday Mail (pg70) asking readers to compare the lavish pics at the Pet Resort to the shocking conditions of puppy farms and remember that not all dogs are so lucky. ETA: just had a look at the links. The Adelaide now link is te same write up as was in the Sunday mail. This is the part I was referring to: "We have a lot of dogs that come and have toast and Vegemite or toast and butter, but some won't allow butter because it's too fattening. "We do eggs and milk or Nutrigrain and milk for breakfast, then a morning snack of milk, coffee and biscuits, and a hot lunch, afternoon snacks and a casserole in the evening." Yes - she did say coffee. Hmm, not sure I'd be letting my dog eat that... I wonder if they allow you to provide your own food? And how would one go about eating a chicken frame on the tiger-skin rug? ;)

;) Yes, I can imagine she will need a trailor if this continues! Oh well, I still want to add a large one to my order... you know, just in case

Everyone is going to have a different oppinion on this and it really depends on you as the owner as to what you choose. If it was me and I could supervise her while she is in season I would let her go until the 12-18 months mark. There are benefits to desexing before the first season ie, lowest chances of mammory cancers and almost 0% chance of pyo, but there are also benefits to leaving it a little longer too. You just have to decide if the pro's outweight the cons Did you sign a desexing contract with the breeder? This may influence the decision somewhat too ETA: http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/ddtc/sfiles/LongT...euterInDogs.pdf

Hearts go whole here! We use chicken heart as it small, no chopping up :p It's not so much the liver, but the smell of it when I wash out the blender that turns my tummy. As soon as the hot water hits it, it stinks!

Homebrand mackeral or sardines in oil here twice a week. I do drain off most of the oil though, I think it's canola?? Tuna often has high mercury levels (more so fresh than canned) so I wouldn't be over doing it. Salmon is fine but make sure it is Tasmanian/Atlantic salmon. Raw salmon caught in Northern Seas contains a parasite that can be fatal to dogs. Technically canned salmon is cooked so should be fine but I wouldn't chance it. Sardines may make your stomach turn but they are very good for your dog For me it's liver that I can't stand - and I have to puree it to get Kei to eats it too But I do it anyway as I know he needs it.

To keep the kids out so you can shower in peace?

Well if it means I am going to save on postage... can I add a large to my order too?

Yep, that's what I find so appealing. 500g back in the back of the car and bingo - 2 days of fresh food!

THAT just cracked me up Love it And this one just topped it off

Corvus, Maybe you should try the K9 Force TID program. It would answer all you questions about drive and how to channel it

Thanks for the replies. Re-hydratable BARF! It seemed almost too good to be true! Wags it would be fantastic if you decide to stock it I think I will buy a small bag to try it out. A question though for those that use it- For a dog that is already on a full raw diet would it be okay to swap him straight over to the re-hydratable or would you have to do the whole gradual swap?? It is pricey but would be so handy to have for weekends away and much easier than an esky full of raw lol. But that's providing I dont end up with a dog with an upset belly