Red Fox

Ruffwear Webmaster here too Not the strongest for car travel (not safety tested and has plastic clips, but then again many car harnesses have these too...) but it's a fantastic harness and the most adjustable one I've ever seen so you can get it to fit your dog perfectly. The handle is great too and you would be able to easily lift a 10kg Pug with it - Well I have lifted a 40kg Ridgie by the handle They are expensive but well worth it IMO I had an EzyDog harness but to be honest I didn't really like it on my dog. He is deep chested and it wasn't a good fit for him plus I found it would slide around a lot. But a Pug is a completely different shape so it may be better on Bert :D ETA, The Puppia harnesses that PF mentioned are lovely for smaller dogs I tend to forget about non Ridgie sized products

The ratios (according to Billinghurst) should be 60% RMB, 15% veg, 5% fruit, 10% offal, 10% other (dairy/eggs/fish/suplements). You dont need to feed that in every meal though, it is more about balance over time. You might also find that you need to adust the ratios slightly to suit your dog. I tend to feed roughly 50% RMB, 30% muscle meat and fish, 5-10% vegie slops mix (pureed fruit/veg/eggs/suplements) the other 10% is made up of things like offal, yogurt, fresh raw eggs, supplements and the like. But thats not set in stone and apart from the 50% RMB's every day it really does vary... In answer to your questions- Balance over time, not all in one meal. Feeding 2% of the body weight is correct for adult dogs I think? Puppies need more. To be honest though it depends on the dog. Best way to feed - if your dog looks too skinny feed more and if he looks to fat feed less Eggs (including their shells), natural yogurt, cottage cheese, and sardines or mackeral are all good. You can if you use pet mince which contains bone, ie minced chicken frames. BUT if your dog is happy to eat whole RMB's then that's MUCH better all round IMO. I do I do a big batch every 6 weeks or so then freeze it. So much easier It should be around 10% of his diet. How often you feed it is up to you but once or twice a week should be okay. Oh, and 'The BARF Diet' is pretty much a simplified version of 'Give You Dog A Bone' The only real difference is that it tells you how to make the patties and also gives some info on feeding cats a Raw diet. There is a book called "Grow Your Pup With Bones' that might be better if you have a young dog Hope that helps you.

PIA. My first claim was in the bank within 3 days. This second one is taking its sweet time though. Has been over 3 weeks now.

Does desexing affect a dogs drive? Obviously it affects sex drive but what about prey drive / defence drive / fight drive etc? Just curious

Bump This thread is falling off the radar lol. So... Who else is coming?

But when it's labelled as 'large' you would think it would be, well.... large. Or at least largish! Maybe they meant suitable for a large Chi Hmmm, looking at it again I think it would make a nice cool foot-rest

Well he could use it as a pillow Have a look at these, you might find they are more Lab sized : http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SIZE-4-POLAR-PAD-CO...=item563932c70e

I've had similar probs with Kei since his recent tummy bug. He eats the grass as he feels ill but then it irritates his belly again and the cycle goes on. I haven't stopped him eating the grass but I have tried to limit it to a certain degree. I've started adding some Inner Health Plus powder and some psylium husk to his diet over the past few days too. Not sure if it's helping yet (early days) but so far it appears to be I wormed Kei a little earlier than usual as well. Certain worms can cause the dog to feel unwell and eat grass. Even if they are up to date there is always the chance that they might have picked something up so it might be worth checking/treating for intestional worms too just to be on the safe side.

Well that doesn't matter, do it while he's sleeping. More time for it to absorb too

I'm sure that I read somewhere that it's a good idea to give it if your dog is unusually gassy/gurgling tummy/burping a lot etc. to reduce the chances of bloat occurring :D So as a preventative rather than a cure. If bloat had already started I'd be getting my dog to the vet quick smart and giving him the tablets on the way.

Target have them at the checkout! At least here they do ;) Yep they do here too, I got one the other day Here too, and it's on special this week :D Fuzzyard make a paw balm too which is quite nice: http://www.twobigdogs.com.au/dog-grooming/...d-paw-balm.html

Because of the way it pulls up behind his front legs. It is definitely strong enough but it doesn't seem to be the most comfortable harness around for walking. I dont tend to walk my dog in a harness anyway so not a huge issue for me. Ruffwear Webmaster is pretty good ;) BUT- it's not safety tested and has plastic buckles. http://www.twobigdogs.com.au/ruff-wear-web...er-harness.html I use mine occasionally in the car and it does the job but wouldn't trust it to hold up in an accident like the PetBuckle.

From what I understand they are quite different. Mylanta Gas is not the same as normal Mylanta.

Thanks Sas I'll grab some De-Gas in the morning eta: Do you give the dogs tablets if they are showing signs of being overly gassy/rumbly tummy as a preventative or only at the first signs of bloat?

I have been reading that it is a wise idea to have some Gas X or Mylanta Gas tablets on hand if you own a breed that is prone to bloat. After Kei suffering from a very gassy upset tummy last night I though it might be a good idea for me to buy some... However looking around I haven't been able to find either of these brands anywhere. I have seen a brand named De-Gas in most supermarkets and chemists which according to the pharmacist is similar to Mylanta Gas. Does anyone know if these are safe for dogs? Thanks

I have the PetBuckle harness (with the seatbelt style clips) For me: Pros- Easy to get on and off, easy to adjust (and would fit almost any dog) Very VERY strong! The fact that this harness has been crash tested is also a very big plus The seatbelt tether (can be bought as a set with the harness or on it's own) is fantastic too. Cons- The belt seems to slip around on my dog as it slides through the chest piece ending up bigger on one side (kind of hard to explain). Tightening the harness helps but I found that if it is too tight then it pulls up behind Kei's legs and is uncomfortable for him. I think I can solve the slipping around by adding some velcro though so this should fix both probs The seatbelt loop is very small so you really need the tether connection. Not a harness that I would use for walking. Hope that helps

Sound like a lot of food to me If you want to make it easier on yourself switch them to a better quality dry food- eg. Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Artemis, Nutrience, Advance etc (there are plenty around) and simply feed them that for one meal and the BARF patties that you are already feeding for the other. If you are feding commercial barf there's no real need for supplements either :p The bones are good. You could substitute their morning meals with a bone too on some days, or if they like carrots give them one of those to chew on. Not hard at all! I wouldn't be feeding roast chicken/treats/liver sprinkles all the time though, it's just junk and roast chicken is FULL of salt. Keep that for training treats instead. I wouldn't be worried about putting your dogs on a diet either. Just look at your dog - if the dog looks too fat then alightlyreduce the amount of food you are feeding and if they start to look to skinny then feed more. You'll probably find that they'll lose any excess weight if you cut out the junk though ;)

Just thought I'd add that mine came up with a warning from Trend Micro Security so for those that didn't get it you might need to check you junk mail/spam folders or add the above email address to your safe list

I'm with PIA too

Roo. Free range, organic, lean and cheap I pay $3 per kilo Kei was sick the other week and had to be put on a bland diet of chicken and veg for almost 2 weeks. I only buy free range chicken and he was going through almost 1kg per day. Not cheap! So glad we are back to the roo again!

Dont count on it. Sure is! The reading is the easy part Looking forward to the workshop Steve!

Yep, something along those lines. It was to protect them in the water while they worked I think. This question was answered in a other thread not long ago -sorry cant remember which one though-

I couldn't find the Roadies anywhere - I ended up with a PetBuckle ....AND a Ruffwear Webmaster :D Both very good though. The Petbuckle is VERY strong, I really like it. BUT the chest piece tends to slip around on Kei (ie the belt slides through and it becomes loose on one side). I'm going to pop a piece of velcro in there when I get around to it which should solve that problem I'll be using this harness for long trips on the Highway. And the Webmaster is awesome too. Fits very, very well. Is comfortable and the handle is so useful. Why dont dogs come with an inbuilt handle? lol. Only downfall is the plastic clips which really rules it out for safe travel on the highway... Still good for trips to the park and school though. I'm not sure where I got them from. They either were the straps from some older harnesses I had or I bought them seperately. They are made from seatbelt type webbing with a heavy bulldog clip at one end for clipping to the harness and a metal clip at the other which is intended to be inserted in the seatbelt buckle but I use a mountaineering typ clip to secure it to the child restraint bolt. It is much stronger than a leash and you can adjust its length. Hey Kei try looking at baby seat anchors/ extensions I know you used to be able to get them In a few different designs with clips at both ends .... and they will be safety belt strength too. Ah, I might have a look for something like this. I have a bolt in my car and was planning on looping the restraint kit from the Pet buckle harness to it but the bolt is quite far back which makes the strap too short :D Annoying really as it was otherwise perfect. *sp

I dont mind dogs who bark as we walk past, I dont even mind if they fence run (even though it sometimes sets Kei off into a state of mad excitement). What I DO mind are the dogs that are not contained properly. 2ft high fencing, opened gates, 1ft gaps under the fences, NO fencing at all! Though it really does depend on the dog, whether it is calm in its yard or whether it is rushing out or launching itself aggressively at the fence... An aggressive dog should never be left in a front yard no matter what IMO. Too many things that could go wrong. Where-as an over excited barking dog can be a bit of a pain but is relatively harmless in most cases Walking inside whilst your dog has a fit at passers by is just plain bad manners though.