Sunnyflower

I have that same bad feeling about my old dog who I had to sadly put to sleep at a young age. She was pretty special and I cried for probably 6 months and some times still do about her but Oscar is pretty special to me and I'd be tempted to say he is my heart dog, we are so intune with each other it is crazy. Oscar is still young but even as a pup has always had an old soul. He really is an amazing boy.

I am so sorry to hear this! My fingers and toes are crossed for your dogs and the family..

People are just explaining the meat they can get.. There is no need to come in here and start trying to get a reaction.. Please keep it as an informative thread not a stickler thread. Thanks.

That would be annoying! Wow Spotty, you have meat on demand!!! Oscar is extremely jealous because our meat is so bloody expensive (Close to home) and we don't have that much variety. You are lucky Pax... Well your dogs are anyways!! :D When I lived in a rural area for a couple of years my dogs literally got the same as what yours do because there was greyhounds galore that got treated like prince's and princess's.. Poor Osc, he got suburban living which equals less variety. He is quite the fussy eater and doesn't take to change well so it's not such a bad thing but I've just got back into fostering and know these guys will definitely want more variety and it's also going to be more expensive so want to get quality for my money. hmmm yes, I did happen to notice this particular mince doesn't look that crash hot! Thankfully we have no objections to eating it and last night he was jumping out of his skin for his dinner so it must taste pretty good. I work in Newcastle so I pass loads of Butchers on my way home so I can try and test them all! I just need a bigger freezer so I can stock up.. I wouldn't go so far as to say that greyhounds are treated as prince's and princess's; they're kept caged for a good part of their short existance except when they are trialled and raced and then if they don't meet the grade they are swiftly eradicated (put down) to make space for more promising stock. Horse mince? Oh dear! Moselle you took the Prince and Princess's thing way too literally! I was speaking in regards to diet not the life they lead!! I am very aware of the life they lead......!!!!! I've seen it first hand.. It was in regards to the diet and wasn't supposed to be taken literally..

Wow, $3.00 for chicken feet? that doesn't sound exactly cheap to me, lol. And what race or nationality would succumb to eating chicken feet? I bet I can hazard a guess, the one that eats practically anything that moves, lol. Jokes aside, I would never buy meat from a pet shop, it would be laden with sulphur dioxide, not good. I'm not a massive meat eater so haven't really ever taken the time to research the do's and don't's of it all. However thanks to this thread and I am so much more aware and will continue to buy at the Butcher. Maybe not this Butcher but a Butcher. He's been on the Butcher's meat for a few days now and he has a filled out a little in the flank area. I didn't think he needed to put on any weight but he actually looks really good.

I am sure "normal" GSD's are better behaved ... my poor unfortunates are both working line so they take every opportunity to amuse themselves when left home for a minute longer then they deem necessary :D The other bed was removed to the garage last night so there wasn't a fight over the only bed left ... unfortunately for the older boy that created a problem this morning. He normally takes his breakfast back to bed ... so this morning he was left running around the yard looking for a place to eat. He kept giving me a dirty look when he came back and there was still no bed in his normal place. So I guess I am off this weekend to hunt down a new bed cover - I did have a spare but it is for the smaller bed (the one destroyed was only replaced last month). your dogs sound like great entertainment!!! In regards to the bed cover. If you have a Petbarn near you I know they sell the covers for $6.

Cheeky Monkeys!! And Marcus keeps telling me a Shepherd is for him!! He would spit chips if he came home to that.. On another note... What must they have been up to, to create a mess like that...

That would be annoying! Wow Spotty, you have meat on demand!!! Oscar is extremely jealous because our meat is so bloody expensive (Close to home) and we don't have that much variety. You are lucky Pax... Well your dogs are anyways!! When I lived in a rural area for a couple of years my dogs literally got the same as what yours do because there was greyhounds galore that got treated like prince's and princess's.. Poor Osc, he got suburban living which equals less variety. He is quite the fussy eater and doesn't take to change well so it's not such a bad thing but I've just got back into fostering and know these guys will definitely want more variety and it's also going to be more expensive so want to get quality for my money. hmmm yes, I did happen to notice this particular mince doesn't look that crash hot! Thankfully we have no objections to eating it and last night he was jumping out of his skin for his dinner so it must taste pretty good. I work in Newcastle so I pass loads of Butchers on my way home so I can try and test them all! I just need a bigger freezer so I can stock up..

I feed Nutro which I am very pleased to see is Number 3.. Plus Raw.

Ditto to this..

To be honest I have never read what goes into the pigs ears. they just look like baked ear. He gets probably one - two a month so it can't be doing any harm. I may try and see if I can do my own. My pop used to give his dogs Osso Bucco. To be exact - A TBS Pedigree Tin - Small cup of Pedigree biscuits - Natural Yoghurt and an Osso Bucco bones.. These were show Cardigan Corgis too and they always looked fabulous. Not to mention the odd (thousand) Arnott biscuit and slice of cheese. I do need to start feeding him more bones to keep his teeth clean. Might pick some up on my way home.

This is exactly what I have bought too and Oscar seemed to Thoroughly enjoy it. This is what I was hoping to hear.. Being last night was the first night I fed it to him I am yet to see the possible positive or negative effects it will have. However I don't need to worry about protein levels or really fat content as Osc has been getting Crystals from too much protein and he is on what I feel is a great biscuit so really the mince is more for his pleasure then to serve a purpose. (if that makes sense) The meat the butcher buys is used to supply all the customers, human and dog/cat. They do not purchase separate meat for dogs. Pet meat is the meat cut from the your cuts of meat. The butcher minces this for pet meat. Many dogs require more fat in their diet or they do not maintain condition. Oh, and have NO fear the butcher will not waste preservatives on your dogs meat. That is if he can get it in the first place. Far to many random check made these days to make sure there are NO preservatives in the mince. Not only that, mince sell too quickly these days to be kept by the butcher. This is even better news Oakway.. Oscar being only a little dog doesn't require a great deal of fat and as you'd say about a horse - he is a good doer. He is on a good biscuit which I think would compensate for the mince. Although if I felt the mince was completely crap I wouldn't be giving it to him.

I does look like there is loads of fat in the mince which is what has made me think maybe it's not that great for him! I think I will finish what I have got and just go back to what we were on or ask if the Butcher can get Roo mince in. Bedazzled - Do get any of the pigs ears and dry them out yourself for the dogs? Oscar loves a good pigs ear. Oakway - I would have thought human grade was better then pets grade!?! Lab_Rat - WOW that is expensive.. Poor thing intolerant to chicken meat! Animals are just like humans with how sensitive they can be.

Is lamb really cheap these days LR?

I'd prefer Oscar to eat the meat off the bone too but he is quite the pretty boy, he likes his bone to bake in the sun for a few days and become cooked before he'll eat it. It's not often he will eat it straight away. $3.30kg I think is great! I have been paying $5 for 800grms for Oscar's meet for a long time. Once he has eaten what he's got I will see if they have the Roo mince at the Butchers too.

Seems really weird that they would do something like that! This may be a silly question but what exactly does the blue dye do?

It probably varies, seasonally, and depending on what leftovers go into the mix. The other advantage of 'racing mince' is that it has very specific fat content, so it is easy to get the quantity exactly right. It is generally made of lean roo, with a quantity of pure beef fat added. Greytmate - Can you only get racing mince from stock produce stores or do places like PetBarn or Petstock have it? I know out Maitland way there is a specific Grey Hound produce but that too far to travel.

I actually hadn't thought of that, but that I can definitely understand that. tlc my boy is on Nutro but I have always given him mince as well. I don't like to feed just biscuits and bones. Before Nutro mince is the only thing he would eat and he loves it so I wouldn't take it off him. I mix one small cup of Nutro in with roughly 200gms of mince and if I can see him looking for food in the mornings I usually put half a small cup of Nutro in his bowl for him to pick at.

hmmm good point. Thank you megan! The butcher I got this meat from is a fantastic butcher where we always get our meat from so I have no concern about the quality. When I got it from the butcher it just comes in 1kg bags. No fat content written on there.

Hi Guys, Just wondering what peoples thoughts and opinions are on the mince you feed your dogs. I have always fed Oscar premium pet mince whether that be steak mince or kangaroo. It's always been bright in colour and looks really taste. I've noticed for quite some time now that Butchers have $2 a kilo pet mince so I went in to have a chat and it's human grade off-cuts of all the left overs minced together. So really it's not that bad. I bought a couple of kilo's which is easily going to get me 9 - 15 meals out of it so on a financial stand point it's a major thumbs up. It just doesn't look as tastey as the premium mince. However it did get Oscar's tick of approval as the head didn't come up till it was all gone. What do you prefer to feed your dog(s). Premium pet mince or Butchers pet mince?

I will definitely do this in future PF. He is back on track now and although the poor munchkin has had a run of not being a 100% I think we are on top of it for now.. As you say though some dogs do better on two meals a day and I think Oscar might be one of them. that is hilarious!! Yes I was told by a wonderful Vizsla breeder not long ago to always feed rice based biscuits as they are gentle on the tummy and if he does ever get tummy upsets feed him rice and boiled chicken. He often gets boiled chicken when I see the chicken on special which is an absolute favourite. Oscar is on rice based biscuit and was prior to Nutro, I think he has just had a little run of ill health of late (which he is no longer) that it was all probably a combination of the lot..

This actually makes complete sense! I never liked the idea of feeding only once a day but if I didn't food got left over. I haven't divided it up but he always has some biscuits to chew on in the morning and he has stopped throwing up.. We got a little water throw up the other night but he had just been running around a fair bit. Agreed Dave.. I cannot speak highly enough of Nutro either. I just thought I would come in and clarify as I had read some reports on the net that was leaning towards the other way. We are however back to full health.

So glad this horse showed back up!! Those poor people.. I would never leave my horse at Glenworth Valley..!! Hopefully they get him out of there ASAP.. Wonderful knews about the Chi as well.. I've been wondering how the little man was.

I get mine from Petbarn who always have it.. They have a special on at the moment. I usually get the Chicken Flavour which Oscar loves so I decided to buy the Lamb last night and he turned his nose up to it the bugger.

THanks sunny! What sort of dog do you have atm? Sorry Spotty, a little delayed on the good ol' reply. I currently have a Cavlier! We have fostered in the past and am taking it back up again. (picking the pup up on Friday) So he is used to having dogs around him. My concern isn't Oscar. My partner doesn't like the spots.. I LOVE THE SPOTS! What's not to like? I had a cavalier King Charles (blenheim) when I was a kid - Pentass Premiere Lady was her name. How's that for a memory! Love the little dudes. A lot easier to handle than dallies I must admit hee hee I know!! Beauty doesn't run skin deep! I keep telling him this.. Yes Oscar is a dream dog I will admit, it will be a shock to the system when we finally get the dog we are after! A lot more active then what Oscar is, is what we are wanting!