LoveisGolden

I read somewhere that too much cod liver oil can result in a build up of Vitamin A which can be toxic. I agree that fish oil would be much better for the omegas. I'm not sure whose advising you but I haven't heard of specific vitamins being given to dogs. I would think it's much better to adjust their diet to make sure they're getting all their nutrition that way.

The prey model diet recommends 10% bone, 80% meat and 10% offal (of which about 5% should be liver). Liver can give loose stools so start with small pieces every other day after a couple of weeks and build this up slowly. 10% of bone is not a lot so you don't need to give bone in every meal. If their faeces are chalky and whitish it means they are getting too much bone and need more meat. Feed 2-3% of your dog's ideal adult body weight. This is just the starting point and you adjust up or down as necessary to maintain a good weight. It's usually recommended to start with one type of meat such as chicken for the first couple of weeks, and introduce new meats and offal slowly after that. You shouldn't feed marrow or knuckle bones as these are too hard and dense and can damage their teeth. Good luck with your raw feeding. It's fun to watch them eating this way too

THe prey model diet (which doesn'tinclude fruit & veg) recommends feeding 2-3% of your puppy's ideal ADULT body weight (not thier current puppy weight). This could be as much a 10% of their puppy weight depnding on the dog. This is just the starting point and you adjust up or down as necessary to maintain a good weight. Bones are included in the calculation as your puppy will eat the bone. It's usually recommended to start with one type of meat such as chicken for the first couple of weeks, and introduce new meats and offal slowly after that. You shouldn't feed marrow or knuckle bones as these are too hard and dense and can damage their teeth. The prey model recommends 10% bone, 80% meat and 10% offal (of which about 5% should be liver). Liver can give loose stools so I suggest you start with small pieces every other day after a couple of weeks and build this up slowly. 10% of bone is not a lot so you don't need to give bone in every meal. If their faeces is chalky and whitish it means they are getting too much bone and need more meat. As I said the prey model down't include fruit and veg but there isn't a lot of calories in them so depending on how much you're feeding I don't think you need to adjust the meat by too much to compensate. Hope this helps. Good luck with your raw feeding. It's fun to watch them eating this way too.

Both my dogs graze on grass daily and always have. They never throw up, now have a mainly raw diet and are otherwise in good condition. They love going to the park at the moment where there are lovely tender new shoots of grass after finally getting some decent rains. They look like a couple of sheep grazing in the paddock :rolleyes: I uesd to worry too that something was wrong or they were missing something in their diet but now I just think they like it.

There are many sources which advise that products like Sentinel Spectrum / Interceptor Spectrum are effective for at least 45 days according to the FDA registrations. Here's an article from Whole Dog Journal http://www.dogaware.com/wdjheartwormprevention.html Do you need to treat for fleas? Interceptor Spectrum is the same as Sentinel Spectrum except for Lufenuron. According to the attached article: Lufenuron is a medication that acts to prevent fleas from reproducing; it's not a pesticide and does not kill fleas or keep them from biting your dog. Unless you're in flea prone area you might be better using Interceptor and just treat the fleas if your dogs ever get them. It's one less chemical for your dogs and Inteceptor is less than half the price of Sentinel so it will also save you a LOT of money. A cheap source is http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/. Then just have some diatomaceous earth and a good flea shampoo and comb on hand to treat fleas if you ever get them.

The following vets are Registered Specialist Veterinary Dentists (according to my research): Dr Stephen Coles, Sandringham Vet Hospital, 262 Bluff Rd Sandringham 9598 3621 Dr David Clarke, Hallam Vet, 55 Belgrave Hallam Rd, Hallam 9703 1776 I haven't personally been to either but they've both received positive reviews from other dolers. Hopefully one of them is reasonably close to you. I was going to take my 3yo Max to Dr Coles as he has terrible tarter but decided to try feeding raw first after finding out about that. He showed great improvement after the first couple of weeks but progress seems to have slowed. I'm just so impatient for his teeth to sparkle (for health reasons also) but I imagine it will take quite a few months of raw. Let us know how you get on.

Glad to hear it's probably not serious and will soon be removed. All the best for a good result.

Address & phone number of the nearest 24 hour emergency vet hospital if your vet doesn't offer 24 hour emergency service or as an alternative if there's a problem getting hold of your vet or you need an urgent second opinion. If you've never been there before you could also include a printout of the whereis.com directions as its best not to have to think in an emergency! Better still go for a drive and check it out before an emergency arises.

Thanks - I hadn't heard of the product before either but just did a bit of research on it as my 3yo has really bad plaque and I'm always looking for something new to try (although raw feeding is definitely helping). I checked out the manufacturers site and also on Amazon - it seems to work based on the Amazon reviews. Someone had a problem with the alcohol content but you can read what the company says about that on their site: Maker Amazon I found it in two places in Oz (there may be others) GreenPet for $45 plus $6.50 pp - Total cost $51.50 Pets Unleashed for $49 plus $1 pp - Total Cost $50 - they only had the original formula not the one with salmon oil If you buy anything else from these sites it may work out differently due to the postage component. I will definitely give this a try when I can. I'd also love to hear whether anyone else has tried it and how it worked for them.

I have to say I was impressed too with their service. I ordered a bag of Artemis for the first time, it arrived at the door two days later by a very friendly lady. She asked what my dogs were currently eating and gave tips on changing over so my doggies wouldn't experience any unpleasant effects. She patted and seemed to really like my dogs - which always helps to get in my good books

Might be a bit late and hopefully your dog is ok now. When my dog was coughing like he had something stuck in his throat I fed him a couple of pieces of diced fresh meet to dislodge whatever it was that was stuck. This seems to have worked the couple of times that its happened and will hopefully it will work for you and its not something like kennel cough.

I bought a packet of dried spear fish from the pet shop the other week and my dogs love it as a crunchy treat that's good for them. The pieces are about 3-4mm thick and anything from 3-5cm in length/width. Maybe you could dehydrate some fish?

Thanks for your responses guys, it's reassuring to know black poo isn't abnormal but I will definitely be keeping an eye on Max (and his poop!). He is his usual perky self which is a good sign. I haven't fed them any offal yet. I thought to start with I'd feed them what they've had before like chicken frames, lamb necks and beef but in hunks rather than minced or diced. Then once a week I'd introudce a new food they haven't had before. Last night I gave them a whole fresh fish each and next week I was planning on giving them some liver or heart. I don't want to overload them with too many new things all at once. Thanks for the suggestion of keeping a diary Sandra777 I will definitely do that so I can hopefully pick up quickly on any bad reactions to the new foods I introduce.

Glad to hear Jack is doing well now. Have you considered the affect of Jack's diet. Not sure what you're feeding him but feeding raw gives much firmer stools which help empty the anal glands. I've only just started my dogs on raw (so certainly no expert) bu I noticed the affect after only a few days. Just a thought.

I read somwhere online not long ago (sorry I can't remember the source) that unlike humans the capsules are so difficult for dogs to digest that is can significantly reduce the effectiveness of their contents. It's much better to open the capsule and sprinkle the contents of it onto their meal to consume it that way. I can't think of any dog specific products that are in capsules so maybe there's some truth in it.

Hi everyone, Sorry for the subject folks, not very pleasant, but i would really like to know if this is normal when converting to raw. I began feeding my 3yo golden retriever Max completely raw one week ago today. He'd had reasonably regular chicken frames, lamb necks and pet mince but sadly his main staple was a not very good kibble (which I recently discovered to my horror). On day 2 of raw I was putting him out to bed about 11pm and he went off to poop which he has never done before. Max did a poop while I was outside and it got stuck on his backside. He was jumping around and trying to turn around to see it - I thought he might lick it off but he didn't. He was obviously distressed so I ran inside and grabbed a handful of papertowel and pulled it off. He was immediately calm as if nothing had happened. The next morning I noticed that the poop he did the night before was black, I mean so dark it was black. He also seemed a bit quieter than his usual self for a day or so. The next afternoon I checked his poop and the first part was still black but the rest of it was more normal brown. I convinced myself that he was just eliminating the last of the junk from his junk food kibble and he'd be ok from then on. He was back to his usual self after a couple of day but then I was outside with them in the evening and Max went and did a poop and it didn't all fall off again and he was again jumping and spinning around until it did. He then came running to me on the back verandah and was about to do some more poop there right next to me. I was shocked as he had never done that before but took him back out on the lawn where he pooped again. It was a normal brown colour. I was a bit worried that raw was seeming to make him constipated. Then on day 6 the first part of his poo was almost black again - it looks really terrible. The rest of it was actually quite light (which is what I've read raw does). So I'm wondering if black poop is usual when a dog's eating all raw meat and bones or whether I should take him to the vet for a check up although in all other ways he's now completely his usual exhuberant self after the first couple of days on all raw when he seemed a bit quieter than usual. By the way I was so excited to give Max and his sister Meg (8) a whole raw fish each (scaled and filleted) for dinner tonight for the first time ever. Even Meg who usually scoffs down everything in sight seemed unsure what to do with it. My dainty boy Max only licked it and had a coupe of chews at it. I ended up having to cut it into thirds for him (still wanted it big enough so his teeth would get a good clean as he has lots of plaque even at 3 which is what drove me to learn about raw in the first place). He really is the cutest little thing! Sorry again for the subject but any help would be much appreciated.

I switched my two goldens to raw one week ago today. I had always fed chicken frames, lamb necks and fresh meat now and then but not every week or anything. My 8yo was fine - she always eats anything but my 3yo seemed a bit quieter on the 2nd/3rd day. He also did a couple of very dark, amost black poops that I was a bit worried about. Then he picked up and is back to his usual self. He's always been a fussy and very slow eater (kibble meals were always interupted for toilet breaks and ball collecting) but now he just loves his new food and doesn't stop eating until its all gone. Yay!