all that glitters

Shyla has these 2 toy ducks she's had since she came home and she uses them as suckle toys, she holds their head/neck under her leg and the ducks body becomes a dummy for her! Is this behavior weird?? It seems to make her relaxed and she sleeps. Today she's done it heaps!!

Wowser! :D

What! lol Yep, sadly that is true. The vet I had when I first got dogs used to tell me that. Also if a dog/cat/animal was brought in who had obviously been sick for ages (but just got sick that day of course) and no amount of veterinary skill was going to save the poor creature, the people would just not pay the account: You didn't save my dog, why should I pay you? Not all cuddles and smooches working with animals. What happens if you refuse to pay the account, you get followed up no?

Is any part of the turkey ok? i think my mum cooks turkey legs for her dog and gives her the (meat only) but can they eat raw turkey legs ok? (I think its legs anyway, i know its not wings)

I think so too! Do you do the NILF program with him at all (nothing in life is free)? I brought my girl up on that basis and she definitely knows whos boss. We still do these things every day, make her wait for food and watch me before she eats, we go through doorways first, make her sit to go in and out, basically she has to do something to gain something all the time and it helps her know her place ;) Your dogs are very cute!

What! lol

Agree!! I think it's a good idea mostly, and I worked in frankston for 3yrs, not exactly a responsible and bright cluster of people on the whole, most of the people I saw with dogs were scummy and I doubt their dogs were desexed and I bet they were going to breed it just to 'get puppies' and cos 'its cool' So a law that involves desexing like that, well it can only do more good than bad i think. Agreeed.

Love the first pic!

Whohoo!! The toy in my hand helps hehe

Oh good to know, thanks!! Yeah she isn't as tall definitely

All you guys have GSDs with so much more weight than my girl! Shyla is 11 months old in a few weeks and weighs 23-24kg, is she tiny??

How come you guys avoid beef?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyVaLzU5HI0

No go ahead! I dont mind cos I get to learn more You had carrot peels for morning tea? ;) LMAO -------------------------- OK another question! In terms of the mince the only mince I've found so far (apart from commercial human mince which isn't great) is minced chicken frames.. but I give Shyla whole chicken frames raw anyway, so don't need that mince! Where would I find pet mince with offal in it? For the veggie part of the diet I think I'll start with the Vets All Natural mix (cos its easier and I'll see how she does on that first) I didn't know you can give them eggs whole! Woah! So gonna try that

My german shepherd automatically gets on patrol and barks as soon as it's after 10pm at night... when we take her for her final toilet stop, we have to take her on leash or she goes off barking! She even barks before stepping out the door at that time of night.. so she is definitely expecting all the usual night things out there (cats on fence, weird noises, possums) and so now pitch black outside = exciting. To stop her doing that she's on leash only after 10pm I don't see how most dogs WOULDN'T bark at night, it's such a totally different atmosphere when compared to the daytime, I would bark too in the dark! lol

That really sucks, I hope for a speedy recovery for your baby!

My dogs managed fine when they were puppies. Of course I initially took 15 days off to make my first puppy feel settled. During this time we left him alone for a few hours and gradually increased the time. I also left midday meal for him in treat balls which kept him occupied as well. I have a secure yard, so he had access to the backyard through a dog door once he was old enough to use it. Before that he stayed inside and toilet training was with newspapers!!! Yep same here!! I had my girl indoors for 5 weeks when we got her, sure she toileted inside but I cleaned up and ignored the mess and kept up with toilet training when I was home, and she turned out 100% toilet trained when we gave her a dog door. Do they? I assume you meant in your opinion? I think you'll find that's not the case and varies widely between breed & breeder... Even if a puppy requires 3 meals a day it's easy to work around working hours. Feed just before heading out to work, as soon as you get home from work and before you go to bed. Yeah whats with everyone saying the 3 meals a day thing and saying you can't really do that when working fulltime?? My mum came over and gave Shyla lunch every day for 5 weeks, so she had breakfast, lunch, dinner sure.. but after that (still a puppy) she had breakfast, dinner, and then supper later and was fine, and if I didn't have mum to do the lunch thing initially it would have been breakfast, dinner, supper from the beginning. Do your guys hold on all day corvus? I always wondered if I had to keep my dogs indoors only if they would hold on for that long

Thanks!! so you don't do the whole vegetable thing at all, except for some from when you make dinner for yourself, you just stick to raw meaty bones, a bit of offal, and the eggs and fish for other essential stuff?

Thanks guys!!! That doesn't sound too bad, I just don't know much about meaty bones I haven't really bought much from the butchers in the past, is there any meaty bones that are No-NOs? What about in terms of offal - do you give offal daily and what sorts? Using the VAN as the vegetable component sounds easier and simpler but I don't understand how that food is good when its all grains and grains are bad for dogs.. having said that, my mums allergy golden retriever got put onto that food instead of kibble and all her hair grew back!! So maybe it isn't bad How do I make sure she isn't missing out on important nutrients and things, is that why you give supplements like Vitamin C powder and Omega oil? What is flaxseed oil for?

What do you guys feed? I want to try to change over to feeding shyla raw bit by bit, but I feel stuck and don't know where to begin. I have read it up and worked out how much per day she should get (2.5% of her body weight or something) but how do you go about the meals, do you prepare the vegetable bit once a month in portions or every few weeks, actually on the vegetable subject, what do you do with the veggies? Cook them? Raw? Blend into a mash? Then accompany that with a chicken frame or lamp flap? And then there's the offal like brains and liver etc.. do you give these 3 things (raw meaty bones, offal, veggies) daily into 2 meals? I thought i would add egg every second day, and supplement with omega 3 oils and flaxseed oil? Ahh still learning

Ohh yes the hide and seek is GREAT!!! We did this with Shyla as a pup and still do it nearly every day I have run out of hiding spots now though and she finds me, but as soon as we say WHERES MUM? or WHERES DAD? she stops what shes doing and RACES around looking for us with real intent on finding us, and when she does we praise and clap and act like idiots lol, its fun!

Yeah I think its totally for the migration experience and seeing new things and whats going on. I think its totally cruel to not take a dog outside its home at all! Shyla gets way more exercise in her yard with fetch (she gets sooo pooped chasing her frisbee non stop) but going on walks is more mentally stimulating and a different sort of exercise

Nup don't go to dog parks and never really will! Too many idiots, too much chance of getting very frustrated and angry at people lol

Week 2 ~ Just had a drink after a game of frisbee fetch

Hope shes ok!