JD19

We no longer feed Nutro, but when we did we switched Brodie from Science Diet to Nutro Natural Large Breed(Chicken and Rice flavor) and the difference after about 2 weeks was amazing. His coat was very dull on SD and he used to shed alot after the switch it was much more shiney and the shedding was reduced a lot. Instead of feeding him almost 6 cups per day we were down to about 4.5. His poo was much smaller and didn't smell as bad, and he was pooing less, 2x a day instead of 4 or 5. The only thing that Nutro made worse was the gas. He had very nasty, room clearing gas, very frequently while on Nutro. We have since switched him to a brand called California Natural (Chicken Meal and Rice flavor) and his gas has decreased greatly. We also feed him about 1 cup per day less than when he was Nutro and his coat is still shiney and soft like it was before. If we did need to switch him to another food for some reason, I'd definately go back to Nutro. Would just need to get a supply of clothes pins for the nose.LOL

Last night (Thursday) my Mom had to make the heart breaking decision to have their cat Mischief put to sleep. He was 21 yrs old. I was not quite 10 when we got him as a little kitten from the Humane Society. Not more than 6 months ago we had to put his life long buddy Max down at the age of 18 (he would have been 19 this month). I'm glad that Max was there to meet Chiffers when he got to the bridge. R.I.P. Max and Mischief. JD

So far we have not found a fruit, or veggie, that our Rottie won't eat. He especially likes bananas, strawberries, and watermelon. He also likes raw carrots and lettuce along with tomatoes, green peppers and cucumber.

Have you looked on EBay?

Does your vet do Titers? Titer testing is becoming more popular here in the US. I know of quite a few Rottweiler owners that have their pets Titered every year and will only vaccinate for those diseases that show a low score, with the exception of Rabies as it is the law to vaccinate for Rabies.

When we got Brodie, he was 8-10 months old, crating him was a neccessity. He had absolutely NO house manners(Brodie is an indoor dog). It took him a little while to get used to it, but after he did he loved his crate. When we were home we would leave the door open and he would wander in there to take naps. It was also a great way to help him with his housetraining, he still had accidents in the house at first, but that was our fault as we were not watching him closely enough. He also liked to chew things up, so crateing him kept him from doing that when we were at work or asleep. Brodie is now 3 yrs old and no longer needs the crate. He is completely housetrained and has earned free roam of the house while we are away. The only time in the last year the crate has come out of storage was when he hurt his shoulder and needed to be on crate rest to help with the healing process. Crates are not cruel. But like all things can be abused in the way they are used.

Royal Canin/Waltham/Pedigree are all owned or produced by Masterfoods USA. Royal Canin was just purchased by them not more than a year ago. Waltham in the US is only available as a prescription from a vet. Royal Canin is ranked among the premium/super premium brands of dog foods here in the US.

What about building a ramp?

Tacking the stomach is becoming more common in the US. Especially after a dog has bloated. It is believed that once a dog bloats it is more prone to bloat again. This site has some good info on bloat. Bloat

Here is a link to a thread where I posted a pic of Brodie wearing his vest. His is made by Outward Hound, but I do not know if you can get that brand over in Australia. In the US it's one of the most popular brands and is found in almost any pet store that carries lifevests. Brodie w/lifevest The pic is in the 5th reply for the thread.

My Rottie loves to try to "eat" the splashing water when he swims also. If you are worried about your pup swimming until she wears herself out and sinks you may want to look into getting her a lifevest. We have one for Brodie for when he goes swimming. A good investment for pups that love to swim as much as your does.

Females can come into heat anywhere from 6 months to a year of age. My female Sibe came into heat about a week before she was scheduled to be spayed, so we had to wait about a month and a half until we were able to get her into the vet again for her spay op.

Neutering at 6 months of age is a fairly standard practice.