bowser

One of my weims is very precious about anyone touching his feet. If I try and clip his nails he will fight me every step of the way, and bite the clippers - trying to take them out of my hands. He carries on so much that I've occasionally torn a nail as he pulls his foot away mid clip. I've also tried filing his nails but he didn't like that either. I have to get someone to help me by sitting on him to keep him relatively still and do it very slowly. When I was working at a vet he was a regular blood donor, but always needed sedation, so I'd just wait until he was sedated and clip them then so that he couldn't fight me Since he no longer donates blood I haven't actually clipped his nails in a while, because it's not worth the fight. He's been like this since he was a young pup (we got him at 9 weeks, and he's almost 7) and no amount of treats or bribery have changed his opinion on the matter. So unfortunately I have no suggestions for you, sorry!

This is the info that we (at Doggie Rescue) give new dog owners, based on a First Aid handbook for dogs. There are other things that are toxic (like chocolate, caffeine etc) but here is the fruit/vegie info for you: Grapes and sultanas are toxic. There have been quite a few reported deaths from dogs who have eaten grapes. Many dogs have eaten the occasional grape and been fine, but I just don't risk it with my dogs. Green/unripe tomatoes are toxic, as are tomato plants. Onions cause anaemia, which is much more serious in dogs than in people. They can die if they become too anaemic and don't get treatment. Stone fruit like apricots and peaches are ok but the seeds are toxic - they contain small amounts of arsenic, so if the seed is cracked open and eaten its a bad thing. Apple seeds generally pass through and come out whole in faeces so aren't usually a problem. Avocado is also toxic. You need to be cautious if you have fruit trees in the yard as fallen fruit can ferment and produce alcohol and harmful bacteria that dogs should not be eating. I've seen wild rainbow lorrikeets getting 'drunk' off fermenting fruit. Other fruits are fine but you shouldn't feed too much or you'll end up with very pooey dogs. My dogs LOVE watermelon but if they eat too much they get the squirts. You should also be very careful about compost bins/heaps as the fermenting fruit and veg can produce very toxic bacteria. I know of two dogs who died recently from eating stuff from the compost pile.

I just checked their website and there is no mention of a refund for your dog not liking it (though I couldn't get their Australian one to load). I haven't heard of any dog food company offering a money back guarantee if your dog doesn't like the food. As far as I'm aware it's just 'too bad' and you have to give away or try to sell the bag you've got to someone else.

Name: Erin Age (optional): Location: Sydney Rescue Group: Doggie Rescue Time in Rescue: 4 years Who can vouch for: Dogmad, IBite, Shmoo, Jelly, Fiona Mills (have spoken and typed with many rescue people but have only met/know these in person) Preferred Breed: Weimaraners, dachsies, big boofers, little scruffers, anyone who wants a belly rub. Experience (if any): Kennel hand then adoption officer and foster co-ordinator at Doggie Rescue, foster carer twice, have done some transport, donated bedding, work in a vet, always chasing/saving stray dogs and finding cats.

Just make sure that you don't feed any CHOCOLATE icecream, or macadamias, or any of the other 'no no' foods for dogs. Small amounts of icecream should be fine, but due to the fat content and as some dogs are very intolerant of dairy, it should only be an occasional treat. My dogs seem to disagree with me on that though, and will always try to snaffle our dessert and steal paddle pop sticks etc

Bowser isn't ashamed of himself, unfortunately. Here is a lovely, very flattering picture of him (Note the patch of fur where he once had testicles... I think he is just one very confused boy...) Edited to add: EEEW! That poor cat... I think that definately tops my gross story.

We had a friend staying for a week, and one morning when he got up and opened the spare bedroom door, Bowser just couldn't contain his excitement at seeing someone awake... and started... well...air humping :D He kinda walks, hunched over, like he's going to poo, but he's really shuffling along, humping the air and/or trying to hump his front legs. It looks funny and very disturbing at the same time My friend freaked out and was like "NOOO! No pooing in the house!" and ran to open the back door... which only resulted in MORE excitement because someone was running around! I unfortunately had to explain, which was quite embarrassing... "Yes Dave, he's just REEEALLY happy that you're awake..." The first time he did it was a couple of months ago. One morning we woke up (the dogs sleep on beds on the floor at the end of our bed) and as soon as we woke up Bowser jumped up, started humping the end of our bed and erm, 'messed' all over our sheets. My OH has never gotten out of bed so quickly! (and I of course had to clean it up...) We've always known that Bowsie was a little bit gay (very friendly with a certain male viszla at the park) and we accept him for who he is, but this new behaviour is a little disturbing, especially since he's been desexed for 3 years now! So, perhaps that's too much info, but now that I know I'm not alone, I can proudly say, "I love my gay air humping dog"

From the research I've done (online, and talking to various vets), I've found that grapes/sultanas, avocadoes and green/unripe tomatoes can be harmful for dogs. You also need to be careful of large fruit seeds like peach and nectarine, and large quantities of small seeds like apple. Mandarin, orange and other citrus fruits would be fine as long as your dog isn't chewing lots of seeds, as many fruit seeds contain small amounts of toxins like arsenic. Most small seeds like that will pass through a dog undigested, so you shouldn't be too worried. If you are worried about the seeds, just pick them out before you give any of the fruit to your dog

I think it is definately the fat that he has a problem with, as he has vomited every time in the past after eating anything with too much fat in it. I asked my vet about the aspergillus in the Eagle Pack and she suggested I contact the company as aspergillus niger, one of the ingredients, has been known to cause significant health problems in dogs. She was baffled as to why anyone would knowingly put aspergillus in food considering how bad it can be. I will contact Eagle Pack (or attempt to) and report back.

Thanks Bloss - I have bought some rice flour so will see what I can come up with for biscuits. And thanks Dodgy Doggy - I knew that, but your help is still appreciated

The aspergillus is listed as an ingredient, which is what shocked me. At the end of the list it has "Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. subtilus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae, and Aspergillus niger." I'm sure there isn't much of it in the food, but why put it in there at all if it is known to be a harmful fungus?

Ok, so I've checked it out and it looks like the following foods would be ok: * Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach (Salmon and Rice based) * ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet canine potato and duck formula and canine potato and venison * Natura Pet Lamb and Rice * Eagle Pack Holistic Select® Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Formula All the other Eagle Pack Holistic foods seem to have chicken fat in them. One thing I found out though is that most of the Eagle Pack foods have Aspergillus fungus in them. I was of the understanding that aspergillus fungus was a really bad thing as dogs who get it in their nasal cavities can have major problems. I will have to ask my favourite vet about that one and get back to you all... Thanks again everyone

He loves carrot, the problem is that we are in the elimination phase of his diet. We're in week three of four weeks of feeding nothing but beef and rice. He LOVES his vegies but we will have to reintroduce them one variety at a time to see if any of them are contributing to the problem. We haven't had any scoping done. The diet change was the first step, if this didn't work we were going to try other things like antibiotics and other medication. I will check out the websites that people have given - thanks! So far I've been able to keep the hubby quiet by keeping this whole exercise fairly cheap (buying mince on special, etc), but I'm sure there will be much whinging if and when I find a kibble to buy, as I'm sure it won't be cheap. Damn stupid husbands who whinge about spending money on dogs... grrr... isn't that what a pay check is for?

My problem child (Austin) has recently been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (after months of 2am vomits and toxic farts). Through a process of elimination I have figured out that he is allergic to chicken and pork (and possibly other things too). At the moment he is existing on a diet of beef mince cooked up with plain white rice. He likes things that are crunchy, so I would like to be able to re-introduce some kibble at some point in the future. Today I checked out a couple of the expensive brands of food (science diet, eukanuba etc) that claimed to be 'beef and rice' and 'lamb and rice' but every single food I looked at has chicken or 'poultry fat' as one of the ingredients. I don't like my chances of finding anything, but does anyone know if such a kibble exists? Could someone with eagle pack please check the ingredients to see if the beef one has chicken in it? And do any treats exist that are mainly beef without chicken or pork added? I made a batch of beef jerky type stuff by baking chunks of casserole beef but they take forever to make. Any help would be appreciated. Ta. Edited to add: I know I could do BARF, but at this point he is only allowed to have a very bland diet so no veggies, and bones make him very stinky so I don't like giving them every day.

I'm glad he is ok Daisy The vet you spoke to needs to do some serious extra reading or go back to Uni - vets should KNOW that chocolate is bad and what it causes, it's important!