meluchja

hahaha IKWYM. If someone asked me what I feed I think I would maybe feel embarrassed to say Supercoat, lol. I don't know why, as I'm not normally like that, but it's funny. I guess it's just like they say, the best food is the one your dog does best on. I have been struggling with kibbles that doesn't cause my boy to itch/rash. BH has probably been the best so far, but his coat still wasn't the best, and he still itched a little, but not badly, which has been thinking it's more of a grain issue than chicken, like we first thought. So thought of trying Grain Free. But I have been a little worried about the really high protein and fat content of the grain free diets. And plus, I have always wanted to try the Supercoat Sensitive. I hope that's a furry mothers intuition, telling me what is best, lol. But fingers crossed it does the trick. I am going to buy my first bag tomorrow. BTW in your honest opinion, do you think 42% protein and 22% fat is too high??? I know I would have to feed less, according to the guidelines, I would have to feed approx. only 70gm of the stuff, or only 35gm with half canned. Which might suit by boy as he doesn't normally eat much at all. But do you think it could be bad for his organs etc.?????

How is it going? I think I'm going to try it. I was tossing up between this and Artemis Maximal, but thought I would try the cheaper first. The Yoghurt plus has made his skin flar up a bit.

This is a common misunderstanding about animals, however dogs are not cars. Dogs are made of genes not parts. Do you have any idea how many genes are in a dog? I do not see any time in the near future that dogs will be built in factories by big companies that design each gene in their bodies and then test those genes to make sure ever single one works perfectly. BTW even great dog breeders will breed dogs with problems. absolutely, I personally know of a great breeder that has encountered such issues. I also understand that cars are different to dogs, ;) My point was, that I don't think it's fair for a breeder to pretty much say bad luck, not my fault you were the unlucky one who ended up with a dog with problems. And then take no responsibility, and offer no re-embursement. Our family friend, who is a well known a liked breeder, agrees. I uderstand why someone should buy from a registered breeder, I didn't word that right. But what I don't understand is why should they buy from a breeder who would offer no re-embursement if an owner ends up with a dog with genetic/growth/allergy etc. problems. I just don't think it's fair for the owner, and I'm glad I'm not the only one. I understand, but lets look at this situation. Since we do not know what breed of dog it is, only that it is a giant breed, lets take Breed Giant X (this is a real breed but will leave off the name of the breed), according to OFA 48.1% of dogs of this breed submitted for scoring were dysplastic. Ok so the breeder decides they are willing to take those chances on hips to own this breed and they decide to breed a litter. Their parent dogs are tested and though neither have perfect scores, both are scored as not dysplastic. Now the bred stats will tell us that approx 50% of the parent's siblings on average will have HD, so we know it is in the lines and the pups form the litter will statistically have a 50% chance of having HD. All of this is told to the buyer and they decide they want to own this breed and will take the chance that the pup they pick will be the one in two that does not have HD. I do not think the breeder ever implied that the pup they sold had good chance of not having HD. If the breeder also said you are taking your chances just like we all do when we own this breed and I am not guaranteeing hips on this dog because he has a 50/50 chance of having HD. The only other option would be for the breeder to charge a heck of a lot more for all the pups to cover the cost of replacement of approx 50% of the pups they breed or to just stop breeding this breed because they can not afford to breed it and guarantee hips. Now if the breeder does not warn the buyer, if the breeder had not taken due care and not used screened parents, if the breeder implies the pup will be fine, then that is a different story. Giant breeds have several health problems, HD and ED are 2 of them and they are part and parcel of the risks of owning many of the giant breeds. If you do not want to take a chance on bad hips then do not buy a giant breed or any breed that has a moderate to high risk of having HD. Research in the future will hopefully reduce the risk, but as it stands now, there is nothing the breeder can do to prevent it from happening. That is just the way it is. Yep totally agree. I think it depends on each individual breeder, and what was discussed or was put in a contract as to what the breeder is legally liable to do. But IMO morally I think it's a whole different story.

Wow interesting, I was only looking at this food the other day as I was running low on BH. I ended up with a bag of the yoghurt plus lamb and rice, which absolutely stinks, but my boy loves it. Even over the BH. The only thing that stopped me from buying the supercoat sensitive was the chicken, as in the past he seems to have reacted to chicken. But might give it a go, if his coat condition drops on the Yoghurt plus. Hope she continues to do well on it.

This is a common misunderstanding about animals, however dogs are not cars. Dogs are made of genes not parts. Do you have any idea how many genes are in a dog? I do not see any time in the near future that dogs will be built in factories by big companies that design each gene in their bodies and then test those genes to make sure ever single one works perfectly. BTW even great dog breeders will breed dogs with problems. absolutely, I personally know of a great breeder that has encountered such issues. I also understand that cars are different to dogs, ;) My point was, that I don't think it's fair for a breeder to pretty much say bad luck, not my fault you were the unlucky one who ended up with a dog with problems. And then take no responsibility, and offer no re-embursement. Our family friend, who is a well known a liked breeder, agrees. I uderstand why someone should buy from a registered breeder, I didn't word that right. But what I don't understand is why should they buy from a breeder who would offer no re-embursement if an owner ends up with a dog with genetic/growth/allergy etc. problems. I just don't think it's fair for the owner, and I'm glad I'm not the only one.

This has always bugged me. So why buy from a registered breeder???? If all this testing means squat..... Especially if your breeder won't support you, if something goes wrong. IMO, I thought one would go to a registered breeder, so they knew what they were getting, and they would have piece of mind that if the pup ended up with any health issues, whatever they may be, they had rights to contact the breeder and ask for a refund or replacement pup, or something that is mutually agreed, especially if they plan on showing/breeding from this pup. Sounds like the breeder of this pup, is taking control of the situation. I'm glad. I hope you can come to some sort of an arrangement your both happy with. ETA: it's like buying a new car, you buy it new from a dearlershiop, because it has a five star safety rating, etc. But then when something happens to it. It would be like the dealer turning around saying, well I don't know how you have been driving it, I'm not going to fix it. Come on, I think if your going to take the pride in breeding quality pups, you should take at least part responsibilty, if the pup turns out with problems like this pup has. I'm just thankful, there are some great breeders out there.

Thank you so much everyone. I just rang the emergency vet and they said exactly what you said Stormie, he would have to consume approx. 500gm of milk chocolate for it to have major effects. He will probably just have the stomach upsets as I read. Thank you all so much again, it's great to be able to help so quickly. Now lets just hope he can dodge my newly cleaned carpets.... ;) And as for left over easter chocolate, think it might be going into the bin. Thanks again

O.K. I have been googling and have found a link that shows how much chocolate (of all kind) a dog needs to eat for it to be toxic etc. My 8kg dog, just ate about 120gm of a milk chocolate bunny. Do I need to take him to the vet??? According to what I have read, is no. Might cause mild vomitting or diarrhea, but nothing toxic or fatal. But do I still need to take him to the vet??? Or should I just keep an eye on him over the next 24 hours. I'm really worried, as it's late, the closet Emergency vet is about an hour away, my son has a vomitting bug, and not sure how well he would brave the car ride. What do you all think. This is the website I was referring to. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive

Yeah I think that would work well. I used to work in catering, and the little white fish I think would be perfect, I have never tried it, because I used kibble in his kong thing, but I think it would work well. A nice way to add omega 3 as well. But of course he/she might not like it. buggers. ;)

What about finely diced pieces of meat, cheese, veges, all mixed. Peanut butter, I heard is a good one. Dried fish, sorced cheaply from asian supermarkets. That's all, Sorry I'm stumped

I have been wondering, how many times a healthy dog should do a poo in one day?????? I'm sure I have read 1-2 is normal. So what does it mean if it's more????? Too much food being consumed???? Or is it poor quality food???? My boy is currently being fed Black Hawk holistic, eats about 1/2 a day, plus also about 100gm of homemade barf, which consists of Roo mince, salmon, sweet potato, omega oils, veges and a small amount of brown rice for texture. And I should add he weighs just under 8kg's. He is in perfect condition for this weight. I can feel his ribs, but has a nice hour glass shape and nice tuck to his tummy, but you can't see his ribs. He is a cross breed. BUT........................ the bugger will do about 3 poos a day, give or take from day to day. They are good consistancy, not runny, not smelly, not huge, just often ;) Is this within a normal range? My first thought is no, too much. But I'm only guessing. I'm not overly worried, but more curious to know if there is something I should change.

I saw a lady on the trading post one time advertising Labratzu pups, yes Labrador x Shitzu. I have no idea how that is even possible, I wonder how they would look all grown up.

I wouldn't waste any more time trying to reason with this person, who obviously hasn't a clue.

My Mum would not have been strong enough to hold Tyson... My mum tried to walk over to the man whilst still having Pixie on lead with her! I yelled at her to get back and come to me and by that time there were more than enough people there trying to control the situation. I'm sorry but my number one priority is protecting my own dogs. I consider human life, especially a baby more important than my animals. A BABY face planting the concrete in a pram with heightened dog behaviour surrounding it would turn on my overdrive ESPECIALLY when there were 2 adults with 2 dogs on lead who could have worked out a plan instead of squealing off down the road. If your mother was fit enough to run off, maybe you should have squealed off home and sent your mother to assist. geez it's so easy to judge someone else when you haven't been in that position yourself. I'm just glad opinions are just that, hopefully the OP knows this as well. I have been in worse Your my hero

My Mum would not have been strong enough to hold Tyson... My mum tried to walk over to the man whilst still having Pixie on lead with her! I yelled at her to get back and come to me and by that time there were more than enough people there trying to control the situation. I'm sorry but my number one priority is protecting my own dogs. I consider human life, especially a baby more important than my animals. A BABY face planting the concrete in a pram with heightened dog behaviour surrounding it would turn on my overdrive ESPECIALLY when there were 2 adults with 2 dogs on lead who could have worked out a plan instead of squealing off down the road. If your mother was fit enough to run off, maybe you should have squealed off home and sent your mother to assist. geez it's so easy to judge someone else when you haven't been in that position yourself. I'm just glad opinions are just that, hopefully the OP knows this as well.

well what are you saying??? Strange post, I'd be curious to know if these dogs were reported. I guess the dog was very lucky to escape serious injury. But injured or not, in my opinion their owner should take more care with restraning them, it's obvious to some extent that they aren't very social animals. It's cases like this that give the breed a bad name. I'm very glad to hear that you, your mum and your dogs weren't hurt in any way, like someone said, you were very much in danger. I think you may need a stiff drink tonight. I hope the old man is o.k. and especially the baby, so scarey.

Hi, My dog has an allergy to fleas, one bite can send him nuts for weeks. You should visit your vet, tell them what has happened, and they might give him a steriod shot to help break the itch cycle. He might not have any fleas on him, but if they are still in the area, they could still be bothering him just enough without you seeing them. Does your dog have any flea dirt present? Looks like dirt flecks. I would have a look and pick off any bits of dirt you can see, and but it onto a tissue, add a drop of water, and if the tissue around the dirt turns redish, this is flea dirt and a good indication that at some point your dog still has some contact with them. Not saying your dog has FAD but might be worth a look into, before you go down the elimination path. Good luck.

Yep raw chix gives my doggy the squirts big time. Sometimes it will also make him vomit, and this isn't for just Raw Chix, if I offer him canned or cooked food with chix sometimes he will vomit it up as well. So I stopped all chix and no more problems. I worked it is more of an intolerance than an allergy.

Thank you so much everyone for all your help. I will print out this topic and give it to my mum. I have read so many different things regarding shampooing. One site says to shampoo them regularly with Selsum Blue shampoo to keep their skin clean and then another will say avoid harsh shampoos and only shampoo once a month. So confusing. But I guess from what the majority of you are doing, a good quality shampoo based on oils once a month is plenty. Thanks again for all your help, my mum will be very grateful.

Oh I forgot to ask another couple of questions. 7. What flea treatment is best for them? As she is in a bad flea area. She did have her annual pest spray done a few weeks ago. I did initially recommend Sentinel or Interceptor along with comfortis during the warmer months, but not sure if these products are to harsh for this breed. 8. What heartworm/intestional worming treatment do you recommend? I have read a few products are worse for sensitive dogs. Thanks again.

Hi all, My mum took on a Mini Schauzer from an old friend, who could no longer care for him. He is approx. 7 years old. He is Salt and Pepper I think, or Silver, not sure on the difference, but grey looking. Sorry. I have noticed he has dry looking skin, but would probably be more from inadequate skin care than a health problem I think. Mums old friend was using her shampoo to wash him once a week and fed him Pal dry and canned foods from the supermarket. I have given mum some of our BH adult to feed him and he likes it so hopefully the food side of things are sorted. I have no way of tracing his lines as mums old friend can't remember who she got him from. But don't think this is that important now, as mum just wants a companion, and wants to know all about the best way to take care of him. But I have been reading up about MS informed her a diet high is fat is out, regular grooming is a must, but I'm stumped on what products mum should use to take care of his coat, as I have read that they are prone to many skin issues. So I was hoping some MS breeders can answers some questions for me so I can get mum sorted. 1. What is the best shampoo/conditioner to use on him? 2. Is there anything more she should know about coat care, apart from grooming? 3. Will she needed to offer anything more than good quality dry food? 4. Can MS eat lamb flaps? 5. I have read 1x fish oil capsule is good for MS, is the true? Should she give this? 6. Is there anything more she should know? Thank you very much for all help offered my mum will be very thankful, as will I and I'm sure Scruffy.

He doesn't go to the toilet inside, he has only gone once at our friends house about 3 months ago since he was about 3 months old. We didn't clean it, even though I offered, as he did it on a speaker that was in the middle of the room that were throwing out as they had just moved in. He is a very good dog, don't get me wrong. He never goes to the toilet inside my parents house when they watch him for us. And I don't discourage him from going to the toilet outside, rather the opposite, I still praise his on command and on his own accord. He has lifted his legs only couple of times ever and only once inside and I was initially only asking for advice if this is something that I should prevent from happening again outside, of course I know it's not acceptable inside, but I was a little worried that by allowing him to do it outside it may encourage dominate male behaviour, but glad to hear this is a normal growing phase of a male dog. Like I said he is a really well behaved dog, following all my commands. But I just wanted clarification of the lifting of his leg out in public.

This is great, thank you all for the clarification on what is normal and what isn't. I'm glad my gut instincts were right. Sounds like most of you all agree which is good, it's all very helpful, thankyou. It's great to get some really helpful information and clarification on things without people being nasty or being sarcastic, well most time anyway, lol.

Like I have been. His no command which is a blunt "arh", is given and he stops. I wasn't asking how to stop it, I was asking if I should. He has only ever done this inside a house once, and that was about 3 months ago, and he visits other people houses often and never done it again. I'm more curious to know if I should be discouraging it all together even if he does it outside, of course it's a problem inside, but like I asked, is it a problem outside, should I continue to try and stop it?

yeah he is good here, he has an open door to outside all through out the day, he hasn't been inside since he was a little puppy maybe 3 months old. He was very easy to house train. And yes the house he lifted inside had 2 other male dogs, 1 entire 1 desexed. And the other house he lifted outside on the BBQ has a desexed 9 month old male dog. So definately seems to only happen when he can smell or around other male dogs. So if we are outside, it's something I should let him do? I should also add, since he got into trouble for lifting he leg inside at our friends house, he hasn't tried to do it again. But having said that, will definately keep him on a leash when we walk through another house again. Is it something that will happen more often the older he gets?