morgan

We always used to buy our colloidal silver from Robert McDowell in Bathurst (online orders) but ended up buying our own generator as we found more and more things to use it on - much cheaper! Some chemists and health food stores also sell it, but it can be quite expensive this way.

Have cured dozens of hot spots on friends' dogs without clipping, antibiotics etc - and absolutely no vet bills. Colloidal silver sprayed or poured on the spot several times a day will kill all bacteria, clean it and ease the irritation. No hair has to be touched. The active ingredient in Curash is zinc - I used it many years ago on an itchy dog that was chewing it's coat - fixed it. I then realised that by giving a zinc tablet daily I could prevent the itch in the first place. Any dog that is prone to ANY skin problems will probably benefit from this. Much easier to prevent problems than treat them. Using zinc as a preventative (and treatment), and colloidal silver for any kind of skin infection is simple and cheap. Colloidal silver is also very helpful with eye and ear infections.

I would not feel comfortable with feeding either of those foods. The first one has rice as it's main component - it is just like people food, where they list sucrose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup scattered amongst the ingredients to disguise the fact that there is heaps of sugar in the product. Having just tried Coprice Working Dog food as an emergency filler to make my good stuff last til the next delivery, I would never touch a heavily rice based product again And it's protein level is waay too low for my dogs, they simply could not eat enough of this food to meet their protein requirements. The second food is too vague in it's ingredients. Has it bumped up it's protein levels by including soy? Will not allow my dogs or kids to eat soy in any shape or form - too toxic, especially to the thyroid. I still prefer higher protein levels for my adult dogs anyway - they do best around the 30% mark. The meat v meal part is of concern too - just how much meat is there compared to cereal? I also look right down the ingredient list to the very last entry - does it have glucosamine? Probiotics? What type of oil? Herbs? etc.

Now see, I wouldn't classify a Dane as a simple breed - so much care has to be taken while it is growing to prevent skeletal problems, plus preventing bloat later. I would probably only classify a number of the medium and smaller size dogs as "simple" mainly in feeding and grooming concerns. I could be wrong, as I have never actually owned one, I have always gone for the higher maintenance breeds, thereby complicating things for myself. If I just had kelpies for instance, my only problem would be getting enough exercise for it! There are often no black and white answers, so we have to use our own judgement - this is what I meant by complicating things. It is much simpler if there is just one standard set of rules for everyone. I wish!

Hehe - if you want it "simple", get a "simple" breed It's people like us that have the "special" breeds that complicate things for ourselves!

The reason why so many dogs develop bloat after eating soaked kibble is that they can scoff it very quickly, taking in too much air, which hastens the fermentation process - it is a heavy weight in the stomach, much more so than just dry, so any sudden activity can cause torsion. Once torsion has occurred and the food starts to ferment, gases build up distending the stomach, leading to shock and death. A vet who is extremely knowledgeable on bloat (she saved a couple of mine) insists that susceptible breeds should never have access to more than a bare minimum of water after meals for this reason, after bloating, my 2 girls were fed charcoal tablets and not allowed water after meals for the rest of their lives.

My dogs are well and truly watered ages before their meal of dry, and if anyone goes to gulp water afterwards, it is taken away from them, and a small amount brought back a couple of hours later. Mine also have several snacks of chicken necks or turkey tails during the day, so that they don't gulp down their evening meal taking in lots of air. If it is very hot, and they are drinking more than usual, they don't get fed until much later - midnight if necessary (heat stretches stomach ligaments as well, making them more susceptible to torsion)

If you desex him while he is still in the humping phase, there is a very good chance that he will always do it - it is a natural stage of growth that all puppies go thru, including many females. Wait until he has grown out of it, THEN desex. (Mind you, some poodles never grow out of it )

Most dogs I have known to have died from bloat were fed soaked kibble. I would be seriously concerned about leaving soaked food too long in case it starts to ferment. As an aside, why are you feeding calcium? On it's own you could cause serious skeletal growth problems in a giant breed - try giving dolomite, which has calcium and magnesium in the correct balance. I have passed this on to several breeders who knew nothing of it, and they have had much better results after changing over to it. It never ceases to amaze me how many breeders have not done their research on calcium supplementation.

So glad my vets aren't like this - I use four separate vet practices, and all of them do C3 or C5 as requested, no argument

My dogs have never had an adult booster in over 30 years - only the 2 puppy shots (starting at 10 or 11 weeks) They have been exposed to parvo and distemper, and have never had a problem. The only pups I ever lost to parvo were from a mum on breeders terms who was very ill and couldn't feed them for a week after the first couple of days - none of my other dogs caught it. In this time I have only had a few cases of cancer, no heart disease, no arthritis, only one with allergies, one outbreak of kennel cough, caught from a dog show, and fixed in 2 days,and no other diseases apart from the occasional stomach bug. Gastric torsion has killed several, but this is a problem in my breeds. I usually have up to 15 dogs at a time. I never use anything apart from C3 - the one time I used one that did coronavirus as well I ended up with the one dog with horrendous allergies. (Don't know why I let myself be talked into that one)

Bought a couple of bags of Coprice Working Dog a few weeks ago to mix with my normal dog food cos it was out of stock for a few weeks, and I needed to pad it out a bit. Dogs hated it, needed to feed much more of it, and cos of all the grain, it pretty well went straight thru them - and that was just giving them 40% Coprice! Hate to think what would have happened on 100%. Was very glad when my food came back in stock - now have an almost full bag of Coprice that they won't eat.

My boy needs 5 cups a day of Royal Canin to maintain his weight, as well as turkey tails and chicken necks. If I try to feed him an el cheapo food like Bonnie Working or Coprice Working, he cannot physically eat enough of it, and loses weight, as he needs to eat much more than 5 cups. He also produces twice as much at the other end due to the higher grain and filler content, which just go straight thru. So a high quality food works for him, and me, as I have far less to pick up and have a healthy looking dog with great coat.

Many years ago I had a large 6 mth old puppy who had terrible cowhocks, and the breeder advised me to roadwork her to strengthen her legs. This made them worse! A fellow exhibitor warned me to never exercise puppies on a lead, as they needed to stop and rest the moment they felt like it, to avoid stress on their joints. Until they were fully grown, they were only to have free exercise on grass, and never encouraged to keep playing past their limits. I have done this ever since, taking pups in the car to off leash areas for a quick romp and socialisation session, then home again when I have wanted a change of scenery for them. Haven't had leg problems or arthritis in any of my dogs since.

So either way, dogs suffer. So we have the usual ethical dilemma - is it better for much wanted and loved pets to suffer their entire lives and have no wanted or unwanted pups, or let them be desexed at a later, healthier age and euthanase healthy, unwanted pups. Not all undesexed pups will go on to reproduce - most will be desexed at a reasonable age. Not all unwanted pups will be pts, but a percentage will. Rescuers and some breeders say desex everything, and bad luck for those that suffer as a result, some breeders will say desex later, and bad luck for some unwanted puppies that will be pts as a result. There is no easy solution - only suffering either way, but at least the puppies that are pts have a quick, merciful end to their suffering, as unpleasant and heartbreaking as it is.

Nup - the prevailing opinion seems to be "for the greater good" - it is acceptable for a percentage of dogs to suffer or die early, rather than have unwanted pups born. It is immaterial how much they suffer, or how young they die, because this is ALWAYS preferable to the CHANCE of producing puppies.

Thank you Silverdog! I have posted links to most of those studies in previous desexing threads, but I just couldn't do it yet again! When I have done this, I'm always told that you can find studies on the internet to back up any POV, but if they aren't posted,

Who said 8 weeks? EARLY desexing in giant breeds can be at 6 mths - a world of difference between a Dane and a SWF. As there are few scientific studies on long term effects of early desexing, I would have thought that personal experience of a vet who deals with many, many dog breeders to be totally relevant, even if you don't want to hear it.

Spoke to a vet about castrating large breeds early, and he specifically mentioned the problems Great Danes have if done too early. The abnormally small penis and urether can cause extremely painful urinary blockages in adults. So yes, he will only be using it for piddling, but it won't always even do that. I guess the dog will care about the consequences of having "a small doodle" even if you don't.

Where did I say anything about dogs being returned - I DID say that many rescues wouldn't have problems. I have rehomed quite a number of dogs for people over the years, I was lucky that all were already desexed, I have worked on dodgy temperaments and socialisation - that shar pei I rehomed last year was looking at being pts for biting someone - he is now a delightful, adored pet. I have ALWAYS offered to take back dogs that I have bred, for any reason, and earlier this year even paid a large sum to get back an older bitch I had bred, along with a boy that I successfully rehomed (his breeder wasn't interested), just to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands - she will never go anywhere again. Have had the early desexing conversation with three different vets this week, one of which sees a huge number of breeders' dogs. ALL agreed that it was probably necessary for rescues, unfortunately, but should be avoided by registered breeders, ESPECIALLY of large breeds, as there were so many potential problems. This morning I was asking about vasectomies for large breed pups, so that they could remain entire for 2 or 3 years to allow full development - this vet said the problems he had seen with urinary blockages caused by inadequate development of genitalia through early desexing in breeds such as Danes etc was just heartbreaking. He felt that vasectomies would be a simpler op for boys, with fewer risks, once he had gotten over the surprise at being asked about them. He felt that hysterectomies, leaving ovaries intact, on very young pups would incur even more losses than early desexing, due to spending more time under anaesthetic - maybe 1 or 2% more. I didn't ask him what the expected loss rate from early desexing was, as he was pushed for time, but I did wonder. He was adamant that bitches really shouldn't be desexed before 6 mths if at all avoidable. When I mentioned the akita, he said this result was not uncommon, but there were other problems that could occur. Having just done a poll on vets in my area, I don't have a single vet who will do it!

Did it for years! Well, sort of, on "fast" day each dog just got a small piece of meaty lamb flap - a very small amount compared to their normal daily intake.

Watch it Morgan... them's fighting words!! Hehe - some of my favourite pooches are SWFs, but my oh my those boys can be oversexed

I used the term "damaged goods" to describe the akita that is now permanently undeveloped and with a resulting health problem due to being desexed at 8 weeks. There is NO way i would use the term to describe desexed animals in general. For example I personally believe every single SWF should be desexed for a start (but just before puberty)

Sorry - thought I was doing a HEALTH related post - which was turned into a RESCUE issue....

Have learnt a serious lesson here - next time I label a post "warning to breeders" I will mark it "BREEDERS ONLY" Have absolutely no problem with rescues being desexed early - as their health is probably already damaged by dam's stress, poor nutrition, early vaccination, early weaning, exposure to a vast number of viruses (in situations with lots of rescues) their new owners probably already expect issues, whether temperament or health. They are lucky to be alive, so who cares if they have a few problems. Many won't. I am talking about "responsibly" bred LARGE BREEDS Is this difference so difficult to fathom? I am talking about a wonderful, caring, responsible owner, who devotes her life to her furkids, being treated like an absolute nong, and being sold very expensive, damaged goods. She adores this pup, and would never consider "exchanging" it, but she should never have been put in this position. She was willing to pay a sizeable extra sum to be refunded when the pup was spayed at a decent age, but the breeder was so busy being "responsible" that she refused. Hell, she even produced a wonderful reference and plea for sanity from her vet - how many puppy buyers go to this length? As Silverdog says, the dog world is facing more and more legislation, which will affect each and every one of us. PETA will never rest until there are NO dogs. The AVA and the RSPCA forced the docking ban through in this country. The AVA is currently lobbying for the mandatory desexing of EVERY kitten and puppy at 8 weeks, unless going to registered breeders - and all the rescuers are jumping on the bandwagon. And we all know where BSL is heading, and how many breeds have already been added to this list in some parts of the country. And even before this legislation comes into being, breeders are being browbeaten into "politically correct" early desexing, with no thought of the consequences! Let's face it, few puppy mills target very large breeds, because they are so damn expensive to feed, and have a limited market...