morgan

Yes pyometra is a dreadful problem, but not that many entire bitches get it. Having had show dogs for 30 years I have only ever had 2 bitches desexed - one because her hormone levels weren't good, which led to a very low grade pyo, and her daughter, who was desexed at 8 due to some mammary lumps. Many of my girls exceeded the average age for their breed without ever getting it.

Why on earth would anyone want to keep a carnivore on a vegetarian diet? Not unless they have a magical formula for changing dental structure and doubling the length of the alimentary system. People that want vegetarian pets to fit in with their own personal beliefs should stick to rabbits and guinea pigs..

Any vet that would inflict that cocktail of substances on a dog in one hit would never get my business. No wonder the poor dog picked something up - it's immune system would have been shot to hell! I wouldn't be vaccinating him again either... PS - why on earth did the new vet give antibiotics for a virus?

Have been feeding RC for a number of years now, and all of my dogs get chicken or turkey necks daily in addition to the recommended amount of dry food. I would never substitute bones, meat etc for dry, so as not to upset protein balance etc. I find that dogs only have to be on RC for a fortnight before showing improvement in coat quality (shine, lack of smell etc).

Also keep on hand the homoeopathic remedy "Apis" which is made from bee venom. Discuss with the homoeopath which strength would be best for your situation. This remedy is squirted on the gums and gets into the system in less than 60 seconds. I am extremely allergic to bee stings myself, and have had occasion to use this a couple of times. Haven't needed other medication by the time I reached the doctor luckily! (But still rush to the vet)

Get hold of Pat Coleby's book on Natural Pet Care - a mine of information. Don't know the dosage rate myself for tick poisoning, but friends who have used it say that the symptoms start to reverse within several hours as the poison is detoxified. Would still place a badly affected dog in vet care in case of respiratory problems etc, but they can't actually break down the poison that is in the system or prevent further damage. My friend's GSD that died last week was at the vet's, who was unable to do anything to save her. Unfortunately it all happened so quickly that she didn't contact me until afterwards, as I could have given her some. We always have it in the frig from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn, just in case. Then chuck it out if unused, and buy more next season. Have also used it many years ago for pups with a parvo-like problem. Had 6 deathly ill pups at home on drips for several days, and kept injecting vit c in thru the drip. Saved 4 of the 6, much to my vet's surprise!

Have had the Nutro recommended to me, but the actual kibble size is totally inadequate for very large dogs. I got some samples of the large breed puppy food, and it was the same size as their kitten food. Considering my pups weigh 15 kgs and my kittens less than 1 kg, I thought this was somewhat ridiculous. Poor pups really had problems with it.

A friend just lost her GSD from 2 ticks last week - she didn't know the central coast was a problem area as she had only recently moved there from a non-tick area. A friend's dog that she was minding was saved tho. Always keep injectible vit c on hand to administer if a tick is found.

Have tried this food with a few boxers - they love it! Have used RC for a number of years now for all my dogs, wouldn't use anything else.

Good heavens! My 13 week old pups still spend at least an hour a day playing with mum and getting chastised when necessary by her - they have lovely manners! Whether or not the pups have stopped nursing is irrelevant - they still need their mum! I am only just moving mine onto their new homes now that their 2nd needles have taken effect - I wanted to be as sure as possible of the show potential of the ones I am keeping as well as the show pup going to a new home. They are still being fed 4 times a day as they are growing so quickly - one boy is over 15kgs! There is no way I would leave them unattended or without some contact with mum now, let alone at 6 weeks! As for vaccinations - viruses can be airborne, carried in on shoes or clothing, or even inhaled, carried in your nostrils, and exhaled over the pups! They will be ok not having their needles till 8 weeks with mum, as they are not being stressed. Removing them and placing them in new surroundings will stress them and lower their immunity to the point where they will succumb much more easily to anything that is going around. If the breeder is not aware of all this, they should not be breeding!

If it is Wobblers, cortisone can help for a while. The spinal cord gets very inflamed from being rubbed by the affected bone in the vertebra or vertebrae, interfering with the nervous system so that it stops sending messages to the hindquarters. Where there is not too much damage, cortisone can reduce this swelling, which allows these messages to get through again. The dog will have to be kept quiet permanently, but you can increase quality and length of life with this treatment. And yes, x-rays are not sufficient for diagnosis.

Any dog that has had cancer has a damaged immune system. Vaccinations damage the immune system. Wouldn't even consider it! But then I would never vaccinate a healthy dog of that age either...

All of mine have dew claws removed. I do feel mean, cos it does hurt them, even at 3 days, but I don't have to worry about future owners neglecting them, or injuries, or being hurt myself! (And also for the show ring) Having had numerous dogs jump on me and scratch and gouge me with their dew claws, I'm not about to put up with it from my own dogs! Even today I have nasty scratch marks down both legs from a staffy whose dew claws got me when he jumped up to say hello! (he wrapped his front legs around me before sliding down - ouch!!)

Is he worried about hydatids? These used to be a problem in pet grade mince years ago, and only from dodgy sources, but not these days. Can't think of anything else that can affect kids. The preservatives or blue food dyes found in pet mince certainly don't affect kids unless they actually eat it! Raw meat is fine as long as it is not the basis of the diet. As an extra it's a great way to get pups to eat, or as part of a balanced BARF diet.

Because my dogs have a tendency to be underweight on lower energy foods - they simply will not eat enough of such foods to maintain weight. They will eat enough of the Maxi Energy tho! Have never had a problem with overweight dogs!

They were always the right weight, and that was with chicken necks as well. If they put on a bit, I'd cut back on the dry and feed more necks for a while.

About 5 minutes running morning and afternoon, before going back to bed

You'd be surprised - I've had 8 and 10 yr old sighthounds on the Energy, and they've done very well, not gained extra weight etc.

I have found that greyhounds do very well on the Maxi Energy, wouldn't even consider the Maxi Adult for them. The Maxi Sensible is better for those with skin or ear problems - greyhounds don't usually have digestion problems! And just think, this food makes picking up afterwards sooo much better with large dogs saves time and disposal probs!!

What size/breed are your dogs? The range has different types for different sized and aged dogs. Within these types are more differences - for example the Medium Energy can be too rich for some dogs and upset the digestion, while the medium adult may not keep enough weight on some dogs (great if they are a bit overweight). Dogs with sensitive skin or digestion do much better on the "sensible" varieties, available for each size range. If you know someone else who wants to buy it you are probably better off combining orders so that you can get it at "breeders rates" rather than retail prices. Not sure if you have to be a registered breeder to qualify for this...

Regardless of the efficacy of homoeopathic vaccines, the remedy "bryonia" will usually completely cure KC in 2 or 3 days (2 or 3 x daily). When my dogs have caught it in the past at dog shows they have been completely well in 2 days using this approach. There is no need to use an immunosuppressant just when their immune system needs all the help it can get.

Parvo immunity lasts a very long time - she won't need it again. I have had dogs exposed to parvo that had not been vaccinated for many years - no problems. Kennel cough immunity doesn't last long, but as it only covers a percentage of the various KC viruses, it is not much help. Maintaining a healthy immune system and using several doses of homoeopathic "bryonia" if it does occur is the best approach for any dog. Have spoken to many vets who say they have never seen a fatality from KC in decades of practice.

I never vaccinate any animal unless I have some homoeopathic "thuja" on hand - it is the remedy to use for any reaction to a vaccination. It will usually undo most, if not all of the damage. Have heard of much worse reactions, even occasioning death - especially in older dogs that have always had annual vaccinations. In the US and UK there is talk of banning vaccinations for all dogs and cats 10 yo and over for this precise reason. This bitch should NEVER be vaccinated again!

All of my dogs get their full puppy course of vaccinations and their first annual booster, and that's it! I have followed this regime since 1980, when I did a lot of research into the effects of vaccines on people and animals and made an informed choice. My dogs have been exposed to distemper and parvo, with no infection. They have caught kennel cough from charming fellow exhibitors bringing infected dogs to a show, but it was fixed in 2 days thru use of a homoeopathic remedy. I have shown up and down the eastern seaboard and used simple commonsense measures of hygiene and disease prevention, and kept the dogs' immune systems as strong as possible at all times. I have not had to worry about boarding kennels, as I have always had a housesitter who personally knows each of my dogs. It is not logistically (or financially) possible to board up to 15 dogs at a time The new vaccination protocols now appear to back me up. Far too many dogs suffer terribly through vaccinosis or over-vaccination (2 separate conditions). I have seen dogs get kennel cough days after excessive vaccinations (2 in a month) administered by a vet who refused to take the owners word that their 7yo dogs had a full history of vaccination! There is a lot of research out there on this topic, easily accessible, for people to make up their minds either way. But to simply not vaccinate thru laziness and not take extra precautions as to the dogs health is inexcusable.

An absolutely fascinating read! Have been reading up on genetic separation of the various human races over the last 100,000 years - quite mindblowing! The tracking of DNA can only add to our insight into all species. As for BARF - I have always had concerns about it due to many people's lack of regard as to nutrients, and the inherent dangers of feeding so many bones. Having spent a lot of money at the vet's for out of hours consults over bones being stuck I have a very healthy regard for them. The last time, my dog almost died - the piece of raw turkey bone was stuck low down in his throat, tubing helped only temporarily. Several hours later, when he started frothing and choking again, we rushed him back to the vet, by which time he had developed a massive infection, respiratory difficulties. He collapsed, had to have 2 bags of fluid pumped into him with huge amounts of antibiotics, and we all sat on the floor with him for 2 hours, (including the vet) willing him to live. This little exercise cost over $600, and the dog took a long time to recover, and he was only 4 yo. I believe we should all keep an open mind on all subjects, and new information should always be at least considered. For example I have been using homoeopathy on animals and kids for over 20 years, and scientific studies dismiss it's efficacy - I find that it can have startling results, even where standard medicine has failed! I will continue to use premium quality dry food with a few chicken necks or lamb flaps, as I have done for years, But I will now be much more careful about how I handle the chicken! One dog, bred by me, recently passed away at 13 yrs (the breed average is 10 years) and had been to the vet 3 times in her life - twice for vaccinations, and once to be desexed - she was the 4th generation to be fed this way, and she was not exceptional. Her health record was one which we all want for our dogs, and is not exclusively obtained by BARF.