Collstar

well thats what they looked like... those roundy-square shaped coal pieces that you use to fuel a bbq! so maybe it was beef flavoured hehe dont know about the self medicating, as far as i know he is well :D

Ben my dog did an odd thing a few days ago. during his walk at the park and he found some coal (looked like it had been dumped there) and he started licking it and then gnawed at it! could this be becasue he is lacking in some mineral? or was he just testing to see if it was edible or not

Except for small creatures such as rabbits and the like - wolves do NOT consume the stomach contents. There are numerous modern studies to show this, the wolves will rip the stomach/rumen/whatever and shake the contents out. Makes sense - the stomach of a herbivore is full of very strong acids to break down cellulose etc. They DO eat the contents of the intestine - which has already been partially digested. Anyone who's ever had their dogs around cattle horses or sheep will know how much they enjoy the poop of larger herbivores - which is also full of predigested vege matter. Thats what i also thought, thanks for clearing that up some people say that they do eat it, some dont! ok if they are able to digest plant material... do they actually gain anything from doing so? as in do they absorb vitamins and minerals from plant material? plus you dont see wolves going around and grazing on grass and trees, they eat exclusively on prey!... do correct me if im wrong

hmm if she doesnt cope with chicken very well, then maybe just try introducing little pieces at a time. chicken is a great meat to start out on, but if it doesnt agree with her stomach then you will have to try something else. beef, lamb, fish what ever. i have heard about the whole 'replicate the stomach content of prey' and im still not sure what to think about that! when a dog consumes the stomach of an animal, of course it is also going to eat the content of it too, but wherther or not it does any good for the dog is another question. i dont think it benefits the dog at all, however it wont hurt your dog if you only give her small amounts of vege. dont over do it.

I'm very sure, though not 100%, that the only things you need to look out for when feeding dals is organs, such as liver and possibly heart that are high in purines! some people will argue that high protein levels which are found in these organs contribute to stone development, but a dog cant live healthily with out enough protein in its diet! So its not a good idea to feed an adult dogs a restricted protein diet. its the purines that you have to watch out for! a raw diet, contrary to what you might think, is in fact LOWer in protein than most high quality kibble foods. you have to remember that meat has a very high water content as well as a little fat, so its not 100% protein! Quite often, most meats have at most 30% protein levels, usually less. also because it is high in water, your dalmation is getting more water than if it was only fed on kibble, therefore reducing the risk of dehydration and the formation of kidney stones!

I dont feed any vegies at all!! like i said dogs are carnivores, and there digestive system is not designed to digest plant material or carbohydrates!! therefore they dont benefit from eating vegies! so forget vegies all together! it is suggested to feed 80% meat (meat includes intestines) 10% organ (liver, heart, spleen, etc) and 10% edible bone. this is a guideline that was created to reflect what wolves and wild dogs would consume when they eat whole prey. you can also supplement the raw diet with whole animal eg rabbit, chicken, fish or what ever you can get your hands on. with dals make sure you dont feed too much liver, it is high in something called puriens which causes urinary stones in dalmations

feeding a raw meat diet is a fantastic idea! it should keep her healthy! if you want to feed raw DONT mix it with vegies, a dogs digestive system isnt able to digest plant material, and dont benefit from vegies at all, they are carnivours!. and its a really good idea to stay away from wheat! as sandra77 said 2 to 3% of ideal adult weight is a good guide line, however if you find you dalmation is looking a little on the fat side then you just cut back on how much meat you're feeding.

hmmm very good point Kavik! my dog is at the stage where he only fast walks through the weaves.... so he is Very slow and i doubt he would push sticks out of the way! i want to try the 2 or 3 pole entry method to try and speed up his weaving, and when we get to a faster pace then i think i would look into buying somthing more stable and of better quality! similar story with the jumps, i want to work on entring the jump from different angles ect. when i eventually get a border collie i might have to invest in some better equipment... but i havent found many place to buy equipment yet

thanks also hope Jager is recovering well!

thanks so much for the advice tollersowned you know what your so right.... i reckon they would be easy and Much cheaper to make! that will be my holiday project i think! what are the contacts? i know the concept... but didnt know that it was something you could buy

is there anywhere you can buy agility equipment in australia? i've been doing some training with my dog, and he is grasping concept well, but he just needs the extra practice, especially with the weaves anyone have any websites?

sorry to change the topic a bit here.... but when is the best time/age to desex a puppy?

my dog cut his pad, right through the tough skin and into the soft flesh undernearth. i didnt see any improvement for at least a week. just keep cleaning it, my vet suggested with salty water, and restrict his movement. any suddend or intense straining on that foot could open up the wound again.... had that happen too

its usually cheaper to buy over the internet... but just research and shop around

think you have the wrong person there capanash

edit: maybe she might not bark outside, but i guess thats a risk you will have to take. she might enjoy the freedom and play in and outside instead of barking

Probably not the best idea. There is no guarantee she is going to like another dog and she will possibly teach the new dog to bark all day too It is generally unwise to get another dog for a problem dog. If the issue is eparation anxiety from her humans, another dog isn't going to help. hmm that is very true.... actually something i hadnt given much thought to. i guess you also risk ending up with two very noisy dogs, learning from each other

hey hahaha ok how about a dog swap then i'll take ur amazingly trained cutie bronte (btw i love shelties and collies, sepecially the smooth variety, less hair to groom!).... and u can have ben! hehe i need to warn u though, he isnt as well trained as u might think, once he is on a rabbit scent.... theres no getting him back

i think its still legal in nsw... or was it SA. the noise they make is a huge improvement on the screaming wail of a bark my dog produces lol, but if it comes down to it, and whether you agree with de-barking or not, its an option i would consider. it got to the point where our neibghours could have taken legal action against our dog... thats how bad it was but no matter, i dont think that we need to take desperate measures like that! distraction should help, like what luvsdogs suggested. you can even buy dog food dispensers, that need to be nudged and rolled around to get the food out. if your puppy is food driven it might be worth a try :p

yay my home club too!! havent entered rat bag Ben... but will certainly be watching SmoothieGirl... Bronte is you sable smooth collie yes? i was next to you the sat training session just gone by with the little brown and white dog ben! hi :p

it looks like it could be a bit wet hope not, first show for me in a while!

my dog is a separation anxiety barker the poor thing would scream and bark alllll day, and of course we had no idea (for YEARS, none of our neighbours told us) until the council came knocking on our door! we ended up heiring a barking citronella collar from the council, and it seemed to work, so we bought one, and it was a total waste of money because he just barked right through the spraying, thats how desperate he was :p in the end we got a doggy door installed, because he was outside when the barking was happening, which has fixed the problem all together now. i guess he feels safer and more secure inside. if the barking flares up again the next step would be getting him another doggy friend, or more radically getting him de-barked i guess they are also things for you to consider, if all else fails! so maybe allowing ur puppy a little more freedom will help? so she can still see all of the rooms of the house, even giving her access to the backyard as well.

hi, my dog had surgery to correct his luxating patella. he got to the point where he was unable to move any faster than walking pace the most difficult part is definitely trying to keep them quite enough for the 4-6 weeks after the surgery! as that's critical few recovery weeks, if any damage is done, you risk having to repeat the surgery, or it may not be successful. we borrowed a friends doggy play pen, almost like a huge crate that u would use for puppies, and put ben's bed, water and food in there. the next problem is boredom! plenty of chew toys and bones to keep your dog occupied should help. and every so often i let ben out of the pen, well really i just very carefully picked him up and took him outside, on the lawn or under a tree so he could pee or just for a change of scenery! it didnt take him long to master hopping, so i used a lead and let him hop around outside, slowly though!! after a few weeks (not sure how many) i encouraged him to walk, to get him using the leg again. you can use a towl to support his back legs by putting it under his belly and holding the ends (sort of like a sling) and take some of the weight of his back legs. i also found a dog physio in the area, luckily we had one very close by, and he suggested some stretching and massaging exercises to help loosen muscles and ligaments in his leg. Good luck :p

ok thanks for that i will do some research!!

ooh i didnt know that actually yes i did... i have seen them selling it before! and im guessing you're (and everyone else) is against buying dogs from pets paradice, therefore wont buy the food from them?? well that makes sense then wish australia had an equivalent?... or do we?