best4koda

All good points. I'm not up on the details of registration. As I said I was just asking the basic question of and perhaps I worded my question loosely, that is it worth allowing your male dog breed once off? In answering this does it change the dog's personality as the owner of the male dog is a beloved owner who does not want a dog chasing females around the neighbourhood or becoming a problem while out and about? I'm only querying it from my friends initial question of being asked to breed. The discussion hasn't gone for enough yet on all the registration etc. All I know is yes, both dogs have papers and come from good breeding. I'm very passionate myself about breeding and like to see only the best dogs with the best physical genetics and best temperaments breed so we have lovely healthy dogs but I was curious myself with this question as we have never gone into breeding as we don't have the time or resources to do it correctly. I hope this clarifies my views and you don't think I'm a backyard breeder asking. I will pass on all good points for the male dog owner to consider before making her decision.

The canine brand name is Metacam which used to be sold as a liquid with an eyedropper that you used to put it on their food rather than using tablets. But yes very pricey. ETA In some individuals, supplements such as glucosamine don't work or actually make things worse. It all depends on the root cause of the inflammation. That's interesting, supplements making it worse. Might keep that in mind as she was doing alright.

Interesting. It seems there is a range of responses. It would be a natural mating not a vet collection I think being were we are....remote australia. I was asked and said I would see what I could find out. Owner of male was approached otherwise she wasn't thinking about it.

Guys, I have a breeding question for you that you maybe able to answer. I have a friend who has the opportunity to breed her male GSD but she was wondering if she lets him breed will it change him in anyway as will he go looking for it. She's just concerned and doesn't want her dog looking for ways to get out and about. I couldn't offer advice since we have never breed our GSD's. Any thoughts.

Thanks Ness, will check it out and pass it on. Also just out of curiosity does anyone have info on aspirin for dogs. Yes money is an issue but they love their dog and are trying to find cost affective solutions for the lovely old girl she is. Thanks.

Not planning to use aspirin just I noted some threads I found said you could. I don't think she has tramadol at home but I will ask as she may from when she was sick on chemo.

Hi, was wondering if anyone could give advice on pain relief for an aging dog. It's my sisters dog who's arthritis has increased. They have put her on glucosamine but it hasn't kicked in yet and the dog is looking miserable. So they were just wanting to know if there was anything they could give in the short term until the other offers some relief. They just don't have the funds to head to the vet for this sort of thing as they are dealing with cancer themselves so the funds are skant at the moment. The dog is okay of course but just a little relief would be nice. I know panadol is not an option and most human stuff isn't but someone might know of something to assist that is not harmful and is safe and doesn't require a visit to the vet to get it. I did readd that possibly aspirin can be used in dogs. TIA

Yes, I would think they perhaps are talking about cooked seasoned turkey. I feed my GSD who has stomach issues turkey mince and turkey necks as she can't have chicken, beef or lamb. She has been fine and the vet said it was good too. Turkey mince from the supermarket, human grade is meant to be fairly lean which is why it works for our pooch.

Don't stress yet as it can be harmless. Our GSD had similar looking lump come up on rump. It turned out to be one of those cysts that are harmless that fill with fluid. But it kept on filling up with fluid even though it would be drained. In the end we had it removed but it was harmless. Just annoying, we had it removed once it kept filling and bursting.

Just an observation from talking to breeders over the years, that most breeders that are passionate about their dogs would prefer that their dogs not be taken for guard dog roles. Not because they aren't suited or other reasons but rather some badly abused dogs in those roles being left day in day out with little care and attendance by companies and business owners. I think a well cared for GSD can do the job well if they are part of a household when they aren't on duty. As a GSD owner, GSD's love to be part of a unit and they thrive within it. Thankfully most of us owners or breeders are passionate and love our dogs and that is why this question will be debated vigorously. :) Oops! thought I was on the GSD general forum. Enjoy your debate.

Will have to check this out too. Koda is on the ZD Hills and am just trialling the RC equivalent as well since hills keeps going out of stock and it's slightly cheaper. So would love a cheaper option, even if it's to suppliment the expensive so it's affordable. Koda has been better since off chicken completely so here's hoping.

WE suppliment our dog with supercoat sensative to make our super expensive food go further. Besides cheaper kibble options chicken carcasses from the deli's, you can can minced chicken frames from Lenards chicken for 1.50 - $2 which was good. Also turkey necks from woolies as well. I used to also go to the fish market and buy cheap offcuts of salmon for mine to add to the meals.... Just have to try some cheaper brands and see what agree with the dogs.

www.thevetshed.com.au has the tins in stock. They have sent my ZD. It came in at the last minute.

That's good :)

Sorry to hear you have a battle with Cancer. We went thru this with our first GSD at age 5 years. Unfortunately we lost our lovely boy 6 months later but in saying that it had spread to his limp glands in the pelvic area and even though we got the best treatment we could we lost him but we gave him some time being so young. In saying that that was 11yrs ago and I'm sure treatment has moved along considerably. A second opinion is worth while. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome! Do dogs know when they are really sick? I think so, we have lost to Shepherds to the big C (broke our hearts)and both my boys would stay very close to me. I think they know something is very wrong and just wanted to be comforted. They are such troopers though.

We feed turkey necks and the human grade kangaroo from woollies. We avoid grains where possible....except for the prescription kibble...if we can move off that soon I would be happy. We have been told to remove chicken all together due to fat content. As a rule we do low fat everything and it seems to be working.

Yeah we have taken Koda resently off chicken all together and she seems better for it. She gets Kangaroo and turkey every few days and seems ok with that. We haven't feed raw hide chews or commercial treats of any sort since she was little. I'm hoping being on the zd her system will heal and we can slowly narrow it down by feeding only a few items across a long period and then adding something else and watching. Waiting for the food to arrive now. Please hurry up.

So far it's been put down to some sort of intolerance. At the moment we don't feed gluten, lamb, beef, chicken. She goes down hill pretty quick, normal poos to mucus to blood in a matter of 4 or so hours and then drugs to bring her back. So far she has been good on the Hills ZD ultra or low allergen. She seems to be able to tolerate turkey, kangaroo and some small amount of fresh salmon, eggs, rice and potato. We don't feed repetitively the fresh but every other day and that seems to be ok not to cause flare ups. I have used the pure sea but it was only sample bags not long enough to really know the affect.

Yep, well I have ordered a bag of both so I can solve the initial problem of no food and also try out the RCH as well. Hopefully it will be fine too and it will give us 2 choices at least online for her. She seems to be tolerating some supercoat sensative in her food but I don't want to push it but we are having to use a bit to stretch out the food and budget.

I hadn't ordered online as by the time I added postage it was about the same as the vet. But the vet is now selling the ZD low allergen for $190....that's a huge mark up. I know we are in the middle of nowhere but I really think they shouldn't be making a huge profit out of food that is a necessity not a nice to have for the animals. I think I will give the RCH a trial as well so then perhaps we have to foods to choose from since the companies seem to be unreliable. Question for those with tummy issues, have you been able to put your dog on a product such as ZD then after a while move to a cheaper product with some consideration?

Yeah I noticed that too and was a bit miffed as the vet didn't say it wasn't being made any more. The ultra is the next one up. She is fine on both but the low allergen one was a bit more economical. This is so annoying. you spend months and hundreds of dollars to find something they can tolerate then the companies change. She used to be alright on supercoat sensative but they changed the ingredients quite a bit with no warning and didn't even update their web site by the time it hit the shelves...will have a look at the RCH as well but might have to resort to the ZD ultra and that has been hard for the vet to get as well......sigh.

Hi, I'm trying to source Hills Z/D Low allergen kibble for Koda. She's been doing fine on that but it's now costing us $190 a bag from the vet here in Karratha wa. Most placed online either don't deliver to WA or are out of stock. Does anyone know where I can source this product from. Is there an issue with supply? The vet has had delays in getting it as well. Thanks.

I bought TOTW as I think it had lower fat then earthborn but I could be mistaken as I have looked at so many products its hard to remember them all now. I just noticed that Natural Balance has a gluten free product too http://www.naturalbalance.net.au/our-products/

I looked at Nature's gift this afternoon as well. Doesn't have much in it and fat content is down but does have wheat????? So not sure about it.

Yeah we had found supercoat sensative worked for her for the most part but they have gone and changed the recipe and put corn and alot of other stuff in it. We've found the simplier food seems to be better. Will look at the lite but I think it will have lamb/beef in it which is a prob. It's so frustrating, Not good for her, we are constantly worried we have to go to the vet again and trying to work this riddle out is stressful. Has anyone found adding oats to help dogs like this????