Ruin Maniac

Just wanted to thank everybody for your advice :) I met the breeders today, and had a fantastic time. They asked me questions, and I asked them some too. Then we got a little carried away and ended up talking for several hours, even walked out to the car together and kept chatting away :laugh: But they are lovely people, as are their dogs, who I was introduced to (and who demanded cuddles and affection, in quite a lovely way). We're planning to keep in touch, and see how things go. So all turned out very well indeed.

No, I'm almost certain you're confusing South Park with Drawn Together. But all that aside, I think I'll check this out on iView. Thanks for the heads up! :D

I only just saw this thread, but I was worried about turning to this last page. So, so happy that little Jed is alright. What a fantastic outcome! I'm hoping his post-op observation and care goes extremely smoothly for you. You've been extremely brave, and I am so pleased things turned out so well :)

Blargh, Auspost sometimes What used to bother me, living in rural Tasmania, was when the postman would take one look at the long driveways of my neighbours and move on. It's hard enough to source certain items when you live in the bush without the postman deciding it's not worth the extra two minutes to drive it up the way. Though the worst thing I witnessed was when a driver in an Auspost van threw a package forcefully at the back window when we were waiting in a tram beside him. The window moved when it hit it It makes me wish they had a little more competition so they could up their game a bit.

It does look a little bloodshot, but there is a shadow there. Otherwise she's such an adorable little bub! I love her expression :laugh:

Stories like this make me so glad I joined up here. Congratulations!

Parvo terrifies me. And to think it's so easy to prevent by vaccinating dogs :/ Doesn't it hang around for YEARS after it's been in an area?

JulesP's dog has liver shunts. If she ate a "normal" dog diet my understanding is that she'd have seizures and could die as a result. I'm sorry to hear that. Is that something dogs are born with? I asked the questions because I thought the problem may have occurred after having eaten a normal diet without issues for some period of time. Obviously, if there's a medical reason for the diet, then the vegan or vegetarian diet is going to result in a far more positive and healthy animal. But if that medical problem occurred after having eaten a "normal" diet without issue - there lies the comparison I'm interested in. I shouldn't assume, though. Yes she was born with the condition. Well she wasn't born with the shunts but they developed because of a problem with her liver that she was born with. I had issues with her eating normal food from the beginning. The better the quality of the kibble, the worse the problems got. She actually refused to eat the super premium foods (Artemis, Canidae, Evo). She would eat a bit of the lower protein foods. Totally refused to eat Barf patties, mince, Natures Gift tinned or VAN. I put her on RAW and she got really sick. She is vegetarian as she can eat egg whites. She got put on Hills L/D and meds. The Hills L/D has egg and soy protein in it, plus some chicken fat. Last time I gave her a lamp flap she had a seizure. I also used a drink for sick kids, think that was soy based rather than whey based. So yes she always had issues with a 'normal' diet. She loves her L/D and after having a dog refusing to eat that is great to watch. I buy vego biscuits for her. I looked at the Vegan pet food but wasn't happy with the ingredients. The problem was either too much sodium or ingredients that were too high in purine. So whilst I wouldn't particularly go and feed a normal dog a vego/vegan diet I think they would do ok on it as long as it was good quality, with soy or egg to replace the meat. A bowl of veggies wouldn't do obviously! Her teeth are great btw. Thank you for replying. This is precisely the kind of reply I was hoping to read, so I appreciate the detail :) Her sensitivity sounds extreme, it must have been very frustrating to see a dog rejecting food like that. But I'm glad to hear you were able to construct a diet that's suited to her around her liver shunts, and also very interested regarding the information about vegan product ingredients. I wonder if that's specifically a problem with products available here or if it's consistent across the board. I would also wonder, since her diet is complimented by egg white and chicken fat (I'm guessing her coat looks lovely), if there are suitable non-animal alternatives out there?

Well, I suppose I can't win all the battles. There are definitely possums and roos galore around these parts :laugh:

There's a lake nearby my house with lots of ducks. Note to self: no duckpond for puppy :laugh:

JulesP's dog has liver shunts. If she ate a "normal" dog diet my understanding is that she'd have seizures and could die as a result. I'm sorry to hear that. Is that something dogs are born with? I asked the questions because I thought the problem may have occurred after having eaten a normal diet without issues for some period of time. Obviously, if there's a medical reason for the diet, then the vegan or vegetarian diet is going to result in a far more positive and healthy animal. But if that medical problem occurred after having eaten a "normal" diet without issue - there lies the comparison I'm interested in. I shouldn't assume, though.

Sorry, JulesP, I missed your post somehow. So your dog finds it easy to process vegetables? How do you keep the diet balanced (nutritional supplements or through variety), and have you bought commercial vegan pet food? If she previously ate meat, has she been more or less the same since introducing the diet? I'd be interested to know, if you're willing to elaborate. :) EDIT: and when you say "vego", do you mean vegetarian or vegan?

Just to make things clear, I'm not prejudiced against vegans. 4 of my good friends are vegans, and I've been a vegetarian in my teens. I'd like to ask that everyone try to be rational and civil when they express their opinions, as I definitely don't want to be responsible for starting fights or upsetting anyone. I started this thread because I'm curious about the ethics and effects of vegan diets for pets because the sources I'm discovering are vested in one camp or the other (one I found listed the many qualifications of a vet who disapproved of vegan pets, only to mention briefly that he was hired by Purina, others support the vegan diet but are affiliated with some rather aggressive anti-meat and animal rights groups). It would be great if someone who feeds/has fed their dog a meat-free diet could chime in and share a little bit about their dog's health.

That would be awesome.

I've been trying to find some legitimate studies, but sadly the arguments "for" vegan pets seem to be affiliated with pro-vegan groups, where as those "against" it are affiliated with non-vegan pet food suppliers or from authors promoting meat diets, etc. I can't seem to find any neutral material. Would be nice to find an unbiased study involving bloodwork and longterm health surveys. D:

Today I was speaking to someone from an animal rights group that has actively campaigned on my campus. These people have supported Oscar's Law and participated actively in puppy farm protests, which I was happy to hear, although I found their agenda to be a little ambiguous. Investigating their website to learn more (and I didn't really have my question answered, but that's not really relevant), I found they offered vegan pet supplies. Vegan food... for dogs and cats. Google results demonstrated that there are people who raise their cats and dogs on a solely vegan diet. I'm not vegan and I'm not about to impose veganism on any of my pets, but is it possible to raise a healthy, mainly carnivorous animal on a vegan diet? I don't trust the websites of the suppliers to provide unbiased sources of information. I've never heard of such a thing before, so I thought it might be worth asking here, where people have had extensive experience with dogs and dog owners.

Alright, I'll be up bright and early then. I'm happy to wander and observe for a while and I love all breeds so I might keep an eye on the ring here and there before the sammies are up. I'll definitely wait until after judging before asking any questions as I don't want to distract the competitors (pups and owners!), but if there's grooming apparatus I'll probably be taking note of what's there and how it's used (but from a respectful distance). :) After that, assuming everything is good and well (stress is totally understandable with 6 dogs to work with), I'd be thrilled to speak with you! I find that interesting about the biscuit either dominating or receding from the coat with age. I did a study in one of my electives recently involving genetics in local cat populations and how different colours express themselves geno and phenotypically. Makes me want to look into the genetics of the breed... good thing this semester's nearly over now. :laugh:

This! So many people ignore wandering animals, I am not in the slightest bit surprised they were so thankful. What a lovely story :)

"My daughter has a Schipperke, but you wouldn't know what that is" ~ Love it. This is how purebred dog owners get their bad reputation (among the general, uninformed Australian public I mean, not within the informed dog circles)

Circular head council also has a two dog limit (up where I was on the coast before moving here), but it does vary I think.

People yelling at you about not picking up after your dog when you have, people throwing rocks at dogs in off-leash areas... these things are really disconcerting. Sometimes I wish there was more information through school programs (obviously not classes) and community events that would help people to become more tolerant of dogs and dog owners. Not to mention more education (perhaps even licensing) for dog owners so there are fewer irresponsible ones. I swear there's a culture of fear around dogs in Victoria, several of my friends are terrified of them due to experiences they've had with poorly trained dogs as children and others have preconceived ideas about the behaviour of specific "types" of dogs (one believes any toy breed or small terrier will tear off your eyebrows if your face is within reach).

Oh believe me, when my puppy arrives you'll all be sick of me within five minutes with the gushing and the pictures :laugh:

Admittedly I'm leaning more towards getting a boy, but if I do end up with a girl based on the breeder's choice... Good lord. My housemates will think I'm crazy Lovely things though, aren't they? Even if they are mostly for fun. :)

Congratulations! Now you've hopped ship, I only hope I can be so lucky. Good luck with little Luna :D

Bjelkier - Dante is such a handsome lad. He really is shock-white and stunning! :) Though I do like the biscuit markings in the pups from the litter. I think it frames their faces very nicely and emphasises their features. Does it only get darker as they grow older? Though I suppose there's never been such a thing as a samoyed that isn't beautiful, colour makes no difference to the silhouette, stature and smiling faces. Speaking of, SnoPaws, I really am looking forward to making it out for the Sunbury show. I couldn't find information on the site about a spectators entry fee, should I just pay at the gate? And should I be arriving early, or might that be a nuisance to the contestants getting set up (since I'll probably be watching mesmerized!) I think I'll go with my shell pool plan for the young pup, half water and half sand, and see how they go with the water. If they enjoy it, I'll have a shot at taking them to the beach later. Only one assessment to go! Goodness, and I'm getting distracted by sourcing information and places to get supplies online and nearby! I should procrastinate less :laugh: Thanks again everybody for posting.