espinay2

Your pup will still get plenty of fun with a big bone and it will provide a good workout. Doesn't matter if they are bigger than the pup The big weight bearing bones are really only recreation to keep the pup occupied. Not ideal because they are so hard, but better whole when no hard artifical edges are on it. Better bones are the non-weightbearing ones that also act as food as they can be eaten bone and all. The bone on these types are softer as they do not hold up the enitre weight of the animal (a beef steer is heavy so legs need to be strong!). As mentioned, beef brisket bones, whole lamb necks, lamb flaps, chicken frames or wings or other parts, turkey necks etc etc.

Yes that is marrow. It is high in fat. IMO you are much better off leaving the bone whole. Cutting the large leg bones creates hard artificial surfaces/edges for the dog to chew on which some dogs can break their teeth on. Leaving the bone whole encourages them to concentrate their chewing on the softer ends and also limits the amount of marrow they can get to.

A very sad day indeed. She was a truly remarkable woman.

I know Carol as she has Pyreneans and I know she has had success with what she does. She does have some interesting ideas. I don't agree with a lot of them though so we agree to disagree! It is not a way I would feed a dog. I feed a natural raw diet based primarily on raw meaty bones. While they do get our healthy table scraps from our meals, I dont cook for them.

Every dog is different so no one can really tell you how much to feed. Best thing is to make it a habit to examine your dog regularly. Do the 'hug test' before meals. Run your hands down their sides to feel for ribs - you should be able to feel them under a light cover. Really LOOK at your dogs regularly and impartially to examine their condition. If they are a bit overweight, cut down a bit. If they are getting a bit lean, increase a bit. If they are a good weight, stick to what you are doing. How much you need to feed your dog will not stay the same all the time either. Things like age, activity level and even the weather/time of year (how cold or hot etc) can affect how much they will need at any point in time.

First thing - have you trimmed the hair around her pads on the bottom of her feet? This can help.

The ear canal is quite deep and you will not be able to see all the way down without the proper equipment. Off to the vet so they can have a proper look.

Agree you should seek a second opinion from another vet. Topical treatment may help. Panalog ointment sqirted up into the sheath once a day may be one option your vet can prescribe (use the long applicator). Alternately a solution of betadine and water applied with a syringe into the sheath once a day (suggested by my own vet to help with a similar problem). You can use a saline solution too, but the betadine may be more use at the moment. Make sure you disinfect the syringe in boiling water between applications.

If you have dead coat, nothing you will do will 'fix' that part of the coat - after all it is dead. What you need to do is "replace" that coat with new good coat. This may or may not take time (Can't say without seeing the dog). Here are my suggestions: Work on getting rid of dead coat - Can you strip it out? If you are going to show him DON'T cut it off. Work on improving damaged coat that can be saved - I am a fan of plush puppy products and they have some good conditioning treatment products. A good conditioning treatment will be useful. I too love the seabreeze oil as a final rinse - I use this stuff all the time and couldn't do without it. Think of using a sunscreen too if red tinge is a problem on his black coat. I agree with shelby - never brush a dry coat. Always mist the coat with a (non-silicone) coat spray or a little leave-in conditioner in some water (or even just plain water if you don't have anything else) first. Work on growing new healthy coat to replace the damaged one - To do this you work from the inside out with a healthy diet. Lots of tips given on what to add. IMO your biggest help in this regard is omega 3 essential fatty acids. I find the simplest is ordinary fish oil capsules from the chemist (I buy from a discount chemist for about $20 for 44 capsules). 5 or 6 capsules a day would be what I would give to a dog like this. My dogs eat them like treats.

Looks like puppy coat, which your pup will lose with time. AS the rest is shiny, sounds like you are doing fine. you just need to give your pup time to grow up and get adult coat.

Lots of reading for you here. It is a link to a range of articles written by Lew Olsen. She is thorough in her research and you will find lots of references in the articles: http://www.b-naturals.com/index.php?main_page=newsletters This however, is a good article: Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertibrate Prey Fed in Zoos

Here are a few of my suggestions for diet. First up keep it simple. You need to get rid of the yeast and get the weight on so the two main things you need at the moment are a diet that is low in carbs and high in calories. The calories you need come from protein and fat. Do not feed veggies of any kind for now. Many are high in sugars (particularly things like carrots) and will just grow more yeast. Do not feed grains of any kind for now. Grains produce sugars which grow yeast. Feed meats that are high in fats. This will provide important energy to keep the weight on You can feed a portion of the meat ground up - while meat fed whole on the bone is ideal, feeding some ground will allow you to get more food into your dog for less energy expended eating it. Feed a source of omega 3 - it will aid in calming iinflammation and calming the skin. The things I would concentrate on feeding: Chicken pet mince (usually available from $1 to $1.20 per kilo so economical). Feed as much of this as you like - perhaps several kilos a day even, split into 2 meals. Lamb flaps or necks - Nice fatty flaps may be preferred but it depends on what you can get. eggs - a couple a week at least Sardines - at least one can a week organ meat - a little each week. One packet of liver/kidney etc from woolies would be enough organ meat for a week portion-wise for all your dogs. Fish oil capsules - 4 or 5 a day - if you have a discount chemist near you, go there as you will likely get a bottle cheaper (400 capsules per bottle - I pay around $20). In place of biscuit treats etc for now I would suggest giving chicken wings or necks or using dried liver etc - nothing with grains. You can also add a probiotic which will boost the immune system and help fight the yeast. My preference would be to feed a capsule rather than yoghurt as it is stronger and I would be avoiding dairy products for now too. While such a diet shouldn't be more expensive depending on your food sources (and the diet I have outlined is not expensive at all), remember that feeding the right diet may result in reducing your vet bills so better in the long run cost-wise. Worth a go IMO.

Yep, I would try treating for yeast infection. Feeding a low/no carb diet first up may help. A rinse with white or apple cider vinegar in the water (as strong as you or he can stand) following the wash can help too - it is very good for treating both yeast and bacteria. He may also have a secondary bacterial infection. Has the vet put him on antibiotics at any point? Sometimes a good (long and strong) dose can help (dont muck around with a short course it is usually not worth it and just makes it less likely to work next time - it is better to hit it hard if you are going to hit it at all) You can always get a skin scraping done - on the bad patch for instance - to see if bacteria is present and to work out the best antibiotic to use. The malaseb will dry the skin, so be careful of that. I am not a huge fan I must admit, though have used it in the past once or twice. Take a look at the EQyss Micro-Tek Shampoo and Spray too. I would also get a full panel blood test done if you haven't already just to check his levels and make sure all is ok and this is not a symptom of something else. Include a full thyroid test. Even if nothing shows up, it will be a good 'benchmark' for later.

I have an old dog with suspected Cushings (as well as a thyroid condition which is in control with meds and other problems including spinal atrophy, also assisted by meds). Advice from my vet was that often the treatment for Cushings can be harder on the dog than doing nothing. In her case and in her condition and stage of life our decision was not to treat (BTW, she still gets around fine and is happy and comfortable). That said, there is a book called "Dogs, Diet and Disease: An owners Guide to Diabetes Mellitus, Pancreatitis, Cushings Disease and More" by Caroline D Levin RN, which is well worth looking at.

I have tried: witchhazel and aloe vera - helped keep under control but didn't get rid of it Malaseb - same helps with control, but didn't get rid of it Medipulv powder - good for small stuff, but again didnt get rid of it Washing with vinegar and water - kept i under control but didnt get rid of it totally A weeks worth of antibiotics - calmed it down, but didnt get rid of it totally, Though in this case a later higher and longer dose did get rid of it when all else failed. Betadine/Iodine - I havent used this but would have if staining wasnt going to be an issue. Love the stuff Centigen spray - again, as it is bright purple, staining is an issue - I have used it in the past though on dogs where it doesn't matter and it is good Neocort cream (green and white tube) - good stuff.

That is actually a myth. A bit like the 'hormones in chicken' one. A few years ago eminent wold researcher Dr David Mech ran a seminar on the feeding behaviour of wolves from birth to death. He was specifically asked whether wolves eat the stomach content. He affirmed that they do not. They may eat the stomach itself, but the contents are shaken out and left. I have actually seen this for myself when spending time at a wolf research facility in the US. more than once I almost stepped on a pile of stomach contents from the whole prey being fed to the pack. No sign of the rest of the carcass, but the stomach contents were left to rot. Incidentally the prized pieces of the carcass are the other internal organs and the haunch. Dogs are better classified as 'opportunistic carnivores' They will eat other things apart from other animals but to truly survive and thrive, that is what they need. Whether you feed veggies or not is a personal choice, but not 100% necessary. If you do feed them though, as a dog does not have a digestive system capable of breaking down plant matter, you need to process it so that the cellulose wall is broken. Cooking and mashing, or pureeing raw using a blender or juicer (add the pulp back to the juice) is the best way to go. The benefit of this too is that you can mix it through the food - they can't pick bits out.

Here is a website with info on a pups diet that is similar to what I feed. I switch things round a little meal-wise (i.e. what gets fed when), but what they get is basically the same. (My adults get fed a bit differently): Feeding Puppies Not sure what your sources are like where you are. I generally shop at the fresh food markets here in the ACT or occasionally pick things like turkey necks up at the supermarket. I buy in bulk for multiple dogs though. If I had just one, I would possibly just go to the supermarket or similar. Lenards sells chicken frames and casserole pieces for a good price and the local butcher has lamb necks and beef brisket when I need to pick some up to tide me over. When I can get down there, I buy bulk from some pet food suppliers in Sydney. I was using the home delivery service rawfood4dogs (I think that was them? and they were good - just haven't got around to ordering lately). You might want to check out the advertisers marketplace on this website to see if there are any suppliers you could use.

I would vote for Aloveen too. It is what I use on my babies. On older dogs I use Plush Puppy. I personally would not use wool wash. You could start in a laundry tub or use a big plastic tub. Mix a bottle with some water and shampoo in it (the mayonnaise or sauce squirt bottles are good) as this will make application of the shampoo easier. When I was working as a mobile groomer I would wash young puppies for people. I took extra care in disinfecting the bath, and did not let the pups touch other parts of the trailer. Probably more cautious than I needed to be, but I took a 'just in case' attitude with other peoples young ones. If you want to use a groomer, try and get a recommendation for a good one in your area and talk to them beforehand about this being puppy's first bath and how you want to ease the pup into the experience. You can provide you own shampoo for them to use if you wish. By 3 months my own babies are well used to baths. I have a 12 week old girl here at the moment and she had a bath and blow dry today. She is an absolute pro at it and takes it all in her stride

I have not had any problems with weak pasterns as a result of a raw diet. I actually feed slightly less bone in proportion to meat to young growing dogs than I would worry about with adults. Emphasis on raw MEATY bones. I find it works better for my growing big dogs as they grow more evenly. I do give Vit C as well. In regards to constipation - the higher the proportion of bone, the more likely they are to get hard poos. When feeding pieces with a higher proportion of bones (eg chicken frames ), I tend to give extra muscle or organ meat as well. Alternately I make sure after a couple of days of just chicken frames that they get a few meals with a higher proportion of muscle meat. On the whole I tend to prefer feeding meatier types of RMB's on a regular basis though.

They are ALL Canis Lupus. Domestic Dog is actually classified as Canis lupus familiaris. The Dingo is Canis lupus dingo. The Eastern Timber Wolf (probably the one most people think of when they think of a wolf) is Canis lupus lycaon. The Arctic wolf is Canis lupus arctos, Mexican Wolf is Canis lupus baileyi. There are many other subspecies. www.wolf.org is a good place to start reading up on them.

Evolution does not work that quickly (unless we are talking mutations, but even they don't work on such a grand scale). Dogs have actually not been domesticated that long - merely a blip on the screen in terms of evolution. Enough to make phenotypic changes, but not enough for substantial genotypic ones. While some dogs may have been domesticated for a few thousand years, we also have to remember what that meant in real terms. For the most part dogs were not confined. They were able to hunt for themselves to supplement anything they were given. And if they were confined, they were often kept in hunting kennels, for example, that did feed raw meat (horse meat was popular, particularly with the hound packs in the UK for instance. It was freely available when horses were commonly used for trandport, and it was actually considered a fitting and honourable end for a hunter to be fed to the hounds at the end of its usefulness). Suburbanisation of cities is also a fairly new thing and basically correlates to the rise in popularity of dogs as pets over the last 100 years or so only. It is only with the rise in suburbanisation that we begin to see the general confinement of dogs and less ability for them to hunt for themselves over the last 50 years or so. Cooking food for dogs is also a relatively new phenomenon. Even up till the introduction of commercial dog foods - which only really began to be developed around WWII (when there were edicts that food fit for human consumption was not to be fed to dogs during this time of shortages and rationing) and came into general popularity in the 1970's - a large percentage of dogs even in western nations were fed mostly on raw meat (a lot of old books make this clear). We also have many breeds which until recently were for all intents and purposes 'wild'. The Australian Cattle Dog was developed in recent times using the Dingo. The Basenji has only been introduced to the west very recently. And then there are wolf/dog hybrids that are reasonably common in the US. So when you talk about a dog not being 'wild' any more, which dogs are you talking about? Does a Dingo or ACD or wolf/dog hybrid have a different digestive system from an anatomical point of view from, say, a Golden Retriever?

I would be interested to hear where you got that from, as I have worked in Wolf conservation centres in the US and definitely have never heard it. Yes, we fed the wolves on whole prey and other meat/bones (and no, they didn't eat the stomach contents). Some very healthy long-lives wolves in those packs. Most of the problem in captive packs/individuals is usually seen in those fed a commercial diet. As a result most don't do that now. That particular book was shown later to be pure fiction. The author was actually no researcher at all and was shown to be a fraud! Much better research into wolf diet and eating behaviour has been done my David Mech and the like. Getting back to the OP's issues - Has Coccidia been ruled out? A stool sample should tell you if this is the culprit. Also have checked your water source? It may not be the food at all. Particularly watch your dog does not have access to any standing or stagnant water. Again, a stool sample should rule out things like Giardia.

I used to have a horse years ago that liked sausage sandwiches. And until a few years ago it was common to feed sheep/cattle meat meal (it was banned because of BSE/mad cow). Does these animals eating this meat make them omnivores too? My cats also love the odd piece of veggie or fruit (particularly the raisins in fruit buns!) and will munch on grass. Are they omnivores because they eat this plant matter? Yes, I believe dogs are carnivores. Doesn't stop me giving them a few veggies occasionally too though as they are also very opportunistic ('opportunistic carnivores' if you like). The reason the species has survived so well alongside humans.

The following articles give references: http://www.b-naturals.com/Sep2005.php http://www.b-naturals.com/Spr1999.php The following article also gives some good info on some of the issues with vegetarian diets for dogs, including references: http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/vegetarian-diet/

I have used chalks (like the ones used for sidewalk art) and natural food colouring to dye dogs before. The food colouring is messy and you have to watch if it gets damp as it can come off in things. I like the way the chalk works as it is quick and simple to use, but it is really only good for smallwork - tails and ears ect. I once did a rainbow tail on one of my pyrs as practice when I was bored one day. Looked pretty good ! . I have only done colour work on very light coloured/white dogs though. Darker dogs are a lot harder and need better dyes that I have used.