Cordelia

First up....... worm him with DRONTAL or similar that covers Tapeworm. Feed him Lamb..... Brisket is great. The cheapest cuts of meat... like Chuck steak or anything else that is on sale at the butchers or the supermarket. Susage mince is a great source of fat too (and cooked up a bit is VERY hard for a dog to refuse). Get him Puppy food, but a decent one. One of the best ones I've found lately is OPTIMUM PUPPY........ 20kg bag will cost $63.00 or so but will last until he has gained a good amount of weight. To help encourage his appetite you could pour a bit of chicken gravy on his dry food. If all else fails to get his interest in food........ he needs to see a vet. (but worm him first).

Good to hear.

Blimy! Wonder what on earth is wrong with him! If he has managed to empty his bowel, and whats coming out isn't liquid (overflow), then an obstruction is unlikely. (could be a partial obstruction though). Is he in pain Keels??

Geez! Just found this thread! ;) Has he poo'd yet?? To help keep him a bit clear, you could add some Sardines in oil to his feed a few times a week. He loves em! (All my guys get sardines in oil 3 times a week). Thank God he's feeling better.

Geez! I start my pups on chicken necks at 5wks of age. The diet she is on sounds fine.

I use Emu Oil for so many things! I have arthritis startig up in one of my fingers and it helps ease that. One of my pups had a skin condition..... within 8 days he has a good amount of nice fluff growing back. blah blah i could go on forever about this stuff. It is brilliant. (Though I don'y use the above brand. Not sure if they have it, but I use the pure emu oil. Doesn't smell pretty, but it isn't offensive either.

Hey there, Just a quick note about bashing the bones up for him............. He's been chomping and eating raw chicken necks and wings since he was 4wks old so bashing them may not be needed.

If your pup is only 10kg at 19wks, there is no way he is going to be a large boy when he's fully grown. He'll probably grow another couple of inches yet, but if he isn't underweight at 10kg, then I'd doubt he's going to be a solid set dog either.

My Dane Gen has been grown slowly. As Luvmydane said...... low protein diet. Gen was fed totally fresh food until she was about 18mths old. Have only recently started her on dry food. Her weight last Friday was 48.7kg. She a tall girl but finely built for a Dane. (not German type). She turned 2yrs last week so will pretty much spend this year filling out a bit more (may grow a bit more but it won't be much).

Only giving further info and clarifying in case someone reading this thread is trying to make a choice and may possibly be feeling 'guilty' about what they may be doing to their pets sexual psyche if they remove certain organs. No. Thats not what I think nor remotely what I was implying. What did have me somewhat bemused was your seemingly odd attachment to your canines testicles. yep.

Mutilation .......pfffffttt. What emotive claptrap. If you think that removing testicles or a uterus is mutilation then you obviously have deeper issues than merely stopping the production of sperm or the ability to fertilize and ovum. For many, desexing isn't solely about just the removal of the ability to produce offspring. It's also about decreasing the risks of certain diseases, as well as reducing sex/hormone related behavioural issues at maturity.

One of the most ridiculous cases of Anthropomorphism if ever I heard it. Here's an idea......... get over it! They were not YOUR testicles that were removed so why the attachment to them?? As for saying 'spaying' is 'ripping the womb ripped out of a bitch'......... ;) ugh.

I adore Aloveen shampoo and leave in conditioner. Smells like coconut and the scent stays on their coat for ages......plus if they start getting a tad whiffy but not needing another bath, just wipe the conditioner through their coat. That and it's a great hand moisturizer! hehe

I'm with Scales of Justice now. Has your vet done a test to see if it is a fungal infection?? If it hasn't even started to heal and is in fact getting worse, it isn't sounding like a hotspot anymore.

Not one of my guys here has refused it yet! I buy Optimum Puppy for my bubs now and have raised 3 litters on it and they all did brilliantly. Not fond of the cost feeding anywhere between 8-15 pups but it's worth it because they do so well on it (and the chicken mince/necks/brisket etc). And I love the smell of it! :rolleyes: Coles now have their own version of Natures Gift........ Natures Choice. Looks and smells and reads to be exactly the same ingredients...roughly the same price too. The dogs love it too.

Most Hotspots are a Staph infection. Antibiotics should be helping........ :rolleyes: Clean with Iodine (hurts like hell but effective) and I only do it once. I then use INFLAMOL which is an Antibacterial, Anti-inflammatory and Anti-fungal cream. Has Neomycin Sulfate, Prednisolone and Nitrofurozone in it. I have found this to be the most effective of all the creams available (never found neotopic to work anywhere near as well or as quickly as this stuff). My Cordelia used to get hotspots every few months (usually 3-4 at a time). I think that biggest difference in them not returning is getting her off dry dog food. Certain brands will bring up a hotspot on her within 48hrs. Main one for this is Supercoat, but also if she eats any of the cheap dry foods, except Bonnie (which she doesn't get cause she gets so fat on it). She now hasn't had one in over 12mths and although she does eat dry food every now and then, I avoid the above foods completely. Can you post a pic of the hotspot here for us all to see please??

A hernia would be soft to touch and you'd (usually) be able to poke it and feel it squish back in. All males get the lumps on their shaft when they are excited/aroused. It's normal and if desexed as an older pup/dog, it remains (not visible at all times though obviously). If the lump is hard and where his testicles used to be (ie: where the scotum is) I would have it checked by a vet just to be sure. If he is not at all bothered by it, has no trouble urinating, no blood in his urine or any other symptoms, I wouldn't be too worried though. Jut better to be safe than sorry,

2 words................. HELL YES!!! He is already showing signs of dominance and it is only going to get worse as he gets older and still has his testicles. He WILL start to cock his leg on everything very soon. If you seriously want to stop that behaviour as well as seeing the humping decrease then desex ASAP!! Training is going to be your best friend through all of this but get rid of the testosterone thats about to start surging through him and he piddle to empty his bladder not to inform all and sundry that he is the boss! Humping other dogs is a sure way to offend most other dogs and he'll get the snot knocked out of him when he decides to try it on a dog more dominant than him. (and by 14wks his testicles should have dropped. They may not be easily visable, but the should be just inside the sac if you have a quick poke around. )

I don't get it! Advocate IS Advantage. Exactly the same product with heartworm prevention added. Advantage does smell for a short while after administering but is less when applied correctly to the skin. I use Advantage on every one of my rescues and my own dogs and have never had an issue with fleas. Some dogs will have a sensitivity to it, but the most common reaction is eith localized skin irritation or in cats mainly) hyper-salivation.

Not wrong at all. For a bitch in season, the risk of bleeding out during surgery is slightly increased...... however....... if you have a decent vet who is just a bit more careful, as you found Jinta, the bitch will come through surgery just fine. Better to desex during a season (or when pregnant) than possibly end up with a litter that was never meant to be.

Same here. My Lab was very prone to hotspots when I got her and the Coprice produced a total of 7 hotspots within 3 days of feeding it to her. I stopped that brand and, although she gets the occasional one, she is much better.

I am using Optimum to feed my pups now and they LOVE it. Getting good poos from the pups, gaining weight, looking good and I think that Optimum is actually a really good feed. Supercoat........ I'm not fond of at all. The pups in particular get the trots so badly on it and it takes days for their bowel to get used it. The poo at least double the amount when on supercaot and it stinks. They also don't like as much as other brands I've tried in the past. If I could afford to feel all mine on Optimum........... I would. (and it smells divine).

Yep, I use Biolac for all the pups that I hand rear. All do really well on it (if nothing else goes wrong......... with pound puppies you just never know).

:p Oh Kristie. So sorry. From all here...... heartfelt sorrow for you. Such a hard decision. Take care and know we love you. Love Jack and the rest of 'em.

The number of people who bring their old/sick dogs in for euthanasia to the pound is almost staggering. The pound is located fairly close to a low socio-economic area and they charge $20.00 for surrendering a dog (or cat) to the pound. A vet, on average will charge at least $50.00-$100.00 dependign on the size of the animal and whilst I would never do it, I can understand why it is done by some. They just simply can not afford to pay the vet bill. At least I know that the pound staff do it respectfully with a quiet kind word and a pat though. Not an ideal place, but better than being dumped in a paddock somewhere to die slowly.