Norskgra

Can anyone please recommend a Training School in the St George / Sutherland area of Sydney? We used to take one of our dogs to a local one but even though he was promoted each week, I was not happy with it. Our 22 month old male is strong and only occasionally shows some agression to certain other dogs which I would also like to fix. We don't have any problems with our other dogs but they could do with some training from someone else.

Hi Poodlefan, They don't do nearly as much as when they were on dry and it is a lot firmer. It is funny but the Elkhounds poo doesn't seem to smell as much as the Afghan's for some reason. I don't know if it is more pleasant though. At least my daughter will pick it up now they are on BARF.

The mix is certainly an unusual colour. I just hope they like it. As I usually make up thier mix daily, how much apple cider vinegar should I be giving each of them? We are very happy with the results of them being on BARF. We have been on it for 6 weeks today. Our older bitch has gone from being told that she needs to put on weight to us being told at show training on Wednesday that she is in fantastic condition! She has also done more winning and has got a few 9 and 10 point Challenges. In some breeds that may not be much but in our breed that is great. She has also got Runner up Best of Breed under a US judge. Our oldest male's condtion has also improved a great deal. Our 5 month old Elkhound is only a little bit smaller than one of her brothers. We will see her other brother tomorrow for the first time since we picked our girl up at 8 weeks. She is a bit too chubby so I am cutting down on the amount I have been feeding her but otherwise I have been told that she is exquisite. Our 7 month old Afghan's condition has also improved.

My older one sleep on my bed without any problem. The younger ones would like to but they can not be trusted not tp get into anything in my room.

I have just returned from doing the shopping and have bought a good variety of vegetables for the dogs, including beetroot. I am about to make some for them. I usually do it one day in advance while I am on holidays. Tomorrow should be interesting when they try it. The dogs eat better than we do. They get fresh vegetables while we eat frozen!!!!!

Thanks everyone. I am going shopping today so I will get some beetroot and anything else that looks good apart from onion and tomatoes. How much apple cider vinegar should I be giving them?

Hi Poodlefan, I usually don't feed them the cauliflower, broccoli and bok choy at the sametime. I might try some raw beetroot for a surprise. They love apples, pineapple, apricots and pears. I haven't tried them on any other fruit yet. Woolliwag, I have tried giving them apple cider vinegar and none of them will touch thier food, even our pups who are gutses.

I have only been feeding my dogs BARF for 5 1/2 weeks and I am extremely happy with it. One of our bitches has gone from being told that she was under weight to being told last night at training that she is in fantastic condition. Our other dogs have all improved as well. I normally just look at what vegetables are in season and cheap. I usually rotate the vegetables for variety. Thier mixture may include broccoli, carrots, parsnip, spinach, bok choy, celery, zucchin, apple, cauliflower, sweet potato. I would like to add different vegetables as well for more variety. What I would like to know is apart from onions, what vegetables shouldn't you feed them?

That was one of the things my boy was scared of. After getting a remedy from Greenpet, he no longer is afraid of anything. Some of the things he used to be afraid of were tested last night at training and he no longer has his fears. Greenpet are quite reasonably priced and I am using thier remedies for one of my other dogs as well. I love thier homeopathy remedies. Greenpet

I got a remedy made up for one of imne by Greenpet. The also have a Homeopathic Anxiety remedy that also appears to work. It will be given a big test this weekend.

Hi Amhailte, We are in the process of training him where he can lift his leg. It is starting to work. Now he only has two pieces of furniture he likes to water. Hopefully, he will learn soon. The other problem we are currently working on is that as soon as he gets outside, he gets sooooooo excited that he won't stop barking. To stop the nieghbours complaining, we have to bring him inside. The nieghbours run a home day care and our boy gets really excited as soon as he hears the kids.

My 21 month old Elkhound started lifting his leg between 8 - 9 months, yet his brother does not show any interest and just stands there. At times I wish mine did not lift his leg because I would not have to grab a towel every time he lifts his leg on the furniture!

I also tried Rescue Remedy on one of my dogs and it had no effect on him at all.

And another one for Black Dog.

I actually contacted Big Dog Pet Foods last week and they said that they will not have any distributors in Sydney for 6 - 8 weeks. I make my own at the moment but I am seriously thinking of getiing some Big Dog when I can in Sydney. I would go through over one bag BARF patties per day so it works out expensive at $15 per bag.

I have been thinking that it may be more economical to make my own if I knew how. Two of ours are fully grown but still have to mature, the others are still pups so it will be expensive if it is 1 pattie per 10kg.

I am really interested in changing my Elkhounds to a natural diet but don't have a lot of time to prepare by the time I get home from work. If I was to buy these patties would I have to feed them anything else?

All ours get their shots each year. We wouldn't dream of missing any. Even with having their shots our two oldest ones still managed to get a mild case of Kennel COugh but it would have been much worse if they hadn't had their shots.

My dogs also love tuna and sardines. I feed them tinned tuna and sardines in oil. It is great for their coats. They love any fish. It wouldn't be the first time I have gone and bought fish and chips for our dinner and bought the dogs fish as well. Not in batter but grilled.

One of my bitches had the same problem. I was told by the Vet that it was a fatty acid deficiency. I now give all my dogs Omega 3, 6 & 9 oil and don't have any problems.

I have been feeding my two oldest on Supercoat Active and they have lost a noticeable amount of weight. They look skinny next to their relations. They need to gain weight. I have doubled the amount but it hasn't made any difference. Does anyone have any ideas on how to help them gain weight fast but keep them in top condition? I am going to change to Bonnie Working Dog and give that a try. I have been feeding my two youngest ones on Eukanuba but they need different ones because one is a medium breed puppy and the other is a large breed puppy. I am thinking of changing the medium one to Bonnie Puppy.