Prydenjoy

Who else is hoping to register??? Hey maybe we can have a DOL meet up at the Delta training course!!! And you can all meet my smart arse papillon

Well that's OK then I just got from your post that you were saying "this is how I do it and how it should be done", but if you were just after a discussion on food then why didn't you just ask! We're always ready for a food discussion Well, as you can see, the reason why I think BARF is great is because it WORKS for my dogs, they are all incredibly healthy, NO doggy odour - even if they don't get bathed for months, no skin infections, dandruff, digestive upsets (except for the Boxers burping and farting, but you give me one Boxer that doesn't burp and fart all the time and you name the price, I'll pay it! ), lovely, thick, shiny coats, everyone who touches them comments on how soft they are, clear eyes, no trips to the vet, no allergy's, never embarrassed about sloppy poos because they just don't do them! So many reasons why I like it and think it is great But do I reccommend it to everybody? Well... yes, I reccomend it, but I also acknowledge that for certain individual dogs something else might work better, all dogs have different needs and there have been some pretty awful story's related to the BARF method of feeding, keeping in mind there have been awful story's with EVERY other method of feeding also, you've got to be in touch with your dog and take all the necessary precautions eg I don't feed my larger dogs ox tail as I have heard of dogs their size choking on them. Research research research, everything in life has it's risk and for my lot it seems the benefits FAR outweigh the risks, I'd rather feed them how I do now with the comparitively small amount of risks (compared to other methods of feeding, and I'm not going to starve my dogs either because I'm too worried about the dangers feeding them could have! ;) ) and see the outstanding benefits, than feed them kibble and still risk them choking or getting one or several a range of chronic health problems that have been associated with feeding commercial foods.

Hey, you stole my reply!!! Oh well, at least it's a good one

What is the point of this? You are not aking for any help, nor are you even open to anyones opinions on your diet, so why are you telling us what your dogs eat? It is one thing to say "Hey, this is what I feed my dogs, am I missing anything?" but to give a list of what you feed as though it is gods will, well why would you do it? My dogs all THRIVE on a BARF diet, occasionally I will ask for suggestions on what else I could be adding, but I don't come on here, state a long list of what I feed, and then not be open to any suggestions to how I could change their diet to make it healthier. Not having a shot at you, but I'm having a difficult time trying to understand the reasoning behind your posts?

Hey I travell to dog shows with three dogs and sleep outside in a tinsy winsy tent only JUST big enough for me to squeeze in next to a dog crate or esky, and have the three dogs sleeping ontop of me to keep me warm on the cold hard ground.... I'm sure I can manage it What size installments do you have to make? When do you have to start making them??? I really want in this year!!! Staffordsrule, we may end up meeting next Easter

Thanks everyone for your replys. I would prefer do a course that focuses purely on positive training methods as I hold no interest for negative methods. I already instruct classes so shouldn't find it too difficult to do the hands on part of the course! Unless our club falls into other peoples hands... but will have to wait until tomorrow night to find that out, probably wont get much sleep tonight, but that's another story... But I agree that there is no such thing as an untrainable dog, you've just got to find out which buttons to push, it is usually more of a problem trying to motivate the owner than anything else! I admit sometimes I do feel like diving in and saying "this is how you do it" but I am extremely patient when it comes to instructing and make sure the owners understand WHY they must do it a particular way, as opposed to me just showing them and getting them to do it. I've been told I'm a very good trainer and have some very good tips (from people who have struggled for years trying to train their dogs) so just hearing that made me so happy and filled with pride - they are the biggest achievements, when you help someone who has been struggling for years finally get ahead, moments like those are the reason I want to learn more I agree that it is horrible that the industry is so unregulated, I know many people who have gone to the WRONG trainer and their dog has been damaged for life from it. I even know of a lady who was going to put her dog to sleep after a know it all (with no qualifications mind you) gave them a "private consult" and their dog bit her, the lady who owned the dog was distraught, and rightly so, she didn't know that the reason it happened is because the know it all lady was doing everything in the books that she SHOULDN'T have been doing! Anyone seen "The Dog Whisperer"? Don't get me started on that guy So do Delta provide food and accomodation? What else do they provide? Sounds great!!! I already know which dog I will be taking, he is a clicker training shaping expert and puts even the most well trained dogs to shame when it comes to shaping - I call him "the one minute dog" because he can learn practically any new trick in less than a minute, great party trick! I'm sure out of my three dogs, you can all probably guess which one is the smart arse ;) So is the $3000 a lump sum upfront payment? Or do you pay as you go? I don't have $3000 at the moment, but would really like to register for next years course!

Which cute guy thread???

I'd love to do an endurance test with Montie, but he is too small for me to safely ride alongside, and I can't run that far so I'm afraid it's not going to happen!

I don't have a BC but we have people at training who do obedience and agility trials with them and do quite well. You can also get into yard dog trials I believe. BC's can be trained to do just about anything, fly ball, scent trialling, endurance tests. In my oppinion the more things you can get into with your dog the better

I'm thinking of doing a Delta course and was wondering what it involves, how much it costs, and what windows of opportunity it opens up? I'm going to have coffee and a chat to two lady's I know who have done the course, but I thought I'd ask here as well

For young children I often recommend a Whippet, older, more boisterous children I will recommend a Boxer, and very gentle little girls I will recommend a Papillon. It is just so hard to say without knowing the situation. Are you asking just in relation to your neighbours dog? Or are you looking to get a dog? More info please. Of the list you gave personally I would choose a Saluki, I met one the other day and we stayed together for two nights, he was a brilliant dog, absolutely gorgeous. Can your children be trusted not to let the dog off lead? Something you have to think hard about before getting a sighthound, or any dog for that matter, but particularly a sighthound

Yes it does depend on a lot of things. What I am trying to work out is why that list? It doesn't appear to be based on any sort of criteria eg energy levels, size etc. Maybe if you said a bit about your family and what you are looking for in a dog (eg obedience, companionship etc) we might be able to answer the question a little better, but it is impossible just to choose out of a list (especially that one) what is the best family breed. Although I can say CERTAINLY not a husky! (Though that depends on a lot of things too!).

Yes... your dog needs help...

Just reminded me of the funniest thing my last Boxer did. I went outside one day and the dogs bowl was sitting next to the back door with three or four plump ripe tomatos sitting in it. I yelled out to mum and dad to come outside and gave them both a stern word about NOT feeding tomatos to dogs because they can be poisonous in large doses. Dad laughed (NOT the response I was after), then he told me about how he was just standing in the kitchen watching Lily (the Boxer) for ten minutes break into the veggie patch (she had to open the gate to get in), hunt for ripe tomatos, pick them off the bush and carry them back to the house, leaving them in the bowl next to the house for us to collect Never under estimate a dogs intellegence

Green tomatos contain solonine, which is toxic even in small amounts. Ripe tomatos on the other hand, are very high in selenium, which is toxic in large doses but absolutely harmless in small amounts, I feed my guys tomatos in moderation, a good rule of thumb for practically anything is IN MODERATION. Citrus should be fine, again, in moderation, too much I believe could cause stomach upsets and possible poor digestion. Something to remember though, if you are just chucking your dog a scrap of fruit or veg it wont get anything out of it anyway, dogs cannot break the cell wall of vegetable matter so unless it has been pureed then your dog might as well be eating flavoured cardboard

Yes, I got an email from Chris yesterday letting me know he hasn't forgotten us Apparently he's checking into some final details between two companies, then it'll be a green light for us Fifi!

My guys get salmon oil, evening primrose oil and cod liver oil (on different days). I have a big bottle of Emu oil on my "to get" list, it is $70 though so I've been putting it off for a while. It has a great balance of omega oils and is more "appropriate" for dogs than EPO as it is from an animal source. I know a lot of people give their dogs flax seed oil, I have some sesame oil in the fridge that I don't use much - would it be OK/beneficial to give them a drizzle of that every now and again?

Staffyluv and Greentea, it would be a better world if everyone could afford steak for their dog every night, but unfortunately some of us have to feed something a little cheaper. To be honest, I think you are doing your dog a BIG favour by feeding it stuff that we wouldn't eat, by feeding steaks etc you are depriving your dog from the natural calcium in bones. If you ask around the butchers what they put in their pet mince you will probably find a variety of things. One butcher here bones the chickens and uses the scraped bones with a heap of fat added, after feeding the dogs for a few days on roo meat (there was a few kg they had to eat) I found this mix was perfect - lots of bone and fat to go with all the lean muscle meat they'd been eating. Another butcher grinds chicken necks up with offal, a good pet mince, they do it fresh and I would have no problems feeding my dogs that on a regular basis. Another uses floor scraps, god knows what goes into each batch of that, so I just don't buy it. To be honest I think the sounds of the stuff this thread is about is good, bone crushed in for calcium, veggies (most butchers leave out the veggies), and offal - the type of diet I aim for with my own dogs. If you were to buy human grade meat (not mince) I'm afraid it would be almost impossible to get veggies into that dog, and it may very well grow up with deficiency's due to lack of bone in the diet, and offal. I wont buy pet mince from the pet shop or supermarkets for the same reason as both of you will only feed human grade meat, because I don't trust what is in it, but if you ask the butcher they can generally tell you exactly what goes into it, and it generally isn't all that bad

Amhailte, as long as the offal doesn't exceed about 10% of the total diet then you should be fine. Liver should be equal to half the offal fed, heart isn't considered offal, I'm not sure about giblets? I'd think they would be considered muscle meat too. Pork is good in moderation but I wouldn't feed it as a staple. As for over feeding certain types of meat, well a staple of roo is deficient in fat, but aside from that as long as you aim for variety and your dog isn't reacting badly then you can't go too far wrong! Just remember too, lots of bones

Thats right Brigantia, there are a LOT of satin ball recipes, this one is great because it rely's on fat more than carbs to put on weight - which is a lot more natural for dogs and leads to a healthier weight gain... I guess you could compare it to a diet high in sugar to a diet high in whole grain cereals for people, you can acheive weight gain both ways, but one is certainly a lot healthier than the other! I also like the ingredients, as opposed to grains, which have nothing in them that is good for dogs (with the exeption of a moderated amount of oats, oats can be good in moderation :D ) it has peanut butter and cream, both very high energy and both with their share of "good" things in them too :D

Greentea, I wouldn't eat meat with crushed bone in it, or offal, but it is what is best for dogs, so the whole "cooking it up" thing isn't such a great theory. What I was saying about the pet mince here is that it is human quality chicken bones, minced up, no way in the world I would eat that, but if it wasn't minced and was shoved under the grill or what ever I'd certainly eat it! Melissa should check with the butcher exactly what is going in it - if there was preservatives etc I wouldn't feed it, but if it was just ground meat and bones, veggies and offal I would, though I certainly wouldn't eat that if it were cooked up! :D

On that note I would just like to add that when my dogs aren't feeling 100 per cent I generally take them off raw until they are better. Well not "generally" - it depends what it is. When my kitten got ill with FIP I took her off raw completely. When my Boxer pup had allergies and we were trying to work out what it was (hacking and coughing) I took him off lamb, beef, roo etc and just fed him chicken to reduce the risk of Neospora, which Boxers are prone to, but are only likely to become infected if they are fed meat contaminated with neospora when their immune system is comprimised. As with all things in life you've got to be cautious and know what your dog can and can't handle, there is no reason why a healthy dog can't eat raw food. Hey, when I do feed kibble it is always soaked, my dogs have nearly choked on the stuff many a time and countless dogs around the world have died from bloating related to kibble - I feel a LOT safer feeding my dogs a chicken wing than I ever do feeding them kibble, everything in life carries a risk and in the case of feeding raw foods the benefits far outweigh the risks, however the opposite holds true for kibble.

Staffyluv, this sounds ok to me - if it is from the butcher like that then it probably has ground bone etc in it, so would be better for a dog than human grade mince anyway. The pet mince you buy from the butchers here is just ground bone and meat, no other nasties. It is worth checking with your butcher though exactly what "extras" goes into it. The reason I say half an hour is that some dogs (well, Merlin anyway, I don't know of too many other dogs that do it) will sniff their food, go off as though they are waking up their stomach acids for 10 or so minutes, then return and eat like a kilo of food in one meal. It isn't that he's not hungry, I think he just has difficulty eating without smelling the food for a while first if that makes sence?

My guys are the same! If they are looking a little skinny I just put some food in their crate with them at night and it's gone in the morning :D

He obviously doesn't like his mince as much as the necks, a lot of dogs go through this and you musn't let them get away with it. Try giving him his necks in the morning and his mince at night, if he doesn't eat his mince in half an hour put it in the fridge and don't offer it again till morning. Leave it with him until just before you go to work and if it's not gone then back in the fridge. He'll eat it, sooner or later, once he realises he's not getting anything else until he does - a hungry dog WILL eat, it's just a matter of time.