Tibbiemax71

I lost my lovely male GSD to bloat 3 years ago I have been paranoid about it ever since. After that I was told to soak the food in water which I did and to feed it elevated lucky nothing happened to my other dog! I now feed mine on BARF, I also don't let them run around 1 hour before or after being fed and in summer I feed them late when it has cooled down. I know these thing wont 100% guarantee it wont happen again but at least it may help. My vet also said that dogs that eat lots of bones can get bloat, has anyone else heard of this? Something to do with lots of calcium I think :rolleyes: This is a worry for me since I am feeding BARF with lots of bones! Also with the "20% increase in risk for each year increase in age" What exactly does that mean, does it mean by the time the dog is 10 years old there is 100% chance it could get bloat or does it start after they reach a certain age. ETA: Like Cavandra said BARF is cheap to feed, I get the pet mince, chicken frames from "Leonards" and what ever vegies are on special, offal from the butchers cheap and lamb off cuts from "Safeways" :D

Obedience is my favorite, I love the precision of it. I have horses and loved dressage when I was younger (only have time for the occasional trail ride now) so obedience is the next best thing. I have competed in flyball and agility and enjoyed those sports also, I have been to a tracking workshop and would love to get into that in the future when my kids are older and I have more time

I used betadine and "Curash" baby powder to treat a hot spot on one of my dogs this summer and it worked really well, I clipped the hair off around the area of the hot spot first, then put Betadine on it then patted the powder on, I also had to put a bucket on her head for a couple of days as she was licking it all the time, it healed up really well, I got that information from here, if you type "Hot Spots" in the "Search" you will find lots of info.

I use the chicken pet mince from "Leonards" :rolleyes:

The dry food and raw mince together threw the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio out of whack, there was more Phosphorus than Calcium, so the body compensated by leaching Calcium out of the dogs bones and it ended up with Osteoarthritis, I think that's what our vet said anyway

Thanks so much for all your replies ;) I have been feeding the BARF diet for about 2 months or so now and havnt noticed constipation yet, my old dog is 11 and half years old so was worried about her, in the BARF patties they get the fruit and veggie mush, they get this every night and either a lamb off cut, lamb flap or chicken frames as well. I have notice a great improvement in the poo department I will start giving them sardines and some sort of oil as well. Thanks again, will stop freaking out now

Just got back from Puppy Preschool with my foster Greyhound pup, the vet was talking today about feeding bones, she asked who fed bones and what kind, I told her I feed chicken frames, lambs flaps and she said that chicken frames were not a good idea as it can turn "concrete like" and cause extreme constipation, where the dog might actually need to be flushed out. She said its more of a concern with old dogs as their digestive system is slower, she also said the pet mince that has minced up bone in it does the same thing, I think the "Lenards" mince has bone in it. Just wondering if anyone had ever had any problems with constipation with feeding their dogs Chicken frames or the mince, I give my 2 older dogs the BARF patties and use the "Lenards" mince and they get the chicken frames, lambs flap and off cuts. The vet also said the only bones she recommends is the split in half "recreational bones" Its taken me a while to feed my dogs confidently on bones now my vet is freaking me out

Thats great news How is she walking on it now?

Well there you go! that explanes my old dog Zana's teeth, her canines are really worn, I only use tennis balls in training but she did do flyball in her younger days, my other dog Elka loves tennis balls to, but again only use them in training, her teeth are fine but she is only 2 years old. Zana copes fine with hers, still eats bones fine :rolleyes: Will have to see if I can find the doggie tennis balls for Elka.

I've used Joint Food since my girl did her crutiate's.

I chuck the eggs in the blender, shell and all and mix it through my raw mixture that I make for them.

My old GSD girl had both hers done about 3 years ago, she was just trotting in front of me in the backyard and screamed and was on 3 legs, she had ruptured the ligament so had the surgery the next day, then a week later the other leg went she coped really well with it all the poor girl. Hers cost $1000 for the first leg and around $900 for the second. She is a bit stiff now (she is 11 and half years old!) but otherwise is doing fine.

awww, he is very cute ;)

I was told by my GSD breeder no more than 5 mins on lead exersise as it is "forced" exersise until they are 12 months old, I took her for small walks around the block so she could meet people and see cars, bikes etc, took her to obedience at the GSD club, they said it was ok to let her run around in an off leash area as she would stop when she had enough.

Thanks again for the tips. Gawd that must have been awful with the marrow bone eclecticgirl, i will keep an eye on them when i get them in the future. Got some lamb necks yesturday but they were sliced up, guess they would be better if they were whole? Anyway the dogs loved them, will get some more next week, am getting brave with the bone thing now

Thanks for the replies I have given them both brisket bones tonight, have got some chicken frames and lamb off cuts so will try these later in the week :D

Thanks for the replies Ok I am going to get brave and try some other types of bones. Forgot to mentiion that I attended a first aid course at my vets the other night and she mentioned that too many bones can cause bloat something else to worry myself over now as I lost a Shepherd to bloat 3 years ago has anyone else heared of this? Off Topic: Saw you on the news last night Trisven13, great story :rolleyes: Those babys have GROWN, and I saw Bam Bam gorgeous boy

I have just started BARF feeding my dogs and wanted to know what are the best sort of bones I could feed to GSD's I give them the big marrow bones and sometimes briskit (spelling) bones. I am told by my vet that the split in half marrow bones are the safest to give them. I am always worrying that if they had smaller bones that they could actually swallow it and could do them some harm. years ago I had a Shepherd and she got very sick and nearly died, the vet said it could be from a bone she had eaten and it may have puntured her inside so I have been a bone phobic ever since. I never feed any cooked bones of course, but was wondering if lamb off cuts, chicken frames or chicken wings would be ok? I have just got the Ian Billingherst books and have just started reading them.

When our hoses became more plastic joiners that rubber hose we knew it was time to replace them :p I am just trying to talk my husband into fostering for dog rescue but he is concerned about the chewing thing again if we get a puppy :D

Hi, like the others said, give her big marrow bones to chew, maybe you could fence your washline off so she cant get to it? If you leave things out they are going to get chewed My 2 year old shepherd girl has just turned into what I call a "normal dog" now its like it happend over night! before that her chew list looked pretty much the same as yours Plus she chewed all the kids sand pit toys, only the metal thing survived! they learned very quick after that to put toys away we are on our third hose now (as we are too lazy to roll it up and put it away!) she hasnt touched it yet touch wood, she also had a good go at the sprinkler system when she was a baby! Thats just puppy hood.She will get better when she gets older. Try and look at ways to puppy proof your yard so she cant get to the things you dont want chewed, even maybe fence part of the yard off for her. Good luck

I am so sorry for the loss of your little Lola My heart goes out to you and your family.

I took my GSD girl to puppy preschool, she spent the most part of the first lesson under my legs, i didnt make a big fuss about it and by the end of the lesson she was starting to come out of her shell and play a little bit, by the end of the 4 week course she was the one that had to get pulled off the other pup when she got a bit over the top!( they only let 2 pups off lead at a time that were a simlar size) So dont give up, she will come round, just dont make too much of a fuss when she is sooking as you will be reinforcing the behavior and telling her its ok to be scared.

I always used the expensive ones that you can get at the sports shops, Slazenger etc, they seemed to last quite a while, my shepherd would destroy those cheap ones in a couple of minuets also.

I feed the dog just after coming around the post with you nearest the post and the dog on the outside, Let him know you have the food, I keep my left hand up near my belly with the food in it then as you come around the post as long as the the dog is with you and watching you give him the food just as you start to straighten up, also if you halt at the next post give him food then, I do it at fast pace also, but shorten your stride as you go around the post with the dog on the outside, if your dog is ball/toy mad you can reward him with the ball as you straighten up, you will of course have to get the ball off him before you continue the fig. 8 then as you come around the outside post give him the ball again, do this a couple of times then maybe do the whole fig. 8 before giving him the ball, make it fun and exciting and positive and try not to look back at him while making the turn as it will make him wider and talk to him in an excited voice to keep his attention. I use these methods with my dog and she does a lovely fig. 8, has her attention on me all the time.

I am a member of the Albury and Border Kennel Club, in the 10 years that i have been training my dogs with the club, I have had nothing but positive experiences. I have trained my dogs using club technique's and the result is a very happy and enthusiastic working dog and handler team. I have competed succsesfully in obedience, agility and flyball with my dogs and they have gained titles in these sports, I owe it all to the great instructors at the Kennel Club, the level or instruction is of a very high and professinal quality. Our club provides great training opportunities and a friendly environment to train in, you only have to look around at the other dogs working around you and see them working enthusiastically to know that they and the handlers are happy and enjoying themselves. Its a shame that you and your daughter had a bad experience, maybe you could have taken it up with the Kennel club so the problem could have been resolved.