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Raw food shouldn't be higher in fat, but it will certainly have a lot more water. This means that 100 g of dry is not the equivalent of 100 g raw. Changing my dog to a raw diet means that he eats at least four times what he was eating in terms of mass. I know a lot of DOLers feed a mix of raw and kibble, but I don't believe this is the healthiest option because kibble is digested more slowly than raw food so it can be tough on the digestive system. My dog didn't have any major problems when he was eating raw meaty bones plus kibble, though. There are plenty of things you can do to save money on a 100% raw diet. If you regularly get meat from one butcher, you might be able to negotiate very cheap (or even free!) bones and offal. Most green grocers have bags of lettuce leaves for pets too and they give them away (that's if you're considering BARF). With eight dogs, you'll need a big freezer if you want to feed raw!

They do not. In the US, they only supply to stores that do not sell puppies or kittens. Unfortunately they aren't interested in being consistent worldwide and will continue to sell exclusively to PP. Members of this forum have contacted Natura about this issue.

Oooh.. what's the name of the shop? What were the prices like? The place was called Pet Maniacs, and they're on High St. They have a website, www.petmaniacs.com.au Thanks for all of that information! Hopefully I'll have time to go there on the weekend (freezer space permitting). I saw the shop's opening hours but there is no indication of when Diesel will be there. What a cutie!!

Oooh.. what's the name of the shop? What were the prices like?

http://www.dolforums.com.au/lofiversion/in...php/t54887.html This old thread has some contact information that is still current. A few months ago I took my dog to see George Schofield, who was very good. More recently I took him to see Tony. Tony was very thorough but the adjustments were more painful. However, no pain, no gain: I'm taking him back to see Tony in the next couple of weeks. When I have a sore back, joints or muscles, I don't go to the doctor, I go to the chiropractor. The vet couldn't do anything for my dog's sore leg/hip so we took him to chiropractors.

Be careful if given at all! Jake used to stink for HOURS after eating them... eww. They did last a long time though.

John Sandford in Clifton Hill does very strongly promote a diet that includes bones , and has never tried to sell us the dry food they have there . He is a very sensible vet (this is my favourite thing about him) but isn't particularly open-minded about alternative therapies. I'm told he's more expensive than other vets but seems reasonable to me.

I am so used to handling raw offal etc that I just use that as treats. I cut liver and kidneys and wear gloves :rolleyes: If I need treats outside of the house, which I'm guessing you do, I put Ziwi Peak (regular dry food) into a glad press-seal bag. It's one of the best quality processed dog foods but very expensive, so I just use it for treats. The size of the pieces is convenient.

Yes, hopefully the other people feeding their dogs apple cores are taking the seeds out first :rolleyes: Do you feed your dogs fruit? Jake gets a bit of whatever I'm eating, which is infrequent because I don't eat much fruit at home. If so, which fruit? Apple, banana, orange I give him the tops of strawberries when I am cutting them. What do they love? Strawberries, coconuts and oranges. What is their favourite? Strawberries and coconuts. What is really good for them? Nothing, unless it's pulped for BARF or whole for entertainment (eg a cored apple, or a whole coconut - try this if you haven't already!!).

I personally wouldn't feed my dog Eukanuba. There are better dry foods available, as laffi suggested. Dogs don't need variety in their diets to stay interested, so don't feel bad for feeding exactly the same meals every day. However, if you choose to feed raw, variety is very important! Good luck.

I can't comment on the puppy product, but my dog has been eating the regular adult VAN for several months now. I use it as the vegetable component of his BARF diet a few times a week. I usually soak it for a bit longer than recommended on the packet though! Jake is happy to eat it without anything mixed in. Weird dog.

Has the vet taken a blood sample to determine if the dog has any vitamin or mineral deficiencies? Offal is an important part of a raw diet because it contains high levels of certain nutritional requirements. I would research the diet properly rather than switch to dry food. My dog has been a pain lately when going for a walk - usually around the house with the GSD who has attacked him a few times so maybe there are other factors for your friend to consider.

How did your friend formulate her dog's diet? Has she done any research? I only ask because you didn't mention offal

I think most blenders are fine for BARF, as long as you make sure you scrape the sides down regularly if required, and keep the motor running until it's a paste. I use the juicer for some things, but often have to put greens in the blender anyway. My regular Breville isn't close to perfect so I can't use it on its own. If I only used the blender, I'd probably feed the mix at least partially frozen.

You could just reduce the amount of food heaps until you have an estimate of what she should weigh, and switch over to BARF. Then, as I said above, feed her 0.015 times her ideal weight (that's 1.5%). This amount should include the mass of a raw meaty bone daily. Of course, if your dog ends up matching poodlefan's description of a dog at correct weight before reaching what you estimated her ideal weight to be, you would just increase her food gradually until she maintains her correct weight. Please tell me if this doesn't make sense

Have you read any of Dr Billinghursts books on the BARF diet? If not, I would recommend Give your dog a bone. My dog is a fatty too, not too bad but he still has to lose some weight. He has been on BARF for a few months now and is looking great. I haven't weighed him recently, but his waist is better defined and his ribs are less buried behind fat In the BARF mix, avoid potatoes and other starchy root vegetables. Avoid fruit too. The best meat for weight loss is kangaroo (but make sure it contains no preservatives). Obese dogs can be fed as little as 1.5% of their ideal weight. So work out Sally's ideal weight (has your vet given you an idea?), and multiply that by 0.015. The result is how much BARF Sally should get daily. Hope this helps!

It turns out we already own a Dremel, yay! OK, so I'm a bad owner... my dog's nails are not at a horrendously cruel length, but they must be a bit uncomfortable. Cutting them is such a stressful experience that it doesn't happen very often.. well, they're too long. I think he has been chewing his paws too, because one paw looks as though it is bleeding. I saw that DoberKim page and I will follow those instructions to get Jake used to the experience. So are there any extra safety precautions I should take when starting out?

What I can't figure out is: How does my dog decide to roll in something rather than eat it?? He is a guts and eats everything, yet some things he'd rather use as a perfume??

Actually - my dog's individual meals are deliberately unbalanced. It's balance over time that seems important to me. It's more convenient to feed a different meal each night and know that each week will be balanced instead. Eg - occasionally he eats only vegetables for dinner (that's my fat baby's version of a fast - I totally fail at making him skip a meal), and occasionally he gets only meat/offal. There are plenty of examples in this forum of weekly meal plans for the interested members who need a bit of extra guidance

Wow, that link is very interesting. Billinghurst has said some sketchy things!

I wondered the same thing - 33 posts in two days?! But only a few posts are pushing the diet secrets. So... I really liked Give your dog a bone. Much of the information in the more recent book seemed to contradict the first book. I wondered if maybe too many people wanted exact instructions on how/what/how much to feed, rather than choose from the options. I interpreted the message as being balance over time, not all blended so that every day is pretty much the same. Maybe dog owners thought that because the food is sold a certain way, that's the best way to feed the diet, or is the best way according to Billinghurst. So what came first - the popularity of blending everything and then freezing, or the same commercially available product?

It looks like PetsOnThePark has a website. I haven't used it though, so I can't tell you about their service They seem to have lots to choose from though. I have bought the regular MicroTek shampoo from petshopboyz/hydroshop before.. they were very good. I am pretty sure they called me before they processed the order though - just to set up an account.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE you can buy this stuff in vic? i cant seem to find it. 4 Paws n More in Keilor stock it I think it's sold at most Macro Wholefoods supermarkets too. I've seen it on special there often.

Ziwi Peak is good for all ages too, but it's really pricey. What's the recommended amount to buy each shopping trip, in terms of time it takes to consume? I thought it was one month, which makes dry food very expensive. Have you considered a raw diet? That's good for all life stages

I think occasionally is fine - I feed the hard bones to my dog every now and then. Variety is important. My dog gets mostly pork bones and has never had a problem with these because he can eat the whole thing (sadly it only takes him around 20 mins) and doesn't leave any fragments on the ground. The other thing to consider with beef marrow (weight bearing) bones is the marrow. That can be quite fattening. My dog has a bit of lab in him too, to which I attribute his perpetual hunger I check up on my dog regularly when he has a big beef bone, but the only bones I think he needs constant supervision when eating are chicken bones. And anything new.