ellz

Define normal. What you're describing sounds perfectly normal to me for many breeds! :D My dearly departed old Reginald StafFORD was a mass destruction expert. I'm just glad he went across the Bridge before one of the terrorist groups heard about his talents or he could have been in great demand. He went from juvenile to senile with no obvious transition and was still wrecking things at the age of 9!

Mine get all of that anyway and the youngster STILL does the poo-eating trick. It's just a nasty habit for her now.

Chocolate contains a chemical called Theobromine which can be fatal to dogs. It isn't necessarily matter how much a dog gets, or how often a dog gets it. Like humans, some can tolerate it, some can't and like humans, it does build up in the system so a dog which is fine for years may suddenly reach their individual "limit" and have problems. It CAN be very nasty and painful for your dog. Personally, I don't allow ANY of my dogs to be fed human chocolate of any kind for any reason. If they steal any, they are encouraged to vomit. There are many doggy chocolate substitutes available.

I agree with sandgrubber. But if that isn't an option, then you just need to let her take her own time to get over it. My parents have lost two dogs within a matter of a month. Their only remaining dog has fretted terribly for his mates. He has only JUST started eating again but is still showing signs of his displeasure with regression in toilet training, insecurity etc etc. Hopefully this will end tomorrow as I'm taking a new companion to my parents for him. But time will tell.

I'd say I'm inclined to think ears, but as Poodle wrangler said, it could be anything. Good luck at the vets, let us know what transpires.

Good luck trying to stop it. Food additives don't always help. Sometimes it is just a bad habit, much like humans who chew their fingernails etc. Sometimes it can be a dietary issue (but usually quite rarely). Sometimes it can be boredom. Sometimes it can be that they just like the taste. Best thing you can do is meet him with the pooper scoop as he drops it and hope that he grows out of it. Until then, be sure that he is wormed regularly and only socialises with other dogs/cats who are wormed regularly. Oh and do NOT let him lick you!!!! ETA: PS. I've got one who still enjoys doing it. She's 12 months old and as soon as she sees another dog "assume the position", she's there waiting. We call it POO-TUBE!! Only marginally nicer than kitty crunchies, doesn't smell as bad thankfully!!

No, it's really just a cosmetic thing. Some people will use it as a warning that their dog is deficient in the vitamins listed above, but that isn't always the ONLY reason. One of my American Cockers had it too and he was a multi BIS winner. Didn't stop him from winning in winter, just wasn't always the prettiest nose on earth!

The medication is expensive because it is expensive to create. If it is the one I have used myself (Cyclosporin or something like that) it is a steroidal based thing. I'd be having the specialist look at both eyes. There is no guarantee that the other eye isn't like it is due to the same problem, but further progressed.

Do not muck around with eyes. Dry eye in particular is potentially blinding. The constant rubbing can cause damage to the cornea and corneal ulceration which WILL ultimately cause the dog to go blind and is very painful at the same time. Imagine how you would feel with sand in your eyes all of the time!!! The other thing that can happen is that pigmentation will grow over the eye, also ultimately blinding. Neither are pleasant and both are preventable. Definitely see the eye specialist and pursue whatever natural options are suggested. Poor dog, if I were in a better position, I'd take him off your hands!

Oh and meant to add. It can also be genetic so make sure you don't mate a dog who has a snow nose to another snow nose. You may not get snow noses in the resulting litter, but they could still carry the gene and it may always pop up at a later date.

My dogs love barley. When I'm cooking up the horse barley at night, I keep a bit of the cooked stuff back for the dog dinners. They love it. Good source of natural fibre.

Little hint for you. The Coles/Farmland label rolls are just VIP in another wrapper. All they do is change the wrappers at the end of the production run and charge about $2 less in the stores per roll.

To be honest, I used to just give a scientific "slosh". It is also excellent for bringing in pigment on baby puppies which are being a trifle slow about it.

Don't feed out of plastic bowls. Try adding Ironcyclen to the diet.

Ahhhh...kity crunchies. Such a delicacy to the discerning doggy palate. They will go to extraordinary lengths to get them. Even the laziest of my crew will go digging in the dirt if they think they might find a "truffle" lurking in the soil. Friends of mine actually used an old kitchen cabinet. Fixed one door shut and put a hole in the cabinet about halfway up. High enough for the cats to jump into but too high and too small for the dogs to get in. Then the other side (with a firm kiddy lock) is where the litter tray goes. Too much buggerising around for me, but it works for them. My own solution is to make sure that everybody is wormed regularly and that I don't let the dogs kiss me (or the children) on the face when they appear with "that" blissful look on their faces!

ALL of my puppies are raised on diluted cows milk from birth. Much cheaper and easier than stuffing around with the stuff formulated for pets or trying to source goats milk or paying through the nose for carnation tins.

Apple Cider Vinegar Manuka Honey

I guess my dogs must be different then because I had to cut them back because they were putting weight on too quickly! Shiny coats, less "output" and no reduction in energy. Even the old Stafford boy who just didn't "do" cold weather maintained his weight on GB during one of our vicious Tassie winters. You'd be surprised the number of top kennels who use the product. It was discussed at great length on Ozshow a few times and was highly recommended by all who used it. That was why I decided to try it in the first place. I'd never go back to another food now.

I've used it on four breeds now and I have found it to be the best "budget" range food available. No problems with smelly dogs, stinky poo, hot spots or anything else. In fact, one of the dogs used to get hotspots from a food recommended by a TV vet but didn't have problems with the GB. And it is the ONLY food that all dogs will eat and eat happily. Each to their own. One mans' meat is another mans poison but I certainly like what it does for my dogs and I won't be changing foods in a hurry.

Check with your local supermarket. They may well stock it for you if they have any Laucke Mills bread mixes etc on their shelves. And yes, I've met very few dogs which don't like GB. Even my fussies love it and they have never looked better OR carried more weight and that is exactly what they need in our cold Tassie winters.

First thing would be to check and see if she has inhaled something.

All of mine, including my fussy ones love Great Barko (plenty of threads here about it). $25.50 for 22kg so not expensive either.. Australian-made and I have spoken to the company and am very satisfied with the answers I received about ingredients, preparation etc. Recommend it more than highly. Have also had more than one breed on it with excellent results all around.

There have been a couple of threads, do a search and you'll find them. There was one only a couple of days ago so it shouldn't be too far down the thread list.

Vale Truyank Show Me Heaven, aka Cilla. Cilla was born literally only days after my return to Tasmania in 1995 and was one of the last Truyank puppies to be born. In her day she was quite the showgirl, winning both in Tasmania and on the mainland, but when my marriage failed she went to live with my parents and became my fathers' footwarmer and alarm clock. A granddaughter of my beloved Ch Homesteads Happy Camper (Imp USA) and a daughter of Aust Gr Ch Merriyank Dare You To Tri (ai), she would have been valuable in the whelping box, but circumstances saw her never being bred from. Sadly, she was put to sleep to alleviate her suffering and has been buried under the rosebushes in my parents front yard. Rest In Peace Priscilla. Go and give that smelly red dog a hard time like you used to in life. You weren't called "Priscilla, Bitch of the Playpen" for nothing! Just so sad that I didn't get the chance to say goodbye.

Rude minds!!! Veritable cornucopia of patterns on this site here.