black_dog

Yes. Throughout his adult life he's had mainly Supercoat (tho I guess I'd get the same review!), Bonnie recently and he's also had some other one that I can't recall at the moment. It hasn't been a change and it looks like a speed rather than reaction issue. But I'll try him on something else and see if it makes a difference. They also get chicken necks. The muffin tray is working at the moment and we're back to once a day feeding. Also, the concept of a dog refusing breakfast is completely alien to our house. They would both be very fat dogs if they could open the food bin themselves.

Muffin tray slow-down bowl deployed tonight. I can report that D1's dinner has gone from 15 seconds to about a minute and a half, with no vomit. Thanks all. The only down side is the teflon coating might have a limited life...

Our 9yo lab has always been food obsessed and eats fast, but in the past couple of weeks he's started to throw up while eating. Doesn't slow him down and he eats the sick along with the food. He gets fed once in the evening, mostly Bonnie or similar. Starting today I'm giving him half in the morning and half at night. Is he just getting too old to be eating as fast as he does, or could there be another cause?

I am sure every dog food manufacturer would send research to anyone who asked to show that theirs is the best. I did hear that Iams did some research that was really callous but whether or not this was accurate I really don't know. It did put me off the product though. Yes, I'm thinking of controlled studies not funded by the industry.

There are lots of good published studies on human diet and health impact. Anyone know of any published research into dog diets?

Think we'll end up trying to make one. Don't necessarily want the buoyancy and will try and get a bit more coverage. Life jackets look nice for rougher water mind.

Our 2yo cocker spaniel loves the water, unsurprisingly, but gets cold, shivery and super whiny when she gets back onto the boat. What's the best jacket to keep her warm but would be ok to go into the water? Not sure whether a dog life jacket is the thing, but don't want anything that would drag her down. In the human world fleece lined neoprene would be the thing. Anyone with any experience or suggestions?

I disagree with this. I'm not a vegetarian, but was for a number of years, mainly due to the unsustainability of factory farming at western society levels. We all draw the line somewhere, anything from not caring to being a fruitarian. You don't need to be a meat eater just because there is something wrong in every food sector. It's a personal choice, and every thing we do makes some difference. If you personally don't eat meat, then there is 74kg of animal each year that doesn't have to get killed.

Exactly. Plus no great value in agreeing with each other about how hopeless he is, and that you've won the argument QED. The problem is that from the community persective something must be done following such an horrific attack. Yet from this thread: - BSL does not work - It is impossible to determine what sort of dogs attack Education will not work with irresponsible owners. So then what?

Just to put his view of the RSPCA in context. Mark Coulton: anti-environment protection, pro-pokies. http://www.openaustralia.org/mp/mark_coulton/parkes

I can, but I'm just pointing out the fact that aggressive APBT-looking dogs are particularly scary, and to see a trained one pulling a pallet of bricks and biting a tyre three metres off the ground doesn't make them less scary. I think that Matthew_B pretty well sums up the majority view. Dog attacks get reported in the media only when they are the most severe, ie from the most powerful dogs. People think about this quite simply: it is a combination of powerful dogs and bad owners, so lets get rid of the dogs and punish the owners. Most people agree that dog attacks are preventable - what they want is to take away the weapon from the idiot. Exactly the same as P-platers and WRXs. If you dismiss M_B's view, as has been done at length, then how will you convince everyone else that thinks like that?

I just went back and watched it, and I thought: crap! imagine an untrained one of them on a chain in a bikie's backyard.

Well someone should find out. There are plenty of things we don't know but do research on and get the answer, or something close enough. It might be difficult or expensive, but if it is important to the community (and it seems to be) then it should be done.

Yes it is about breeds - read the papers. And to be honest I have some sympathy, because some just look downright more scary. I am more afraid of some dogs than others, and everyone else is too. If it is nothing to do with breeds then I'd love to see the research stats. I convince myself to fly on that basis, but with dogs I can't access the info. Even that US/Ca report missed the denominator ie how many of each type.

Further on the evidence thing in the other thread pf, one of the things that's always missing is the denominator. Are particularly breeds dangerous? Depends on how many attacks, how many of that breed type, how many of that breed in that domestic situation. Surely there are reliable stats. Have I missed them flicking through the emotive stuff? Also: bull breeds licking faces is dangerous. It was licking its arse or some other dogs arse 15 minutes earlier.

I'm a real evidence-base person, and I can't believe how little there is. Surely there must be an Australian equivalent of that US/Canada report? It is completely unacceptable dogs killing children, and the community demands action. (By 'community', I mean the 80% out there that will never be dog experts.) It is not the time to roll out 'deed not breed' or 'any dog can be dangerous' mantras, because the community is demanding action not reasons for no action. Pointing out staffy / cross / appearance difficulties is not going to change their mind as it is quite obvious to a lay person that a 'pit bull' looking dog with a snarl is aggressive and dangerous. The inadequacies of DNA testing or the responsibilities of owners are not satisfying the need for something to be done. Matthew_B is representative of the community view, at least the people I meet and obviously most of the radio and print media. You aren't convincing him, so I would say you aren't changing anyone else's opinion. The only thing that will change opinion (in my opinion) is evidence. What breeds injure and kill. How does home status affect outcomes. poodlefan, you demand evidence that BSL works. However, the responsibility seems to be the other way around, because as I said to lay people it's obvious. Note: I'm not advocating BSL here, just trying to point out how these arguments with M_B look, and pushing my usual good-evidence barrow.

We've used the Innotek SD2100 containment system for a few years. The collar no longer holds its charge. Replacement collars via the official web site are about $250, with discounts on various mail order pet sites that I've not heard of down to about $190. And much cheaper in the US. Anyone know the best place to get these? Can they be imported from the US?

Did a quick search but couldn't find an answer, and I'm sure it's obvious, but... On a couple of occasions our dog has had small cuts to the leg. Nothing to worry about, but being a dog he licks at it, and more often than not licks the scab off. The last time he did it when he ran under one of the kid's bicycles, the wound was smaller than half a little finger nail, but it stayed raw for a week because he wouldn't leave it alone. We initially bandaged it with that wide super sticky surgical tape, but he's pretty adept at getting that off. Takes him a while, but he perseveres. We ended up digging his head cone (from desexing days) out of the shed, and he was stuck with that for a few days. Was that necessary? I sort of thought that evolution must know what it is doing, and we should let the dog lick its scabs off.

Twice a day, roughly even sized meals, morning and evening, and always after we have eaten. Had intended to have just one evening meal once past the puppy stage, but our vet said that a morning meal would increase the dog's metabolism. This would assist weight control in our food obsessed lab/GSD, which would become a big fat bloater left to his own devices. Don't know if this theory is true - I know it is in humans - but the dog seems happy enough.

Taking your point, RL01, probably worth saying that the circuit breaker 'trip switch' that has replaced wire fuses looks very similar to an RCD. A circuit breaker will trip when there is a short, e.g. current flowing from mains via you/dog to ground, but only after the shock. An RCD will trip when the connection is made and before the shock. (But yes, it's backup safety, don't rely on it when rewiring a plug.) You can tell the difference because an RCD will have a 'test' button.

This could go into a whole new debate... but since you ask. Keep him in the yard? Dog on a lead in the reserve or on the beach? What's that about? The dog has a great time. I am unwilling to restrict the dog's freedom to such a severe degree. Having a dog is more than just keeping it alive. The dog recalls, is super social, and I'm not going to check out every bush prior to the dog foraging in it.

Mmm, good point about the rat poison. I might have to wander down and ask. Looking forward to it already: "Hi, I'm the owner of that big black dog that likes to pop down to your place now and then to eat your mouldering vegetable scraps." I'll keep an eye on it, and see how it goes. Certainly our vet has no suggestions, but if it gets more frequent then I'll have to scout around elsewhere. Dogs are great, but they are filthy animals. Add that to a food obsession, and keeping him idea weight i.e. permanently hungry, and I'd have to lock him up to stop him eating stuff. Decaying cuttlefish on the beach are a particular favourite.

Is that like a surge-protector, or something else entirely? RCD = residual current device. Goes in the consumer unit (that box with all the trips/switches down the side of the house). Generally you'll need a proper electrician to put it in, if you can find one. It will be about $50 retail (you can spend a lot more but don't need to), and it's a 5 minute installation, so don't get ripped off. You may already have one and not know it of course. Works so quickly that you can grab/chew the live wire and it will trip before you feel the current. Also, if the dog chews wiring alone in the house, then there is a fire risk. An RCD would stop that too. A surge protector only protects electronics from spikes, and won't protect you/the dog from the 240V. Glad that the Max is OK kermat. Didn't think I'd be talking about electrical stuff in Dog Health!

Thanks Miranda. Yeah, I know that it's not good escaping, but when he's 'fenced up' on the property he's fine. Sometimes walking or down the reserve off-lead, when we're not paying attention, he has a couple of gardens he likes to visit.

This started a couple of months ago. About once a week, our two and a half year old lab x GSD is sick. Lots of dry heaving, followed by sick. After a minute, he's 100% fine, bounding around, appetite unaffected. Prior to this he often eats grass - I know cats do this when they are not well. He eats a combination of dry (Advance at the moment, but has been other mid-range ones and doesn't seem to make a difference), vet's meatloaf, and occasional raw meat and rice depending on what's for tea. Poos are fine. Every once in a while he escapes and comes back full of someone's compost, but he's always done that, and probably less so in recent months as he's grown up. He's been to the vet. Urine's OK. Behaviour is ok. Is this normal? Are there tests we should get the vet to do? They've offered blood tests, but then they always do whatever the symptoms.