Hey Steve & Erny

[Steve]

Because some dogs seem to be O.K. eating crap commercial dog food that's no indication that its what is best for them or that its not impacting on longevity etc. I want my dogs to live as long as possible as healthy as possible so for me feeding them foods I believe may not give them the best chance of that is not an option. I'm pretty healthy and I can eat anything without much of an issue except extra weight but I try to keep the crap down because I dont want to be old and sick if I can avoid it and I understand that if I dont look after that it will impact as I get older - so I do the same for my dogs because surely even if they appear to thrive when youngish they will have a better chance at a longer healthier life if I feed them and care for them with a bit more effort. For me its worth it.

[Erny]

Thanks Steve. Both your posts (above) explain what I was trying to say of sorts, except that I was in a hurry when I typed them and because you word things such as this more easily and better than I do. I guess I do go beyond the 'norm' in terms of how careful I try to be with what I feed my dog but I think, given the battles I have fought (and to an extent won because of my attitude and determination) to bring him to the best he can be (and that's something I continue to work on) are a good enough excuse and reason :).

I do tend to recommend the 'purest' (well, not totally purest but the best that is feasible) approach to diet and other things such as avoidance of 'chemicals' (e.g. unnecessary flea treatments; chemical based shampoos; etc etc) when I read of others who have dogs who are exhibiting skin, ear and/or digestive upset symptoms, but I recommend that through my own failed and costly experience of running the gauntlet with so many of the top brand commercial diets; veterinary line diets; and veterinary prescription diets … without achieving a satisfactory level of success if any success at all.

When there's problems, turn to herbs for treatment where herbs will work and where it is known that supplementation of those herbs will be beneficial or at worst, do no harm (such as Calendula, something I've been on about for years on this forum). Use this as at least a measure of addressing, soothing and assisting to heal the symptoms whilst you address cause. And by switching the diet to the purest form of natural diet possible and keeping it really simple at least to begin with, you can, if you wish, explore onwards and upwards from there once your dog's system has swung back to a semblance of balance again.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Erny

[wire]

Big thankyou to Steve, Erny and others. Excellent advice and totally agree.

In respect to my dog, he has a very rare defect that cannot be rectified. We searched everywhere for answers, saw many number of specialists, and even consulted a leading vet/ breeder of wheatens in the US. Our breeder, a wonderful guy, was on board with this and wanted me to send him back so his own specialists could see him. We declined the offer because the dog had gone through so many medical treatments of investigations I could see he had reached the end of his endurance, he just wanted to live a normal happy dog life.

We were advised that he would die, his benign tumor would turn malignant, the fluid retention would become so big (baloon size) and the best thing we could do for this boy was to have major surgery, turn him into a girl and they would try and plug him up. Hmm....it was all speculation.

We chose quality of life for him, full of dog fun and love. And he's still loving it. Ok, he's got a big willy but he's also funny, happy, smart and a trickster.

Like many of you, I don't do the continuous vaccination thing and don't flee/worm/tic them as we are relatively safe in Adelaide. They eat human grade meat plus the Artemis kibble. I need to address the shampoo thing though...

Erny, I admire your vigilance for your dog's well being. Sharing your experiences and knowledge based information here is something we are all grateful for. And you too Steve :)

I am so anal about chemicals in general, I don't use fly spray if they're in the room, keep the ants outside at bay with baby powder and the local rat gets to live a long life cause we won't bait.

Thanks everyone.

[_PL_]

Sheridan has always had a link to Wheaten Health in her signature but she hasn't been around lately.

Just in case you haven't seen the site: http://www.wheatenhealthaustralia.net/index.html :) Has further health info in the links section.

[Erny]

I am so anal about chemicals in general, I don't use fly spray if they're in the room, keep the ants outside at bay with baby powder and the local rat gets to live a long life cause we won't bait.

Same here, Wire

Sorry to hear about your boy.

Messaging you - just as a 'bounce'.

Erny

[wire]

Hi Powerlegs ( gee, wish mine were)!, yep, Sheridan has not been around much since her beautiful Grumpy went over the bridge. I loved reading about him :)

am aware of her site, deals with PLN & PLE as the disease was brought to my attention by our breeder before we got the boys. Its not a common problem in Australia but there have been some cases and very sadly Sheridan had lost a wheaten to this dreadful, fatal disease. She was a wealth of information to many and I hope one day she'll return. This disease was one of the first things we investigated and was a learning curve for our vet who took it upon himself to registered to seek information.

Thank you for thinking of that, it is important :)

And to all, thanks to your kind thoughts, but ya know, Murphy doesn't see himself as being ill and we don't either now.

Although he's nurtured but doesn't look it (due to fluid build up), one arvo we were in Petstore and this lovely woman came over and said "oh, that's a wheaten!! Wow, just don't see many and my friend has a female that he wants to breed from!! Is he pure? Would you be interested in talking to them?". (suggestion declined, even if entire!)

Well....you couldn't wipe the smile from my face and Murphy loved the attention. She thought he was so well endowed his bullets couldn't possibly miss!

Edited February 25, 2014 by wire