TDG

are any of you folks attending the malibu iron dogs camp this september? you can find information here: [url]http://www.iron-dogs.com/details.asp?camp=10[/url] i went last year and had a blast, so i'm definitely going again this year. i thought it would be nice to get in touch with folks who might be attending. :)

kat, [url]www.newvaccineprotocols.com[/url] the vet who is maintaining that site is dr. bob rogers, [url]www.critterfixer.com[/url] i strongly urge you to read up on the topic in order to avoid giving unnecessary vaccines. you also do not "need" and annual booster.

noooo! please, please do [b]not[/b] give a large breed puppy calcium supplements. it can lead to very serious orthopedic problems. here's a link to a very useful article: [url]http://greatdanelady.com/articles/calcium_do_i_supplement.htm[/url] i don't agree with all of linda's recommendations (like for example giving the nzymes brand supplement), but she is a very experienced dane breeder and knows what she is talking about.

awww i'm sorry to hear you are having such troubles. fasting for a while is a good idea tho, to letthe stomach settle down. there is no harm in feeding canned pumpkin like any other veggie, so you can definitely include it in any reasonable amount. dog paddle - yes, if you don't see any undigested pieces of shell, you are fine. :)

grinding affects absorption of the calcium tho. the finer you grind, the better the body can absorb it, and it [i]has[/i] to absorb it in order to balance the phosphorus content. :)

yes, you can use oyster shell, coral calcium and several other supplements for calcium as well. you just need to figure out the proper amounts. bone meal is very commonly used, but i'm not a big fan of that since it also adds a lot of phosphorus, which isn't needed. there aren't many places that sell all the "unmentionable" parts, your best bet are usually ethnic stores, or if you can locate one, a meat processing place/slaughter house.

the best thing for making egg shell powder is a coffe grinder. :) it works extremely well. if you want to use a store bought supplement, i'd recommend animal essentials natural calcium ([url]http://animalessentials.com/calcium.html[/url]), since it's from a plant source (seaweed) and doesn't have the problem of possible heavy metal contamination, such as for example bone meal. the nice thing about the AE supplement is that it also contains other trace minerals in naturally occurring amounts. liver is nice, you can feed about 5% of the daily feeding amount every day, or 20% of the weekly intake once a week (or split that up any way you like). i wouldn't feed just liver exclusively tho, include any organs you possibly can in order to bring variety into the diet. heart, lung and tripe are organs, but when it comes to feeding they are not considered "organ meat" - you can include them in any reasonable amounts as you would normal muscle meat. heart is especially great because it contains taurine.

good luck! :)

[quote]I understand the need to start an elimination diet on a clean slate, but if I put him on so many supplements at once, how am I supposed to find out which one is actually helping? And WHAT it's actually helping with?![/quote] the things i listed all work together. they do not necessarily address any allergies specifically, but aid the immune system, to help the body detox, heal itself and bring things back into balance. [quote]Natural Balance does look good. I'll make the switch ASAP. I'm not sure if Cosmic's allergic to grains though - no presence of a yeast infection so far. Would putting him back on purely HCF help? I can do that as well - and I'd really appreciate help with Cosmic's diet plan! I do give him grains (brown rice) normally, but I can remove those and either replace or decrease his carbs.[/quote] the grains may or may not aggravate things, but the problem is you won't find out unless you try. when the body has a severe allergic reaction, there is a good chance that it even reacts highly sensitive or even allergic to things it would under normal circumstances not react to at all. that's also the reason why an elimination diet is a good idea, [i]after[/i] the body has had a chance to calm down. you'll also want to feed the first two ingredients of the elimination diet for 6-8 weeks just to make sure the dog doesn't react. home cooked is of course better, since you have more control over what goes into the dog. so you'd be able to actually feed fish and potatoes for example, and not fish and potatoes and whatever else comes in a bag of commercial food, including vitamin and mineral supplements. [quote]This is the first time I've heard that omega 6 could aggravate allergies. Is it because it's plant-based? In fact, my vet recommended that I increase my dosage of Omega 6 to help with his skin. Also, Omegas 3 & 6 have to be given together for better absorption right?[/quote] sadly your vet is wrong. it is true that omega 6 fatty acids are needed in the diet, and that they support skin and coat, but in excessive amounts (especially arachidonic acid), they can aggravate inflammation and allergies. many health conditions in humans and dogs are caused by too high an amount of omega 6 fatty acids in the diet, and not enough omega 3's. it is unlikely that any dog on a halfway decent diet lacks omega 6's in their diet, simply because they are so abundant in common ingredients like corn and other grains, chicken fat and various vegetable oils. the two important omega 3's however (DHA and EPA) [b]only[/b] come from marine sources such as fatty coldwater fish. they are not even in flaxseed oil, and many dogs (and people!) do not get enough of them. for good health, omega fatty acids need to be balanced. but that does [b]not[/b] mean that you have to pour even more omega 6's into your dog, along with omega 3's. your goal should be to create a balance of anywhere between 7:1 and 2:1, the lower the ratio, the better for dogs with allergies and inflammatory conditions such as for example arthritis. so if you know that the diet you feed has a ratio of, say, 10:1, you would want to add omega 3's [b]only[/b], in order to lower it to a better one. one of my pet peeves is when i see supplements for dogs that claim to have a "balanced ratio of omega fatty acids". sorry to be blunt, but that is so much BS, since the ratio will change anyway once it's combined with the food you feed every day. [quote]But in his state right now, should I still discontinue Frontline? Or is this something I can remove later on, when he's actually healthy?[/quote] i would discontinue it for now, along with everything else that can possibly aggravate his condition. [quote]In Dr Pitcairn's book, he recommends a fast. What do you think? Has it really been known to help?[/quote] fasting is a good way to address some health issues, but in this case i doubt it would make much of a difference.

Bubblezzz, the herbal remedies i listed are actually for the purpose of getting things under control right now. you will want to stop using them for the elimination diet, but i don't think it's a good idea to do that as long as you still have an acute situation. you'll want to start with a dog that is symptom free, so you can see clear results when you start bringing the challenges into the diet. if at all possible, eliminate the grains from the diet. they might be aggravating things. since you said your dog has already been exposed to duck, it wouldn't hurt to try the natural balance duck & potato or fish & sweet potato food instead of the azmira kibble. also leave out the evening primrose oil and give fish oil only. omega 6 fatty acids tend to aggravate allergies and inflammation, omega 3's work against that. you can get a great supplement with vitamin E already added from seapet.com at a very reasonable price. the ticks are most likely attacking your dog because of an compromised immune system. if you work on detox and strenghtening that, this can improve. it's possible that this allergy is something you'll have to manage for the life of the dog, which is best done with a home prepared diet and the proper supplements. it could be genetics or something else, the outcome is pretty much the same - a situation that needs to be managed. but to find that out you need to work on clearing up the underlying cause and see if it comes back. it is for example said that if a dog has flea dermatitis once in his life, he will always have it. my own dog is proof that this doesn't have to be the case. when he practically chewed himself raw because of flea bites within 24 hours he was on nutro natural choice puppy. now, 3 1/2 years later, after being on a home prepared diet (mostly raw but also some cooked foods) he doesn't react at all if he picks up the odd flea at the dog park or while out hiking. if you can't afford to do anything else right now, at least get the immuno stim'r and the aller'g skin & digestive detox. they are truly great products, i have even used them for myself for the occasional detox week and they do make a difference.

it could be a food allergy, but it could also be environmental. the fact that this just started appearing at 1 3/4 years old doesn't mean anything, stuff like this often appears later on in life. the same thing goes for seizures for example. and sometimes an event that severely taxes the immune system (like the tick infestation you described) is a trigger for such a problem to appear. i'd start keeping an exact journal on the dog's health, writing down even seemingly insignificant things. stop the neem oil and if possible the frontline too, until you have things under control. use a hypoallergenic detergent for the laundry, just in case it makes a difference. look for stuff that's recommended for use with baby clothing, or 7th generation, or planet - both good brands. you can also give your dog benadryl to get the itching under control and let the skin heal. 1-2 mg per pound of body weight, up to 4 times a day, even long term isn't a problem. start out with 1mg per lb of body weight and see if that does the trick. keep an eye on whether the dog is still scratching to determine how often to give it. sometimes a minimal dose twice a day is enough already. as supporting treatment i suggest the following: * azmira yucca intensive (to get itching and skin inflammation under control) * azmira aller'g free to deal with the allergy symptoms * azmira immuno stim'r to boost the immune system and increase the effectivity of the other products * azmira aller'g skin & digestive to detox and help the body deal with the allergy attack i would also try the elimination diet and cut out all grains. what is the omega 3 and 6 supplement you are using?

kat - just so you know, there is a test available now to find out which dogs carry the gene for the sensitivity. all that aside, personally i also believe interceptor is the better product. and here's some additional information you might be interested in: you can give interceptor every 45 days instead of every 30, just make [b]sure[/b] to mark your calendar properly. you also do not need to give the full dose unless you need to the deworming effect for whipworms and hookworms every single month (imo, overkill). if you give it as HW preventive alone, for a dog under 50 lbs the interceptor doses packaged for dogs weighing up to 10 pounds is sufficient, if over 50 lbs, the dosses packaged for dogs weighing 11-25 pounds is enough. this is commonly referred to as the "safeheart dose", after a european product that uses exactly the same ingredient as interceptor (milbemycin oxime), but in much lower doses. this is not something unproven and just passed on by word of mouth, it's actually FDA approved. more info here: [url]http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/080398c.pdf[/url]

congrats on the new pup kat, i found the thread. what an adorable girl. you are moving to the US? wow, that is exciting. i hope you will have less trouble with all the immigration stuff than i had. even tho i married a US citizen, it still took them 4 years to sort it all out. :x good luck! :)

pumpkin, i freely admit i don't know by far as much about feeding the true athletes of the dog world, as opposed to less hard working canines. but i do know that fat is the primary source of energy for dogs, and combined with good quality carbs it provides the high levels of energy required for these animals. with the carbs i would experiment with sources that are low on the glycemic index, meaning they don't cause rapid spikes of blood sugar, but instead provide a slow and steady output of energy. so you could try replacing some of the grain content (rice, corn, etc.) in the diet with barley, slow cooked whole oats (not instant oatmeal), peanuts and sweet potatoes for example.

hello kat :) do you have a new doggie?! sorry, but i have been sooooo busy recently, not much time to keep up with all my forum visits. royal canin is in my opinion the best of the traditional, "mainstream" commercial dog foods on the market, especially in europe. it's one of the very few brands that originated on the european market (france), and not in the US. it's what i was feeding my great dane 15 years ago, and we always had good results with it. i realize it isn't quite appropriate to compare the status of a food from 15 years ago to nowadays, but their quality is very consistent, e.g. sufficient meat in the product vs. too many carbs, no meat byproducts etc. however, compared to many of the newer products available in the US, it fades a little. i know what you mean about lack of much variety, i've lived in germany until 5 years ago and even now often still order dog supplies over the internet to be delivered to my parents, where my old dog lives, so i'm familiar with what's on the market. i'd stick with the royal canin until the pup is full grown, and then maybe switch to feeding one of the mixer products to which you add fresh meats and veggies, either raw or cooked. that way you can stay away from the typical adult foods that only contain around 18-21% protein and insane amounts of carbs more fit for a cow than for a dog. :)

it's certainly possible, but i'd put my finger on the different food rather than on the fish oil... it can't hurt to stop giving it for a while tho, just to see what affects the diarrhea and what doesn't. about dosage - you can give up to 1000mg per 10 lbs of body weight, and in some severe cases that much *is* necessary. even just for maintenance i wouldn't give less than 1000mg per 25-30 lbs.

unless a dog is specifically allergic to wheat, it's no worse than corn, barley, rice, or any other grains commonly included in dog food formulations.

[quote][quote name='courtnek']now dont get upset, but make sure they are doing the whole thing. its basically a hysterectomy, if done right. some vets only tie tubes, and that does NOT always prevent pregnancy, and it also doesnt afford the protection from uterine and fallopian tube cancer.[/quote] [color=indigo]I've never heard of a vet only doing a tubal!! It would seem pointless to me. But I suppose there are some out there doing that. Make sure she's getting a complete Ovariohysterectomy.[/color] :D[/quote] i've never heard about this either, since just tieing the tubes doesn't even prevent the bitch from coming into heat. so you'd have a dog that goes through heat cycles (and possibly false pregnancies after that, in the worst case every single time) like they normally do, but can't reproduce since the eggs can't travel to the uterus. it doesn't make sense at all.

Freeplay.org (a local group of dog owners) have been working hard on getting a one-mile stretch of Dockweiler Beach designated as an off-leash dog beach since 1996. You can read more about their efforts on the following sites: [url]http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1476037.html[/url] [url]http://www.freeplay.org[/url] Today Daryl Barnett from freeplay.org sent out the following email [quote][i]Hello all, [url]http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1476037.html[/url] Take a look at this article in today's Daily Breeze about the bill for a dog beach pilot program at Dockweiler. The bill has passed yet another vote in the state assembly. That means we are one step closer to a dog beach in LA! Now the bill heads to the Senate and if it passes there, it goes directly to Governor Schwarzenegger. Getting this bill passed could open the door for other dog beaches in LA County, including Santa Monica and/or the Palisades. The bill is set to go before the Senate in June, which means we need to retain the services of the political consulting firm for a couple more months. They've gotten us this far and feel confident that we can make it all the way to the Governor. That means we need your help! We're asking all dog lovers to donate $50 to this cause. Your funds will go directly toward getting this bill passed and setting up a pilot program at Dockweiler. To donate online, go to [url]www.freeplay.org[/url]. To donate by snail mail, make checks out to "FREEPLAY" and mail to P.O. Box 754, Venice, CA 90294.[/i][/quote] You can also help by writing letters to the [url=http://www.freeplay.org/supervisoremail.htm]County Supervisor[/url] and your [url=http://freeplay.org/citycouncil.htm]City Council Member[/url]. Thank you! :)

you can also get a pet waterer, they hold fairly large amounts and aren't expensive. here are some examples: [url=http://www.petco.com/product_info.asp?web=0&tab=2&SKU=2969524052&cm_ven=nik&cm_cat=60&cm_pla=2969524052&cm_ite=2541919&CMReferringUrl=http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=pet+waterer&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1]one at petco[/url] [url=http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775942&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025790&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1113463052320]petsmart[/url]

dog paddle is definitely right, just place several bowls around the house, or use a bucket instead of a bowl. it will help quite a bit.

are you giving cranberry capsules to acidify the urine? also, decreasing the carb content in the diet makes quite a difference - especially if you are feeding a food that's fairly high in grains to begin with. quality and amount of minerals in the diet is also a concern. if you can, increase water intake as much as possible, by adding extra to the food and giving tasty liquids like low sodium broth, watered down veggie juice and so on.

What are the exact symptoms of bloat? - there are many symptoms and they are not necessarily always the same for each dog: * unsuccessful attempts to vomit or unproductive gagging, drooling * restlessness and anxiety, whining, pacing, trying to find a spot to hide or just standing spread legged, often with the head hanging down * shallow breathing, rapid panting, pale gums * bloated abdomen with tight-stretched skin * no noises present in the intestines that are signs of normal digestive activity * roach-backed, hunched appearance How does it differ from the symptoms of regular gassiness? - see above, a dog who is just gassy is not likely to show as much discomfort. How long does it take to become deadly? - the timeframe can be as narrow as 15-20 minutes, depending if the dog torses or not. if you suspect bloat, you should pack up your dog immediately and call ahead at the vet's office, telling them you are bringing in a dog you suspect is suffering from bloat so they can prepare for your arrival. saving a bloating dog can literally be a matter of minutes. What are the reliable preventatives? - as far as i know, there are no really reliable preventatives, but a high-quality, meat based diet (either good quality kibble/canned with a low carb content or a raw diet), avoidance of stress (any kind, environmental, genetic, physical, emotional etc.), and sound immune system are all factors that make an incident less likely. - you can have preventive gastropexy done tho, a surgical procedure where the stomach is tacked to the body wall. this will not prevent bloat, but the stomach will not twist, which is the main cause of death. - you can keep simethicone (gas-x, phazyme) on hand and give it if needed. it will help pass the gas and usually has no side effects. What are the treatments? - decompressing by gastric tube, or if that fails by by trocharization with multiple 16-18 gauge needles at the point of greatest distention, treatment for shock, derotation surgery if needed.

if you have a dog with fuzzy toes, put a piece of pantyhose over the foot and only pull the nails through a small hole, one at a time. helps to keep anything out of the way of the dremel that shouldn't be there. :) also - if you have long hair yourself, make sure you keep [b]that[/b] well out of the way too. it can hurt pretty bad even if you get just a few hairs caught.

make sure you buy from a breeder who doesn't have bloodlines prone to disc problems and/or diabetes. personally i wouldn't buy a dog from any breeder who doesn't put at least some kind of working tile (regardless if that would be agility, earthdog or therapy work etc.) on them to prove they are soundly bred and the breeder's goal is the improvement of the breed and not just making quick cash. anyone who tells you that doesn't matter in a dog who is only going to be a pet is sadly mistaken. a well bred dachshund is a true joy to have around, but a poorly bred one can cost you quite a bit of money in vet bills and a lot of frustration trying to train.