TDG

[quote name='pigman']Stargaze, Iagree that conformation and gait are important for working dogs and the like but I disagree that a daschund is any good now at what it was bred to do in the first place. Daschunds were made to go to earth after badgers and foxes and they did it well, a hundred years ago. Since then breeders have exagerated their length and stumpy legs to the extreme and I guarantee you won't find many people using pure daschunds for foxing work today. Today's foxers use patterdales, borders and jack russels and foxies etc. I know one guy who crossed a daschund with a foxie and got a decent earth dog, but the daschund bitch he owned was useless as a fox/earth dog. As for bulldogs, the same story applies. Today's english bulldog would not be able to hold a bull like the olde english bulldogs of 100 years ago. Today's dog is not much good for any physical activity except laying on the couch snoring while you watch tv. They are a beautifully natured dog tho. The american bulldog is what the old english bulldog used to look like but it ( the english bulldog) has been transformed into what it is today by breeders who thought exagerating a feature would win shows for them. Unfortunately it does win shows for them. If you look at pics of dogs shown at big dog shows 50 years ago and then look at pics of dogs shown at today's shows, you'll see a marked difference in style.[/quote] it depends where in the world you are. in germany, the dachshund (also referred to as "teckel" or "dackel") is still used as a working dog just like it was used 500 years ago. you have breeders who breed the dog to the standard properly, they don't produce overbred couch potato dogs like the ones so common here in the US - in which a flashy color is more important than anything else. if you take a poorly bred border terrier or jack, they are just as unlikely to do the job as a poorly bred dachshund. it's the same thing with the dachshunds as with many other working breeds that have been ruined by breeding just for show, or worse, strictly for the pet market in puppy mills. i've been involved in dachshunds for 14 years and own a wirehaired standard dachshund from working lines who i can assure you does her job just fine - and so do the other dachshunds at trials and hunts. :) and just by the way - there are not just two but three different sizes of dachshunds mentioned in the breed standard, the smallest one being developed not for going down fox or badger holes, but rabbit holes. :)

it's a very important topic. here's a site i have personally found to be great: [url]http://www.dogsadversereactions.com[/url]

actually it's pretty much the same with dog shampoos as it is with human shampoos - many products out there are full of harsh chemicals that can irritate and dry the skin. there is no real difference between cheapy dog shampoos and cheapy drugstore shampoos. your best bet is checking the ingredient list, just like with foods, treats and supplements. the better quality products do not have a long list of substances you can't even pronounce. this also includes baby shampoo, which may be milder overall, but can still contain a lot of chemicals too. the statement that you should never use people shampoo on dogs is a myth, since overall there is no big difference. just be aware that certain individuals are more sensitive than others. i really like products like earthbath and buddy wash (by cloud star) because they are made with a natural shampoo base, plant extracts and essential oils.

click on my signature image. you'll find plenty to read. if you don't want to go work through all of it at once, start out with the article on "identifying better products". i hope it helps. :)

[quote name='__crazy_canine__']So... did Iams do animal testing before P&G owned it? Or was it that company that ruined Iams?[/quote] the iams company has always done a lot of clinical animal testing, even before P&G bought them up. i don't know about the exact volume comparison to companies like hill's, waltham etc. but i can cite a few examples: * 24 young dogs intentionally put into kidney failure, used for invasive experimentation, then killed. university of georgia and the iams company, american journal of veterinary research vol. 52, no. 8, pp 1357-1365, 1991 * 31 dogs' kidneys removed to increase risk of kidney disease, then killed and dissected. university of georgia and the iams company, american journal of veterinary research vol. 55, no. 9, pp 1282-1290, 1994 * bones in 18 dogs' front and back legs cut out and stressed until fractured. university of wisconsin and the iams company, proceedings of the 1998 iams nutrition symposium. * 10 dogs killed to study the effect of fiber in diets, mississippi state university and the iams company, american journal of veterinary research vol. 60, no. 3, pp 354-358, 1999. * 15 dogs bellies cut open, tubes attached to intestines, contents pumped out every 10 minutes, then the dogs were killed. university of nebraska-lincoln and the iams company, nutrition research vol. 16, no.2, pp 303-313, 1996. * tubes implanted into 6 dogs and fluids drained repeatedly to study the effect of cereal flours, university of illinois and the iams company, journal of animal science, 77, pp 2180-2186, 1999. and so on, and so on. i'm aware that certain clinical aspects need to be studied to help sick animals, but i disapprove of damaging healthy animals and using them as objects of study when already sick animals could be used and possibly benefit from treatment - especially when nutrition is concerned.

if your husband wants to use it for other things as well, i recommend getting the "#8000-01 Lithium-Ion Cordless". it has the same power as the regular corded one, adjustable, variable speed from 5,000 to 35,000 rpm (not just two settings, so if needed you can set it to really, really low to get the dog used to it) and rechargable batteries. the case includes the battery pack and battery charger. i'm very happy with mine. :)

what are you currently feeding? and what have you tried so far?

vet2be, to the best of my knowledge there are no breeders in the US. i have heard of one shady business trying to sell grand griffon vend

the distinctions between jack russell and parson russell terrier differ quite a bit, depending where in the world you are. it gets even more complicated if you differentiate between jack russell terrier, parson russell terrier and russell terrier. parson russell terriers were originally known as jack russell terriers in the american kennel club because the name

yep, i have a few pointers for you. :) first of all, there is [url]www.nutritiondata.com[/url] - it lets you combine various ingredients into recipes you can analyze. this is what i use to balance the recipes for my ground meals. just make sure you pick the correct ingredients and weight units, then add to your pantry. when you have collected all of them, combine amounts into a recipe and analyze. NRC research data can be found [url=http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=calc]here[/url] for adult dogs, i'll add a table for puppies soon, meanwhile you can look [url=http://dels.nas.edu/banr/Slides/kallfelz.pdf]here[/url] and [/url=http://books.nap.edu/books/0309034965/html/44.html#pagetop]here[/url]. there's an explanation for the different dates on my site. most dogs like oysters, personally i don't. ick! feel free to ask any follow up questions. i really don't mind. :)

since the inability to type z-i-n-c normally, i'ts abbreviated using the chemical symbol (zn) from here on. 2003 NRC research recommends 4.5 mg of zn per kg (2.2 lbs) of body weight per day for growing puppies. for a 25 lb pup that's roughly 11.5 mg per day, or 80 mg per week if you aim for a balance over time in an one-week timeframe. here's a list of zn content of some items you feed, calculated per 3.5 oz serving: chicken necks: 2.88 mg chicken wings: 1.65 mg chicken backs: 2.33 mg spinach, raw: 0.5 mg (not a whole lot you see) for comparison some other items you can include: turkey necks: 4.3 mg 95% lean ground beef: 5.1 mg lean lamb (e.g. leg/shoulder): 6.1 mg chicken hearts: 6.6 mg (heart is considered muscle meat, not organ meat btw.) canned oysters: 91 mg the best natural source for vitamin E is wheat germ and wheat germ oil, but with a large breed puppy they would add too much fat to the diet if you wanted to use enough to meet requirements. i'd recommend natural vitamin E capsules (d alpha tocopherol, [b]not[/b] dl alpha tocopherol). if you get the sea pet fish oil, you can get the one that has vitamin E already added and do not need a separate supplement.

overall it looks okay, but without analyzing your recipe in exact amounts and proportions, i can't say how well it covers all nutrient requirements of a growing puppy - especially during the phase where the most rapid growth occurs. one thing that stands out to me without even looking closely is the total lack of any red meat or other food items that would offer a good amount of z-i-n-c. chicken is convenient and cheap, but shouldn't be fed nearly exclusively. i'd make an effort to include some beef, lamb, venison or other red meat to balance the z-i-n-c content in the diet. vitamin E also seems low, especially if you are planning on supplementing with fish oil. increased intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids can increase vitamin E requirements as much as fivefold. fish oil i'd recommend from seapet.com, they have a product that already includes natural vitamin E. kelp and alfalfa are best ordered from health food retailers, and make sure you get a kelp product that offers a detailed lab analysis so you know how much iodine is actually in there. it's a nutrient that's only required in very minute amounts and oversupplementing stresses the thyroid. alfalfa i'd definitely buy only organic products. sorry about the "z-i-n-c", but the forum won't accept my post if i just type it out normally. grrr.

there's a very simple, inexpensive, natural remedy you can use. food grade diatomaceous earth. you can simply mix it into the food and use it for 30-day timeframes on and off, or even feed it all the time if you suspect frequent reinfestation. the nice thing is that it even works in the stool and drastically cuts down on fly larvae and other undesirables in the back yard. :)

[quote name='jweissg']I say this over and over again, but feeding a RAW diet is the ONLY way to go.[/quote] mmmh, i think the "only way to go" is to carefully evaluate a dog's individual needs and develop a feeding and supplementing plan that meets them. some do well on raw, some don't. and to be honest, i don't see the need to push someone who has a strong personal aversion against raw meats into feeding raw either. home cooked diets have been fed successfully to dogs for centuries and are a viable alternative.

i think your only chance to get information about the vegetables is contacting the source. most veggies and fruits have labels on them telling you where they come from and who the distributor is. my basic recommendation for supplementation is fish oil, vitamin C and E and a good human grade probiotic supplement, but it really depends on the individual dog.

[quote]it is not likely that protein would cause this kind of reaction. Most dog allergies are a result of grain, not meat--for obvious reasons.[/quote] actually that's a very common misconception. food allergies are caused mostly by proteins that the body considers as "foreign", and kicks the immune system into action. meat is [b]not[/b] the only source of food that contains protein, so a particular meat source is not ecessarily the problem. the words "protein" and "meat" can not be used interchangeably. [quote]dogs are carnivores.[/quote] even in scientific circles there's still disagreement about that. many people like to refer back to the wolf when discussing a "natural diet" for dogs, and even tho i do not agree with that 100%, i just fr the argument's sake i will go with the claim for now. i would rather describe dogs and wolves as opportunistic feeders - scavengers with a carnivorous background, who of course prefer fresh meat whenever they can get it. one of the world

i think we're doing pretty good. :) here's a pic of my 3 1/2 year old dog's teeth. our main dental health program are lots of raw meaty bones and the occasional brushing (maybe once every other month or so, for the spots that do not get much cleaning action from the bones). [img]http://www.mordanna.com/dog/Img_0367.jpg[/img] the darker spots you can see are not tartar or calculus, they are actual discolorations in the teeth themselves. he was a stray dog and obviously on a poor diet before i adopted him, which will show in the development of the teeth even if a dog still has puppy teeth during the period of improper nutrition.

[url]http://www.spayusa.org[/url]

[quote name='blade']U should feed your dog an intestinal formular Ekunuaba or something like this. try it has prebiotic and probiotic values.[/quote] eukanuba is a poor quality food and i very much doubt the small amounts of probiotics it contains would make a difference. it's probably in the ball park of a regular yogurt product - again, you don't get the required therapeuthic dose unless you would feed your dog insane amounts of the food.

any business that sells homeopathic remedies. :) it's not something that is specifically produced for animals.

rescue remedy does not have to be given over a period of time to be effective. it's a combination of several of the [url=http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm]38 bach flower remedies[/url], and so is the dynamite product. rescue remedy includes: cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, rock rose and star of bethlehem, the dynamite product includes: walnut, star of bethlehem, olive, heather and chestnut bud. you can also buy the individual essenecs and mix your own combinations for specific purposes, according to each flower's properties. the principle of application is exactly the same, and if one doesn't work, it's very likely that the other doesn't work either. i've used rescue remedy with great results on cats, dogs and people (it's originally a people product, not a pet product :)) and it's rare that someone won't respond, but as with all natural remedies, there are exceptions. one thing that must be taken into consideration is purity and potency, and i tend to trust manufacturers like the original bach distributors more than "knock off" products.

i'm wary of any product that does not give a detailed ingredient list. personally i'd recommend getting the homeopathic remedy fragaria vesca, which is guaranteed 100% natural since it's homeopathic, and use it in conjunction with a regular brushing regimen. fragaria vesca loosens existing plaque and calculus so it can be removed more easily (1 pellet/day for 4-8 weeks), and when given at a maintenance dose (1 pellet/once weekly) helps prevent new buildup. 100 pellets cost around $8-10

[quote name='Ania']As per the yoghurt - I was under the impression that dogs are lactose intolerant, how is it that you all feed them yoghurt and they handle it so well?? [/quote] the statement that "dogs" are lactose intolerant is incorrect. just like in humans, some are and some are not. however, that has little to do with feeding yogurt, since it is a fermented milk product that has very little if any lactose left - since the bacteria have converted it already. :) this is the reason why yogurt tastes (more or less, depending on the type bacteria used) tart as opposed to fresh milk. for this reason, even most dogs who happen to be lactose intolerant can still eat yogurt without problems. however, when treating serious health problems, yogurt does not supply sufficient numbers of probiotic bacteria and a concentrated supplement is needed. you'd have to feed buckets of yogurt each day to even get close to a therapeutic dose.

nutro is actually a rather mediocre food ingredient-wise and overpriced on top of that. i hear a lot of good things about burns tho. :) [url]http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk[/url]

i don't have any links handy but if you do a google search for go natural dog food recall, you'll get quite a lot of information on the topic.