TDG

i don't think it's as much the fact that they are "new breeds" or "designer breeds". the problem with all these fad crossbreeds is that they are generally not developed well and the breeders do not have a sound breeding program. in the past, when a breed was developed, people picked the best, most healthy specimens that represented the animal they had set as a goal and mated them. from the litters again only the best specimens were used and so on. if you look at those people who breed poodledoos and mapapoms or pugaloos or whatever ridiculous names they come up with - they don't care about genetics, health and temperament. their goal is to produce as many pups with as little cost and effort as possible to be able to sell them at the highest profit as quickly as possible. it's all about the allmighty dollar. ask 100 of those breeders of "designer mutts" about hip and elbow clearances or testing for any other hereditary problems in their breeding stock. ask them about temperament and their particular reasons to breed X to Y. i guarantee that in 99 if not 100% of the cases you will not get the answers you'd like to hear from a responsible breeder who is interested in his or her breed and not just in making profit. edited for typos. :drinking:

[quote name='Westerlea']AllAmericanPup, you're from America I gather. There, I understand the overpopulation problem is at an all-time high.[/quote] thank god it's not at an "all time high", but actually improving. of course the numbers are still scary, but definitely less than 10 or 20 years ago. it just seems that way since with the help of modern media (especially the internet) more people hear about what's going on.

[quote name='AllAmericanPUP']:o 4 litters a year is outrageous! a reputable breeder should only produce 1-2 litters a year, but most produce one every 2 or so years.. JMO though[/quote] what makes you say that a specific number of litters per year makes a breeder responsible or irresponsible? there are a lot of idiots out there who have only one litter per year and only breed genetic disasters and there are wonderful people who responsibly breed healthy dogs with sound temperaments but have more than 4 litters a year. just calling an arbitrary number is ignorant in my opinion, you have to take all the circumstances into consideration.

you don't really have to freeze it. if the seal is undamaged, it will still be fine even after it is a month or two past the "sell by" date. just make sure there is no mold on it. you can feed it daily. a 32 oz container lasts me about a week to 10 days. freezing kills bacteria, including the beneficial ones, so while you can give frozen yogurt (many people do, for example in a kong), you'll miss out on the beneficial effect of the probiotics.

[quote name='Matty']Isnt it bad to feed cod liver oil on a commercial kibble diet? I thought that an excess of vitamin A or is it D is very very bad for a dog. I think I read about that in the WDJ, they had an article which said that if you feed a home prepared meal its OK to give cod liver oil, but, a kibble diet can lead to dangerous over abundance of the vitamin D or A. I can't remember which :lol:[/quote] that is correct. it's not a good idea to feed cod liver oil to a dog who eats a commercial diet. the doses ov vitamin A and D are way too high. a lot of people confuse fish (body) oil with cod liver oil tho. canned food isn't any worse to feed than dry food. especially for dogs with health issues the canned is often the better choice because it has a natural moisture content, has less grains and fillers and is easier to digest. of course the same rule of thumb applies to canned food as to dry food: you have to research the ingredients and avoid the poor quality ones. it's not hard at all to supplement a kibble diet with fresh foods, but one thing you must be aware of is that an improper calcium/phosphorus ratio can do a lot of damage, especially to the kidneys. yogurt isn't a problem since it has extra calcium, but most other foods bring in extra phosphorus. you also need to be aware that protein (from meat) is the natural thing for a dog to eat, but in most kibble the actual meat content is only around 30% to begin with - not a whole lot. so don't go overboard on adding things like veggies, a tablespoon or two a day is plenty for a dog that size. one excellent thing you can contribute to the diet is an egg every day - if possible with the shell, otherwise you should supplement a little calcium.

somehow i think this is limited to commercial operations, not shelters and non profit organizations.

well, let me know what was diagnosed and we'll work on it. :)

you need it diagnosed with a skin scrape. afterwards it's up to you if you treat conventionally or with a natural treatment. i can get you more information on that if need be.

overall i think it's a good idea, as long as it doesn't mislead people to think that it's ok if a pet shop sells puppies and kittens as long as it gets a grade A. :(

personally i very much like biking. :) regular "people" walking speed is a little too slow for most dogs, but a steady trot with some stretches allowing for a good run (depending on the dog's condition) is great.

yeah it's quite interesting how different it is in some dogs. my 13 year old had her teeth cleaned for the first time last year and it was only done because she had to have a growth removed so she had been put under anyway and i figured it would be nice to keep on top of a senior's teeth. my other dog is a stray of unknown origin and his teeth don't want to stay as clean as easily even tho he barely eats kibble or grain products anymore. as always - you're welcome! :)

green tripe is uncleaned tripe with some of the stomach content still in it. it supplies acidity as well as probiotic bacteria, so you hit two birds with one stone. tripe is also a nutritious food with a close to perfect calcium/phosphorus ratio, so you can theoretically use it as full meal replacement. give it as often as you can stand dealing with the smell. the longer the dog has to work to chew on it, the more effective it is. thank god almost all dogs go crazy over it. just make sure you wash everything that comes in contact with the tripe, or you'll have to suffer the stench of cow burp. lol the apple cider vinegar can either be given in the drinking water or mixed with food. depends if your dog likes it or not. you can start out with a teaspoon or two per quart of water and increase it to about a tablespoon over time if your dogs don't mind it. for brushing i'd use a commercial enzymatic dog toothpaste. the enzymes will continye to work for some time even after you are done brushing. i use the petrodex poultry flavored, which my dog really likes. you can get doggie toothbrushes that are 3-sided, those work better than regular ones, but for starting out you might want to use one of those finger brushes. suzy's tartar liquid is a preparation that you add to the drinking water. i'm not a big fan of using that kind of stuff tho. no extra chemicals for my animals. :)

i'd separate the seeds. i suppose you could still feed them, but i wouldn't give them regularly. they are pretty high in fat, so you'd have to make sure you keep an eye on weight.

the main reason to feed pumpkin is that it is an excellent natural remedy for both diarrhea and constipation. it works pretty quickly without any bad side effects. that aside, it can be used as a low-calorie filler to bulk up food amounts for dogs who should lose weight, to make them feel full. it is also a good source of vitamin E, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and manganese. that and - it's very cheap to feed and most dogs love it! it makes a good treat for filling kongs!

[quote name='Horsefeathers!']I've known of dogs who died when bacteria from the mouth got into the bloodstream (or something like that?).[/quote] yep, that's what the risk is, unfortunately. :( unfortunately, the largest problem are genetics. if your dog is predisposed to bad teeth, you have to fight a constant battle. not even a completely raw diet and daily chewing of bones will necessarily do the job. brushing is important. even if you brush irregularly it's better than not at all. other things that support clean teeth are probiotics, like in a good quality cultured yogurt, green tripe ([b]very[/b]stinky but soft and the natural acidity of the cow stomach helps to keep teedh clean), apples, and high doses of vitamin C (build up slowly to 250 to 500 milligrams per 10 pounds of body weight daily). apple cidar vinegar might help as well. most commercial dental cleaning chews are bogus. what you can also try is something like suzy's tartar liquid directly into the drinking water.

have you tried just increasing his ration a little bit? or does he not like to eat more? (my current dog was like that as a puppy.)

people...just in case you haven't noticed yet - this is a [b]dog[/b] forum! lol :roll:

while people are at it, they should complain to i-love-dogs.com too, since they gave the site an award. gag. :evil: the address is [email]dog@i-love-dogs.com[/email].

here's some info for you on that :) [url]http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood[/url]

a good place to begin looking into things is what you are feeding her. not all dogs tolerate the same foods and it could be as simple as removing an irritant or two and working on supporting the immune system. what food(s) do you currently feed her? what snacks and treats? other things? do you notice a change in her skin and coat problems throughout the year?

matty, i've read that letter. you are right, i'm also a WDJ subscriber. :) i know how confusing things can get, i've been through that myself. what keeps me focused is asking myself "what did dogs eat before commercial foods became widely available and affordable?". people have kept dogs for thousands of years and they were obviously healthy. it's not something that just came about in the last 60 years or so. :)

matty, i don't think it's as simple as only protein being at fault. look at how many dogs eat home prepared diets with 50% and more protein in their diet on a daily basis and are doing extremely well. hotspots are bacterial infections that the body can't fight off. they can be caused by various things - insect bites, skin allergies where a dog starts scratching and licking because of discomfort, you get the idea. i firmly believe that high levels of poor quality, hard to digest protein and fat in commercial foods are to blame rather than just protein content in general. in poor quality dry food, this low quality protein is generally corn, soy or some sort of meal made from animal byproducts. the line of thinking that only working dogs need a higher amount of protein in their diet is outdated thinking. it mainly goes back to the fact that protein is a more expensive ingredient in dog food and non-working dogs don't really need it. before commercial dry food became popular after world war 2, grains weren't as large of a part in dog's diets either. reducing protein may be a temporary way to fix these hotspots, but with that you do not address the underlying problem. as nature designed them, dogs are animals with a carnivorous background and are prefectly well able to handle a diet high in protein and fat. large amounts of carbs (from grains) on the other hand do supply energy, but they aren't really something nature intended for dogs to eat. due to their role as scavengers they are extremely adaptable when it comes to what they can eat, but not all of them will do well on the same composition of foods. i believe in working from the inside to the outside, supporting the immune system, removing unnecessary irritants from the diet, and feeding natural ingredients as much as possible. i'm not the sort of extremist who is going to tell you you can't do this while feeding commercial foods, since in the past 5-6 years there have been many changes in the industry and there is a good number of excellent products out there. but they are all designed for "dogs", not for an individual dog. so sometimes it will take a bit of experimenting to find out what works, and maybe a few supplements. and of course any fresh, "live" foods you can add to a commercial diet are a valuable addition as well.

[quote name='Debbie']From the info I read they are Terriers. I personally have 2 JRT's and they are NOT hyper. That's one big fallacy that stereo-types all JRT's.GRRR :roll: Mine are also living in the same house with a cat and they groom each other.......JRT's also come in Rough,Broken, and Smooth with 2 different hair lengths. And they certainly are great companions and snuggle at every opportunity !! :wink: And JR's are very good at Agility, from what I have observed. And JRT's are AWESOME,AWESOME,AWESOME dogs too !!! :wink:[/quote] debbie, they are not terriers. :) and don't get me wrong, i love JRTs too and own a JRT/mutt myself, but it's not the same thing at all. not even close. JRT's, and almost all other terriers, are bred to have a high prey drive and are working dogs with a precise purpose - hunting. kromfis were bred as a companion and house dog [b]without[/b] this kind of prey drive and the typical terrier tenaciousness. i'm not saying that JRT's don't make good companions, or never get along with other small animals, or aren't good at agility. but as a JRT owner, you will agree with me that a JRT isn't a dog for everyone and that they have very specific needs which have to be met, or you will end up with a nightmare of a dog on your hands. i see the results of all those misconceptions about JRT's ending up in shelters in my area just because people think they are cute little lap dogs that are content to sit at home one the couch all day. typically these dogs are under 2 years old when people dump them at the shelters because they can't/don't want to deal with them. it's very sad. the kromfi isn't a working breed that requires lots of mental stimulation and exercise like for example a JRT or a border collie. even someone who has never owned a dog before and doesn't lead a very active life isn't going to feel overwhelmed. the bottom line is, don't compare a breed to another just because they look similar. it just doesn't make sense. i'm familiar with the kromfi since i lived in germany until 1999, i'm not just talking theory here.

krommis are awesome, awesome dogs. :) you can't compare them to JRT's at all except for [i]maybe[/i] in looks, since they do not have the terrier type prey drive and aren't as hyper. these dogs are not hunters, but bred as companion and house dogs, pretty low key and generally very reliable off leash and with small animals. they also do great in sports like agility and flyball. the kromfohrl

you can just split up the contents of the can and freeze it. my dog is small, so i freeze approximately 4 oz portions in little 8 oz yogurt containers and thaw as needed. the ice cube tray idea sounds good too. :)