edsel

iTrader: (2)

No prob I've done a bit of research on dog food. One of my Staffies has a delicate stomach. Hypoallergenic gluton cereal pork and beef free are are keywords to look for. Dogs have trouble digesting all of the above. Dairy products are not good in the regular diet either, most dogs are not lactose tolerant. Goats milk however is great for puppies once they've been weaned. Look for artificial colourings and additives and avoid, if the ingredients say "meat derivatives" that normally means feathers,hooves,beaks and crap. Offal is ok.
Super market food that is nice colours and pretty bone shapes is tarted up for a reason. I flit between these brands depending what's on offer and to add variety to the diet. Pero, wainwrights, Arden grange and autarky. Tip when changing brands is to mix some of the old with the new to avoid upsetting the stomach.
I treat them to oily fish as I believe it helps with joints and gives a shiny soft coat. Sardines and pilchards in brine or oil are quite cheap. Don't give them tomato sauce as it contains sugar and colourings.
If he bolts his food try raising his bowl off the floor or get a special bowl with a raised middle, this reduces the size of the mouthfuls. You can try soaking his dry food before feeding so ts a mush. Helps digestion.
You might have resort to a moist food all of the above applies. Premium brand moist food is very expensive, natures diet is a very good food google berriewood wholesale for good prices. Purina foods own most of the big brands. They buy up competitors who supply niche markets. They usually change the ingredients and rely on reputation, branding and advertising there afte.
I can garauntee that none of the crufts dogs are fed on pedigree chum or bakers.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

I get raw from my local butchers,and have done for 15yrs or so...But there are plenty of places now popping up as people are slowly realising the benefits.

I dont give any canned meat at all,and no complete meal mixer..


He has 1.5lbs of meat,a scoop of mixer,5ml of ground seaweed,20 mil fish oil,20 mil of apple cider vinegar.
Supplement with raw chicken wings or whole carcasses..It works out quite cheaply... less than £2 a day for a 4yr old GSD..

He looks well on it..

zip106

Also seriously looking at having another dog.

My last one died about 2-3 years ago now - had two, both rescue dogs and both were fantastic.

I'd ideally want a terrier type - border /fox / Irish or something slightly bigger (just big enough to fit on the passenger seat of my van).

My brother has a Parsons terrier - superb dog.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...ed=0CCUQ_B0wAA

edsel

iTrader: (2)

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Parsons are awesome....

In the little terriers i love Bostons,Manchesters and Bedlingtons.... All mega happy little souls.

edsel

iTrader: (2)

I've read about feeding raw chicken wings and the benefits but have alway been terrified about the bones, especially concerned about giving them to my dog that bolts his food.

JA1987

We've got a 2yr old Dogue De Bordeaux bitch, she is awesome, soft as anything, protective of the kids and house. Kids dive all over her and she doesnt move, our youngest (1yr old, Esme) goes and takes food out of the dogs bowl when she's eating out of it. Id deffo have another and highly recommend one as a family pet. I would say to go for a bitch, although slightly smaller (Missy is 45kg of shoulders, *** and head) they do seem to be better behaved in terms of chewing up the house etc.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

The bones are really soft and rubbery,the dog crunches them up and they are of no harm at all.

Only when cooked do they go tough and splintery....A definate no no.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

This is my Cane Corso, these are a bit old when he was about one he's two and a half now and a fair bit bigger, he's filled out a bit. He's very cat like in the way he walks and jumps. I feed him on a variety of stuff but his main stay is lidl dry food mixed with boiled chicken, I soak the dry food in the chicken juices mixed with water, he get's loads of bones from the butcher and I also just started buying chicken livers and hearts in a bag (very cheap here) and he gets them raw again soaked in and mixed with his dry food along with some bread and other scraps. his coat is very glossy and he barely sheds, loves spicy scraps too, he gets rice and dog pasta just to mix it up a bit.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSCN0057.jpg
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSCN0058.jpg
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSCN0060.jpg

Lol, just remembered why he was looking a bit submissive, I came out to take some pics of him and he'd been chewing my freshly planted artichokes, he knows when he's in trouble, very bright dog.

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

I consider myself an expert with beagles and for the love of god do not get one!

I have 2 and don't get me wrong. They are family, I love to them to death and will be in bits when they are gone but never again.

The biggest bug bare about them is that they don't just have a summer and winter coat. The have three coats and they mult continously. I have wood floors and I kid you not. I'll sweep and an hour later there's more dog on the floor then on the dogs themselves.

They are great dogs though. We have trained them almost too well and even to the point where anyone can take their chicken out of their mouths with our mouths without incident.
I've always pulled them about like a child would and they we brilliant.

The downside is that once your in a routine they stick to. So mon - fri they get a walk at 6am. Sunday 6am after a heavy night they want a walk at 6am and the crying is so annoying.

Ours dont howl but I've heard one locally and have to say I'm glad ours don't.
And please do this one thing...

As a puppy all dogs are cute but when they get older they need walking. And beagles love a long walk. Its up to you weather you take them off the lead but personally I would only ever let them off in a secure field. If they smell something they WILL be gone. Being a hunting dog you will see they are like hovers. Nose to the floor constantly.
I could show you some amazing pictures of mine but they are all on facebook and most on here think its gay.

Oh and the diet, jack our male beagle was alergic to everything - literally. Went on the barf diet - raw meat and he has been good as gold. No stinky breath, clean teeth and the important bit NO SLOPPY STINKY POOS THEY ARE WHITE!
Beef, lamb, chicken, rabbit, carrots all natural and raw..

CrisPDuk

That is a stunningly beautiful dog

MrsD had a long haired GSD when we first got together, but unfortunately she was into her last days and died not long afterwards

I thought it was only Spaniels that jumped into water like that

Our Springer has done it onto frozen water more than once, the look on her face when she's pirouetting across ice is priceless

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Well too many posts to reply to individually.
So I'll pick the ones that's of intrest

JA1987- I love the Bordeaux but can't convince the missus yet, need to double check on their life span and any common health problems.

Ditchy- that's a perfect looking dog and in the colour that I like (not keen on the black nostrille area) reading the Tempriment they are just like the borobeoul.

Robsyuk- thanks noted. We love our walks and that's the thing we miss especially the wife, we walk locally with dog twice a day and sat-Sundays we find different new long walks in the moors and reservoirs etc (West Yorkshire yo!)
It's that routine we miss along with other routines.

oilman

iTrader: (9)

How about a mongrel? My staffyxcolliexspringer was a brilliant dog. Very smart, very well behaved, completely unaggressive (but would make enough noise at the door to scare people off), short coat and little hair loss, had no health problems (for 10 years, but then had a heart issue that killed him just over a week ago, in fairness the issue that killed him is apparently completely random), good stamina for walking and playing, but knew when to settle down. With a mongrel, you seem to get all the good bits of the breed, without the drawbacks.

http://oi57.tinypic.com/azfo6w.jpg

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Lol, you do live in a trailer park don't you.

You want a designer dog.

He's a beaut in the flesh, dogs don't get any prettier than this one and a fantastic temperament too, he has been hard work but i'm used to that having had 2 Parsons Jack Russells at the same time (notoriously difficult to train). He is very strong willed so you need to be firm and consistent, I did it by making him work for everything he gets he knows who's boss now but it was difficult to even get him to walk on a lead, he'd just park his **** and not move, fortunately he's ruled by his gut so I used that to get through to him.
He was a bit too friendly as a pup but now has become less so and not too fussed with people, he does exactly what I want when people come around, checks them out then comes back to sit by me when I click my fingers..

They're not easy to train but it stays with them when they learn something, the trick with them is to decide what's important to you focus on that and stick with it, for me it's recall and obedience when people are around, the rest of the time he can do what he likes.

It's true what they say about them being protective and territorial so socialisation is important, he's gentle with kids and nothing much bothers him and he likes to play, he's not too good with male dogs (he's the boss around here) and wants to hump any bitch that comes close.

Pm me if you want to know more.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

My sister likes mongrels, but I prefer to know a dogs specific traits and once mixed you can never be sure which ones you'll get, but I guess that depends on the mix.

My new pup for truffle hunting is a Labradore / Cane Corso mix, it's early days yet but so far she seems to have exactly what I want out of the two of them, took me a while to pick 1 from 9 this time.

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

I've just google imaged 'cane corso' and why do nearly all of them have chopped ears and docked tails? They look so much nicer (IMO) with proper ears and tails like yours Ditchy. Almost has a little bit of a labrador look in his face.

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

By the way, what about an American Akita? I guess that could be a bit too hairy but seems to have the perfect temperament that you want.

Maz

iTrader: (34)

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I must confess to having a bit taken off his ears, in italy where it was still legal, but I left his tail, his ears were very very large, dumbo style. and he may have to take on the odd wild boar as they pass here every night.

They do the ears because it's the only place they feel pain and the tail because they can get broken when hunting, much like the Jack Russels, but I didn't want him to look too aggressive when he's just being inquisitive, he's intimidating enough as it is, but as with most things it became the "look" of the breed, I don't like it either or the stumpy snout slobber chops version.

He comes from local lines from the base of the local mountain so is actually the real deal from the days of the Austro Hungarian Empire, Istria was their hunting ground so he's not shy of Bears, Boar or Wolves as they are regularly seen where he's from, we get the odd Bear here but mostly dodgy looking Albanian gypos and wild boar.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Sorry maz but I just don't see the relevance of that vid.

Edit- sorry I've just watched it again and it seems like a fox has gone for a cat or small dog and a rottweiller has come to it's aid.
Is that right?

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Ahhh that makes sense. They do look very 'mean' with the chopped ears and tail. I suppose that pedigree breeders still do this in the UK? Is it legal or illegal? If it's illegal now, I bet some people still do it?

Maz

iTrader: (34)

That's a Rottweiler springing in to action to save a smaller dog from a coyote. Not sure if it is relevant but it's a good vid and a good indicator of the Rottweiler's instinct and testicular fortitude.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

It's legal for hunting purposes, but you need to find a friendly "countryside" vet in the Uk and most places, but your average "city" vet will frown upon it.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

I edited my post, I was close then.
I prefer the normal ears and tail tbh, look like a big built lab then.

Ditchy is yours a male or female? Just I'm speaking to wife and showing pictures off internet and they look huge, but I'm guessing the pics are all males.
We want a bitch and I've only found one that don't seem too big which is perfect for us as I don't want a 'huge' dog.
Our rottie was 35kg and you do see some huge rottis about (males).
So I can only assume is simlar with boys and Girl dogs.

Re-Labradors, I've looked into the health issues (my negative spin for wife to not have one) but does anyone know how common they are, like hips, cancer and eye problems I've seen on dog breed info.

AndyBaker

Sorry for the late reply, I don't honestly know except the breeder of our first had 8 and they were fine when the owners were there. We thought if we did anything we would have a smaller dog to befriend him. Can't help but think that breeds like the Doberman or rotties could get a pack mentality and you would not want to be on the other end of that. If you have a breed like this you have to take a very strong hold from day one (I've been called cruel before but you have to master a dog like this) but and it's a big but you will never find a better life long friend.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Yes mine is male, he's a fair size but not what I would call huge, they are deceptively muscular and muscle weighs more than fat so mine being close to 60kg he hides it well, but the bitches are smaller and there are also smaller versions, I saw one on a local Island that was fully grown and barely 30kg (lab sized) all depends on the parents, but his mum wasn't small and his dad was getting on for great Dane and nigh on 70kg, I'd say breed standard at about 40kg to 50kg is more the norm. You have to remember where mine comes from and what he's bred for.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

+1 on what you said.

Steve's Sti

iTrader: (2)

get another rottie they are great dogs, our lads just over 18 months at 54kgs he still thinks he a little pup at 5kg lol, as you've said before very loyal. The point is you wont be replacing like for like as they will never be 2 same dogs if you got a male this time it would be a big difference, he follows here everywhere protecting her he doesn't do the same to me haha
He went from this


to this

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Nice.
Sadly we don't want a boy, and will see our old dog in the face (we want memories of only her in a rottwieller).
Sadly the common bone tumours these dogs suffer from is also a big worry as it's not rare. Watching her limp and cry was awful (our dog has never cried in pain before)

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Also Ditchy it would be nice to visit your dog face to face so the missus can be convinced if in uk/notts?
Or anyone else with a cane corso or borobeoul dog localish so we can have a butchers please.

We are now not getting a dog till after 18th October as we have arranged to go somewhere so we won't have anyone to look after puppie at that age as it probably won't be clear of vaccination's to leave with a dog sitter.