RedHead

Here is a link to a radio interview by Lew Olsen on special needs diets and her book. It is pretty long so you can skip through to what you want (lol this is for the truly obsessed). If you're interested in the book though it's an interesting interview! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rottweilers/2011/08/11/special-diets-for-special-needs BTW I feed 2 meals per day, I really don't think it matters.

Have you tried any of the other TOTW formulas? Teague does well on Acana, but all but two of the formulas cause the runs, even within the same brand of food. I had to test them all out.

I have fed raw for almost 15 years and have fed many "versions" as things have changed over the years. I used to feed exclusively from the grocery store as there were few, if any raw suppliers (which is fine as long as you can get liver and kidney). Recently, I have found a lady who grinds up mixes for a decent price. The mix contains chicken, beef and pork (trim, heart, lung, liver, kidney, tripe, spleen). I usually mix this in half/half with kibble to make it go further and the dogs do amazing on it. I am LOVING the convenience of this. At dinner I feed a variety of raw meaty bones from the grocery store (usually chicken thighs, or pork). I also sometimes add in cooked foods, eggs, tinned fish, cottage cheese and healthy leftover pasta, veggies, etc. Most places now have co-op groups in which people share resources, order in bulk, etc. to save money. If you do a google search for your area + raw dog food co-op/supplier you often will find things. Here is a link with U.S. co-ops by state: http://dogaware.com/diet/rawgroups.html IMO anyone going raw should definitely order some books before starting. My personal favourite is Lew Olson.

So sorry for your loss It looks like Jet had many fantasic adventures from your pics. My last heart dog died on Mother's Day as well..we think about it every year. RIP Jet.

I sometimes tie-up when I am visiting friends as well as when I'm up at the cottage in the summer. I know you're not "supposed to" but I personally think it depends on the dog and the situation. I always tie up on a harness, it is always when I am around (I would never tie up and leave him unnattended) and I use a relatively short leash (6-8 ft). He is used to being on a leash,and knows that he can't run and bolt. He usually just flakes out on his side and sleeps. To me, it is really no different than if I were holding the leash. There are definitely hazards to tying up if you do it to the wrong grey and the wrong way, so I think it will depend on your dog.

This dog may not be the right fit for your family. There is no shame in realizing that some dogs just aren't right for some houses and lifestyles. If you have a dog with SA you will need to devote time to this and be able to have an adjustment period where the dog doesn't have to be home for long periods right away. It sounds like she is loosing her trust and developing more negative associations with all of the tools which are related to being alone. It will take a lot of work and time to get over and to earn her trust. Something to think about, if you are both stressed out it is not an ideal situation for anyone. I don't mean this as a bad thing or to make you feel bad, several people on this board have had to return dogs simply because their house wasn't a good fit. If you are really determined to work through this, definitely check up on the "alone training" on the board, lots of people have gone through the same thing.

I've heard the K9 Kidney Diet Group on yahoo is very helpful. Not on it myself, but you might want to check and scan over some posts. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/

Brady is gorgeous. He has really neat colouring around his face, the fur colour looks just like my (non-grey mix) Karma.

I usually buy whole chickens on sale, or the rotisserie ones from the grocery store. I roast it up, eat the good parts myself and debone the whole thing in containers for training. Easy, cheap, no worry about nasty things, and the pups like it. I switch it up with beef as well, sometimes there are really cheap roasts on sale.

Wow, that is unbelievable. I am continually shocked at the number of people who let their dogs loose on their property to run out at other dogs (aggressive or not) . I can't imagine having a dog attack like that, and to go through it twice is just crazy. Are the owners paying for the bills? So sorry about all of these things happening at once. Hoping the wounds (mental and physical) heal up.

Oh no I'm so sorry for your sudden loss Robin.

I make a beef and liver cake (not really a recipe, just ground beef and liver ) For the "icing" I cook sweet potato and mash it with some yogurt. I sometimes stick sardines on as "candles." Pertty disgusting looking cake!

Teague has this issue as well. I don't think it is nervous anxiety, more "excited" anxiety if that is possible. I have never seen him in a car without panting, and often he trembles a bit as well (on a side note he is very eager to get into the car). He used to be a lot worse when I first got him, he whined a lot, now there is an occasional whine but it stops and he lies down quite quickly (although he is still not relaxed, panting, and jumps up any time I stop). I have no idea how to stop it, as it is hard to do a lot when I am driving in the first place. We are in the car all the time and always to fun places. Even after we do a 2 hour hike he will still pant on the drive home. I drive 3 hours to visit my parents and he will pant the ENTIRE trip, so it doesn't seem to stop with time. Karma, my other pup is back there with him totally relaxed and sleeping but that doesn't seem to rub off on him either. It has gotten better with time but I have yet to be able to fix it completely.

How new is your pup? They have a VERY low endurance level when they come off the track. I remember working up to a 1 mile hike, now we do 5-6 miles every day. Some greys seem to enjoy jogging others not. Basically, if they start lagging behind I consider that to be enough, I wouldn't push it...you want the dog to enjoy it. Heat plays a HUGE role, bigger than almost anything else from my experience. I grew up with double coated, northern breeds, and I can say that Teague's heat tolerance is actually worse. I initially thought greys would be great in the heat due to their thin coat, lack of fat, but it works out to be the opposite. We do most of our jogging in the early Spring and Fall, and I find temps in the 30-40 degree range the best. As soon as the heat hits (like today) he turns into a sloth, it's a dramatic difference. We stick to mostly early morning and evening walks/jogs or else we go to lake trails where he can have a cool soak every mile or so.

If your dog isn't showing any signs of destructive behaviour then it would probably be the right time to try. Generally speaking, if he doesn't do anything when you leave him for shorter periods, he isn't likely to do much when you are at work. I leave all of my dogs out during the day, I never worry about them getting into any trouble.

Just wanted to point out (as MaryJane said) you will need to add a multivitamin (for the short term it should be fine without), especially calcium to balance the phosphorus in the meat. If you like, you can use ground up eggshells. I have fed homecooked in the past and was told to do about 900 mg of calcium per pound of meat (which works out to about 1/2 tsp ground eggshells or calcium per pound of food). I honestly can't even remember how much I fed, I just filled up the bowl to what I thought was right

My guys eat small amounts of grains like bread, pasta, and rice from my leftovers. I prefer to feed veggies/potatoes as the "non meat" portion of the diet. My personal view is that if they were designed to have a diet based on grains (I'm talking 60%-70% or higher) they would have the flat grinding teeth/side to side jaw movement and long digestive system of every other plant/grain eating animal. Either way, it is certainly a myth that they can't get nutrition from grains as I have read many times. One philosophy is that as long as they are getting proper nutrients it doesn't matter where they are coming from, the other argument is that the nutrients should be in a more biologically correct format. Either way, dogs seem to do okay on grain or grain free...there are people on both extremes of the line who will tell you they are right. Go with what works.

Keep in mind that if your dog was a racer he or she would have been weaned on, and fed a diet consisting largely of raw meats. Most likely beef based though, so if the chicken is a problem you could try some beef or even some lamb bones (shanks are great). Just stay away from anything that has a lot of marrow if your pup is sensitive.

There's nothing special about turkey necks, any large meaty bone will clean teeth. It isn't necessarily the bone that cleans teeth, if the dog has to scissor chew on tissue/sinew that helps in the same way. My favourite teeth cleaner is pork hocks/pork shoulder with the skin on. There is one bone in the centre that doesn't get touched but chewing through the tough skin and tissue does just a good a job and there are no worries for slab fractures that can happen with larger weight bearing bones. This is fattier though so I don't feed any more than once or twice a week. I can rarely find turkey necks here but I feed meaty large chicken thighs.

When I leave for work I sometimes just take a scoop of dog food and literally throw/scatter it all over the kitchen floor...I make sure to put some in trickier areas (on, or behind objects). I know it is a weird way to feed, but the dogs love it, they get to sniff around and use their nose to find all of the pieces. My dogs aren't fast eaters, but this makes it impossible to gobble and it also provides some mental stimulation. That feeder does look interesting though..

This may sound strange, but most avian/pigeon supply places carry doxy. I only know this because I had to hunt some down for my pet rat once and didn't want to spend hundreds at the vet No idea how the prices compare but here are some links. http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f110/pigeon-supply-houses-usa-amp-australia-only-9455.html Jedds Avian Products for example carries 100 (100mg) doxy tablets for dogs for around $35...you may want to check it out (I have no idea as to the quality/brand but just thought I'd throw it out there). http://www.jedds.com/-strse-1018/DOXYDOG-50mg-fdsh-100mg-fdsh-300mg-%28Medpet%29/Detail.bok

Teague usually does the female squat pee to mark even though he is a boy. If he feels the need to aim higher though, he can do either way

I was also going to suggest the "fishtail" collars. I know a lot of people in Europe use them and they are harder to slip over the head. They tend to be wide though, so don't know if they allow that?? On the race track they walk them around on buckle collars, I am sure if it is tight enough it will be okay...especially since your pups are well trained and not likely to take off.

Morning meal here is a kibble/meat mixture (raw beef, chicken, pork muscle, organ meat and tripe) + kibble. I tend to switch kibble up, but I usually do Acana/Taste of the Wild as most others cause problems. Evening meal is sometimes the same thing, or a variety of stuff. Chicken quarters/beef/lamb or pork, tinned fish, eggs, canned dog food, or healthy leftovers (pasta, potatoes, veggies) mixed in kibble. In the winter I make them a "doggy" soup or stew on the weekend to warm us up after our cold walks lol can you tell I have no kids? I fed mix-ins from the get go. From my experience, all of my dogs have actually had firmer poops that way, and it is what they are used to from the track.

I can't tell exactly from the pics but Teague's legs often have little tufts of fur missing that look similar. He does it walking and running through grass, sticks, etc. on all of our hikes. There aren't cuts/red marks or anything, just tufts of fur that come out from bumping or scraping against things. He (nor I) ever notice it happening. Just throwing that out as another option. I sure hope it isn't mange! Good look with the vet check.