RedHead

The fish oil supplements are higher in omegas than just eating plain fish or most other foods. So...I would continue with the oil. I don't use the capsules, none of my dogs will eat them willingly. I use the squirt pumps. My one dog hates the smell and taste, so I squirt some in with some other smelly food to disguise it. Since there is no capsule they eat it all.

I only supplement a bit with kibble, but I do often buy TOTW to do it with. I still buy it because it is one of the few kibbles Teague can handle relatively well, I like the ingredient list, and it is a good price for quality. I have started switching to a similar store brand here called Performatrin grain free, but I am not totally off buying TOTW. From what I read, the recall was from salmonella (or something similar?) which was more a threat to humas handling the food than the dogs eating it. If the recall was based on some chemical or foreign ingredient then I would definitely stop feeding it. I trust very few, if any dog food companies but TOTW doesn't seem any worse than the huge list of others that have been recalled.

I can get hormone free, local chicken an a decent price here to feed the pups, but I could never afford organic, unless some of my friends who have hobby farms have extras for me. If you have a good supplier and can afford it though great. I actually prefer to feed quite a bit of red meat if I can (beef heart, stewing chunks, etc.) mixed with chicken and some other meats. Feeding only boney chicken parts will most likely lead to some deficiences. I would HIGHLY recommending reading up if you think you want to switch to homemade. I have a lot of great books, but I just ordered Lew Olson's "Raw and Natural Feeding" and really like it. It has info on raw, cooked, half and half or just recipes for adding fresh toppers to kibble. Easy to read and understand. I could have never switched without having my library

Teague used to do this. He was totally fine at my parent's house on the hardwoods, and then all of a sudden in the middle of the night he started whining because he was afraid to walk on them. I know a lot of people probably don't agree with this but I just put his leash on and walked him onto the floor and calmly waited. He slipped and freaked out for about 5 seconds and then relaxed. As soon as he did this I gave him treats and walked him all the way across to the carpet. I walked him back and forth across the floor, and he was totally fine after maybe 3 times. He had a few minor regressions but I did the same thing and he has been fine since. Personally, I would rather get him over this than have to cover everything in mats. Having said that, my own hardwood hall has a carpet runner for him because I think having ALL hardwoods everywhere might be a bit daunting.

My dogs generally crunch, crunch and then swallow the necks. Nothing to worry about. Their jaws are designed to gulp and swallow not grind and chew from side to side like ours.

I rarely go on trips other than day trips up north, to cottages, etc. so I can take the pups with me. I have some great places to leave them if I need to though so I don't worry that way. For the past few weeks both Teague and Karma have been staying with my parents ( 3 hrs away) and I won't see them until next weekend. I'm a teacher, so June is really busy for me and it really helps if I can stay late at work. My parents always take them for me at this time to help out. I know they are having a great time, have people with them all day long and can even swim in the lake most days so I don't worry, I just miss them! In a week I'll have my summer holidays so I'll make up for it

My dogs do a lot of chewing and I have never had to worry about their back teeth. No matter how much they chew though, I have found that their front fangs get plaque, so those are the only ones I brush. Probably not enough, I should do it more often. I have never had to take a dog to a dental, even my ten year old is great. I guess since my dogs have always had good teeth, I haven't really seen what really bad plaque can do. I was shocked this weekend when a friend showed me her 4 year old dog's teeth. Every tooth was covered completely in a hard, brown plaque, it was awful!

I wish our TSC here carried decent food at cheap prices! I sometimes buy the small bags of BB grain free (the one with the wolf on the front). It costs about $22 (not including tax) for a small 4.5 lb bag. Just wondering how that compares to your prices in the States.

I find the chicken quarters sometimes smell kind of funky even before their due date. I personally have always fed these without a problem. Also, if I have meat that is a bit off that I don't want to feed raw, I often cook it or boil it in water because I hate wasting meat. The pups can eat it cooked (plus if I boil it in water they have a broth as well that I can pour over kibble or other food). Obviously if the meat was really off I would throw it out, even though I know my dogs have at times dug up old meat and eaten it with no problems whatsoever. Yuck!

I either have, or have made a picky dog because Teague will not eat ANYTHING unless it's meat. He won't eat bread, ANY veggie including mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit, pasta, dog chews, etc. He used to nibble on bananas, but no more. He does love to munch on wheat grass though, he will graze forever in the field My old dog loved to eat that nori seaweed paper that you wrap sushi with. It kind of crinkles like paper at first and it has a bit of a roasted/salty taste which she loved. It was halarious watching her eat it because it is basically like a piece of paper in the beginning. I figured it was probably pretty healthy too!

Some dogs don't like the chicken smell if they aren't used to it, but if he is okay with drumsticks and wings the smell may not be what is turning him off. It could be the piece is too big, even though I know you chopped it up. A few things I have tried to entice picky dogs is to buy the dehydrated liver treats. I rub them all over the meat and then break a few up and put pieces under the skin which forces them to start licking or chewing to get it out. Sometimes this is just enough to give them a taste and get them going. You can also buy a liver powder or grind the treats up and sprinkle with that (you could do the same thing with canned tripe but it would be kind of gross!) Another thing that sometimes works is to put the quarter in a bowl with things he does eat. Sometimes once they get on a role they will just pick up everything and eat it without noticing. If that doesn't work, maybe searing it would entice him. Good luck!

I prefer the squirt bottles, but I give 2-4 squirts a day. That works out to about 2-4 tablets I think. I rotate with herring oil and salmon oil.

I'm pretty sure I just saw a commercial for this a few days ago.

I am not sure what kind of frozen fish I feed (I will post a pic so you can see), I buy them in bulk in frozen bags. My old dog ate them up (being a northern dog and all!), but most dogs I have had are very picky about them. I always feed them frozen as the dogs never like the dethawed, slimy smell and feel! This fish is fine to feed, there is some rare thing in raw salmon dogs can get, but I think the freezing takes care of it anyways. Here is what our fish look like (mackerel??). For some reason the dogs always bite the head off first. Yuck!

If he is already on raw, is he getting any beef or pork (?) I would just supplement with fattier meats like stewing beef, beef heart, pork, or eggs and give him extra. I find Teague has to eat a LOT of food to keep a normal weight....way more than my old (non-grey) dog who was the same weight, and both on mostly raw. I have heard oatmeal is good for putting on weight as well, but it sounds like you should be staying aways from all of that sort of stuff if he has the allergies. The most natural and best fat for dogs is from meat, so I would keep it simple and just add more!

I've think rotating foods is great if your dog can handle it . A dog should enjoy it's food in my opinion, and as long as they are eating appropriate diets, keeping things interesting is great! I've never fed one thing exclusively, my dogs all eat a variety of meats and food types.

Sorry, I didn't have to go through this, but I know a lot of people have successfully and can give you more advice on alone training. All I can say is that I know that Teague would probably go nuts if I didn't take him on a long walk/run each morning before work. It just seems to wind him down into resting mode. Also, sometimes the crate, and going into it can trigger the anxiety. Obviously, he can't be allowed free, but I have read a lot of greys who were suddenly fine when they were gated or penned into a contained area rather than crated. Maybe worth a try? I'm sure others will have some better ideas. Don't give up, as a lot of people have gone through the same thing!

Here are a few recipes my dog Karma likes. She is super picky and isn't crazy about some parts of her raw diet, so I do these sometimes instead. Most of these come from my dog food books but I have changed a few slightly and also don't add in all the supplements listed because I don't feed this as an entire diet. For the short term, as long as you are adding variety and calcium they should be fine (a lot of cooked diets have multivitamins added or they make up their own "healthy powder" from Dr. Pitcairn). Chicken n' Cheese 3 cups chicken 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1-2 eggs 1 cup veggies (I like to use zucchini and sweet potato) 1/2 cup of organ meat (kidney, liver, chicken gizzards) a few squirts of fish oil (if no bones in the chicken, supplement with about 1 tsp of ground eggshell or 900 mg calcium per pound...this goes for all the recipes) Karma's favourite 3 cups beef 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potato 1 strip of bacon (not necessary, but adds smell!) a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese a pinch of dried or fresh dill Turkey and Oatmeal 3 cups ground turkey 1-2 cups sweet potato 1 cup oatmeal 1/2 cup cottage cheese Last one 3-4 cups of a mixture of meats (ground turkey, pork, chicken) 1/2 a cup or so of liver 3-4 eggs can of salmon 1 apple 1 banana 1 carrot 1 zucchini 1-2 cups of rice Same calcium supplement as above. Veggies must be completely cooked and group up or mashed or they will go right through!

It sounds like most of the accidents are happening when you don't see them. If you don't catch him in the act (or better, just before he starts) to redirect him, it will take a really long time (if ever) to completely train him. It sounds like he just doesn't understand potty training so he needs to go back to "puppy rules." I wouldn't leave him unsupervised in the house without me being there, and I would also crate him when you're at work. It seems like a lot of work, but once he gets it, you can try gradually letting him have more independence. I don't know how many hours you are away each day, but he may also just not be used to holding it for so long. If possible, if you can take him for a walk before work he can "fully" clean out his system and and to settle him before you go. It sounds like he was crate trained from the track when you got him, but because he has gone so many times in the house he is starting to think it is acceptable place to go. Scolding him after he goes will not help at all, their brains only really connect if you can catch him while he is going and bring him outside. As the others said, greys may not always let you know when they need to go. Good luck!

If you are just doing this short term (a month or two?) what you are doing should be fine. If it was more long term, you would probably want to add in some organ meats, and a little more variety with meats with a few supplements. I am not an expert on cooked diets, but from what I have read, some people do about 1/3 each of meat, veggies, and a grain. Other diets have around 75% meat and the rest mostly veg. I feed partially cooked to my one dog, and I use some sweet potato as well. Also, if you don't want to cook the bone you can add ground eggshell (about 1/2 teaspoon to a pound of meat). Your pup will probably be in heaven, and won't be too keen on going back to dry old dogfood! lol You can add extras like cottage cheese, egg, canned fish, etc. to mix things up if you like. I will try to dig up a few recipes.

My last dog got a severe attack and her diet had to be maintained throughout her life, but she did fine. In the beginning I put her on Innova Senior food (low fat but didn't have a lot of fillers...back then there weren't nearly as many food options as today). She still had a very sensitive tummy and vomited 2-3 times per week. Then, she did much better digesting when I started adding add-ins like low fat cottage cheese, eggs, low fat meats, etc. In the end, we eventually switched her to a homemade diet with probiotics and by far that worked the best for her. We never had another problem for 10 years. I discovered the quality of protein and fat was just important as the quantity. If the pancreatitis is not chronic, most dogs can be put back on their regular diet once they are treated.

I hike all the time and Teague is really good, except when it is hot out. When it is warm, he overheats very quickly and has low stamina so we have to keep our hikes to a couple of miles. It took him a little while to learn to crawl under tree branches/fences, jump logs, walk over wooden walkways, etc. but he just followed my other dog and now he is a pro! When hiking I prefer to use a harness, and a long leash.

I have found that chicken and turkey is really easy for most dogs to handle. The bone content really firms things up, but just try feeding a small amount, and cut back on his overall food that day to see how he does. Did the knuckle bone have marrow in it? That is a big cause of stomach upset from those types of bones, the little bit of meat they chew off usually isn't a problem.

I feed turkey wings all the time when they are on sale. No problems here

Wow That is a lot of brands. Having said that, it looks like it is a precautionary measure, none of the samples have had anything wrong. On the bright side, I would be less worried about having a food recalled due to salmonella than to some chemical or additive from foreign ingredients,I think this is more a health concern to humans than to dogs. Still though...it seems like you can't trust anybody, and it must be frustrating to those of you who feed these foods.