[Roxy]

One of our dogs has always chewed his paw.  First one, then that healed, so he started on the other.  We have tried allsorts, creams, bandages, tea tree.  Plus all the nasty deterrants.  Someone even gave me a dog plaster strip, which smelt like cinnamon supposedly he would not pull that off. Well, he did.  Anything we put on, he pulls off, or licks off, no matter how disgusting.  I got some cream from the vet, and the vet gave him antibiotics too.  Slight improvement after a week, but another week down the line, with me still bathing his leg, putting cream on.  Its as bad as ever.  I asked the vet about putting one of those lampshade things on his head, but he said he would be fine with the cream, and would not lick it off....hmm.....well he did.

Any ideas, as I paid out £64.00 to visit the vet, for a two minute look at his leg, and we are still no further on.  Plus all the other creams, bandages, etc. etc. I have tried.  Would not mind paying, if things got better.

[doganjo]

Tried elastoplast spray?  Mine hate the smell and taste so leave cuts alone till it wears off - plus it protects the wound.  or try TCP - most dogs - and people for that matter - hate the smell of that.

[knightquest]

Have you looked at his diet? Quite often dogs develop an allergy to wheat or wheat gluten. Try the dog on a gluten free food for at least a month. Arden Grange is good, so is Burns. Ultimately, the best option is a raw diet. That is an entirely raw diet with no treats that contain wheat or the last bit of toast for that matter. You'd be surprised how many of our customers don't feed ANY treats whatsoever...............except a digestive biscuit or a piece of bread and butter........

pm me if you want a more fuller explanation.

Ian

[Sandy]

I have been on a diet and have noticed how "bad" foods make me feel SO, it must be the same in dogs!!! THe food we give ours is OK but not the best, when Isaly was in welp we bought cheap chickens and added them cooked to her diet, we still use a lot of cooked chicken but it is a bit time comsuming to feed raw!!! WHat do you suggest then?

[knightquest]

It depends how you get your raw food. If it comes in 450g bags it is just as easy to feed that as dry food. All you have to do is get the packet or packets out the night before during winter or on the morning during summer. If you forget one day or more, give em it frozen! During the summer, a frozen block of meat acts as an ice lolly.
If you are going to buy chicken for your dog - please feed it raw. Raw carcasses are fantastic for dogs AND cats.

My Malamute, who is my avatar has 1 block of meat and either 5 chicken wings or a chicken carcass per day. He sometimes has lamb bones, turkey necks or a quarter of a pigs head as a change. The meat is either chicken, lamb, beef, tripe, beef and kidney, lamb and tripe, economy beef (includes lights) or lamb and veg. We have 2 Leonbergers on the same diet.

The bones are particularly beneficial for the teeth to prevent periodontal (sp) disease but that's a whole other topic 

I could literally go on all night but I'll stop here. HTH

Ian

[doganjo]

I need reassurance on this.  A friend told me of a litter of 8 week old cocker pups that literally died overnoght as a result of salmonella (I think??) in the chicken wings they'd been fed on a BARF diet.  What guarantee is there in feeding raw food to dogs or is it just a case of not feeding baby pups on it till their stomachs and constitutions can handle it?

[knightquest]

Quest, the Mal, has only ever eaten raw. His breeder had a picture of him pushing his mom away from a rack of lamb ribs at 3 weeks old 

I would stake my mortgage that it was NOT BARF that killed the pups. More likely fading puppy syndrome. Dogs as we know are very similar to wolves and they don't spit roast food before they eat it do they?

Dogs have an extremely high tolerance to salmonella. They can after all go out and eat a minging dead bird that's been in the park for two days with no ill effects.........hands up all Lab/Retriever owners whose dogs have done this......

All I can say is try it. The best endorsement that I can give is that all the reps who come in to our shop from the top end food manufacturers all say that barf is the best way to feed, BUT ours is the second best. (But if head office calls, OURS is the best. OK?)

Orijen have bought out a food that is 70% meat and 30% fruit/Veg (as close to barf as poss). Then why not feed barf??? It's also £53 ish for 13.5kg OMG!!

I can also dispell any old wives tales about it giving them a taste for blood or making them aggressive or anything like that. What it does give them is a balanced diet that has not had the goodness 'cooked' out of it. It keeps teeth wonderfully clean. AND it makes their POO tiny in comparison with other food types.

Going on again so I'll stop again.

Ian

[doganjo]

Don't stop, Ian - this is interesting.  I'd like to feed mine raw, they don't really like that kibble stuff and I always have to add a spoonful of tinned or some scraps to it, but I don't want them losing condition and I'm scared I don't feed the right amount or the right balance - how can I, a mere pensioner, work it out, oh and obviously cost is an issue too, as I have 4 Brittanys and an old GWP

[warmglo]

I've been breeding bc's for a while now, and have always weaned onto raw. In fact problems only start when I have to change individual puppies onto the diet of their new owners choice - usually a dry food. I totally agree with Ian, raw has definately worked out best for me and mine  . Those 450g bags of frozen and really useful, to that I add cooked brown rice, and slightly cooked then pulped veg, and a touch of cereal (weatabix & oats). This is mixed with the meat on a 4:1 ratio (4 bags meat to one bag of same size of veg mix). I do a load of mix every month, and my meat gets delivered every month. This forms the basis of their diet, but like ian says, chicken wings, carcasses, lamb rib racks, turkey neck/wings, rabbit, all good, along with raw egg/goats milk shake for the occasional treat. It's a mix and match diet that all my dogs have loved, look great, poop and smell far less, and at a reasonable cost. The pups love chicken drumsticks and thighs - they can't break the bone so its safe, but they have a great time ripping tearing and chewing the meat off, and they look so proud of themselves as they toddle off dragging their 'huge kill' to some place safe!

NB Ian - you say you sell this? what are your prices like?

[knightquest]

Sorry Annie, didn't see this topic before now. Will give you a breakdown. In the meantime, you could check out our website at

www.knightpetsupplies.co.uk

Got to go to work now but our prices range from 48p per pack to 64p. We only retail it but if I could make it, OH BOY! Will post more later.

Ian

[doganjo]

Will start a new thread as I am interested in this

[Sandy]

So am I!!

[ellisr]

Roxy to answer your question I have problems with my GS especially in the winter. I make little boots from felt and add a leatherette sole this stop chewing and also allows him to go out with getting it infected.
If you draw around the paw and leg then make a loosely fitting boot, use a strip of material to go around the boot (this must be attached to the boot) and a piece of velcro to fasten I have found it best to wrap twice then velcro.

Just the way I have cheaply protected Bruno's feet, the felt only costs 50p or so at craft stores and maybe a £1 for leatherette

[Teresa]

Is it constant chewing or a seasonal thing?
Have you tried bathing it in hibiscrub or putting aloe gel on it? Sometime habit can take over so putting a lamp shade on his head would give him time to heal.

[Roxy]

Oh, the little boots (or big ones, Ted has giant paws!) is a good idea. Paw nearly healed and he is off again, chewing it.  I have tried aloe vera, tea tree ointment, the ointment from the vets,  not hibiscrub, but do have some for the horse, so thats an idea.  Ted seems to like the taste of everything, and aloe vera to me is bitter!!