[Aroy]

Even my Labrador, at 6+ loves rides. Like most of the dogs (and small children), he prefers to keep his face out of the window. Every now and then when the speed is above 70, he will pull his head in and then it is back after a few minutes.

While traveling long distance, stop every two/three hours for the dog to relieve itself. Carry his water dish and let him have water every time you stop. As pointed out, for a puppy, keep a cardboard carton lined with paper and a sheet for them to travel in. It will be better if the carton is used as a regular bed at least a week prior to the journey. Keep a big stock of their favourite biscuits, so that if there is some dislike for food, biscuits will give all the nourishment.

If you have an oven, it is very easily to bake a big pile of "dog biscuits". The net is full of recipes, choose the one you like the best (the dog has no say as yet). I am sure they will all be lapped up in no time. The harder the biscuits the more they like them.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Googleman

According to my experience, dogs above 8 months don't tolerate the long drives well Puppies just remain fine in the car because their sleeping time is more than the time they are awake.

I agree to some extent, the pups find it more fun and exciting than the adult dogs. Of course, some will sleep and some will become restless, purely individual dependent.

My worry is this is not just a long drive. It is a massive drive from Bangalore to Nasik, approximately 1000km one way for a puppy is way too much in my opinion. Such a long distance should only be attempted after the dog has some experience doing at least 200-300-400km long drives a few times (and he/she is comfortable). Also, the frequency of stopping is more for a puppy.

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Both my dogs are pregnant, just wanted to know the care to be taken during this time, both of them are very jumpy and i am afraid that might cause some issues. The boxer was mated about 40 days before, but there is no increase in her size or weight, should that be a problem?


Thanks,
Pramod

The total gestation period for the female dog (using the specific word here might get me an infraction ) is around 63 days. The increase in size and weight will be perceptible after around 5 weeks; it could be slightly delayed in some dogs and earlier than usual in some others. The only way for you to make sure the litter is doing fine, is to visit the vet and get an ultrasound scan done.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

The total gestation period for the female dog (using the specific word here might get me an infraction ) is around 63 days. The increase in size and weight will be perceptible after around 5 weeks; it could be slightly delayed in some dogs and earlier than usual in some others. The only way for you to make sure the litter is doing fine, is to visit the vet and get an ultrasound scan done.

Thanks for the tip, we have taken her to some vets and no one has a ultrasound here, so have to wait, BTW she is on her 5th week now, keeping the figures crossed as, i would really like to have a liter from her as she keeps getting unwell frequently and we are worried, she is perfectly healthy now.


Pramod

[anandbangalore]

Shankar, Spitfire - thanks. yeah the idea is to push the front co-passenger seat way up ahead with no one in it. 2 people sit at the back with pup on the floor in a carton padded the way you said.

[Googleman]

I prepare my dog's food by myself and generally give him some frozen meat pieces when I take it out from the freezer. Just gave it a deep thought whether these goats would have parasites or some blood disease?

Touch wood, my dog is a healthy one and does not experience any kind of allergy or sickness. One thing which bothers me a lot is his diet. His diet from the day I got him is too low according to me. He is not a hungry dog and never pounces on food. He eats only the amount required for him to keep him alive

Do you feed Raw meat (Chicken or Mutton) to your Dogs?

[archat68]

Don't feed raw chicken - chicken may have some salmonella contamination which may cause diarrhoea.

[Torque123]

Googleman - Do not feed raw meat (beef, chicken etc) to your dogs. As someone mentioned earlier they may carry infection. Better to be safe and serve only cooked meat to your dogs. I too prepare the food for my dogs myself.

If you intend to serve raw meat for your dogs then get "BUTCH" rolls (you get lamb, beef and chicken minced meat rolls). They are processed and need not be cooked. My vet also recommended it. Unfortunately my dogs do not like it as much as they like the normal cooked chicken/beef.

Dude, your GSD's are so HANDSOME.

[Googleman]

Thanks Torque, will convey the compliment to them, he he. Right now only one is with me, other one with my ex.

Yeah I mix BUTCH with rice for a change but a small piece of raw mutton or chicken occasionally as a treat. He is not fond of chew-sticks and even sterilized bones, neither biscuits etc. Have tried getting all sorts of snacks which he gets bored of after few days and does not eat it after smelling it once. This is just a matter of interest and not any stomach issue. I don't feed them beef anyways.

Will keep it in mind, probably no treat for him from now on.

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by Googleman

Thanks Torque, will convey the compliment to them, he he. Right now only one is with me, other one with my ex.

Yeah I mix BUTCH with rice for a change but a small piece of raw mutton or chicken occasionally as a treat. He is not fond of chew-sticks and even sterilized bones, neither biscuits etc. Have tried getting all sorts of snacks which he gets bored of after few days and does not eat it after smelling it once. This is just a matter of interest and not any stomach issue. I don't feed them beef anyways.

Will keep it in mind, probably no treat for him from now on.

Cool. You mentioned that you feed chicken to your dogs. Do they have heat related problems? My Saint Bernard loves chicken but after a few days she refuses food if served with chicken. She does have her food though if served without chicken during that time. Again after a few days she does have the food with chicken.

Any solution for this that you know of? I have stopped serving food mixed with beef to her as it has caused enough skin problems.

[Aroy]

There are all sorts of myths floating on the net, and feeding dogs raw meat is one of the most prolific. Some say yes some no. Well here is what my Lab has had for last 6 years, since the age of 3 months.
. Parboiled rice mixture - rice, turmeric, garlic, oil, and at times meat offal boiled in a pressure cooker.
. Raw Fish, Mutton, Beef, chicken, depends on availability. Normally five days on five off.
. Milk in morning and evening.

Now here are the facts
. Raw meat is tougher than cooked meat, but raw bones are softer. So giving meat on bones makes the dog chew and chew before it is gulped down. The long chewing cleans the teeth and gives them a lot of satisfaction. Some how with all the chewing the teeth are white and shining and there is no bad breadth.
. Raw chicken bones are soft, while cooked ones are extremely hard. If the dog does not chew properly, cooked chicken bones can puncture the stomach. My preferred portion is raw chicken carcass (after they take all the meat to make boneless chicken) give one carcass on alternate days.
. Raw fish bones are so soft that you can make a loop with the larger ones. In contrast cooked fish bones are hard and needle sharp.

In general if the meat/fish is fresh, there is no chance of any harmful bacteria residing in it. It is only when the stock is stale that problems occur. In Delhi the mutton we get is slaughtered early in the morning. Chicken normally slaughtered in front of you. That leaves fish. My wife can select fish perfectly, so what is fresh for us, is fresh for the dog.

[Googleman]

Originally Posted by Torque123

Cool. You mentioned that you feed chicken to your dogs. Do they have heat related problems?

Yes I feed raw chicken too, and I know there are no issues feeding raw chicken. I was doubtful of Raw red meat being good enough.

My Idea of checking if the food my dog eat is proper or not is by seeing the poop (It is gross seeing it early in the morning, but it is ok, he is my kid) I normally keep a watch whether he is struggling and applying too much of pressure, or it is easy. If struggling, food is creating enough heat or he could not digest the food he eat.

Regarding the poop analysis, I will not discuss it here
It should neither be too dry, nor too loose. The vet had actually asked me to keep checking the poop and he showed me a chart with all kinds of poops and reasons

Dogs not eating something has 2 reasons. Either they are bored of it, or they know it is something bad for them.

Beef giving skin problems? No, it is just fine. You have a St. Bernard so you can not give her food which creates heat inside the body, unless you increase the metabolism by making her walk around 6-8KMS a day at one stretch. I take my dog for a walk for around 6KMS/day (Until he is tired and begs me to go home) and he can digest anything, even raw red meat.

Originally Posted by Aroy

Parboiled rice mixture - rice, turmeric, garlic, oil, and at times meat offal boiled in a pressure cooker.
. Raw Fish,.

Why Garlic? I understand it acts as an antibiotic, but same is turmeric for.

Fish? What about the fish bones, does it not prick him anywhere?

Now here are the facts
. Raw chicken bones are soft, while cooked ones are extremely hard.

I don't think so. Please try Paya soup.

In general if the meat/fish is fresh, there is no chance of any harmful bacteria residing in it.

Well.. what about parasites?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Googleman

Why Garlic? I understand it acts as an antibiotic, but same is turmeric for.
It discourages all sorts of parasites, both internal and external. Ever since Garlic was introduced, all ticks and mites disappeared

Fish? What about the fish bones, does it not prick him anywhere?
As he had fish since age of 4 months, he can pick the bones better than I can. Raw fish bones are extremely flexible and get digested easily. Small fish bones do not stick or poke the food passage. Ever tried "Salted Herring", it is raw pickled fish, and every time I eat it, a few bones are ingested. I have yet not had any problems. Same is the case with Scandinavian dried fish.

I don't think so. Please try Paya soup.
The meat and cartilage in Paya soup is soft, but the bones are rock hard. I do give him bones after making paya soup, but mostly they are rounded knuckles and after a few tries at cracking them he just swallows them. They do get digested as the poop is smooth devoid of pieces.

Well.. what about parasites?

Parasites as stated above are taken care of by Garlic primarily and turmeric for internal immunity (hold true for humans too).

Poop analysis - Only meat and bone results in a hard dry poop, as practically every thing is digested and assimilated. Rice and vegetables result in very soft poop - lot of roughage.

[akshay4587]

Love your pets guys,i found this on FB.
and my heart is literally bleeding looking at the poor soul.

[prateekm]

Guys, need help. Suddenly there's been a tick-attack at my house. I check my dog's hair about once a week for ticks and fleas. About a week back, there were none, yesterday when I checked, I found at least 20-30 small ticks. I have no clue what caused such a sudden rise in the ticks. Today morning, I found a few in my bedroom even though he rarely comes here. Mind you, these are very small ones and searching for them is difficult. I've applied anti-tick powders of 2 different brands, yet I can't see any benefits. Please advice if there's some good home-made solution or anything that will instantly kill these ticks. Thanks.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Love your pets guys,i found this on FB.
and my heart is literally bleeding looking at the poor soul.

Did you watch Hachiko? The story is similar to the caption in the pic. If you haven't, do watch it. At the end of the movie, you'll be sobbing like a baby!

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Love your pets guys,i found this on FB.
and my heart is literally bleeding looking at the poor soul.

aww.. poor thing! :'( sights like this just break my heart! last time when i was in Chennai i saw a fawn Labrador rummaging in the dump for food. it seemed like someone had abandoned the poor thing!

Originally Posted by prateekm

Did you watch Hachiko? The story is similar to the caption in the pic. If you haven't, do watch it. At the end of the movie, you'll be sobbing baby!

true! i wept like a baby in the end

there's another one that'll break your heart - Marley and Me