WWBC

Not to scare anyone, but it is possible it could be an oral cancer. Nasty critter if it is, I hope it is not a cancer.

A second on the ginger snaps, they help settle upset tummies......

Don't know the cost if ordered on the internet with the added cost of shipping. The place I contact about getting a bag has it at $35 for 40# bag. I plan to talk to my feed store and see if they would consider carrying it, I suspect I could get a better price from my regular feed store. Maybe you could talk to your feed store and have them contact the distributor (randr) about a meet and greet and get your feed store to carry it too.......

I am not looking for a food that is that high in protein and the kcal/kg , kcal/cup for the 24/20 and 26/18 formulas of Victor are higher than the same caloric info of the Hi Tek foods. The Victor foods are also listed as no corn, no soy, no wheat and no gluten so that sounds good in combination with the kcal/kg info. An example, the Hi tek grain free lamb is 3750 kcal/kg , 370 kcal/cup . the Victor High Energy,24/20(which is their beef meal/chicken meal formula not lamb) has 3963 kcal/kg, 457/kcal/cup. the Victor Pro formula, (which is also beef meal/chicken meal) has 3839 kcal/kg, 443 kcal/cup. So I am going out to pick up some Victor and see what the dogs and I think about it.

I am currently investigating a food called Victor. It looks and sounds promising, with a reasonable cost for their High Energy variety which is 24/20 and their Pro Formula which is 26/18. It has a small distribution area, but they are willing to contact feed stores and the like to have them consider carrying their products. http://randrdistributors.com/ they have a tab at the top to locate dealers that may be near you. they have a side bar with their selections of food with ingredient lists and caloric info. It is a long established line of dog food........reasonably priced. It is a tough time to be trying to find "the" right kibble.

After going to the "breeders" site, well, it looks like she follows her own advice on feeding.........the dogs and particularly the puppies she has on her site do not look healthy at all......another case of a "pretty" website and lots of BS...........not much substance.......lots of red flags.

Sadly, Turds float and he will just move his misery camp somewhere else and continue to inflict horrors on these poor dogs and multiple, unsuspecting people who don't know about him. And rescues will still be left cleaning up the mess.

I personally don't like the first three ingridients: Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, and Rice Flour. I do not feed a grain free diet to my dog but the grains are further down on the list and the first ingridient is chicken vs chicken meal, for example.

Just an FYI, Chicken and lamb, meat in general, contains 70% moisture which is lost during cooking/processing. So meat is "heavier" than grains prior to cooking, but NOT after. Possibly leaving the total formula as a grain base food after processing.

Chicken/Lamb meal(meat meals) are dry and 50% to 65% meat protein. During cooking/processing meat meals do NOT shrink below grain weight.

So meat meals are a "better" source than meat.

I'm sure someone with much more info on dog food ingredients can/will add to this small amount of general info.

Go Tom!!!! Woo hooooo.................

I know the concept of bully sticks are gross, but when they give me almost of hour of down time, I don't care what it is! And yes, the are expensive. I am constantly checking websites for the best prices. So far, I have been buying them from "Only Natural Pet Store", where I get a bag of 10 12" sticks, for around $27. And, they are low odor. Occasionally a pet store in my area will have them for $2.49, and I try and buy a few then. I think what a friend and I are going to do is buy a case and split it. It is a lot of money to put out, but those are the only real bone/treat that she gets regularly, and again......they provide my husband and I with some downtime in the evenings after we walk with the puppy. So most times, I feel like the price is worth it!

Try http://www.jefferspet.com look up bully sticks and beef pizzles. 12 or more 6" bully sticks are $2.09 ea, 12" bully sticks are $3.99ea..........you can also get a box of one hundred 6" beef pizzles for $81.67

Sorry to hear the troubles continue. University of TN in Knoxville has an excellent Vet school. There is also a veterinary specialist group down in GA. www.gvsvet.com located North of Atlanta. They have a neurology specialist on board.

Our vet office has a program that is called care credit that is a medical expense account......for pets who are injured, having surgery etc. perhaps that is what you are thinking about? Look up carecredit.com and then check out the vet expense plan. Many of the clients use this program and approval is pretty fast. Good luck

WWBC

Ha, not ALL vets, at least not in my town. Finally, slowly my vet has "discovered" that SD is garbage.......... It has taken almost a year working there to "convince" him there are waaaay better choices. Especially now that people can get SD at Wally world and TSC . No way to compete there price wise.

Dunlap's Restaurant sounds very interesting.............

http://www.dunlapsrestaurant.com

You might want to try Solid Gold Seameal, great for coat and skin

Here is a link to a raw food provider who happens to be in the Southeast. They are in NC, GA and FL. They have been in business for 30yrs. Their beef is raised and processed at their private facility. They have pure ground beef, a natural mix, raw green tripe, ground whole chicken(bones too), ground rabbit, kitten grind, trublue puppy, and beef heart. All available in 2# and 5# rolls and 30# cases. They have wonderful RMBs, a 30# case(which has apprx 50 bones in it) runs around $20. They also have Sojos and Europa mixes to go with the raw. The Sojos mix has grains like rolled oats, etc and the Europa mix is freeze dried veggies.

www.blueridgebeef.com

Wonderful people to deal with and are available to talk to when you need help.

WWBC

Originally posted by fooshuman:

Are all stockdog owners better then pet/sport dog owners? No!

Are all Pet/Sport owners better then stockdog owners No!

Thing is BCs should never be bred for anything except herding sheep. (this method hasn't failed us yet)

 

Nothing is black and white besides our dogs!

*and even all of them aren't!* [/QB]

WWBC

A friend of mine has a Border Collie who is highly allergic to Flagyl. The vets are/were blown away that he would be allergic to Flagyl, but that was the only med he was taking and she gave him 3 or 4 doses before she put two and two together. Each time she gave him his "next" dose his reaction was a bit worse until the last dose she gave him when he swelled and broke out in hives. It is now listed in BIG letters on his chart and records that he is allergic to the Flagyl.

WWBC

Once again, the dog has a lot of white on his head...........He behaves and stays in line/ behind you when he has a visual aid(the stick/arm extension). To be fair to him, I would get him BAER tested. He could be deaf or at least a uni which could cause him some anxiety. Deaf dogs will often bark excessively. You also said he never takes his eyes off you and stays right around you (in sight) when he is loose. Another clue that maybe he is watching you for visual cues. Being super sensitive to movement could also be indicative of a hearing deficeit. Again, just a thought.

WWBC

Just a thought, have you had his hearing checked? I notice that in the OP you stated he had a lot of white. He might be deaf which could contribute to his anxiety.

WWBC

Maybe by going thru a lot of puppies/dogs..........until you get lucky enough to keep one sound past it's second birthday? Probably not til it's fifth...........

WWBC

Might check out Chris Zink's website? might be info on damage to joints there? just a thought.

WWBC

Perhaps someone should post a comment on the site about the possible damage such activities are going to cause to such a young pup? Try to educate the owner and keep the puppy from permanent damage? Perhaps put in a link to this discussion thread? JMHO

WWBC

http://www.colliecorner.com/stick-to-toys

WWBC

There is now a DNA test for the merle gene. Patent pending. Here is the site for the info, also an excellent info sheet on merle is available in the left hand menu.

http://www.genmarkag.com/home_companion.php

WWBC