I'm gonna cry...

[Scylla]

At least Tyson is loving his new diet and I bet he's generally feeling better And I hope you're not as worried, Lilac

scylla

[Lilac]

oh he is soooo loving it Scylla...once Murphy finishes his wee bag of kibble, i'll be starting him on it too, cos he knows Tyson is having much tastier stuff than he's getting and he hates it...lol

Since Tyson had the turkey leg with no ill effects, im feeling better about the bone bit, but i think i'll stick to wings for him...

just hope it helps his lumps, he's a wee sad soul when he's all lumpy

[lynwlt]

Lilac,

It might help the wind if you stick a dollop of natural yoghurt on his food.
I also use raw eggs, shell on, cottage cheese and tinned pilchards or sardines. Mungo likes raw salmon but prefers whole fish, like herrings or sardines, to be seared in the frying pan first. (he memorably up chucked a raw herring in the corner of my bedroom at 3am)
Are you feeding 10% offal? Heart counts as muscle rather than offal.
Mungo's coat benefited from a seaweed supplement but I ran out and need to get some more...

It's still a work in progress but I can't see me going back to kibble..

Lynda

[Lilac]

I dont want to use a wide variety of meats at first Lynda, im on holiday next week so im gonna up the steroids to get the lumps cleared, and was thinking i'd stick to chicken, then try lamb, i want to avoid red meat until i give him some once (hopefully) the coat is under control, to see if there's a reaction, as it got a lot worse after 2 days of red meat when i first started the raw diet, not sure if it was just coincidence, but this might give me an idea of what it is he's allergic to...

the yoghurt is a good idea, for the bacteria? i've some Total greek stuff in the fridge, he can have a dollop with his dinner tonight..

i gave him 2 chicken wings with his chicken mince this morning, he crunched them up no problem, i also give him some apple cider vinegar, to help digest the bones, i'll give him chicken livers, as i love those too, 'cept i prefer mine cooked

where did you get the seaweed supplement? i've ordered kelp tablets from H&B as they were offering free delivery and £10 off if you spend £30 and i needed starflower oil caps, etc anyway.

[lynwlt]

Lilac,
I bought it from Zooplus, and only because it was on offer at the time.
It's one of those things that didn't seem to be doing anything much until it stopped, if that makes sense.
Mungo always loves to chase and kill seaweed when we go to the local beach, so maybe he was telling me something?
I really need to find a local supplier of cheaper meat for him; he eats better than I do at the moment!
You might find that smelly green tripe has some benefits for Tyson, without compromising his skin, and you would probably want to feed it outside because it smells like dirty drains.....
It's easily digested and has the added bonus of partially digested vegetable matter (yuck!!)

Lynda

[Scylla]

OMG, the sacrifices we make for our beloved pet-babies

scylla

[Lilac]

Guess what i've been doing this afternoon?

bagging up 23kg of chicken carcasses into meal sized portions

flippin heck, but enough for 40 meals or so, was 69p/kg, so a good price, Tyson had 3 for dinner, well 4 actually, as Murphy couldn't cope with his, so Tyson snaffled it as well, when i wasn't looking

[Scylla]

You're a blerdy heroine, Lilac

I've been googling "heroine" pics for you but they don't believe me and keep presenting me with "heroin"

scylla x

[Lilac]

Not a heroine Scylla...just trying to improve my best friend's quality of life

It's not been a good day....got up this morning to find Tyson looking like he's done 10 rounds in the ring, eyes swollen almost closed, muzzle swollen as well...i bathed his eyes then gave him his brekkie while trying to think what could possibly have caused it

...

anyway, to cut a long story short, i was in the shower when he came in and messed the floor, something he's never ever done before, he was in a state, hyperventilating and looked so pitiful i jumped outta the shower, hardly even dried myself, got him in the car and took him to the vet...

He got a jag of fast acting steroids and the swelling was almost gone by the time we got home, the vet said reactions like that were almost always chemical, food reactions are always much slower....the only thing i can think it might have been is the spray stuff i got a few months ago for his neck, when he'd scratched himself raw and it had got infected, as i sprayed some on one of his lumps on his side that he'd been scratching just before bedtime last night, it's the only thing i can think of... ???

just wish i could wave a magic wand and make him better

[Scylla]

Mar 4, 2011 22:30:00 GMT Lilac said:

just wish i could wave a magic wand and make him better

That's just how I feel too Let's hope you've sussed the cause - but what are going to turn to if you need another remedy for an infected lump? ???

I don't suppose tea tree might help? I know one cannot automatically use human applications for dogs and cats... here's a spray that should be safe, though - scroll down a bit:

www.ultimateanimals.co.uk/acatalog/Tea_tree_dog_cat_shampoo_toothpaste_wipes.html

scylla x

[Lilac]

Thanks Scylla ...that looks good, i need to buy some tea tree oil too, cos i can't find the bottle i had, it should be safe for animals, i reckon....and i actually have an aloe vera plant i brought home from Gran Canaria a few years ago....

hmmmm....maybe a bath and rub with some of that might help?

Lynda, i got some tripe, btw, god you're right, it stinks, but the dogs love it

[lynwlt]

"Actually, many EOs are toxic to cats, but many have
interpreted this to mean that ALL essential oils are toxic to cats. This is
not the case. There's a wonderful book called Holistic Aromatherapy for
Animals by Kristen Leigh Bell, and she discusses this in depth. She has a
background as a certified aromatherapist, and she goes into the chemistry of
different types of oils and explains how and why they affect our canine,
feline, equine and other friends. For instance, you can't use tea tree oil
on cats (and it's not great for dogs, either), but lavender is okay."

That's a copy/paste from another forum that I'm a member of and might suggest that we need to do a bit more research about using tea tree neat...Lavender would probably do much the same job tho...

Might the spray have been compromised with age?

I bought a rabbit (skinned and gutted!) for Mungo this week. The butcher cut it into 4 chunks for me and Mungo has so far enjoyed one leg. Been working nights so don't like to give him anything with bones in when I am not going to be here. I know someone who feeds the whole furry thing to their dogs. There are limits as to how far I would go to feed Mungo well!!!!! I prefer his meat to be naked really...

I hope Tyson doesn't have a repeat of this...poor boy!

Lynda

[magicma]

((((Lilac))))) MM

[Chrissie]

(((Lilac & Tyson)))

[Lilac]

Thanks guys, there's been no more swelling, so he's still looking handsome...lol

I think it was maybe the fact that he inhaled the spray Lynda, as i was spraying the bottom of his back, he suddenly whipped round, i guess it stung a bit, and i did notice his nose twitching and he sneezed...it's still well in date and says to bin 6 months after 1st use, but i only got it about 6 weeks ago, so it should be fine....it's binned now tho

I know what you mean about not feeding bones if you're not there, i wouldn't either..
I've started giving Tyson the chicken backs frozen, as it makes him chew more, instead of gobbling, i'd like to try rabbit too, i got 2 packs of frozen tripe yesterday, it was £2.60/2.27kg which is easy on the purse...

Meant to say, when i was at the vet's, i mentioned that i had him on a raw food diet, to see if it helps his lumps and he started telling me about a couple of dry foods which are very good and don't contain grain, but i don't want to go back to kibble, certainly not one that costs £50 for a 13.5kg bag

I am still a bit nervous about the bone thing, but i read on Britbarf that they recommend 5 - 15% bone which is a lot less than other sites mention, and i'm happier with that.
Murphy is a scream, btw, i nearly wet myself tonight at his antics trying to eat a chicken neck....he hasn't got the knack yet of putting a paw on it to hold it and jumps around swinging it, trying to break a bit off