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TDG

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  1. [quote name='JackieMaya']Like DF said, there are far more important animal issues that need to be dealt with.[/quote] that's a statement i see coming up quite often in all kinds of discussions and i always wonder why people think that fighting for one cause would take resources away from other "more important" stuff. should we stop fighting for responsible breeding of animals and better animal welfare laws just because human children are suffering for one reason or another and they are more important? should we stop research on adverse reactions of drugs for dogs like for example rabies vaccination or heartworm preventives just because there are problems with drugs for humans as well and it's more critical to take care of that too? i don't think resources are so limited that one issue or cause has to take the backseat over another.
  2. [quote name='DivineOblivion19'] I would say that at least 95% of our ear crops come from consumers who want the ears done, not breeders. [/quote] i'd be very interested in the reasons why people do it. there is so much stuff people do just because "it's something you do", not because any kind of conscious thought process is involved. there are weirder things people do without ever questioning the idea behind them. lol :) (like for example declawing cats, which is even crueler, but i won't even go there right now.) and then of course there's always the pressure from breeders (i know many do tell their puppy buyers to get them cropped, or at least strongly suggest they do so) and the mandated cropping in the breed standard. i stand by my statement, if the lobbying [b]for[/b] cropping/docking and the constant promotion of theis "artificial" look would just stop and the cropped/docked look wouldn't be constantly driven home to folks everywhere they are exposed to it, there would be far less of a demand.
  3. TDG

    Info on food

    as far as mainstream foods go, royal canin is definitely a step up from nutro. there are far better products out there tho, and they won't cost you more than all the heavily advertised popular brands.
  4. i just updated my site with info on a problem with diamond pet food [url]http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/[/url]
  5. i wouldn't lump removing dew claws into the same category as cropping/docking. back to the topic at hand tho - the argument that people would do it themselves or get it done "chop shop" style by a non-professional if vets weren't allowed to perform it anymore. first of all there needs to be a market for cropped/docked dogs, and a market is always regulated by supply and demand. if as a first step parent breed clubs and the AKC simply stopped favoring and endorsing cropped/docked dogs over natural ones in the show ring, that market would shrink considerably. if it is generally accepted, there is no pressure that the dog "has" to look a certain way or be "less worthy" if it doesn't. the general public aren't even aware of stuff like puppy mills or why it is bad to buy a dog from a pet store, you can't really expect them to be educated on the pros and cons of cropping/docking and how unnecessary it is for pet dogs. they often get their puppies handed to them "all done" and are pretty clueless that there's actually a choice between having the dog cut to breed standard or in its natural condition. so why not start by changing the logos of breed clubs to display both cropped/docked [b]and[/b] natural dogs and simply ending the requirement that it is mandatory? are people really [b]that[/b] afraid of change? here are some examples from europe: [url]http://www.dobermann.de[/url] [url]http://www.schnauzer-pinscher.ch[/url] [url]http://www.doggen.de/index1.html[/url]
  6. while i do admit i like the look of some cropped and/or docked breeds, i think it's completely unnecessary and only serves a cosmetic purpose in our day and age. i'm going to limit my arguments to the breeds accepted by the AKC, since i expect relatively few people to be familiar with others, especially in their "natural" undocked/uncropped form as they are now raised and bred in most european countries. why are the tails of some breeds docked, but not those of others, even if the tails are very similar? case in point, dachshunds are working dogs used for the same jobs as many of the smaller terrier breeds. smooth and wirehaired doxies don't exactly have thick, well-protected tails and neither do the longhaired ones - they even have quite a bit of feathering on theirs. but basically all the small(er) terrier breeds are docked at least to some extent while dachshunds aren't. why do a number of breeds only get a relatively small part of their tail removed? in germany, vizslas, weimaraners, jack russell terriers (or parson, if you prefer) get to keep their full-length tails and in my opinion especially in the pointing breeds it makes the dog look a lot more appealing. why do the grosse and kleine muensterlaender, irish red and white setter, gordon setter and irish setter get to keep their beautiful, feathered tails, but the spaniels don't? undocked, their tails are all very similar. why should an undocked boxer have any more of a problem with its tail than for example a great dane, ibizan hound or bull terrier? i've seen undocked boxers and their tails really aren't as fragile as people seem to think. [url]http://www.deutscher-boxer.de/galerie/leo/fotos/leo.jpg[/url] [url]http://www.deutscher-boxer.de/galerie/akira/fotos/akira1.jpg[/url] [url]http://www.deutscher-boxer.de/galerie/hunter/fotos/hunter.jpg[/url] why does a schnauzer, regardless whether giant, standard or miniature, need cropped ears? their natural easrs are very much in balance with the rest of their body and not oversized, similar to other terriers (which is the family of breeds they belong to)? black russian terriers, airedale terriers, kerry blue terriers, welsh terriers, smooth/wire fox terriers, irish terriers, lakeland terriers and so on - none are cropped. why would you dock and/or crop [b]any[/b] toy breed, or any breed that is generally kept purely as a pet? affenpinscher - docked and in most cases cropped. brussels griffon - docked and in most cases cropped. cavalier king charles spaniel - docking optional. english toy spaniel - docked. manchester terrier - cropping optional. miniature pinscher - cropping optional, tail docked. poodles (all varieties) - docked. silky terrier - docked. toy fox terrier - docked. yorkshire terrier - docked. schipperke - docked if not born tailless. boston terrier - ears erect, either naturally or cropped. all that aside, the living conditions of dogs as well as veterinary care has improved so much in the past 150 years, and owners are able and willing to provide appropriate care, that neither ears nor tail have to be modified to an artificial "maintenance mode" anymore. i'd say there's a huge difference between someone keeping a kennel of 20, 50 or 100 dogs for hunting or other working purposes (like it was common 50 or 100 years ago) with no easily accessible vet in case treatment is necessary, and today's situation where most dogs live in small numbers indoors with their owners and not in a more or less commercial setting. and even commercial breeding operations with many dogs in a kennel have easier access to a vet and/or appropriate treatment options. true "working conditions" where cropping and/or docking is truly beneficial to and individual dog are so rare these days that it would indeed be easily possible to grant exemptions, but let's face it, the vast majority of dogs today are either pet or show dogs that barely ever are going to risk their ears or tail in any way whatsoever - so for them it's really unnecessary to put them through the ordeal.
  7. actually it does work, in a limited capacity. blacklight does make organic waste (and unfortunately other substances too lol) show up, i've managed to clean up a couch with multiple pee spots after one of my male cats had an UTI episode and started peeing on all kinds of things. the thing they don't tell you is that you [b]won't[/b] see anything that is still hidden deeper in the fabric/carpet - i think which is what happened to you, Buddy'sMom- since the light only reveals whatever is on the surface and you might already have cleaned that up sufficienly, just not whatever soaked in below. of course the light doesn't get there, so it won't show up. you also have to hold it really close to the "suspect" area to see stains show up, no more than maybe 5-10 inches away. i've seen the commercial and felt the same when i saw them just spraying it on and the "glow" disappears, but i think the message isn't "just spray it on and forget about it" but "spray it on, let the active ingredient do its thing and then wipe it off". that being said, i don't use the product from that TV infomercial, but instead the "petastic" brand, which works well for both odor and spot removal. it's also nice when you have to take care of laundry that has been soiled by any kind of organic waste.
  8. it's most likely some type of food allergy. you won't get rid of that by cleaning the ears or giving pills, at least not permanently. have you ever done an elimination diet to try and determine what exactly the problem is?
  9. TDG

    Solid Gold

    yeah, it's a nice supplement and many people have good success with it. :)
  10. be glad you haven't laid eyes on a pig penis yet. you'd be amazed. :lol:
  11. kat, i remember we talked about this at some point already (last year?) and you promised to send me some research material on it. you never did tho. :) my dog eats turkey (including skin) as a regular part of his raw diet, and so do my cats. no problems at all. the same goes for many raw feeders i know. turkey wings with the skin on are a popular, inexpensive item in a raw feeding plan. i do recognize that dogs who aren't used to people food can get pancreatitis due to turkey skin being very fatty, but that's it - and the same goes for many other fatty foods as well.
  12. thanks for the comments all - i'm always glad to hear people like my site and find it useful. if anyone ever has any questions, please do feel free to contact me via email. i don't always get to keep up with all the forums i visit, but do check email daily. :)
  13. if you want to learn about differences in quality of commercial dog food, feel free to visit my site linked in my signature. :)
  14. sabine - yes, kirkland signature food is manufactured by diamond. it's of better quality than most of the stuff they make tho, certainly better than most of the regular "diamond" line products, which are mostly byproduct based. the pinnacle foods are overall of higher quality than chicken soup (which is also made by diamond), but there are also a good number of other high-end brands that are even better, such as for example innova, california natural, canidae, eagle pack holistic select and so on. one thing i really like about the pinnacle line is that they have a nice duck & potato formula now. it's not 100% grain free but a nice formulation nevertheless.
  15. there are better options out there than FRR. in my opinion it has too much grain and not enough meat, and it also contains generic "poultry fat".
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