HINTS/TIPS & PROBLEMS

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LIVER CAKE RECIPE.

Those of you who show dogs may well have used Liver cake to bait your dogs in the ring but for those of you who may not have heard of it below we have printed the recipe for this cake as it seems to have the effect of holding your dogs attention whilst in the ring and has the added advantage of not making one's hands sticky.

8ozs Liver [preferably Lambs]
4ozs S/R Flour
2 Eggs
2 Cloves Garlic/ or 2 tsps garlic puree.

Put all the ingredients into a blender until the mixture is smooth, pink and runny [not too rigid a requirement if you prefer to make it a bit chunky' Pour into greased swiss roll type baking tin and place in the oven [Gas Mark 4] for around 30-40 minutes.
Leave to cool and cut into bite size pieces.
It can be frozen into individual bags [enough for a show] and makes enough for 4/5 shows.

BAKE YOUR OWN DOG BISCUITS

In the Sheltie breed notes in "Dogs World" dated December 18th 1998, Irene Beaden prints a recipe for dog biscuits that can be moderated to your own dogs tastes. It is simple and easy to do and the dogs love the smell of them cooking especially with the added garlic in. It takes 5 minutes to mix and just under 40 minutes to bake.

All you need is : 8 ounces sausage-meat, 8 oz .plain wholemeal flour, 2-3 oz of stock or water (Irene uses a Knorr beef stock cube) and some garlic granules.

Put your oven to 180C/350f, mix the sausage-meat, flour and garlic granules thoroughly and bind with the stock or water to make a very stiff dough. Either roll out on a floured surface to ½ inch thickness and cut into bone shapes or any shape you want. A quicker way is just to roll into 1 ½ inch sausages and squeeze the end to make mini bones. Keep using all the trimmings until all the dough is used.

Put onto un-greased sheets and bake for 30-50 minutes (depending on size). Let them get good and hard but try not to burn them. Let them cool and serve them up as a treat. There is nothing in this recipe that makes it unfit for human consumption should any tricks be played at the New Year.

NAIL TRIMMING.

Reprinted from the Stabal Mail Bugle -
A letter from one of its readers, from the Wirral

I suspect that many readers, like myself, dread the task of trimming our dog's nails. Those with dogs that are oblivious to this chore are indeed blessed, unlike the remainder of us who must resort to all kinds of tactics and deceptions to get the dog to stay still, not bite or howl until everyone in the county complains of the cruelty we are inflicting on our dogs.

I now have a wonderful tool that makes all the traditional nail trimmers totally redundant. I now use the DREMEL MINI MITE, cordless grinder [available from Diamond edge, Petcetera and others]. This battery operated gadget comes available as either a dry cell model or one with rechargeable batteries. The dry cell model is priced in the region of £45, but you might find it cheaper if you shop around. The unit is two-speed [10,000rpm & 5,000rpm], of which I find the slower speed better for those awkward dogs who might be put off by the whine of the higher speed.

The unit is ideal and safe to use for use with dogs, as the power is limited and will stall if perhaps hair is accidentally caught in the revolving head. Use of the course sanding disk removes large amounts quickly and the fine disk is ideal for quick tidy ups. I have found that the carborundum stone does an ideal job of finishing the nails off and giving your dog a professional look manicure. Replacement disks, mandrels and other accessories, are readily available at D.I.Y. shops. You can even use this tool for other jobs - craftwork, metal and glass engraving etc.

We have one dog that had to be under general anaesthetic to cut her nails, but now she enjoys her feet being manicured.

I wish to thank Andrew Brace for this tip, it is the best idea I've come across in decades…………

PDSA PET FIT CAMP CHAMP IS A GOLDEN RETRIEVER

Oakley, a six year old Golden Retriever from Plymouth has battled the bulge to win PDSA’s national competition to find the UK’s most committed pet “Inch-loss Idol”. Oakley beat five other UK finalists by shedding 7.6 kg (16% of his own bodyweight).

Oakley was enrolled on the “pet fit camp” by the PDSA after being nominated by his owner, Lisa Deadman. Starting the 100 day diet and fitness regime in September 2005, he originally weighed a massive 46.5 kg due to his unstinting love of “Rich Tea” biscuits. At his current weight of 38.9 kg Oakley has lost the equivalent weight of 25 packets of his favourite snack.

For all his efforts Oakley won the coveted title of “PDSA pet fit camp Champ” and a holiday at Knoll House in Dorset for both him and his owner. As a combined effort all the contenders have also managed to raise over £500 in sponsorship for PDSA to help pets in need of vets thanks to donations from friends, family and supportive members of the public.

In second place came “Buster”, a six year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier from London who lost 3.2 kg (13% of his bodyweight). Exercise has been the key to his success. In third slot came “Pebbles” a five year old cat also from London, who lost a massive 0.65 kg (8.7% of her bodyweight).

“Oakley” and the other five contestants were chosen to take part by Kevin Adams, Fame Academy fitness guru and by Elaine Pendlebury PDSA senior veterinary surgeon.

The previous combined pet weight of 183.2 kg is now a more modest 126.5 kg this equating to a loss of over 28 bags of sugar. Elaine said that many of the pets have discovered a new lease of life after losing their excess weight. Eating more healthily and taking regular exercise as recommended by your vet, may well improve the overall enjoyment of life for the pet.It is important to remember that a slow and gradual loss of weight programme together with exercise will achieve the best results.

WINTER PET CARE TIPS FROM THE PDSA

1. Don’t leave a dog or cat outside in freezing temperatures for any length of time without access to shelter and warmth
2. Don’t let your dog or cat rest on frozen ground
3. Don’t take a dog for long walks outside during freezing weather
4. Don’t leave a pet in a car. Even a few minutes in a cold car can cause hypothermia

In some circumstances dog coats or sweaters should be used before allowing a dog to venture outside and more than one layer may be required – the same rule applies to what a human would wear i.e. the layer closest to the body should be a thin fleece or wool material to provide insulation and carry moisture away from the body.

DANGERS OF CHOCOLATE FOR DOGS

The “Our Dogs” Breed note writer for Pugs reminds us all of the dangers of chocolate for our dogs as “human” chocolate contains the chemical, theobromide which is extremely poisonous to dogs. Pugs will eat anything and most especially whatever their humans are eating. It is very worrying when visitors come at holiday times when they may not be able to resist the temptation of the Pug pleading and will think they are being kind by sharing their chocolate bar with a dog. This is definitely not the case. It is possible that a large breed of dog may be able to eat a tiny piece of milk chocolate safely, but the same amount of dark, expensive continental chocolate which contains more theobromide can be fatal in a dog the size of a Pug. The choccy treats made especially for dogs are perfectly safe as the theobromide has been removed. The greatest danger lies in the expensive upmarket dark bars of chocolate that we treat ourselves to at Christmas time etc. Never leave them open where a dog can reach them.

Dogs are as keen chocholics as we are – once they smell chocolates they will search it out and even climb and jump to get their prize, a prize that could find them very ill within a few hours or even dead.

Theobromide passes from the stomach and into the blood stream quickly, causing rapid heart beat, and strong muscle contractions which often progress into convulsions and fits. Increased urine output causes increased drinking which leads to vomiting and a very ill dog in great pain. There is no known antidote to theobromide poisoning , the only remedy seems to be to get the drug out of the dogs stomach as soon as possible – with emergency veterinary help of course. It seems that some individual dogs are more susceptible than others.

When you come in and see the dreaded sight of the chocolate box torn up and the wrapping scattered, it is obvious who the culprit is. It is wise to ring your vet and get the dog there as soon as possible so that there may be time to wash the poison out of the stomach before it travels around the body. It is sad to say that the recovery rate from theobromide poisoning is very low. A practising vet considers that most dogs which have eaten upmarket chocolates in quantity will die in acute pain within 24 hours.