I would get it checked out witht the vet. It may be nothing, but better to be safe. As my bitch matured she started to mark a lot more on walks.

Aside from the pedigree papers, I've always found http://pawvillage.com/ really useful (not sure if all breeds are as well represented as Rottweilers), although you have to be aware that as the information is added by users it may not be complete or correct.

Smokeybear,

What fish oil do you use and where do you get it from?

MMMmmmmmmm. Regurgitated fish  Luckily I have not had the pleasure!

Denis, Romlet OG.

Rescue work is tough and the people that do it are animal lovers - however, there is no doubt that many have their own little criteria that may or not be rational.

A couple of years ago, we were looking to adopt a Rottweiler and we contacted quite a few rescues. Most refused us point blank when they found out that my wife and I worked full time - even though the dog would be left for a maximum of 4 hours at a time. Others baulked when they heard we were planning on starting a family. All these rescues were effectively ruling out working families or families with children under the age of 13, which rules out an awful lots of owners.

After a while, we had to accept that a puppy was going to be best for us and that is the way we went - shame really.

The problem is not 'breeders' (by that I mean people who carefully breed, from exceptional quality, health/temperament/conformation tested stock). The problem is all the people who who want their pets (pedigree, KC registerere or not) to have puppies.

My personal view? If I did not want a puppy from a top breeder, I would get a dog from rescue. All the dogs we had growing up were rescues, because my parents had no interest in a particular breed, just wanted a family pet.

Canyx,

It depends on what you are feeding normally - you could make fish a major part of a raw diet or just add a bit to dry food every so often.

For information, I add a whole tin (small size) to my dogs dry food about once a week - partly to add interest and partly so that she gets a nice doe of fish oils. I prefer to use sardines or pilchards, as you get more of the whole fish in the can!

'Drive, Focus & Grip'! It's very good, but the commentary from Ed Frawley can be pretty grating.

I actually quite enjoyed Jan Fennell's books...

The way Smokeybear showed further up:

Step 1 - Find out the moisture/water content of the food (say 8% which is fairly typical for 'dry complete' food).
Step 2 - Calculate the dry matter percentage (very easy 100% - 8% = 92%!)
Step 3 - What is the quoted protein (or fat or any other nutrient) percentage (say 25% which is faily typical for a dry food).
Step 4 - Calculate the protein (or fat or any other nutrient) percentage in the dry matter (25/92 x 100 = 27%)

Therefore the protein percentage for this food in it's dry state is 27%.

You can do this for wet food, a chicken breast, anything you like!

I would visit the site - regardless of sponsor.

If you don't like Proctor & Gamble/Iams and boycott them, then there is no reason change - hit them where it hurts in the balance books. I do not see how boycotting a rescue site sponsored by them helps anyone.

I understand Iams will be sponsoring this to generate good publicity for themselves, but unless there are loads of other sponsors lining up to donate money I think it is fair enough.

Smokeybear,

I know  , but that's about as good as I can get from a dry food here in the UK. Innova Evo, Orijen and Natures Variety Raw Instinct probably have about 20% carbs (using either potato or tapioca as the main starch), but I cannot source them here in the UK.

I have been doing a lot of reading on raw feeding over the last 8 months and may well go that way, when I can get myself organised with a decent sized freezer.....

RubyT,

I respect your right to not feed chicken meal, but your information is incorrect. 'Chicken Meal' can contain all the same parts of a chicken as 'Chicken' - the difference is that it is dried and rendered. No decent commercial food manufacturer uses '4D' meat sources.

As the TWO is an American food, this is the AAFCO definition of Chicken Meal:The dry rendered product from a combination of clean flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts of whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, or entrails.

Agree with Smokeybear - easiest way to compare nutrition information between types of food ('dry' food, 'wet' food, raw etc.) is to remove the moisture content from all of them and then compare.

Just for everyone who feeds Burns - this is not supposed to be bashing you! I have explained why I don't like it (high grains) and was wondering what you liked about it.

Smokeybear, my simplistic view of TWO v Burns would be this: One is like a bowl of chicken with a small spoonful of potato added, the other is like bowl of cereal with a spoonful of chicken added.

Canyx,

This is only aplicable to dry food. Take 2 ingredients, Chicken and Chicken Meal. Basically these 2 ingredients are the same in terms of what parts of a chicken they may contain, however Chicken Meal is dried (dehydrated). Chicken, typically consists of ~70% water.

Take 2 dry foods, one has '20% Chicken' in the ingredients and the other has '20% Chicken Meal' in the ingredients. The one using the chicken will probably only have about 6% dried chicken in the final product, whilst the product using chicken meal should still be at 20%.

This does not mean that chicken meal is a better ingredient than chicken - it just means you need to be aware of what you are getting in the finished product.