Large Breed Puppy & Dog Food
Authority is a great brand, Containing No Animal By-Products and containing extra good stuff such as those below listed in red with a * next to them.

 

Specially formulated for breeds weighing greater than 55 lbs as adults. Made with high quality chicken for great taste. No by-products, artificial colors, or flavors. Naturally preserved with Vitamin E. Highly digestible for better nutrition and less backyard clean-up. 100% complete and balanced.

I feed Large Breed Puppy for 2yrs and than Large Breed Adult.
All Large Breed foods are not the same
example:
Royal Canine Large Breed Pupppy - 30 to 32% protien
Authority Large Breed Puppy - 26 to 28% protien
I think the Royal Canine is too high for a growing pup, I feed the Authority for growing pups and Royal Canine & Authority with fresh cooked meat mixed for a pregnant mom.

Authority Large Breed Adult w/ Real Chicken

(Formulated for ages 2 to 5 years):
Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn, Brown Rice, Animal Fat Preserved with Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols), Chicken, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Canola Oil, Dried Egg Product, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate.

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min) 23.0%, crude fat (min) 12.0%, crude fiber (max) 3.0%, moisture (max) 10.0%, calcium (min) 1.0%, phosphorus (min) 0.9%, vitamin e (min) 200IU/kg, omega-6 fatty acids* (min) 2.0%, omega-3 fatty acids* (min) 0.2%, glucosamine* (max) 375mg/kg, chondroitin* (max) 35mg/kg, vitamin c (min) 30mg/kg.
* Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile.

Authority Large Breed Puppy w/ Real Chicken

(Formulated for ages 6 weeks to 2 years):
Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Ground Corn, Animal Fat Preserved with Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols), Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Corn Gluten Meal, Natural Flavors, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate.

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min) 26.0%, crude protein (max) 28.0%, crude fat (min) 13.0%, crude fat (max) 15.5%, crude fiber (max) 3.0%, moisture (max) 10.0%, calcium (min) 1.3%, phosphorus (min) 1.0%, vitamin e (min) 225IU/kg, omega-6 fatty acids* (min) 2.0%, omega-3 fatty acids* (min) 0.18%, glucosamine* (max) 375mg/kg, vitamin c (min) 30mg/kg.
* Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile.

De-worming Puppies

Good Info.

www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1623&articleid=281
Puppies
* Initiate treatment at 2 weeks; repeat at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. For a puppy at increased risk, also treat at 10 and 12 weeks, and then monthly until the puppy is 6 months old.

Nursing Dams
* Treat concurrently with pups.

Original Author: KeyStoneK9

Natural Remedies

This is an excellent site for natural remedies, this is the link for the pet products.
There is a section for people as well. I really like their products.

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/index.html

Original Author: KeyStoneK9

Dog Skin Problems

After you bath the dog fill a container of some sort, half with vinegar and half water.
Poor it over the dog and then rub it into the coat to make sure it gets down to the skin.
Rinse it out with water after.
Vinegar re-balances the ph of the skin. It keeps the skin healthy.
It keeps all kinds of skin problems away because it is an acid.
It makes waxy coats fluffy and gets rid of dry flaky skin.
www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvfordogs.html
Regular white vinegar works well or you can use apple cider vinegar.
I use a vinegar & water rinse on the dogs after every bath.

Healthy Ears
I make a mixture of vinegar, water and a drop of dish soap and shake it up in an old ear wash bottle.
The vinegar & water keeps their ears healthy & pink. It kills bacteria and yeast and keeps the ear healthy and the drop of dish soap keeps ear mites away because they like to have direct contact with the skin.

The vinegar needs to be cut with the water so it doesn't burn the skin, but is still acidy enough to kill bacteria & discourage parasites. The vinegar seems to make the outer shell of fleas soft too.

The vinegar needs to be diluted, about 50% vinegar or just a little less and the rest water. Straight vinegar can be used on a problem spot, but needs to be rinsed off right after. If you leave straight vinegar on the skin too long it will burn it and leave it a little red, you don't want that.

If a dog licks it's feet & legs and makes them red as some dogs do, you use the mixture or straight vinegar in a spray bottle after a bath and spray the legs to make sure they get a good dose of it, and then rinse them well.
Some people think their dog licks it's feet raw because it is bored, it is usually a bacteria on the skin that can easily be killed with the vinegar.
I had a relative who's dog licked it's feet like that.

Start by bathing them with shampoo first and then the vinegar rinse the first day and then just do the vinegar rinse every few days without shampooing. You may see improvement with the skin within a few days to a couple weeks. The fur takes about 6 weeks to grow in new and healthy.

original author: KeyStoneK9

Home Made Moist Dog Food
I make something like a home made, moist dog food. When you mix it in their regular dry food they will finish it right up.
- in a roasting pan
- 4 eggs (shells and all, the calcium is good for them)
- 1 packet of plain knox brand gelatine
(supposedly it is good for the joints, I have never confirmed this)
- wheat germ - 1cup
- plain oatmeal - 2cups
- fresh grated garlic - 2 or 3 cloves
- a small bunch of parsley chopped
(parsley cleans the kidneys and keeps them healthy and functioning well)
- 4 pounds of ground turkey or chicken (I prefer to use turkey)
- Mix it all up, it is similar to a meatloaf. Add water, less will make it firmer, more will make it loose like canned food.
- Roast until cooked.

- If you have a dog that needs to gain some weight you can add 3 cups of a high calorie cereal like Total or Vector to the mixture