[pyrnet] Re: Chow and shampoo

[LESRVG@aol.com]

Or maybe shampoo and chow:

Shampoo:  I have been looking at some of the shampoos available for our Pyr 
Romy (short for Romeo) and have actually seen some of the equine shampoos and 
wondered about using them.  Then I stopped myself and remembered that we are 
not supposed to use human shampoo on dogs because of pH differences and am 
concerned that the same may be true with equine versus canine shampoo.  What 
do you folks know about this...any vets out there who could address this?

Chow:  As a wildlife biologist, I have taken Univ. courses in Animal 
nutrition.  Mostly, looking at ungulates (elk and cattle) and horses.  
However, some of these concepts can be transferred to dogs and to us.  

Regarding Pyr's in particular I have been warned by our breeder not to make 
food available free choice for that may allow over eating which could then 
result in the dog growing too fast and putting on too much weight before the 
bone structure is there to really accommodate the weight.  That is the 
concept behind Purina's large breed puppy formula (that we use).

Another factor to consider is of course the cost, but also the digestibility 
of the chow and the stool factor. There is a very good web site that 
describes the nutrition info on a dog food bag and what all that stuff means 
(I will try to find it and post that site later).   I did some research into 
dog chows a while ago and found that after weighing the factors mentioned 
above (digestibility, nutrients, cost, and stool factor) that Purina dog chow 
is really a good value.  Then we should look at omega fatty acids, the ratio 
of Omega 6 to Omega 3 and the primary products (we like to see beef, or 
poultry high on the list instead of X-by products).

Nutrients...everything I have read and heard is that Pyr's should not be on 
high Pro.  Their metabolism is slow...they do not need the extra protein 
(>21%)...their coat can discolor (orangish) with hi-pro, and it will cause 
liver/kidney problems later in life if fed all the time.

Overall then, Iams offers some very good products and we will be using it 
when we switch off the puppy chow in a few months (at 6 months of age).

Any advise, comments????

Keith