Re: [pyrnet] New member of list has a health question...

[Mary Delmage <mary@ericnagler.com>]

Hello Joe,

Thanks for the suggestions.

We are trying the cage rest option at the moment and may add adequan or 
another glucosamine when I know more about it.

>Since we have been talking about diet and those high this and high that 
>foods and large dogs this and large puppy that, it is important to realize 
>that too much of a good thing in bad.  The supplementation of the food can 
>either cause or make worse things like OCD and that was felt to be the 
>case 25 years ago when we had to deal with it.  So just use a good brand 
>of food that agrees with you pet.  Don't really supplement with a bunch of 
>stuff as you may be upsetting the balance and causing problems.  Diets 
>like the BARF are probably fine, but supplementing with calcium, etc., is 
>bad.  This breed evolved very naturally over about 5 thousand years and 
>worked very hard the whole time.  It probably got fed rather poorly along 
>the way that mostly consisted of milk, grain, and maybe the occasional 
>meat from a dead sheep or goat.

I haven't been supplementing his food but I have been feeding him on the 
highest protein dry dog food that I could find - Iams puppy large breed 
formula which is 26% crude protein.  I don't think he is overweight.  At 7 
months he is as tall as his parents and weighs 92 lbs. but seems to be lean 
(under all that hair).  He's going to be a biggie.

I appreciate your comments about their diet.  I'd heard that Pyrs working 
on their own in the mountains could subsist on grass!

Mary