Green Tripe...

[inkondesk]

Will Green Tripe help improve flaky skin if fed regularly? The Gremlin only has mild 'dandruff' and I'd like to keep it that way! She's currently getting half a tin of Tuna per evening as well as a little bit of Vegetable Oil mixed with some of her kibble.

She's bathed - maybe once every 8 weeks? - in Aloe Vera and Tea Tree dog shampoo and rinsed thoroughly. If that would make a difference.

Her main food is more than likely the cause of her flaky skin, but I can't change that at the moment. The owner of the oldest Dobe is in charge of main diet. All I can do is add bits and pieces for now.

[nupe]

dont know about flaky skin...but for poor appetite or a picky eater it derfinitely will help out... amongst other benefits.......I feed a green tripe made by tripett...good product.

check out this link on green tripe..
http://www.globaldognaturalpetproducts.com/july_2008

[von Cosack Dobermann]

Tuna every night is too much, go with three times a week. If you think that oils can help use ONE at a time do NOT stack oils because you won't know which one is working. If a dog isn't dirty do not bath them unless your vet had prescribed it. Multiple baths can dry out the coat quicker than anything. Nupe has a good idea using Tripe but I think he has a prepackaged tripe, the better way is to get a butcher that orders it and feed it raw. Raw is the best way to feed anything simply because cooking eliminates the vits & minerals that your looking to give the dog.
What dry is her main food??? Von

[nupe]

you are right..Von..it is in canned / wet food ....I figured some tripe is better than none...and oh wow...the smell...wheww...better feed that outside if you do!!

[inkondesk]

Von,

Her main meal is a really crappy brand. It's got cereals as the first ingredient, and pretty low protein. Owner of oldest Dobe insists that it's good for all the breeds in the house and isn't open to changing it to anything else yet. Because we free feed all the dogs comfortably (no growling, pigging-out or problems when it comes to food) the only way I could change Kay's diet would be to keep her out of the kitchen at all times when I can't follow her around, and shut everybody else in the kitchen so they can eat freely. Which, y'know...Not really gonna happen. :(

I've been feeding tuna nightly as per recommendations of other dog/Dobe forums...I'll do a bit of googling before tonight. I only use a tiny bit of Veggie oil on the bowl of extra food I give her at night. By 'tiny' I mean T-I-N-Y. I haven't used a different oil in her diet.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it in previous posts, but Kay loves to swim...And we go on group walks every Saturday where there's a large lake. It had swarms and swarms of fish in it, so I'd assume it's not too clean! If she hasn't been in a lot of water/filth during the two months coming up to her 'bath day', I don't bother. I groom her with a bristle brush on a weekly basis, and that gets all the dirt off of her.

nupe, Nope! She's definitely not a picky eater! So long as you give it to her as if it's a treat, she'll eat anything. I buy my three dogs dried tripe which I can buy at the pet shop/store, and they love it.

I was told not to get tripe from butchers, because they sell "white tripe" which, if I'm understanding it all correctly, is bleached Tripe with all the goodness and nutrients washed away. I've never fancied tripe for dinner before, so I haven't asked the butcher about it. :p I can get 'Green Tripe' from the pet shop, but don't really know what goes on with it.

I'll check in the butchers next time we head into town and see about their Tripe, and if not, I'll head over to the pet shop. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for in Tripe, as the only tripe I've ever bought was that dried stuff...

[von Cosack Dobermann]

I understand your situation, except for controling the free feeding you can do what your doing and add some good meats and fish into her diet. The cereal stuff isn't the end of the world so you need to bump up her protein a bit (atleast 26%) and make sure her fat is about 18% also. You can write out a diet using red & white meats (muscle & organ) also fish tuna, salmon, white whatevers on sale and is cheapest. The best Tripe is the all natural "green" the white is bleached and the can is processed but that doesn't make it terrible. I'd stay away from pet store varieties of anything. You do NOT need a large amount of meats or fish for her evening meal 6 to 8oz is a good start for daily use and go slow with the variety at first make sure her system can handle things. You may want to approach the "main" feeder with the fact that a good hollistic food costs more but you use less of it so it all ($$$$) comes out the same. The "coming" out part will be smaller piles and your feeding a much more healthier diet. Switching the oils is a good thing every fews weeks, the only oil that isn't that good is cod liver oil but canola, olive etc is all good using a teaspoon per meal.
Using a clean towel for a warm water wipe down works well on Dobermanns instead of baths and a rub in of (brown listerene) 2oz of List. to 18oz of warm water in a spray bottle is good too. Same with ACV (Braggs apple cider vinegar) all natural, a capfull in her water or food or both is good for her immune system. Test to see if she'll eat it some dogs won't. try it in a bowell of water first just a cap. Enough for now you have more info than you need for food for sure, just add slowly and go slowly, training is the most important thing right now these dogs can eat poop and like it hahaha!!!! yes their discusting creatures when its time to eat. "train em up"! Von

[inkondesk]

Thank you Von! (Again)

For some reason, my mind was telling me that I couldn't have her on a 'timed' (or different) diet because I'd have to have her and the others in seperate rooms...Because they are all free fed. :rolleyes: I was just thinking, for unknown reasons, that she couldn't have her current food during the day, and her, erm, "not so crappy" food on a schedule. :o

Anyway...:D I'll start searching around for dry biscuit foods with at least 26% protein, 18% fat, and do a bit more research into 'Ash' and 'Fibre' and all that.

I was advised to go with Tuna on a few other forums, because Salmon contains a lot of salt. I'd assume that 'fishmonger salmon' doesn't contain half as much salt as tinned/canned salmon, but, with the Tuna in her diet, would it really be necessary? So far, she seems to have a stomach of steel, but I don't want to over do it and cause 'the squits' if I can help it. :eek: