The pets thread aka my house smells of cat/dog/other piss

that is a very sweet looking tank of fishies!

(btw, if in-laws' tank is any guide, tetras are big on incest, and after a year or two it all looked a bit hapsburg)

Should we get dog food that is grain-free? Or is that not as important?

Blimey.

We've just changed his food to a new kibble from a local pet store who formulate their own and it's a really high meat content, high protein one that he seems to love.

£48 for 12kg (which lasts him a month).

They don't do mail order, or I'd recommend them here.

Depends on the size of dog innit. Penny, like Cubby's Dudley, is just little. We're only about £16 a month at the mo as she doesn't eat loads.

You could always try something like Tails (although Major bored of their offering quite quickly).

Tbh, changing a dogs food can lead to issues anyway, so whatever you decide, it's probably best to do it slowly. I know there's a real push for non-mainstream stuff these days anyway and whilst I'd agree that you can definitely do better than Pedigree or supermarket's own brand, it comes down to what the animal is used to, whether they'll eat it and whether you can stand the changes (eg, more pooping on high protein foods).

It's also worth looking hard at some of the boutique brands, because with some of them, there's no veterinary evidence at all that they are better for animals than some of the mainstream foods (for example, the raw food evangelism is not rooted in anything scientific at this point, just people being people) and when they're challenged on it, their proponents start waffling on about "Big Vet" conspiracies, like "oh, they're paid to say that by the food manufacturers*", like the people selling the food aren't out to make money themselves.

*If your vet is, I'd recommend looking at someone you can trust, too.

Did the tails.com thing, reckons £52 a month, with most coming from kibble. Which isn't too bad really. I take dogbot point about change in diet though. Hmm.

Was going to ask that - good that they take the transition seriously. The lump will eat anything tbh, so not worried about that. More that he's eating properly and not upsetting his guts unnecessarily.

The Butchers stuff he's on is 50% meat, 40% broth, so it's not too bad compared to some I guess!

Will take a pic with his new haircut tomorrow!

Those ChuckIt balls are amazing - only toy I can think of that my pooch can't destroy.

I think it's time I get another cat. After one of them died at the end of last year the other one wasn't too bad, just hung around me a bit more but she's become very needy now and I think she's lonely.

Anyone got much experience introducing a new cat to a household that already has one? I've heard same gender would be best and should probably be younger than the already established cat.

We're still doing the dance with the cats and dog. One of them is getting brave enough to be face to face with the dog (albeit with a hand on the dog's collar) and doesn't run a mile when barked at. The other one though, still hasn't worked out what we are doing when we shut the dog away and try to pick him up to chuck him upstairs. Refuses to come in, even if the dog is out for a walk. Haven't managed to grab him today so the stupid thing will have to wait.

/whistles

Why did no-one tell me about doggy deodorant before? Absolute game changer!

Smells of teenagers. I almost have one of those at home anyway.

Took this at the weekend and just cheers me up every time I look at it.