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Invalid Octopus posted:It's not uncommon for breeders to occasionally to have adult dogs for sale, so even going that way doesn't mean a puppy is the only option. I second the people who said sporting breeds, especially spaniels. I'm a sucker for them in general, because they're pretty moderate dogs, and quite sweet (and quite cute!). Moderately sized, moderately energetic, moderately trainable. Additionally, I think there are a few good Danish breeders of field or dual-championed Clumber spaniels (the best of the spaniels). If you have a facebook account, I'd start joining groups for breeds that interest you. It's a good way to get an idea of what living with a breed is actually like. I really like spaniels too. Though, they range from clumbers to brittanys and the former are chill as gently caress and the latter are the highest of high energy. Cockers are pretty rad. Springers are neat.
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Jul 15, 2014 21:17
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a life less posted:I really like spaniels too. Though, they range from clumbers to brittanys and the former are chill as gently caress and the latter are the highest of high energy. Cockers are pretty rad. Springers are neat. Brittanys aren't real spaniels though. They haven't had "spaniel" in the name since the 80s, because they're much more accurately grouped with setters and pointers. http://www.kennel-chervood.dk/ << this Denmark-located Clumber spaniel breeder is pretty great, I know he's done litters with a few of my very fav UK clumber breeders. e: not to say that spaniels don't have a range in personality/temperament/energy/etc, but I'd say most non-toy spaniels are similar and pretty moderate. clumber spaniels best spaniels. Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 15, 2014 21:20
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quote not edit dammit
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Jul 15, 2014 21:20
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Downhome posted:We have yet another issue with Betty, our Boston Terrier pup. We noticed some scratching and small patches of hair loss and long story short the vet diagnosed her with demodex mange. He gave us a shampoo to use once a week, a pill to fight infection, and a liquid to give her directly by mouth using a small syringe. You'll need supplements. PM me and I can send you a list of what we add to our Berner boy's raw diet. ImplicitAssembler posted:Our breeder discouraged us from using raw diet until the puppy was 1 year old, as she thought it would be hard to maintain the right nutrient balance. It's not hard, but it takes some planning. Both our dogs (5 month Bernese, 8 yr old Pyrenees) are on raw diets, and we supplement one meal a day with a mix using instructions from our breeder.
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Jul 15, 2014 21:58
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beefnoodle posted:You'll need supplements. PM me and I can send you a list of what we add to our Berner boy's raw diet. I do not have the ability to send or receive PMs. To answer a few people before, the raw we give her is from Blue Ridge Beef, a pretty popular raw provider in this part of the country. See here... http://www.blueridgebeef.com/index-home.html We do supplement it with the salmon recipe from Blue Buffalo. We are open to anything we can do to help her with this. I just want to get her healthy and do what we can to keep her there.
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Jul 16, 2014 00:24
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Downhome posted:I do not have the ability to send or receive PMs. Okay, but is that salmon food "for all life stages"? A puppy formula? A "maintenance" (for adult dog only)formula?
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Jul 16, 2014 00:52
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wtftastic posted:Okay, but is that salmon food "for all life stages"? A puppy formula? A "maintenance" (for adult dog only)formula? It's technically for adult dogs, but it's what a vet recommended me to try for a while... http://bluebuffalo.com/natural-dog-food/grain-free-blue-wilderness/wilderness-adult-salmon-recipe/
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Jul 16, 2014 00:55
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Downhome posted:It's technically for adult dogs, but it's what a vet recommended me to try for a while... http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2013/05/evidence-update-homemade-diet-recipes-for-your-pet-are-unreliable/ Vets are good at making nutritional recommendations, but not as good as veterinary nutritionists.
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Jul 16, 2014 01:48
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If that is the case then what brand and how much would you recommend I give her right now as we deal with this?
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Jul 16, 2014 01:49
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beefnoodle posted:You'll need supplements. PM me and I can send you a list of what we add to our Berner boy's raw diet. So, even assuming that the home made diet and supplements is even complete for your Bernese (which I doubt), why would a diet designed for a large breed puppy be appropriate for a small breed puppy?
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Jul 16, 2014 02:47
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Who said anything about sharing my dogs's diet? I only mentioned supplements. As for whether you think it's complete, what are your qualifications?Downhome posted:I do not have the ability to send or receive PMs. Give me a bit, and I'll put a list together here. quote:
The FAQ on that site does seem to indicate that supplements are a good idea. Plus the fact that the beef is just meat, no added vitamins or minerals. I didn't look at the salmon. beefnoodle fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jul 16, 2014 03:18
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beefnoodle posted:Who said anything about sharing my dogs's diet? I only mentioned supplements. As for whether you think it's complete, what are your qualifications? Thanks, I look forward to what you have to say. We have another problem tonight. Earlier this evening I discovered that our air wasn't working and it needs a new capacitor but my guy can't come by until tomorrow. We just tried putting Betty down to sleep for the night in her crate and she went right to bed when asked like she always does. However, it's so hot in our house even with our ceiling fans and some of the windows open that she started panting almost instantly. I had to take her out instead of us all going to bed to give her water and she drank a ton. Now I'm worried about letting her to go bed without me watching her. I may be stuck staying up all night. Right now it's hovering around 85 degrees in our house. Am I right to be worried or am I thinking too much about this? Again, she is a Boston Terrier.
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Jul 16, 2014 04:20
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Puppies don't yet regulate their own temperatures effectively. Wrap a towel around an ice pack or a bag of frozen veggies, and put it in her crate with her.
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Jul 16, 2014 04:31
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Downhome posted:Thanks, I look forward to what you have to say. What kind of crate? If it's wire, I would soak a bedsheet in cool water and cover her crate with it, then set up a box fan in front if you have one. You can also give her a couple of frozen water bottles (fill with ice water if you don't have time to freeze them) tucked in her crate. You could also leave her in the bathroom overnight with free access to ice water.
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Jul 16, 2014 04:37
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beefnoodle posted:Who said anything about sharing my dogs's diet? I only mentioned supplements. As for whether you think it's complete, what are your qualifications? SailorSign is a vet so I would imagine he's a little more qualified than most of us. Downhome posted:If that is the case then what brand and how much would you recommend I give her right now as we deal with this? Go to a pet store, look at different brands of kibble or canned that are labeled either puppy or for all life stages, and pick some up. You can figure out what brand. Read the bag for feeding guidelines.
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Jul 16, 2014 13:17
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wtftastic posted:Go to a pet store, look at different brands of kibble or canned that are labeled either puppy or for all life stages, and pick some up. You can figure out what brand. Read the bag for feeding guidelines. That is what we were doing before, but when this new issue came up I was under the impression we needed something more with a bit more of a boost to really nail this down to take care of it.
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Jul 16, 2014 16:06
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beefnoodle posted:Who said anything about sharing my dogs's diet? I only mentioned supplements. As for whether you think it's complete, what are your qualifications? I normally don't care too much about people making their own food for their adult dog because you usually have to be really bad to gently caress up your adult dog (though it does happen). I will always say "get a balanced food, either via bag/can or via vet nutritionist." Unless they have terminal cancer, in that case just feed them hamburgers or something. I do care when people make their own food for their puppies because it can lead to so many problems later in life. What are the qualifications of the breeder who designed the diet? Putting two dogs in a room to gently caress each other? Reading blogs and news articles about dog nutrition? I don't even try and design diets myself even though my knowledge of nutrition is better than the average vet because I recognize that the field of nutrition is a complex one, and I leave it up to the vets who have devoted their lives to the understanding of animal nutrition. They get the schooling to understand the biological pathways that require various nutrients and how things can be affected by lack or excess, they get the knowledge how to critically think about nutrition research to decide what is good research and what is bad research, and they get the experience critically evaluating commercial and private made animal food to understand problems with both of the above. So, when the (board certified) nutritonists say, "Don't ever do a home made diet for a puppy" I listen to that. Especially in this case - large breed puppies should get different levels of protein, calcium, and phosphorous than a small breed dog. Depending on the supplements you use, it may be rather difficult to decrease their amounts by 1/4 or more and still maintain the balance of nutrients that supplement has due to processing of that supplement.
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Jul 16, 2014 16:13
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Downhome posted:That is what we were doing before, but when this new issue came up I was under the impression we needed something more with a bit more of a boost to really nail this down to take care of it. The Nutrition Thread might be a good place to start. Pick a brand you are comfortable with and make sure that the formula says that it is formulated for either puppies or all life stages. If you like raw food there are premade options that have been properly balanced to meet with AAFCO standards. Bravo has a frozen option and there are a number of freeze dried raw versions like Stella and Chewy's and some of the Honest Kitchen varieties.
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Jul 16, 2014 18:17
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SailorSign, thanks for expanding your comments and not just doing a drive-by-sniping. I totally get where you're coming from. As for my breeder, she's a retired vet, and he's a professor of biochemistry. They've been doing this for decades and raise champions with amazing longevity for the Berner breed. We've compared ingredients and proportions to commercial pet food, and don't seem to be missing anything. I still don't have a chance to post our supplement recipe, but I'd love to see comments on it when I do.
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Jul 16, 2014 18:19
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Bobfly posted:Hello, PI, is this the right thread to ask for dog breed advice? We are still very, very early in the process, but it's best to be well prepared, right? Have you considered a corgi? Either cardigan or pembroke, or something like a swedish vallhund(they're like wolf corgis  )? They're smart as hell and very trainable, would be able to go running with you(once out of puppy stage, so a young adult would be a good option. Despite their short legs they can run and run and run), and are perfect size for an apartment without being a "small dog". They're super common in my city for all of those reasons. They are barkers, though. As with any breed, look at the full scope of typical temperment, both pros and cons, and always meet the parents because parents have a pretty big impact on temperment.
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Jul 17, 2014 08:58
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Psychobabble! posted:Have you considered a corgi? Either cardigan or pembroke, or something like a swedish vallhund(they're like wolf corgis I would not recommend any herding breed as an apartment dog. Corgis are busy dogs and many of them don't have a good off switch. Anecdotally, I've also seen a far higher fraction of agility Pembrokes with reactivity issues than pretty much any other breed.
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Jul 17, 2014 14:57
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Engineer Lenk posted:I would not recommend any herding breed as an apartment dog. Corgis are busy dogs and many of them don't have a good off switch. Anecdotally, I've also seen a far higher fraction of agility Pembrokes with reactivity issues than pretty much any other breed. And I have yet to meet a corgi without chronic health issues. I'm assuming some exist... somewhere.
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Jul 17, 2014 15:02
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My parents' corgi didn't start developing issues until this year and she's 11 now  She's a total bitch to other dogs, barks nonstop, still pees on the floor regularly and was the worst puppy in the universe though so I'm not sure I can ever recommend them for apartments. At least pems, I don't know any cardis personally. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 15:08
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Engineer Lenk posted:I would not recommend any herding breed as an apartment dog. Corgis are busy dogs and many of them don't have a good off switch. Anecdotally, I've also seen a far higher fraction of agility Pembrokes with reactivity issues than pretty much any other breed. Weird, they're really common apartment dogs here in Seattle, along with Shibas, and they do fine(or so I've seen/heard from friends and clients with them), hence my suggestion. They've been pretty healthy too. Maybe it's a regional thing.
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Jul 17, 2014 15:12
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My five year old Cardigan corgi has no chronic health issues unless you count the fact that she farts *a lot* if she eats chicken. Other than that, she's a perfectly normal (very vigilant, active and somewhat obsessive) herding dog. Though, my vet says Josie is the only corgi who comes in their office who's not overweight. That can definitely lead to chronic health issues if so many owners overfeed/underexercise their corgis. I would never recommend a corgi in an appartment though. Josie barks at everything and anything that seems out of place in her little corgi mind: person walking down sidewalk in front of our house, squirrels in the backyard, oh my god the cat did something weird, oh poo poo what was that? (probably nothing) My next door neighbor has two big dogs and I think that Josie barks as much as both combined.
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Jul 17, 2014 16:44
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Psychobabble! posted:Weird, they're really common apartment dogs here in Seattle, along with Shibas, and they do fine(or so I've seen/heard from friends and clients with them), hence my suggestion. They've been pretty healthy too. Maybe it's a regional thing. I'm in the greater Seattle area as well, so I don't think that's it. I only know one person outside of the agility world who had a corgi, and they had to rehome him after they had kids due to increasing behavior issues.
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Jul 17, 2014 16:49
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I'm in the Seattle area too. Here's the thing though. I can totally see how behavior issues can arise with corgis (or any herding dog really) if they're understimulated or allowed to obsess about things. They're incredibly smart and active dogs and will create their own entertainment, probably at your expense.
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Jul 17, 2014 17:09
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So, socks tied in a knot, soaked in water and then frozen are actually better than a kong filled with peanut butter? (At least according to Hana the Great Dane puppy).
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Jul 17, 2014 18:17
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So we are adopting our new 13lb friend on Sunday (yay!), who is a 2 yr old dog. He eats about a cup a day at the foster's home. Is it ridiculous to get a 35 lb bag of dog food or is it going to go bad before we finish it? I would like to try to get him on the grain-free stuff from Costco which looks to be an incredible value but it only comes in that size.
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Jul 18, 2014 06:21
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My bag of dog food came earlier this month and has an expiration date of May 2015. Tater goes through a cup a day and a 13 pound bag lasts 6 weeks so expect yours to go maybe three months. You'll be fine. He may not go through a full cup a day, depending. Tater ways a good 8 pounds more than your dog so he might be getting overfed. Just keep an eye on it.
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Jul 18, 2014 07:40
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My very active 13 lb dog maintains weight on 2/3 of a cup a day of grain free. My 12 lb couch-potato with back issues gets 1/2 a cup a day to keep her weight down. I would recommend getting an airtight pet food storage bin (you can find them for ~$25 on Amazon. It'll keep the food from becoming stale before it goes bad.
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Jul 18, 2014 14:09
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My parents just adopted an 8 month old hound of some kind, and I was planning on visiting them after work. It just occurred to me that maybe the dog should have a little time to adjust to the environment before someone who doesn't live there appears and then leaves after a couple hours. Am I overthinking this?
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Jul 18, 2014 22:45
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You're overthinking it. Go pet a hound.
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Jul 18, 2014 22:48
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Turns out he's a Plott Hound and Christ he is adorable. He seems like he needs some intellectually stimulating play. Anyone know what kind of play hounds like?
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Jul 19, 2014 00:07
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Nosework and scent games! You can do something simple like hiding treats or favorite toys and getting him to find it or go nuts and teach him actual nosework. It's not that hard to get started, dogs seem to really enjoy it, and it wears them out mentally so fast. A hound should really excel with some practice.
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Jul 19, 2014 00:55
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I second the nosework. I bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Nosework-Dogs-2nd-Ed/dp/1888994037 and use games from it to tire my dogs out a lot, especially my blind dog I used to do agility with before he lost his eyesight. Purely physical exercise wasn't enough for him but even short sessions of scent games really wear him out because he has to think so much.
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Jul 19, 2014 03:34
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My dog has gotten smarter, I think. Since yesterday, she has starting scratching the fridge door. She has food on her plate and there's nothing but yogurt, jam and rice in the fridge, so it's not like there's anything that smells nice for her. Any idea on how to train her not to do that? It's getting annoying and she's getting nothing from doing that.
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Jul 20, 2014 20:24
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radlum posted:My dog has gotten smarter, I think. Since yesterday, she has starting scratching the fridge door. She has food on her plate and there's nothing but yogurt, jam and rice in the fridge, so it's not like there's anything that smells nice for her. Any idea on how to train her not to do that? It's getting annoying and she's getting nothing from doing that. I hear baby gates work pretty well
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Jul 20, 2014 20:37
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A bab ygate may prevent her from going near the fridge but I don't think that it will stop the desire to scratch / dig, and as soon as she has access she will be right at it. Maybe try some kind of a "would you rather" game using treats and a clicker. Anytime that she starts scratching, wait until she stops, and then click and treat. If you have some spare monies laying around and are looking for something really awesome you could try to Treat and Train as it will benefit you in MANY ways. In this case, as soon as she stops scratching the fridge and is quiet for a minute, push the button and she gets to go and have her treat (that way you don't need the clicker and treats in hand all the time). I would try to engage her mind more than anything else. Sherlock doesn't really go for Kongs but likes it when I give him something to gnaw on or something that figure out.
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Jul 20, 2014 22:28
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Because my dog is an annoying hound mix who is more stubborn than I am, I got baby gates to keep him out of and away from my kitchen. I did this partly to prevent counter surfing (which he started trying) and to stop him pestering me while I cook. He's since gotten to the point where I can occasionally take the gate down and he won't instantly become annoying and underfoot. If you stop him from practicing the "paw at fridge" behavior via barriers, just be prepared for him to pick it up again if you take them down or allow him to continue.
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Jul 21, 2014 03:46
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