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Appachai posted:It's an alaskan klee kai if that matters. This kind of thing is more about the individual than the breed. I have two males of the same breed and I've owned both of them for most of their lives, and one would find it stressful to have to hang out in an office all day and the other would love it. So yeah, completely depends on the dog.
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Apr 26, 2015 18:53
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I also have two dogs of (mostly) the same breed and one would be a totally chill office dog and the other would prevent any work getting done by anyone. Also you need to take your coworkers into consideration. Are they all on board with an office dog or would some of them resent a dog roaming around getting hair and dirt on everything an occasionally having accidents inside? You can probably avoid pee and poop inside but dogs also puke and it's very difficult to get them outside before they hork up their breakfast on the carpet.
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Apr 26, 2015 19:29
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Not sure where to post this but I wanted to check with any goon that may give me advice. I'm looking into purchasing a dog for my parents. They just moved to a new apartment (retiring shortly) and I wanted to give them something to care for. To be honest is mostly because of my mother... She loved our childhood Siamese cat and unfortunately we had to put her down because of cancer last year. Needless to say she's still very sad about it: she's the type of person to get VERY attached to her pets. I'm not trying to look for a replacement, but I can just tell she has a lot more love to give. I want to push her to care for another mascot since it will be hard for her to take the first step. Now, besides that I need to consider my father. He was never too interested in animals, but I believe he would be on board for a dog. Basically my mother gives all the hugs, kisses and baby talk. And my father is the one for the occasional pat on the head, good boy and move on. So, I've been researching for days now on best breeds for apartments. I know what my parents wan't (personality and look) and I'm pretty interested on getting a Borzoi for them. The reason is because they're quiet and couch potatoes, outside of having to exercise them two or three times per week (I mean actual runs, not daily walks). My parents also have the luck of moving to an apartment in front of a VERY large park, so it won't be stuck inside. On to my concern. my mother likes dachshunds from what I know. It would make sense for me to go with that, but the thing is... they tend to be very temperamental and snappy if not properly trained. My mother is not the best person on being assertive, so I'm worried she will pamper him into being an annoying little dog. I don't want that for my dad since he would probably be the target of any barking, snapping, etc. He works half a week on another city, so it's VERY likely this scenario will happen since my mother will be more time with the dog. i want a dog that will be friendly and respectful of both. Right now I'm going with the Borzoi or Saluki. Quiet, low energy, friendly and since they're very large I don't see my mother pampering him to a level it will cause what I mentioned. What do you guys think? Of course I don't want this to look like I'm not going to push my parents to make sure they train the dog. I really want to give it the best home possible. I know he'll get all the love of the world, but I don't want it to have less than what it deserves in terms of being an actual dog.
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Apr 28, 2015 06:41
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That's fine so long as the idea has been fully cleared with them first. Don't just get them a dog, make sure they're fully part of that process. As for lazy sighthounds, borzois and salukis are fancier, since I assume you don't want to get them a puppy (don't get a puppy), you'll probably have a harder time finding one in a rescue unless you happen to live in a state with breed-specifc resues. Greyhounds are a lot more common and there's plenty of ex-racer rescues out there. There's a greyhound thread around here somewhere if you're interested. It's also possible they'd be happy with getting another cat on their own they're ready 
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Apr 28, 2015 07:15
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Ginny posted:i want a dog that will be friendly and respectful of both. Right now I'm going with the Borzoi or Saluki. Quiet, low energy, friendly and since they're very large I don't see my mother pampering him to a level it will cause what I mentioned. From what I know of/have heard of for Borzois and Salukis both, they both tend to be aloof at best and very independent with other people, and even with their own people - they're usually described as more cat-like than dog-like. Have your parents been around sighthounds before? These are more "primitive" than greyhounds and whippets, and really wouldn't be what I'd suggest for first time owners/ owners who wouldn't be the most assertive and would let a dog walk all over them. I'm definitely seconding a greyhound or a whippet, or a cross from one of them (i.e. a lurcher). You can get them in rescues or from breeders much more readily than borzois and salukis, and I think they'd fit your parents' needs much better.
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Apr 28, 2015 10:15
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Is there a greyhound rescue near you? If so they might let you walk a few of them and they can find one they like. The retired racing ones are always so chill and happy to just relax and go for a short walk once a day. WIth that park as well you can let them run for a bit and then back to the sofa. Short coat, chilled out, couch potato, relatively longed lived and healthy and lots to choose from in rescues. Edit: Oh god oh god oh god picking up the puppy tomorrow. Only one more night of undisturbed sleep 
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Apr 28, 2015 13:09
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I just adopted a cutie of an older dog (6.5 years), to join the 2 cat party already in my house. She's already house-trained, are there any reasons to crate train as well? And if so, any tips for an older dog? Picture tax:  
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Apr 28, 2015 13:18
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toplitzin posted:I just adopted a cutie of an older dog (6.5 years), to join the 2 cat party already in my house. She's already house-trained, are there any reasons to crate train as well? She is a cutie and good job adopting an older, less adoptable dog! Crate training is a useful skill to have even if they don't need to be crated when you're not supervising like a puppy. It's much easier for everyone if they need to be boarded someplace that uses kennels or needs to be on crate rest for an injury or something if they are already comfortable hanging out in a crate. Patricia McConnell has a book about adopting an adult dog that's supposed to be good. When I adopted my adult dog I mostly just made sure to start reinforcing behavior I wanted right away and let him guide me about how much new stuff he could handle at a time.
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Apr 28, 2015 14:55
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Mishka's now five and a half months old and really coming into his own. The only bad habit he has at the moment (and yes I know we have the terrible teenage year to come) is scavenging, anything he can stick in his mouth on a walk will go in there, and while his 'drop it' is pretty good, it's no match for banana skins, chips dropped on the floor etc.   Socialisation is going very well, almost too well in fact as he thinks any random person he encounters obviously wants Malamute kisses and him rubbing up against their legs. We've had him into the city (we live in a village in the countryside about 20 minutes out) quite a few times to get him used to large crowds etc. though the main problem seems to be utter morons who don't know how to act around dogs (randomly offering him their burger, the drive by grab of his fur or the guy who thought he'd suddenly drop to the ground and wrap his arms around Mishka's neck while telling his girlfriend to take a picture. Annoyingly there doesn't seem to be a good agility course near us, which is a shame as he enjoyed the 'fun day' one we got to do a few weeks ago. We're continuing formal training through the year, i'm still undecided on taking him to dog shows, but when he's a year+ we'll be doing trek and some weight pull as well (assuming he enjoys it). Our vet is pretty switched on with current papers on neutering and hasn't put any pressure on us to do it early, actually saying she doesn't like to do large dogs until they're full grown, especially as he's going to be running/pulling when he's 12-18 months. PST fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 15:50
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Fraction posted:From what I know of/have heard of for Borzois and Salukis both, they both tend to be aloof at best and very independent with other people, and even with their own people - they're usually described as more cat-like than dog-like. Have your parents been around sighthounds before? These are more "primitive" than greyhounds and whippets, and really wouldn't be what I'd suggest for first time owners/ owners who wouldn't be the most assertive and would let a dog walk all over them. Thanks for the advice guys! Besides the reasons I specified before, I was interested on the Borzoi and Saluki since they have a bit more hair. I'm not too worried about the aloofness, even though I know they're a bit more difficult to train. They're independent breeds and I think my parents would really love that. Hence not a dog that is constantly on them and looking to play. I agree I should discuss it with them in detail. I guess I got kind of carried away on the whole "surprise gift", I tend to do that haha Do you guys have any other suggestions for breeds? Honestly I've already researched several times but always end up with the same choices. I'm aware small dogs would be best for apartments, but they do have that tendency to get loud and the breeds are VERY energetic. I live in Argentina and there's a lot of Bichons here, but I don't like them. I'm looking for a quiet calm dog that is not the usual "old lady" type.
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Apr 28, 2015 20:13
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It's been 24 hours since I brought Aida Know home,and she has no interest in her kibble but plenty of interest in cat treats or any other not kibble food item. Is this just a battle of wills/wait it out when she's hungry enough she'll eat the kibble or is this go and buy a different bag of kibble and hope she likes that one better? FWIW: I'm in some sort of bizarro land with my pets, one of the cats LOVES the dog kibble and the dog is all about cat kibble.
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Apr 29, 2015 00:01
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Ginny posted:Thanks for the advice guys! Besides the reasons I specified before, I was interested on the Borzoi and Saluki since they have a bit more hair. I'm not too worried about the aloofness, even though I know they're a bit more difficult to train. They're independent breeds and I think my parents would really love that. Hence not a dog that is constantly on them and looking to play. Don't get stuck in the mind set of "I like how this dog looks I want that one". It honestly sounds like you should look into cats.
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Apr 29, 2015 00:46
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My Havanese puppy (7 months old) is a chewing machine. All he wants to do all day is eat the world. He chews corners of rugs, table legs, the wall, the floor, everything he can get his teeth on. He's got a bunch of toys including soft ones, rubber squeaky ones, nylabones, etc, (and we do rotate out his toys every few days to keep him interested in them) and while they hold his interest for a while he eventually goes back to chewing something he's not supposed to. I've tried using dog chew spray / gel but he's figured out that if he waits a while the spray dries and he can chew the thing without getting the bad taste from the spray. Currently I either redirct him to his toys when he chews something he's not supposed to or give him a time-out in his playpen if he starts getting super lovely but I want to find something he can chew on that will satisfy his insatiable lust for destruction. I've tried giving him those Greenies toothbrush biscuit things but he only takes about five minutes to eat one and a pigs ear (which used to take him a whole day to eat and left him super satisfied) now only takes about an hour or less for him to completely destroy. He loves chewing on sticks from the garden but I don't know how good that is for him (I particularly don't want him actually eating bits of wood) so I try to discourage it. He also loves paper like tissues, receipts, or newspaper and will destroy any of it he can get his paws on. So what other chewable things are out there that I can try? Is he old enough for rawhide bones (he does have all his adult teeth)? I remember reading something on here about Tibetan dog chews, would they be worth trying? I want something that will hold his attention for more than five minutes but won't necessarily make him into a fatty (he weighs 12 pounds at the moment which is about as big as he should get). e - picture tax: 
cyberia fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 02:01
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Frozen kongs are good. It takes them a decent amount of time to get through them, I fill mine with peanut butter and stuff small treats in the peanut butter before I put them in the freezer.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:14
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What sort of Kong? Just a classic one? I've got a puppy-sized classic so I guess I will try that out. Can I just use normal peanut butter or is there a dog-specific type?
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Apr 29, 2015 04:15
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toplitzin posted:It's been 24 hours since I brought Aida Know home,and she has no interest in her kibble but plenty of interest in cat treats or any other not kibble food item. Still no interest in her breakfast this morning, I guess I'll try picking up a bag of something else on the way home from work.
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Apr 29, 2015 12:38
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What food was the pup on at the breeder?
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Apr 29, 2015 12:44
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She was at the shelter and it's science diet which is what they feed there. They include a free bag with every adoption.
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Apr 29, 2015 12:54
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She might just be too excited/over stimulated/stressed (good and/or bad stress) to eat boring food. How old is she?
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Apr 29, 2015 13:03
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Fraction posted:She might just be too excited/over stimulated/stressed (good and/or bad stress) to eat boring food. How old is she? According to the shelter paperwork 6. She's drinking here and there as well, usually after a walk. She's got a vet appt tomorrow afternoon (Free with adoption too!). So far she's very keen on walks and belly rubs, and trying to roll in smelly things. Edit: I'll be picking up Merrick Classic Chicken: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0089A62MS?tag=e0495-20 She's found herself a place on the couches and this has been happening a lot:    
toplitzin fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 13:14
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Fiance and I are thinking about getting two dogs when we move into a house in a few months. We were going to adopt them both on the same day from the animal shelter, likely one big one and one small one. Is there anything wrong with this plan?
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Apr 29, 2015 13:25
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Killed a Girl in 96 posted:Fiance and I are thinking about getting two dogs when we move into a house in a few months. We were going to adopt them both on the same day from the animal shelter, likely one big one and one small one. Is there anything wrong with this plan? Get one, wait a few months for it to settle in, then get another. Getting two at once means MORE than double the amount of stress, both with the dogs and with yourselves, as you'd have to (carefully) introduce two adult dogs in an entirely new environment with new people. Unless they're a bonded pair, I'm surprised a rescue would let you do it tbh. toplitzin posted:According to the shelter paperwork 6. 6 is fine to go a few days without food. Just put the Science Diet down at each meal time and take it up if she doesn't eat it. No point unsettling her stomach further by immediately changing her onto new food.
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Apr 29, 2015 13:30
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Fraction posted:Get one, wait a few months for it to settle in, then get another. Getting two at once means MORE than double the amount of stress, both with the dogs and with yourselves, as you'd have to (carefully) introduce two adult dogs in an entirely new environment with new people. Unless they're a bonded pair, I'm surprised a rescue would let you do it tbh. Haven't talked to a rescue yet, just getting some info to try and not make any mistakes. I was thinking that if we adopted them both at the same time, there might not be any territorial disputes between the two of them and they'd adapt to each other easier. We have no problem getting one now and one farther down the road, I just wasn't sure what our best course should be. Thanks for the response btw.
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Apr 29, 2015 13:33
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Killed a Girl in 96 posted:Haven't talked to a rescue yet, just getting some info to try and not make any mistakes. I was thinking that if we adopted them both at the same time, there might not be any territorial disputes between the two of them and they'd adapt to each other easier. We have no problem getting one now and one farther down the road, I just wasn't sure what our best course should be. Thanks for the response btw. I work with a rescue - we wouldn't place two new-to-each-other dogs at same time with someone, but would be very happy if they said at time of adoption they'd like to adopt another 3-6mo down the line. Territorial disputes aren't a big thing IMO. I regularly bring foster dogs into my house and have everyone loose together from the go. If you want a large and a small dog, you'll have to take a bit more care with regards to the intro, as the bigger dog could easily squash/hurt the smaller. This just means barriers in place, not unsupervised at all for at least the first few weeks, etc. With all new dogs you should remove high value treats, all toys, and feed separately to begin with, whether you adopt them together or not, which is what would lead to most scraps that people would view as territorial issues (aka, resource guarding). Talk to a rescue (or a few, some are nuts) and let them know what you want to do. They'll be the best ones to advise you about your plan and the dogs they have in etc.
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Apr 29, 2015 13:38
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Thanks a ton Fraction. I'm new to adoption (though not to dogs) and I'm glad people like you are around to give us some guidance. We'll also be talking to the shelter too of course. 
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Apr 29, 2015 13:47
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Fraction posted:Get one, wait a few months for it to settle in, then get another. Getting two at once means MORE than double the amount of stress, both with the dogs and with yourselves, as you'd have to (carefully) introduce two adult dogs in an entirely new environment with new people. Unless they're a bonded pair, I'm surprised a rescue would let you do it tbh. Will do. They only gave me a 5 Lb bag, so I assume if she eats, I'd burn through the bag in a day or two. I'll start mixing them slowly once she starts eating. I've been offering it twice a day and if she spurns it/ignores it i just put it away since the cat will go gorge herself on it and then the dog gets territorial over food she doesn't have interest in.
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Apr 29, 2015 14:21
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toplitzin posted:Will do. They only gave me a 5 Lb bag, so I assume if she eats, I'd burn through the bag in a day or two. I'll start mixing them slowly once she starts eating. For what its worth my dog wouldn't eat the rescue's garbage food at all when I brought him home so I just switched him to what I was going to be feeding him right away. He's got an iron stomach so it wasn't a big deal but your mileage may vary. Just don't let them get used to getting fancy add ins or treats when they're being picky.
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Apr 29, 2015 18:08
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cyberia posted:What sort of Kong? Just a classic one? I've got a puppy-sized classic so I guess I will try that out. Can I just use normal peanut butter or is there a dog-specific type? We just have a regular kong and fill it with store-brand peanut butter (dogs don't get fancy brand name peanut butter) and treats and toss it in the freezer overnight. Yes we're the weird people with a jar of dog peanut butter and a jar of people peanut butter. Sometimes we do it to filled bones they've licked the filling out of too. Basically you can freeze anything the dogs are allowed to chew on.
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Apr 29, 2015 23:58
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Instant Jellyfish posted:For what its worth my dog wouldn't eat the rescue's garbage food at all when I brought him home so I just switched him to what I was going to be feeding him right away. He's got an iron stomach so it wasn't a big deal but your mileage may vary. Just don't let them get used to getting fancy add ins or treats when they're being picky. I picked up a bag of better food on the way home. She ate a handful from my hand (which is more than she'd do with the SD) but still seems to give no fucks about food. She's excited when i get the bag and scoop it out, but no interest in actually, you know, eating her food. I'm feeding her in my bedroom where i can close the door to prevent the cats from beelining to her food dish instead, but she still just wanders around or just sticks her face in mine and stands there. I'll leave the bowl out for another 15 or so since i just fed the cats, then i'll put it away til the morning feed. The cat however is trying to find the food as best she can. By the same token she hasn't really pooped or peed much on our walks (nor in the house), but it seems like she's limited intake. I'll bring it up at the vet tomorrow as well. Anything else or am i just being a worrywort? Fun fact: She likes to howl along with the fire truck sirens. Tax: Bathime today! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2sphcLdsW8
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Apr 30, 2015 00:35
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So it's really gross to think of filling a Kong with peanut butter and just letting it be, it's going to get moldy and rotten and gross as poo poo isn't it? And how would you even clean that?
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Apr 30, 2015 01:05
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da anime bulldog posted:So it's really gross to think of filling a Kong with peanut butter and just letting it be, it's going to get moldy and rotten and gross as poo poo isn't it? And how would you even clean that? They have a hole at both ends so you'd run hot water and dish soap through it when the dog had finished playing with it? I regularly clean my dog's rubber toys because they get covered in dog saliva and get all slimy and poo poo. He seems to like them better when they're clean 
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Apr 30, 2015 03:35
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You can also run them through the dishwasher. It's really not a big deal.
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Apr 30, 2015 03:49
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da anime bulldog posted:So it's really gross to think of filling a Kong with peanut butter and just letting it be, it's going to get moldy and rotten and gross as poo poo isn't it? And how would you even clean that? Like a dog would let one iota of food go uneaten. Part of what keeps them occupied with the long for so long is figuring out how to lick all the peanut butter out of every nook and cranny, and when it's frozen it's harder to lick it all out and it keeps them busy for longer.
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Apr 30, 2015 04:00
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toplitzin posted:I'll bring it up at the vet tomorrow as well. Hunger Update: Still not hungry. Vet appt @ 4.
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Apr 30, 2015 14:13
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Could just be nerves and anxiety. My girlfriends dog from high school moved in with us when we bought a house. She's 11 and has anxiety so even though she knew and likes both of us the unfamiliar territory made her not eat for a few days. She eventually got comfortable and now we don't really have issues with her eating.
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Apr 30, 2015 15:57
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If she's taking it from your hand, make use of that and go ahead and handfeed for a bit while she settles in. It'll strengthen the bond between you, help her see that you are the bearer of All Good Things, and gets her accustomed to the idea that you're going to dispense food for things (which will be handy when you want to train). If she's relaxed enough, you can use meal time to start practicing some things like wait or settle, which will help build comfort and impulse control.
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May 1, 2015 07:37
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ButWhatIf posted:If she's taking it from your hand, make use of that and go ahead and handfeed for a bit while she settles in. It'll strengthen the bond between you, help her see that you are the bearer of All Good Things, and gets her accustomed to the idea that you're going to dispense food for things (which will be handy when you want to train). If she's relaxed enough, you can use meal time to start practicing some things like wait or settle, which will help build comfort and impulse control. The hand feeding worked for about 3 bites. Then she's like ehhhhhhhhh, no thanks. Even at the vet she was only interested in treats. The vet gave her one piece of dental kibble, since she had some plaque, she ate it, then refused the second because it was "not treat" and looked for the treat bag where the other treats came from, along with the cheeze-in-a-can used to get her to take the worming pill. The Vet said just keep offering and eventually she'll get hungry and realize yup, that's food and its possible the previous owners were scrap/table/treat feeders.
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May 1, 2015 13:17
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Have you gotten her a good quality food yet, toplitzin? My dog was like that when she got home. She wouldn't eat anything and wasn't much interested in treats. But once I got her a slightly better dog food that actually smells like meat, she started eating. She still doesn't love food like most dogs do but the vet said that's a variation of normal as long as they eat enough in a day. Edit: Oops, I see you did. If you really struggle then wet food always worked for her but that gets expensive as hell so you want to be sure before getting her addicted to it. I'm sure she'll start eating soon.
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May 1, 2015 16:23
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Mathematics posted:Have you gotten her a good quality food yet, toplitzin? Yeah. She spurned the shelter Science Diet. She spurned the Merrick Chicken/barley I got. She spurned the Royal Canin Dental @ the vet.
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May 1, 2015 16:56
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Cook some chicken and mix it with the kibble?
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May 1, 2015 18:10
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