Mary's Mama

Well rats!! I thought I could change my name but it doesn't seem to be working. K???? Am I not allowed to change my name? Stewie and Finny are feeling left out :cry:

So I changed my user name. I was feeling bad cuz since I signed up I have gotten two more pups so I am not just Mary's Mama any more. I decided to go with 2 Guys & a Grrl. Hope I dont screw anyone up too bad. Oh and my name is Erin and I dont mind being called by my name :lol: Hopefully I will get some new pics of Finny soon and post them right away.

If you catch her in the act of poo'ing in the house, give her a "ah ah ah", pick it up and take it outside where you want her to go, put it on the ground and praise her like crazy as if she did right. That will let her know inside is a no no but outside is GOOD!! It usually works pretty well as long as you are consistent. Also remember that they are more likely to poo soon after they are feed. Try to keep track of when she is going and get an idea of her schedule and then try to make sure she is outside when she normally has to go.

It is normal but the way to avoid it is to [u]very[/u] slowly add the new food to the old. Some dogs are more sensitive than others. Some require a transition very gradually over weeks, some only a few days. In this case I would feed one meal of the old food only. Then start over, add maybe 3-5 kibbles of the new. Do that for two days, then add 3-5 more and so on and so on. It may take a while but the first few days are usually the worst.

Two things. The diarrhea from the change could be that you simply changed to quickly, some foods/dog require a more gradual approach. I dont see anything wrong with putting Bella on the same Nutro that Ben gets. I have raised two puppies in the last year and both of them ate adult food. I think puppy food is not necessary, they grow too fast and get too fat! When you feed a puppy regular food, you just need to feed more than an adult would eat. I think that the problem with the larger bag vs smaller bag was probably mold of some kind. I bet Ben does not have a food allergy but a mold allergy. It is better the buy less food more often so that you can be sure it stays fresh. Dog food can spoil and grow mold just the same as human food. I would stick to the smaller bags, feed Bella the same food (just a little extra, or if you free feed as much as she wants) and call it a day. Good luck.

I love both my dogs for different reasons because they are so different themselves. Mary is so kind caring and loving. She is such a little lady and does her best to take care of everyone. Stewie is a clown. He is a laugh a minute. Always happy and ready for game. Haven't met Finny yet but I am sure he will have his own personality as well and I can't wait to find out what it is.

[quote name='mommacat'][quote]If you can change, I would. This food actually made the WDJ List of Least Recommended Food. There are much better foods than this. It is your decision though.[/quote] Thanks, MM! I think I will. she has been not eating much lately, and now has taken to stealing food off the table and counter when we turn our backs! VERY frustrating, when she has a full dish!!:evil: I think she doesn't like the taste of it, either. Can you tell me, what is the WDJ List? (sometimes I feel so ignorant on here, thank you all for educating me!!) :oops: I know my pet store carries Innova and Natural Balance, so I may try one of those.[/quote] WDJ (Whole Dog Journal) is a publication/magazine for dog owners. They do an analysis of many different dog foods and then make a list of the ones they recommend and ones they dont. Both Innova and Natural Balance are great foods and I highly recommend them both. Does you dog have any allergies or anything? Natural Balance makes and excellent Duck and Potatoe formula that is fantastic for allergies. However, if you dog does not have allergies you should not use the alternative protein sources. They can develop allergies at any time and you will want to save those special proteins for just in case. That is why I am not an advocate of Lamb and Rice. Too many people feed it and now there are alot of lamb allergies and people are having to turn to venison and duck to find food their dogs aren't allergic too. So try to stick to Chicken or Beef if you can.

All of the Halo products are fantastic. The food is called Spots Stew and the dogs LOVE it. But it is far too expensive to feed exclusively. You could however make your own stew. In fact, if you would be interested in something like that, there is a book called "The Barker's Grub". Fantastic book with many recipes for home cooked food. However, I do not agree that wet food is better than dry. And there are many great dry foods that work well for allergy prone dogs.

Thanks everyone. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Just hope he fits in, although his grandma says he will and she should know. Right now we are at Griffin or Findley, and we are thinking about other names as well. Throw out your favorite boy name if you like. We had Stewie's name picked out before there was a Stewie, we are stumped with this one.

So we decided to just take the leap and get the puppy. Here is Finny (that's his litter name). We need to pick a new name for him but would like it too include "fin" somewhere. I'm so excited!!! [img]http://www.jrtzone.com/P9071097.JPG[/img] Heres a good pic of his spots: [img]http://www.jrtzone.com/P9071082.JPG[/img] Look at how tiny his legs are LOL!! [img]http://www.jrtzone.com/P9071086.JPG[/img] Wish me luck with [color=red][size=6]3 Jack Russells!![/color][/size] Have I just made my death wish?? :wink:

My Mary has the same problem. It is just her natural coat tho, not that she is not getting good nutrients. However, I am using Dr. Krugers Show Dog formula (specifically formulated for coats) to help supplement and get her ready for winter. Her problem is her coat is always thin so she freezes in the winter. I am hoping it will help her coat fill out for winter. [url]www.dockruger.com[/url]

Scottylvr - I have to respectfully disagree with information you shared from the other board. It is quite clear this person does not have the kind of knowledge they claim. I could highlight but that would take too long. For excellent nutrition information I hightly recommend i-dog.com They *really* know their stuff.

If you can change, I would. This food actually made the WDJ List of Least Recommended Food. There are much better foods than this. It is your decision though.

[quote name='mydogroxy']no i haven't tried canidae. i haven't seen it in any of the pet shops i frequent and the ingredients (although good) don't wow me enough to go searching for it.[/quote] I'm actually kinda shocked you are not wow'd by the ingredients. All in all, it has to be about the best dog food out there. There are four different protein sources in the first 7 ingredients. You might want to consider researching it more. It really is much better than Wellness. I used Wellness and while I did I felt it was an excellent food. But subsequent research has changed my mind. While I still believe it is a good food, there are somethings I dont like so much anymore. It really does have too many grains, not enough protein. I dont believe their ingredients are any better quality than other super premium brands. IMO the top 3 brands would be Canidae, Solid Gold, and Innova (or Cal Nat, same company). What are the results you seeking to achieve, what other foods have you tried, what was unsatisfactory about them?

I suggest Dr. Krugers. Check out their website: [url]http://www.dockruger.com/[/url] They are an excellent company with excellent products. I really can't say enough about them. I believe strongly in their product. And as an added bonus, they will send you a free bottle (you pay $5 s/h, but what a deal). Good luck with your kibble troubles. Just curious, did you try Canidae?