alicat613

[quote name='BentleysMom']All my dogs get bathed in the tub. They absolutely HATE the hose outside. I don't know what I'm gonna do when Bentley if full size. Guess I'll need to get a bigger tub! :D[/quote] Well my latest quest to bathe my giant dog has failed me completely. The tub doesn't work, outside no way, and all the 'do it yourself' dog washes were a joke...they have these rickety step ladders up to a tub - even if I could get my dog up there (yeah right) without breaking him, how the heck could I get him down? A Dane going down a step ladder is like asking a cow to do the same. So at this point we are calling stables to see if they will let us use their wash stall (I'd pay of course). Not sure how they'd feel about a long hair though.

How about some more interactive toys? Kong makes quite a few - you could leave a stuffed kong to chew, and even a kong on a rope tied up high for entertainment. There are also buster cubes and other toys that dispense treats. Where is she while you are at work? How could you make this area more exciting for her? How long are you gone? Are there kids in the neighborhood who would like to earn a little money taking her for an afternoon walk?

Well its hard to say without seeing it. Does it appear that he just loses his footing on the grass? My dog does that, he turns so tightly and quickly sometimes he goes flying, and that is perfectly normal (although I wish he'd be more careful!). Or is it more a loss of control of his back end? This could signify a more complex problem such as varying degrees of hip dysplasia or even spinal problems such as Wobblers.

Oh I don't mean like a kennel run to leave him in! I have a 6 foot fence and I don't leave my dog out there. I mean like a playpen sort, it's a foldable wire gate that you could put up and take down very easily, it folds open into a big square/rectangle whatever and then you guys can play in there and Ben won't run off. You could do something with posts and chicken wire, but isn't your dad against having a fence? Also you have to go down pretty far with posts, and the chicken wire will need to be buried a bit or at least long at the bottom and curled in so it lies on the ground and pinned in, or else he could try to go under and hurt himself.

[quote name='Rosebud']Actually Alicat there are other reasons for wanting to finish a dog in conformation. :angel:[/quote] Yes, there are reasons for *wanting* to show in conformation, but that is besides the point really. Not trying to say you are wrong, what you are missing is the reason that conformation started. What would be the point in showing an altered dog? If you want to finish dogs you won't be breeding, finish them prior to having them altered. However many breeders look down upon people showing a dog that will never be bred. It's like a tease LOL. The entire point in showing conformation is evaluating breeding stock and for breeders/exhibitors to be able to look at other lines as well as show off the results of their breeding.

You're welcome! Congrats on having an in-shape pup! Its important to keep her in shape, which in turn will be better for her in many ways and she will live a longer and healthier life.

Oh my goodness, that is SO cute!!!! So my question is... do you think I could train one to ride my Dane while he gallops around?? :lol: I don't know why I keep picturing that, but that would be soo cute and I think they are light enough! (No I don't really think that you can do this, but it's still a funny picture!)

Dogs should usually be thinner than people think. Many dogs you see are fat, which is terrible for their health and body. Your dachsund should stay nice and lean, it will be much better for her back. They have long backs that should not have to support any extra weight! You should be able to see her ribs slightly, especially as she moves or is lying down, not necessarily all the time. You should be able to feel her ribs easily with your hands but you should also be able to feel that there is a nice thin layer of padding under the skin. You should not see protruding hip bones or spine, although you will be able to see the bones some, they should not make you think of a skinny cow if you know what I mean! When looking at her from above, you should be able to see a slight waistline past her ribs, it should go in a little bit. Hope that helped!

Since Ben is small, you have some better options. You can get some x-pens and use those as an outdoor play space, or there are kennel sections you can buy at hardware stores even some that you can put up when you aren't using them. Probably a good size x-pen or other brand pen would be the most economical and easy to use.

NO cooked bones, regardless of what animal they come from! Pork raw can be ok but many do not like to feed it. It could make your dog sick.

What a well thought out post! It really appears that you have put a lot of thought and research into this. I too am a BIG dog lover, and I can tell you that these giant breeds have giant hearts and giant personalities! I have an 8 month old Great Dane, my first Dane and my first giant, and he has really won not only my heart but the heart of everyone around him. He is the biggest sweetie! My friend also has a 10 month old Dane, and a 2 year old, 200 lb English Mastiff, as well as a 4 year old and a baby on the way. Their dogs are great with the little girl and both are total loves. We also have a 3 year old bull mastiff friend who has a little human 'brother' who is 13 months old. The dog and baby just love each other! All of the above dogs are great with kids, extremely obedient and very loving, and all are intact males, with no territorial or aggression issues. I do not advocate not neutering, all of these dogs will be neutered soon, but for differing reasons (one has not dropped a testicle, showing, etc) have not yet. Not that owning, er, being owned by, one of these giants is simple, there are things you should be prepared for. Like sharing your couch! Big dogs need to lie on soft cushy surfaces for their joints as well as to keep them from developing hygromas (like big awful calluses). You need to be informed about bloat and other health issues - nutritional needs, not overexercising, etc. Also be aware that many dogs have issues with big dogs, and be prepared. Despite the fact that a little dog may be attacking your dog, when your giant roars back, it's your dog people will think is aggressive. Oh and drool...even the least drooliest of them drool. My pup is not a big drooler, but you have to be ready after they drink or when they are excited with a drool towel! And be prepared to rethink where you keep things. I'm lucky that my dog is not a stealer, but I do have to watch where I set butter, and I have heard of other people's big dogs stealing dinner as it cooked right off the back burner! And boy, walking these guys! Talk about attention getters! If you don't like people or children, get something else LOL. I joke that we are the neighborhood pied piper because of the gaggle of children we attract on a walk. People actually stop in their cars and get out to see our dog! Health preparation - you may want to think about any joint supplements, these dogs carry a lot of weight on their bones! As I mentioned earlier, learn all you can about bloat and be prepared and have a plan. You may want to have a stretcher for emergencies. Incapacitated dogs this size are a bit of a problem, as I have learned the hard way! Well that's all I can think of for now! I can't wait to hear about your new family member! I think mastiffs are just great and I know the mastiff rescue will work very hard to make sure they find just the right one for you. Here is my pup at about 4 months with his friend Carbon, the 2 year old 200 lb English mastiff - Carbon went and sat like that on his own. My pup looks up to him so he decided to copy! They are such funny dogs! [img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/p5c633ec2d6ef2233bdd6546360d66d39/fc39bbf2.jpg[/img]

[quote name='ellieangel'][quote]Can't you show a neuterd dog? [/quote] No you can't in proper breed shows (kennel club rules) stupid isn't it ! :roll: [/quote] Actually it isn't stupid at all. Conformation is solely for evaluating breeding stock. What point would there be in parading altered animals around a ring, which requires little talent on their part? It is a way for reputable breeders to see what other reputable breeders are breeding, and to see how your dogs stack up against others of its breed. As you mention, all dogs are eligible to compete in all other aspects of competition, which are many: field trials, earth dog trials, agility, tracking, obedience, rally-o, flyball, freestyle frisbee, doggy dancing, search and rescue, water sports, retrieving, gun dog trials, herding trials, and I am sure there are more that I have left out.

EEEEEEK! :o 50% protein?? That's just asking for trouble. Giant breeds no more than 23 maybe 25 as an adult, but I can't even imagine giving that high protein to ANY dog.

Oh I'd love to make our own! Is it hard? How do you do it?

ROFL!! My dog would love that! Dirt that he's allowed to eat? Might be worth the price for a treat LOL.

[quote name='RescuerAndVetTech']Tattos are also, but can easily be cut off etc.[/quote] Not anymore - now they are being done on the belly so you can't cut it off. Also my puppy was tattooed at about 10 pounds and has grown to 120 and the tattoo got easier to read. A good tattooer should be able to do the tattoo so it doesn't get ruined as the dog grows or fade. I'm not sure if I'd trust the tattoo as much in the US. Although I live here (US) my dog is Canadian and registered there. They have numbers regulated there and the numbers automatically tell someone what vet clinic your dog came from. Here the numbers aren't regulated so you just pick a number and register it, but whoever found your dog would have to know how to contact your registry.

OK about the mushrooms, I couldn't remember why - the were just on my mental list of 'no feed' foods LOL - so I looked it up, and the reason 'they' say not to feed them is that it teaches your dogs to munch them if they find them in the fields. Since I have deadly mushrooms all over my yard (including Amanita Muscarias!!) I think I'll skip them still, but it does say you CAN feed safe mushrooms. Well I would do a couple things here -- 1. Take notes of when and what you feed exactly and when these secretions happen, including what is going on when it happens. 2. Find a holistic vet to help you - [url]http://www.mydogsite.com/boards/index.php?act=ST&f=9&t=1799&s=ce7b86917c9f693efa5b3d86fa5b597e[/url] (hope no one minds, I just don't want to rewrite the same thing over LOL)

I'm very surprised your dog is having this problem on the diet you describe. Are his poops firm? When a dog has good firm regular poops, they will express their anal glands naturally and you will often see several drops of a milky fluid come out as they 'go'. Dogs don't really have 'control' over this, but they shouldn't be expressing on you or when they aren't pooping, and it shouldn't be a yucky brown liquid. Have you been to the vet about this? I would NOT allow a vet to express the glands for me until I had spoken with him and was comfortable. I feel most vets are too quick to do this, and I feel it disrupts the natural order of things. I would go to a holistic vet and see if they can help you narrow the cause down. A few things about what you are feeding - never feed salmon raw if you are in the US. Never feed leeks or any onion such as green or spring onions, chives, etc. Go easy on tomatoes, they really are too acidic for almost any dog. Also do not feed mushrooms. Also dogs do not digest cooked fats - are you cooking the meat? I prefer a raw diet but if you must cook it, make sure you are draining the fat as best you can and that you are adding back in good oils such as cold pressed fish oils, flax, pupkin seed, etc. These are imortant for the whole body including the digestive system. How are you providing calcium to balance the meat? How much meat are you feeding on a daily basis and how much Innova, and for what kind of dog? (size, age etc) When his stools are not firm, it is most likely because he has had too much veggies, etc. Although if you are not feeding bones or a bone source, he may get softer stools from too much meat as well. Dogs need to have firm stools!

[quote name='behle']Yes it is! Our previous vet always seemed a bit nervous and was always talking about how he really wanted to be an archaeologist! His wife was also a vet and she was always on the verge of a lecture! Hmmm...they were good vets, just not a good fit for us.[/quote] Oh my .... I'm sorry but I can't stop laughing!! What a way to really impress your clients...talk about the job you [i]wish[/i] you had! Glad you found a good vet. I wish more pet owners would demand higher quality service from vets!! Mine is great too. I've never even heard of waiting days for a fecal - it takes like 2 minutes to run! I drop off samples in the am regularly and they call me later if they find anything.

I always toss mine right away! I don't put much oatmeal in - I'm only bathing an 8 lb cat! Have you tried freezing it to save it? I haven't had much luck with the garlic. 2 of my pets never get fleas and one does. Garlic keeps them healthy and that helps, but it, in my experience doesn't actually repel fleas. Things that have helped though were mostly keeping her healthy on a good food and supplements when I can make her eat them! And washing her frequently (for a cat - 1-2 times a month) as well as washing beddings etc, vacuuming a lot and changing the bag. You can sprinkle salt or boric acid on carpets and furniture, and behind baseboards to kill fleas. There are a lot of very natural ways to kill fleas around your house and yard. I hear good things about Tea Tree oil and Neem but haven't used them. Eating oatmeal is good too. The anti-itch properties seem to work inside out too. Adding oils such as a fish oil, olive oil, flax oil etc or fresh ground flax, or pumpkin seeds are great too. Raw egg is good ocassionally. These all will help the skin reglardless of the cause. It would probably be best to steer clear of all common allergens in dogs such as corn, wheat, soy, etc and then if that doesn't help you may have to narrow it down more to another ingredient.

That was my post and it was highly misunderstood! First, no 'home remedy' should be undertaken lightly. I believe in having a vet to 'supervise', preferably holistic. The dog must be in good health first. The fasting is a one day fast (adult dogs only in good health) and many people do this anyway as a more natural method as dogs don't eat daily in the wild. (yeah LOL all those wild dogs...) Using a one day fast on a healthy dog, the worms don't get fed. This is more for tapeworms which can be tough to get rid of. Again, the dog has to be healthy! If the dog is succumbing to the worms, this is not the way to go! But many dogs and cats aren't really harmed by tapeworms, they are just kinda gross and they waste your food LOL. The fast weakens the worms which helps natural remedies do their job. You break the fast with meals that include roughage to help get rid of the worms along with homeopathic remedies. Again, this has been highly misunderstood! You cannot fast a dog to get rid of the worms. A SHORT and researched fast and program can help your overall worming IF you are using a homeopathic method of worming for a dog that is not being overwhelmed by the worms under the guidance of an educated and licensed homeopathic veterinarian.

You might want to gradually go raw if he liked the cooked meat or go with another meat. My dog hates raw poultry and won't eat bones, so we do a beef and bone meal diet. Commercial bone meal (human grade) is not the same as bones, but if you can find a butcher who will grind bones for you like we have, then you can get the same level of nutrition. Bone meal is generally cooked so the good stuff in it is killed. Every dog is different, so what works for one may not work for another. I definately found that the beginning was somewhat of a pain! We also did a cooked diet first, and it took a lot of research and searching for sources etc but now we have a pretty good raw diet going.

Hmmm...you know, that could make a great meal on the go...I mean, I love steak, but sometimes I'm in a hurry...new Liquid Steak! Mmmmm

LOL Newfiemom...ditto! Especially this one - "Liquid Filet Mignon Flavor". What is that?? I mean, if it were stock or broth, it would say so! I can't imagine what that really means....

No worries Gooeydog, I understand now. I asked because puppies can get growth problems from foods (certain breeds too high protein, etc). I showed this to Parker's breeder who is quite the 'Jack of all trades' with animals and she says: "The dog is doing normal compensation for a three legged Critter! Dog typically carry 65% of their weight in the front and 35% on the rear, so the centering of the leg is a structural compensation. The normal biostructure has changed so the new biostructure must 'redesign' it's function and form. If they feel that glucosamine/chondrotin can not be given...which if bought through the vet shouldn't contain any extra sugars....they can try MSM. I have two friends with three legged dogs who have seen dramatic improvement when taken for acupuncture and given Cartrophen (used to help build up joint fluid) injections by the vet. This might be a suggestion for them. Hydrotherapy is also a great form of muscle building in a non-concussion to the joint form. This way the built up muscle can relieve a bit of the bone stress." Hope that helps! You can also feed cartilage - if you eat a chicken, give her the raw or cooked cartilage you find in there, its a natural source of all that good joint stuff.