Melanie

Please take to heart all of these responses. None are meant to attack you.

Wow, I wasn't aware that pet stores sold schnoodles and puggles and the new fad breeds. It just never ends.

I'm aware you've only been approved to adopt [i]so far[/i] (I've been through it all with NEESR). But I'm confident you'll soon find the Springer suited just for you. I was congratulating the whole idea! It's still exciting, no? :D

Yay! Another Springer gets a home. I am so happy for you and your new arrival! Jake says "Way to go', too!

That's a wonderful suggestion from mouseatthebusstop -- a tribute or memorial. I did that for my Daisy. She was with me for 13 years (passed away about 10 years ago). It took me over a year before I could look at her picture without crying. When I finally could look at her pictures and smile and laugh at memories, I made a whole album dedicated to her. It was something that helped a great deal. I adopted my Springer, Jake, through NEESR (the New England branch of the same organization you are using). We were notified of our approved application within days. And Jake was the first dog they suggested to us. Within 2 weeks time, I had contacted the forster mom, set up a meeting, took care of all paper work, and had Jake home with me. Many months later, when we were ready to take in another, we contacted NEESR again. Because we were on their list of 'approved adopters', we were always the first of several people to hear about new arrivals. Of course, we took in a Saint Bernard instead of another Springer. Good luck with your new Springer. And take all the time you need to grive for Mocha.

Look at that face. I have no doubt she'll be snatched up by someone soon. She does look like Springer/Lab. Adorable combination.

Looks like all the links are covered. I just wanted to say how happy I am that your friend is giving a deaf dog a chance at a loving home. Any adopted dog is wonderful news, but deaf or blind or otherwise 'imperfect' dogs don't get as many chances. Great news.

Thanks DogPaddle. Last bath, we used Johnson's Baby Shampoo. It still caused the same irritation as the others.

Wow, thanks for all the great information. We've improved Jake's diet in case of food allergies -- just like that sheltie you mentioned Cassie. I'm definitely going to look into everything mentioned, and next bath, you all better believe I've joined the ranks of rinse nazis everywhere! :)

Jake has had extremely sensitive skin since we adopted him way back. He gets a bath about once a month. For 2 to 7 days after his bath, Jake is especially skin sensitive. He's raw and itchy and licky. We've tried different shampoos specially formulated for sensitive skin... medicated, oatmeal, etc. We've even tried baby shampoo as recommended by people with their own sensitive skinned dogs. We have a spray we use on him that helps with hot spots and such. We also have a cream the vet recommended when things get really bad. He also takes benadryl. Jake is a 12 year old Springer Spaniel. We do not want to stop giving him baths, because he does need them. But we're looking for better products to use for him. Does anyone out there have suggestions or recommendations for very mild, excellent products to use on a very sensitive dog?

Ditto. I would not leave my child or dog with anybody I felt was not properly fit to care for them. End of story. No further explanation should ever be needed. Your family is your life.

I was only 6 years old when I was bit by a dog. She was a cute, little fluffball, but did some damage! I still have the scars from the bite -- puncture marks near my right eye, and near the right corner of my mouth. Never did I become afraid of or angry towards dogs. I have always loved them. I've been around them all my life, and I always will be. Please do not worry about other people's opinions. If your decision feels right for you in your head and heart, so be it..

A belated welcome. I"m fairly new, myself. I, too, was turned off by the negative posts (still am). But I just ignore them. I will NEVER post a response to an existing argument. I will NEVER start an argument. It makes no sense ot me. But I figure it's bound to happen with other people sometimes, since we all have such passionate opinions about things. Hope to see ya' around!

Here's how my 2 beat the heat: [img]http://img77.photobucket.com/albums/v235/mnixon/34e205e5.jpg[/img] [img]http://img77.photobucket.com/albums/v235/mnixon/c4795dca.jpg[/img]

I've shared my life with [b]English Springer Spaniels[/b] since the age of 6. They'll always have a special place in my heart. Every single last one of them is just so darn adorable. I love 'em. Not to mention they're wonderful companions. I also love the look of most giant breeds: [b]Saint Bernards [/b](of course I'm biased); Great Danes, Mastiffs, Great Pyrenees, etc.

Nothing about thunderstorms bothers my 2 except the inconvenience of getting wet when it's time to do their business. Now, they both love water otherwise. But as soon as a storm rolls around, they refuse to go out to poo/pee unless I come with them. Little stinkers. It always goes like this: I open the door and tell them to go ahead. They both creep to the edge of the door and stop. They look out at the rian, they look at me, they look out at the rain, they look back at me. So I take one step out beyond the door, onto the front step. They take one step, too. The look at the rain, they look at me, they look at the rain.... This continues for a few steps until I finally give in and walk right out into the yard with them. They happily follow. By now, you'd think I'd wisen up and bring an umbrella. :D

Outback Mongrel Could Be Oldest Dog July 12, 2004 06:32 AM EDT CANBERRA, Australia - A [b]26-year-old[/b] mongrel living with an Aboriginal family in Australia's Outback has the potential to become the world's oldest living dog, a newspaper reported Sunday. Jerry, an Australian cattle dog-bull terrier cross, will next month turn 27 - the equivalent of 189 years for a human - said Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals veterinarian Honey Nelson in Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "He will be 27 ... years in August - I have no doubt at all," Nelson reportedly said after examining Jerry. "He could push on to 28, going by his good body condition." The oldest living dog in the 2004 edition of "Guinness World Records" is Butch, a 27-year-old beagle in the U.S. state of Virginia. Jerry's owner, Waddie Harris - an Aboriginal tribal leader in New South Wales state's Wilcannia town, put Jerry's longevity down to his high-protein diet of Outback wildlife. "Jerry has grown up on kangaroo, rabbit and emu as well as scraps off the table," the newspaper quoted Harris as saying. An Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who died in 1939 at age 29, is thought to have been the world's oldest dog, the newspaper said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bubblezz, those are excellent suggestions. Not every dog will repsond to basic obedience 'like they're supposed to'. We have to be tricky! We slowly and gradually taught our dogs proper behavior off leash. A little more every few days. Now we can walk both of them completely off leash during our backyard river excursions (we live behind a river that, if we chose, we could walk along for miles and miles). Even when we pass other doggy houses, they stay with us. This took a lot of time, effort, and patience. AND tricks like Bubblezz mentioned. Of course a dog will want to explore and investigate and play when free. Of course a dog won't want to 'come' to you unless it's more rewarding than what else is out there. And even then, they might want to look around still to make sure they're not missing anything else out there [i]before[/i] coming to you. Peanut was a bit harder to train than Jake. But she reposnded spendidly when I used clever tricks to get her to come to me. If something seemed exciting away from me, I'd start jogging along [i]my[/i] way, acting so excited and goofy. Most of the time, she'd run to me instead of the other interest. And those times she did run off, I'd squat down, and exclaim, "Look what I've got!". The goofball would come running quick to see what I had. As soon as she started coming towards me, or responding to whatever command I gave, I'd praise her. I'd continue to say the command and praise her all the way til the end. Anway, now I'm blabbing. Training yor dog to be reliable off leash is a lengthy process! Training your dog to be reliable off leash with distractionsis even harder. Just start out slow and progress a bit every few days or so.

Whenever my Peanut does something stupid, we call her "65". That's her intelligence rank according to whomever made that list of intelligence ranking by breed (google 'dog breed intelligence' and you'll find it). Now Peanut is one smart girl (and I'm sure anyone else with a Saint Bernard will tell you the same thing about their baby)!!! And that's why the whole list is humorous to us... we can't help but tease her with her low ranking. Jake, on the other hand, never does anything stupid. Could it be because he's #13?! Hee hee. :roll: :lol:

Oops, could've sworn I logged in. That above post is mine. Sorry. :D

I have a theory... "People are too stupid to live." Not us dog (and cat) lover people, of course. :D No wonder I like animals better than people.

Ha... when I first glanced at thepicture with the green ribbons at his feet, I thought he was wearing flippers! :D Silly guy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :bday:

I never fully agree with any of these things. I was only sharing something I had received from another forum. I doubt anybody completely agrees with all that's out there, either. It's up to us to pick and choose according to our research and information. I hope nobody would take anything anyone's posted as absolute truth. And that's the beauty of these forums. To share and learn information, to gain different perspectives and insights, to agree or disagree.... Thanks for posting new and varying items to the list!!!

Ok, here's a copy of the dog food grade chart: Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade: Start with a grade of 100: 1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points 2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points 3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points 4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points 5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points 6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points 7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points 8) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points 9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points 10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points 11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points 12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points 13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points 14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point 15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point Extra Credit: 1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points 2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points 3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points 4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points 5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points 6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points 7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points 8) If the food contains barley, add 2 points 9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points 10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point 11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point 12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point 13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point 14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D <70 = F ...Keep in mind that a dog food's score may vary by a few points depending on how you interpret a question...

Everyone has their opinions on different dog foods. Even if you buy the highest quality dog food possible, your dog may reject it for whatever reason. Don't beat yourself up if you do not take everyone's advice. It all varies. My dogs eat Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. They love it. Jake is on a senior formula. At our local pet store, we only had the option of this and Canidae, for quality dog foods (all the others were not to our liking). I have a dog food grade sheet, if you're interested. I could post it here, or email it to you. Let me know.