ObedienceGrrl

Oh HF.....what a beautiful gift Rocco has sent to you. No one else will ever be able to take his place in your heart, but maybe one can help heal the wound.....

As long as you are with good trainers/clubs there is no dog who cannot compete. As long as they are over a year. You shouldn't jump a dog younger than that due to joint and bone growth. I've seen Danes and even Irish Wolfhounds compete in agility. The best one was the deaf Dane. He was amazing!!

My one cat is very lethargic after her shots. We also have another one who gets ill and throws up. She has to get an anti-nausea shot before she gets her other one. That would also be great if you could do it yourself! A girl I work with gets her shots at a vet supply store for VERY cheap and I am thinking of going with her next times she goes. Vacinated 5 hairy bodies (possible by the end of the year 6) can still get pricey, even with my vet!!

Gooeydog makes a good point about lamb. We had to go VERY low protein with our Beardie mix as she was getting older due to failing kidneys. All beef was eliminated from her diet for her last 3-4 years. In her final few weeks, she got anything she wanted just so she would eat. But that is a different story! When a 17 year old on her way out won't eat anything but a McDonald's hamburger, you can bet your A** she got that hamburger.

A lot of the senior foods have a lower fat content. Some are easier to chew as well. The time varies for each breed. Usually around 7-8. But for giant breeds, 4-5 and for toy breeds sometimes as late as 9.

I am so sorry.... Until the two of you meet again at the Bridge.....

SD Didn't you just hit the nail on the head!! Our normal vet is a small country vet. He's actucally located by a cow farm! His prices can't be beat. But, with our problems with our one cat being allergic to the dogs, I went to our big specialty clinic to seek a Dermotologists help. Now, that is pricey!! But, sometimes specialists are needed. Courtnek, I would call around for pricing of wellness checks and vacs as well. You do want to have an established vet in case something else comes up. You don't want to always have to run to the emergency clinic (cuz that is MUCHO bucks!!). So it is nice to have a regular vet for little non-emergency situations that arrise.

JackieMaya, We are thinking about adding a 3rd to our clan. But we are downsizing! Already have two GSDs (at 120 pounds and 110 pounds) and seriously thinking about adding a Chinese Crested. We also have 3 cats. And everyone is indoors. The dogs just go outside to potty and play on nice days. The cats NEVER go out. So it's alotta hair in our house. But, we have the room and the love to add another. Also the finances. That is another thing to think about, although it sounds awful, doesn't it? My husband and I sat down and said, "Could we afford another dog?" But he is beautiful. I'm partial to the hairy ones myself.... :D

MajiesMom.... About the Gentle Leader and GSDs.....I have heard that the GLs do not work as well on GSD, collies and the like because of the long, sensitive muzles. Mine refused to wear it after properly getting them used to it. I did everything right, rewarded them for sniffing it, touching it, and when it touched them, and so on..... I understand what you mean about trying the "About Face" over and over again. Ours was the "Be a Tree". Just stop. Don't pull on the leash, just STOP. Don't even look at the dog until he comes back to you. Then praise and keep going. At the begining with Hunter, it took us 30 minutes to get from the front door to the car one day. But now, we are going to get ready to go into competition obedience. I myself wouldn't use a prong, but that's me. I'm not saying that they cannot be used correctly, because they can. It just takes a GOOD trainer to show you how. To sum it up (VERY shortly!!) the dog must do the correction. You are not supposed to yank on the leash when you have a prong on. The dog will pull to the end of the leash, find out it's very uncomfortable, then back off. But this will only work as long as it's fitted properly! Again, it takes a good trainer to do this. I have rarely seen a prong that can be pulled off the shelf and just go on any dog. Prongs need to be taken out or added. Our new neighbors just moved in with a 2 year old Min Pin/Beagle. You wanna talk about a puller!!! This little guy is full of P*** and Vinegar! But he's a cutie....he's a cutie cuz he's not mine!! :wink:

Would you mind a few more? They are pooped in these.... [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZADpAmsegQNPLRYrtUvO8etbmM0K5R5Blv4TJ3T6r2A0GNjaYzHQDs0W2XRy6UvhNmm2AI3rGKINXl83Fd1FlNN5Wb3KGICdntw4I4THeck!5eSdQ01VIvxiVOVkEit7JbxQhbhJt5TZDQ302Wc88w/Hunter%20and%20Dakota%202.JPG?dc=4675489324355089343[/img] [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YAAFA7Idua5PLRYrtUvO8etbmM0K5R5BucldMuEEsgVH0wEjri6m2yKsUKoTJjO3b2FS29C4157afLQJjmX6KS!bgrFdefakx4W4XMzV5WarXJeVyuj3lJf0If6tkbyNET2wCiLPWKTXcjUCTW96aQ/Hunter%20and%20Dakota.JPG?dc=4675489324356605307[/img]

ESSL, For training, try your local breed clubs. A lot of times they offer classes for just a membership fee. The Columbus All Breed (by me) is like that. I pay $100 a year and can take as many classes I want, every night of the week, with as many dogs as I want. They have everything from obedience, flyball, conformation, agility, and more! The Central Ohio German Shepherd Club is the same. Give it a look-see!!! :D

One of my favorite doggy games is the Hotdog Retrieve. The handler throws a hotdog and the dog needs to bring it back uneaten!! I swear, I have seen it happen! There are dogs out there that WON'T eat the hotdog!!! It's very funny to watch.

Any type of chewie that breaks apart should always be giving to your dog when you can supervise. I am VERY against rawhide since I had to pull a stick out of my Llhasa's throat after she collapsed. I have tried all of them. The Booda's really break apart (being that they are the cornstarch ones) and the edibles would be the next, followed by nylabones. I have seen dogs with broken teeth from nylabones and the Gallieo's (the huge, odd shaped ones). So that is also something you should watch out for. How tough of a chewer do you have? A nice stuffed kong works great for an agressive chewer. It's not something that will just dissolve after a while. They will always have the kong. There are so many new shapes to kongs out there now. It's not just the old beehive anymore!!! Hope some of this helps!!

Mine would have to be the Dogo. I just about tackled they guy when he walked into Pestmart. I used to teach obedience there when I was going through college. He couldn't believe that I knew what the dog was. So he'd bring him in a few times a month to play with me. It was the best!!

DAL, Sorry, but I'm new here so I don't know how old Zoey is..... Is she creating open sores or pulling fur out? Is she scracthing so hard that she is whimpering? The oatmeal bath and bennedryl are great for quick fixes. But if it is something other than a bite/sting or topical, then it will just come back. I have a VERY allergic cat. He is allergic to most tree pollen, ragweed, and other grasses, 4 types of molds, and my dogs. YES!! He IS allergic to dog dander. We tried many food switches (he is currently on Wysong) and ended up with a Dermatologist who ran allergy tests and he now gets injections. We have only begun with him (about a month now). But he will tear himself up. Huge open wounds that require him to be on antibiotics and oral estrogen (it prevents him from scratching, kinda like a steroid). The longer he is on his shots the more we can wean him off the estrogen. Dogs can develop allergies to what is in their food out of the blue. So I am not sure what you are feeding or of you are doing BARF. A dog can be on one food for months or years and suddenly have an allergy to it. Mostly the corn, wheat, and soy, but you probably knew that. I hope some of this helps. Please feel free to ask me anything! I have been to the Dermatologist so many times I feel as if I could work with him...and the human medical background doesn't hurt, either!