DogPaddle

I debated this when fostering Tyr. He had "detatched" rear dew claws - loose and flappy. We opted not to remove these but in retrospect I think we should have be cause they were detatched. However, I definately would leave the front dewclaws (presuming they are not detatched.) Both my boys use them for playing with toys both on their backs and otherwise, they also use them to anchor bones etc that they are working on and to pull things towards them. Neither of my dogs are working dogs but when I took Kavik canoe tripping he used his . . . I never knew dogs could rock climb, very steep spots with very few holds. My freind has a Czech GSD that is Schutzhund titled and had to have his rear dews removed because he tore them more than once, front ones ok though.

So should we congratualate you on your new cat . . . :question:

HF - No crucifixtion pending from this corner. I like feeding RAW to my dogs but keep a good high quality kibble on hand for when we travel (or when I get behind :oops: ) We all have to do what seems best for each of our individual dogs. Suggesting and unbiased investigation of BARF/RAW is very appropriate as there are certainly concerns about it, I checked out both camps before making my choice and watch carefully for signs of food poisonning or poor nutrition. So far, so good.

I confess to having run out of bags a couple times on long outings. When this happens I look for other dog owners who might have extra baggies, so for those of you who have helped other dog owners this way - thank-you. As for the woman who would not accept an extra baggie so she could clean up . . . :niedowiary: :nono: You would think that even if she was the sort to not give a rat's behind about cleaning up after her dog she would at least comply due to the social pressure when confronted.

I would just like to say that; it is good to gather more info before passing judgement, and that is what pit-curios claims to be doing, I would think that most pit-lovers here welcome that opportunity - to debunk harmful myths etc. For my own opinion. On one hand: 1. "pit bulls" are very powerful dogs 2. they are amazingly tenacious 3. a cdc study does indicate they are responsible for more fatal attacks than other breeds but they do not differentiate between: american bulldog, am staff, staff bull terrier, boxers?, english bulldogs etc and crosses, this may inflate the numbers somewhat 4. they are one of the breeds favoured by unsavoury sorts who do nothing good for the breed 5. they have a tendency to develop reservation/aggresion/aloofness with other dogs 6. they have high prey drive, usually focused on smaller animals or challenging dogs 7. many people are unfortunately breeding these dogs with conflict and/or dog aggression in mind On the other: 1. They are cute. 2. They are generally very well tempered around people, although, as with all dogs, should not be left unattended with small children etc. 3. They are amongst the most obedient and tractable of the terrier breeds. 4. They, if raise/bred correctly, live for praise. 5. They make excellent companions for the active, adventuring owner. 6. They do have an unfair reputation. 7. The CDC study indicates that "pit bulls" in all there incarnations are responsible for fatal attacks , which is less than 8. They really are cute. I don't think the above warrents the destruction of the breed. I know I would like to see much more careful screening of prospective owners and more careful planning for breeding. I definately agree a better enforcement of current laws would be most helpful - many problems with all dog breeds could be avoided by proper enforcement of leash laws and bans on dog ownership for people who are convicted of dogfighting, neglect, abuse etc.

Don't forget HF, they are also gaurenteed to be 2x as tolerent of pink bows. [size=2]Offer void in some states, actual product may not be as represented here.[/size]

I feel for you DAL. You have quite a handful with an adolescent working dog. They naturally need tons of excercise, tons of mental stimulation, tons of [i]work[/i] to do and of course tons of snuggles. They are also still learning the ropes but already starting on the testing teenager phase. :roll: Take heart though, the more work you do know the more it will pay off later . . . or so I'm told :lol: The best I can do is agree with others: good sturdy wire crate, as much excercise as you are able to give or arrange for, lots of training or good [i]'work'[/i] for Zoey to do. Best of Luck, hope you and Zoey get it smoothed out soon so you don't go crazy. :crazyeyes:

Mouse - I think there may be something to that. Kavik was so jealous that Zaphod went out 2x without him. :o Courtnek - Garbage was never a problem till Tyr taught Zaphod about it. :roll: I had to get one of those rubbermaid once with the foot pedle and hinged lid - thankfully they have not figured this out yet but I'll keep your tower method in mind if they do. :lol:

Kavik's favourite toy currently is a magnetic dart board. The dart's are plastic covered. Kavik will snatch them out of the air while I try to throw them at the dart board. He is obsessed with them and will sit staring at them or the place they usually are until someone plays with him. Zaphod has just begun to enjoy retrieving so his favourite toy is anything I throw. Kavik enjoys retrieving as well so I alternate throwing for one then the other, fairly good sharing although if Zaphod's toss is too close to Kavik then Kavik will always steal it - TODAY WAS THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT ZAPHOD SNATCHED ONE AWAY FROM KAVIK - he is usually not fast enough or agile enough to do so, he was so proud he took a victory lap around us, prancing and chomping on the kong. :D

You guys do magic! :Fade-color

I've been looking about and I'll think for the time being I'll use our barrel pack. Its an old 8 gallon olive barrel that has been modified for canoe trip and has a sealable lid that even I have a difficult time undoing sometimes - they are advertised as bear proof but that is a load of hooey! They are waterproof and keep the food smells contained and are easy to hang safely though, and should be more than enough to keep Zaphod safe. I'm beginning to think I need to check everything out in the house more carefully - 2 preventable accidents in one week!

Ok this time Zaphod snarfed around 6? or more cups of dry (backup) kibble (from inside cupboard - I guess he can open cupboards now :roll: ) 6 cups of dry kibble gets much bigger when it gets wet in the stomache! The vet was concerned because it was putting pressure on his liver (which was LOOKING enlarged but that could be misleading given circumstances), spleen and vena cava(sp?) and he had an elevated temperature and heart rate. She indicated it might be possible that if the kibble had ANY more expanding to do his stomache might rupture so we had a [i]pleasant[/i] few hours at the vets - NO RUPTURE :D YAY! Given that he keeps doing these things after hours I guess it wasn't too expensive ($350 for both problems this week.) Still I would have preferred the having an extra $350. Anyway, I'm thinking I may need babylatches for the cupboards or maybe never, ever keep kibble in the house. I beginning to think that Zaphod has vet office addiction, either that or he's suicidal.

Crate training may help, maybe someone has another suggestion, but I don't. If you want to crate train here is the standerd set of instructions however there are plenty of variations and I myself used a larger than normal crate and had no problem. Every dog is different. 1. Get a crate only larger enough so the dog can stand, turn around, or lie down. 2. Crate the dog whenever you are out. 3. When you are home the dog is not allowed out of your site - EVER. Crate if you can't watch, leash the dog to you if he is extra sneaky. This will lesson overtime. 4. Let the dog out to go after eating, sleeping, playing, sleeping or being confined while you were out. Leave do out to do his business for 5 min. If dog does not go, bring back inside and crate for 20 min then let back out again for 5 min. Repeat until dog goes while outside - Praise, Play, Treat and leave loose in house for 1-3 hours - under supervision, depending on dogs elimination periods. Repeat 5 min process. 5. Dog should not be in crate for longer than 8 hours in a stretch if at all possible and no longer than 12 hours total in a 12 hour period including when you and dog are sleeping if at all possible. Consider having someone come by to let the dog out for 20 min in the middle of your work day if this appears to be a problem. 6. If problem persists an even more regimented schedule can be used, pm me if you want more info. This process worked to housetrain my Lab/Chow cross in around 3 weeks as a pup. Yours may take a bit longer. As the dog becomes more trustworthy he can be left to have more freedom in house etc. Use caution here because one accident does a lot of untraining. Good Luck!

Excellent suggestion Malamum. Keep in mind, as well, the younger the dog the shorter the attention span :roll: We had to work Zaphod up from 5min grooming periods, now he will sit still for 20min - IF - he has a collar and leash on.

We also have an old foam cot mattress that I intend on cutting in half and making a cover for, I'm thinking that sticky backed velcro will work well enough to seal of the covers. Currently my boys have a big folding foamy chair in my room that they could use but still opt for the floor :niewiem: , paticularly corners or nooks or my bed (no problems with alpha here so I don't care unless the get hoggy then I tell them "off the bed" and off they go.)

Interesting point. I never had this problem with the boys as they were always prompt at doing their business first and then set to playing. Also I wonder if maybe the issue isn't so much an issue of Ben not wanting to be seperated from Bella as Ben feeling very dejected and sad and seeing Crested out there "having fun" with Bella instead of him.

I am also big on adoption but I did buy from a breeder . . . and than adopted him a companion and me my second pup :angel: I do all the care for both dogs. Having one BC was very simple to care for except for his need for constant excercise, mental stimulation and excercise. When I added my Lab/Chow, I found that this demand on me lessened but I had more work with yard cleanup - In a straight trade that sucks (less playing with dog, more picking up poop) but both dogs are very happy and I get double snuggles AND got to give a shelter dog a good home. The only area I still find tricky is outings but then I am one person and you guys are two. I think work wise you will barely notice the difference if you both honestly pitch in. Its good for the dogs and the number of furry snugglers directly match the number of people. Kavik who is not a super affectionate with other dogs would be so lonely without Zaphod. Also if I can teach either one of them something the other is then easier to train because they copy each other. Of course, they also learn interesting new bad behaviours from each other . . . maybe you aught not mention that to your wife. Anyway you could hook her with letting her pick a smaller mutt from the shelter. Shelters rarely have toys or minis around here but they do have BC and Spaniel crosses and such which are in the 25 to 50 lb area and have longer softer coats but are still big enough to play with your GSD. I wouldn't normally go with a dog much smaller though, especially if your pup is playful.

Oh, oh a doggy note, my boys think that both of their names are "Boys!" or "Boys, that's enough!" sigh, :niewiem: I love them.

I have a cousin who is a fair bit younger than me but was one of my favourites, we spent a lot of time together, she was a bit of a ditsy airhead but :niewiem: She never responded to her name the first time so you'd have to address her again, to save time I thought I'd just say her name 2x in a row, strung together, worked everytime - Carriecarrie! :lol: Its even more amusing now that she is 20 or so :wink:

Well he is almost back to normal. Ever since the vet emerg. he has been more affectionate and more interested in what I am doing, he watches me more - not a bad change but strange. Anyway I will certainly be picking different bones now, I don't have the extra money to be visiting the nice people at the After Hours Clinic on a regular basis. :lol:

Take Ben with you when you take Bella out.

Bernese Mountain Dog too. Suites well enough I guess - Like the out of doors and portaging, quiet and content indoors, enjoy others company but in a relaxed casual environment.

Good for Liz! I don't think it would be very easy to teach Zaphod to only take food from me, his nick name is Eatdog. :roll:

I give Kavik and Zaphod shank bones - the love them, the chew the marrow out . . . completely - smooth and clean. As Zaphod has gotten bigger I have gotten bigger and bigger bones for him - don't want him swallowing them whole. As it turns out the last one was too big . . . you see after they eat out the marrow the bone is a ring. The vet had to sedate Zaphod and grind part of the shank bone away to remove it - HE GOT THE DARN THING STUCK BEHIND HIS LOWER CANINES, ENCIRCLING HIS LOWER JAW! :o :roll: Only Zaphod could do something so . . . [i]boneheaded[/i]! :D The vet says they see 8-10 of these per year although usually with the circular bones from ham steaks and with smaller dogs but only two times have they seen one wedged worse than this and they had to use a wire saw to remove the bone from the completely sedated dog. Zaphod only had to be zombied up for them to remove it. It was wedged so bad it cut his gum and I had to keep moving it to ensure he got circulation to his lower "lip" correctly. :shake: Ah well he is home now and aside from being a bit dopey he is fine and sleeping it off. :sleep2: :angel: :lol: One good thing came of it - I can be a bit more assured of his temperment. Although he was in discomfort and seemed willing to do himself injury trying to remove the bone he wouldn't bite us or the vet when we stuck our hands in his mouth or tried yanking on the bone. :kciuki: He even greeted the vet tech at the desk pleasantly - in fact it was a calmest vet visit yet . . . go figure. :wink:

Start now, you can be a bit gradual but both Kavik and Zaphod seem calmer and more content when they have a role - NILIF.