DogPaddle

Hmmm, we just fed Tyr and gave him a very small portion and this time no gunk left in his mouth. He doesn't stop to drink during a feeding so maybe his mouth is drying out, maybe he just needs even smaller feedings (more of them of course.) Didn't have this problem when we free fed but we can't anymore because Zaphod was becoming rather portly (must be the Lab in him - Labs do so love their food don't they.)

We currently feed Tyr 3x per day as he (and Zaphod) are still puppies or at least young adults 8months and 4months. I don't I want to pay for 3 greenies a day as they are almost $2.00 a piece her and that is $180.00/month in greenies, even if we went down to two feedings it would be over $100/month. May try the doggie breath mint product if I can find it. My mom also suggested trying to give him 3-4 ice cubes after every meal as this will wash and slightly abrade (sp?) the caked on food out of his mouth - maybe. We'll see.

Oh those plastic ring things are trouble. We always cut the loops on them before we deposit ours in the garage or recycling because you never know for sure where they'll end up. I've seen to many critters caught in them.

Everytime Tyr finishes eating there is a thick buildup of pasty dog food caked on his teeth and gums. We have to remove it and brush his teeth after every feeding. (He has plenty of water all the time.) What is wrong, how can we fix it.

Whenever you first come home, or first need to address Cleo calmly and quietly tell her sit (if she doesn't sit already you may need to work on this) wait 15 seconds to a minute before greeting her or picking her up or issueing another command. Praise and/or treat all the good things she does lots and only correct bad behaviours by saying no calmly and then have Cleo sit for 15 seconds if possible before removing her or the item that was causing you to need to correct her.

:( Hope Gladis recovers well.

Well at least I have the perfect toy motivator for training purposes. :D

We have a magnetic dart board it has plastic darts with flat ends that have magnets in them. Kavik has always shown great interest in it, so we hung it lower and let Kavik catch the darts or at least try. He was having great fun, he would block some or catch some and then drop them immediately so he could catch the next. When we were done playing (actually when I was done as Kavik may have played indefinately) I put the board back up. Kavik has been sitting staring at the board for 3 1/2 hours, he cannot be distracted, would not eat. I finally locked him in his crate in another room with his food and he did eat, I hid the board while he was in the crate and now he is sitting forlornly where the board was.

I think Mouse was just teasing you Daisy.

Is chester normally allowed in your daughters room? If he is never allowed in her room he will not see it as part of the den and may then feel it is fair game for eliminating. Take him in their anytime you go in and can supervise him. Make up reasons to play in there with your daughter and Chester too, perhaps feed him in there occaisionally. Other than that all I can suggest is to install a more permanent swinging gate. This sort is a gate "permanently affixed to the walls or doorway but it has a wide door in it that is easy to unlatch/relatch and open/close. This may be a usefful tool in husband obedience training as it makes succesfully obeying house rules easier for the husband. :D

Kavik doesn't have time to be sensitve, between kongs, balls, cats, dogs, dryer lint, everything needing to be minded. He will however lick wounds but I always thought he was just getting a taste :shock: .

I agree that he won't change just because we talk. Getting photos is not possible though: 1) We live beside them, not across from them, so no view directly. 2) No view from the front of their unit except of their fridge and cupboards. 3) Only room I can see if I walk into their backyard is there living room and that is if blinds aren't drawn. The dog sounds to be crated upstairs somewhere. We can report the picking up by scruff of neck, time spent out of doors (can get a pic of that) and our impressions but our spca will do nothing based on this. Of the over 2000 reported cases to spca in our area, only 15 were prosecuted. All 15 were found guilty and had variouse fairly applicable sentences/penalties/charges. We have 3 spca officers that can do investigations for a city and jurisdiction of over 450 000 people. In over 80% of their other cases the spca agents issued warnings, somewhere around 60% also had notices which is a requirement that some problem be remedied ie matted coat be groomed or secure source of clean water and food be available at all times while dog outside. Sad but that is the situation :roll: . Our spca does excellent work with the money they have though. OK on to Jac - He is in good physical shape, only problem is redness on end of nose, possibly from nosing at crate and nails a bit too long (ouch.) Doesn't appear to be hand shy yet. Loves snuggles. Is eagerly exploring my kitchen and "dog proof" garbabe can. He is a firecracker on springs :D ! Very muscular and energetic. He can focus on a task for short periods - we took 10 min or less to get him to sit for a treat, don't know if he new sit before or not - it works to calm him down when he is too Zoomie!

Hah! Fate has stepped in on my behalf. Neighbours had to go away for weekend unexpectedly and asked if we would watch Jac! Now we can play with him, snuggle him, check him out a little more closely and it will give us a chance to strike up a conversation. (ooh and they gave us $20 :lol: ) I'll let you all know what happens.

We are currently the only people logged in, Bliss was here a bit ago, maybe its just a time zone/people at work sorta thing.

I just got up but everything seems to be working ok. I see your post, I see my posts, I'll go check who's online and where they are.

It is very cute. Kipp has a difficult time [color=red]not[/color] obeying Tyr's vocalizations. If we tell Tyr "no" and take away the inappropriate chew toy, Tyr will make his noises and Kipp will soothe, pat and snuggle him, which so sends the wrong message to the dog. Kipp knows he shouldn't do it, but its an automatic reaction for him, he does it before he thinks, some sort of mothering instinct :lol: . Oh well should be easier to train Tyr after Kipps trained.

Iditerod (sp?)

What is it: 1 paw at 20? 2 paws at 70? 3 paws at 200? 4 paws at 500? 5 paws at 2000?

How did they get the footage?!

Desensitization/Positive re-association? Find the things that upset her and do them repeatedly while playing with a toy she likes, playing a game she likes or doing the tricks/commands she knows for treats. You will probably need two people for this. Or if problem is severe try talking to the vet. Is she always high strung or nervouse or is it just certain things?

BARF and similar diets are nearly the opposite of what some vets and petfoodcos have been telling you for years. People food is not bad for your dog but some dog foods maybe. You have to be careful though, you want to balance there diet and avoid (depending on who you talk too) onions, grapes, the green parts of potatoes, garlic and of course chocolate. We only supplement our dogs kibble with people food - raw beef, raw chicken liver, raw shank bones for chewing, oatmeal, yogurt, some fruit and veggies. We are thinking of adding uncooked chicken backs and uncooked/frozen sardines. I only supplement so you are better off talking to Newfiemom and/or getting a book. Oh and Newfiemom or anyone else who feeds a non kibble diet: What does it cost you weekly to feed your diet and what do your dogs weigh? I want to compare to the cost of my kibble per week by weight. Thanks.

At seven weeks old your pup is doing great to let you know he needs out. Congrats. I imagine he will need to go out very frequently at least right now. By the time Zaphod was 2 1/2 months we were able to start expanding his time between piddles very slowly. We got an idea of his regular interval (15min for example.) Let him out, he piddled, we let him loose in the house for 12 min, put him in the crate for 5 min, put him out, he piddled. Then we vary gradually extended the time between, his crate time never exceeded 10 min though. Oh and praise, praise, praise. If he's very erratic there is a different technique

So she rings the bell and doesn't go when let out now? She just wants the treat?

Yup, could be the size of the crate. Should only be big enought for the dog to lie down, turn around, situp or standup, any extra room and it gives the pup an option to sleep in part and piddle in another part. If that doesn't work I would advocate putting Heidi on a shedule.

I am so sorry to hear about your little Ben. We feed Solid Gold Mmillenia and have had no problems but then we do have problems with just about eveything else :roll: so maybe the stuff in there is quite different, allergies are so tricky. It sounds like you will be feeding a BARF diet. You will definately need a good book. There are several people here who might suggest a good source.