Kaleb124

I have been *trying* to swap my two cats to raw....One crunches the bones with gusto and the other gnawed and chewed and gave up. I looked in the second one's mouth....she does not have many teeth left. In fact it looks like granpa's mouth without his dentures. :-? So, for her I chop/mince/puree as needed. I am not feeding them store bought raw, though, just parts of Kalebs meals.

[quote name='Horsefeathers!']I hope this breed NEVER appears in a popular movie or becomes popular because the idea of Akitas being acquired and owned by novice pet owners scares the heebie jeebies out of me. [/quote] You guys know that I own an Akita and have owned Akitas for many years. That being said I AGREE 100% with horsefeathers. I cringe when uneducated people see Kaleb and decide they want an Akita. Kaleb is a wonderful ambassador for the breed. BUT I have worked my butt off socializing and training him. Even though, he is still an Akita and I am always on guard. I am very serious about the way I let people interact with him because of the potential....I know no matter what the training, no matter what amount of socialization, given the right set of circumstances, he could bite. I would rather make Joe-Blow-Public think that I am a nazi-wacko and make him mad instead of allowing that person's interaction with Kaleb escalate to a potentially dangerous situation. IE -- interact with the dog obeying MY RULES or GET LOST. And I NEVER allow Kaleb to interact with small children unless I have him on a collar and leash. There are just too many uncertainties. *SIGH* I hate reading about dog attacks. My heart goes out to those families.

I ordered it! I can't wait until it gets here! Thanks Sheltielover!!!

[quote name='sheltielover'][quote name='Kaleb124'][quote]As for the books, are you getting Ian Billinghursts give your dog a bone? Although all raw methods of feeding give comparitivly good results compared to kibble, I've heard alot of good remarks about "Give Your Dog a Bone" and although I havn't been able to get my hands on it yet, [/quote] Me either. All of the places that I have looked over the internet do not have and say that they cannot get it. :([/quote] Is this the book you are looking for? [url]http://dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN138[/url][/quote] YES!! :D

[quote]As for the books, are you getting Ian Billinghursts give your dog a bone? Although all raw methods of feeding give comparitivly good results compared to kibble, I've heard alot of good remarks about "Give Your Dog a Bone" and although I havn't been able to get my hands on it yet, [/quote] Me either. All of the places that I have looked over the internet do not have and say that they cannot get it. :(

We just got a deep freezer....Hubby got tired of all the meat taking up our freezer of the fridge, so a deep freezer now sits in his bathroom. HAHAHA!! At least he is happier about the refridgerator-freezer being mostly empty. Kaleb had a bad bought of diarreah last week. UGG...I fed him a meal of just kibble and viola!! Runny, watery poop. So NO MORE KIBBLE FOR KALEB. I fasted him for 24 hours, and then started adding pumpkin. He is great now. I have a big list of books that I would like to purchase about raw feeding. I just have not purchased them yet. I can probably order them this week. I have to find the cheapest place to get them. I am really excited about this raw stuff....Hubby is finally coming around!! Friday we went and bought the meat for this week. Hubby wanted to get Kaleb a big STEAK! I thought it was funny. So now Kaleb will have to "suffer" through eating a 12 oz sirloin. Poor Guy! :lol: I am slowly finding places that carry meat at very good prices. Friday I found cut up whole chickens for 39 cents a pound! I was tickled! Kaleb's energy level has gine up a lot! Before he slept all of the time. Now he is calm, but has energy to burn. I can tell if he needs more exercise because he is whiny and will not leave me alone.

Here are some links that I found VERY informative. [url]http://www.rawdogranch.com/[/url] (Get the spreadsheet! It is invaluable and FREE!) [url]http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm[/url] [url]http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=barf;action=list[/url] (net ring with a lot of raw/barf sites) [url]http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/barfsites.html[/url] [url]http://home.comcast.net/~mstraus/dogfeeding.html[/url] [url]http://www.k9rawdiet.com/rawlinks.htm#The%20Pro-BARF%20Literature[/url] [url]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/[/url]

Well, Saturday hubby and I took Dax to the rescue lady. He acted like he liked her well enough. She said that she bought him a cheesburger on the way home. She also said that after lunch, he napped for the rest of the drive. I am very happy that Dax has a chance! He was a very sweet dog.

I got a WONDERFUL call today! A chow rescue lady from Cincinnati OH called me today about Dax. We talked on the phone for about 30 minutes...her asking me questions and my telling about Dax (sweetypie). So long story short....Dax is going to live with her in her home as an inside dog until she can place him in a chow-wise household!!! I am so tickled about this! He has really warmed up to me in the last week or so, but I know that he needs a FOREVER home. The lady said that she would take him to the vet and have him neutered, keep him for a while, and then try to place him. I am just so happy for him.

What a very nice story!!! 8)

[url]http://www.kalebs.net/deathtosuki.shtml[/url]

:oops: Already feeding pumpkin to help constipation, but also ran out 2 days ago. Headed to the grocery today.

[quote name='yellowlabsrule'][quote]"I want a dog for my children"[/quote] Some crazy person (not you of course) will probably have them say that and then say, "Oh, a labrador retriever is just what you need". :x :motz: I hate it when labs go to homes because "they are so good with children". Grrr!!! (sorry I just get so mad!!! :oops: )[/quote] Yes, she got the *ahem* "lecture" about "dont get a dog FOR YOUR KIDS" and then she changed her story and said "I know that I will have to care for it and train it, but I want my kids to have dogs in their life like I did." Labs, yes someone will tell her to get a lab. And around here labs are a dime dozen and several are killed each week at our animal shelter. So a lab would be easy to get. The only dog that has EVER bit me was a LAB. (Not to say that they are all bad) but people think they can get a lab and throw it in the yard and it will raise itself. NOT!!! I am helping my sister with an aggressive 12-month-old unneutered lab. He is the result of exactly that philosophy. He will bite/attack in a heartbeat. :o

I had heard/read that too, but I thought as long as you did not mix them in the same meal, that it would be ok. He seems better today. He had one bought of diarrhea last night. I gave him a small (6 ounces) of beef muscle meat this morning. He has not had any problems since (so far anyway). He is still *off* though. He acts like his belly hurts. But right now he is laying here beside me napping. I joined that k9nutrition group. I am happily waiting for the pouring in of new info. Thanks a bunch!

I have talked them out of an akita...not to mention that they were feeding it *meat* flavored sawdust and it at 50 POUNDS of food per week!!!! :evil: So it was eating them out of house and home. So, I have suggested a whippet, a beagle, or some nice doggy from the pound. She said, "I want a dog [i]for my children[/i]" I said, "You don't need a dog then."

Since putting the dog to sleep, I have heard more things that verify that we did the right thing. The owner admitted that the dog had snapped/tried to bite her 2 year old daughter, but thes insists that the 6-month old baby could crawl all over the dog. The dog has eaten 2 above ground swimming pools and the trellace off of the deck (from boredom or teething I guess). The owner was unable/afraid to trim the dogs toenails. When the pup was 5 months old, a different friend told the owner that the dog was not right and it was dangerous. I still feel crappy, but I know that the dog was dangerous. I am just so angry with (first) the breeder who sold this dog WAY TO EARLY and (second) to the owner who did not have a clue how to raise a pup and who did ALL THE WRONG THINGS. The owner wants me to *hook her up* with a breeder to get another puppy......I do not feel good doing this unless the breeder has an iron-clad contract that they would have this person sign saying that they would reclaim if they felt it was necessary.

After yesterday, I am ready to ditch the dry food now. My husband is pushing me to keep feeding kibble (wellness). However, I have been feeding Kaleb mostly raw with the exception of a tiny bit of kibble every couple days. So make my hubby happy, I fed Kaleb a meal of only kibble. All day yesterday he had VERY BAD gas and diarrhea. GREAT!! So the kibble is gone. I guess I am a full convert finally. AND I have bought a deep freezer to keep meat in (hubby requested getting a deep freezer because there was no room in our freezer for people food :-? ) So I guess I am on my way!! The things that I have noticed that are GREAT 1.) no more gas!!! 2.) No more stinky dog breath! 3.) More muscle mass! 4.) He is gaining weight (that he desperately needs) but it is muscle and NOT FAT! 5.) He is less picky about his meals. 6.) Poops are MUCH smaller and are gone/close to gone the next day! I have been searching for studies and/or information that I can print out about raw feeding and give my hubby to read. I have looked at a lot of info myself (enough to convince me to feed raw), but [i]hubby[/i] wants a study that is completed by a major dog food company and says "Raw is best, but our x-brand food is second best". Does anything like that exist? I seriously doubt it, but I tought I would ask.

[quote name='yellowlabsrule']Kaleb124, is there any way you could turn the breeder in to animal control for neglect? Or did the breeder sell it to someone at 2 weeks and your neighbors get it from the previous owners?[/quote] Yes the breeder sold it to someone and they gave it to my neighbors. I am setting here on the verge of tears and sick at my stomach. We put the dog to sleep at noon. It is strange how quickly events took place. I contacted rescue. They said that they would not take the dog because of it's vast aggressiveness. I somehow was able to get a muzzle on the dog wihtout getting bitten....don't ask me how, I would just as soon forget today. I took him to the animal shelter and watched as the staff put him to sleep. The funny, no horrifying I think is a much better word, is he aggressed all the way to the "dungeon" (that is what they call the little room where they PTS animals.) He growled and tried to bite all the way there.......Once in the room he began to wag his tail and even try to lick me. I nearly lost it! The manager of the shelter says that that happens a lot. Dogs will be vicious and try to attack everything/everyone around, until it goes into that little room of death. And then they calm down and wag their tail. Sorry guys, I am just a basket case right now.

Yesterday morning my neighbor called me to see if I wanted another Akita. I said no, but I would talk to my husband. My neighbors said that they were going to get the dog (papers and all) and see if they could make an outside dog out of it. Anowho, around 12:30 we went to see the neighbors new pup. I saw the papers first...all champions on the sires blood lines, but no champions on the dams. So from the papers, it looked like the dog had the potential to be a decent dog. As we walked toward the dog, my neighbors both started saying, "Now he's a little thin...", "He is a little shy,"... When I finally saw him I realized what they were rambling about...the dog was very thin (no surprise there), it's coat was rough and dirty, his toenails were between 1 inch and 1.5 inches long, his feet were splayed out from the toenail length, he was growling and snarling and began to attack the fence. **Now keep in mind that they want to make this dog act like my Kaleb who I have socialized out the wazoo and am getting ready to compete in competition obedience with** So I watched as the husband tried to pet the dog to calm it down. It lunged at him and nearly bit him. To help the dog gain weight, my neighbors had put a big dish of kibble in the pen with it....it was guarding it and it's water bowl too. It's tail was dropped, it would not make eye contact, but it would try to bite at any chance it got. They nervously laughed and said, "What do you think?" I said, "Put it to sleep." I was able to talk to the original owner on the phone. I found out that the original owner had gotten the puppy at 2 weeks old. 2 WEEKS!!! The breeder sold that pup at 2 WEEKS OLD!! I asked if there was a reason that she got the dog at 2 weeks....she said just because they wanted it early. The Dam was still nursing all of the rest of the puppies. I asked if the breeder explained the WOES of living with an akita. NO I asked if she has done any training with the pup. NO, well she said she "worked with it for a month"...(2 weeks plus a month equals 6 weeks old)...and then it was chained to a tree in the yard from then on. I begged her to let me get the dog into rescue (if possible). She kept saying that if I did not want it, and my neighbors did not want it, she wanted it back. (This woman has 3 kids, one is 6 months old... :o ) So I persisted and finally she said that I could take the dog and try and get in into rescue. So now the dog is 8 months old, unneutered, ungroomed, (mostly) unfed, completely unsocialized.....and more than likely going to be put down. I am going to contact Akita Rescue in my area, but I truely doubt that they will want a food aggressive, fear aggressive, unsocialized to other dogs (including mom and littermated), unsocialized to people, unsocialized to other animals,.......I am so sad about this. He was really a nicely built dog. And this is happening because some breeder was more interested in the money than the welfare of the dog. :puppydogeyes:

Kaleb has been on Raw for two weeks.....I was most impressed by the immense energy that he now has. Before 2 small walks a day was plenty for him. Now he is like the energizer bunny! :eek2:

I currently have one dog of my own and two dogs that I currently fostering/training. I do not have a kennel liscense. I need to look into that...I do not know the law but I expect it is very lax. Dog law in my area is basically nonexistant.

I have neighbors that breed their 15 plus dogs constantly to sell and make money off of. Their dogs are constantly tearing up our trash, chasing our horses, chasing/killing our cats, killing our ducks....I have called animal control numberous times over two years to no avail. They do not contain their dogs at all (OR THEIR HORSES for that fact.) We often have their horses on our property .... they live 1/4 mile away and have NO FENCES! :evil: And their horses are always sick. I digress... My sister is trying to breed lab pups...She has a so-so female and an aggressive crazy male that she is trying to breed. I keep telling her that breeding dogs is expensive and that too many labs are already being put down DAILY in our area, but she is just wanting to "sell each pup for $300 a piece....." I gave up trying to talk her out of it. She is 13 years older that I and will not listen to "little sis". Lizzie -- your story about that chow.....WHOA! That is awful!! I am fostering a chos that I am not able to get the mats out of....You have just made me decide to go home and shave him...just to be safe. Yuck.

In my office, there is a clock high on the wall above my desk. It is the "official time keeper" in my office. We always look at it to make sure that we are leaving at the appropriate time. Last week, one of my coworkers said, "Kaleb is telling you that it is time to go." I turned and looked at Kaleb (who I had been ignoring). Sure enough, he was sitting right next to me and he would look up at the clock and then turn and look at me as if to say, "It is time to leave dummy, are you ready yet?". It was pretty funny. So, inadvertently, I have taught Kaleb to look at the clock when he is ready to leave. Wierd dog. :-?

I have contacted the Chow Club of America about this boy. I know it is early, but still have not seen any real problems with this guy. He is not trained (we're working on that now), pushy (but not TOO pushy and we are also working on manners), and independant (aren't all chows?) , but if you are firm with him, he very quickly follows your lead. I do think that someone has been rough with him.....I verbally repremanded Kaleb the other day for barking and acting snotty while I worked Dax....When I looked at Dax, he was laying submissively at my feet like "I did not mean to do any thing wrong..." Kinda made me sad. But he may just be a real soft chow. We have been working on walking on a loose leash. He has learned very quickly. He has to follow me lead....when he steps out in front, I suddenly change directions. Then he plays catch up and gets back beside me. Last night he walked right beside me for a long walk with only a couple of mistakes. This is a great improvement from the first night where he basically tried to drag me everywhere he wanted to go. I think that he is just beginning to *sort of* trust me. He actually looked me in the eye last night for the first time and he gave me a couple submissive licks. I think tonight we will try working on SIT. Because I think he has been handled roughly, I plan on using a lot of treats and try to make it a positive experience. I am thinking about having him temperment tested....My trainer can do that. It would be good to have as info to help place him for adoption. Thank you all for the support. If you have any suggestions, I am eager to hear them!

[quote name='Horsefeathers!']As mentioned, don't concentrate all your effort in one spot too long, or you'll have patches.[/quote] At least Kaleb doesn't care about the bald spots... :oops: :lol: I am using the Mars Coat King on the new chow now. His fur is HORRIBLE. It is all matted particularly around his head. I am actually thinking about shaving him. :( I son't think he would mind. But so far, he tolerates grooming. I have been taking huge amounts of fur from him (using the Coat King) for the past 2 nights. I don't think that I am making any head way though. I even used an undercoat last night...with all of the tugging and pulling, he still stood perfectly still. He is such a sweety.