Rosebud

:D Yeah, I've always been told that if you give dog's variety you create a picky eater, well mine are not in the least bit picky, although they are huge food hounds. They got a fresh batch of bow-wow brownies last night and were just like children pacing the floor waiting for them to finish cooking, then waiting for them to cool. They knew I made them for THEM! Thanks Cassie but I don't think my IG would care too much for Canada. She's more of a Florida girl. :angel:

:D Currently at present I have 4 dogs and 2 cats. Daddy Dog came to visit this week, he goes home tommorrow. I do not have a kennel license, I don't think TN or MS require it, I think I might have to check into it as well. :angel:

:wink: [quote name='Cassie']You are right Rosebud, the raw diet is not for every one..I just thought I would throw the suggestion out there.... :wink: My dogs have done very well on the raw diet and I take alot of pleasure in making up wholesome complete meals... I have access to Pasture-fed animals...I know where my meat comes from and I see the animals and their living areas....I have a local butcher who uses no pesticides or antibiotics, hormones etc... I consider myself very lucky.[/quote] Do you want a house-guest and family, say for like the next 30 years. :lol: It's always good to make people aware of the RAW diet and it's benefits and if that's not for them the supplements they can add to kibble diets. I believe that a dog really shouldn't be fed just kibble, they're tooooooo special to me to deprive them of the "good stuff" out there that the babies can also enjoy. I will watch their sugar consumption a little more closely now. :angel:

:D Thanks for the list of hidden sugar's. Cassie - I seriously contemplate RAW alot here recently, however, I do good to cook for myself. I do supplement with cooked meat (beef, chicken, occasionnally deer or wild hog). I will also fix them up a batch of that chicken/vegetable soup that was posted here about once a month. I use yogurt with no added anything's and stay away from dog candy (the junk dog treats), they also get bacon and eggs on the weekends. I'm also thinking about switching them from Eagle Natural to Eagle Holistic. :angel:

:-? Wow that's alot of information to think about. I thought sugar only caused weight gain and made them more susceptible to diabetes. :angel:

:D Congratulations Rott, she's a cutie. [size=1]No, I can not have another ridgie right now. Repeat slowly.[/size] :angel:

:D [quote name='hillside']I'm not sure what they are actually called but my friend's cat, who is living with his brother currently due to my friend being homeless for a bit, has some sort of "claw covers" because he refuses to have her declawed.. Anyone know anything else about those?[/quote] They are called soft paws. Check out this link for a look at them. [url]http://preview.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=JBWholesale&category%5Fname=+&product%5Fid=641%2D0100[/url] I would like to point out that most cats will experience trama and mental issues if you remove the back claws. I had the front claws removed on my cats and they are fine, don't know the difference, but I would never even think about removing the back claws. One thing that is really important with claw removal is to make sure that the vet is experienced in the surgery, it is very necessary and tons of things can go wrong if it is not done right. With the invention of soft paws I would suggest you try them first and only resort to claw removal as a last resort. Good luck with your new kitty, let me know if you need any advice, I was raised with cats and love them as much as I love my dogs. :angel:

:lol: :lol: First - Great pics everyone. Second - Rottweiler - Reindeer Bernese Mountain Dog - Santa :angel:

:lol: :lol: "That's one" Jackie that was great you also reminded me that I taught Sally & Rocket to wait until I put there food bowls down before chowing down. Now I can say wait for almost anything, and they just look at me for the o.k. to go. There time-out word is Quiet Play, when they get to loud in the house I just tell them quiet play and they just make quiet chewbaca noises while play nawing on each others faces. :angel:

:D wow lots of ideas. Sally & Rocket have learned when Saturday is, (when mom wears jeans to work we go to the park when we get up from bed-time.) They sleep through my alarm clock mon-fri and wake me up half an hour earlier on Saturdays. They have learned to ask for me to put a blanket on the couch when they want up on it. They will lay their heads on it, give me the please look and whine. They know out of the street and too far for when they are off-lead. I live on a street where the only traffic is the people who live on it, and out of the street is for at home, they are getting to where they don't even go into the street at all. They also know the sound of the safety seal being removed from a container of yogurt, from a dead sleep at the other end of the house. :angel:

[quote name='Marble']do any of you know where you can get a good leather leash that does not cost a bilion dollars and is not stiff as board here in the US? just curious, the only ones i've seen that looked decent have been online and you can't touch or feel them so i'm cautious about getting one online......my brother has an awesome one for his dobie girl, but he got if from his trainer and has not been able to get one for me yet..........maybe i need to get on his case :)[/quote] Try checking out the vendors at a dog show near you, they usually have nice soft leather in all kinds of lengths and styles, some might be a little pricey but you will be able to "test the merchandise" and then go from there. :angel:

:wink: [quote name='K']Rosebud...do we have to tell child services?...it can be our secret 8)[/quote] Yeah, but does that mean that we now have ammunition for black-mailing Courtnek? :lol: :lol: :lol: [quote]Just slip a little flea bath in his shampoo [/quote] That's rather clever thinking. Just make sure your son knows that his "new" shampoo has to be left in his hair for 5 minutes before rinsing and change his body soap to a liquid soap too. :angel:

:D [quote]Maybe it is a individual dog thing but it is much easier for me to walk them with the flexi than a regular lead. [/quote] I absolutely agree with you Mary'smama. My problem with the flexi is the owner responsibility issue. If your dogs are not trained you are an accident waiting to happen. I still don't like the idea of a large dog on one, but a JRT is just right for one, if it's trained properly to begin with. :angel:

[quote name='Kaleb124']It is a local therapy group that is organized through our local Humane Society. Not very many of the dogs are therapy certified (most are not). Which is why some people do not associate with that therapy group, I have just learned. The dogs that are certified are done through TDI, Inc. Speaking of which...Kaleb was denied certification through TDI because he is 10 months old. :( We will have to retake the test after his 1 year birthday to gain certification. I just wish someone would have told me. GRR[/quote] I checked into TDI and decided that I liked Delta Society's program better, although TDI has a good program as well. Neither one of them will certify a dog younger than 1 year old, I have decided to wait until Rocket is at least 2 years before pursuing his certification. :angel:

[quote name='ayb2101']Wait, so now I'm confused. Does state farm insure pitbulls or not? The articles said they did, but the first post said they didn't?[/quote] The insurance representative that meet with the kennel club said that State Farm Insurance DOES NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES insure PIT BULLS. The ins rep would not tell us what state farms definition of a pit bull was. It would be wise to consult with your own agent if you are with State Farm and if they say that they will, I would ask for it in writing. :angel:

[quote name='Kaleb124'][quote name='Bentleythewonderdog']:) Hope I don't offend anyone but this type of leash has been a pet peeve of mine. I know there are people out there that are responsible and control their pets but I [b]personally[/b] have never seen a dog on one that was in control. I feel that they are unsafe for the pet and people. I have seen dogs dart out into streets while on them and I have seen aggresive dogs lunge at people walking by. I just prefer having a good lead that keeps them at my side.[/quote] I agree with you completely...That being said, when Kaleb and I are on long walks, I use a flexi. However, I always keep it locked in the shortest position unless we are in a big grassy area with no obstacles or people to get tangled up in. Then I unlock the lead and encourage him to run and play. I will admit, if I MUST have real control, I use a 6 foot leash. I can never get a decent correction with the flexi because it seems to "ratchet" a couple of inches when I do try to correct. I cannot count the number of times that a dog connected to a flexi leash has jumped on Kaleb or got tangled up in his legs or my legs and the owner was so far behind the dog that they did not notice. [b][color=red]There are even people in my therapy dog group who use a flexi leash. [/color][/b] I hate it. I have been badly cut from a flexi leash that was wrapped around my legs by a little corgi mix dog. I would hate to see that happen to someone that we were visiting in a health care facility….notwithstanding we would probably be asked to leave and not come back.[/quote] What therapy dog organization do you use? Delta Society aka Pet Partners does not accept flexi-leads as a means of control for therapy dogs that they license. [url]http://deltasociety.org/petpart/ppeval.htm[/url] [quote][size=2][b]Equipment[/b] [b]Acceptable equipment: [/b] Well-fitted buckle, quick-release connection, or snap closure collars or harnesses made of leather or fabric. Martingales (i.e., limited slip) and halters (e.g., Gentle Leader, Promise, Snoot Loop, Halti). Metal buckles, slip rings, and D-rings are acceptable. All leather or fabric leashes, no more than 6 feet in length. [b]Unacceptable equipment: [/b] Metal collars and harnesses, including martingales with metal links. Slip collars of any type. Special training collars such as "pinch," "spike," electric, or spray collars. Metal chain and retractable leashes (e.g., Flexi-leash). [/size][/quote] :angel:

:-? All dogs are still puppy's till they reach the age of at least 1 year. I know that my toy breed IG Sandy was in no way whatsoever mentally mature enough to handle a litter at 1 year, must less 6 months old. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when deciding what age to breed your dog. Ex. While Sally is already showing signs of her being a good mommy, she still acts like a puppy @ 17 months old. There are tests that need to be done on Ridgebacks that can't be certified until after 2 years of age (hips), with that note, that puts her @ 2 1/2 years for first breeding, since my puppy sitter is unavailable in the fall months, that leaves me with a first breeding at age 3 in the spring. Sally will be more mature, be completely full-grown, her body will be able to support a pregnancy & whelp and I will have a full-time puppy-sitter to tend the litter while I work. A lot to consider when deciding what age to breed at. :angel:

:-? I'm not a real big fan of flexi-leads either. I would never even consider using one on the ridgies, however I do use one for Sandy my IG when I'm walking all three at once. With the flexi on Sandy I can let her walk out in front of Sally & Rocket and still be able to "reel" her in if I have too. Sally & Rocket are on a Y attachment so they have no choice but to walk beside each other, Sandy's flexi is always in the lock position regardless of how much line I let her have. I'm still not wild about small breeds on them either, a frightened toy can wrap itself around you and cause you to fall and possible be in danger faster than you can reel them in. I think anyone that uses one on a large breed is just an accident waiting to happen, the plastic handle is very hard to hold on to when a 60-80lb dog hits the end of the line at a run. [size=2]Note to Kiger: I'm sure your baby is very well trained to walk on loose lead and that you will be responsible for him, however I still would suggest you consider a different lead.[/size] :angel:

:cry: :cry: :cry: I'm so sorry Behle. Sally & Rocket send puppy kisses to you. :angel:

:Dog_run: Play hard and Run Max, you will be missed. :angel:

:-? Just thought I would let you know I [u]never[/u] got the impression from any of your posts that he was up for adoption. :angel:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Unfortunately I don't think child services would agree to it, but not a bad idea. :angel:

:oops: :oops: My mistake K, I didn't notice that Lablover was reveiving an old thread. :angel:

:D She'll be o.k. give her some time and make a big deal about how great she looks after you give her the treatments. This is how I got my RR's to like to take baths, I made a big deal about how pretty they were and then I would overly enthusiastically give them a cookie, I did the same thing with Sally and her "pretty panties" (now she will pick up her leg herself). It really helps them to get over the humiliation aspect and know that you are trying to help them. :angel:

:D Have a great time. :angel: