imported_Cassie

I have owned many dogs I did not attend obedience classes with. But, with many dogs which I have adopted as older pets such as my Rottweiler which had been left tied in a back yard until I adopted her at 1 year of age (she was confiscated by the SPCA- it was a horrible situation) since she had never been around other dogs it was very important to take her to obedience or I would have had a very out of control unsocialized dog on my hands...she learned to listen to me even with all the other distractions...nothing worse than than having your dog out and it sees another dog and takes off :o my dogs respond to recalls in all situations...but, so did my dogs which I did no organized obedience training . I also find it important to attend obedience classes with my dogs which I am trialing, the class setting is very simular to the trials they attend...I do train at home as well...but, some times in the class situation they are subjected to much more...I can't always find others to help me train my dogs and I like the way the instructor uses distractons like a bouncing ball, squeky toys etc. to keep our dogs focused on us only...one gal I went to an obedience trial with had her Newf. jump over the fence that surrounded the obedience ring and run throughout the whole dog show as it heard some one playing with a squeky toy and it just had to find it!! :o the owner of the Standard poodle was quite surprised to have a huge Newfoundland dog come running up to him & his poodle...oh yes, she was disqualified from the obedience ring as well. :lol: this dog did eventually get his CD, but it took awhile...the owner trained her dog at home and was not prepared for that distraction. :lol:

The below is the price of a Canine castration at the clinic I work at. For the pre-op blood work it is an additional $48.00...we are not an over priced clinic..just normal and competitive for Eastern Canada - Maritime provinces. There is also the HST tax on top of these prices which is 15%. Canine Castration Small (under 10kg) $121.00 Med (10

Good for you and Cody!!!! :multi: I am so happy for you both...you were right in your title that little Cody had lots of class in class last night!!! :wink: Enjoy yourself and you and Cody have fun! when ever I attend obedience I make alot of new friends with each class I attend...I find it to be a social night out with my dogs which we both can have fun. Hopefully your obedience class is like mine are and you all keep in touch after wards, that way all the new friends Cody has made he can keep by getting together and going for walks.

I think I will do a review on Newfoundland dogs...I am not going into their history...just my own personal experience I have owned 9 of the lovely dogs and I have many friends who breed them (thats how I get them, at no cost! :wink: ) Pro's 1. Very gentle warm companion...very loyal. 2. Most do not have a very high prey drive, although I do own 2 Newf's who will chase cats...my other 2 won't even lift their heads at some thing running. 3. Very good with children. 4. Eagar to please, most can be very easiley trained for obedience...although this has never been my experience...my Newf's have always gotten very bored with obedience even though they excel at it...you have to be very uppity to keep them motivated. 5. Very good with other dogs, even dogs which tend to be dog aggressive...they have a very non threatening manner about them which does not provoke other dogs...I have had all of my Newf's around very dog agressive dogs and even a friend of mine who owns an APBT cannot walk any where near other dogs...but, he can walk his APBT with my Newf's (I have to leave my Rottie at home! :wink: ) The down side: 1. Require alot of grooming! are prone to hot spots etc if not groomed properly...they are being bred with more and more coat all the time! 2. Have heirditary problems including elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, heart murmers, etc. 3. If you have your heart set on a water dog and are under the impressions that ALL Newf's love water...guess again...with the 9 Newf's I have owned only 1 of them would go in the water...and I live by a lake!!! the breeder competed in water rescue with him...my other Newf's will not even wade...they will sit on the shore and watch my Rottweiler swimming around. 4. They drool...alot. A friend of mine breeds St. Bernards (rough coated)... even he gets grossed out by the excessive drooling my Newf's and my friends Newf's do! you will never have a slime free wall and your house will always be a mess. 5. If you like going to the local beach or ocean...be prepared to bring half the sand back with you and on walks be prepared to spend hours combing out all the twigs, branchs, burdock,trees! :lol: 6. They are a large breed and are very prone to ruptured anterior cruciates...I have one Newf away right now having his rear ligament repaired and have had 2 others which have blown theirs. 7. Are suited to colder temperatures, so, even in the winter you must keep a window open for them...mine all sleep in my bed room so I have to have them in bed with me to keep me warm! :lol: In the summer, I have a fan set up in their kennel (baby barn) and have to have fans going constantly indoors. This is just my personal experience with Newf's.

You wouldn't beleive how often this happens...especially to people who buy pet quality pups....breeders get lazy and keep putting off sending the proper doc's in to the AKC (in my country its the CKC) I know of many many reputable breeders who have done things like this...they do not hesitate when it is a pup with show quality which will be shown...and believe me, it costs next to nothing to register a pup...the breeder is just putting it off. Give them another chance, tell them you really would like to have the papers...there are even some show events in conformation for spayed and neutered dogs...at least with the CKC there are, and you need reg. papers for obedience trials.

How nice for Sasha...what a wonderful turn of events for Sasha. I have found my dogs which have had the roughest start to life have been my most dedicated pets. They really seem to appreciate their new home.

Wonderful, thank you so much....I was looking to order this book to add to my library....I already own the Merck Manual of medical information for humans. They are easy to read. Once again thanks :wink: :fadein: :angel:

No they are not recognized by the Canadian Kennel club. They do feature the breed in the Dogs in Canada magazine...but, they are still not recognized as a breed. At least you cannot show them in a conformation dog show here..you can compete in agility with a Border Collie. The last I had heard (and believe me I am not up to date on every thing :wink: ) People who work their sheep with border collies waged a campaign against the registration of their breed by the AKC...because showing eye is a genetic trait, it can be selected against, and if border collies are going to be bred for shows and as pets, breeders are going to have to get rid of the eye.

[quote]One thing I just thought of, would a dog with a short coat like a lab or something be cold in the winter? It can get pretty cold here somtimes, but not that often. could clothers solve that problem?[/quote] A Lab would be cold if you left it out all day. but since you would mainly have it as a house dog it shouldn't be a problem. I have a Rottwieller and many of my friends have Lab's we walk them on the coldest winter days...it doesnt bother them...and I live in the Northern part of Canada, we have very cold winters. :lol: My advice to you would be, make a list of different breeds you are interested in...call different reputable breeders ( I say reputable as they will not lead you astray and tell you their breed is good in any environment!) there are all sorts of variations in all breeds...for instance a friend of mine breeds hunting Lab's...these dogs where breed for hunting not for show...they are as hyper as a dog can get and would not make a good house dog...a few people I know breed Lab's for show, and they make wonderful house dogs... As far as I know border Collies are not recognized as a breed by the AKC or CKC due to the fact that the breeders of BC's do not want their working dogs ruined...once they are breed for show and not for working ability they loose some of their natural abilities (border collies usually show the "eye" once they show the "eye" they do not make good pets) but, then again that depends on where you get your border collie, if its from good working lines it will not make a good house pet. So, then again it depends greatly on the breeder as there are all kinds of breeds which do not have many of their true characteristics...talk to a good breeder, a good breeder will ask you more questions about the living conditions their pups would be exposed to and will tell you if their breed is suitable or not...a good breeder is not some one just trying to make a quick buck and put their pups in any home. I have 4 Newfoundland dogs, 2 of them are much too hyper...and they are mature, I can't seem to wear them out and they play out side and tear though my home at night when I am home with them..they have almost knocked over my fish tank a few times and they try to chase my cats!!! the other 2 Newf's are typical of the Newf they are more content to just lay at my feet and laze around the house. So even within one breed I see different variations in my dogs...2 of them come from the same breeding and they are hyper...the other 2 come from different breedings and they are lazy!!!

I would strongly recommend you pick up the book "The other end of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell. Inadvertly we can cause problems with our dogs interacting with other by our body language and how we react to different situations. I have gone through simular problems with my Rottweiler...she was VERY dog aggressive when I first got her and could not be trusted around any dog other than a Newfoundland dog. I really thought it was strange, I have always owned Newf's and thought that perhaps she was more secure with Newf's than other breeds as they do not have threatening body language...I could put her in with any Newfoundland dog...most of my friends have Newf's (they are breeders) I could put my dog out with even the most dominant Newf bitch and not have any problems...then again, I was not worried in the least about putting my Rottie out with the Newf's...but, I was always a nervous wreak when it came to introducing my Rottie to any other dog breed, when I first started obedience with her she was a holy terror and was lunging and screeching at all the other dogs, I was always a nervous wreck before going to obedience and I believe now that she was picking up how anxious I was and she was getting mixed signals from me. She would even try to attack dogs which would go into a play bow in front of her, she would get a treat during obedience and she would put it on the ground and try to guard it from the other dogs in the class...she was a real jerk...so I thought at that time. Now that I have calmed myself down and act normally and I don't tense up when I introduce my Rottie I have found a major difference in her behaviour and attitude...not to say that my Rottie still doesnt have some "issues" when meeting new dogs...but, I am surprised at how much of an impact I had on her by my own body language. I also want to stress that your dog is not going to love all other dogs...just like there are some people I don't like! :lol: Where Cody is deaf, she may be relying more so on your body language and your fear when she is in these new situations. Perhaps try to calm your self down before going to obedience deep breathing excercises...pick up a basket muzzle (this helps alot of people relax as there dog cannot harm another dog) and just go and have fun. Another thing is all dogs have their own "personal space" some dogs are much more protective of their personal space than others... As of now, my Rottie has many new doggy friends...I never ever thought I would see her out playing with any thing other than a Newfoundland... This may not be your answer to your problems...follow the advice given to you by your instructor and pick up the book "The other end of the leash" you can also do an internet search on calming signals by Turid Rugaas...my computer is too slow to get the proper sites for you. :wink: Good luck to you and Cody, make sure you are not getting too stressed, don't try to calm your dog down if she is growling at another dog...by talking gentely to your dog while it is doing an unacceptable behavior you are actually encouraging the behavior...I see it alot...a fearful dog is growling at other people or dogs and the owner sits down and pats the dog and starts gently saying "easy boy, its ok...that monster is not going to hurt you" in the dogs mind (dogs do not understand human language word by word :lol: ) the owner is actually saying "here boy, I will protect you from those big bad dogs....and its alright to growl at them...if they get any closer then by all means bite it!" :lol: :lol: (of course this is a little exaggerated) :lol:

Hopefully you can find a local dealer who has resonable prices. The 2000AD is the dryer I use most. We groom about 14 dogs daily and we have 2 of these dryers. As far as I know the owner of the facility has not had required service to either dryer and they are used daily...she does have one in the shop which the motor died in....but, it is an older machine. If you are just going to be using one on your own dog I don't think you would have to worry to much about servicing. Just make sure when you get your dryer no matter the brand it is to keep the motor area free of dog hair...some dryers have a filter on the outside which will not allow hair in...its usually a foam type filter you can remove, but others do not have any and the hair gets inside the dryer....this can burn out your motor. Good Luck, you will love it once you get the dryer. You can even bath and blow dry double coated breeds and short coated breeds such as Lab's etc which require no styling and make a few extra bucks to cover the cost of the dryer...that is if you have a set up to do a few dogs. :wink:

I meant to mention on the web site I posted the 2 dryers we use are the Challengair Air max and the Challengeair 2000AD....the first 2 pictures. I would defenitely be looking for simular models as what I posted...with the long nozzle. You could check with your local groomers to see if they know any where locally you could buy one, or they may even have a used one you could buy at a low cost.

I use high velocity dryers at the dog grooming shop...you couldn't run a grooming business without them. I also use them on my Newfoundland dogs, the dryers force all the dead coat out and cuts your grooming time in half...and also I like my Newf's to be 100% dry. For double coated breeds such as Husky's etc. you can get all the undercoat out...its amazing as you stand there drying them how much coat comes out! :o I have included a page of the dryers we personally use at the grooming shop...others on the board may refer you to other dryers and brands...but, these are all I am familiar with. They are compact enough to carry easiely, they do not blow hot air (they do not have a setting for hot air-you don't need or want any high velocity which blows hot air as you have to hold the nozzle as close to the skin as possible) you can easiely dry a dog for hours with no worries, they are made to use around water...so alot of the time we blow dry the dogs partially in the tub before putting them on the grooming table, most dryers have 2 speeds...the low speed we use on small dogs and on big dogs face area the high speed is great for med-large dogs, [url]http://www.groomerschoice.com/dryers_double-k.html[/url] Hope this helps.

I taught my Rotweiler "off" and "take it" basically the same way ellieangel went over. Many people use "Leave it" and "take it" voice commands. The reason I taught her the 2 commands was "off" means don't touch it until I say its OK...and I may never say its OK..."take it" means I think its OK for her to touch the item with her mouth....my Rottweiler is also a very stubborn dogs and very dominant...it took me only 20 minutes to teach her the "off" command...I was very proud. :angel: especially since we learned in front of 250 people!!! this was taught at an aggression seminar I attended when I first adopted the Rottie. I taught "off" as one word as all my commands are one word...they sound more like a bark/command to the dog. I showed my Rottie the treat in the palm of my hand and each time she tried to grab for it I closed my fist over the treat....I would open my hand again and tell her "off" and when she went to grab it same procedure!!! :lol: the moment she looked away or down I then said "take it". This has worked very well for us, we walk alot in the woods and you never know what kind of dead animal you will find or other "things" which are not some thing I want my dogs to put in their mouths...my Rottie once saw a dead Porcupine...and I was able to tell her "off" as she was trotting over to it...I also inforce the "off" and "take it" with tug-o-war games...if I want to intice play I will hold out her rope toy and say "take it"...when I get tired of the game I say "off" and she immediately drops it. All my "good" commands are two words all my "have to do some thing" are one word commands...down, sit, around (that is the finish where the dog sits in front of you then walks around you to the heal position) etc. I notice you have already taught your dog a command "off" what do you use the command for????

Thanks every one, I am going to read the articles this evening and get familiar with the good & evil of dog food!!! :lol: As for the flaxseed, I buy the organic grown seeds and I bought myself a coffee grinder to grind them at home. I sprinkle a little on my dogs food and my cereal...that coffee grinder is one of my best purchases besides my normal blender for veggies for the dogs and strawberry daiquires for me...I also grind pumpkin seeds for my dogs meals (1-2 times a week). Thank you Rosebud & TDG for the wonderful links & information and ferky1 for the list of ingredients of other top quality dog foods and helpful advice.

Thank you both for responding TDG & Dogpaddle you are both a wealth of information. :wink: Being a Receptionist at the Vet clinic I have many people asking me for help with the ingredients in dog food..now that I have this information; I do not have to put down any specific dog food brands..but, at least I can give them advice of what to look for in a quality dog food and what to avoid without actually telling them what brand to buy...some people can't afford the food from the Vet clinic (and I don't think the list of ingredients are as good as what is in the solid gold products) Dogpaddle, the solid gold comes in other meats other than beef..I beleive they have a Lamb etc. the only list of ingredients I had on hand was for the Millennium which has beef. Thank you

I do not have a vast knowledge of what should and should not be in the list of ingredients for a dog food...I feed my dogs BARF and when I do buy dog kibble I refer to the whole dog journal top 10 list. My delima is, working in the dog related feilds we have had many customers at the Vet clinic and the Grooming facility tell us how they have gone to a local pet store and have been sold on Blue Seal dog food. The man who runs the store tells the customers Blue Seal is the best and the only reason alot of dogs are suffering from allergies etc is because they feed low quality foods...now on his list of low qualities food is what we sell at the Vet clinic called Medical - I don't buy the kibble from the Vet clinic so I don't know the list of ingredients, he also tells customers that Solid Gold is a horrible food etc. Not one of my Customers knows how to read a list of ingredients and I can only tell them a few things to watch out for (like BHA/BHT, corn etc) so I am just looking for peoples opioions on this list of [b]ingredients from Blue Seal[/b]. [color=blue]Poultry By-Product Meal, Ground Corn, Wheat Flour, Poultry Fat (mixed tocopherols Perservative), Dried Beet Pulp, Flaxseed, Animal Digest, Corn Gluten Meal, Yeast Culture, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 supplemant, Niacin supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Maganese Sulfate, d-Calcium Patothenate, Maganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine, Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Lodate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Rosemary Extract, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity)[/color] Perhaps some one can explain to me how nutritious is Poultry By-product meal...I thought it was recommended to have only one animal source as an ingredient, for example Chicken meal, or Turkey meal. What is Animal Digest???? it sounds gross. I usually stay out of dog food issues with our clients, but, this guy is really starting to peev me off the way he is even putting down solid gold dog food which I thought was a pretty good brand. [b]Solid Gold - Millennium[/b] [color=red]Beef Meal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Menhaden Fish Meal, Flax seed oil, Salmon Oil, Rice Bran oil, Garlic, Parsley, Thyme, Dried Seaweed meal, Cranberry Meal, Dried Sweet Potatoes, Dried Apples, Dried Carrots, Taurine, Carotene, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E-supplement, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, Zinc proteinate, Niacin supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide (source of Iodine) [/color] Advice will be greatly appreciated. :wink:

Are dogs not the neatest things!!!! :lol: :lol: That is so cute pei obssessed, and as sushiwelldone stated your baby is not being submissive or manipulative. I actually took one day to teach my Newfoundland to sit whenever he sees his food or a treat, he was a kennel dog before I got him and never lived in a house so he was not well behaved!! :o I did this to keep him from being too excited and jumping all over me...he is a big Newf....any way, the next weekend the breeder (who still legally owns him) took him to a dog show in the conformation ring and every time she pulled out the bait her sat...she was really really mad at me!!! My Rottie also before getting a snack or dinner will sit, then lay down then sit again...I was warned about doing the same procedure over and over by my obedience traininer as they will do the whole routine and then its hard to get them out of it. You Hippo sounds like a happy little fellow who is eager to please...you would have fun with him in obedience trials. By the way sushiwelldone, your posts were sushiwellsaid!!!!

Have you thought about boarding your male until every thing is over and done with? when my bitch goes into heat I take my intact males back to their breeder and leave them there for 3 weeks...and next year the breeder will be breeding my bitch, she will be going back to the breeder to whelp, after the pups are weaned they will all be coming back to live with me... :drinking: I know it sounds a little harsh to send your boy to a boarding facility or even back to the orginal breeder...but, it can save you alot of stress in the long run. Once the pups are born your bitch will be very busy looking after them...and in the meanwhile she will probably want all of your attention.

Mounting is a normal and very common canine behavior. In most cases, it is NOT a sexual behavior. In young puppies, it is a play behavior. In older dogs, it is a method of communication, and the dog who is mounting the other dog is generally displaying dominance. Lhasa Apso's can be a very dominant breed...they were orginally bred to be indoor gaurd dogs. Working with dogs daily and especially in the grooming shop I have seen too many Lhasa's take over a house hold and turn into horrible terrors as adults. A spoiled dog is not good company...I would be advising your Aunt to start a "nothing is free" in her house hold...every thing has to be earned by sitting before meals, sit before going out etc. and you might want to advise her to start obedience classes early and to get a trainer who practices positive training...[b]and get the pup Castrated...as soon as possible!!!![/b] Here is some interesting information for you to show your Aunt [quote]Early Castration can decrease aggression both toward other male dogs and also people. The androgen (male) hormones, of which testosterone is the most important, are responsible for the development of many behavioral patterns. When young puppies are sexually mounting their 7 and 8-week old litter mates this is because of androgen surges in their bodies. The same is true with aggressive behavior. Some medications that have androgenic hormonal activity often cause increased aggression (an example would be the birth control medication, Cheque Drops, which contains one of these androgen-type chemicals). The degree castration has on suppressing aggression varies between animals and the age at which it is done. Its effect is greatest if it is done before one year of age. A male dog can be neutered as young as 6-14 weeks of age. This early neutering does not affect the growth rate, and there are no appreciable differences in skeletal, physical, or behavioral development between those animals neutered early than those neutered at a more traditional age. It Pups neutered at a younger age often have faster recoveries than those neutered when they are older.[/quote]

Good luck to you! :wink: I'm sure you will do well...I also have 2 of my monsters entered in a dog show this weekend....

I definetely would not feed raw salmon...they can harbour a fluke worm...there are also other problems with raw salmon I cannot think of right now... :wink: at least we have these problems with our salmon up here in Canada. I have heard of people feeding raw mackeral etc. but its best to do a search on raw diets first just to insure which types of raw fish are safe. If my computer was not so slow I would do a search...there was a post recently I beleive under a topic asking about BARF some one had a link for a lady who raised Portuguese Water Dogs and she was feeding them raw fish (she had a picture of one of her dogs chewing on a whole fish, head and all) and I beleive she has an article on feeding raw fish. I stay away from Tuna as they are bigger fish which are a little higher in the food chain and can have high levels of mercury etc. I just feel safer feeding canned sardines and salmon....I find it hard to find canned makerel without added salt. The meat balls which you are feeding...are they raw hamburg rolls??? I feed my dogs a morning meal of kibble (solid gold) and an evening meal of raw...when I feed the canned fish I will add it to their morning kibble instead of adding canned dog food to the kibble (my dogs would starve before they ate just plain kibble!) I some times will feed the canned fish with rice and blended veggies also...my dogs will eat this mixture and seem crazy about it.

I have heard only good things about missing link. We sell it at the Vet clininc I work at and a few of the Vets give it to their dogs. I havent tried it myself though. For my dogs and for a healthy coat and skin I try to add more omega 3 fatty acids to their diet. I usually throw a can of sardines in with their meals a few times a week (packed in water) or a can of wild Salmon...I really try to insure the fish were not raised in a fish farm...farm raised fish really don't have alot of nutritional value and are full of antibiotics...just what your dog doesnt need. I also add flax seeds ground in my coffee grinder to my dogs food....flax seeds are very high in omega 3 fatty acids...

Thank you for wishing me luck! I would love to post some pictures...if I can ever figure it out! :o I have followed the instructions under the site for pictures, but, I still havent quite got it figured out yet....I am unble to regesiter. I will try again to post some pictures and especially from the trial this weekend. Newfoundland dogs are very hard to keep focused in a trial....they lose interest very quickly and tend to take little naps. I know I will enjoy myself though....if any thing it will be good for a laugh..I just hope my little bitch doesnt start doing obedience in the conformation ring! :o that happened to the breeder once...I had been teaching one of my dogs to sit every time he saw a treat...when the breeder took him to a show every time she got her bait out he would sit! :o not what you want in a conformation ring. :lol: :lol: she was not pleased....this weekend is probably pay back time...

:evil: :evil: People like that give the rest of us dog owners a bad name. I would be furious! I have experienced the horrible humiliation of walking in a smelly pile and then having to be around people in small confined areas...mean while every ones looking at me as if my hygine is not the best! :drinking: embarrassing! I always keep dog poop bags with me...I order them through a pet supply dealer.....they come in a tiny little plastic container you can easily fit 15 in your hand bag ( I carry a back pack when out with my dogs) I would never leave a big pile behind from one of my Newfoundland dogs....that would be nasty! :o I really hope your letter gets published....I think another thought that should be rammed into these unsanitary folks heads is the fact that round worms eggs are passed in the stools of our dogs (if they have round worms....some times owners are not aware as they are some times hard to detect unless you have a fecal done every once in awhile) if a child happens to be playing in soil or grass which an infected dog has had a bowel movement and they touch their face or inadvertly put their fingers in their mouth, they can be infected with the round worm...the worst thing is the round worm in the human host takes a different migration tour....round worms in children can be very harmful and cause many problems.