TDG

get some advantage. you don't have to apply the full, suggested dose to each of your dogs. the minimum effecitve dose the manufacturer suggests is 0.1 ml per kg of body weight. the advantage tubes for large dogs contain enough to treat 55 lbs or 25 kg of body weight. in my household, one of these tubes is enough to treat 5 cats and one dog and keep the household flea free. i apply roughly once every 6 weeks. i order online, from a reputable source and pay about $25 for a 4-pack, so including shipping, one year of reliable flea prevention for my 6 animals costs me about $85.

midori115, correct! not every dog will react the same to every brand of food. that is why it's so ridiculous that the pet food industry wants to make people believe that whatever is in that bag is suitable for any dog out there. which is NOT true. there are so many factors that need to be considered, from caloric density (some dogs can't handle very "rich" foods and some need insane amounts of the poorer quality food to even maintain weight) to food sensitivities and allergies (beef, chicken, lamb, wheat, corn, yeast are not tolerated by all dogs either) and even to nutrient imbalances (like copper storage disease). i have had great results with innova for example, which is my all time favorite brand, made by a company i trust 100% - but not all dogs do well on it. so everyone needs to find a food that works out for their dog. :) as for the cold formed bits in blue buffalo - that's only the vitamin and supplement components, the kibble itself is heat processed like most others. and scotty_lvr, you are absolutely right too! as far as i know, most nutrition-related courses are even elective, so the students don't even have to take them. vets who have done their own research on nutrition are rare and i'd say as valuable as gold. most of them are holistic practitioners as well and will educate people on home prepared diets.

blue buffalo is a high quality food that i'd recommend over many mainstream brands like sensible choice, natural choice etc. if you have to shop at a petco, i'd say natural balance and royal canin natural blend are the best things you can find there. if you are interested in reading about the pet food industry, labeling laws and other things, check out [url=http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/]the dog food project[/url].

some dogs just eat grass because it's "fun", but with the food you are feeding i'm concerned that she might not be getting all the nutrients she needs. purina is the maker of a good number of "popular" foods, but unfortunately none of them are of particularly good quality. i'd recommend switching to a high quality brand of food (e.g. innova, canidae, eagle pack holistic, chicken soup, etc.) and adding a good supplement like nupro, solid gold sea meal or doc kruger's. if you want to read about pet food and learn how to choose a better brand, check out [url=http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/]the dog food project[/url].

while you definitely have to deal with her attempts of asserting dominance over you, you may be sending the wrong signals and making things worse. she is resource guarding and you essentially signalled that everyone else (cat, ferrets) is higher ranking in the pack than her, and allowed to challenge her for her goodies - and if she defends, they are taken away, so either way she loses out. i strongly recommend the book "the other end of the leash" by patricia mcconnell. it addresses a lot of issues like that, along with misunderstandings in communication between dogs and humans.

it is generally not recommended because in case your dog does develop allergies or sensitivities at some point, he will have been exposed to the lamb (or fish) protein already and chances are high you will have to find something else as an alternative. in a worst case scenario this could end up being something as exotic as venison, kangaroo, ostrich, emu or other hard to find and expensive things. if you look at things realistically tho, lamb has become so mainstream (even in treats and for example in multi protein foods such as canidae) that chances of a dog being exposed are very high even if you don't regularly feed lamb based food. fish is generally more hypoallergenic and often tolerated even by allergic dogs who [i]have[/i] been exposed to fish protein before.

i agree with courtnek - use the "zoomies" as a way to reward him for good behavior. rewards don't always have to be edible. :) whenever he did something well, take a few minutes, let him off the leash and egg him on. i do this to my own dog by waving my arms and yelling "run run run" in a cheery, happy voice. he loves it and is so much more focused to continue training after getting the "goof" out of his system for a bit. :)

hmm. if my dog smelled bad, i'd look into what causes that problem (mostly poor quality food and unsanitary conditions) rather than spending money on fighting the symptoms. a healthy dog who eats a high quality diet made from good ingredients and also gets fresh "live" foods in his diet isn't going to have any of these problems to begin with... and 12 ounces of shampoo for a dog? that must have been pretty bad stuff. i can get a 32 ounce bottle of organic, pure castile soap (without all the chemicals) for $8 and it only takes a couple teaspoons even for a giant breed with a heavy coat...

at the very least, it helps dogs to digest food better by providing enzymes that are either deficient or missing entirely. personally i think [url=http://www.dockruger.com/original.htm]doc kruger's[/url] is the better supplement, it also includes probiotics, not only the enzymes.

it's not always your own dogs you have to be concerned about. see your first post, she got out and you don't know where she ended up or what dogs she came in contact with. signs of pregnancy may include the following - increasing body weight and increased appetite, generally you can see if a dog is pregnant by the 6th or 7th week due to the weight increase. - swelling of the nipples with milky discharge - nesting behavior all those can occur in false pregnancies as well tho. the gestation period for dogs is about 63 days, and after about 30 days a veterinarian or experienced person will be able to feel puppies. also see [url]http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/pets/g09923.htm[/url]

if i were you, i'd get her to the vet as soon as possible and have her spayed, regardless if she's pregnant or not. if she is pregnant, it will prevent yet another litter of mixed breed puppies, possible complications during whelping and a lot of other undesirable issues.

congrats on your new baby, she is very pretty. :) not to be a wet blanket, but how do you know in advance that they will get along? they haven't even met each other yet?

if you think that dogs are demanding at times, don't get a parrot. they require a lot more one-on-one time than dogs and can get quite noisy if they don't get things to happen their way. and no, you can't crate train a parrot to shut up and leave you alone when you aren't in the mood for dealing with them and want some quiet time. other than that, i'd be more concerned about your cat would react to the bird. dogs adapt much easier and you will [b]never[/b] be able to trust a cat around a bird unsupervised.

there is no "official" body that rates dog food, the best you'll be able to find is feedback and reviews on consumer report-type websites or reviews by magazines or websites. also, the [url=http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=li101]current labeling laws[/url] make it difficult for anyone to know what's really in a food, because the manufacturers do not have to disclose a lot of information that could often make quite a difference between two otherwise similar foods. if you are interested in reading about dog food reviews, the [url=http://www.whole-dog-journal.com]whole dog journal[/url] is one of the best places to start at, but the articles are not free. you either need to subscribe or pay per article. they do give a 2-week free trial membership tho.

which product is "better" depends on the individual circumstances. i've never had any luck at all with frontline for example, despite giving it more than one or two tries. likewise with revolution. advantage has never let me down, regardless if applied to dogs or cats. a friend of mine has the reverse problem. advantage doesn't work as well for her as frontline does. i can't comment on advantix, since it is toxic for cats and can't be applied to dogs that live in the same household as cats. ultimately you have to try and see what works better.

[quote name='Crested']Walking her doesn't work. If I go on a walk with her she does NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. When she comes inside or comes back to our yard... then she does her buissness. :?[/quote] how long are your walks? i've barely ever had occurrances where a dog wasn't completely "pooped out" (literally :oops: lol) after getting home from a good walk. 10 minutes "around the block" doesn't count tho! lol

[quote name='celestial3']NAIDS are advertised as[/quote] "advertised"? whatever happened to researching a breed thoroughly before buying a puppy? :(

i can attest that the "going for a walk" thing works. whenever i take my dog out for a walk, i usually have him poop in my back yard before we leave, because i'm really not too keen on carrying around filled poopy bags the whole time, and there are almost no trash cans on the way. and even tho he went at home i can absolutely count on it that after a mile or two he has to "go" again, and whenever i take him to run along while riding a bike or on rollerblades he will poop more than once if we do a longer trip. take some treats with you, go for a nice walk and throw a party when she finally does what's expected. she'll catch on quickly, i'm sure.

if it's a digestive problem, you can fast dogs a lot longer than just a day or two. sometimes they need the time to let their intestines calm down and heal, [b]without[/b] having to work on digesting [b]any[/b] solid food. the thought is very scary to many people who are not familiar with what happens in the body while fasting. many sick animals do it by instinct and refuse any kind of food until they feel better. but from what it sounds like, you are definitely right, it probably isn't just a simple tummy upset, especially since [b]all[/b] your dogs are affected. is there any chance something was wrong with the turkey necks? i'd definitely take in stool samples for a test. this sounds scary. :(

lol KP, your post just made me laugh out really loud. you expressed it so much better than i did. :)

[quote]but the truth is, animals are so abundant that not all of them can be cared for and loved. a lot of dogs probably die in a foreign country. there is nothing you can do. and there is just too many dogs.[/quote] yes, there [b]is[/b] something you can do: work as hard as you can in [b]your[/b] little corner of the world to change the attitudes of people and to educate about humane treatment of animals. if one or three or ten people start to work towards such a goal in their community, it can make a difference, and if 10,000 or 100,000 or more people start thinking and acting that way, you can bet your behind things are going to change. [quote]its ok if u try, but what im saying is it is taking it too far when u would have a human die than an animal. a dog farmer or others that mistreats dogs have a mindset that dogs are objects.[/quote] err, why is that "taking it too far"? i wouldn't waste a second thought about saving my own animals who have shown me nothing but honesty, love and affection rather than a person i don't know. i know it's kind of sad, but look at what human society has developed into. also, people tend to repay you ill for good deeds, where i have never seen such a thing from any animal. i've read a news article about some silly woman suing a doctor for saving her life by performing a lifesaving procedure with a steak knife - because it left a scar behind. i've read a news article about a man who sued the owner of the house his son broke into because his son got shot dead. excuse me, but what the fuck? i should give a rats ass about people like that? let alone a "dog farmer" as you call it, who makes a profit from subjecting animals to unmentionable suffering? i don't give a hoot about what kind of "mindset" those people have, it's wrong and they need to [b]change[/b]. [quote]you people see a stereotypical person as the antichrist or something. some people just do not like animals.[/quote] this has nothing to do with antichrist or anything. if people do not like animals, they are free to avoid any sort of contact with them, but there is absolutely no reason and [b]no excuse[/b] to be rude about it. [quote] if a person yells at you about ur dog, understand that they do not have the same kind of love u have for your pet and that he or she is frightened of getting hurt. yes, i know a properly trained dog does not attack a stranger, but some do. and maybe the person got bit when he was a child.[/quote] that still doesn't excuse any sort of rudeness. i don't particularly like kids, but i don't yell at people at the mall or at a restaurant to make their darn brats shut up instead of screaming at the top of their lungs either. this all boils down to being courteous, polite and respectful, or are those words you don't even understand? [quote]but like ive said, if u hate a puppy farmer that much to let him die, thats taking it too far. no matter how many sins he committed, it is not ok to kill a person. your dog maybe important to you, but the person dying is more important to his family and friends. nobody deserves to die.[/quote] nobody deserves to die, neither dogs nor people. and i wouldn't call choosing my dog/pet over some person i don't even know "killing somebody". yes, my dog is important to me, and pursuing your example of a "puppy farmer", i would say it would be poetic justice to see him die rather than a member of the species he has exploited in cold blood for profits. [quote]i mean, i had a dog, and i want another one, but if my old dog was dying, and a person i hate, i would save the person. dogs die in a short period, and since dogs are more complex than cows, the deserve to live, since humans have more complex emotions than dogs, they deserve to live.[/quote] that may be [b]your[/b] point of view on the topic, but that doesn't make anyone who thinks differently than you "wrong". and pushing your opinion on everyone else is nothing short of rude. [quote]and the next time a person is scared of your pit bull, dont make a topic about it so you can start talking sh*t to him with other people. try to understand their point of view.[/quote] i don't own a pitbull, but i still feel qualified to answer. this is a [b]dog forum[/b] (see, the word "dog"? d-o-g, also known as canis familiaris), so why would people [b]not[/b] vent about the issues they have? do you also spend your free time going to car forums preaching to drivers griping about pedestrians or bicyclists? or going to golf forums trolling people who are complaining about mole infestations on their favorite golf course? i am a very reasonable person and generally not rude to people, but you better understand that as soon as someone starts smack talking or yelling at me, they will have an equal dose of their own crap coming their way.

fasting can help, it gives the digestive system a rest and time to recover. ther eis absolutely no problem with fasting as long as a dog doesn't have health issues like diabetes, hypoglycemia etc. just curious what type of solid gold you are feeding? i've read various complaints recently (since SG apparently changed to having their foods produced at a different contractor plant), especially about the bison-based variety, but also about others. is it possible for you to get healthwise (made by the same company that makes innova, karma and california natural)? it's a really pure quality food but less rich as the innova, which seems to cause problems with some dogs.

dogs metabolize fat in a completely different way than humans and need it in their diet for skin and coat health. they do not have cholesterol problems etc. either, so fat is safe and healthy to feed, but of course (like anything else) not in excess. if you microwave the hotdog pieces, most of the fat melts out anyway, that's why you use the paper towel. :)

um...just an idea...as far as i know, the european countries that observe daylight savings time started today and the server dogomania runs on is in europe. maybe the problem has something to do with that, looks to me like all the folks who are having problems are located outside of europe. i very much doubt that any anonymous guest has the power to actually cause that kind of issue. phpbb is pretty reliable software.

the microwaved hot dog slices are very attractive to a lot of dogs. :) you can also use uncooked hot dog pieces if they aren't too greasy for you. alternative: very small (pea sized) pieces of mild cheese. when i know that my husband is out of the house for most of the day, i make liver biscotti. for that i puree 1 pound of liver with enough organic whole-wheat flour, an egg, half a teaspoon of baking powder and a bit of parsley and garlic in the blender until it has a smooth, creamy consistency. then pour it on a greased (important! do not forget to grease!!) baking sheet and bake it at low to medium temperature until a toothpick you stick into the "cake" comes out clean without any "dough" attached. this is cut into some smaller, pea sized pieces for training and a few bigger cookie-sized pieces as special treats. it keeps for a pretty long time and doesn't have to be refrigerated if you make sure it's cooked through and dry enough. be forewarned tho: it doesn't smell pleasant at all while baking. lol! :watpliwy: