kendalyn

Hmm... seems like most people feed at specific meal times. I can definately see why that would be the way to go with multiple dogs! Buck is a grazer, but he usually eats his main meal when I eat. He just naturally seems to know that it's dinner time :-) Actually, all my other dogs have done this too. We sit down at the dinner table and they go eat too. So far no problems with chubbiness so we'll stick with the current arrangement. I think I would be afraid that he wasn't getting enough. How do you know that the amount you're feeding is correct?

That's great! I'm glad Cody had a good time :-)

Buck also LOVES rope toys. He has never had a Kong though so I'm going to get him one for christmas. Rope toys make such a mess! Little strings all over the place :-) They are his very favorite though...

Kat may be able to correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe yogurt does not actually have that much lactose in it. The bacteria in yogurt (lactobacillus) ferments lactose as a means of energy for metabolism. So althought yogurt is considered a dairy product, the amount of lactose is small.

The most interesting thing about this thread is finding out how many people roughhouse with their significant other! I had no idea that so many people did that :-) I thought it was just us... :lol:

So would the dog still go through heat? If that is the case I think I would still go with a surgical spay unless there were other reasons not to. That is a great step forward in combating pet overpopulation though :-) Maybe a lot more people would have it done if it weren't as expensive and didn't require surgery.

Should have put a tissue warning on that one! :(

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Good idea!

Guest: The fact that you would come onto a forum that is obviously populated with people who love dogs and say the things you do is not indicitive of a person who wants to engage in thoughtful, logical conversation. Isn't there a group of people out there who feel the way you do that you can talk to? I think you might find that conversation more stimulating. If this is purely a promo for your book, I think you would have more success somewhere else. I don't mind humor or satire, but you are not really marketing it as such.

I would rather see dogs left alone in regards to tail and ears. I have a little sister through big brothers/big sisters who has a pit bull. They had his ears cropped and whoever did the cropping did a terrible job. The dog basically does not have ears any longer. I feel so bad for him. There just doesn't seem to be any good reason for the alteration. Aesthetics are not a good enough reason for me.

HazelNutMeg's post about feeding made me curious about this. How many people here feed their dogs in meals or just leave it down all the time? Buck has his food available to him all the time. He usually "grazes" throughout the day. We've done this with all the dogs and never had a problem with food guarding or weight gain. I thought maybe Buck would have to be fed in meals and I expected food aggression problems because when I found him he was so starved. I thought he might overeat because of it. But he hasn't at all. For those of you who feed in meals, what is the reason for this?

I'm not an expert, but I thought dairy was bad for dogs. I do know that biochemically lactose is very hard to digest. It requires a ton of enzymes some of which I belive dogs don't have. I would be really careful giving Duke milk. Good job on teaching him the trick though :-)

That's really great! It's an excellent sign that's for sure :D

Oh that is awesome! I'm happy that things are looking up for you guys :-)

Standard Poodles can be protective. Kody, my standard poodle who died a year and a half ago was like this. He was very distrustful of UPS men for some reason. He was fine with anything or anyone else, but when the UPS men came we had to put him in another room because he would growl and he meant it. Another time when my sister and I were young, we were home alone and a salesmen came to the door. We answered the door (we weren't supposed to but we did anyway) and Kody was going ballistic. He knew that guy was bad and he was right. The "salesmen" started getting very mean with my sister and I and picked up a metal pole that was used as a driveway marker and was threatening to hit Kody and my sister and I. He broke our porch lights. Kody barked and growled at the man from the second we opened the door.

I agree also. I'm really confused about your intentions Gunny Bunny.

Here is a place that has it pretty cheap too: [url]http://www.entirelypets.com/heartgardplus.html[/url] Buck is on it all the time, mainly because I'm afraid of any that may be lurking indoors. Paranoid I guess... But it is really important during the warmer months more so than the winter.

Yes! Dogs need to be on heartworm prevention their entire lives. Your vet may tell you that you can skip it during the winter months (mine did), but if you want to be completely safe, give it all year round in my opinon. Heart worm is not a good thing. It isn't that expensive either. You can get a prescription and buy a 6 month supply online for between 15 and 25 dollars.

I'd say that the breeds known for loving water would like doing it best, but probably any breed could do it. I've seen it too and it looks pretty fun. I tried to get Buck to do some cliff diving with me once but he wouldn't jump off the cliff. Poor guy was too scared and he totally freaked out when I did it. He would come rushing down to the shore to make sure I was alright! :)

Pigs ears here also. Buck loves them! And probably a few more rope toys. Those always go over well. :-)

oh that box idea is a good idea :-) Thanks

wow, you really are having a bad day. :( It's ok! Sometimes it is easy to get excited about something and get a little carried away. It happens to everybody. Just be glad you didn't go too far and really get committed into something. I know about getting carried away by excitement. It's how I picked my major in college... I'm still trying to turn it around.

Hmmm... maybe give this some more thought after you read K's other post

Here are some links to bulldog rescue groups: [url]http://www.rescuebulldogs.org[/url] [url]http://www.rainyday.net/dd/railroad/[/url] These two are not rescues but they are breeders in Canada [url]http://www.englishbulldogs.ca/adoreabull/[/url] [url]http://www.kullectabull.com/[/url] There are quite a few bulldog rescue groups in the US but I don't know how far you can travel

Glad you've come to a well thought out decision. Good luck with the English Bulldog. :)