drjeffrock

Out of the brands you mentioned I would go with Innova or Canidae. Keep in mind different dogs have different needs, but I probably would not go w/ the Solid Gold. A bit too grainy, imo. Thats just for my dogs though, the Solid Gold did not sit too well with them. Good luck!

I voted! :wink:

I use Frontline Plus for my Akita. For some reason, Dexter has not had much success with it. I just switched him over to Advantix, so I wont be able to give you an answer for a month or two. It is unbelievable how much these meds cost. My brother has a resellers license, so I have an account with a pet supply wholesaler. The mark up is INSANE. There, I can get a 6-month supply of Frontline plus (6 pipets) for 89-132 lb. dog for $29.80 8) I have tons of friends who benefit from me and my brothers account there.

[quote name='"Oh Clueless 1"'] 2 [color=red]Should I use treats as a motivator?? I worry that she won't work for me if I don't have any food on me[/color]. Treats can be a great training tool. I use them with Dexter. But, he def. does not get them all the time. Sometimes he will get a pat on the head and a good boy (a lower-level reward.) Sometimes he will get nothing, just a smile from me. I feel as though it is good to keep your dog guessing. I try to find the lowest-level reward that will work most of the time. Dex is a firecracker, and I am still working on having his attention on ME. His highest level treat, is a cut up hotdog. His lowest is a smile from me. If you do use treats all the time, I think their value tends to decrease. They will start to expect it. 3. [color=red]Come is my biggest problem with her (in a giving orders sense). She will always sit or down when I tell her but only 50% of the time will she come when I command her. When should I start using a leash in the house. I feel bad a little because I have dumped a lot on her in one day. She is definately being a little rebelious today. She hasn't come on command at all. I don't want to over do it but is she going to get the hint that things are changing?? [/color] I have a couple exercises that helped me with getting Dex to come, these were done off-leash. I dont know much about teaching "come" with a leasb on. What I would do is have some kibble in my hand, along with some change. I would let Dex notice the kibble in my hand, and have him follow me a few feet. Then I would throw the coins down on the floor (Dex would think they were kibble.) As I threw the coins done, I would sneak away 10 feet. As Dex would be staring at the coins in contempt I would say "Come Dex" or "Come". He would come trotting to me and I would give him some kibble out of my hand. This kind of taught him come and to stay more focused on me. Another exercise is I would hold some kibble in my hand and turn w/ my back faced to Dexter. I would lean down and say "Come." And he would come to the front of me to find some kibble or a pat on his head. Another important training tip I learned was this: If you have any inclination that you dog is not going to follow whatever command you give her, dont say it!!! I know it is easier said than done. But if you keep saying come, come, come and she is not coming you are defeating the purpose. [color=orange]4 Should she be allowed to play with her toys at all and if so what should she do for that priveledge and for how long should she be allowed to play with it?? Like her rawhide chews, she loves to just knaw on one for hours.[/color] I usually dont leave toys on the floor for Dex. Since he is still in boot-camp training, I dont want him to self-reward at all. We play on my terms, which is every day :lol: I would not restrict her water bowl, unless she is being aggressive over it.

Hey Clueless, Welcome to the forum! I want to start off by saying that I think its great that you are working on fixing your dogs behavioral problems. There has been some great info given in this thread, hopefully I can add some myself. My younger dog Dexter has been quite a handful since I adopted him. He was aggressive towards people and even bit someone. My training methods w/ him revolve around the principle that nothing in life is free. You will probably hear this term often. Basically, when we adopted Dex he thought he won the lottery. He got to play with another dog, get two yummy bowls of food a day, and thought he could just self-reward all day long (be it playing with our other dog, getting a toy, etc.) My first step was to keep him on a leash all day long. If I was watching TV, he was in a down-stay next to me. If I was busy making a sandwich, I would hook him up to a door knob or something. I did this for a good couple of weeks or so. Second, Dex is no longer fed out of a bowl. He has to EARN his food. I'll put him in a down-stay and toss him some kibble. Then I will go in another room, come back a minute later and give him some more kibble for continuing his down-stay. If he got up, I would correct him by putting him back in the down-stay. If he refused, then I would just turn my head, and grunt out of displeasure. He would realize that if he did not down-stay, the food disappeared. With lots of time and practice,I can have him down stay for about 10 minutes or so, without him moving. Before starting to train him, I thought it would take an act of God to make him stay still for more than two seconds. When it was time for bed, we put him in his kennel. Christine and I did this for about 3 weeks or so. When we go on walks, even if he has to pee real bad, he is NOT allowed to pull on the leash to get to the nearest grass. It is on MY terms that he gets to go. Keep in mind, that certain methods work wonders on some dogs, and not on others. I would def. suggest you find a behaviorist in your area (preferably certified) who could help you. They could tailor-make a plan for you to follow and help out. Muzzles can be very useful if used properly. While many people think negatively when they see a dog muzzled, I will think the opposite, that the owner is actually responsible. Carol makes a great point about overuse. Myah is a beauty, and I look forward to hearing about her progress. KP- I look forward to checking out your site!

Oh no, poor Bentley. Dexter and Kira send him big hugs and kisses (even though normally they dont like other dogs.) Here is a link to a friend of mine's Akita website. There are some good links on hip dysplasia. If you scroll down about halfway you will find the links. For some reason, the links are not working for me, but I am on an ancient computer at work. They did work from home though. Good luck and give Bentley a big hug from us! [url]http://www.homestead.com/kumikkoakitas/LinksPage.html[/url]

Hey Leann- If you need someone to host your pic on-line, check out [url]www.shutterfly.com[/url] They will host your pics and albums for free, and the site is very easy to use. If you have any questions, dont hestitate to ask!

[quote name='gooeydog']Pit bulls don't have "lockjaw"... if they did they'd come with a key :roll: [/quote] :rofl:

I voted. Good luck, you have some beautiful pitties! :D

Thanks guys, you domogmaniacs rock!!! :ylsuper: Haha, Christine thinks I used a horrible picture, but oh well, what can I do? :niewiem: Thanks again, and here is the link in case anyone hasn't voted yet. [url]http://members.aol.com/iluvpwcs/contest.html[/url]

[quote name='science_doc']. I have been thinking about buying a Dremel like tool......I'm just not sure she will sit still for that either, but I think I'm going to try anyway.[/quote] Well, I am still working with Dexter, but Kira does not mind it anymore at all. LOL, if I can get Dex to relax then anything is possible! Here is a pretty informative link to using a dremel-type tool. [url]http://www.greytalk.com/~jrosenberg/dremel/dremel.htm[/url]

Guest, that is interesting re: pits and swimming. I was always under the impression that they were not good swimmers due to them being little balls of muscle. I heard that they tire out quickly due to their muscle mass. Anyone else please feel free to chime in on this topic.

[quote name='science_doc']I have some really basic questions about dog grooming. We have a Dog-o-mat here where I live, this is just a do it yourself dog wash. I like it mostly because it keeps the mess out of my tiny apartment. They have tubs and a drying room, lots of cool brushes, etc. pretty neat idea! I hope you guys don't mind me asking, but I like cleaning up Hailey myself, just more time for us to bond. #1 - How often is too often to bathe a dog? I find that Hailey get's a bit smelly after 2 weeks, but this seems a bit frequent for washes. I don't understand why, but most of the odor seems to come from her head? I have been trying the "no water" disposable dog towel things they sell in pet stores and that helps. #2 - Hailey HATES the blow drying part, but the shop only provides 2 towels, so she is pretty wet following the bath. This was no big deal in the summer, but in the winter I have had to sort of just work with her to dry her off. She absolutely under no circumstances will allow me to dry her feet. She also howls like the devil when I trim her nails, so much so that one person has to feed treats while the other rapidly tries like heck to trim her nails. I was wondering how common this is with dogs? I know that many cats HATE people touching their feet. I didn't own her as a puppy so I don't know her history, but I do know that the shape of her nails bugs me. Instead of comming to points, they are very flat and wide at the bottom and so this makes them tough to clip. To make matters worse they are black! So at nail clipping time I am way cautious about taking off too much and getting the quick. Anyway I was wondering if dog nails are a wide variety of shapes or if her nails were poorly trimmed or worse not trimmed at all leading to this funky shape.[/quote] Regarding how often to bathe, I have found that indoor dogs tend to get a bit smellier than outside dogs. I could be wrong, but this is my personal experience. I bathe my Akita once every month and a half to every two months. My APBT is the same as Hailey. He starts to get quite smelly after a couple weeks. I bathe him once every 3 weeks to a month. The majority of his stench also comes from his head. Every 3 weeks is probably a bit too often, but I think as long as you are using a decent shampoo you should be ok. I believe that one of the drawbacks of bathing your dog often is that the oils in the skin/coat get removed. However, my dogs coats look fine from bathing. With regards to trimming nails, I found that the best way to make it go smoothly is to take my dogs on a strenuous hike and tire them out. When they get home and are pooped, I let them practically fall asleep b4 trimming. Kira's nails are also black, save 1 or two partially clear ones. I have found that as long as they are relatively the same size nails, I use the clearer ones to gauge. I recently bought a Dremel for their nails, and it is amazing. My pit has not gotten used to it yet, but my Aktia does not mind. In fact, the more you dremel the nails, the more the quick recedes and falls back. This allows us to get the nail, shorter and shorter. Are all of Hailey's nails completely black?

This is an interesting thread. I have never taken my dogs to groomers, as they are pretty low maintenance, hehe. It makes me wonder how they would act if someone else was trying to bath them. They behave like angels for me, but I am just too darn paranoid to leave them w/ someone else. In fact, I could probably send you guys into a rant about people like my girlfriend and I, LOL. We are the type who dont want our dogs out of our sight at the vet. In fact, my girlfriend and I insist on being with my dogs under ANY circumstances UNLESS we believe that our presence would be too stressful for the dog. :wink:

Muttsforme your avator rocks! :wink:

[quote name='Beach'] I think it is mostly how you raise them. Yes it is somewhat genetic and you always have to be aware of their power. BUT by keeping them away from other dogs because something might happen - something will happen the first time they are around other dogs. [/quote] Sorry, but that is incorrect. I know tons of pits who are fine w/ other dogs, but I know ever more pit owners who utter the phrase "I cant believe that Trixie (or whatever name) attacked the other dog. She has never done that before. I dont understand." All it takes it one dirty look, the wrong smell, a dog running in the wrong direction, whatever of a million reasons. If it is nurture and not nature, please explain to me why many pits who have been socialized with other dogs from a young age turn dog aggressive when they mature?

Thanks guys. The competition is pretty stiff. I must admit that is one beautiful pittie. Thanks again for voting! Mutts4me- LOL, you are right. There is no crushing of an Akita's ego regardless of what happens :lol:

My prayers are w/ Benson. I hope it is nothing serious.

[quote name='Guida'] To all americans: you do not live in a Democracy, but I guess a Demo Liberal Regime as the same rights and liberties. [img]http://doggroups.com/community/images/smiles/anidog6.gif[/img] Guida[/quote] C'mon guys dont get all worked up over this. No doubt, this person is just trolling, trying to get our blood boiling. A demo liberal regime, lol. Thats a new one. FYI Guido, we are a republic. Before you try to piss people off, I suggest you educate yourself and maybe try to make a point that has some type of validity to it.

:cry: When we adopted Dex his ears were already cropped. He is very, very sensitive about his ears. He does not like people touching them. My vet thinks that by the amount of scar tissue, etc. it was a basement job. Recently, he has begun to let Kira clean his ears out. I think well-cropped ears look impressive, but I would not bring my dogs in to get it done.

Thanks guys! I would hate to see her big ego crushed! :roll:

[quote name='TDG'][ but in my eyes the drawbacks of FRR are: - whole wheat flour as first grain ingredient. whole grains are nutritionally much more valuable. i'm not going to go into the debate of wheat or corn vs. other grains at this point. - poultry fat. a generic source of fat instead of something that is .[/quote] :klacz: Those are the two main reasons I dont feed Flint River. Currently I am feeding my pooches Wellness lamb, have fed both Canidae and Innova in the past.

LOL, I am so scatter-brained I forgot that Kira was entered in a photo contest this week. Clink on the link, and show your love for a dogomaniac! [url]http://members.aol.com/iluvpwcs/contest.html[/url]

Let's not get me started on PETA :roll: The pheremone thing is absolutely true. What's even more remarkable is the distance that dogs can smell these odors from. Example: Kira (akita) was at Christine's parents house one day. As Christine's mom is doing the dishes, out of nowhere Kira's hair goes up on her back, and she starts barking and snarling. (Kira never barks, ever.) She couldnt get to the front door cause a door was closed. Christine's mom was freaking out as she was just doing dishes and out of nowhere Kira starts to go crazy. Her mom thought that she had turned rabid, hehe. To make a long story short, Kira is going crazy trying to get to the front door. She ran out to the back of the house, and jumped over a 5 foot fence that lead to another fence to the front of the house. Christine's mom looked through the eye-hole and saw a gas/utility truck speeding off. She called the gas company, and it ended up that someone had stolen a company truck. The cops came, and they said it is quite normal for dogs to pick up on these things from a distance. Whats amazing is that the kitchen is a good 35 or so feet from the front door (sorry for you metric folks, lol ;)

LOL, this one is for you Sasha. In all fairness Flint River is a great food comparable to Wellness, Innova, and Canidae. [img]http://www.post-whore.com/forum/images/upload/Pictures/forum/761.jpg[/img]