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Napoleon is turning a year in a month so I know I have to switch him to adult food. What suggestions do y’all have? He’s mostly lab, 85 lbs (vet says he’s healthy and looking at him you can tell he’s a healthy weight), I get told a lot he’s going to have bad hips when he gets older, and I can’t do break the bank expensive. I give him ZestyPaws Salmon supplements for his skin/coat as he has sensitive skin and it’s supposed to help with joint mobility. I don’t know if he’s too young to worry about his joints or not, I don’t know if a “skin and coat” blend of food would be enough to help keep him from scratching, shedding, producing dandruff so much. Any direction or guidance would be super helpful!
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Dec 2, 2019 07:02
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Mutt owners sick of being asked what their dog is repeatedly: Embark is doing their annual cyber monday deal which brings the breed + health kit down to $129 and the breed only kit to $99 on their website, amazon, and chewy. Please test your mutts and post them here because I really enjoy seeing the results. Here is my mutt and my certified not a mutt  CeramicPig posted:Napoleon is turning a year in a month so I know I have to switch him to adult food. What is he on now? Do you want to avoid grains or do you not care? Besides itching and dandruff is he doing well on his food? Butt Reactor posted:Our bernedoodle puppy has hit the terrible twos stage and today he went and munched on some roadkill while out walking with my girlfriend. She’s worried sick that he’s going to acquire something since it was part of a dead rat, should we call or see a vet ASAP? My dogs eat dead things all the time, I just deworm them regularly. Dead rats in a city situation are a little more scary because they could have been poisoned though so I'd probably want to talk to my vet and see what symptoms I should look for just in case that's a problem.
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Dec 2, 2019 16:54
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Should I get my dog's teeth cleaned by the vet? I have a 7 year old standard dachshund named Liebe who has never had her teeth cleaned. Every time I take her to the vet they look at her mouth and tell me how much she could use a cleaning and I should let them do it, but then I ask how much and they tell me after anesthesia, the cleaning, possibly pulling teeth, its going to be like $1500. Aside from the price tag I don't like having to put her under for things she ultimately doesn't really need, especially since it just gets more dangerous the older she gets. Is this something necessary according to new vet training or is it just something they like to do because it's good in general theory? So what is everyone's thoughts on vet teeth cleanings? Note: I've had 10 dachshunds in my life, and I am pretty sure none of them have ever had a teeth cleaning. I had one who had an abscessed tooth that had to be removed when he was 16 or 17 but thats the only dental problem I can recall in any of their lives.
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Dec 3, 2019 01:18
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You can brush your own dog's teeth. The hardest part is keeping their muzzle still so they don't lick the toothpaste off / chew the toothbrush to bits. I won't claim I'm very good at brushing my dog's teeth, but it's got to be better than nothing. Even with that, my vet occasionally tries to convince me to let them brush his teeth. So my guess is it's a relatively easy moneymaker for them. 
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Dec 3, 2019 01:32
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nesbit37 posted:I don't like having to put her under for things she ultimately doesn't really need, especially since it just gets more dangerous the older she gets. Some pets do have worse teeth than others, even in the same breed. If you think she might need some teeth pulled, it would be better to do it now instead of when she's older.
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Dec 3, 2019 01:36
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GoodBee posted:Some pets do have worse teeth than others, even in the same breed. Yeah this, if she's got bad teeth, they can eventually get infected (same as a person) and hurt very badly, or they will break and hurt very badly. You can also get a second opinion on what your dog needs, you're not locked into 100% trusting that vets opinion.
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Dec 3, 2019 03:09
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I don't believe brushing does much if they already have a bunch of build up. Same way it works for humans. The stuff that's stuck on will cause gum issues and can only be removed by a dentist, not brushing. Also Banfield costs something like 500 a year and covers an annual cleaning and exam if you have a Petsmart near you.
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Dec 3, 2019 17:28
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The cost not an insignificant factor but I am more worried about the anesthesia. No way I would do annual cleanings, especially on a dog over 7.
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Dec 3, 2019 18:02
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I've had to do cleanings annually on one of my dogs the last 5 years who has had his number of teeth whittled down to just 4 remaining. I do not know his age, picked him up as a stray 10 years ago and he seemed around 2-3 years old at the time. He's never had any issues with the anesthesia and the vet always makes sure to charge us for a nice blood panel before each cleaning. Now, this same vet that was so concerned with my one dog's oral health preemptively told me they would not risk preforming the procedure on my other dog that had congestive heart failure and a pretty awful mess in his mouth. I trusted my first vet and the subsequent vets that did the cleanings as we moved around. I was slightly anxious each time I dropped my dog off and had to wait until the "he's awake and doing great" phone call in the afternoon. If you're not comfortable with it, nothing is going to change your mind. And yeah, it can get kind of expensive real quick, I think my cheapest visit was around $800 (first extractions and cleaning after having issues eating in 2014) and the most expensive was $1600 (downtown in a major metro).
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Dec 3, 2019 22:39
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Mutt owners sick of being asked what their dog is repeatedly: Embark is doing their annual cyber monday deal which brings the breed + health kit down to $129 and the breed only kit to $99 on their website, amazon, and chewy. Please test your mutts and post them here because I really enjoy seeing the results. He’s doing really well on his food. We have him on Iams large breed smart puppy. We switched him to Purina One large breed puppy cause the store was 100% out of his blend and that seemed to make his coat more dull and a little more shedding, the only thing is I don’t know how his winter coat coming in would affect that since it’s the first time I’m seeing it.  We did Napoleons Embark a while ago And to answer your questions about what’s a Supermutt  100% good doggo
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Dec 5, 2019 05:27
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Our dog is a bit overweight, it's a combination of less exercise and my wife giving him too many treats despite me asking her repeatedly not to (he's cute and we spoil the gently caress out of him). Is there a good weight management food we can switch to? Currently we are feeding him hill's science diet wet and dry.
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Dec 5, 2019 20:56
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CeramicPig posted:He’s doing really well on his food. We have him on Iams large breed smart puppy. We switched him to Purina One large breed puppy cause the store was 100% out of his blend and that seemed to make his coat more dull and a little more shedding, the only thing is I don’t know how his winter coat coming in would affect that since it’s the first time I’m seeing it. If he's doing well on it feel free to just switch him to the adult food or large breed adult food. I've heard a lot of people really like the purina pro plan sensitive skin and stomach food for itchy, flakey dogs but Iams probably has one too if he's doing well on the brand and you don't feel like mixing things up too much. MF_James posted:Our dog is a bit overweight, it's a combination of less exercise and my wife giving him too many treats despite me asking her repeatedly not to (he's cute and we spoil the gently caress out of him). Every brand has a weight management food you can try but it sounds like he mostly just needs less food. Would it help to measure out his ideal portion of food for the day into a jar or something and have your wife use those as treats throughout the day? Have her play with a fun toy instead of giving a treat? Or can you find lower calorie treats? Also the portion size recommendations on the back of dog food bags are usually way too much so you might just need to adjust portion size if he's otherwise doing well on the food he is on.
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Dec 6, 2019 00:03
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nesbit37 posted:Should I get my dog's teeth cleaned by the vet? can we see a pic of those teeth? Because there's a lot of different levels of gross at 7. I've seen dogs that needed teeth cleaning at 2, I've known dogs who never did.
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Dec 6, 2019 22:12
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Any tips on teaching a puppy (19 weeks) to walk? He's mostly fine around the house with the lead on, but he refused to budge at the front door until we took the older (10y) dog along too. We got about 10m up the road but little Wren was jumping all over Billie's back constantly and whining. He calmed down immediately when I picked him up so I wonder if he was scared or something. We haven't tried again yet as I haven't been well, but I feel like it's something we should work on.
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Dec 11, 2019 10:18
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kirbysuperstar posted:Any tips on teaching a puppy (19 weeks) to walk? He's mostly fine around the house with the lead on, but he refused to budge at the front door until we took the older (10y) dog along too. We got about 10m up the road but little Wren was jumping all over Billie's back constantly and whining. He calmed down immediately when I picked him up so I wonder if he was scared or something. We haven't tried again yet as I haven't been well, but I feel like it's something we should work on. Was that the first walk you took him on? It's new, it's scary, do it more and he'll be fine.
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Dec 11, 2019 10:30
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MF_James posted:Was that the first walk you took him on? It's new, it's scary, do it more and he'll be fine. Pretty much this, when I got dexter all his vaccinations and took him on his first walk he was real skittish. Now he’s the dog you can’t say the W word near or he will get way too excited.
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Dec 11, 2019 14:21
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Honestly, it's kind of good that he wouldn't walk without your older dog there, that means he's looking to him as the alpha and will likely take cues; provided you trained your other pup well, it will be a good and likely speed up training/good behavior.
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Dec 11, 2019 14:25
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Well that's kinda reassuring I guess. Yeah, I'll just have to try and do it more, then. Thank you!
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Dec 12, 2019 08:11
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My girlfriend lets and encourages her dog to sleep in the bed. Now if I try to sleep in the bed the dog will whine until I gently caress off to the couch. I don't want to sleep on the couch. I usually sneak back later but I don't want to keep doing this. How do I get the dog to sleep at the foot of the bed and stop whining when I'm in the bed?
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Dec 12, 2019 13:49
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Perry Mason Jar posted:My girlfriend lets and encourages her dog to sleep in the bed. Now if I try to sleep in the bed the dog will whine until I gently caress off to the couch. I don't want to sleep on the couch. I usually sneak back later but I don't want to keep doing this. How do I get the dog to sleep at the foot of the bed and stop whining when I'm in the bed? Persistence and patience, but your girlfriend also needs to be active in setting boundaries with the dog.
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Dec 12, 2019 14:24
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Persistent and patient what exactly? Usually how it goes is we'll be in bed doing the nightly wind-down activities (gaming or reading). The dog will be in the bed. Then we'll turn out the lights and the dog will go to the foot of the bed and stare off the side and whine or it'll get off the bed and whine on the side in my girlfriend's direction. The only way the dog will get back in bed or stop whining is if I get up. If I try to get in bed at that point she'll get up and sit next to my girlfriend on the bed and stare at me. If I get in the cycle repeats. Once this was solved by a walk (with me) and a couple times it was solved by going to the couch and waiting for the dog to come "fetch" me at which point I can get in the bed without getting off it or whining (as mentioned if I stay on the couch that usually works but apparently she whined last night regardless of the fact). But neither have worked this week. She walks really well with me and we're building a good rapport but it doesn't seem to be bearing much fruit and I don't know how to proceed. What boundaries should she be setting?
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Dec 12, 2019 14:30
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Perry Mason Jar posted:Persistent and patient what exactly? Usually how it goes is we'll be in bed doing the nightly wind-down activities (gaming or reading). The dog will be in the bed. Then we'll turn out the lights and the dog will go to the foot of the bed and stare off the side and whine or it'll get off the bed and whine on the side in my girlfriend's direction. The only way the dog will get back in bed or stop whining is if I get up. If I try to get in bed at that point she'll get up and sit next to my girlfriend on the bed and stare at me. If I get in the cycle repeats. Once this was solved by a walk (with me) and a couple times it was solved by going to the couch and waiting for the dog to come "fetch" me at which point I can get in the bed without getting off it or whining (as mentioned if I stay on the couch that usually works but apparently she whined last night regardless of the fact). But neither have worked this week. She walks really well with me and we're building a good rapport but it doesn't seem to be bearing much fruit and I don't know how to proceed. What boundaries should she be setting? Is your girlfriend doing anything to correct the dog? From your post it reads as though your girlfriend isn’t really doing anything to curb the dog’s behavior which is the same as encouraging it, and letting you do the work of re-training. She should be the one correcting the dog. You’re doing the right thing by building a rapport with the dog (walks, play, etc) but your girlfriend needs to be consistent in correcting her now that the living situation has changed. The dog is upset that you’re in bed with her person, and if her person isn’t telling her otherwise, the dog will assume her behavior is acceptable. Hopefully this makes sense, I’m at work so can’t really do an effort post.
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Dec 12, 2019 14:42
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It helps to set a firm boundary: is the dog allowed in the bed, yes/no? If not, then both of you have to be clear on if the dog is allowed up there or not, or else the dog is gonna be confused. Dogs aren't good about fuzzy boundaries, and setting up a "dog on bed only if i'm there" situation takes more work and effort. e: In my home my pupper is allowed on the couch ONLY if someone else is sitting on it. Otherwise no. Establishing this so he'd understand it took at least half of year of shooing him off the couch and being consistent about the rules. He gets it now, but it took a lot of work. (ps I think he should be on the couch all the time, but my dad owns that couch and he doesn't want unsupervised dog snoozing - what if he scratches the leather or something - so whatever, okay, we made it work so everyone could be happy.) StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Dec 12, 2019 |
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Dec 12, 2019 14:44
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DarkSoulsTantrum posted:Is your girlfriend doing anything to correct the dog? From your post it reads as though your girlfriend isn’t really doing anything to curb the dog’s behavior which is the same as encouraging it, and letting you do the work of re-training. She should be the one correcting the dog. You’re doing the right thing by building a rapport with the dog (walks, play, etc) but your girlfriend needs to be consistent in correcting her now that the living situation has changed. The dog is upset that you’re in bed with her person, and if her person isn’t telling her otherwise, the dog will assume her behavior is acceptable. Hopefully this makes sense, I’m at work so can’t really do an effort post. She's at a loss as to what to do same as I am. She invites the dog on the bed when I'm in it (well, whether I'm in it or not) and chastises her when she whines to no apparent avail. StrixNebulosa posted:It helps to set a firm boundary: is the dog allowed in the bed, yes/no? If not, then both of you have to be clear on if the dog is allowed up there or not, or else the dog is gonna be confused. Dogs aren't good about fuzzy boundaries, and setting up a "dog on bed only if i'm there" situation takes more work and effort. Dog's allowed on the bed just doesn't want me to also be on the bed. Some odd nights the dog's totally cool with it though and will nestle up at the foot of the bed.
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Dec 12, 2019 14:59
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If the dog won't stop whining at you just close the door and turn on some white noise? Is it a weird open space living arrangement? Make the dog sleep on couch. If dog is obnoxious around the bed it's not allowed near the bed for the rest of the night, she'll learn.
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Dec 12, 2019 16:24
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Tried it (including the white noise machine). She whines at the door non-stop and paws at it. I personally don't care at all but the girlfriend is weak-willed and feels guilty and caves (dog was heavily abused, homeless, and rescued, is the excuse). Anyway we did that for like a week and the dog didn't learn a thing.
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Dec 12, 2019 16:29
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Well it sounds like your gf is ok with you sleeping on the couch then and it's not really a dog problem. Dog knows she's just going to cave so she's not going to stop no matter what pro dog tips anyone might have.
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Dec 12, 2019 16:45
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Okay, thanks.
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Dec 12, 2019 17:13
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Anyone have some tips for flying with a young puppy? Herbie is and 8wk old golden retriever, up-to-date on vaccines, has an approved carrier for traveling in the cabin, etc. I'm working on getting him used to, and comfortable in his carrier, using the same techniques I did for his kennel (which has been VERY successful, and hopefully will be for his carrier too). Also it's an early-afternoon flight, so I should have plenty of time to wear his little butt out playing before we have to head to the airport. I think my main concern is what to do about pottying at the gate before we board... Should I bring a pad with us to put down at the gate while we wait? He's yet to use a pad, he's been a little rockstar in terms of not going in his kennel at night, and holding it during the day when he's baby-gated in the kitchen (with a pad provided). Here's our happy boy  
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Dec 12, 2019 17:44
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If they try to put him in the overhead compartment, politely decline.
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Dec 12, 2019 17:47
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EL BROMANCE posted:If they try to put him in the overhead compartment, politely decline. Ha! For real. It's Southwest, and their policy is that he needs to be under the seat in front of us.
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Dec 12, 2019 17:54
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Is 8 weeks old enough to fly? I've been flying with my dog since she was 1 (she is turning 8 soon) and I swear one of the requirements is they be 6 months old at least or something. Might vary by airline. Expect it to be a pain in the rear end. My dog flies with me as an emotional support dog now (which she is, supported by my therapist) because it's such a PITA to do as a pet
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Dec 12, 2019 18:09
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nesbit37 posted:Is 8 weeks old enough to fly? I've been flying with my dog since she was 1 (she is turning 8 soon) and I swear one of the requirements is they be 6 months old at least or something. Might vary by airline. Apparently! Southwest says that 8wks is the minimum.
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Dec 12, 2019 18:19
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Scarf posted:Anyone have some tips for flying with a young puppy? Herbie is and 8wk old golden retriever, up-to-date on vaccines, has an approved carrier for traveling in the cabin, etc. No advice on flying but that is some weapons-grade cute puppyness 
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Dec 12, 2019 18:26
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Perry Mason Jar posted:Persistent and patient what exactly? Usually how it goes is we'll be in bed doing the nightly wind-down activities (gaming or reading). The dog will be in the bed. Then we'll turn out the lights and the dog will go to the foot of the bed and stare off the side and whine or it'll get off the bed and whine on the side in my girlfriend's direction. The only way the dog will get back in bed or stop whining is if I get up. If I try to get in bed at that point she'll get up and sit next to my girlfriend on the bed and stare at me. If I get in the cycle repeats. Once this was solved by a walk (with me) and a couple times it was solved by going to the couch and waiting for the dog to come "fetch" me at which point I can get in the bed without getting off it or whining (as mentioned if I stay on the couch that usually works but apparently she whined last night regardless of the fact). But neither have worked this week. She walks really well with me and we're building a good rapport but it doesn't seem to be bearing much fruit and I don't know how to proceed. What boundaries should she be setting? Try positive reinforcement with a side of distraction first: If the dog will take treats, keep a small jar of treats by the bed and do a mini-training session starting with you beside the bed and ending with you in the bed. Sit/down/touch (or pick whatever tricks she knows, but down and touch will be more helpful with ramping down and getting comfortable close to you respectively). Do this after lights out and before the whining starts if you have a nightlight that'll facilitate it, as a bonding routine. It should make it easier to reset if you have to get up in the night. Engineer Lenk fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Dec 12, 2019 |
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Dec 12, 2019 18:41
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What do you all think of this? I am tempted to get some buttons and try it out, but the more expressive stuff illustrated seems staged, or at the very least heavily prompted. I really want my dog to say when it's bedtime though.
Bi-la kaifa fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Dec 13, 2019 |
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Dec 13, 2019 01:58
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Engineer Lenk posted:Try positive reinforcement with a side of distraction first: I'll keep this in mind. I went Instant Jellyfish's route last night and it worked. Sat the girlfriend down and said she is not to cave under any circumstance. When the whining started I immediately escorted the dog out of the room and closed the door. She actually didn't immediately start whining and pawing at the door, which was nice. I chilled for thirty minutes or so and she had begun pawing at the door. I went into the hallway, ignored her, closed the door behind me, and brushed my teeth. When I went back to the room I moved the dog away from the door first and then opened it. I left it open but the dog didn't follow until I invited her in. Then I got in bed and she jumped in. Slept peacefully in the bed all night with us. So it wasn't necessary to lock her out all night and she's learning that whining isn't going to end with a good outcome. Girlfriend was asleep and none-the-wiser to the whole thing, which is also nice. I'll keep going this route for now but if it becomes a constant routine I'll try the positive reinforcement. Thanks for the help goons.
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Dec 13, 2019 17:08
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It took an extra couple of months, but Teddi finally built up a resistance to giardia and flushed it out of his system without any medication. Right before the year old mark as scheduled.  Just in time to go visiting the folks for Christmas. Going to take him back to my folks home in the country parts of PA and I'm excited to give him a nice big grass yard to run around in for a bit, a nice break from city living. Bonus if it has snow: he saw his first snow over the past couple weeks and absolutely loves romping around in fresh powder.
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Dec 15, 2019 00:24
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:can we see a pic of those teeth? Because there's a lot of different levels of gross at 7. I've seen dogs that needed teeth cleaning at 2, I've known dogs who never did. Way late on this but here are her teeth and gums  
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Dec 15, 2019 00:31
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 14:40 |
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I'm no doggy dentist but that looks like something is going on there. FYI, February is Pet Dental Health Month. Maybe see if your vet of choice runs any promotions on cleanings/dental then and schedule one for Feb if so.
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Dec 15, 2019 01:16
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