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Messages - Saint and Mal mom

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1186
Collars, crates, & other cool things / What do you use for walks?
« on: April 22, 2006, 09:06:03 am »
One of my favorite things to do with my girls is go for a walk. But it's fun for me especially when they aren't dragging me down the sidewalk at the end of the leash. Yes, I have trained them not to pull, but they both require pinch collars to keep them under control. What does everyone else use for the large breed dogs? I would love it if someday my girls would learn to walk nicely on the leash without a pinch collar, but for now, that's not going to happen. And for those of you with more than one dog, do you take them for walks together using separate leashes, or the couplers that I have seen? Just curious!

1187
Helpful Groups & Dogs in Need / Re: Why I rescue
« on: April 22, 2006, 08:42:01 am »
Excellent video. My first dog was a shelter pup. I thought about breeding my Zoey, but a month ago, we got both girls spayed. I decided no, I'll leave that to responsible breeders, not for me.

1188
I joined! Will create pages for my 2 in a bit!

1189
Anything Non-Dog Related / Re: Parents MUST see this...
« on: April 21, 2006, 10:24:09 am »
Amazing study. Showed it to both my parents. They were astonished but proud also of the men who did something. I hope all of us would be like them if we witnessed a situation like this happening to anyone.

1190
I asked my mom, who is a nurse, to look at the pictures and she said there's most likely something going on there. More than just metabolism. How much weight exactly has he lost? Could it be worms? If it's worms, he will eat everything you give him, but nutrition won't be getting to his body. A stool sample at the vet would answer that question. Otherwise, it has nothing to do with you! Remember that! Dogs get sick, like people do. Sometimes we lose weight, so dogs must too! And sometimes we are pigs and eat a ton and gain lots of weight, so dogs can too!

1191
That is wild, I've never seen or heard of an agressive sheltie, they are usually submissive to other dogs.  Maybe he got taken down a notch and will behave.

The next day my dad saw the owner and commented on the dogs' encounter. The owner said, "Yep, your dogs would have had every right to kill our dog!" The sheltie has rushed at my dad too when he has walked past their house without walking our dogs. The dog is people-aggressive too obviously. They need to fence in their yard, and keep the dog in there! Simple.

1192
I'm going to have to recommend a Labrador Retriever. They're big, but not giant. Don't drool (anymore than a regular dog of course!), don't shed a lot, are excellent family dogs, and protective, are clean, affordable since they usually don't eat a whole lot, and somewhat mild-mannered from what I know about them.

Saints are great, if money is no object. My mom and split the cost, but altogether spent about $70 to buy dog food for our Saint for 1 month. Take that times 12 for a whole year's cost of just food. Of course, mine's still a pup. They do drool, but each one is different in the amount. Mine drools only when she drinks. Easy to groom. Great with people and kids! They are very sensitive though. Dolly, if you look at her wrong, she hangs her head. They are prone to several major diseases too. But I wouldn't trade mine for anything in the world!  :)

My other recommendation is a mutt.  ;) A large, friendly mutt! Usually cheaper to adopt, most have already been spayed or neutered and given shots, and they aren't as prone to genetic diseases as purebreds are. Our first dog was a mixed breed and he was very loyal. petfinder.com. Excellent site for finding shelter dogs in your area. Some are even purebreds! Hope you find the dog you want and your family will love, no matter what breed!

1193
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Big Paws Needs Support
« on: April 18, 2006, 04:58:40 am »
I'll see if I can help any. It wouldn't be a lot, but I'll see! I love this site already! It is the best of its kind!

1194
Alaskan Malamute Discussions / Re: Alaskan Malamutes
« on: April 16, 2006, 12:12:50 pm »
Alaskan Malamutes! Gorgeous breed, I must agree. Unfortunately, I didn't research them as much as I should have before we went out and bought one. Digging! Yes, digging is...so great. Um, 3 foot deep hole by foundation of our deck and house to be exact. Be prepared. Independent? Yes. Sometimes very stubborn. Zoey is...gone! Okay, just had to run halfway around the block to get her. She got out! All's well now. Okay. Zoey is very strong-willed and takes a lot of discipline before it gets through to her that she did something bad. And she chews EVERYTHING. And eats everything. But she's very loyal and loving. And she knews how I feel no matter what. Very important though- never, ever trust them off leash. They will not come back on their own free will! If you have a strong arm and strong will, be ready for a challenge. They aren't like any other breed, that's for sure!

But I'm not so sure I completely agree with the same-sex aggressiveness thing in all cases. We got Zoey at 5 weeks old and made sure to socialize her with every dog we could find. Most of them were females, and this was to solve the same-sex problem. Now she loves all dogs. And is nuts about her Saint sister. She is awesome with kids. It scares them a little because she gets so excited to see them that she jumps up sometimes, but we're working on that. She just gives them big kisses though. 

1195
I was walking my 2 girls on Friday night and I was on the sidewalk. Out of her yard raced this little sheltie, full speed at my Saint. (Now, I have nothing against shelties for any of you who might own them, but this one is just rotten!) She bit Dolly on the legs, and Dolly scrambled to get out of the way. Well, my Malamute Zoey is definitely the pack leader of the 2 and went to protecting Dolly by biting the sheltie on the back. I was afraid she would lift her into the air and throw her! But the owner was nowhere in sight for about 2 minutes. I tried to keep walking and pull the girls away so the sheltie wouldn't be so protective of her property (which I was not on!), but it didn't work. And frankly, I knew Zoey could handle herself against a little sheltie so I gave up and let her defend herself. Finally, the owner came out, called off the dog, and apologized. I was really scared, but luckily the dogs were scared but not hurt. I was really proud of Zoey protecting Dolly like that too. Has anyone else had a fool hardy little dog try to bite your bigger dog?!

1196
Treatment & Preventative Meds / Re: Fleas and Ticks Meds
« on: April 15, 2006, 04:29:47 pm »
We put Frontline Plus on our dogs and Advantage on our cats. Drs. Foster and Smith is having an awesome sale on flea and tick control on several brands! And only $2.99 for shipping, no matter how many boxes of flea control you get! Best deal I've ever seen! Check out their website! We got our order in 4 days too!

drsfosterandsm ith.com

1197
Food Discussion & Information / Re: puppy food???
« on: April 15, 2006, 01:59:02 pm »
Please don't be offended at what I am going to say here, but most of the foods you mentioned are VERY low quality.  Second, most vets have had minimal training in dog nutrition, and I've found that their recommendation s for large and giant breeds are often incorrect.
Quote

Don't worry, not offended! But after spending a lot of research on the brands that are available in our area (or at least a 2 hour radius from home!), these are the best that we've been able to find and afford. I looked up the Chicken Soup for the Dog lover's soul. Turns out it's available nearby! I'll check it out! Thank you!

1198
Breeding Questions & Information / Re: How did you find your breeder?
« on: April 14, 2006, 03:53:51 pm »
I found Zoey's breeder in the newspaper. I had been looking to get an Akita, but they are rare in the midwest and so we got an Alaskan Malamute, which was a favorite breed of mine too! Then we got Dolly through puppyfind.com ! Great site! I talked to the breeder directly and we settled on a price. Finding Dolly was a lot easier than looking for Zoey, but either way, I'm happy!

1199
Food Discussion & Information / Re: puppy food???
« on: April 14, 2006, 03:35:46 pm »
We've been jumping around from brand to brand for our 2. But our vet and a dog food specialist definitely said that it was essential to be feeding large breed puppy food to large or giant breed dogs. Your golden retriever definitely needs a large breed puppy food. Now as far as brand goes, we have tried Diamond, Iams, Purina ONE, Purina Puppy Chow, Authority, Eukanuba, Ol' Roy, and Science Diet to name a few for our girls. What I've found to be the best nutrition-wise but have not tried are Eagle Pack, Pro Plan, and Nutro. They contain a good amount of protein (28%), glucosamine, and selenium in them, which is important for keeping large breed dogs' joints healthy. It can prevent hip dysplasia. But these brands are somewhat pricey. Our price range lets us buy Eukanuba and Purina ONE, which also have excellent protein levels and contain selenium and glucosamine. Eukanuba helps our Saint also avoid mushy stools. Authority Large breed Puppy is a really affordable brand with glucosamine in it. I recommend it, but our 2 didn't care for the taste. Maybe your pup will like it. Any dog food, no matter what age dog, should have at least a 22% or 23% protein level and for large dogs, contain glucosamine or selenium. It will pay off in the future to feed your dog a good puppy food now!

1200
Zoey and Dolly get fed 3 times a day. A scoop of food in the morning at about 7:15, a half a scoop after school, and one more scoop before bed at about 10. Plus, they get peanut butter and cracker sandwiches in which I put their crushed glucosamine tablets. And they both get 2 capfuls of vegetable oil in their food each day to make their coats shiny!

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