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Messages - romphill

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Food Discussion & Information / Re: Underweight Great Pyr
« on: July 31, 2008, 06:50:23 pm »
New budget...Last time I talked to my girlfriend we decided we're going to try and shoot for $40 a month for food and preferably something like Eukanuba/Iams or in that general quality range.  Hopefully this ought to free up some other money for the occasional canned food topper.

Sorry to ask again, but do you all have any thoughts on a food in that price range?  We heard about some stuff with Iams and Peta and so I would be really shocked if she wanted to go the Iams route, but we're not really sure of anything else to go for around that price.

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Food Discussion & Information / Re: Underweight Great Pyr
« on: July 31, 2008, 05:17:52 pm »
YAY!   So thanks, your question ended up helping me out big time.   ;)  :D


You're welcome...I do what I can to help whenever possible.

Anyways I'm sorta in the same situation (living far away from distributors) so can anyone offer advice or information on purchasing online?  I wasn't sure if it was lower quality or food that had been returned (sub par).

Thanks again

Max

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Food Discussion & Information / Re: Underweight Great Pyr
« on: July 31, 2008, 03:22:09 am »
On the Innova suggestion, which version should I get.  I saw the large breed and red meat versions.  Also how many cups a day should he be getting of this good food?

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Food Discussion & Information / Underweight Great Pyr
« on: July 30, 2008, 04:42:56 pm »
Just got Harley back from the vet today for shots, bloodwork, and the like since we adopted him 3 weeks ago and had no idea of his health status.

All the screenings came back clean, and are beginning to start him on some Advantage combined flea/heartworm med that you just pour on his back?  Any ideas/thoughts on that one?

Other than the horrible cut the groomer gave him (he looks like a giant poodle now...fluffy tail, short body, longer hair on head), the only downside was his weight.  The last owners claimed he was 135...clearly not.  The scales had him at almost 83 pounds (this was after the haircut, so that might account for 5-10 lbs).

The last owners had him on Old Roy...that's what the vet attributed his light weight to.  They recommended Eukanuba adult large breed...I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, and if anyone knew where Euk fell in the line of dog foods according to price.

All total I think the monthly budget is around 60 for dog food, give or take a bit.  Harley will be 3 November 3 if it's any help. Also how does everyone feel about purchasing food online?  Is it just as good as in store, or does stuff end up being sold online because it's older, backordered type stuff?

Thanks,

Max



Edit****

Can someone just tell me what the best food for him is going to be?  I hate going through decisions like this.  Also, I'm a fan of Eukanuba, Orijen, Innova, and EVO.  I know nothing about them but they have fun to say names.

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Food Discussion & Information / Re: Switching Dog Foods, Advice?
« on: July 30, 2008, 08:44:50 am »
Off to the vet today so hopefully he'll start a new food program within a week or so.  I really don't have that much to comment on, except that I guess my sister just adopted a 20 or so week old golden/lab (at least looks like that) mix.  Seeing all 130-140 pounds of Harley next to something I can hold in the palm of my hand is a pretty funny site.

She's also making him neurotic with all the yipping and high pitched barking.  Harley's way too kind to  be aggressive, but when they're in the same room he'll just stare at her and growl while she's bouncing around wanting to play.

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Food Discussion & Information / Switching Dog Foods, Advice?
« on: July 29, 2008, 05:09:27 pm »
Just adopted a nearly 3 year old Great Pyrenees.  Old owners were feeding Old Roy, and I'm wondering how to go about swapping out dog foods.  Tried to a few weeks ago (to same Lamb and Rice type Purina, recommended by local vet?) and his stools quickly changed to a green tint and much more runny.

The process I used last time was over about 5 days, first day just a handful of Purina sprinkled over the Old Roy, and gradually put more Purina in and less Old Roy.

Assuming the stool change wasn't because of the quality of  the new food (Purina), I am blaming it on the process that I went about doing it.  In that case does anyone have any recommendation s for a better transition?

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Great Pyr "Accident" Issues
« on: July 27, 2008, 08:40:42 pm »
In everyone's opinion, what is the best food option for owners who are on a budget?  As college students I'm not sure my girlfriend and I will be able to afford some of the more expensive lines of food.

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Great Pyr "Accident" Issues
« on: July 26, 2008, 09:59:10 am »
How much food should I be feeding Harley?  I haven't had him to the vet yet so I'm not positive on size, but I believe it to be around 135-145 pounds, and he will be 3 at the beginning of November.  Also, how much food would I be feeding him if he was on something like the Innova dry dog food (is that what everyone is talking about or are you feeding your dogs the canned food?).

Just curious because I'm trying to see how much more expensive it actually is.

Currently he is getting approximately 3-4 cups of Old Roy a day, plus whatever Purina One he scrounges from Moses's (the golden retriever) bowl.

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Great Pyr "Accident" Issues
« on: July 25, 2008, 07:57:49 pm »
To the first post, coincidentally enough my name is Max...not very common for people I know, but seems to be a popular pet name these days.

Thanks to both of your for your quick replies, and I'll definitely look into the foods that were recommended.  As far as keeping him in my room goes, I'm completely fine with it, and he usually is too.  Occasionally though he wants to get out, and there's not much that can stop him when he wants to.  One of the two doors in my room doesn't latch shut due to an unaligned door frame, so the solution I had was to put dumb bells on the other side.  Harley, my Great Pyr, managed to climb over a clothes basket and push open a door with at least 25 pounds on the other side!  I spoke with the original owner about putting him in a cage/kennel when we're gone, but they said that when he was a puppy he had issues with kenneling and being in any confined space.

From what I've heard from them it seems like they gave him all of their downstairs to run around in, so he's used to having a fairly good sized open space at all times.  This is starting to worry me about once I get back to school since my apartment is not that large, and it's shared with 1 room mate who is fine with me having a dog, but I'm not sure if he'll be wanting to watch over him at all times to make sure he's not pooping or peeing on our furniture.

Thanks again; I'll definitely look into the foods and everything else.

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Great Pyr "Accident" Issues
« on: July 25, 2008, 05:32:04 pm »
My girlfriend and I recently adopted a nearly 3 year old Great Pyrenees.  Since we are both at our respective homes for the summer (both still in college), he is living with me and my parents and sister for the time being.  Despite only being around me for a minimal time though (in the grand scheme of things) he seems to suffer from something similar to separation anxiety when I'm gone.  I'll try to fill in background information in the following paragraph.

I have had him since July 6th.  He was at that time staying at the previous owners' parents house where he had been for around 2 or 3 weeks.  He spent the first night with my girlfriend and I at her parent's house, and had no issues.  He then made the 5 hour car ride (with stops of course) to my house where he has been ever since.  From the moment we picked him up, he does not stop following me (not a bad thing...just filling in the back story).  If I go outside for whatever reason, he typically either waits at the door or watches me through a large window we have in one room of our house.  The problem arises when I am gone for any length of time.  Typically if I'm gone for anything more than 20 minutes, and he has free reign of the house, I come back to find a mess either upstairs or in our basement.

To my knowledge he has not had any issues when I am around, and only 1 (of several) has been on the main floor of our house.  All the rest are typically upstairs or in the basement as I said.  Another kicker is that if he is kept in my room while I am gone, he does not have issues...gener ally just lays/sleeps on my bed or at the foot of my bed.

Things that could cause it(?):
He was/is on a diet of Old Roy Lamb and Rice Meal.  My girlfriend and I tried to change it to Purina Lamb and Rice, but upon doing this, his stools became more runny and had a green tint.  When we were trying to swap him over, we spent about 10-12 days gradually adding more Purina and less Old Roy.  I didn't realize his stools were affected until day 7 or so, and didn't attribute it to the food until a few days after that.  He has since gone back to all Old Roy.  Side question...any thoughts on Old Roy?  I've heard arguments both for and against cheaper dog food.
Shots.  When we got him we thought he was up to date on all his shots.  I called the veterinarian to double check though, and they said that they had not seen him since his shots as a puppy (March of 2006 I believe).  This should all be resolved by the upcoming Wednesday.
Food again...My family has another dog, a 8 year old Golden Retriever who eats Purina of one kind or another (not sure which type).  While my Great Pyr does not normally go for my family's Golden's food, there are opportunities when he could get into it without anyone knowing.

Any [more] ideas on what could be causing the problem, or do you have anything to recommend to break him of this habit?  My girlfriend and I go back to school in a month, and I'm not looking forward to replacing all the carpet in my apartment when I move out next year.

Thanks

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