admin answers:

Please to go petfinder.com and take a look for your area. I would recommend looking at the ones in shelters first — rescue first :-). But, that is up to you. Please take it to doggie classes. If you live in the Denver Metro area in Colorado, check out Clearwater dog training, they also run a rescue for German Shepherds and their dogs are well trained and fun to be around.

admin answers:

Terriers are extremely difficult to get reliable off-leash, even if you’re an expert trainer. You have to start when they are 8 weeks old, getting them to follow you and stay on your property. Once the dog has learned that she can run away, you’ll never get her to forget that she can. If a barking dog or a cat or a squirrel comes along – wham! – there goes your dog. Instinct is much more powerful than training.

You’ve also got a problem because of the pit bull’s reputation. People who see a loose pit bull may panic and scream and run – that will make even the mildest dog chase them. If your dog runs after them and the person is hit by a car, YOU will be liable since most communites require all dogs to be leashed. Your dog could also be injured or even shot by a cop in some places (like Denver, rumor has it).

Read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly – there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com

The Koehler Method of Dog Training – by William Koehler has some good techniques about off-leash training, but you’ll have to modify the method and make it a lot more fun for your terrier. They are much smarter and more stubborn than Shepherds and Goldens. You can’t do twenty repetitions of sit-down-sit-down with a terrier. He will get pissed off and turned off.

Also, read:
What All Good Dogs Should Know – Volhard
Good Owners, Great Dogs – Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don’t Shoot the Dog – Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method – Volhard
Dog Problems – Benjamin
Cesar’s Way – Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I’ve ever seen on TV.

admin answers:

Hahaha i know exactly how u feel i have a min pin, and had the same thing happen i hate it when ppl c im trying to keep her inside and they just radomly open the door giving her the chance to run off…..its irritating cuz i had to chase her down the block but like u i also decided to invest in classes and baby gates, now thats all an issue of the past..

admin answers:

No, a Border Collie will not be under 25# at 10 months to a year old, esp a male.

admin answers:

Border Collie-2 hours to keep them calm and satisfied.
Spaniels-Generally 1-2 hours.

So, I would say a 45 minute walk in the morning, half an hour play time in the afternoon, and an hour run at night. Yep, that outta do it!

You also need to provide heaps of mental stimulation. Obedience training, interactive toys, hiding food around the house, etc. BCs are incredibly smart and need something to do or else they become destructive.

I would bet money this dog is need of a desperate home because of his exercise levels. Most likely he doesn’t have much training and is destructive because of lack of mental stimulation.

Just realize he may be some work the first few weeks you have him. And also remember that this dog will be a huge commitment.

Good luck!

admin answers:

First rule with Border Collies:

You can never know everything about them. They will always surprise you.

However, back to the question at hand. Border Collies excel at agility and anything really that engages their minds and their brilliant physical attributes and talents.

Please bare in mind though that they have an infinite level of energy. My two BC’s hike with me for most of the day on my days off and they can come home, sleep for half and hour, and be willing to go out again.

If you can honestly say you have the time and a 14+ year commitment then I think a BC would be a good addition to your family. However, BC’s, if not properly socialised can be quite an anxious breed so be sure to get your pup from a reputable breeder that has a line of brilliant herders/workers with great temperaments.

Hope this helps.

admin answers:

Personally, I use Evo food for my husky. She had been eating Purina, and something in the food upset her stomach and caused very runny stool. Through talking with my vet and experimentation, we figured out that my puppy seems to have a sensitivity to grains. This particular food has no grains in it at all, and is based on meats. Its still a dry dog food, so I can just toss the bag in a big rubbermaid tub in the closet. Makes storage of the food easy, and since its dry, its easy to take food with us when we travel. About once a week she gets a can of the same brand as a treat. She still gets table scraps occasionally, but I try to watch which ones she gets. Lol she thought she’d died and gone to heaven the other day when I accidentally dropped a piece of bacon!

I like the Evo food because its of a high enough quality that technically I could sit down and eat a bowl of it and be fine. There are a lot of brands that would potentially make me sick if I were to do that.

I included the website for the food I use for the dog, and an article from the Animal Protection Institute on dog foods and the nasty stuff we don’t want to think about that happens with that food. The site has quite a few articles on similar topics, I’d suggest looking over much of the site.

admin answers:

Bill Jack is Garbage dog food with a capital G!
Here is a site that will show you which dog foods are the best and the worst. I suggest that you get any one of the dog foods that are top rated.
Http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Most of grocery store dog food formulas, like IAMS, Pedigree, Science Diet, Purina,and etc contain “meat and bone meal” which has been known to contain dead dogs and cats that were euthanized in animal shelters. Their bodies are picked up and bought by the truck load by “rendering plants” , that also pick up road kill, dead live stock, and etc. They are shredded, and boiled. They skim off the fat on the top of the “soup” and collected it and sell it to pet food companies as “animal fat”, the rest of the animals’ remains are crushed up, dried and sold to dog and cat food companies as meat and bone meal.
You can read more about it here.
Http://earthislandprojects.org/eijournal/fall97/fe_fall97petfood.html
Here is an article where the owner of a rendering plant talks about it. He says that cremating the dead shelter animals would cause pollution, and that rendering them is good.
Http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_12_26/ai_115041999
Here is further information on what you shouldn’t see in the ingredients list in your dog’s food.
Http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients
Top rated dog foods like Canidae contain good healthy ingredients.

admin answers:

Try mixing a little of the new into the old. Gradually increase the proportion of new until you are switched over. Keep an eye on your pets reaction, but typically figure on something like a week or so. And best of luck 🙂

admin answers:

The other trainer that was hired at my store teaches a training method called the compulsive learning theory. Basically it states the dog obeys to avoid punishment. If he was a real trainer who is up to date on the proven positive methods, he would know that dogs learn best by a positive based punishment rather than a physical one. In short I have seen this brut of a man hang and jerk aggressive dog via on leashes. He has even gone as fare as pinching the whisker glands on the dog to get them to obey. Some of you may not see the problem in this, but as someone who has gone to school to study dog behavior, it is insulting and honestly if I can be so bold cheating clients in thinking this is the right way into training dogs. If anyone wants to have a good dog trainer here are the list of criteria that will insure you they are good teachers:
1) Ask if they have a valid Dog training certificate from a positive training school( look up the school via google)
2) Ask if they use prong choke or shocks collars in training. They say yes to any of them DO NOT GO WITH THEM!
3) Do they use any physical correction with there hands in training? The answer should be no.
4) Ceaser Mulan or Victoria Stillwell? If it Ceaser they love, I promise you they will screw up your dog.
5) Ask where the training will be. Outside?How many dogs? Is it sanitary?

In my expeirance pet store trainers have little or no knowledge on how to properly train dogs. I have met many and have seen their classes. Best advice is to get a personal trainer who can come to your home and let your dog be in it’s own home where he will learn the best.

And in case your are wondering where my education comes from here is the school I am going to
animalbehaviorcollege.com. Same school Victoria Stilwell from ” It’s me or the Dog” graduated from. That and also I had to work on an externship for 7 months versing myself in different AKC breed groups. Am I educated? Yes. Do I know my material? Yes. Am I a dog whisper? No. I am a person who can get into about a 90% radius of what your dog may be thinking. Thank you for this question, and if you ever have training questions feel free to ask me. ^_^

Dare2howl@yahoo.com

admin answers:

They can be used instead of a chain (collar). The fabric is easier on fragile necks than the regular chain collar. When adjusted properly, it will not close around the neck like a chain collar But you still get the chain sound of the correction. I do not reccommend a flat, chain or martingale for a dog that has pulling issues. For that a prong collar used correctly is actually much safer for the trachea as it stops the pulling with the least pressure on the trachea.

I use the martingale for my two poms. Poms have delicate neck and also they have large heads compared to their necks and a regular chain collar is too long when it is long enough to get over their heads. The martingale can be adjusted after it is put on so the chain does not hang down too low. They do not have pulling issues but a quick jiggle of the chain will put them back into proper position. Plain flat collars are too damaging for small dog’s necks when training or the dog is pulling. They have no “give” and no warning “jiggle”.

admin answers:

Much older than a puppy.

In my opinion, shock collars shouldn’t be used to *teach* anything – they should be used to *proof* what has already been taught by positive training, rewards (not just treats) and corrections.

admin answers:

It can be overwhelming at first trying to choose a food, especially when you’re just starting to learn about all the stuff that goes into dog food and hearing about a bunch of brands that aren’t advertised.

But remember, it’s dog food, not rocket science. Relax and try out a few foods, see which high-quality one works for you and your dog.

===

There is no food that is the *best*, different individual dog may thrive on different foods. What is best for one may not be the best for the next. And just because a food is good quality, it doesn’t mean it will jive the best for your dog.

What you want to find is the HIGH-QUALITY food that *your dog* does best on.

—

Read the ingredients before you buy.

Here is my “short list” of rules when I am looking at dog food ingredients:
1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!). Meal is simply the meat with the moisture removed.
2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.
3) I don’t want to see any byproducts.
4) I don’t want to see a lot of fillers.
5) I don’t want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).
6) I don’t want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.
7) I don’t want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup).
8) I don’t want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as “meat” or “poultry”.)

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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Here are some examples of GOOD dog foods:
* Artemis (Fresh Mix)
* Blue Buffalo
* California Natural
* Canidae
* Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
* Eagle Pack Holistic Selects
* EVO
* Fromm
* Innova
* Merrick
* Nature’s Variety
* Orijen
* Solid Gold
* Taste of the Wild
* Timberwolf Organics
* Wellness
* ZiwiPeak

Or check this website; the 4, 5, or 6 star rated foods are all good foods. Http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more of a low-quality food to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, higher-quality food will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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What *NOT* to buy:

Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware “premium” foods. “Premium” does not always mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. Most of these foods have the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Bil-Jac, Royal Canin, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that’s why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don’t focus a lot on nutrition. It’s not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told “this is good food”, so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it’s good as well.

Hills company, the makers of Science Diet, are heavily involved in vet schools. “Hill’s scientists author more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters each year and teach at leading schools of veterinary medicine” (Source of quoted section: http://www.hillsvet.com/zSkin_2/company_info/company_info_general.jsp?JSESSIONID=HMz2B3Jn3hv0rnSoxCobfbBhOec35ODG7yh5t3P0vcvhOtzRlQ9M!598359213!167846923!7005!8005&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302026072&bmUID=1196192566575 )

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“Big box” petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (I do believe that PetCo sells “Solid Gold” and “Natural Balance” brands and Petsmart sells “Blue Buffallo”, which are all higher quality foods, but most of the foods aren’t.)

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren’t good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
– small, locally owned petstores
– dog boutiques
– farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

admin answers:

If you can buy it in the supermarket, it’s probably not good for your dog…the brands you mention are all literally garbage…they will provide some calories to keep a dog alive, but have very little nutritional value at all…

Not familiar with the brand you switched to (I feed Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover’s Soul at the moment) but see the source links for some info…the first is a good guide on the types of ingredients you do and do not want in your dog’s food…the 2nd is a review of a number of the “better” dog foods (better than anything you’ll find in the grocery store)…

Why are the brands you mention unhealthy??? They are loaded with fillers and animal parts there was no other use for…I shoot for a food with “human grade” ingredients…

admin answers:

Http://www.dogaware.com/ – information on commercial dog foods, ingredients to avoid, good and bad human foods, supplements and raw diets.

Http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ – in-depth reviews on dog food brands and their ingredients

Wellness & Wellness CORE, Solid Gold, Taste of the Wild, Timber Wolf Organics, California Naturals, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul, Merrick, Canidae, Blue Buffalo, By Nature, Eagle Pack Holistic, Innova & EVO, Instinct and Orijen

admin answers:

I use martingale collars on my dogs, mainly because they are easy to slip on over the dogs heads and I don’t have to worry about buckles. My dogs only wear collars when we’re out walking.
I’ve never heard anyone say a word against martingales.

admin answers:

It really depends on what you are using them for and you should always use them in conjunction with other training methods. They are not going to solve all your problems immediately and they might cause more harm then good. I would only suggest using them as a very last resort b/c there are a lot easier and less harmful ways to train just about any behavior. If you are going to get one then you need to find a trainer who is well versed in their use and can help you use them.

Used in the wrong way you could do a lot of damage to your dog and his relationship with you.

admin answers:

Yes, you should be able to socialize this dog at her age. Shock collars do not train dogs – they mask the problem and are great for people too lazy to teach their dogs anything.

If you can find a really good obedience class with trainers who understand dogs (and the important thing here is that they treat dogs as individuals, not those who only know 1 method and use it no matter the dog’s temperament), take her to classes. But what I would do is start her off at home.

How is she with kids? Is she actually aggressive? Does she growl to warm them away? Is it because she isn’t used to kids and is using it as self-defense? Is she ok with older kids but not with young ones? A good behaviourist might be the best solution for you because they can see the dog in a situation and will be able to read her to determine why she’s doing what she’s doing, from there you can fix it.

If you’re experienced with dogs, you should be able to do it yourselves. Don’t leave her alone with any kids, gauge her reactions. With other dogs, you can’t take her to a dog park, but you can get her used to walking on leash near other dogs on leash. She’ll pick up on your body language – if you tense up, tighten the leash, etc., she’ll think there’s a reason and it encourages her to act aggressively. You need to keep her close to you but be very calm, talk to her, distract her and give her lots of praise and/or treats for any good behaviour.

If she doesn’t like you having visitors, you need to make that into a good experience for her. Let her greet them at the door – they are not to talk to her, pet her or make eye contact with her until after she’s done sniffing. They can then pet her if she’s willing, maybe offer her treats and she’ll learn that new people are a good thing. It’s hard to give too much advice without actually seeing how she interacts with other people or dogs.

admin answers:

It depends who diagnosed your dog, first of all.
They are indeed basically the same thing. They are made with milk. If you want to try to give it to them, and you have a Whole Foods nearby, go and buy “Nancy’s” cultured cottage cheese. It contains cultures just like yogurt, which help your dogs digestive system.

Cultures are “probiotics” and these are healthy friendly bacteria. Probiotics keep the dogs stomach in top shape.

You can give probiotics without milk, by buying an ‘enzyme and probiotic’ in powder form that you just add to the dogs food.

Enzymes help a dog to digest food. If you give your dog dry dog food, it definitely needs enzymes. Try this brand- ANIMAL ESSENTIALS Plant Enzymes & Probiotics.

Here’s what you do. Sprinkle about a quarter to a half tsp on the food once a day. I give my dogs cultured cottage cheese, two or three times a week, just a spoonful, but its not necessary. They just love it.

Try ANIMAL ESSENTIALS Plant Enzymes & Probiotics and you will see a difference. Also, they won’t have gas. My dogs used to have bad gas. But not anymore.

I have found that the ANIMAL ESSENTIALS Plant Enzymes & Probiotics helps the dogs to digest milk easier too.

I do however, feed one of my dogs raw food, and the other one eats completely grain free. He just loves cheese and yogurt tho!!

If you do try yogurt, here is a great recipe!!

1 container of PLAIN organic FAT FREE yogurt.
1 RIPE banana
1 TBS of NATURAL peanut butter

Mash the banana, add all ingredients into a blender, or mix by hand until well mixed. Feed 1/4 cup of yogurt to the dogs as is, or freeze it for an extra yummy treat! You can freeze it in an ice cube tray, and then give them 2 or three cubes at a time!

Good Luck!

admin answers:

There are so many dog foods on the market right now and most people are totally oblivious to healthy and unhealthy dog food. I used to be, but after looking into dog food and researching it I have completely changed my ways when it comes to dog food. All of the food in Wal Mart and most foods from other stores such as Petsmart are unhealthy garbage. Why? Because they either carry:

“Artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives,” all of these can cause cancer and several other health problems. Cancer is the #1 killer of cats and dogs.

“By-products,” they are the junk in meat that are not approved for humans to eat. Road kill, cancerous, dead, and dying animals are allowed as well.

“Fillers,” are corn, wheat, and soy products that virtually don’t have any nutrition in them. They pass right through. Which also makes your dog have to eat more food to feel full.

Surely good dog foods such as Science diet, Eukanuba, Iams, Pedigree, and Purina don’t have any of those and are great to feed my dogs right? Wrong. These foods have most if not all of these terrible things.

Here are the first ten ingredients of three of the so called best foods, which make up most of what your dogs eat and are the most important. The capitol words are the main things that are wrong in the ingredient lists.

Purina adult complete nutrition- WHOLE GRAIN CORN, POULTY BY-PRODUCT MEAL, ANIMAL FAT preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), CORN GLUTEN MEAL, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, brewers rice, soybean meal, barley, whole grain wheat, animal digest… (There is nothing good in that list at all)

Eukanuba-Chicken, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCTS MEAL, CORN MEAL, GROUND WHOLE GRAIN SORGUM, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Rice, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed)… (Most of what you see are either fillers or by-products)

Science Diet- GROUND WHOLE GRAIN CORN, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, Soybean Meal, ANIMAL FAT (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, … (first ingredient is a filler followed by by-products and more fillers)

Here is a list of both cat and dog well known foods and treats to stay away from-Fancy Feast, Alpo, Friskies,Mighty Dog, Dog Chow, Cat Chow, Puppy Chow, Kitten Chow, Beneful, Purina One, Purina ProPlan, DeliCat, HiPro, Kit’n’Kaboodle, Tender Vittles, Purina Veterinary Diets, MeowMix, Gravy Train, Kibbles ’n Bits, Wagwells, 9Lives, Cycle, Skippy, Nature’s Recipe, Milk Bone, Pup-Peroni, Snausages, Pounce, Pedigree, Waltham’s, Cesar, Sheba, Temptations, Goodlife Recipe, Sensible Choice, Excel, Hills Prescription Diets, Nature’s Best, Diamond, Ol’Roy, Iams, Nutro, Royal Canin.

Here are some foods that I recommend- Timberwolf organics, Innova, California Natural, Evo, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the wild, Wellness, Merrick Before grains, Chicken soup for the dog lovers soul, Health Wise, Karma, Orijen. Plus there are many more great foods not listed. You have to look at the ingredients list of any food that you feed your dog. If it have any of the things listed as bad then immediately put it down.

To show what a good healthy dog food looks like, here is the ingredient list of Taste of the Wild High Prairie- Bison, venison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

admin answers:

Yikes! It sounds like you don’t have a lot of time on your hands. The below recipe can be made WITHOUT the chicken. It freezes pretty well, so you could make it on the weekend and pull it out during the week. You could also use turkey or beef if she’ll eat those! Good luck!

Chicken & Vegetable Scallop

2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 package (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed
1 package (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed
2 tbsp. Butter or margarine
2 tbsp. Chopped onions (although I always us an entire onion)
2 tbsp. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Freshly ground pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine chicken, corn & peas in a 13x9x2-inch greased baking dish.

2. In a medium-size sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, approx. 3 minutes (more for the whole onion). Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes without browning. Gradually whisk in broth & milk. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly until thick & smooth.

3. Remove from heat & stir in eggs. Pour sauce over chicken mixture.

4. Combine bread crumbs & cheese in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of casserole. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes until lightly browned on top.

admin answers:

These are the 3 best resources that were given to me when I was researching the very same question for my sister.

1. First off, research the market you are getting into. I know this sounds like a Mr. Obvious type of statement, but there are effective, and not-so-effective ways of doing this type of research. So what would be the most effective and cheapest way to research the dog training world? I’d head on over to Mr. P’s dog training pages. Tons and tons of information all geared towards the dog training subject.

2. Get a mentor or become an apprentice… The best and cheapest way to do this is either contact someone who is actively in the business (make sure they are out of your proposed territory – you will not get any help or advice from someone you may take business away from), or tap into SCORE. Go to their website and type in “dog trainer” as part of your criteria for a business mentor. It’s free, and you may fall onto some retired dog trainer who will give you priceless guidance not found in any book.

3. Look at books recommended by established organizations. There are tons of how-to ebooks being marketed online today – and most of them carry inflated price tags since anywhere from 50-75% of the price goes to the affiliates who are marketing them. Sorry, but this is a truism in most cases.

Good luck in your search…

admin answers:

My trainer has assistants that help him to check the dog’s collars (to make sure they are fitted properly), brew coffee (lol), “fetch” treats from the cupboard to drop in front of the dogs when teaching/practicing food refusal, act as distractions (walking by and snapping fingers, etc). All sorts of fun stuff!

I hope you like it! I did the same thing, and am now apprenticing under my trainer, to become one myself!

admin answers:

There a re several that I see:
1. Only one way works for all dogs;
2. Certain types of training equipment is cruel and abusive;
3. Purely positive training (no consequences) is the only way to train;
4. The dog knows when he has been bad;
5. The dog should know better;
6. An old dog can’t be taught;
7. Small dogs don’t need training because they’re small;
8. The best way to train is some famous TV trainer’s way;
9. Dogs are little children in fur coats; and that’s all that I can think of right now.

admin answers:

There are so many dog foods on the market right now and most people are totally oblivious to healthy and unhealthy dog food. I used to be, but after looking into dog food and researching it I have completely changed my ways when it comes to dog food. All of the food in Wal Mart and most foods from other stores such as Petsmart are unhealthy garbage. Why? Because they either carry:

“Artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives,” all of these can cause cancer and several other health problems. Cancer is the #1 killer of cats and dogs.

“By-products,” they are the junk in meat that are not approved for humans to eat. Road kill, cancerous, dead, and dying animals are allowed as well.

“Fillers,” are corn, wheat, and soy products that virtually don’t have any nutrition in them. They pass right through. Which also makes your dog have to eat more food to feel full.

Surely good dog foods such as Science diet, Eukanuba, Iams, Pedigree, and Purina don’t have any of those and are great to feed my dogs right? Wrong. These foods have most if not all of these terrible things.

Here are the first ten ingredients of three of the so called best foods, which make up most of what your dogs eat and are the most important. The capitol words are the main things that are wrong in the ingredient lists.

Purina adult complete nutrition- WHOLE GRAIN CORN, POULTY BY-PRODUCT MEAL, ANIMAL FAT preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), CORN GLUTEN MEAL, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, brewers rice, soybean meal, barley, whole grain wheat, animal digest… (There is nothing good in that list at all)

Eukanuba-Chicken, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCTS MEAL, CORN MEAL, GROUND WHOLE GRAIN SORGUM, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Rice, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed)… (Most of what you see are either fillers or by-products)

Science Diet- GROUND WHOLE GRAIN CORN, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, Soybean Meal, ANIMAL FAT (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, … (first ingredient is a filler followed by by-products and more fillers)

Here is a list of both cat and dog well known foods and treats to stay away from-Fancy Feast, Alpo, Friskies,Mighty Dog, Dog Chow, Cat Chow, Puppy Chow, Kitten Chow, Beneful, Purina One, Purina ProPlan, DeliCat, HiPro, Kit’n’Kaboodle, Tender Vittles, Purina Veterinary Diets, MeowMix, Gravy Train, Kibbles ’n Bits, Wagwells, 9Lives, Cycle, Skippy, Nature’s Recipe, Milk Bone, Pup-Peroni, Snausages, Pounce, Pedigree, Waltham’s, Cesar, Sheba, Temptations, Goodlife Recipe, Sensible Choice, Excel, Hills Prescription Diets, Nature’s Best, Diamond, Ol’Roy, Iams, Nutro, Royal Canin.

Here are some foods that I recommend- Timberwolf organics, Innova, California Natural, Evo, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the wild, Wellness, Merrick Before grains, Chicken soup for the dog lovers soul, Health Wise, Karma, Orijen. Plus there are many more great foods not listed. You have to look at the ingredients list of any food that you feed your dog. If it have any of the things listed as bad then immediately put it down.

To show what a good healthy dog food looks like, here is the ingredient list of Taste of the Wild High Prairie- Bison, venison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

admin answers:

I feed a variation of the BARF diet. This diet is comprised of human grade raw foods- chicken, beef heart, liver, kidney, broccoli, sweet potatoe, carrots etc… They are doing wonderful on it *and* I know exactly what they are eating!

My cats get this with a small amount of kibble so they get taurine. Aside from the fact they are highly picky..

admin answers:

Anything by these brands; Eagle Pack, Canidae, Timberwolf Organics, California Natural, Innova, Solid Gold and Chicken Soup For the Pet Lovers Soul are high quality foods. Even some of the brands you can get in places such as PetSmart (Natural Balance, Nutro, etc.) are ok.

If you are in the UK, James Wellbeloved is probably the best easily available dog food on the market.

Avoid junk like Pedigree, Science Diet, etc. These foods contain little meat (and any meat that they do contain is poor quality) and rediculous amount of grains and fillers. Feeding high grain/high carb food is terrible for the health of your dog therefore they should be avoided at all costs.

admin answers:

Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat.

Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be “healthy” really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. I’m not saying that a cat can’t live off them… Just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is “best” for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases.

Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.

All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.

So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.

Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.

Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.

It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. It’s an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into people’s heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)

I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it it’s a snap to prepare. It’s something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat!

If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www.catinfo.org/ , http://www.catnutrition.org/ , and http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/ .

If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www.felinespride.com/products/catfood.aspx . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it!

Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1507&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250597c11908GJS417647E.

If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods:

-“Grocery store” foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, “grocery store” foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.

-Premium foods – (Iams/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of “grocery store” food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and “filler” ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than “grocery store” foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t!

-Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster & Smith) The newest addition to the pet food market – provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers.

With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”! Who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.

The ingredients also should NOT include any by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. 🙁

So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next.

Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap.

You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com

If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores.

I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!

********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.

admin answers:

Never feed your dog Iams or any other advertised commercial dog foods. They are extremely bad and can even cause cancer.They have hooves,horns, beaks, chicken feet, intestines and chemicals in them. Choose from these great brands Innova, Canidae, solid gold, Merrick Timberwolf, Wellness,Orijen,Go Natural Grain Free,Newman’s Organic,Organix Organic. They are harder to find but the manufacturers will usually ship to your door. Please your dog deserves better.

admin answers:

My opinion is that it’s an overpriced bag of crappy ingredients with a huge parent company that can afford a high profile marketing plan. Simply put… It’s garbage no matter how many ads they put out to tell you it isn’t.

Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat.

Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be “healthy” really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. I’m not saying that a cat can’t live off them… Just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is “best” for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases.

Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.

All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.

So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.

Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.

Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.

It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. It’s an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into people’s heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)

I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it it’s a snap to prepare. It’s something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat!

If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www.catinfo.org/ , http://www.catnutrition.org/ , and http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/ .

If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www.felinespride.com/products/catfood.aspx . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it!

Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1507&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250597c11908GJS417647E.

If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods:

-“Grocery store” foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, “grocery store” foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.

-Premium foods – (Iams/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of “grocery store” food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and “filler” ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than “grocery store” foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t!

-Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster & Smith) The newest addition to the pet food market – provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers.

With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”! Who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.

The ingredients also should NOT include any by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. 🙁

So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next.

Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap.

You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com

If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores.

I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!

********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.

admin answers:

I don’t live in your area, but this is what i did when I was looking for a trainer. I went to the local dog park, and dog friendly areas and watched dogs and their owners interacting. The dogs who had a pleasant demeanor and the owners who really watched them…well, I approached and asked for a training recommendation. Between 4 or 5 people I got 2 names. I did a little reading on training methods and had a pretty good idea of what might be best for my dog. I went to observe both these trainers teach a group lesson. One of them really impressed me and I chose to work with him. This organization has a package deal that is way more expensive than Petsmart. But all of these trainers are certified, with years of experience in ALL methods of training and all types of breeds. Their package does include 5 hours personal one on one training in your home or area outside, training tools AND free group classes for the life of your dog. The classes are 3 x a week. You can go, or not. I like the classes and the reinforcement is great for the dog’s obedience. And, if some problem arises, they are always there for you by phone , internet or after group class. Goldendoodles are great dogs with a fairly high energy level. The petsmart trainers are OK for basic obedience for dogs that are happy go lucky and benefit from the socialization. In case a dog is challenging, dominant/ aggressive or presenting any problem out of the ordinary, they are not the way to go. Sometimes you do get what you pay for! Hope you find a good trainer…good luck.

admin answers:

It depends on what you want: private lessons, group classes, someone else to train your dog for you
Is this for general/basic obedience or something more advanced/specific (e.g. Aggression problems)?
The Dumb Friends League offers group classes at a good rate. The instructors are behavior department staff and usually have 1 or more behavior volunteers helping. All behavior staff are extremely knowledgeable about dog behavior. They emphasize positive reinforcement/clicker training. DDFL offers many classes beyond basic obedience. Visit their website for more information:
http://ddfl.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=training_dog

admin answers:

You need to take him to training. With a professional trainer. German Shepards are extremely intelligent. You need to be exercising his MIND as well as his body. He is not being challenged enough. Pet Co and Petsmart have CHEAP training classes. They are not the best, but they will do. You can then work with him on training several times a day in shorter increments. That will help his as well. Plus, with training he will learn to walk on leash just fine.

Also, is he being taught he proper things to chew on? He needs bully sticks, kongs, buster cubes – things that will work his mind. The minute he gets ahold of something he shouldn’t have, you say “eh eh”, remove it, replace it with a proper toy and then praise him for chewing on that. You can get a product called SCAT that you place on the counters, tabletops, etc. It is motion activated. The minute the paws hit the counter, a blast of air and noise is activated. It works like a charm. My male no longer counter surfs and we haven’t had the SCAT on the couters, tabletops or bed for a year. We’re getting ready to use it again with our 7 month pup as she’s starting to surf when she’s bored.

Timeouts should be for a minimum of 10 minutes. You are not giving him enough time to calm himself down. Timeouts aren’t just for him, they are for you as well. Have you tried crate training for sleep? This will help both you and he get rest. You get into a regular routine. Just like a baby going into their crib, the crate at night signifies bed time. It will be easy to transition him to sleeping on his own bed once he used to the evening routine. Denver Dumb Friends has a GREAT article that can guide you through crate training here:

www.ddfl.org

This is all very fixable with training. Training isn’t just for him, it’s for you two as well. You will be amazed at the helpful tips you learn! It’s also a lot of fun. He’s super smart so you will be able to teach him all kinds of cool tricks to impress friends as well as burn off that energy. You might also hook up with a dog or two that he likes from the class. We met a few couples and have been having playdates with our newest pup for a few months now. It’s an amazing energy burner because they can go at it much better than we can!!

admin answers:

Yellow puke is bile, so your dog isn’t throwing up his food. You should look into another food, though. The brand you’re feeding is full of fillers that aren’t nutritious for your dog. Avoid foods from the big pet and grocery stores.

Better kibble are: Timberwolf Organics, Merrick, Solid Gold, Wellness, ZiwiPeak, Orijen, Pinnacle, and Prairie.

The best you could feed your dog is raw: Bravo, Oma’s Pride, Aunt Jennie’s Homemade 4 Life, Primal, and Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-Bowl.

admin answers:

It is common for a dog to throw up its water on occasion if they drink too much too fast. When he shivers is it after he drinks????? If so warm the water, the water is making him cold. Some dogs shiver for no apparent reason, shitzus, chihuahas, are very known for this.

The vomiting may be due to a sensitive stomach, food allergy or an internal organ problem such as kidney or liver disease. I would recommend having some blood tests run to rule out liver and kidney disease.

In the meantime, FAST her for 24 hours…provide fresh water only. Then re-introduce a bland diet of boiled chicken OR burger with rice–NO regular dog food, treats or scraps. If she does not vomit while on this BLAND diet, then I would recommend trying a diet for sensitive stomachs.give her yogurt on a daily basis as well as adding digestive enzymes into her food such as PROZYME.

Food allergies will sometimes make them sick, and usually what causes allergies to the food is corn.

Try what i mentioned above first and see if this makes the dog change in actions.

Good dog foods are not sold at your vets or grocery stores,

Innova, canidae, solid gold, california natural, are all good foods.
Science diet recommended by vet is not a good food either,

How to grade your dog’s food: Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of “by-product” , subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source (“meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or
fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain “mill run” or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (I.e. “ground brown rice”, “brewers rice”, “rice flour” are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point>
Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count “chicken” and “chicken meal” as only one protein source, but “chicken” and “” as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

Score:
94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69 and below = F>
Here are some foods that have already been scored.

Dog Food scores:
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten’s Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

admin answers:

This type of diet for your dog is probably the healthiest choice for him. Even the top quality foods you buy prepackaged contain preservatives and other chemicals. I’ve been able to find cookbooks for cooking for dogs even! There are plenty of people out there who do this, as long as you have the time and budget for this new diet. Also i would like to add that salmon is another good source of protein and keeps their coat shiny. However your dog’s stomach may be sensitive to the change, so a gradual transition from the organic dog food to your home cooked food would be best. Try calling your vet’s office and see what they say, although i’m sure they would be more than happy to sell you their brand of dog food, the vet will also have some good advice.

admin answers:

A lot of students at the Art Institute live in the Capital Hill, Governors Park or Uptown neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are all close to the school enabling you to walk to class. The parking can be rough in that area, so it’s a good idea to live nearby. Plus, there are some decent bars and restaurants all within walking distance. The catch is most of the places for rent are older (but the rent is reasonable, so that’s good). If you want to live in a newer yuppie area you can live in Golden Triangle or Lowerdowntown (Lodo). Visit www.hubbuzz.com for superficial descriptions of the Denver neighborhoods and ask further questions to get the dirt on each neighborhood. Craigslist is a good place to look for apartments/houses for rent.

admin answers:

Hi ,
Well i found this really helpful guide ,its a really professional training called sit stay fetch , to teach you how to train your dog by yourself , http://www.dogobediencetraining.co.nr , its a easy step by step book and videos
Hope this helps you with your dog

admin answers:

These songs work well for what you want to do.
ALREADY GONE… Tempchin/Strandlund
AMERICAN PIE… Don McLean
ANNIE’S SONG… John Denver
BAMBOO.. Dave Van Ronk
BELIEVE.. Elton John/ Bernie Taupin
BLACK WATER… Doobie Brothers
BLACKBEARD’S NAVY. James (Sunny Jim) White
BLACKBIRD.. Paul McCartney
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND.. Bob Dylan
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS.. Paul Simon
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME… Jay Gorney
BROWN EYED GIRL… Van Morrison
CALYPSO… John Denver
CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT.. Elton John
CANDLE IN THE WIND.. Elton John / Bernie Taupin
CHEESBURGERS IN PARADISE.. Jimmy Buffet
COMES A TIME.. Neil Young
COTTEN FIELDS.. The Highwaymen,
CROSSROAD BLUES.. Cream
DAUGHTERS.. John Mayer
DEPORTEE.. Woody Guthrie
DESPERADO… Henley/Frey
DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART.. Blanche/Orson
DON’T LET ME BE LONELY TONIGHT.. James Taylor
DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME..Elton John
DOWN BY THE RIVER.. Neil Young
DREAMING WITH A BROKEN HEART.. John Mayer
EARLY MORNING RAIN… Gordon Lightfoot
EAST TEXAS ROAD.. Woody Guthrie
EAST VIRGINIA.. Pete Seeger (great Banjo Piece)
EDELWEISS.. Traditional and Sound of Music
EL CONDOR PASA.. Paul Simon/ Robles
EVIL WAYS… Santana
FADED BLUE.. Ian Tyson
FAREWELL.. Bob Dylan
FEELIN’ GROOVY.. Paul Simon
FIRE AND RAIN.. James Taylor
FLY AWAY.. John Denver
FOUR STRONG WINDS.. Ian Tyson
FROM A DISTANCE… Julie Gold
GARDEN SONG.. David Mallett
GEORGY GIRL.. The Seekers
GRANDMA’S FEATHER BED… Jim Connor..
GUANTANAMERA.. Jose Marti
HALLELUJAH.. Jeff Buckley
HE WENT TO PARIS… Jimmy Buffet
HEART OF GOLD.. Neil Young
HOTEL CALIFORNIA… Felder/Henley/Frey
I AIN’T GOT NO HOME… Wooddy Guthrie
I AM, I AM.. Naomi Hirshorn
I WILL NEVER MARRY.. The Carter Family
I WISH I WAS IN DIXIE.. Daniel Emmitt
IMAGINE… John Lenno
JOLLY MON SING .. Buffet/Jennings/Utley
LAY DOWN SALLY.. Eric Clapton
LEAVING ON A JET PLANE… John Denver
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE.. Walsh/Henley/Frey
LIKE A SAD SONG.. John Denver
LITTLE BIRDIE.. Pete Seeger (a fun Banjo piece to play)
LOVE NEEDS A HEART.. George, Carter and Brown
LYIN’ EYES… Henley/Frey
ME AND BOBBY MAGEE.. Janis Joplin
MEXICO.. James Taylor
MISTER TAMBOURINE MAN… Bob Dylan
MOMMA TOLD ME.. Three Dog Night
MONDAY MORNING… Yarbow/Stookey/Travers/Okun
MORNING TRAIN.. Elena Mezzetti
MRS. ROBINSON… Paul Simon
MY SWEET LADY.. John Denver
NEW KID IN TOWN.. Souther/Henley/Frey
NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN.. The Moody Blues
OFF TO SEE THE LIZARD.. Jimmy Buffet
OLD MAN… Neil Young
ONE GRAIN OF SAND.. Pete Seeger
ONE PARTICULAR HARBOR.. Jimmy Buffet
PART OF ME.. Paul Barron
PEACEFUL EASY FEELING.. Jack Tempchin
PROPINQUITY .. Michael Nesmith
PROUD MARY.. Creedance Clearwater Revival
RAINY DAY PEOPLE.. Gordon Lightfoot
ROCK ME ON THE WATER.. Jackson Browne
ROCKET MAN.. Elton John/Bernie Taupin
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH… John Denver/Mike Taylor
SAD SONGS… Elton John/Bernie Taupin
SONG FOR CANADA.. Tyson/Gzowski
SOUTHERN CROSS… Jimmy Buffet
SOUTHERN MAN… Neil Young
SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS.. Denver/Taylor/Kniss
SWEET BABY JANE.. James Taylor
SWEET EMOTION.. Arrowsmith
SWEET HOME ALABAMA.. Lynyrd Skynyrd
SWEET POTATOES.. Pete Seegers
T FOR TEXAS… Jimmy Roberts
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT.. Meisner/Henley/Grey
TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS.. Denver
TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN.. Yarbow/Stookey/Taravers
TEQUILA SUNRISE… Henley/Frey
THANK GOD I’M A COUNTRY BOY.. John Sommers
THE CRUEL WAR.. Stookey / Peter Yarbow
THE BEAT GOES ON.. Sonny and Cher
THE ENTERTAINER.. Scott Joplin
THE FOOLISH FROG… Pete Seegers
THE HUNGRY YEARS.. Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield
THE PRETENDER.. Jackson Browne
THE ONE.. Elton John/ Bernie Taupin
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND.. Woody Guthrie
THIS TRAIN.. Peter Yarbow and Paul Stookey
THERE’S ANGER IN THE LAND… Hedy and Don West
YOU LOVE THE THUNDER.. . Jackson Browne
YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND.. Carole King
WASTED TIME.. Henley/Frey
WE’LL SING IN THE SUNSHINE.. Gayle Garnett
WHEN THE SHIP COMES IN.. Bob Dylan
WITCHY WOMAN… Leadon/Henley
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE.. Pete Seeger
WHERE MY HEART WILL TAKE ME … Warren
WILD HORSES.. The Rolling Stones
WORLD WITHOUT LOVE.. Jonah Smith
WRECK OF THE EDMOND FITZGERALD.. Lightfoot
WRITTEN IN THE STARS.. Elton John / Tin Rice
YOU RAISE ME UP.. .. Graham/Lovland
YOUR SONG.. Elton

admin answers:

Every one you have listed here is a great food. Some are easier to find than others. Like Blue Buffalo is at all Petsmarts and Petcos, making it quite easy to find and that one has the best price I believe out of those listed. I do not know too much about 1 but number 2 is made my a privately owned small little company, that I believe is out of Wisconsin but it is hard to find and have never fed it to my kitten, although I have heard great reviews. I currently feed my kitten a mix of Innova kitten and Blue Buffalo Longevity kitten and she is doing and looks marvelous! I do like both of these foods but I would prefer to feed Orijen. Orijen has the best reviews, it is just expensive and hard to find. 4 I do not believe has a kitten formula but also a good food. 7 I do not know much about other then it is not super popular and the bag is in a million languages and confusing. Wellness, or number 8, is super similar to Blue Buffalo, almost creepily so and it costs more than Blue. And 9 is really good, again hard to find and it is more popular for dog food than cat food. I would personally like to feed Orijen, and after doing a bunch of research it is the brand I like the most, I have yet to do the taste test with my cat yet, as I still have some Innova and Blue coupons. Also, I would like to mention that the ones I said were hard to find, are just hard to find in my area, yours could be different so don’t let that deter you. And if you had to pick a Blue Buffalo product, go with wilderness, the high protein is what a cat should be having as a carnivore. Good luck, hope I helped.

PS: You really cannot go wrong with any of these foods, your smart for doing your research, I wish more people did. 🙂

admin answers:

First, when was that episode done? Inflation has impact! Where do you live? Location affects food prices. Where do you shop? Stock up on basics at WalMart, or do you have access to Super WalMart, or do you buy in bulk at Costco, etc? Or are you going to the “nicest” grocery store in town? Are you talking groceries only, or are you stocking up on paper products, toiletries, etc, too? Supermarkets are the most expensive places for toiletries, sundries, so get those at WalMart and separate your budget items.

Are you buying prepared foods, or making pizza from scratch? Do you have a bakery thrift shop to buy bread, etc in bulk and freeze, or do you buy flour and bake your own bread and rolls?

How much are you spending on snacks, sodas, etc? Limit is one bag of chips (or one “treat”)/week for “family movie night” or whatever. Do you pack school lunches for kids or they buy school lunches?

How’s your portion control? Do you stretch one chicken for 8 servings (two meals), or barely manage one meal for the 4 of you with only one chicken?

Once you analyze your spending, preparing, cooking & eating habits, you can probably find ways to cut that down to about $100-125/week.

admin answers:

It’s asinine isn’t it??? Makes me ill.

admin answers:

Anywhere from $20-$60
For my largest dog(76 Lbs), his was about $45
And my medium dog’s(42 lbs) was $30.
It really depends on size and some have different styles(my female’s has hawaiian flowers on it)

admin answers:

Spayed dogs live longer and healthier lives, they say. Besides, you don’t want puppies. But it’s up to you. If you don’t spay her you’ll need to have her shut inside or accompanied by an attentive adult outside for a couple, three weeks twice a year, to prevent pregnancy.

Why not call your vet, ask to speak to the doc, and tell him what you’ve just told us. See what he says. He does have a vested interest but he also has a great interest in dogs’ well being, we hope, as that’s why s/he went to veterinary school. Ask all the questions you can think of about the procedure, medications used, and aftercare. You might also want to talk with your breeder as she knows how her line does with medications, and anything else to look out for.

admin answers:

Um… No way you could hold the LL responsible. If you can prove they did it (you seem quite sure) file a claim with the PoPo and turn it in to insurance… You can sue as well, but again, you have to have some sort of proof. They can easily say “I didn’t do it” and after all, the burden of proof is on the accuser. Unless you live in some sort of quasi-communist state.

And LL would not have much right to evict for an unsubstantiated claim. That’s between you and the neighbor, I fear. He could get in trouble for eviciting w/o justifyable cause. And have to paint, repair, etc. That comes with changing tenants.

Ah, the joys of rental property!

Key their car for revege if you want (just kidding, of course!) but other than suing the people that you think did it, you are SOL. Suing the LL would be like suing a dog’s owner for getting bitten… Except the LL does not own the tenants.

admin answers:

Except for trained service dogs, no pets or animals (including amphibians and reptiles) are allowed in the residence halls. Aquariums no larger than 10 gallons containing fish or turtles are permitted.

admin answers:

A Service Dog WORKING off-leash is just that .. A Service Dog. If your disability requires that the dog be unleashed while working (performing tasks) then I’m certain you could reasonably argue that in a court of law. However, just needing a Service Dog, having one working with you and deciding not to leash it probably isn’t enough.

A Service Dog unaccompanied, not working, or unaccompanied in a car is… Just a dog and is subject to any laws any other dog would be subject to.

The ADA makes no proclamations regarding whether the dog must be on or off-leash. It probably didn’t occur to them.

Depending on the merits of your case, the ACLU is looking for instances of discrimination to those using Service Dogs to take to court.

*I* would dispute the ticket as a chance to educate the officer and the court system… But I have MS… And a neurologist who recommended using a service dog. I have no clue what the courts would think of a physiologist signing a note for someone with Asperger’s.

(You might want to ask this in the legal section)

Edit: I wonder how Elaine proposes a Service Dog kept at the disabled person’s side is supposed to go to retrieve medication, open a door, turn off a light etc… These are things that are not always within reach of a leash.

admin answers:

In regards to the application of the laws:

The law that offers the greater protection to the disabled person is the law which will apply. If the ADA says “must be leashed”, but the State or Local law says “no leash needed”, then the State or Local law takes precedence because it is less restrictive. Likewise, if the ADA says “no leash” but the State or Local law says “leash required’, then the Fed law applies.

Unfortunately, the ADA is silent on the topic of leashing, so the State or Local law may apply. All the ADA mentions is that the animal must be under the control of the handler at all times and if not, the animal (but not the handler) may be removed from the venue. It is up to you to ensure that the animal is “under control” while unleashed. If you protest the citation, you will have to prove this aspect to the judge in court. The judge may or may not rule in your favor if depending upon the results of your “off leash/under control” evidence.

In reality, the disabilities that need to be mitigated by an unleashed service animal are so small as to be practically non-existent; most all disabling conditions can be mitigated while leashed, albeit a long lead. The smartest way is to be leashed at all times for the safety of the animal, the handler, and the general public.

Just as an informational note, service animals are NOT allowed “everywhere” their handler is allowed, as stated by some of the answers. There are specific places that service animals are not permitted by law, so it is not a “free-for-all” in regards to service animals. Read the provisions in the ADA to see for yourself.

Here are two informative briefs:

www.ada.gov/svcanimb.htm

www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm

We bike ride all the time on a tandem bicycle, with my wifes Guide dog tagging along on a leash. It is nonsensical to state that a dog cannot be leashed on a bike ride. Unless, of course, the dog is not well trained or has a poor recall; in which case it should not be used for any type of service work.

admin answers:

No I haven’t used Karma, but I have also done a lot of research on dog food and it looks to be one of the premium dog foods. If I had the time and money I would go all Natural. I just can’t believe people think that the food that you buy in the grocery store is good for your dogs. Read the first two ingredients. Corn should not be the first ingredients. Dogs are carnivores they need meat.

admin answers:

Even if you are feeding one of the lower quality dog foods, two cups a day is too much. If you are feeding one of the better quality dog foods it is WAY too much. The bag should have a “How much to feed” chart.

What Brand? Is it puppy food?

admin answers:

They’re a cat right?
Try going to Brookside Barkery if you have a local one. They have organic cat and dog foods. They’re expensive but well worth it, it’s really good for your pets! 🙂

admin answers:

Here is a list of good dog foods:

Innova
Evo
Canidae
Merrick
California Natural (great for dogs with allergies!)
Healthwise
Karma Organic
Natural Balance
Eagle Pack Holistic Select
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Artemis
Horizon Legacy
Instinct
Orijen
Ziwi Peak
Wellness
Taste Of The Wild
Fromm Four Star
Nature`s Logic
Timberwolf Organics
Nature`s Variety
So many more…..

When looking for a good quality dog food check that it has NO by – products, corn, wheat, soy or artificial colours or flavours.

Please check out this website, for dog reviews and ratings:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

I do not live in America, so I would not know the prices over their. All of the dog foods above are avalible in America.

Bad dog foods (do not feed your dog these):

Iams
Science Diet
Eukanuba
Anything by Purina (Alpo, Beneful, Lucky Dog)
Advance
and of course anything from the supermarket or that has lots of bad ingredients (like the ones mentioned above ^^)

Their are many toys you can buy for your dog. Always make sure the toys are not small enough for the animal to choke on or swallow.

Check pet co`s website to see what toys they have avaliable:

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_productlist_Nav_188_N_22+101.aspx

I read this from a book, about clicker training:

Many commands are easier to teach if you use a clicker. Clicker training was invented by a dolphin trainer to teach dolphins tricks. You can buy clickers at pet supply stores.

Clickers replace your spoken “good dog” reward with a quick clicking sound. By the time you tell your dog what a good girl she is, she may be doing something bad. The click tells her she is good at the exact moment she is being good. For example, by the time you say “good sit”, your do may be standing up. But you can click the moment she is sitting.

To teach your dog that the click means “good girl,”you need a pocketful of treats and a clicker. Click and give your dog a treat. Do this about thirty times. By the time you`re done, your dog knows the click is a good thing! Then whenever she follows a command, you just click instead of using your voice to prompt her.

I am not sure what will happen if you do not have the clicker, probably nothing much. Just give her a treat or praise her instead, but I would suggest making sure you take it with you, just in case.

Their are many other tricks you can teach your dog like fetch the newspaper or even play dead.

Check out Amazon! They have tons of books on dog tricks that you can order online:

http://www.amazon.com/Only-Tricks-Book-Youll-Family/dp/1593372566/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217756577&sr=8-2

Here is a few websites/videos on dog tricks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1lO6HQZdsk (this video was really good!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB6y7t_FeT8&feature=related (this was funny!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaj6lApFuaY&feature=related (screaming pug!)

http://www.loveyourdog.com/tricks.html

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

http://dogtricks101.com/

Cute boy names:

Butterscotch
Shadow
Buddy
Husky
Twinkles
Frostie
Twinky
Munchkin
Oreo
Pudgy
Tiger
Squirt
Angel
Mushka
Mango
Sam
Brownie
Fudge
Cookies & cream (if you get 2 dogs!)
Pepper

Check out these websites, for more names:

http://www.fundognames.com/male-cute-dog-names.html

http://www.names-for-dogs.co.uk/cute-dog-names.html

http://www.alldognames.com/

Good luck! I hope this helps.

admin answers:

Probably by not it has liquified, but normally when you dog eats something you aren’t sure of you make him vomit by giving him hydrogen peroxide. Never do this with a caustic solution as it will burn coming up more than it did going down.

Fertilizers are salts, probably what your dog was tasting……salt. Really dangerous things are pesticides, antifreeze, chocolate, raisins, etc I’ve never heard of fertilizers being a problem.

Read this: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/poison.html

admin answers:

Oxbow is a good rat food, I’d say the best one that you can actually buy pre-made but if you want to make your own, ( and it’s not cheap ), this is how I make mine:

Vegetables:
kale
broccoli
baby carrots
peas
sweet corn
bell peppers

Fruits:
strawberries
blue berries
red grapes
pomegranate ( you can get a container of it in the fruit section of your grocery store )
apple
banana ( no green )

Dry:
rabbit food ( mine like fruit flavored )
dog food ( try to find chicken and rice )
dry penne or fusili pasta noodles
plane oats
plane rice cakes
3 types of various human cereals ( no sugar cereals, try to find wheat and organic stuff )

**Also offer garlic and various nuts

If you don’t want to make your own homemade food all the fruits and veggies are very good for treats so are the nuts and garlic is good for their hearts.

As for the cage I can’t seem to find a picture of it but if its at leas this: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Exotics-Large/dp/B000TZ5BRI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1357216070&sr=1-1&keywords=rat+cage big then yes you can have three rats in it.

About getting another rat, It is possible that if the resident rats have bonded they will not like the newbie and may hurt them. Or vise versa, the newbie may attack the resident rats. But if you really want to then three is a good number of rats to have together. And with proper introduction they should be easy friends. But yes there probably will be small fights for dominance, though.

Good luck!

admin answers:

Most of the pet store will let you bring your dog in, so take him with you and have one of the stores associates help measure your dog.

admin answers:

What about a leash ???

admin answers:

A positive trainer who uses positive motivation and clickers – Yes.

A trainer who was a military/police dog trainer – Doesn’t matter.

A trainer who promises fast results using methods that include a choke chain or electric collars – Never.

A trainer who belongs to a reputable dog training association – Yes.

Mainly, a trainer who I trust and can work with.

admin answers:

I believe that Castor & Pollux Organix is made in the United States – they also have a grain free version, and the ingredients are mostly organic.

admin answers:

You’re absolutely right, Science Diet is a poor quality dog food.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren’t safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you’re getting what you’re paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… This means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!

Before following your vet’s food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! And Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can’t find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.

Another option, if you can’t find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here’s an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/

Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.

Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml

More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog’s food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)

admin answers:

Well you aren’t going to find much good at petco

You will find Solid Gold and Blue Buffalo

I prefer Natura Products: Innova, California Naturals, Evo.

You won’t find Natura Products at Petco.

But here is a link to the store finder and all you need to do is put in your zip code….

Http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/

(Science diet is full of fillers, your dog will thank you for switching to a better food)

Here is the ingredients to my dogs food….California Naturals

And what it does

Lamb Meal
Lamb meal is the dry rendered (cooked down) product from lamb tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Lamb meal is simply lamb meat with the moisture removed, making it suitable for use in dry food. Before you buy a product containing lamb meal, ask the manufacturer about the origin of the lamb meal they use. Natura uses only high-quality lamb meat, not the lamb by-products found in some other pet foods.

Brown Rice
The whole rice kernel containing the nutrient-rich bran with only the rice hull removed.

Rice bran is rich in numerous nutrients like B-vitamins, magnesium, and fatty acids.

Rice
Rice, unless listed as brown rice, is the de-hulled rice kernel, without the bran — known as white rice.

Rice, in its whole form, is a high quality source of carbohydrates, protein and fiber. This is in contrast to fractionated grain ingredients used by some manufacturers such as rice polishings, rice bran, or brewers rice which have been leeched of much of their nutrient value.

Natura uses whole rice, which is the most easily digested grain and the least likely to cause allergic reactions. It is an antidiarrheal and helps lower cholesterol. Natura also uses brown rice, which is the same plant with the bran intact.

Sunflower Oil
Sunflower oil is obtained by extracting oil from sunflower seeds.

Sunflower oil has a high concentration of linoleic acid (73%), which is important for good skin and coat health. Natura uses sunflower oil that has been cold-pressed and protected from exposure to heat and light. This very high quality, very palatable fat is used in California Natural and Innova formulations.

Natural Flavors
Natural flavors are minimally processed flavor ingredients that do not contain synthetic or artificial components.

In the Natura products that include “natural flavor” in the formula, the exact composition is proprietary. However, it is always made from the same animal species on which the formula is based. For example, the “natural flavor” used in the original EVO formula contains a reduction of chicken meat – much the same process as is employed to create a chicken stock in your home kitchen.

Potassium Chloride
A chemical compound, KCl, a colorless or white, cubic, crystalline compound that closely resembles common salt (sodium chloride). It is soluble in water, alcohol, and alkalies.

Potassium plays various roles in metabolism and body functions. It assists in the regulation of the acid-base balance and water balance in the blood and the body tissue. It assists in protein synthesis from amino acids and in carbohydrate metabolism.

Vitamins/Minerals
Vitamins are organic compounds that function as parts of enzyme systems essential for the transmission of energy and the regulation of metabolisms of the body. Minerals are inorganic substances essential for a host of vital processes within the body.

AAFCO regulates minimum standard quantities of vitamins and minerals in levels that pets need to survive. All pet food manufacturers supplement their products with vitamins and minerals. Beyond meeting these minimum requirements, all Natura products contain a complete vitamin and mineral supplement program that helps pets to thrive, not just survive. The minerals Natura uses are chelated, providing three to ten times greater assimilation than common minerals. Our Innova products also contain beneficial probiotic supplements, which are not required by the AAFCO minimums.

Included in our foods are some of the following: Ascorbic Acid, Beta Carotene, Biotin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dicalcium Pantothenate, dl-Methionine, Folic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Niacin, Potassium Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin C Supplement (Sodium Ascorbate), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement (Alpha Tocopherol), Zinc Proteinate

Natura adds these important vitamins and minerals, in proper balance to its foods to ensure that your pet gets all the necessary nutrients for life and good health every day.

Taurine
Taurine is the 11th essential amino acid required by cats.

Insufficient levels of taurine can lead to blindness and cardiac problems in cats. Meat is naturally high in taurine, so Natura foods contain high levels of this important nutrient. Natural taurine is also added to our cat foods to ensure cats get enough of this essential amino acid.

Cats vs Dogs: While dogs can synthesize taurine in their systems, cats cannot and must have additional amounts added to their diet for proper health.

Recent university research has suggested, however, that like cats, some breeds of dogs may benefit from Taurine in the diet. While California Natural has always contained ample Taurine from natural sources such as lamb meal, we have decided to supplement Taurine to ensure that all puppies receive full nutritional benefit from our products.

Rosemary Extract

Here is your food…..Science Diet

Ingredients

Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Rice Flour, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Gluten Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Rice and Corn are fillers