Dory the Doted One

Thanks Guys! I feel better about it now. I home prepare her vegies (BF thinks it funny we bought a juicer JUST for Dory...although now he gives us his leftover fruit for her)...however sometimes I don't have enough time to whizz up a batch when I run low in the freezer and I thought this product might be a good substitute when I'm all out. In the past I've always had a small bag of commercial allergy formula to tide me over, but Dory is a very astute girl and will only eat this under pressure of starvation....or lathered in sardines.

Dory attends our clinics Puppy Preschool as a demonstrator dog, or as a dog to play with those puppies that are very shy or very boisterous...does this mean I can claim her? Mind you she costs me very little...food...rego... I get worming, flea treatment and vaccination at next to nothing anyways.

I was given a sample of this to try on Dory. I don't know a lot about it and I'm willing to give it a go, could free me up some time for those nights her vegies haven't defrosted. My one BIG question is...will it flare up her allergies? Has anyone with an allergy dog used it and what do they report? Aside from some grass allergy, I'm pretty sure Dory has some food allergies. Haven't really done any elimination diet techniques but have noticed she is extra smelly after too much red meat and if someone has given her any bread. Noticed the red meat thing when she was all raw and notice she is susecptible to bread when she is getting commercial food. I've never been a big grain feeder when feeding raw diet, so seeking some experiences of others and reassurance that I'm not going to get a 'stinky cornflake' dog. (Her allergy smells remind me of leftover cornflakes. )

Dory gets this quite regularly. Being Vet Nurse I can get the Boss to check her butt regularly. (Hey, that's why they pay him the big money! ) She often doesn't need a clean out...even if she has been scooting her butt. (I'm suspecting she just likes to wipe her butt for herself...or it feels good or something! ) I'm testing a theory that it might be allergy related for her. One of my co-workers gave her a lovely red coloured treat and poor Dory nearly ripped herself apart from just one small treat. And the spot she really focussed on was her butt...she licked it raw in less than 24 hours. If your puppy seems otherwise ok, and isn't butt scooting I would just keep an eye on it. If he is licking his butt, stopping to stare at his butt, scooting his butt or scratching his ears(weird I know...but they will often shake their heads or scratch their ears when they have butt problems) then I would get him vet checked.

Not that I condone what they do. But I have met a few of their dogs, each one I met seemed to be a bit of a Lush. Bit on the lazy side...not overly smart. But they seemed to be quite nice natured. There is one dog I have some concerns over hip health, but as the owners are in denial there is no evidence to prove either way that the dog has hip issues. Cept that he is frequently lame. Mind you he is also very very straight in the stifle. I know nothing about the kennel. I only base my observation on what I have seen of the dogs and owners of their dogs I have met. Which is a few, but by no means comprehensive. The website is definately cheezy, and it is hard not to jump to stereotypes with all that studded leather. But then maybe they are trying to market to a certain demographic...I don't know! But I know they have sold quite a few dogs, and I know a lot of their puppy people will recommend them to others looking for an Am Staff. Again....I'm not condoning. I don't know them, I haven't heard anything bad. I myself, personally am very put off by their website and lack of information with regard to the breed, the pedigrees, testing, etc......

Does it? I've successfully trained plenty of older dogs with Drive Training techniques, some to quite a high degree of competitive obedience. I personally think the trick is to find the thing that switches your dog on. Whether that's a toy or food, and in one case I had a dog that just went crazy with purely verbal praise. He was a dynamite obedience dog...pita to live with with! But we loved him anyway. As to dogs that appear to have no interest in anything, you can work on that. Dory wasn't too interested in toys when I first got her if you tried to wind her up she'd look at you like you were a nut. These days it doesn't take her much to kick into drive with a toy and do some nice heeling. (Short lived as it is...I've gotten waaaaaaay slack and have lowered my standard quite a bit these days). It just took a bit of patience, lots of praise and training her to let her know she could go crackers over a toy not just rough games. She has learned to LOVE tug.

Perhaps....but at least it has generated a discussion that at this time, hasn't got too heated. And there are unfortunately way too many people that think that this is how to handle the situation. It was how I was initially taught to deal with dog aggression...waaaaaaaay back when I was a raw newbie. (A 13yr old...Alpha Rolling a GSD...smart that....NOT... )

Hi Dark Angel...I have to say...'huh?' to most of your post. Socialising by not socialising? I'm a little confused, although I think I might get what you mean. The only time I would not allow my dog to socialise with a friendly dog is if it was dog aggressive, and then I would do as you have suggested. Have the around dogs, but with their attention on me. If my dog was showing a relaxed attitude and open friendliness, and the other dog owner is open to them playing, ofcourse I would allow it. Dory meets LOTS of dogs up and down the road, and it is interesting to watch that sometimes they just sniff and check each other out and then walk on. sometimes they will have a quick play and then walk on. It has been the very odd occasion when I have had to peel her away from another dog because they were having so much fun that they ignored the rest of the world. Dory has snapped twice at dogs that were full on trying to eat her...from a distance I might add. Was I going to allow socialisation? No WAY. CLEARLY the other dog was not dog friendly (or Dory friendly, lets not assume) and clearly Dory was not going to be. Does that mean I now, no longer allow her to play and socialise openly with other dogs we meet? NO! I encourage it. Because she is not silly, she has manners and she is well aware of when enough is enough (mostly). Can you oversocialise? I don't think so. Can you incorrectly socialise? Absolutely. It's all about MANNERS, and understanding dog to dog language. BTW...I once owned a 50+kg Rottweiler....and I had NO problems socialising him with other dogs. EVER. Big or small. Because I watched the body language of the dogs we socialised with. If the other dog was showing discomfort, I backed him off. If there was signs of toeyness, I backed it off. If both dogs wanted to play nice...they got to play nice (and sometimes mental). But I STILL watched both of them like hawks...just in case. If the situation at any time was looking like it was going to get out of control. I stepped it back to get it back under control.

I remember my first puppy. Not half as cute as Marnie! And us Adelaidans meet her.....when...????????

\\She isnt agarzer you have just enabled it The more you allo wthem to graze the worse they become Not in this house! I don't have a lot of patience with that sort of behaviour. I only discovered this when she was left alone with the housemates overnight. I fed her before I left, when I came home there was still half a bowl and the housemates said they hadn't topped her up. When I'm home it gets picked up...Dory has learnt....eat or hunger. She still controls me over brekky though. :p The bugger. She buries half and saves it for when I don't give her any when she is on a diet.

Dory got itchy feet and a dry coat on the Holistic Duck...so she is now back on the Anchovy one. She does enjoy it...and I have discovered she is a grazer!!! Unless I stick and egg on it or nice schtincky sardines on it...she won't eat smoked salmon the heathen. Not even my cats were grazers.

Hi Settr...Oh, I get that. I truly do. Just seemed that so many people were focussed on the length of the nails and not really reading what the issue was. Why beat the owner up? Especially after they said that the dog had been inactive and the nails weren't accessible. I know heaps of people that only get their dogs nails done when it goes to the groomers or the vet clinic. And it is SHOCKING the number of times they aren't 'really' done because the groomer/nurse/vet was a erred on the side of caustion and barely even took the tip off. Which is annoying when you are the Vet Nurse that gets them when they do have talons and you can't do a damn thing with them because the quick is too close. And the owners don't bother to check because they trust and rely on their service provider to have done them for them. My other peeve with the postings was that I have seen so many 'good' dog owners and breeders with dogs that have talons. My OWN dog has talons. I don't need it pointed it out, endlessly. Dory spends a large part of life sleeping on the couch, walking on the beach (soft sand) or driving in the car. Now we have a paved yard, but she is pretty lazy unless you are doing something with her. She's a pain to clip nails on, and lately I haven't had a chance to sit still long enough to file her nails...hence talons. It's very easily done. You know what....LOL...whatever....it's the nature of forums. Everyone wants to contribute in some way, and if that means banging on about something that has been endlessly banged on...who are we to judge? I'm doing it right now.

I'm a bit hung up on the whole long nail thing...yeah they are long, I have seen longer. Not sure why others are having a knicker twist over them. Obviously there are a number of factors as to why the nails are that long. I've seen MUCH longer nails on dogs that have not had problems walking. Sadly, Dory's are looking a little talon like at the moment. Aside from the issue of the flat feet, if you are like me and a total Wuss at cutting nails, especially nice dark ones. I recommend filing them. Dory is a total Moll when it comes to playing with her feet or going near them with clippers (yes, she knows how to play me well). But strangely she WILL let me file them. So I usually kick back watching Trash TV with Dory draped across my knee (her favourite position) and we have a nail filing session every now and again. Especially useful if you suspect the quick is little too close to the end of the nail. Hope you get some resolution.

"SHUT UP" bellowed at the top of my lungs seemed to work for me. There goes my lovely singers voice. But seriously...that is what I used to do. In sheer and utter frustration, I YELLED my fury and frustration with FULL passion and with every ounce of....I want to kill you &*^&^*$# Dogs...into my voice, and into the words..."SHUT UP!" And instantaneous silence descended upon the kennel blocks...... Worked well for the resident dogs. There was some tweaking as newer additions had to learn what shut up meant. MURDER when you had boarders. Because some would only bark louder. Would I recommend this technique...not especially...but my desparation seemed to work for me on this job.

Hi Huski, Remember it is balance over time. Not balance in every meal.

I like the look of the Lakenois myself. :D

Well. First things...if you see a small dog coming your way and his usual habit lately has been what you have described. I would anticipate the reaction and take measures striaght away by putting him into a sit stay. He would stay in this position, and as the other dog approached I would work on keeping his focus on you. If he is a good boy and maintains a level of calm you could let him check out the puppy. If not...he gets to sit stay until he can remain calm. Not sure if I worded that very well. But basically, you want to take charge of him and the situation before it gets out of hand. The best way to do that is to put him into an obedience frame of mind, but doing some obedience exercise. As he matures, and because a little more respective of all dogs you wont have to be quite so strict.

Rottweiler. Smart, Funny, Intelligent, challenging...don't have to bend down....trainable...versatile.... I just really like Rottweilers.

Odd that the ACV would cause a Doggie smell. Scruff Mutt Dory gets 'doggie' smelling when she has binged on dry food. We are detoxing again....after she has been stealing dry food from her friend. LOL. Just when I got rid of yeasty ears....they are baaaack..... At least this time they didn't get itchy, and her anal glands are fine. I would follow the suggestions of others....try to cut the commerical out as much as you can. Avoid food colourings...especially the red ones. PLEASE tell me you don't give him Schmako's. And give him a good comb through. Even if he is getting bathed, a good brush helps to stimulate the skin.

How sad it is, that there are so many people so opposed to pets! What bitter people they must be. Lonely bitter people. To even deny the pleasure to someone else. I wish you the best in looking for somewhere else. I always wondered about these places, and why anyone would choose to live in one. But then...I don't like to be told how I can live in my own home.

I've fed them before. I haven't seen them in the supermarkets for ages! Dogs loved them. Although I did wonder if they bleached them...for some reason...They look a little too clean. And that was to a large dog.

Okay.... Dory, the sweetheart that she is has a few quirks..... Vegie/meat mix is an EVENING meal...never to be consumed at Breakfast. Offering it at breakfast gets sad looks of dejection, and long sighs of woe. Chicken wings...are eaten with gusto...she tried to swallow one whole once. Decided that was not the best course of action. I remained calm. Ditto...chicken frames. Smaller off-cuts of lamb are eaten with relish...and sometimes dragged into the house to be deposited on various housemates beds should they foolishly leave the door open. Or little bits are left at each bedroom door...she likes to share the love. Larger bones, Pigs Ears and Jerky sticks....instant burial. Which I don't have a problem with as SUCH...cept I was rather hoping she'd skip with delight at what a fantastic owner I am for bringing home cool treats. Nooooo...we get frantic looks as we dart out the back door. Surrepticious glances over the shoulder to be sure no one sees her hiding space. Wish I had a video camera! But now to the point of this whole thing...... Do you let your dogs eat the bones they have buried? I haven't noted that Dory has reeked of week old dead bone. And trust me I would know...she likes to clean the beard after each feed. I haven't been fussed. I figure she'd be sensible about these things. But what would you consider too 'disgusting' and 'unsafe' to eat?

This has been my observation with oldies too. I've seen improvements, not cures...but improvements with dogs fed on a raw diet. But then their muscle tone always seems to improve on a raw diet...well...always from my experience. Others might be different.

I have no idea about typical patterns...from observation..... Dogs that tend to get snarky when food is prepared will usually get snarky when kibble is spread around...they usually try and hoover it all or spend a chunk of their time defending each piece. Not all resource guarders will get snarky or obviously so, at food prep time. What would you call resource guarding? Snarling? Growling? A lift lip? Body blocking? I've seen all of these, and would call them guarding behavious. I'm probably not 'technically' correct. I don't spend forever reading books...i just get out and do it.

An old dog I had experienced changes in her Liver numbers on blood tests not long after starting it. She'd had a pre-ana blood test before starting when she was desexed, had the Rimadyl when she knackered her cruciate, had bloods going in for curciate surgery (I was curious to see if changes) and there was a maked difference in her liver enzymes. So when she'd not been on the Rimadyl for a little while checked values again....and they had dropped back down to normal. I've known of numerous dogs that have had major stomach upsets with it...despite being fed prior to giving it and all the other stuff to line the stomach. If my dog had Pano, I'd be looking into diet changes and keeping them quiet when lame.