Lab_Rat

I had to buy some different dry food last week, Apparently RC is in quarentine somewhere and not available where I live. The best I could find in my one horse town was Walthams Optimum. Any opinions? The girls seem to be doing alright, no drastic side affects (re poos) as yet, and they seem to like it ok. Its quite difficult when you cant get to a decent supplier of a choice of dog foods, and have to pick from "supermarket" stuff! Thanks RG

I taught my kelpie and RR t bow, just by taking advantage of their stretching! When the kelpie started to stretch (bow) in front of me, I would just say "bow", in a really exagerated voice. After a few times she caught on, so I started giving her treats shen she did it. She managed to learn a repetiore of "Bow", "Sit", "Five" (one paw), and "Other Five" ( the opposite paw) quite quickly I thought! When the ridgie came along I decided to teach her as well, as theyre not renowned for being "trick" dogs! However, she now does all but the "Other five". And man, does she give you five! Really whacks her huge paw on your hand, aaahhh it cracks me up every time! We also had a kelpie cross that used to take our sox off! RG

Yay, just the thread I'm looking for! Why is "leadership", or more correctly how to be a good leader so ethereal? I have read quite a number of books about the dog/human relationship, the psychology of dogs etc., by authors such as Jon Fisher, John Richardson and Jan Fennel. So I have all this amazing info swimming around in my head, but I just cant put my finger on "how"! ;) I honestly didnt think I was that thick. I ubderstand all the stuff about eating first, going through doors before them, and we have pu these things into practice. But is there a simple definition of "How to be a good leader for your dog", or am I just chasing rainbows? I was told recently my dog has it all over me! This quite upset me, as I thought I was doing okay in my human/dog relationship. As my username suggests, I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She is a 12, almost 13 month old, and is quite different personality wise from my previous RR girl. She is alot more independent, dominating (but not full on dominant), and quite pushy. With help from our breeder, a private trainer and kindy obedience (she came third in the class which I was very proud of), I feel she has a good basic education. Obviously because of her nature I have to be one step ahead of her all the time which after having a neutral type of dog is very demanding! Especially when leadership doesnt come naturally! My question or questions are: How can I be a better leader for my dog? i.e. what sort of "exercises", physical and mental, should we be doing together to improve our realtionship, so that I can gain more respect from my dog. I would love some constructive ideas from all involved in dog training as a profession. I am unsure whether continuing obedience, at classes or individual, is the way to go, or some other path is where I should be heading. Being as hour away from anywhere useful doggy wise and being a shiftworker make it difficult to go to something on a regular basis, but I dont want to end up with a dog that noone wants to be around! Zola is only my 2nd "real" dog, and although I feel I am a competant dog owner with a decent amount of knowledge up my sleeve, I know I have vast amount of learning to do. You only realise how much you dont know when you get a dog with an outside the square temperament! Some of her other personality traits are as follows: Excitable, a "good dog" praise is enough for her Protective, she will bark at people when she is in her car Ignores?, if she doesnt want to hear me, or do something she will totally ignore me Loving, for a ridgeback she is quite an affectionate, snuggly dog Has a high prey drive I hope SomeOne out there can point me in the right direction RG

Why does it seem to be so difficult to get feeding your dog right? Sorry ncarter, I dont want to steal your thread but "dog food" has just started to become an issue for me! In my ridgie girls short life, shes just 12 months old, she has had two bouts of colitis (nasty diarrhoea, with blood) and Im now beginning to wonder if she has an intolerance to some of the things Im feeding her. Any input, suggestions, guidance would be greatly appreciated! I feed Royal Canin dry (which she has been on since solids were introduced), roo meat, chicken wings, cooked veges - carrots, sweet popato, cauliflower, broccoli, natures gift tinned, occasional sardines/oily fish, rice sometimes, and have just recently started feeding a mix of minced beef/chicken wings. They dont get all of this all the time but rather a mix of meat, veges and dry. I stopped feeding the roo meat about two weeks ago, as I thought it may be too rich for, causing loose stools. But Im totally baffled now coz this mornings poo wasnt all that great, could it be that she has developed a sensitive gut over time? Are things like acidopholous and bifidus capsules beneficial? Should I go right back to basics and see what she can and cant tolerate? I should mention that our kelpie seems to hav a cast iron gut, as have all our previous dogs, so its a bit of a learning curve for me! I will check out a few websites I have bookmarked, but I would much prefer to hear first hand experiences and get "real"suggestions. Thanks for letting me crap on! RG

Jacobite, just be careful feeding cat food to dogs. From memory I dont think taurine (which is added to cat food) is good for dogs in decent amounts. The only tuna I could find without taurine was "black & gold" brand. But bugger me, no sooner did I start to buy it, the super market stopped stocking it! RG

Hey anniejack! Our two have sardines about twice a week, mixed in with their other food and they really enjoy them. The kelpie gets about half a tin, while the RR has a whole tin. I also feed them tinned mackeral sometimes, its cheaper than salmon which I was feeding my previous RR on when she was recovering from cancer. Any oily, cold sea fish is good a couple of times a week! RG

Such brave big things arent they just!! Our kelpie would get in the gas heater if she could, I'm sure, but as for Zola (RR), she likes to keep her distance. I dont know if its the igniter noise, or the smell of the gas, or fumes coz she'll sit on top of the wood fire! Crazy dog Perhaps try leaving it in its "winter" spot like you said, without lighting it for a while and see what happens. Miekah used to spin out at the igniter noise, and we had a malfunctioning gas stove that used to "click" when the oven heated up... that poor dog would try and hide anywhere she could just so she didnt have to deal with the noise! Good luck! RG

:D Wow, I'm glad I had a look at this thread! I new that polaramine could be used for dogs (wasnt sure of the dose though), and I had to give my poor Zola some a couple of weeks ago. I dont know what she was bitten by ( it was 6 in the morning and they sleep inside), but her head swelled up like a bullmastiff, and her tongue swelled up too! Anyway, I shoved a polaramine down her throat and headed for the vet, 1 hour away. I reckon within 15 minutes it had started to kick in. I was really concerned about having a dog asphyxsiate on me - so I will definately make sure I keep them in stock from now on. She was also given an injection of antihistimine when we got to the vet. And she okay now, phew.. So thanks for that info Arby, very useful. RG

You sound just like MLH! I too lost my RR girl about two years ago, and since getting our new RR, I am totally paranoid about bloat. I still feed kibble (RC), but my girls are fed twice a day, and absolutely NO exercise for one hour before and after eating. Because my RR had a front leg amputated, I have a feeling that this contributed to her problem - as she was diagnosed with gastic torsion as well as bloat. Numerous people have told me not to worry too much about it, if its going to happen it will happen! Doesnt make me feel any better! RG Persephone - I know just what that final car ride is like.................

I agree feralpup! I too have one retired girl left (horse that is). Found that dog training is far easier, and less expensive than the hayburners! Although I will miss not having a horse when she finally goes! Back to dog training. ......With my second ridgy I enlisted the help of a private trainer to begin with, Zola is quite a dominant dog compared to my previous RR and I didnt have the confidence or brain resources myself to go it alone or just go to group obedience classes. The lessons were a few weeks apart as I had a bit of drive to get there, but they helped immensely, both with Zola and me! I have continued on with group lessons as I felt we could deal with them, and I wanted a bit of social enteraction for the dog. We have our first examination (kindy class) this Sunday and hopefully we will pass! The transition from one-on-one to group classes was a bit difficult, there are so many distractions with all the other dogs (especially since they're all shapes and sizes)and people, but I feel that we do okay. I would like to continue on with obedience, as far as Zola is able to go without disliking it. Ridgebacks have a habit of getting bored.....yawn....with repetitive stuff, but we'll see how we go! One question for the trainers, how did you guys get into training. Are there courses etc. that can be done, and recognised? In my last few years of horsey stuff I became involved with PNH, found it very good for learning patience in everything I do, and would like to continue on somehow in the doggy line of things! Any advice (nice advice that is :laugh:please, dont tell me to buggar off! :D ) would be helpful! Forgot to ask while I'm here...has anyone used Jan Fennells Amichien Bonding system? Any comments? RG

I found the best toys for my you RR girl to chew on and she hasn't destroyed them yet! They are made by Petstages, and called Orka's. I got an Orka Grippa first, which is a hollow tube of softish blue plasticky stuff. It had 3 strands of tough coloured canvas threaded through the middle. She did chew almost all the way through one of these, so I took them out. The second one I bought was an Orka Jack. This is a weird shaped one (like a six pronged "bone"), with rope through the middle. After going through numerous other soft, rubber and other dog toys, I reckon these are the bees knees of dog toys. She hasnt even looked like destroying them and she absolutely loves them to death....She just about always has one of them in her gob! (They are hollow, but float as well!) She also loves coke bottles, but I stopped giving them when I discovered she could chew them until they started to disintegrate (in a matter of minutes mind you!) - didnt want bits of sharp plastic entering her soft innards! I'll see if I can find a website where they are pictured so people can have a look. RG try this! www.dogtoys.com

Wow! Good thread! I hope it continues with lots of long term raw feeders contributing! The more info the better! For everyone! I would love to go 100% raw/natural, but like Malamum I am concerned that I wont be giving my dogs exaclty what they need nutritionally. At the moment they are fed mostly raw/natural, with roo meat and lightly cooked veges, plus rice. They also get eggs,chicken wings and sardines twice a week. However they still get a certain amount of dry food. Living an hour from anywhere decent to obtain bones, they dont get as many as they probably should, but I think after reading this excellent thread I'll just have to make more of an effort. I guess like alot of people I still have it stuck in my head that they should still get dry food (I use RC), but like most people have pointed out - we manage to survive on the food we prepare for ourselves! One question I have is about chicken frames. I notice in other threads alot of people feed these, some seem to be feeding solely chicken frames. Are they a good source of nutrition for dogs? Does anyone feed chicken drumsticks or are the bones not suitable? Our two dogs are doing pretty well on the diet they are on, and I get comments on my RR's coat - but ultimately I would looooove to go just raw/natural!

Excellent news Lea! Give him a BIG kiss for me!

Hey wolfgirl, what was the alternative medicine you used with your mally (rip)? My girl survived the amputation, had 2 lots of chemo, but 12months later bloat got her - not the cancer! It sure is a heart wrenching ordeal! And yes I hope there is someone out there who has gone through this who can give lea some help

;) Sorry Lea, I dont know anything about liver tumours. But having gone through osteosarcoma with my last ridgy (who had an amputation and survived) I just wanted to say, I hope everything is okay and if not, just love 'em to the end. I understand how hard it is and what its like to go through. Now I've made myself cry again! :D Have you tried googling it? There would have to be some pretty extensive sites out there!

Its true, knowing what to feed, what not to feed is so damned comfusing! Since losing my last RR girl to bloat I tend to lean towards being "paranoid", and worry if I am feeding the correct food, the correct amount at the correct time! My most particular "thing" ATM is no exercise before or after meals ( young RR is on 3 meals a day). I guess if you feed a variety of foods (same goes with us humans!) you'll probably be okay, but it is a worry at times. Ours get a mix of "just cooked" veges - usually carrot, cauli, broccoli or cabbage and whatever else I can think of(I leave the cooking water in as well and 'smooj' it all together with my hands when it is cool), rice, raw roo meat (which is processed locally),chickenwings, lamb shanks, eggs, sardines or other oily fish, yogurt, dry kibble and sometimes scraps-depending on what they are. Of course they dont get all this every day! But a mix of different things to go with their veges and kibble. Anyone else got any suggestions or great ideas on what/how they feed?

My rr girl has been on Royal Canin since weaned - almost 6 mths old now and is on RC Maxi Junior. I've had lots of comment about her beautiful coat, which is very speccy I must admit! Can any one give me a comparison of this with Nutro? Im in WA so cant get Nutro anyway but am interested in how the two compare! I have just started feed our kelpie Natures Gift semi dried food, which seems to be fine exceot for the bits of feathers and claws I've found!! Still at least it must have "Real Chicken" in it. The kelpie loves it.

Check out this website www.rr-oona.com/index.html that I found a while ago when I was looking at different RR websites. Theres some info there about causes, trreatment etc and you get the chioce of reading it in a couple of different languages! I hope you find whats right for your dog as it sound like it can be a life tome struggle.

Yep, my RR pup not only picks them up and chews on them, but she swallows them! Have you ever seen gravel in poo? She does seem to be weaning herself off them sowly, thank goodness - maybe its a teething thing. Shes lost quite a few teeth in the last couple of weeks, perhaps they feel cool in their mouths! The vet and my trainer sssures me that its normal!!

Good Stuff! I am feeding my RR pup Royal Canin(plus other assorted goodies) at the moment, but hope to discontinue when shes all growd up! It sure makes you think about what the majority of dogs are eating, dont it!