Akitaowner

i bath Mav almost every week due to showing and have done since 8 weeks - i do his whole body first all shampooed and rinsed then with a cloth do his face and ears - mainly as he shakes the most when doing his head - i know other people that put cotton wool in their ears but Mav hates that more so i just wipe his face which has a black mask anyway so it looks clean enough - NEVER stop a dog from shaking when bathing this is when problems arise as they cant get water out of their ears but other than that get them used to the bathas early as poss makes life a lot easier whne their bigger!! when we first got Mav in the middle of winter he was always rolling around inthe dirt n the garden and getting filthy so was being bathed every few days!!! until he learnt it was easier not to - but he loves baths actively jumps in when its time and loves having his head massaged and face rubbed - i think i could get used to that too!!! - when their little it helps to have 2 of u one to distract and give treats the other to do the washing!!

not sure about the cornflour etc but im under the impression that a raw egg is great for the tummy would keep things pretty plain until hes al better - maybe just a bit of dry food small and often i would go for... hope hes better soon...

my boy got the runs (or should i say sprays... ;) ;) ) when we had only had him a couple of weeks - i waited about 24 hours he was eating a little and still drinking plenty of water, not off coulour at all stil running around playing but the vet gave me a couple of tablets that cleared him up straight away - no probs but as above i wouldnt wait long with a pup dehydration is a major problem - its prob just gastro....but gastro can kill pups... hope everything is ok by tomorrow..

i use the jalna ones - all different flavours its the only way i can get him to eat his barf veggies by mixing in yoghurt!!!

ive found that generally u have to change treats pretty regularly try al lsorts of things im currently using pepperoni sausages cut into tiny pieces even the smell gets him going!!! be prepared middie will decide he wants something else in a little while!!!

i think this may just be a breed line thing - if ur breeder isnt worried? i know my lines should keep my boy a little late in developing so he wont have all his bulky weight until hes about 18 months which he is just starting to get i started on kibble diet as that was what he came on and i didnt want to change to quick but hes on barf now almost still has kibble for brekkie with sardines!! he has alot less bark stuff weight wise than i used to give kibble sounds like hes doing fine - prob just big big for his age - how does his size compare to other GSD pups of a similar age ill message u with a paper i found... edited to add - just put 2 and 2 together in the photo forum......he def looks older than 14 weeks??? esp compared to the rotti(?)

Hi Kitkat well i was struck by similar problems when i got Mav (akita) last may - i was told by various people and lots of reading that i needed to keep his weight down while he was little - what weight are u expecting him to be as an adult - (i dont know much about GSD) but Mavs supposed to be 55-60kg hes 8 months and 36kg now he was 5kg at 8 weeks - i must say that i would be worried (without trying to alarm ) that hes only 14 weeks and that much if memory serve when Mav went for 16 weeks jab was 17kg now this all maybe just that u have a big pup or heavy breeding lines generally i feed less now than when he was 6 months just coz he doesnt eat it all if i give him more but then he has no competition at our house - if hes happy and playful i wouldnt worry too much there are worse things that can happen but basically if they get overweight as bubs their forming bones and growth plates are put under excess stress the same with exercise - until recently i didnt really take mav for walks everyday except to socialise and then we usually just went and sat somewhere - hes quite happy exhausting himself playing in the garden!! theres heaps of other things i can think of but im sure ur bored already..... hope some of that was useful.... edited to add...Mav was often stiff in his back legs while growing - sort of 16-36 weeks breeder said not to worry just growing pains like a child - could be as bad to make them lame (he was never that bad just a bit stiff - so would u be if u slept on the floor!!!)

ive just swapped cant remember the name of the brand but it a special red coat - supposed to bring out the colour but i also use sard stain remover on white paws to get them clean for showing works wonders!! but make sure u rinse it all off!!! edited to add - i think the shampoo is biogroom!!

almost all petshops sell haltis of some variety (gentle leaders, blackdog etc) so im sure u could try before u buy - i think mine is a size 3 they are pretty adjustable but they need to fit correctly or wont have the desired effect i think its also a mentality thing - when he has it on - even if the leads clipped to his collar he behaves so i like to use it My 8 month old akita it prob wont last too much longer he seems to outgrow stuff like its going out of fashion - we still do training without it but i like to have it for road walking good luck - people always think i have a vicious japanese fighting dog with a muzzle on except he wants to lick people!! u get used to the comments.....

my brothe ruces to let his lab/retr swim at the beach in the uk until one day he just kept swimming - no rope or lead attached his girlfriend kept calling and he seemed to just keep swimming (she thinks her voice was bouncing off the moored boats) anway quick thinking as they were near the yacht club were all members of and ran up to the club house and launched the rescue boat they found him hanging onto one of the mooring lines with his teeth as the tide had turned and was dragging him out - he was exhausted and cold but survived - much longer and he probably wouldnt have - admittedly he was quite old they had only had him a few months as a rescue dog just be careful even the best trained dog can get confused.... our boy only ever goes chest deep he loves the water but never goes too far but hes always on a piece of rope anyway

i feed barf but also a bit of pedigree advance its pretty expensive but its what he came on so have kept a little in his brekky - basic advice i was given was not to get kibble it from supermarkets its generally the lowest quality (imho please dont bite my head off if ur supermarket does good food )

1. what do you feed? veggies, fruit, raw bones - chicken carcasses/necks/wings, lamb offcuts/necks, roo tails, eggs, yoghurt, supplements Pedigree advances growth puppy, tinned fish - mackeral, tuna, sardines 2. how often? brekky and dinner 3. how much? brekky- 1/5 cups advance biscuits some tinned fish - half tin of mackeral/sardines less of tuna Dinner - large cup full of blended frozen veggies + dash of veg oil, kelp, vit tablet couple of dollops natural yoghurt (various flavours!) either couple pieces of offcut or a carcass - 4. what breed, age, sex and weight is your pet? Akita, 8 months, D, ~40kgs 5. where do you purchase your ingredients from? chicken carcasses from lenards (sometimes wings on special) Advance from petbarn Everything else homebrand from woolies 6. have you always fed your dog this diet, or did you change over to it gradually? no started on advance only as that was what he was on from breeder at about 4 months when i knew him well enough (incase sometihng was wrong) started changing - just added stuff in one by one in case of allergies and decreased amounts of kibble if yes, how did your dog react? Mav loved it likes the variety and never knows whats hes getting next! altho sometimes he doesnt eat it as he thinks something better might come along later! he wasnt keen on veggies so he now has to eat them before he can have his bones altho yoghurt (which he looovvvvess helps) and blending helps 7. what have been the advantages and disadvantages? disadvantages - 1. started out using discount mince from woolies but too much red meat bought him out with rash/hot spots on his belly so went back to plain white meat and added things in slowly 2. Time consuming collecting fresh ingredients weekly 3. Everytime he sees a plastic bag he thinks there something for him inside!! which there usually is advantages - 1. i know exactly what hes eating 2. heaps cheaper than kibble alone at the same volume (about half the price!) 3. much more consistant, and way less smelly poos (and a lot less!) 4. no smelly breath and nice clean sparkling white nashers! 8. have you seen changes in your dog, ie. coat, energy levels? not that i have noticed seems happy and always eats if hes hungary hope that gives an idea - yes he is pretty spoilt but i wouldnt give him anything i wouldnt eat at a push and he goes hungary if he doesnt eat it (im not one for changing his food every week coz he thinks its necessary!) but a bit of variety cant hurt must be boring for those dogs that get the same kibble every night for their whole lives sorry for the length

God thats terrible - altho i wasnt shocked - this sort of thing seems to be becoming more common - have u posted it in the EDBA forum? i think they want stories like this RIP Buddy - at least u can now play safely

i didnt know much about barf - knew it would prob be healthier but wasnt to sure how to implement it as u have no measures!!! but now works fine!

Just thought i would add my 2 cents! thought it important to bring up breed specific things too - like i didnt know that my breed was particularly sensitive to Ivermectin(sp?) used in most heart worm tablets - not that i had any bad experiences - but was warned b4 using them i think border collies can be bad too? i know akitas are sensitive to most drugs and such - especially anesthetics does anyone else know of breed specific toxins?

Glad hes back to his usual self its a worry when u dont know whats wrong! :D

if he actually doesnt like the adult food maybe try a different one - which one are u using? most pups will prefer puppy food i think it has a lot more protein in - just be careful u dont feed to much puppy food for too long as this can cause to much weight gain and growing to fast i currently feed my 6 month old 1.75 cups of pedigree advance big pup growth and 0.25 cup of adnvance puppy rehydrate (my breeder says it keeps the coast nice and glossy but just a little!) i also try to feed fresh - he loves and i mean loves chicken necks they go down whole and about a cup full of blended vegies he doesnt like the vegies much but i think he gets quite a lot of nutrient from them!! so mix them in and he cant avoid -- oh arent i mean!!! ive also found hes allergic to red meat so just keep an eye on skin for spots etc when changing adding things to diets but when changing his diet just do it slowly over a couple of weeks or something! (they will east anything if theyre hungary enough!)

MAybe you should try to offer his puppy food again if he takes it - change his diet slowly - most dogs will get upset tummys if u change their diet overnight - so for a week or so (once hes eating normally again) change slowly - by mixing a little of both together start with more puppy food and gradually reduce and visaversa with the adult food hope hes ok - maybe hes just picked up a bug and will be ok in a couple of days - my boy sometimes doesnt eat his meals?! another thought - does he have access to food all the time? not good as it creats fussy eaters but sometimes when theyre not too well they can then eat a little when they feel like it :pant:

trouble is when the dog has more food than u - i have great trouble stopping my partner eating his sardines!! :p

glad its not just me - my boy has tuna with breakfast!! - i always think people must think im weird buying 6 large tin of home brand tuna and lots of home brand sardines!! and not much else!!

thats all sounds pretty straight forward - my pups 6 months for those who wanted to know and i have great problems at training when there are little border collies in his class that spend the whole hr watching their owner to see what they want them to do next - whereas my boy gets really bored and goes sniffing and investigating he cant concentrate for long unless hes the centre of attention!!! and with the temp warming up i have to be pretty careful he doesnt overheat as well with the romping and running around. i mainly asked about the (lead) walking yes i can tell if hes getting tired but as it was pointed out before he will try his hardest to keep me happy and im still walking.... also its not like hes a little pup that i can just pick up and carry!! hes over 30kg now!! he doesnt seem to fat?? but then i dont want to underfeed him how do u know its enough? he doesnt always eat all his food so i remove it anyway thanks all those that replied!! :pant:

just wondering what the views are on walking big dog pups - ive been told they dont need daily walking until theyre at least a year due to to much stress on the joints can cause problems later but our yard isnt huge and i like taking him out and about he seems to be enjoying it and socialising well, and want to get some muscle tone for showing but i dont want to be causing damage?? thoughts? Sorry - This might be better in general discussion???