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halfthewords

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Everything posted by halfthewords

  1. No? All of my dogs are fed a mix of raw and high quality kibble. No issues here!
  2. I'm not content to be fat, far from it. What makes you think, from the people who have posted about being overweight, that they are content to be fat? Edited for detail. Haven't read the entire thread! I'm not saying that people are necessarily 'content' to be overweight, but the fact that their dog's health is of import but their own isn't strikes me as odd. Have you ever considered that controlling the diet and weight of a dog might be a lot easier than controlling your own diet and weight? Obesity is a complex problem. Good grief. Talk about assumptions and judgements. This thread is filled with them. :laugh: Of course. I was at one point quite overweight. I'm aware of the mental hurdles that come along with human weight problems. :) But that's how I feel on the matter. I'm not speaking for anyone else here except me, and I would not let myself get overweight again, nor my dogs.
  3. I'm not content to be fat, far from it. What makes you think, from the people who have posted about being overweight, that they are content to be fat? Edited for detail. Haven't read the entire thread! I'm not saying that people are necessarily 'content' to be overweight, but the fact that their dog's health is of import but their own isn't strikes me as odd.
  4. It boggles me a bit that people are content to be overweight themselves (despite knowing the health risks that obesity carries) but their dogs are kept fit? Maybe it's just me. Carl unfortunately would gain weight by looking at food so he's always fed less than the others. Mischa is a struggle to keep weight on and especially now that she's 10.5, she is super lean and gets cold easily so over winter I try to get her to gain a bit, but she usually doesn't. Jag is a total pig but he always stays the same weight. :laugh:
  5. RC in general gets great feedback at my work, and is arguably the most popular brand we sell. :) I feed it myself and I'm not even really a fan of dry food.
  6. I wouldn't have a Japanese Spitz in an apartment; they tend to be yappy by nature. My best friend's JS lives in a house with a yard, is stimulated mentally daily and gets a huge amount of exercise, but she barks non-stop and if their neighbours were any closer, they would be getting noise complaints.
  7. An Ezydog Quickfit harness. I've recommended these to a lot of dog owners at my work whose dogs are having injury rehabilitation/are sensitive in the neck area. :) Always get rave reviews. I have one for three of our dogs myself, as our Min Pins tend to cough and carry on if they are wearing leads/collars. Fantastic harnesses.
  8. My terrier x seems to be dropping a lot more hair lately than he ever has...and he normally never does! Granted, his hair is pretty long right now as I'm growing it out for winter (dunno why, I already feel an itch to clip), but he is leaving hair on my BED. I hand strip and brush often, as well as furminate. That used to be the only way to get the hair off him as he never used to drop it.
  9. I can barely clip a sport cut on my Bichon Frise, so I really commend these groomers (and their dogs) for their patience. I think it's a real show of skill!
  10. Our two Miniature Pinscher bitches have had scuffles before, in contrast to the boys (Bichon and terrier x) who get along like a house on fire. The best interrelationship between them is between Carl and Mischa, though. I would go for a girl, safer bet. :)
  11. I have a 1.5 year old Caique parrot who has grown up around our 4 dogs and cat (who was acquired after the bird). All the dogs are very respectful of him. Carl even plays with him, very gently, mostly just rolling him onto his back. I purposely chose the Caiques for their naturally bold (somewhat aggressive) nature. I did not want a parrot that was going to be easily frightened by larger animals. Our old cat always gave him a wide berth (wisely). The bird pretty much rules the roost here. He sometimes does get a bit over the top with annoying the dogs (beaking at their legs/feet) but they are all tolerant of him and know to just walk away. Of course, they are always supervised. One nasty incident when current cat was a kitten has made him very wary of the bird. :laugh: Pippin latched onto the kitten's ear when he got too close and the kitten was so surprised/hurt that he very rarely even goes into the same room as the parrot these days!
  12. Mischa gets a greenie every now and again; she used to get dentastix regularly when she went through a period of refusing to eat much else. Just a treat nowadays, much easier for them to just have a bone.
  13. I clip my own. Both get filthy all the time so it isn't worth letting the hair grow out, and paralysis ticks are a problem here as well. I bought a Wahl initially while I was learning the ropes, but it wasn't heavy duty enough for regular clips. The first year I practised on Carl was messy; he walked around with half-finished cuts while I was learning. :laugh: Then I invested in a pair of Andis clippers. They're great and clipping is (mostly) happy fun times now :)
  14. My rescue Bichon was matted to hell when we first got him... It all had to come off. Matts can make them uncomfortable, but more than that, on dogs with sensitive skin (particularly a poodle cross), it creates all kinds of irritations. :) You don't have to go obscenely short, either, depending where the matts are and how close to the skin they are. I think it would be worth consulting a groomer first, but it sounds like you should clip and invest in a lined Weatherbeeta sheepskin rug or similar.
  15. Jag usually has to be taken out or he just will hold on of his own accord until he is TOTALLY BUSTING. The same thing at night, even if it isn't raining - he just doesn't want to go out unless he HAS to. Doesn't seem to mind wet paws... In fact, he relishes in mud and getting filthy. Carl is also a mud pig (thanks for the term coogie! :D) and he needs no excuse to go out and frolic among the dew/rain/puddles. He pees on command anyway but he's always first out the dog door in the morning. :) Mischa, however...total princess, sookie la la when it comes to the footsies. She doesn't mind going for a walk (road/sidewalk) in the rain but she totally detests going out when it's raining. I usually have to prod her out. Of course, Carl likes to pee on top of where she has, so we usually spend a good 10 minutes outside each night before madam decides where exactly she wants to go!
  16. I've laid into other dogs (physically moving them with my body/leg/foot, only had to actually kick a dog once) if they've either come barrelling up or acted aggressively towards any of my dogs. Carl can take care of himself being >10kgs, but Mischa is barely 3kgs soaking wet and she's 10 years old. I'm not taking chances, especially when most owners at dog parks are too busy yapping or preoccupied with their phones to watch what their dogs are doing! Laying into another person, however... :laugh: Bit far!
  17. Mischa still does this at 10 years old. :laugh: She was desexed at 6 months and it never made a difference.
  18. Nope Carl and Mischa are my dogs and I love them both to pieces, but Carl is a rescue, and my heart dog. He was my 18th birthday present. Before him, I never had such a strong bond with an animal, not even my horse who I rescued as well. They are treated equally but Carl just gets me. He's literally the other half of my soul. :) Mischa is of course my princess but she can be a right brat at times, and she was the family dog long before she ever decided she liked me (on the day Carl came home, ironically, she became 'my' dog :laugh: ). Jag and Cleo I adore too, but they're 'other' people's dogs. I loved our old cat Rory far more than the current devil cat we've had since he was a 3 week old He bites and scratches and is terribly unpleasant, as hilarious as he is... He just isn't Rory, who was the sweetest, most gentle cat.
  19. Bough some the other day unthinkingly when I saw it - Mischa loves it and she's a fussy eater so it gets a thumbs up from me When I opened the can I was surprised to find how much it looked like human food...
  20. Nothing is worse to me than dog hair, and lots of it, in the house or car! I worked at a dog shelter and used to regularly transport some foxies and JRT types to the beach and various places... The car was never the same! Tiny white hairs on everything. Somehow I managed to sell it We have a variety of coats in the house... Our cat, Rory, used to shed all over everything until he passed away. EVERYTHING. The current cat is just a DSH but he is blue so it's not as noticeable. He does stink a lot more than the previous cat, suspect it's because he spends half his life mowing his head around the kitty litter. Both of the Miniature Pinschers are super low maintenance and only need a bath like once every three months, and a Furminator session maybe once a fortnight. That said, they do drop a bit of hair when they are excited or anxious... i.e. at the vet's. :laugh: They don't smell unless they roll in anything. The Bichon Frise has a much higher maintenance coat. I clip him every 5-7 weeks to a #10 because I personally hate his hair long. He gets covered in burrs, he goes in mud, and he starts turning yellow. Baths are at least once every 8 weeks or depending how often he gets filthy! He rarely gets brushed as his coat is kept relatively short. :) It's lovely not having to worry about him shedding on anything. Carl (terrier x) has the double coat of a Cairn Terrier but I keep him clipped very short. The outer layer is really thick and harsh and he gets hot easily, so keeping him short is just easier on both of us. The hair on his head and legs is quite fine and will start to mat/dreadlock easily if not brushed once a week or so. He sheds very minimally which is perfect, since he's the one who sleeps in the bed. :D Never gets the "doggy" smell, either. I only wash him when I'm about to clip him. I could never own a long-coated breed like a GSD or BC or anything that sheds the way a Lab or GR does... Too much work, and hair everywhere. I'd rather do a little maintenance every now and then than deal with tufts of hair everywhere.
  21. The Min Pins both get done fairly regularly as theirs just grow like nobody's business, but the terrier x and the Bichon usually don't need it more than once every couple of months. They are walked daily on the road/footpath as well as grass. :)
  22. Only one of mine needs expressing, and of course it's the dog who insists on sleeping on the bed. :laugh: I do it once a month or so, haven't had a leaking problem in years. Worst smell!
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