Dogs

[lowtones84]

Sorry for everybody's losses, but thank you for letting us be part of their remembrance. Losing the family dog that I grew up with was one of the hardest things I had to deal with. On the other side of the coin, welcome to all the new members of the family!

 

[TheCADJockey]

Siggi: Adopted her from foster care yesterday. She's 2 mo. old and only 7.5 lbs right now. She had to fight for her food with previous owner so she eats her food way too fast. We'll feed her by hand to slow her down so she does not get sick.

The first night was hard. We had so much we wanted to do but all she wanted to do was cuddle with her toy and sleep. I tried to keep her up and play but she was exhausted. She only whined for about five minutes when we went to bed and then she was quiet throughout the night.

We tried to do a few laps around the yard this morning but she didn't like the wet grass and she gets cold really fast. She's a happy girl despite the sad eyes. I hope we can give her a good life.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Siggi: Adopted her from foster care yesterday. She's 2 mo. old and only 7.5 lbs right now. She had to fight for her food with previous owner so she eats her food way too fast. We'll feed her by hand to slow her down so she does not get sick.

She only whined for about five minutes when we went to bed and then she was quiet throughout the night.

We tried to do a few laps around the yard this morning but she didn't like the wet grass and she gets cold really fast. She's a happy girl despite the sad eyes. I hope we can give her a good life.

Good for you! She is beautiful.

You can avoid the actual hand feed by doing the same thing but in her bowl...tiny portions, one after the other...to avoid creating a new bad habit. Good time to make her earn each of those tiny portions, too.

Be prepared for the quiet night to be an anomaly. I have only adopted three young (I prefer adults or seniors) dogs in my time and all of them crash night one due to the stress of changing homes. Two out of three were already over it and causing mischief on night two. The other waited until night four. All of them settled into the pack routine after a week or two.

If she has spent all her time on concrete, the grass thing will take a little bit. If she truly is cold and it is not from being underweight, there is no shame in using a jacket or sweater...unless you make it too cutesy.

Do start messing with her feet now...many times a day. She is still young enough to learn not to fear the nail clippers...I wish all my elder dogs had been trained in this way.

Congrats and give her a great loving home!

 

[TheCADJockey]

Congrats and give her a great loving home!

Thank you, I've already started most of these things just didn't want to bore anyone with the details. When I serve her food I put it on a small cookie sheet so she can not get big mouthfulls. It is so hard for me to be at work right now, thinking/knowing she may be hungry but I could not leave a bowl of food. She would've devoured it in it's entirety in seconds and just got sick. It is killing me.

 

[Psylocide]

Thank you, I've already started most of these things just didn't want to bore anyone with the details. When I serve her food I put it on a small cookie sheet so she can not get big mouthfulls. It is so hard for me to be at work right now, thinking/knowing she may be hungry but I could not leave a bowl of food. She would've devoured it in it's entirety in seconds and just got sick. It is killing me.

I've never been a fan of just leaving a dish of food out. My 4 yo dog still gets fed in the morning and the evening, 2 cups a day. He's nice and lean at 60 lbs.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I've never been a fan of just leaving a dish of food out. My 4 yo dog still gets fed in the morning and the evening, 2 cups a day. He's nice and lean at 60 lbs.

I agree, she'll likely eat when we eat. The suggested serving size right now just seems so inadequate, especially when only giving her some of it at a time.

 

[drainbamage]

I've never been a fan of just leaving a dish of food out. My 4 yo dog still gets fed in the morning and the evening, 2 cups a day. He's nice and lean at 60 lbs.

I've been told leaving out a full bowl all day isn't a good idea anyway. Dogs don't have that mental shutoff of feeling full, so they'll just gorge themselves until they get sick.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I've been told leaving out a full bowl all day isn't a good idea anyway. Dogs don't have that mental shutoff of feeling full, so they'll just gorge themselves until they get sick.

I always thought I would've wanted to leave one out. My friends do that with their dog, but she doesn't touch it at all until he gets home. As soon as he gets home, it's gone.

 

[GrogNerd]

I've been told leaving out a full bowl all day isn't a good idea anyway. Dogs don't have that mental shutoff of feeling full, so they'll just gorge themselves until they get sick.

Mostly true

My mom's dobie was an exception; only nibbled throughout the day

 

[ColoHox]

I've used one of these before. They work great.

 

[MattyIce]

I like hand-feeding new dogs. Further establishes your role in the pack. Slowing them down is a bonus. What better time to train than with an empty-bellied dog and a hand full of food?

Congrats on rescuing! My wife and I volunteer for a local bulldog rescue. We foster and dog-sit here and there. Last night I held a training seminar for the volunteers. Great experience!

 

[drainbamage]

Mostly true

My mom's dobie was an exception; only nibbled throughout the day

I know I couldn't try it with mine, or else they'd have to roll from room to room!

 

[sweetcell]

Do start messing with her feet now...many times a day. She is still young enough to learn not to fear the nail clippers...I wish all my elder dogs had been trained in this way.

^ this times a thousand

new dog owners, and potential future dog owners, take note. i soooooooo wish that i had gotten my puppy used to nail clippers at an earlier age. instead, now i have to literally pin her down to trim her claws. not fun

and yes, we tried training it out of her. no dice.

 

[GrogNerd]

Rolf was exceptional in all ways

He had a vocabulary of at least 100 words

They say dogs can't distinguish colors, Rolf could

 

[Psylocide]

Rolf was exceptional in all ways

He had a vocabulary of at least 100 words

They say dogs can't distinguish colors, Rolf could

Please tell me his full name was Rolph Lundgren.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

He had a vocabulary of at least 100 words

So at least twice what his owners had?

 

[dkwolf]

Thank you, I've already started most of these things just didn't want to bore anyone with the details. When I serve her food I put it on a small cookie sheet so she can not get big mouthfulls. It is so hard for me to be at work right now, thinking/knowing she may be hungry but I could not leave a bowl of food. She would've devoured it in it's entirety in seconds and just got sick. It is killing me.

Sage used to eat WAY too fast, every meal. Labs have somewhat of a reputation for stomach problems due to eating too fast, so there was a period of probably 2 years that he never ate out of a bowl - his food would get scattered out on about a 4'x5' area of the garage floor.

 

[GrogNerd]

Please tell me his full name was Rolph Lundgren.

registered name was Black Dogg Rolfe

 

[TheCADJockey]

Please tell me his full name was Rolph Lundgren.

That reminds me that I missed out on the chance to name our dog Bark Ruffalo. Funk.

..his food would get scattered out on about a 4'x5' area of the garage floor.

I hope Siggi slows down eventually. I'm worrying so much about her right now, it's insane. I guess I'll be horrible if we ever have kids.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I like hand-feeding new dogs. Further establishes your role in the pack. Slowing them down is a bonus. What better time to train than with an empty-bellied dog and a hand full of food?

We have done it for a couple of weeks in two cases. It can cause issues when new people have to feed them down the road (dog walker, boarding, etc). I Have a dog now who for different reasons will not eat if not fed with the rest of the pack...she will do a full 48 hour hunger strike at the boarders.

Agreed on the training aspect which is why I mentioned it. Maybe a good mix is hand feeding half while training and small portion the rest in a bowl.

 

[GrogNerd]

So at least twice what his owners had?

please... 4x on a good day, when I ain't been drinkin, downhill with the wind

(was actually my Mom's dog and she trained him. Her birthday tomorrow, she would have been 76)

 

[Psylocide]

That reminds me that I missed out on the chance to name our dog Bark Ruffalo. Funk.







I hope Siggi slows down eventually. I'm worrying so much about her right now, it's insane. I guess I'll be horrible if we ever have kids.

Siggi Stardust?

Quit worrying so much though, she's a dog and probably getting more attention with you guys than where she was.

 

[beernbourbon]

is the eating thing sometimes breed specific? I am on my second beagle mix, one beagle/hound, female, current one is a beagle/dachshund male. Neither one had/have any issue with leaving a bowl of food all day long. Moogie will walk by his bowl, sniff, and keep on walking to his bed. Other times he'll eat a few mouthfuls and then go back to sleep. Still other times, he'll eat most of the bowl, if not all, and if I re-fill it, he sniffs, and goes back to sleep.(notice the trend here?).
Used to have an pure bred female Akita (American), same thing; growing up, we always had shepherds, always left food and water in a bowl, all day long, and they ate when they were hungry.
However, step daughter has a box/dane mix that she had from puppy, would eat the floor under the bowl if he could. She can only feed him small cups at a time, and I am certain he eats it whole.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

When we first got Scrappy (Boston Terrier), we would make her sit for her bowl, let her eat a bit, then take it away and make her sit and wait for it a few times. We do this with both she and our rescue pup (Boxer mix), but they still eat like horses. It slows them down temporarily if that's a concern of yours, but more importantly it let's them know that they can eat when the pack leader tells them to. It might be a coincidence, but we've yet to leave a sandwich on the coffee table and have it snatched away.

 

[TheCADJockey]

is the eating thing sometimes breed specific?

In my case, she was rescued from an owner that mistreated the litter. The little food they were given was fought over by the litter of four. Now she treats all food like it could be her last.

 

[beernbourbon]

In my case, she was rescued from an owner that mistreated the litter. The little food they were given was fought over by the litter of four. Now she treats all food like it could be her last.

Now, that I can understand. I do get the concept of pack leader telling them when they could eat, but, just curiosity here, cuz I am by no means any kind of expert on the subject..... if you take it away, or only give them a little bit at a time, would that not foster a primal thought of get what you can get when you can get it?

oh, and as an aside....mistreating a whole litter? GRRRRRR..... let's mistreat YOU and see how well YOU handle it! (not you CJ, them) People that mistreat dogs just need to quit breathing my air.

 

[TheCADJockey]

.... if you take it away, or only give them a little bit at a time, would that not foster a primal thought of get what you can get when you can get it?

Honestly I'm not sure.. I am rationing it and trying to get her to eat slower because she is so under nourished right now. Giving her more food just so she eats fast and ends up getting sick, won't help her at all.

 

[Psylocide]

Honestly I'm not sure.. I am rationing it and trying to get her to eat slower because she is so under nourished right now. Giving her more food just so she eats fast and ends up getting sick, won't help her at all.

Ohhhh this reminds me, they have these things... You can put her whole feeding in there. She'll knock it around and a kibble or three will fall out, she'll eat them, repeat.

My dog loved his. Slows them down and it's a fun little game.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Now, that I can understand. I do get the concept of pack leader telling them when they could eat, but, just curiosity here, cuz I am by no means any kind of expert on the subject..... if you take it away, or only give them a little bit at a time, would that not foster a primal thought of get what you can get when you can get it?

Not sure if this was at me but this is way more interesting than work.

I don't think it has that effect, but I'd welcome better evidence. We don't take it away entirely; they can still see the food and they can still see that we have the food. If they sit and wait, they get it back in about 10 seconds or so.
Generally, our terrier will look to us for permission when she stumbles on just about everything new (food, new toys). If a scrap of food is dropped near one of us, more often than not she'll look at us until we tell her to go ahead.

 

[beernbourbon]

Not sure if this was at me but this is way more interesting than work.

I don't think it has that effect, but I'd welcome better evidence. We don't take it away entirely; they can still see the food and they can still see that we have the food. If they sit and wait, they get it back in about 10 seconds or so.
Generally, our terrier will look to us for permission when she stumbles on just about everything new (food, new toys). If a scrap of food is dropped near one of us, more often than not she'll look at us until we tell her to go ahead.

Ha! Not necessarily you, but whomever might be able to speak on this. And yes, way more interesting!

I don't have evidence either way, other than what I have observed in my own dogs. I don't think how we do it is necessarily bad, never had fat dogs, so...... ?

 

[GrogNerd]

is the eating thing sometimes breed specific? I am on my second beagle mix, one beagle/hound, female, current one is a beagle/dachshund male. Neither one had/have any issue with leaving a bowl of food all day long. Moogie will walk by his bowl, sniff, and keep on walking to his bed. Other times he'll eat a few mouthfuls and then go back to sleep. Still other times, he'll eat most of the bowl, if not all, and if I re-fill it, he sniffs, and goes back to sleep.(notice the trend here?).
Used to have an pure bred female Akita (American), same thing; growing up, we always had shepherds, always left food and water in a bowl, all day long, and they ate when they were hungry.
However, step daughter has a box/dane mix that she had from puppy, would eat the floor under the bowl if he could. She can only feed him small cups at a time, and I am certain he eats it whole.

the three beagles we've had would scarf all the food in the bowl. not super fast, but they wouldn't stop until it was all gone. unless they had tummy issues, then they wouldn't eat at all, until they were feeling better

 

[sweetcell]

is the eating thing sometimes breed specific?

dunno, but my dog (a toller) will eat until she throws up, and will then start eating again.

when she was young, maybe a year old, we took her to a cottage and she ran off. a cottage nearby found her and took her in. they assumed she had been in the wild for some time, so they fed her a big bowl of food (they had a dog). and another. and another. luckily they stopped at that point because she would have kept on going. her new hosts went from "oh poor little abandoned puppy" to "who is this little mooch?!?" boy was she sick that night...

she 3/4 cups of food in the morning and same at night, much to her chagrin.

 

[rockbasementbeer]

Siggi: Adopted her from foster care yesterday. She's 2 mo. old and only 7.5 lbs right now. She had to fight for her food with previous owner so she eats her food way too fast. We'll feed her by hand to slow her down so she does not get sick.

The first night was hard. We had so much we wanted to do but all she wanted to do was cuddle with her toy and sleep. I tried to keep her up and play but she was exhausted. She only whined for about five minutes when we went to bed and then she was quiet throughout the night.

We tried to do a few laps around the yard this morning but she didn't like the wet grass and she gets cold really fast. She's a happy girl despite the sad eyes. I hope we can give her a good life.

Congrats! Going through most of the same stuff with my pup (7 month coonhound). It's a process but definitely feels rewarding!

 

[Kharnynb]

kongs are great, but i prefer for feeding to use a treat-ball, it has a better and more even distribution system.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

I used to feed my Lab from a big Kong, but OMG, the whole floor was covered in dog slobber twice a day. He eats quickly from his bowl now.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I used to feed my Lab from a big Kong, but OMG, the whole floor was covered in dog slobber twice a day. He eats quickly from his bowl now.

Get a St Benard...your floor for 6' around food or water bowl is slobber. The walls to 6' high or more and occasionally the ceiling.

First dog that I tuck a kitchen towel in my back pocket on my way to let them out after I get home. That towel stays on me until we go to sleep at night. She is not even a heavy slobberer for her breed but it comes and goes (mainly related to food, water or heavy rough-housing with her siblings).

 

[user 163849]

Yesterday around 5:30 pm I herd a commotion in the corner of my back yard. My dog always likes to bark and run up and down the 100+ feet of 6 foot privacy fence when people walk down the sidewalk over there. There is a good 8 feet between the the edge of the side walk and my fence along with a row of small trees the entire run. But this time something just did not sound right.

I walked out of my shop and observed some guy walking a small hairy dog down the sidewalk but did not see my dog Bruno for a few minutes. He finally came out of the corner from behind some bushes gasping for air and blowing through his nose.

The corner he was in is where the front facing picket fence meets the side facing privacy fence. I am on a corner lot and the picket fence is over 100 feet from the road it faces. I suspect but did not witness that this guy walking his dog came onto my property in order to spray my dog with pepper spray or something similar through the white picket fence. In order to do so he would have to leave the sidewalk and come a good 10 feet into my yard.

Bruno was fine within minutes of me witnessing his breathing problems so whatever it may have been was somewhat harmless. However trespassing on my property in an attempt to prevent my dog from his primary "job" of protecting his pack is just not right.

So now I have a new location to drink my evening beer as I sit in wait to see if what I suspect happened happens again.

Trespassers will be prosecuted (or worse).

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Trespassers will be prosecuted (or worse).

If you are a halfway decent shot, a fun on it put a pie plate on a picket and pop it with a pellet gun if he steps on your property...or liberate a no trespassing sign from rural land that has already been riddle with 22 cal holes and use that. Double warning with both the sign and the nice "tink" of pellet on metal.

 

[dkwolf]

If you are a halfway decent shot, a fun on it put a pie plate on a picket and pop it with a pellet gun if he steps on your property...or liberate a no trespassing sign from rural land that has already been riddle with 22 cal holes and use that. Double warning with both the sign and the nice "tink" of pellet on metal.

Fun, right up until that odd ricochet HITS them, and you go to jail for assault.

 

[Mismost]

Mostly true

My mom's dobie was an exception; only nibbled throughout the day

I really think it just depends on the dog. We had brown Lab that used a self feeder and she stayed nice and lean. Had a black Lab that could go through 25 pounds of feed in three days using the same feeder...she would just keep eating. She had one litter of pups and we kinda kept tabs on them for a while. Six pups, as I recall they ran about 50-50 nibblers to scarfers.

Seems some are pigs, some aren't. I really like the self feeders because I can have odd hours. But, if you get pig, you have to hand feed to control their intake.