Postings by Belle's Family

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Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Thu May 23, '13 4:33pm PST  The only way I've used raw with a toy is to stuff and freeze Kongs. My guys usually get treat-dispensing toys made for treats, not kibble. I buy whatever treats I can find with decent ingredients. Depending on what treats I use, how many of them and how I fill the toy it can easily last an hour. When I do use kibble-dispensing toys, I use freeze dried liver, cut up string cheese, broken up Stella & Chewy's, a handful of kibble from free samples of premium foods... That sort of thing. If I really want to entertain my dogs, they get complicated RMBs. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Vance CGC You kids g'off- my lawn!     Barked: Wed May 22, '13 4:17pm PST  It will be as nutritionally balanced as the kibble you're feeding. It is not the same as canned food, though. The benefit of canned food over kibble isn't about nutrition. It's about a more appropriate moisture content, less processing, easier digestion, and cutting down on filler. Kibble must be at LEAST 40% filler, or it simply isn't kibble - think trying to bake without some sort of flour. Canned food doesn't NEED any fillers, even if many companies do include them. I do understand about the cost of cans. When I rescued Vance knowing he had digestive issues and could not eat kibble at all, I originally planned to feed primarily canned food with raw or homecooked as I could get it. Within a month I had ditched the canned idea entirely. When you can chose between feeding 4 to 6 cans of food a day at an average of $2 each, or 1 to 2lb of pork ribs at $2.29/lb... Not much of a choice. If your dog is healthy, it's not as much of an issue. Feeding good canned foods with high quality kibble is fine. The more less processed food you can work in, the better. Make your own add-ons to cut cost - lean leftovers of your own, meat you see on sale at the grocery store. Buying in bulk is always helpful too - a pallet of 24 cans is often dramatically cheaper than buying 24 individual cans. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > Will it hurt my dog to eat low quality foods once in awhile?

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Wed May 22, '13 2:04pm PST  Well. You are saying her dog's food isn't good enough for your dog. Which is fine. It isn't. No dog should be fed Beneful. I'm guessing my personality is too different from yours to offer advice that will work for you. I would unapologetically (but nicely!) tell my friend that Beneful has poor ingredients including dyes and sugar and I don't want my dog eating it. If my friend would not respect my wishes I would not allow her to care for my dogs. If living together is an issue, I have crated my dogs with strict instruction that they not be let out when I am not home. They are, after all, my dogs, and I don't need someone else taking care of them even if it is helpful some days. Unless you've had the food conversation before and know your friend doesn't care, I would approach it from that angle (not preachy lectures! Genuine conversation between friends!). Because I do care a lot about my friend's dogs too. If they're of the mind that food doesn't matter, as many people are, I can respect that. Respect is a two-way street, though. If you're close enough, I suspect lying about food allergies won't work. Unless you claim it's to a unknown ingredient in Beneful. And no, getting little bits of crappy food here and there won't hurt a healthy dog. I give crappy treats sometimes too. Usually when it's all I have on hand, or if we're out at the pet store and someone wants to give them a treat - that's just fun. I avoid doing it myself, and I wouldn't be terribly comfortable with someone just giving my dogs crappy food on a daily basis just because. I like the idea of providing your own treats, if your friend just has a need to give treats. ETA: What I would be concerned with in your case is the size of your dog. Giving my 50-ish lb Huskies a handful of junk is no big deal. Later in the day, they'll eat 3/4lb of fresh, raw food too. I used to live with 5 Chihuahuas. Especially as they got older, some would eat a handful of kibble a DAY. So "just a few" will turn into a much larger portion of daily intake for your dog than for larger dogs. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > how to stop my dog leaking urine constantly

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Wed May 22, '13 1:28pm PST  Good to hear! I hope you get some solid info. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Small Dogs > Exercise toy for Yorkie???

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Fri May 17, '13 2:01pm PST  Assuming your Yorkie fits the standard of 7lb or under, I would not buy this toy for a Yorkie. Based on the product site photo gallery, this toy will be bigger than he is. He could be badly injured if it accidentally hits him. Instead, I would look into making a flirt pole. You can adjust it to fit him perfectly, and the type of exercise it provides is the same. You could also teach him to fetch. This video details a very similar process to how I taught Ember to bring me a ball. She had no ball drive when I started and is now a titled flyball dog, so it really does work! Size is no matter - we also have two Chihuahuas on our team (although one is just for fun, since he isn't big enough to trigger the flyball box!) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Vance CGC You kids g'off- my lawn!     Barked: Fri May 17, '13 10:58am PST  I absolutely love Irish Wolfhounds! The reason I do not and will not own one is the short life span. It's not just that they don't live long, it's that they tend to have serious, expensive medical problems. Many I have known have had restrictions on activity, food, and climate. And on top of having generally expensive special needs, they are also extra, extra large so you're paying for that in extra high medication doses, anesthetic doses, complexity of surgery, etc, etc... Maybe after I make my first million. I think I could get over the potential heartbreak if I didn't have to constantly worry about whether I'd be able to afford to save them. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > how to stop my dog leaking urine constantly

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Fri May 17, '13 10:45am PST  What testing did the vet do that made them believe surgery or euthanasia were the only options? Even if it has been confirmed that this is a true incontinence problem, there are drugs available to treat incontinence. They aren't my preferred route, but I'd certainly try them before I went to surgery with a low success rate! Urinalysis should be step one. If there is any discharge from her vulva, it should be cultured as well. Depending on results, an ultrasound may be in order. Limiting water is generally not a good idea, unless your dog is healthy and has a problem with compulsive drinking. If there is a physical problem related to kidney function, she may need extra fluids to keep flushing her system out. Making sure she can go out frequently, using diapers with frequent changes, buying easy to watch beds and that sort of thing will help you manage the problem in the meantime. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Is this truth or another fat lie from companies?

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 5:38pm PST  I'm not saying that puppies don't need have greater caloric need and more specific calcium ratios. I'm saying there is no AAFCO requirement that a "puppy food" fill those needs. Life-stage labeling is based solely off the feeding trials the food has passed. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > how to stop my dog leaking urine constantly

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 2:33pm PST  The first thing you need to do is have a urine sample analyzed at your vet's. UTIs are extremely common, especially in puppies. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Fox 1178619     Barked: Tue May 14, '13 7:15am PST  If she isn't fat, I wouldn't worry too much about amount. Personally I'd just switch her food. I think Blue Buffalo is overrated. I've known a lot of dogs - including Fox - who poop like that on Blue. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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