Postings by Ember FDX

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Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Sat May 25, '13 7:25pm PST  Ember was a rescue - Literally walked into my life and I kept her, no planning whatsoever. I started flyball classes to get her exercise after my 12 hour work day, figuring I would get the added benefit of sorely needed distraction work. Our flyball team has some spectacular oddballs, including one of 3 Clumber Spaniels in the nation, a mini Dachshund, 2 Chihuahuas (although one can't compete on account of being too small to trigger the box)... It was a bit of a joke to get a Husky on the team, but no one seriously thought my incredibly reactive, fairly dog aggressive Siberian with no ball drive, who absolutely could not be off-leash, would ever actually play flyball. But she liked it. She liked it so much, that she started making huge progress that transferred to the outside world. After a few 6 week class sessions, she was starting to go off-leash in the classroom, with other dogs on the sidelines. Her socializing started to improve. Things kept getting better, and she kept having fun, so I kept bringing her to class. There were a lot of plateaus. Picking up a ball was a big one - but still, she was happy, so I kept at it. It was still a long time before I realistically thought she could compete - and even then, a lot of the time I was working toward it just for the hell of it, because the work to get there was good for us even if we didn't make it. Last fall, in the last tournament of the year, we stuck her in as an alternate when the team was losing anyway. She needed the experience, and managed to earn her first few points. Our first tournament this spring, she shared a spot with another "green" dog and earned her Flyball Dog title. Next tournament, she held her own position and ran alternate for a senior dog on another of our teams and earned her Flyball Dog Excellent. She's really still a "green" dog... Her times are all over the place and on the slow side. OTOH, we don't have a height dog to keep jump heights down right now, so she's been running 12". Our team doesn't compete often, as we all have busy lives outside of the sport... Plus there aren't that many tournaments close by. We'll be on the court again in July. Very much looking forward to it. My Vance did run agility, but because of structural problems he could not handle competition heights for his size. We joined a "for fun" agility club and he ran against the toy dogs without speed in mind. I'd like to compete with Fox, but I have not found a sport or activity that suits her yet. We've dabbled in agility but she tends to psych herself out and shut down easily. She abhors flyball. Obedience of any sort is really not her thing. We'll find something eventually... my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Sat May 25, '13 5:43pm PST  I would drop a urine sample at the vet just to check. $20 for peace of mind is pretty fair. Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried. It's very likely related to the stress of moving. It's not uncommon for dogs to lose their house training during a move, since they don't generalize well. Some dogs believe they only don't potty in the house they were trained in, as it was set up at that time - and they really have no reason NOT to believe that. Treat her as un-house trained until a few weeks after you move to "reset" her training. Many dogs also drink more in times of stress. On top of that, the weather is changing too. It doesn't affect all dogs, but some (including Ember) start drinking more as the weather warms up. Obviously if you drink twice as much, you have to go more often. The first spring she was with me, I did run a urine sample to the vet to be sure. It was clear, but at least I knew all I had to do was give her more frequent potty breaks. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Raw with interactive dog toys???

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]

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]

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]

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]

Ember FDX Go Go Devil- Bunnies!     Barked: Mon May 13, '13 5:04pm PST  I've been seeing a lot of them too. They sure look neat, but I'm not sure how they work. I'm worried they may be no good for heat-sensitive dogs, unless it has more a regulating effect than warming. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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