Postings by Ridley

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Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Fri Jan 4, '13 5:03pm PST  I swear to the powers that be, this poor baby just can't catch a break. He's had this little patch on his forehead for a little over a week now. Its sort of scabby, and would periodically open up and bleed a little. I figured he got it scrapping with Mulder, and didn't think much of it. Then yesterday at OB training, my instructor pointed out that the spot looked sort of like mange. My first reaction was NO POSSIBLE WAY, but I took him in anyway just to be sure... and of course, it is a localized demodex breakout. Just so frustrated... it has to be from stress, the holidays have been sort of bumpy this year, and I haven't had as much time to work with him lately. I've even been having to day board him a few days a week (with my OB instructor) because I feel so guilty about leaving him at home with nothing to do (Mulder, thankfully, isn't as bothered by everything that's going on). Plus I haven't has as much time to prep their meals, so for the last couple of weeks I've only been doing a couple days a week of raw... they've mostly been getting kibble and I worry that's added to this. Blaaa, he's being treated, and its not that bad... just wanted to vent I feel bad for him. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Sun Dec 30, '12 11:31am PST  I raised Ridley on THK and raw, and I would tend to agree... if your concern is easing them into straight raw, its probably not going to do much. What it DOES do, however, is take the complication of balancing for a puppy, which I didn't want to take any chances with. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > Is it OK to feed primarily Honest Kitchen and occasionally Kibble?

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Wed Dec 26, '12 2:30pm PST  It shouldn't be a problem at all. I raised Ridley on THK, mostly Thrive but I've done Preference and I've always added my own fresh (raw) meat regardless of which one I was feeding. I also frequently have a bag of kibble around for those times I get lazy or forget to thaw, and none of mine have ever had an issue with it. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > guarding

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Sun Nov 11, '12 3:09pm PST  I don't know, I'm not inclined to jump straight to SSA with this. And I've never been of the opinion that SSA was common in GSDs, even in the females (though acknowledgment there that it is more common in females than males in this breed). Plus she's 10 months old, not yet sexually mature, so if it IS SSA... yikes. That's pretty bad, and going to get worse. But again, that's not my thought. Resource guarding isn't uncommon, especially when it comes to dog-to-dog guarding. Couple of questions- how old was she when you got her, and what was the litter size? Ridley, just to give you an example, was from a very large litter (11 puppies) from a bitch who was accustomed to throwing more moderate litters (5 average). He actually left the breeder and arrived here at 9 weeks old. When he got here, he was a big time RGer. Just over the food bowl, and granted I feed raw so that's a BIG resource to guard... but he would growl and hunch over and make a scene if ANYONE came near him while he was eating, including me. Putting it into perspective, he was from a litter where he did actually have to compete some for resources, even though his breeder was a very good one and made sure he got what he needed. He was also relatively young when he came to me- 9 weeks is older than is standard, but in the scheme of things still young and puppies generally do better with "social" issues like this when left with their littermates and dam longer. My issue more or less resolved itself. I would hand-feed some of his meals, and toss extra scraps of meat into his bowl while he was eating, and that put a stop to any guarding behaviors with ME. Now with the other dogs I think it just took some time for him to figure out they weren't after his food... that said, I DO separate during meals (same room, opposite sides), because IF one of them tries to get in his bowl while he's eating, he WILL tear into them. Which, frankly, is fair... they don't need to be getting into his food, and I don't allow them to. Now obviously your issue is a little more severe, as she isn't just guarding her bowl... and of course her over the top reaction is very undesirable as well. For starters I would do as you're already doing, making sure there are no high value treats left unattended while the two dogs are together. From there, I would suggest taking food out of the equation, and just working your puppy around your other dog. Doesn't have to be anything specific, just sits or downs or whatever it is you do, but make sure the other dog is present (crated if you feel it necessary) and try to avoid using food as a reward- use a ball or tug or whatever else she likes. Get her used to working and having to focus on you while the other dog is around. Once you have achieved that, then start adding food back in as a reward. Again, get her comfortable receiving the high value resource while the other dog is present, BUT do it in a structured working environment FIRST. GSDs of course like to work, and if she's working for you to gain her prized resource, she's not going to be focusing as much on your other dog. Getting that concept into her mind is a stepping stone to getting her more comfortable haveing the resources around period. After all, the way to a GSD's heart is through his head my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > This makes me ill.....

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Wed Nov 7, '12 9:39am PST  Fortune smiled upon me today, as the field where I have been taking Ridley to train presented 3 novel scenarios to me. First, its been training, and the field is deep, so a chunk of it was underwater. Good environmental practice. Second, first Wednesday of the month, so tornado siren tests are today, and we got lucky enough to be out when they were going off- REALLY good recall proofing! And last, there are a couple of recycling bins next to the field, and again as luck would have it, they were picking up while I was out there too. Decided to proof down/stays, and snapped a video: Down/Stay with Distraction He had already been put in the down/stay when the vid starts, and he only attempts to break once when a lady drives up and starts to drop things off- bonus points for respecting my affirmation of the "down" command and holding it through all that racket! Good boy Ridley!! (crappy phone video quality undermines just how loud that truck really was!) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Thu Nov 1, '12 5:42pm PST  Ridley does this sometimes too. Interested in what people reply with. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Question about raised paw?

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Mon Oct 29, '12 7:55am PST  I have some pictures here somewhere of Mulder as a tinny puppy "pointing" while still at his breeder's, haha. It was just a hoot to see Ridley picking it up too. It'd be an interesting project to capture the behavior and see what I can do with it.... I can add pointing game to my "to-do" list right next to coon hunting and water retrieval my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Question about raised paw?

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Sun Oct 28, '12 7:06pm PST  Just something I've noticed lately with both Mulder and Ridley... Mulder's always done it, and I never really thought anything of it, but now that Ridley's picked it up I'm curious. Occasionally when out on the trails or even sometimes in the yard, either Mulder or Ridley will get hyper focused on something, and "point". As in, raise a front paw to to their chest like a bird dog might. I highly doubt its actual pointing behavior... where on earth would that have come from, you know?... but its just sort of funky! Is this something all dogs do, and I've just mistakenly taken it as exclusively a pointer's trait? my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Starting a new puppy on raw?

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Sun Oct 7, '12 1:49pm PST  First night Ridley was here he ate nothing but canned pumpkin- didn't want to deal with the poops. From there I switched to what I was going to feed. He had some kibble, but for the most part I cold turkey switched him over to raw/Honest Kitchen with edible bone meals (mostly frozen turkey necks, as anything else he swallowed whole) given intermittently. Shouldn't have a problem switching a younger pup over, though I was pretty happy with the results of doing a one-day pumpkin fast first. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ridley Cry cry cry!     Barked: Sun Oct 7, '12 8:10am PST  Why can't there be both? I don't see why one can't create an enjoyable learning environment for a puppy and still work on precise behaviors. I have very clean heel work with a puppy who was started young- He was never run down for not being perfect, but I see no reason not to start working on it and troubleshooting behaviors so long as, again, one is responsible with their expectations. I don't think the OP is aiming for an OTCH here with their puppy... I don't see the problem. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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