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Dog nutrition: what do you feed your pooch?

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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Six rescues so far. First three dogs, excluding childhood, were from quality breeders. But a series of sudden deaths meant we started needing a companion to the remaining dog sooner. (Separation anxiety in Siberians can be like having a bomb in your house.) We got in the habit of getting older dogs instead of puppies as well. I'm too old for puppies. (Although Pana was only six months when she arrived and that was a reminder to never do that again! Qimmiq, our newest, was 7 when we got him, since I don't think I want to walk a Siberian when I get past 75. Although he's actually nicer on leash than Pana who is 13 pounds lighter and 4 years older. She's almost blind but a beast on leash and we've tried all the fancy contraptions to stop her pulling -- she figures out how to do it anyway.)

Qimmiq:
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Pana:
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Sibhusky

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Ya I bet Huskies have a strong pack mentality and love to pull you around!
Interestingly, the two worst pullers were both smallish females. Followed by an oversized male with bad hips who was a moose when you put him on a leash. Most of the dogs we've had think collars are for pulling, but harnesses were not. :-( My husband used to skijor with them, but they turned into saunterers after the first half mile. But the three mentioned above will drag you the entire time they've got a collar on. The older I get the less amusing this is. If I walk them individually it's not as bad, but together each one wants to "win".
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Also ask the butcher to make the ground beef to your specs. I used to ask for 90/10

We did! They have a great form that's very clear, and she had me go through the form on the phone so that I could ask questions etc. They clearly have been doing this a long time. These guys are pasture raised but grain finished, so they will taste a little different, but not as different as pure pasture raised.
 
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TS
pete

pete

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Between Phil and I, all of the last 4 dogs have been rescues and the next one will be too.

We're on our forth too, fostered many more, transported even more ...

I feel fortunate to have the time, benefited far more than the time expended.
 

firebanex

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I knew a German Shepherd who insisted on gnawing on large rocks!
I had one that did that too! His name was Bandit and he eventually had to have all his canine teeth replaced with stainless steel teeth.. Sadly, people were scared of him after that. He was a wonderful dog and unfortunately hip degeneration took him from us a couple years before his time.

On the topic of dog bones.. rawhides are a huge no for our Border Collie, he gets the runs even after only a couple of minutes with one. But he does have a massive collection of dinosaur shaped nylabones that he likes. They sound terrifying when he chews, but they definitely wear down and I don't think they are causing any harm to him. His other favorite chewtoys are literally chunks of firewood that he steals from the wood pile. Must be something satisfying about ripping apart logs for him.

Harness verse collar. For our pup he pulls a lot less when we use the front hook on his harness but the back hook is no holds barred pulling for about a mile before he gets tired. We don't use his collar for walks because he pulls and chokes himself till he can barely breathe.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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His name was Bandit and he eventually had to have all his canine teeth replaced with stainless steel teeth..

Please tell me you have a picture!

Harness verse collar. For our pup he pulls a lot less when we use the front hook on his harness but the back hook is no holds barred pulling for about a mile before he gets tired. We don't use his collar for walks because he pulls and chokes himself till he can barely breathe.

Mine have the front hook harness. It helps, but is definitely not the panacea it's advertised as being. I never had the follow through necessary to train them on gentle leaders. They're leash aggressive (Well, Cooper wasn't - until I got Loki), so I try to go to national forest for off leash, less populated hikes as much as I can.
 

firebanex

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Not sure if there are pictures or not, he was before my family had digital cameras, passed on around 2000. I'll have to thumb thru the albums at my parents place to see.

The front hook harness's work but it's just as you say, not the magical panacea that everyone says it is. He still pulls, it's just less of a pull and it is easier to work on walking skills and heel with that harness.
 

Seldomski

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Hill Science Diet D/D Duck and Potato. It's expensive ...

Our first dog had a very 'delicate' stomach. We started him on blue buffalo, but this did not work. Went through a few different vet recommended foods until we landed on the DD. It works for dog 1.

Dog 2 was acquired later and is eating the same stuff for simplicity. He is doing fine for now.

Also, absolutely zero table scraps for either. It's not worth the aftermath later. Also not worth the constant begging, farts, etc. that come with scraps. FYI - our dogs seldom have gas. On Blue Buffalo, it was definitely much smellier.

My parents do not follow the same approach regarding table scraps. The dogs are noticeably worse, lots of begging in the kitchen, after staying with them.
 

Seldomski

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Eggs are also good for omegas, aren't they? Is there a cheap-ish form of fish oil etc around? I am sure they would love it as oil rather than in a capsule.

I give our dogs fish oil sometimes, but not with every meal. They really like the taste. I puncture the gel capsule with a knife and dribble it on the food.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Also, absolutely zero table scraps for either. It's not worth the aftermath later. Also not worth the constant begging, farts, etc. that come with scraps.

This doesn't *have* to be the case. My dogs do get chopped veggies while we're prepping, and they get pieces of chicken or whatever when we're slicing that up. They never get rewarded for hounding us - but if they calmly sit down a few feet away, they may get something. It seems to work. And they don't get sauces etc. Food manners are my one pet peeve with dogs, and you can tell that it's the one thing I insist on with them.
 

CalG

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I give our dogs fish oil sometimes, but not with every meal. They really like the taste. I puncture the gel capsule with a knife and dribble it on the food.

Who is being fed here? Some of the dogs I have had really liked the taste of cat sh*t.

Not sure of the benefits of either.
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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I was told to give a fish oil capsule with the zinc for the dog with the coat problem. He eats the thing whole. Supposedly it helps the zinc work. I say supposedly because every time we retest his zinc levels (pricey!!) his zinc is still low. If it didn't test low and we didn't have a biopsy I'd be saying this wasn't a zinc issue after 1.5 years of this with no improvement. Fortunately it's just a small patch near his eye and not spreading very rapidly.
 

Seldomski

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Who is being fed here? Some of the dogs I have had really liked the taste of cat sh*t.

Not sure of the benefits of either.

The oil capsules were recommended by the vet for dry skin and allergy-related itching.

Dog 2 loves to take medicine. He swallows pills whole with no coaxing. Dog 1 hates to take pills. We have to force them down - unless it's heartguard or the flea pills that taste like treats. If we puncture the capsule, dog 1 eats them with the food. We puncture the pills for both because dogs are jealous creatures.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Who is being fed here? Some of the dogs I have had really liked the taste of cat sh*t.

Not sure of the benefits of either.

That seems unnecessarily aggressive.
 

CalG

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That seems unnecessarily aggressive.

The comment was a barb on "They really like the taste" .

I don't consider a dogs preferences based on our perception of taste valid for much.
They might just like the oily feel on their tongue.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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It's actually a thing..coprophagia..my buddy's lab did it..couldn't figure it out..vet said his nutrition was lacking..or at least the dog THOUGHT his nutrition was lacking.. :huh:

Yeah, blech. I swear there was a Dog Whisperer about it.

My dogs don't do that - although based on Loki's breath, you'd THINK he does!
 

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