P E T S! All About Pets, Pets Pets Pets!

[Aziraphale]

^ I'm having the same problem finding a good one for my cat - only I want to take him on a plane in cabin.

The Sherpa carrier site says you measure from the nape of the neck to the base of the tail and shoulder to floor, but another site recommends measuring from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail and top of the head to the floor. Is there a pet shop near you where you can have him try out a sample carrier or have the staff assist you?

Dess, I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I hope she comes back soon. Is she microchipped? Does she wear a collar? Since she's been house-bound for a while, she may not have wandered far. Stick up posters asking for help, and walk around the neighbourhood to check if she's hiding in drains or under cars, or in someone's backyard. I hope you find her soon.

[xstarBURST]

^O_O; no wonder! i bought one for a medium size dog since he seems to just fit under the weight for a medium dog >_<

i took him to a pet store today and they had a big one, the only problem i have is it's a bit too big for me to take on the bus. if i were able to stick it between my legs i'd be fine. The pro about it is i can fold it up and carry it... guess he's stuck with the dog park in my neighbourhood.

[Guest kikkie]

I have a pretty big dog (American pit bull terrier mixed w/something else) (I'm at 5'3", I can touch his head w/out bending down and when he stands on his hind legs, we can almost see eye-to-eye) and I want to take him out for runs around the cul-de-sac. Last time I tried walking him, he stopped (he saw a child, something he's terrified of thanks to my stupid brother) and wouldn't move anymore. At other times, he gets really excited and gives me rope burns.

When my dad runs with him, he doesn't put doggie on a leash (I know it's bad and probably illegal, but my dad doesn't run with the dog anymore) so doggie stops running with my dad halfway and goes home to wait for my dad. So my dad got frustrated and refuses to run with the dog now.

Is there a leash with like, a waist strap so that I can tie him to my waist when I'm running? Or do I buy an extra long leash and just strap it to myself?

Does anyone else's dog also eat grass? Is this like induced vomiting?

[MythnoonA]

We had Irish Wolfhounds; we lost our oldest last March (you can see them in my profile pic). She ate grass for all the time we had her. She did the same thing--ate it, and then brought it up a couple of minutes later. She did it when she had a little bit of stomach upset. Her nephew, my dog--never touched it. It's very normal though. Hopefully whatever grass they eat doesn't have any chemicals on it. >< We never sprayed our own grass, and she never ate it anywhere else. Her breeder suggested lettuce to replace the need to eat grass, but she never liked it.

They do have waist leashes, but I wouldn't get one myself unless I was absolutely sure my dog wouldn't yank me if he saw something that interested him. If he's totally trained you could try, but I would rather use a regular one myself.

Your dog is funny. Has enough of running and goes home to wait. lol

edit: Dess, I hope you find your cat too. ><

[xstarBURST]

bring treats with you just to get your dog to go farther, apart from that.. try and re-socialize him..? maybe with ones with dogs? That's how one of the other dog walkers kind of became okay with people. From what i was told, he was startled by little kids - they threw fire crackers or just teased him through the fence, i forgot what it was. But I always walked with them since my dog loves their company. 3 months later? or 4 months later he allowed me to pet him and actually walks up to me.

I don't know if it works all the time but that was one way.

Now, has any one seen a shiba inu off leash?

for reference,

they look like that, and i think that is the most common colour.

I know they are not suppose to be off leash, and I want my dog to be okay off leash. I mean i want him to be off leash because he pulls on the leash when he sees something he likes. I do most of the walking, and the last thing I want when i'm sick and walking him is being tugged everywhere. I do let him off leash in an open area just to play as long as there's another big dog to herd him back. I also thought that it would be one way to teach him some road sense, if he runs away from home and save myself couple of hundred bucks on obedience school. The sad thing is that there are people in the neighbourhood that hates dog and would run them over if they went in front of their truck/ car.

I asked other shiba inu owners in my area but they seem to be so rude to me. Repeating the fact that Shiba inus SHOULD never be off leash what not, same thing with the digging problem.

okay i guess enough rambling- but if you have seen a shiba inu off leash.. do they come back to their owners when they call them?

Another general question, how do you correct a dog's digging habit..? That was another question I got attacked with by other shiba owners. Even with supervision he digs holes up in public places. Smacking his paws doesn't work- he still goes back and digs....

[Guest kikkie]

My dog is fine with people, just not small children that can see eye to eye with him (about 3 feet or so) and that scream/run around a lot. (I'm actually kind of okay with him being scared of them because then I have (maybe a fake) security knowing that he won't attack them.)

But I guess I'll use a regular leash then, thanks.

We did have quite a few toys for him, but they kind of disappeared (probably a foot or two under some dirt X__X) and he chewed up one of our garden hoses when he was teething as a puppy, so he plays with those now.

Our grass is completely natural, no fertilizers or chemicals. It doesn't grow in a few spots where the dog likes to play in (which is almost everywhere) so we don't bother anymore. I hope none of the grass growing back there is toxic for dogs. He seems to only eat a certain type of grass, not the short stubby ones on regular lawns.

xstarBURST: I think a lot of their response to their owners depend on how you train/raised them (and the type of food you have in your hands).

We fenced off the vegetable garden area so that he wouldn't dig there (he still does in other parts of the yard). Apparently, it's also about setting a good example too. When my dog saw my grandma dig (to plant the veggies or fertilize them), he would dig in the exact same area right afterwards (which led to the fencing off the area).

[kissez*]

To all the dog owners, what brand of dog food are you feeding your dog?

[xstarBURST]

To all the dog owners, what brand of dog food are you feeding your dog?

I'm feeding my puppy orijen. We used to feed him Royal Canine until i went to the local pet store and saw that they were osld out and we only had enough dog food for a day. I had to wait at least a week before they got any more in stock.

ORIJEN REPRESENTS A NEW DIRECTION IN PET NUTRITION: BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE.

The concept is simple: include the fresh, whole foods that nature evolved dogs and cats to eat (in correct ratio and quantity), and exclude ingredients like cereal grains that are not part of the natural diet.

High-protein, low-carbohydrate and grain-free, ORIJEN features fresh regional ingredients in a Biologically Appropriate ratio of 70 percent meat, 30 percent fruit and vegetables and zero grain (70/30/0).

The metabolism of cats and dogs is naturally evolved to operate on a largely carnivorous diet, and by better matching the natural diet, ORIJEN promotes peak health in cats and dogs of all breeds and life stages, nourishing them as Nature originally intended. ORIJEN is a new direction in pet nutrition: BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE.

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/orijen/

i began to notice my puppy had more energy to burn and got fat....i think its mostly because of the treats.

[Guest tresz08]

My minnie poodle is such a princess we only feed her special diet dog food from her vet but for a treat we give medium rear steak.

she loves ice cream (vannilla only and warm milk but these are treats). I never give her anything that is not natural, but i do know chocolate is not good for dogs. Anywho........ she is rather old but so beautiful.

hey..what happen to your dog right now? our family do has a two cute and hugging pitbull...one is girl who's name is samantha and her son nognog...samantha is so sweet to us..we always called her vet for a monthly checked up and until now i cannot understand why do chocolates are not good for dogs???

[Guest emma007]

My family feeds our dogs Costco brand pet food. I did a bunch of research and it seems that Costco brand food is actually a very high quality food, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

[kissez*]

I feed mine Blue Buffalo... This is the only brand i feed my dogs. Other grocery dog products such as beniful, purina, alpo, ect.... contain corn and other products that are harmful for dogs because they can not digest them.

Blue Buffalo is an all Natural product. There are blueberries in there as well as potatoes and other stuff... There are alot of vitamins in there as well. BLue Buffalo smells different than other dog food and every customer i talked to said their dog seemed more energetic and they seem to love the food. I recommended the product to them....

When i was in PT a lady who worked there had a problem with her cats and the doctor said they need something that was high in protein and low in carbs. so the doctor said there isnt a good product out there so the lady fed her cats vet perscribed food which cost over 50 bucks... and i told her about this blue buffalo product and i gave it to her for free. She asked the vet and she approved of the food and was surprised she found a food like this. Now the cat is realli healthy =] the cat didnt die =]

Not all vet dog or cat food are really healthy for them. Just because vets recommend it and they sell it doesnt mean it is all that gr8.

Science diet is one example and Bil Jac arent that great. Science diet has products dogs cant digest and Bil Jac has corn! which is a big no no for dogs!

sorry for writing so much ^^

I'm feeding my puppy orijen. We used to feed him Royal Canine until i went to the local pet store and saw that they were osld out and we only had enough dog food for a day. I had to wait at least a week before they got any more in stock.

i began to notice my puppy had more energy to burn and got fat....i think its mostly because of the treats.

^Hm, I think I'll give these brands a try.

I feed my dog Nutro Natural Choice (vet recommended) but I want to switch up his food every once in awhile because I'm sure it must be boring to eat the same thing over and over again.

Does anyone MAKE their own dog food?

And, what are some healthy treats that your dog enjoys?

[Guest V A L XD]

This might be a stupid question.

But due to the recession, I can't really afford to take my dog to the vet for every little thing.

But I was wondering, do animal shelters offer rabies shots?

[MythnoonA]

dogs cannot eat coco. coco is highly poisonous to dogs as well as grapes (rasins)

just to add more to why if it's okay ^^

DARK CHOCOLATE is deadly to non-humans. Chocolate has something in it called theobromine, and the darker the choc is, the more poisonous it is. I have asked our vets just to make sure--it's okay if your dog has bits of MILK chocolate. We've always given our dogs a couple of M&Ms at a time, without any effects. I know people whose dog has swallowed their Easter basket full of milk chocolate, and have had nothing more than diarrhea--but dark chocolate, especially if the cocoa content is high--can kill. Mass amounts of chocolate should be kept out of any animals reach anyway. Some vets will tell you no choc at all, even milk. (plain White choc has no cocoa so is okay in bits.)

((to anyone else who needs to see--on the first page there is a list of other things that are poisonous as well, including regular mushrooms.))

kissez*--we were giving our dogs Flint River Ranch dry food/kibble. It's a good food--baked instead of popped out of a mold--less air in the dough--less air in their tums (it can cause a lot of problems ><). we rarely had any problems with their stomachs, and they never got bored with it. Other than the kibble, I cooked brown rice (white only for stomach probs), boiled chicken, organic hamburger, acorn/butternut squash, zucchini, plain pasta, and egg--with the exception of the wheat bread and string beans/carrots--we gave them the baby veg in jars; plain yogurt with honey every day. They got banana 2 or 3 times a week. We shared apples, oranges, strawberries, peaches and bluberries with them too, but not watermelon or grapes, as usuejung said.

V A L XD ~ many animal shelters will give rabies shots.

[xstarBURST]

^apples are bad too? oi i don't know what my puppy has eaten, but ive seen him eat pieces of apples and yogurt (some kid left a tube of it some where on the field where i let my dog run off eat) and he seemed fine.

Edit: Okay so... what about raw meat...? what kind can we give them..?

does it have to be the ones you buy straight from the pet store?

we had steak last night and my dad thought his was waaaay too undercook so he gave him the uncooked/raw pieces... wonder if that was okay.

[Guest ickboo]

This might be a stupid question.

But due to the recession, I can't really afford to take my dog to the vet for every little thing.

But I was wondering, do animal shelters offer rabies shots?

dude! they totally do! just call the local shelter for more info! sometimes they'll have it at a park, or infront of their facility!

or they may charge a little fee, but from my experience, its way cheaper and more convenient to get it done by a shelter!!!

no white rice?! my dog has been eating white rice for the past 13 years!!! but i just fed him dry dog food mixed with half of my burrito for dinner.

dogs, just like humans can form fatty cysts. my doggy has one and due to his old age, i'd rather not get it removed since the vet said it's just fat. i've seen older dogs wake up in the middle of surgery procedures.

i used to work at an animal hospital and my vet boss said it's fine to feed your dog rice, vegetables, and meat. i've seen people go all out to get the best organic raw foods for their dogs. it's a little disturbing, but i guess if you love your dog that much, why not.

[Guest honeybeeshrimp]

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr15/ed...ruby_2947sf.jpg

Isn't she adorable? She was my neighboor's dog, that nasty men always used to kick her and spray hose water at her. I was 98% positive that he would hand her to us, but fortunately, he did and only for 10 dollars.

i have such a soft spot for all doggies. D: she looks my cocker spaniel.

i'm glad she has you now. she's tooo too precious. fjkdlsaj;fdsa

[GOOMBA]

My family feeds our dogs Costco brand pet food. I did a bunch of research and it seems that Costco brand food is actually a very high quality food, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I would think that Cosco brand dog food has by-products which isn`t all that great...

[Guest emma007]

^ It doesnt! It still isn't the best food out there, but it is a lot better than a lot of other brands, and it cost less than 25 dollars for a 40lbs bag. Win win as far as I am concerned.

[Honey.bee]

Ok, guys, urgent here. I got a weird question to ask. I have two dogs (as I mentioned before, Ruby and Poppy). Poppy is currently on her period and she does inappropriate actions with Ruby..like how dogs make babies. And the point is, they're both girls, how is this possible? Are they lesbians or something.

[Guest Blake]

Dogs don't have periods, they go into heat^^ Be careful and make sure she doesn't get around any unfixed males. Humping isn't just a mating behavior, it can also be about dominance. So it's very unlikely that they're lesbians How old is Poppy? Is this her first heat? You should look into getting her fixed, because unfixed females have high risks of developing things like Pyometra and Breast cancer (she has a near zero chance of it if she is spayed before her first heat, this increases to just under 10% chance after her first cycle, and increases yet again to about 25% chance after her second heat.)

Rudy is really cute, you should post a pic of Poppy too