Dog Food Advisor Forums Melissaandcrew

Melissaandcrew

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  • in reply to: Brothers shut down #11787 Report Abuse

    Mike P-

    While I understand your upset, I find it disturbing that you commented things such as “richard got screwed” and “Richard did not mind what we discussed” ITS MIKE SAGMANS WEBSITE, NOT RICHARD’S!!! I don’t always agree with everything, all the time, but what Richard wants, Richard likes or Richard feels really has no bearing. Richard is free to open his own website if he wishes. Please give Dr S a freaking break. His website, his rules.

    I love the DFA and interacting with all the people here(even those I disagree with) but its for the sharing of knowledge, and to learn more, not for the freaking drama that is always created by a few certain people. Its the same old same old-someone insults the food or questions it, and right away, the same people feel that they have to brow beat others into drinking the kool aid..and if they don’t, well certainly they must be a competitor or are “out to get him”.

    I know this comment will not be well received by some, but I am okay with that. I never did like Kool Aid : )

    in reply to: protein and aggression #11749 Report Abuse

    Mike P-

    Its not so cut and dry, and I assure you, the vast majority of people wanting a dog DO NOT want a defective one to begin with. Sure, many can be rehabbed or at least controlled, but its a long road, a lot of work, and the end result is often major stress on both the owner and dog. Until you have lived with the stress of an aggressive dog and the unpredictable nature, you can not even begin to understand. Even though I love working with the problem children, even I have decided that I am done with it-done with the work, the effort, the stress, the guarding against their behavior reoccurring. From now on, only the pleasant shall cross the threshold, lol.

    in reply to: Brothers shut down #11747 Report Abuse

    Mike P-

    The thread is still there, its not like it has been removed. In all fairness to Mike S, he DID start this forum for us all to discuss topics other than the food itself. Most of the time, someone asks a question and a simple direct answer can be given. When its more involved than that, its easy enough to respond with “hey-interesting topic to explore, lets take it to the forums” Since we are no longer supposed to be having large OT conversations there anyway, no harm no foul. I am sure he will reopen it eventually.

    in reply to: Going to look at dogs tomorrow! #11656 Report Abuse

    Congrats on the new family member!! It’s always sooooo exciting~~

    in reply to: Going to look at dogs tomorrow! #11653 Report Abuse

    Okay- I am late as usual! What did you decide??

    in reply to: Lower Protein and lawn urine spots #11652 Report Abuse

    Hi Labs-

    Yes, I have a kennel license-I have mentioned it before in the past, but you must have missed it. A bag a day? Lol. I would be in the poor house ; ) You are making a common big dog owner mistake of assuming we all own large dogs! While I do have a few larger ones, most of my crew are under 20lbs or less. I won’t lie and say its cheap, because its not, but as long as I don’t develop a fetish for designer handbags, we should be just fine, lol.

    in reply to: IBD suggestions? #11517 Report Abuse

    HI Ramona-

    Sorry to hear you and your pooch are going through this. My dobergal has the same issues, and like yours, grain free did not make a lick of difference. I tried foods from “low level” up to home cooked, raw, grain free, grain inclusive, commercial raw etc etc. We would find a food, she would do well on it for a few months, and then suddenly, back to the same issues. For mine, probiotics and enzymes did not work, but for others they do. Unfortunately, its hit or miss. Recently, I put her on Abady granular, with their canned, and now a touch of dry(dave’s for sensitive stomachs) and so far so good. I think the dry causes more of an issue than the granular or canned however and may cut that out all together.

    A quick fix to rest her digestive tract may be to have your vet prescribe metronidazole or tylan powder-tylan can be used long term, not the metronidazole.

    in reply to: Underweight Assistance #11427 Report Abuse

    I have used satin balls in the past with great results. My latest thing to use is Abady granular dog food. At 800 calories per cup, it adds weight without a huge amount of volume in the stomach. I would also recc a complete vet check, including a test for Addisons, which can cause a dog’s weight to wax and wane.

    in reply to: protein and aggression #11426 Report Abuse

    Oops-sorry-forgot to answer the question-With as many aggressive dogs that we have dealt with over the years, I would never feed kibbles and bits to any of them. If you want to try the low protein route, choose something with less chemicals, dyes etc. If you dog is not already altered, do so. The number one thing I have found that cuts down on aggression is altering. If you dog has not been tested for Lyme disease since developing the aggression, test him also. Lyme has caused dogs to have aggression issues in the past according to some people.

    in reply to: protein and aggression #11425 Report Abuse

    Hi Emtnicki-

    I have heard from some folks that lowering the protein will help with some forms of aggression. Not sure why or how, but that seems to be a “thing” that some trainers will tell you. With that said-

    I have yet to see that solve an aggression issue. You are going to need to work at it. Get him into a basic obedience course so the dog learns new parameters in life-you give a command, he is expected to respond with the desired behavior. Never attempt to force the dog to give something up-each time you “lose” the dog wins. It’s best to avoid the situation and keep things out of his way. If he gets something that you need to get away from him, practice substitution until he knows and listens to the “leave it” command. In other words, bribe him to deescalate the situation and get the object of his desire back. In these cases, I take an item that is “better than” the stolen object-I use hotdogs or cheese and BEFORE the situation arises, I make a big deal of getting the item from the fridge and giving the dog small bites(Open the fridge, get his attention and say the item by name “Who wants cheese??? Whose a good boy?) Then when the issue arises, I casually get the treat, do the routine and within seconds the dog is typically sitting there sans item waiting for the special treat. Its important that you do it when he does not have a stolen item so that he does not learn that the special treat is linked to stealing/guarding items. I then have hubby retrieve the item while the dog is out of the picture, or put a leash on the dog to keep him in another room while I retrieve the item.

    This part is going to sound harsh-If your dog is so aggressive that he scares you and will attack you., just who do you think is going to want him? Nice lab mixes are a dime a dozen at the local shelters and rescues and dying every day simply due to lack of a home-Your dog is a lawsuit waiting to happen and in my opinion, if you the owner can not rectify the situation, then you need to have him euthanised. No rescue or shelter is going to take on your lawsuit liability knowingly, and if you lie about his aggression(not saying YOU will, but many owners do) they will pts when its discovered.

    in reply to: Display picture #11407 Report Abuse

    Go to the help section on the forum here, and Mike has a section explaining avatars. : )

    in reply to: Quandry-Large breed or not??! #11394 Report Abuse

    That’s sort of what I was thinking-Since the dogs full weight is going to be under 40 lbs “by design” it would no longer be considered a large breed, and the lower calcium etc would not come into play. I was thinking the Acana line would be fine, but wanted others opinions on whether or not they think the dog should be fed low cal/phos, or if it should not matter.

    in reply to: Lower Protein and lawn urine spots #11335 Report Abuse

    Hi billdoe-

    I have 15 dogs that eat a kibble based diet of approx 33% protein. By the time we add canned, raw, dehydrated, home cooked etc, its higher than that. I have no brown spots on my lawn caused by urine-drought yes, urine no, lol. One thing I DO notice -Their urine used to have a stronger smell and we would periodically lime the yard to prevent odor, as well as assist with any browning that we thought might occur. I just realized that this year, we had no odor even on the hottest/most humid of days, and never limed once this year. For us, the increased protein has had a positive effect on the ‘output”

    I am just as uncomfortable feeding a protein level higher than the 33%(for dry) as I would be feeding a protein level under 26% or so.

    in reply to: Calorie Count of dog foods #11255 Report Abuse

    HI there-

    The problem is, its often on the bag, not the website-or you have to call the company directly. I agree it would be nice to have it given to me, lol, but truly the person needing the information can call the company and find out. Mike S does a great job here, and I do realize that its up to me to pursue things further if I feel its warranted : )

    in reply to: Vaccinating #11195 Report Abuse

    Everyone will have an opinion on this topic, and many answers will be as different as night and day, lol. I personally do the puppy series, the one year booster, and then every 3 yrs OR as I deem necessary based on potential exposure. If I have a lot of rescues/strange dogs coming and going, I will booster more frequently. Once they hit 10, I stop vaccinating for everything but rabies(again, assuming a history of vaccines. I give bordetella “as needed”, no longer do lyme(had dogs with reactions) and since we do not have a huge lepto exposure, I do not use a distemper/parvo combo that includes it. I do give Interceptor monthly(right now heartgard due to the shutdown of production) and I use Frontline as needed.

    in reply to: ringworm #11189 Report Abuse

    butchroy-

    You do realize that the cat needs to be kept separate from the other pets-ringworm transmits via spores and all it takes is one flying through the air to cause another to outbreak.

    in reply to: What canned food do you use? #11188 Report Abuse

    We use a variety of canned-Fromm, Vet extension, Blue Wilderness tend to be favorites. I have also used 4health canned chicken in the past. I find the dogs much prefer the days that I use the prepared commercial raw or the Grandma Lucy’s however.

    in reply to: Doggy bones for a dog with pancreatitis history #11088 Report Abuse

    Hi Sophia-

    Try Blue Buffalo Wilderness Weight management(something to that effect, lol ) The fat content, if I recall is 10% and even our most fat sensitive dog could eat it just fine-Another food to try is Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance-chicken-its dehydrated and 8% or so fat. We use it as a topper several times a week.

    in reply to: Help Choosing Dog Food for My 2 Swissies #10790 Report Abuse

    I would second the Abady granular-I feed it to a “hard keeper” with sensitive stomach and to date, she is doing very very well. Have also used it to put weight on two others(mixed with their regular food) and it worked well with all of them ; )

    in reply to: Doggy bones for a dog with pancreatitis history #10789 Report Abuse

    Hi Sophia-

    All dogs are different of course, but I have never had a problem with rawhide and dogs with pancreatitis issues. On the other hand, marrow bones(even with it scooped out) can not be tolerated with mine.

Viewing 20 posts - 451 through 470 (of 470 total)