[Shasta220]

Thank you, Patty! I didn’t know it was called sable, but I knew it was a very common thing. Although since Shasta was my first dog other than a solid black one, and I had no clue on that change, so I was a bit surprised; but after we got Shasta, I saw dog after dog that went through the same color change.

[Shasta220]

I don’t think it’s licking/tears that much, because it’s only on her withers/back. She can’t reach her withers or most of her back, she only licks her legs. Her legs are still shiny black though. She is in the sun a whole lot though.

I have seen shampoos for dull/fading/browning dark coats, does anyone know if they really work?

[Shasta220]

@crazy4cats Is there another name I can call you….I don’t really want to shorten it to “crazy” or “cats” LOL! My name is actually Carlyn 😉 (Shasta is the name of that handsome pooch I’m holding though.)

[Shasta220]

So sorry you got ripped off with BB… Some of their foods are great, but others? Well, you’re just paying for the fancy packaging.

Personally, almost anything on here that’s 4-5 stars is good. I wouldn’t be too picky about getting food for seniors. As crazy4cats said, they’re often lower in the good proteins and fats, and higher in empty fillers. I know a couple dogs on NutriSource GF, they’re both 55-65lb seniors (I think they’re around 13), and they still go on an hour walk/run into the fields every morning. One of them is even known to sometimes jump over a 4ft fence!

I know home made diets with premixes (like the honest kitchen, and See Spot Live Longer) are the favorite around these parts. Orijen and Acana are two of the most beloved dry foods as well. I’d love to have my dogs on either of those, but the price is waaaay out of my personal budget.

Also bumping this so others can see 😉 best wishes!

[Shasta220]

Thank you very much! I had known about those other premixes, but I just don’t have that kind of money.

I thought it seemed a little bit simple and unbalanced, too. Would it be fine if rotated out with their kibble, I wonder?

Definitely, if I get into it, I’ll look into those resources! I won’t be able to ever do a home made diet w my dogs right now, but maybe in a few more years when I’m moved out, I’ll be able to keep a separate fridge/freezer/cabinet just for my poochies! (That’s one of the main reasons aside from cost – there is nooooo room in our fridge/freezer/cabinets to keep dog meat around, and the only way meat around here is affordable, is if you buy a half-cow at a time)

[Shasta220]

Because sometimes it’s both, and other times it’s just one or the other. I’ll have options available that will be more “reliable” ingredient-wise, with no “and/or”, and I’m looking around for garbanzo flour to do grain free! Doubt I’ll use it to replace /all/ grain flour, but at least in a couple. My “competitor” is nowhere near that. All treats have dairy, and only one /doesn’t/ have wheat #1. instead, he uses rice.

The reason being for the eggs is because we own chickens and ducks. Sometimes we have more of one egg in the house, and the flour is a texture issue. It never quite turns out the same, so I have to change the mix just a little bit.

Dogs around here don’t seem to be allergic to much more than the basic wheat/corn/soy (if they are, then their owners are completely unaware). Every dog I’ve met has a treat like milk bone, Purina, Ol Roy, etc. So I’m not too worried about losing potential customers over grain and eggs.

Thank you for the concern. If it raises an issue, then I’ll either scratch the recipe, or fix it so I can keep it always constant 🙂

[Shasta220]

An example of my treats….here are ingredients for the PB: organic flour (rice and/or oat), ground peanuts, organic duck and/or chicken eggs, organic unrefined coconut oil

[Shasta220]

I think it’ll be fine if it’s just the name, and I say made with organic ingredients. I might come up with another name if you guys are having such a fit, though…

Like I say, I’ve seen “organic” slapped on a lot of labels, when only a few of the ingredients were actually organic…

[Shasta220]

I think it’ll be fine as long as I keep the majority of it organic. I’ve seen lots of things labeled as organic when only 20-60% of the ingredients are. At least 60% of my ingredients will be. I’ll be sure to mark whether or not an ingredient is organic, too.

[Shasta220]

I think my favorite name will have to be Delicious Organic Goodness. I think I’ll change it to D.O.Goodies, though. Congrats, Aleksandra! Message or post a favorite pic of your dog on here and I’ll draw him! =D

[Shasta220]

It depends on what your dog is sensitive to. Usually the most common things for sensitive dogs to avoid would be most grains, and then sometimes even potatoes or chicken. Try something grain free and without chicken. If he does well on that, add either chicken or grain back in and see if it affects him. There are lots of other things dogs can be intolerant to, from tomatoes to fish! See if your vet can do an allergy test, or try an elimination diet.

Also try adding some coconut oil for an extra skin-boost. 1tsp per 10lb of bodyweight, but start with only about 1/4 the amount, gradually building up.

Many people do home made diets for sensitive dogs. The Honest Kitchen is one of the favorites around here I know.

[Shasta220]

Trying different things also seems to make a picky eater. I know rotational diets are super beneficial, but when I tried them, my boy was starting to get finnecky. He would’t /refuse/, but it took a lot of coaxing.

Have you tried the 20 minute rule? I doubt it’ll help, since he already starves himself, but put the bowl down for 20m, if he refuses, put it away until next mealtime.

[Shasta220]

I’m really sorry about this. It’s especially tough with the little guys, because they can’t afford to lose weight – and I’m guessing he has the proper slim build already, no extra pudge to him?

What do you feed him? Back before I knew about dog nutrition, my parents only wanted the cheapest, so my poor baby got stuck with grocery store foods. I kept telling mom to /at least/ get Dog Chow (believe it or not, it was good compared to these foods), because he would starve himself for 3-4 days at a time. When he did eat, he’d only eat 1/2 scoop instead of 1-2 scoops. After enough begging, I finally did some research and found a 3 star food we could move to without breaking the bank. He didn’t have a problem at all ever since then. Now he’s on a 4star food, and I think he’s our best eater. Slowest one, yes, but he loves his food!

I’d agree, usually loss of appetite can signal some serious health problems, even oral problems. He might not be eating because it hurts something in his mouth or his tummy.

Since he seems to love drinking, I wonder if you could sneak some supplemental additives in there to get at least some nutrition into him?

[Shasta220]

I think the reason is because they can also go to they can easily get to a store for something that /is/ made by Hartz. Spreading the word via internet doesn’t seem to help, as (sorry for being rude) people are idiots. They can’t decipher truth from lies – they see a story that’s obviously fake, and believe it. They see one that is just as obviously real, and they disbelieve it.

Sorry for random vent: but they once laughed and disbelieved a picture that I posted of Shasta and me when he was a puppy. It was because he did something called changing colors and growing up – pretty common with a /lot/ of dogs/breeds. I even added a pic of him and me at 6mo (in the transition period) and they still laughed and cussed me out for having a different dog. Smh.

Ah, here’s that pic: believe it or not, he’s got little-to-no GSD in him. That coloration comes from his hound, he was the only black/tan pup in the litter (others were tricolor, gray, or black)

[Shasta220]

I posted other suggestions to slow down eating in your other post.

Gas can be signs of intolerance to ingredients, I believe. Try the acv, as it helped my guy (he only needed it for 2-3 days, and now he’s fine), or even try activated charcoal. I think Swanson sells 120 capsules for about 4-5$.

[Shasta220]

Definitely agree with Sue. Feeding a kibble at a time (or if you don’t want to take /that/ long, then a handful at a time) is a great way for bonding, and use it to teach good manners. My first dog, Cassy, was a puppy when I was a “puppy”, so I never got the chance to start her with a good “take it nice” and now in her old age, she will still nearly bite my fingers off.
One of my more recent boys I got as a pup, I made sure “take it nice” was the first thing he learned. He got so good at it that I could have my whole hand in his mouth, and he wouldn’t lay a single tooth on anything but the treat (did I forget to mention that he was a “vicious pit bull”? He must not have known…)

[Shasta220]

Sadly they’ll all be grain inclusive (although I need to buy some potato starch and experiment), but I like your straight forward approach! I don’t have resources to do all organic, but I figured doing even 50-70% of the ingredients organic, nobody would complain much.

Oh, and just for clarity: Shasta is the name of one of my dogs as well, not me ;D my name is Carlyn. I have always used “Shasta220” as my username for almost every internet account, that’s why it’s my username.

Edit: they’re grain inclusive, but I’m keeping corn/wheat out for sure. There’s another local treat seller at the farmers markets, and he’s been around for a while. He gears towards just the flavors…all but one flavor has wheat as the #1 ingredient, and they use milk powder, egg, bacon fat, then whatever other flavors…personally, I wouldn’t feed em to my sensitive pups. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that dog owners around here are going to be as picky about treat ingredients as I am.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by Shasta220.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by Shasta220.

[Shasta220]

Cows are most definitely far from dumb. They may be stubborn, instinctual, and oblivious. A combination of those comes out as dumb, but it’s definitely not! I know someone who has a TLH farm, and her cows are solely for breeding and riding. She loves what she does, and prefers the longhorns over horses (she says they’re smarter than the horses in the arena….not sure I completely agree w that, but they’re doggone smart animals! Slow doesn’t mean dumb.)

I’m honestly very very glad I got my Iggy. I originally wanted a horse, but dad said no and got a cow instead. I still would love to have a horse, but my cow is the best! I take him for walks into town, teach him tricks, chase him around (playfully, not to scare him), and let kids come to play w him. He’s awesome!

Dori, hilarious about your dogs and dancing! Sometimes I’ll take Shasta’s front feet and boogie around w him. He wags his tail the whole time, but his face reads “mom. This is embarrassing.” Other than that I’m not a dancer at all aside from some head-bobbing and toe-tapping. I guess I get my music fix from playing hymns, contemporary, and Bach every day xD

[Shasta220]

Oh my gosh! I’m loving them so far…..I’ll give you another day to try coming up with some more that I might like, but two thumbs up, girl!!!!!!!

[Shasta220]

Geez, I knew Hartz was bad….but wow. Why the heck haven’t they been shut down if there are so many deadly cases?!?!?

[Shasta220]

I remembered that about the pH balance. Humans, horses, and cows can intermingle. None of my dogs seem to be too sensitive, so I’m not terribly worried. Aleksandra, I’ll look into that one as well.

I’ve been on a random shampoo spree the past few months. I have 3-4 shampoo/conditioner sets myself as I’m trying to find something that works super well (my hair is quite irritating to say the least!), and I have at least 4-5 jugs of dog shampoo… I need to avoid the shampoo section until I’m down to 1-2 bottles lol!

[Shasta220]

I am not a fan of most Walmart shampoos and I avoid Hartz as well. I know other shampoos are a bit spendier, but dogs only need baths every 3-8wks, and even my big dogs only need a couple tablespoons or so to do the job, so it’s not adding much extra to the monthly splurge.

I’ve used a horse shampoo once on my dogs (that Mane n Tail. Bought it for myself. Hated it. So now it’s getting used up on the dogs, cow, and pony). I’ve never thought of using essential oil human shampoos – I believe we have that brand even! I’ll look into that for sure!

You guys are so evil lol! Look at all these shampoos I’m gonna have to try! I think my dogs will be dead before I get a chance to try em all, and they sound so great XD

So, what is it about most human shampoos that’s “bad” for dogs? I’ve read all over to avoid them. Is it just because the cheaper ones with sulfates are too harsh on the skin, but sulfate-free ones would be okay?

Ah yes, climate is a huge clencher. We are on the humid Oregon coast. The average year-round is 58* with an overcast. Gets a bit wetter during spring/fall, really gross during winter, and maybe a bit warmer in summer with a chance of seeing that sun!

[Shasta220]

Love love love LOVE IT!!!!!!! 😀 I had seen this one a while back. I seriously need to get some music going for Iggy! rofl!!! Maybe I should teach him a few stepping dance moves?

[Shasta220]

I’ve not tried that brand. I’d assume it would be fine, as most dogs aren’t too picky about the protein flavor. It’d be good it alternate between the two as well!

[Shasta220]

Ah, I’ve not even thought of trying acv for residue. I don’t think it’d work on that oil based stuff though. I will have to look into the Burt’s Bees. I’ve tried a few of their other products and loved them!

[Shasta220]

Many people love Orijen and Acana. Agreed with kvee about the legumes. Wellness Core is a good one, too.

[Shasta220]

Again on the gulping – I wouldn’t worry too much about buying fancy bowls when you could have a DIY version for a fraction of the cost 😉 my guy gets half his meal as treats when we work obedience. I have him work, then give him a few Kibbles as reinforcement. The other half is either in a bowl mixed w his supplements, or stuffed into a kong. 🙂

[Shasta220]

You guys are all awesome. I’m pursuing to be a dog trainer, and all this info is just amazing!!!

I guess I didn’t describe his behavior too thoroughly: he’s got a lot of “instincts” going on as well. I’d love to get him into herding or Treiball to redirect it, but there is just nowhere to do it (people suggest letting him herd my cow. My cow thinks he’s a dog, so it doesn’t work out LOL).

He is fantastic with people. Never has attacked anyone (except he freaked at a couple old bearded men…they creeped me out too, so I didn’t mind lol).
Soon as he sees a new dog though? A switch flicks and he gets tense and fussy. If the other dog is anxious too, he goes nuts. He mellows down when he’s sitting, but when moving it’s almost impossible to redirect his focus.
I don’t see it as aggression at all, I like to call it fear-anxiety. One trainer had her chill dog and had him stand. We let Loki approach his rear, Loki nipped at him nervously, sniffed, then was fine. I also think he has a degree of leash reactivity; because once he was in an open field and a tiny dog approached him. Immediately I thought, “great! I have to apologize to the owner for my dog killing theirs…” But Loki just followed it and sniffed it. When it growled/snapped, he was fine.
Other times, he does have aggression. He’s got into several scuffles with my other dog, Shasta. Whenever they run together, Loki will almost always growl and bite Shasta’s legs.

I’m sorry if I’m doing a lousy job at describing him….he’s one of those cases where you’d have to see to understand.

Haywood, Aussie/ACD was my first thought when we adopted him. I was researching Kelpies out and saw that he has some very very similar physical/personality traits, plus I saw an Aussie/Kelpie that looked /almost/ exactly like him (the only difference was that it had more Merle to black ratio, and both ears were flopped at the tip instead of just one)

[Shasta220]

Thanks, Cyndie! It’s fairly common, I guess. I didn’t even realize it until a couple days after we brought him home. I thought it was just the shading in his eye! From a distance, it always looks like he’s squinting lol

[Shasta220]

I’m honestly not sure what exactly causes gas. I’m assuming she’s up to date on wormers? Gas is often a sign of worms in pups.

For the gulping: Try putting her daily food into a kong or other treat-toy. I’ve also heard that spreading it out on a big cookie-sheet helps because they have to lick up a few pieces at a time. I even heard one genius idea to put a giant link-chain in the food bowl, so they have to lick through the links!

I know many people use yogurt to help with gas. My boy gets gassy too (like, stay outta the room kinda gas!) sometimes. I have no idea why, but one day when I added a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to his food, the gas disappeared within a day! (If you do the ACV, I’d suggest only 1/4-1/2tsp mixed with at least 1tsp water) Probably just coincidence, though. I’ve also heard of using activated charcoal or chlorophyll – they’re supposed to help with several digestive problems.

[Shasta220]

I’d agree with Sandy for the premixes. I know most people say that rotating the proteins out is good due to the different amino acids in meats. If you don’t have a premix, then possibly add nutrient-dense veggies with egg, oils, etc. and probably an overall supplement. Most people avoid fruit unless they’re super dense in nutrition, as they add a lot of sugar.
I don’t know much on home made diets, just what I’ve learned from being on here 😉

[Shasta220]

Aimee, I do see what you mean about reinforcing the wrong behavior. I am not quite seeing it as rewarding the wrong, because I immediately am asking for his attention when we go into the room, and he comes right back out within a few seconds. The trainer knew a severely aggressive dog (WAY worse than Loki, she said….hard for me to imagine!). Every time there was something “scary” and the dog got tense, the trainer would walk in the opposite direction – away from it. Eventually they moved the dog into a class similar to Loki’s and gradually got her closer and closer. Now she is amazing around new dogs.

Sue, I don’t believe he was born with a stubby tail, actually. I have almost no doubt that it was cropped. It has 2-4 kinks in it, as if it was in an accident or possibly tied off with a rope when he was a pup. He adores people, but is very very frightened of older men with beards…I wonder if that says anything about him.
I’ve tried agility with him. He has zero desire for it. He hates the jumps, ignores the weave poles, and refuses the dogwalk/teeter. I do my other dog, Shasta, in it though. He’s great at it.
Aww thanks, his “good looking” is one of the main things that made me fall in love….that and his happy-go-lucky-“take-me-home” personality at the shelter =D

Aquariangt, I’m not sure how well lavender would work. It doesn’t work very well on me, personally; but I have seen some lavender calming treats in PetCo before. I will definitely need to look into making those! I wonder how much dried lavender would cost… Brilliant idea though 😉

[Shasta220]

Dori, I entirely respect your opinion. I thank you very much for standing up for it as well. There are cases where I don’t think a harness would work – like a large dog who’s been spoiled for a bit too long. That dog already knows he’s stronger than me, and he’s gonna drag me around if I put a harness on him. Yes, I was in that situation. I was asked to work with a 100lb Rottie/GSD who was a freight train. I attempted the harness with him, got down to the end of the road (opposite end I was aiming for), reached up to hold his collar, and bring him back to the house to reassess. I ended up using just a flat collar on him since I had nothing else. Within a day, he was doing a great loose-lead heel on my cue.

I definitely avoid the pinch/chokers whenever I can (I saw a gruesome pinch collar once….it was basically a leather slip collar. It only had 5 little double-spikes, but they were literally like sharpened nails! They weren’t that classic round blunt at all. I was disgusted to see it!). If I went collar-less for a big coo-coo dog, then I’d probably go with a head collar (yes, I’d let the dog get used to it….I hate seeing people who just throw one on the dog and immediately start pulling/scolding) or I might try one of those front-clip harnesses.

The only reason why I don’t use a harness on my well-trained boy is because I’ve already engrained in his mind that when the harness goes on, he’s allowed (and encouraged) to pull. Quite useful when I’m going up a hill though!

It’s also wonderful that you have the determination to teach a perfect heel (or at least somewhat at your side/loose leash) to your dogs with a harness 😉 we need more trainers like that out in this world.

I’ve also seen some AWESOME methods to teach a show-stopping heel. The best part? The trainer didn’t even start with a leash, OR the dog at his side. He started by teaching it to keep it’s front paws on a target and pivot it’s hips around. Sounds pretty unrelated to heel, right? I’ll have to show you the video if I ever find it….it’s so cool!

[Shasta220]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Blue_Heeler_Q.jpg
That heelers colors are similar to Loki, but it is more of a unison blue rather than the random blotches that make up Merle coloration.
I’m just not seeing any Heeler coloration in him…I’ve looked at hundreds of images as well. He also doesn’t have that “thick” build, his head is very narrow. There’s a huge possibility he has Heeler though, as I have said: he’s quite the “snapper” haha!

By the way: you guys just call them Blue (or Red) Heelers? I’ve heard of the name Queensland Heeler as well….read somewhere that people in Australia use that one. You’re in Australia – right? Is it common to hear Queensland Heeler as a name for the cattle dog?

[Shasta220]

Yes, I think he may have Heeler in him. The color resembles blue Merle much much more than it does the blue color of heelers though. He had a very soft double-coat (only double during winter months).

I’ve narrowed it down to 4 breeds that he has at least two of: Australian Kelpie (he has a frame much like one), Heeler (veeeery strong jaws, and attempts to snap at the feet of anything moving), Aussie (blue Merle color is the only reason, really.), and border collie (he also has a natural tenancy to do the crouch-and-stare when he sees something to potentially herd). I’ve done research on all four of those breeds. He has certain characteristics of all of them, in my opinion.

I don’t think there’s anything outside of those four herding breeds….who knows? Maybe he came from someone who was trying to invent a new herding hybrid with traits of all those! XD pics don’t do much justice….always seems different in real life, but here are a few more..

(Hehehehe….can’t resist adding his derpty-derp face!)

[Shasta220]

Marie, I haven’t tried a thunder shirt yet….I’m quite low on funds to say the least LOL! I may look into it, though. I wonder if I’d ever be able to just try one and return it if it didn’t work out…
Our training options are very very limited around here. Honestly there are only the two trainers from obedience classes that I can think of that would do the home calls like that. They charge 200$+ for home things….I just can’t drop that kind of money for something that I don’t think will work (especially since I stayed 20-30m after each obedience class, just asking questions and “gathering info” on their opinions for a solution to his issue. First trainer told me I wasn’t being bossy/assertive enough. If I was any more “assertive”, my dog would have been dead pretty much. It was not a boss issue for his attacking, it was him basically telling me “I’m scared to death, so I’m defending myself against these dogs…”). There aren’t any behavioralists/therapists around here either, I’ve asked.

Oh yes…Aimee, I tend to agree with the collar. In Loki’s first class, she had the poor guy on a pinch. Sure, it gave me more control, but it just aggravated him more. I’d imagine it made him think something was biting him, so he needed to defend out of fear and bite back. I deserved the 5 bruises and couple welts I got on my calf/shin, LOL! In this class, he’s on a head collar. It works much better since it is more of a guide to him. I’ll admit, it’s rather annoying when he shoves his snout between my legs, hahaha! He doesn’t like having that on his face (don’t worry. He’s getting used to it and isn’t scared of it at all. He just knows that he can swipe it off, so he tries.)

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by Shasta220.

[Shasta220]

Aimee, appreciate your reply (thanks for not putting down Cesar…). Sounds like a very interesting book for sure, I’ll look into that. I guess I forgot to describe his classes better:

First class was more like doggie boot camp. The trainer is very very strict and corrective, she makes the dogs /really/ work for an award. I will not put her down, I have a huge amount of respect for what she does. I even did my other dog in her class (he was already a pro, but needed to brush up around a distractive situation like that) and he passed with flying colors and a wagging tail. There were about 20 other students though, so it just doesn’t work for a reactive dog like Loki.

Current class: only a couple weeks into it (it’s a 5wk course), but it’s much better for Loki. It’s positive reinforcement (personally I don’t think it’s working for the other people, as they are trying to always hold the treat in sight of the dog as a bribe rather than a reward) There are only 5-7 other dogs, and there is an extra room for Loki to go in. The wall is low enough for me to see and him to hear/smell, but he can get out of sight. Gradually, we leave the door open and let him come out bit by bit. If he has a freak-attack, we simply go back I the little room, take a deep positive breath, and go back out when calm. Since he already knows his obedience quite well from doggie boot-camp (first class), we work mainly on the cue for “watch me”. I was so dang proud of him when he maintained eye contact even when a dog barked at him (just one time. But hey! When I adopted him, he would have been freaking if a dog was laying down calmly across the room!)

[Shasta220]

I will have to say though, I do like Cesar…sorry, guys. I’ve tried his techniques on my other dogs and they are beautiful creatures with amazing behavior and respect today. I will say – there we many methods, and I believe that they all (short of flat-out improper ones like hitting/screaming) can work, if executed properly that is. On the flip-side, any method can make a dog worse if executed even a tiny bit wrong *holds fingers in a pinch*

I don’t want to start an argument though, please…can we respect each others’ opinions? I do not like being against anyone… 🙂

[Shasta220]

Thanks all for the help. Patty, you know, he may have border collie in him. I really have no clue, since he was a rescue. The only reason why I say he has Aussie is due to the Merle/blue eyes….and it’s quite uncommon for a bc to have the blue eyes/Merle (although I have seen many pictures of them, yes.) He does the crouch down-stare thing whenever he sees something.

[Shasta220]

Yep. I have a tablet too, and managed to get a gravatar account going. After you get a pic on that account, you may need to wait a few minutes then reload DFA’s page for it to appear 🙂

[Shasta220]

I’m not too sure as I’ve never dealt with potato allergies. If you have a food w/o any of those ingredients, you could possibly try to feed him some sweet potato and see if it does anything within a week or two.

[Shasta220]

I do personally believe dogs would need an amount of fiber. Agreed with Patty- hair (or feathers) would act like fiber in a wild canine’s diet. Also, I’d tend to think that a canine would consume the prey’s stomach, and therefore would get any fibrous vegetation from inside.
It definitely is WAY easier to get too much fiber vs too little, as almost all kibble is plant-based

[Shasta220]

Or get him a big black spike collar! XD

[Shasta220]

Very interesting. Thank you, Patty.

[Shasta220]

Crazy how different prices are! For me, Victor is nowhere around. I’ve looked online, but it’s all about 50-70$ for a 20-30# bag (yes, including shipping – usually) then my lucky-dog friend is able to buy 40# bags for 30$! Yes, I’m jealous!!!! LOL!!!

I can’t remember how much NutriSource is around here. I wanna say for a 35-40# bag, it’s about 50-60$. I just ended up getting a bad first impression on it. I may try it again in the future as I’m pretty sure I know what happened:

Cassy (our senior lab) had been on 1-3 star food her whole life. She had horrible skin problems, so I decided it was time to save up and get a 4-5 star food. I /did/ transition her from the 2 star up to the 4 star, but it made her flare up to disgusting levels (50% of her skin was raw. She had to wear a cone and a sweater until the vet’s meds started working! Even then, her feet tore through the sweater and she could chew on her tail…poor baby).

I’ve never tried NutriSource again, just because I’m so scared it may have had some odd ingredient she reacted to, but now she is on similar 4 star foods and doing fabulously!

[Shasta220]

It seems like Victor lovers enjoy NutriSource and Diamond products (Diamond Naturals, Taste of the Wild, Chicken Soup, etc). I’d agree with Patty, it’s probably not the best food…maybe 2-3 stars.

[Shasta220]

I’m not much help, as I’ve never dealt personally with overweight dogs. Possibly making one of his meals just a tiny bit smaller even? Try to keep exercise as much as possible, I know it’ll be hard with this injury, but inactivity gives the snowball effect. The less he moves, the less he’ll want to move. Even starting with maybe a nice 10min walk, then gradually doing 2 walks daily and increasing the distance.

I’ve never heard of that green bean diet, so I’m holding my hands up – I have no clue if it’s good or not. I’ll wait for one of our “gurus” to come give their thoughts 😉

[Shasta220]

I don’t know too much about allergies, but I honestly don’t recommend Hills at all. It sounds like it’s probably some sort of food allergy. Dogs can get sensitive to the most inconvenient things like chicken, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. I wonder if getting an allergy test or doing an elimination diet might help?

If the allergies at all seem seasonal, then there’s the slight chance that honey might help. It has to be raw and local, add a spoonful to her meal every day. It’ll probably only help if they /are/ seasonal allergies, but I’ve known people who had dogs with disgusting skin, and had miracle transformation after being on that!

[Shasta220]

For a very small dog, then I’d find keeping a lower collar to be fine. But I’m still going to stick with high collars. Yes, there’s a greater chance to hurt the dog; however, if the leash is in good hands that understand teaching heel and correcting /doesn’t/ always need pulling/yanking, then it’ll be fine. Higher up the neck is definitely more sensitive, so a well-trained dog (and experienced owner) will respond with just a slight “flick” of the leash, aka even the smallest amount of pressure on the collar.

I’ve had my dog on a high-up slip or pinch all the while I’ve owned him, and he’s never been injured or displayed pain at all. That’s ONLY because I somewhat know what I’m doing, and understand that that collar is there solely for a correction, but never as a restraint for the dog.

But for sure, if you’re an inexperienced trainer, or have an inexperienced dog, then keeping a harness or low collar is fine. As long as the dog still respects the leash and doesn’t play tow-boat with you…

One of my boys thinks he’s Mr. Perfect (he’s a total grump around other dogs, and since he has hound/husky, he will magically go “deaf” when running in an open area…other than that, yes, he’s perfect LOL!)… He loooooves to do perfect heeling. He will randomly come up to me when I’m doing the chores, and just stay by my side to get attention. I usually just use a loose buckle collar w him, since he’s smart enough to respond as soon as he hears the leash clip making the tags jingle (meaning, I don’t even have to tug to give him a correction). Sometimes he decides to be Mr. Moody though and disregard corrections. I pop a slip or pinch on him, after just one or two little tugs, he knows I mean business and goes back to Mr. Perfect.

[Shasta220]

Ah thank you. I’ll reduce the amount then (just FYI, she’s about 70lbs), that’s a relief for me, to say the least!

I think part of it is that we finally got organic unrefined. Previously, we only had refined oil, which has no taste/smell, so she gobbled it up.

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