Pup's first meaty bone...not a great experience
Hello list members, I'm hoping you can give me some advice regarding Chelsea's first experience with a meaty bone. I was at the butcher's on the weekend, and picked up a big beef knuckle bone to give to our 7 month old berner Chelsea for some recreational chewing. It's better than rawhide, and good for her teeth and gums. Well, she enjoyed it all right. Too much so. I gave it to her outside in the yard, and let her gnaw on it for a bit. She loved it. After about 6-7 minutes, I decided it was time to stop the chewing (didn't want her ingesting too much fat/rich meat so as to upset her tummy). I approched her to take away the bone, and she started growling at me when I got to be about 1 foot away from her! A very nasty sounding growl at that! (no teeth baring, just vocalizations) It got louder as i moved my hand toward the bone. Scary even. So i did the only thing i could think of to get the bone away from her ...i went into the house and cut a nice chunk of cheese. I held that in front of her nose, and she eventually went for it. When she did, i grabbed the bone. This is a very concerning situation for me, as she has NEVER growled at me (or anyone, or any dog) before. I wouldn't say she is overly possessive of her toys, but she doesn't give them up on command that easily either. We've taken her to a puppy manners class, followed by a formal obedience class (all using positive reinforcement techniques). We learned how to do the "give" command, and i've been practicing it with her, but she's not doing ALL that great at it. Still, she's never growled at me until this meaty bone incident. She is not protective of her food (kibble) either. I can stick my hands in her bowl, take it away whenever, and she never even flinches. Doesn't mind at all. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Based on this past episode, i'd almost rather not give her the bone if it's going to elicit that sort of reaction. Obviously the ideal situation would be to work with her so she learns not to growl or be possive of the bone, so that we can continue giving them to her. Help, please (sorry this is so long winded!) Thanks so much! Alison & Chelsea (i want my meaty bone back NOW!!!)
Re: free Abady food
Just a thought...in case you don't get any takers for the food, I'm sure your local humane society/rescue organization/animal shelter would love the donation! Cheers! alison On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 13:12:17 -0400, Jane Polcovar wrote: > > I have a 35 lb box of giant breed formula Abady (minus > 3 cups) for anyone > who will send a call tag from UPS to ship to them. It > cost me $65 from my > great dane breeder, but my pup was having problems with > it and I've switched > to Canidae. > I hate to waste the Abady, so it's there for the taking. > > Jane > Hudson Valley of NYS
Meaty bones
Hi Everyone, I would like to give Chelsea her first real meaty bone (she is 5 1/2 months old). My problem is, I'm not sure what kind of bone to buy! I've heard people mention beef knuckle bones...but are there any others as well? Do I need to go to a butcher to get this type of bone or other types? Or are there any that I can just buy that are pre-wrapped and in the meat department of my local grocery store? (i'm new to this area of town, and don't really know of a butcher...although I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find one...) Also, is 5 1/2 mos too young to be feeding a pup this? If so, please let me know! As you can probably tell, this is my first berner, and I love learning all the wonderful things this email list has to offer! Thanks! Alison & Chelsea (drool, drool, drool at the thought of the meaty bone!!)
Doggy bug spray
We just came back from a camping trip this weekend, where my poor pooch was constantly swarmed by mosquitos...mostly on the snout/nose where the hair is a lot shorter/non-existent. Of course her owners could slather on the Deep Woods Off, but I don't think i want to put a spray on a dog that contains Deet. Does anyone know where I can buy a dog-friendly mosquito repellent? I'm near Toronto, Canada, so it would have to be available in the area, or available on-line with delivery to Canada. Thanks so much! Alison & Chelsea(thank goodness those skeeters don't live at my house!)
Re: collars
When I showed up with Chelsea at our first puppy class (3.5 mos old), she was wearing her harness. It's a harness she wears in the car so she can be buckled in to the seat belt, but you can also attach it to a leash for walks. The instructor said that when walking/training her, a buckle collar is best, because a harness basically allows the weight that the dog is pulling (you!) to be evenly distributed over the front part of its body frame, allowing the dog to pull harder. And I have to agree. I notice that Chelsea can pull like a horse with her harness on! So walks now are done with her wearing her buckle collar or gentle leader. In my opinion, stick with the buckle collar. Maybe the salesman at the pet store used the word "harness" to mean a gentle leader or halti?? Cheers! Alison & Chelsea (i LIKE wearing my harness mum! why can't i wear it more often??) On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 00:49:23 -0700 (PDT), Rhona Vantine wrote: > > I've long been looking for a nice, rounded, buckle > collar. The flat one that Louis has at the moment is > fine but ruins his hair. > I've looked for a long time now but never come across > one, here in The Netherlands. The other day I was in > a pet shop and a very helpful and very, very tall and > muscular young man explained that I should be using a > harness and not a collar for a dog of Louis's size. > Although Louis is not generally a puller he can be > aggressive with some male dogs. If I see potential > trouble I put the Halti on him. The man explained > that he had a St Bernard and a Mastiff and that his > wife could control them with a harness! I would have > thought you would be fighting the full weight of the > dog using a harness! I've never used a harness on > Louis. Believe me this young man looked like he could > halt a bus ... not sure what his wife looked like! > I don't recall anyone on the List recommending using > a harness for control. Was he right? > Rhona Vantine > > __ > Do you Yahoo!? > SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > http://sbc.yahoo.com
