Dog Owner Chat v3 ~Open!~

[jouska.]

Does anyone know how expensive it would be to switch over a small dog to a raw meat diet? I would also like to know if eight years old is too late to start raw meat for a dog. (Schipperke)

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You know i never really did introduce myself. I just joined out of the blue because I saw this thread as a place to talk about dogs. which is awesome by the way, some of the users on here have given my great tips and advice!

Do you own a dog?: Yes! We know have two. We have are older dog brownie who is a miniature poodle and Avery are new husky pup! Who is a handful and a half by the way!
Favorite dog breed?: I have multiple favorites but my most favorite would have to be a German Shepard. I've always found it to be a beautiful breed of dog. But then again all dog breeds are beautiful!
Tell us about your dog(s), if you have any!: Alrighty, as stated above we (my family and I) have two dogs a miniature light brown poodle who's I think either ten or eleven years of age who still acts like he's two! He had old eyes as I call it, meaning he's getting a tinge of blue in his dark brown eyes where his pupils are. For a ten/eleven year old dog he is quite active. He's my moms dog and he follows her everywhere. He also barks a lot mainly because his eye sight isn't as good as it once was. Oh and he's a picky eater, but we found some high quality dog food that's easier on his system.

Now for my dog, she is a nine/ten week old Siberian husky. She's very active, loves to run, enjoys the outdoors, playing with her family (mainly me), and eating! She's very independent and listens to most commands we give her but she still likes getting into the cat boxes from time to time. There's been a huge improvement since we've gotten her, she's learning her basic commands sit, stay, come, the rules of the house, and how to wear a harness when we go out into the front yard. I will admit she will need puppy classes pretty soon along with other things. As head strong as she is she loves staying close to me, it's made my brother who also plays on here from time to time (WolfLover141) a little jealous. She's learning to go up and down steps by her self, she's mastered to going up part but still has some trouble coming down, but we're working on that. She's in a nipping stage and likes to jump up and try to lick/nip which we are trying to correct, but I might need a few pointers. Other then that she's a pretty good puppy and I wouldn't trade he for the world. ;D

Pictures of your dog(s):I'm on my so I will have to get on my computer to upload the photos.

[shadow~wolf]

I've had Lucky for two weeks. I'm not bored with him. We have been discussing having two dogs before we even got him. Its not sad if its not true.

[Transkitty]

In other news - I may get Lola certified as a service dog. It'll be difficult, as she never went through formal training, but it's fairly simple and actually free where I live as long as I get proof from a doctor that I need an assistance dog.
I have social anxiety and find it difficult to be in public without Lola. When we're out, she checks on me constantly. If she notices that I'm beginning to panic, she'll press against my leg and try to nudge me out of the situation. If it gets severe, she leads me to a chair or bench and nudges my knees to get me to sit before licking my face to calm me.
Which is pretty amazing, as she never had training!
September 20th is when I'm seeing a therapist for evaluation. Fingers crossed they'll sign the paperwork - I'd be overjoyed if they did, as nowadays I hate to leave my house.

We went to the store today and got Lola a new collar and harness, as well as 1lb of glucosamine-chondroitin daily supplement treats.
The collar and harness match - they're white with neon pink chevron, lime green lining, and a lime green tulle flower accent with a rhinestone centre. I wanted to get her a little treat, hehe.
The treats are important as we get more into jumping and agility - we're still not at regulation height, I'm just getting her used to the feeling of a simple course (each jump is about 5in off the ground). Glucosamine and chondroitin are both important for dogs who do anaerobic activities like jumping. I'm getting her hips checked when she goes in for annual vaccines next month, so I can see if she's ok to jump regulation height. I'm pretty sure she'll pass well, as both her parents were heavily health tested and titled, and she herself has full testing including hips, but the papers got stuck in with our storage until we can access it next year. Oops.

Do you live in the US? If so, certification isn't required for a service dog.

[Kasper]

In other news - I may get Lola certified as a service dog. It'll be difficult, as she never went through formal training, but it's fairly simple and actually free where I live as long as I get proof from a doctor that I need an assistance dog.
I have social anxiety and find it difficult to be in public without Lola. When we're out, she checks on me constantly. If she notices that I'm beginning to panic, she'll press against my leg and try to nudge me out of the situation. If it gets severe, she leads me to a chair or bench and nudges my knees to get me to sit before licking my face to calm me.
Which is pretty amazing, as she never had training!
September 20th is when I'm seeing a therapist for evaluation. Fingers crossed they'll sign the paperwork - I'd be overjoyed if they did, as nowadays I hate to leave my house.

We went to the store today and got Lola a new collar and harness, as well as 1lb of glucosamine-chondroitin daily supplement treats.
The collar and harness match - they're white with neon pink chevron, lime green lining, and a lime green tulle flower accent with a rhinestone centre. I wanted to get her a little treat, hehe.
The treats are important as we get more into jumping and agility - we're still not at regulation height, I'm just getting her used to the feeling of a simple course (each jump is about 5in off the ground). Glucosamine and chondroitin are both important for dogs who do anaerobic activities like jumping. I'm getting her hips checked when she goes in for annual vaccines next month, so I can see if she's ok to jump regulation height. I'm pretty sure she'll pass well, as both her parents were heavily health tested and titled, and she herself has full testing including hips, but the papers got stuck in with our storage until we can access it next year. Oops.

Do you live in the US? If so, certification isn't required for a service dog.

Oh, nope! I live in Canada, where I need:

- approval from a doctor saying I need a psychiatric service dog
- my health info
- my dog's health info

Lucky that you don't need a cert in the US

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Any tips on training a dog to:

- Open a door
- Close a door
- Turn lights off
- Turn lights on

Lola naturally puts her paws out when you ask her to "stand", so I'm going to attempt to get her to stand with her paws up close enough to the door that - wow! the door opens and door open = treat. Do you think that will work?

These are the only other things she's supposed to know for being a PSD - everything else she naturally picked up.

[Imzadi83]

I don't know if what your suggesting will work since I can't see whether her paws will naturally reach that height.

Have you done paw targeting with her? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9tOdmJLVl0

[Cardinal]

Does anyone know how expensive it would be to switch over a small dog to a raw meat diet? I would also like to know if eight years old is too late to start raw meat for a dog. (Schipperke)

Depends entirely on how you source and where you're located. I have a 40lb dog and a 55lb dog so obviously its more expensive for me to do raw.. But when Im able to hit good sales and have the time and energy to invest in it.. its only a few cents more per day to feed them raw vs kibble. When I cant hit sales it quickly gets expensive.

I scored an awesome freeze dump that was supposed to be just deer and fish but ended up being deer, rabbit, chicken, doves, pork, beef, and fish. i have probably 25-30 days worth of raw food and it was free.

[Dream~]

I've had Lucky for two weeks. I'm not bored with him. We have been discussing having two dogs before we even got him. Its not sad if its not true.

If I were you I'd wait a while before getting another dog. It's not a good idea for you to get another puppy so soon, I'm sure plenty of others would agree with me.

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I've had Lucky for two weeks. I'm not bored with him. We have been discussing having two dogs before we even got him. Its not sad if its not true.

If I were you I'd wait a while before getting another dog. It's not a good idea for you to get another puppy so soon, I'm sure plenty of others would agree with me.

I'm on the border with this. If you want one and you know you can handle it I say go ahead. If you are having some doubts wait a little while. You may find having one dog is more then enough to handle. just my thoughts on it.

[scozar]

Any tips on training a dog to:

- Open a door
- Close a door
- Turn lights off
- Turn lights on


i don't know about opening, but simba is currently learning to close a door. what i'm doing is teaching him to nose target, say, a piece of paper, then once he knows that sticking it on the door. it's taking a while for him to boop it hard enough for it to shut though haha. i think the same kind of thing could work for light switches? ^_^