The Dog Food Files Part 2: More Food does not equal More Love

Originally Posted 4/13/11.

Podgy pooch Cassie has begun a strict diet after ballooning to over nine stone because she'd been allowed to gorge on roast dinners, takeaways, and fish and chips. The seven-year-old border collie looks almost seal-like after years of unhealthy eating left her over three times the weight she should be. Cassie was brought into the Dog's Trust re-homing centre in Kenilworth, Warks., tipping the scales at 58kg when she should be 18-20kg. They have now been given the task of helping Cassie to slim down so she can be re-homed with a loving family but fear it will take them at least a year. The hefty hound, who is too fat to stand up to eat and suffers painful bed sores all over her body from lying down too often, lived alone with her elderly female owner - who regularly served her gut-busting treats like fish and chips on Fridays and full roast dinners on Sundays.
Picture: rossparry.co.uk / Glen Minikin

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8437486/Pictures-of-the-day-8-April-2011.html  

I was forwarded this picture from a friend and my jaw literally dropped when i read the article.  This poor border collie girl weighed an astounding 127.6 pounds.  (That is the same as my Qwill, Trophy and Shiner combined!!)  All because she was fed dinners of fish and chips and clearly not exercised as she should.

Ask any of my dogs and they will tell you I starve them, and to please offer them some more cookies for their empty tummies.

My dogs are liars.

Feeding Guidelines on dog food bags are just suggestions.  Each dog is an individual with their own metabolic rate.  Qwill and Trophy, for example are about the same weight at 45 pounds.  Qwill can gain weight by breathing air, Trophy loses weight while sleeping.  Qwill eats 1 1/4 cups of food divided by two meals, and Trophy usually eats 2 cups per day.

When training, it is best to use tiny pieces of treats.  The size of the treat is not important - the act of giving the treat to your dog is what is rewarding.  Offer them one large chunk of food, and it is still only one treat... but break that large piece into 5 treats and your dog has a jackpot!  In that aspect dogs are like children.  Try to trade a child 3 pennies for their quarter and see how excited they are to now have 3 coins!

So how much food should you feed?  I'll cover that in Part 3.

Merry Christmas!

The Dog Food Files: Part 1 Top 5 dog foods that make my skin crawl

Originally Posted 4/29/11. Edited.

I've been trying to write this article for several WEEKS.  It's not as easy as you would think to write an article on pet food.  Mainly because a lot of people feed the foods I'm about to talk about and some probably don't hear what I have to say.  Others, however, probably don't know any better.  The foods I list below have large marketing campaigns that have made their food public knowledge and have designed their packaging to be pleasing to the eye.  What would happen to the quality of the dog food, I wonder, if they stopped spending billions on large advertising campaigns and instead used the money to, I don't know, buy better ingredients?  Food for thought right there.

Stick around to the end of the article - ESPECIALLY if you feed any of the foods listed below - I'll go over some dog foods that are of higher quality and how to pick the right food for your dog.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE LIST!

My Heart Is Breaking

My Macaroni Man is getting adopted tomorrow.... buy the most horrible person possible.

The rescue decided that the very day the radiologist called and told them that Mac's "suggested OCD" that was so small they couldn't see it and if he doesn't limp in the next two months it means he healed himself and will be able to compete in ANY SPORT without restriction, they decided to adopt him out to the only approved application that had come in for him.  That application happens to be from a woman who helped care for him when he lived at the golf course (the golf course that ruined him and wanted to have him PTS when he was limping instead of fixing him and had a 10 month old puppy 7 pounds overweight).

So my Mac.  My lovely Macaroni Man is going right back into the hell he came from.

And the rescue is fine with that.

Scratch the fact that I told them I finally found a SPORT home interested in him... but no, since they don't have any other applications in RIGHT NOW, they apparently don't matter.

I am so heartbroken.

I feel like I failed him.

Missing The Point

I recently had to take down my dog training blog I wrote through work because corporate policies changed and the old training methods aren't compatible with the new methods.  It's a bunch of bologna that I don't want to get into, but I love several of the posts I had written.  So until I start my own training business and can say what I want professionally, I'm going to move some of the posts over here.

Originally posted 10/15/11, Edited


Something that has been on my mind lately is something I think many people forget about in the dog sport world.

Dog training is about the journey, about the bond you build with your dog while teaching them to do awesome behaviors. It is *not* about the awards you win at the end of training when your dog is at competition level - that's just the icing on the cake!  Or at least, in my opinion, that's the way it should be.

If you want your dog to compete in a sport, you need to make sure you understand that your dog (most likely) isn't going to just *GET IT*, you need to brake down the steps in order to teach them what you expect.  You probably need to do some cross training to make sure that your dog isn't only in great physical health, but that they understand body awareness and have the mental strength to navigate a course.  For most dogs it's going to take a long time to learn these complicated behavior chains.

If you focus on the end result you're going to frustrate yourself and, more likely than not, burn out your dog pushing them farther than they are ready to go.  If you ever find your self saying "I want to do this with my dog, but I don't want to put the work in to get them there" then perhaps it's time to reevaluate your goals.

Teaching your dog - teaching them anything from sit, to shake, to maneuvering an agility course, or running flyball should be just as fun as the titles you add to their names.

You're going to have good days. You're going to have bad days. You're going to have days where you are going to swear your dog forgot every single thing you ever taught him.   Then you're going to have those magical days where everything clicks, it all comes together and you feel on top of the world.

And those days are going to make the journey seem so worthwhile.

If I Had A Million Dollars: 11 Dog Breeds I Must Own (Or Own Again) Before I Die

Yesterday I highlighted the dog breeds you couldn't pay me to own.  Today I will highlight the breeds that I would really, really like to own someday (or, you know, own more of).

Number 1: Border Collies

Obviously.  I love this breed. I love everything about this breed.  I will never NOT own a border collie, and seriously if I own nothing but border collies for the rest of my life, that will be ok.

Number 2: Australian Shepherds

Similar to my borders, but with silly, and sometimes stubborn tendencies.  Bouncier. Much Bouncier.

Number 3: English Setters - Field Variety Only

What can I say, I really love Pan.  I totally would own another setter some day. Even though she's twitchy.  Has to be the field variety, however.  I like their structure better, lighter bone.

Number 4: Boston Terriers

I'm really not a huge fan of little dogs.  Primarily because they pee everywhere, and I'm afraid my dogs will eat them.  I think a Boston could really hold his own in my house.  I used to dislike Bostons when I worked at a vet clinic, but this is one breed that working with in daycare has brought me around to.

Number 5: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Again, not a fan of little dogs, but I just LOVE cavies!  They are some of the sweetest dogs I've ever met.  The dog pictured was named Tiffany, she died very, very unexpectedly over a year ago and we ALL still miss her.  As in randomly someone will say "I miss Tiffany" out of the blue at least twice a month.  Lots of health problems in the breed, unfortunately.

Number 6: Whippets (perhaps also and Italian Greyhound)

Whippets were on my list before I started playing flyball, but even more so now.  :)  I think Trophy would have a ball with a Whippet in the house since playing chase is his favorite game.

Number 7: Dachshunds

Confession: I really want I doxie so I can post pictures of my wiener on the internet. (I currently have an obsession with posting other people's wieners on the internet, since i don't have one).  This is one breed that hasn't been spoiled by one bad dog (as we have one at work whom I LOATHE).  Surprisingly we don't have that many bad ones in the bunch as this breed is known for bad attitudes and biters.

Number 8: German Short-haired Pointers

I don't really have a reason behind liking this breed, other than this is Addie, and I love her.  She is probably Trophy's best friend at work.  She's smart, and reminds me a lot of my borders.

Number 9: Staffordshire Bull Terriers

I really want a pitbull type dog, and I think the staffy is the right fit for me. Small but tenacious. Love the 3 on my flyball team.

Number 10: Ibizan Hound and/or Saluki

In the hound world I like the sight hounds. Out of the sight hounds I think these two are at the top of my list, not many actively playing flyball either, but I think they could excel at it.  I love the graceful look of these dogs gained from their long legs.  Beautiful movers. (Photo courtesy of Marissa Jo)

Number 11: Great Dane

I bet this one is a surprise, especially how I crossed off several breeds yesterday because they were too big and drooly.  I've loved Danes for a while... unfortunately Trophy STRONGLY disagrees (we had an incident at a dog park involving a Dane and Trophy just can't get over it).  And then... there is that problem about the drool.  Probably (unfortunately) never going to own one (especially while Trophy is alive, and he's never allowed to die, so there), but I surf the Dane rescues every now and again and dream.

Runner's up:
Chinese Crested - the hairless ones look like PONIES!


So tell me!  What dog breeds do YOU want to own some day?

Not For A Million Dollars: 11 Dog Breeds I Could Never Own

Working for the past three and a half years in a dog daycare will open your eyes to a lot of things. For me it has opened my eyes to the depth of human stupidity, and also to several dog breeds that you could not PAY me to own.

Of course, this is a very subjective subject. My findings are mainly based on the dogs i have come in contact with; many of whom are problem dogs at home who are brought to daycare because it is cheaper than hiring a trainer. Also, many breeds are owned by people who should NOT own a certain breed either because they are too busy/lazy to give the dog what it needs or by just being totally oblivious (see note above about witnessing the depth of human stupidity).

If your breed of choice is on this list and is perfectly well behaved and amazing, that's awesome. I would love to meet him/her.  Truly I know that some of my issues with the dogs below come from ownership issues and not from the breed itself (and in that case i applaud you for being an above average owner).

...but you still couldn't pay me to own one.

So please, do not take the following as a stab in the heart if your breed is listed, ok? :)

Number 1: American Bull Dogs

These dogs are my number 1 pet peeves at work.  99% of them we have severe problems with, mostly because their owners are oblivious to their dog's social problems.

Number 2: Mastiffs (any variety)

Mostly because they are bigger than anything I would ever want to own... and I think they are uuuuugly.

Number 3: Old English Bulldogs

Walking health catastrophes...  I think the thing that pisses me off the most about the breed is how oblivious breeders and owners are to their problems. It's sad.  Also, their facial structures lead to many a dog fight because they can't show normal canine emotions.

Number 4: Boxers

 Lack of self control and inability to play nicely puts this dog on my list.  The fact that my neighbors own a boxer and he is a royal PITA doesn't help their case.  Years ago previous neighbors had a boxer and I loved her... not anymore. Ruined by doggy daycare for me.

Number 5: St. Bernards

Too big and waaay too much drool.

Number 6: Rottweilers

Another dog that was ruined for me.  Another neighbor had a rottie who practically purred she was so sweet. Now I strongly dislike them.

Number 7: Beagles

Cute until they open their mouths, and then I want to rip out their vocal chords.

Number 8: Huskies

My roommate in college had a husky.  Hate them. They are mean, and they almost always bite when you try to touch them or move them, and god forbid you try to take them by the collar.   Lots of dog fights involve huskies at work.

Number 9: German Shepherd Dogs

This one makes me a little sad to include as I love the herding breeds.  With one exception, every single GSD I have met at work has severe mental disorders or anxieties.  This breed is a mental nightmare, and don't get me started on structure... Not to mention they like to run up behind other dogs, grab them by the neck, and drag them to the ground while running full speed.  Drives me NUTS.

Number 10: Doodles (any poodle mix "designer breed")

For being the product of a breeding of an incredibly smart dog (poodles) I am so surprised by how DUMB these dogs are.

Number 11: Golden Retrievers

Another breed that is supposed to be intelligent   I strongly believe that the brains have been completely bred out of this dog.  I need a dog with a brain.

Runner up:  Labrador Retrievers.
Another dog that has suffered from having the brains bred out.  I think I could own a lab, because I know that I would be able to turn his/her mushy brain into something worthwhile and Trophy is half lab... but they are LOW LOW LOW LOW on my list.

Ok... so what dog could you never own?

(Follow up, dogs I must own before I die coming soon!)