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Just adopted a dog
Dr. Gero
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey all,
My family and I adopted a 2.5 yr-old Shepard/Husky male yesterday and this our first pet (well, besides the fish). He seems very affectionate and quiet (I've only heard him bark twice), and loves to follows us around the house. I was delighted to see that he was housebroken and crate trained. He tend to pull on the leash when we take him outside, so I've been following this guide. We're planning to go to Petsmart tonight to pick up food, grooming supplies, and some more toys.
My questions: what specific products or books I should keep an eye out for? As of right now, we have a crate, bowls, a Kong, and a regular old leash. He is 50 pounds and has a medium coat. He really loves wet food but tend to not eat the dry stuff. I want to brush his teeth and clean his ears tonight, but I'm not sure how he'll respond to the teeth brushing.
I've been doing a lot of reading from the adoption pamphlets and internet articles, but your advice/tips are very much welcomed. I'm kind of nervous with so much to learn and worry about (health, diet, training, etc) but it's worth it to see him wagging his tail and smiling.
I'll upload some pics once I find this damned camera software! :P
Thanks in advance!
My family and I adopted a 2.5 yr-old Shepard/Husky male yesterday and this our first pet (well, besides the fish). He seems very affectionate and quiet (I've only heard him bark twice), and loves to follows us around the house. I was delighted to see that he was housebroken and crate trained. He tend to pull on the leash when we take him outside, so I've been following this guide. We're planning to go to Petsmart tonight to pick up food, grooming supplies, and some more toys.
My questions: what specific products or books I should keep an eye out for? As of right now, we have a crate, bowls, a Kong, and a regular old leash. He is 50 pounds and has a medium coat. He really loves wet food but tend to not eat the dry stuff. I want to brush his teeth and clean his ears tonight, but I'm not sure how he'll respond to the teeth brushing.
I've been doing a lot of reading from the adoption pamphlets and internet articles, but your advice/tips are very much welcomed. I'm kind of nervous with so much to learn and worry about (health, diet, training, etc) but it's worth it to see him wagging his tail and smiling.
I'll upload some pics once I find this damned camera software! :P
Thanks in advance!
Dr. Gero on
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Not sure how true that is, but I did it to be safe rather than sorry.
If anyone ever gives you advice on how to brush your dogs teeth, please pass it on. It's like fighting the devil himself trying to brush my dogs' teeth.
Also if he tugs on the leash a little, I wouldn't be terribly worried.
I recommend you only giving him treats outside. Make sure he knows where "outside" is, because if you ever give him a rawhide and he brings it inside your carpet is fucked.
Edit: The teeth thing.
You can get a food that cleans teeth pretty well. It's by prescription only, and only available through a vet, though. Science Diet D/T I believe.
It's true for really tiny-ass dogs and for certain breeds like greyhounds with hypersensitive prey drives--they've been killed by neck collars when they were tied outside, spotted a squirrel, and lunged hard enough to...yeah.
Now that I've scared you to death, though, a husky/shepherd mix should be perfectly okay with a properly fitted collar (two fingers should slide comfortably between it and his neck). It's a great mix of breeds; does he know any tricks? He'll need lots of mental stimulation, and exercise to match, too.
As mentioned, dry food will be good for his teeth. Try warming it with bits of chicken or tuna mixed in, and he'll be all over that shit.
Read the ingredients on your food and stay away from anything with corn, corn gluten, or any kind of meat byproduct. Corn is jsut filler and will do nothing but make your dog fat.
as far as the pulling goes, we used a gentle lead http://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Leader-Head-Collar-Medium/dp/B0002H3ZJO and it worked like a charm. he still pulls a bit when he sees something run by, but he stops if you yank the leash.
he sounds like he'll need a lot of excercise as well. My dog is half retriever so fetch is pretty much in his blood. it's a great way to excercise them, especially b/c i can't run with him long enough to get him tired.
Just be consistent with your training, and you should do fine. Shepherds are super smart and learn fast.
The important thing is, don't just try to force the toothbrush in his mouth, try to get him slowly used to it (unless of course he takes to it right away!).
I would second (third?) the suggestion to switch to dry food and a good quality one at that.
Sue Ailsby has some great article on her website. Specifically you probably will find "Teaching Your Dog to Eat" and "Leading the Dance" down in the lower lefthand corner to be useful.
My dog enjoys having his teeth brushed now but it took a little bit. I started out just putting the toothpaste on my finger and letting him lick it off, then putting my finger in his mouth, then dabbing the toothpaste on each tooth, then using the toothbrush.
If you want to work on training all the basic pet manners (plus some really cool tricks) I highly recommend "Training Levels" in the big box at the top of the right hand column. It addresses loose leash walking. You just got this dog and have an excellent chance to make sure that he never learns to pull hard. If pulling doesn't work your dog won't do it. I would put on a gentle leader or front attach harness any time you actually need to get somewhere until your dog has LLW down cold on flat collar.
Also, be aware of what you're actually telling your dog - any time you give him attention you're rewarding his actions at that exact moment. Any time you discipline the dog, you're disciplining what he's doing at that exact moment - For instance, if your dog is chewing on the couch, and you say "Rover, no!" or "Rover, bad!" or whatever, you're actually disciplining the dog for coming to you, not for chewing the couch (as the dog's name is really nothing more than a recall command. So by saying the dog's name, and then saying "no" you're actually telling your dog to come to you, then disciplining it for doing so). Instead, you'll just want to give a stern "off" or "no." Make sure that when you're applying discipline that the dog is paying attention to you as well. Otherwise it won't work.
Also, a mistake I see way, WAY too often, is people getting their dogs excited before they take them for a walk, and then they get confused as to why their dog pulls, barks, sniffs everything, chases other dogs, etc. This is really easy to prevent, actually. When your dog is lying around, calm at home, put the leash in front of it. Dont' dangle it or anything, just set it down. If the dog stays calm, give it lots of attention for doing so. If the dog gets excited, calm it down, then give it attention. Keep doing this until the dog doesn't care about the leash. Then, when you're about to head out on the actual walk, make sure the dog is relaxed before you even open the door. Open the door, make sure the dog is still chillin', and paying more attention to you than the outside world. Then you can start walking. I'd recommend a powerwalk, because a leisurely stroll can lead to bored dogs, but a powerwalk requires them to focus on walking, and not anything else. Also, if you have a cane or a walking stick or something, bring that along. That way if the dog starts to get ahead of you instead of walking beside or behind you, you can just put the stick in front of it and bring it back to where it won't pull on the leash.
[Tl;DR: if your dog is calm inside, it will be calm outside. If it is excited inside, it will be excited outside. Excited dogs suck to walk, calm dogs don't]
Also, find a trainer ASAP. Like, within the next 2-3 days, tops. Trainers will help you with any question you could possibly have, and training builds awesome bonds between you and your dog, and it makes you a better dog owner in general.
PSN: rlinkmanl
yeah if you nick him once, he might be a bit apprehensive about letting you near him with those things again. I got my dog really badly once (i felt terrible!!) and he would no longer let me grab his paws when i had that thing in my hand.
You might want:
brushes/combs for his coat - grooming is a bonding experience.
a long lead (25-30' leash) as it can help in training.
treat stick - this is a conical-cylindrical vessel with a hole in it, you fill it with kibble and dog has to push it around to get the food out. If you feed him this way he has to slow down and take 10-15 minutes to eat instead of wolfing it down. There are other types of feeding-toy things like this.
conical neck collar (prevents licking wounds/hotspots) - you can wait til there's a problem to get this.
Regarding doing things he may not be too interested in (brush teeth, clip nails): I try to give him a good long walk beforehand to take some energy out of him and then I let him smell the things I plan to use on him. If he gets agitated upon seeing/smelling I put it down and re-introduce them to him until he's cool with them. Doing the earwash is still a huge PiTA though. 10 minutes of wrestling and we're both exhausted afterwards (I think he enjoys it).
EDIT: obviously if it gets overweight and a vet recommends low-fat or w/e, go for that, I'm just saying all the brands sell you the exact same product.
This may be true of grocery store foods. Beyond that, there's quite a spread of choices, some of which have already been mentioned in this thread.
I'm surprised Science Diet was discouraged, since that is the most prescribed food by veterinarians. I'm inclined to believe these folks have our pets health in mind.
I will also vouch for the Gentle Leader and all the Premier brand walking devices, such as the Easy Walk. I started my unruly puppy on the Gentle Leader then phased him to the Easy Walk harness. Pulling is at a minimum now.
If you want a look into dog psychology, Cesar Milan is really the big guy in that field. In my experience, his methods work and have given a lot of stability to my dog's life. You can catch his show on National Geographic or he has some DVDs out you can probably rent.
I also picked up a book, "Dog Tricks for Dummies" that is loaded with easy training tips to get your dog doing all sorts of outrageous cool stuff. The first day I got the book I got my 7 month old puppy to start jumping over things on command.
Oh, and last but not least, I recommend clicker training. Basically this makes any sort of training much easier and promotes good habits from your dog. The best part about clicker training is that it's super cheap, like $3 for a good clicker. Just make sure you read all the instruction material on proper clicker training or you'll get a confused dog. But seriously, my dog now craves the click and is behaving much better.
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
this is awful, awful advice.
yes, all the big brands use the same stuff, and all the big brands are AWFUL.
Buy good food. Grocery stores don't carry good food, but good pet stores do.
With good food you can feed your dog much less since without all the filler like corn, they need less to get everything they need. You'll also do much, much more to prevent health problems later in the dog's life.
Science Diet is promoted by vets because Hills pays for a lot of what goes on at vet schools. They hand out promotional materials like candy and pay for lots of seminars and the like. Vet schools have also never had a strong tradition for teaching proper pet diets. this is starting to change, and you're finally seeing a few vets realize how awful Science Diet is. It's very easy to see why Science Diet is terrible food: read the ingredients. Lots of corn and meat byproduct.
Just read the ingredients on your dog food and see for yourself. if you've been feeding your dog (or cat) shit food, try switching it to a higher quality food and see what happens. Their coats will clean up, they'll shed less, they'll have more energy, their eyes will be clearer, and they'll need less food in general. Giving your pet Science Diet or Iams or Purina all the time is like feeding your kids nothing but McDonald's.
Dog's were mans best friend long before commercial dog food was invented.
This is just an idea as for a lot of people it isn't practical(Time wise.) If you have a butcher you should be able to get some good food(bag of scraps) for a decent price(Probrably much cheaper than what good bag dog food costs).
Evidence supporting this diet is in the PDF made by someone that feeds their dog the diet. It is not scientific research I do not think.
Also, it's never a bad idea to augment your dog's diet with fresh or frozen vegetables. We'd keep frozen carrots and green beans handy and throw them in with the dry food. We'd also use whole frozen carrots as treats.
I also have a friend that has a dog with many food allergies and she feeds her dog all natural food like Halo and Inova. He sheds more than any dog I've seen. I wouldn't throw around claims like that without some kind of backing. I'd say the only thing that is 100% true is that she has to feed him less food.
There comes a point where pet owners start feeding their pets better than they eat. I talked to my vet about pet foods, like most pet owners, and she told me there's nothing to show a brand like Science Diet will hamper a dog, quite the contrary, she's seen pets live long and healthy lives on it routinely. I'm not discouraging going for another food, but I think there's a lot of overblown claims with the benefit gained from moving up to foods that can cost substantially more.
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
A tiny amount of googling will get you plenty of backing.
All dogs are different, sure. Just like some kids can appear perfectly healthy eating tons of mcdonald's while others are better off never having the stuff at all.
Science Diet is pretty terrible food. It's mostly corn (which offers no nutritional value to a dog) and meat byproduct. Take a look at the ingredients yourself.
The foods your suggesting are expensive and not widely available in stores. I already said I don't discourage them, but to feel they are necessary is an overreaction. And I've said why, by getting backup support from veterinarians who, despite what you think, receive an extensive amount of training and are the most knowledgeable people to ask regarding the biochemistry of dogs.
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
I do think anybody who feeds that crap to their pets is an irresponsible pet owner, and I'm happy to say so.
Read the ingredients. Learn about pet nutrition. Then tell me that it's a good idea to feed your dog food made mostly from corn and meat byproduct.
i'd pretty much agree with calling such owners irresponsible as well... typical dog food is the equivalent of a fast food diet for humans... lots of fillers and empty calories... and just like people living on McDonalds 24/7, such dogs will live OK, but could be living better/healthier
in fact, one of the reasons that some dogs eat their own crap, is b/c not a lot of the food is broken down, so it pretty much tastes similar on its way in and way out of the dog...
if you try better food you'll notice better skin/better coat on your animal, less stomach issues, etc.... not to mention that the smaller manufacturers often have much better quality control and use human-grade ingredients, meaning that you're likely to avoid the Melamine contamination and other Chinese chemical caused scandals
Very high quality food runs $2/lb (in 30 lb bags), though upmarket brands are proliferating at that or higher pricepoint. The crappy stuff at the grocery store runs you maybe $0.50-0.75/lb. I pay about $1-$1.50/lb for midgrade stuff available at the pet store. Every once in awhile I forget to restock and the pet stores are closed and I have to buy from the grocery store, in which case I buy the smallest bag because I know how it's going to come out at walk time.
A 28 lb bag of good (not best) quality dog food runs me about $40 and lasts my 60 lb dog 2-3 weeks. I think $2.50/day spent feeding the dog is not a huge encumbrance on the pocketbook and if you cannot afford at least that much then you shouldn't be a pet owner.
As for Hills brand dog food (Science Diet), I cannot say how good a food it is now. Years ago I bought some (different dog) and stopped when I noticed poorer digestion, which may or may not have been a result of corn being used as a filler (not as ideal as rice or another grain); it may have been reformulated since. Vets are likely to carry Science Diet kibble because Hills also puts out a lot of special needs and 'scrip only food. That doesn't necessarily mean Science Diet is great kibble. For normal kibble my vet stocks Royal Canin (which is pretty good kibble).
Yeah nah.
The reason we have my dog is because her old owners put her on a "raw" food diet and refused to change it, even after veterinary advice. They continued to do so until her back leg shattered and they didn't want to face up to their mistakes or the 1,500 vet bill.
If you want to feed your dog something healthy, go for one of the natural dog foods, but don't take someone's hearsay advice and feed your dog butcher scraps. Oh also, they're all contaminated with salmonella, E. coli, and all that. Contrary to popular belief, dogs can get food poisoning too.
Now she is on a steady diet of dog food, table scraps, whatever the cat is eating and snow.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Be in charge.
Remember (and this sounds really stupid) that he is a Dog. He may well be your best friend, but he is a dog and you need to keep that 'seperation' in your mind. In other words, treat him like a dog, don't sleep with him on the bed or any of the other multitude of stupid stuff that goes on. I'm crediting you with sense
Enjoy what may well be one of the purest and most rewarding relationships in existence. I envy you!
I have to second the opinion on getting good dog food. My dog had super flaky skin and bald patches when I got him from the vet, which continued until I switched from the absolute shit Purina stuff I got at the beginning to Canidae. It also helped his thyroid problems out as well, which was great. Don't fall into the trap of buying the expensive foods at places like Petsmart or Petsco - they're just tarted-up rubbish; look around and you should be able to find a specialty store in your area. You might be more familiar with them as the places rich bastards buy their pets gourmet treats, because that's how they make most of their money, but they'll have some great food options for you. All dogs have different needs, so talk to the store people and do a bit of research to find some good options to try out.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
I've seen those at HEB and Walmart, they are pretty cheap. They are essentially a nail file/sand papery type thing that is a little wheel, and you push a button and it spins. It is built so that you can easily put one toe on it without accidentally getting anything else with the rough surface.
A friend of mine uses one for her cat and says it works well. You just have to get your pet used to it gradually before you use it on them.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
It is the best if you know what you are doing. The post above you is evidence of people that did not know what they were doing(I suspect they just fed the dog raw meat without bones and other things they need to eat). While dogs can get food poisoning they have a much stronger stomach than we do(they are designed to eat raw meat) and it shouldn't scare you. Just don't leave your dogs chicken quarter on the counter all day.
I'll tell you what dogs shouldn't eat though, Corn.
Bring your dog and 3 balls to the park. Throw one ball and wait for him to drop it before throwing the second/third. I did not do this with father's dog when he was younger and I regret it as he is not fun to play with and makes training him frustrating.
Personally, I would go with a premium dog food instead. Here's a little secret, though. Costco's brand, Kirkland, is made by Diamond (a good brand) and is a good food. Not THE BEST, but they have meat as their main ingredients and don't rely on corn fillers like "typical" store brands do. And they are actually cheaper than that Purina crap.
yeah, what's wrong with letting a dog sleep in bed with you? the be in charge thing, i do agree with however.
I don't follow this but my parents go on on a regular basis about some show they watched about how dogs sleeping in the same bed as you ruins your sleep. I don't really see how its really any worse than sleeping with a human partner, apart from maybe them liking to get too close and not respecting your space, but all in all it shouldn't be a big deal. My 85 pound lab/hound cross sleeps in my bed every night and doesnt bother me at all anymore. (She likes to sleep curled up right against my back so it was a bit hard to get used to at first but now its just natural)
NintendoID: Nailbunny 3DS: 3909-8796-4685
The nail trimmer thing is just a Dremmel with the sandpaper grinder bit. I use a Dremmel on both of my dogs as needed. They don't mind and it doesn't hurt them a bit. Use slower speeds. You have to stop before you grind the quick, but it is easy to tell. The only downfall is the scent of burnt nail.
Now, look up the story about the woman who had half of her face bitten off by an adorable, trained, affectionate dog whilst asleep in the same bed. I've elbowed my girlfriend in the face whilst sleeping and feel no remorse. A dog having a bad night would be put down, dead. Not worth it in my opinion.
It is like throwing sticks for dogs. Sure the possibilites of damage are tiny, but why risk it? Buy an appropriate toy with no possibility of gouging out its throat.
The seperation I refer to, is really a case of remembering that he is not a human. And whilst I personally believe they experience the full range of human emotions, there are obvious differences that need to be considered.
I don't think that sleeping in your bed is a bad thing, but if the dog thinks it is the boss rather than you are the boss, have it sleep elsewhere.
Remember that dogs are inherently pack animals, and they want to know where they stand in the pack. Most dogs are perfectly happy being second or third in the pack as long as they know, and as long as it's consistent. You don't have to be mean, you can be affectionate, but first should come discipline.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X