Crufts

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JudyN
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Crufts

Post by JudyN »

The vet on Crufts last night that bones don't necessarily help keep dogs' teeth clean, because according to a new study, wolves have similar dental problems to dogs. I wish he'd given more details of the study so I could look it up, because it goes against everything I thought I knew.

On a happier note, he said that dogs' claws don't usually need clipping unless they're old/underexercised, and that if dogs are walked mostly on soft ground they will have longer claws, but that doesn't make it a problem. Which if true would make me very happy. Jasper gets a fair amount of pavement walking but still has long claws, and I've got awfully lazy about clipping them. Mainly because I only dare take off about a millimetre at a time and if I do more than one, or maybe two, at a time he gets grouchy.

They also mentioned that Bassett hounds were bred to hunt hares. LIke what????? How does that work? :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Crufts

Post by Shalista »

Uhhh Bax walks two miles on concrete sidewalks everyday and he has DAGGERS on the ends of his paws right now :shock: idk what study he’s quoting. Maybe Bax just has hard nails?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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Nettle
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Re: Crufts

Post by Nettle »

Bassets do (or did) hunt hares. Not the ghastly Bassets you see in the show ring, but handsome hounds with no wrinkle and better ground clearance. There are some Basset packs that now hunt rabbits, and others that follow a scent trail.

With their type of hunting, it's all about following scent, so the hare does not gallop away the way it would with a sighthound behind it. It sneaks and creeps and tries to confuse its scent in other scents. They will go to ground, too. A chap I knew who at different times was huntsman to a hare-hunting pack and a fox-hunting pack reckoned that hares were far more cunning than foxes.

I disagree with the bone comments. I've seen some really filthy mouths cleaned up with feeding the right types of bones. I'd like to know more about these wolf studies.

I disagree with the nails thing too. All my dogs have been very well exercised as well as being working dogs, and all have needed their nails clipping. It's more about the shape of the foot, and what happens with a labrador doesn't with a greyhound.
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Lotsaquestions
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Re: Crufts

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Interesting about bones. What about chews? Because we don't feed raw I've been giving hard chews daily for Merlin's teeth. Hope I don't need to get stuck in a clean his teeth. :lol:
Shalista
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Re: Crufts

Post by Shalista »

I disagree on the mouths to. Bax was fed on kibble with regular chews and dental chews and he was still only a few weeks away from having to be sedated to get them cleaned at the vets before I switched him to raw. Within days of switching to raw he got pearly whites again!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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Nettle
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Re: Crufts

Post by Nettle »

Lotsaquestions wrote: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:21 am Interesting about bones. What about chews? Because we don't feed raw I've been giving hard chews daily for Merlin's teeth. Hope I don't need to get stuck in a clean his teeth. :lol:
I'm very leery about commercial chews as most of them come from China and have very dubious ingredients. If someone wanted to make their own chews using a dehydrator, I expect it would be okay, but apart from the hassle, it's just raw meat with a different hat on.
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Lotsaquestions
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Re: Crufts

Post by Lotsaquestions »

We do have a dehydrator, but every chew we've tried to homemake Merlin has gone 'nope'. :roll:

We give him pizzle sticks, chicken feet, various pets at home random boney chews, and a deer antler. He munches on that antler at least once a day, so long lasting!
Shalista
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Re: Crufts

Post by Shalista »

the antlers they sell here are bisected to the marrow is out in the open (think like a very long slice of pie) Bax just scrapes the marrow out in one sitting and then ignores the antler. makes quiet a mess :?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Crufts

Post by JudyN »

When I gave Jasper a deer antler he danced around it, playbowing and barking for about 10 minutes. When it didn't do anything interesting he lost interest.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Lotsaquestions
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Re: Crufts

Post by Lotsaquestions »

The antler Merlin has is basically just a piece of antler with the fluff off it, so no hollow bit luckily! He's made very little headway on it and he's had it for months. Its the only none food chew he's show any interest in (totally not interested in nylabones and the like).

Maybe for Jasper you could stick it to a remote controlled car, I bet he'll find it interesting then. :lol:
JudyN
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Re: Crufts

Post by JudyN »

Yep, I could cover the car with some fluffy material and stick a pair of ears over it - he'd love that!

I've just been looking at a group that does lure coursing, 1hr 17 mins drive from here... I wonder if there would be an opportunity for him to run on his own, or for us to release him? He so loved his one and only go at it when he was younger, but when he was pulled up alongside another pumped-up dog by a strange person holding his collar, he went mental. The advice I got then was all about alpha rolling him, so I'd need a more enlightened bunch.

I can just hear Nettle's footsteps as she comes to tell me NO! NO! And thrice NO!!!! But oh, it would make him so happy :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Nettle
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Re: Crufts

Post by Nettle »

:lol: You know, you can ask the lure chasing people if Jas can have a run up on his own either before or after the competitions.

Dogs do get very hyped up at these events and there is a lot of noise and testosterone (not just from the dogs) so consider if it's really worth the potential for over-excitement/stress. You can get a safer effect by finding a suitable area, getting OH to hold Jas while you go on ahead or to one side, and then OH can slip Jas for running up to you. Reward randomly. I use this for recall training clients' lurchers. Start with a short distance and expand it. Stop before dog gets bored. I call it 'dog tennis'.
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JudyN
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Re: Crufts

Post by JudyN »

When he did it before, up till the point it all went wrong, he was excited, but in a highly focused way - he looked like he was taking notes, and when he had his first run (agaist a lab, with OH slipping him) it was as if he'd been doing it all his life. So I wouldn't worry so much about the overexcitement as the possibility that it would bring back memories of when it went wrong, and knowing J that wouldn't at all surprise me.

I had discounted the idea of getting him to run between us, because if we keep him on lead and one of us walks off he gets distressed ('Mum, Dad's wandering off on his own again! He can't be trusted, why doesn't he wear a lead?' :lol: ). But as you've suggested, maybe we could build up to it gradually...
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Lotsaquestions
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Re: Crufts

Post by Lotsaquestions »

You could buy a drone, tie a lure to it, and fly it away from him! Those things can move pretty fast nowadays and if it has a cam on it you could video it. Basically I would love to see Jasper running full pelt. :roll:
JudyN
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Re: Crufts

Post by JudyN »

It's a thought - though I wouldn't like to get him hooked on the drone itself. DS2 is a keen 'droner' and has had dogs chase his drones before now. Plus I'd have to think carefully about where to do it because of all the regulations, concerns over wildlife, and generally annoying other people :wink: I'll have to have a word with DS2 and see if he's got any old drones that might be suitable and ideas of where to fly them....
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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