What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

What cute pictures Erica. Might I ask where you located your food products as they might service my neck of the woods?

This weekend the dogs, OH and I went to PA for a Dog Scout troop camp out with the troop that I am loosely affiliated with. We had a great time. We learned that scent work isn't our thing. Maybe if they had been scenting rats, but birch was very boring.

I did a scootering demonstration for the troop and allowed them to try out my scooter with their dogs. Most of the dogs are very owner focused, so it took them a little while to figure out the run out ahead thing. It is rare that I have a situation where I feel I can run both dogs together. This weekend was one of those situations. We started out a little rough and ended a little rough because the other owners and dogs were lining the roadway which caused a little angst from my two, but not enough concern to be a problem with running them. Demonstration purposes would have probably been better running just Sky because while I have not taught her a line out command, she tends to naturally do so. Both dogs together tends to disrupt her natural line out and that combined with the dogs up ahead resulted in my two circling around in front of the scooter a bit before it clicked what we were doing and which direction they were to go. The end result was that I infected a few more people with the mushing virus and the troop is talking about buying a troop scooter. The troop photogropher also took pictures of the run and I finally have a picture of both dogs running together. I have been wanting one to put on my debit card ever since my bank started offering custom debit card pictures. I just never had the combination of someone taking pictures with a good spot to run both dogs before.

We also had craft time to allow the dogs to nap and a roaring bonfire and smores. I passed on the smores, but enjoyed the bonfire. OH seemed to have a good time too although his allergies kicked up a bit.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Sure! I went with Hare Today this time around. (It's funny - I noticed they have a list of breeders who I guess order from them or just ask to be listed as raw feeders, I don't know, but guess who was on that list? :P Delta's breeder! I was surprised and very amused to find that out.) Their shipping is expensive but if you order in bulk it's much better deal per pound. (I think any shipping will not be something to sneeze at - lots of food which needs to get to its destination quickly is going to add up, but it did balance out for me - I got a very good deal on more exotic meats than I can find at a good price locally.) I also know of Raw Feeding Miami, which has good reviews and is a bit cheaper for some products, but you have to email and talk with them about building an order. Big Dan's Trucking is another; their prices are very cheap as they use 4D animals - dead, dying, diseased, or downed - which can't be sold for human consumption. Because of this they have to denature the meat with, I think, charcoal? If you want more info I can point you to the raw feeding Facebook group where I found out about these companies.

Sounds like a great demonstration and a fun weekend! :) It's great you got a photo of your girls scootering together.

I just heard a story from my dad - apparently he was taking O and Marble out to the garden and let Delta walk out with them. Marble is on a leash as she doesn't go straight to the garden and will wander off; D and O are controllable off-leash. Opal was doing her usual routine - run 20 feet or so ahead, turn around, then run back and play-bow/lightly body bump Marble. Delta was trotting by Dad and Marble when he saw Opal do this. Delta then did the same thing to Marble - ran out, came back, body bump. It does seem like he learned by watching!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

Rabbit processing.....I assume the guts have been removed and the organs left are liver, kidneys and lungs? If so, all are suitable for canine consumption. I used to get huge amounts of rabbits, so many that we had an industrial mincer to process them. We took out the guts and beheaded them, heads went to the ferrets and then we ground up the rest, fur, bones and all. In the absence of a huge mincer, you could cook and take the meat off the bones, being careful to get the floating ribs by the kidneys, which was our other way of feeding - we would cook a huge rabbit and vegetable casserole just for the dogs. I know this takes the 'raw' out of raw feeding :lol: but it worked for us. Otherwise just joint them and feed raw.

Are these domestic or wild rabbits? If wild, freeze for a month to make sure all parasites are killed. And as you are in USA where terms are different - are these jackrabbit or cottontail types?
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Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

They're farmed cottontail rabbits. All that's been done is the killing (CO2 chamber) and freezing until I get them. (At least, that was the impression I got from the description.) Skin, fur, everything still intact...I'll check whether they say to freeze for parasites or if they're not an issue with this supplier. I'll be looking at some how-to videos today I bet!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

You'll need a clothes peg over your nose :cry: Wear rubber gloves to stop your hands stinking.

I've never fed intestines, but some people do. I'd take those out and bag them up and bin them. All the rest is good.
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Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

It can't be worse than the rotten deer ribcage Onyx dragged home once, can it? (It didn't go to waste - we put it in the compost for the garden!) I'll be prepared for smelliness. Gloves are already on the list, along with a knife just for dog food. Everything but the intestines, alright! I'm going to try tanning the skin to use as a toy, we'll see how that goes. If it turns out horribly, it won't matter.

Delta met his first "My dog is friendly!" on Monday and had another encounter today. Monday was a dachshund and today was a lab-sized mix breed. The dogs were actually friendly, and Delta got some yummy treats for dealing with them politely. (Funny enough, he's barked at a few dogs that were held on leash - though they were either in high-up collars or head halters, so their heads were pulled up and back - but been fine with the off-leash dogs, even though he was on leash.)

It's hunting season so we were both wearing bright yellow. Delta looks so adorable in his! It's just a scrap of fabric I had lying around, but it works perfectly.
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Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
emmabeth
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by emmabeth »

Delta's so cute!

My brains fried - my poor dogs are doing next to nothing bar normal walks and Wombles ever-on-going work on 'sit on your mat rather than launch yourself at my food or stand with your head on my wrist drooling whilst i eat' which is going well. He came to training last week as I had a free hour and thought we might as well make use of the hall for some 'training in a new place' which was good.


This week, fully booked pup class (though one no show because he forgot and one because her pup was too tired but she's coming next week) - new intake today so 2 x springer brothers (dont live together though) SO CUTE, 9 weeks old, and a blue merle collie madam of 12 weeks who is BUSY BUSY BUSY.

Deano from the previous run of private classes came back cos hes only 16 weeks and it won't hurt him to continue his education.

Mainly we introduced the clicker, introduced a stuffed kong and talked about socialisation and got puppies from bouncing yapping fur balls to settled in a new environment fur balls!

Then it was the collie brother and sister for their 5th class - collie boy is 'nervous I'll shout from a distance then run away' and a very wary boy when it comes to new things and problem solving - collie girl is a mile a minute, 'im scared so ill DRIVE THAT AWAY' and once she hits on an idea BOY does she cling to it!

Collie boy working with his 17 year old owner, can now almost ride a skateboard - from scared to touch it in week one to three paws on, pushing it about, dont care if it moves or clangs on the floor this week and we introduced the 'back stall' tonight (jump on owners back on cue), which he was getting after about four lures and with a TON of distraction as his sister was learning that the ball is now a reward for tugging and so she was dashing about the hall like a lunatic!

Their last week next week, I'll miss their weirdy collie ways!
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DianeLDL
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by DianeLDL »

Erica,

Delta is so cute! :D :D

Yes, dogs and people need vests up here in Maine, too. Right now, our next door neighbor's Jack Russel who we now know is called Cowboy, tried to attack Sandy and OH again last week. It seens that Cowboy is out to get Sandy. So, we have had to change our walks from going down the dirt road which means going past the house with Cowboy. Seems they never leash him and have no fence, so it is dangerous just walking in the middle of the street. This time the male neighbor was successful in getting a good recall.

So, now, it has been walking Sandy in our backyard and hoping Cowboy doesnt come under the fence or around it. (There is a wooden stake fence between the two properties but open ended and in some places Sandy could crawl under.
Or, his next favorite is going down the other end of the street to the mailboxes and hoping the setter and standard poodle don't bark or leave their fenced in yards. These dogs appear friendly, but Sandy freaks out. Once I get Sandy in the house, the dogs happily walk back to their homes with me while I notify their owners the dogs are loose. The Standard Poodle is so cute. He just gets into play mode and follows us, but Sandy isn't dog friendly and doesn't seem to know play mode with other dogs. And now, he is nearly 5 years old, and with us leaving soon (Oct. 30th) to return to Albuquerque, the neighbors will be happy to see us leave again and dread our next return. :wink:

By the way, we havent caught Cowboy in the act, but it looks like he has made our yard his potty which our neighbors don't seem to want to clean up. We had the same problem with Cowboy's owners when they had their previous dog and we were in Maine full time. One reason, we put up the fence. :roll:

Fences make better neighbors, to somewhat quote Robert Frost.
But, without catching him in the act, we cannot prove anything.

Problem is there are too many male dogs in one small block. The only female, a boxer called Daisy, is way down the other side of Cowboy. She was great with Sandy last year when he pulled houdini with OH and ran up to Daisy ready to attack, Daisy put up her paw and knocked Sandy down, and they became friends for that time. I think Sandy remembers because every walk (before the run ins with Cowboy), he would look for her. :wink:

Oh well. Sandy isnt sure what to make of all the leaves on the ground. He seems to like going pee on them, though. But, see a squirrel or chipmunk, and Sandy sure wants to run after them. I have been able to jog a few short distances with Sandy which is great epecially since OH is really still suffering from what we now believe to be sciatica.

OH has been going to physical therapy which gives very temporary relief. So,finally, he is getting a stat MRI tomorrow.myes, they fit him in after he sent an email to his primary. This is what we had wanted from the beginning, but insurance likes to take the easy stuff first. He has been in so much pain. So, I have planned in two or three nights in various areas along our route to return to Albuquerque, NM. My 63rs birthday (Nov. 3) we will spend three nights in western Virginia in Lexington. It is horse country, so not sure how Sandy will deal with horses, but it is also the place of Virginia Military Institute. The last head was Col. Dabney who died in 2012 so OH wants to see his gravesite. OH served with him when they were both US Marines in Vietnam. Dabney was a lieutenant then. So, we will also be there election day. We are still awaiting our absentee ballots from Albuquerque. We sent in our applications a month ago via priority so we know they arrived. Read in the news that they had to reprint absentee ballots, so hope to get ours soon. :roll: :shock:

We spent Yom Kippur in Portland, Maine at the Clarion which is one of the few that doesnt charge any fee for dogs. We had a ground floor and attended services at the hotel meeting room. So, it was easy to pop in and take Sandy out for potty and to feed him, he did so well in the room all day. No barking or wrecking anything. Sure beats spending the day in a crate in the car. :D :D

I sm at the end of my Botox cycle which is one reason that I havent been able to read everything. Yom Kippur did it with no large print prayer books. In two weeks, we will be back in South Portland for my next round of injections. I had to tape my eyelids open to watch TV last night. :lol:

Well, I guess that is catching you up on us. I hope to be able to catch up on everyone else. At least I can see photos pretty well. :D :D

Diane where we have already had to turn on the heat in the mornings and night. Sandy runs in from his last evening potty to have his treat fireside in front of the electric heater. :D
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

November 3rd is also Avatar Lady's birthday :D she'll be 11.

Where does the time go? I bet it's only yesterday you were 18, Diane. Feels like that to me.
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JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Oh, the shame, the humiliation.... :oops:

I went to a quiz evening last night. The last round involved pictures of 10 breeds of dog to be identified, so I filled in the answers and asked the rest of the team to say if they disagreed with any. Well, I did OK, though I thought the shiz tzu was a Maltese, and thought the Ridgeback was a mastiff because you couldn't see the ridge in the photo.

One dog, everyone else was convinced it was a wolfhound, but I persuaded them it was a deerhound. I even pointed out that it had an expression just like Jasper. Turned out it was a lurcher :oops:

But it was definitely a deerhound x lurcher, and I also pointed out that a lurcher isn't a breed in the first place :lol:

One pic was of a Rottie and a couple of the team members asked why anyone would ever want a dog like that, so I may have got a bit heated in my lecture to them on the evils of BSL.... :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by delladooo »

Judy, I probably would have done the exact same thing (both with doing the quiz first AND ranting about rotties - I'd love one myself which probably wouldn't help the matter either).

Happy birthday Diane and Avatar Lady :D

I've agreed to dogsit Luna for the night, she arrived at 10 this morning and will be here until late tomorrow and it's only really now I'm seeing the extent of her non-training. They've been playing like loons since she got here with no signs of stopping (HELP :shock: ). I also took them out just a quick walk around the block, both to just get them out for a few minutes and to see how bad she is on lead. Oh my god. I knew she was bad (see https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=19693) but I've not seen as much of them recently and her owner has started a new job so it's drastically declined. I know she's in a cage with increasing frequency and in my opinion it is far too small for her now but whenever I raise the issue it's always that she doesn't have the money, on a related note she was on wainwright's food but then she couldn't afford that at the time and bought bakers :shock: :shock: which combined with getting into the rubbish last night has made for a rather nasty back end. Her pulling is awful, like a train, and my back actually hurts and we were out about 10/15 minutes if that!! When we actually go for a walk later I'm bringing my mum too so that should help. I feel really sorry for her because she could be an absolutely wonderful dog if she had any training but they just won't seem to be doing much with her. Also, with the new job I'm not sure how much walking she's now getting which is especially bad when she was out an awful lot when they first got her (personally I'd have said too much exercise for little bones). Add to that the fact that she seems to be peeing without realising she's peeing (excitement maybe) and then hurrying outside is going to make for a hectic weekend.

A part of me wants to spend the next two days really working with her and seeing where I can get her BUT I know that it'll just go to waste when she goes home again and when I have Laufey to continue training and university work to do I feel like it would just be a waste :(
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

On this afternoon's walk a young collie-cross ***** came running up to us and tried to get Jasper to play with her. He was very gentlemanly (after checking she was a girlie), saying 'Hello little girl, nice to meet you, but I don't do playing, I'm a big boy.' She bounced around him a bit, but not all in his face, no jumping up and hanging off his ears - she was quite restrained and Jasper wasn't bothered by her at all.

One of her owners came up to us at a run, putting the dog on lead and saying 'I'm SO sorry!' I told her she was fine, and she wasn't worrying Jasper, but she led her away. They caught up with us a bit later and I said she didn't need to keep her on lead for Jasper's benefit, but she insisted that the pup did have to stay on because she was only 6 months old and SO naughty :lol:

It's so refreshing - even though I felt it would have been nice for the two dogs to interact a little as Jasper was playing it cool and the pup could have learnt that not all dogs want to play (just by his ignoring her, not by telling her off), the owner was obviously determined not to let her be a nuisance to other dogs. You don't meet many like that :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
DianeLDL
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by DianeLDL »

Nettle,

I guess for a dog Avatar Lady and I are close age wise. Both seniors :D

Thanks for the early greetings.

Judy,

Now, of we had been woth Sandy, we definitely would have appreciated the woman putting her dog on leash. I think she was acting responsibly.

Yesterday, I took Sandy out to potty and as soon as I opened the door, the Setter from the corner was on the border of our property having gotten out of his yard again. (Their gate doesn't stay closed if they don't prop it well.) :shock:

Sandy began reacting per usual. The Setter saw us and began sauntering back to his yard. I picked Sandy up and walked around the other side of the house. After I put him down, he kept looking over, and he saw the other dog had left. Although Sandy was still snorting a bit, I was able to walk him in a circle until he calmed down and peed. Yeah! :D :D

So, we got over that hurdle for now. This morning, I was able to walk Sandy down towards the mail boxes which are in the direction of where the setter lives, and Sandy didn't react. So, that was successful! :D
It has been very cold and grass and dead leaves wet. So, we have been splurging on electricity to turn on the space heater when Sandy comes back inside. Poor little fella who is still refusing to wear a jacket. :roll:

We will be driving to Albuquerque on October 30th, but we will be spending about 5 nights in the mountain areas of Pennsylvania and Virginia. That is where we will be spending my birthday. So, I expect we will be seeing more cold weather. Actually, this is the latest in the year that Sandy will be staying in Maine, but in 2012, we did run into snow thanks to Hurricane Sandy going south in the same area of Virginia.

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

We have been working towards our Dog Scouts of America Traildog titles. Sky is just short of 20 miles and Sirius is just over 20 miles. Sirius got the jump on Sky because on one of our outings Sky worked on packdog mileage instead of traildog mileage. Oh is getting very good with managing Sirius. I'm not quite sure how we will manage the 5 mile check off hike to finish out their 50 miles as OH is very questionable for going that distance. I may end up having to take each one separately.

Today Sky and I tried out bikejoring. The samoyeds are working on their working dog titles and the club has created the Samtona 100 to add a little friendly competition and help with the paperwork end of earning the title. Sky of course isn't eligible for the title or some other aspects of the Samtona 100. I was kind of surprised that we were included because the first information that came out about it said for samoyeds only and then my name was added to the list but with no dog. I wasn't sure if that was so I could help some of the multi-sammy households get miles on their dogs. After a while I was asked if I wanted to add one of both of my dogs to the list, so I added Sky. I believe we went 5.7 miles today. Someone else was keeping track of the mileage so I am counting on my memory here. :lol: That may have been a bit far for her for a first season run. I am certain the bike weighs more than the scooter as well and I rarely had to pedal for the first half of the run. The intention of bikejoring was to make it easier for her, so she wouldn't have to pull so much, but her speed and tendancy to veer off course to pee or sniff means I normally try to keep the speed down. Keeping her sped down meant pedaling was out of the question. I'll post more about the experience in the "Dog Scootering a Journey" thread in the health and fitness section.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Jasper met an Inuit (I think) b!tch today down at the pond. He had introduced himself before the owner told me she was in season :shock: He wasn't OTT though so it was quite interesting seeing his reaction to her and vice versa. He put a paw on her bum - yay, last time he met an in-season girl, when he was still very young, he put his paw on her head, so he's learning :lol: He wandered off a couple of times as she wasn't interested, and then came back to her again... he knew there was something about her but didn't really know what, or what to do about it - so he went off to dig a hole instead :lol:

On her part, she didn't tell him off, and didn't cower, but was curving her body away from him - he clearly didn't have whatever she was looking for :wink: She was keeping a watchful eye on him, and wasn't too relaxed with him around, so we soon moved on and left her in peace.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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