to feed a dog

Dog food

What a volatile subject.

I can't believe what some people will buy. . $80 a bag of dog food? OMG! I can't justify going out for dinner and spending that much on a meal for ME, even tho i love the restaurant my company has our xmas party at, I just can't do it.

More power to them, but these haughty taughty people piss me off when they dump on people who won't feed what THEY feel is best for dogs. . and the sad thing is, unsuspecting novices get sucked in, and i decided this morning I was going to change my contract to read that any health clearances are null and void if puppy is found to be eating any non FDA approved food.

I have fed over the years since I left home, everything from Old Roy, to Pedigree, to Exceed to now I feed Blue Seal. . When I got Borzoi, I switched to Pedigree, the greyhounds did well on the Old Roy, but I wanted something better for the ZOi. . .but then Rinka didn't do well on Pedigree, so I switched to Exceed. She blossomed on the Exceed. I love the Exceed, but it's too 'hot' for puppies, and a PITA to get since sometimes Sams has it, sometimes they don't. On Blue Seal, everyone's doing well, Touchet's a bit too 'fluffy' but does not look close to her 11 yrs. .. heck, Bonnie's had dogs live to 15-16 being fed only this, so it can't be too bad.

There are people who look down their noses at this kibble, and some who look down their noses at any kibble. . .glad they have the time and money to do raw diets, I refuse to feed something I'm not sure is balanced to my dogs, and since a friend of mine lost a dog when a turkey neck punctured his innards, I'm even now leary about feeding those, which I thought were safe. Funny, people who feed raw say kibble kills, but raw can kill, and in a more horrendous way. With Umbra, I feed whatever he will eat at this point in time. . .

This website gets lobbed around at how to tell if what you feed your dog is great
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Yet, I know of dogs(and cats) who have severe problems with this food
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=908&cat=3

As well as the fact it's made by diamond, who has had horrid problems with dogs dying from tainted food.

I don't care what anyone feeds, well, long as it's not my puppies, I don't want them on anything specialized unless they have to. The only two pups I've sold that have had issues with diets are the ones who are those 'special' products. One is on Blue Buffalo and has had icky poos all along, the other I think was on Nutro. . and after no foood allergies for 15 months on Pedigree, Exceed & Blue Seal, she suddenly develops it when switched to Nutro. . hmmm

But to step into an argument on dog food is almost as volatile as stepping into an argument on breast feeding. People need to back off, shut up, and let people do what they feel is best. . .I get sick of hearing "you're feeding crap! cuz of XYZ. . ". . my dogs have lovely coats, are in good condition, firm stools. . not so much crap is it?

I've wondered for awhile if these specialized dog foods encourage the breeding of dogs with sensitive stomachs. .and thus you perpetuate dogs who can only exist on the "Very Best Dog Food There Is(From now on referred to VBDFIS LOL). Why the heck would you want to breed a dog that can only do well on one type of food? Seems to negate the desire to breed healthy pets. IMHO, they're not healthy, if they can't handle being on any food than VBDFIS. . just my two cents. And in my opinion, shouldn't be bred.

I know people who feed BARF(Raw) and their dogs do well on them, but I know of others where the dogs can NOT get the nutrients needed out of a BARF diet. . .and do wonderful on kibble.

There are people who thinK BARF is the end all for any problem your dog may have, but it's not. I used to talk with an other breed breeder who only fed a 'natural' diet, she still had food allergies in her dogs. . .

The scary thing is, anyone can 'create' a food, slap a label on it, and sell pet food. Don't believe me, check out the infamous and irreputable 'rescue' Gentle Giants. An actor and his wife, neither of them vets nor nutritionists, create this food and make their rescue people feed it. . .there's a local food the same way, created by someone who doens't have the background, just wanted to make a 'good food'. . alas, without that background, you can mess it up and the animals suffer. .a friend just had a young cat die of sudden onset CRF, he was fed this food. . is there a link? Not sure how she'd find out, but I've pushed her to get off the food yesterday.

I prefer dogs who do well on foods that anyone can get. As a breeder, why would I want to breed dogs who can only do well on expensive food? Especially with the economy the way it is. I can see people giving up dogs if the only food they can eat is a $60-$70 bag of food. . .gas in the car or feed the dog, food on the table for the kids, or feed the dog. . .yep, I know the decision so many have unfortunately had to make.

Thoughts that have gone thru my head recently is that dog breeders would benefit from taking some range management courses.. No, we're not breeding dogs & cats for food, but a lot of their working beliefs do translate over into the dog world. They have no time or room to breed 'lets sees', nor any need for any animal that can not live healthily until its use is done(Whether that's slaughtering a steer or producing milk, or loving a pet).

Farmers breed for easy keepers, especially when you're in areas like Texas(Where I took these courses). You want an animal that can keep a good weight on whatever foilage they can get to, not an animal who has to be fed grain to keep a good weight.. . .and a recent argument on the biggest Borzoi list that you should only feed the most expensive food you can find, makes me wonder if we are selecting for dogs who can only flourish on these fancy foods, vs a good pet that can live off of just about anything (as I don't know many pet only owners who can afford to pay $80 a bag of food like one show person, not even breeder, quoted was the cost of her food). They get these dogs with sensitive tummies, put 'em on a food that firms up their stool and keeps them in good weight, then they breed them. Why?

I hear so many times "my dogs only do well on XYZ Food". . a farmer wouldn't breed a cow that could only flourish on one type of food, they want an animal that is an easy keeper, and so do I. I'd much rather have a dog who keeps a great coat, good weight, good condition on my $25 a bag food than one I had to spend twice as much or mroe to feed. . .and it leaves me with the thought why would you continue to breed animals that can only do well on this food, or this supplement? It makes no sense.

The same philosphy (breeding easy keepers) comes into affect for so much of dogs. . why would you breed a face so smooshed it has to stay in AC? It's not an easy keeper. Why would you breed a coat that has to be kept on wood floors? It's nto an easy keeper.

Not dissing anyone’s choice, but wondering if we are inadvertently breeding animals with more and more sensitive tummies. . .instead of breeding those animals who can live off just about anything and still look gorgeous. I know which one I'd prefer to own

cat training

So, this is the first litter i've had that the cats didn't have access to the puppies from a young age. I took Pippens, the resident dog/cat down to see them, but he was out of his element and was not happy, so didn't do it again. But last week, when I went to pick up Umbra's Rimadyl, I took the "Tank" AKA Ziva to the vet's, as well as Gossip, to get weights. Gossip weighed in at 67 lbs, Ziva, at nto quite 9 months, was 63. She's not tall, she's got body to her, I love it. . .she's always been my israeli tank LOL

Anyway, while we were there, she took a nibble at the vet office kitty, not a lunge, but a nibble. I gave her a correction, and that nite, we started real
cat training.

Years ago, when I was doing Greyhound rescue, I came up with a way to cat train them . .. as well as cat test them . .it's up on my website(www.mielikkishunt.com/wwwcattraining.htm if I'm not mistaken), and that's the method we are using. She is currently in her harness, on leash, tied to the bed, as it's sturdy enough if she lunges, it's not moving, with a racing muzzle on. After an hour of standing, just watching hte kitties, not intently, but with a very very confused look on her face, she relaxed enough to lay down next to Gossip and her bed. Gossip has this look of absolute disgust on her face, how dare I bring this whipper snapper into her domain. . .Treasure doens't trust her, he hasn't come down from his perch, Pippens keeps going up and sniffing her, making her even more confused.

This is important training if she's ever to have bedrights, as the cats rule here. . .she was a bit overwhelmed, stress panting, but it's good for her. Reba's racing muzzle barely fits her, but it's working.

I love the fact my three boys aren't too bothered by her. They did hiss at her when she entered, but then, she's a strange dog, i'm glad they did. Hopefully she'll end up meeting the pointy end of one of the kitties and will decide it's not worth it.

It's times like this I miss my Schatzi. Eighteen pounds of German mongrel kitty, he was my self imposed puppy trainer. He would wait until he deemed them ready, ignoring them unless they got in his face, but when he deemed they were ready, he would walk right up to them and wack the crap out of them. He only had to do i ta few times before the dogs all respected him. I remember my 2nd Greyhound. . Athena wasn't the bravest of dogs, she really was a weenie, and one day when she was a yearling, I heard her whining and whining and couldn't figure out where she was. Walked into the hallway, she was stuck, there was a cat in each doorway, all but Schatzi weighing 1/6 of what she did, but she refused to move over them. I had to bodily pick one up, at which point she shot thru that doorway like her tail was on fire.

He had the greyhounds and my first Borzoi trained to the point that a cat could push them off their bones or food and they wouldn't do a thing about it. Kyra would not allow another dog to approach her food bowl, but the cats were fine.

Pippens has a great chance of becoming another dog trainer. He has no fear, he will bite them or wack them unlike his two big brothers who will just hide if they get too unruly, tho I have caught them both headbutting and loving on Gossip, who is a very calm house dog. Panda's too small to risk with an unknown, she only weighs about 6 lbs now. But Pippens, Pips reminds me of Schatzi

Pip has the same balls Schatzi did, and has taken raw marrow bones from all my adult girls, and they just give me a look that clearly says MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. .I don't encourage it, but he does it behind my back. Only time I've had one of the girls look at him cross eyed was when he tried to push his way into a bowl with steak leftovers in it. I reprimanded the girl, but picked his fuzzy little butt up and took him away. No reason to risk an injury.

By the next morning, Ziva had relaxed enough to fall asleep. I kept an ear out for any noises, didn't sleep well that night, but she was a good girl, no sudden lunges, nothing. And the kitties relaxed enough I had the three boys in bed with me.
We'll continue this training, but I think she'll be ok, like the rest of my girls, Gossip loves her kitties, Dei puts up with them, and Kani is terrified of them LOL Touchet is a good girl, and pretty much ignores them. . the two boys, nope, dont' trust 'em further than I can throw 'me.

c

PVBC

Weather has been pretty mild lately, so I thought we'd have the perfect weekend for PVBC's year end event. . not.

End of last week resulted in plummetting of weather, and then the worry became of is the ground going to be too frozen? Walked the field Friday, seemed fine, but we lost 10+ borzoi entries due to weather in their home area. . we had had entries from Massachusetts on down to SC, to MI. . .

So I truly expected a smallish Borzoi entry, but we started with 12. . .nice entry. . .especially considering the (then) undefeated Ms Peel was running. We also had an entry entry of FTE Afghans, an entry of Pharoahs, and a little but fun entry of RR.

But the morning started off with, what could go wrong, went wrong. . .had problems with the box(was fixed, thanks to Francis Byrnes!), had problem with the lure machine(PVBC's machine is now offically labeled as broke, it was 'checked' this fall, alas, they did not check with an actual line). THank heavens my machine was at the top of the hill and in working order

After all said and done, we got started, and ran 19 races in just over 3 hrs, not bad at all, considering the vast majority of people enhtered were FTES in their own right. Unfortunately, we had a mishandle the 1st program 1st race of Zois, with the wrong zoi being boxed, but otherwise, everything ran smoothly. This was unfortunate for Tip, cuz it looked like she finally got it, oh well, there's always next time

The slight incline was telling on the dogs tho. We are going to work the zoi running uphill, as Gossip definitely slowed down, but when you're conditioned to run on a straight field vs a field with an incline, well let's just say I know how she felt lOL I was sore beyond belief.

It was so much fun to watch all the races, I had a great view as lure operator. . .in coursing, most fields do not have long enough straights to see a dog truly open up, and watching Gossip & Mrs peel push each other the entire way the last two races(and end up tieing for the day), watching the RR Savana open up, it was a great day. . everyone threw in their weight(thank heavens with a small meet)

We had two people who came out JUSt to help us, thank heavens for their help! One owns a Kyra grandbaby, another has an older dog from Bonnie and is now interested in getting a running dawg. Her older boy had a nice run and then trotted back with the bunny in tow to the box lOL If only we could teach all dogs to do so.

It was great to see three fTE afghans run, and they ran clean, I think at least one of the owners is hooked and will be out again.

The point winner stuffed stockings were a great hit, which I thought they'd be.

1. Mrs Peel 19 3 NRC points
2. Gossip 19 3 NRC Points
3. Lemans 12 3 grc 1 nrc
4. Indigo 11 0.667 GRC
5. Reba 11 0.667 GRC
6 Kula (and high scoring FTE) 11 0.667 GRC
7. Padua-9
8. Kintaro 9 Turtle
10 Ivana-2 scr 3
11. Tipperary 0 scr 1
12. Julia 0. scr 1

Unfortunaely, had to cancel today, cuz weather SUCKED

Umbra

It's been almost 2 months since his DX, and he's still going.

Cancer sucks. I've said it before, I will say it again, CANCER SUCKS.

I think I bought over $100 worth of raw meat and various canned foods(Verus, Wellness, Triumph, Purina, you name it, I've tried it), but last few weeks he's turned his nose up at it.

But, he is eating his kibble. I buy the smallest bag I can find, and just rotate it. Was Verus, then Wellness, and now he's on Bil-Jak. . I don't care what he eats, as long as he eats.

I am one of the lucky ones. . I found out about the cancer before he dropped dead on me. DOesn't make it any easier on me. . .this is a common cancer in Saluki's, and my Saluki friend was amazed that we found it. . .but, the only reason we found it was because he came down with pneumonia. . if we hadn't taken those xrays, we'd've never've known.

He's still bright eyed, he's still happy to see me. . .he's currently in the kennel cuz he is drinkign so much water he's peeing a lot, but it's warmer than his run with Grins. . .he's got lots of fluffy beds and seems to be content. Was goign to take him for a walk today, but it's cold and damp, with our first snow of the season going on.

And the great weekend continues

Got an email early AM, that River(keep tryign to call him Brooks, he looks so much like his father), out of the Hawaiian litter picked up yet another show ring point :) He's down to looking for his majors and a single. He's showing again today, so here's hoping!

Me, I'm staying home. I toyed with the thought of goign to SC, but with Umbra being sick, my still not having kicked the cold from the Nationals, I just couldnt' get the energy up to be excited about going. And for a 9+ hr drive, I have to be excited, so we stayed home. Which IMHO is good, they're calling for snow today LOL

oooh, what a weekend

What a wunderbar weekend.

Had the entire weekend off for racing. Unfortunately, a number of my normal 'string' is in season(Focus & Dei) or out of racing for other reasons, so had to take a 'newbie'. . .Tipperary, a great granddaughter of my beloved Kyra. Tipp reminds me a lot of her half uncle Eros, and runs like he does, gangbusters, but once the bunny stops, she has no interest. Unlike him, she doesn't come to the handler when she's done, gave me a few scares this weekend, but we'll be working on that if she wants to go out running with me, and she likes the bunny, boxing well, breaking well as long as the box operator doesn't go in front of the box. If they do, she turns around in the stall to follow them. Silly red head. . .made a lot of friends, from human to iggy. . .Very very sweet girl. Her next event is PVBC's LGRA next week, should be a nice entry. She picked up 1 GRC point this weekend. Nope, didn't breed her, just enjoy running her

Gossip's slowly returning to normal running from post season slump, definitely was more herself this weekend, which pleased me completely. She picked up 4 NRC points, breaking the 100 NRC point mark, only the 2nd Borzoi to've done that.

Reba has been on fire(for her) these last two weeks. Last weekend she placed 3rd in an 8 borzoi meet to pick up 1.5 points towards her GRC, and this weekend she was 2nd both days for 2 more. She now lacks 2.5 points. . I am very pleased with Brooks red headed daughter. Plans are to get her out running on the coursing field next year, and Bonnie may have her out at shows. She is the world's sweetest, calmest little girl.

Brooks' twin son River went coursing and managed to pick up a 2nd major towards his FC. . now just some singles to go! So tickled for his mom/cobreeder!

Then to finish the day, we had some silly fun-ness. . .we have had some easy banter going back and forth between the owners of the 2007(me) and 2008(Fergie's mom) top girlie and both girls were raring to run again at the end of the day, so we ran them together LOL I actually heard someone say they expected Fergie to beat Gossip because of a BIF run she had done. . .but Fergie's pop stated it was Gossip, out of the box, pulilng away from the box and gone LOL Gossip was almost to the end of the run out before the RR got across the line and according to Fergie's mom, Gossip was still pulling away LOL It was great fun, and the girls enjoyed it immensely. Shows you really can't tell a thing about speed on a coursing field. LOL I'd love to see her run against the top greyhound, but alas, he's injured. I know he'd beat her butt, but it would be nice to see by how much. Wish Anne was still doing her speed study, I really would love to know how fast the spotted wonder is.

She curled up in her copilot chair and fell asleep hanging off of it. . .didn't even want to rouse herself for her double cheeseburger til I held it for her LOL Geez. . .but it tired her out, which is what I wanted LOL Neither of us moved once we hit the bed, darn!

Came home, and Umbra made the end of the day, by eating KIBBLE!!! WEEHEE!!!! :) All and all, was a great weekend.