Big Paws Only Dog Forums

Oh, and Rosalba. I think it is officially time for you to get some new ratties!!! Little furry (or in my case not so furry) squishy curious little babies! How can you resist? The perfect apartment pet.

Sammie licks too!!! He's almost 9, and his spot is his left carpal pad. No where else. Just the useless dangle-pad. Maybe after 9 years with it, he decided he didn't want it anymore. The right one could stay, but lefty has to go.  I blame dementia.

It is hard to watch them grow older, and eventually pass. But the years we have with them are the years blessed and full of laughter. There is a story somewhere where a little boy explains it the best way possible by saying that God sends us to earth to learn lessons and learn how to love. However dogs are born knowing love and compassion and they teach us more lessons than they learn themselves, so they don't need to stay here as long.

I'm glad to hear the boys are doing well, and I hope Faust's issues are not too troublesome. Good luck with your wonderful boys.

Okay, and I think there is something about rats and HS/college aged kids. I'm a junior in high school now, and almost everyone I talk to about rats had them "back in the day"... Maybe it's just that everyone likes that the rat has the same maturity level we do at the time. Does that mean I should be worried that my other pet is an Aussie??? 

And yeah, chocolate is good for upper respiratory problems and colds. The darker the chocolate, the better. Lower in sugar.

Well, I'm vegetarian so I use varying kinds of protein supplements in my own diet, and while discussing protein sources (turkey, lamb, chicken and especially eggs) with my mom today she said "Why don't you just give the darn dog protein powder?" I laughed, then thought "hey, could I actually do that?" He's a very active performance dog, and gets a little boney when he doesn't get a lot of protein. But from y'alls reactions, I'm guessing this isn't a great option. Lol Too bad, easy meals would be nice for a change. 

Okay, so I know y'all must get sick of hearing about my rats... but I couldn't think of a better place to turn to for advice about their food. Right now they are on the same dog food that my dogs are on (with many other things in their diet, of course) which is Blue Buffalo (fish and sweet potato formula). It contains 22% Protein and 12% Fat. The recommended levels for a RAT is 14-16% protein, and 4-5% fat. Now, Sky is a very active performance dog and I want to keep him on something with at least 18% protein. My idea is that I can keep 2 dogs and 3 rats all on the same food, but I'm beginning to lose hope that that will ever happen! Also, Sky has some sort of intolerance to dry foods with Chicken as the main protein source, yet eating a whole raw chicken has no effect on him.  Hence the Fish formula he's currently on. Sammie is a large-breed (border collie/newfoundland) dog and will be 9 years old this spring. I've noticed that some senior formulas are lower in protein and fat. The Blue Senior formula has Protein 18.0% and Fat 8.0%. I could put him on this, and make him share with the ratties, and keep Sky on his food. I guess the point of all this rambling is:

What foods do y'all know of that are lower in prot/fat and what is a good protein level for a very active adult dog like Sky?

Gee whiz, I stress myself out. 

The sad thing is, if they don't find massive amounts of foster homes those birthing mothers may go unnoticed if she needs help birthing or needs a c-section. So not only are the puppies at risk, but the adult dogs. And if they make it through delivery, you know those puppies will get adopted long before they ever do. :/ I wish I could do more to help.

Awesome! I saw that cage and liked it, but I was worries my rats would be too retarded to work all the slides and stuff and all the space would be wasted. Does it work for your rats?

I'll take the dark one, please.