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Topics - lulu

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Group Discussions & Photos / Finally some pics!

« on: January 31, 2007, 10:55:56 pm »

As promised, here are some pics of my new great dane/ lab puppy, Dasher. there are also some pics of my 2 other dogs, cooper the golden retriever, and sophie the collie mix. i couldnt get the pics to upload directly to this page, so you will have to click on all the links and it will take you to my photobucket album. Enjoy!

Leah

Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / new puppy problem

« on: January 27, 2007, 05:04:08 pm »

Ive had my new great dane/lab puppy home for a couple days now and for the most part he is doing great (pics are on the way, i promise!). he hasnt had any accidents in the house, and hes as sweet as can be. him and my golden retriever seem to be fine together. cooper, my golden, overwhelms him, i think, but he just wants to play and play. my collie mix, sophie seems to be more the problem. she has always gotten along fine with other dogs and has been around a puppy once and was fine. but with the new puppy - i named him Dasher, by the way - sophie seems to be trying to dominate him and Dasher isnt wanting to put up with it. sophie tries to pin him down and she puts her mouth around his neck (not hard enough to make him cry) and Dasher barks and growls at her. sophie is more dominate than my golden but still i wouldnt say she is a very dominate dog. she'll be submissive to other dogs often. so, im not quite sure what is going on. hubby seems totally unconcerned about it but i just want to make sure things start out in a positive way, and that they will grow and be great friends. like cooper and sophie.
so, what do you guys think? does it sound like a problem? should i just let them work it out themself? right now i am scolding both dogs when i feel like they arent acting very nice, but im not sure what i should do. any suggestions would be great.

Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts / such negativity!

« on: January 25, 2007, 06:55:57 pm »

As I already posted, I adopted a great dane/ lab pup from the humane society today, which I am thrilled about, but I have been getting a lot of negative responses from my family. my parents and my sister, mainly. i understand that it is not everybody's personal preference to have 3 dogs, but it is MINE. my dogs are very well taken care of. they are all up to date on shots, they get heartworm and flea medicine, they get fed a great quality food (Innova), they are all loved and played with and exercised, they are only alone (on average) a couple hours a day. so why shouldnt i have 3 dogs?!?! i respect other peoples right to have one dog or zero dogs and whatever, so why cant i get the same respect for my choice to have 3 dogs? it is sooo annoying. i called to tell people about my new pup, and i was so irritated to get such negative reactions. i just dont understand it. i dont have a huge house or a huge backyard, but i do have an average size house with an average size backyard. room enough for the dogs to run around play and enjoy. plus they get walked frequently, when the weather permits (which it hasnt lately, unfortunatly. my sister was saying how my 3 cats quality of life has gone down since i got dogs but i disagree. admittedly, my cats dont like the dogs much, but all that means is that they try to avoid them and sneak around them. its not like my dogs are aggessive towards them, they just want to play. my cats have adjusted just fine to living with dogs and my cats are very well loved and they are not unhappy.and we are constantly trying to train the dogs to not chase the cats. i just wish more people in my life could share my joy over getting a new puppy, especially since he is a rescue.
thanks for letting me vent!
Leah

Mixed Breed Discussion / I GOT HIM!

« on: January 25, 2007, 04:54:16 pm »

I posted a couple days ago about a great dane/lab mix at my local shelter. well...today i took hubby and we went to take a look. he was the most beautiful boy. you can definitely see the great dane in him. hes all black and i swear this pupper is ALL legs. hes so tall already and has huge paws. he'll definitely be a big boy. we visited with him, and we also vistited with a 6 mo old mastiff/lab mix who was lovely and so nice. she was already 70 pounds at only 6 months. it was a really hard decision, i would have loved to have walked out of there with both pups. but...we decided to get the great dane/ lab. hes 10 weeks old and so playful, and shy and altogether adorable. we came home and introduced him too his brother, cooper, a golden retriever, and his sister, sophie, a collie mix. introductions went very well. everyone played. i think my 2 dogs overwhelmed him a bit but he did great. i havent thought of a name for this little guy yet, so if anyone has any suggestions, please tell me. i will try to post pics soon. my husband is still in shock over the fact that we now have 3 dogs, and 3 cats. lol

Leah

Helpful Groups & Dogs in Need / great dane/ lab pup

« on: January 23, 2007, 05:14:37 pm »

I know I shouldnt but I always do...I was looking at the local humane society's web site at the dogs available for adoption - because you know i always have to look just in case there is a pupper that i just cant live without - and they currently have a 2 month old great dane/lab mix pupper that is 2 months. hes all black and his pic looks adorable. im not sure if they know hes lab/great dane or if thats just a best guess. but...i think i might have to go down and take a look at him tomorrow (my day off work and school). i posted a couple weeks ago about possibly getting one of my friends pit pups when they are born...but that isnt 100% for sure yet...and even though i wouldnt be paying for the pup, it still wouldnt be a rescue. and god knows im a sucker for rescues. so...i think i'll have to go down and see him and see if i fall in love with him and think he would be a good addition to the family...
i'll keep you posted...
Leah

Food Discussion & Information / feeding question

« on: January 22, 2007, 10:52:21 am »

my golden retriever, cooper, has always been a little on the thin side, but ever since he turned 1, he really has started to fill out. i have always free-fed both of my dogs. lately though i have started to kind of monitor how much cooper is eating though and it is too much! i switched foods recently, from solid gold large breed adult, to innova large breed adult, and i have decided to stop free feeding. i do not want to have fat dogs. so, today is my first day of attempting to feed them in different bowl and not leave food out. according to the feeding guidlines for innova, cooper should get 4 1/4 cups a day and my collie mix, who isnt a large breed, should get about 2 cups. im spliting those portions in half and will feed twice day. BUT they both just got done eating their first half, and they both seem to want more. cooper seemed to still be so hungry that i gave in and gave him one more cup, so hes already had 3 of his 4 cups and its not even 11am! so, my question is, how do i know that they are getting enough to eat?

they seem so hungry, and i am feeling like i am starving my babies, even though i know i am doing the right thing trying to keep them from becoming overweight. is it just going to take time for them to get use to eating their portions twice a day. and if so, about how long until they stop looking at me like they accusing me of starving them? lol. do you guys free-feed, or do you just feed once or twice a day? and how many hours do you put between feedings? thanks for any input, Leah

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / which gender to add???

« on: January 15, 2007, 03:28:20 pm »

I posted about a week ago that i might be adding a little pit bull puppy to our family. our neighbors dog is pregnant, and our dogs have grown up with the mom and dad of the puppies and get along great with them, so we are considering getting a pup. ive done a lot of rersearch about the breed and most of what ive read says that it is preferable to add a dog of the other gender than what you have. BUT I have a male golden retriever, and a female collie mix. my golden is extremely submissive to every dog it meets, and my collie mix female is also quite submissive, so, i am just wondering, do you guys think it would be better to add one gender over the other? or does it not matter since both my dogs are so submissive?
thanks for any input,
Leah

Pit Bull Discussions & Pictures / pit pups

« on: January 09, 2007, 10:57:48 am »

well, i have been thinking about adding a little paw to our family...but i just found out that my neighbors dog is pregnant. shes the sweetest pitbull, and i adore her. our other neighbors pitbull got her pregnant. so, the pups will be full blood pit. when my neighbors first moved in with all their pits, i was a little nervous. i had never been around pits before, and all i "knew" about them is what i have heard on the news and whatnot. but time, and research about the breed has changed my opinion about them. the mom and dad of the soon to be pups, are both great, and i have been around them enough to know that i would love to have one of their puppies. i think my husband is relatively open to the possibility. i hope there is a female that looks just like the mom, cause she is so cute. so, we'll see what happens, it is too soon to talk...im already gettting excited though!

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / adding a tiny paw?

« on: January 07, 2007, 11:14:53 pm »

i am considering the possibility of adding a little paw to our family. i currently have a golden retriever, and a collie mix. i dont know much about little breeds, though i am beginning to research them. just wondering how many of you have little paws with your big paws? and if you do, what kinds of little paws do you have? and how do they get along with your big paws. my dogs play really good with each other, they rough house a lot, but when they get introduced to a little paw, they are always a lot more gentle. like they are aware of how much bigger they are. so, what kid of little paw breeds do you all reccomend?
thanks,
Leah

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / how do you deal with it?

« on: December 10, 2006, 05:36:02 am »

I recently did a speech about reasons to spay and neuter your pets (for my public speaking class at school) and in doing research for the speech, i found so many disturbing statistics about all the unwanted animals brought to shelters every single year, and the millions of animals that are euthanized every single year because there are simply not enough people to adopt them. i found a quote that said " for every animal that dies in a shelter there is someone, somewhere responsible for its death". and that is true. after doing all the research, i am feeling profoundly depressed and hopeless about the whole situation. the animals who are in shelters could be great companions if given the chance, but unfortunately most of them will not be given the chance. how do you deal with that??? i mistakenly was looking at the dogs avaiable for adoption at the local shelter and found many that i could fall in love with. but...i already have 2 dogs and 3 cats and though i would take a hundred more, my husband wouldnt. nor do i have the funds and the space for that many animals but...it is just so frustrating and heartbreaking. i want to save all the animals in the world, i want to take them all home and make them feel loved and special and wanted. my husband tells me that i cant save all the animals, and of course he is right, but that doesnt stop me from wanting to. Sorry for the depressing subject but... i am just feeling so friggin' sad and hopeless and helpless and PISSED off at all the stupid people in the world who think " its just an animal"
Leah

Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / shock collar question

« on: October 21, 2006, 09:17:14 am »

I have been thinking about getting shock collars for my 2 dogs, my golden and my unknown mixed breed dog that was a stray i adopted. the biggest issues that we are hoping to correct with a shock collar is chewing (on rugs, carpets, ect, chasing the cats, and digging ( we just put sod down in our backyard). my question is this - how do i train 2 dogs at once? or should i just do one at a time? i have never used a shock collar before but have heard good things abOut them from ppl who have and i have done a lot of research on them.
so, does anybody have any tips for training 2 dogs at once? or will it be easier and less confusing for the dogs if i do one dog at a time?
any suggestions?
thanks,Leah

Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / would a muzzle work...?

« on: September 19, 2006, 04:04:59 pm »

i still am trying to socialize the stray dog i found with my golden retriever. someone said to put them in the backyard together and they will work it out. but until i am sure she will not bite, i dont want to do that. so, i was thinking, what about a muzzle? what if i muzzle both of them ( cant just muzzle her, that wouldnt be fair, even though i know cooper wont bite)and let them out together in the backyard, or maybe take them to a park, neutural territory for both? do you think that would be a good idea? that way they can actually be around each other without barriers in between, they can sniff and hopefully play without a chance of anyone getting bit.
what do you guys think???
thanks,
Leah

Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts / cant we all just get along? (advice please!)

« on: September 17, 2006, 10:55:37 am »

i wrote a couple days ago about a stray dog that i took in. well, we put an ad in the newspaper and we took fliers to the H.S. and so far, no word from anyone. we are calling her Sophie. the woman at the H.S. agreed that she is a shepherd mix. shes a great dog. very loving and sweet. potty trained. unfortunately, she is still not getting along with my Golden Retriever, and she is trying to chase my cats, and barking at them. my husband is losing patience, and says if they cant get along then we are going to have to give her to my sister to foster. ive already talked to my sis about it, and she and her hubby agreed to foster her, while looking for someone to adopt her. ( i am hoping however, that if they foster her,they will decide to keep her. they currently have no dogs). i am already extremely attached to this little girl and want so badly to keep her. a couple of you gave me some advice when i first posted about her. i tried introducing them thru a baby gate. she barked and barked. how long should i let that go on for? how many times a day should i try it? anything else i can do? and what about the cats, how do i get her to stop trying to chase them? she and one of the cats touched nose to nose a couple times, while she was on a least. but if shes off leash and sees one, she tries to chase them. i baby gate her in certain areas of the house, so the cats are pretty safe. and how do i figure out if shes aggressive towards cats or just wants to play. my golden chases the cats to, but he just wants to play.
ughghghhghg. i am getting very frustrated. i want to keep this dog, but right now im not feeling very hopeful that it is going to work out that way...
Leah

Golden Retriever Discussions / QUICK! I need help!

« on: September 12, 2006, 02:45:01 pm »

last night at work i found a dog running around the street and parking lot. since it was late, i went ahead and took her home with me. she is the nicest dog ever. really friendly and laid back. she doesnt have any collar/ tags on. we are going to put an ad in the newspaper about her tomorrow and hopefully if she has owners, then we will find them. she doesnt look or act like a stray but who knows? shes tan and black. about 40 pounds. i already love her. she has one floppy ear that is always doing something different than the other one. its really cute. unfortunately though, she seems fearful of my golden retriever. when we tried to introduce them, she seemed afraid and barked and growled a little, and literally tried to climb up my leg. so for now, we are keeping the two sperated which is kind of a pain in the butt. if we dont find an owner i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to keep her and i think hubby would be okay with that. but she HAS to get along with my other dog or else it just wont be possible. so, tell me this, how hard is it to get a dog to overcome their fear of other dogs. what can i do to try to get them to get along? any suggestions? this is a GREAT dog. hopefully she has owners out looking for her and that we will find them. but if not, i want her. my golden is twice as big as her and he is pretty excitable. but all he wants to do is play with her.
so ,tell me guys, what can i do to help this dog accept my dog? any advice?
THANKS,
lEAH

Discussions & Information on Grooming / Just in time!

« on: August 22, 2006, 11:12:05 am »

omigod, i have just discovered the Furminator! It is awesome. why didnt i hear about it sooner!? i got it for my golden retriever and my 3 cats and it works wonderfully. i can not believe the ammount of hair it gets off. i discovered it just in time too. my newfie puppy gets here in a week and a half!
do you guys all use the Furminator, too? if not, go and buy one RIGHT NOW!!!!!im not kidding, its fabulous.