Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Berner_Mom

Pages: 1 [2] 3
16
Recently, like the past month or so, Tucker has been hesitating to come back in the house after being let out to pee or play in backyard.

To best of our knowlege, he hasn't been "struck" by the door, had it closed in his face or anything traumatic that would've made him scared of the door.  The first thing we thought of was that because we would let him out for one last pee before kenneling him for the night, he began to think "if I come back in house, i have to go to bed"....so we changed his routine, do his last pee out at 9pm, then are still up for 2 hours hanging with him before he has to go to bed.

It seemed to work for a bit, but now Tucker is right back to hesitating. It is getting really frustrating as he'll bark to come inside, be standing RIGHT by the door, peering in the window, and we'll open it for him...and he'll back up, and just stand there, looking at us. And won't move.

We have lured him in with food, but we don't want that to become a habit, that he only  comes in when offered cheese ro whatever...

Any ideas why he's hesitating? Or how to put it to an end?
Thanks.

17
Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions / Where do I go to purchase a draft cart?
« on: December 22, 2008, 02:01:33 pm »
My hubby was thinking of making one, and though he is pretty handy I have my doubts about his abilities with this one!

Where can we go (online or in real life) to purchase a drafting cart for Tucker?  Doesn't have to be super fancy, just the regular cart to teach him to pull behind him. We can tell he is happiest when "working", such as playing with his puzzle toys, or when on a walk wearing his backpack...(we keep it empty so far).

thanks and merry christmas!!

18
Discussions & Information on Grooming / Dry foot pads....?
« on: December 21, 2008, 02:58:08 am »
I am wondering what the normal texture of a dog's footpads should be?

Are they supposed to be really dry, rough feeling? Not quite cracked, but feeling like they COULD crack?
I'm concerned with Tucker's footpads, they seem really, really dry to me. My hubby noticed as well, and asked me if we shouldn't be putting moisturizer or some sort of cream on them??  Any ideas?  I told him no, that the texture was normal, but really- I have no idea, so thought I'd ask you guys!

Its not like they're bothering Tucker, and he was just at the groomers on Friday, and they of course trimmed up his feet, so if it was anything out of the ordinary, I'm sure they would have mentioned it.

Thanks in advance, and also Merry Christmas!!

19
Newfoundland Discussions / Newfie on cover of DogFancy
« on: December 18, 2008, 06:16:49 am »
I haven't had a chance to read it, but I was very excited to see the beautiful Newfoundland dog on this months cover of Dog Fancy!!  I have a BMD, but Newfs are my other favorite breed.

Hopefully my magazine comes soon, I just got a subscription for my birthday!


20
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / How cold is too cold?
« on: December 15, 2008, 03:07:38 am »
It snowed here in Calgary about 25 cm total over the past few days.  The temperature is sitting about -37 degrees Celcius (I don't know what that is in Farenheit, sorry) with the windchill...an d Tucker wants to be outside!

He goes out to pee, then comes back in, but sometimes he's hanging out in our backyard because the dog next door is out in his backyard (they can't see each other, only hear) and I'm worried that Tucker is outside too long.

We are assuming he'd come back inside when he's getting too cold...but, he's only 9 months old. Would he make that decision?  I was watching him this morning, and he was circling around looking for a spot to pee, and as he paused, he'd lift his feet off the ground, one at a time, alternating..s o that no paw was in the snow the whole time.

That behavior makes me wonder if its already too cold for him- I don't want his paws to be hurting from the cold, or his joints either. The longest time he's been out since the dump of snow and drop in temperature (except for walks) is 5, 10 minutes max.

I think we are going to have to get him booties for the walks, but for going out to pee- do you guys think 10 minutes outside is ok with no protection on his feet?

Thanks in advance!

21
Hello!
So....any brands out there of salt/ice melter that can be tossed onto deck/steps/driveway/sidewalk to melt the ice and snow that is quickly accumulating on us here in Calgary, Canada, that is safe for Tucker to walk on or eat?

Hubby was tossing some on the back deck steps earlier today, and Tucker was quickly licking it off...That can't be good.

Any advice is appreciated! I tried googling it, but got no results.  Haven't seen anything in pet stores at all.

Thanks so much, in advance.

22
Food Discussion & Information / Forgot to thaw food.....
« on: November 27, 2008, 10:21:19 am »
Oh no!  I'm at work and just realized I forgot to take anything out for Tucker to thaw out for his dinner.
Is it ok if I stop at the grocery store and pick up some ground beef and/or chicken or something to give to him as soon as I get home?

Anything I should look for or to avoid when in the meat section of the grocery store?  I've only fed pre-made raw meals so far.

Thanks!

23
Food Discussion & Information / Eggs + Yogurt + banana + kibble???
« on: November 13, 2008, 06:40:46 am »
My husband, bless his heart, is really getting into this raw food thing. Unfortunately, I wish he'd stick to the menu I am slowly and carefully am getting together, instead of just randomly feeding Tucker items he thinks will be "good and interesting for him."

Grrrrr!

So, this morning, hubby fed Tucker his scoops of Orijens kibble, along with: two mushed up bananas, a few spoonfuls of plain yogurt AND the yolks of 4 hard boiled eggs!

My concerns: I know others feed bananas, so that's kind of ok, but can you feed yogurt and eggs to dogs? The eggs were cooked!?!  AND it was all fed WITH kibble!!

I'm hoping to not go home at lunchtime to discover a poopy mess in my kitchen from the food not agreeing with Tucker.  If there is one (or several, LOL) I am calling hubby home from work to clean it up.

Normally Tucker just gets kibble in the morning for breakfast, and he gets his raw dinner at night.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts.

24
Food Discussion & Information / Bad to mix raw protein?
« on: November 10, 2008, 12:36:12 pm »
Hello!
My well meaning husband fed Tucker an early dinner tonight, and just texted me to let me know.  (He was off all day, I forgot to take something out to thaw for Tucker, so I texted him to get him to take something out...)

He took out, defrosted, and fed Tucker a combo of complete turkey dinner (which includes the fruit and veggies) and also some beef.....

Is it bad to mix and serve the two proteins in one meal?  I ask because any sample menu I've seen only has one protein per meal, I just hope its not upsetting to Tucker's tummy to eat turkey and beef at one time.  I guess we'll see!

25
Food Discussion & Information / Friend feeding raw...and milk?
« on: November 05, 2008, 03:02:21 am »
Ok, so one of Tucker's friends is a Great Pyrenese who is 3 years old named Jackson. Jackson and his mom, Sherry, live about 4 blocks from us, and we walk together sometimes on the weekend.  Jackson has been fed raw food from the get-go of raw food, but I found something else interesting last weekend.

In the morning with his breakfast, Jackson is served about a liter of MILK (1%)!!  He still has access to water at breakfast, she's not giving him milk INSTEAD of water, its "as well as".  Apparantly Jackson just LOVES it and laps up the milk every time.

Is this nuts? Have you guys heard of this before? What would the benefits be of giving your dog milk? I thought she was nuts.

26
Discussions & Information on Grooming / Good shampoo?
« on: November 03, 2008, 03:21:08 am »
Was wondering what everyone uses to bath their pups?  What are some good shampoo brands you guys would recommend?

Thanks!
Sarah

27
Hello!
Tucker is 8 months old, we started when he was very young (11 weeks or so) taking him to be groomed at our local PetSmart.
We started off SLOWLY, so as to get him used to the environment, used to the girls who worked there, used to being handeled etc...so that he could build confidence and enjoy going for a bath, brush, clip whatever.

It was going great, he'd had 4 visits there (the first one he just hung out for a couple hours, playing with the employees and not actually having any grooming done) and he seemed excited to walk into the PetSmart to go there, everyone loved him, commented on his progress with getting more comfortable with each thing. (First the bath, then the dryer, then the brushing, clipping nails etc..)

Unfortunately, Tucker's 5th visit was a disaster. He was put with a new groomer, who obviously must've been afraid of dogs, and maybe Tucker could sense her uncertainty/nervousness because he did not behave at all.

Now, of course I wasn't there, so I will never know exactly what happened this time, all i know is that when I arrived to pick Tucker up at the appointed time, the employee who did the grooming came racing out of the back room, screaming profanities at me, shouting that my puppy was the "worst behaved dog on the planet", that he was "ferocious, fierce, poorly trained, with serious issues", that I was an "irresponsible pet owner to allow a vicious animal like that around people" and that there was "no way Tucker had ever been there before, he was terrified of everything".

I was completely taken aback, I told her no one else had had such difficulties, perhaps Tucker had a bad day (he was only 6 months old when this incident occured) but that if he was being difficult to handle, why didn't they call me to come get him, and explain that he wouldn't be groomed today?

She said (I will never forget this) "oh no, I wasn't going to let him win. I have my ways" and then they brought Tucker out, who was perfectly groomed. I asked her "what does that mean?" and she said "I wouldn't let him get away with it."

Of course this had me really upset and worried- if he was being so bad and disobedient, how did she get the grooming done?  Did she muzzle him? Tie him up? Hit him until he was submissive???

I collected my dog, immediately went home to call/email the head office to express my concern and disappointment/shock at the way it was all handled- and I vowed that Tucker would never be groomed at any PetSmart location again, nor would I shop there for supplies/toys etc...

(Sorry this is so long, I didn't know the whole story would come out of me again once I started typing)

But, now- its 2 months later, and the after effects of this one PetSmart groomer are obvious with Tucker.  He is terrified of baths, hides if he hears running water from the tub (not the sink though), doesn't want to have anything to do with the brush, its near impossible to clip his nails now- we are literally starting at square one with him, which is so discouraging after making so much progress before this happened.

So we are wondering- anyone in the Calgary area (preferably the NW) know of a good, patient, understanding groomer/company that may be willing to take on Tucker and help us get him back to how he was before?

Thanks for listening, and thanks in advance for any tips!
Sarah

28
I don't know how many of you all on here are Canadian, or are living in/around Calgary such as myself, but...if you are...where do you get your raw food from? 

I've been doing lots of research on the subject, and want to know which raw food suppliers are considered to be at the top of the list of the best, which would be mediocre and which should be best left alone.  I am surprised at the number of raw food producers I've come across:

-Amore
-Arusha
-Mountain Dog Food
-Nature's Premium
-Red Dog/Blue Cat
-Urban Carnivore
-Pets Go Raw
-Farm Fresh
-Glengary Bison
-Fresh Start
-Nature's Variety
-Pleased Pets
-Top Hand

to name a few that are supplied in my local Tail Blazers pet store.  How do you choose which one is right?  And then, how do you choose which varieties to go with, or is it best to still keep it different and sometimes feed raw beef/veggie/fruit or chicken/veggie or bison/veggie/fruit or simply whole turkey etc....the possibilities are mindboggling.

The more research I do, the more I learn and am thinking that the visible results from dogs on raw diets speaks for itself- especially where BMDs are concerned. 

Also was wondering if anyone out there is feeding a combo of kibble (high quality, like Orijens) and raw food, meaning kibble being fed 4 times a week, but raw being fed 3 times a week, or something like that?

And one last question:  should we decide to take the leap and make the switch to raw food for Tucker, what is the best way to wean him from his Orijens to the raw?

Thanks in advance for all the info- I always know I will get great advice and feedback from any posts! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.


29
My hubby and I were talking the other night, as we watched yet another Dog Whisperer episode.  We've watched the show for a long time, pretty much since it started- way before we got Tucker of course, and were wondering- Do your dogs (specifically BMD) walk successfully on a treadmill, and do they seem to like it?

Since we are in Calgary, and snow/winter is fast approaching, we were playing with the idea of investing in a treadmill for Tucker (and us!) to help get through the cold, COLD winter months ahead. Not to completely stop walking him outside, just to be able to not do it as frequently or for as long, for both of our safety.  Neither of us want to be walking in -40degree weather, in a white out, on slick, ice covered roads/sidewalks.

So we thought we'd look into it and ask around, and what better place to ask then here!

Does the treadmill thing really work, or is it just edited to look like it works on the show? Do your dogs like it? How hard/easy was it to get them used to it?

Thanks for the input!

30
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Is there a Dog Fancy website?
« on: August 22, 2008, 07:36:57 pm »
I have googled Dog Fancy magazine, but am not pulling up a website for them- its all other peoples websites (like dogchannel.com) that advertise Dog Fancy magazines....b ut I am unable to order a subscription from them, as I'm in Canada.

I was hoping to not have to make a trip out to the bookstore to buy one copy to then mail in a subscription order....but looks like I may have to.

If you know of the website that actually connects me with Dog Fancy magazine, please let me know.  Hmmm, maybe they don't have one?

Thanks in advance.

Pages: 1 [2] 3