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Messages - mixedupdog

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106
Great Pyrenees Discussions / Re: Do any of you ever get this?
« on: April 29, 2005, 09:57:45 pm »
My friends give me a hard time about this all the time. I work in a kennel, and do a lot of volunteer stuff for rescues. I'll tell a friend "there's this dog that needs a home..." They say "a big dog?" I say, "no, medium sized".  Then they'll look at pix or come to see the dog, and say "what do you mean NOT BIG?" Well, to me, Lab size is medium. Australian shepards are small, pugs are tiny, toy poodles and chihuahuas are pocketsize.
My babies are just the right size.

107
Great Dane Pictures / Re: FINALLY pics of my Dane pup!
« on: April 29, 2005, 04:17:51 pm »
What a pretty girl! Thanks for sharing her picture.

108
Mixed Breed Pictures / Fun Day at the Reservoir
« on: April 24, 2005, 09:41:21 pm »
We got together today with some friends from our Lab board, we went to Union Reservoir in Longmont, CO.  Phyfe, (1/2 Mastiff 1/2 Saint) was not interested in swimming. He kept barking at Earnest (1/2 Dane 1/2 Lab) like he was saying "DUDE, that's cold WATER, not snow, WATER!"
He doesn't understand retrieving either, he looked kind of wistful, like "I want to have fun, too, but I don't understand these games." He did have a great time, though. Earnest has his Lab mommy's love of water, and he'll play fetch as long as you'll throw something. All in all they both had a blast.







109
Before you rule out purebred, be aware that yellow labs come in a fox red variation, which is what your Rosie looks like. "Field style" also come in tall and lanky, our friend Calvin is almost as tall as Earnest, and Earnest is 36" at the withers. Calvin is probably around 32, and he is definitely purebred, papered Lab. Some of the hunt people just breed leaner, taller and shorter coat. "Bench" or "English" labs have more fur, tend to be shorter and stockier, and lately are bred to have "block" heads. There's an enormous variation in purebred Labs, I belong to a Lab club, and when we have a get together it's amazing how different they look, even though they are all purebred from excellent bloodlines.

110
Transporting & Traveling With Dogs / Re: Modes of transport for dogs
« on: April 21, 2005, 07:59:36 am »
http://www.premierpet.com/pages.cfm?id=13

The Surefit harness is the one I'm talking about.

111
Mixed Breed Discussion / Re: How about big mutts?
« on: April 20, 2005, 10:14:10 pm »
I posted in "General" but will post again here.
Earnest is Great Dane/Lab


Phyfe is St. Bernard/Mastiff




112
Transporting & Traveling With Dogs / Re: Modes of transport for dogs
« on: April 20, 2005, 09:55:24 pm »
Instead of a seatbelt harness I have Premier (the company that makes Gentle Leaders) harnesses. They have two buckles at the shoulders, so the dog doesn't have to "step in" to them, and they have adjustments on the chest straps as well as around the girth, so you can make them fit right.
Then I use a nylon "tab" ( a leash that's just a loop and a clip, Petsmart has them) I put the tab on the harness, and the seatbelt through the tab and buckle it, then cinch it down to where it's snug when the dog is sitting or lying on the seat. Works just as good as the ones marketed as seatbelt harnesses. I drive a Buick Station Wagon, Earnest rides on the back seat, Phyfe rides in the back on the jump seat.

113
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Taking dogs shopping
« on: April 20, 2005, 09:46:21 pm »
Earnest has all the Nylabones he needs. He has an aversion to rubber, so Kongs are out, and anything else is dangerous. (He's a very strong chewer)
But we still go to Petsmart for treats and supplies, we went a lot when he was young (I almost said "little" but he was never that!) to work on distraction training. Seems like there's always some know-it-all there full of advice we don't need and didn't ask for, not employees, fellow shoppers!
My favorite are the ones who ask "What breed is he?" and when I tell them Lab/Great Dane, they say "no, I think he's...(insert anything dumb) I KNOW what he is, I saw both his parents!!!  Lately I've been saying "Lochbuie (the town he came from) Lurcher, they're very rare". Stops the arguing, and they are sooo impressed! :D

114
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Dog friendly places
« on: April 20, 2005, 09:33:55 pm »
http://www.ilovethisplace.com/dogfun/

This site is pretty useful for finding off leash parks in your area.

115
Food Discussion & Information / Re: Rawhide
« on: April 20, 2005, 09:24:54 pm »
I used to be a vet tech, surgery assistant in fact, and have seen perforated intestines from COOKED bones, and obstructions from rawhide.  On another board I belong to, one member, even after a lot of warnings, decided rawhide was safe as long as she supervised the dog, and took it away when it got small. The dog came very close to choking to death, she got a piece of rawhide stuck in her throat. Luckily the owner was able to grasp a corner and draw it out. She posted about her close call, as a warning to those who still were using it.
You also have to be aware that some rawhide, (mostly the cheap ones not manufactured in the US) can be processed with toxic chemicals, or harbor salmonella. It's just not worth all the risks.
Nylabones are great and long lasting (the non-edible kind) Kongs work well for some dogs (there's an Ultra size strong one for big dogs)
I have given my dogs RAW whole beef femurs (cow leg bones from the hip to hock) from the butcher, for 20 years or more, and NEVER had an issue. Never saw a problem at work either. Raw beef bones just kind of crumble. I freeze them solid and give them frozen, by the time they thaw the dog has worked off all the messy stuff.  Some dogs need to be introduced to bones slowly, the marrow is very rich and can give them diarrhea. You can either scoop some out before freezing (that would be on a bone with the ends "knuckles" cut off) or limit the time at first, putting it back in the freezer in between.

116
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Sleeping Arrangments
« on: April 18, 2005, 11:52:10 pm »
Earnest, my Great Dane/Lab mix, eats dog beds. My solution was to buy him (at the thrift store) a toddler bed, and put it in my bedroom.  That's his bed, and he often sleeps in it at night.  If it's cold, or he wants company, he'll come stand by my bed and breathe in my ear until I tell him ok, and make room for him. During the day he spends most of his time on "his" couch, I have a big 9 footer that he, my son, and I can all fit on.
Phyfe, our Mastiff/Saint Bernard mix, prefers the floor when he's upstairs, and he has his own futon downstairs in my son's basement bedroom.

117
Food Discussion & Information / Elevated feeders and bloat
« on: April 18, 2005, 04:21:28 pm »
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/nondietary_risk_factors_gdv.doc

I wondered how many of you were aware of the Purdue study, and the link they found that suggests that an elevated feeder actually increases the chances of bloat.
How many of you still use one? How many don't?

118
Saint Bernard General Discussions / Re: Constant Itching?
« on: April 16, 2005, 06:56:21 pm »
Maybe it IS the Frontline. From where you described the itching is, that was the first thing I thought of.

119
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Extra Large Breed Dogs
« on: April 16, 2005, 12:45:26 am »
I work at a boarding kennel, and there's an Irish Wolfhound that can look me in the eye (on all fours), and I'm 5'4".  The biggest dog I ever saw was a Great Pyr, St. Bernard, and ? mix that lived on a horse ranch I worked at. He was hugely hairy, with a head as big as a trash can lid. No exaggeration, he was BIGGER than the Shetland Pony we had (although not fatter, LOL)

120
Mixed Breed Pictures / Hello, new here!
« on: April 13, 2005, 08:38:10 am »
Here are pics of my big boys:
This is Earnest, he's a Labrador/Great Dane



And this is Phyfe, he's St. Bernard/Mastiff



And here they are with my human kid:





Nice to find a board dedicated to the big guys, hope we'll have fun and make some friends.

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