Siberian Mom

At some point in the near future I may become the owner of a 6 month old female GSD. Initially she was purchased from Germany to be bred here but the owner who has her now has been noticing tummy issues. He got a allergy panel done and supposedly it came back 15 out of 30 allergens. As such he doesn't want to breed from her and has offered her to me... I feed raw and I have heard of a lot of dogs being allergic to things in kibble form, but raw they can handle it just fine. Most of the allergens I can remember are common foods (chicken, beef, ect. ect.) Does anyone have any experience feeding a dog with such a large number of supposed allergies?

So I have been working with my DSLR for around 6 months now, I feel i've grown at least a little and my photos are better... Here's my Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/54745657@N04/ Constructive criticism is encouraged!

Also, a lot of people have tags or watermarks on their photos (soandso's photography) is this necessary?

My dogs used to be fed 100% raw up until about 3 months ago when I severed a tendon in my pinkie while cutting meat for the dogs (long story short, don't cut frozen meat while distracted with sharp knives!) So, I would love to get back into feeding them all raw... I don't think that's a possibility at the moment or for at least a while. But, just today I bought a bunch of Chicken leg quarters so their teeth can get back to the pristine white they were before. Some have said it isn't good to mix raw with kibble but i'm planning on feeding kibble in the PM and the quarters in the morning. How much kibble should I cut back on when adding the quarters?

Their kibble portions range from 2- 2.5 cups/day depending on the dog. I also feed the higher protein TOTW kibbles and rotate protein sources.

They are medium energy dogs who are exercised on a daily basis (Huskies and a Border Collie)

My 4 year old Border Collie (whom i recently adopted) has tested positive for heartworms. He will be going into the vet tomorrow for another blood test to see just how bad it really is. I would like any information on how much the costs range, how effective treatment is, ect.ect.

I'm really looking for anything here, i'm beyond pissed at his last owners.

I have a rough coated Border Collie who has longer and thicker hair than i've ever seen on a Border Collie. Here's a picture: http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal... He's a bit of a chubby boy, were working on it. He was born and raised in Jackson, KY and just moved down to Fl (with his original owners, before i got him) a few months ago, so could his hair be so thick because the weather is much cooler in KY? It's most thick at the base of his tail around his hind quarters. It mats very easily and i brush it often to try and keep the mats down to a minimum.. but just today i found at least 8-10 more.

I'm thinking of getting him groomed... NOT SHAVED. What should i ask for/expect? If i wanted them to "tidy him up" or trim him a bit, would that do anything really? Should i even bother getting him professionally groomed? We have a Furminator (with 3 Sibes who wouldn't...) but shedding is not the issue.

Any help, please?

I'm trying a new approach with my dogs. Marker training and shaping. I've taught my oldest male to "wave" using shaping. So, he can do it (with a little encouragement from my leg lifting, which was the step before him raising his paw into the air.) I've read conflicting opinions that some say i should create a signal first before adding a verbal cue or command and some others say i should create a signal, and then add the verbal. If it's the latter, how do i transition him to the signal (lets say me doing an actual wave) and phase out the leg without him being unsure of what i'm asking? Or do i just wait for him to offer the behavior while i wave like an idiot and mark/jackpot when he does?

I just started Mickey on a RAW diet. Well, he totally loves it and cannot understand why i didn't start it sooner! But, i'm still a little fuzzy on the RMB to Meaty Meat ratio.

I know we should strive for balance over time, but he's had enough issues and i want to try the best i can. So this morning i gave him a chicken leg and 1/2 a breast. For tonight i have the other half of the chicken quarter and a chicken neck. Overall today he will eat about 19 oz RMB and 6 oz Meaty meat. I know the ratio is around 80% meat 10% bone and 10% organ but how can i really tell how much bone is in the RMB's? I'm on the yahoo rawfeeding group and have the support of a Sibe forum, where many people feed raw.

Oh, P.S.

Suggested cat: Sports>Wrestling O.o

I have a 3 year old Sibe/Aussie. Now that he has come out of his shell, i've notticed he likes to play ball and will play fetch. My question is, how can i reinforce that i like this behavior? How can i make him really ball driven, without crossing the line and making him obsessed? I verbally praise him when he brings the ball to me, but is there anything else i can do to help him along? He is very high energy, and not even romping with my other 3 Sibes totally wears him out. Any ideas?

And because he's just too cute:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

My male just turned 2 a few days ago. For the past 6-8 months i'd say we've been battling this skin issue. At first it was mild, but now it has gotten much worse.

He's fed:

Solid Gold Barking at the Moon (40% Protein formula)

Solid Gold seameal (just started this a few days ago)

Wellness Wellbars (no wheat or chicken)

Since the last round of antibiotics, his back is staying clear. There's still not much hair, but it's not inflamed anymore. It is rather flaky, i've been using Head and Shoulders to keep the flakes away. Although now on his underbelly and around his groin and things on the inside are red bumps (almost like hives) and he's begun to chew again (this started way after the shampoo i DONT think they're related.) I'm totally at a loss. My vet just keeps wanting to put him on more and more meds. But i don't think that's healthy. Should i put him back on the Salmon oil as well? Should i try some Zinc? Please help me out guys, i hate seeing him so miserable. And about how long will it take to see some results from Seameal (even slight results)?

Mishka came to us about 2 months ago. She was dumped by the airport and I decided to take her home and become a house of 3 Huskies.

At 5 months old she was nearly 40lbs. She has slimmed down a little and is around 35ish now (7 months on Christmas.) She is a big bigger than my older female (15 months) and has a LOT more fur to her. (although my other female is on the smaller side) Her face is also different from my others. And her ears seem to be shaped differently. Maybe i'm just over analyzing.

Around the first day we got her: (pink harness)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

Most recent: (one on the left)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

I've always watched the Dog Whisperer. In his newer episodes he seems to have a lot less patience (hey i would too...) For example: In some of the episodes with the smaller dogs, the dogs become aggressive with someone and they scoop it up to "save" the person. Ceasar looks like he has daggers in his eyes! As if to say "After all the shows i've done, that's how you STILL react to the situation?!"

I can understand his frustration though... If i had to correct the same 20 or so human mistakes all the time... i'd grow annoyed too...

Has anyone else noticed his lack of patience?

Also, who has watched his show and implemented his techniques? (Not just talking about the alpha roll) Has it worked for you?

We have used many of his teachings... and it makes all the trouble worthwhile when i can sit down at a restaurant with my 3 Huskies and enjoy a peaceful meal (and so can everyone else!)

I live in south Florida. It's been rainy lately. I went out into the yard today and found this:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/ohyea_bejeal...

It's red and is almost honeycomb like its about 6 inches tall. It was standing up, i knocked it down. Honestly it looked like some animals heart at first (and smelled like one too). The base of it is white and it's in the ground. The thing reeks like dead animal. My aunt has one in her yard too. Smells the same. Anyone have any idea?

My Siberians always get hotspots in the summer time (combo of the heat in south florida, long fur, and constantly being in and out of the pool/lake) does anyone know of something (home made or store bought) that REALLY works? I've tried some stuff but i never see an improvement. They're on holistic food and they don't have crazy allergies. It's just hot here.

My newest addition came from my father. She's a Pitt/Lab X and about 3 years old. When i got her she was 80 pounds. This dog shouldn't weigh more than 45. Maybe 50. She also went through a false Pregnancy about 2 years ago. So her nipples look as if she has been breastfeeding ever since.

Since i've had her with me this is how things have changed:

She now only gets 2/3 cup dry a meal. 2 X a day. She's on grain free food.

She is being exercised everyday, but twice a week i bring her to the dog lake and she gets 2 hours of consistent swimming every time we go, as well as being socialized with other dogs.

She was spayed about a month and a half ago, since then her nipples have gone down a little, but not much. She's up to date on everything including heartguard and fronline.

My question is: Since she's been losing weight she has a lot of extra skin, some of which is starting to chafe and create rashes. Especially on her front legs where the leg meets the body. Is there anything i can do to help with this extra skin? And is there anything i can do about her over-sized nipples? Whenever she jumps into the water i can't imagine it's comfortable with all this hanging skin.

*Don't know what happened last time i posted this, it acted like i posted it twice so i deleted the later one and it ended up taking both away...*

On Thursday my shelter took over care of about 30 "tea cup" and "toy" puppies from "Wizard Of Claws" (pet store) which went bankrupt and i think they're facing charges by the HSUS as well. Tomorrow all will go up for adoption to the public.

Anyway. I became attached to one of the Long Haired Chihuahua puppies. I really wanted to be able to take him home but: We were all told that we weren't allowed to adopt any of these puppies and i don't really feel comfortable adopting a "toy" since i'm well aware of the health issues. The point is, i'm pretty much set on getting one. Obviously not from a store, but from a breeder. And yes my Huskies do fine with small dogs.

What should i be looking for from a breeder? I'm not very familiar with smaller breeds and the tests that should be done on the dam and sire. What should i be looking for in the puppy? I live in fl but i didn't see any breeders listed on the AKC website.

I see a lot of dogs that are returned to my shelter by the adoptive owners. Most that get returned are within a few months of being adopted. It's basically people NOT knowing what they're getting into or how much work a dog (or the breed) is.

We adopted out a Husky to a family on saturday. Sunday morning they come back saying the dog bit the owners girlfriend and attacked their other dog. The dog was very mouthy when i had spent time with him in the kennel. But it was not at all painful and he's still a pup (9 months) they were told that he might be a little too much to handle especially with children in the house. They were told this on the day they came in and saw him (with the kids in tow). They didn't care and wanted him anyway. They told us they didn't have a dog when we asked them. We ask everyone because dog meets are mandatory at my shelter. We don't like dogs coming back.

All in all the dog will be put down after the 10 day quarantine. This upsets me because the dog is not at all dangerous, the people had no idea what they were doing. And because of their lack of knowledge a great dog is going to be put down.

My question is, do you think shelters should be more strict about who they adopt dogs to? Especially for dog breeds that need experienced owners? Should shelters deny applications because the home doesn't look ideal or if they don't have a good feeling about it? Any thoughts are welcome.

A long time ago i once heard that when a dog "paws" you on the arm or nuzzles his head underneath your arm he's displaying dominance?

My sibes paw me all the time when i baby talk them and play with them on their level. I also see them do it to each other all the time. And whenever i'm on the computer or sitting anywhere really, my older sibe will sometimes stick his nose underneath my arm and shove his head onto my lap. Is this a real show of dominance or was i misinformed?

My father got this black lab a few years ago from a rescue in Northern Florida. She was a dog that they had found floating in the destruction after Hurricane Katrina. She lived in this womans house and she must have had at least a hundred dogs. Now I've finally convinced him to let me get her spayed and shots all UTD. And thankfully she is heartworm neg. So that was done a few days ago and were just waiting for her to recover completely. She appears to be dog aggressive. Although she has adapted fine to my Huskies being in and out of her house, drinking with her, sharing treats and toys, and even being close to her food. But at their first meeting it was like walking satan dog out to meet her next meal. So it is possible for her to cooperate and be friendly. She now even wrestles with my youngest all day.

When i walk her alone or even with the other 2 and she sees a dog she will growl. She is extremely overweight and i'm really concerned for her health. My huskies are at the dog park everyday. We have a separate enclosed area that i could use with the lab. What's the best way to help her socialize? Since she did so well so fast with my 2 it doesn't seem like an impossible task.

My dogs (2 Huskies: male 15 months, female 5 months) have been on Purina One since we had them. We were jumping between jobs and didn't want to go broke just buying dog food. Now that everything is somewhat settled we decided to switch to Wellness. In a perfect world i really wanted to try Orijen, but that's way out of our price range. Now that i've bought the food and they are on their 3rd day of it i decided to look on other sites besides Dog Food Analysis. I find that a lot of people have problems with this food. And before when i wanted to try Nutro, i saw the same things. Is there anything wrong with wellness? Compared to One is seems 10000x better. Our dogs are very active and we needed a food that nourished them better. I was also thinking about adding some carrots and apples to their diets? Has anyone been on Wellness and had it turned out badly? Anyone currently feeding wellness? Dog food is definitely not my area of smarts. Is there a better food that's price and quality competitive with Wellness that seems to be better?

Our older Sibe has been quite gassy this past month and just recently i've discovered this almost sore on the back of his calf. Its scaly and looks like some of the skin is flaking off. Hair is missing from it so he's got to be chewing it. He has a vet visit for tomorrow morning but i want to see what you think it might be? He's eating Purina One now but he was Eating Purina Pro Plan not too long ago. I know it's garbage so i've been thinking about Orijen? He's extremely active and in good shape besides this business. Any ideas? What should i be expecting from the vet?