The Pet Thread

[Terry]

You have a good looking dog Terry. How's his temperament?

He's real sweet if he knows you.

His thing is cats... he hates them! He has a pure, visceral, loathing of them.

It's funny, dogs and cats today seem indifferent to each other, but when you watch the old cartoons, dog-cat feuding was a ready and well-used archetype that the audiences must have easily identified with. My guess is partly because there were more loose and semi-feral dogs and cats then and so they were more often exposed to each other is a more natural state, and partly because the types of dogs that were more popular then (pit bulls were the most popular US dog in the early part of the 20th century) had that stronger prey instinct that's been bred out of most current popular breeds.

 

[Mrs.Goaldeje]

Are you mixing? If he's that sensitive try mixing and do it VERY gradually over a 2 week span. Start with say 10 to 1 old to new and gradually work your way over to a reverse ratio. I am a fan of Wellness which is on the same nutritional level as Blue Buffalo. Another route you can take which I have since latching up with the current breeder I have is supplements. I have 2 I give: Olewo Carrot pellets do all kinds of great things for GI and skin etc. It's why raw carrots are an excellent treat for dogs. I also use Nupro for dogs which is a powder that you hydrate into a liver based gravy and put on their food. It is just loaded with all kinds of things that vets specifically recommend for dogs of all kinds. It's fantastic stuff and heath issues common to my dog's breed have never been present since I got on this stuff...like skin, joints etc (I have a Rottweiler).

Good luck!

I did change his food slowly and he was fine for a couple months. It is possible it wasn't the food, but I have noticed since then that he has problems with new foods. We used to give him raw food now and then- like the extras you get in a chicken before you cook it. It seems to make him stopped up now. It could be completely unrelated or he could just be getting older. He does fine with all kinds of treats, though. I guess it's not enough food to upset the stomach. I hadn't heard that carrots were good for dogs. Can you give them plain carrots?

 

[CounterTrey]

Yes plain carrots are an excellent healthy treat and I have yet to meet the dog who doesn't like them. You might try just sticking with Iams and doing the supplement thing, my breeder does it with Purina foods and has magnificent dogs.

Nupro All Natural Dog Supplement

 

[Win4us]

He's real sweet if he knows you.

His thing is cats... he hates them! He has a pure, visceral, loathing of them.

.

Cats huh, seems understandable. I'm pretty sure my dog is laid back as far as temper goes. Something he started doing recently is growling g at every dog being walked past our house. Nothing crazy loud but a don't come in my yard thing. When I walk him tho he's just fine passing other dogs.

 

[Win4us]

So CounterTrey, carrots are a healthy s ack for dogs too? I have never heard that but will definitely keep that in mind.

 

[CounterTrey]

Yep they're great for their coat, skin (Rotties are notorious for skin issues) and GI. If your dog passes a lot of gas this can be a boon. My Dog's poop is never runny, makes cleaning up after a Rott a LOT easier. If your dog isn't into raw carrots you can buy em in pellet form and add em to a meal real easily.

Olewo Karotten

Olewo Carrots and Red Beets All Natural Supplements for Pets

 

[Win4us]

Chachi update...he's 11 months old and 111 lbs. Oh and he's a lap dog that also likes to lay in bed with you.

 

[riggins44]

Our Sheltie, which he is now 9 yrs old. Shelties make great pets, especially if have children. He is a Blue Merle.

 

[Win4us]

That's a good looking dog ya got rig44.

 

[Elephant]

Here's my girl romping through alligator infested water. I didn't know at the time.

[URL=http://s188.photobucket.com/user/bschurm/media/DSC_0854.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Too much dog in here, here's my two gatos!

 

[Win4us]

Lanky, that last pic looks like Garfield after a pan of lasagna, lol.

Cats have always seemed mischievous to me.

 

[Win4us]

So he's not gonna be the size of the dogs on Twilight but still good size at 117. Also, make sure you check your dogs ears for infections. Just a little redness and anything other than pink is an indicator.

 

[Win4us]

One more

 

[Win4us]

Any fish owners out there? Was looking for advice on species and a small, freshwater setup. Basically a starter kit kinda thing.

 

[MikeSr619]

I've had everything from 10 to 100 gallon. You looking for schooling fish or meat eating ones?

 

[Win4us]

More than likely a smaller tank, around 20 gallons. I'd think schooling too with the size of the tank, atleast to start out with.

Any suggestions on species that have decent coloring and peaceful to watch?

 

[CounterTrey]

I have a 20 gallon "tetra" tank that is exactly what you described Win. Tetras come in a ton of different colors shapes and sizes, it's not just the little neons and the black skirt tetras so commonly seen. Some fish are very active and can be nice to watch but will tear up any real plants you might put in there. So ask questions like that when you make your picks. You can choose up to about 13-15 fish with about 3-5 bottom feeders in a 20 gallon tank. I have 3 Panda Cory bottom feeders and two different types of pleco, a bristle nose and a clown pleco both of which are types that stay small. I have some Blue Columbian Tetras, some Glow Fish tetras, Diamond Tetra, Pristella tetra and some Neon Tiger Barbs which instead of black stripes they have white. You can mix and match tetra fish as long as they have similar body type for schooling purposes. Best bet for schooling fish is to do 2-3 min of whatever species you choose (the bottom feeders "don't count"). All of these fish tend to mix well with other "community" fish. Your first choice needs to be whether you're going natural or artificial for the rest of your tank, then you can go about making good choices of fish after that.

Also plan on setting up that tank for a good several days ( a week or two is good) before you bring in fish. The tank needs to have a "Bio bloom" before the fish come in. It will cloud up a bit for a few days before it clears back up. That's the tank biologically adjusting and becoming "natural" and a place where life can grow. Before that it's actually too sterile for fish and can shock fish into death.

Also HUGE WORD OF Caution...if you buy plants or even with fish, make sure you don't bring home any little snails from the petshop that hitchhike along for the ride. Your tank can become infested overnight and the only way to effectively get rid of em is to buy assasin snails. Long story...

Have fun!

 

[MikeSr619]

Get tetras or mollys. But watch out with tetras because they are aggressive and will eat at each others fins. Too many and they will do that but they're cheap so you can buy 10 and expect 6 to survive. But also watch out for algae and eventually get an algae eater. Buy only buy that fish when the algae is plenty and there is enough for him to keep eating all the time or else he will starve and die.

 

[CounterTrey]

FWIW none of my tetras have ever munched fin, they are aggressive when they eat and at night those plants can get abused though. I think maybe the key is to get like sized fish and multiple fish of each type. Who knows every tank will vary.