cleptogrey

i like to buy bones that are at least 4-7" long, this way they won't get stuck on their lower jaw(there was a posting of a small bone that got stuck on a grey) buy them at the local market($1.49-89 lb), talk to the butcher if they are too long and they gladly cut them in 1/2. when i buy them in china town they are really cheap, but i hate schlepping a bag of bones back. i like remove most of the marrow, but not all (it's pretty rich)then freeze the bone my dogs easily learn to eat them on a towel , they can initially be messy. if there is any meat left i refreeze it. once it's clean i just leave it out. once a year i throw out a bag of old bones! make sure they are the thicker middle of the bone,cheap, healthy treat- no chemicals to worry about. occasionally i freeze some bones w/ peanut butter in them. emily was a strong chewer,(dainty 60lb girl) when they start gnawing at the edge, throw it out. DO NOT COOK!

try taking her to one area, circle around or walk in a square and keep on walking in the same area(maybe w/ a 12 ft leash). you can use what ever term you want, some people say " hurry,hurry" or "get busy" i just say, "go pee". stick to that one area for potty walks,eventually something might happen then you give her a treat- something special like cheese. eventually she might just associate the pee and reward. it can take a while. don't go on a regular walk, just a pee/poop walk to one area. be patient, if she has an accident in the house don't get crazy, just clean it w/ water and white vinegar after you run outside w/ her and use the potty term. rome wasn't built in a day, be patient.

I'm with Judy here. me too, just do it! muzzle and do it fast, sorta like ripping a bandaid off a young kid, they scream, carry on and then some...just do it! they forget as soon as you give them a treat..

some dogs, like people LOVE to eat! my scottie and first grey used to drag the kibble out of the closet and binge! beware...keep that kibble locked up! also, ice cubes are a no-calorie munching delight, try them in a bowl on the floor. yours might lie down and have a party, my hungry pups loved them!

this might be old school, but my scottie who had addison's disease and who kidneys were not functioning well,(his urine was practically distilled water at one point) especially as he aged lived on RICE! plain old white rice or pasta, mostly rice. most of the world exists on it, if you are really concerned a multi-vit will suppliment his nutritional needs. i save a ton of $$$ not using a special diet and he out lived most addisonians....died at 12.5.

just leave him in the kitchen w/ a mound of open towels to nest in. greys dry of really fast and let him hang for a while, kitchens clean up really fast as well.

the vitamin shoppe stores have a good probiotic, they are all over the city - i look for their own brand probiotic 10 or something like that. it has the wides variety of probiotics in it and is not super expensice. i start off w/ 2 capsules, 2xs a day. just open it and mix it into the food. probio is what i am currently using, found it at a feed store at a good price.in a pinch trader joe's acidopholious is cheap, but they really need a variety in the suppliment. also, during the winter i tend to cut back a tad on the food unless the dogs are running like mad dogs. if they are lying around in the warm apt sleeping and not getting to the yard or park to run it off, they fart. it's as simple as that. it takes me almost a month to change foods, slow and steady- we have very few upsets here when i transition slowly.

yup, my first thought.. metronidazole aka flagyl...the MIRACLE drug! it does a fantastic job cleaning up the intenstines and will keep you saine! i would get out the rice cooker, if you have one, and give that pup over cooked white rice and 25% ground boiled beef or turkey and let things settle down. very slowly after you start getting frim poops introduce a tad of kibble at each meal. this could take a couple of weeks, rice is cheap. (i have never had any luck w/ pumpkin). also some pups need more than one round of flagyl to clean things up. be slow and steady w/ the intro of food. also purina's fori-forta is excellent, check it out- probiotics

o.k. now catagorize this behavior: years ago i was visiting my saluki breeder, my 2 salukis and her 2 were in the living room w/ us. we were going to have a bowl of soup, placed it on the coffee table and told the dogs to "leave it". one of my salukis gave us stink eye, walked over, lifted his leg and pissed in one of the bowls! mmmm.....vindictive ?? . it wasn't worth while getting"pissed off" at the dog, way to funny.

osteo, you didn't mention that! soooo sorry to hear that. hopefully your dr. will have the luck and good fortune my acupt. had with one of her clients. she extended his life, lesions on the clients brain reduced in size and he managed to get a good amount of extra time. again, so sorry to hear that you need to contend w/ osteo- i lost my gal emily to it last year.

check out both hoxsey & boneset on wikipedia, hoxsey is for cancer treatment and boneset is toxic. have you consulted w/ an acupuncturist? i ask after doing acupuncture for myself for over 10 years. a well versed chinese dr. will treat the root not the symptoms. yin dificeny relates to specific organs and each organ has it's season to be tuned up, gall bladder, liver, kidneys, they are deficient during different times of the year, it's pretty interesting. also,what resource is the vet using to compare your dog's tounge? chinese acupuncturist have wonderful resource books on the human tounge alone, it's fascinating looking at all of the variations and what each means. is your dog's tounge being compared to a human's? i would go for a second opinion before administering the herbs. but that's my opinion after 40 years of owning dogs and over 10 years of going for acupuncture on a regular basis.

SO, WHAT'S UP....ARE BOTH OF YOU SLEEPING THE NIGHT????

in basic obedience classes this is taught as an EXCHANGE. think about it, why would you give up something you really like and tastes good just for a command? so, exchange it for a piece of cheese, hot dog, liver, etc. something really tasty..not the standard cookie. once exchanging is a pleasurable thing and he is salvating- hold the treat in front of him and wait- the object will be dropped, don't try to pull it out- that's a whole differernt story(tug of war) then you can start to incorporate the word "drop" or "release" after he naturally loosens his grip. like ringing bells to go outside, it's step by step w/ special rewards that make these commands fun and further bond your relationship w/ your pupper.

yesterday's ny times, interesting article on home made dog food, another tid bid of opinions http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/dining/19pets.html

yesterday the nytimes published this http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/dining/19pets.html there is mention of a book or so on cooking for your dog. well written article.

i always give the pups their bones inside. it's pretty gross letting them chew them in the yard...raw bones covered w/ dirt! i just place a large towel on the bed and give them their bone at the bed and bring it back to the bed if necessary. all of my dogs "get it" and learn where to munch out. i do remove some/most of the marrow since it is a tad too rich for the pups i own. also freezing the bone will decrease the mess. when they are done and there is no need for freezing, they are pretty clean. less of a mess than the slime from a rawhide. i use compressed rawhides, so only small chunks of it break off,ocassionally a bully stick or dehydrated beef tendons- their favorite.

the dry hack could be post nasal drip. for years i have used a spoonful of lemon juice to cut the phelgym(sp?). i fill a plastic medicine dropper w/ the lemon juice(store bought- always have a bottle in the fridge) and squirt it down the hatch. it clears the mucous in no time what so ever. have you ever considered an introductory obedience class? it will teach your pup to focus and connect to you. he will learn to focus and connect to you. one of the local greys and her owner was having a really hard time. she just didn't respond to anything in the house, they had her over a year. on walks she was on her own agenda(high prey drive) as well. one session(6 weeks) of basic obedience did the trick. both learned how to connect to each other, to look...respond to simple verbal commands and were able to really bond. it's a new dog, a happy dog, eager to please. the pup does her couple of things- sit and look, and now interacts and responds her family. what a difference!it was all positive reinforcement, food driven work and the light bulb went on. if i wasn't as persisitant giving her the info ,(i met the owner at lots of meet and greets), the two would still be at opposite ends of the leash. but the owner wanted to develop a relationship similar to the one that i have w/ my pups. and obedience opened the path for a meaningful communication.

felix was doing that, he was cold(our nite time tempt is 58)and wanted to get into bed w/ us. that just doesn't work- allergies and he refuses to sleep at the bottom of the bed. i had to curl up at the foot of the bed and wake up w/ aches and pains in every joint . (the occasional visit isn't bad, if i take my zertec i can handle it). we gave him a warm down vest, a comforter and moved his bed to the warmer side of the room. then the sound of the heat was waking him up(forced hot air- he was close to a heat vent). so....out came the faithful crate. one night of whimpering and a couple of shots w/ the plant spray and we are all sleeping the night. when they don't get out to exercise as much due to weather conditions that throw them off as well, but felix was getting a good workout in the yard and we schlep the dogs up(30 min. drive) to another town's plowed unsalted dirt road at martha stewart's house. the 5 mile uphill walk usually poops both hounds out. blanket him up, maybe feed him later- but make sure he has enough time to potty- and jammies or a light coat and don't forget the exercise - or mental stimulation to tucker him out. good luck, i feel your pain...pain in running around in a cold house letting him out and not getting back to sleep!

talk to your vet, some put dogs on a prophalitic dose of antibiotics, some don't. w/ human's the dose has to start with-in 24hrs of discovering the bite. some vets do believe in what titers read, some don't(mine) and treat the symptoms. so, flip a coin, but maybe talk to your vet. a test in a month might be wasting $$$, see what he/she says. i generally treat the symptoms.it takes around 2 weeks for the doxy to kick in. the only time i did testing was for emily when she had her mystery sore shoulder, which unfourtunatley did not turn out to be lyme....it was osteo.

it can take at least 6 weeks for suppliments to work, so if you decide to go w/ fish oil, be patient. lakse cronche is excellent, cold pressed salmon oil and maybe a different food. does wellness have a fish variety? one of either the fish based foods can do wonders, that is if his stomach can tolerate it. i know many individuals who had excellent results w/ hollistic select anchovie and fish kibble, but there are other brands out there that are just as good. as to bald spots, they don't sound really bad, some dogs do have naked butts and wear the fur off their chests just lying on them. i currently own 2 red fawns, one as hairy as can be and the other...well during the summer it looks like someone shaved his chest and the back of the thighs. his skin is moist, i suppliment so i don't worry. cracking pads...what surfaces is he walking on? lots of salt out there w/ the winter/snow season. if you use musher's secret when he goes for walkies that will protect and moisturize his pads. it's an excellent product and a little goes a long way.

check your dog's nail lenght, when was the last time they were cut?if they are long it can take quite a while of cutting them weekly to get them back to a better lenght. also, make his trip into the kitchen worth while, high quailty special treats that he can ONLY get when he goes into the kitchen on a recall. some non-skid bathbats that can easily be laundered might do the trick or tacky paw used at dog shows(check cherrybrook online). but often a dog whose pads are not meeting the surface will have trouble.

uti??? or not peeing enough when she goes out since it's cold out? if the alarm did not sound the second time then something else is going on. remember track dogs are used to crates. maybe her turn out schedule is a tad off, they are very ritualistic. try leaving a light and the radio on.

some dogs are drinkers, some not...and that seems to go for all breeds. my friend's corgi hardly drinks at all(only 2.5 yrs and really bad tarter)! i have no idea of how much mine drink, especially since they will use the toilet bowl(it's colder). i clean it daily and have never had any problems over the past 33 years of using that as the water fountain. i do leave out a bowl of water(4 qt.) as well and when they are out in the yard, water there too. generally i refresh the water, i always make sure there is an ample amount of it.

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/2635691/sn/992314513/name/S0918218_SET09_061%5B1%5D.jpg emily was missing the same tip as our late scottie velcro. puppy play!

...remember when there was a supernanny was hot and there was an epidemic and tons of crazy kids and their incompentent parents? well, it's the dogs and their owner's turn! yeah, the author admits that she doesn't and has never owned a dog...typical ny times . i've written too many editorials to the times about slanted dog articles, one about owning a greyhound and how needy they are another about an untrained dog- the owner needed training . both were published in our local weekend section.