greytlucy

Welcome. I'm in Chandler moving soon to Gilbert. That's a very pretty girl and she looks very happy in her new home!

Still only the small bags on Pacifica where I buy. The owner did tell me she got some of the other blends in this week and was hoping hte Pacifica in the medium and large bags would be in next week's order. She did have large bags of Ranchlands so that must be one that's back in full distribution.

I've had a hard time getting Pacifica down here in AZ. The place I buy it at has had the small bags only. Since I feed this in the morning and Instinct at night it hasn't been too terrible, though with two dogs I'd like to go back to buying the medium size bag again. I'm due to pick ssome up over the weekend, based on what you are all seeing in your markets i'm hopeful the mediums might be back this time!

I'm just reading this....my poodle got really sick about a year and a half ago, right before his first birthday. He'd had a long series of infection(we now suspect maybe something auto immune related to vaccine reactions) and next thign I knew he was really lethargic and not well. When I took him in his platelets were 18,000! All his lymph nodes were also enlarged along with high lymphocytes so lymphoma was suspected. I took him to an internal specialist here in Phoenix...we never did figure out exactly what was wrong with him as everything did test negative and he did eventually get well. But some ATBs, a little pred, etc....and eventually he was better even if all the vets were still scratching their heads. Knock wood he hasn't had a relapse since(and only had a 3 year rabies vaccine since which he did have a reaction to). I hope you have similar good turns with your dog. it was really scary when he was so sick and his platelets were so low...once he was feeling better it was REALLY hard to keep an 11mo old puppy down but I couldn't risk any sort of activity that might cause bruising. Sounds like you guys are good in hands. Wishing all of you good health soon!

I had a greyhound with a lot of sensitivities...I raised him from a pup and put him on CA Natural lamb and rice around age 9 mos. I also put my other greyhound on it at a time....they both did great on teh food for over ten years. I haven't fed it in a couple years now as both dogs are gone and I have my poodles on Acana but if they formulations haven't changed I'd recommend checking both their chicken and their lamb formulas out. Very few ingredients so great for dogs with allergies...

I"ve never had an issue with gas or poor poop in any of my dogs once I've had them on a food that works for them. I also don't mix anything in the kibble - to either manage gas or entice eating. It gets put down, they eat it or they don't. If they don't I pick it up and then they typically eat at the next meal. Few dogs will starve if they skip a meal. The only time I've ever had to do anything to entice a dog to eat is once they are really sick, have lost a lot of weight, and are nearing the time to say goodbye. I've had two dogs that weren't food driven and they both became good eaters at mealtimes. (coincidentally both of these dogs I raised from puppies, not sure what that says! whereas both my rescue dogs would eat anything put in front of them at anytime! LOL) That said I agree variety is important in a diet and do offer them things separate from their kibble - often using chicken, salmon, and beef as training treats or offering a bit separate from meals. I also rotate kibble proteins once I find ones that work for them. I will say the few times my dogs have been gassy it's because they've had too much of something other than their regular foods (for instance when my mother comes over and gives them a million cookies when I'm not looking).

I feed Acana Pacifica in the morning. My dog does great on it. I tried one of the other formulas(with lamb...i forget which it was) and it didn't agree well with his digestive system.

Don't do a boarding training situation. Those are typically trainers with strong handed methods. At least with my leash reactive dog(poodle) any sort of coercive training has always made him worse. Counter conditioning is working well with him so far...the behavioral vet and behavorialist I work with are big fans of BAT training. I actually haven't tried it with him yet as he also chases cars on leash and we've been working on that first but we've made a lot of progress there and while it's crossing over to the dog reactivity as well I'm going to try the BAT stuff next. Here's the website: http://functionalrewards.com/ There's a good yahoo discussion group you can find through that site. Lots of strongly opinionated people but lots of good experience and insight. I've learned a lot by reading it over the past few months.... As far as equipment Ive had the best luck with a gentle leader. I've used an easy walk harness as well but he was so reactive I needed a little more control so neither of us got hurt. He's come a really long way and I'm thinking about trying the harness again. A lot equipment wise is dog-dependent...any neck collar stresses mine out so I never walk him in any sort of buckle, martingale, prong etc and he's learned to relax on leash a lot from taking that piece out. It's vital he learns how to relax so you can make forward progress.

I couldn't find a commercial treat that motivated my dog so used roast beef, cooked chicken, salmon, cheese and natural hot dogs. One day the groomer showed me some treats though adn told me she'd given a couple to my dog and he loved them. They came from Costco. They no longer have them in the warehouse but still available on line. My dog will do ANYTHING for these treats. It's amazing to me really. I tell everyone about them so that Costco won't stop carrying them(Drs Foster and Smith has them too but they're a lot more expensive there). I get the peanut butter ones. http://www.costco.com/Pampered-Pets-USA-Peanut-Butter-%2526-Honey-or-Cheddar-Cheese-Dog-Cookies.product.11711683.html

Our poodle likes to bark. He's a pretty good watch dog and likes to sound the alarm. I have low tolerance for excessive barking so we've worked on this. In most cases, he's sounding what he thinks is an alarm, so acknowledging to him that he's doing his job with a "thank you" and some sort of cursory investigation with an "it's all good, cosmo!" will quiet him. He barks at knocks and doorbells...we say thanks as we walk to the door, ask him to sit, and he'll be quiet while we open the door. Occasionally he'll hear something out front and is slower to settle, but once I open the door and show him "it's all OK" he quiets. we've used treats and a clicker to encourage him to quiet when we ask. We don't stifle his barking completely as I do like the warning barks he gives. If for any reason he starts barking incessantly in the backyard (at a dog he might hear in the distance or some other environmental trigger) we make him come in and ask him to settle down. He's 2 1/2 now. We've been working on this since he was young. It takes some time but it was definitely worth the patience and investment of energy and time. Good luck!

Our country shelter put out an urgent request for food donations today. I would like to send some over...my dog eats acana and instinct. If i can determine a still good quality kibble that costs less than these two i can send many more bags over but am unsure what would be best to donate as i really am not familiar with most kibbles. I know the kirkland stuff isnt bad but because of my work schedule i wanted to order from one of the local distributors that deliver so need something that would be found at the big pet supply, feed stores, premium boutiques, etc. Any suggestions? Maybe some of you that have worked in shelters have a suggestion on the foods they typically welcome?

When our girl started with arthritis problems we had good luck using a combination of Adequan, accupuncture, glucosamine, and Fish Oil. I was able to keep her off the harder meds for about three years. In the last two years of her life we had to add in a daily half dose of Metacam which brought her a lot of relief and kept her quality of life good. She left us at almost 15 years old...her arthritis was being managed well with this protocol but her CHF became too much and those drugs weren't doing their jobs anymore so we had to say goodbye.

Not personally attacking you, but this exactly makes my point. You have NO IDEA the horror that this level of anxiety creates day after day for any animal. Human or dog. It's like living in your very own horror movie and getting no rest, no bathroom breaks, no popcorn breaks, etc. Worst case scenario medicating my dog ends up shortening their life by a few years it's worth it! I would much rather them be happy and relaxed for 6-9 years than miserable in their own skin for 10-14 years. It's a disservice to them. What if you could have shortened that rehab time in half with some short term or long term medication? It would make for a less stressed dog. I used to be rather anti med, until Sunshine and Vet #7 proved otherwise. Literally within 48 hours Sunshine was marching around outside in front of me on leash not shaking or crab crawling. I tried for years to socialize her with minimal meds and lots of training. 3 months of Xanax while finding the correct long term med did more than what I was able to accomplish in 2 years. For two whole years I tip toed around and tried to do the "right" healthy thing that most people would do. It wasn't fair to Sunshine and I will never be hesitant to use medication when warranted ever again. My job as a pet owner/mom is to have happy healthy pets, mentally and physically. And for what it's worth You can tell when they have side effects. Munchies, belly not feeling right, tiredness, hyperactivity, disorientation, loss of inhibitions, drunkeness, heat flashes, etc You just have to watch and know your dog. Obviously you are pro-medication, and obviously I am anti-medication. We can leave it at that. Let the person figure things out on their own, and realize that any time you put a foreign substance into a body, we arent exactly sure what will happen. Take for instance the medication ACE that was popular but has since been shown to create a hound that is basically a prisoner in their own mind as they cannot physically move their body. How can we be sure what is going on here? There's no pro-medication nor anti-medication. There should only be pro-individual dog and its situation and what is the best for that combination of dog/situation. Is medication right for every dog? Far from it! But there are SOME dog that do need the help of some medication to progress through whatever challenges may be bringing them. This is WHY it is so important to get help from people who really are well-experienced in dog behavior and medication for behavioral help. Medication should never be the first resort but in difficult cases it should never be ruled out when behavior modification just isn't getting the animal far enough. Is OP's dog one that needs medication? No one here can say as no one here has worked with the dog personally nor has the experience of both diagnosing and then dispensing these classes of drugs in this situation. That should be left to the experts and I hope the OP can find a good qualified expert(s) (I'd echo the suggestion to look for a board certified veterinary behavioralist) to help her sort out her dog's challenges. OP you've gotten some really good advice here from folks. Take the time to really interview vets and behavioralists you consider working with and hopefully you can find someone wiht both experience in the problem you're trying to solve and with whom you are comfortable with. So many out there aren't worth the money they spent to have their cards printed! I wish you and your dog the best. Keep an open mind and always listen to your gut as you live with your dog in and out and know her best. My first greyhound lived under a desk for the first year due to fear of ceiling fans...I remember how upsetting it was to have a dog afraid in its home environment. She lived to be 15 and those that didn't know her that first year never believed our stories of how afraid she was...I hope you too will have the same soon!

I"ve had really good luck with the Thundershirt with my Standard Poodle. I use it fairly sparingly as I don't want to get him to used to the feel of it and have it lose it's effect but it does really help him calm down when he's really worked up and just won't settle. I only use it at home, doesn't seem to have much effect when he's in a different environment. I'd definitely recommend trying it, can't hurt and you'll get your money back if you feel it isn't effective.

I've used an Easy Walk harness on my reactive dog for the last two years. I've found he relaxes better in the harness...though the difference can be very subtle. In the past couple months we've started to make real progress on the reactivity and I've started transitioning him back to the collar. I keep the harness on him right now so if his stress/stimulus levels get too high I can switch him back. The last two days we were able to stay on the collar the entire walk. I don't really like the harness as one of his issues is he's prone to chase cars(and everythign else that moves) and I don't like the lack of control over the front end in the harness when he does react to something. That said it's been a real useful tool to teach him to relax on leash to begin with. It's definitely worth giving it a few more tries and watching for any difference. If you do try the harness again, consider the front closing ones vs the ones that attach on the back.