My House Guest

[secret squirrel]

Here are some piccies of my house guest.


lorna

[wendy]

Aww isn't he gorgeous !!. Such a shame they crop their ears, but it is allowed in the States.
Wendy

[secret squirrel]

Some do and some dont. Its just a matter of taste , particularly in America.
lorna

[Lilo-Lil]

He`s very handsome, I can see why you love him so much!

[secret squirrel]

Went out for our constitutional last night. What a nightmare! Someone was letting fireworks off. Poor Nico, couldnt get home soon enough. He was so frightened by them, no poo, until this morning. Hopefully it will be better tonight.
Its going to make things quite difficult for the next few weeks, I should think.
lorna

[secret squirrel]

Recently I have been getting into `The Dog Whisperer` and find it fascinating. What a clever man.
Having looked at what he says, and reading his books, I have come to the conclusion that Nico is lonley and needs the company of other dogs.
I think, when he runs off when he is off lead it is because he misses the company of other dogs. Its the pack mentality. I might try and find a class where he can go and be with other dogs, on a regular basis and then he might not be so keen to belt off to meet more of his own kind, when we are out.
Hes good when we meet them in the street though and he is on lead.
All you dogs owners, what do you think.? I know that many of you have multi dog households.
lorna

[bluebell]

Lorna, Wendy or Lilo-Lil is bound to have some really good advice.

[wendy]

I have always had a multi dog household and I think another dog is the best thing you can buy for your dog.....but
only once you have the original dog under control, as you will lose a little control to start with.
Cesar Millan........ mmmm.....well I would be thrown off the forum, if I wrote what I think. It would be better if he stayed the other side of the pond as far as I am concerned, Lorna.
Wendy

[Lilo-Lil]

I`m with Wendy on CM, cant stand him. Give me John Fisher every time!

Anyway, I`ve come to the same conclusion about my dog Hovis.

He has always had at least one other Lab for company until I lost his mum at Easter. I did expect he would miss her, so was prepared for a period of readjustment. Hovis is now 10, by very young for his age. I am aware he is missing having another big dog for company (even though he has my elderly spaniel and numerous cats!) and this was bought home to me this weekend.

We had my sister`s 6 yr old Lab to stay the night, and he seemed so much more settled. It was so nice to walk two black boys together, and I realised how much I missed it too. Hovis was much better at recall too, for some strange reason, although he has not ever been much of a problem at this. His eyes also light up everytime we meet his "girlfriend" Honey in the park too.

I am waiting till I move house to get another dog as I want to get an ex-brood bitch, possibly one resuced from a puppy farm situation. I dont want a puppy but something young enough to do some training with (Hovis is just too good now, and too old for agility stuff due to the starts of arthritius). I need a bitch as my sister`s dog is a bit of a git with other dogs (he`s a rescue dog himself).

On the minus side, its the mud, wet dog smell, and double poo to consider. Then there`s the cost of food, insurance etc. I would need a bigger car too, and really need to do more exercising than I can get away with at the mo. I can take Hovis into work with me at times, which I just couldnt do with two dogs, one of them recently rescued.

[secret squirrel]

In a way, I accept what you say about Cesar Millan, but I think he does have some very interesting ideas. I have watched the British versions of what he does, and the jury`s out for me.
Whatever method, though, Nico doesnt appear to be that well socialised with other dogs and spent lots of time with a dog walker, when he lived in America. He isnt aggressive towards them, but I dont think its fair on others when there is 90Ibs of Doberman hurtling towards you.
He`s incredibly `chilled` at home but I do wonder if he would like the company of other dogs, to play with, so he can just` be` a dog. He grew up until about this time last year, ( he was 3 in September this year) with his brother Byron, who now lives in Geneva with his owner. He must miss him.
Nicos` owner tells me he is going off to stud, in January. Not sure if that will come to pass as she hasnt come to visit him for some time now, which makes me sad for `him`.
lorna

[wendy]

Well if he goes to stud, it may change his behaviour.
You can get territorial marking, in the house. So be aware if he is still going to live with you at home. It may make him a little more offish with other males and a bit more amorous with the ladies that he meets in the park.
Things that can happen, not always.
Hopefully if he is going to be used at stud it will be regular, as having s.ex once in your life, or perhaps yearly, is far worse than never having it at all. You can then get frustration in the boys, with can lead to problems.
Not saying you will have it Lorna, just letting you know that it could.
Wendy

[secret squirrel]

I`ve never had a `dog` before but always had spayed bitches so I dont know much about that side of things, but have heard that stud dogs should be mated at least every six months?
Thanks for your advice. What exactly should I look out for apart from territorial marking? Will he not be so chilled any more.? That would be sad, but we can work around that..
Hes in really good shape right now and has re gained quite a bit of the weight he lost in quarentine. When he came out of quarentine he weighed only 28 kg.
According to some web sites he should be on about 2264calories a day for a 90Ib dog. How on earth do you estimate that then? That seems a lot. He has lots of veggies with meat and `some` kibble, which I have reduced a bit lately as I dont want him to get over weight. I know that you feed yours on raw foods though.
I dont know what his owner will say, because he much prefers to have veg in his dinner, raw, steamed, cooked, or leftovers. He is very settled and happy on what he is eating though.
lorna

[Lilo-Lil]

From experience of living with both neutered and entire dogs (who were not used for stud) I would always get a bitch for company for him. I`ve found they tend to keep the boys under control!

My boy was neutered aged 2, and he has never been a prob with dogs or bitches, but then he was very well socialised frotm 6 weeks old.

My sister`s dog lived with entire bitches before she had him, by whom he had 2 litters. He is not always good with other male dogs, but then he was used to being around other males, or even walked on a regular basis. Having him neutered has helped to calm things down, and he is much more easy to train as he finds it easier to focus on what you are saying.

When I have fostered males, one of my spaniels did scent mark in the house before he was neutered. He also used to wee on my ex`s pillow and side of duvet if he could when I was out of the house, or up the stereo My ex refused to allow him to be neutered, but kept moaning about it, so when he was away I had the poor little dog neutered. It took him about 3 months to find out!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

[wendy]

Hi Lorna,
Sorry, I seem to have missed your post.
I don't go down the calories route. I feed what I think is correct portions, or if you feed dry food what the packet says for that size of dog. If he puts weight on then drop it, if he looses weight the up the portion.
Each dog is different, like we are.
If you can see the ribs while the dog is standing still he is too light, if you can't see them when he is running, he is too heavy. Rule of thumb.
I can keep my dogs at perfect weight easily....me ? a little difficult
Wendy

[secret squirrel]

No you cant see his ribs when he is standing still, but I used to be able to when he first came to live with us.
When he runs you can see the muscles down his back, rather like a six pack.
I did wonder about the calories thing. Seems odd to me and as you say they are all different just like us.
Hes much better with eating now he is more settled and we dont have many days when he refuses food, any more.
He gets a lot more excersise with me than he did with his owner because we walk a lot. I`m guessing that most of the weight has converted to muscle. It seems uncertain at the moment how long we will have him for as she hasnt been to see him for some time. He wont be going back until I am satisfied he has a stable environment to go to. I am disappointed and rather cross with her. It feels like she has abandoned him and I am his `nanny`. Its simply not fair on him, especially as he is such a lovely dog, in looks and more importantly in character. He is a darling. At least with us he `knows` he is loved. He doesnt ask for any more than that really.
I really appreciate the advice you have all given. Not sure if she will actually come up with the stud plan, to be honest, although I have been given dates when the breeders bitch is on heat. We shall see. Only time will tell.
lorna