What kind of food dogs prefer?
A lot of dogs seem to prefer table scraps, but that isn't a healthy diet!!! There are so many different foods on the market now, and dogs, like people, can have different preferences. You want to be sure to read the label on any commercial dog food- avoid by products, which are inedible parts of the animal like beaks, feet, guts, and even feathers. Rice is more digestible than corn, and the better diets are rice based. Remember that the ingredients are listed in order of the amount present, so if the ads say it has chicken, peas, and carrots, but on the label it says chicken by products and the peas are listed down with the vitamins, there are a lot more fillers than there are healthy ingredients. As for home made diets, you have to be sure you are feeding a balanced diet, and there are books available to help you be sure you are meeting ALL his needs (be sure any recipe is formulated to AAFCO standards). Small deficiencies may not show up for years, and then it's too late. Dry food is good if you want to be able to leave it out, and is the most economical. Most dogs don't need canned food, because they will eat it whether they are hungry or not, and often get fat. Some dogs will self regulate on dry food, but most need to have "portion control!" Remeber to read the labels on treats, too-- some of the treats available for dogs aren't any healthier than our junk food!
Is baby food safe for dogs?
Yes it is safe. I had an extremely malnourished German Shorthair Pointer who couldn't eat anything when I first rescued her. The vets had me feeding her baby food in small amounts until she could keep more down. Mix it in with kibble. They should like it. Just a warning, it way cause some tummy upset, but this is just due to a change in food. One of those small jars mixed with kibble isn't going to do anything. And the person who said too high protein content....are you kidding me? What they heck do you think dogs eat? Most people around here either feed low grain or grain free kibble OR just go with straight raw diets. @Dances~ There seems to be no happy medium around here...either you have the people who refuse to take a dog to the vet when it is clearly dying, or the people on the other side who think that EVERYTHING is going to kill your dog. I mean it is BABY food. Ground up meat for BABIES. Do these people really think that it has that much added crap in it that it will kill a dog, but not a baby? I pulled a jar out of my cabinet. Know what it has in it? Chicken and water. Sounds deadly to me. Lets look at my kibble...what is the number on ingredient...wait...wait... chicken! I guess the dog food will kill them as well. Darn chickens. As I said before, it brought my now 13 1/2 year old GSP back from the brink of death. She was around 2 or 3 and weighed in at a whopping 31 lbs. She is now still slender at 62lbs. She was so emaciated that she could not handle ANY kibble or wet dog food. She ate spoon fed baby food for a week before I began to transition her off and on to commercial dog food. It had to be the pureed meat at first because she was too weak to even chew. I had to slop it in her mouth and rinse it down with a syringe full of water.
Are dogs usually very protective of human babies and children?
"When ever he comes to visit, all three dogs will sit in front of his play pen or to the side and if he stirs, they will get excited and come over to us and try and get us to see what is going on.... I gave him a bath on the counter top in his tub and he whined a bit. The small female cocker mix tried to jump from the floor onto the counter top to see what was wrong." This isn't Jungle Book, and the baby is not Mowgli. For all you know the dogs think the baby is FOOD and are excited at the thought of a meal. Seriously, do not EVER get complacent about having pets around babies & small kids. Dogs are Predators, and as far as the dog is concerned, a baby is just a small helpless wriggling animal - prey! The baby whining & cries sound like a wounded animal to the dogs and can make a dog's "prey-drive" kick in so they want to take a bite & rip it to pieces. Think carefully about how a mother-dog (or mother lion) protects it's young. That mother would NEVER allow any other animal to get anywhere near it's baby. YOU must NEVER allow those dogs to get near the baby. NEVER allow the dogs to 'jump up to see the baby'. The dogs need very strict training to view the baby as strictly off-limits, and keep a safe distance away from the baby at all times. The dogs must learn that the baby is not an object or prey for them to be curious about.. but that the baby is YOUR most precious possession that they are not allowed anywhere near. Read the news (or do a google search) to see how many babies & toddlers have been savaged by the family pet, and how every time it is a case of "the family dog has never shown any aggression before". Don't think your dogs are any different.
What kind of dog food do you choose?
I feed my maltese/toy poodle Halo's Spot's Stew,Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit MIXED with Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural. I used to feed her Science Diet,IAMS & Beneful Prepared Meals.Little did I know what junk I was feeding my dog.She used to be so picky about dry food lasting only a few days on Science Diet then a few days on IAMS but on Halo's Spot's Stew she is not finicky.They use all human grade ingredients although there are no meals ie lamb meal,chicken meal.I do supplement it with Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw dinners.I chose these three & am looking into others because Halo's has L.Acid just like in yogurt but Solid Gold does not.I have found L.Acid in dog food very beneficial to my dog.She heals from health issues half of the time you would expect.An ex:Spaying.Recovery would be about 4-6 weeks with incision & all.My dog recovered in less than 5 weeks after eating dry food that has L.Acid in it just like in yogurt that humans eat.For me to choose a dry food that is high quality it should have: 1)Meat as the first ingredient,meal as a second ingredient ie chicken meal,lamb meal,turkey meal... 2)No artificial colors/flavors ie red 1,yellow 6 ie Beneful,Purina,Science Diet,IAMS 3)Should not have beet pulp particularly if you have a small breed prone to tear stains 4)No corn,wheat,soy or added sugar 5)No BHA/BHT 6)No Euthoxquin(spelling?) 7)Depending on your dog for some not a lot of fish such as 4+ ingredients of any fish ie salmon,salmon meal,whitefish meal,chicken,potato but maybe up to 3 ingredients of fish 8) I always look for food with L.Acid or if the brand does not have one with L.Acid I look for one that does have it. 9)I always get a variety of protein.Like my dog has for her proteins:Chicken,soon Wild Salmon,Bison,Turkey Meal,Beef and Lamb
Do dogs run away to die????
I have lived with 6 dogs through their lifespan 12-16+ years, I didn't see any of them run away to die like a cat. My first Border Collie and heart dog was 16y/o Border Collie she had a CVA and developed severe vertigo for 3 days until we decided she was suffering too much and the vet said she was not going to recover if she hadn't already done so. She was totally dependent on us to hold her up to go to the bathroom and walk. When we took her to the vet to have her put to sleep she just rested her chin on my knee and died leaning against my leg. Most of the dogs I had seem to communicate more dependence and love when they sense that time rather than flight. Like the previous post said, go out and look for your dog, check shelters, put up posters and post lost dog alerts on the internet. Craigslist, yahoogroups "K9Alert" there are hundreds of lost dog websites out there...
Are there any rich people giving away money to individuals in need?
You don’t, they find you.Nobody likes someone who is constantly begging for help, or who won’t help themselves before they ask for help. Consider the following hypothetical scenario.Let’s switch the roles, and say you had enough money to spare that you wanted to pay for some lucky high-schooler’s college education. You have two choices.Choice a) This kid has worked a part-time job since his sophomore year of high school. He had to give up playing football in the fall and wrestling in the winter because his dad walked out on him, his mom, and his two little brothers. He works his butt off at school, manages a 3.54 GPA, scored a 27 on his ACT, but obviously has no money saved to pay for his college education.Choice b) She has slacked off throughout high school and still managed to get by with a 3.71 GPA by taking easier classes instead of challenging herself in AP courses. Her ACT score is a 31, so she has potential, but she’s just lazy. She runs cross country in the fall, but always misses the maximum amount of practices she can before being kicked off the team. She has never worked a day in her life.Who would you choose?Typically, people who try their hardest to do their best with the hand they’ve been dealt, no matter how terrible or unfortunate, gain the most sympathy from others.To quote Chris Rock, “I’d always end up broken down on the highway. When I stood there trying to flag someone down, nobody stopped. But when I pushed my own car, other drivers would get out and push with me. If you want help, help yourself – people like to see that”.
Has your pet ever justifiably bitten anyone?
Yup and the spoiled brat had it coming. What happened later was not necessarily my intention though.I have a Cane Corso mastiff and this incident happened when he was about three months old. He's always been very laid back and super mellow, a real couch potato, has NEVER liked playing rough and is gentle with other animals and his toys.So that night the husband invited his best friend and his family over for dinner. The man and his wife had no control over their 4-yr-old daughter, by the way. I had told them prior to coming in my home that the dog would be off limits. You see, I knew how the child behaves and of the parents lack of discipline and I refused to allow my dog to suffer for it.So we were eating dinner when I heard my dog start screaming. I rushed into the bedroom to see what happened. The child had opened the crate and was trying to drag the pup out by his ears. I pulled her out of the crate and tried to see if he was okay. He wouldn't come out, so I told the mother to take her child out of my room. Once the little girl was gone, he ran and hid under the bed. After no amount of coaxing would get him to leave his hiding place, we decided to let him come out on his own. I made sure to close the door. My husband told the parents what had happened and that they needed to keep a better eye on their child. I was furious.An hour or two later while I was in the restroom, I heard the little girl in the bedroom again. I went to go see what she was doing. She had him cornered and was hitting him with a large text book. I lost it. At the same time I grabbed the back of her shirt to pull her away from him, he bit her on the hand. He didn't latch on but there was blood drawn.I took the little monster to her parents and told them to leave. I also let them know what had happened. They threatened to have my dog put down to which I fired back that if they even thought about it, I would let their entire church know that she was sleeping with a deacon and that he spends all his money at the strip club on lap dances and blow. He's the assistant pastor and she's a Sunday school teacher. Needless to say they're divorced. My dog on the other hand is huge, healthy, and the best dog I could ever have asked for.