nowwown

Rebecca, you are amazing in your knowledge, your ability to explain your knowledge so well and your willingness to share your knowledge and expertise. You have always had excellent advice and in my three years of owning a similar dog to Dave, you have been an incredible teacher. Thank you.

Hi, I have been taking Cody to some "fun" classes that are focused on him getting tested for his Canine Good Citizen designation. Now I got into the testing session for May 31. What does it mean exactly if the dog has his CGC? Can he get more pay? Better benefits? A bigger company car?

Ha! You are dating yourself but I am too, as I very much remember that! And of course Charlie perfume which was introduced back then. And let's not forget Love's Fresh Lemon.

This morning on our walk, a mid-sized, mixed-breed dog started following us, showing alot of interest in us but not particularly friendly or unfriendly. This is the fourth or fifth time in a month this dog has been loose in the neighborhood, and we don't know who he belongs to. Several times, I turned around to yell at the dog to leave us alone, but it kept getting closer and I didn't want to deal with a potential fight of Cody on his leash and this strange dog. I even picked up some wood chips to throw at the dog to scare him (not to hit him or hurt him) but the dog kept following us, getting closer. Cody did great ignoring the dog and looking straight ahead on the walk. When I yelled for the fourth time at the dog, Cody suddenly turned also and went nuts -- growling, snarling, barking. For about 5 seconds. Like a warning to back me up, like "SHE MEANS BUSINESS! NOW LEAVE US ALONE!!!!" Then he turned back around, and we went back to our nice morning walk. The other dog got the message! How cool is that!

I have to remember to bring some training treats on our walks and focus him on a trick or obedience activity instead of just walking. That's a great idea, thanks.

Hi, we have had pretty much the same routines for all of Cody's three years. Walk in the morning, walk in the afternoon, playtime and training every day, walk in the evening. Lately we notice him being jumpy and nervous. If a dog barks in a backyard as we walk in front of the house, he literally jumps out of surprise and then hustles to walk faster by the house, acting nervous. If a large SUV drives by, he's way more jumpy and excited about it going by than in the past. Same routines, same food, same everything pretty much. Any ideas what can be casuing the nervousness and jumpiness?

I think Mary's response should be included at the top of the pages as something for all to read when considering a BC!

I'm a diligent person around the house and keep everything very neat and organized (EXCEPT my paper filing which I never seem to get around to). But closets and drawers are very organized. I married a German guy and he's very much that way too! LOL ! But I'm like that with Cody too: I use disposable foam/paper plates that are recyclable, every day I just toss the dirty one so no food bowls to wash. Water bowl is one of those 1-gallon dispensers. He goes through that in about 3-4 days so each time I refill I clean out the bowl part with hot soapy water first. I brush Cody once a week with the Furminator and then a regular brush. He sheds ALOT! No tangles ever though, except an occasional mat near his ears. Nail clipping - I have Petsmart do it with the Dremel about once every three months. Since he walks about 3-5 miles a day on pavement and sidewalk mostly, his nails stay pretty short and rounded. We wash Cody at least once every other week. He stands perfectly still, he's a doll with the whole thing so it's easy to do. I use a medicated oatmeal-based shampoo so it doesn't dry out his skin. Towel dry. I wash his fleece blankets and the dog bed cover about once every few months. I stick little treats in the fleece blankets to give him a job when we leave for the day, it takes him a while to dig them all out and eat them. So the blankets get smelly after about two months. Poop pickup - daily on our walks. He never poops in our yard, only the neighbors! Ha! I carry bags with me everywhere!

Thanks for this good advice. Kind of like canned food = gravy for mashed potatoes for humans, right? A little goes a long way! I think that is where I can definitely cut back for him and help save money.

Boy, I'm realizing from all this that I am way overfeeding Cody. He gets 1/2- 3/4 can of Wellness Core canned, plus 2 cups-2-1/2 cups of the Wellness Core dry each day. He's 50 lbs. and solid muscle, no fat. Plus he gets a small handful of treats a day for training purposes, and one dried fish piece. I did notice that the Wellness Core canned is only 12.5 oz. vs. others are 14-15 oz cans, for the same price. That makes Wellness Core way more expensive! I will start buying the larger bag, I'm always worried though that it will go stale.

Hi, my DH and I were going over finances/budget and he about had a heart attack when he saw I spend about $100-$150 a month on food and treats for Cody. That includes 2 15-lb. bags a month of Wellness Core dry and about 15 cans of the Wellness Core canned. Plus training treats (fish/potato based only). Cody has alot of food allergies and this has been one of the only brands he can tolerate without severe diarrhea and staph infections. So I feel this cost is justified. My DH said when he has had dogs in the past, they were healthy and happy and lived to 15+ years on Purina Dog Chow or generic store brands, and he can't remember spending more than $20-$30 a month (in today's $$). So, how much do you think you spend per month on dog food and treats? C'mon, 'fess up!

Cody is now 2-1/2. He spends 40-70% of his day at home by himself. The balance is with his humans, when we spend alot of time playing, ball throwing, walking, etc. Very little interaction with other dogs. I think as a result, he has become very uninterested in his previous "friends" -- other dogs that he sees in our neighborhood, whether he's on leash for a walk or running around a dead-end street area at the back end of our neighborhood. It usually starts out well, the other dog is very excited to see him, and Cody seems semi-interested; he is wagging his tail and friendly but aloof. They touch noses and smell each other, then Cody is ready to move on. And makes that very clear to all by laying down, facing away from the other dog. Even trying to excite him into a game of run-around or chase with the other dog is difficult. I recently changed his food from IVD Potato & Whitefish to Wellness Core Ocean. He's done great on it looks-wise and everything but could that apathy or disinterest stem from food change?

Hi, I usually "lurk" but was disturbed by Cody's behavior this holiday weekend at my sister's home. We had a 12-hour drive to their house, Cody was his usual excellent traveler self, although he was somewhat stressed and didn't take any water or food during the trip. But once we got there, he was great with everyone, including for the most part the family's Shih Tsu, Chelsea. The six-year-old ShihTsu was not that friendly to Cody. The two dogs were territorial around their own food, although we fed and watered them in separate rooms. Cody got himself a bloody nose from pushing his food to "bury" it each time. He never does that at home. I had to lock him up in the laundry room with his food for 15-20 minutes in order to get him to eat his food. Also, Chelsea the ShihTsu was very protective of her "mom" and "dad" whenever Cody came near, some growling and snapping. For the most part the two dogs just ignored each other and they were happier focusing on the people. Anyway, I think it was a total of four times Cody that peed on their carpet, in different rooms/places. At first we thought it was Chelsea, but then my nephew saw Cody once, and another time my sister caught Cody starting to lift his leg near the chair leg. It is possible that Chelsea had peed in those spots in the past, and I know that even a great professional carpet cleaning wouldn't erase the smell of urine to a dog. But why was he so intent on leaving his scent in the house? He got ALOT of attention of everyone. Lots of ball playing, games, etc. Lots of walks, etc. Chelsea got a lot of her regular snuggling/loving from all. We ended up having to leash Cody in the house so he wouldn't stray from us and go into another room and potentially mark/pee. Any ideas about this behavior, and what we can do to avoid that in future visits to their house? We try to visit several times a year. Thanks and hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Cody has a very thin, uneven stripe up his face (see the avatar to the side). So he looks quite black-faced, especially from a distance. I think they are way more imposing and sometimes scary looking, especially to little children, without a lot of white. That can be good or bad, since his standoffishness with little kids, combined with that "scary" looking face, deter the little ones in our neighborhood from approaching Cody and me when we're walking around the neighborhood (on leash). Better for safety anyway, I guess.

I love BARK! I subscribe to it! And the newest issue has TWO BCs on the front cover! And I've read Donald McCaig's book and loved it. BARK rocks!