need help taking care of my dog.

[SarahC]

How much to feed him?
my dog is a german sheperd, but not fully, he is mixed with something because he is about 2-3 feet tall and his ears flop instead of stick up straight. He is about 2 and a half years old. I do not know his weight, but my guess would be about 50-60 pounds. I have been feeding him dry food, canned food, and some leftovers from dinner (i know now that that is not healthy for him, and that's why im trying to feed him better!) My questions are: How much to feed him, what kind to feed him (dry or wet?), and how often to feed him. Lately he has been getting skinnier and it scares me, the vet says he's fine though, his eating habits are just messed up and i should set a schedule for him.

How much excersize does he need?
That hasn't been a problem since he's had our whole backyard to rome around in as he wished (it was puppy-proofed for him before he came so it was safe). But now we're moving, the backyard is smaller, it has a pool, and my parents want to get some nice furniture for the backyard. He is going to have to stay in a dog run, which means i'm going to start having to take him for walks daily (which isn't a problem!). But i don't know how often he is going to need to be walked, or for how long i should walk him!

Lastly, I need help with grooming.
I have been giving him bathes once every week or two depending on how dirty he gets, but lately i've been noticing some ticks on him. I've tried sprays for him, sprays for the backyard, drops, powders you rub into his skin, and shampoos and conditioners with tick removel in them.. Nothing seems to work, so I usually have to take tweezers and carefully pull them off one by one. The ticks have been multiplying and now there are too many to do that. Any products you'd recommend? His vet doesn't recommend him taking pills for it, he doesn't see it as a big problem and he thinks the medicines could have side-affects on him. The brand i've been using is Hartz. It does kill the ticks that are on him, but it doesn't stop more ticks from attaching themselves to him. Please help, it seems to be hurting him and he's always scratching!

If you could answer those questions for me, that would be a great help!!
Thanx!!

(p.s. don't worry too much about the costs of products, i mean, i dont want something that's going to cost a ton if there is something out there that works the same for cheaper, but i have been saving up a bit to help buy products that well actually work! )

 

[Saje]

How much to feed him?
my dog is a german sheperd, but not fully, he is mixed with something because he is about 2-3 feet tall and his ears flop instead of stick up straight. He is about 2 and a half years old. I do not know his weight, but my guess would be about 50-60 pounds. I have been feeding him dry food, canned food, and some leftovers from dinner (i know now that that is not healthy for him, and that's why im trying to feed him better!) My questions are: How much to feed him, what kind to feed him (dry or wet?), and how often to feed him. Lately he has been getting skinnier and it scares me, the vet says he's fine though, his eating habits are just messed up and i should set a schedule for him.

Actually the table scraps you have been feeding him are probably better than the kind of kibble you have been feeding. Read some of the posts in the dog food forum to learn more about dog food and go to Mordy's site. www.mordanna.com/dogfood If Mordy comes on this thread you can trust anything she has to say. She's the most knowledgable person I've ever met regarding dog food. As for how much to feed that really depends on what you are feeding and how much exercise they are getting. If you feed Innova EVO (excellent food) you will only need to feed a couple of cups a day.

http://www.naturapet.com/display.ph...=0&ratio=0&treats=&biscuits=0&go.x=10&go.y=14

I watch my dogs ribs to judge there food intake. You should be able to feel their ribs but not see them when they are standing normally.

How much excersize does he need?
That hasn't been a problem since he's had our whole backyard to rome around in as he wished (it was puppy-proofed for him before he came so it was safe). But now we're moving, the backyard is smaller, it has a pool, and my parents want to get some nice furniture for the backyard. He is going to have to stay in a dog run, which means i'm going to start having to take him for walks daily (which isn't a problem!). But i don't know how often he is going to need to be walked, or for how long i should walk him!

Even though you had a fenced yard you should have been taking your dog out for a walk everyday. How long depends on your schedule and his energy level. If you can do an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening that would be great.

Lastly, I need help with grooming.
I have been giving him bathes once every week or two depending on how dirty he gets, but lately i've been noticing some ticks on him. I've tried sprays for him, sprays for the backyard, drops, powders you rub into his skin, and shampoos and conditioners with tick removel in them.. Nothing seems to work, so I usually have to take tweezers and carefully pull them off one by one. The ticks have been multiplying and now there are too many to do that. Any products you'd recommend? His vet doesn't recommend him taking pills for it, he doesn't see it as a big problem and he thinks the medicines could have side-affects on him. The brand i've been using is Hartz. It does kill the ticks that are on him, but it doesn't stop more ticks from attaching themselves to him. Please help, it seems to be hurting him and he's always scratching!

This I can't help you with as I've never dealt with ticks but it does sound odd.

 

[SarahC]

Help please!

Hey, i need help taking care of my 2 1/2 year old dog please!
Heres the stuff I need help with:

FEEDING HIM
my dog is a german sheperd, but not fully, he is mixed with something because he is about 2-3 feet tall and his ears flop instead of stick up straight. He is about 2 and a half years old. I do not know his weight, but my guess would be about 50-60 pounds. I have been feeding him dry food, canned food, and some leftovers from dinner (i know now that that is not healthy for him, and that's why im trying to feed him better!) My questions are: How much to feed him, what kind to feed him (dry or wet?), and how often to feed him. Lately he has been getting skinnier and it scares me, the vet says he's fine though, his eating habits are just messed up and i should set a schedule for him.

EXCERSIZE
That hasn't been a problem since he's had our whole backyard to rome around in as he wished (it was puppy-proofed for him before he came so it was safe). But now we're moving, the backyard is smaller, it has a pool, and my parents want to get some nice furniture for the backyard. He is going to have to stay in a dog run, which means i'm going to start having to take him for walks daily (which isn't a problem!). But i don't know how often he is going to need to be walked, or for how long i should walk him!

GROOMING
I have been giving him bathes once every week or two depending on how dirty he gets, but lately i've been noticing some ticks on him. I've tried sprays for him, sprays for the backyard, drops, powders you rub into his skin, and shampoos and conditioners with tick removel in them.. Nothing seems to work, so I usually have to take tweezers and carefully pull them off one by one. The ticks have been multiplying and now there are too many to do that. Any products you'd recommend? His vet doesn't recommend him taking pills for it, he doesn't see it as a big problem and he thinks the medicines could have side-affects on him. The brand i've been using is Hartz. It does kill the ticks that are on him, but it doesn't stop more ticks from attaching themselves to him. Please help, it seems to be hurting him and he's always scratching! Also, he hates taking baths (i know most dogs do) but it seems every time i want to bathe him, i have to tie him to the fence, and even still he barks, jumps, shakes none stop. After a finish bathing him, he purposely well run in mud pits and roll around in the leaves and what not. Any ideas??!

TOYS
What kind of toys should I buy for him? I have gotten him tennis balls, tug-o-war toys, and some other stuff like that, but he always chews everything to peices!! I've been getting him bones to chew, but he always just burys them and goes on to chewing the toy. I've gotten different kinds of bones, different sizes, and even flavoured ones but he prefers the toys. Any toys you'd recommend that he won't want to chew up?

DOG TREATS
What kinds of dog treats work best when training or just as a, well, treat. I've been giving him biscuits, but after about 2 weeks, he just doesnt like them anymore. I've given him beef chews and stuff like that but the same thing happens. He won't even eat any biscuits anymore! It's hard to train him when I can't reward him!

TRAINING
I've been able to train him w/ 2 simple things so far. "Sit" and "Shake." However, that was when he was younger. I have been trying to teach him things like "come" and "stay" and "no" but he doesn't seem to be able to learn them. Is it to late now that he is 2 1/2 years to train him? If not, what are some ways I could train him to do those? He also barks a lot and I can't get him to stop. Sometimes I even have to muzzle him so the neighbors don't call the pound! It breaks my heart to do that though. I can't bring him in the house because my dad is allergic to dog hair, so he stays outside or in the garage during the winters (not that are winters are that cold ever here! lol)



If you could answer those questions for me, that would be a great help!!
Thanx!!

(p.s. don't worry too much about the costs of products, i mean, i dont want something that's going to cost a ton if there is something out there that works the same for cheaper, but i have been saving up a bit to help buy products that well actually work! )

 

[Saje]

Hi Sarah. I merged these two threads and got rid of your third one. Please keep it to one thread per topic. Thanks

 

[Jynx]

Sarah, I have GSD's and I'll throw my advice in for you.
1. How much to feed and what
What are you feeding now? Most grocery store bought foods are lousy. There are alot of good quality foods at petco type /feed stores, Nutro comes to mind..I feed my GSD's 2 cups of dry twice a day, along with that, I add a raw diet which I buy already minced up, you can add, an egg a couple times a week, cottage cheese, yogurt, canned sardines are great for skin/coat, chicken, beef, so table scraps can be good for your dog.
2. in addition to walks, can you get access to a fenced in area to let him RUN? swimming is good exercise as well.
3. You should not have to bathe your dog that frequently. To much bathing can strip the natural oils from the dog's hair/skin ..As for ticks, Hartz is another lousy product in my opinion..Again, ck with a feed store, online pet catalogs, and find a tick spray/repellant..Having THAT many ticks is NOT good. He can develop all kinds of life threatening diseases from a tick bite.
I don't use tick repellants, and I live in Lyme CT , I am surrounded by woods, but do daily tick checks..You might also look for a non toxic spray to spray the area around his pen. Prevent - a - tic has a good tick/flea collar.
4. Toys, well good hard chew bones keep them busy, as in check with your local supermarket or butcher for marrow bones..When my dogs get to destructive with their toys, I'll throw some bits of dry food inside a plastic soda bottle,,and let them bat those around,,but you don't want him "eating" that either..
5.Dog Treats,,you can use pieces of cheese, hotdog, bologna,,those puppy pepperoni sticks, walmart has canisters of inexpensive dog "treats" that are soft, like chicken grillers, that type of thing,,it's best to "up" the ante with dog treats for training, using something really special reserved for training.
6. Training..It's never to late to train,,find a really high quality dog treat, as mentioned above, The dogs that respond well to training are working for "something" they really want..when you figure out what they really want, whether it's a toy or a certain food, training will be easier. A dog that barks is normally doing it for one of two reasons, in my opinion,,for attention, and/or because they are bored.

A tired dog is a good /happy dog,,run him ragged,,play games with him,,take him for walks/runs so he can burn up some energy. Never leave a muzzle on him unattended OR a collar..Dogs can become entangled and literally hang themselves when left unattended with anything on them..
Good luck
Diane

 

[Mindy Miller]

Grooming:

I recommend Frontline for the ticks. You can get it from your vet. It keeps fleas and ticks off for one month at a time. It's awesome. The over the counter kinds tend to cause skin irritation and they don't work as well.

Do you have him on heartworm preventative? Heartworms are terrible. The medication to prevent them is inexpensive and worth it. Here, it's about $20 for a 6 month supply. If he gets heartworms, the treatment is very hard on the dog...it can kill them... and very expensive. It will make you wish you had him on treatment for them!

 

[corsomom]

I also recomend frontline. If I did not use it my dogs would be covered in ticks during spring, summer and fall.

 

[Renee750il]

Absolutely with the Frontline or Advantage (another brand) if you're having that much trouble with ticks.

If you'll brush him daily you'll find you need far fewer baths to keep his coat clean and it will be much better for him.

Kong toys are great, especially the ones you stuff with goodies like peanut butter. You can even freeze them so it will take him longer to get all the stuff out Another good, nearly indestructible line of toys are the Planet Dog toys (www.planetdog.com)