admin answers:

How long has this been going on for? Is he underweight? Are you sure that no one else is feeding him table scraps on the sly? Have you tried wet dog food? If he is underweight talk with your vet about maybe mixing something into his food, like chicken, to make it more appealing to him. But if he’s not underweight then he might just have a slow metabolism. Adding plain water to dry dog food might help too, especially since your dog seems so thirsty all of the time. Good Luck!

admin answers:

See I would say if you don’t wanna get up in the morning don’t…break the routine for the dog….don’t give in…cause if you do then that’ll just become routine like for him and you’ll have to do it again and again….so when he does wake you up don’t do anything (he’ll try that for a few days and stop when it doesn’t work)…and then you could feed him when you wake in the morning and stuff..:D

admin answers:

Sounds like a GREAT plan. Far better than what many people do with their dogs.

One thing you should just keep in mind, though, is that you’ll want to exercise her according to how much she can handle. So, if you’re forcing her to actually run with you, you may need to slow the pace or take short breaks if she’s really lagging.

Also, if she’s acting really hungry, you can give her grated carrot if her stomach can handle it, because it a nice low-calorie filler.

ADD: Also, does she like to swim? Swimming is great exercise for dogs, without putting as much stress on their joints as running would.

admin answers:

Have you tried ice cubes ???? Cheap and easy way to slow her / him down. Tennis or golf balls can work also, depending on the dogs size. I recommend some hot water 1/2 to 1 cup to soften the food, and let it sit for 10 minutes. After it swells and softens, add 5-10 ice cubes and serve to the dog. Good luck.

admin answers:

First, talk with your mom. Tell her exactly what you said here in your post. Ask her advise. Put her on the spot and get her to help be responsible for finding solution. The ash content in wet dog food is very bad for their health. Tell her this straight out. It’s like feeding them a mild poison. Eventually, it adds up over time and can cause serious health problems for the animal.

Next, deal with the retraining of your dog. Every dog “partners” with only ONE HUMAN at a time. It thinks of itself as a “couple” with it’s chosen human. When two people or more are around the animal, the one that gives the dog the most attention and direct care will be the one the dog will couple with. The dog will favor being with that person over the others around. It sounds like your dog has coupled with your mother and you have to fix that. She should be asked to ignore your dog and treat it with indifference, while you give it extra attention. Spend quality time with your dog. Not just wrestling or playing, but walking, and when you are sitting watching t.v. Or reading or whatever. Have a lot of physical contact petting and talking to him. Soon he will come to relate to you as his primary care giver and couple with you instead of your mom. Once this happens, gently teach him to rough house play again like he did before. Not too rough at first because that is no fun for him. Realize he wants to “win” sometimes too! So let him. Play like he has the upper hand. Dogs love this kind of play!

admin answers:

Well, as you have two dogs, you firstly must fill the pet bowl with the pet food. Next, click on the bowl and an option will appear, saying things like “call to meal/____”..Everytime they eat pet food, click on them when they’re eating and choose “praise for/eating pet food”. Besides, you also can ask them to eat pet food by clicking on them and choose “command/go eat pet food”…You also can make them eat (or letting them not hungry) by using “Give love/feed treat” option..it will fill up at least half the bar..maybe..hope i helps!!

admin answers:

For the food try adding a little bit of water to the food, this will soften it up and make a gravy.

For the training

If given a choice, dogs prefer to eliminate away from the areas where they eat, sleep, and play. Dogs eliminate in the house for a variety of reasons:
- There might be a medical cause for the problem.
- The dog might not have been properly trained to eliminate outside.
- The dog might be marking his territory.
- The dog might urinate when excited, intimidated, anxious or upset.

House training is accomplished by establishing a surface and location preference AND by preventing the dog from eliminating in unacceptable places. Crating and confinement needs to be kept to a minimum, but some amount of restriction is usually necessary for the puppy or dog to learn to “hold it.” Understand that house training demands an investment of time and effort. Puppies are sometimes not fully house trained until they are 8-12 months of age. As a general rule, a puppy can only hold his waste for the same number of hours that he is old, in months. In other words, a four-month-old pup should not be left alone during the day longer than four consecutive hours without an opportunity to go outside. By the time the pup is four months old, he should be able to make it through the night without going outside. Adult dogs adopted from shelters are often not fully housetrained and need a refresher course.

What to do:
1. Keep the dog on a consistent daily feeding schedule and remove food between meals.

2. Know where your dog is at all times. To anticipate and prevent accidents, you need to watch for early signs that he needs to eliminate. These signs include pacing, whining, circling, sniffing and leaving the room. If you see any of these, take the dog outside as quickly as possible. Not all dogs learn to let their owner know they need to go outside by barking or scratching at the door. Some will pace a bit and then just eliminate inside.

3. If you cannot watch the dog, confine him to a crate, a small room (with the door closed or baby-gated), or tether him to you with a leash that does not give him much leeway. Gradually, over days or weeks, give the dog more freedom. If the dog eliminates outside, give him some free time in the house (maybe 15-20 minutes to start). If all goes well, gradually increase the amount of time out of confinement.

4. Accompany the dog outside and reward him with praise, treats, play, or a walk whenever he eliminates outdoors. It’s best to take the dog to the same place each time, as the smells may prompt the dog to eliminate. Some dogs will eliminate early on in a walk; others need to move about and play for a bit first.

5. Take the dog outside on a consistent schedule. Puppies should be taken out every hour, as well as shortly after meals, playtime and naps. All dogs should get out first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and before being confined or left alone. Adult dogs must get out at least four times a day.

6. If you can catch the dog in the act of eliminating inside, SHRIEK loudly. Immediately run to the dog and rush him outside. If he is small, pick him up; otherwise, just grab him by the collar and run outside with him. The idea is to startle him, which should stop him in mid-stream. Allow the dog to finish outside, and reward him. If you do not catch the dog in the act, do not do anything to the dog.

7. Clean accidents with an enzymatic cleanser to minimize odors that might attract the dog back to the same spot.

What not to do:

- Do not rub the dog’s nose in his elimination.
- Do not scold the dog, unless you catch him in the act of eliminating in an inappropriate place.
- Never, ever physically punish the dog for accidents; that includes hitting with a rolled-up newspaper.
- Do not crate your dog if he is soiling in the crate.
- If the dog enjoys being outside, don’t bring the dog inside right after he eliminates—he may learn to “hold it” to stay outside.
- Do not use an ammonia-based cleanser. As urine contains ammonia, this could attract the dog back to the same spot to urinate again.

Above all, please be patient! If a puppy has an accident, it is not because he is spiteful or lacking in the ability to learn—it’s because the owner failed to adequately supervise him, didn’t take him outside frequently enough, or ignored or was unaware of the dog’s signals to go outside.

admin answers:

You haven’t mentioned exercise. If she loves her food and loves her walks it might be an idea to do an extra hour or so exercise instead of cutting back further on her food.

admin answers:

Canned food is perfectly fine. Get a good quality food. Stay away from the foods such as Purina, Alpo, Pedigree, IAMS/Eukanuba and the like.

Look for good foods such as Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul, Merrick, Natural Balance and the like. The better quality the food the less likely you will have tear stains and the better her weight & coat will be.

As for dry food…..a good quality food doesn’t contain sugars or sodium. Dry food also doesn’t clean teeth or prevent tooth issues, nor does wet food cause them…

Like others said you have a Maltese..not a toy, not a teacup..these are just terms used by irresponsible breeders. A Maltese is a member of the Toy group.

admin answers:

Here are the problems proven to be related to bad food:

-dry skin
-allergies
-hot spots
-poor coat
-dental disease
-bad breath
-fatty tumors
-some cancers
-shorter lifespan
-obesity
-blood sugar problems (diabetes)
-larger, smellier stools
-yeast infections (especially in ears)
-faster aging and aging related problems
-and of course, the risk of various poisons- look at the mass recall of low-quality foods we just had, and the hundreds of animals that died of kidney failure from the contaminated foods. That wasn’t the first time something like that happened, and it won’t be the last.

Want to know what’s REALLY in those cheap dog foods? How about…
-road kill
-euthanized pet animals (dogs, cats, and horses)
-chemical preservatives proven to cause cancer
-diseased, cancerous carcasses removed from human meat plants
-hair, feathers, beaks, hooves, and other inedible body parts
-wheat, corn, peanut hulls, newspaper ash, and other totally nutritonless and even dangerous filler materials
-rancid animal fat
-added sugar, salt, dye, and other questionable ingredients
Read more about the digusting truth about pet foods:

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/jesse.htm#commercial

http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/DogFood

A good food brand can eliminate most of these problems. Such brands include Innova EVO, Wellness, Artemis, Chicken Soup, Canidae, Timberwolf Organics, Solid Gold, Orijens, and more.

Really, though, a raw food diet is your best bet to eliminate ALL of those problems though- while you’re doing your research, make sure you take a look at that too. If you buy in bulk and freeze the meat, it actually works out to be cheaper than most commercial dog foods, and it’s by FAR the healthiest option for your dog. Here is some further reading into raw feeding for your dog and the benefits of it:

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

http://dogsobediencetraining.com/info/dog_food_11.htm

http://www.4loveofdog.com/benefits.htm

http://www.jolietschutzhund.com/raw%20food%20diet%20for%20dogs.htm

Good luck in your research. Keep in mind that feeding pets is not supposed to be cheap, it’s supposed to keep them healthy. The better you feed your pet, the less vet bills you will have, and the longer your pet will be alive to love you.

admin answers:

Dog food hasn’t been around for that long. Before that, lots of people had healthy, happy dogs that ate table scraps or prepared meals. My dog has an allergy to a common additive ingredient in most dog foods. After many attempts at feeding her different diets, I finally decided to home cook, and she has never been healthier. I make sure to get blood work run annually to make sure I’m not missing anything, but so far so good.

I find it odd that switching the diet of a dog who eats a particular kind of dog food every day can make it sick, but switching up the feeding of a home cooked diet won’t usually bother him. This makes me wonder even more if dog food is the best thing to feed a dog.

I did a lot of research before I decided on a diet for my dog, and I do change it up a little bit, but the idea is generally the same:
40% Protein
20% Veggies
20% Carbs

Her usual diet is:

3.6lb package of skinless chicken thighs
1lb of skinless, boneless chicken breast
(after removing the bones from the thighs, this equals about 4lbs of chicken)
1 two lb bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, corn, green beans, peas… You get the idea)
1lb bag of rice (minus a hand full) (this makes about 2lbs of cooked rice)
1 cut up sweet potato

I put this all into a big pot with enough water to cover the chicken. I bring to a boil then let simmer for about an hour, then move the pot to cool. It’s still pretty watery when it’s cooling, but by the time I’m done with it, the water is well blended in.

Pull out all of the chicken, (I use my hands) and remove all the chicken bones from the thighs, being very, very careful to get all the bones out. (cooking on the bone adds calcium)

Squeeze the chicken (breasts too) through your fingers until mushy (also a great way to double check bone removal) then add to the veggies and rice, then squeeze that all together with your hands until well blended and crushed. It shouldn’t be watery any more at this point. Place into containers and freeze all but 2 days worth. This is usually enough for 2 weeks for my little dog, maybe different for you. I serve with a quarter cup of Kefir on top for calcium (Found by the milk in most stores – Plain flavor, not reduced fat). I also give my dog a daily vitamin.

I change it up once in a while with different veggies, other meats, adding some organ meat, or oatmeal but I always keep it 40%, 20%, 20% give or take the sweet potato.

Home making food is a real lifestyle change, but it’s just 2ce a month, and you’ll know what’s going into your dog. This diet costs about $6 per week, which is less than I was paying for dog food before.

Good luck!

admin answers:

For one, what was the deciding factor that your dog was allergic to its food. What food are your feeding? Does your dog get lots of treats, table scraps, chewies? If a true food allergy, the only way to rule out, is by a food trial. Cut out all treat, table scraps, chewies, raw hides, etc. There are a lot of recipe for home cooked foods, but I would recommend a single protein diet. Such as natural balance, limited ingredient diet LID , they have fish and sweet potato , venison and potato, duck and sweet potato, bison and sweet potato, etc. Most likely this is a protein source your dog has not been introduced to. Gradually switch your dogs food over in a 2 week period. This food trial needs to last 2-3 months. This is to determine if it is a true food allergy. Also if your pet is itching or chewing at itself , place on a flea control (such as vectra 3D, I usually recommend comfortis (but the tablet is flavored can can affect the food trial). If on a continually flea preventative and on a single protein diet, and still itchy after a few months, the next step would be to test for environmental allergies. I recommend the food over making your own, because there are so many nutrients which your dog needs, and cant be well supplemented in a home cooked diet.

admin answers:

It’s ok for dogs to eat canned food… BUT… If you leave it out when the dog doesn’t eat it all, it can go bad. That’s why people prefer kibble.

You can feed her canned food if you can afford it. It’s fine.
Or
You can cook a little meat, like an ounce of ground beef in some bacon fat and stir it into the kibble, then let it cool so it doesn’t burn her, and that will coat the kibble so she can’t resist it, but she can’t eat just the special stuff. It coats the kibble so the kibble HAS to be consumed. -!-

admin answers:

Just trick her. Put some dry dog food in the dish with a little bit of water on it and throw it in the microwave. This will soften the dog food alot. Then just put some of the wet dog food ontop of it. She will think that she is get the wet food when in reality whe will get the dry food. OVer time use less of the wet food eventually you won’t use any. So star giving her the dry dog food only.

admin answers:

Cat food is much “Richer” then dog food… It is no suprise that they like it so much more then their normal dry food…

Can you start adding wet dog food to the dry food?
I know that is an obvious question but i had to ask…

You could start “weening” your dog off the cat food by adding a tablespoon of wet dog food to the mix every day until it is only dog food…

Cat food isn’t healthy for dogs…

It has different amounts of vitimins and stuff that keeps cats healthy can kill a dog in large doses… And vice versa.

Like, garlic will keep a dog healthy but cause liver and kidney damage to a cat…

Worst case? Just tell your dog “Either you eat it or go hungry” and after a day they will get the point and eat the food… They may be angry but it will keep them alive longer then if you keep feeding them cat food!

admin answers:

Rimadyl has a lot of side effects and it could be that,also it affects the kidneys so your vet should take a blood sample to check kidney function. The best anti inflamatory is metacalm and is safer and thats the one we are always prescribed in Scotland for our dogs. I would give him what he wants to eat as long as he is eating as my dobe wouldnt eat after he had an op. However he started to eat only certain foods but i was so glad he was eatng something and eventually he went back to his normal food. I am sure it will be the rimadyl thatis the problem

admin answers:

It could be cuz your dog sitting. My dogs only eat when me or my fiance come home. My brother that lives with us can be home all day with them and they wont eat, but when I come home they do all thier saying hi then start eating. Maybe try some wet dog food mixed with dry if your just doing the dry, You could also call the owners for some tips, the dog has to eat before it leads to other problems.

admin answers:

I just recently got a puppy(shes 7 wks) and at first she didn’t really eat either, but she also has diarrhea(which is normal) because she was in a new place, plus i had to gradually change her food, to the kind i was using with my other 2 dogs, and it kinda stresses them out at first. Give her some time to adjust. When shes hungry she’ll eat.

Good luck and congratulations on your new puppy!

admin answers:

I had a similar issue with my dog. She is now 2. She doesnt eat unless she wants too or unless I put wet dog food in her bowl. I spoke to the vet and she said that some dogs are picky eaters and will eat when they feel like it. She was right!! So don’t worry when she is hungry she will eat.

admin answers:

Stop letting him control you. You need to exercise some tough love. Put the food down and do not give him anything else. He will not starve himself, he will eat when he realizes that he is not getting anything else.

However, I’d feed a better food than Beneful. Beneful is absolute /crap/.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren’t safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you’re getting what you’re paying for. Less filler material and higher quality ingredients means more concentrated nutrients… This means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!

Seriously on a budget? Two of the most affordable of the higher quality foods would be Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul and Canidae All Life Stages.

Before following your vet’s food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by… You guessed it, the crappy pet food companies! They also often get kickbacks from the companies for pushing their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)

A great option is to go with an entirely grain-free diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grain-free formulas. Some good grain-free diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, GO Natural Grain Free, Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Ziwipeak, and Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain-free diet, Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo.

If you can’t find a food, most of the high quality dog food brands have websites with store locators on them that will help you find the store closest to you which supplies their products. Simply type the dog food brand’s name into Google, go to their website, and type your zip code into their store locator.

Another option, if you can’t find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here’s an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/

Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing the new slowly in with the old over the period of about week or so), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies. For example:
Days 1 & 2: 75% old food, 25% new food
Days 3 & 4: 50% old food, 50% new food
Days 5 & 6: 25% old food, 75% new food
Day 7: 0% old food, 100% new food

Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.rawfed.com/ (RawFed)
http://www.rawlearning.com/ (Jane Anderson’s Raw Learning Site)
http://rawfeddogs.net/ (Raw Fed Dogs)
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/ (Raw Meaty Bones)
http://rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html (Raw Prey Model Diet Vs. BARF Diet)
http://community.livejournal.com/rawdogs/profile/ (Raw Dogs Livejournal Community, excellent raw feeding information on the profile page and overall helpful community for raw feeding questions)
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html (Myths About Raw Feeding)

Also remember that freefeeding (leaving food down) is the fast lane to canine obesity. Make sure to have scheduled feeding times loosely based on the feeding guidelines on your dog’s food. Adult dogs are typically fed two meals a day.

More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog’s food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)

Darksong~