I'll send you recipes as I find them -
The Hart-cure...
If you go to the websites for Wellness and Halo and sign up, they will send you coupons. Halo sent a printable coupon for $5 off right away and has since sent a couple more, always for at least $2 off. With the frequent sales at Petco and the coupons, I've been getting that food for about 40% off.
This site has some fairly useful info on just about any dog food you could imagine.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ reviews
Bec, Samson has the prettiest face. He has such a sweet face too.
Thanks for the info Hart - I'm trying Wellness treats for the first time & from what I've read they are excellent - I'll definitely sign up for coupons - my bank also has a cash back program with tons of merchants, I had to order the XX-large crate from Petco and they offer 11% cash back when I use my banks card ^_^
thanks for the tips too hart!
For some odd reason I just got a mental picture--if Samson opened his mouth wide, could your Bandit sit in there? with room to spare perhaps. It would be sooo cute if you could get a photo of them together!!!!!!!!!!! Where's rcn, get her to photoshop them to gether HA. All of Bandit, and Samson's head...
sigh I really should go vaccuum now, we saw a loose flea or two.
LOL - not yet, but I'm sure in about another 100 lbs he will - his mom's head was enormous ^_^
He probably could easily fit in his mouth. But would Samson swallow him? Ack! LOL
Look at those paws! He's going to be one humongous baby.
Oh, shoot, I didn't know you were ordering the crate. I had a 20% off and free shipping coupon the same day I sent you the printable one.
Beck, Are your stairs open backed? If they are, that may have been the problem. I once had a dog that freaked at open stairs, it has to do with their depth preception.I used towels and such to drape over them to give the illusion of having a back. Once confident he would not fall thru, we removed the drapes 1 at a time from the bottom up, it worked like a charm. Ric
I've been feeding my dogs Iams forever - that was what the vet recommended when they were pups. I guess a lot of new information has been learned over the years, and I never thought to question or re-evaluate what I was feeding them. Jake and Jordan are now 14. They are still healthy and have never had any serious issues. Does it make sense to change their diet at this late stage?
Becky, Samson is going to be huge! and Sally, what a great picture - not often you see a dog and cat close and cuddly like that :-) Terri
Terri - changing their diet now won't make much of a difference I don't think, but it won't hurt at all :) We used to feed Izzy Iams a few years back as well - then we learned from vets, research etc. I think most people only have become truly aware of the petfood industry and the problems with mass production & imports and use of inferior ingredients from places like China, since the recall a couple of years ago - but, I think some of the producers are realizing that people are becoming more aware and informed, for example, there is a family owned and operated petfood producer (Fromm) who were looking at changing the formula in one of their recipes, someone made them aware of the dangers associated with artificial vitamin K - and they removed it from their recipe - the thing that I have noticed since I started learning about healthy petfoods, the huge manufacturers spends millions of advertising, the smaller, independent "good for your pet food producers" don't :)
What made me decide to start Bandit out on a better dog food was reading about the skin problems some Bostons have. Jello had problems off and on her entire life with rashes, puppy acne, etc. Apparently it's the wheat and other not so great fillers in the cheap dog food that cause those skin problems.
Once I started reading, and I know I can take what's on some of the websites with a grain of salt, I had to wonder about the fact that I lost one dog to cancer and the other to seizures within a year.
I got Bandit some of the Wellness canned food and treats and he loves them. He also gobbles down the Halo salmon puppy food. I like the really tiny kibble size of the Halo puppy food, which of course wouldn't be an issue for Samson.
And Bec, I think you've hijacked your own thread. Better get some more Samson photos in here ASAP to get us back to the topic on hand. LOL
the paws!!
yup Terri, it is NOT often that you see THAT cat and dog getting so cuddly!!
LOL - well I have no new pics, been too busy playing mommy to big boy ^_^ He is 150% a mama's boy, and I feel for hubby, he's kinda disappointed Samson is not more attached to him, but, like I told him, with training and time they'll be just as close ^_^ Thor is slowly getting better, we even had a nose to nose meeting today, and Thor being starved for attention is slowly figuring out he needs to be with us if he want's love and playtime - I can't go chasing after him as well ^_^ Samson is doing great training wise, we're working on the not-potty trained issues, at least when he does have an accident it's in the kitchen and not on the carpet! He's figuring out sit and shake, and hubby walks him every afternoon and works on the walking good on a leash part - I left him outside this morning when I had a doc's appt and he greeted me like I had been gone for weeks - crying, whining and vocalizing how terrible he thought it was - within 5 minutes he was happily laying next to my chair - being his sweet self ^_^ More pics to come...
It's true love!~~
Our one cat is a real ladies man, and I attribute that to me being the one spending the most time with him when he first got here.
Bec, I'm going through exactly the same thing with Bandit and Marshall. He (the human) whines constantly that Bandit only wants to be with me. I keep telling him he's a baby and of course he wants his mama.
I'm so glad Thor is starting to come around. LOL on Samson telling you how terrible you are to leave him alone like that.
I'm so glad it's not just Samson being a mama's boy :)
I'm wondering exactly WHO hart is telling, is being a baby.., and is whining...the wording is (purposefully?) ambiguent, for a pro writer!
( edit--oh I see the whining IS directly blamed on Marshall--ha ha ha)
This message was edited Dec 3, 2009 10:00 PM
LOL!!
Just found a few "surprises" left by the now renamed Mr. Destructo - when I was gone he ripped the screen off the window downstairs trying to get in and there are some lovely deep gashes in the door frame - that crate can't get here fast enough! We're having flash-backs from our lab (possible mastiff mix) we had in Montana - Bailey ate everything in sight - nailed down didn't bother him one bit!
He discovered stuffed toys this afternoon - oh my, he had all kinds of fun with them - now he's conked out on the living room floor, happily snoring his head off ^_^
LOL I had a friend who had a whippet who tore all the drapes down and shreaded them and put hugh gouges up and down the door frames.
My poodle used to tear all of the spreads off of the beds and drag them downstairs and pile them in front of the front door.
This message was edited Dec 3, 2009 9:17 PM
LOLOLOL - too funny! I'm having visions of some tiny poodle dragging the bedspreads down the stairs!
I have no doubts we'll have more destruction ^_^
LOL, yes, Bec. She was a small miniature.
I found a treat that I believe is health and also fat free. I get dried green beans from O nuts http://www.ohnuts.com/buy.cfm/bulk-snack-mixes-granola/green-bean-chips A pound of them is a large bad and they can be broken up into smaller pieces.
We have found a number of dogs who love them. Andre will do almost anything to get them as a treat.
They look yummy - what kind of spices? It says they are fried and spiced
I do not know except maybe a little salt. Taste a little sweet. I just tried one and as soon as Andre hear me open the bag, he came running and gave me a funny look when he found me eating his treats. LOL
S and A
Yeah, I looked at the site to see if I could find out - I want to avoid sugars and garlic/onion
I did not taste any garlic or onion. I think the sweetness in the natural sweetness of the dried beans, it is very slight. Even the salt is very slight, just enough to git it some flavor.
But you could call and ask. Ask for Ester and tell her that you want them for your dog. She thinks it is funny that I buy them to feed them to my dog.
S and A
After eating a number of the beans I do not think there is enough of any "spice" on them to be harmful to anything. But later I will call and ask and let y'all know.
That darn Andre is busy looking for things to bring to me to trade for some beans. LOL
Sandy and Andre
Becky--just saw this thread. Welcome to Sampson!! My, he is an awesomely handsome Mastiff!! The best I've seen yet. He is going to stop traffic. Are you going to show him? Congratulations on your new pet!!
Lots of good info on the dog food front. It's not good to hear that dog food has gone up since I last bought a bag for Hutch., who dearly departed last February. I guess I need to get re-research on bringing up poochie-baby again. Gonna be fun. I'm thinking we'll probably get another dog early next year.
LOLOLOL Sandy. That's so cute that he's bringing you barter items.
Bec, when I get a chance, I'll look for the dog biscuit recipe I was using to make biscuits for Jello and Java. They sure liked them. I know it included whole wheat and white flour, baby food meat and no spices.
What kind of puppy are you thinking of getting, Foxnfirefly?
Diane - I'll check on the Mastiff board I belong to as well - they have tons of great recipes for treats :) (or you can go read yourself "Mastiff online community" - no need to sign up, tons of excellent information ^_^)
I will have to wait until Monday to ask about the beans as they are closed for the week end.
Today he "met" snow for the first time and couldn't care less - did his business and came right in again - it was raining when DH and took him for a walk, he took one look at the rain and did an about-face - no way am I going out in that!
I did manage to seriously hurt his feelings this morning, he was running after Bandit and wouldn't stop so I gave him a sharp correction with the leash, oh my gawd, the world ended - his mommy was mean to him! He gave me the saddest look and I immediately felt guilty as all get out - but, I know I need to correct him as well, not just daddy ^_^ It was soon forgotten and he's back to his old goofy self again ^_^
LOL They can look so hurt but forget it so fast.
Andre is driving me nuts, I put on some bath oils and he loves to lick them off. I had to go all nature on the lotions. I use pure coco butter or pure shea butter. But as fast as I put it on he tried to take it off.
I just yelled at Bandit because he'd been barking at Tiger the cat and terrorizing her. He ran under the ottoman in a flash, peeked out and then jumped up on my lap to make sure I didn't really mean it.
LOL - here's to hoping Samson NEVER tries to jump in my lap!
Bec, It's starting to sound like pandemonium at your house.
LOL - nah, haven't reached pandemonium stage yet, just a little chaotic ^_^
He's being really good right now - got my cleaning crew here and he didn't run away from vacuums or steam cleaners ^_^
Daggone. I want a cleaning crew! I'm afraid the cleaning crew around here is me. LOL
Me too hart--I certainly DO run away from vacs and steam cleaners! Addy is OK in rain IF somebody's going out too, but tell her to go potty herself in the rain--waah, its so awful!
LOL, what babylike behavior from such a beautiful shepherd!!