I'm about to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with my husband. We have 3 cats and 2 dogs, and we bought our first house two months ago. I'm a housewife, but I pet sit sometimes. Money isn't flowing in, but we're used to a certain standard of living, so we have to get creative.
I enjoy helping people on here. I know alot about animals, I grew up on a farm and was in dog obedience and cat showing for 8 years in 4-H. My mom was a vet tech for many years andher ex-husband was a vet.
Have you tried feeding him plain cooked rice? It helps to settle the stomach some, it's very inexpensive, and he should be able to keep it down. You can also use pepto bismol/kayopectate, not fun trying to get dogs to take, or Tums/calcium carbonate (I use the white peppermint ones) put on a cracker or you can pill them too. I've used both on dogs, both are safe for dogs to use, and I've gotten decent results from both. Tums also provides a little calcium.
Have you tried feeding him plain cooked rice? It helps to settle the stomach some, it's very inexpensive, and he should be able to keep it down. You can also use pepto bismol/kayopectate, not fun trying to get dogs to take, or Tums/calcium carbonate (I use the white peppermint ones) put on a cracker or you can pill them too. I've used both on dogs, both are safe for dogs to use, and I've gotten decent results from both. Tums also provides a little calcium.
I grew up with a male dog that looked very much like that and he was part boxer. We actually raised boxers for a while, and I bet you anything that dog is part boxer. My guess is boxer lab mix. What a sweet face! ... View related article.
My parents had a raccoon infestation in their roof a few years ago. They tried everything, moth balls, live traps, legs trap, sitting outside with a gun even. There has always been a opossum problem with the cat food left outside for the various strays.
The only thing that worked, for either of them (even the giant bull mastiff left outside didn't scare them!) was a clock radio turn up all the way to a talk radio station, it has to be speech or obnoxious music, no classical or something easy to ignore. It was placed in the attic and left on all the time, it was a plug in type, not battery operated. When placed at the other end of the house from the bedroom you couldn't hear it until you go to the other end of the house. However it scared off the wild life, didn't hurt anyone, and the cats would put up with the sound.
So try putting some sort of radio with speakers near the problem area. They were able to remove the radio for a year before the raccoons decided to try again, but they live out in the country so the raccoons didn't have many options.
P.S. It's important to get them out of your roof as soon as possible. Once they find a good nest they'll continue to come back. They will also use your roof as a potty, and it soaks through drywall eventually, causing holes for them to look through into your house, very scary! Also, they mess up the insulation so you loose heat and spend just that much more money because of them. ... View related article.
A breed that size is going to need a lot of exercise. Backyards are useless if the dog won't go run around by itself. If you run daily or walk for long times each day, EVERY day, and take your dog with you, it's just as good as having a backyard. If you twist your ankle, or get sick though, that doesn't mean that the dog will take it very well.
There will be many things chewed on, especially if you get a puppy. You will lose a shoe or two, some underwear, table legs and most likely a few nice dinners since the dog will be able to reach your counters. You'll go through massive amounts of food, hope you live on the ground floor, 50lbs get old going up steps weekly, let me tell you. When your doggy has an accident it will be massive as well. Let's not even talk about the work out your vacuum is going to do with all of that hair, and a husky Shepard mix sheds like mad.
Oh, and don't forget collateral damage from tail wagging. Nothing will ever be safe on your coffee table again.
Really, it's not so much a question of exercise, the dog can get that no matter where you live. Just realize what an 85 pound dog is going to look like in a little space, every time the dog turns around it'll be an event. We have a bull mastiff, and we both can't go down the hall at the same time. If she needs to turn around everyone has to back up.
I would hope you've realized all of that, and it's just a question of if it's fair to the dog to not have a backyard. You're going to be forced to exercise with your dog, he'll never have to go play by himself or get left outside in a storm accidentally. He may not get to go tearing around a field like a mad man, but you can always take him to a dog park every once in a while for that.
Personally, I would never have a dog in someplace I didn't have a yard. That's because I'm lazy though and would hate taking the dogs for a walk every 6 hours and then picking things up, eww. I'm a country girl, those things belong on the ground man.
A dog is a commitment, like a child. He'll probably live to be 12 at least, over a decade of hugeness. That means you can't move to an apartment that doesn't allow dogs, you can't travel abroad, you have to come home every night or hire a dog walker. I can't believe you found an apartment that allows large breed dogs, that's crazy. I had a horrible time finding one that would allow cats in college.
Hope that helps, and wasn't too preachy, I just get so sick of these idiots getting huge dogs to replace little dogs in tiny places, and then not even bothering to train them to walk on a leash. That's how we got the Bull Mastiff. Bull Mastiffs don't replace pugs. Duh. Good luck! ... View related article.
Crate training is pretty easy. I've crate trained every dog I've ever owned. Putting worn clothes in there is a good idea, it will make the dog feel more secure for sure. Use one commandto indicate the dog should go into the kennel. I've always used the word "Crate" because it is easy to say and understand, rather than a sentence like "Go to your Kennel, Rover." Say Crate and then get the dog inside, either by throwing a treat in the crate and shutting the door after the dog goes in, or by placing the dog inside. As soon as the door is shut after the dog is inside, tell him how good he is. "Good boy Rover!" followed by a treat through the bars. It'll take a few weeks before the dog will do it on its own. Be patient.
Also, realize that the dog probably has no idea whatever ever you're calling him is supposed to be his name.
Dogs all balk at leashes when they are first introduced, puppies usually get over it quickly though. Don't drag, instead "pop" the leash. you're just going to exhaust yourself otherwise and make the dog pull back harder. When you start to move, jerk the leash quickly once. Don't jerk so hard the dog flies a few feet from where it was, but hard enough it is surprised into a few forward steps. The dog won't have to time to pull against you and quick pops are less tiring than dragging for sure. This is how you train dogs in dog obedience, which I was in for 8 years. We always use choker chains, as is required by obedience rules. I understand some people believe this hurts the dog and refuse to use them. It will work with secure collars, but not as quickly.
Most of all, be excited every time the dog does something right and scold only once when he does something bad, and only when you catch him doing it. ... View related article.
What about the older electric can openers? They never let me down, they take some counter space and use an outlet, but they work. They are also cheaper than the one touch, which I have owned and will never use again. I'm 23 and I couldn't even get the batteries changed. ... View related article.
I used to go to beauty school for esthetics, not nails. However I found that the massage cream we used made my nails grow like crazy year round. They grew fast, strong, flexible and without those ridges you sometimes get. I can't for the life of me remember what lotion it was, it was pink and smelled like rose water sort of. If you called the school, I'm sure they would tell you, though. It's honors beauty college, in indiana. They have a web site.
I know the feeling of an over weight, starving dog. It's no fun! I can't suggest green beans enough! You can get them pretty cheap at aldis and other stores like that. Try to get the sodium free. Yes, I mean normal canned green beans that you usually store in your cupboard! They are fat free, low calorie, but pretty filling for the dog. Our dogs love them, no tricking involved! Any style bean will do, fancy, French, etc. You can either dump the can in their bowl between feedings, add it to his food during feedings, or feed it to the dog by the fork full if your dog can eat off a fork. I don't know how much your dog weighs, but one can a day helps our bull mastiff a lot, and half a can helps the 23 pound terrier mix. You can't really over feed green beans, so don't worry about that.
I assume you're using a low calorie dog kibble, not just cutting back the amount? I've used Authority dog food for over weight dogs, and it did pretty well. They can still have a good helping of food, but it's lower calorie and fat.
Treats for overweight dogs are tricky. It's the equivalent of a snack cake for a human, it may not be very big, but it packs a lot of calories and fat. Search for home made low fat dog treat recipies. Be sure to avoid those treats like beggin strips, t-bone shaped or hot dog shaped treats and things like that.
Also, give your dog something to chew on instead of the trash. Store bought leg bones are good b/c they don't actually eat it like raw hide, it takes them months if not years to chew it up, and it's not detrimental to their diet. ... View related article.
Did you get puppy from a pet store or large breeder? This is usually a result of the dog being caged for extended periods of time in its youth and it becomes habit when they move to a better environment. Try puppy a puppy pad in the crate with him to absorb the urine. He may just also be bored, so leave a toy with him, such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. This doesn't explain the breath though, since the urine only has the bacteria the dog has in its body.
If he has tarter build up, which is improbable, but possible in a dog that young, this would make his breath stinky though. The two may be unrelated. Smaller dogs have more problems with their teeth than large dogs, especially if they eat canned food instead of dry. Pull back his lips until you can see his back teeth, that's where tarter shows up first typically. They should be uniform in color, nice and white, the gums should be a healthy pink, not light pink or red and irritated looking. Tarter will be a discoloration and hard, it may look like it's part of the tooth but if your thumb nail is hard enough you can chip it off the tooth.
Another possibility is the pup has a urinary infection. You can take just a sample of the urine to your vet, instead of the whole dog and paying for an office call. Urinary problems can cause hydration issues, and the pup may feel so thirsty he drinks his own urine to alleviate that. If he has an infection that causes the thirst it can effect his breath, as well as dehydration.
Try to monitor how much water the puppy is drinking through out the day, and how often. Does he drink the bowl dry every time as soon as you refill it? If his drinking is excessive, he should go to the vet, or at least his urine should to start with.
