great dane care

[kiwinezzie]

How do i know which food is crap. i know about protein levels but how do i look at the bag and say this is good food? crate training only seems to lead to baths every single day and dogs should only be bathed once a week max. i think my pup is now breaking out because of me washing the linen in her crate too much then even when i took it out i was still bathing her too much because she was still covered in poop. now she's balding. i started giving her treats again when she goes outside. im talking about a 5 month old puppy btw. she only poops in the house at night but id like to let her loose in the house at night and need to stop this before she gets too old.

she's stubborn too . wont listen when she's in public and pulls on the leash. i can tell she just plain doesnt want to do what i tell her even though she knows better. i want her to listen to me without distraction.

[sidehop]

link removed

 

Most dog food sold in stores use cheap ingredients like corn and fillers that can cause allergies as well as indigestion. General rule, if the first five or so ingredients are not actual meat or quality carbohydrates I'd personally avoid it. Meat by-product, corn fillers, brewers rice, etc are cheap ingredients. The other thing about dog food ingredients listing is that they are allowed to put ingredients with the most weight before dry. So you'll see salmon as the number one ingredient but chances are more water means after it's dried the actual content is much lower.

 

There is such things as too much protein too. Our dog is a mix of rottie/retriever and she didn't do well with EVO, was too rich for her and had to switch back to Innova.

 

As far as training your dog goes perhaps some books or even a trainer that can teach her while she's still a pup?

[Edmund Exley]

Dogs don't "know better" they know action = reaction. You can't assume a dog, especially a puppy, understands that your wanted behaviour for her should go against her instinct which is to run free and explore. You need to learn some repetitive training techniques aided with action = praise. Try a puppy class, trainor or a book.

[Edmund Exley]

Posted in wrong thread.

[Sky-Cherries]

Popular {and crappy} foods are:

 

* IAMS

* Pal

* Pedigree

* Chum

* Hill's Science Diet {expensive AND crap}

* Friskies and Whiskas

* Supercoat

 

Recommended foods, that are expensive and excellent are:

 

* Optimum

* Nutrience

* Nutro

* Vet's All Natural

* Holistic Select

* Royal Canin

* Eagle Pack

 

Look up BARF or raw diet for dogs. All mine thrive on it.

 

Crate training is to stop accidents. The point of crate training is not to leave them in there for hours at a time. Simple training exercise; fill a Kong up with peanut butter, place in crate, place puppy in crate. Praise when she chews the toy. Leave the door open. After an hour, take her outside to wee/poo. Then back in the crate. Praise her like crazy every time she goes inside the crate of her own choice. After a few days, close the door, but don't lock it.

At 5 months she can probably hold her bladder about 2 hours, especially since you've followed no routine up until now, but you need to take her outside every few hours. Say "Potty" when she's in the act of urinating/pooing. After a few days she'll automatically squat and try to 'go' when you give the command.

 

Trash your old "routine" and start new. Buy the book 'Puppies for Dummies' and follow that routine included in the book.

 

She does NOT 'know better'. How have you shown her what to do? By putting a leash on her, walking away and expecting her to trot obediently by your side? Nope, sorry, doesn't work that way

 

This:

link removed

has some good tips.

 

But personally, I say find a professional trainer in your area. This dog will be about 60+ kilos and stand over 29 inches tall.

You need to get control of her AND yourself NOW before things go totally down the drain

[shessofly]

take her through puppy kindergarten and basic obedience classes. it's a good bonding experience for both of you and may help you understand your pups behavior better.

 

i'll be getting my large breed pup from a breeder next weekend so i've been reading a lot of information about caring for dogs properly. remember, the dog is not necessarily stubborn, she's just being a dog, which means she thinks nothing like a human. i've been reading The Art of Raising a Puppy (or DOg) by the Monks of New Skete. Excellent and easy reading. It was recommended by my breeder.

 

i've decided to feed my pup Taste of The Wild Dog food. they say with large breed puppies you should be careful about feeding puppy food because it's so high in protein and may cause the pup to grow too fast, which can cause problems with joints in large breed dogs. the advice is to feed high quality adult food, or all life stages food. it'll give your pup the nutrients it needs without accelerating growth too quickly. trial and error with foods, what works for some may not work for others, but the analysis website given above is very helpful.

[shessofly]

also check out this dane forum! link removed