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dragoness, be sure when to are new food shopping that you really read the ingredient panel, to avoid corn and wheat… hes da thing,say you go for a lamb and rice food, it sounds good initally, but alot of companies STILL put corn and or wheat in it, even though it says lamb n rice!!!! its really misleading so watch out! also, while nutro is a good middle of the road food which is pretty easy to find, their MAX line, which they made to be more affordable, has some corn or wheat in some of the flavors. it is NOT the same as the natural choice line by them. i merely mention nutro for it is more accessible to peeps depending where u are. in upstate new york thcy even sell it at the “tractor supply warehouse”, and agway; good for them!!
science diets natures best line which look healthy at first glance with its pretty packaging, has tons o junk in it, doesn’t sound like the “best”to me, starting with brewers rice, ground wheat, turkey meal,corn gluten meal, soybean meal and animal fat!!!!!! ouch!yet they claim “highest quality” ingredients!!lol.
anyway, bottom line is whatever it says on the front of the bag, still read the ingredients cuz they sneak stuff sometimes! good luck shopping!!yup its a funny thing with foods… the best out there might now be the best for your dog, you may need something simpler. once again also, you can be a fabulously loving, ideal owner and feed something basic. 🙂 my friend was feeding her dog pedigree and he looked great, super coat great skin, but horrific gas. most boxers do have bad gas though, its a push-faced breed trait. anyway, i told her to give nutro natural choice a shot, and low and behold the gas went away and he poops less, which she likes too. another friend who has a boxer too tried every premium hard to find food and her boxer was a mess on them all… what saw well with him? iams! whoa! it made no sense, but it was the only thing he could eat, she was mortified but she said hey at least hes ok on it.
i free feed my dogs a mix of nutro ultra puppy and adult food, with canned natural balance at night as a treat. now, i had tried giving them natural balance dry instead of the ultra, and in THREE DAYS they all started having attacks of collapsing trachea/reverse sneezing!!!! now, even though natural balance rates higher on ruffs’ math scale, he does not add glucosamine and chondroitin like nutro and other companies do with their food. i have 4 papillons and a japanese chin, both breeds are prone to collapsing trachea / reverse sneezing no matter how well they are bred, its just cuz they are so small with tiny throats.those two supplements strengthen the cartilagey rings in their windpipes, (just as it helps a big dogs hips and knees) preventing them from choking. i was so surprised to see what an immediate difference it made when they did not have that supplement how quickly they started having problems!! i switched back to the nutro ultra right away and the problem went away as fast as it came on. before nutro i fed iams, which they were a mess on, science diet, etc. and at the same time i gave a separate supplement for the gluc. and chond., but they still choked etc. but not as much. it totally went away thanks to the nutro ultra, plus i didn’t need to buy anything extra!!i really wish natural balance would put those supplements in their food cuz he has such a great product and philosophy.
btw, i rarely suggest nutro ultra to people, as it is one of, if not the most protein/fat high foods on the market, at 30/15 protein/fat for the puppy.. that is way too much for most dogs, for they would get fat fast on it, but for me with my high energy zany papillons, they are actually perfect to lean on it!!!! on previous foods they were waaaaay too thin. they have tiny bellies too, so every bite counts with them to keep em charged up.so that food it good for fussy , small breeds that are active, that are also not prone to obesity, like say a bichon or beagle.yes true changing our dog onto a diffrent food, even a different flavor (ex. chicken to lamb n rice) in the same brand can cause an upset belly, but that subsides. also, there is NO perfect dog food for every dog, for every dog has different needs. dalmatians and wheaties need low protein foods, for they have different metabolisms that prevents them from digesting their food as other dogs do, resulting in a tendency for kidney and bladder stones…. they need less than 20% protein in their food. dogs prone to skin and ear infections shouldn’t have foods that have brewers yeast in them for that increases the incidence of infection by putting more yeast in the body.
anyhoo, iams does contain corn which is a non-nutritious filler grain which can cause allergies and at least gas.( there are strong rumors, well more than rumors, that iams does some pretty harsh testing on animals to authenicate the healthiness or harmfulness of ingredients in their foods.. they donate food to shelters and in silent exchange may use their unhomed animals in their labs to experiment on. the is some bad stuff on it on the internet, but you can’t always believe all the scandal you hear.) in contrast ,natural balance only tests their foods on voluntary people and their dogs privately in their own homes, to see how the dogs like and respond to their products.
some peeps like bil jac food but it too has lots of corn in it which can cause gassiness, and lots o poop! when u see corn meal in dog food or ground corn that means the whole ear, cob n all! that doesn’t sound too yummy! it is better when a food uses rice as a carb, for it is more easily digested and easier on the belly; think of when you feed a human baby ground rice cereal as a first food.
however, my old family dog back in the day lived 15 years and we fed her purina dog chow her whole life. tons o junk in that! healthy dog overall, no gas, but she was overweight, had dry skin and shed excessively which may not have been an issue if she was on something better, in hindsight .some dogs do great on basic foods but some things are kind of yukky out there…
things to avoid…animal digest, animal fat ,animal by products, bone meal: means they can’t legally say they know whats in there, could be cow, horse deer, cat, dog. companies have tested whats really in foods and have found for a fact, dog and cat dna in pet foods that use the above ingredients, along with the chemicals that they were put down with, which, if ingested over a long period of time can cause cancer.preservatives bha, and bht can cause cancer too, but not to be confused with dha , which is good…. remember, B in bha is for BAD….
corn, wheat and soybean meal ( not necessarily soybeal oil) can cause /aggrevate allergies or cause gas, plus they are not as healthy/digestible as rice, oatmeal or barley as a carb. by-products can be avoided too, as you never quite know whats in there; feet, heads, feathers, etc. all the spare parts noone else would eat, but they don’t want to waste. (though there are some good vitamins in heads, esp. eyeballs, yum!) did you know that science diet, a brand alot of people assume is a great food, puts peanut shells in some of their foods as filler?! uhh,wheres the nutrition in peanut shells? do you want to pay good money for waste material?uh no not me and you deserve better too!anyway i opened a HUGE, hairy can o worms here, and there is ALOT more to reading dog food labels and what is best for YOUR dog, but in the end if your dog is honestly doing well on its food, there is no real reason to upset the applecart. there are simply things in some foods you may want to avoid. i went through alot finding a food that my dogs did well on without issues, so i like to help peeps if i can, cuz i had to find out the hard way, with itchy, nibbly, choking dogs for a long time til i found my way. hope that helps. iams isn’t really that bad, there are plenty that are way worse, so nothing to be too alarmed about. 🙂
ok, i should go, my b.f. is gonna kill me for being on here so long! uh oh! 😯yeah. you really want to watch out for BYBs. they are tons of em here, making a killing on folks that don’t do their homework. i have three casual tests i use when evaluating a breeder, real simple and bare-bone ones and there are alot more things you should look into besides these ultra basic things, but anyway….
1. ask LOTS of questions! a GOOD breeder who CARES about their dogs will respect you for asking questions and it shows YOU care! just as important their attitude gives to good insight into who you are dealing with. for example, i hear from too many peeps that a breeder got “irritated” that they asked alot of questions, they got “i’m in a hurry” , “i’m busy” and even “you know ,if you are worried about how i take care of my pets please go elsewhere”. a good breeder will love talking about their dogs, they are their babies!!
2. do they ask YOU lots of questions? a breeder who cares about their dog, wants to know everything about where their beloved dog they had since it was born is going. they won’t just ask, “when are you showing up”, lol. imagine if u had a litter of pups, you’ve fallen in love with every one, but u can’t keep them all. you would naturally want to be SURE your babies were going to the best home, so u would grill potential owners, to be sure your baby was going to be safe hands. expect them to ask you alot of questions about YOU and your experience and home. expect nothing less.
3. what brand of dog food do they feed? now, you don’t need to feed the best stuff in the world to be a loving, responsible owner, or prove you love your pet, but a responsible breeder will be up on dog nutrition needs and not feed junk., aka. pedigree, alpo, purina dog chow, gravy train, etc. and ideally not even iams. they have invested their hearts and lives into their animals and want to give them the best, so they look and feel their best and to give you a healthy dog.(i went to one breeders house…she had great pyrenees with very good if not excellent KNOWN pedigrees,( ps. the pedigrees were real with offical seals) but kept the dogs in squalor, they were emaciated, in crates with no food or water, with tons of bald patches, she fed food she bought at a discount store, which was all spilled on the floor. the pups were out in a cage in the yard, no food or water in the heat of summer covered with black flies and mosquitoes, skinny, with diarrhea. she had to have talked a GREAT game to the breeders she got the dogs from and had the shipped to her, so the other GOOD breeder never knew how she really was an an owner.let me tell you, she talked a good enough game to get me to come out, and i’m not easily fooled by em… but that was a wierd situation.but anyway….)
ahem, a good breeder would want to give their babies the best and would be up on good brands of food that are free from bad ingredients and aware of what the bad ones are… good brands including: nutro natural choice, nutro ultra, natural balance, wellness, canidae, solid gold, organix, castor n pollux, and some others. no pedigree!! if they don’t even know of those basic healthier brands, there is something wrong.
anyway, those are just a couple basic things to keep your eye that i tell peeps. two of those are merely attitude and conduct, not even actual questions. of course you ask about health screenings, pedigrees, bloodlines, family temperment, and all the other big things, but the little things like if they even ask you about YOU and your life GENUINELY, tells so much. good luck!wow ! sorry for rambling!! oops! lol! thats great that you have a fenced yard and needed a walking partner, that sounds good for you!
well wolfen, sounds exciting but use your head and trust your gut. huskies are beautiful dogs, but just like nam said they are a lot of work. i’ve worked at a pet store myself (petco.. we don’t sell puppies) for three years and i have only seen/met one husky that the owner themselves said was a really good pet. everyone has had major problems with furniture eating, separation anxiety,barking, howling, shrieking, shedding and most of all… that prey drive!! my boss has a husky dominant/alpha female and hers kills things on a daily basis. often it climbs their 6 foot fencing and goes on a rampage thru town, killing squirrels, raccoons, skunks, birds, etc. before they can catch her a couple miles away. in summer, hers kills an average of five critters a day,- they walk in the yard and the dog stalks it, kills it and sometimes even eats it!! lol! its a miracle it hasn’t killed a cat yet, otherwise hers would have been put down by the cat owner of course.that dog is her baby though and she loves her, though she admits the dog is nuts! both of our groomers have huskies as well and they are nuts too!!!!! severe separation anxiety even when left with other dogs…. one groomers sofa was eaten, along with her brand new $1000 bed!! if that dog is crated even for a couple minutes it screams like its being tortured- gosh it sounds like a panicing chimp!! i have not heard of anyone yet who has managed to put theirs with a cat., the dog always ended up chasing the cat. i imagine it would work much better if you got a pup and a kitten at the same time and they grew up together. i just had a customer whos ten week old pup chewed through a metal crate for a 70 pound dog… it chewed at the weld points until they broke and he chewed up half of the crate pan! yow! 2 days mind you the dog did that.i hear really consistently that they actually wouldn’t wish their dog on anyone, they just keep it cuz they wouldn’t want it to get put down, or end up with someone abusive.
in actuality ,2 years ago out here someones husky killed and partially ate a couples’ week old baby in the night while they slept!!!!! the baby woke up and started to cry, the crying got the dog excited and it jumped into the crib, killed the baby before its crying woke the parents and ate most of it.the abnormal silence woke the parents eventually. they said they had the dog for a few years and never had any signs of aggression and it was rather mild, etc. it was the couples’ baby before the human baby came along basically, so there were some jealousy issues possibly. on that same note, my bosses husky had aggression to their newborn baby and bit the poor thing in the face with no warning!! my boss had the baby on her lap, patting her back, the dog came up to say hi,just calmly walking by, gave a sniff and snapped!!
it is really sad because they are a beautiful breed – my b.f. was DYING for one until he met enough through my work- i called him down when one was in shopping so he could it/talk with the owner and realized they are just too much for most peeps, including him.
however there are good ones out there of course, i am merely repeating what current husky owners have told me. if this person doesn’t work out a husky rescue could do you well. they could pair you with a mellower dog, who is cat safe…. they usually a good selection with how many peeps give em up. also, an older dog will cost less so it would still be in your price range, plus you’ll really know what you’re getting. woo hoo! sounds like you have done alot of your homework though and plenty of years you have thought about it too! 🙂 the truth will be told when you go to their home and see the condition of the dogs, their living conditions, what they feed them etc. that will give you a little more insight into the care/love the dog has been given, and if the peeps have been honest with you. alot of peeps sound good on the phone until you actually go and see with your own eyes- man have i been horrified with what i’ve seen at some “breeders” houses!! that will be very interesting visit and exciting to meet the dog and definitely bring your cat for a test drive!!!
nam really summed it all up though, huskies are sweet dogs, but they have particular needs that their owners need to fill and be prepared for! i hope she is a gem when u meet her! the sweet one i knew was a big red and white male, to die for gorgeous and mellow as an old newfie, just a good ol boy, calm n quiet. he lived in a one bedroom condo with NO problems, he slept on the couch waiting for mom to come home!! so we have all extremes, but then again to do with every breed!! GOOD LUCK and trust that gut!!yup! in little rhody! one block from the ocean, that is as close to the coast as you want to get!! i’m from upstate n.y. originally, catskill mountain/hudson river valley region, but i’m here in rhode island for now. 😛 it sucks, there are no windstones here!! people in general stink here; very non-artistic and unappreciative of hand made things! i have never seen anything like it anywhere, and professional artists that made the mistake of moving here were shocked by it. they were like, i was able to support myself on my own, buy a big house,fancy car, etc. where i used to live and when i moved here NOTHING sold with these people and i went bankrupt!! wow! i’ll go back to n.y. or mass. soon though. 🙂 yippee!
not sure on that one, didn’t ask as i knew you had them available for peeps, and folks would naturally go to u first. he had it in a locked case on the other side of the store, he was telling me what he had via his computerized list, then physically checking if i expressed interest in something.from the photo it looked like the shorty you have and are still able to get. he’d have to break out a ruler and measure the thing to get the exact height, honestly. lol. hes closed now but i will see if i can find out if someone is really interested.
ok folks, heres da scoop, i’ll probably post this in the flea market cuz this is kinda flea marketish… anyway, arlla, that shop didn’t have any emeralds, or whites in anything, no coileds, no other hatchers other than the hatching emp i bought. no gothic unicorn, and he sold his male pegasus just a smidge ago. he DID have, amongst other things ,the limited ed. wind wizard in peacock for $150, the alchemists tower for 89.95 the griffin candlelamp for 69.95 and one clawfooted candleholder for 30. he had two ruby emperors for 299.95 each but that would be pricey once shipped. he had plenty of more recent stuff, but we can get all that elsewhere for less. will ship as he did for me, and he was a mighty nice guy if u ask for the owner. i warned him some of us might get calling so he was forwarned!! lol! hope that helps! i forgot to ask about what he had in peacock, but i think most folks are set with those. oh poo i should have asked if he had any OWs!! darnit!!
if you’re interested let me know, i just wanted to give u first stab before i posted the phone # and website for everyone else. 🙂oh and drag0n in regards to comcast, you don’t need college experience with them, they train you for whatever you go for. naturally it helps if you have experience with cable/phone/internet, or customer service, but there are so many specifics to comcast alone that no matter what EVERYONE gets trained, and paid for it too, and reimbursed for gas money too! sweet! my bf has been in cable stuff for 11- 12 years and they still retrained him on all their stuff, right along with total greenhorns. plus all of that is such a field that changes constantly, so y’all need to be updated regularly on things anyway.he says is easy work too for what they pay you (though it varies by experience and good ol fashioned bartering- each peep has different pay!), you know, just taking calls, dealing with peeps, n helping get what is best for them. he loves their philosophy their of putting employees and customers before making money.see what they have open, and depending on how i get to know you, my honey could recommend you- hes tight with one of the hirers.you know, enough to where we could competently vouch for knowing your character, knowledge level etc. honestly, they are very easy going there though, i think as long as u have good people skills you will get in JUST JUUUUUUUUUUST FINE, with no help at all even. 🙂
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gawd i have loved your guys stuff for so long!! arllas griffs, my gosh! the silver tabby! the snowy! the kite! the orange tabby! my god i can’t handle it! really, you two are my favorite painters on here! i would never have the patience to do the stripes, ultra fine blending and teenie work you two do! i have tendonitis which makes it hard for me to do extended amounts of fine brushwork- sculpting is ok, i hold the tools differently and have all the patience in the world for that- but brushes hurt and i get shaky. thats why it takes me a bit to finish one. i really need to get the hang of the griffins though, i love them and want to do em up nice, but they have been tricky for me so far. you guys are giving me a confidence boost i needed to get working at these more.but also discouraging that mine would look that good! lol and ugh! we are our own worst critics though. i love doing custom work for people, i really like to please folks, not to mention working for someone who KNOWS something about art!! i usually do custom sculptures for peeps with no visual/conceptual/art anything, which is difficult to work with sometimes, as the don’t understand what is and isn’t feasible due to the materials you are working with….anyhoo, you two kick butt; my hats off to you if i had a hat…
well in regards to the big pyo, i have the colors to do the violet flame, so i was going to paint him up for myself, like a mini violet flame secret keeper, since i don’t think i’ll be getting a real one!! ohh a matched set would be good! uh oh, don’t make me buy two initially! i wonder how they will be priced? still very reasonable i’m sure. but hey why would you to commisson ME?! your own paint jobs are AWESOME silly goose!! omg i love your new purple kirin!! man the tones and tone gradation! super droooooooooooooool! you do really nice stuff! i have your pink griffin saved as one of my favorites for great griff paint jobs!!i am wicked picky too!i gave up on my griffs for now, they were being sassy with me. 😡
as for comcast, my honey worked there before, left in hopes of more $$ locally (as their jobs ARE limited locally if you want to really ascend the ladder like he does.. everything is in manchester, nh.) and it backfired so he is back there again and LOVES IT!!!!! they are GREAT to work for with real respect/apprecation for their employees- they know if they treat u good, you will work harder for em. he brings home prizes almost every week as thank yous for doing a great job, like gift cards and gift checks.last year- now this will kill you- comcast took them to see the lord of the rings show at the museum of science in boston, chauferred em up there, gave em a huge catered lunch and free admission to the show plus spending money in the gift shop!!!!!!! let me tell you i am sure they heard me screaming with jealousy at the windstone facory from out here!! ack!!! im still sick over that! can you tell i never got to go cuz he was like, oh IIIIII SAW IT ALREADY. ack!!!!! anyhoo, they are very good to work for.
