Not much to report lately. I've been working all weekend, but have a couple days off now. It's been really snowy - we have a good almost 6" on the ground now, and the snow continues to fall in the bitter cold. So we haven't been spending much time outside - least of all to train.
I did run across this YouTube video called "It's Yer Choice" (thanks to Ruthann on the Rally Obed yahoo group), and I've been doing some of the exercises with Red. They are good indoor games that teach self-restraint and patience. Red caught on fast and seems to enjoy the games.
I received Red's 2009 TDI card and collar tag in the mail yesterday. And also his red TDI bandana! I was happy about that. Now he can be official and wear his bandana on visits. I was wondering about getting a TDI shirt for myself to wear, but I haven't decided whether I want to spend the money on it right now or not. It's been a few weeks since Red and I have done a visit - I'm thinking I will schedule one for next week.
On another note, I have switched Red from a combination of dry and canned Pro Plan Selects Chicken & Rice, to just dry to see if his stools firm up at all. It's really hard for me to monitor the quality of his stool because we live on about 1.25 acres and he poops at the very back fence line - and I usually don't just take strolls out to the back of the property everyday to search for poop piles. Especially in 6" of snow, which has been covering it up so I don't know what's new and what's old. The only time I can really see the poop right away is if he goes while we're on a walk. But he doesn't even go on every walk, so again, its hard to tell. All I know is that while he was on the canned and dry, all the poops I'd seen him do have been soft and unformed. I have done fecal floats and giardia tests but nothing comes up. Someone on DT recommended just trying dry and cutting out the canned. So I will see if that works.
I just bought another 33# bag of Pro Plan Selects Chicken & Rice, but I'm not sure how happy I am with it. Red's coat seems kind of dull - though I don't know if that's because its winter now and drier in the house or what. I was contemplating switching to the Turkey formula of the Selects, but I wonder if I should switch to a completely different brand altogether. I go back and forth about this all the time and drive myself crazy. I just can't seem to find a food that he does really well on all the way around. I think at this point, the Science Diet has been the best... There is a thread on DT about Costco's Kirkland and dogs have done well on it so maybe I should try something like that? It seems like cheap-o food, but I guess the proof will be in how the dogs do on it. Once we finish this bag of Selects I just bought, we'll see where to go from here...
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2 comments:
lexxs coat gets dry and coarse in the winter too. if you are looking to switch foods though, i 100% recommend the CORE.
Thanks, Leanne. Maybe I'll just keep him on the PP Selects for now and see how he does since the dry coat is probably just due to the weather... I don't want to change too many things at once or I won't know what helps with his poops. I actually looked at the Wellness CORE foods yesterday at the petstore - and yikes! very expensive... I'm glad Lexx does well on it - it looks like a good food.
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