She is beautiful..... I hope she does get along with cats and she can come home to you soon.
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Looking for a dog! Ontario!!
- Thread starter lmunsie
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Yeah! they just called and said she was great with cats
which is good because cello has already staked claims to the petbed we bought her.
I did buy a gate that the cats can get in and out of into a 'safe room' that the dog can't enter, and it's a room that they already have food, water and cat tree in, so I think it should all work out.
Hopeful, hopeful, hopeful.
I did buy a gate that the cats can get in and out of into a 'safe room' that the dog can't enter, and it's a room that they already have food, water and cat tree in, so I think it should all work out.
Hopeful, hopeful, hopeful.
Originally Posted by lmunsie
Yeah! they just called and said she was great with catswhich is good because cello has already staked claims to the petbed we bought her.
I did buy a gate that the cats can get in and out of into a 'safe room' that the dog can't enter, and it's a room that they already have food, water and cat tree in, so I think it should all work out.
Hopeful, hopeful, hopeful.
SOunds like you may have found the dog for you..... or she found you
Is she going to be coming home tonight?
Of course we're demanding pics..... I hope the intros go well when she comes home.
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- #24
She should be coming home with my SO tonight, assuming that the intro. with him goes well. I won't be home till really late so I won't meet her till the wee hours of the morning, pictures to follow tomorrow.
As for cat intro's it should go OK. Sometimes I take my cats home to my parents and we have a very rambunctious, yet sweet natured, dog, and after about a day the cats don't even hide from her. And whenever my girlfriend brings her doberman over, the cats hiss and spit for a bit, but that seems to be that. For the first little while we will crate the dog when we aren't home, to be sure there aren't any unsupervised altercation. We also got a really awesome pet gate (that has a built in human door and cat flap!), and gated off our spare room where the cats already have their bed, cat tree, water dish and where I feed them sometimes, so I'll move a litter box up there, so they have somewhere they can always escape....... hopefully I'm prepared in that respect!
As for cat intro's it should go OK. Sometimes I take my cats home to my parents and we have a very rambunctious, yet sweet natured, dog, and after about a day the cats don't even hide from her. And whenever my girlfriend brings her doberman over, the cats hiss and spit for a bit, but that seems to be that. For the first little while we will crate the dog when we aren't home, to be sure there aren't any unsupervised altercation. We also got a really awesome pet gate (that has a built in human door and cat flap!), and gated off our spare room where the cats already have their bed, cat tree, water dish and where I feed them sometimes, so I'll move a litter box up there, so they have somewhere they can always escape....... hopefully I'm prepared in that respect!
awwww. Can't wait
So how did the first night go?
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- #28
she is wonderul, my perfect dog really, other then I think she is going to get MUCH bigger then I was hoping. she is 'full grown' at 3, however has NO fat and NO muscle tone, so she might be 60 or 70 lbs. now but she is going to get much bigger. Also she didn't know how name at all, so she is now riikka (Ree-ka it's finnish).
She is wonderful with the cats, and the cats just aren't bothering with her. The intro's couldn't have gone any better. She is one of the most gentle dog's I have ever met. She doesn't have a lot of confidence, she is very timid meeting people but once you introduce yourself all she wants is pats and love.
She also has no training (housebroke though! yeah!), but seems to have already picked up sit a little bit, we are going to take her to obedience, but probably in the new year, give her a couple months to gain confidence. In the house she is SO quiet, she loves her bed, hasn't made a peep. Anyways, it seems like it is going to work out perfectly.
We are taking her to the vet though this week, just incase, getting a once over, blood work, and I think getting her mouth and stuff checked. She doesn't have much of an appetite, her breath is AWFUL! and she 'yawns' a lot, not sure if that's a behaviour, or medical or something else.
Her stools are also runny, but none of these things are suprising considering she was a stray, then in a shelter for a couple months (and didn't do well) and then was transported to a foster for one night, then to our place.
Any advice though on the confidence and breath would be appreciated
or advice in general, we are pretty new dog owners. Also any breed guesses?
We think she might not be a cross at-all and might be an anatolian-shepherd.
With no further adieu - Riikka
But first - everything for cello, even dog beds
Here she is! (better outside pictures to follow)
She is wonderful with the cats, and the cats just aren't bothering with her. The intro's couldn't have gone any better. She is one of the most gentle dog's I have ever met. She doesn't have a lot of confidence, she is very timid meeting people but once you introduce yourself all she wants is pats and love.
She also has no training (housebroke though! yeah!), but seems to have already picked up sit a little bit, we are going to take her to obedience, but probably in the new year, give her a couple months to gain confidence. In the house she is SO quiet, she loves her bed, hasn't made a peep. Anyways, it seems like it is going to work out perfectly.
We are taking her to the vet though this week, just incase, getting a once over, blood work, and I think getting her mouth and stuff checked. She doesn't have much of an appetite, her breath is AWFUL! and she 'yawns' a lot, not sure if that's a behaviour, or medical or something else.
Her stools are also runny, but none of these things are suprising considering she was a stray, then in a shelter for a couple months (and didn't do well) and then was transported to a foster for one night, then to our place.
Any advice though on the confidence and breath would be appreciated
We think she might not be a cross at-all and might be an anatolian-shepherd.
With no further adieu - Riikka
But first - everything for cello, even dog beds
Here she is! (better outside pictures to follow)
She is BEAUTIFUL.Originally Posted by lmunsie
Any advice though on the confidence and breath would be appreciatedor advice in general, we are pretty new dog owners. Also any breed guesses?
We think she might not be a cross at-all and might be an anatolian-shepherd.
With no further adieu - Riikka
Breath: if she is also gassy, I would change her food. What food is she on?
Like cats, dogs benefit greatly from having their teeth brushed which is something I'd get started as soon as you can. It would help with her breath for sure as well as dental benefits down the road.
Confidence: No easy answer on that one. Confidence building takes time, lots of praise. I personally use treat based rewards....one of my friends who breeds dogs, does not. Encourage her, take her out for walks, praise her often..... confidence will come.... it just comes slowly.
My one dog, had been hit as a puppy.... NOT beat, but slapped on the nose as discipline (I don't agree, and don't recommend) and even after 6yrs with me, she would still cower if you raised a hand ( I noticed it a few times, but an example would be one time when I was disciplining her, I had a firm voice and had her sit and stay, I reached my hand up for something off of my desk totally unrelated, and she cowered ).
I find dogs to be like people when it comes to confidence building. Gentle encouragement, lots of lovin's and praises and it will come.
As far as breed, I'd like to see a side profile shot if possible?
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- #30
She doesn't seem gassy, and she had the classic shelter problem,. where she ate whatever they had handy, and apparently not much of it. We have her on orijens (only has had one meal so far) and are going to supplement it with a homemade groundbeef, rice, pasta, veggie dogfood I've always made for my dogs.Originally Posted by Snake_Lady
She is BEAUTIFUL.
Breath: if she is also gassy, I would change her food. What food is she on?
Like cats, dogs benefit greatly from having their teeth brushed which is something I'd get started as soon as you can. It would help with her breath for sure as well as dental benefits down the road.
Confidence: No easy answer on that one. Confidence building takes time, lots of praise. I personally use treat based rewards....one of my friends who breeds dogs, does not. Encourage her, take her out for walks, praise her often..... confidence will come.... it just comes slowly.
My one dog, had been hit as a puppy.... NOT beat, but slapped on the nose as discipline (I don't agree, and don't recommend) and even after 6yrs with me, she would still cower if you raised a hand ( I noticed it a few times, but an example would be one time when I was disciplining her, I had a firm voice and had her sit and stay, I reached my hand up for something off of my desk totally unrelated, and she cowered ).
I find dogs to be like people when it comes to confidence building. Gentle encouragement, lots of lovin's and praises and it will come.
As far as breed, I'd like to see a side profile shot if possible?
We will go buy some stuff for oral care ASAP.
Here is her side profile, and keep in mind, she has NO muscle and is really underweight! Let me know what you think
Sounds good....the breath could be just from the food she was eating and once she's eating orijen regularly you may find the breath issue goes away... Maybe she got a little cheap canned at the shelter and that is the problem.
But yah, definately grab some oral supplies.... the longrun benefits are
She actually looks fairly good for a shelter pup..... and I think in no time you'll have her nice and healthy.
I'm by far from a dog expert, but if I had to guess, I'd say she's a german X anatolian mix. I would NOT say she's a collie mix like the ad said (I don't see any collie at all).... definately a shepard mix, with more emphasis on the anatolian rather than german...
Just IMO
She is a beauty tho, and I can't wait to see her in a months time of love, care and her new family
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she is lovely .. I too see anatolian / gsd
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Yawning is a stress reaction. Once she settles she will likely yawn less.
As for the breath - that could be dietary related or dental related.
As for the breath - that could be dietary related or dental related.
She is lovely. I'm glad you found such a sweet dog who gets along with kitties.
About being gassy, even though Misty has moved to a loving home, it is still stressful so that might be part of the reason. If you switch foods it's a good idea to do it gradually anyway as opposed to all at once. All the more so if a dog has changed environments.
Good luck!
About being gassy, even though Misty has moved to a loving home, it is still stressful so that might be part of the reason. If you switch foods it's a good idea to do it gradually anyway as opposed to all at once. All the more so if a dog has changed environments.
Good luck!
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Good to know about the yawning! We are going to have her teeth checked this week at the vet, so that should clear up any possible issues
Unfortunately we can't switch foods slowly, because she was never on a particular food at the shelter, just whatever they had. And she was kept "free range" ie. In a pen with about 30 dogs running around, and a garbage pail full of random food, she is very timid and submissive which is, a) why nobody would adopt her and b) why she is so underweight
She's beautiful, and glad to hear the introductions are going smoothly!
She definitely looks like she could be an Anatolian Shepherd mix, but I doubt that. I hate to be the "wet blanket" but they're just not that common. They are not even in the top 100 of breeds, so the likelihood just isn't there. Not that it isn't possible, but you know what I'm saying. I would say German Shepherd crossed with "something that has a boxier head", but I'd have to think on that last part.
She definitely looks like she could be an Anatolian Shepherd mix, but I doubt that. I hate to be the "wet blanket" but they're just not that common. They are not even in the top 100 of breeds, so the likelihood just isn't there. Not that it isn't possible, but you know what I'm saying. I would say German Shepherd crossed with "something that has a boxier head", but I'd have to think on that last part.
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haha, not a wet blanket! she just looks uncannily like one, and has most of the characteristic, but to be quite honest, we'll never know! and it doesn't matter, cause she is great no matter what's in herOriginally Posted by whiteforest
She's beautiful, and glad to hear the introductions are going smoothly!
She definitely looks like she could be an Anatolian Shepherd mix, but I doubt that. I hate to be the "wet blanket" but they're just not that common. They are not even in the top 100 of breeds, so the likelihood just isn't there. Not that it isn't possible, but you know what I'm saying. I would say German Shepherd crossed with "something that has a boxier head", but I'd have to think on that last part.
And she is full of personality..... Cello stole her bed.... so she stole his
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FYI : anatolian s as a whole are not common but in my county there are 5 breeders so here they are a fairly common mix not like a lab though
and I know certian areas of Canada have higher populations
Yes, but that would be the exception to the rule. Anything is possible - either way she's a good looking girl.Originally Posted by sharky
FYI : anatolian s as a whole are not common but in my county there are 5 breeders so here they are a fairly common mix not like a lab thoughand I know certian areas of Canada have higher populations
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agreed very good looking girl...Originally Posted by whiteforest
Yes, but that would be the exception to the rule. Anything is possible - either way she's a good looking girl.
possible mastiff / gsd could create that look..
I hear they do genetics tests now
