Popular Post Mouseykins Posted June 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted June 26, 2019 Some of you may be aware that my family lost our beautiful Mouse, a 12-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, almost two months ago. She had Cushing's Disease as a result of a tumor on her adrenal gland that turned out to be malignant and spread. She was diagnosed at 11 years old, in September 2018 we found out the devastating news that our sweet girl had limited time left. As the months passed by we were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. We made sure every special family holiday was made extra special for Mouse. Easter was the last holiday she spent with us. Our family is still grieving her loss and it will take a long time for us to work through the process. Mouse was more than just a pet, she was family! Because of the trauma to our middle child mostly and our other two children my husband and I discussed possibly needing to get another furry companion to help our girls overcome the trauma they witnessed. It's not something they will ever forget! Our middle child has been increasingly agitated to the point of hysterical tears by the smallest of things. I literally cannot leave the room without her hysterically freaking out. Before Mouse passed away, I could come and go as I pleased and she would only follow me around sometimes when she's bored. Lately she will stop whatever it is she's doing, including eating to trail after me. She misses that safety and security Mouse provided her and all of us. Our oldest has been increasingly frustrated with everything and not sleeping well. Our youngest, well she's only 2 so it's hard to know exactly where she's at in terms of her feelings. After searching and doing our homework on certain breeds we found one that would be highly suitable to our family. The temperament of the breed and it's protective nature without being aggressive is what got our attention. Another reason for getting a puppy so soon is my husband may need to go away for work depending on how things go with the company he currently works for. That's a long story in itself! Now if he has to go away, the kids and I will be left home alone for a lengthy time. So a dog would be ideal to offer that sense of security, protection and peace of mind while he's away. We picked up this handsome little guy yesterday! He's a Great Pyranees and will be rather large compared to a small Jack Russel. With his size, people will think twice before messing with our place! A lot of people thought Mouse was a large dog because of the size and volume of her bark, but here she's just a small pup projecting herself as a big pup. Without further ado, here is our handsome fellow! He currently doesn't have a name. I'll update once we've chosen his name. He's a very smart boy! Already whining to go outside! When we went to look at the pups yesterday our youngest was interested in them but she was shy and kept her distance. She's been like that since losing Mouse. I was worried it would take her a long time to bond with her new pal. This was the only puppy that showed any real interest in her. He came up to her and sniffed the back of her jacket and her hand before she pulled away. The others were just not interested in the girls all that much. After being home for a while, our youngest still refused to pet him. She was talking to him and saying "Come on boy!" and showing an interest, but no pets. Not until he followed after her closely and licked the side of her face. He stayed close to her and she reached out to touch his soft fur. The beginnings of a wonderful bond have started! The other two girls have gone to sleep much easier and felt more relaxed at bedtime then they have in weeks. This little guy is going to help everyone heal. He is not a replacement for Mouse. He is just a new family member to be loved. We're not giving him any of Mouse's toys. The only things he has from Mouse is her newer pillow bed that she didn't really care to sleep on and her water and food bowls. The rest of Mouse's things will remain hers. babayaga67, MysteryAF, AgJu and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enitul Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 I'm so sorry for your loss! No matter how well you are prepared for their passing when things are getting worse little by little, it's never easy. But I'm happy that you got a new member so quickly. He look SO precious and adorable! Makes me wanna pet him so much. Good luck with the 'healing process' and stay strong, all of you. Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Well, there's life throwing you a curve ball, right? Certainly seems like getting this beautiful boy was absolutely the right thing to do though. He's gonna help all of you to heal as you fall in love with him. A big dog's gonna be so nice for the physical comfort he can give, too. I'm just imagining your girls with their arms thrown around him, they'll love grooming him too, I'm sure. Hopefully he'll like it too, lol. Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granny63020 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 I too am sorry for your loss. I had to have our lab/shepard mix put down several years ago. He will never be forgotten. We had him from the age of 6 weeks until he was 15. Protection, smarter than any pet could expect to be. House trained within 3 weeks of us getting him. I just can't say enough about this wonderful member of our family. I still think of him and wish he were here. Putting him to sleep was and still has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. The vet said he was suffering and that for us to keep trying to prolong his life was for us, not him. Anyway, I understand how you feel and although it gets easier your baby will always be with you. Now, about the name. Let the girls choose the name. Make it into some sort of a game type thing. Let them all write down on paper a name maybe on 2 different pieces of paper so they have 2 choices put their names secretly in a hat or something. Let each one choose a paper from the hat and then you have 3 names that the girls can choose from. Let the girls choose which one they would like to name him. Know matter what you or how you decide to name the dog just be sure the girls have the final say. Please know this is only a suggestion. I think is is the cutest dog and you will have a lot of wonderful years of happiest with him! Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 7 hours ago, enitul said: I'm so sorry for your loss! No matter how well you are prepared for their passing when things are getting worse little by little, it's never easy. But I'm happy that you got a new member so quickly. He look SO precious and adorable! Makes me wanna pet him so much. Good luck with the 'healing process' and stay strong, all of you. Thank you so much for your kind words! He's fitting right in with everyone like he was meant to be here. He was a big surprise to us all. We were in no way physically ready to welcome another pup so soon. 5 hours ago, jellysundae said: Well, there's life throwing you a curve ball, right? Certainly seems like getting this beautiful boy was absolutely the right thing to do though. He's gonna help all of you to heal as you fall in love with him. A big dog's gonna be so nice for the physical comfort he can give, too. I'm just imagining your girls with their arms thrown around him, they'll love grooming him too, I'm sure. Hopefully he'll like it too, lol. No kidding! At least this one is a cute, fluffy one who loves belly rubs! Much better than those ones that make you hate the world around you for everything going wrong all the time. Going from a Jack Russel to this bug guy is going to be quite the adjustment, but well worth it. He'll be intimidating to strangers who come into the yard. The goal is for him to only be aggressive when provoked or his family is in danger. He's taken to me and the girls really well so I think he will protect us with his life. My husband hasn't really had much one on one time with him. He had a chance this morning but puppy was sleeping. 3 hours ago, Granny63020 said: I too am sorry for your loss. I had to have our lab/shepard mix put down several years ago. He will never be forgotten. We had him from the age of 6 weeks until he was 15. Protection, smarter than any pet could expect to be. House trained within 3 weeks of us getting him. I just can't say enough about this wonderful member of our family. I still think of him and wish he were here. Putting him to sleep was and still has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. The vet said he was suffering and that for us to keep trying to prolong his life was for us, not him. Anyway, I understand how you feel and although it gets easier your baby will always be with you. Now, about the name. Let the girls choose the name. Make it into some sort of a game type thing. Let them all write down on paper a name maybe on 2 different pieces of paper so they have 2 choices put their names secretly in a hat or something. Let each one choose a paper from the hat and then you have 3 names that the girls can choose from. Let the girls choose which one they would like to name him. Know matter what you or how you decide to name the dog just be sure the girls have the final say. Please know this is only a suggestion. I think is is the cutest dog and you will have a lot of wonderful years of happiest with him! Thank you! We had Mouse since before she was born. Her Mom was our family and when she had puppies, we kept the runt with the most unique personality. What a wonderful girl she turned into! I treasure every single memory of her! We've already named him, but his name may change. We are trying out Kai right now. The girls really like the name and they can nickname him whatever they like later on. Our oldest found a tick on him, so we collected it and put it into an empty pill bottle. My husband took it to the vet and it's getting sent away to our province's government lab for testing and to determine what type it is. The risk of him actually being bitten and contracting anything is minimal in my opinion as the tick had not fed off him. It was found on his outer fluff and not near his skin. So we're wondering where he picked it up from. We brought him home from the next province over where Ticks are more of a problem. We made a couple of stops along the way for him to go potty and of course he had to go run in the grass. With all the attention he got last night, it should have been found. So we're wondering if he picked it up from our yard. When I called the vet right away they checked to see if our lil guy could have the K9 Advantix put on him. So we have to do that later tonight. He can't be handled for 2 hours after application so we're waiting until he's sleepy so the girls don't bug him. That is a great suggestion for choosing a name! Two of our girls are too little to do that. But they can always choose their own special nickname for puppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granny63020 Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Mouseykins said: That is a great suggestion for choosing a name! Two of our girls are too little to do that. But they can always choose their own special nickname for puppy. Well if anyone should decide to use this method and smaller children are involved Mom or Dad can take them into the other room and write the names down for them.Kai sounds like a good name but I understand about the name is subject to change. The baby I lost was named Wizard and that name fit him to a tee. Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 Another reason why we chose Kai is it's short and easy for our youngest to say. She was able to call Mouse by Mou leave out the se ending. Kai is already helping the girls a lot. Our middle girl napped at lunch time for a bit and that's not something she normally does. Bedtime tonight was a breeze for all the girls when it's been such a struggle lately. Duma 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 This is sounding great! All we need now is for the two men of the household to get to do some quality bonding Do you think that will be an interesting dynamic? Kai's gonna be surrounded by women all the time, so the relationship he forms with hubby is gonna be pretty unique I'd have thought. Though if he does end up going away for work that will alter things wont it. If he does end up going away will he be able to come home for weekends? Kai will end up with all kinds of nick-names, wont he, lol. A guy I lived with had 2 dogs; Jack Russell and Husky, and they both ended up with a list of them each. They happen by accident too, don't they. I mean why else would a dog called Shinook respond to Poopyhead? That was my bf's DAD who called him that, too... Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 They had some bonding time this morning while the girls and I were sleeping. I went upstairs at 9am to sleep until 11am. Well it's 3am before I came downstairs. Whoops! My oldest comes to me and tells me that Dad put Kai on the couch and he slid off and crashed. Dad tried catching him and lifting him up and I guess it was funny. Several months ago I bought these rubber balls with a bell in them for Mouse. I could only get a pack of 4 so at least she had extras in case she managed to break on or one got lost in the hedge from the girls throwing it around for her. I gave Kai one of the unopened ones and he was playing with it last night and found his bark. It was so funny how we was playing with this little ball. We have to get him some more bones that aren't treats for him to chew on. He was a naughty boy this morning and chewed on the bottom corner of the couch. I didn't catch him doing it so I just picked up the pieces showed them to him and scolded him gently. This breed can't be treated harshly when it comes to discipline. They respond better to firm and gentle discipline. Then again I was never really rough with Mouse either. I think the only time I was a bit harsh with her was when she chewed my shoe, I tapped her nose with it and that scared her. Never touched a shoe again unless her ball went into a shoe or a boot. We're having fun with him and have not forgotten our Mouse. jellysundae 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 This is all sounding so good so far Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 He's teething and needs more toys and proper things to chew on right now. I should see what amazon has for him. Having him now is going to make more work for my poor husband. Part of our fence is opened and the post in the middle of the two sections was pulled out. To block off the yard to keep Mouse and the girls contained we put up a temporary green snow fence. After Mouse passed away we were outside doing yard work and not thinking much of the future we took it down. Yesterday my husband had to put it back up. The only thing is it's not 100% secure and with Kai's size he could chew through that plastic in no time at all. We also may have to build him a dog house since he loves to be outside right now. We're having a hard time getting him back in the house after taking him out for the potty. Our yard is a bit of a mess so we'll be cleaning it up and making sure he's safe. For now he just needs constant supervision outside like a child. He'll be worth the extra work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granny63020 Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 5 hours ago, Mouseykins said: They had some bonding time this morning while the girls and I were sleeping. I went upstairs at 9am to sleep until 11am. Well it's 3am before I came downstairs. Whoops! My oldest comes to me and tells me that Dad put Kai on the couch and he slid off and crashed. Dad tried catching him and lifting him up and I guess it was funny. Several months ago I bought these rubber balls with a bell in them for Mouse. I could only get a pack of 4 so at least she had extras in case she managed to break on or one got lost in the hedge from the girls throwing it around for her. I gave Kai one of the unopened ones and he was playing with it last night and found his bark. It was so funny how we was playing with this little ball. We have to get him some more bones that aren't treats for him to chew on. He was a naughty boy this morning and chewed on the bottom corner of the couch. I didn't catch him doing it so I just picked up the pieces showed them to him and scolded him gently. This breed can't be treated harshly when it comes to discipline. They respond better to firm and gentle discipline. Then again I was never really rough with Mouse either. I think the only time I was a bit harsh with her was when she chewed my shoe, I tapped her nose with it and that scared her. Never touched a shoe again unless her ball went into a shoe or a boot. We're having fun with him and have not forgotten our Mouse. Sounds like everything is going well so far. If you have a local butcher shop you can get some nice bones just for asking. Sometimes they may charge you sometimes not. If they do then it isn't very costly. Also they will cut a very large bone into the sizes you ask for. The bones always have some leftover meat on them. I promise he will love you for getting them. We use to get a real large one for the yard chewing and then medium size and a few small ones. Kept them in the fridge and dished them out as needed. You'll discover which size will be his favorite very quickly and with having the large oe in the yard it gives him some incitive to hide, chew or bury and of course better a bone to chew that the furniture since he's teething. Gently correcting him and saying no with the furniture and pointing out what he can chew (the bone) may be easy since he seems to be so smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 I would consider doing that but I'd rather the meat and everything be cooked. Even with Mouse we never let her have any raw meat. If it was meat or trimmings that we wouldn't eat, they'd get separated and fried up by themselves for her. I can always get him rawhide bones that can last a while. Right now he's got these Dream Bones that are softer than rawhide and easier to digest but they're small and he just chomps them up in no time. He's had 3 of them already today. Only supposed to have 1 - 2 according to the package but he's still eating his puppy food so it's not for a treat or meal supplement. It's just a chew stick that happens to be fully edible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 I'm interested in why you'd rather cook any meat. I wonder though... as pet dogs in general are fed highly processed meat can it have a negative impact if they eat meat as nature intended it for them? I'm not sure that makes sense though. Surely it'd just be like a human who's always eaten junk food switching to a whole food diet, so I think I'm talking nonsense here, lol. But is it something along those lines? Raw meat might be what dogs eat naturally, but his system isn't going to be used to it? A pet shop I worked in sold bones that had been roasted for the doggos, though you've no idea where those have come from or of the welfare of the animals, have you. : / Bones from a butcher are a much safer bet, plus you're supporting local business rather than buying something that's probably been shipped halfway round the world and back. Decisions about what to feed your pet are really no different to those you make about how you feed your family, are they. Well, no reason why they should be, is there. But it makes you think. Just because a dog will "eat anything" doesn't mean it's ok to give them food that's unfit for human consumption. I mean stuff that's rotting here, not just something that's dropped on the floor. The rubbish that goes into tinned animal food's pretty appalling, I worked in a chicken factory for 20 years, and there was a massive... um, we call 'em skips, one of these. Out back that the bins were emptied into. So bones, skin, bruised meat, and stuff off the floor went into this and it was collected once it was full and went for dog food. Sat outside in full sun, uncovered, then used for dog food... pretty sure the collection was weekly, that's gonna be some nasty stuff in the bottom of that by then. But am I judging by what I'd eat? I think I am. Dogs are scavengers, they WILL eat anything, they eat stuff out of the gutter that horrifies their owners... and they do that of their own free will, and they're not doing it because they're starving. I dunno, I'm just rambling here and the more I think about it the more I'm confusing myself, lol. I guess it's the quality (or lack there of) of the stuff that goes into the cheapest pet food that I get hung up on, the basest human attitude of giving animals the nasty stuff to get rid of it. But then I look at what goes into the cheapest/poorest quality human food, and there's not really a whole lot of difference, is there... ... How did I end up down this dark alley, lol. ... So yeah, sorry about all that waffle!! Just how much more do you think Kai's gonna be eating compared to Mouse? granny63020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duma Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 We used to have a giant of a German Shepherd and normal dog toys were being destroyed way too fast. Even tennis balls (which he loved) didn't last that long. We got him a baseball sized and shaped solid rubber ball. That one has lasted for the remainder of his life! The weight was probably close to a full kilogram (2 pounds). It was colorless and natural, so safe for him to chew on as much as he wanted. The only downside was, because of the weight and the studs, if he came over to play with that ball, you had to look out for your feet! That thing would bounce all over and he'd drop it from his stand up position (about 0.5m height/ approx 2 feet or so). The other toy we had for him was just a sturdy rope with two knots in it, like the lower one in this picture. Those two, along with just normal empty plastic (soda) bottles and the tennis balls, were basically the only toys he played with. We had to replace the rope with a new one maybe every 4 to 5 years if I remember correctly. About food, they eat a lot! We gave ours just some old bread, (we got that cheap at the bakery) We kept it in the freezer so it lasted pretty long. We made some soup for him with a lot of meat and poured that over the bread (broken into pieces). In the evening he would get a bowl of dry dog food. Whenever we had to make new soup for him we just bought a big bone from the butcher (I think that would have been waste for the butchery but not sure, my mom always bought it) and after the soup was done he'd get the bone (after he ate his normal food). The soup was just stored in portions in the freezer too. So we only needed to make new soup every month or so. Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 I'm guessing it's very much down to the butcher whether they charge for soup bones or nor, isn't it. I think maybe the more mercenary charge fo them? Because I'd imagine they pay by weight for bones to be taken away, so it's saving them money if they give them away to customers. Charging for them's a bit cheeky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granny63020 Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 5 hours ago, jellysundae said: I'm guessing it's very much down to the butcher whether they charge for soup bones or nor, isn't it. I think maybe the more mercenary charge fo them? Because I'd imagine they pay by weight for bones to be taken away, so it's saving them money if they give them away to customers. Charging for them's a bit cheeky. Since I have been dealing with our butcher shop since I was 17 years old (now 61) he doesn't charge us when we pick up a few bones for this small dog we have now but it has been so many years I don't remember if I paid or not when I was younger. He knew our baby that we lost. I believe I was around 24 when we got Wizard. The butcher shop is/was owned by a couple that were teaching their 2 sons, both about my age, to work in the shop as employees when I 1st started going there. Like I said I was 17. Well, anyway the sons and I grew up together and have become good friends over these many years. Long ago they opened a 2nd shop and Mom and Dad retired selling the shops to the sons so each son has their own shop. I still visit both shops, still see Mom and Dad on occasion. What I'm saying is I trust them and believe if they thought any harm would have come from feeding my 80 lb baby a raw meat bone they would never have done it. Wizard use to love going to the shop knowing that *his friend* would be coming out with a surprise for the ride home. There is never a lot of raw meat on the bones. The meat is stripped from the bones as close as it can be. It's your pup and you need to do what is comfortable for you but maybe if you spoke to the butcher about this he/she may be able to give you informed information and maybe then you would be willing to give it a shot or you could go running for the door all freaked out (Just kidding about that last part). Mouseykins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 My main reason behind the no raw meat thing is because we ourselves don't eat raw meat as it needs to be cooked to eliminate harmful bacteria. Basically we don't want to risk a piece of meat being contaminated with something like e. coli and feeding it to him and he gets sick as a result. I know their digestive systems are different than ours. Also if he happens to be chewing on raw meat or a bone or something in the house, there's also the safety of the kids to consider. If they handle the bone and then their own food or end up sticking their fingers in their mouth or nose they could potentially get sick too. Especially our youngest who is only 2. So it's also for sanitary reasons too. If we take him out to my in-laws farm and he happens to find deer bones then oh well, it's outside and not likely to be drug into the house. Also, we live in an area where there's no real butcher shop. The only ones we have are the grocery store meat departments and they don't really do much in terms of butchering anymore. There's even this raw food diet that people are all over. But that's just not for us. Now things may change with Kai as he gets older though. @Duma That's like with Mouse, she would destroy pretty much everything we gave her for toys. I even got her this duaraball thing that was supposed to be indestructible. Well I should have written them and asked for my money back LOL. Took her about a week of constant play to tear into it. Her favourite ball are these small rubber balls that fit nicely into her mouth. The rubber is so dense, yet flexible it allows her to chew on them. The ball has a bell inside it so it was super fun when she was a puppy and even as she got older. Over the years the balls have remained intact, and only the bells have broken. She'd take this ball outside int he snow and play with it constantly. So all that moisture the bell was exposed to weakened it and it would just fall out. A couple got eaten by the lawnmower, oops! When she was a puppy, she got out of the house and would not come when you yelled her name. But as soon as you shook that jingly ball, she'd stop in her tracks, turn around and book it home. Playing was more fun than whatever she was chasing, or doing. Now that we know what holds up for powerful chewers like Mouse, we have a better idea of what to get Kai and what will inevitably be a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Oh that's a shame about the lack of real butchers, but a sign of the times, isn't it. In the years I've lived in this town it's gone from four that I can remember, to just one, and it's probably really lucky that that one's still open. The supermarkets have us all brainwashed, we'd rather eat poor quality, low welfare meat with little flavour because all we're interested in is how cheaply we can buy it. ._. Even the "top quality" stuff from the supermarket isn't; free-range my *cough* posterior. Yeah I'd not considered the bacteria risk to you guys, my brain hadn't got to cogitate on this enough and realise that. I might have twigged on in a week or so. Oh yay faddy diets. [insert various eye-rolling here] Humans rose to dominance because we learnt to cook our food and hence make it more digestible, so we could get more nutrients from it and didn't have to spend ALL DAY eating like most other living creatures do. Eating nothing but raw food is totally a person's choice, and it's their choice, but it's def not the best one. Unless they have a condition that requires it it's not the best thing a person can be doing to themselves. But hey, faddy diets FTW, right? What's gonna come along next? My ex's Jack Russell loved tennis balls, he had no interest in playing fetch, he'd just take it away and chew on it. There's a real science to the ideal ball for a dog then. I really like that the best ones are made from a natural product and not plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 It definitely is a shame for sure. There's probably one around and I'm just not aware of it though. Meat has gotten super expensive in the grocery stores here! You basically have to stock up when it's on sale. I have to admit we cook more "processed" meats than fresh meat due to the price and convenience. My main problem is it's easier to plan supper the day of and just go to the store and get fresh than it is to defrost a package all day and hope you took it out early enough to be able to use it that night. I quite often forget to take meat out early enough. LOL that reminds me so much of Mouse's mum. She would go get it but would not bring it back. If you tried to take it from her she would hold onto the ball/toy with all her bite strength and her front paws. There was no way you were getting it from her unless you literally pried it out of her mouth. Mouse's sister, Princess would do the same thing too. We call that game "Keep Away". I'm not really picky when it comes to natural toys or not because they're hard to find in my area. I look for something that's durable and doesn't have small pieces or anything that can really break off. I am going to look around on Amazon and see what I can find for him. We try to buy the more natural treats though. Mouse's favourite was duck jerky strips. It was all 100% natural with nothing added. Her other favorite was beef jerky. Those were actually the only treats Mouse would eat. She like the small dental bones though until her teeth started to give her problems. They had to be the small ones that are only about 2 inches long. Anything bigger and she'd refuse. It's quite the process of trial and error with a pet to get to know what they like and what they're going to refuse and give you that look of disapproval/disgust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 A Jack Russell tendency then, maybe, lol. They're like "hey, I'm not a retriever you know!". Our Husky on the other hand... he'd steal Scamp's tennis ball just to be annoying, he had ZERO interest in balls so he was absolutely taking it from Scamp just to be a jerk. I'd throw the ball for him just because his reaction always amused me. He'd look at the ball, then look at me, and you could SEE the form above his head. He was like "If you wanted that, what did you throw it away for?" Ha yeah, I do that thing with the defrosted meat. xD I don't eat much meat at all, so I'm even more likely than normal to forget about stuff that's defrosting. It often ends up back in the freezer and I'll try again another time, lol. I have to write massive notes for myself to try and get my brain to remember about it, but they often don't help at all. Part of the reason for not much meat consumption; it's easier/wiser/safer for me to focus on food that isn't such a ticking time-bomb with regard to potential food-poisoning. Ah the totally disdained pet toys... lol. When I had hamsters I'd buy stuff for them that they'd often either totally ignore, or it'd be promptly destroyed, lol. Pets don't know OR care that you think this thing has a particular function, they're gonna do what they want with it, right? xD I gave my hammies these cute fur-lined sleeping pouch/pocket things. They checked them out, and both decided that nice fluffy lining would work MUCH better if they tore it all out and lined the sleeping spaces they'd made for themselves with it. We totally buy pet toys because we like the look of them, but what pet shop's gonna let the animals browse the toy section and pick one they like? Can you imagine... try before you buy? It would lead to a huge discount bin full of pre-chewed/slobbered on and rejected toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 Jack Russells are just all around crazy! Here we have a few pet stores that let pets in them. Which is nice when you're trying to socialize the animal for certain purposes. There's one near where we live and I fully plan on taking him in there next time to help pick out things for him. The only other places are the vet clinics. In the fall Mouse was in for her routine blood test and a big lab comes in all come and well behaved. Mouse did not like other dogs and went nuts barking and whining. So here I thought I'd be smart and take her to the other side of the display and it was the toy side. On the shelf was this stuffed sheep that makes a honking noise instead of a squeak. She grabbed that thing off the peg and would not let go. She was making this sheep honk and shaking her head. I had to literally pry it out of her mouth to get it from her so the technician could get a weight for her. Then she snatched it back so fast from me and proceeded to take it with her to the back while she was examined and had her blood taken. The technicians even cut the tags off for Mouse so she could have her toy. It was the funniest thing I've seen her do in the vet clinic. Can you imagine what she would have done in a pet store with multiple aisles of dog toys?! Kai has to go meet his veterinarian in July for his boosters so we'll see what kind of crazy antics he gets into and how well behaved he is. When we brought him home Tuesday night I had him on my lap the entire way no now have to make him a spot in the van behind my seat. He's still lap size right now but no way do I want a 100 lb full grown pup on my lap for a trip. jellysundae 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 8 hours ago, Mouseykins said: Can you imagine what she would have done in a pet store with multiple aisles of dog toys?! I... can not! I'm trying to, but all my brain's providing are images of carnage..... so probably accurate? xD Yeah Kai's final size is gonna take some getting used to, isn't it, lol. It's such a good thing you can train a dog before they get huge! This makes me think of a food blogger I follow; a very fun and entertaining Aussie who had an 80lb Golden Retriever. He's literally the same size as her if he's standing up, but he's a very good boy considering he's sorely tempted by food constantly, and he rarely steals any, lol. Though there's a lot of that goes on that she shares, lol. She made a dog-friendly birthday cake for him to share with his retriever pals at a party at the beach, it was a fun read. These guys are livin' their best life! https://www.recipetineats.com/dog-cake-recipe/ This pic and bit of commentary made me laugh SO much! Quote sandy golden retrievers around the cake was such a hazard at one point I actually had to pick the cake up and run away! What fun though! Mouseykins, midnight_spell360 and granny63020 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseykins Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 21 hours ago, jellysundae said: I... can not! I'm trying to, but all my brain's providing are images of carnage..... so probably accurate? xD Yeah Kai's final size is gonna take some getting used to, isn't it, lol. It's such a good thing you can train a dog before they get huge! This makes me think of a food blogger I follow; a very fun and entertaining Aussie who had an 80lb Golden Retriever. He's literally the same size as her if he's standing up, but he's a very good boy considering he's sorely tempted by food constantly, and he rarely steals any, lol. Though there's a lot of that goes on that she shares, lol. She made a dog-friendly birthday cake for him to share with his retriever pals at a party at the beach, it was a fun read. These guys are livin' their best life! https://www.recipetineats.com/dog-cake-recipe/ This pic and bit of commentary made me laugh SO much! What fun though! LOL you got the just of it! Basically every toy that interested her would have been taken from the shelves and slobbered all over until she moved onto the next one. She would just go bonkers! Kai's size is going to make the Purolator guy run out of the yard a lot faster! A few months ago this older guy came in the morning to drop off a small package. Usually, we have to sign for it. He knocked on the door and set Mouse off with a couple of barks. He turns around and books it out of the yard without even closing the gate. Normally our deliveries are in the afternoon and the regular delivery guys knew Mouse and she never once went after them. We saw this novelty sign on Amazon tonight. My husband had the idea of putting this on our side of the gate so it's visible when closing the gate! We most likely won't do this as it may make us increasingly liable if Kai was to injure an intruder or something. But it would still be funny! In other news, we took Kai alone for his first shopping trip! He was very well behaved in the pet store! Our other stops he stayed in the van with my husband so he wouldn't chew on things and misbehave. He slept the ENTIRE time! Lazy pup! He's so lazy we probably could have just left him in the van with the windows open and got our shopping done lol. The only reason we took him with us today is he's not fully housetrained and he's still chewing on things. We didn't want to come home to a destructive disgusting mess, so he tagged along. He had a good trip and even after all that sleep today he's sound asleep now. The girls wore him out when we got home playing with him and his new toys. I want to order one of those hiking backpacks for him to carry with him when we go on walks. He can hold a few light things in the summer like a small first aid kit, treats and light stuff. I don't want to weigh him down too much in the summer so he doesn't get too hot. I could probably put those reusable ice cubes in his pack for hot days though. Just something to make him feel like he has a job to do other than walking with us and looking handsome. I also need to get a small treat pouch for training. Kai is going to be a busy boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellysundae Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Oh man, putting that sign on the back of the gate would be SO funny. Litigation just spoils all the fun, doesn't it. It's really interesting that Mouse had such a big bark, I'd never imagine anyone hearing a terrier and thinking it was a big dog, she much have been an opera singer in a former life maybe? Ooh, very nice for a successful first trip! Let's hope that continues! Hmm, compare him to a human baby with his current development stage, like with how much he's sleeping. At what age is that going to taper off? What does his breed's coat grow like? Does he have a thick undercoat like huskies do? Can he be clipped for comfort this time of the year? Oh, can you take him swimming anywhere near-by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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