Week 17

Pic update week 16

Took this in the morning...Charlie sat nicely for the picture...Lizzie can't sit still but managed to while I snapped this pic

Update week 15

Waiting in a parking lot...Lizzie lost her bone to Charlie, who had demolished the one he was given

Pic update week 14

Weight update

Today we weighed them again:  30 pounds for Lizzie and 35.8 pounds for Charlie...
Now in week 12

Enjoying the slide

How to wear out a puppy

In addition to daily walks and dog park visits, we hit upon a great way to get exercise in for our pups.

It involves me standing at the top of the hill and my wife at the bottom, and taking turns calling out for the dogs to come and run to us. 

They usually give chase and run back and forth.  After this, they get really tired and then are angels behavior-wise on the walk home and at home.

Loving Car Rides and weight update

So they really like to go on car rides.  Perhaps its because we have some bones for them, or maybe because we usually go somewhere fun.

They sit and wait patiently when it is time to drive.

We also weighed them at 11 weeks, and Charlie weighs 31 lbs and Lizzie weighs 26.4 lbs!

Walk to the Burger Shop

Here they are after a short 30 minute walk...Lizzie flopped down on Charlie, who was chilled out about it as usual.

It seems like their leash skills are improving...although Lizzie still whines on our walks

Portait of some puppies - Week 11

Here's Charlie...notice his ears growing out.  He's still a pretty chilled out puppy.  

His tail is twice as fat as Lizzie's at this point...

 Here's Lizzie...Still a more anxious dog...scared of the lawnmower, but not her brother

Dog Park & Lake

So we found bananas are a good motivational tool as well.

We got them to walk out onto this rock formation by throwing a banana chunk on it.

Also a 2 hour walk through the woods and at the dog park helps them be a little more submissive (and hungry)

How to walk a puppy

We've found we have some problems walking our two dogs on the sidewalk near our house.  Once they get a block or two away, all resistance seems to melt.  I don't know whether its because they can smell that they are near their territory or what...Sometimes when we put them on their leash, they'll stubbornly just sit or flop down and no amount of cajoling will help.

But we've hit upon a trick that actually works when we come upon this resistance...We simply just drop the leash and walk away.  After about 20 or 30 yards of us walking without turning to look back they see we aren't going to wait for them and chase after us.  In essence, their pack has moved on and they don't want to be left behind.

What's even more funny is that Charlie will pick up his leash by the handle part with his mouth and chase after us and whimper until we grab the leash.  At that point, they've submitted that we're walking and they're following us, regardless of if they come or not.  We've only tried this trick where there is very little traffic because we're scared they might walk off onto the road, but it works when its used and they walk really well the majority of the walk later.

They still seem to bob and weave back and forth on the sidewalk, but we have to take this training one step at a time.  We always enforce the no-biting rule, and it seems to be working insofar as they have drastically cut down on the fighting between themselves while walking.

Next on the agenda is getting them to walk at our sides so that the two of us can each have a dog on one side of us or behind and be able to walk together.

Making Our own dog food part 2

We did it again:
We made a batch of dog food, hopefully enough to last two weeks.

Here is the recipe we used this time:
1lb bear meat
10lb chicken (whole)
2lb chicken heart
2lb chicken liver
2lb chicken gizzards (approx)
3lb turkey
12lb brown rice
15lb barley
3lb (approx.) of swiss chard from our garden, chopped
1lb peas (frozen)
1lb brocolli (frozen)
3lb beans

Instruction: Cook all meat except for organ meats on 325 for 1 and a half hours.  Add organ meats and continue cooking until meat is tender and falls off the bone.

In a large pot, add 1:2 brown rice:water and cook.  In another large pot, add 1:2 barley and cook.  Both rice and barley cooks for around 45 minutes, maybe longer, until they are soft.
In another container, cook all the vegetables until they are well cooked.


Once barley and rice are done, scoop into processor and pulverize.  We found adding a little water helps it be not so sticky.  When meat is done cooking, do the same.  Dump au jus from meat back into the already processed meat pan.

NOTE:ITS VITAL TO GET RID OF ALL CHICKEN BONES BEFORE PROCESSING!!!! MAKE SURE TO DO THIS BEFORE YOU PUT IN PROCESSOR.

Mix barley and rice well and add vegetable mixture to this pot.  Stir like crazy until well blended.

Now your ready to bag it up.

Take a ratio of 1 cup of meat for every 3 cups of barley/rice/vegetable.  If you use bigger bags, double this so its 2 cups meat 6 cups barley/rice/vegetable. 

Please note, we supplement this at feeding time with one a day doggie vitamins.

We also add an oil, usually flax, when we cook, and also tend to add either homemade applesauce (no sugar/spices/etc. just boiled down apples) or squash once we heat up the mixture.

  

Whereas dry food you tend to be able to feed less, you need to add a little more food when you feed wet homemade dog food.  Especially when the puppies are growing.  

We also add a single pill of chondroitin/glucosamine tabs.  These are just the human supplements that we grind up in a mortar/pestle and sprinkle over their morning meal.

We find that our puppies coats are healthy and shiny.

After every meal, the dogs thank us by coming over to us and licking us.  They also lick the bowl when its all eaten, giving us the worldwide doggie signal that the food tastes good.

The importance of Leading with Authority

If youre not focusing on whats going on in the present, Lizzie can’t handle that.  If you walk around daydreaming, she will get anxious.  Especially, if you’re thinking anxious thoughts and aren’t directly focused and carrying on with purpose, she will pick up on your lack of direction and leadership and start whimpering and begin walking in front of you.  If you don’t take control 24/7, they will try to take control.  

Today when I was walking the dogs and came across a hobo encampment near the local dog park, I got nervous and she picked up on it immediately.  Charlie allows some waffling, but if you’re not leading Lizzie with purpose and authority, she will run in front to try to take control of the situation.  Its absolutely fascinating to see it unfold in front of you. 

We were watching an episode of Dog whisperer that basically confirmed this point.  Cesar Milan was telling a lady that started crying and who had her dog run up to her that it wasn’t good to have the dog soothe her the way it did, because it was effectively taking the dominant leadership position.  In his words, they try to restore balance and hierarchy. 

Halloween

My wife made Halloween costumes for them...

Two devils...fitting for their puppy stage of life...Some are action shots because its impossible for them to sit still for more than two minutes together at the same time

Agility Ladder - Update

Here are the pics I promised of the Agility Ladder...well really they are just two chairs placed upside down.  They both really like to climb up it when its setup, but even more so they like to chew on it.

Week 9: Dog Park

After the second round of shots, we took the puppies to a dog park and they were basically the hit of the place.

Dogs were sniffing them, especially Lizzie (who seems to be more interested in other dogs), while Charlie is only slightly interested.

Lizzie got so attached to one dog that the dog had to turn a corner before she would turn around and walk away.

I wonder if this strong attachment to other dogs is a good or bad thing

Week 9: Growing Ears and Tails

Its crazy how fast their ears are growing...Now they flop around and hang down low.

Charlie's tail is now twice as fat as Lizzie's.

Sunflower Stalks as a chew toy

I mentioned before how the sunflower stalk is a toy the pups love playing with.

I thought I'd show you how funny this looks:

In the corner is the chair that I flip upside down (made by my father in law) and stick two together to make an impromptu agility training ladder.

Raising two dogs together

I'll have to hand it to my wife...
I had some serious reservations about getting two puppies.  I thought about how expensive it would be...Whether we would be able to take care of two dogs...all the normal reservations.

But now, seeing them play together, and learn from each other, I don't think I'd ever do it differently.

They amuse themselves constantly.  Play with each other constantly.
Sleep together.  Eat together.

They pant together.

In short, they bond together.

They learn from each other.  For instance, when we're teaching one a trick, the other will see what its being rewarded for and mimic the reward-inducing behavior.  And I can't stress enough how dried cherries will make these dogs do anything.

Originally, I only planned on getting Charlie.  But when we went to go pick out a puppy, Kelly grew attached to Lizzie.  The price was right and, loving my wife and listening to her pleas, I agreed with her to get two.

And I don't regret it at all.

They're the same amount of work.  The feed cost and vet cost is only what doubled.  But since we mostly make our own dog food,  we just double the ingredients and make it in two pots.

We do have the added benefit of either myself or my wife always being home and playing with them. 
But when they're gone, they have each other to amuse themselves.

I'd only recommend it for someone who had the time and energy.  It is a lot of work.  But it puts a smile on my face.

I'm not and have never been a night person, but I get up twice or even three times a night to let them out when they start whimpering.  I wake up an hour early to make them food and take them out to  play.  And I've never NEVER never been a morning person.

It just goes to show what two puppies will make you do.

Their favorite butterfly toy

I referenced this toy in an earlier post about dog toys.

This is by far one of their favorite toys, partially because of the squeaking.  My wife loves butterflies, so that was the real reason we bought it, but they took to it immediately.  They play tug-o-war with the thing constantly and will chase after it.

When you throw it, the wings spread apart and it flutters around, and best of all, it was only a few bucks.

I found a link to the one we got:

Vaccine

Luckily, my wife is a nurse, so we can save on some vet costs by having her give them shots.

We found a product called Solo Jec by Durvet that, save for the Heartworm medication (that I need a vet's rx for), we can give them the majority of shots they need.  Watch out, because, depending on age and location, they may need either the solo jec 5 or solo jec 7. You really should check with your vet before you decide to go the self-vaccine route.

Every 2 weeks, starting between 6 and 8 weeks, the puppies need shots at three to four week intervals until they hit 16 weeks.  The product protects against the five majors:
Canine Distemper - Adenovirus Type - 2, Parainfluenza - Parvovirus Vaccine modified live virus Leptospira Canicola - Icterohaemorrhagiae Bacterin

We'll need to get a lyme disease shot (since we will take them to northern wisconsin - aka deer tick country) when they get older.

Doing it this way, we can save about $20 per shot!

Making Our own dog food

We made a conscious effort to only feed store bought dog food as a supplement after seeing both the costs and ingredients in the garbage that was in the stores.

Most have corn and corn meal, which dogs really shouldn't be eating.

So what we've been doing is going to the local Mexican food store and buying all of the nutrient, vitamin, and mineral rich body parts that we can't get at the local grocery store. I'm talking chicken livers, hearts, gizzards, and all the stuff I never thought were used for anything. But these are highly nutritious parts of the dog.

My plan is to also shoot an extra deer or two this hunting season to get some venison for them. Since I was going anyways, an extra deer tag will only cost me two dollars for over 50 pounds of food. And the deer are well fed on a very nutritious diet and range wherever they want - unlike the meat you'll get from the store.

So here is what we used for the last batch...
17 lbs chicken parts
2 lbs pumpkin
1 package frozen peas
1 package frozen beans
3 pounds carrots
1 squash
1 zucchini
1 package quinoa
1 package barley
a cup of hemp or flax oil

Mix in a pot and cook it up. Stir constantly. When fully cooked (3 - 5 hours later), put in freezer safe bags and stick it in the chest freeer.

We figure this is enough to last us 2 to 3 weeks, and at a price point near store bought food. Sure it may take more time, and we're not really saving money, but we are feeding high quality ingredients to our dogs. We supplement with dog vitamins and glucosamine/chondroitin.

Our plan is to switch up meat sources whenever a batch runs out, so that we cycle chicken, venison, pork, fish etc. throughout the month so they have variety and as meat goes on sale.

There are times in our busy and hectic lives where we either can't heat up their food (because its frozen) or we don't have the time to. In those cases, we bought some ultra high quality dog food for growing dogs from a manufacturer called Wysong, who had the highest quality ingredients we could find.

We did find one that met our stringent requirements from a manufacturer called Wysong. Their dog food has the highest quality ingredients. It may be a little more expensive, but I figure in the long run it will pay off because we'll have healthier dogs that will live longer with less (costly) health issues.  I highly recommend going to their website and comparing the ingredients to the mass produced crap...You'll see its worth the extra money.

When they were younger...The first non milk meal

Here are some pictures of the pups that my coworker shared with me of one of the litter mates...

This was their first meal that didn't consist of the mothers milk, a mixture of rice milk and dry food, I've been told...

Week 9: PlayTime

I’ve found that Charlie, our male pup, loves to taunt his sister with a stick.  He’ll pick one up and then rush up to his sister to tempt her, then when she starts chasing after him, he’ll use his body size to block her.  Eventually she gets bored and he runs away in triumph to chase on the stick.

Its quite hilarious

I’ve got these sunflower stalks leftover from the sunflowers I grew that they love to chew on…but we’ve noticed they sometimes swallow them and try to poop them out, straining.  So we’ve had to monitor their pooping.

My wife has taught them now to turn around (using treats of course).  They basically follow the treat with her command to ‘turn around’. 

Before, she taught them to back up by putting her hand up to their chests and saying “back” when they are seated.  They then, still sitting, push themselves back with their front legs, sort of like a moonwalk move, and then get rewarded for it with dried cherries.

Week 9: Desire to Please

Lizzie, my female pup, is starting to develop an intense desire to please us.  I’m not sure if its because she isn’t the dominant one (shes smaller than our male pup) or if its because of her sex, but we’ve found that we can get her to do tricks and she looks to us for cues on how to behave.

Its actually quite cute.

She does seem to have problems holding her urine in too, and when I wake up at night to take them out she always seems to be soaked in urine.  So either Charlie is peeing on her, which I doubt, or she is having trouble controlling her urine.

We’ve had luck having them pee where we want them to and immediately giving them treats. 

Week 8: First vet trip

Kelly took both puppies to the vet.  Charlie weighed in at 18 pounds and Lizzie was 15 pounds.

The vet approved of our home made food project.  Kelly went to El Rey, the local Mexican Grocery Store,  to procure a nutrient rich supply of chicken gizzards, hearts, and livers.  She made two big pots of food, throwing in barley, quinoa, carrots, and beans.  We supplement with vitamins and add a little oil we have on hand, usually flax or hemp or vegetable oil.

They started panting now…

Still having problems potty training at night time

Now they seem to be launching themselves up off their hind legs when they’re excited

Still love dried cherries and are willing to do anything for them

Week 7: Growth

Puppies are definitely getting bigger…I can see muscle mass developing in Charlie’s hind legs, and Lizzie looks to be increasing weight as well.  The food we’re making definitely looks to be helping.

We’ve been supplementing the chicken gizzard/liver/heart meal Kelly made with pumpkins from our garden.  On top of two types  beans, peas, squash, and zucchini from our garden, they’re getting the majority of vitamins and minerals their little body needs to develop.  However, we are giving them vitamin/mineral supplements in order to round out their diet.

Kelly was at the natural pet food store near our house looking at vitamin and mineral supplements.  She got excited to see that we can give flax, pumpkin seed, dandelions (leaves and root), burdock root and leaves, etc.  ots of stuff we can gather, and dry next year, even chickweed!  and we can give them human joint supplements in smaller doses to help their little joints get stronger.

And guess who loves tomatoes and cucumbers!!!!! Charlie! He destroyed a small tomato just now. And they were both gnawing on cucumbers for a while til they got distracted.