[pyrnet] Smart-ass dogs...<grin>, socialization and so forth

[Rhonda Collins <rhonda@castlepublishing.com>]

> The sentence around here that will make My dogs become VERY scarce 
> ?
> "We've got to cut some toenails today " ~~<BG>
> Pamc 

Yup. Newman absolutely HATES having his nails done, and fights like he's
being murdered. If he even SUSPECTS we're even THINKING of toenails, he
hauls it.

As for socialization and letting the pup "meet and greet" other
dogs and people, I also, cannot imagine having a dog as big as a Pyr or a
Newf and NOT socializing them, as well as taking them to obedience
classes! An undisciplined, unfriendly dog that big is a major hazard! If
they're well-socialized and obedience trained, they can be a joy to be
around and a member of the family you can be proud to take out in public
and "show off"...but I'd be embarrassed at the very least to
take Newman out and have him growling at other dogs or people, or jumping
up on strangers, even to be friendly. And think of the lawsuits just
waiting to happen. Heck, if a kid came up and wanted to pet a big
dog  like that and the dog knocked them down, even...no matter if it
was trying to be friendly (or worse yet, aggressive), the kid could be
hurt and you could be sued. Same thing if your dog injured another dog!
As an example, I have a friend to rescued a Pit Bull, and the dog
proceeded to maul a neighbor's cat. My friend now has to pay the
$1,000  vet bill and figure out what to do with the Pit Bull. 
With Newman, I have absolutely NO concerns letting him sniff or play with
the smallest pup or child. He automatically scales his activities to the
size of the new "friend". He's also learned the phrase
"It's a baby", and immediately quiets and sniffs gently.

I took Newman out today with his Halti on (so he wouldn't be likely to
take off with me and break or bruise anything else), and we had fun. Went
to the low-cost vet clinic because I was afraid he had ear mites again. I
was surprised to learn that he didn't have mites, but rather a yeast
infection! Guess I haven't been taking enough care to keep the water out
of his ears when I bathe him. :-(  <shame on mommy!) The vet said
to be sure to flush them with alcohol after I bathe him from now 
on.

I had to wait two hours at the vet clinic at the feed store, but waiting
over there is kind of fun, because of all the animals and people wanting
to pet Newman and asking about him. He always has a ball when I take him.
He considers the little dogs to be interactive toys on strings, and the
big dogs potential playmates. It was hysterical...one woman had six,
six-week old Chiuahuas in a cat carrier and Newman was mesmerized! He
laid down in front of it and started snuffling enthusiastically. He was
snuffling so loudly that people came over to watch. He rolled over on his
side to "see" better, climbed on top of the carrier (the lady
didn't seem to mind...she was laughing too hard) and stuck his nose down
in front (I guess to try from a different angle), then when that didn't
work, came back around in front and laid down again (his jowls flatten
out like he's a tire with a flat) with his nose INSIDE one of the wire
squares...still snuffling. The lady finally said, "I think he's
going to breathe all their air at the rate he's going!"  I
gotta say, he's always good for entertainment!

I found out that Revolution doesn't protect against Whipworms, but the
vet couldn't examine him for whipworms until after three, and I'd already
been there two hours, so I figured I'd wait and see if he starts gaining
again now that I've switched his food. I switched him to Pro Plan, and he
likes it, but the vet told me not to feed it to him and recommended Nutro
Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy. Shoot, I'm confused about what to feed
him. Everyone's ideas are different. I made an Excel spreadsheet with all
the ingedients of six different brands of quality dog foods, and I'm
STILL confused. I listed out Pro Plan, Premium Edge, California Natural,
Innova Puppy, Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy, and Diamond
Puppy.  Anybody have any comments on those six?

He HAS gained 1.5 lbs since last week on the Pro Plan, and he's back up
to 107.5.