Daddy finally got Guy to climb up on the couch to cuddle...result: loss of circulation in legs...LOL
Thursday, February 19, 2009
walking at night
Tonight I walked Jade down to the Bus depot. Its a dark walk, and if I didnt have Guy to walk with us, I cant say I woud feel safe. There have been so many bad things happening in abby lately, I know I am not the only woman afraid to go out at night. Walking with Guy sure does give me confidence though....it's nice to have him with us.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Its official! guy is the newest member of our family
So, guy is our new boy. We have been fostering Guy all this time, and we have decided to make him an official member of the family. He is a good boy and we really love him!welcome to your new official family mommy's Guyford!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
what a Guy eats
A guy eats MEAT! both my dogs are on a 100% raw meat diet. Rod and I have researched raw feeding( to no end I might add) and I will never ever go back to feeding commercial foods. Raw just makes so much sense, it is species appropriate food. My dogs don't smell like dogs, they have small poops that are almost white in color, which if left to dry just crush to dust, without the horrible smell.
They also eat bones. They have to have a balanced diet. In their meat, they have 80% meat ( raw chicken , buffalo, beef, elk fish) and 25% veggies. The veggies are pulverized because dogs don't have the enzymes to break down the cellulose walls of the veggies, so the walls have to be broken down for them to get the nutrients... I make a mixture of kale, carrots some broccoli, and a sweet potato( and sometimes a bunch of fruit too). I mix it all in with the meat, the sweet potato helps to keep the mixture together. I just chuck it into a food processor, and then I mix it in with the meat, make some 1lb Patti's, freeze them so I can just take them out one by one, and defrost in the microwave. It is something that Rod and I enjoy doing, and we usually make enough for the week. It works out to be the same cost as commercial ( good kind) and in the long run will save us a ton of money that we probably would have handed over to the vet, eventually.
Guy eats about 4lbs a day of this mixture along with sheep tripe ( partially digested stomach contents of new Zealand sheep, very good for digestion, comes in a can). Murphs tummy doesn't like tripe so much. Some dogs don't.
Then they both get a bone. Guy likes ribs rather than knuckles, but murph my doxie loves the knuckles.
We also give them chicken necks and backs( yes raw,never give a dog or cat COOKED bones they dry out and splinter raw bones are flexable and they dont splinter), and some days that will all they will get. We don't go for complete balance every day, we don't eat like that ourselves, I don't obsess over things like that. I also feed them organs once or twice a week, which is a good balance. I keep a very clean kitchen and the dogs have no problem dealing with germs, they are scavengers after all, they are made for raw meat.
Murph has always had teeth issues, horrible garbage smelling breath, we were worried at one point about her inside organs because of her teeth. it has cost me hundreds of $ to have her teeth cleaned, it lasts a month and back to garbage mouth again.
THE GOOD NEWS IS....NOT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!
her teeth were covered in an almost green colored tartar, half way down the tooth, her gums were inflamed, poor thing....NOT ANYMORE. Eating the bones have cleaned her teeth to perfection, even below the gumline, her breath is actually sweet and we now love getting kisses from her!! Feed a dog a bone and see miracles happen.( see, we already saved hundreds!!! no dentist bill for murph!)
My advise about feeding bones: supervise your 1st bone, have a can of PURE pumpkin handy ( not pie filling) to give if diarrhea occures this is natural, even blood in the stools are normal its from the meat on the bone, not the dog. I give a couple tbs of pumpkin if this happens in thier meal, it stops diarrhea right away also helps constipation. The great thing about pumpkin is that it is a veggie fibre and not a grain fibre like rice.
If anyone out there wants to learn more about feeding Raw...dont hesitate to contact me, I would love to answer all your questions, and hopefully help you feed your best buddy much better.
some very good commercial foods are ( made from real meat no fillers or grains) Innova, Orijen. we will be posting a video soon on youtube of how we make our food, and feeding the pups.
They also eat bones. They have to have a balanced diet. In their meat, they have 80% meat ( raw chicken , buffalo, beef, elk fish) and 25% veggies. The veggies are pulverized because dogs don't have the enzymes to break down the cellulose walls of the veggies, so the walls have to be broken down for them to get the nutrients... I make a mixture of kale, carrots some broccoli, and a sweet potato( and sometimes a bunch of fruit too). I mix it all in with the meat, the sweet potato helps to keep the mixture together. I just chuck it into a food processor, and then I mix it in with the meat, make some 1lb Patti's, freeze them so I can just take them out one by one, and defrost in the microwave. It is something that Rod and I enjoy doing, and we usually make enough for the week. It works out to be the same cost as commercial ( good kind) and in the long run will save us a ton of money that we probably would have handed over to the vet, eventually.
Guy eats about 4lbs a day of this mixture along with sheep tripe ( partially digested stomach contents of new Zealand sheep, very good for digestion, comes in a can). Murphs tummy doesn't like tripe so much. Some dogs don't.
Then they both get a bone. Guy likes ribs rather than knuckles, but murph my doxie loves the knuckles.
We also give them chicken necks and backs( yes raw,never give a dog or cat COOKED bones they dry out and splinter raw bones are flexable and they dont splinter), and some days that will all they will get. We don't go for complete balance every day, we don't eat like that ourselves, I don't obsess over things like that. I also feed them organs once or twice a week, which is a good balance. I keep a very clean kitchen and the dogs have no problem dealing with germs, they are scavengers after all, they are made for raw meat.
Murph has always had teeth issues, horrible garbage smelling breath, we were worried at one point about her inside organs because of her teeth. it has cost me hundreds of $ to have her teeth cleaned, it lasts a month and back to garbage mouth again.
THE GOOD NEWS IS....NOT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!
her teeth were covered in an almost green colored tartar, half way down the tooth, her gums were inflamed, poor thing....NOT ANYMORE. Eating the bones have cleaned her teeth to perfection, even below the gumline, her breath is actually sweet and we now love getting kisses from her!! Feed a dog a bone and see miracles happen.( see, we already saved hundreds!!! no dentist bill for murph!)
My advise about feeding bones: supervise your 1st bone, have a can of PURE pumpkin handy ( not pie filling) to give if diarrhea occures this is natural, even blood in the stools are normal its from the meat on the bone, not the dog. I give a couple tbs of pumpkin if this happens in thier meal, it stops diarrhea right away also helps constipation. The great thing about pumpkin is that it is a veggie fibre and not a grain fibre like rice.
If anyone out there wants to learn more about feeding Raw...dont hesitate to contact me, I would love to answer all your questions, and hopefully help you feed your best buddy much better.
some very good commercial foods are ( made from real meat no fillers or grains) Innova, Orijen. we will be posting a video soon on youtube of how we make our food, and feeding the pups.
It only gets better-oh dear
So each day is getting better and better with this beautiful boy. He is walking 100% of the time on the heel, we can trust him with barriers, and he now goes outside in our partially fenced yard off leash. We actually have to shoo him away to go and pee, because he still thinks he has to walk on the heel, so he follows us around everywhere we go. Its very impressive.
He knows sit, wait, heel, come, stay, go inside, go outside, up, down, look here, watch it( what ever your holding) no barking, in your bed, leave it, give five, roll on your back, and of course walk...we had to spell it for a couple of days until he learned that too, now I will have to start teaching the french word for walk, except murph knows it, and he will catch on to that too lol.
He plays like a puppy, is dignified like a king, and is as loving as any other species could possibly be.
I can see that it is going to be near impossible to seperate him and rod. I dont want either of them to have a broken heart. I fear if he goes to another home, that is what will happen to them both. I just dont know if we can afford to keep him. Its a huge committment. Rod asks me everyday if we can PLEEEZE keep him, and I feel more like a parent than a partner when I say" no, I dont think we can" I hate to see the sadness in his eyes.
Its sad. very sad.
He knows sit, wait, heel, come, stay, go inside, go outside, up, down, look here, watch it( what ever your holding) no barking, in your bed, leave it, give five, roll on your back, and of course walk...we had to spell it for a couple of days until he learned that too, now I will have to start teaching the french word for walk, except murph knows it, and he will catch on to that too lol.
He plays like a puppy, is dignified like a king, and is as loving as any other species could possibly be.
I can see that it is going to be near impossible to seperate him and rod. I dont want either of them to have a broken heart. I fear if he goes to another home, that is what will happen to them both. I just dont know if we can afford to keep him. Its a huge committment. Rod asks me everyday if we can PLEEEZE keep him, and I feel more like a parent than a partner when I say" no, I dont think we can" I hate to see the sadness in his eyes.
Its sad. very sad.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Another good day
Another good day. Guy is learning our daily routine, and shows signs of knowing what is coming next. Thats very observant!
Today Rachel came over to visit Guy. He was really happy to see her, but happier because she brought Rod home with her. He was so happy to see his daddy today, it's a beautiful thing to see how happy he seems to be.
What a good boy.
Today Rachel came over to visit Guy. He was really happy to see her, but happier because she brought Rod home with her. He was so happy to see his daddy today, it's a beautiful thing to see how happy he seems to be.
What a good boy.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
sounds, snorts, and some slobber
He snorts, he grunts, he snores, and yes, there is slobber. I have towels stragetically placed around the house and garage. I hear him drinking and I jump from where I am to get to the water bowl in time....ah, yes, got the slobber just in time.
These are issues that you must find endearing in your Mastiff. When he snorts, we laugh, when he snores, we laugh, when he farts, we clear the damn room. LOL
Getting the slobber wiped up before he shakes his head is nothing more than a challenge. He's so funny, He's just like a kid, squirming to break free if you wash too long...
Rod says he barks like a girl. He does have a funny high pitched bark, for such a big boy, again, this is so cute.
look at that face....aaawwwww....
Monday, February 2, 2009
Out of the pen January 2008
Guy left his 6x8 pen at the daycare today. He is coming to our house for a visit. I had mixed feelings about his visit. I really care about this wonderful dog, but I still didnt trust him. I wasnt sure how he would be around murph my little doxie, and about how he would be around our teenage girls.
I was even envisioning rod pulling out of the parking lot and suddenly Guy turns into Cujo, in the car! That is to the point I didnt trust him.
Since starting at the daycare, I have learned so much about pack dynamics. I have learned about each breed, and how the exhibit certain behaviors. Guy was the only of his kind. He was a frusterated adult male. He didnt know how to communicate, and he simply followed his insticts. The team at the daycare worked miracles with him.
Guy is now a gentle, caring, loving, loyal friend. He is a dream to walk, gliding along beside you.
He sits voluntarily when you take out his leash, and waits for the "ok" before entering any doorway. He is polite, never begging at the table, and is quiet as a mouse in the house.
what a difference. I shudder to think of his life before...
He was a dream boat in the car. He looked around for a few seconds, then he lay down and fell asleep. He arrived, had a wizzle outside( to which we made such a big deal, guy had been wizzling in the centre marking everything he could) and came into the garage. He smelled around, rod keeping him on the leash to meet murph. It went better than I thought it would. Murphs nose was out of joint with it all, but she's coming around. It's hard not to. He smelled each room, and then sat. rod sat on the floor beside him, and he fell into rods lap, and that was the beginning of" oh my God this dog is such a major suck!" he slept for 3 hours straight. No dogs barking, no cold hard floor, nobody to bother you. He did'nt show too much fuss about going back. He did like the car ride though. For a slobbery dog, he doesnt slobber very much. He is very still in the car, and even at home, he's a clean dog.
The 1st visit went very well. I still didnt trust him though.
I hope that one day I do. I think he just needs love.
Just for a visit
Guy is a male English Mastiff. A dog. No this isn't about living with a "guy". But if you stick around and read on, you may enjoy yourself.
These stories are about how our lives have changed, and how Guy fits into it all.
Rod, my wonderful devoted husband was laid off from his job a couple of days after Christmas. It was a shock. We often wonder, would it have been less of a Christmas if we knew he was about to lose his job? maybe we wouldn't have spent so much money...or maybe rod could have started looking for a new job before the holidays hit...it certainly was bad timing. In any case, we immediately started looking for a new jobs.
One day Jade( my 14 yr old daughter) and I took our dogs, Murph, a mini dachshund, and Dory a Golden Retriever for a walk. There was pet place I liked to shop in, called Just about Pets wellness centre. They have all kinds of funky things in there all geared toward holistic health of pets. They teach about feeding raw, have a great variety of specialty foods, bones, and holistic medicines. They also board dogs and cats, dog and cat grooming, and finally a daycare for dogs.
while visiting the store one day, Jade said to me" mom, why don't you work here?" I thought about it...and yes, I would want to work here.
I asked the lady at the counter if they were hiring, trying to give a good lesson to jade on how to approach a potential employer. To my amazement, they were hiring! she hired me on the spot. I was so surprised, but very happy.
I started a week later. This is where I met Guy. On my first day, my boss gave me a tour of the facility, as we approached the daycare gate, I could feel my heart start to pump ever so slightly faster. I'm not sure if it's because I was a teeny bit nervous, or if it was because I was excited.I wanted to know if I had what it took to work with a big group of dogs. I have dreamt about this moment for so long. Here it is, it fell into my lap.
Debra asked me if I was scared? "no, not scared", " cautious" is more like it. So, I prepared myself to walk amoung 50 lose dogs of all breeds, Shepperd's, pit bulls,labs,boxers, etc....the area was divided ,having the pups and small breeds in one area, and the large dogs on the other.
While standing at the huge heavy iron gate, there, way in the back of the room, I saw him. He was standing at the waist high fence, barking a deep yet high pitched bark. His tail was wagging, and he really wanted anyone at the gate to know HE was there too. Guy had been banished to the puppy pen. His owner dropped him off on Nov 29, 2008. To be boarded short term. He is an intact male( that's gonna change in the next week or so)and he wanted to hump anything that moves. He isn't good with other intact makes either, and guess who would win that fight? I would put all my money on Guy. 220 lbs of pure male dog.His teeth are comparable to that of a bear....need I say more?
so here is this mammoth of a dog, slothing his way around the puppy pen with miniature poodles and Chihuahua's... He had a friend for a while,Elmo. He's a mini poodle X and it was just like Chester and spike. While guy trudged along, Elmo would be jumping up and down trying to get his attention, boing! boing! boing!...funniest thing ever to see, then Guy would have enough of it, and pin the little guy down and breath heavy on him to warn him he was getting on his nerves. He would then let him go and continue his pacing.
I was shocked to see that by Xmas time, he was still there. It is now Feb, and its pretty clear his owner does not plan on coming back for him. I want to imagine that his owner just didn't realize how fast the bill may increase...
Life with Guy at the centre was hairy Carey at times. He did'nt like to miss out on all the fun, and would stand at the gate and whine, and whine, and whine. My heart went out to him. It was the first time that I was ever so close to a real Mastiff and I was ( and am still) in such awe of their gigantic size. He is the color Brindle, with a black face and ears. His head is the width of my forearm. He has dark hazel eyes, and droopy eyelids. When he looks at you, you KNOW he is looking at you.
My 1st meeting with him, he ignored me. He just sniffed me and walked away. I didn't know what to think really. As time went on, he began to warm up to me but it really took weeks of paying as much attention to him as possible. There's a lot going on at the centre at all times, and he was so preoccupied with all the other dogs etc...it was hard to see his real true nature.
Rod asked Debra if he could get Guy out of the centre for a walk, and she hesitated. It was clear that Guy was not going back to his home, and Debra was starting to consider her options as to what she was going to do with Him. I don't blame her for holding onto Guy for so long. She was trying very hard to accommodate her client, but felt impelled to help Guy live a normal life. I think the owner just couldn't pay the bill. It got so huge that he just couldn't do anything to get guy out.
Debra was hesitating to let rod walk guy because she wasn't sure if she would be liable if something happened off the property, she was also worried who was going to walk who....Guy is heavy and strong. She thought it would take an army to walk him. I am so happy to say that a kid could walk him. Rod really enjoyed walking him, and Guy was so happy to be OUT!!! so Rachel from work started walking him, and Guy was able to get rid of some of those pent up frustrations.
Rod fell in love with Guy. I was still reserved about him. I was warming up to him, but he would have to prove me that I could trust him.
One night, not long ago, Rod woke me up. He said " babe, Guy is coming home with me tomorrow" "ok" I said.
a second later, I thought" what have I just ageed to?"
The next day, he arrived with Guy.
These stories are about how our lives have changed, and how Guy fits into it all.
Rod, my wonderful devoted husband was laid off from his job a couple of days after Christmas. It was a shock. We often wonder, would it have been less of a Christmas if we knew he was about to lose his job? maybe we wouldn't have spent so much money...or maybe rod could have started looking for a new job before the holidays hit...it certainly was bad timing. In any case, we immediately started looking for a new jobs.
One day Jade( my 14 yr old daughter) and I took our dogs, Murph, a mini dachshund, and Dory a Golden Retriever for a walk. There was pet place I liked to shop in, called Just about Pets wellness centre. They have all kinds of funky things in there all geared toward holistic health of pets. They teach about feeding raw, have a great variety of specialty foods, bones, and holistic medicines. They also board dogs and cats, dog and cat grooming, and finally a daycare for dogs.
while visiting the store one day, Jade said to me" mom, why don't you work here?" I thought about it...and yes, I would want to work here.
I asked the lady at the counter if they were hiring, trying to give a good lesson to jade on how to approach a potential employer. To my amazement, they were hiring! she hired me on the spot. I was so surprised, but very happy.
I started a week later. This is where I met Guy. On my first day, my boss gave me a tour of the facility, as we approached the daycare gate, I could feel my heart start to pump ever so slightly faster. I'm not sure if it's because I was a teeny bit nervous, or if it was because I was excited.I wanted to know if I had what it took to work with a big group of dogs. I have dreamt about this moment for so long. Here it is, it fell into my lap.
Debra asked me if I was scared? "no, not scared", " cautious" is more like it. So, I prepared myself to walk amoung 50 lose dogs of all breeds, Shepperd's, pit bulls,labs,boxers, etc....the area was divided ,having the pups and small breeds in one area, and the large dogs on the other.
While standing at the huge heavy iron gate, there, way in the back of the room, I saw him. He was standing at the waist high fence, barking a deep yet high pitched bark. His tail was wagging, and he really wanted anyone at the gate to know HE was there too. Guy had been banished to the puppy pen. His owner dropped him off on Nov 29, 2008. To be boarded short term. He is an intact male( that's gonna change in the next week or so)and he wanted to hump anything that moves. He isn't good with other intact makes either, and guess who would win that fight? I would put all my money on Guy. 220 lbs of pure male dog.His teeth are comparable to that of a bear....need I say more?
so here is this mammoth of a dog, slothing his way around the puppy pen with miniature poodles and Chihuahua's... He had a friend for a while,Elmo. He's a mini poodle X and it was just like Chester and spike. While guy trudged along, Elmo would be jumping up and down trying to get his attention, boing! boing! boing!...funniest thing ever to see, then Guy would have enough of it, and pin the little guy down and breath heavy on him to warn him he was getting on his nerves. He would then let him go and continue his pacing.
I was shocked to see that by Xmas time, he was still there. It is now Feb, and its pretty clear his owner does not plan on coming back for him. I want to imagine that his owner just didn't realize how fast the bill may increase...
Life with Guy at the centre was hairy Carey at times. He did'nt like to miss out on all the fun, and would stand at the gate and whine, and whine, and whine. My heart went out to him. It was the first time that I was ever so close to a real Mastiff and I was ( and am still) in such awe of their gigantic size. He is the color Brindle, with a black face and ears. His head is the width of my forearm. He has dark hazel eyes, and droopy eyelids. When he looks at you, you KNOW he is looking at you.
My 1st meeting with him, he ignored me. He just sniffed me and walked away. I didn't know what to think really. As time went on, he began to warm up to me but it really took weeks of paying as much attention to him as possible. There's a lot going on at the centre at all times, and he was so preoccupied with all the other dogs etc...it was hard to see his real true nature.
Rod asked Debra if he could get Guy out of the centre for a walk, and she hesitated. It was clear that Guy was not going back to his home, and Debra was starting to consider her options as to what she was going to do with Him. I don't blame her for holding onto Guy for so long. She was trying very hard to accommodate her client, but felt impelled to help Guy live a normal life. I think the owner just couldn't pay the bill. It got so huge that he just couldn't do anything to get guy out.
Debra was hesitating to let rod walk guy because she wasn't sure if she would be liable if something happened off the property, she was also worried who was going to walk who....Guy is heavy and strong. She thought it would take an army to walk him. I am so happy to say that a kid could walk him. Rod really enjoyed walking him, and Guy was so happy to be OUT!!! so Rachel from work started walking him, and Guy was able to get rid of some of those pent up frustrations.
Rod fell in love with Guy. I was still reserved about him. I was warming up to him, but he would have to prove me that I could trust him.
One night, not long ago, Rod woke me up. He said " babe, Guy is coming home with me tomorrow" "ok" I said.
a second later, I thought" what have I just ageed to?"
The next day, he arrived with Guy.
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