jonmichael

Hey, just curious if there is a big difference between large and extra large dogloos for huskies. Do dogs like their spaces more confined, or do they like a little more room? I am looking at a large right now, but my pup (8 months) is already 25 inches tall, and the large is only 25.8 inches . . . so I am thinking it might be better to go with the extra large? Thanks in advance, Jon

G & S & Kobe . . . I am really thrilled to read this. As the initiator of this thread, I can also sympathize with your situation completely. There is no shame in emailing pictures of poops back and forth. I have actually been reduced to rushing for the door when my partner goes out with a baggie to pick up a poop and screaming, "No, stop! Let me pick it up!!" I must see and analyze every poop. Congratulations -- as my own experience shows, listening to this group is simply paramount. I was fortunate in that I did not have to spend a lot of money before discovering that I was feeding my pup too much food. To all . . . Wiley is still doing great, by the way. Not a single run since we resolved all this last month. Cheers, Jon

I am sure this question has been asked before -- when is the best time to get rid of the jewels? Wiley is a few days more than 4 months old right now, and the vet is recommending that we do it soon (as in the next few weeks) -- especially since he is already humping his toys. I can't help but think that if you remove the jewels too early though, you will really affect his development in ways that we can't even begin to understand. What are peoples' thoughts on this? What's the difference between neutering now, or say, at one year old? Is there a dramatic difference? Does neutering early affect their size/development? Thanks!

OK people, we have a major success story here. TWO DAYS OF COMPLETELY SOLID, COMPLETELY REGULAR POOPS. This is phenomenal! He has been on 3/4 c. TOTW + 1/4 white rice, once at 6 AM, once at 6 PM. The combination of reducing the amount of food and reducing the amount of feeding times (from 3 to 2) has made him completely solid and completely regular. Amazing! I can basically tell you now exactly when he is going to poop. Next step -- I want to phase out the rice. So I am going to try 1 cup pure TOTW for breakfast tomorrow, and then 3/4 c TOTW + 1/4 c rice for dinner. And then the next day I will phase out the rice completely and see what happens. Thanks again everybody!

OK, forgive this basic question, but what is it about raw bones that makes them OK? Are they "softer" or something?

Wow Hock, that is the cutest thing ever. I asked a question about this on my other thread . . . but I am a bit scared of the chicken wings. CAN'T THEY CHOKE ON TINY BONES?? I remember as a kid people telling me never give dogs chicken bones because the bones splinter. Forgive me, I'm new! What is the general thought on this?

Well, guess I am part of the pack for real then. We just had a softer poop, which had me a bit disappointed, but I am not going to expect perfection on Day 1 of the change. It was soft, but still had shape, whereas day-before-yesterday, we were talking pure mush pile. The nice thing about today too is that the NUMBER of poops has gone way down, and I realize that's the point. It all makes sense. If he stays "soft," how many days should I give it until we decide that TOTW is too rich for him right now? He was on an i/d bland diet for awhile when I first got him, and did really well on that, so it's possible that I might have to go with something not so rich. But I will stick with it for as long as people think it is healthy. Also . . . CHICKEN WINGS? I realize I'm new, but that just intuitively seems dangerous. I guess it isn't?

OK folks -- we've had two poops this morning -- one upon first waking (6:40) and one 30 minutes after breakfast (7:15). I AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT BOTH POOPS WERE SOLID AS BRICKS! I am talking so-solid-that-they-don't-mash-if-you-squish-them poops. He has never had such solid poops since I've had him. I have never been so happy about poop! I have to admit, I did not entirely "starve" him last night. It was too heart-breaking and he was too nuts. I gave him a little (really tiny) handful of chicken and rice around 7 PM, but nothing else. And we had entirely skipped lunch yesterday too. His last poop last night was around 10 PM, and it had already started to firm up. Breakfast today was 2/3 cup TOTW -- I am going to do the three meals for a couple of days, just to keep him on the schedule he's used to, and then I will go down to twice a day. So 2/3 cup for lunch and 2/3 cup for dinner will total 2 cups total for today, which is what everybody seems to be recommending. Another friend said that she thought this food might be too rich in general. If his poops get mushy again on this smaller amount, I guess we'll know. I will report back tomorrow. THANKS SO MUCH DUNC AND EVERYONE ELSE!!!

He had his last de-worming (of 3) last Saturday, so I am really hoping it is not that! OK, 3:15 right now and someone around here is mighty hungry. Will report back in tomorrow.

Oooh, that is heartbreaking, but I can try that. He is gonna be MAD! What you say makes sense. Have others tried this too?

PS - Actually he is 22 lbs. not 25. He's gained a pound since last week. Not sure if that makes a difference, and not sure if he should be gaining more.

Thanks everybody, the consensus is great. Before I read these responses this morning, I actually *increased* his food last night. The reason for that is that he is looking a little thin to me (starting to see ribs a little, which I know you're not supposed to see). So I gave him 1.5 cups TOTW for dinner last night, instead of the usual 1. This morning -- MASSIVELY runny poop, and a huge amount of it. The worst one yet. Common sense would tell one that this was from the increase in food. The thing is, I am just worried about the thinness a little -- he's not a skeleton, but he's looked thicker at times. So I am hesitant to cut down. Here is the feeding regimen: 1 cup 6 AM 1 cup 1 PM 1 cup 6 PM Last night's 6 PM was 1.5 cups. I had also added some rice to his meals yesterday. He has hardly any other treats during the day. Bully stick, or boiled chicken breast in a Kong. I use very few commercial treats. Do you think switching to two feedings (6 AM and 6 PM) might help -- of 1.5 cups each, thus spreading it out? Or do I need to go down to something like two cups? I worry because the TOTW bag guide says he should be eating 3 - 4 cups. Even if you err on the low side, that would still be 3 cups a day. He is 4 months old (on Saturday) and 25 lbs. Thanks!

How's that for a subject line folks? First of all, thanks to everyone again who contributed to this thread: http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6840-favorite-food-brands/ I have switched Wiley over to Taste of the Wild, and he DOES like it. I like the ingredients myself -- can't complain there. He has been on it about 7 days now with a gradual switchover. Yesterday was his first day of Taste of the Wild only. (He had been on Kirkland before). The question is, what's the deal with the mushy poops? His poops are *generally* pretty solid in the morning, and as the day goes on, they get mushier. By night time they are complete mush. Then the next morning, nice and solid again. This is the *general* pattern. But sometimes he has a mushy poop in the morning, and a solid one at night. Seems to be kind of random. He is 4 months old. I have to say that this has NOT just started with the switchover to Taste of the Wild -- he's been like this since I got him, and I don't think he's ever had a day where there wasn't at least one mushy poop -- but what I do seem to have noticed is an increase in the quantity of mushy poops. But maybe I am jumping the gun, and it's too soon to tell. Someone suggested to me that his digestive tract is still developing, and no matter what I feed him, he's going to have mushy poops for another two months. Do people think this is true? Or maybe TOTW isn't agreeing with him as much as I'd like to? Or maybe I need to wait another week and see if the poops get more solid? I will say, they did seem to be more solid on Kirkland, but there is a lot of filler stuff in Kirkland, and there was A LOT OF POOP!

Hey there . . . I've got a three month old husky pup who could really use some playmates. I know this is a long shot, but is there anyone out there in the Santa Cruz, CA area who is in the same situation? If so, please let me know! Not sure if there is a better place to post this on this board -- if so, please let me know that too. Cheers, Jon

By the way, that dogfoodanalysis site is amazing! Science Diet and Royal Canin, two of the most touted dog foods, are WAY low on the list (1-star and 2-star, respectively). I'll take the word of this group that the site is reputable.