Tell Me About Your Love of a Dog

[VDL_Piper]

Ok, show me ONE veterinarian that agrees with feeding raw meats to your dog. I literally do surgeries on dogs who have had RAW bones caught in their bodies. I worked for the state of Alaska as a veterinarian for 12 years where I did nacropsies on wolves and coyotes. Wolves and coyotes DO get bones caught in their digestive tract and die from it. It happens more than you think. And they have a MUCH more robust gut biome to break down bone. My dissertation in grad school was on the Yukon wolf/coyote hybreds in Northern Alaska.
Zero credible vets will advise giving raw meat or raw bones to your dogs.
Our dogs are absolutely, positively NOT wolves. They have wolf ancestors, but are not wolves. Their bodies and functions are completely different.
Homo Sapiens 100,000 years ago could eat a LOT of stuff we cannot, they are our ancestors, but very different biologically than us.
Anyways, there are a lot of myths out there about raw diets.
Our domestic dogs have evolved over time to eat "cleaner" food.
And wolves absolutely do die from bacterial over growth, and disease from raw meat....and die from raw bones.

Listen mate, just move on. We have a difference of opinion, that's it.

 

[woodsroad]

 

[KS Pipes]

I’ve never had a dog but my wife really wanted one. We have two small boys and I guess it’s also good for them. Anyway, we bought a 5-month old Labrador Retriever. He’s coming next week. I’m a bit worried about this choice. I’m looking forward to it but I’m also worried. So, tell me about your love for man’s best friend…something I’ll never regret?

Lots of good information already given, and the main thing I have to add is, work on building a bond with your dog. Dogs are obviously pack animals and building a bond is very important. Your family will be their world.

My profile picture is the only lab I've had, but he was the best dog I've ever had, out of many. He was huge. He was a solid 125 by the time he was a year and a half and got to 163 and that wasn't fat weight either. He was bigger than 3 of my Rottweilers. He was absolutely loyal, never destroyed anything, went anywhere I did and was very obedient, due to a strong bond.

The only bad thing I can say about him is, he barked more than any dog I've ever had. Which there was usually a reason, but it was still a lot. Lol

 

[jpmcwjr]

I have a Lab- well probably 90% Lab- who will bark at any outside noise, and race to the door or deck. That's good!

On the golf course-—where he's accompanied me for over 300 rounds— he'll bark only if he thinks I am too far away, a distance that can vary from 10 yards to 50! Yesterday he did 18, barking only on the first hole, as he didn't recognize everyone in the foursome.

What a champ Hector is. He's a retriever with no interest in retrieving balls, or anything else for that matter. He's a good swimmer with no interest in lakes or pools.

 

[carp rides again]

Dogs are the best

 

[milk]

I didn’t know how to get health insurance for a dog out of the pound and I live in Japan, which complicates everything. Even after many years here, I don’t speak Japanese well and my wife is Vietnamese. Anyway, this chocolate lab was at a much reduced price at a regular pet shop, otherwise we couldn’t afford him. My wife loves dogs and wanted him so badly.
Part of the reason he was inexpensive is that he has an inguinal hernia. Maybe Sig (@Sig ) can answer: It looks to be simple and can be closed at neutering? Also, Japanese like little dogs. He’s already almost 5 months. He seems smart as he’s already learning things well. The kids, at 6 and 4 need a little time to figure out how to live with a dog.

 

[warren]

He'll have the kids well in hand shortly. A splendid looking pup. My Chocolate is now eight, going on two, a fun, loyal, totally trusting handful. I firmly believe children growing up with furry pets is a wonderful way for them, the kids, to learn empathy. I hope you four have a wonderful time together.

 

[milk]

He'll have the kids well in hand shortly. A splendid looking pup. My Chocolate is now eight, going on two, a fun, loyal, totally trusting handful. I firmly believe children growing up with furry pets is a wonderful way for them, the kids, to learn empathy. I hope you four have a wonderful time together.

Thanks so much friend! The kind words of everyone in this community have much encouraged me in this endeavor.

 

[bullet08]

Love my girls. Hope they live forever.. Wait.. They might not want to. But I want them to!!!

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

You made a good choice for a dog. My Labs were great with kids. Playful, but gentle when they needed to be. Years ago, when my nephew was a little guy, he was at the height that the top of his head was flush with the kitchen tabletop. We were all around the table playing cards or some such and there he was, clutching the edge of the table, a full head above the tabletop watching us. My wife looked over to see what he was standing on. He was perched on the barrel chest of my male black lab, Zack, who was laying on his side by the table. Good ol' Zacky boy never moved a muscle.

 

[fishmansf]

My sweet Cairn terrier I grew up with is one of the most character full friends I have ever had. He was a blessing to grow up with. I however, was not the nicest friend back. He was high energy and definitely had the heart of a highlander, so to speak. As a kid, I didn't know how to handle it and would get frustrated with him when he would show his stout and (sometimes) annoying personality (he would bark endlessly at anything that moved). I would yell at him or give him a good tug on the leash when he was pulling himself too hard on the leash. We still were mostly fond of each other and made very good memories. He also survived two coyote attacks, one of which ripped a sizeable hole in his trachea, two racoon attacks, and a nasty fight with a golden retriever (he started it to be fair ). He certainly has the spirit of a Scotsman. Love that dog more that I could put into words. As I am older now, though just a dog, I have an incredible amount of guilt over how I treated him, I wish I would have given him a better friend growing up. I hope he looks back on his time with me with fondness and not anger, if dogs are capable of reflecting like that. He is now in his final years, living out the dream: napping, eating gourmet steak my folks make him, waddling around a 5 acre property that overlooks the Hood Canal and Olympic Mountains here in WA and barking at walls. He's a hot mess but I believe he's still got some life in him and definitely has a lot of love in him.