Question by Mrs Sue Price: How many cod liver oil tablets a day is acceptable for giant breed?
Newfoundland dog showing first signs of arthritis…7 years old, otherwise fit and healthy

Best answer:

Answer by dave
Cod liver oil isn’t a treatment for arthritis.

Given the size of those dogs they could probably eat a whole tub of those a day without any ill effects, except maybe diarrhoea. Take your vets advice if you’re not sure.

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Question by Kristen Chandler: What dog breed is the best for protection?
I have two children (6 and 3 yrs old) and we live in the country. There are NO leash laws out here so dogs roam free doing what they please. Most of them are okay, but sometimes a mean one will come around. We have owned 2 pit bulls over the last 14 years. Our male had to be put to sleep recently because of arthritis/old age but we still have his Aunt that is aging better than he did. They each had/have shock collars so they couldn’t/can’t roam around when they go out of the house since we dont have a fenced in yard. But they were always like an extra set of eyes for me outside with my kids. They never actually got into any fights with roaming dogs, but they would get themselves between my kids and any aggressive dogs that pop up out of nowhere out here. I am always outside while our kids are out so I have always been able to run off these bad dogs when I hear my dogs warning barks…I just will never be able to run across our property as fast as our dogs can so I always want to keep a good guard dog around. Cops wont do anything when I call about aggressive dogs (they tell us to shoot dogs that come on our property aggressivly, but i don’t want to do that), so we have to deal with them ourselves. The female we still have is too old to really protect our children from roaming dogs anymore. She will still do it, but I don’t want her to worry about younger dogs that could hurt her. Like I said before, our dogs have never actually had to fight off these dogs, but one day it might happen. It came really close to a fight once. Our male that just passed was outside with us back when we only had our daughter and she was only 2 yrs old. A male dog came out of nowhere and was running at our daughter! I started running towards her, but Chance (our male) got there first and put himself between her and the other dog. The dog stopped running at them, but they were growling at each other. I grabbed a branch and ran at the dog…he ran away and we havent seen him since. We LOVE our pit bulls…they have been the best dogs we have ever owned! They were always gentle with our children and we never had to worry about them ever hurting the kids (unless their tails smacked them…haha). They have been amazing guard dogs and have kept countless strange dogs away from us and our kids without ever actually fighting them. But we are not sure if we want to get another pit bull right now…it feels like we are replacing our male, Chance. But we need to get another guard dog so our older female can ‘retire’ and let the younger dog deal with new strays. I have heard dobermans are good, but they are all looks and no ‘bite’. With dogs out here its all about intimidation so I need a dog that won’t back down until I get there to run the stray off myself. I know Rottwielers are supposed to be good as well. If pit bulls are really just the ultimate BEST (when they have the right owners and training) then we are going to stick with them, but we would like to try a different breed out for a change. I just dont want to get a breed that will back down to any of these strays cause some of them are pretty big and mean. And the breed has to be great with kids! Our kids could do anything to our pitts and they would never be aggressive towards them (not that we let our kids ‘abuse’ them, im just saying a 2 yr old boy is going to play rough)…our kids could literally take the food/bones out of our dogs mouths and the dogs wouldnt care at all (they also knew they would get their bones right back…haha). So please, no posts about ‘oh you horrible person looking for an aggressive dog’…i am NOT fighting them…i just need a good guard breed that can handle the life we live out here!
it also has to be a fast runner…the main thing is how fast they can get to our kids before the stray. cost is also not a factor…our dogs are like our kids…worth every penny we ever spend on them!
we have considered fencing, but we have a lot of acreage to cover and don’t plan on staying here for even 2 more years.
and yes, my dogs are like a personal security system and they love it! its what they were bred for and what they do best. all breeds have things they were bred for and stopping them from acting on their natural instincts is just mean and wrong and can lead to those same dogs turning into bad dogs because their owners wont let them be their true selves. if i had a hound dog i would use it for hunting whatever animal it was bred to hunt…or use it for tracking if it has a great sense of smell…etc. all dog breeds have a purpose and they should be able to use their natural abilities. and why even post saying your not going to read my paragraph…yeah i know its long. if you don’t like it then move on buddy!

Best answer:

Answer by delo dancer
Bulldog is the best for protection

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Question by animalover: Has anyone out there ever owned a dog called a Xolo? I have been researching this breed & want to know more!?
I have read that they are hairless & even used therapeutically for arthritis patients. I love dogs & have owned mixed breeds, chihuahuas, and a golden retriever.

Best answer:

Answer by joanplus4dogs
Definitely do your research. They are more of a primitive dog & not like most dogs – goldens. They actually are only mostly hairless & has hair on their head, feet & tail. Their skin is very thick & had a higher body temperature than most dogs due to being hairless. Vets kinda had to get a running start to give them them yearly vaccinations for the needle to go thru the skin. A breed that requires a knowledgeable owner.

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Question by luvrats: What breed of small dog should I get?
I am considering getting another dog. I currently have a medium sized mutt (whom I ADORE!) but I’ve been thinking for a long time about getting a smaller dog too. Don’t worry, I will do PLENTY of research before I ever adopt a dog, but I’m interested in your opinions too!

I love long haired breeds and love to brush them. I have arthritis in my hip, so I can’t go on long walks but I can do SOME walking. I’m looking for a friendly lap dog who can stand up to a LOT of hugging! I know most small breed dogs tend to be yappy, so if there’s a LESS yappy breed, I’d love to hear about it. I’m looking for something 25 pounds or less.

I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Best answer:

Answer by Brittany
a dashund or a corgi!

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by sweet young thing: arthritis in a large breed dog?
i have a rotty lab mix she is 8 yrs old and about 115 to 130 pounds not over weight she is half german rotty. lately she has been showing signs of aging muzzle starting to grey and limping on occasion, plus after sleeping she has moans a little while getting up. the vet says shes just feeling her age and that her joints are fine, we have recently purchased her an orthopedic bed that’s lifted off the floor. is there anything else we can do to ease her pain? the limping varies from front to back and side to side its never the same leg or the whole front or back and she doesn’t limp and whine everyday.

Best answer:

Answer by Dont Ask
Switch vets – there are good dog arthritis medicines out there, or MAYBE give her aspirin, but you’d have to check the dosage and make sure it was dog aspirin. There’s no need for her to suffer – people don’t put up with it when they get older, why should your dog have to?

Good luck.

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Question by Raven: A lot of people complain about how people breed animals but?
they don’t complain about how we are running out of places to put humans. I think myself that humans should take a brake on breeding (only for fun no making babies). Because I see a lot of people out there and they complain about animals. If we think about it animals use to own this world not humans. So I am not complaining about animals anymore I am complaining about the over population of humans. There is way to many in this world I think 1/2 need to go. I would go gladly. But that is my opinion.

I know I am going to get a lot of bad remarks on this but I don’t care. I am just making a point we need to look at the real picture. Humans are killing off the wild life and we don’t care. I do I think they should have the world back us humans move to another planet so they can have it. And maybe then some animals wouldn’t be inbreeding all the time. I know the cats and dogs are dieing but we have wild life that are starving or being killed to die a slow pain full death in this world yes I have joined the up roar. I am more in to animals that humans. At least animals don’t judge.

Don’t get me wrong I love my animals that I have. I would die for all of them. But I am thinking in a few years we won’t have wild life in this world and then there won’t be lions, tigers, cheetahs, Jaguars, Lepards and panthers. I am scared for the wild life. We have tons of dogs and cats. And yes I think a lot of the back yard breeders need to stop breeding poorly bred dogs don’t get me wrong. The same with cats. But please look at the wild life and yes this is a rant.

What do you think we can do to help the wild life?

Best answer:

Answer by Wesley
We should breed until we are overpopulated. That will give us a motive to inhibit the moon.

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Question by +.L.().V.E.+: What can i do to help to ease arthritis pain of my large breed dog?
the pain is mostly in her hips, and a little in the front limbs. she is a long hair German Shepard… thank you,
And i would take her to the vet, but i can not afford the vet fees

Best answer:

Answer by Bomber
Poor puppy….please consult your vet.

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Question by A: Is it safe to breed a dog after miscarriage on her next heat cycle?
Hi, just after some more opinions on this subject. My 3yr old Golden Retriever miscarried her litter a couple of weeks ago at 7 & half weeks gone. This was a planned pregnancy & she has had all her health tests including hip & elbow dysplasia & eye tests all af which were either clear or better than breed standard. As did my stud dog, so please don’t think that I am any kind of back yard breeder.
She was of course seen by a vet the moment I noticed something was wrong & has been on antibiotics for a few weeks. The vet advised that it would be safe to try breeding her again on her next heat cycle which is likely to be in about a years time but I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this & could offer some advice? I just want the best for my girl & am unsure whether to go ahead with plans for breeding on her next cycle – she was expecting 8 puppies from the lost litter all of which already had loving homes waiting for them & the same people are happy to wait for her next litter.
Just to clear up a few things:
-ALL her health tests were done including Brucellosis and a full blood work for any inherited diseases. All were clear.
-Both Hips, Elbows & eyes were scored. Eyes were unaffected & hips & Elbows were both below the breed average score.
-I have bred pups before so I do have experience however this is the first miscarriage I have dealt with, so no I am not a back yard breeder.
-My dog was seen by a vet on more than one occasion qualified to deal with uterine issues.

While I understand some comments made which are quite frankly mean & unhelpfull I hope you can see that I obviously have my dogs best interests in the fore front of my mind otherwise I wouldnt be asking for advice on breeding after miscarriage – I have not experienced this before and neither has my dogs breeder either. Vets can give good advice as mine has, but it can’t hurt to hear from others who have actually gone through this too.

Best answer:

Answer by JenVT
Lots of people do, but it depends some on how far along in the pregnancy she was (ie how much of her resource reserves did she use)

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Question by Daphane: Do you think that breed standards of some breeds have NOT changed for the better, from 1800s, 1900’s to now
The German Shepherd and the Bulldog are good examples of how different some breeds have changed from lets say the 1800s to now.

German Shepherd of the past
http://www.animalstamps.com/gsdcard/gscrd33.jpg
German Shepherd of today
http://www.akc.org/images/breeds/german_shepherd_dog/lg_artwork.jpg
Bulldog of the past
http://barkadaworkingdog.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/bulldogs1800s.280210046_std.jpg
Bulldog of today
http://www.akc.org/images/breeds/bulldog/lg_artwork.jpg

Do you think the smaller hips of today’s GSD are a part of the problem of why so many GSDs these days are getting hip dysplasia?

I have heard that Bulldogs don’t live too long and are plagued with all kinds of health problems in that lifetime.

Are there any other breeds that you can think of that have changed very much from the early years to now?

Best answer:

Answer by arkpudel
The problem is not the breed standard, the problem is the interpretation of the breed standard. Some conformation folks think that if some is good, more is better. The slope of the hips is something that breeders have tried to breed more of it into the breed- because of this, yes, I think it contributes to the hip dysplasia in GSD’s. Its one reason that police departments like LRPD buy their K-9’s from Germany.

Don’t know about bulldogs, but look at the labs in the show ring today. They are larger and bulkier than the field labs. I’m not sure that a conformation lab of today could retrieve a duck if he had to, he would just sink!

Even in my breed, poodles, the hair served as a purpose in ancient times, the reason for the silly cut. However, the “if some is good, more is better” mentality, the “do’s” have just gone off the deep end. If you look at the UKC breed standard, then you will notice that they don’t care for the excess hair on today’s AKC dogs.

None of this goes against the breed standard in AKC, per se. It’s just a problem interpretation, and with breeding for “what’s en vogue”.

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Question by sebscola: Does cross breeding eliminate/tend to lessen genetic problems that are inherent to either parent breed?
This is just to satisfy my own curiosity; I am not nor do I intend on being a breeder at anytime in the near future. Does one need to try to eliminate the bad trait or does this take care of itself with the mixed genetics; i.e. two hip dysplasia prone breeds being less likely of having dysplasia prone puppies by the mere fact that they aren’t of the same breed? I’m just trying to wrap my head around the whole hybrid breed scenario because in my opinion isn’t every breed known today (with the exception of the various pariah dog breeds) just a hybrid if you look back far enough?
I understand ‘Hybrid’ is two different species technically, like a horse and a donkey produce a mule… I meant in the dog breeder sense it is loosely used now like cockerpoos or labradoodles. My curiosity is from the general idea the pound puppies do not suffer many of the maladies of purebreds. I am a biologist so please assume all of the general knowledge of genetics I’m familiar with. and FYI- current research is beginning to show many cases of hip dysplasia can be traced to neutering too young.

Best answer:

Answer by Have_some_Dignity
A simple answer No.

Take a labrador mom who has hip dysplacia and a poodle dad who has PRA…

Guess what? some of our “doodle” pups will have PRA, some HD. and some lucky ones will have both.

Obviously its more complicated then that… btu you get the idea.

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