|
Post by Eric Matzat on Jan 11, 2004 19:57:46 GMT -5
Our GSD pup is almost ten weeks old and one ear is starting to stand. It faces front while the other is facing out to the side. I included two photos. Is this normal? Should I be concerned?
|
|
|
Post by JanisN on Jan 14, 2004 11:30:04 GMT -5
I think the pup's ears are just fine! You can see that the bases are coming up and one morning you'll get up and see that one ear all the way up and then the other will follow it. Both ears will probably waver and fall during the teething process but right now, they look great!
Give raw meaty bones to chew on for muscle excercise, you can supplement with 1-2 tbsp of cottage cheese or live culture yogurt with each meal.
Hope to see more pics of your baby! What a cutie pie!
JanisN
|
|
|
Post by Currmudgeon on Jan 16, 2004 10:59:51 GMT -5
They look good tro me. Ears come up from the bases, which firm up first.
Now, get ready for the ear roller coaster, as they stand proud, then the pup goes through a growth spurt and the flop. I swear, it just sucks the calcium right out of them. But once they start coming up, they come up, unless there is an injury. We did have a pup whose sister "ate her ears." They stayed floppy for life because of excessive pippy chewing.
Chewing helps strengthen the ear muscles, so chewy toys or recreational bones are in order.
If you're going to add calcium (e.g cottage cheese) I like to supplement with Vitamin C as well. It seems to prevent the calcium from precipitating in the joints causing problems. We use people vitamin C from Sams or wherever it is cheap.
Unflavored gelatin seems to help, too. We sprinkle it on their food.
|
|
Amara
Junior Member
Posts: 24
|
Post by Amara on Feb 19, 2004 18:19:18 GMT -5
i also have a question r/t ears.....i have a 5mo. old rikkor son, ears are going up & down . if you supplement with calcium & vit.c , how much should you use...he reminds me of mack aducht ,,,,growing very fast.
|
|
|
Post by Currmudgeon on Feb 20, 2004 17:54:36 GMT -5
As far as calcium is concerned, We wouuld add a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese to the feed.
A couple of teaspoons of unflavored gelatin sprinkled over the food seems to help, too.
We give one human grade 500mg Vit C tablet a day. The dosage isn't too significant, there, as the body rapidly excretes excess Vit C in the Urine. It's not like some of the fat soluable vitamins that can build up to toxic levels.
Since we switched to Birds And Rotten Fish, we don't supplement with calcium. They get adequate amounts of calcium and glucosamine in their feed, and in a form their systems are designed to accommodate.
.
|
|
Amara
Junior Member
Posts: 24
|
Post by Amara on Feb 20, 2004 20:09:00 GMT -5
:DHEY, THANKS FOR THE INFO. R/T THE EAR ISSUE,,,COTTAGE CHEESE/GELATIN & VIT. C 500MG. GOT IT... BUT WHAT DID U MEAN ABOUT BIRDS & ROTTEN FISH? AM I MISSING SOMETHING??? APPRECIATE YOUR HELP.....AMARA......
|
|
|
Post by JanisN on Feb 21, 2004 10:10:22 GMT -5
Dennis is making fun of our BARF diet. He calls it birds and rotten fish. It really stands for bones and raw foods or the more PC biologically appropriate raw foods.
JanisN
|
|
Amara
Junior Member
Posts: 24
|
Post by Amara on Feb 21, 2004 13:21:33 GMT -5
:)Hey Janis, thanks for the info...I thought it might be something like that. Do you really use this diet all the time for your dogs? How is it prepared? Is it the best diet for your GSD? I'm currently feeding Best Breed dog food..what do you think of it? I had switched from Eukanuba.I also wanted to comment on Tito!!! He's great , I saw him @statesville show last year>>> :)Thanks for your help....Amara
|
|
|
Post by JanisN on Feb 21, 2004 13:51:41 GMT -5
We've been feeding the raw diet for several years now and I'm completely happy with it. My dogs are all at an appropriate weight, have silky, shiny coats, clean teeth and are happy and healthy. The vet had to re-check my senior's bloodwork because the results were those for a much younger dog.
I've weaned two litters of puppies on BARF and they were all happy and healthy, too.
We feed mostly raw chicken, some beef, some fish, some veggies, some eggs, etc. The dogs have no problem digesting the bones.
Sorry I can't help you on the brand of kibble you're feeding now. I haven't checked kibbles out since I switched to raw and I'm not familiar with the one you're feeding.
Thanks for the comments on Tito. What I like best about the old boy is that he's a working fool and a bonding maniac and he passes that down to his progeny. He's a VERY fun dog!
JanisN
|
|