Posted on 03/30/2007 6:23:02 AM PDT by Milwaukee_Guy
She is one of the moderators on the k9nutrition site and has compiled hours and hours of research. Her site is kept up to date and warning, you may end up spending hours there doing research...
For people with cats I see the holistic cat list has moved from yahoo to here
I understand prey drive, in the years since the RBs died we have had 8 Jack Russell terriers. That’s a lot of prey drive right there. In fact there is a rabbit hunt going on in the back yard right now.
That should read “rather than vicious”.
Very interesting that your RRs didn’t have prey drive... and that they were from SA stock.
So imagine the kind of prey drive that your JRTs have (or that Greyhounds have) and put it in your RRs... That’s what I have. I can’t go anywhere with them off leash unless it’s a fenced area or wide-open country where I know they won’t run into traffic or accidently run off a cliff chasing (cat, rabbit, squirrel, deer, antelope, etc.).
I was loading one of my RRs into the truck one day and made the mistake of letting her out of the house off leash because we were just going from the front door to the driveway and into the truck. Unfortunately, there was a cat under the truck and it took off across the street, RR flew after it... The cat ran up the side of a huge tree, and the RR ran up the side of the tree too, completely oblivious to something called gravity. Only when the cat and the RR both got about 7 feet off the ground did gravity take over, and they both fell back to the ground in a heap of boiling fur. Fortunately for all parties, the RR had landed on her back and the cat had landed somewhere in the heap, but the thud on the ground gave the cat a chance to escape.
It was very fortunate no cars were coming when that happened, or one/both the animals could have been killed since neither of them even noticed the street they had just crossed.
That was the first time the RR had ever met a cat. Needless to say, we don’t leave the house, even just to get in the truck, without being on leash now.
Since last Wednesday, I have been preparing my 3 dogs' (miniature schnauzer and 2 peek-a-poos) meals myself, but I realized last night that I simply don't know enough and don't have enough time (working 12 hours a day) to keep it up. I'm also afraid I won't include some essential nutrient and make them sick.
They've really been enjoying what I feed them, so I hope they will adjust to the new food. I plan to mix it half-&-half with the same stuff I've been feeding them this week, and see if that will help with the transition. Tonight they had ground beef mixed with scrambled eggs, brown rice, green peas, and cottage cheese. They cleaned their bowls immediately!
I love onlynaturalpet, I buy all my treats from them or sitstay. I like knowing I can read the ingredients and get no grain, no preservative ingredients for them.
There is a healthy pet store in Illinois I've ordered Ostrich Jerkey and sinew from when they have it -- normally flies off their site and it's catch as catch can. My dogs absolutely love ostrich ~LOL.
BTW -- you will really enjoy Whole Dog Journal... it will open up a whole new world for you and your dogs. They are subscriber, not advertiser, supported (which drives the manufacturers crazy) so they don't have a financial reason to tell their readers something....
Let me know how you do.
Odie was huge, 120 lbs at his most muscled up and Hazel weighed about 80. Hazel was the smart one, she could do everything but talk.
I always said I was going to get another one
but I never did and now at my age (66) I might not be able to handle one. We have a Black Mouth Cur that weighs about 70 lbs but she is very timid and sweet.
I enjoyed hearing about your dogs, thanks.
The females sure are smart, aren’t they? The males always seem to be sweet and more laid-back, and the females are always thinking.
I’ve known RRs who live with cats and they obviously don’t chase their “own” cats because they are family members. But to not chase squirrels? Nope, never heard of that! :-)
As you know, they were bred for two things: (1) to guard the family plantation, and (2) to go hunting.
If you have a Black Mouth Cur (cool dogs!), you can handle a RR again. Just get in touch with Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue and find an adult. Mine are more than happy to spend all day on the couch. As long as you don’t get a puppy, anything over age 3 should be happy to live a fairly casual life. My 6-yr old was a couch-potato from day one, but her sister took nearly 4 years to become fully acclimated to the couch life. ;-)
I personally know the woman who runs this RR rescue... she can find you a great dog if you tell her what you’re looking for, what your lifestyle is like, etc:
And here’s another RR rescue, but I’m not sure who specifically works with them, though I’m sure it’s probably a number of people I’ve heard of:
http://www.ridgebackrescue.org/
My guess is that the grain was shipped in improperly cleaned holds of ships that previously carried the chemicals.
Let me tell you a quick story about Hazel. I had a young black kid who worked at my brother’s veterinary clinic come and help me do some stuff.
This kid had bathed Hazel and handled her many times. He was walking across the back yard which was fenced by this time. Hazel darted out the door, ran up behind him and put her mouth around the back of his thigh muscle.
Then she cut her eyes to me standing helplessly on the back porch as if to say “shall I take him down for you mom?” The kid froze and I said “no Hazel come here”.
She came to me and stayed by my side until that intruder was gone.
Now my JRT's keep me safe from rabbits and squirrels. LOL!
Love that story. I love it when dogs make choices and think things through like that. It sure gives you peace of mind knowing they were there for you if it was ever necessary.
The JRTs are doing their part... I’m sure there are many vicious squirrels and rabbits out there, you just don’t know about them because the JRTs have taken care of them all! ;-)
Here’s a story you might like to read about a RR who saved a little girl from being abducted:
http://www.promoduck.com/PressRelease/html/press_con13a047.htm
I’ll tell you another story that happened here a few weeks ago. As I said we have 2 JRT’s and 1 BM Cur. We live on a very busy city street and I live in fear that one of them might be hit by a car.
We have gates and I decided to put Security Dog signs on them and have a few old Beware of Dog signs as well. I bought a new clothes dryer and it was being delivered when my husband was here. He said the door bell rang but the 2 huge men were standing way off by the truck.
They would not come near the house because of their fear of the SECURITY dog that was here. My husband had to convince them the the SECURITY dog was safely chained up before they would come in the house.
None of our dogs could be considered a security dog, they all LOVE people.
I told my friend who lives alone with her 5lb dog and her bird. She now has a Security Dog sign on her gate. LOL! Do you mind telling me what is a Bag Cam Addict?
Since we’re way off topic at this point, I’ll reply privately.
What a great idea ... thank you for that suggestion! And you are correct -- cat food costs have become ridiculous.
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