Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Had enough of your Schnauzer for one day. Then sit back, relax and put your feet up. You can let off a little steam here about things unrelated to your four-legged schnauzer.
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Barbarauttley
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Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Barbarauttley »

I frequently take Billy to a field where he can be off lead and he has a good run around and we practice sit, down, and staying until called and then he gets a treat. Last week we walked the field a bit and he ran off to explore. I suddenly realised I couldn't see him but when I turned around and looked back he was in the down position about 15 yards away looking expectantly at me, ready to start the "game"! His expression said "Get on with it mum, I want my treat!"
This is now his routine ever time!
Bodee
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Bodee »

Barbarauttley wrote:I frequently take Billy to a field where he can be off lead and he has a good run around and we practice sit, down, and staying until called and then he gets a treat. Last week we walked the field a bit and he ran off to explore. I suddenly realised I couldn't see him but when I turned around and looked back he was in the down position about 15 yards away looking expectantly at me, ready to start the "game"! His expression said "Get on with it mum, I want my treat!"
This is now his routine ever time!
They know what's good for them and the smart ones get it even if they have to remind their owners.

In Max's latter years when he didn't exercise much due to his back legs he seemed to be more focussed on the few remaining pleasures he had, meeting people and being stroked, sniffing everything and eating. (although he never let up on guarding the house :)

He always got his dentastix at 8 o'clock and if I happened to get engrossed in a TV programme or I had visitors he would give it till five past eight and then he started to let out a long groan, talk about inbuilt clock - I got the message though and he polished off his dentastix and lay contented till bed time.

Here's his "what are you up to" look.

Image
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Barbarauttley
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Barbarauttley »

I know that look Boyd! As for Dentastix at 10pm every night I call Wee Wee's, my two rush into the back garden, do the business, run back in, sit and then get the well loved Dentastix.
Should I be a few minutes late they start pacing!
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Robin black mini
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Robin black mini »

hi Barbara..
I'd say Billy sounds to be all three..c.c and c...as in your title..they are such smart dogs.Im also finding that repeat behavior tasks seems to give them great pleasure and security .

We come in with the car,down a ramp and into my courtyard ..I let the dogs off lead and both make their way into the garage ,into the tavenetta,and take their places up on a divan ,(the tavenetta is their grooming room)..there they wait to get " un collared etc" ,praised. checked over for seeds and summer ticks etc..their alternative choice would be to run up the ramp into a public area...so I'm reinforcing their recall by encouraging their good choices..
If I am in the bathroom taking a shower ,the little schnauzer will lay on the bath mat to wait for me..she's done this since a tiny pup and I am happy to know she's not surfing the bedrooms for shoes etc..
If I'm in my lounge she has a dog mattress at the side of my armchair...again she seems to relax there when I'm sat down...she's never been crated and l call these areas " her place" which we taught her when she was a tiny pup.

I'd love to see more pics of Billy :) and would also like to know if the dentastix work..weve never used them,so I'd like to know more.
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Bodee »

Robin black mini wrote: hi Barbara..
I'd say Billy sounds to be all three..c.c and c...as in your title..they are such smart dogs.Im also finding that repeat behavior tasks seems to give them great pleasure and security .
Life with your two buddies sounds great.

Re the dentastix, when I mentioned to Milla's breeder how Max almost looked forward to them like a "junkie" she told me she would not feed them to her dogs as they are just full of sugar.

I didn't question her on it as she seems to know her stuff (I always thought they smelled of ham bones)

I thought I would see what was in Dentastix and I am not impressed. There seems to be differences in what is actually in them but none of them look good so I will not be giving my new pup Dentastix.

I also found on the net a letter from a USA dog food agency to Mars (manufacturers) reprimanding them for quoting 80% tartar control instead of the figure of an average 47% apparently shown in tests.

They also said the vets quoted were not unbiased and that fact was not made clear.

Image


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I actually feel bad now for having given Max these things for so long. I also feel worse that these companies can get away with "poisoning" our pets while vets stand by and do nothing. I am sure Dentastix are sold by my vet.
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Robin black mini
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Robin black mini »

Aaa thanks bodee....great link...the STIX arenot going on my shopping list then..I would have had to order them online..I've used nylabone ,but they aren't sold here..so I will stick to the toothbrush and paste.. :(
I am just starting to see tartar on robins back molars so want to get top of it..with the bigger dogs I've not had this issue.
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by zeta1454 »

It is definitely a good idea to always check the ingredients of treats and food for dogs. The large pet food brands are now almost exclusively subsidiaries of multinational businesses such as confectionary manufacturers (Mars) and cleaning/detergent manufacturers (Colgate Palmolive) which may partly explain the fact that many of their products contain very little quality ingredients.

Most vet surgeries stock food, treats and other products due to financially beneficial contracts with a particular supplier and not because they necessarily believe the products to be the best. One of the vets at our current practice feeds her dogs on raw meat but the practice itself has a beneficial relationship with Royal Canin whose food is the only one on their shelves and who periodically send a representative to promote their products at client evening sessions. We actually attended one of these evenings on canine dental care where the Royal Canin speaker extolled the virtues of their kibble. Following this one of the veterinary nurses explained the importance of teeth brushing for dogs as being the best way to keep a dog's teeth clean :-)

Vets generally are reliant on financial support from pharmaceutical companies and pet feed manufacturers and many will therefore accept the marketing information they are given and either actively promote or passively display items which they may not themselves approve. This may well vary depending on the integrity of the head vet/s but our experience with vet practices has not been encouraging.

We give our dogs a fish-skin cube before bed or as an occasional treat and these do claim they are of benefit to teeth due to their rough uneven texture:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Challenge-Jerk ... s+for+dogs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gnawing on raw bones (antlers etc) can also be beneficial but most dogs will need their teeth brushing if they do have a tartar problem as just eating a "treat" of any kind is unlikely to make a significant difference. Just as with humans dental health can be greatly influenced by genetics and some dogs seem to suffer more tartar build up etc than others despite their diet or teeth cleaning regime.



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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by mikegoodson1 »

Wow! The Dentastix graphic made for scary reading. Oscar has these relatively regularly (although not daily) and to be honest, when I get home tonight, they are all going in the bin, whether the packs are un-opened or not.

Maybe I am a naive dog owner but you trust the manufacturers of dog foods (and toys, following another post from Bodee on the number of Chinese toys manufactured with potential harmful dyes) to produce these products responsibly using good ingredients, nothing harmful (or potentially harmful).

Is there no regulation in place or are the 'regulators' all paid for (or off) by these large multinational companies!?
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Bodee »

mikegoodson1 wrote:Wow! The Dentastix graphic made for scary reading. Oscar has these relatively regularly (although not daily) and to be honest, when I get home tonight, they are all going in the bin, whether the packs are un-opened or not.

Maybe I am a naive dog owner but you trust the manufacturers of dog foods (and toys, following another post from Bodee on the number of Chinese toys manufactured with potential harmful dyes) to produce these products responsibly using good ingredients, nothing harmful (or potentially harmful).

Is there no regulation in place or are the 'regulators' all paid for (or off) by these large multinational companies!?
Don't feel too bad, as I said I fed Max them regularly every night for years. Even my vet said they were good for their teeth and in truth Max never had a problem despite regular mouth examinations - it's what the ingredients might affect elsewhere in their bodies is what is my concern.

Now I have a dilemma. When Max passed away I had not long bought a jumbo box of them from Amazon (10 packets of 7 medium ) I gave them to my neighbour with the mini across the road thinking I was doing her a good turn. Do I now warn her?

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Barbarauttley
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Barbarauttley »

Well we seem to have gone off track with this thread, from the funny clever things they do to a discussion on how bad Dentabix are for our dogs!
The graphic demonising Dentabix was put out by a "natural dog treat producer"always suspect! Natural isn't necessarily always good. Some poisons are natural!
It may all be true re the ingredients used but how many sticks would you need to give your dog for it to have a bad effect.
The package clearly states they are a treat and only one a day to be given.
They are sugar free and contain 120 cals.
If we went into the contents of other treats, gravy bones etc I would think large amounts would be unhealthy.
You asked me Joe did I think they did help prevent decay in my dogs teeth and frankly"NO".
Harry the Setter had to have plaque cleaned off and a tooth extraction at 6 years of age but Billy the mini has the most beautiful teeth, the vet was very complimentary.
I do think it is partially the breed.
I give Dentasix as a bedtime treat but I have always been mean and made them share a large size. I feel less guilty now.
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Bodee »

Barbarauttley wrote:Well we seem to have gone off track with this thread, from the funny clever things they do to a discussion on how bad Dentabix are for our dogs!
The graphic demonising Dentabix was put out by a "natural dog treat producer"always suspect! Natural isn't necessarily always good. Some poisons are natural!
It may all be true re the ingredients used but how many sticks would you need to give your dog for it to have a bad effect.
The package clearly states they are a treat and only one a day to be given.
They are sugar free and contain 120 cals.
If we went into the contents of other treats, gravy bones etc I would think large amounts would be unhealthy.
You asked me Joe did I think they did help prevent decay in my dogs teeth and frankly"NO".
Harry the Setter had to have plaque cleaned off and a tooth extraction at 6 years of age but Billy the mini has the most beautiful teeth, the vet was very complimentary.
I do think it is partially the breed.
I give Dentasix as a bedtime treat but I have always been mean and made them share a large size. I feel less guilty now.

Barbara, going off topic was probably my fault. Apologies.

The reason I took it off topic was Robin asked me about Dentastix and after reading other threads on this site about some food/treats I didn't want to recommend them to him without doing at least some research on them, especially after my breeder said she wouldn't feed her dogs them.

Having come across the info I posted I felt obligated to put it up.
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Robin black mini
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Robin black mini »

Sorry for the divert on dentastix..it should probably have been taken up on a separate thread.
Just to clarify,I am a female..Jo ,is short for Josephine. :) and Robin is of course my schnauzer.
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Barbarauttley
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Barbarauttley »

Sorry if I sounded annoyed. I wasn't, more amused and find it great we can take topics to another level.
That is a lovely picture of Max in a cap, A GRAND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN!
Joe I definitely agree that our minis enjoy repetitive tasks, if Billy becomes a bit anxious or giddy we practice his commands.


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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Bodee »

Robin black mini wrote:Sorry for the divert on dentastix..it should probably have been taken up on a separate thread.
Just to clarify,I am a female..Jo ,is short for Josephine. :) and Robin is of course my schnauzer.
Jo I am embarrassed now. :) I have been calling you Robin. Sorry.
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Robin black mini
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Re: Cute, Crafty or Clever?

Post by Robin black mini »

No problem..I call you bodee ,or Boyd..
It was just the gender I wanted to set straight. :)
Robin or Jo is fine. :-bd
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