ron2
Posted : 11/29/2007 8:12:34 PM
When I got Shadow on Labor Day Weekend 2004, he was 1 year and 2 months. Untrained, except for sit and shake paws, 24 inches to the shoulder and 50 lbs, at the time. And I was clueless, desipte having been around dogs during my life. I was as JQP as you could imagine. And he didn't act like most Labs that I know. Ergo, he is Siberian Husky in temperment. Once I read those sites, some of his behavior and his eating pattern made sense. But the first few sites I had been to offered training advice that was a miss-mash of lure/reward and punish ala Koehler. Grab the scruff and lock eyes. Sibes, like wolves, communicate with the eyes. Shadow would run around the yard but I could hide just my face and if he couldn't see my eyes, he would run around until he could. And let's not forget the scruff and pin and roll, though he mostly rolled himself.
I don't know what he was eating before but it was probably the cheapest thing you can buy at Wal-Mart. Upon the advice of a friend, I switched him to Nutro.
I used to go to a sled dog forum but could hardly gain acceptance thanks to their elitism and breed snobbery. Some were even breed snobs about Alaskan Huskies, which is not truly a breed but a type of sled dog, purposefully outbred for performance. It was only an Alaskan Husky if it came from certain winning lines or from one of the four original lines. One of those, the Huslia line, I think, was primarily a mix of Siberian Husky, Wolf, Irish Woflhound, and German Pointer.
Anyway, Sept. 05, after receiving a few emails from dog.com about their forum, I gave it a try. My learning curve had been fairly steep before. Now, it was sheer vertical. So many knowledgable people, considering that most aren't dog professionals such as vets, etc. But everyone has lifetimes of experience, as well as some having academic creds, to boot. I value both, actually.
Kennelkeeper would give me notes and scans from her text books on nutrition and shared with me the insights she gained from the caretaking of wild animals, including gray wolves. Glenda has always been the rock of common sense, sometimes reminding me of my mother (corporal punishment aside.)
After a while, I thought Nutro might not be the best for my dog. So, I tried Innova. And Shadow had allergic reactions. I put him back on Nutro and the symptoms went away. And learned a valuable lesson. It's not about what I think looks good, it's about what he needs. And I cannot judge what others feed, even if I disagree with it. Example, though I'm not freak out about raw, I choose not to feed it. And do not judge if others do. We each do what is best in our judgement. And Glenda is still friendly with me even though I feed a food she wouldn't feed her dogs on any given day. She gave me inspiration. She won a supply of Nutro and donated it to the local animal shelter. So, I took the remaining Innova and did the same.
Now, with a training system that works so well for us, I can see where I went wrong before.
I've have learned volumes and I and Shadow are better for it. I think our relationship as dog and human is vastly improved.
I have learned true breeding ethics. There was some mention on other sites but i-dog drove it home plus the ethics here coincide with my own. Health certs and lineage aside, though extremely important, if you can't guarantee homes for the pups or the ability to take them back, don't do it.
I like the sense of community we have here. It doesn't matter if your from Michigan, S. Carolina, Canada, or Texas. Here is a place that you can be. Speaking of which, I happen to notice a number of i-doggers live in Texas.
When are the rest of ya gonna wise up and move down here?