[concretegurl]

1. Keep dog still.. no running/moving/jumping a week after spay/neuter.

- I picked up Scoobers the morning after he was neutered from the rescue, and he was so terrified of people then still that he was either shadow slinking along the wall for the first week or scampering from under the tables to behind the couch. My other two aren't fixed so...

2. Do not switch foods right away! You don't want to shock their stomachs.

- I actually broke this rule big time! Scoobers was on less than desirable Science Diet when I got him and even though they gave me a 5 lb. bag to take home I gave it the neighbor and switched him immediately to Innova. Elvis arrived with Kibble and Bits I think (seriously yuck!) switched him to Innova for the first feeding tossed multicolored heart and X shaped kibble in the trash, Princess had arrived with food in her crate (she was flown in with Elvis) and I switched her to Innova for her first meal with at the same time as Elvis! However when I was told not to feed my white dog red meat I did a 50% a week for all of them even though it was all still Innova it was a different variety, i also did a 50% switch for a week when switching Princess from puppy food to adult. Right now I'm switching from Innova to Taste of The Wild and because of the variation in ingredients, I'm starting at 1/4 for a week then 1/2 for a week then 1/2 of Innova in Taste of the Wild for another week.

3. Never lets your dog sleep on the bed with you/play tug/etc..

- Huh we break this at times-especially if Derik is on the night shift and Scoobers often sleeps with Milo he wakes him up in the morning with kisses when the alarm goes off and its time to get ready for School, Princess goes in her kennel most nights,she came kennel trained and she seems to prefer it she goes in and goes to bed there on her own most of the time-her kennel is twice as big as required for her size though, she's 12 pounds and her kennel accommodates dogs 45 lbs- having an adequate or overly large kennel is important its meant to be a den not a cage! Scoobers has to be kenneled at times,again he is 21 pounds and has the second largest kennel size made and Elvis sleeps under my bed he has since we got him since my bed is very raised and his bed fits under, he can't really jump up successfully I hate when he jumps off!. We began to kennel Scoobers after Elvis has his second seizure episode and Scoobers growled at him and avoided him for the whole next day-I'm still afraid instinct may cause an incident and if he has a seizure when we're asleep- well its not worth the risk. Does it count if the dogs also have dog beds under and next to our beds?...Scoobers plays tug it built up his confidence to learn he could be in control and they all play tug with each other-who made that rule I thought it was only for American Staffs and specific breeds...
4. Don't let your dog walk ahead of you on walks

- I don't my mini schnauzers already think they are in control-they have to heal or walk behind me-Elvis won't even walk on a leash most days he just walks next to me
5. Never use a flexi!

-Learned this the hard way when I got Scoobers he broke 5 of them before I switched to a chain link leash...I have varying weight chain link leashed for each of my dogs now-they're tiny links no worries-they are easier to clean and I think they look cute, a chain link big dog style leash only in miniature for mini dogs-I do miss the Comfort Grip handle on my Flexi though and think I might get one for Elvis.

6. Don't give your dog junk food

- I don't! Zukes treats, Stella and Chewy's raw patties and Greenies, Dogswell Breathies Mellow mut etc...its my boyfriend I catch feeding my dogs people food! Then he complains about them getting gassy-gee I wonder why!

7. Do not BABY or spoil your dog!

- Define spoiling or babying-does holding your dog like an infant count? I'm sorry I don't understand the question...rule...huh...what was that?


8. Let your dog adjust for a week before bringing people over to meet him/her as a puppy.

- Wasn't an issue with Scoobers he hid for about a week, Elvis and Princess we got in January and it seemed like everyone was business that month we didn't show them off to everyone until February...but we wanted to!

9. Don't encourage bad behavior.. no matter what.

- Again, my boyfriend, Princess attacks my feet and he rewards her (she doesn't really bite she mouths and wags the whole time its a play game)...I might give Elvis an extra pat when he barks and growls each time Derik enters the room...what its only fair! Huh Scoobers doesn't have bad behavior he has psychological issues so special needs dogs don't count...

10. Do not leave your dog alone with kids/other dogs alone.

- Actually I'm almost religious about this one, I have to keep my dogs separated as Elvis has seizures and as much as they all get along-its instinct for a sick dog to be well put out of the pack and I'm not going to risk a situation of instinct happening.I mean they are all together but they get kenneled or separated in different rooms if I'm not home. I try to keep Elvis with me but I can't take to the court house etc... Scoobers often goes in the room with my son (he's six) and Elvis is alone with my daughter who's 11 whenever she'll give him her fullest attention...Princess can't be unsupervised still she's barely a year but still chewy-we call her Princess monster for a reason

11. ALWAYS pick up your dogs poop.
-I do we have a Poop Patrol poop picker upper thing they're great! My 11 year old actually enjoys going out and picking up the pooh and putting it in the pooh can-she does it unasked, yet she can't fold her cloths to save her life go figure-we live in typical subdivision and despite having a larger yard and the dogs only poohing between the apple trees we use our yard for kids to play in and family gatherings so it's a must. My 6 year old son has began to use the Poop Patrol poop picker upper he calls it the poop grabber and thinks its cool-if you have kids try it out they may just surprise you as mine did me and why not try it yourself I don't like the weird shovel things. I carry bags for our walks and it's required at the parks here, they all have bag dispensers provided by the city-I'm the lady at the park who goes and gets a bag and hands it to the person who let their dog potty and either forgot their bag or didn't get one themselves-sorry my kids and others play in the grass and I don't like cleaning pooh off my shoes or the kids-please pick it up. Elvis came to me with whip worms and even though we don't have them in our area finding out about them and other pooh spread parasites OMG please clean it up...unless it is in your own yard