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I am thinking of all the dogs I have known the past few years at the dog park. The oldest ones have been an 18 yr old Aussie, Still alive and active .Another aussie that died at 17 but loved to play fetch right up to the end and knew I was a sucker for a good game of fetch with a sweet old dog and two Cattle dog mixes (so Mutts) one died at 17 and the other is still alive at 17 and both enjoyed being the dog park police and breaking up dogs that were playing too ruff.
Tuck's dad my brother and his wife had a Shar Pei that lived to be 13, never really had skin issues but did have frequent ear infections and in my opinion was not that well cared for as they had 3 boys and were always busy so the dog spent a good part of its life in the back yard because they were too busy to house train him as a puppy ( later when he was old they would let him in) but most his life he was outside but could go in the garage but we are talking So Calif so no extreme cold weather.
My sister in law would feed him all sorts of food scraps like he was a garbage disposable yet he was healthy almost until the end. He was a larger Shar Pei and was a good guard dog for their family . When I was down I loved to go in the gate to the yard and watch him come racing around in protective mode only to then realize he knew me and break into a huge grin and look of relief that it was me and he did not have to protect the yard. Jazz and Dash loved him and he was great with them. My parents lived by my brother and if the dog got out he was much like my youngest nephew who would escape the house in diapers run down the sidewalk and stand on Grandmas door banging on the door and if the dog got out he too went to grandma's and wanted in her back yard. If I was down visiting my parents and Jazz got out she would go to my brothers and either jump the gate to get in the back yard to play with the Shar pei or she would paw at his front door to be let in to play with my nephews. It was crazy.
I am thinking of all the dogs I have known the past few years at the dog park. The oldest ones have been an 18 yr old Aussie, Still alive and active .Another aussie that died at 17 but loved to play fetch right up to the end and knew I was a sucker for a good game of fetch with a sweet old dog and two Cattle dog mixes (so Mutts) one died at 17 and the other is still alive at 17 and both enjoyed being the dog park police and breaking up dogs that were playing too ruff.
Tuck's dad my brother and his wife had a Shar Pei that lived to be 13, never really had skin issues but did have frequent ear infections and in my opinion was not that well cared for as they had 3 boys and were always busy so the dog spent a good part of its life in the back yard because they were too busy to house train him as a puppy ( later when he was old they would let him in) but most his life he was outside but could go in the garage but we are talking So Calif so no extreme cold weather.
My sister in law would feed him all sorts of food scraps like he was a garbage disposable yet he was healthy almost until the end. He was a larger Shar Pei and was a good guard dog for their family . When I was down I loved to go in the gate to the yard and watch him come racing around in protective mode only to then realize he knew me and break into a huge grin and look of relief that it was me and he did not have to protect the yard. Jazz and Dash loved him and he was great with them. My parents lived by my brother and if the dog got out he was much like my youngest nephew who would escape the house in diapers run down the sidewalk and stand on Grandmas door banging on the door and if the dog got out he too went to grandma's and wanted in her back yard. If I was down visiting my parents and Jazz got out she would go to my brothers and either jump the gate to get in the back yard to play with the Shar pei or she would paw at his front door to be let in to play with my nephews. It was crazy.
Actually, feeding a Shar Pei food scraps (meats, potatoes and other veggies) is frequently the best diet for the dogs - a lot of Shar Pei owners are RAW feeders. Tuck is on a high end Salmon based kibble, but gets regular raw meat (hamburger) treats and cooked sweet potatoes. He rarely has any skin issues (yeast outbreaks) since we started monitoring his diet closely.
Interesting that they never "house trained" him, because they pretty much house break themselves, and are VERY fastidious about potty locations and cleanliness - that is a real plus for the breed in my book! I had two "accidents" with Tuck in three days, and with the exception of getting sick twice, he has never messed in the house since.
My wife says they (Shar Pei) are like 4 year old kids. They are mischievous and love to tease, and very interactive (socially) with their owners. They are great with dogs they know, but can be "fussy" (code for JERKS) when meeting new dogs. Not everyone's cup of tea (they are traditionally a guard dog, and have some issues novice owners may not be prepared for/want to deal with), but since Tuck came into our lives, we found our "breed" - that is, besides my two other purebred Godonlyknows rescues.
Actually, feeding a Shar Pei food scraps (meats, potatoes and other veggies) is frequently the best diet for the dogs - a lot of Shar Pei owners are RAW feeders. Tuck is on a high end Salmon based kibble, but gets regular raw meat (hamburger) treats and cooked sweet potatoes. He rarely has any skin issues (yeast outbreaks) since we started monitoring his diet closely.
Interesting that they never "house trained" him, because they pretty much house break themselves, and are VERY fastidious about potty locations and cleanliness - that is a real plus for the breed in my book! I had two "accidents" with Tuck in three days, and with the exception of getting sick twice, he has never messed in the house since.
My wife says they (Shar Pei) are like 4 year old kids. They are mischievous and love to tease, and very interactive (socially) with their owners. They are great with dogs they know, but can be "fussy" (code for JERKS) when meeting new dogs. Not everyone's cup of tea (they are traditionally a guard dog, and have some issues novice owners may not be prepared for/want to deal with), but since Tuck came into our lives, we found our "breed" - that is, besides my two other purebred Godonlyknows rescues.
I am all for feeding dogs healthy table scraps but alot of what she gave him was not the best, and often way too much fat so they are lucky he never developed pancreatitis as I know a dog that stole a couple sausages off a camp fire and almost died from pancreatitis .
He could be a goofy dog which is what I loved about him but you also had to be careful as he took being guard dog seriously. They were having a roof put on and he had been fine with the workers. My sister in law was home alone and went out to see how the work was going and one of the workers went to hand her something and the dog was standing right there and when he saw the guy reaching towards her he bit him and it was a bad bite but the guy refused medical care our guess was he was not here legally as being So Calif that is not uncommon.
As for house breaking they did not neuter him and I think that along with never spending time to house break him made him feel it was ok to mark everything as that he did. When he came to my parents house and was let in the back yard he marked everything and their dogs and my two if I was visiting followed along watching him as he was " The Man" It was rather entertaining the parade that followed him as he marked.
Wow. This thread is so full of misinformation I don't know where to begin. First of all, mutts are not necessarily healthier than purebreds. There are advantages to owning a purebred, and a big one is that you know what diseases the breed is prone to getting, and you will also know about how large the dog will be as well as its other physical characteristics when it grows up. The advantages to a mutt is you get a wonderful surprise. They can be just as good pets as purebreds, and there is a dire need for homes for mutts. Secondly, there is no evidence that raw feeding is any healthier than feeding a high quality kibble. All of the evidence is anectdotal. And if anyone has any scientific evidence to offer because other people just saying it's great, I welcome it, because I've looked high and low and found nothing. Thirdly, AKC standards are simply a guideline for what makes a dog look pretty in the show ring. Some breeders breed according to these guidelines, while others don't. AKC standards often have little or nothing to do with how a dog functions as it was originally intended (hunting dog, working dog, etc), and the standards have nothing at all to do with the dog's ability to be a great pet.
Wow. This thread is so full of misinformation I don't know where to begin. First of all, mutts are not necessarily healthier than purebreds. There are advantages to owning a purebred, and a big one is that you know what diseases the breed is prone to getting, and you will also know about how large the dog will be as well as its other physical characteristics when it grows up. The advantages to a mutt is you get a wonderful surprise. They can be just as good pets as purebreds, and there is a dire need for homes for mutts.
I absolutely agree with what you are saying here. Just because a breed has a propensity for certain genetic flaws (i.e. they are some what predictable within a breed), does not mean mutts are not equally susceptible to a host of genetic issues/traits. With a breed, you are far more likely to be able to predict temperament, types of drives, certain health risks, etc. with a mutt, you run the same risks, you just don't have any data to predict what you might be confronted with - I knew NOTHING about Shar Pei (and their genetic issues) when I got my "mutt" but I sure know a lot about them now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
Secondly, there is no evidence that raw feeding is any healthier than feeding a high quality kibble. All of the evidence is anectdotal. And if anyone has any scientific evidence to offer because other people just saying it's great, I welcome it, because I've looked high and low and found nothing.
I think I am the only one who mentioned RAW feeding, and the comment was about a specific breed (Shar Pei) with known skin, kidney, and fat digestion/requirement issues and RAW feeding can solve/mitigate a host of those Shar Pei specific issues - not saying this should be viewed as a general promotion of RAW feeding (I feed high end grain free kibble and do some augmentation of hamburger and sweet potatoes), RAW feeding is a PITA IMO, and of marginal (if any) benefit for most dog breeds/mutts.
Google Shar Pei and Raw and you will find a lot of info, Google Dr. Linda Tintle or Dr. Jeff Vidt (two of the truly expert Vets WRT Shar Pei) as well, and I think you will get some pretty convincing evidence for Shar Pei and RAW diets to address a host of Shar Pei specific issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
Thirdly, AKC standards are simply a guideline for what makes a dog look pretty in the show ring. Some breeders breed according to these guidelines, while others don't. AKC standards often have little or nothing to do with how a dog functions as it was originally intended (hunting dog, working dog, etc), and the standards have nothing at all to do with the dog's ability to be a great pet.
My only response to this is Fiona, and the Dalmatian outcross fiasco. When 100% of a breed is afflicted with a genetic disease that is painful and debilitating, and an outcross to eliminate the malfunctioning gene is controversial, then something in the breeding community has truly run amuck.
Outcrossing could fix a host genetic issues in several different breeds, and many good breeders could competently correct some of the genetic issues in certain breeds/lines, but as Fiona demonstrated, there is a lot of push back when you start doing breeding to correct genetic flaws that requires an outcross to fix the problem - especially when it runs counter to genealogical purity.
Last edited by Tuck's Dad; 04-29-2015 at 05:09 PM..
I have a delightful healthy mixed breed rescue dog. I would always go that route rather than through a breeder. The dogs of people I know who are purebred tend to have a lot of health problems.
[quote=Scooby Snacks;39422581Secondly, there is no evidence that raw feeding is any healthier than feeding a high quality kibble. All of the evidence is anectdotal. And if anyone has any scientific evidence to offer because other people just saying it's great, I welcome it, because I've looked high and low and found nothing.[/quote]
You won't find it so you might as well stop looking. Scientific studies require funding. Funding is provided by companies with money to spend on marketing. Who are the big guns in the dog food industry? The major kibble producers. No way are they gonna fund any such studies. Now if they thought there was a snowball's chance that those studies would prove kibble healthier than raw or that raw has no benefit you bet your life they'd fund some studies. Telling.
No reason for raw food companies to consider funding such a study even if they had the funds that the dog food giants have available. The raw food industry is growing at leaps and bounds already. Their customers are extremely devoted having experienced for themselves the benefits of feeding raw...not the least of which are a variety of resolved health issues.
Just because evidence is anecdotal does not negate it's value. The fuel for many scientific studies is precisely anecdotal evidence.
Disclaimer: I am both a scientist and a raw feeder.
I have great news regarding shelter dogs here in southern Ontario. The promotion of adoptions has been so successful that over the last few months the shelters around the region have been fresh out of dogs!!!! Last month the shelter here in Niagara Falls went over the river and brought back a van full of dogs from West Virginia. They have been all placed and the shelter is facing a lack of dogs again. I'm just so thankful that people are finally realizing a great pet can be had from the SPCA. I'm a breeder of Standard Poodles and a member of the kennel club. Pure bred dogs certainly have their place and their purpose but are not for everyone due to cost, availability and other reasons. It's wonderful that people are able to obtain a great pet through these adoptions.
Doing away with the purebred dog trade would do everyone a lot of favors and maybe cut down on animal over population. If there was no incentive to have a dog with a pure bloodline, fewer pet owners would breed them. I know purebred dog owners who bred their dogs just so they could have a litter of purebred puppies. If you ask me, something more cross-breeding friendly needs to give the AKC competition. People mostly participate in dog shows just for the socialization aspect anyway, right?
Unfortunately, cat owners are doing it now. There's a purebred cat trade, too. I don't know if they inbreed a lot, but I suspect they do. I think giving people more variety by selecting for unique fur color and body size is okay, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn't disadvantage the animals genetically. There are many interesting sizes, shapes, and colors in the purebred cat world, but I don't know about the health effects. It's a lot younger than the dog version, so hopefully there aren't many backyard breeders.
Doing away with the purebred dog trade would do everyone a lot of favors and maybe cut down on animal over population. If there was no incentive to have a dog with a pure bloodline, fewer pet owners would breed them. I know purebred dog owners who bred their dogs just so they could have a litter of purebred puppies. If you ask me, something more cross-breeding friendly needs to give the AKC competition. People mostly participate in dog shows just for the socialization aspect anyway, right?
Your statement is false when you say it would do everyone a favor. Since everyone implies "all," that would include me and I do not consider it a favor. So you might want to rephrase to "some."
It might do those who hate pure bred dogs a favor (not sure how, would love some further explanation).
And do you honestly believe that if there were no pure bred dogs, there would be a sudden decrease in the number of dogs abandoned and in shelters? From my observation, helping out in a few shelters in the past eight years, there are very few pure bred dogs. (That could be due to a lot of pure bred dogs are given to, or picked up by rescue organizations for that particular breed.)
As for dogs show; I'm inclined to believe what you say; however, I base it only on those who I know participate in dog shows and that is really a small number.
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. Jazz and Dash loved him and he was great with them. My parents lived by my brother and if the dog got out he was much like my youngest nephew who would escape the house in diapers run down the sidewalk and stand on Grandmas door banging on the door and if the dog got out he too went to grandma's and wanted in her back yard. If I was down visiting my parents and Jazz got out she would go to my brothers and either jump the gate to get in the back yard to play with the Shar pei or she would paw at his front door to be let in to play with my nephews. It was crazy.
