The newest addition to our preps
 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...puppies001.jpg

7 1/2 week old AKC boxer

First dog for the wife and I...have been reading training advice for the last two weeks. Also I'm starting the "Dog Whisper" soon by Ceasar Milan for some of his tips as well.

I just need to make sure I don't train any of the gaurding/protection out of him. I think they can figure out the difference between someone they meet at the park and someone breaking into the house though....hopefully! Really just needed that extra early warning to make sure I don't get caught off gaurd in my sleep.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Congrats on the pup!! My wife's sister has 3 Boxers, very protective dogs.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

They are a good breed.

Good with kids and great companions..

Enjoyl..
:ok:

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

What a face that one has. Good going and congrats.

Those are good dogs. I was a boxer in the Navy, so I know what I'm talking about.:wink:

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Awwww, what a cutie! Yes, boxers are a good breed. Neighbors have one that guards our shared back fence. He's a vigilant fella!

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Fine looking dog........

Just make sure you keep those vet checks up to speed

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Great dogs. The only thing on the fence about them is that they breathe so hard that they couldn't sneak up on a dead man. The flip side to that is when a burglar hears the dog breathing, he just might go into the neighbors window instead.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

haha. Thanks for the laugh TA. Probably the best one I've had today.

He's headed to the vet tomorrow for round two of his shots. Which brings up an interesting question:

What about pet vaccines? I know there are lots of objections around these parts to vaccines, do you guys also object to pet vaccines? Or are they ok because you can always get another dog and would rather not deal the with vet expenses when they do get sick? (sorry if that is too cold hearted...Dogs, as much as they are a part of the family, are not humans and I will never be conviced to look at them otherwise...) or are they not filled with poison like human vaccines? (which would be an interesting topic for sure...)

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

I am no fan of vac ciness

I try to get hemopathic stuff if possible

Talk with Immcannin because she has lots of knowledge(alternatives to the injections) about that.

Good luck with poochy:ok:


T

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

There are some IMO that for dog' are a must

Distemper
Rabies
Parvovirus if in your area.(This one is a real nasty) It can lay dormant in a yard or area for years.

Now People and vaccines are another story..

Just saying.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Here are a few more pictures :-)


One of my wife and Zeke
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...40_3095007.jpg

Zeke getting ready for bed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...40_3095007.jpg

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Cute dog. Boxers are great for compansionship and protection. Like any good dog once they bond with you they will always be watching out for you.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

We get the rabies (State law in Georgia) & parvo with whatever comes with that for the dogs. We had a puppy die from parvo. It's a horrible death for the dog and almost always fatal. We have shot 2 rabid animals here in the last couple of years and according to the Health Dept, rabies is on the rise.

We also get the Kennel Cough shot because we have to board our big dog when we travel and they won't board her without that.

I limit the cats just to the rabies shot, though.

I don't object to these as they are pretty standard, but that's me.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Man, those pics make me want another pup.

Boxers are great dogs - not great with strangers, but once they think of you as family they are your pal for life. Fantastic with kids.

Miss mine everyday.

ST

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

He's absolutely adorable...thanks for sharing the photos!

We do the same as Magpie. Parvo is awful...and puppies are particularly susceptible. The only other thing I would consider would be a dewormer. Again, puppies are susceptible...and parasites can kill a dog. I tend to go a more natural route on worming.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

He's been keeping us up at night, I guess conditioning me for kids or something...I'm not too fond of being woken up every two hours to take him out, but that's part of puppies I guess. I think the next dog we get (once we get the farm!! :-D) we'll get after they're out of the pup phase (though I hear that takes a LONG time with boxers)

He goes to the vet tomorrow for his shots (first ones since we've had him...already had his first round) so I'll figure out what shots they're actually giving him then. I'll let you know the "standard" shots for Arizona once they let me know if anyone is interested. Though I'm ready to get out of this state, the desert isn't where I want to be when TSHTF.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

I'm going to research these vaccine things a little more. I'm pretty sure I'm required to have him get a rabies vaccine, and I'll most likely also have him get the parvo vaccine (that doesn't sound pleasant) and I think the distemper vaccine is bundled in with that one.

I think he already had 1 combo-vaccine from the breeder before I got him, hopefully this won't hurt him too much. I'm telling the vet tomorrow that I only want the parvo/distemper vaccine and not the combo vaccine. I'm not falling into their money trap on re-vaccination on a yearly basis either. I think our law says rabies every 3 years...that's that I will be doing!

Also we have been feeding him high-er quality Iams dog food, first few ingredients are Chicken, Chicken meal, Brewers rice, wheat, corn and some others. I looked through all the "mainstream" brands and thought this to be the best. We always check our food labels, and it didn't even cross my mind not to check the dog food label. I'm going to head back and check out all the organic/all-natural type dog foods next time I'm in there to see if there is something even better for him (at Petco). They have quite a large selection of "non-mainstream" foods, though you pay for that luxury. I'm interested in the all-raw diet or maybe getting him used to eating some of our preps incase we have to feed him that....sprouted wheat...anyone think he'll go for it? haha

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

I agree with everyone that the dog is cute as hell, but it seems to me your wife is the real prize.

That's one fine lady you got there- are you sure she's not Russian?

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Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Thanks Ima for the info. I've got a few taste of the wild distributors around me, I'll run and check one out. How much does 300lb of chicken cost you? and do you just keep it in a big chest freezer?

Are you saying that dogs don't need any carbohydrates in the form of grains? no wheat, no rice, no corn? or is corn the real offender? Is corn even considered a grain?

Anyways, I have the entire day off, so heading to the vet (I've decided not to get him any vaccines today), just going for a check-up and to get to know the vet so if we have an emergency it will hopefully be easier to get him in since we'd be repeat customers. I'm also going to ask him about the vaccines and what he thinks of vaccinosis just to see what kind of answer I get. After that I'm going to go check out the feed distributor that has the call of the wild stuff.

Thanks for the awesome advice Ima.

And russkie thanks for the kind words. I think she's a prize too! Want to hear the best part about it though? She loves guns, loves shooting, loves camping, and doesn't fight me at all about preparing. The only rule she has about preparing really is that if I buy me a gun I have to buy her one just like it! Those are rules I can get on board with!

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Thats like asking a car salesman ........do think now is a good time to invest in a new car???

There are some good vets.

But the majority are hardline hacks for the pet food/vaccine companies and they use your pet as the selling point.

Go in with your eyes wide open and be ready to seperate true advice from a sales pitch.

T

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

I feed a raw diet, (from Imacanin)

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """"""

I'm with canin on this. It's generally called "natural raising", and is no vacs, no vets, no de-sexing, and total raw food - usually meat only.

I've been a dog person all my life. When my lab mix got pregnant last time, I researched feeding and switched her to a total raw diet. She whelped 11 puppies, of whom I have one left. He's mine for life, his or mine.

He's now 2yo, and been raw fed since weaning.

His diet consists of raw pork neck bones, pork chops, pork butt, whole chicken (with innards), beef ribs, and turkey. Basically, any raw meat that's less than a dollar a pound at the local supermarkets.

He's in great shape, super healthy, shiny coat, no fleas, and never been to a vet.

I'd be happy to go into more info if you wish.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Good looking Dog. I had a Shepard-Boxer...Great Dog he was but the Son of a B got hit by a car.

He sure did love chasing them squirrels.....RIP


don't try taking him swimming, Boxers are TERRIBLE swimmers

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Well I have the vet report:

Just a check-up today and a fecal sample test, No vaccines. I asked the vet about vaccines and he said "excellent question, I'm surprised you even asked. Most people don't know anything about (or care about) vaccines." He then said that he's seen two cases of parvo in the last month, not very high at all, but its out there so he recommended that vaccine. He then went on to tell me (after I voiced my concerns about the combo-shots) that they've done scientific tests on vaccines and you can have upto 25!!!! antigens in one shot before the immune system gets over loaded. He recommended the 5-way shot. I asked if their was a distemper/parvo only shot we could give him instead of the combo shot and he said there was not a shot with just those two. I guess they would have to do them individually. He wants the dog back in 3 weeks to start vaccinations, He didn't give any today because we're unsure when the breeder gave the shots and he didn't want to overload the immune system with vaccines too close together. Standard checkup was good. I have a few weeks to research them further and decide if I want to do any vaccines at all (and if I do then only single antigen shots at a time)


Pet food report:

That store was AWESOME. They had many brands of food without any grains in them, notable brands "taste of the wild" (3 different varieties), Natures Variety INSTINCT (3 different varieties) and B.G. Before Grains (5 varieties). All were mostly meat with the first 5-6 ingredients as meat then potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, blueberries, raspberries, acia berries and a few other things.

We bought the taste of the wild brand, I got the "waterfowl" variety. They had a mostly red meat variety, a mostly fish variety, and the mostly bird variety we ended up with. They also had a freezer full of raw foods for raw diets, (mostly ground meat patties, but the meat varied greatly, beef, lamb, rabbit, and a few others. Also all natural frozen bones, not smoked or cooked or anything). I liked that store a lot and will be back.

5lb bag of the dog food cost me $11, a 30lb bag was around $30. I got the 5lb bag to see if he likes it. I tried it mixed with his Iams, and wow. I haven't seen him eat that fast before. It was great, he liked it a lot!

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Best dogs ever,ive had four.
Top notch guard instinct.

When somebody comes to the door or if your looking out a window at something unsual,start wispering "whats that" then start gradually increasing your voice with different phrase like "WATCH EM<WATCH EM",then finally scream "GET EM GET EM"-the dog will be in such a frenzy it would attack its own mother.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

Very nice

and the dog is cute too.

Re: The newest addition to our preps
 

I hear they taste like chicken......




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