Earlier this year I was asked to provide a yellow lab for the a new and upcoming band’s music video. Of course Scooby was up for the task and we went out and filmed. After several long months they’ve finally produced the music video. It has aired on CMT several times. You can also vote for the video at Great American Country.
Crossin Dixon “I Love My Old Bird Dog”
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Enjoy!
Throughout my journeys as a dog trainer, seminar instructor, search and rescue K9 handler, and FEMA K9 evaluator I see a lot of different dogs of all shapes, breeds and activity levels. I often ask what people feed their dogs especially if they are healthy and vibrant. I’ve learned that most dogs that look really nice are fed a much higher quality of dog food than the others. Most often when I see an unhealthy or overweight dog I find they are feeding a much lower quality food. I always ask new clients what they feed, and many times the answer is “Whatever X brand at the grocery store.”
I’ve probably ran the gamut of dog foods trying to finding something that is good for them as well as reasonable on my pocket book. I’ve fed complete raw diets, gone through the major pet chain semi premium brands, the ultra premium brands, and on occasion when I really needed food in a pinch the dreaded cheap grocery store brands. By far the grocery stores have dog food that is very cheap per pound. But how much does that cost you in the long run?
I recently came across a website that will tell you just that…How much it costs you per day to feed your dog. It compares 3 kibble type dog foods that you could buy at a grocery store, super pet store, or a specialty food store. You will be surprised at how much more expensive the grocery store brand is when you compare calories per cup and the amount of calories required to feed your dog. The chart shows how much it cost you to feed.
The foods that are compared on this chart are - Purina Beneful, Science Diet Adult Maintenance, and Canidae All Lifestages. I looked at the source code for that information as she doesn’t put it on the page. As you read through the other pages take note of the calories per cup that are listed on some of the grain free foods that are out there. It’s all about how many calories per day your dog needs, a higher quality protein/fat food equals more calories per cup which equals fewer cups per day resulting in an overall savings per day.
As you can see the author put some work into researching a lot of different food brands that we feed our dogs. She also busted some of the myths we are told about too much protein and other ingredients that are contained in our dog’s food. But the bottom line is buy a higher quality dog food and pay more upfront and you’ll actually save money in the long run. You’ll not only save on the food budget, but I’ll also bet you’ll save on your vet bills as well. The only problem is “What constitutes higher quality?” Look at the ingredients along with the caloric density of the product you purchase this seems to be the most important factors in this question.
Don’t believe all this, then do your own study and let me know how it goes. Finding the right food for you dog is a lot less about cost and a lot more about how healthy your dog is. The other good thing about feeding the ultra premium dog foods is you have less waste. Yes, a lot less waste. When your dog is producing less poop you know their bodies are better utilizing the food that goes in them.
Remember, just like with people, dogs need only a specific amount of calories per day to sustain their healthy weight based on their activity level. The recommended feeding guidelines on the bags are only a guideline. Some days they need more, and some days they need less. Some dogs always look hungry and will beg for food no matter how much you feed them. Don’t fall into their trap!
In case you were wondering what I feed my dogs…I feed Nutro Ultra and Innova Evo and I always add water to the food. I usually top it with a spoon of plain yogurt and sometimes they get raw food as an extra treat. I also tend to shell out raw veggies for treats on regular basis as well. My German Shepherd, Caley, loves raw asparagus!
Carla Collins
Sit Means Sit Dallas
Over the years I’ve heard many Search and Rescue (SAR) trainers discuss the importance of victim loyalty and how it plays an important part in a SAR dog’s desire to find a missing person. I’ve thought about this over the years and have struggled with the term on occasion. Different people have different opinions on it, and it’s described a little different in disaster work than it is in wilderness work sometimes. I buy into the concept and what it means, but I’m not sure I like the label it’s been given. I think it’s just a bit on the anthropomorphic side. Â
What I can buy into is the term ‘reward loyalty’, not that I call it that myself but it makes a lot more sense to me. I totally agree that a SAR dog cannot be afraid or timid of people. It must be a social dog that is confident in interacting with people. The most important item in the SAR dog equation is the desire to find and interact with its reward. That reward may very well include the person, but it is primarily a toy or food. If it’s a toy that may also mean the dog wants interaction with the person it found like a game of tug or fetch, or that may mean the dog just wants to go tear up the toy it just won all by itself. Good training and having a dog with a strong desire for its reward (toy or food) will build the desire to locate its trained odor so that it can obtain its reward as quickly as possible. Â
Detector dogs all over the world are trained to find a number of different odors. These dogs don’t necessarily have to be ‘crazy in love’ with the odor they are trained to find. I remember many years ago hearing that narcotic detector dogs were intentionally given drugs so that they would become addicted to the drug and therefore would want to find it. Hogwash!!! These dogs are trained to find an odor and the good dogs have a really solid reward system in place, good training and know they get rewarded when they indicate on their trained odor. Why do we in the SAR world think that human odor is any different than narcotics, explosives, or any other type of contraband odor? Maybe it’s just semantics but I’ve never heard a K9 officer say a dog needed “explosive loyalty†to do the work, but I’m sure they have a term for it. My point being – If it seems that a dog doesn’t like people enough to find them the problem most likely stems from: 1) Lack of drive or 2) Lack of proper training or 3) Lack of a proper foundational reward system - rather than the dog does not like people enough issue. Again this is assuming the dog does not have social issues and is a confident dog.Â
The luxury we have in training live find search dogs is that we have the ability to have a built in automatic reward “box†right there at the find each and every time we want it. We don’t have to go out and buy any expensive remote controlled reward box for our dogs to get their reward. The subject that hid can always reward the dog so that the dog gets rewarded by the find. If the dog’s reward system is not strong enough or if the dog has a weak temperament and is not comfortable with people there will be problems getting the dog to find and indicate. By choosing a dog with the proper drives one can manipulate behaviors using solid training techniques and a good reward system and make that dog “stick†to the find no matter what odor it is searching for.  Â
Victim loyalty or not, call it whatever you want, most of the really good SAR and detector dogs I’ve seen are in it for the game (the hunt and finding/playing with the toy) not the hide. They just realize that locating human scent (or other trained odor) is how they get their ultimate reward. Â
Carla Collins
SitMeansSit.com