ball is life

side blog to @sar_kalu; this is where I post about Freyja and our journey towards her being titled as an RATG and Field Trial dog; Australia

[driven-2fetch]

Hi, this is a side-blog!

My name is Xan and this gorgeous girl is Freyja, she is a 3 year old, Australian, black, Labrador Retriever out of (predominantly) English/French lines.

Freyja and I are working on becoming titled in Field Trials as a Retrieving Gun Dog and are aiming for our Novice level Retrieving Ability Test for Gundogs (RATG) in 2023. As well as our Novice levels in Agility and, if we have time, Scent Detection.

I am new to the world of dogs and am still learning; despite this, I have personally attained qualifications within dog training through NDTF (late 2022). I am looking forwards to immersing myself more fully in all things dog, dog training, and retrievers, who are absolutely some of my favourite breeds.

This blog will be a little bit of everything to do with training and working towards our novice titles. All training is for fun as Freyja is on limited papers with the ANKC and to me, it doesn't especially matter much if she does very well or very poorly - as long as she has fun and given how retrieving mad she is, Freyja will have an absolute blast in field trials.

I also have a cat, who I post about on my main sometimes (@sar-kalu).

[bionicdogs]

Of course I got a picture of them in their birthday bandanas together. Their birthdays are only five days apart.

[farm-paws]

I think if you have the means to you should 100% shop at your local butcher, not just because the meat is better but also because I have never been in a butcher shop that didn’t have the most impeccable vibes of any store ever. My local butcher seems to exclusively hire the most hunky charismatic guys under 40 you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s like a bonds undies catalogue in there. They’re so nice and they give me dog bones for free because they’re charmed by the concept of my tiny little chainsaw dog

[talesfromtreatment]

re: cat weights-

A lot of the vets I've worked with have not brought up cat weights until they are very much obese because a lot of owners are like "my cat isn't fat he's big boned!" so they don't bother much beyond "Please don't let him/her gain more weight than this"

I did say "average" which is not the same as "all". These weights are from 10 years at a cat only hospital and nearly 10 years at a shelter.

Yes, being overweight is actually quite bad for cats resulting in early arthritis and significantly increasing their risks of diabetes.

13 pounds as a healthy weight is quite a large cat. 17 pounds, 90% chance the domestic cat is overweight. Outliers are not part of the average. Your cat is size georg adn will not be counted.

[talesfromtreatment]

And to show that an overweight cat can be overweight without being a full on sphere

Mallorn, before I put him on a diet. How many people would honestly be able to say this cat was actually overweight and needed to lose 4 pounds? Not many.

And to show how hard weight gain and loss can be to determine on a long haired cat

13 pounds Tumbleweed

~ 11 pound tumbleweed.

His initial weight gain was 30% of his ideal (10#). 11 pounds is a 15% total loss from 13 pounds, and 20% of his ideal weight.

Those are significant amounts. Imagine gaining 30% of your current body weight. Imagine losing 15% of your current body weight.

You can't tell just by looking.

There should be a waist when the hair is smoothed down. You should be able to feel ribs with barely any pressure with your hands flat against the sides.

[sar-kalu]

I love this post, it is a subject near and dear to my heart as a fluffy cat owner who's friends and family put their hands on said cat and call them "too skinny" because you can feel their bones and they don't have the stereotypical pendulous bellies down to their knees.

To help keep my clowder fit and trim, I really love using a Body Score Chart; because visually, you can tell with some cats, (especially the leaner, lighter boned Abyssinian or Bengals), but most you wont be able to eyeball a cat and tell if its skinny, fat, or just right. And its honestly impossible with a fluffy cat to tell, just by looking, where they sit weight wise.

You want to put your hands on them, feel their bodies, and honestly judge - or if you worry you might be biased, have a friend or your vet help you - whether you can feel the ribs (the knuckles along the back of your flat hand should be a good indicator for what the ribs should feel like), can see a waist tuck, or feel between their legs for minimal (think tablespoon size) of fat padding on their bellies.

As Tales says in another post, always go to your vet if you have concerns about your cats weight. Cut back their food too much, too quickly, and they can get really, really sick. No one wants that. Always work with a vet when it comes to nutrition and diet, always consult your vet first if you believe that there is a medical issue with your pet.

And if you believe your vet is not listening to your concerns about your pets weight, you can go for a second opinion with another vet. That is perfectly allowed too.

Royal Canin has a great chart to help you (see below) or you can google for the Purina or Royal Canin body score charts yourself. You want the charts that have 9 scores on them, as that will help you narrow down even cats who might seem good but could lose maybe a few hundred grams or more.

And for dog owners, there are absolutely Body Score charts for dogs - just be aware that with dogs, breed REALLY matters and you ABSOLUTELY should work with your vet on what an appropriate weight looks like for your dog. What a Great Dane looks like at an appropriate weight will differ to a greyhound and a bulldog.

The basics of: waist visible, should be able to feel the ribs, and a visible tuck all stay the same as with cats through.

[charl0ttan]

long distance friends pets feel like celebrities because you can only be parasocial with them

[charl0ttan]

you dont truly know how their fur pets. you will never know them like that

[charl0ttan]

furthermore they have no clue you even exist

[beansnpeets]

I have one buckle left. What colour?

Green

Black

Pink

Purple

Blue

Red

Voting ended onMay 30

[beansnpeets]

For the market tomorrow!!!

[beansnpeets]

Okay guys cmon help me out here 😅

[beansnpeets]

Well, green was winning when I last looked so I did a green one, but it appears purple is the winner. Oops. Oh well! Thanks everyone!

[driven-2fetch]

Cold Baby 🧡

[kangals]

something I’ve noticed about Kep, which surprised me bc I always thought it was instinctual, is that he does not know how to dig. never has. he will paw at his bed or the floor when he’s getting ready to sleep, but only ever with one leg at a time. I have never seen him do the left-right-left-right alternating standard digging motion. it’s always left-left-left-left and sometimes he’ll switch to right-right-right-right but never does he alternate feet. it’s also only with bedding, never in the yard. Stellina has always liked to dig ever since she was a puppy (mostly in water but she also has a nice little scrape under my lilac bush she naps in) and Boone was a big digger who made several upsettingly large holes in my yard. I feel like Kep would love digging based on his general penchant for destruction, so maybe it’s a good thing he’s never figured it out.

[as-old-roads]

i really really like this post

does your dog know how to dig?

ohhh yeah

yes but they are nonpracticing

no. my dog is innocent.

Remaining time: 1 day 21 hours

[driven-2fetch]

In theory (Freyja) and hard-core practicer (Artemis).

[losech]

Woodchuck can't chuck wood

[driven-2fetch]

The Baby is less of a baby these days... 9mths old tomorrow. Insanity.

[fjordfolk]

a lot of 'don't get a pet unless you can afford xyz' and not enough 'don't get a pet if you can't imagine euthanizing it'

[fjordfolk]

a little while ago i had a conversation with someone on here that suggested livestock have better welfare security than the general pet population, because at least they get euthanized when their health falls below function. which is a very uncomfortable thought, but i can get there.

[driven-2fetch]

As a society, we really need to be more pro-euthanasia. You cannot be pro-welfare without being pro-euthanasia because sometimes, the best choice is a kind death than a painful life.

[doginprogress]

don’t mind me, just putting these here for…. reasons

[lornasallydane]

Computer. Iris by the goo goo dolls. Loud enough to kill.

[imalayla]

My God the amount of love that's stored in this beast.

[gremlininho]

then & now ♡

[specklemutts]

My terrible son broke his leg yesterday while at the lake. He jumped up a sand bank to catch a butterfly and landed wrong.

He had surgery today to put him back together and comes home tomorrow morning to enjoy 8 weeks of crate rest and leashed potty breaks.

What are your favorite boredom busters for puppies? He's the smartest dog I've personally met, picks up on things lightning fast, and is a pretty active dog, so I'm dreading crate rest.

[driven-2fetch]

Scent work - doesn't have to be taught standing up, can be transitioned to a low movement experience, perfect for low mobility dogs or disabled dogs (don't need to be able to see or hear to be able to sniff).

[runasulienadanika]

come on😀mention my favourite character😀i am well adjusted😀and will act very normal😀i assure you😀