Hi everyone, you have been great on my dog's behaviour and iv sorted that now (well nearly!!).  Now, my dog is 10 months old, he's a Newfy and loaded with energy! - humping at any dog he sees in the park & digging craters in our garden!! (if I let him off lead that is there is no way he'll come back to me if I shouted him) but even if I am walking him nicley and if another dog comes in sight, he fights to get to it.  Taking him out for a walk, now is a nightmare, I have 2 young children and they are always asking me to take them out with 'Ralph' our Newf as they don't want to leave him behind (and rightly so!) but the stress is awful, there is no way you can walk him along anywhere as he is always on the look out for dogs or food on the ground.  He's been trained in a dog training school and he was great!  but as soon as he gets into the fresh air, that's it, he changes, he's like a naughty teenager......

iv decided to now change his food, the breeder who we got him off said to keep on a high protien diet until around 18 months, the protien is 28% that is what he is on at the min, but I really do think that if I change his food he may just calm down a little!!!!!!!

Can anyone advise me as to what food to gradually change him to and how much?? or is this the right thing to do???

he is now 9 stone and on 630gramms daily (that is 315 x 2, morning and t time) but he seems so hungry all the time or is he just food oriantated?????  or am I not giving him enough???

I would so appreciate it if anyone would be so kind enough would to help me on this, we love him so much, he may just be being like this because he is a 'teenage'! but it is no pleasure at all even just taking him for a walk.....

thanking you so very much

Debi
(Liverpoool)
xxxxxxx

Can't give you any advice but when Zuma was about 1yr old (now 19mth) I got him a sack of Burns active or working or something instead of his usual Burns as it had no VAT and so was cheaper. I regretted it after about 5 days :-) :-) as it is about 28% instead of his usual 18%, he wasn't quite swinging from the lampshade but that sack lasted months as I mixed a LITTLE bit in with his usual variety.
cheers, Chris

Hi Debi

Glad you have made progress with Ralph's behaviour :-)

I'm not the best person to advise on food as I feed raw but I can say that some dogs are just food obsessed...I have one right here.  However, if Ralph's weight is ok (and it does sound to be roughly what I'd expect for a male of his age but it's impossible to say for sure without seeing him) the you're feeding him enough.  I'm sure you know it's always better to keep the giant breeds on the lean side :-)  For what it's worth, I see no problem with changing him to a lower protein food at this stage if you want to.

Do you give him recreational bones or anything like that to munch on?  If not, it might be an idea to try him with them although I appreciate that not everyone is happy with the idea of giving raw bones.

With regards to his behaviour when out and about...well, I have good news and bad news.  The bad news is, he has hit the dreaded teenage stage.  The good news is, it only lasts about 12 months :-D

Sorry, I don't recall if you use a head collar but if not, do consider getting one.  The Black Dog one is very good but if you do a search for head collars, you'll see lots of recommendations for different brands.

At your classes, have you been taught a 'watch me' command?  This is great for getting them to focus back on you and away from whatever they're fixating on.  If you haven't been taught it, take a piece of high value food and get Ralph's attention with it, then take it and hold it up to your eyes, when Ralph is looking at your eyes, give him the food.  Repeat several times, adding in the 'watch me' command (nice excited sing songy voice).  Eventually, the second you say 'watch me' he should look directly to your eyes.  Practice when out and about when he isn't distracted by people/dogs etc.  Once he's responding to the 'watch me' command, then you can put him in a sit and make him wait for the distraction to pass before continuing with your walk.  It's long and frustrating process to begin with and ou may find that you don't get awfully far on walks to begin with, but pererverance is the key :-)

As for constantly hunting for food on the pavement...well, if anyone has the answer to that one I'd like to know!!  All I can say is that my trash hound isn't as bad as he used to be but if he detects food on the ground (and I swear he can sniff out kebab remains from about half a mile away!) then he'll pretty much stop at nothing to get to it.  I generally pick the offending item up in a poo bag and stick it in my pocket to bin when I get home...while it's in my pocket I can pretty much guarantee that I have his undivided attention so every cloud has a silver lining ;-)

I would continue walking Ralph without the children in tow as he really is at the stage where he needs your undivided attention.  I know it's frustrating for you but the more work you put in now, the faster it will start to pay off.  You've achieved such a lot with him already so do give yourself a well deserved pat on the back :-)

Personally, I think you should follow the breeder's advice and keep him on the food you've been using.   A boisterous, happy, 10 month old that has bouts of SDS ("sudden deafness syndrome") when you ask him to do something is a) HEALTHY and b) NORMAL. 

The idea that a low protein food slows dogs down has not been proven in any scientific study.  And although some people seem to swear it worked with their dogs to make them less active the change may well have been nothing to do with the protein itself.  Like children, some dogs get hyperactive in response to other ingredients and additives in foods. A switch in foods means a change in ingredients, either in their type or amounts. Additionally, IMO, if lower protein equates to lower energy than in fact what may be happening is that a normally active dog does not have the nutrients it needs to functionally normally and slows down.  Maybe that's better for the owner, but hardly better for the dog.

ShaynLola - thanks for the 'watch me' tip - I'm stealing it!!!!

If anyone else has any others . . . . . . . .  please???????