Some long time readers may find a pattern here; when the weather gets bad and cold and humid, Nokkaelaimet becomes inactive. That is unfortunately something I can't help much. I have a chronic illness that gets worse during the fall, and due to the climate change (if you still wondered if it's true, welcome to Finland to experience it) fall lasts FOREVER here. Partly because of this and partly because of work and studying I haven't been able to focus too much on researching matters I have been asked about. Instead of any properly researched in-depth article, this time you'll get pictures of our every day life and some casual talk.

The first one was about my oldest ferret, Mr. Hittavainen. Hittavainen has been having some respiratory problems I wanted to have checked. Now, ferrets are considered exotic pets and not many vets can take care of them, but our vet tried the best she could and the problem itself is something that works somewhat same no matter what species. Turned out Mr. Hittavainen is a completely healthy old man, if a bit plump, and that his age is most likely softening the walls of his air tubes, making it hard to breath sometimes. The situation has gotten better gradually, and I am very happy about that. Weather being more chilly sure works for Hittavainen, unlike it does for me. The vet did say there are possibilities like cancer and tumor near lungs, but as there is no cure for either of the problems we decided it was best to care for him just like before and make sure he lives a happy, healthy ferret elder life as long as he enjoys it. After all, taking all kinds of tests and RTG and what-not's would, in this case, only be for me. Hittavainen doesn't gain anything from them, so I don't see any point in bothering him with those.

The saying ”two is a pair, three is a pack” is used sometimes to describe the difference between owning one or two individual dogs and owning three or more dogs that already start to have certain pack behavior. Obviously all dogs interact together the same way, whether they live live alone or in a group, but pack behavior usually kicks in when there are more than two dogs.

Introducing a new family member

Introducing a puppy is always way easier than introducing an adult dog. Keep this in mind during all this rescue boom. Rescues can make super pets and form super packs, but there are more risks with adult rescued dogs you might not know a lot about than with puppies. Most well socialized dogs are instinctively more forgiving and gentle with puppies. This is not something to be taken as an opinion against rescue dogs, but a thing to keep in mind. The dog has, in worst case, gone through nasty things. Being prepared for possible problems may save the dog from further bad experience and guarantee a safe start for it.

What if problems occur?

As long as there have been people feeding commercial foods to their. dogs there has been a debate of whether or not puppy food is good for your puppies. Those in favor say puppy food is a necessity, it has all the needed vitamins and minerals in a perfect, scientifically proven balance. Those against say puppy foods are not only unnecessary but even harmful for your puppies.

Is puppy food harmful to the puppies?

Different hobbies that require lots of energy and high drive have increased in popularity. This has led to some breeds being very hyper, aiming to produce top dogs for those certain hobbies that require exploding action. Unfortunately this also leads to certain problems with dogs of these breeds that end up just pets. How to deal with hyper breeds and/or hyper dogs, so that everyone can enjoy their life equally?
​

Stress Hormone

What is enough exercise?

How hyper dogs SHOULD be exercised?

Fabulous, but we do need to leave the house sometimes. What about then?

Chill

More many dogs eating calcium in the form of meaty bones is too heavy for their bellies. The most common problem caused by bones to a sensitive stomach is too stiff and hard stools. Other possible, more severe problems include constipation and continuous diarrhea. To solve this problem there is really nothing else we can do but to look at the bones again and find out what can we do to get the needed calcium without the negative side effects of the bones.

So, what can we do, firstly, to get calcium? We can feed bones, obviously. That is the normal, natural way for dogs to get calcium. Many times people get afraid of bones, mainly because they hear bones are dangerous for intestines or that feeding bones messes up the phosphorus-calcium ratio. I can only say, once again: see, what they would eat in the wild. No grinded eggshells or calcium-phosphorus powder there. Only bones (I do love grinded eggshells, but more about that later). As long as you feed good meats and not too much bone, you are good to go. The urban legend of twisting legs and weak paws and wrists of raw fed pups were most likely caused by vitamin and mineral deficiency rather than bad calcium-phosphorus ratio.

What if bones are a no-no?

One option is to try grinded egg shells. Egg shells in general are a good source of calcium, because unlike bones, they don’t actually have pretty much anything but calcium in them. So, you can be quite sure the calcium-phosphorus ratio stays balanced. Also, for some reason, maybe because of this, egg shells are tolerated better than bones. If you don’t want to grind your own washed egg shells, buy already grinded.

Our style

Another important matter to remember when rawfeeding, besides making sure your dog gets all vitamins and minerals needed, is the quality of the meat you feed. It's a common practice to use lower quality parts of the carcass in order to make minced meats for dogs. This means less meat and more tendons, throat, lung and muscle membranes. 

How can I tell a good meat from garbage?

First, look at the meat. It's hard to see if a frozen meat is good quality, so if you are about to buy frozen meats, buy one package first, melt that and take a look. If the meat is stringy under the spoon, it has lots of big pieces of cartilage, membrane and throat and in worst case scenario, this all topped with bone, skip it. You can find better. Even without bone meat like this is not really giving anything to your dog. It just takes time to digest and makes stools hard. Many small dogs can't properly digest these kinds of meat, so I would recommend being careful with small dogs and bad meats.

Risks of membranes and cartilage

​Like said, meats with lots of rubbish parts are harder to digest. Small dogs that are fed lots or cartilage, bone, membranes and other stuff like that can even suffer from clogs. This is possible even with larger dogs. Therefore, if you need to use not that great meats at one point, for one reason or another, mix them with finely minced good meats. From my experience I can say it's easier to find good quality minced turkey and chicken than good quality beef, pork and a mix of the two.

Benefits of good meats

Some good products

A little while ago I wrote about how you need to socialize your dog properly, pert of this being you need to make your dog tolerate children. Not be their best friend, not all dogs are, but for a working society where we can all live you need to make sure your dog can behave around children, no matter if they are ever going to come to the skin or not. It needs to be able to tolerate their presence without aggression or fear. Now, while we dog owners have responsibilities, parents also have them. Here are some things to remember when you teach your child to behave with a dog – and believe me, it needs to be taught. It does not come naturally.
​

Respect own space

A gentle touch

Feeding time is sacred

Know the animal or have someone knowing the animal around

If my hand looks like this after this small indicent he meant no harm with, he was just being inconsiderate, imagine how a small child's face would look. Trust the owner. If she or he says you can't let the child play with the dog ”because he gets so hyper” or ”she is a bit rough”, don't go ”oh, but it doesn't mind, my child's used to it!”. The owner knows the dog he/she shares the house with, and he/she knows whether or not the dog can play with a child safely.

Correcting is not a bite

I sometimes get asked how hard and time consuming raw feeding is, if it is expensive and if it is dangerous to feed 50 / 50. I have answered to most questions in this blog already; it takes some time to get things right, but it isn't rocket sciense, it doesn't take more than feeding good quality kibble and 50 / 50 is an excellent way of feeding your dog. To give some practical example of how our raw feeding is, I decided to make a small post about how it can look. I left out calculated vitamins and minerals, but I will note some things you need to remember if you decide to try them out. Balance is everything and while you can leave something out one day and boost the other, you need to balance it the next day or in near future.
​

Temperament inherits. Modern trainers often hear that everything depends on the environment the dog is raised in. Whether you use good, humane methods, or if you ”claim leadership”, both schools tell you you will end up with a dog that will accept all other dogs, never be afraid, always behaves and doesn't develop issues like hyperactivity or separation anxiety. No matter it sounds very soothing, unfortunately you can't train away bad temperament or certain born traits. You can train your dog to co-ope and survive, but you can't train away characteristics.

Genes

Toughness

Environment

Overall