Food   Supplements   Supplies   Behavior   Ears   Spay/Neuter   Bloat

 

Recommended dry dog food

Dogs are carnivores. They should be fed a meat-based diet. Please note that when you choose feed for dogs of any age, corn must not be one of the first three listed ingredients. This much corn is not good for your dog; it is just a filler to add weight to the bag and ends up mostly undigested and shows up in the stool. Stick with primarily meat diets! It is also important to purchase foods that have the AAFCO certification seal on the label. You want the best out of your dogs so feed them what is best for them.

We prefer to feed Innova brand. Our pups go to their new homes with a few days supply of Innova Puppy Large Breed. To ensure high quality health and to allow our puppies to mature into all they can and should be, we recommend all our dogs be kept on Innova or a similar food from the following list.

 

 

The “Satin Balls” total canine diet recipe

A homemade total canine diet recipe attributed to Diana Carreon, RNC has appeared on various pet sites. Versions vary, some having chicken and/or hamburg, other without egg shells, etc and the comments and recommendations also vary. The recipe passed along to AAKS can be viewed on this PDF.

 

Recommended dog supplements

 

Recommended pet supply companies

We think the following companies provide a large variety of high quality pet supplies at very good prices. They also will have frequent sales of good products.

 

Socializing and obedience is important for all dogs

Owners must accept that they can/should never accept “alpha” behavior. Without firm correction, any dog (but especially a large dog like King Shepherds) can become dangerous. Owners must understand that correction and structure is not mean or cruel or abuse; it is necessary for the dog's happy future. It is the responsible thing for an owner to do.

 

As incentive to promote the best relationship possible between dogs, the owner/family and their community, any owner whose AAKS dog achieves AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program certification will receive a $50.00 check from us.

 

Combating your dog's car sickness

One of our puppy owner's was told to try ginger snap cookies the night before and a couple hours before the drive and he says it helped termendously.

 

Getting your pup's ear to stand up

If your puppy’s ears are not “up” by 6 months of age, it is likely the ears are not going to come up on their own so you will have to intervene. You can use ear inserts, like Tent Ups. If you know how to do the moleskin method, you can order Tear Mender adhesive (2 oz bottle, Item #05-130. $3.75) from Cherry Brook , phone (800) 524-0820. Also, we have seen a very interesting method on a GSD at our local obedience class. The owner had taken one of those soft sponge-like pink hair rollers, removed the hard plastic, put the soft roller on the inside of the ear and

natural ears

Ears in natural state

ears up

Ears glued at 4-1/2 months

wrapped it around and around with VetWrap. The ears stand very erect without any kind of glue. (Thank you “Zorro” for modeling for us!)

 

If the “gluing-the-ears-in-the-middle trick” didn't work, you may wish to try a method one of our owners read about on a GSD web site: Basically, we took a toilet paper roll and cut it diagonally in half, cut it to the shape of his ear, and used the fabric glue to hold it in place. I'm not sure if this is what the moleskin tactic is like, but it seems to have worked so far. (See her photos below.) She will keep us informed how this new trick turns out. (Thank you “Rooster Daley” for modeling for us!)

 

rooster 1rooster 2rooster 3

 

Spaying/Neutering

AAKS believes a King Shepherd Dog does not attain full growth until around 3 years of age. Because of this later maturing age, we ask our families — whenever possible — to postpone spaying/neutering until their pups are 2 years of age to allow them to reach full growth and breed standard potential. For a better understanding of how spaying/neutering affects dog growth, we recommend reading the 05/14/07 PDF white paper Long Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay/Neuter in Dogs by Laura J. Sanborn, MS Rutgers University. Please note that AAKS has worked in rescue for a long time and strongly believes in spaying/neutering all non-breeding animals. Especially with mixed breed animals, we can have no realistic expectation of what they will turn out to be as they mature. We are very aware of the responsibility pet owner has to ensure their pet is not going to be adding to the over-population problem that leads to millions of animals being euthanized every year. If a pet owner feels not altering their animal will create a problem for them, we agree that early spay/neuter is the correct thing to do.

 

Canine Bloat

Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) — also known as “bloat,” “stomach torsion,” or “twisted stomach” — should be considered a life-threatening emergency when it occurs because dogs can die of bloat within several hours. Even with treatment, more 25% of the afflicted dogs die. In bloat, the stomach fills with air and puts pressure on the other organs and diaphragm, making it difficult for the dog to breathe. Veins in the abdomen then compress, preventing blood from returning to the heart. Filled with air, the stomach rotates and pinches off the blood supply. The blood supply is disrupted and the animal's condition begins to deteriorate very rapidly; the stomach begins to die. Drs Foster and Smith offers more information on an online article on canine bloat we urge you to read.

Page last updated August 19, 2008 ~ AAKS © 2005-2008