Do you want to be a big German Shepherd, or a litt...

Boy oh boy is dog food expensive… Danger is actually a pretty dainty eater and I tell him daily if he wants to grow to be a big boy GSD, he better start eating more. Generally if he wont eat I tickle his belly and sing to him “Do you want to be a big German Shepherd, or a little German Shepherd?” Hmmm that actually sounds pretty stupid when I type it out, but I promise it is cute, and he enjoys his tickle and song time with me.

I  know I could buy a cheaper dog food, but I have done a lot of research and I rather spend a little bit extra on Blue Buffalo then just settling for Purina or Bil Jac. I think this will be his last bag of Large Breed Puppy, before we make the slow transition to grown up food.

Here is a pic from last week of Danger with a wonk looking eye.

Question:

Is $52.99 too much to pay for a bag of dog food?

Things I Like:

http://www.photographyblog.com/

Does your dog do P90X?

Really though, how often do you exercise your dog? Are you exercising them enough?

I recently read an article from the UK that half of the dogs in Britain are overweight. Half!

Fat dogs are now such a common sight that many owners have forgotten what a healthy animal even looks like…

How can you know if your dog is getting enough exercise? First you need to assess your dogs energy needs. All breeds do not require the same amount of exercise, what kind of dog do you have? For instance a German Shepherd, Border Collie, or any kind of retriever are going to require a lot more walking then say a Pug, Bull Dog or even a Greyhound (Greyhounds have short speed bursts, but are not considered high energy).

Not only do dogs need physical exercise but they also need to be mentally stimulated. A general rule of thumb is that:

1. Dogs need at least 60 minutes of physical exercise

2. 15 minutes of mental exercise

Of course it depends on your dog, but 60 minutes should be the bare minimum of physical activity.

Your pet might not be the only one overweight in your family. Studies have shown that dogs can provide a support system for their owners to help motivate them to exercise daily. Get outside and have some fun with your dogs and shed a few pounds yourself!

Dogs that don’t get enough exercise, can turn that energy into bad behavior out of boredom. If you are trying to decide on a breed for your family and you do decide to get a high energy dog, I hope you have or are prepared to have a very active lifestyle.

How often do you exercise your dog? Physically and Mentally? Leave a comment!

Pet Insurance

We have been doing research on different pet insurance and it seems like PetPlan is the most widely used. PetPlan does not seem to be a “wellness” plan that covers routine care… I believe they only cover illness or injury. Here are a few comments made on the GSD Forum regarding PetPlan:

I went with them because there’s no lifetime payout limit per condition. Say you choose the $10,000/year coverage — some companies will cover that amount each year up to a certain amount. PetPlan gives you that coverage each year, every year, with no limits. (I’m sure the premiums would go up, but you won’t lose coverage.)
They also don’t exclude ‘hereditary’ or genetic conditions, like hip dysplasia.
I’ve filed several claims with my dogs  EPI and they’ve always reimbursed me very quickly. Like, within two weeks.

Another helpful comment from a different person:

I’ve had several claims and they were all paid with no hassles. My second year premium did not even go up one penny even though ive made 3 claims on the plan in the first year (though i would never guarantee this nor expect this to always be the case.)
Premiums, imo, are very reasonable. this is what i pay and the coverage i have:
Female gsd, 1 yr and 9 month when plan was bought.
$8000 per year coverage (renews each year)
$200 dollar deductible per incident then insurance pays at 90%
yearly premium is $277.33 = $23.11 per month

From what I have been reading, it seems there is mostly positive reviews of PetPlan… However I am wondering if there are any plans that cover everything such as routine shots, etc…

Here is a site I found that compares different pet insurance, not sure how reliable it is though http://www.petinsurancereview.com/dog.asp