Sarplaninac's??

[cmjust0]

We've actually gone back to feeding twice a day. Someone else here mentioned how several smaller feedings a day helps prevent bloat/torsion, and that's what we'd been doing before but got lazy. I started thinking about it more and remembered how bloat got the other males I knew of, and even though they bloated on goat grain, I also remembered hearing of dogs eating too much dog food too fast and bloating up, soooo....yeah, he gets fed twice now. We're probably lucky not to have had problems before now, frankly.

And, yeah, definitely keep your chicken grain up.

We don't do any joint supplements at the moment, but now that you mention it...might not be a bad idea. I don't have any experience with hip/joint problems in dogs, so the extent of my watching for them is literally just watching for them.. Watching for lameness or any reluctance to move certain ways or do certain things, etc..

As for grain-free/BARF...we literally couldn't afford to keep him that way. He's not a hog by any stretch, but his size alone requires that he's gonna put a dent in the dog food supply, day in, day out. The good news is that he's one of the five of our six (if that makes sense) who seem to do really well on regular ol' Purina dog chow.

I will say that he's definitely an 'eat to live' kind of a dog...not a 'live to eat' dog like our lab.

He's more or less self-regulating as far as weight goes. So far, he's shown no inclination to eat until he's fat...if he starts getting too spong across the ribs behind his shoulder, he'll start getting picky about his food and eat maybe half or two thirds of his normal ration a day and ignore the rest for a few days.. Slims right back down. People often ask how much a dog like that eats and when we say 'Probably 7 or 8 cups a day' they kinda go....Really? That's it?

Yep...that's it.

 

[Aj1911]

how much did you pay for yours? and how much do they normally cost?

 

[taraann81]

I was worried about gastric torsion with my Bullmastiffs. I now suggest to everyone with breeds prone to bloat to have them pexied(sp?) Just ask the vet to do it during the spay or neuter. They tack the stomach to the abdominal cavity and it prevents the stomach from twisting. Its not that expensive and once you have money/time invested into the dog it is well worth the cost. Plus bloat is a horrible way to die.

 

[hunter1hall]

Quote:
Could you please pm me the breeders of the three dogs you speak of.

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
Ours...$0.00.

He was about 7mo when we got him, and a bit...unsociable? His litter happened to have come along at the same time as a whole bunch of goat kids at his breeders' place, and they just sorta wound up with too many irons in the fire. My understanding is that he was fairly reserved even as a pup, so he wasn't really jumping for attention like the rest.. As such, he basically only got used to humans being in proximity, bringing food, and being nice to him, but I don't think he had much one-on-one interaction until his littermates found new homes and things calmed down.. The die was sorta already cast at that point, though..

We came across him through some mutual goatkeeping friends, and his breeders had determined that he'd need new humans who were willing to really work with him and give him a shot at becoming the tremendous dog they knew he could be. We knew way up front what we were getting into, and his breeders -- truly wonderful people -- agreed to help us in any way they could if we'd give him a shot. They also told us they'd take him back in a heartbeat if it didn't work out.

So, we took him.

Aaaaaaaaaaand he HATED me..

Like, bearing teeth and snapping lunges hated.. Once I sorta figured out what made him tick, though, I knew I had to make him understand he couldn't run me off or intimidate me...even though at nearly 100lbs already, he actually did intimidate me. I basically had to torment him through a fence for several days by just standing there, letting him bark himself hoarse.. When he'd figure out I wasn't leaving, he'd quiet down. I'd start to move away and he'd go berserk again thinking he'd "won" the standoff, so I'd have to come right back at him and show him that if he barks at me, I COME BACK. Over, and over, and over, and over again, we played that little game...

Eventually, he got it through his skull that I wasn't going anywhere and he actually began to move away from me immediately when I approached...which was good. A definite improvement from holding his ground, growling, and snapping at me. At that point, I began to follow him around as he tried to avoid me, just to reinforce the point that I wasn't afraid of him. It was at that point when I saw his fear come through.. He'd always been fearful, but instead of it manifesting through fear aggression, it was just fear now. I took over all the feeding (from my wife, with whom he NEVER had a problem

), so he'd know I was providing for him. Every now and then, I'd catch him coming closer to investigate me...and I'd reach out. He'd go stone still like "pleasepleaseplease don't kill me" and I'd just pet him for a second.. Slowly but surely, he began to trust me. Within just a few weeks, I could pet him whenever I wanted.. Within a few months, he was not only happy to see me...he was bouncy happy to see me.

We're best buds now.

As for pricing, I honestly have no idea what his breeders would have charged had it been a 'normal' transaction. I can tell you that it would have cost me about $1800 to get an OC with breeding papers shipped here. Given the similarities of the dogs (both imports, rare breeds, LGDs, etc) my guess would be a Sarpie would be somewhere in that ballpark.

 

[Sarplaninec]

Hello Everyone,
My name is Bekim "Beck" Kolenovic. I'm a breeder of Sarplaninacs.
One of my female sarplaninacs has been gentle and protective of poultry since she was born. She is about to turn six years old. Her son who is 5 months old is developing the same instincts as his mother.

 

[SuhasKid]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Nikoletta.
I live in Hungary. I have some sarplaninac dogs.
Hello Bekim! Good to see you here!

 

[SuhasKid]

I read the topic. Which is not true that the Sarplaninac such as the Caucasian Shepherd Dog. They are totally different. Only similarities: a large and furry.

 

[SuhasKid]

Here is a link. This is another forum. There are a lot of information from sarplaninac.

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=13288&p=3

 

[SuhasKid]

And a photo: