Your Guinea Pig Doesn’t Have to be a Sailor to get Scurvy

Normally my posts are about dogs, usually Oak, but today I'm writing about something a wee bit different.
I learned something new the other day: guinea pigs can get scurvy! They can become very sick if they don’t get the correct amount of vitamin C in their diet.
Like humans, guinea pigs lack the enzyme necessary to create their own vitamin C. Vitamin C is necessary for the formation of collagen, bone matrix and tooth dentin. Signs of a vitamin C deficiency may include: loss of appetite, depression, ruffled fur, weight loss, swollen painful joints, poor bone and teeth development, bleeding gums, and nasal discharge. Guinea pigs that are experiencing these symptoms should be seen by a veterinarian. Scurvy can be reversed through diet changes or vitamin C injections.
Although guinea pig pellets have added vitamin C, storage or exposure to sunlight can rapidly destroy it. The vitamin C added to the pellets remains stable for up to 3 months from the milling date. When storing your guinea pigs food keep it in a cool, dark place.
It may be necessary to supplement your guinea pigs food with fresh fruits and vegetables and/or a vitamin C supplement. Some excellent sources of vitamin C include: kale, parsley, sweet red and yellow peppers, broccoli, cabbage and guava. If using a vitamin C supplement it is best to use a chewable tablet as opposed to drops added to your guinea pig’s water. Hard water, metal containers and chlorine can cause the vitamin C to deteriorate and the change in taste may also put your guinea pig off drinking. Do not use a multivitamin because there is a potential for toxic overdose of other vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C is a water soluble so it is excreted in the urine and will not build up to toxic levels in the body.
So remember, every morning when you take your vitamin C tablet, don’t forget you guinea pig needs some too.

The Art of Opening Your Christmas Presents

Oak was so excited the other day. He got an early Christmas present! Yah! It was in a gift bag, so I set it on the floor for him to open by himself. He did a wonderful job! Took the paper out and grabbed the first toy he found.



Ohhhh! A stuffy, he loves stuffies!



They only last about 5 or 10 minutes, but those are the very BEST 5 or 10 minutes of the day :) He started running around and playing with the stuffy, then he lay down to tear it to pieces(yes, that is his favourite use for a stuffie).



I had to point out to him that there was another toy in the bag. Finally, he figured he's check it out and stuck his head in the bag to try and reach the toy and the bag got stuck on his head!





What a sight :) When he finally shook the bag off his head, he had the toy. Good job, Oak. Opening the present was almost as much fun as playing with the toys!

Santa Pictures

The Humane Society of Durham Region have held Pet Pics with Santa every year for the past 15/16 years and we have gone every year. At the beginning we used to take cats, hamsters, rats, but now we just take dogs. (the cats are very happy with this arrangement!). This is Fluff and Tigger:



Don't they look impressed? :)

This is: Lite, Oak, Zanara and Jewels on Santa's lap



They look like they are sitting wonderfully for the camera, but in reality there is someone sitting behind Santa's chair holding on to Lite and Oak's leashes!

And this is Oak by himself.



He really doesn't want to be sitting there. He was scared of Santa :(

This was his picture with Santa last year:



He sure grew alot in 2009!

Merry Christmas to Everyone and your Pets! We hope you enjoy a Fabulous Holiday Season and a Prosperous New Year

Dog Plus Snow Equals Fun!

We had our first real snowfall yesterday, so of course we had to go to the park for a nice long walk!



The snowflakes were huge and very wet, so I had to sneak the camera out of the plastic bag and stand down wind to try to take pictures. It was quite the adventure.



Oak absolutely loved it a the park, he ran in circles, tried to find out what those delicious smells under the snow were, chased sticks and tried to jump into the partially frozen stream! Happily he listened when I told him NO! The first snowfall is always so pretty so I thought I'd try to take a portrait of Oak sitting happily among the glittering snow covered fields. He didn't think sitting still was a great idea at all. Why should he sit there, when there was all this fun stuff to do? Silly Mommy! In this shot his head is swinging around like a bobble head.



Then I finally got him to sit still long enough to get a quick shot!



Oak was very disappointed to be leaving, but I was freezing and soaked, so we will have to come back another day when I'm dry!

The Class Clown :)

We had our very last obedience class last night. The school we have been going to for 14 years ( 4 dogs ) is closing because the trainer has decided to retire. Oak made sure his last performance was very memorable! I'll just let the video speak for itself :)





I hope all our American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. I am very thankful for my goofy buddy :)

Practicing in the Park

Yamei our trainer was over yesterday for our private lesson and Oak did a fabulous job! He was very focused and even stayed in front of me not moving while Yamei was walking back and forth. He did move when she tried to run past, but considering what an excited little guy he is, I think he did wonderful!

So, today we decided to up the distraction level a bit. I took him to the park to practice his Relaxation Protocol.

First we went for a walk through the park and played fetch to expend a bit of energy.



Then straight onto the tasks at hand. We have moved up to Day 2 of the Protocol for Relaxation so everything is new, different and a wee bit harder. I had him sit in front of me and stay still for 10 sec.



Yeah! He passed with flying colours! Then I stepped back 3 steps. He still stayed. Yeah!

He was doing such a fabulous job. There are even a few other people and dogs in park. He looked around a few times, but mostly he just sat in a nice relaxed position and stared at me.



The next few steps were a little more active, I had to walk around beside him, then come back, walk to the side while clapping, then return. I think he's more relaxed when I move then when I just stand in front of him. After the moving tasks, he had to sit still for 10 sec. again and he got up and left. He went to grab the stick, obviously he was getting bored with all the sitting and staying, so I let him play for a bit again. He is supposed to be learning to relax and I didn't think he would be if he was bored and I had to try to force him to do the protocol. After we played a little longer, we went back to the lessons again. He was so relaxed this time around, that he decided to lay down, not just sit.



I'm going to have to ask if this is ok, since it does say "sit" on the sheet, not lay down. But from everything I've been reading about the Protocol for Relaxation, they did mention it is NOT an obedience lesson, so I figure that means if he's more relaxed laying down, then he should be allowed to do that. We never actually finished the entire list of tasks, but I'm still really happy with the progress.

Yeah Oak!! Great Job Buddy!!!

New Trainer

We are trying out a new trainer who positive reinforcement training. She came last week for an initial consultation. I was really impressed with her methods, thoughts, and questions. She was here for almost 2 hours and had a full questionnaire that needed to be filled out. After she asked the questions, she did a little demonstration with Oak and a clicker. I hadn't really thought that a clicker worked that well but she had him touching her hand on command within minutes. It was all very interesting to watch.



At the end of the consult she gave us a small bit of homework and then was going to come up with a plan of attack for the next 4 weeks of training. Oak's main problem is jumping up when guests in the door. He just goes nuts, and doesn't listen to anything I have to say. I've tried telling people to ignore him, I've tried to get him to sit and stay by me, I've even tried treats. None of these things worked, he just wanted see the new person at his door. The only thing that does work, is to lock him in the basement while I answer the door, and if the guest is staying, I end up putting him on a leash to control him for the first 30-45 minutes until he calms down! The beginning step to help with this problem, was to get him to sit and stay for a few seconds. Each time he did, I released and gave him a treat(cheeiros are working really well!) We slowly started increasing the time he had to stay before being released.
When she came back this week, we showed off his new skill. She was really impressed that he stayed for 15 sec without moving.
She came with a plan of attack and we went through all the lessons we have to practice. We are back to concentrating on the basics. Teaching him to focus, leave it, sit and stay for short periods of time and an Orienting exercise. We are also expanding our skill at the door too. He sits and stays, while I walk over to the door and open it! He's catching on to them all quite nicely. A thousand more times and he'll be perfect :)
And to top it all off we are following a Protocol for Relaxation by Dr Karen Overall. It's a 14 step program to help calm and relax over excitable canines like my little Oak.



Like Julie says, by the end of the lessons and practicing he'll be Super Oak, ready to leap small buildings in a single bound, or at least calmly meet guests at the door :)