Yuki - the new family member
Everything started out when me and my girlfriend were walking to the nearby supermarket. We saw a beautiful white dog and said "Look, what a great dog!" The next second the dog was heading towards the four lane road. He managed to make it to the 3rd lane, but the 4th was catastrophic. There came a car, hit the dog, rammed it to the side of the road... we thought the car killed him. Later on hi raised his head, and moved himself from the road, he was alive. We got on the phone with a friend because we had no car, took him to the vet. Honestly i thought we are taking him to get euthanized... "Luckily" he had only some "cosmetic" wounds on his head and muzzle, minor bleeding in his lungs and a fractured thigh bone. All in all his injuries were taken care of at a proper vet station, he got a surgery for his leg and now he is "wearing" a steel rod in his thigh bone for at least one more month.
On the day the accident happened:
After the surgery:
In recovery:
But now he is great.
As u can see we have a white cat too, also adopted from the street. The cat is not too thrilled by the dog, while Yuki would just like to play with him. For our great surprise he is very obedient and we got him trained to ignore and not to chase the cat. However, Yuki is a very jealous type, every time we pet the cat he has to make a "big deal" about it. We don`t know actually how old Yuki is, the vet said he has fully developed teeth so he has to be older than 7-8 months, but judging by his size and weight (23 kg), he has to be younger than one year.
So, lets get down to the questions....
1. Since we think he was an outside yard dog (he was very dirty), Yuki has a line and harsh coat on his back. I don`t know is this a standard thing for Akitas, or he was just adopting to the elements in the back yard. We are planing to give him a bath as soon as the winter eases up a bit and also we are planing to give him a proper "haircut". We know Akitas are not bathed a lot and that they don`t need extra grooming, but we think Yuki needs it. He is an indoors dog now, we live in an apartment, we would like him to be clean for our and his sake too. He is far from being white. We want that white back!
So we need help with that.
That would be it for now, only one question, wouldn't want to smother you with our first post.
On the day the accident happened:
After the surgery:
In recovery:
But now he is great.
As u can see we have a white cat too, also adopted from the street. The cat is not too thrilled by the dog, while Yuki would just like to play with him. For our great surprise he is very obedient and we got him trained to ignore and not to chase the cat. However, Yuki is a very jealous type, every time we pet the cat he has to make a "big deal" about it.
We don`t know actually how old Yuki is, the vet said he has fully developed teeth so he has to be older than 7-8 months, but judging by his size and weight (23 kg), he has to be younger than one year. So, lets get down to the questions....
1. Since we think he was an outside yard dog (he was very dirty), Yuki has a line and harsh coat on his back. I don`t know is this a standard thing for Akitas, or he was just adopting to the elements in the back yard. We are planing to give him a bath as soon as the winter eases up a bit and also we are planing to give him a proper "haircut". We know Akitas are not bathed a lot and that they don`t need extra grooming, but we think Yuki needs it. He is an indoors dog now, we live in an apartment, we would like him to be clean for our and his sake too. He is far from being white. We want that white back!
So we need help with that.
That would be it for now, only one question, wouldn't want to smother you with our first post.
Comments
Akitas don't need "haircuts" unless their fur is really matted. His fur will shed out in the spring and look better once it regrows, just give it some time.
Giving him a bath is fine, and brushing him will help with keeping him clean. It will also loosen up and capture any shedding fur before it decorates your apartment.
He looks like he recovered great!
As for coat, just give him a good bath. Definitely do not cut or shave his fur unless he is really matted.
Thanks for sharing your story. And thanks for rescuing Yuki!
So, second question:
2. Feeding. How much and how often do you feed your Akitas or dogs? Since he is a "big dog", we were advised to feed him once a day, somewhere around noon. Since dogs are day hunters, we went with the logic that a dog would catch his prey in the morning hours... Also, a few days ago Yuki stopped eating all of his food at once. Some say that is bad and are applying the "10 minute feeding time" and then take away the dogs food. Other people say that if the dog eats in more turns, he is feeling more secure and does not have the need to munch up his food all at once. So what should i apply? I personally like the slow eating in several turns. What to do?
Here is the timeline of his recovery.
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/426/timelineow.jpg
Feeding: dogs have such a long history of domestication, that trying to guess what a wild dog would do doesn't really make much sense with them anymore. Feeding is more up to you. Many, many people feed twice a day, and it doesn't matter about the size, particularly. In fact, if you are feeding kibble, as most people do, you should know about Akitas and bloat (there is a thread here with a video, but of course you can also google it). Akitas tend to it--it is a leading cause of death for them--and while no one is really sure what causes it, it is tied to what and how they eat. Smaller meals are probably better if you're feeding kibble.
That said, I have an Akita and two Shibas. I feed my dogs raw (mostly chicken), and I feed them once a day in the evening. They get plenty of treats during the day (probably more than they need!), but they only have one big meal at night. While I could be wrong about this--I haven't done a lot of research--I believe there is much less incident of bloat in raw fed dogs, so I feel ok about feeding them once a day.
With the 10 minute feeding time, yeah, I do that to encourage dogs to eat their food in a reasonable amount of time, esp. because mine must be separated while eating. However, mine pretty much always eat, so it hasn't been a problem. You can see what works for you boy.
here's an old thread on bloat, and I'll put the link to video up next: http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/69277/#Comment_69277
video: http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/132488/#Comment_132488
He looks awesome, sounds like he has gotten the best new owners. Good luck with him, can't wait to hear more about his adventures
As for the feeding and bloat, we are well educated, but lack experience.
And no activities are allowed at least one hour after the meal. Yuki also ate his meal in two takes today , so i guess thats the way we will be feeding him from now on and check out how that suits him.
He is fed kibbles for now with a mixture of some canned pork meat. We plan on going raw as soon as one of us gets a job.
(our cat is also included in the raw food project
As for the "haircut". We also planned that because his butt was shaved for the surgery. So in the summer or so when his shaved coat grows out, we want to get it leveled with the rest of his coat.
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/7453/coatf.jpg
As for the washing, he will get that when the winter ends and it gets a bit warmer. Right now, he is enjoying the snow.
We already bought the "whitening" shampoo and cant wait to apply it!
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/566/drticoat.jpg
@jellyfart--yeah, I fed my pups three times a day for quite a long time, then switched to twice a day, then only went to once a day when they were adults.
Can't wait to see him after his whitening shampoo bath! Haha
On the other hand, our cat seems to love the liver. It was a bit of a surprise for us.
Congrats on Yuki's "adoption" and it's an awesome thing you and your GF did for him! He sure looks happy to be with the two of you
Saya used to hate kidneys, heart and tongue, but she got into it eventually and she loves them now.
Maybe offer the liver in one tiny piece and if doesn't eat put away for next meal?
Saya seemed to prefer those items frozen in tiny bits and eventually she ate it.
Maybe try beef liver?
Bella likes all kinds organs only thing she turns her nose up is pheasant, and pig maw.. Saya loves both those. lol
Could try sear the liver tiny bit and sear it less and less?