Aw, he looks so distinguished in those poses.

Glad you're interested in barn hunt, too! His high prey drive will serve Mishka well, as there can be lots of distractions in the ring, not to mention all the people watching outside the ring! You'll just have to work with him so that he will be able to distinguish between the rat litter and rat canisters and not attack the rat canister when he finds it. You can practice at home and in the yard with hiding a high-value toy for him to find. Work on "find it," "hop up" and "in" commands for finding the rat, hopping up on hay-bales and going through tunnels, respectively.

I'd also recommend you do attend at least one barn hunt as a spectator before jumping in -- it's good to see how it works, how the judges are, the different levels of difficulty, etc. It's also just fun to watch the dogs and handlers work. Instinct is the easiest level. All three canisters are in an open area and the dog simply has to indicate to the handler which one has the rat. The next level is Novice, where the canisters are hidden in hay, and the dog has to find the right canister and also climb on at least one bale of hay and go under at least one tunnel.

Mishka is so beautiful...these poses are what I cal "sphinxing" when Ami does it - usually at the top of the hill, looking out over the fields across the road. I love the crossed paws

Mishka seems about the same size as Ami - as best as I can measure, he is 24-241/2 at the withers and was 63 pounds at the vet in Aug (he may be a bit less, now). I can really feel his ribs without hunting - the cold and Archer play) So maybe Little Bear doesn't need to lose much?

Ashleigh, when I had Kohdi at the vet, he weighed 61lbs, which I thought was high, but vet said he's in perfect shape, so don't worry too much about dieting Mishka, besides, most people gain weight in the winter months (I think) so maybe its the same for dogs.

Beautiful pics

Great update Ashleigh. Remember 60 pounds is top end for males, I think he looks perfect. I love his crossed paws pics!!

Thank you guys! I'm sorry for never responding. I did read everything and appreciate the info and kind words.

Been meaning to update this for a little while. These are from a week ago. We apparently have SQUIRRELS nesting in our chimney. It's little face was poking out and Mishka was having a staring contest with it. lol.

We also have switched to a partial raw diet (which the last few pictures are in this post). He's doing amazing! My only issue has been sourcing for good prices. I am placing my first order with Raw Feeding Miami since the prices + shipping is better than the prices I can get here. It's definitely not ending up cheaper than kibble but I can already tell a difference and we've only been on it for 2 weeks now.


















WARNING RAW FEEDING IMAGES BELOW.

Ashleigh - what's he eating? And what sort of differences are you noticing?

Nom-nom-nom! What a cute little face.

Nice pics Ashleigh, missed seeing Mishka. Asking same questions as Amy, since you are feeding partial raw, diy may be considerably cheaper. Fill us in please (I do feed partial raw, but I diy, find it to be cost effective.)

amymeme wrote:

Ashleigh - what's he eating?  And what sort of differences are you noticing?

In the pictures it is kind of a partially frozen block of chicken necks and gizzards. Lol.

capellalayla wrote:

Nom-nom-nom! What a cute little face.

He loves it, the little turd. He snatched part of his dinner out of his bowl the other evening because I was taking too long. I kicked him outside really fast. Lol.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Nice pics Ashleigh, missed seeing Mishka. Asking same questions as Amy, since you are feeding partial raw, diy may be considerably cheaper. Fill us in please (I do feed partial raw, but I diy, find it to be cost effective.)

Thank you! Currently DIY feeding at the moment. Comparing the cost I spend on kibble ($50-60) monthly versus what it's costing to just do half raw it's about twice as expensive. Cost for meat where I live is just ridiculous. We barely get chicken under $2/lb, beef is rarely under $4/lb, what organs I can get are almost as expensive, etc. Variety has been hard to find though I do need to scope out my other grocery stores. I have been looking into creating a Craigslist ad to see if people would be willing to give me their old/freezer burnt meat but I haven't gotten there. And of course I have hounded everyone I know that hunts to share their scraps with me but no go so far.

I feel he's more energetic, the poop! is so much less even on half, his coat is even softer and shinier than it was before, not to mention the benefits it's had on his breath already. Lol.

Mishka is SO pretty Ashleigh. I love the pics.

Hmmm...my favorite grocery store has chicken leg quarters for .59# But dog cannot live on chicken alone. Are the chicken bones raw really safe? Ami's daily beef bone usually has a bit of meat on it - Josh was laughing yesterday - Ami was outside with his bone, stepped on it, grabbed a piece of tissue with his front teeth, lifted his head and ripped it right off. And most happily munched on it

Ami's breath is great - I don't notice anything. And his fur...one could happily, luxuriously drown in that lovely, soft coat!

Our hunters up here on the hill got nothing this year. I chatted with a few on our walks and the consensus was that the deer were out there, just not visible. The year before was a bumper hunt - everyone got something. Go figure

Raw chicken bones are totally safe.

.59#?? I would die! I don't remember what leg quarters are but breast is easy 4.99#... I bought a whole chicken for 1.79# the other day. Chuck roast is like 6.99#, pork is also close to 4-5#.

I love watching them eat off raw bones. It's so satisfying for them. Hehe.

Great pictures! Mishka looks super happy eating raw lol.

Another update! Took a photography class a few weeks ago so I've been practicing with my main subject. Lol.

Mishka is as handsome as ever and the photography is so very well composed, as ever! Love your pictures, Ashleigh

You were already taking AMAZING pics, but its always great to learn even more. Mishka looks great, very nice pics.

Aw, smiley puppy -- he makes an awesome subject.

Great pics Ashleigh!! He's so happy, always smiling. I will add, his nose looks perfectly healed, do you think it's from the raw feeding, or did you try a zinc supplement? He looks great!!

amymeme wrote:

Mishka is as handsome as ever and the photography is so very well composed, as ever!  Love your pictures, Ashleigh

Thank you! I wish I could go take pictures of everyone's furkids.

Artic_Wind wrote:

You were already taking AMAZING pics, but its always great to learn even more. Mishka looks great, very nice pics.

Thank you, Jimmy! I definitely feel like things are improving already and it's only been a couple of weeks.

capellalayla wrote:

Aw, smiley puppy -- he makes an awesome subject.

Now if I only didn't have to bait him with treats...

MiyasMomma wrote:

Great pics Ashleigh!! He's so happy, always smiling. I will add, his nose looks perfectly healed, do you think it's from the raw feeding, or did you try a zinc supplement? He looks great!!

Thanks, Renee! I have started him on a zinc supplement as well as the raw but I actually tried a new PS technique to remove the redness from his nose so it's total cheating. Lol.

I can see progress already but it's not totally gone yet. I'm hoping in a month or so there will be more indication that things are working.

simplify wrote:

Thank you! I wish I could go take pictures of everyone's fur kids

I wish that too!!! LOL...if you are ever out this way, you GOTTA take pics of Kohdi and Mishka for me! Please!

Here are a few random photos from the last few weeks of Mishka. Been meaning to update his scrapbook for weeks but just never had the chance to upload!

Great action shots! He looks so content laying in the yard

That first pic is beautiful Ashleigh! I love the way it's dark in the background.

First 2 pics Ashleigh are just too cute, bored pup look, nice pics!