River The Dalmatian - Riverbelle ICE

Other health concerns: She's a LUA (Low Uric Acid) Dalmatian. That is, she's not a typical Dalmatian with HUA (High Uric Acid) to warrant having to worry about high purine diet that could result in kidney issues.

Food/Feeding

Food Brand/Type:

Taste of The Wild: Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe

Wet food only given for evening meals, will include one of the following:

Nummy Tum-Tum Pure Organic Pumpkin Canned Dog & Cat Food Supplement
Dave's Pet Food Restricted Bland Diet Sensitive Stomach Lamb & Rice Canned Dog Food
Evanger's Grain-Free Rabbit Canned Dog & Cat Food

Amount per meal: 1/3rd cup 3x a day

Feeding schedule: Morning (between 7-9), Afternoon (between 12pm-2pm), Evening (between 5pm-7pm)

Treats: Banana, peanut butter based, cricket based, pig ears, marrow bones.

Notes:

River is expected to sit before her food bowl is lowered. She will not eat until you release her by saying "Free!"
Afternoon and Evening meals include a treat afterwards that we call "dessert." She will generally go to her bed and wait until the treat is dropped somewhere and she is released by saying "Free!"

Behavior/Training

Known commands: Sit, Stay, Down (lay down), Off (to get front paws off a surface or person), Jump/Up, Leave It (handy if you drop something she shouldn't eat), No, Free/Yes (proceed), This Way (prompt to change direction), Let's Go Back (she knows we're turning around), Paw (she'll mirror your hand. So if you say 'paw' and put out your right, she'll give you her left and vice versa), Go To Bed, Spin (she'll spin in place)

Leash manners: She pulls slightly. A gentle leader helps, as does a harness. She'll take advantage of a retractable leash in that she'll explore a lot!

Potty habits: House trained. She urinates throughout the day but will defecate once during the afternoon walk. She's given an opportunity to urinate in the morning before her first meal and will be fine until the afternoon walk 5-6hrs later. She'll urinate again for the evening walk before her last meal of the day.

Socialization: She goes to daycare a few times a week. She's can be a bit too playful. When she approaches dogs on the walk, she may lay down in a playful preparation to 'pounce' and play. This may be seen as aggressive by other dogs. I try to distract her when she does this. She rarely barks but may bark during play.

At dog parks, she's the one running around with zoomies and getting all the other dogs to join.

Any behavioral issues:

She's never been aggressive or bitten anyone.
She has a horrible habit of jumping on people when excited.
She's skittish with loud noise.
She may be overly 'eager' to eat a treat so be wary of fingers.
She's a bit nervous around children, but again never aggressive. I allow children to pet her, but if there's a group of them I tend to avoid them.
If she paws you, it's her way to 'plea' (example; "please stop" "let's go")
Sitting is her way to please and beg for something. It's also her way of saying 'yes'
He recall (heal when called) is not the best if dogs or other people are involved. Treats help.

Daily Routine/Preferences

Walking schedule: A small morning walk around the block is enough to give her a chance to relieve herself. Afternoon walk should be at least an hour. Evening walk around the block is her last walk and also another chance to relieve herself.

Favorite walking routes: Lowell Riverfront Park/Trail is her favorite area. She tends to be too excited in new areas to the point where she may not relieve herself sometimes.

Exercise needs: Her afternoon walk is most important. The 1 hour is ideal.

Preferred toys: She loves balls, but won't always fetch and bring them back. Her favorite game is tug-of-war.

Crate information: She's crate trained, but we haven't used one in years.

Other Important Notes

Contact information:

Emergency procedures:

Additional preferences:

Additional Tips

Pet Basket: Near the entrance to the right. Poop bags, leashes, collars, harnesses, and gentle leader hanging.

Keys: