Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sistersarah]

[azjen]

I flew my dachshund here from the US (there used to be two but days before their flight a pit bull killed one of them). I also adopted a Schnauzer from a pet store. He was very ill when I took him home and the owner gave him to me for free. He had pnuemonia and some sort of mite infestation.

After I cleared his ailments I tried the potty training. From the moment I took the schnauzer home he knew how to pee and poo on the potty mats. I was tired of switching the mats twice a day just to keep the odors down, so I've been working on him relieving himself outdoors. It definitely was a task to convince the poor guy it was ok to go outdoors. The problem I run into is what do I do with poo after the dog is done? I got a weird look when I picked some up this morning and placed it into a garbage can. Is it acceptable to leave it on the street? It seems wrong but Korea is lacking on readily available garbage cans on the street.
There is also vomit everywhere!

With the dachshund she now has some sort of ear problem. I have to clean her ears once a day and administer ear drops to get rid of some fungus. Guess the humid climate also affects these guys more than I thought. If I leave town I take the two dogs to their vet, its somebody they now and its a person I can trust. I'd never take them to a pet store, especially seeing how bad they let the schauzer get without any veterinarian care.

Dogs in Korea is definitely a different game than dogs in the US or Canada. Overall, we're all adapting to such diverse conditions.

What is it like when its time to take the dogs home? Are there Quarantine and customs fees you have to pay in the US (similar to what I had to pay in Korea)? I know I have to have shot records. I just don't want any surprises. I had loads when I brought my dog here!

[SuperFly]

One dog



Two dog


three dog

[casey's moon]

Superfly, your dogs are gorgeous!

Sarah, yes, poodles are absolutely lovely pets when they are properly socialised and trained! And they smell great too! Your dog doesn't even bark at other dogs? My dog does, if he is restrained from approaching them -- other than that, quite quiet.

Aszen (sp?) Okay, I have the puke problems too -- the worst part is that it takes 3 or 4 good rains before the remnants are gone... disgusting.

As for the crap, I pick it up and deposit it in a special bag I have outside my apartment. In order to break your dog from the pee pads, you're going to have to get rid of the pee pads (at least that's how it was with my dog). I tried a combo effort, but it was too confusing for everyone. I still have one ready in case I don't want to go out (in the middle of the night, for example) but he always has to scratch on the door to relieve himself. It works great!

Do you guys buy high quality food? I found Solid Gold once, but that was some kind of fluke -- I would love to find it, or something similar again... the bag is almost running out. Anything with a lot of corn is a no-go with my dog's allergies .

[Dawn]

[T-dot]

jongro, what you feed your jindo's?

mine wont eat any dry food and barely touches the soft stuff.
tried like 5 or 6 diff. dry and none of them seem to go over with her.

what food do the rest of you use?

[JongnoGuru]

[casey's moon]

Jongnoguru, I'm very interested in why you don't like "designer dogfood" (and would love an excuse to give up my quest). Others might be interested too, but if you're not comfortable writing about it here, please pm me, or at least please post a link to one of these websites.

yes, I've though about BARF (raw food) diet, but I think my husband would leave me if I started putting that much money and work into our dog's food. He and I have very different philosophies on dog owning (you should have heard me talking him into getting our pooch neutered!)... so no go there.

The reason I do feed him the high quality stuff is more what I don't want to give him (especially corn) which makes him itchy. But Solid Gold isn't working out all that well either... ear infections, etc.

Ahh. I know this would be easier at home.

[JongnoGuru]

[casey's moon]

Just got back from husband's hometown and caught your reply. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your post, and trust me when I say I read it all (it's not hard to read a long post if it's well-written, which is where a lot of people go wrong).

I'm in no way insulted or annoyed by your opinion, and will definitely keep it in mind as I look for something that works for my dog. You may or may not believe this, but my dog is an itchy little guy, and the vet blames it on allergies (and no she didn't go on to try to sell me any particular food!). BUT, when I started giving him "solid gold" (designer) dog food, the problem got worse. I'm willing to try pretty much anything, cheap or expensive to make his itching go away. Perhaps grocery store fare is worth a try.

I also believe that dogs are dogs and should be treated like dogs. To me, that means with love and with some serious boundaries...

Anyway, thanks again, and your post was not in vain! It is worth thinking about, definitely...

[SuperFly]

My boys like Chinese food from Pei Weis.

[T-dot]

my dogs a little picky about food.

so, far this has worked. i mix in a little tuna and dry food (pro plan) and she eats it up. dunno if its good for her, but she likes it.

another long time dog owner in korea thought i should try this for my jindo; he swears by it.

1 raw egg a day. mix some boiled potatoes and carrots to serve as the main diet.

surprising, my dog also likes the raw egg suggestion, havent tried the potatoes and carrot thingy yet.

[pet lover]

Both my dogs eat raw chicken (with the bones), beef, veggies, and fruit. I keep dry commerical dog food in the bowl in case they get the munchies between meals. I don't mind if that gets dragged onto the bed, but I have serious objects to a piece of bloody meat attached to a raw bone getting chewed on on my bed.

Dog 1 is seven years old and for 6 and a half years, ate various types of "designer" dog food. He suffered greatly from all kinds of itchies and rashes. The vet claimed he was allergic to (among other things) flea saliva, grass, pollen, and dust. Since switching him to a BARF diet, he has had NO itchies or rashes or problems with allergies. His teeth are in much better condition, he never fusses about eating, his fur is shiny and silkier, and he's much healthier over all.

Dog 2 is six months old and has been on a BARF diet since I got her. She likes to gnaw on the "designer" dog food between meals (the chunks are HUGE), but I think that is more because she is teething than still hungry. When I got her, she was scrawny, her hair felt like straw, and she had a LOT of stained brownish red hair on her. (She's a Maltese.) Now, her hair is silky smooth and a brilliant white all over. She is no longer scrawny (and also not fat). She's very happy and extremely healthy.

Because of the overall success of this and because I feel like such an idiot for buying into all that commercial dog food jazz for so many years, I'm even putting the hamster on a BARF diet. No more commerical hamster food for her--though I'll have it on hand for emergencies. I pick dandelions for her every day and she gets fresh fruit and veggies daily. Back before I gave her fresh greens and fruit, she was really rather chubby. She's sleek now and so active!

If I could be bothered to catch enough insects on a daily basis, I'd switch my fish off of commerical food as well. I really, really believe in it.

And, something to think about when you wonder if BARF is really that good for your dog: A couple hundred years ago, were dogs eating commerical food? How about a thousand years ago? Heck, has it even been around for a hundred years? Cancer didn't use to be so common in dogs and cats. I'm wondering if commerical dog food is one of the causes.

If anyone is thinking about switching to BARF, feel free to pm me. I can also recommend a really good book on it that is informative but not boring. It's an easy read. I'd recommend it now, but I've loaned it to someone and can't remember the title off hand.

[SuperFly]

No one has mentioned pig ears...

[polonius]

Very interesting discussion going on here. I have a dog, a schnauzer. I bought him here in Korea, he has since returned to Canada with me, and then made the flight back to Korea on his own. While I was home, staying at my mother's place, he ate one of her knee high stockings. Unforetunatly the little dude wasn't able to pass it, and it caused a blockage in his intestine. I found this all out the day I was set to return to Korea for another tour of duty. (with my dog, Jack) The vet back home said that he needed an emergency operation, and so $3000 dollars later, he was ok. Mom took care of him while he recuperated, and then sent him over when he was well enough.

Jack is pretty good about his food, he will generally eat anything. His only time of uncertainty was when switching his dog foods. At that time, I just mixed in a bit of apple juice to add some moisture, which he really loved.

Training him for the great outdoors was fairly easy. When they are pups, they should be in crates. For the most part, a dog won't do its business where it sleeps. So as soon as a would get home from work, I would take him out for a walk, and he eventually (i.e. 2 weeks) understood that outside was the place to go. I also had the pads inside for those got to go now moments. And after he went, I would still take him outside for positive reinforcement.

I must say that I have enjoyed my time here in Korea much more since I bought Jack. I was quite tired of the bar scenes, and was quite happy to have an excuse for going home every night.