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Slugworth
Feb 18, 2001

If two grown men can't make a pervert happy for a few minutes in order to watch a film about zombies, then maybe we should all just move to Iran!

Blenheim posted:

I have an 8-yr.-old giant breed dog (Greater Swiss Mtn. Dog, ~110 lbs.) who's been diagnosed with cruciate breakdown in one knee (with some arthritic changes in said knee). I basically have two options: A) an extracapsular repair at a vet who specializes in the technique and who offers rehab, and B) a TPLO at a vet who offers no after-surgery rehab/care. (I have had good experiences with, and trust, both vets.) While I like A's thorough rehab program and followup, and he's been the more responsive vet, I'm leaning more toward B at this point, as most of the feedback I'm getting (other vets, other dog owners, internet research) indicates that that an extracapsular repair doesn't have a good chance of taking with this size dog. (The TPLO vet says with the 30-degree tibial plateau angle that my dog has, an extracapsular would be "fighting physics too much".)

I have a couple concerns, though:

1) I see a few folks who had larger breeds opted for the extracapsular anyway due to the surgery being "less invasive." What're the risks of the "more invasive" aspect of the TPLO? I've heard some concerns about infection, but otherwise, this issue seems largely unexplained.

2) B vet and a family-friend vet to whom I spoke mentioned that under certain circumstances, it's better for dogs not to have cruciate surgery, but they both subsequently kind of went off in several different directions when I asked for more details. What are the scenarios where a dog with arthritis in one knee is "better off" not undergoing surgery? She's not that compromised (right now): she's a little slow to get up and stumbles slightly on occasion, but that's it; otherwise, she's still active. My concern is her losing function: I don't want to gently caress things up by _not_ giving her surgery when she most likely needs it. (On the other hand, when I ask about her possible condition post-op from B, I get hedging like "hey, if your dog is OK just sleeping on the porch and being slower, what's it matter?". I don't want "oh, well, she's kinda lame?Whatever" to be their yardstick for "better.")

Thanks for any help.
(Not a vet)

1) More complicated surgery, more possibility for complications - Infection, longer healing time, more scar tissue in the joint, more hardware going into the joint.
2) Your dog might be a pretty decent example of such a scenario. Large breed in its twilight years who isn't really favoring it that much. The best case scenario with surgery is still a couple months of the leg being worse than it sounds like it is now before fully healing. The worst case is the leg maybe never get back to 100% anyways (my dog's first tplo healed beautifully, the second one still bothers her from time to time), or the months of recovery where she's weight bearing on 3 legs, she ends up degrading her other possibly already arthritic joints.

Not trying to talk you out of it of course, just offering a little additional info. Absolutely might be the best course for your dog.

Slugworth fucked around with this message at 15:50 on May 17, 2015

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Mathematics
Jun 22, 2011
I wonder how my new dog has become muscular as hell despite the fact that we only walk and very occasionally jog? She was skinny when we got her but now she's straight up swole. Even the vet commented she looks a lot more beefy in the few months since we got her from the shelter. (It was the same vet we took her back to as they had there.)

I dunno, maybe walking is better exercise for dogs than humans or something.

Fraction
Mar 27, 2010

CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY


Mathematics posted:

I wonder how my new dog has become muscular as hell despite the fact that we only walk and very occasionally jog? She was skinny when we got her but now she's straight up swole. Even the vet commented she looks a lot more beefy in the few months since we got her from the shelter. (It was the same vet we took her back to as they had there.)

I dunno, maybe walking is better exercise for dogs than humans or something.

hand walking (dog pulling on thick collar at end of lead) is pretty common for building up muscles when conditioning dogs

you sure she's not fat?

Aerofallosov
Oct 3, 2007

Friend to Fishes. Just keep swimming.
What do people think of Hartz flea drops for cats? My dad brought some home for our cats, but I'm extremely hesitant to use them because I've heard a lot of bad things about them. I don't want our cats to suffer because of fleas, but I don't want to kill them with the flea drops either. :/

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~

Aerofallosov posted:

What do people think of Hartz flea drops for cats? My dad brought some home for our cats, but I'm extremely hesitant to use them because I've heard a lot of bad things about them. I don't want our cats to suffer because of fleas, but I don't want to kill them with the flea drops either. :/

Throw in the trash or return them, Hartz products are cheap crap at best and legitimately dangerous at worst. Get frontline or the like. Your vet's office can recommend a brand that's the most effective for your region. If they've already been applied bathe the hell out of your cats.

Kerfuffle fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 30, 2015

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

So my dog had surgery to remove a mass on his butt right near his rectum. It was surface only, not into the rectum area. That was Tuesday.

He had a little blood seepage until Wed at around noonish. Thursday afternoon he had some brownish gross drainage (can't tell from wound/incision or from butt). Friday he hand more after sneaking a bunch of rear end licking time in overnight due to a too small cone. We took him back to vet and got some cleaning solution and a steroid/ antibiotic spray.

This morning, when we got up, his crate was full of darkish refried bean consistency stuff. It was all over his butt and his back legs. He could not have licked or scooted due to the cone and the crate. There was also a slight browinsh ooze from his rectum. He haaaates being crated while we are home. Hates it. Before surgery, he has slept in bed with us for 6-7 years. He's 9.

So, after gross this morning, I call the e vet and take him in.

He verdict: likely poop/ diarrhea sorta leaking out. She checked the surgery site and she said it does look like there was nothing done in the rectum itself, it was just a surface removal. Likely related to stress, all the meds he's on, and anesthesia in general, not incontinence.

So....we need to somehow treat his infection/irritation on his butt by cleaning it a couple times a day with a cleaning solution, especially after he poops. He also has a spray antibiotic/steroid to help with both. But we are also supposed to always not let it be wet as much as we can :-/

We also need to keep him from scooting so he doesn't further irritate things or rip the incision open and keep him calm if possible. During the day this is not a problem as we just hover and have him in the leash next to us. At night, if we put him in the kennel he gets super stressed (he hates being crated when we are home) which leads to some...unpleasant activity from his butt. If we keep him in bed with us he does fine but there's always a chance he will jump down and scoot to his heart's content. I asked about putting a diaper on at night and keeping him in bed but that was met with "well, diapers can hinder airflow so I'm not certain if that's the best"

So, I'm looking for our best option given the circumstances. I have come up with...
1. keep in bed undiapered with us to promote airflow/dry butt and chance scooting
2. Diaper for the 6-8 hours that my husband and i are both asleep, let butt free the rest of the day
3. Crate at night which results in...a stress mess that does not meet the criteria of a clean dry butt but no chance of scooting.
4 other ???

The cone is on in all instances.

I don't know what's the best option.

sheri fucked around with this message at 17:08 on May 30, 2015

Crooked Booty
Apr 2, 2009
arrr
I would avoid a diaper because if he poops, it's going to be rubbing feces right in his incision for potentially 6-8 hours. Or he'll just wriggle out of the diaper and scoot to his heart's content.

You could do #1 and put a very short leash on him and tie it to the lightest sleeper. That way if he jumps off the bed and tries to screw around, someone could wake up and tell him to chill. I think if you let him sleep in bed, you do run the very real risk of waking up to dog poo poo and/or gross butt leakage in your bed. As you have seen, 100% housebroken dogs can do some horrifying stuff when their butts are sore and irritated. If you're okay with that, I'd probably try the leash.

If not, you should probably crate him. Maybe one of you could set an alarm to check on him in the middle of the night to make sure he's not lying in dog poo poo.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

Yeah...he hasn't had major issues with pooping outside of the time when he's been crated so I have no idea of just the added stress of bring crated while his people are home is adding to everything or what. He slept in the bed with us Wed and Thursday night just fine (and then lost bed privileges last night when he could lick when he had the too small cone).

I wish I had a magic ball to tell me the right answer.

I just want to make my little dude feel better :(

Edit: on the plus side he's eating and drinking normally and otherwise acting normal so that's good!

sheri fucked around with this message at 18:21 on May 30, 2015

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

It can be completely....I don't want to say normal but I guess not unexpected to have slight poop ooze during recovery from a surgery in the butt area? Two vets have seen it and both have said yeah,make sure it stays clean and dry but other than that they didn't seem too concerned. It just seems bizarre to me because, other than neutering I have no experience with after surgery pet care and if I was leaking poop I'd be horrified my body was breaking down or something.

I hope it isn't a permanent thing and goes away as he heals. :-/

sheri fucked around with this message at 02:01 on May 31, 2015

Aerofallosov
Oct 3, 2007

Friend to Fishes. Just keep swimming.

Kerfuffle posted:

Throw in the trash or return them, Hartz products are cheap crap at best and legitimately dangerous at worst. Get frontline or the like. Your vet's office can recommend a brand that's the most effective for your region. If they've already been applied bathe the hell out of your cats.

I thought so. I'm gonna have to go get the welding gloves and bathe some cats... I tried to tell my dad, but he rolled his eyes at me and put it on his cat.

Mr Executive
Aug 27, 2006
Despite being on frontline 9 months a year (I live in Wisconsin), my 6yo dog was diagnosed with Lyme disease about a year ago. He was acting super lethargic/weak, so we took him into the vet and they sent us home with some antibiotics and pain relievers. We were told that you generally can't cure Lyme disease and that he may have flare-ups in the future.

Now that we're about a year out from the original diagnosis, I have a couple questions about these flare-ups. It seems like he has one about once a month. He'll be really sore/gimpy and has a hard time standing up/walking/etc... It's usually only severe like this for half a day or so. By the next day he's usually back to almost-normal and within a couple days he's back to 100%. The first time it happened (about a month after the initial round of antibiotics) we took him back into the vet and they gave us another round of antibiotics. Since then, we've generally just given him some of the pain meds (Carprofen) when he has a flare-up. Sometimes the flare-ups come after an activity-filled day (yesterday morning we walked ~4 miles with lots of running around etc...), and sometimes it comes out of nowhere without any sort of unusual physical activity.

My questions are about what to do when a flare-up happens. Should he start back up on antibiotics with each flare-up? If the antibiotics are meant to stop an acute infection, it wouldn't seem like they would have any affect in this scenario because the flare-ups come and go so quickly on their own.

54 40 or fuck
Jan 4, 2012

No Yanda's allowed
We had a little buddy from a local rescue sleep over last night to see how he got on with our dog, small husky (I've posted about her before in this thread). He's a super adorable 5 month old shepherd, excellent recall, house trained, slept through the night, he's fanatic. My dog is pretty much a cat. She likes us but she's not overly affectionate or anything. My dilemma is trying to figure out how she feels about him, she seems disinterested, but she engages play, it almost seems like she's acting distant and upset but that's sort of how she is all the time. How can I tell if this is something she's okay with? just give it time?

a life less
Jul 12, 2009

We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.

Occasional play and no fighting are pretty good signs to me.

54 40 or fuck
Jan 4, 2012

No Yanda's allowed
She's gotten aggressive over some toys, the foster sent a bone he likes over and they got into it over that. They'll be playing and she'll decide she's had enough and start baring her teeth and get more belligerent which does worry me. We rescued her when she was 6 months and she's always been bizarre, my husband and I have been concerned that due to her past lack of attention, a second dog might start making her jealous or upset. He's just so damned cute :( we've decided to turn the sleepover into a trial adoption to see how she settles.

Mechanical Bird
Jan 15, 2007
Make everyone happy
I really want to adopt a cat (grew up with them) but my boyfriend has a dog who has never (to our knowledge) lived with a cat. BF has had him for a year and the shelter had found him as a stray on the street so his background is pretty much a complete mystery. He's a ~70 lb rottweiler mix, incredibly sweet and laid back, about 5-6 years old. He's probably the calmest dog I've ever met. Is there any way to predict or find out how he will react to a cat before I adopt one? We took him to my mom's house so he could meet her cats, and his first reaction was to run away (which I thought was a good sign because he wasn't trying to eat them?). But, that was on their turf, and an unfamiliar location with strange smells. On walks when he sees cats he barks at them and tries to get to them but what he would do if he got to them I couldn't say.

Morby
Sep 6, 2007
So there is a kitten that my fiancée and I have seen around our apartment for the last week or so. Basically we have already decided that we want to adopt the little guy, but my fiancée is concerned that he might have fleas or something and doesn't want to let him inside or apartment until we get him checked out by a vet, which is totally reasonable. Ideally I'd like to catch him, keep him overnight on Friday, and take him to the vet first thing in the morning on Saturday, as I'm still checking around with the neighbors to see if he belongs to anyone. Any advice for preventative maintenance for fleas and such for that Friday night?

Kurtofan
Feb 16, 2011

hon hon hon
Can tick be transparent white? Some bug jumped on my dog's head and I managed to brush it off/squash it in time but I couldn't get a good look at it.

It looked like a huge transparent flea, and it was in grass. I've checked my dog and haven't seen the bug.

54 40 or fuck
Jan 4, 2012

No Yanda's allowed
I don't know if we are going to keep the little guy now that the trial is coming up. Am I a bad person? I love him so much but once we actually have the second dog around it becomes really overwhelming
:( I feel so heartbroken. sorry, I know that it's a follow up and not a question but I just feel like such crap.

54 40 or fuck fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Jun 12, 2015

Fraction
Mar 27, 2010

CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY


Toriori posted:

I don't know if we are going to keep the little guy now that the trial is coming up. Am I a bad person? I love him so much but once we actually have the second dog around it becomes really overwhelming
:( I feel so heartbroken. sorry, I know that it's a follow up and not a question but I just feel like such crap.

Talk to your rescue about your concerns. That is literally what they are there for. They might be able to offer advice - and if not, they'll be able to take him back sooner rather than later so he doesn't bond with you more than he already has.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

My vet is recommending Bravecto now for flea and tick control over front line. Anyone know anything about this? Long term usage safety?

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

sheri posted:

My vet is recommending Bravecto now for flea and tick control over front line. Anyone know anything about this? Long term usage safety?

I have not used it, nor have I prescribed it, I am relaying others experiences.

It's a relative drug to NexGuard, and does quite well in regards to flea/tick preventative (like NexGuard) but the benefit is that it only needs to be given once every three months. One species of tick is only killed effectively for two months of the three month protocol (Lone Star tick) so if those are the big concern, then NexGuard may be preferable.

As it is an oral medication, as long as it is not vomited (which is reported to happen in about 5% of dogs) then it is in the system and washing off is not a concern.

As far as long term dosing, there are no current studies that I am aware of for years-long dosing as it is one of the newer flea/tick medications. The multi-month testing (including dosing of 3x the normal dose) didn't reveal any adverse effects beyond the vomiting of some dogs.

HMS Boromir
Jul 16, 2011

by Lowtax
What kind of bird is this adorable fucker?

BigPaddy
Jun 30, 2008

That night we performed the rite and opened the gate.
Halfway through, I went to fix us both a coke float.
By the time I got back, he'd gone insane.
Plus, he'd left the gate open and there was evil everywhere.


Cockatiel

CROWS EVERYWHERE
Dec 17, 2012

CAW CAW CAW

Dinosaur Gum

Yeah, that's a cockatiel. A proper cockatiel fancier (or "cockatologist") will be able to tell you what the proper name for its colouring, have a crack at whether it's a boy or a girl, etc. They are little Australian parrots and are lovely.

I think some people/countries call them quarrions as well, if you're looking for one to keep as a friend.

Ride The Gravitron
May 2, 2008

by FactsAreUseless
My sister and her husband got a new puppy they live with my mother. This isn't their first dog and they are responsible pet owners through and through. They had a crate training plan and everything. However my mom claimed it was cruel to crate train and if that's how they were gonna go about it then to leave the dog out during the day and she would watch it and house train it.

My mother failed miserably at this. She leaves the dog unattended and locked in the kitchen and naturally when the puppy has to go to the bathroom, since it's a big enough area, he'll just go in a corner.

The dog has now become accustomed to kitchen = my bathroom. If you take him out he'll watch the boxer go to the bathroom but the puppy will hold it and hold it until you bring him inside at which point he'll relieve himself in the kitchen. This has been going on for about a month now. Is it too late to fix this behavior?

Fraction
Mar 27, 2010

CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY


Volume posted:

My sister and her husband got a new puppy they live with my mother. This isn't their first dog and they are responsible pet owners through and through. They had a crate training plan and everything. However my mom claimed it was cruel to crate train and if that's how they were gonna go about it then to leave the dog out during the day and she would watch it and house train it.

My mother failed miserably at this. She leaves the dog unattended and locked in the kitchen and naturally when the puppy has to go to the bathroom, since it's a big enough area, he'll just go in a corner.

The dog has now become accustomed to kitchen = my bathroom. If you take him out he'll watch the boxer go to the bathroom but the puppy will hold it and hold it until you bring him inside at which point he'll relieve himself in the kitchen. This has been going on for about a month now. Is it too late to fix this behavior?

scrub the almighty gently caress out of the kitchen with enzyme cleaner, which will remove ALL pee odours. don't let the puppy in there at all if possible for a few weeks - carry through until the association fades. keep that puppy outside for 2-3hr at a time if necessary until it toilets, then reward with hot dog or cheese or ham or whatever.

your mum has hosed the puppy over royally by letting it make the association of kitchen = toilet. but should be able to fix it if they work hard.

WAY TO GO WAMPA!!
Oct 27, 2007

:slick: :slick: :slick: :slick:
What kinds of activities can I do with my just-spayed dog? After barely even a day she's already bored and restless and I'm doing my best to not let her jump around or get to crazy. Now she's pouting in the corner surrounded by all of her toys she doesn't want to play with.

cloudy
Jul 3, 2007

Alive to the universe; dead to the world.
Another spaying question, but answer Wampa's first!

Will my dog's personality change after getting her spayed? I just adopted her, she's 3 years old, and has not been spayed yet. She had puppies at least once. Her spay date is set for July because we had to wait for her estrus to end.
Right now she seems to not like boy dogs approaching her, and even growled/bared teeth at one. She seems fine with some boy dogs if they don't approach her, and girl dogs seem fine too. I was hoping this just had to do with her coming out of estrus, and after she gets spayed she will like boy dogs again!
She also doesn't seem to want to play with toys now. I'm wondering if that's related at all?

cloudy fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Jun 19, 2015

kitten
Feb 6, 2003
Please tell me that you 100% know that she's not around intact males while she's in heat.

cloudy posted:

Another spaying question, but answer Wampa's first!

Will my dog's personality change after getting her spayed? I just adopted her, she's 3 years old, and has not been spayed yet. She had puppies at least once. Her spay date is set for July because we had to wait for her estrus to end.
Right now she seems to not like boy dogs approaching her, and even growled/bared teeth at one. She seems fine with some boy dogs if they don't approach her, and girl dogs seem fine too. I was hoping this just had to do with her coming out of estrus, and after she gets spayed she will like boy dogs again!
She also doesn't seem to want to play with toys now. I'm wondering if that's related at all?

cloudy
Jul 3, 2007

Alive to the universe; dead to the world.
Correct. If random dog walkers approach I tell them no dogs.
I just figured it'd be nicer for her to go through a surgery at a home instead of a shelter?

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

WAY TO GO WAMPA!! posted:

What kinds of activities can I do with my just-spayed dog? After barely even a day she's already bored and restless and I'm doing my best to not let her jump around or get to crazy. Now she's pouting in the corner surrounded by all of her toys she doesn't want to play with.

Anything that doesn't involve running, jumping, lunging, or abdominal contractions. So for a crazy dog, uh, not a whole heck of a lot. The healing days are the hardest, because she feels fine but she could do terrible damage to herself and only you have the power to enforce it. It's like people with obese pets; they aren't the ones (usually) making themselves obese, a person is helping. It's toughest on you.

cloudy posted:

Another spaying question, but answer Wampa's first!

Will my dog's personality change after getting her spayed? I just adopted her, she's 3 years old, and has not been spayed yet. She had puppies at least once. Her spay date is set for July because we had to wait for her estrus to end.
Right now she seems to not like boy dogs approaching her, and even growled/bared teeth at one. She seems fine with some boy dogs if they don't approach her, and girl dogs seem fine too. I was hoping this just had to do with her coming out of estrus, and after she gets spayed she will like boy dogs again!
She also doesn't seem to want to play with toys now. I'm wondering if that's related at all?

That's hard to say. There may be a behavioral change; we don't know how much of her current behavior is based solely on sex hormones and what is learned behavior and more intrinsic stuff. Sometimes, dogs that are intact will maintain some of the more likely sex driven behavior simply because they learned to do that and it is habit.

Long story short, you won't know until you do it.

WAY TO GO WAMPA!!
Oct 27, 2007

:slick: :slick: :slick: :slick:

HelloSailorSign posted:

Anything that doesn't involve running, jumping, lunging, or abdominal contractions. So for a crazy dog, uh, not a whole heck of a lot. The healing days are the hardest, because she feels fine but she could do terrible damage to herself and only you have the power to enforce it. It's like people with obese pets; they aren't the ones (usually) making themselves obese, a person is helping. It's toughest on you.
It was tough!

So we were able to keep her fairly subdued for the first few days, I did a lot of training with her (alternating paws for shake, making her wait when I dropped treats on the floor, etc), but eventually her pent up energy got let out anytime we went outside and she saw other people/dogs. I figure if she really, seriously hurt herself I would know, but almost a week post-op and she's absolutely fine, scar area looks great and she's acting normal otherwise. I'm still dissuading her from jumping and keeping her away from other dogs for another week but other than that it's just like before.

Also switching out the cone for an inflatable donut has really helped, she was miserable with the cone even if it was funny watching her awkwardly bump into stuff. But it was really bugging me that every time I took her out I would hear people whispering to their kids to stay away cause cone=aggressive bitey dog? I don't know.

CROWS EVERYWHERE
Dec 17, 2012

CAW CAW CAW

Dinosaur Gum
Hi animal friends!

I've recently got permission to keep a small pet bird or fish at my unit. I'm currently researching what kind of bird I want to keep.

I live in QLD, Australia. My unit is small: one room, which includes a desk, bed, and kitchenette. I share the bathroom with one neighbour who lives next to me. My family and I have kept budgies, cockatiels, and finches before, as well as small to medium sized native birds and poultry (chicken, ducks, pheasants). I'm looking for a bird that is small, friendly, and quiet (some of the other people in my building keep lorikeets which I hear squawking when I put the bins out though). I will probably get a boy bird. I'm a student and hang out at home most of the time because I'm boring.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm reading some of the pet bird threads too. Otherwise I will get a pair of bulgy eyed goldfish.

E: I've also technically got permission to keep a rat, but in my experience they're much too smelly to keep in a unit of my size. There are no cats or dogs in my building.

CROWS EVERYWHERE fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jun 24, 2015

cloudy
Jul 3, 2007

Alive to the universe; dead to the world.

HelloSailorSign posted:


That's hard to say. There may be a behavioral change; we don't know how much of her current behavior is based solely on sex hormones and what is learned behavior and more intrinsic stuff. Sometimes, dogs that are intact will maintain some of the more likely sex driven behavior simply because they learned to do that and it is habit.

Long story short, you won't know until you do it.

Makes sense. Thank you for the response!
I think there is a good chance she'll need some socialization work anyway, but we'll see how it all plays out after her surgery!

Fraction
Mar 27, 2010

CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY


CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:

Hi animal friends!

I've recently got permission to keep a small pet bird or fish at my unit. I'm currently researching what kind of bird I want to keep.

I live in QLD, Australia. My unit is small: one room, which includes a desk, bed, and kitchenette. I share the bathroom with one neighbour who lives next to me. My family and I have kept budgies, cockatiels, and finches before, as well as small to medium sized native birds and poultry (chicken, ducks, pheasants). I'm looking for a bird that is small, friendly, and quiet (some of the other people in my building keep lorikeets which I hear squawking when I put the bins out though). I will probably get a boy bird. I'm a student and hang out at home most of the time because I'm boring.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm reading some of the pet bird threads too. Otherwise I will get a pair of bulgy eyed goldfish.

E: I've also technically got permission to keep a rat, but in my experience they're much too smelly to keep in a unit of my size. There are no cats or dogs in my building.

you'd probably get better bird recommendations in the bird thread tbh.

FWIW a pair of female rats (in a decent size cage, cleaned once weekly, and any hammocks and other stuff washed when needed) will hardly smell at all.

CROWS EVERYWHERE
Dec 17, 2012

CAW CAW CAW

Dinosaur Gum

Fraction posted:

you'd probably get better bird recommendations in the bird thread tbh.

FWIW a pair of female rats (in a decent size cage, cleaned once weekly, and any hammocks and other stuff washed when needed) will hardly smell at all.

I've asked them too now, I knew that thread had to be somewhere :cheeky: Thanks!

I have heard that girl rats are almost always a lot less smelly. I've only kept male rats long-term as pets myself, though I've looked after one of my boy rat's previous girlfriends and her daughters while we found homes for them. (Their previous owner, who was a friend of my dad's and heading to jail at the time, as you do, hadn't realised you need to keep adult male and female rats separate or they make more rats.) Three boy rats together, even in a nice big cage, can generate a pungent musk. I personally preferred them to girl rats, smell and all, as they were a lot quieter and more chill. I'll offer to rat-sit some girl rats for a friend for a week or so, to see how much my neighbours and I think they smell.

Heth
Sep 16, 2007
Does anyone have some tips on how to get my dog to drink more water?

Vet said he was healthy and not dehydrated during his last checkup, but his pee is very yellow and he's constantly licking his lips like his mouth is dry so I'd rather he drink more.

BigPaddy
Jun 30, 2008

That night we performed the rite and opened the gate.
Halfway through, I went to fix us both a coke float.
By the time I got back, he'd gone insane.
Plus, he'd left the gate open and there was evil everywhere.


I mix dog food with water and let it all mix over night then put it in a kong and freeze it. Gives the puppy something to lick and chew on for a few hours that isn't my fiance's feet.

Nightmare Zone
Aug 3, 2014

Do you like sucking jalapenos?
Quick dog question: we have a dog that has some major issues with chewing his skin. We've gone to a vet about it and changed his diet, used all sorts of sprays, regular baths with all sorts of sensitive skin wash - but he keeps chewing himself up. Any suggestions?

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Kurtofan
Feb 16, 2011

hon hon hon
Is it ok for a dog to sleep all day during a heatwave?

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