|
beckyogg posted:My mom stopped at Petsmart to pick up flea drops, and all I really told her was "no Hartz, that can be deadly". She ended up picking up some "natural defense" stuff, which I'm a bit dubious of. I may simply stop by the vet for some Frontline if the fleas continue to be a problem, but my cat calmed down within a couple hours of applying the "natural" stuff. He does smell strongly of peppermint oil now, though. I tried that natural oils flea stuff, but it didn't work. Plus, it doesn't actually kill any fleas IIRC, just repels them. I think the "repelling" effect lasted at most a week before I started finding lots of fleas again. AND the fleas were biting me more, since I didn't reek of peppermint oil. When you compare the price of the stuff that doesn't work to the stuff that does - its pretty clear that the Advantage or Frontline is worth the price. I believe that because I tried a bunch of OTC stuff first, that I ended up with a much bigger infestation of fleas than if I had just gone with Advantage from the start of the problem.
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2007 04:27
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 13:00 |
|
|
Jayded posted:My 10-12 week old kitten (found him so we're not sure how old he is exactly) has recently started this really strange thing where he attacks his own tail. I don't mean in a cute playful way, but he nips and bites at it and makes kitten screams that really alarm me. Depending on how fiesty your kitten and cat are, you could give them a bath with dish soap, and let the soap sit on the cat for a few minutes, hopefully a full 5 minutes. Dish soap does a really good job of killing fleas. You could also try dosing kitty with some Benadryl to help with the itching. I'm not sure on the dosing though, but I think there's some threads about that around here somewhere.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2007 05:25
|
|
|
poser posted:I changed my water in my beta tank last night and I come home from work and they are both dead. Any ideas on what might have caused this?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 10, 2007 04:30
|
|
|
TheGreatFezini posted:I have a question about nail trimming and being restrained. I know everyone emphasizes playing with puppy's feet so they don't go apeshit when their nails need to be done, and I have tried playing with my dog's feet but he still doesn't really like getting his nails done. However, he'll be perfectly civilized about it as long as he's not tightly restrained. I just put him on the couch or bed and he lays there and lets me do his nails. The worst he ever does is pull back a bit or try to put his nose in my face so I can't see what I'm doing. Tightly restraining the dog no matter what seems awfully strange to me. My dogs (and I suspect most dogs) would flip out if some stranger has them in a super-tight hold. Between grooming and giving vaccinations at the shelter, I almost never found it necessary do to the tight restraint thing you're describing to get whatever I needed done. It seems counter-productive. I don't think I'd continue going to that vet, since their policy doesn't take the dog's temperament into account. The whole nail-clipping disaster sucks a lot; I'd be wary of how the staff would interact with Wrigley in a real emergency, if something as simple as a nail trim ends up being so traumatic for the dog.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2008 21:27
|
|
|
Inverts like snails tend to be less hardy in terms of tolerating bad water quality or big changes in water quality. It takes a lot more to actually kill a goldfish. Are you doing large water changes? What are your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2008 19:34
|
|
|
Mr Plow posted:My dog chases flashlights. I searched the internet for some information about this but didn't find anything very reputable, just one post somewhere saying that this could give my dog OCD, and a whole bunch of youtube videos of dogs chasing flashlights. Is there a PI concencus on whether it's okay for a dog to chase flashlights? It's not entirely obvious whether my dog enjoys it or is frustrated by it. He gets very excited at the sight of any flashlight and wags his tail a lot and barks for me to turn it on, but I don't really know whether that's from happiness or stress. I don't think we have a consensus on this one, but I can tell you that my personal experience recommends against it. I had a Weimaraner that loved to chase laser pointers and flashlights, we thought it was hilarious and great... until it turned into an obsession with reflections of any kind. Granted, Weims are neurotic to start with, but it now really stresses her out. Even stupid things like the reflections from glasses getting put into the dishwasher gets her all crazed. She one destroyed an entire patch of carpet because one of those crystal sun-catchers was reflecting there. I'd use caution, especially if you have a breed prone to neuroses like Weims or Border Collies.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2008 18:39
|
|
|
RazorBunny posted:Does your vacuum have a HEPA filter? Those help. A lot. Iggies are notorious for being hard to impossible to housetrain. That's a pretty big con, in my opinion. It was enough to turn me off of the breed when I was considering them, since I was an apartment dweller at the time. I definitely have a soft spot for sighthounds though, and once I get the go-ahead to get another dog, it'll probably be a needlenose of some sort.  edit: VV Here's a little something from the national breed club - http://www.italiangreyhound.org/pages/202good_bad.html MoCookies fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Jan 27, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2008 21:18
|
|
|
LonerAvocado posted:My girlfriend and I want to get the type of puppy shown in this video: notsoape posted:Puppies only actually look like that for a few weeks. Then they turn into dogs that live for upwards of 15 years. Notsoape is definitely on the ball here. Puppies are a pain in the rear end. They are exhausting and they poo poo all over your house. Its a good thing they're cute or we wouldn't put up with it. I was so sleep-deprived from fostering her litter of 3, that I barely remember what my dog looked like as a puppy. That's what pictures are for. The dog you have to live with for 15 years is more important than how the puppy looks for roughly 2 months. The puppy in the video looks very young, actually too young to be away from its litter. At that age, many breeds look alike. Whatever you decide to get, DO NOT get it from a pet store, and thoroughly research the requirements of the breed, ESPECIALLY exercise.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2008 17:53
|
|
|
How much eye gunk is enough gunk to warrant concern? All 3 of my dogs have been having significant eye goobers lately, but no sneezing, coughing, or other symptoms except possibly being a little lazier than usual. For what its worth, I've had horrible allergy symptoms for a least 2 weeks now, and am just now starting to feel a little better. to notsopae - Congrats on finding a good Saluki breeder. I love those dogs, and especially love watching them run. Are you considering getting involved in lure coursing?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2008 20:09
|
|
|
notsoape posted:A question though; how does the point system work with rare breeds? Is it more difficult to get a CH. title with an otterhound than a lab simply because there aren't enough otterhounds around for you to win over? Points can also be earned by placing 1st in group, or by going all the way to Best of Show. I've wanted to get into showing eventually, and have thought a little about the relationship between breed popularity and ease of getting a title. Very popular breeds can be tougher to win in, and lots of people end up getting professional handlers to give their dog the edge against the 40+ other dogs in their breed. The rarest breeds can have trouble having enough dogs in once place to get a major, a lot more traveling may be involved for getting that championship, but owner-handlers are more common. I'm sure that Solana could give a much better explanation, considering she's actually been through it. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Feb 4, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2008 03:36
|
|
|
Mr. Mnemonik posted:Sorry if this has been asked already. We have a four year old neutered male cat, which we got from a farm when he was 10 months old. He's always been an outdoorsy cat because he was brought up as a mouser, but very recently he refuses to keep his collar on. We have had to replace his normal collar with a safety collar that snaps open because he got his old one stuck around his mouth -- this obviously distressed him and us a great deal. You should have him microchipped in case someone sees him and thinks he's a stray that needs a new home. Obviously the safest thing would be to teach him to be an indoors cat, but barring that, he may be at more danger by someone shooting at or poisoning a "stray" than by wearing a non-safety collar.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2008 17:10
|
|
|
RurouNNy posted:My fiance and I are looking into rescuing a dog and it just so happens that one of the rescues we are interested in is having a meet and greet this weekend. I was wondering what we should really expect when attending a meet and greet. Also, what questions we should be asking, etc. Thanks for any advice/experiences I was just feeling bad that no one had answered your question and you've probably already gone to the meet and greet. I'll go ahead and give my $0.02 just in case it'll help. If the dog is being fostered by someone, then you'll end up getting a lot more info on the dog than if they're from a shelter situation. Don't expect too much bonding immediately from the dog, especially the more shy individuals, the busyness of a meet-and-greet and the stress of living in a shelter can be significant impediments to making that bond. The more info you know about the dog the more informed your decision will be, but sometimes you just know that a certain dog is YOUR dog. That's how I ended up with Fern. If I were in your situation, I'd just be trying to find out every scrap of information possible. Ideally, I'd want to know how dog-friendly he is, if he's resource aggressive, food aggressive, cat-aggressive, how well-mannered he is around kids, how much obedience training he's had, how well he walks on a leash, what kinds of toys he likes, if he's heartworm negative, how he reacts to new situations, if he's crate-trained, how housebroken he is, and most importantly his energy level. Really, there's no right or wrong answer to any of the questions, but you'll just have to think about how much time/energy you have to deal with socialization and training issues on top of the regular dog stuff. As long as you're being realistic about the limitations of your lifestyle and experience, you'll be fine. Don't get discouraged if you don't find the right dog for you immediately, sometimes it takes a little while, but its worth it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2008 16:30
|
|
|
microbe114 posted:My parents have about a 7 or 8 year old Shetland Sheepdog who is an extremely affectionate, but neurotic, pet. Recently he has taken a total hating to smaller children who are in the house and at our piano in particular (my mom is an out-of-the-home piano teacher). It's not like he's afraid of them; he gets extremely possessive of his toys, "shows them off," and if a kid makes sudden movement with his or her feet (as one is wont to do while playing the piano), the dog goes for their feet pretty hardcore. Mind you, he doesn't do much of anything else to them while they're not playing the piano. Any ideas what this is about or how to stop this? If it helps he was the alpha male of his litter, is much bigger than a normal sheltie, and has always had an issue with not being dominant, regardless of how much we trained him as a puppy. Going for the feet makes it sound like a herding thing to me. I'd suggest working on sit/stay and down/stay commands with the Sheltie, and increasing the distractions until he's obeying consistently even with major distractions around like piano-playing kiddos. Ideally, you want your mom to be able to tell the dog to stop when he starts getting "herd-y", and then either put him in a down or just send him out of the room, without your mom having to get up and physically remove the dog. One temporary band-aid worth trying is taking him for a strenuous run/jog/hike before the kids come over for their lessons. I think he's using feet-nipping and child-herding to burn off some of that nervous, herding dog energy. If he's worn out, he's far less likely to get all obsess-y over the kids.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2008 05:43
|
|
|
TheGreatFezini posted:A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my friends about my dog Wrigley. For those who don't know, Wrigley was recently diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia. So this friend of mine started talking to me about how I should look into "natural cures" and that I was doing my dog a disservice by "pumping him full of medicine he doesn't need." That was bad enough, she really made me feel guilty. I've looked everywhere and can't see anything bad about glucosamine supplements. I wouldn't worry, even though your friend sounds nutty and ignorant about how medicines and vaccines work. Hopefully Lioness will come in here and back me up on this, but my understanding is that how long vaccines last has a lot to do with the immune system of the individual dog and vaccines don't have a specific duration that they're good for in the dog's system. A vet can do a titer to check antibody levels, but the problem is that it isn't known at what level the immunity is too low to protect from disease for the next year. Here's the AMVA's page on vaccines - http://www.avma.org/issues/vaccination/default.asp which basically says that once a year might not be necessary, but your friend is still wrong if she thinks she *knows* that every 2 years is effective.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2008 19:26
|
|
|
MushroomSquid posted:I'm looking into getting an intelligent, medium-sized dog like an Australian Shepard, but, in general, I don't know much about the different breeds. Any suggestions? My question to you is just how smart of a dog do you really want? Even some of the "dumbest" breeds are still smart enough to compete in obedience competitions, rally obedience, dog agility, and other such activities that require doggy smarts. Your goals for the dog should influence what breed to go with. If you have no interest in dog sports or getting A TON of exercise, then steer away (far, far away) from any breed with collie or shepherd in the name. Getting a smart dog is a doubled edged sword; sure, they learn the basic commands easily and early, but you can't just stop there. Herding breed dogs like the Australian Shepherd require MAJOR physical exercise AND mental exercise. Most people underestimate how much time it takes to wear them out properly. Forget walking the dog around the block twice a day, you'll need to be hiking/running/biking to really get the job done. Like Notsoape already posted, they're bred to go ALL DAY, and if you don't help them get out that energy, they'll do it on their own by developing destructive and annoying hobbies like barking all drat day, pulling up the carpet for you, or peeling the wallpaper off your walls. I suggest making your own "recommend me a breed" thread, and we can get into more detail about breeds that would work really well for your situation.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2008 19:39
|
|
|
TesticledRat posted:My 4 month old Border Collie/Australian Kelpie mix puppy has recently started drooling profusely in my car whenever I take him for a drive. I'm certain its because he gets extremely anxious and/or carsick. It gets so bad that when I put him in a medium sized kennel for a 40 minute drive he comes out soaking wet because of all the drool. He never had this problem before (and I've taken him on some fairly long trips). How do I fix this problem? My BC-mix pup is a big spaz too, so I'm feeling your pain. I've had pretty good luck getting my dogs used to being in the car though, and now they all love the car. I think desensitization is the way to go in your situation. If you're not covering the crate with a sheet or towel, I'd definitely start with that. All the visual stimulation during the car trips might be part of the problem. Try wearing him out thoroughly first, so that he's got less nervous energy and is more inclined to sleep in the crate or calmly chew on his loaded up Kong, etc. At first, just load up your pup into the crate in the car, turn on the car, listen to a song or two on the radio, and then go back inside the house. Do this twice a day for a week or so. Make sure that you project assertive, calm body language and don't get upset, even if your dog is freaking the gently caress out. Next, work on quick trips, like 3-5 minutes at first, and try working your way up to longer trips if you're having some success.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2008 05:38
|
|
|
gourami posted:I have a 25 gallon tank that's been up and running for about 7 months now. When I first set it up, I cycled it, added a few platies, and everything was beautifully balanced. To get rid of nitrates, you have to either physically remove them via water changes, or find some sort of plant material to absorb them. The algae is using up all that nitrate, so the problems are definitely related. Have you tested your source water for nitrates? That could be adding to the problem. I'd recommend live plants to help soak up that nitrate; it'll also look pretty.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2008 22:48
|
|
|
I've got a question for you guys now. Nellie likes to lick Jax's eyes. Like everything else Nellie does, it seems to annoy Jax, but he still lets her do it. I have no idea why she's doing it. Maybe she's cleaning up eye boogers? She occasionally does the mouth licking thing as a sign of submission (she's definitely the omega dog around here), but this is clearly different. Any guesses as to what's going on?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2008 00:33
|
|
|
furiouskoala posted:TL;DR - What is the best way to get fleas off of a dog? Its best to take a multi-angle approach. First, you need to see your vet. The first product you want is called Capstar. Its essentially a flea bath in a pill. It will kill all of the fleas currently on the dog. The second product you want is a good flea killer like Frontline or Advantage. The over the counter crap is a waste of money. You have to get the real stuff from the vet. This will kill the fleas that bite the dog for the next month or so. Go ahead and stock up for the next 6 months since summer is coming and flea season rapidly approaches. Third, you need to find a source of diatomaceous earth. A swimming pool supply store should have some, but it can also be found at some gardening stores and health food stores. DE is a powder that works as a mechanical insecticide. You'll want to dust it on the dog's bedding, in that couch downstairs, and in any carpet that the dog has access to. Lastly, you can treat your yard with nematodes which will help control the flea population in the outdoor areas that your dog has access to. They can be purchased online, and some pet stores and gardening stores will carry them as well. Depending on how bad the flea infestation is, you can just do steps one and two. Last summer, the fleas around here were awful and so I had to do the whole nine yards to control them. Fleas are the way that dogs get intestinal worms, so I recommend that your friend get some dewormer from the vet as well. Things that don't work - flea collars (which can make your pet sick), over-the-counter flea medicines like Biospot, most "natural" flea preventatives Things that do work - full strength flea meds (Advantage, Frontline, K9Advantix), vacuuming (surprisingly effective), bathing the pet with just about any kind of soap (dish soap like Dawn is very effective) Good luck. Fleas suck.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2008 08:17
|
|
|
Sutureself posted:I volunteer at as a dog walker at a nearby animal shelter. Long story short, this boxer/lab guy is real nice and everyone loves him, but he was adopted once and returned 2 weeks later for being crazy etc, I didn't get the details. Yikes. I'm doubtful that resource aggression can be fixed while the dog is in such a stressful living situation. Everything that I can think of would work best in a home environment with a consistent caretaker. Some people tackle this by teaching the dog the command "gimme", and initially I taught my dogs this by offering a treat that they wanted more than whatever they had in their mouth. We phased out the treats, and now it's old hat for me to ask to see whatever they've got and they don't complain about giving it up. Still, that behavior is based on trust and a history of training, neither of which is going to be easy in a shelter situation. I think you should probably talk to whoever handles the adoption files and let them know that the adopter will need to work on resource aggression with the dog, and that a house with young children should be a no-go. I'd honestly chalk up his reaction to stress and maybe a nervous temperament and it wouldn't keep me from adopting him, but inexperienced dog owners would be a bad fit for this dog who clearly needs some rehabilitation. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Apr 6, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2008 05:36
|
|
|
chuchumeister posted:Long story short, I'm looking into exercise pens for my fence-less backyard. You can definitely link the pens together, its a piece of cake, and there are plenty of hardware options that would work just fine. Zipties might be the cheapest and easiest option to connect the pens. I'd get at least two, if not three pens for the dogs to play. They won't be squished in a two pen arrangement, but they won't really have much room to run around either.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2008 10:04
|
|
|
I've seen a lot of puppies suffer through parvo, and it sucks a lot. Its one of the reasons I quit my job at the shelter. Its my opinion that the virus gets spread because well-meaning people who ignore sanitation protocols without understanding why those protocols are in place.  The pups that I've seen with it were all euthanized or died from the disease. I hope your pups pull through, or you have the fortitude to euthanize before they suffer too much more. I applaud you cleaning the heck out of your house, but the truth of the matter is that you'll be unable to get it all, and it'll be nigh impossible to get it out of your yard as well. I've heard estimates that the virus can last up to a year or more in the environment, so just go ahead and consider your house and yard contaminated for at least the next two years. As far as the shelter situation goes, I think its in the best interest of the puppies to get them adopted and out of the shelter as fast as possible. The longer they stay in the shelter the more likely it is that they'll catch something. Even if you vaccinate the pups as soon as they come in, there's no guarantee that they'll be protected after just one round of shots. Its frustrating as hell. I remember a few weeks when more puppies died of parvo than got adopted out. It was so awful that I ended up fostering a young litter at my house just to keep them from catching parvo in the shelter.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2008 23:46
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:I remember hearing that wet food was worse for their teeth, but it helps with keeping them hydrated. Entirely not sure though. But I think dry/wet/mixture doesn't matter so long as the ingredients are good. Hamsters and mice are different species. Don't be afraid to call bullshit next time, or at least place a bet on the subject.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2008 11:33
|
|
|
spe posted:I got two kittens both from the same litter, he is gonna get his nuts chopped off in a month but she hasn't been done yet, they're six months old and i'm wondering if theres any chance he might gently caress her in the meantime and get her knocked up? I'm assuming that her plumbing doesn't work yet because the vets don't seem to be in any hurry to get her neutered but its better safe than sorry and I don't want kittens to have kittens. She could come into heat any day now, when exactly varies with the cat. Personally, I'd call the vet and see if they can move the spay/neuter appointment up to sometime in the next week or so. There's really no medical reason to wait, and it will be better (and cheaper) to avoid having to get an emergency spay.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2008 19:40
|
|
|
Lioness posted:yellow dog Yup. That's the All-American Shelter dog. I've got one, too. I think that's what mutts end up looking like if you've got a mishmash of at least a few different breeds.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 18, 2008 02:14
|
|
|
His Divine Shadow posted:What a horrible story, this guy and his wife got a cat at what he thought was age one and that he should be around 3 now, but after a visit to the vet because he was acting strange and had problems eating they found out he's more like 8 or 9 and the cat has rotted teeth and needs all his teeth pulled, and the guy can't afford it so he thinks he's going to have to put the cat down. The vet wanted $700 to pull all his teeth, is that an acceptable fee for such a procedure? Maybe we could find them a cheaper vet or someone willing to adopt the cat and take care of his teeth? Anesthesia is expensive, and you'll also have to pay for the vet's time (not cheap either). I'd be surprised if you find an office who will be significantly cheaper for that type of procedure. Sadly, there are millions of healthy animals that are put down each year, so an elderly cat with who needs hundreds of dollars of dental work is not going to get adopted. It would be kinder to put the cat down now instead of hoping that someone else will get its teeth fixed. In the big scheme of things, a $700 vet bill isn't that unusual, and its too bad your friends didn't plan for it before getting a pet. poo poo happens, and sometimes its poo poo that needs surgery or intensive vet care. TunaSpleen posted:Here's a silly question, why does my fishtank get tons of tiny little bubbles every time I clean it? Water is obviously heavier than air and displaces it, so shouldn't it all rise to the top, instead of making bubbles that cling to all the decorations and the fish? Of course, they all dissipate after a few hours or so, but I've had that tank since I was a little kid and I always wondered why the bubbles hang around. I suspect that your water conditioner is the problem, people in other threads have had problems with certain products. I can personally recommend Seachem Prime as a high-quality product, though. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Apr 24, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2008 14:17
|
|
|
ThirstyGirl posted:Why does my dog shoot clear liquid out of his butthole when he barks? It's so gross. If it smells super-awful, then that's the goo from his anal glands. On one hand, its good that he's expressing it naturally, on the other, well, its one of the vilest substances on the planet.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2008 23:30
|
|
|
Antifederalist posted:I scanned the last couple pages and couldn't find anything, and I figure with flea and tick season coming up it's good to bring the information up anyways. The PI consensus is essentially that the over the counter products are not as effective as the stuff you get from your vet I'd recommend sticking to Advantage, Advantix, or Frontline; your vet will probably have a favorite one of those three to recommend. If you have a cat in your household, then make sure you get a product that doesn't contain any permethrin. Permethrin is safe and effective for dogs, but cats have a sensitivity to it. While you're at your vet, you might ask about vaccinating for Lyme Disease. I'm no expert, but there's a debate about whether or not its worth it. Again, that aspect is definitely something to discuss with your vet. This chart shows you some of the options available, and the differences between them. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=&aid=325 Skip the BioSpot though. I tried it last summer, and can tell you it didn't work at all. Flea & tick collars don't work well either, and can make your pet sick. You should also avoid Hartz products, they also have a reputation for making pets sick. Hope that helps. vvvvvv Good catch on the Advantage. I was thinking of Advantage Multi, but that's for heartworms and fleas. Also a good product, but it won't help the Antifederalist's problem with ticks. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Apr 26, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2008 04:01
|
|
|
little green jewel posted:What's a good age to start flea/tick prevention? My pups are just under three months old. The over-the-counter stuff we were looking at was recommended for older dogs, but I was wondering if there's any kind of special puppy-safe stuff out there I can start giving them. Ticks aren't a huge problem where I live, but fleas are. 3 months should be a pretty good age to start, especially since flea season is starting. I would warn you that I wasted a lot of time and money trying out various OTC stuff (to save time and money going to the vet), and ended up with an even bigger flea problem, so I recommend just starting with the good stuff from the beginning.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2008 18:20
|
|
|
Kalma posted:Am I being a bad owner for letting the dogs investigate things (walk in front of me) on the walk? Or should we just do a strict power walk them in the heel position the whole time? As long as you've got control over the dogs, then you're in the clear. Sniffing and all is cool when its by your leave, so make sure the walk isn't you being dragged by the dogs from pee-tree to pee-tree. My dogs walk in front of me, because the 4 of us can't all fit on the sidewalk side-by-side. I just just a splitter to walk to older two on the same leash (a great tool that I definitely recommend), and I put the puppy on her own leash since she's a spaz and still getting used to walking at a normal pace. They know the commands "lets go", "wait", "lets cross" (the stress), and I'm still working on "gee" and "haw". I'd love to have a chariot or sled and have them pull me around the neighborhood for exercise.  Baby steps. Do be careful with the flexi-leashes though. They get tangled up easily with eachother, and they leave you with much less control than a traditional leash. I've seen a dog fight with dogs on flexi leashes, and it was a mess. I can't help but think that it could have been stopped much earlier (or possibly avoided) had the dogs been on regular leashes.
|
|
#
¿
May 1, 2008 19:58
|
|
|
Jack Van Burace posted:Hey there folks. Got a quick and easy question for ya. I've got a little Brussels Griffon, 2 years old, and I've just moved into an apartment. He's slowly adjusting, but my summer classes start next week and he'll have to be home alone for 4 hours or so a day. I know this is dorky but I'm worried that he'll miss me a lot and get super lonely as he's very, very attached to me. He's got toys at the house but he doesn't seem to enjoy playing with them very much, and buying another dog isn't an option at the moment. I know it's probably silly to ask this, but is there any way I can make it easier for him to adjust to me not being there or will he be okay? He'll adjust to the new schedule, but it would definitely help if you took him for a nice run before you crate him for the day. Four hours isn't very long, so you can let yourself off the hook and not feel guilty about it. He might enjoy going to doggy daycare a day or two a week if he's the social type.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2008 22:45
|
|
|
My dog Jax is acting kinda weird and sick tonight, and I can't decide if its serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency vet tonight, or if I should just wait and see how he's feeling tomorrow morning. Two and a half year old Beagley hound. He's vomited twice today, once this afternoon (mostly grass) and once a few minutes ago (same). He's been pretty lethargic today, but he's extremely lazy and chill most of the time anyway. He has been up and around plenty this evening, so at the very least he hasn't felt too ill to bark at the new people occasionally. Today has been a pretty high-stress day, with lots of visitors all day long and very little down-time for him to chillax and get his usual naptime. This evening he didn't want dinner (Merrick kibble), but I just chalked it up to him waiting to see if he could get a hotdog or something from someone at the party. After the second vomit session, he seemed pretty shaky and unstable on his feet, which is when I started to get worried. Not interested in food at all at this point (extremely unusual for him). I was worried about low blood sugar, so I got some high-fructose corn syrup down him, just in case. I put him to bed in a room away from the party, so he's resting now. Respiration seems normal, bowel sounds were nice and clear, and I'm about to go check for heart rate and the color of his gums. Anything else that I should check for that would be a clear sign that he's sick enough to go to the e-vet? update: Thanks for the reply Olive. I was about to call the e-vet when my boyfriend told me he was able to hand-fed Jax a hamburger patty later last night. This morning he seems to be doing okay. I caught him really going to town eating grass though, so his stomach may still be bothering him. I gave him some canned Merrick, which he gobbled up, so all is well for the moment. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Jun 1, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Jun 1, 2008 05:20
|
|
|
urmomlolzinbed posted:After some more experience, he seems to be figuring out that going in the house displeases me and he asks to go outside after he sniffs around. He did mark when I left the house for 10 minutes so I'm still going to keep him crated when he's not supervised. I'll give the vinegar/baking soda a try if it completely neutralizes his scent. He hopped on my bed without hesitation last night so that's where he slept. He let me know this morning when he was ready to go out. Crating and 100% supervision of the new dog is really the best way to go. He's still figuring out the rules of the house, so as much consistency from day to day as is possible is helpful. I'll second that tethering the dog to you is helpful for bonding, and teaching them how you *DO* want them to behave. It also will help you get more in tune with the dog's signals that he's going to need to go pee/poop soon. At this stage in housetraining (whether puppy or adult) its your job to set your dog up for success, rather than his job to tell you he needs to go out. That sort of thing takes time to work out, its not the starting point for housetraining. Keep treats handy 24/7 and remember to reward when he's playing quietly or just chilling politely nearby. He sounds like a pretty cool dog, so I'm sure that you both will have everything worked out before too long.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2008 14:57
|
|
|
Meow Cadet posted:Any tips on dealing with a green algae bloom in an aquarium? I'm hesitant to do a total blackout, because I have live plants. Plus, I have otocinclus (algae eaters) and I don't want all the algae to die, just the algae in the water. I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding or not, but it sounds like you've got free-floating algae and green water? I battled that in my saltwater tank for a few months, but the thing that actually fixed it was getting a UV sterilizer. I got one of the submersible units, and it worked like a charm.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2008 22:12
|
|
|
My dogs have a disgusting new hobby - catching and eating field mice. What zoonotic diseases might they also be catching? We recently moved farther out of town, and now we essentially live surrounded by pasture. Our grass is a little long, which I actually like because it keeps the awful summer sun from baking it to death. However, it seems the poor little mice like it too. I'd say the dogs have been catching at least one a day for the last week, and they got two fat ones yesterday afternoon. They're having a loving great time hunting down the rodents, but I'm worried they might actually be rats and not mice because they're loving hefty.  So far, the only thing I can think of is makins sure all three have been fully vaccinated and boosted and whatnot for Lepto, but I'm unsure of how real a risk that actually is.edit: ^^^^^^ He looks like he may just be a standard sized Dach which can be pretty large, rather than the minis and toys you're used to seeing around which are. I've got a buddy with a Doxie x Pit, but he looks much bulkier than your dog; he's almost like a Low-Rider Pit Bull, or perhaps a Doxie on steroids.
MoCookies fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Jun 10, 2008 |
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2008 17:23
|
|
|
Regnevelc posted:My dog will not go out and play in the yard without me. If I'm remembering your dog right, its a Beagle or a hound mix. For what its worth, my Beag does the same thing. He'll stand at the door and bark non-stop for hours if left outside, or even with the other dogs to keep him company. My girls (not hounds) love hanging out in the backyard, whether or not I'm around. He will go out there occasionally during the day if I've left the back door cracked for the dogs. I'd love to be able to install a doggy door (rental house), because I think he'd like the freedom to come and go as he chooses. He does like the "treats are hidden in the backyard game", by the way. I seem to remember a post in one of notsoape's Beagle threads about hounds that get separated or stuck will make a racket until someone comes and finds them. I figure its Jax's way of communicating his displeasure at being separated from his pack (me and my bf), and making sure he's indoors and where the action (read: food) is.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2008 21:35
|
|
|
Jive One posted:I love hiking and being outdoors but the problem is that I likely wont have the time to do the things you mentioned. As far as appeal it's mainly appearance, long-hair, and the awesome temperment common to most gun/sporting dogs. From the sounds of it however it looks like I'll have to get a breed with lesser exercise requirements, probably a Golden Retriever unless there are other options that I should consider. Goldens are not low or even medium energy dogs either, unfortunately. You might want to consider getting a sighthound instead of a gundog. Sighthounds are far more lazy in general, and there are plenty with longer coats (Borzoi, Silken Windhounds, Salukis, Afghans) since it sounds like that's a priority. They are still athletes, but they require a different type of exercise that's more convenient for many people.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 14, 2008 23:43
|
|
|
CK07 posted:So our new kitten Charleston went to the vet yesterday, being all covered with fleas. They treated him with Advantage, I think, and gave him a good bath. We boarded him and our other cat overnight at the vet so we could treat the bedroom with a flea/tick spray, and we're getting them back today. So here's my question - is the kitten now totally flea-and-tick-free, after having been treated and bathed? Can we put him in our bedroom and not have to worry about re-contaminating everything? I'm guessing the vet did a Capstar + Advantage combo. The Capstar would have killed all of the fleas on the cat, and the Advantage will kill any additional fleas that bite the cat. The cat should theoretically be flea-free now, and you're safe to allow him in your bathroom. To Ain Paradisum - I wasted a lot of time and money trying different over the counter medications last summer. None of them worked, and I ended spending more money trying to be cheap than just going ahead with the vet-sold meds. The best thing is to go ahead and get Advantage or Frontline from your vet, and consider treating your yard for fleas as well since it sounds like the problem is pretty bad. You can either try a chemical or biological approach. I chose to use nematodes (the biological approach, obviously) because it was natural, only a single application, and not too expensive. The nematodes seemed to do the trick to get the yard under control quickly. I got mine at an independent granola-style pet store, but you can also find them online and at garden stores.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 24, 2008 19:43
|
|
|
Nellie (1.5 yo Border Collie mix) went lame seemingly overnight (Tuesday night). Its her front right leg, but its still not clear where exactly its hurting her. She'll put a little bit of weight on it if she's standing still, and she's using it as a weapon to whack the other dogs in the face  when she gets rowdy. I've been trying to get her to lay down and rest it as much as possible, but she's a loving force of nature. She's even starting poo poo with the other dogs while she's gimping around tripod style. Apparently only having 3 useful legs is no big deal to her, and she's getting pretty good at running with 3 legs. As its really not slowing her down, I've been crating her most of the day in an attempt to get her to rest more. I haven't noticed any improvement since yesterday morning. She's stoic when I touch that leg, and there's nothing visibly wrong with it. On a normal day, she's constantly doing stuff that I worry that would hurt her (leaping across the living room furniture, acrobatics to get to a tennis ball, serious wrestling with the other dogs), but she's never actually hurt herself like this before. Honestly, I didn't see her do anything that I can connect to the lameness, and I'm stumped. What signs am I looking for that this needs to be seen by a vet ASAP? I was thinking that if she's not improving by the end of the day that I'll get her seen tomorrow, get some x-rays, etc. I'm worried that she's so stoic that if there's nothing on the x-rays, then we'll still have no idea what's wrong. I'm terrified that she's torn a ligament and that she'll need surgery to fix it. What should I do?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 26, 2008 16:11
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 13:00 |
|
|
Druz posted:What are some good sites I can link people to with pit bull statistics? Another forum I frequent has a pit bull thread atleast once a month where someone links a news story about a dog "identified" as a pit attacking someone/someone's pet and all the idiots froth at the mouth saying all pit bulls should be exterminated. I'm trying to educate them that the breed isn't the problem but I am ill equipped to do so. Most hits on google are just some random Joe Schmoe saying pits aren't bad, I need/want resources from experts with credentials. Any help is appreciated. (I should probably just ignore the rabid anti pit crusaders but I feel I need to educate them!) Try the BADRAP website. Those people do great work.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 28, 2008 14:51
|
|