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.Z. posted:Guessing you mean these things: http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Pet-Latex-Balloon-Large/dp/B003UOKGYI Sherlock really loved his 
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Apr 23, 2014 22:14
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ThatPazuzu posted:Now that Buddy has gotten all his shots, I'm going to sign up for dog obedience classes, both to train him and get him used to other dogs. Should I sign up for puppy kindergarten or their standard training class? Buddy is a little under 4 months, pretty well behaved with me, but not very good at commands other than "leave it"/"drop it," sit, and come. My gut would be to take the basic non-puppy obedience class. But... I'm sure they're similar enough that it wouldn't make much of a difference. Where I used to work, our basic obedience covered sit, sit in heel position, focus in heel position, stay, come, down, leave it, take it, drop it, as well as some practical cues. The puppy class covered sit, sit in heel position, stand, down, come as well as desensitizing to various body handling and grooming techniques. A lot of the time the puppies in the puppy class did better than the mature dogs in the basic class because the owners in the former were more "into" the newness of it all, they were more relaxed and more engaged with their dogs. As the dogs graduated into the 'real' obedience class all of a sudden the handlers got more serious and stressed. Don't do that. Either way, have fun, make everything a game and focus on really enjoying your puppy.
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Apr 23, 2014 22:24
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ThatPazuzu posted:Now that Buddy has gotten all his shots, I'm going to sign up for dog obedience classes, both to train him and get him used to other dogs. Should I sign up for puppy kindergarten or their standard training class? Buddy is a little under 4 months, pretty well behaved with me, but not very good at commands other than "leave it"/"drop it," sit, and come. I'd do puppy class if it has off-leash playtime. The puppy classes I've observed in are about half/half with formal obedience training and socialization (handling stuff, dog/dog socialization, etc.). The adult classes are just obedience.
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Apr 23, 2014 23:41
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My fiance and I are starting to look into the purchase of a dog. She insists that she wants a puppy. I'm concerned about this because both of us work full time, me 8-4 and her 10-6. She insists we can just crate the puppy during the day, but I have my reservations. I'm looking for some honest opinions if this is a bad idea or us getting in over our head.
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Apr 24, 2014 00:24
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couldcareless posted:My fiance and I are starting to look into the purchase of a dog. She insists that she wants a puppy. I'm concerned about this because both of us work full time, me 8-4 and her 10-6. She insists we can just crate the puppy during the day, but I have my reservations. Can someone come home during the day to let the puppy out? Rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold their bladder (in hours) the same as their age (in months). You'd need multiple breaks the first month and a single mid-day break for the next few months before I'd expect the puppy to be able to go for 6 hours crated (assuming you got an 8-week old puppy). You can adjust the number of hours they can hold it down a little bit if you have a small breed.
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Apr 24, 2014 00:48
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Engineer Lenk posted:Can someone come home during the day to let the puppy out? Rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold their bladder (in hours) the same as their age (in months). You'd need multiple breaks the first month and a single mid-day break for the next few months before I'd expect the puppy to be able to go for 6 hours crated (assuming you got an 8-week old puppy). You can adjust the number of hours they can hold it down a little bit if you have a small breed. Definitely not, where I will be at any given point during the day is erratic, and she can't leave work because it means she loses money (hair stylist). We will have to keep exploring options I suppose
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Apr 24, 2014 00:57
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You could hire a dog walker to come during the day for a "puppy break".
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Apr 24, 2014 01:30
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Our breeder has on a couple of occasions held on to puppies until they were 6 months old for those reasons, but that was for good friends of theirs and not regular 'customers'. They can hold on until 12 weeks, but would charge boarding fees after that. (But would train/socialize/etc). Alternative would be daycare, but that would probably be too expensive?
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Apr 24, 2014 02:16
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ImplicitAssembler posted:Our breeder has on a couple of occasions held on to puppies until they were 6 months old for those reasons, but that was for good friends of theirs and not regular 'customers'. They can hold on until 12 weeks, but would charge boarding fees after that. (But would train/socialize/etc). I kinda like the idea of possibly having them hold it for a few weeks and doing some basic training and socializing, but I fear the price of that. I'll keep that in consideration.
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Apr 24, 2014 03:38
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Abutiu posted:She'll probably grow out of it, but until that happens, taking her outside immediately will help. As in, you get home, make a beeline for her crate, and take her right out. When you get up in the morning, have anything you need handy (like shoes and a jacket if you have to go out with her), roll out of bed, get her out of her crate and take her immediately outside. Do it with as little fuss as possible, no excited voices or anything. It's a pretty common problem with puppies though because they just don't have that much bladder control at that age, so if their bladder is full and they get excited there's not much they can do. Also, of course, try to get her to pee right before you put her in the crate, but I'm guessing you do that already. To add onto this great advice, I would also pick the puppy up and carry it outside. couldcareless posted:I kinda like the idea of possibly having them hold it for a few weeks and doing some basic training and socializing, but I fear the price of that. I'll keep that in consideration. Is hiring a dog walker an option? Around here it's generally priced pretty cheaply for a 15 or 30 minute walk, but a puppy wouldn't need all that. Maybe you could talk to a few and see if they have a special option for puppies(shorter let outs a couple times a day), or if they'd be willing to make a special arrangement. Daycare is also an option, just make sure they're one that would keep your not-fully-vaxx'd puppy away from other dogs. That's typically more expensive than dog walking, but they'd be around people all day who can monitor them(at least, if the place is doing it right). This is especially important if you have a very barky or destructive puppy and you live in an apartment. If your wife is set on a puppy, why not go with a slightly older one? A 6 month old puppy still has that new puppy smell but would be better at holding their bladder, but, especially if you get a little dog, holding it for 8 hours(I'm assuming, I added some commute time to your work schedule) will still be a challenge. Personally, it doesn't sound like a puppy is a good fit for you. Especially because an 8 week old puppy probably isn't going to be okay immediately with being crated for long periods of time.
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Apr 24, 2014 06:42
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.Z. posted:Guessing you mean these things: http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Pet-Latex-Balloon-Large/dp/B003UOKGYI Think it was this one specifically: http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Products-DCA79934XS-Rubber-Balloon/dp/B005DGI8RI/ref=pd_sbs_petsupplies_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0346ASGCES5F4FK0EJAS
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Apr 24, 2014 10:50
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Abutiu posted:She'll probably grow out of it, but until that happens, taking her outside immediately will help. As in, you get home, make a beeline for her crate, and take her right out. When you get up in the morning, have anything you need handy (like shoes and a jacket if you have to go out with her), roll out of bed, get her out of her crate and take her immediately outside. Do it with as little fuss as possible, no excited voices or anything. It's a pretty common problem with puppies though because they just don't have that much bladder control at that age, so if their bladder is full and they get excited there's not much they can do. Also, of course, try to get her to pee right before you put her in the crate, but I'm guessing you do that already. Thanks, I do take her out before I put her in the crate and I have been taking her out immediately. She actually pees herself while I am opening the door to the crate or even just approaching it though. I tried last night a slightly different approach which was to not approach her immediately until she calmed down some. I went in the house, put my shopping down, hung around in the next room where she could see me for about a minute then worked closer over the course of another minute or so. After that I was able to pick her up and take her outside without her peeing in the crate.
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Apr 24, 2014 14:25
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GanjamonII posted:Thanks, I do take her out before I put her in the crate and I have been taking her out immediately. She actually pees herself while I am opening the door to the crate or even just approaching it though. Keep doing that. She just sounds so happy to see you she loses it. She'll be a very loyal dog it sounds like. 
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Apr 24, 2014 14:35
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cheese eats mouse posted:We have lyme going through our area too. Glad I got the vaccine this weekend on my older dog, need to get it done for my other dog as well. Did lepto too since I spend a lot of time in the woods during the warm months. Ouch. That's for two dogs, or just Condi?
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Apr 24, 2014 14:44
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Skizzles posted:Ouch. That's for two dogs, or just Condi? Thank god that you don't have a bunny if you think that's a lot for one pet one visit  I got pet insurance for Sherlock pretty much immediately after not being able to get it for my bunnies. There's seriously NOTHING worse than shelling out mega cash because ~something is wrong what is it~ and your rabbit is just being picky  cheese eats mouse posted:Keep doing that. She just sounds so happy to see you she loses it. She'll be a very loyal dog it sounds like. The first time that I had to leave Sherlock alone for an extended amount of time (my dog walker was out of town on that day) I knew that he would probably be okay since he would be sleeping but he was so excited to see me when I got home that he did pee a little bit when I let him out. It hasn't happened since even when I have left him for the same amount of time so I'm certain it will get better for you Ganjamon. Eegah posted:Think it was this one specifically: http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Products-DCA79934XS-Rubber-Balloon/dp/B005DGI8RI/ref=pd_sbs_petsupplies_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0346ASGCES5F4FK0EJAS We actually got the one that the poster quoted. I know that BarkBox sends out similar but different things to people dpending on dog size. He's little dog so maybe that one was for medium or big? I thought it was cute and the "balloon tie" was on the butt hole which I thought was a cute (though somewhat silly/gross) touch. Psychobabble! posted:To add onto this great advice, I would also pick the puppy up and carry it outside. I used to do this with Sherlock and still do if I know he hasn't gone pee in a while. If you see her starting to pee maybe make an "UH UH" interrupting noise which usually gets them to stop and might make her realise that she has to wait. It's possible that she doesn't know any better since it's kinda habit by now. quote:If your wife is set on a puppy, why not go with a slightly older one? A 6 month old puppy still has that new puppy smell but would be better at holding their bladder, but, especially if you get a little dog, holding it for 8 hours(I'm assuming, I added some commute time to your work schedule) will still be a challenge. Personally, it doesn't sound like a puppy is a good fit for you. Especially because an 8 week old puppy probably isn't going to be okay immediately with being crated for long periods of time. Yeah. I'm probably never going to get a 3 month old puppy ever again. If I can skip all the mega annoying parts (mouthing and super puppy potty training) I'll be way happier. Next dog will probably be at least a year 
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Apr 24, 2014 15:39
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luscious posted:I got pet insurance for Sherlock pretty much immediately after not being able to get it for my bunnies. There's seriously NOTHING worse than shelling out mega cash because ~something is wrong what is it~ and your rabbit is just being picky Speaking of pet insurance, is that typically a good deal for most dog owners? My family has always had dogs, but never insurance, and I don't know if that's because pet insurance isn't really helpful, or if my parents just never knew about it. After a bit of research, we see that this is one of the best rated places to get said insurance, but I'm just not sure. The quoted price seemed pretty reasonable (~$35 a month), so does anyone have good/bad experience with pet insurance?
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Apr 24, 2014 22:20
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The only time I've ever heard of pet insurance being a good deal is for accidents. I am under the impression it doesn't really cover normal reasons to visit a vet (sickness, shots) but I could be mistaken.
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Apr 24, 2014 23:46
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I have had a pretty good experience with Trupanion. I am making money on one of my cats because he has a chronic condition requiring medication and they have never reduced the amount of coverage or increased premiums because of it. They also start claims for conditions I never even thought about claiming, and have let me submit claims months late.
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Apr 25, 2014 01:22
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Doulos posted:Speaking of pet insurance, is that typically a good deal for most dog owners? My family has always had dogs, but never insurance, and I don't know if that's because pet insurance isn't really helpful, or if my parents just never knew about it. After a bit of research, we see that this is one of the best rated places to get said insurance, but I'm just not sure. The quoted price seemed pretty reasonable (~$35 a month), so does anyone have good/bad experience with pet insurance? I think it depends on the dog and situation. I'm planning to get it for my 6 mo shiba Aiko as soon as I get her microchipped during her spay (more on that in a second) because I take her to the dog park a lot + my work (a doggy daycare), so her chances of getting injured/sick are a higher than a dog who primarily stays at home and just goes out for walks/runs with their owner. It can also be worth it if you have a breed prone to health issues (bulldogs, giant breeds), provided you have a plan that covers hereditary issues, which several dont, or charge more for (like VPI and Trupanion if I recall correctly), and some will only offer coverage for certain conditions until a certain age. The one I'm going with is PetPlan, as it seems like the best deal and has the best coverage(including heredity issues for no extra charge, and none of that other "we only cover arthritis or cancer till the dog is x age" crap). Pretty much every insurance plan I've looked at includes sickness, it just doesn't cover routine care (shots and whatnot). If you go with petplan they also give you a discount on your rate if your pet is microchipped, which is why I'm waiting. Their base plan has a 10k/year limit and comes out to about 25 dollars for my dog, and tbh 300 dollars a year is worth the peace of mind to me, especially because my puppy is a little spitfire at the dog park and has a bad habit of swallowing things she shouldn't. Keep in mind (in the states anyways, apparently other places are different), all the insurance I've seen makes you pay up front for services, and then they reimburse you. Apparently petplan has a really fast turn around time, but some can take quite a while (VPI, or so I've heard. gently caress VPI).
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Apr 25, 2014 05:58
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A question about carsick pups- we took Atlas out for a twenty minute car trip today about three hours after his last meal and about 100m from our destination (travelling fairly low speed) he became carsick and vomited what looked to be his full meal, about 50% of it was looked to be soft but whole, undigested kibble. He has never been carsick before but I think it's because he was standing up and looking out the window. Regardless, if does vomit should we be feeding him anything extra with his evening meal or just feed him the regular amount? I don't want to overfeed him. Is there a set time frame we should be waiting before travelling with him in the car? I feel like anything under two hours would be pushing it on their little tummies but I thought he'd be okay at three but maybe not Obligatory million puppy pictures for your enjoyment. Atlas is a 4 month old Aussie Shepherd.          
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Apr 26, 2014 11:19
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I think either way is fine. I do usually add a bit more food at the next meal if my dogs throw up like that, but one missed meal isn't going to hurt your puppy. I've never noticed the time after a meal to matter much when it comes to carsickness, except in terms of what you have to clean up, but I haven't dealt with carsickness too much either so I could be wrong about that. He's really cute. 
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Apr 26, 2014 18:06
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I was nervous about my puppy interacting with other dogs because my last dog didn't play nice with others. But Buddy's at my cousin's house this weekend and my fears were unfounded. 
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Apr 26, 2014 18:17
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luscious posted:Thank god that you don't have a bunny if you think that's a lot for one pet one visit Actually I did briefly "own" a bunny. I found her abandoned and injured in her cage in a park, so of course I took her home and took her to the vet. I definitely don't remember it being crazy expensive. But I may have gotten a discount for it being a "rescue" animal? It's been a few years, I can't remember. She was a super sweet bunny and she healed up nicely, we found her a new home and that was that. But yeah, vet prices are one of the various reasons I don't have much interest in owning "exotics" and what have you.
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Apr 28, 2014 02:48
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Doulos posted:Speaking of pet insurance, is that typically a good deal for most dog owners? My family has always had dogs, but never insurance, and I don't know if that's because pet insurance isn't really helpful, or if my parents just never knew about it. After a bit of research, we see that this is one of the best rated places to get said insurance, but I'm just not sure. The quoted price seemed pretty reasonable (~$35 a month), so does anyone have good/bad experience with pet insurance? I have PetPlan insurance for my dog. His plan covers anything beyond basic vet care (so if he needs any surgeries, gets injured, needs medication etc it is covered). Just be careful with pre-existing conditions cause they will use those as a reason not to cover things. Also, the monthly fee will increase every year. Annoying, but I find it worth it. Edit: the preexisting conditions thing can be avoided a bit by getting the insurance as soon as you get the dog. But if you already had the dog for a while then better late than never.
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Apr 28, 2014 12:07
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Cerebral Knievel posted:A question about carsick pups- we took Atlas out for a twenty minute car trip today about three hours after his last meal and about 100m from our destination (travelling fairly low speed) he became carsick and vomited what looked to be his full meal, about 50% of it was looked to be soft but whole, undigested kibble. He has never been carsick before but I think it's because he was standing up and looking out the window. Regardless, if does vomit should we be feeding him anything extra with his evening meal or just feed him the regular amount? I don't want to overfeed him. Nyx used to get car sick occasionally but she grew out of it. A lot of it has to do with them Trying to see out the window I think and jumping up and moving around a lot. Once she was big enough she just sits and stares now.
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Apr 28, 2014 14:13
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I love my vet, but we've paid over a 1,000 dollars for Tatianna since we got her. She's a senior, so I expected she might be a bit more expensive, but 1,000 dollars in a month is still painful. Granted, we got her flea collar, heartworm treatment, and all of her vaccinations at once. And one of her issues was an anal gland infection, and they expressed it at the last two visits, one week apart. It cost $70 each time. Is that crazy, or a normal price? We can afford it, but we're having some crazy upheavals in our life so we're concerned if this is a consistent thing we should be saving for, or what? They did say they do it some special way, but didn't describe it very well. Something about doing it internally? The vet came highly recommended from some animal obsessed "dog mom/furbaby" types. I guess I want to make it clear, it's not the money that's an issue. We can afford it. I'm just trying to get a feel for vet prices I suppose, but I don't have a lot of friends with animals in this town, and she is my first dog that I'm responsible for.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:00
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Anyone with experience giving their dogs trifexis? Riley took it on Sunday and has been slower/less playful than normal. And he hasn't had much of an appetite.
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Apr 30, 2014 00:43
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I hear a lot of dogs have been having some pretty rough issues with it lately, but I have no idea how legit that is. I have to figure out what to put my own dog on at his vet appointment tomorrow.
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Apr 30, 2014 01:40
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Skizzles posted:I hear a lot of dogs have been having some pretty rough issues with it lately, but I have no idea how legit that is. I have to figure out what to put my own dog on at his vet appointment tomorrow. Riley ate some chicken, but still won't eat peanut butter, regular dog food, or treat biscuits. I'm going to give the vet a call tomorrow. But since Sunday he's seemed like a whole different dog.
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Apr 30, 2014 02:40
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compton rear end terry posted:Riley ate some chicken, but still won't eat peanut butter, regular dog food, or treat biscuits. I'm going to give the vet a call tomorrow. But since Sunday he's seemed like a whole different dog.
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Apr 30, 2014 03:03
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Crooked Booty posted:Is he still wearing the flea collar? If so, take it off. Most flea and tick collars (excluding Seresto and Preventic collars) are pretty sketchy and are way more likely to cause side effects than Trifexis is Based on your posts in this thread, your dog wasn't acting right starting several days before you gave the Trifexis, so that may not be the problem. I'd call your vet. Negative. I took off the collar on Saturday afternoon and waited til Sunday afternoon to start Trifexis. You're likely right. Thanks!
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Apr 30, 2014 03:28
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Skizzles posted:Ouch. That's for two dogs, or just Condi? Hahah just Condie. Lesson learned on saying no to the vet.
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Apr 30, 2014 14:46
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Good lawd, which vet are you using?  I took Shadow to Breckenridge with Dr. Della (she may be Dr. Hayes now since she got married), only cost about half that or less. I know he got his lyme vaccination, don't remember if he got lepto or not.
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Apr 30, 2014 14:51
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Skizzles posted:Good lawd, which vet are you using? Same one ?
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Apr 30, 2014 15:44
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ghostgirl118 posted:I love my vet, but we've paid over a 1,000 dollars for Tatianna since we got her. She's a senior, so I expected she might be a bit more expensive, but 1,000 dollars in a month is still painful. Granted, we got her flea collar, heartworm treatment, and all of her vaccinations at once. And one of her issues was an anal gland infection, and they expressed it at the last two visits, one week apart. It cost $70 each time. Is that crazy, or a normal price? We can afford it, but we're having some crazy upheavals in our life so we're concerned if this is a consistent thing we should be saving for, or what? They did say they do it some special way, but didn't describe it very well. Something about doing it internally? The vet came highly recommended from some animal obsessed "dog mom/furbaby" types. That's about $20 more than at the fairly cheap clinic I used to work at, so it sounds a little more expensive but not crazy. Depending on how difficult it was to express or how long they took to take care of it could raise the price a little. At the vet's office, anal gland expression is done by having one finger in the rectum and one pushing from the outisde to pinch the gland and make stuff come out. Some groomers who do anal glands only push from the outside. If there is an infection or impaction, outside method won't get it done. Anal gland issues can be recurring, but there are ways of preventing issues to some extent. Ask your vet for what they've had success with or what would be best for the extent of impaction there was. Diet change, more fiber, and maybe even learning to do it yourself at home to clear things out before they get bad are all possible.
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May 1, 2014 01:14
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So it may be Riley is spoiled, or it could be his teeth. He just doesn't seem to like his dry food. Vet suggested mixing it with some wet food and he ate it all. This evening I fed his dry food with some chicken broth and he destroyed that as well. All is good for now, just need to figure out if he is high maintenance or dry food hurts his teeth.
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May 1, 2014 02:13
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We've had our new puppy for a little over 3 weeks now. She is doing well by herself at home, no whining when we leave or are gone and no accidents inside the house. When do I start to give her a little more freedom from being in the crate while I'm gone at work? She is currently 8 months old. Also when can I start leaving at night to run errands, go to the gym, just be out of the house for 60-90 minutes? I walk her in the morning, on my lunch break and then one big long 45-60 minute walk at night with some extra potty breaks at night. Is she getting enough exercise from these walks? Would it be ok for me to leave her home in the crate for a while at night so that I can leave the house for a bit?
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May 1, 2014 13:25
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BaseballPCHiker posted:We've had our new puppy for a little over 3 weeks now. She is doing well by herself at home, no whining when we leave or are gone and no accidents inside the house. When do I start to give her a little more freedom from being in the crate while I'm gone at work? She is currently 8 months old. Also when can I start leaving at night to run errands, go to the gym, just be out of the house for 60-90 minutes? I walk her in the morning, on my lunch break and then one big long 45-60 minute walk at night with some extra potty breaks at night. Is she getting enough exercise from these walks? Would it be ok for me to leave her home in the crate for a while at night so that I can leave the house for a bit? If you're not having any accidents inside I guess you can try it any time, but I'd say do little tests. If you're going out for 30-60 minutes, maybe give her a bedroom without anything to tear up, or the bathroom. As she gets used to that, maybe a little longer, etc etc. I'm beginning to believe that Artemis would be OK for most of the day because on my off days (weekends), she doesn't pee on the during-the-day walks. She'll go potty normally before I would normally go to work (around 6:30a) and again around dog-walker time (1p), and again after work (6:30p) but rarely between those times. And I do still walk her throughout the day. We also leave her and Jada out for short trips (30-60 minutes) and haven't had any accidents. We haven't tried longer periods with both of them, but Artemis has been free for up to about 4 hours (lunch and a movie) during a day with no issues. It really is a YMMV type of thing and you know your pup best.
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May 1, 2014 13:38
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I had to crate my gds pups for 4 hrs at a stretch starting at 8 weeks. I think you can definitely crate her and go out. Leave her a safe chew (kong maybe) so she doesn't get bored and destructive.
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May 1, 2014 14:34
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Is she getting enough exercise from these walks? Sorry I missed this part earlier. I'm sure your puppy has more energy than you can ever wear out but it can depend on your puppy. A few things to keep in mind - it helps with potty training to have a rhythm. Before playtime? Outside. After playtime? Outside. Between playtimes? Outside. And enforce naptimes as well, crate the puppy, maybe put a blanket over the crate if they can't handle people being around while it's naptime. I didn't enforce this enough and Artemis literally does not turn off. Even if she's worn out, if she see's me walking around (like I do when I have to move to different places in the house) she's ready to go. It's something I'm working on correcting now, but better to get it out of the way to begin with. It doesn't have to be a 4 hour nap. If you're pup is up and about for a couple of hours, maybe 30-45 minutes of a nap? I'd say don't wake them up, and that's the longest I'd go. If they wake up and muss around in the crate after 10 minutes that's not enough, but if they're still ZZZzzzZZZing after an hour and a half just let them be (IMHO). A lot of people will say to make sure whatever you do is gentle - your pup might be walking and jumping and running but it's months/a year before they're fully developed. I saw an xray (on PIFB recently?) of a young puppy and there are inches between some joints when they're very young. Something stressful on the body (jumping off the couch, or the bed) could cause some issues. The puppy might seem to be able to run in circles for two hours, but that doesn't mean he's ready to run in a marathon because that does something wholly different to their body. You have to work up to stuff like that. Does that make sense? e: here is the xray of a 2 week old puppy. Obviously, the older they get the less the is prevalent, but this should help visualize what I'm talking about. 
mcswizzle fucked around with this message at 16:12 on May 1, 2014 |
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May 1, 2014 15:53
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