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MockingQuantum posted:If undercoat matting isn't a problem, I'd say you can probably get away with a pin brush or a straight steel comb. Thanks. I’ll pick up a pin brush when I’m out tomorrow. I like that the pins have some give to them; maybe he’ll be able to tolerate it better than the Furminator. Or I’ll just slap some peanut butter in his bowl and try to get him brushed in the 30 seconds it’ll take him to eat it all.
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May 24, 2019 01:04
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Ultimate Shrek Fan posted:Does anyone have any good suggestions for a canteen/waterbowl all in one, for taking on long walks w/ my dog? She's a thirsty pooch on the best of days, and since she's all black, summer walks have to get cut short. Another one for cooling vest. Makes a huge difference for our GD.
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May 24, 2019 01:44
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Hiking with dogs: I don't want to be an rear end in a top hat. I read some advice somewhere that you should have a max of two dogs in your hiking party. This hasn't been a problem in the past. I've either done trails with 3+ people/2 or less dogs, or just me and max two dogs. Should I stick to plans with a max of two dogs or is there a polite ratio for bringing more than two dogs?
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May 24, 2019 04:18
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GoodBee posted:Hiking with dogs: I don't want to be an rear end in a top hat. That is a really weird rule I've never heard of. As long as you can reasonably keep them safe and in control, and they aren't bothering people (chasing joggers, begging for food etc) I don't see the problem.
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May 24, 2019 04:36
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Depends on the trail, how many people you encounter and how much control you have over your dogs!, My dogwalker has ~6 dogs with her, but I don't think they ever encounter any other people. My favourite hiking trail is pretty isolated (which is why it's my favourite!), but it's also narrow and yeah, 2 dogs max might be a good idea. My default trails, are fairly populated and have joggers, the occasional MTB'ers, etc and require good control. 2 dogs per person means you can grab one in each hand if needed.
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May 24, 2019 07:03
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The wife has decreed that we will be spending the weekend with her sister in NJ. GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS! For those of you not playing at home, it means my good buddy fuckface and I get to share what amounts to a nyc apartment. Yay.
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May 25, 2019 07:09
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Warbird posted:The wife has decreed that we will be spending the weekend with her sister in NJ. GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS! What part of godless NJ?
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May 28, 2019 14:58
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Union City I think? Somewhere pretty close to the Lincoln tunnel. Seemed kind of lovely, but their apartment was nice. Not nearly triple the amount of my mortgage payment nice, but pretty nice.
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May 28, 2019 15:41
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I've got a couple of questions about managing play with other dogs. Eris is about 6 months old and likes to play a bit rougher than what a lot of people are comfortable with. She understands overt signs to stop from other dogs (whining, warning growls/snaps) fine, but doesn't really respond to less obvious signs of submission (or at least, what I assume are signs of submission). When her playing becomes too rough I tell her to ease up, she ignores me, I leash her and give her a time out. After a few minutes, if the other dog approaches her again, I let her go back, if not then we keep going. I started doing this about a week or two ago, the behavior escalated to a point where it became problematic about a week before that. - What would be the best way to capture the desired behavior for gentler play? Issuing the command and leashing when she continues doesn't seem like a great way of doing this. Should I be looking for situations when she disengages organically and then capturing that with the command? Should I avoid even giving the command for a while until she understands what the command means? I'm still a ways off from being able to recall from play, so that's not an option right now. Should I focus on that instead? - The point at which I intervene depends a lot on the other dog's owner, but if they don't step in or say anything, I'll usually step in when she's been holding the other dog's ear or neck for more than a few seconds, and definitely step in if she starts shaking them. This also depends on the size of the other dog. I'll stop her earlier with smaller dogs, later with bigger ones. Am I meddling too much? Too little? I'd like to hear thoughts from others who have gone through similar situations. - Is there anything else I should be doing? Eris zonked out on dog drugs: https://imgur.com/2TAqLMr
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May 30, 2019 15:09
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Is she pinning other dogs on the ground and holding onto an ear or scruff? I never tried to get my dog to play gentler with other dogs so I don't have anything there. My hound dog would play rough with other dogs at the dog park but they always seemed to be having fun, jumping, punching, wrestling, knocking each other down, chewing on each other. There would sometimes be a dog that wanted to bully my dog to the ground and just pick on her and not let her move. She didn't seem like she was having fun then.
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May 31, 2019 00:36
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Can we talk about dogs greeting us when we get home? Every day she stares out the window until I get home then runs to the door. I open the door, she sees me and runs and jumps into bed and rolls on her back demanding belly rubs. It's amazing and perfect and I love dogs.
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May 31, 2019 01:42
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Ha, mine runs around like a nut and then STOMPS on my feet. She is only 35 pounds but it hurts. She somehow decided "sit" isn't good enough when she really wants something, so she lays down instead. She is so full of it when I get home that she doesn't just lay down, she slams herself down on the ground, including front paws, and they often hit my feet. It is cute though. And it reminds me that I (mostly) successfully taught her not to jump on people, so there's that.
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May 31, 2019 02:44
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Besides being insanely excited and jumping (which we're working on) our pups greeting is to try to get between your legs so you can scratch his butt. He then curls his head around to stare at you while you do it. It's amazing and I love it.
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May 31, 2019 04:55
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Mine patiently waits in her bed for belly rubs...or occasionally appears grumpy because I woke her up. She's also a Great Dane.
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May 31, 2019 07:21
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My greyhound runs around with his tail whipping everything around him, sort of doing these little hops in the air, like he'd half like to jump up you, but doesn't because he does just about know he's a full size hound and would bowl you over. He also grins and makes a lot of excited huffs and goes in circles. My Silken Windhound usually runs at you full speed and tries to plant her front paws in your crotch. This has earned her the nickname Crotch Goblin. She does this because she wants you to catch her paws and let her sniff your face and give her some loves, but if you don't put your hands down in time, she's going to go for full on crotch agony. She too grins like a fiend, but makes no noise.
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May 31, 2019 11:53
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Went through the OP and wanted to try and get a few opinions. Wife and I are dual income, no kids, live <15 mins from work. Large house with lots of area, rural neighborhood, fencing outside not an option but we both are active and have very flexible schedules that allow for a lot of activity etc (both college professors). We both grew up with dogs but this would be our 1st dog as an adult. We have 3 cats that have been exposed to dogs on a regular basis (neighbors and friends who visit with their dog). Cats have separate areas to chill out in (cat doors separate a few rooms) with food and litterboxes separate if need be so we're not worried about stressing them out. Financially and time / activity commitment-wise we feel we are in a very good place to have a dog. Our main priority is 1st to get a dog that will not try to harm the cats. Everything else is secondary to that. We'd prefer an older more sedate dog as 1st time owners as well but are open to more. We live in New England so heat isn't a huge issue but winter walking etc might be for a few months. We went to a local shelter that is well staffed / funded and looked at a few of the dogs. They had one dog that we both liked. He's a 10 yr old lab / rotweiller mix, #120 dog. He was surrendered from an elderly owner who was going into assisted living. He's a bit bigger than we were expecting, but we have the space. He was very relaxed with us and the shelter folks claim he socializes very well with the other dogs when they've put them together and he generally just ignores the cats / doesn't exhibit a strong prey drive. He was very responsive with us when we were placed alone with him in a large play area and knew his basic commands / seemed generally submissive and alert. The downsides were: his hip displasia is fairly pronounced. He would have a hard time going up flights of stairs on the regular and if we adopted he would likely just live on the ground floor (where this ample room for bedding and doesn't interfere with the cats areas they can run to). We both know that a dog this old of this size with these problems isn't going to last terribly long. We're OK with that as long as it isn't an immediate hospice situation, ie we bring him home and keep him comfortable and have to put him down in 6 months or less. Today we are meeting with the vet who has been treating him at the shelter to go over his condition and to see what a more long term prognosis would be like. We're interested to see if they think his condition would improve or at least be more stable in a comfortable home with regular diet, medication and appropriate exercise. We know this would take on more financial burden with an older less healthy dog and are good there. We've had a few special needs cats throughout the years etc so there shouldn't be much sticker shock. I guess what I am looking for is are there any big warnings here that we are not thinking of? Or are there any specifics we should press the vet on to find out more about before considering going forward? We both like the demeanor of the dog in our limited interaction and would adopt him if we were confident he would be comfortable with us for at least a year or more.
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May 31, 2019 14:42
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It sounds like you are good people and have really thought this out. I hope it works out. Did you already meet with the vet?
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Jun 1, 2019 00:23
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GoodBee posted:It sounds like you are good people and have really thought this out. I hope it works out. Thanks! We definitely are not the type to rush into anything and are fortunately doing good financially so we can handle some unexpecteds with health and all. Plus have had a lot of other pets (rats and/or cats) for most of our adult lives. Seems like giving an older guy a good home for a while might be a better way to start off with a dog for our situation. We met with the vet a couple hours ago, they basically said that life expectancy for the type of dog wasn't more than 2-3 more years even without unexpected underlying conditions. They were quite happy with the dogs health stability in the 5 weeks it's been in the shelter though and said that they wouldn't expect the hips to rapidly decline but couldn't (understandably) promise there weren't more lurking issues in a dog as old as it is. They seemed to think that with good diet, exercise and a comfortable bed and living area that he'd do well for a good while. The shelter is going to run the dog by the cats at the facility tomorrow and evaluate it and if that goes well we will almost certainly get the dog within a few days.
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Jun 1, 2019 01:00
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That Works posted:They seemed to think that with good diet, exercise and a comfortable bed and living area that he'd do well for a good while. The shelter is going to run the dog by the cats at the facility tomorrow and evaluate it and if that goes well we will almost certainly get the dog within a few days. That sounds like great news! I hope he doesn't care about cats.
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Jun 1, 2019 01:29
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So Teddi has been running into a recurring case of Giardia. He got it once when he arrived, and we made the assumption he was already infected by it when his breeder handed him over, but now I'm not so sure? My vet is putting him on another anti-parasite for it, but in the long term is this going to be something his immune system eventually builds up a resistance against as he grows older?
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Jun 4, 2019 12:42
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MadFriarAvelyn posted:So Teddi has been running into a recurring case of Giardia. He got it once when he arrived, and we made the assumption he was already infected by it when his breeder handed him over, but now I'm not so sure? My vet is putting him on another anti-parasite for it, but in the long term is this going to be something his immune system eventually builds up a resistance against as he grows older? Nope. Giardia is a bitch and it sucks. Outs super easy to get and hard to get rid of. It can live in the yard for months and can be contacted by sniffing, licking or eating. You should take extra care to clean your dog while you're trying to greet rid of it. Keep him away from public areas where it might be spread easily like dog parks, and be extra clean about the poop situation. If he goes in your yard, you might want to treat the spot with some diluted bleach. Also, wash any blankets or bedding often. Good luck. My dog seemed like he had it on and off for 2 years. It was terrible.
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Jun 4, 2019 15:40
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Plate posted:My Silken Windhound usually runs at you full speed and tries to plant her front paws in your crotch. This has earned her the nickname Crotch Goblin. She does this because she wants you to catch her paws and let her sniff your face and give her some loves, but if you don't put your hands down in time, she's going to go for full on crotch agony. She too grins like a fiend, but makes no noise. This is unrelated, but can you tell me about Silken Windhounds? Specifically how they'd be for a first time dog owner? I have a couple of friends who haven't ever had a dog (other than as kids, which doesn't really count) and they really want to get a puppy direct from a breeder. They have their hearts set on a pug, which is really not a good idea for them for various reasons, but they saw a Windhound the other day and are now seriously considering tracking down a breeder, but haven't heard much about how they are as puppies or whether they'd be a good breed for a novice owner.
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Jun 4, 2019 18:12
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What about just a greyhound? They are like, the easiest dog. They generally don't come as puppies though.
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Jun 4, 2019 18:18
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bamhand posted:What about just a greyhound? They are like, the easiest dog. They generally don't come as puppies though. One of them is in love with the idea of owning a pug but I think it's actually a bad fit, I told them based on what they like in dogs, they actually probably want a greyhound or whippet or something like that. I think they started reading up on sighthounds and saw the windhound and really liked the way they look. I'd agree that a greyhound is kind of perfect for them, and honestly if they can find a youngish rescue with a good temperament, that would be even more perfect. They are a little wary about raising a puppy for their first go-around.
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Jun 4, 2019 18:24
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Verman posted:Nope. Giardia is a bitch and it sucks. Outs super easy to get and hard to get rid of. This worries me a bit. New guy we got in September had it. He was picked up as a stray and the vet wasn't surprised. We got him on a Sunday, I think, and had his new dog check up with our vet the next Saturday. We treated him and picked up after him in the yard while he was being treated. We also had the girls tested and they tested negative. We didn't treat the yard. I've got his six month check up after his heartworm treatment coming up so I'll get him a poop test again. That Works posted:The shelter is going to run the dog by the cats at the facility tomorrow and evaluate it and if that goes well we will almost certainly get the dog within a few days. How did the cat test go? Are you / did you bring him home? I'm interested in hearing about senior dog adoptions. Apparently dogs over 5 years old are generally considered seniors and I'm thinking that's who I want to adopt in the future.
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Jun 5, 2019 00:46
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GoodBee posted:
Hey thanks, it went really good.   He's old and has some hip problems and a chronic dry eye that needs drops and a rinse / wipe down twice a day. We took him to our vet this morning for a more thorough exam and some blood / urine tests. Vet liked his overall condition and said his hip displasia was actually not too severe but his back was definitely out of sorts on the xray and his difficulty with stairs etc was more due to that. He gets around alright but does have to get up and down slowly. We should know tomorrow or day after about the blood and also two samples they took of some potential tumor like tissues. There's potential for some of that to be quite bad but we are optimistic. The simple reality is that we're just going to be managing his care no matter what at this point so trying to keep in that mindset is imo important. If it all comes out fine then he's got a few years. It's a bit of money going in compared to a young healthy dog but he's definitely very sedate and chill vs younger dogs also. We're trying to work him out a bit more little by little in hopes that it improves his condition since he was only getting minimal movement and exercise at the shelter.
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Jun 5, 2019 01:03
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That Works posted:Hey thanks, it went really good. Thanks for the update! Those cats look a little curious but he doesn't seem to care. What did the vet say about his weight? He doesn't look super overweight but maybe a little heavy. I've got narrow dogs and I'm I'm used to people with fat dogs saying mine are too skinny. I defer to my vet and I hope other people do so too. Even young healthy dogs require medical care. Heartworm prevention isn't super cheap. I'm in a heartworm prevalent area so I've done fast kill treatments on two out of three of my dogs and that adds up. Bigger dogs are more expensive in general since they need more food and medicine is more expensive. It sounds like he had pretty good care prior to his surrender, which is pretty awesome. On the plus side, since he's so big and doesn't seem inclined to jump over the barriers, your cats should have an easy time moving around the house if they want. My little dog is a 25lb terrier but she's pretty narrow so she could wriggle under the cat door before I lowered it a bit. Now it's more of a chore for the cats. It sounds good and post more updates!
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Jun 5, 2019 02:26
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GoodBee posted:Thanks for the update! All good with the cats so far. He doesn't seem to challenge the gates and they are high enough the cats can come and go easily to interact on their own terms. After a week or two we'll start letting him have free run of the entire floor once the cats aren't as spooked. One of them in particular is still quite scared if the dog so much as shakes his head in her presence. The shelter vet was comfortable with his weight, said he had a "pendulous abdomen" and it was not due to gas or fluid and said it was just a thing with Rotweiller / mixes sometimes and wasn't too troubled. He was #120 at the shelter on Saturday and #117 at the vet yesterday. He hasn't been eating tons with us but does eat regularly just not much volume. We figure it could be him still getting used to everything. Our vet said his weight could come down and we should probably shoot for that. She didn't give final weight or diet recommendations yet, we are waiting for his blood and urine test data to come back sometime today then consult with them about all of that. He does look a little tubby, but you can also see the Rotweiller influence there some and he is built more like a large rectangle instead of the more labrador lines. He's having a much harder time moving today / sleeping a lot more. I am guessing the car rides and vet visit might have gotten him pretty sore and he's just recovering. We bought him an orthopedic bed and he seemed to take right to it yesterday but he has a very hard time getting out of it it seems. Not sure how to address that yet.
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Jun 5, 2019 13:41
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That Works posted:He's having a much harder time moving today / sleeping a lot more. I am guessing the car rides and vet visit might have gotten him pretty sore and he's just recovering. We bought him an orthopedic bed and he seemed to take right to it yesterday but he has a very hard time getting out of it it seems. Not sure how to address that yet. The rest sounds pretty good, like everyone is adjusting to each other. How's he been feeling since? One of my dogs doesn't care too much for car rides. I think she gets a little carsick. It probably didn't help that on the day I adopted her the shelter workers fed her a whole days worth of food while I was filling out the adoption paperwork and barfed all over my car on the way home. She hasn't been sick in the car since and she's been getting better about getting in the car. I make sure she eats at least an hour before we go anywhere. My dumb story today is about my 50 lb wire haired terrier mix. He decided last night that he really wanted to sleep with me and how he went about it was to wiggle under my head, turn himself into a pillow, rest his head on my shoulder and start snoring like a mad man. It was incredibly weird and cute.
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Jun 8, 2019 22:06
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GoodBee posted:The rest sounds pretty good, like everyone is adjusting to each other. How's he been feeling since? He's been good. Vet visit was productive. She suspects Cushings disease for his big abdomen and a couple other symptoms. In a week or so they want to do an ultrasound to check out the adrenal glands. Otherwise they found no real problems. His hips actually aren't that bad, it's his back that is giving more problems. He's taken to the orthopedic bed well and has been more active. He's getting used to the food we give him. It's obvious that his last owners fed him off their plate more or less. He really won't touch his food until we are done eating and the dishes are put away. The entire time he just looks at us like the saddest dog in the world. No issues with his bloodwork etc so other than him having some likely arthritis in his back he's in very good health (other than Cushings if he has that) for his age. The terrier story is adorable. Ours is starting to bond to us more and nuzzle us / get very excited when we come in and out etc. Starting to see more of his personality now and he's a sweetie.
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Jun 8, 2019 22:45
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I took Pavlov to the beach today.
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Jun 8, 2019 23:06
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That Works posted:His hips actually aren't that bad, it's his back that is giving more problems. He's taken to the orthopedic bed well and has been more active. Just a thought, can you make a platform to put his mattress on so it’s about at chest level for him? That might be less strain on his back than going all the way to the floor and back up again.
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Jun 14, 2019 04:03
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Joburg posted:Just a thought, can you make a platform to put his mattress on so it’s about at chest level for him? That might be less strain on his back than going all the way to the floor and back up again. I was seeing that other people have done platforms. I actually have a woodshop in the basement etc so building one of these would be trivial for me. Is chest height really the ideal? He's quite tall / long legged. I hadn't started building one yet because I wasn't sure what would be an optimum height for him there.
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Jun 14, 2019 12:49
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Cross-posting from the dog thread: Before and after we spent 200$:   He is so doped he walked into my leg, and wobbled in the car the whole way home. But he's now asleep in his bed and it's all over
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Jun 14, 2019 20:05
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Oh man that sucks. My childhood dog got into a porcupine when we were bird hunting once and it wasn't good. My step dad got 2 quills out with pliers before we gave up and drove to the vet. My dog now hasn't seen a porcupine yet thankfully but he did nose boop a cactus that a neighbor has right up against the sidewalk. He was really uncomfortable but I managed to get them out right then and there.
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Jun 14, 2019 20:18
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'Pines are the one kill on sight rodent whenever at a family cabin
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Jun 14, 2019 20:21
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That Works posted:I was seeing that other people have done platforms. I actually have a woodshop in the basement etc so building one of these would be trivial for me. My long legged Great Dane Poodle (who got into porcupine last year and got 60+ quills  ) can sort of glide on to and off of our couch that is about mid chest on her. A few inches lower would be easy too. Maybe aim for lower chest?
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Jun 14, 2019 21:04
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 Apollo is back to being himself and woke me up just so we could go patrol the tulips and investigate the garage and get the paper and... His snout is a little swollen, but I haven't gotten a good look at it yet because he's been so busy motoring around. He is ready for another porcupine, and will take it on! Yes! e: - he has run around a lot - barked at the front door - tried to drag me back out behind the barn - perked up for breakfast - very carefully extracted his pills from breakfast and set them on the floor - ate his pills once they were covered in peanut butter - is now cleaning the floor of dropped pb - the swelling has gone down a lot and he's basically normal StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 11:14 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 15, 2019 10:40
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Re: porcupines Keep checking his nose for quills. Noodle had quills migrating out for months after. Though she did give the porcupine a good chomp so she had quills inside her mouth as well. I think the latest we found one was 5 months after The Quilling. I doubt she learned anything.
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Jun 15, 2019 14:39
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So excuse any rambling or typos, I might be a little tipsy. But do y’all know of a good harness that isn’t ridiculously expensive for my 5 mo old puppy? He chewed through the last one, although we went a little cheap on that assuming he would grow out of it. Also, what are the merits of a training collar? I’m morally opposed to them but my boyfriend thinks it might be a worthwhile venture. I’m trying to be open minded.
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Jun 17, 2019 04:16
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