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Is it possible to train a bloodhound to be obedient off a leash? Also, hypothetically, if I were to get a bloodhound, if I take him out every day (yes, I do have time to do this), is an apartment an okay living environment space-wise? I know they like room to run, and the apartment I live at is pet-friendly. I'm talking space-wise, not noise-wise. I'm more interested in how possible it is to take a bloodhound on a camping or canoe trip without keeping him on a leash every minute.
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Jul 15, 2010 22:01
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Opera Bitch posted:My question is not about pet ownership, but an issue that recently popped up between myself and my mom/aunt. 
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Jul 15, 2010 23:26
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Rand McNally posted:My 19-year-old Siamese, Sasha, woke up at 4am this morning and began to urinate on my bed. Since then, she has also twice thrown up and defecated. The peeing is somewhat common (she tends to pee on the bed once a night), but this time there was blood mixed in. This happened in September; the vet took a blood test and prescribed her Noroclav. At this point we were told she had a week to live.. 9 months ago. Now she is back on the Noroclav; I called the vet this morning and picked up another months' worth (however, I didn't take her in). I don't know how long to wait to take her into the vet because I'm not totally sure how long this stuff takes to kick in. Apparently the side effects are lethargy; she's been sleeping since I gave her the pill but it could be totally unrelated. Go to the vet. Cats peeing in strange places is one of the biggest signs of illness, and with the vomiting and defecating as well, your cat is very likely sick. It could be something easy to treat, so don't put it off and let your cat suffer just because you're worried that it will be expensive or you'll have to euthanize her. Most vets aren't going to give you the "well she's old" diagnosis and will find a way to treat the problem before resorting to euthanasia. Take your kitty to the vet. At least find out what the problem is and then decide where to go from there.
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Jul 16, 2010 00:01
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My cat loves the heck out of running water, and I have a Petmate powered fountain (the kind you can get at Walmart) but it sometimes overflows out the top and is therefore a pain in the rear end. Can anyone recommend a good automatic fountain?
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Jul 16, 2010 00:56
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We have a dog (Labrador) that has been sick and yesterday she had surgery, I didn't go to the vet (I was at work) but I think she has/had cancer and they removed her ovaries. She has been resting in front of our fireplace since last night after her surgery, she isn't being any trouble just lying down. I was wondering if there is any sort of food that I can give her as a treat? I am scared of giving her the wrong thing and making her sick. I was thinking mince meat or chicken breast? Will she like it better raw or cooked? If there is a better option or if those are bad ideas please let me know.
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Jul 16, 2010 02:33
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Opera Bitch posted:[Mom doesn't understand allergies...] Maybe you could board the dog in a kennel in your town, instead of wherever your parents live? Then she could visit the dog throughout the day, but it won't have to stay with you? Or just get her a motel room that takes pets!
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Jul 16, 2010 03:17
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anachrodragon posted:Is it typical for your mom to be inconsiderate to your husband? Because it sounds like she's trying to take a poo poo in the middle of his (your) new home. Unfortunately yes, but that would take an entirly too long thread to discuss. As for everyone calling my mom a jerk, you are all completely right. I guess I'm just angry because I've already been firm with her and gave a her a solid NO, but her selfishness is hard to get through sometimes. In addition, it is not even an issue of her having no place to put him: her boyfriend and her brother could care for the dog for the few days she'd be gone. When I call to give her the party date I'll tell her once more that the dog is NOT allowed. If she comes with the dog anyways I will have a list of places that house pets, or motels that allow animals and tell her to take the dog there or go home. Thanks for the input!
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Jul 16, 2010 03:40
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moist towelette posted:We have a dog (Labrador) that has been sick and yesterday she had surgery, I didn't go to the vet (I was at work) but I think she has/had cancer and they removed her ovaries. She has been resting in front of our fireplace since last night after her surgery, she isn't being any trouble just lying down. She likely had ovarian cancer. Please always fix your female doggies in the future, ovarian cancer is extremely preventable, you could have lost her. An often recommended neutral food is plain boiled chicken and rice. Or you can just give her pieces of the boiled chicken with her regular food.Opera Bitch: That sounds like the best possible thing you can do, good luck. 
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Jul 16, 2010 03:43
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I was thinking of getting a yellow bellied turtle for my girlfriend for her birthday, but after going to the local Petsland, the total I estimated would be around $250, which is more money than I have right now. Are there any cheaper places to purchase the tank, light, fixture, the island, gravel, or anything else that they would need?
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Jul 16, 2010 03:56
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The Sock posted:I was thinking of getting a yellow bellied turtle for my girlfriend for her birthday, but after going to the local Petsland, the total I estimated would be around $250, which is more money than I have right now. (Please never give a living creature, especially a long lived animal as a gift)
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Jul 16, 2010 03:59
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Meow Cadet posted:Ahhh, the gift that keeps on giving. What girl wouldn't want a 30-40 year burden as a gift! I probably should have mentioned she has expressed interest in owning one before. Maybe its not the best gift idea though...
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Jul 16, 2010 04:42
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Why don't you jut give her some turtle supplies, and let her buy herself a turtle when she's ready?
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Jul 16, 2010 04:50
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I was planning on getting the supplies and getting a 30 dollar gift card to pick out her own turtle... I was just wondering if there were any cheaper places to purchase any of the supplies? Twenty dollars for a bag of gravel seems a bit excessive.
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Jul 16, 2010 05:29
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The Sock posted:I was planning on getting the supplies and getting a 30 dollar gift card to pick out her own turtle... No offense, but if $20 bucks for substrate seems expensive, you and your girlfriend might not be ready for pet ownership. Maybe you can take her on a trip to the fanciest Zoo in a 4 hour radius instead? (exotic vets, for turtles, yes turtles need veterinary care, is not cheap) I mean, I want a horse. But I sure don't want to pay for a horse's monthly care.
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Jul 16, 2010 05:56
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Meow Cadet posted:No offense, but if $20 bucks for substrate seems expensive, you and your girlfriend might not be ready for pet ownership. Maybe you can take her on a trip to the fanciest Zoo in a 4 hour radius instead? (exotic vets, for turtles, yes turtles need veterinary care, is not cheap) This times a million. I picked up a red eared slider years ago for $8, not knowing what I had just signed up for. I've easily spent over $1,000. Probably double that, on food, lamps, treats, heating elements, and the multiple tanks I've bought as he's grown.
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Jul 16, 2010 06:48
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The Sock posted:I was thinking of getting a yellow bellied turtle for my girlfriend for her birthday, but after going to the local Petsland, the total I estimated would be around $250, which is more money than I have right now. If you mean Petland, please do not shop there. They have a huge animal cruelty record. Also Nthing the don't buy a pet as a gift/if you're worried about money. My advice would be to get her a toy turtle, and then if she's the big-hearted type, see if a nearby zoo or rescue (are there turtle rescues? I would imagine so) has a sponsorship program and sponsor a turtle for her. Where I come from, you can do that for around $25, and that way it can be "her turtle", which you can maybe take her to visit, but someone else can actually care for it.
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Jul 16, 2010 14:30
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ArmadilloConspiracy posted:If you mean Petland, please do not shop there. They have a huge animal cruelty record.  My local one even puts a little plaque on the cage with your name. 2nding don't buy anything from Petland, they are the worst and need absolutely no more money.
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Jul 16, 2010 15:52
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miseerin posted:Is it possible to train a bloodhound to be obedient off a leash? Also, hypothetically, if I were to get a bloodhound, if I take him out every day (yes, I do have time to do this), is an apartment an okay living environment space-wise? I know they like room to run, and the apartment I live at is pet-friendly. I'm talking space-wise, not noise-wise. Since no one else has answered, I'll give you my experience with a basset hound. I was just a kid, but my parents are pretty animal-savvy and worked long and hard to get her obedient off-leash, and it was sketchy at best. She'd do really well until she caught a particularly interesting scent and then, well... She was never really allowed off leash but the training was because she was good at slipping collars. Eventually we found a place where we could get harnesses (remember this was before internet and we lived in a pretty rural area) and they gave up on the training. I know people who hunt with bassets and it's sort of the same thing. Obviously the dogs are off-leash in that situation but the goal of course is for them to find a scent and take off. As a hiking buddy, I don't think it's a good idea to let them off leash. I don't have any direct experience with bloodhounds but I've been told the breeds are quite similar. Hounds in general don't seem to be good off-leash buddies unless you're actually hunting (or doing some sort of tracking work) with them, at least in my experience.
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Jul 16, 2010 16:02
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2tomorrow posted:I don't have any direct experience with bloodhounds but I've been told the breeds are quite similar. Hounds in general don't seem to be good off-leash buddies unless you're actually hunting (or doing some sort of tracking work) with them, at least in my experience. I know of someone who persists in letting his beagle off-leash while hiking, and inevitably has to budget in an extra three hours to find the dog, leaving it behind once and getting him back after another group found him. Apparently it's his wife's dog and he's none too fond.
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Jul 16, 2010 17:03
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2tomorrow posted:Since no one else has answered, I'll give you my experience with a basset hound. I was just a kid, but my parents are pretty animal-savvy and worked long and hard to get her obedient off-leash, and it was sketchy at best. She'd do really well until she caught a particularly interesting scent and then, well... She was never really allowed off leash but the training was because she was good at slipping collars. Eventually we found a place where we could get harnesses (remember this was before internet and we lived in a pretty rural area) and they gave up on the training. Thank you for your answer, I was eager to get one over the past day. (: After I posted the question, I did some extensive research and found that only about a third of Internet bloodhound owners have  successfully trained their hound off the leash.I think this is one of those situations where something I think would be a make it or break it requirement of a hound is, in reality, not so terrible of a thing. In my head, I go camping and hiking all the time. In reality, there's just not enough places around where I live to really go all the time. In my head, I would love to be able to have a dog off the leash while I take walks around the block. In reality, I just found out there's a leash law in my town anyways. So when I stumbled across this scenario, I thought a bloodhound would be the wrong dog for me. But I thought about it some more, and this is just a small hiccup. There's a dog park within walking distance, and I'm sure a hypothetical bloodhound would be more than happy with a little leash time in exchange for a lot of dog park and backyard time (: Besides, surrounding towns are a little sketchy, so maybe his services as a drug dog could come in handy. (: Sorry for the slight e/n, I tried to keep it on topic as much as I could. e: about the Beagle ^ ^ ^ That's terrible. My aunt will do the same thing to her two english springers, but that's because she lives in the Washington farmland by the mountains and owns a lot of the land, so it's not like she's leaving them behind. Plus, they rather enjoy camping out some nights. They feel important, and it's kinda cute to watch them guard the farm. 
miseerin fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Jul 16, 2010 |
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Jul 16, 2010 17:11
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Speaking of your hypothetical dog being a drug dog, we started a nosework class with our dogs this week. It was a lot of fun and they both enjoyed it. I've never much talk about classes like that here so I might make a thread on it in the next few days.
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Jul 16, 2010 17:31
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Meow Cadet posted:No offense, but if $20 bucks for substrate seems expensive, you and your girlfriend might not be ready for pet ownership. Maybe you can take her on a trip to the fanciest Zoo in a 4 hour radius instead? (exotic vets, for turtles, yes turtles need veterinary care, is not cheap) I was saying that I didn't think a bag of rocks should cost around 20 dollars... I was just doing research in the price range to see if it was a viable gift, but they are were more expenses than I thought. Not going to get the turtle. I'll check into the sponsorship program, that sounds like a really cool idea! Thanks!
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Jul 16, 2010 18:32
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One more lost dog question: right now we've been all over the radius he could have covered and that he's been spotted in, and the vast majority of it is suburban with a lot of houses. He has tags, but I'm starting to think somebody must have found him, took him in, and just ignored the contact info. It's been two days and three nights, and even after the optimism boost from the roofers seeing him near a bunch of houses about 17 hours after he was lost, I'm starting to get really worried again. So far I've been telling myself to be optimistic as long as no dead body shows up, just because he has to be somewhere nearby. Is this a good idea, or stupid? There was a light rain yesterday morning, so there should have been plenty of water for him to drink in the dishes or whatever you call them under flowerpots and other cupped areas. He's an adorable little dude and I'm pretty sure if he begged somebody for food, they'd give it to him. 
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Jul 16, 2010 22:20
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rivals posted:Speaking of your hypothetical dog being a drug dog, we started a nosework class with our dogs this week. It was a lot of fun and they both enjoyed it. I've never much talk about classes like that here so I might make a thread on it in the next few days. Oooh, please do! I want to eventually get a dog to do search and rescue with, so anything with teaching scent trailing would be awesome.
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Jul 16, 2010 22:27
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rivals posted:Speaking of your hypothetical dog being a drug dog, we started a nosework class with our dogs this week. It was a lot of fun and they both enjoyed it. I've never much talk about classes like that here so I might make a thread on it in the next few days. I hear that a half hour doing nosework can be equal to a multi-hour walk. It keeps their minds active, and they're super concentrated on their work. Good luck with it. If nothing else, it'll be awesome for cold or rainy days.
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Jul 17, 2010 05:39
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Do any of the rescue organizations in the US adopt abroad? I'm toying with the idea of getting a bc or a malinois as my next dog, but I'd rather rescue than go to a breeder. I'm very active with my dogs and very committed to them and I think I'd be able to give a great home to a dog which has been given away e.g. because his first family couldn't cope with his needs. However there's no pet overpopulation problem around here, so not that much in the way of rescues. I travel lots with work and volunteer work, so I could easily visit the rescue and then travel home with the dog, but home visits and such are of course out of the question.
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Jul 17, 2010 08:03
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Cat people: what do you use for a hairball supplement? My long hair is hacking up one every few days because it's been so hot this summer and he is shedding. I've been brushing him nightly but thinking maybe we might need to try something else. Any suggestions on what works best? Edit: called the vet and he recommended to try Laxatone. Guess I will order it and see how it goes. Pragmatica fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Jul 17, 2010 |
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Jul 17, 2010 21:28
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Pragmatica posted:Cat people: what do you use for a hairball supplement? My long hair is hacking up one every few days because it's been so hot this summer and he is shedding. I've been brushing him nightly but thinking maybe we might need to try something else. Any suggestions on what works best? lion cut lion cut 
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Jul 17, 2010 22:07
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Kerfuffle posted:lion cut lion cut NO WAY! I won't do that. He is way too cute with his fluffy fur!
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Jul 17, 2010 22:26
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Does anyone have any recommendations for canine cooling vests? My pup is 35-40 lbs and black with medium length hair -- I don't have a current chest measurement for her. She gets pretty hot in the summer and on the hottest days we're unable to venture very far. Does anyone have any experience with cooling vests? Have any recommendations or links? Or better yet, Canadian links, 'cause shipping is a bitch.
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Jul 17, 2010 22:28
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My pug absolutely loves going for walks in the hills around where we are staying right now. Trouble is it's over 100° during the day, doesn't get cool until well after dark and there have been mountain lion sightings around some of our other locations. What kind of exercise can I give him indoors that will keep him satisfied? Keep in mind the trailer house we are living in is only 14'x40'
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Jul 18, 2010 03:01
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ch3cooh posted:My pug absolutely loves going for walks in the hills around where we are staying right now. Trouble is it's over 100° during the day, doesn't get cool until well after dark and there have been mountain lion sightings around some of our other locations. What kind of exercise can I give him indoors that will keep him satisfied? Keep in mind the trailer house we are living in is only 14'x40' Bubbles and laser pointers. My dad's golden goes nuts for them.
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Jul 18, 2010 03:19
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ch3cooh posted:My pug absolutely loves going for walks in the hills around where we are staying right now. Trouble is it's over 100° during the day, doesn't get cool until well after dark and there have been mountain lion sightings around some of our other locations. What kind of exercise can I give him indoors that will keep him satisfied? Keep in mind the trailer house we are living in is only 14'x40' Just drape one of those neoprene sports injury icepacks over him and he'll be fine 
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Jul 18, 2010 03:20
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My cat has a tiny bump on each of his front legs, about 5 cm from the residual pad and above the "wrist" joint. The bumps have a few longer hairs growing out of them. What is this bump? Googling only gave me results regarding the extra pad or "dewclaw" or whatever. I assume it's some sort of gland, but I'd like to know what it does.
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Jul 18, 2010 12:12
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Don't Ask posted:My cat has a tiny bump on each of his front legs, about 5 cm from the residual pad and above the "wrist" joint. The bumps have a few longer hairs growing out of them. I can't wait for a cat to wander near so I can molest their wrists, looking for little bumps.
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Jul 18, 2010 16:43
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any way to keep cats off certain rugs or at least to not try to use it as a scratching spot? We have a small rug that was pretty expensive (was a gift) but the cat likes to sleep on it (not really a problem) and scratch at it (much bigger problem). Kinda sucks as we'd like to be able to leave it out. i'm guessing there's really no good way, but thought I'd check if there are any products that work well to repel cats
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Jul 18, 2010 18:12
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My boyfriends 12 year old lhasa apso has apparently stopped eating. The dog is staying with his mom and she's out of town for the weekend so the dad is stopping by to walk the dog, etc. Anyway, apparently his food bowl and even water bowl are still full. I haven't seen the dog but apparently he's lost some weight. He has hypothyroidism that's being treated and an autoimmune disorder that's been attacking his corneas, which is also being treated. Is this a case of depression/separation anxiety since he's spending most of his day alone or is this something that could be more serious and requires a vet visit ASAP?
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Jul 18, 2010 18:40
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I have a question for fish people, please! Someone asked me a question about needle felting, and then mentioned a desire to put what they were going to create in a fish tank. Ignoring the possible/probable deterioration of the needle felted figure, I'm worried about the fish. Are the fish likely to mouth around the wool fibers? Or eat them? It could be sheep, camel, rabbit or goat hair. There's a possibility of grease remnants in the wool, or the detergent used to clean it. Or dyes. Is this something the tank can learn to work into it's system and live with, or is it just a Really Bad Idea all over? I wish I could give particulars about the wool, and about the type of fish she might have, but I don't know. The lady asking me is a grown woman, so I assume she knows how to take care of her tank and keep it clean. I'm just overly worried about a perfect stranger's fish, and wondering if there is anything I should mention to them? I don't know a whole lot about an aquarium, so being given information or being told to stop worrying about some fish would be helpful either way.
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Jul 18, 2010 19:05
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What do you do with a cat who changes moods very quickly, or any guides on reading cat behaviour? For example, my cat was just being very affectionate, climbed into my lap while I was browsing, etc. He was very happy to be cuddling, but he's a bit big for my lap, so he had to shift around a little and it annoyed him, some part of him would be always be sticking off uncomfortably. I tried cradling his legs a little so he wouldn't be hanging off, but he hates having his feet/legs touched so he got even more annoyed. It was sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation - if I touched him to try and support him, he hated it, if I didn't touch him, he got annoyed that his butt was hanging off and bugged me. The only solution I could figure out was to simply end the situation, so I decided to get up, and gently placed him on the ground. That was apparently the final straw, as he swatted meanly at me a few times before running off. A couple minutes later, he gave me a good, hard bite on the hands. He's been doing stuff like this a lot lately, and I can't figure it out. I leave him alone and let him dictate when he wants to come to me, but when he does he always ends up annoyed because I'm not doing something right, but I'm not sure what he wants. He does this both to myself and my boyfriend - he's perfectly happy one moment, purring even, and then the next he turns violent. We're trying to identify triggers and work with his behaviour to accomodate his moods, but it's tough. StrangersInTheNight fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jul 18, 2010 |
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Jul 18, 2010 21:26
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My housemate has a border collie, who is generally lovely, if a bit barky and rather dumb for such an intelligent breed. However, since I bought a new bed that he can fit underneath, he seems to think that it is his den and likes to sleep under there. Short of keeping my door shut ALL the time - he happily sneaks under there when I'm in the room - is there an easy way to stop him doing it? He's 8 years old and pretty set in his ways (he thinks he is an upstairs dog, we've spent the last year trying to teach him that he's not), so retraining him might not be easy. The main problem is that I've been woken up a few times now by my housemate calling him for a walk in the morning and him emerging from under my bed and scratching at my bedroom door. Is there anything I can do/change rather than spend a few minutes coaxing him out every evening?
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Jul 18, 2010 23:01
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