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Phallacracy posted:I have a couple of large-ish cats that will need to go on a six hour road trip soon, neither of whom travel well. I figured I could take them to the vet and get some drugs to zonk them out for the duration of the trip. When I called the vet to schedule an appointment, the vet recommended I try giving them half a Benadryl which he said should be enough to put them out the entire time. I called a couple other vets about the Benadryl thing just to make sure my vet hadn't told me to do something that would kill my cats and it turns out his advice was legit. Related to this-I just had to drive my cat back from Louisiana and will be driving him back again when we move in a week or so (long story) and he was so stressed that he was panting and the bottoms of his feet were sweaty. Is that dangerous, or just him being stressed? It freaked me out a little, I didn't want him keeling over of a kitty heart attack or something.  I actually broke the cardinal rule and took him out of his carrier for a little bit to sit in my lap until he calmed down a bit. I know you're not supposed to do that but I was worried half to death. He didn't yowl much, maybe 3 or 4 times and then started in on the panting and sweating. I don't want to drug him if I don't have to but I don't want him to...hurt himself through stress or something either.
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Aug 20, 2010 06:35
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edit: Wrong thread, sorry. I did mean to ask about sleep-talking parrots though. I've had my new conure about a week and she's just started chattering at night when I put her to sleep. Some of it is pretty obvious mimicking, but she only does it while she's asleep or mostly asleep. Has anyone else seen this? Is she practicing, or is it normal for birds to talk in their sleep? She doesn't make the same sounds during the day and I'd really like to reinforce some of it but obviously I don't want to wake her up at like 3 in the morning to do so. TheFlyingDharma fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Aug 20, 2010 |
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Aug 20, 2010 10:10
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bleed3r posted:So is there an updated cartography mod with the shaded abyssea maps floating around somewhere or does everyone just use overlays these days? I do not think you are in the right thread, sir.
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Aug 20, 2010 15:21
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This has probably come up but I can't remember where I saw it... What vacuums, besides expensive Dyson's, do people like for cleaning up pet hair?
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Aug 20, 2010 16:08
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Just in case some people don't read Coupons, Furminators are on sale for $12.
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Aug 20, 2010 16:50
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Levitate posted:This has probably come up but I can't remember where I saw it... Bissel has been recommended. I gotta say though, with a greyhound and 2 cats, my ProActive (argos brand in the uk) has done just fine. I also have a little dirt devil that vacuums the hell out of the furniture, but it gets hot after about 5 minutes of use and ticks off til it cools.
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Aug 20, 2010 18:25
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I would like to adopt a dog preferably one that is a little older,however I would like to know what are some warning signs to look for in a older dog that may indicate serious health problems?
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Aug 21, 2010 06:09
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Most public shelters I have dealt with provide a voucher for a free or low-cost vet visit within a certain time frame of adoption, usually 3-7 days. This would be your best bet for looking for health problems. Even if they don't provide a voucher, it's a good idea to get a vet check and any reputable shelter will take an animal back if there is something wrong with it. Any decent shelter is not going to adopt a dog out if it has serious, obvious health issues. Lethargy, soreness, lack of appetite are the major signs a dog has to show she isn't feeling good, but a shelter isn't going to adopt out a dog who has those signs unless they know what is causing it and feel the animal will still be a good companion for someone, and even then they should be upfront about it. Really, by adopting an adult dog you're pretty safe (well, as safe as can be when taking an unfamiliar animal with a potentially unknown history in). Like humans, the very young (puppies) and the very very old are at the most risk of illness, but your average adult dog is pretty resilient.
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Aug 21, 2010 07:39
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vxskud posted:I would like to adopt a dog preferably one that is a little older,however I would like to know what are some warning signs to look for in a older dog that may indicate serious health problems? I don't know if you meant looking for illness or you mean serious health issues as the dog ages etc., but from a dog blog that I read, the author has an interesting post on determining "What is a 'sound' dog?". Hopefully this can help you better adopt a dog that is built correctly so that hopefully it will have less health related issues as it ages (since joints etc are not strained as much as a poorly built dog). She breeds cardigan welsh corgis, so there is some corgi specific stuff in there, but also examples of mutty-mutt dogs from shelters. Obviously temperament and energy levels are extremely important as well when choosing the right dog for you.
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Aug 21, 2010 22:42
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Hey everyone, I have a very quick question. I've read some dogs can have adverse reactions to flea medication and flea collars. My 12 year old Fox Terrier recently got fleas. It seems that since he's been wearing the collar (and he had that stuff applied to his back), he is completely out of energy. He's had it on over a month now, and he basically sleeps all day and gets up for food once in a while. I know he's an old dog but he was much more active before this, he's not very big. Since he's had this collar on he just sleeps non stop. Is he having a bad reaction to it and should I take it off or am I just imagining things?
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Aug 22, 2010 10:13
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Take off the flea collar immediately. They are extremely bad. Also, do not over-dose on the drops. I also think a sustained change in behaviour involving less energy and appetite calls for a vet visit. skoolmunkee fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Aug 22, 2010 |
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Aug 22, 2010 10:50
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I have fallen in love with the dog in this Phil Collin's video, it's so fluffy and it waddles! But I don't know what species of dog it actually is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKrGj73OsAY Its not an english sheepdog, the nose is all wrong, right?
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Aug 22, 2010 17:20
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d3c0y2 posted:I have fallen in love with the dog in this Phil Collin's video, it's so fluffy and it waddles! But I don't know what species of dog it actually is? It looks kind of like a Schapendoes (Dutch Sheepdog).  Edit: The image I linked seems to be tempermental. Maybe this one will work better: 
a life less fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Aug 22, 2010 |
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Aug 22, 2010 17:38
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d3c0y2 posted:I have fallen in love with the dog in this Phil Collin's video, it's so fluffy and it waddles! But I don't know what species of dog it actually is? I would guess its a generic scraggly mutt,available for a nominal fee at your local animal control facility. It could be something rare and fancy but a lot of animal actors are taken from pounds.
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Aug 23, 2010 02:22
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Cheers for the help. Ofcourse owning a dog is a pipedream at the moment, but I never got to have one as a kid because of allergies(which disappeared as I grew up) so when I'm out of Uni I am going to get a dog  If its a shelter dog even better, I dislike paying for pets when theres so many shelter animals which need homes. Thanks.
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Aug 23, 2010 02:58
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My dog loves to sit in the sun and will spend up to 20 consecutive minutes sitting on our terrace in direct sun while it's high in the sky. We live in a very hot country where temperatures are topping out at up to 40C (104F) these days. I'm wondering if this is dangerous for Luna? She moves into the shade or comes inside eventually, drinks some water and just chills on the tiles in the kitchen or whatever. Do dogs need sunblock? She's mostly black and never really exposes her belly to the sun. Interestingly, when we were still living in Canada she used to also love sleeping really close to the fireplace and I'd have to pull her dog bed away because she would get too close. She really seems to like getting hot! We call her Hot Dog  Any thoughts?
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Aug 23, 2010 10:24
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d3c0y2 posted:Cheers for the help. I know you're just in the wishful thinking stage right now (which is frustrating as hell, I know your pain  ) but I just wanted to throw out there that a dog like that is going to require a fuckton of grooming to keep a long coat, just so you're prepared. To keep hair long like that, you need to constantly be on top of brushing and combing it to keep it nice and mat free. If you don't do a good enough job getting down to the root (especially in hard to reach places like armpits and behind ears) the mats will have to be shaved out. Also, it's a good idea to take a dog like that to a groomer at least every 4 weeks, and grooming larger dogs, especially with difficult coats, costs a lot. Just giving some fair warning!
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Aug 23, 2010 13:42
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WolfensteinBag posted:I know you're just in the wishful thinking stage right now (which is frustrating as hell, I know your pain Thanks for the advice, I had considered this. I currently own two Maine Coons*, and the grooming is a pain. Infact when we first got them, we ended up having to get one shaved because we didn't realise how much grooming they'd need! Before I get a dog i'll probably volenteer at a shelter to get some experience; because I imagine dogs are ALOT more hardwork than cats. *Domestic Long Hairs, who am I kidding.
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Aug 23, 2010 15:59
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My wife and I got a Great Dane puppy (Dexter) about 11 weeks ago and he's doing great. This last Friday my boss, who got a Great Dane puppy a couple of weeks after me, asked if we wanted his puppy (Chief) who is about 2 1/2 weeks younger than Dexter. My boss is having to get rid of Chief because he has 4 small children (all under the age of 10) in the house and the puppy was biting them. This is largely in part to the child tormenting the dog (holding food in front if his face then just running away from it, tackling the dog, ect). Chief has not been socialized with other puppies since he was taken from his litter mates at 8 weeks (he's almost 15 weeks old now). Also, the only real people interaction he's had are with the children. So, my wife and I agreed to take Chief on a one week trial basis to make sure he got along with Dexter and we could handle having two puppies at once. We've got the space and money and time to take care of them, but we wanted to have our bases covered. We met my boss at Pet Smart so Chief and Dexter could meet each other on neutral ground and they did pretty well. Chief was a bit shy/scared as Dexter has been very well socialized (puppy play classes for 6 weeks, take him most everywhere we go when we can) and came right up to Chief to start playing with him. We brought them both home and for about the first 10 minutes Chief would just run away from Dexter, but after that Chief got into it and started to play back. They played for about a total of 2 hours last night (with breaks in between in their crates) and neither of them seemed overly dominate nor aggressive. So, here come the questions now that the back story is out of the way. 1) They seem to play a lot. As soon as I let one of them out of the crate, they run to the other crate, tail wagging, wanting to start playing. They will just play and play and I'm wanting to know if that is because they are just getting used to each other and after a while they will start to settle down and not have to be playing so much, or if this will just go on. Either is fine, I just want to make sure of the proper behavior. 2) I'm worried with Chief's exposure to children so far that he may be skittish around them. What is going to be the best way to get him positively socialized with small children now? Some bonus puppy playing pictures! Chief brings Dexter to the ground:  Dexter nibbling on Chief's ear:  Chief give's Dexter a back rub: 
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Aug 23, 2010 17:43
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This Post Sucks posted:So, here come the questions now that the back story is out of the way. I think for now the playing is fine, but you'll want to make sure you give each dog plenty of one on one time with you to work on training and cementing your bond. You might want to work on calling the dogs away from play so you can get control of the situation if need be. Do this by offering kick rear end treats that the dogs will ignore each other for. Practice some impulse control with them too but making them wait to engage with each other until you give the go ahead. Also, watch their play carefully. Puppies often get carried away and play will become more serious than it should be as they get worked up. When that happens separate them and allow them to cool down before letting them interact again. As far as the possible issues with children, work on building really positive associations with Chief and children. If a small child is around have them offer treats to him (if he'll take them) but nothing more -- no touching, etc. He should figure out that kids are the bringers of delicious things. If he won't take treats from children you can give them to him for being around kids. I play a game with my dog that when we're around something that makes her nervous I'll get her to sit in front of me and feed her a treat. If she looks at the thing that frightens her without reacting and then back at me I'll give her another treat. I repeat this 3-4 times per session. (You don't have to have him look at the scary thing if he doesn't want to. Just focusing on you is also fine.) I recommend walking the dogs separately. I hear that's one of the best times to have one on one quality time with each of them. You can control each more easily like this. I would probably do this until they're both well trained and confident in their surroundings, especially since they're going to be so big and powerful.
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Aug 23, 2010 18:13
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This Post Sucks posted:My wife and I got a Great Dane puppy (Dexter) about 11 weeks ago and he's doing great. This last Friday my boss, who got a Great Dane puppy a couple of weeks after me, asked if we wanted his puppy (Chief) who is about 2 1/2 weeks younger than Dexter.  For your 2 questions: 1) Sounds like two puppies being puppies to me. I've never owned one puppy let alone two, but I can't say it sounds unusual at all. Puppies love playing. 2) Do you know anyone who has children who aren't assholes whose parents would be willing to help? If you could get said kids and just feed him treats and give nice pets and toys if he's open for it (doesn't back away, won't keep just enough distance to avoid be touched) he'll probably start loving them very quickly. Puppies are pretty resilient so you're lucky that it probably won't be too difficult of a fix vs an adult dog. This is assuming he's skittish around them to begin with. Hopefully your dog can help with socialization issues with dogs. Bring new puppy on lots of walks and try to have him meet a lot of different kinds of dogs and people while he's still pretty young. Keep treats for new people to offer him. I hope everything works out between them and you can have two huge happy dogs.  ^^ ooh beaten 
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Aug 23, 2010 18:20
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This may seem like a dumb question, but as my budget is a little tight this month and it's my turn to by the fontline plus for our dog. Is there a cheaper alternative to buying a three month supply at a pet store/lowes/walmart? I know that there are websites, but are there any that don't sell questionable products? Recommendations would be much appreciated.
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Aug 23, 2010 20:02
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a life less posted:I think for now the playing is fine, but you'll want to make sure you give each dog plenty of one on one time with you to work on training and cementing your bond. You might want to work on calling the dogs away from play so you can get control of the situation if need be. Do this by offering kick rear end treats that the dogs will ignore each other for. Practice some impulse control with them too but making them wait to engage with each other until you give the go ahead. Also, watch their play carefully. Puppies often get carried away and play will become more serious than it should be as they get worked up. When that happens separate them and allow them to cool down before letting them interact again. Kerfuffle posted:Good lord. Great, thanks guys. Yeah, I plan to train them separately, as I've heard it's much better to do that. Dexter is quite a bit ahead as far as training goes (he can sit, lay down, shake, play dead, roll over, and leave it with treats on his paws) where Chief only knows sit right now. As soon as we decide for sure to keep Chief, we'll be enrolling him in to the same puppy class Dexter just got out of while Dexter is in the next level up. As far as socialization and getting Chief out, I'm lucky enough to work at a job that lets us bring our animals to work. So, I'll be able to bring Chief up here and work with him and spend time with him during the day. It's been great for Dexter cause I work downtown and can practice leash walking him with all the distractions (he walks slack leash now downtown!). I've got some neighborhood kids down the street that I can probably get to help me get Chief liking kids again. If he does shy away from them, what do I do? Do I just have them hold out a treat and not go towards him until he decides to come up to them? One last question. When working with them individually, will it be better to take them out of the room the other is in (the other would be in his crate) in order to cut down on distraction/jealousy?
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Aug 23, 2010 20:38
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This Post Sucks posted:I've got some neighborhood kids down the street that I can probably get to help me get Chief liking kids again. If he does shy away from them, what do I do? Do I just have them hold out a treat and not go towards him until he decides to come up to them? If he won't take treats from the kids you'll be the one giving treats. Say he's comfortable with kids being 10 feet away from him, but is uneasy at 9. You make being 10 feet away from kids a treat-filled party. As he relaxes and enjoys himself you decrease the distance to 9 feet, and then 8, etc. This could take weeks if he's seriously traumatized, but as Kerfuffle said, puppies are pretty resilient, so my guess is that he'll bounce back quickly. Take it slowly. You probably don't want kids touching him for at least the first little bit too. Your neighbors may want to pet him, but let them know that he's nervous and that they can show their affection (and help!) with treats instead of pats. It's good way to teach and reinforce impulse control to have one dog sit and watch patiently while you work with another, but odds are at this age that won't be possible. Feel it out for yourself. If one dog will lay quietly while you work with the other then that's fantastic. If he won't, increase the distance or move to another room. Make sure you periodically reward the other dog for sitting and watching quietly. This video covers briefly rewarding one dog for calmness when you're working with another: http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup#p/u/1/wesm2OpE_2c
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Aug 23, 2010 21:29
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a life less posted:If he won't take treats from the kids you'll be the one giving treats. Say he's comfortable with kids being 10 feet away from him, but is uneasy at 9. You make being 10 feet away from kids a treat-filled party. As he relaxes and enjoys himself you decrease the distance to 9 feet, and then 8, etc. This could take weeks if he's seriously traumatized, but as Kerfuffle said, puppies are pretty resilient, so my guess is that he'll bounce back quickly. Take it slowly. Sweet, thanks for all your help!
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Aug 23, 2010 22:01
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Nereid posted:This may seem like a dumb question, but as my budget is a little tight this month and it's my turn to by the fontline plus for our dog. Is there a cheaper alternative to buying a three month supply at a pet store/lowes/walmart? I know that there are websites, but are there any that don't sell questionable products? Try your vet, they may sell 1 month's worth.
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Aug 24, 2010 00:39
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Cassiope posted:Try your vet, they may sell 1 month's worth. I can get those at the pet store as well, for the same price as the vet, I was looking for alternative and cheaper vendors for the three month supply. 
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Aug 24, 2010 01:59
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Oh. :P Good luck, let me know if you do find something!
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Aug 24, 2010 02:18
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Super sorry if this is a common question, I don't hang in PI too much. Anyway, I have two sweet Zebra Finches (the gruesome twosome). There was once three of them (bacon, egg, and cheese) and I think they miss their third little buddy (he died in January). So once in a while I look up videos of baby finchies and play the audio of them chattering to make the two living ones sing, which seems to always work. The problem is that I think I might be torturing them. Do they think little cheese is back? do they think they're outside? Basically what I'm asking is this: does simulating a bird's noise gently caress with my sweeties? They get pumped on the noise but I can't tell if they notice a lack of finch or not.
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Aug 24, 2010 06:27
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One more quick question about Chief. His previous owners free fed him. This is pretty bad for Danes due to the whole bloat issue. So, I'm working on switching him over to two feedings a day, just like Dexter is on. If we decide to keep Chief, I'll be changing his food too, since he's on Purina One Puppy crap right now. When we first brought him home on Sunday night, he ate a full 2 1/2 cups (they should be around 5 cups a day) for his evening meal. That was the last time he has eaten significantly since then. Monday morning he hardly ate a bite. Monday night he ate maybe 1/3. And now this morning he's back to (so far) having only eaten a couple of bites. Will this get better as he get more used to his environment here, or should I be worried about something more significant?
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Aug 24, 2010 12:38
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Try adding something to the food to up its palatability: egg, cottage cheese, warm water, etc. My guess is that he's just stressed with the change of location. If this keeps up for another day or two, or if Chief is acting lethargic it's probably time to visit the vet. I don't know if it's different with the giant breeds, but shouldn't puppies be fed three times daily?
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Aug 24, 2010 14:15
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I sprinkled shredded cheese into Moxie's food after a few days of her barely eating anything. Since then she has devoured the whole bowl when I set it down. I second adding something to make it more interesting for him.
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Aug 24, 2010 15:40
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I did try to add some hot dog bits to his food at the start and he just ignored it, so I'll try the cheese. As for the 2 times vs 3 times, I've seen both for Danes. The reason we opt to do 2 times a day is that my wife goes home during her lunch to let them out and to play with them for about an hour, but depending on the day her lunch hour is dramatically different (some days at 1, some days at 5), so it was more important for us to get them on a set schedule of eating rather than changing the middle feeding time every other day. I've not been able to find any adverse effects to only feeding twice a day, however. Dexter does very well with it and has grown 9 lbs in the last 2 weeks!
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Aug 24, 2010 17:24
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John Q Russia posted:Super sorry if this is a common question, I don't hang in PI too much. Try asking your question here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=1806183&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 Bird questions aren't too quickly answered in here and get skipped over.
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Aug 24, 2010 23:30
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My cat is being a dick. They moved here (I'd been here a few weeks already) the second week of June. I share the house with my roommate and her animals, two other cats among them. I know moving is hard on cats and it takes time, so my cats spent the first two weeks living in my room only. After that I allowed them to be out if roommate's cats were put up. After a week of that, we figured things were good to go, right? Except they haven't been. Kit is attacking my roommate's cats. He actively hunts them down, corners them, and attacks. The other cats aren't doing anything to provoke him that I can tell-they aren't in 'his' space, they aren't challenging him or anything like that. After this happens Kit spends a few days in my room again, then we try again within the week. So far it's always played out the same. What can I do to try and fix this?
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Aug 25, 2010 02:03
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With my class schedule this semester, there is long stretches that I'm not going to be home (wednesday/thursday for 8 to 12 hours) Usually I put my dog in the garage when I'm not home and give nice little bed, food and water for the time. But I feel bad having her in there for that long. I try to come back when I can to take her out and do whatever. Is there anything else I can put in there to help with boredom and so she doesn't feel as lonely? JammyLammy fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Aug 25, 2010 |
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Aug 25, 2010 14:27
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Once upon a time, someone posted a really great Betta resource site. My girlfriend wants to get some bettas now, so I'd like to make sure we do that properly. Does anyone have any reccomended websites or even books that I should be checking out to get acquainted with all the basics? I've only ever taken care of fish in the probably terrible "betta + peace lily in a huge vase" setup before.
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Aug 25, 2010 17:31
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Nereid posted:This may seem like a dumb question, but as my budget is a little tight this month and it's my turn to by the fontline plus for our dog. Is there a cheaper alternative to buying a three month supply at a pet store/lowes/walmart? I know that there are websites, but are there any that don't sell questionable products? I know we usually have coupons behind the desk at the clinic I work at for a buy 6 get 1 free. And I think a 6 pack costs less per dose where I work than a 3 pack too. I know you said that money is a little tight this month, but it might be something you could look into in the future.
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Aug 25, 2010 18:05
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It's hot here in San Diego and my ultra-cute gray longhair cat is getting hot, too. So hot, in fact, that he's panting like a puppy... yet half the time he still lays right in front of the window! I've turned on the A/C in a room for him and he'll stay for awhile and then leave. Is this an issue or should I just make a cool place available and he'll take take advantage of it when he wants to?
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Aug 25, 2010 18:26
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Radbot posted:It's hot here in San Diego and my ultra-cute gray longhair cat is getting hot, too. So hot, in fact, that he's panting like a puppy... yet half the time he still lays right in front of the window! I've turned on the A/C in a room for him and he'll stay for awhile and then leave. Is this an issue or should I just make a cool place available and he'll take take advantage of it when he wants to? Lioncut~ Seriously, if your cat is suffering that bad from the summer heat, get your cat shaved. Texas summers were way too hot for our long haired cat. They act like they hate you for a couple days but after they act like they're as light as a feather. It made my friend's cat a lot more sociable too. It'll save you on a/c bills and you can bring your friends over and laugh at him.
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Aug 25, 2010 18:34
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