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Fluffy Bunnies posted:
You mean, with you? What is that - a 'doodle' in desperate need of a haircut? A sentient mop?
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Oct 23, 2012 22:33
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Scary Ned posted:There is apparently an avid cavy-showing community in the area that cheerfully give her their culls and retired show-pigs. This makes me sad, especially the retired pigs. "Ok, I'm done parading you around for my own vanity, now go die."
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Oct 23, 2012 22:35
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Man, I think I've found a keeper. My dogs and I have been staying with this person I've been seeing because the electricity is out at my house (ah, the joys of rural electric coops and their "we only send people out over the weekends for dangerous situations like downed power lines" policies). Last night Bandit managed to eat like 8 pounds of her cat food (after opening a supposedly pet-proof bin), then have the most disgusting diarrhea all over the white carpet in her living room. She gets up at 5 AM for work, while I, being self-employed, get up a few hours later. Instead of waking my lazy rear end up, she cleaned the mess up herself as best she could, then called me when she knew I'd be getting up and told me about it "but don't worry, that's just what pets do, it's really old carpet and I really don't care what happens to it!" and she meant every word. And then she texted me just now to ask how he's doing because she's worried about him. And she describes having my 5 dogs in her house as "fun" and them as "well-behaved" in spite of all this. El Gar posted:We got a second cat. So I am pretty sure this is the first time I've seen something posted on SA that I actually showed to someone else. This is amazing. Especially the ties. Fluffy Bunnies posted:"I don't give a gently caress about your Peke Shih Poodle!-The PI Venting Thread". I kind of like having vents in here. A pure vent thread would be way too frustrating for me and I'd never read it, but I like them in small doses interspersed with happy stuff.
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Oct 23, 2012 22:37
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So there's a ~grooming center trainee~ position open at a Petco near my house. I have no grooming experience, but I do need a job. How awful is animal grooming and/or Petco?
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Oct 23, 2012 22:41
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AcetylCoA! posted:You mean, with you? What is that - a 'doodle' in desperate need of a haircut? A sentient mop? Yeah that's why I'm not going and getting him. I don't need another pup. But augh I wanna help him.  Serella posted:This makes me sad, especially the retired pigs. Gotta admit the retired pigs kinda irritate me a bit, because that's exactly what I think of. You carefully bred this little guy and well just toss it off to a raptor when he's done winning prizes. I know they gotta eat and all, but jeez.
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Oct 23, 2012 22:48
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I was interviewed for a groomer spot at Petsmart once (I went in for a completely different position, but thanks I guess...). They told me it is a very gossipy, clique-y kinda atmosphere. So, if you can handle that bullshit and wet dogs that hate you, not to mention the idiot owners, sure. But I'll let the groomers chime in with their own experience.
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Oct 23, 2012 22:50
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My opposite second-hand experience is a friend of mine who has worked as a groomer at Petsmart for like 4 years now and loves it. She's also worked for smaller independent shops and finds the big corporate ones to be a lot more stable and pleasant. She pretty much has her own clients who bring their dogs in to her specifically. Her major complaint is that sometimes they hire people who have no idea how to handle the more difficult pets, but they tend not to last too long. I imagine it depends a lot on the individual store though.
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Oct 23, 2012 22:59
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Radio! posted:So there's a ~grooming center trainee~ position open at a Petco near my house. I have no grooming experience, but I do need a job. I worked as a bather at Petsmart. I don't know exactly how is compares to Petco though. It was DRAMADRAMADRAMA basically all the time with a really high turnover rate. If you are a spectator, it is actually pretty awesome. I am the kind of person that can be a concerned ear for all involved and an E/N addict, so there was entertainment value for me. I would not get actively involved in it though. You need to be comfortable working with morons and handling customer service. There are some really awesome opportunities to work with great regulars, but there are also some customers that just aren't happy unless it's free. It feels super awesome to get your first loyal customer that refuses to see anyone but you.  As long as you can take the good and the bad, it isn't too awful for a while. I wouldn't want to work there long term, though. Asstro Van fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Oct 23, 2012 |
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Oct 23, 2012 23:07
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Ugh, that's kind of what I was expecting. Ordinarily I'd be all over it just because JOB and stick with it as long as possible, but for some reason there's a one year commitment if you get hired because they're training you. That's making me more than a little wary.
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Oct 23, 2012 23:21
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I thought about trying to find somewhere to train to be a groomer and then I realized that the dogs your are grooming belong to OTHER PEOPLE and you can't yell at them if they act like shitheads. The first time I got bitten by someone's retarded cockapoo I would fling it into a wall.
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Oct 23, 2012 23:34
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Scary Ned posted:My raptor-owning friend feeds her birds guinea pigs. There is apparently an avid cavy-showing community in the area that cheerfully give her their culls and retired show-pigs. She lives in a suburban community, and nobody seems to notice or care that she is slaughtering crates full of guinea pigs and sticking them in her freezer. What kind of raptors does she have? What does she do with them? Can you get pictures?
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Oct 23, 2012 23:40
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Dog on feet Y'all, let me tell you how much I love my vet. Yesterday was 24 hours of Savannah having diarrhea, so I left work early and made a last-minute appointment. We got to see the owner of the clinic (owner? head vet? I'm actually not sure, but w/e), and he's loving awesome. He's straight-up about everything, listened and answered my million questions, and also talked in general about her health and gave lots of advice instead of just treating the issue we were in for (which would have totally been valid, it's just awesome that he was willing to spend more time). And a vet FINALLY said she needs to lose about 2 pounds, which was the only thing that was going to get my boyfriend on board the doggy weight loss train, THANK YOU JESUS. And all of that was pretty good and I was feeling much more reassured than I normally do when we go to the vet, and then as he was having her pills split up and talking to me about everything, he whips out a business card and gives me his personal cell phone numbers in case she starts vomiting or going downhill. I've had some hit or miss experiences with other vets in the office, but every time we've happened to see the head guy, it's just been standout. I'm gonna ask for him in the future. And Savannah will hopefully be fine, she got some meds and some GI food to have until her stomach calms down. And here, have some pictures from last week of a bad dog who rolled in poop at doggy daycare and had to have a bath when we got home and was very <  > about it  (Forgive the rug, we vacuumed it this weekend)  Her butt had a cowlick for several days.
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Oct 23, 2012 23:59
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Ugh, poor Balen. He's been having a little hesitation getting up from a laying position for the past bit, which isn't exactly unexpected with a 7 year old dane. The springs in the mattresses are throwing him off balance a bit (admittedly, they throw me off balance a little) so I'm going to be looking into ways to help with that. But today he tripped on the gap between the beds and flopped down. This wasn't an issue a bit ago, so I'm thinking he's just getting stiff/sore with the weather getting colder. Looks like furryfuzzy's going to the vet for a vet opinion, though. I just get to cross my fingers that it's not a dysplasia issue, seeing's how he was rated well when he was younger I was hoping that wouldn't be an issue. It could also be a back issue (maybe even an injury). Amy landed on his back around the time this started happening because she's an idiot (she just flung herself on him with no real regard for anything because she was after a toy) and I've been waiting to see how he improves, if he gets worse, etc. Vet's opinion of the time was to wait and see too. I just hope it's a medicate/rest thing and not a surgery or degenerative thing. Especially since he's pretty much himself once he's up.
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Oct 24, 2012 01:13
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2tomorrow posted:Man, I think I've found a keeper. My dogs and I have been staying with this person I've been seeing because the electricity is out at my house (ah, the joys of rural electric coops and their "we only send people out over the weekends for dangerous situations like downed power lines" policies). This is hosed up. I used to work for a rural electric co-op, and we would send out a crew if a single person's power was out, even if it was 2 am on a Saturday night. Fluffy Bunnies posted:Gotta admit the retired pigs kinda irritate me a bit, because that's exactly what I think of. You carefully bred this little guy and well just toss it off to a raptor when he's done winning prizes. I know they gotta eat and all, but jeez. Exactly. It's such a scummy thing to do.
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Oct 24, 2012 02:17
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Yeah culls I can understand, but "oh hi thanks for all the ribbons, go die now!!" seems weird to me. 
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Oct 24, 2012 02:35
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Skizzles posted:. I am 99% sure that is what the original post of the first random nonsense thread was about, so it's still doing its job. 
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Oct 24, 2012 03:05
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Fair enough, I will keep bitching about work here.
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Oct 24, 2012 03:09
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Superconsndar posted:I thought about trying to find somewhere to train to be a groomer and then I realized that the dogs your are grooming belong to OTHER PEOPLE and you can't yell at them if they act like shitheads. The first time I got bitten by someone's retarded cockapoo I would fling it into a wall. That's ok, my boss would hire you in a second!  That one year commitment used to be two, they must be having a hard time getting people in. Makes sense on their part, a lot goes in to training just to have someone leave. If you're just looking for a job to pay the bills and not to groom seriously, I wouldn't do it. It is way too much work, way too frustrating, and way too much of a learning curve to be worth it. There's plenty of easier stuff you can do for the money if you're not passionate about it or looking for dog experience in general. Hell, after working at my work 6-7 years, 4 years grooming, I am DONE with it, and I used to think this is what I wanted to do with myself! There is SO much stupid you're surrounded with, it grates on your soul.
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Oct 24, 2012 03:49
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El Gar posted:We got a second cat. This is one of the most amazing things ever. Now, dress trophy up as LOG.
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Oct 24, 2012 04:07
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WolfensteinBag posted:That's ok, my boss would hire you in a second! I like to pretend to live in a world where people have the self awareness to go "maybe I shouldn't be a dog groomer" rather than be a dog groomer and abuse snappy cockapoos 
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Oct 24, 2012 05:04
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Healy had acupuncture yesterday. I'm still a bit surprised I actually tried that instead of going for cabergoline recipe. But it would be so nice to be able to skip the 14 day withdrawal time associated with that medicine. (We have antidoping regulations for the dogs in dog shows and competitions.) Besides I got her treated by a friend for a reasonable price, even when compared to going the medicine route. So I guess we shall see. If it does not work, she'll call me a recipe to the nearest pharmacy.Fluffy Bunnies posted:This wasn't an issue a bit ago, so I'm thinking he's just getting stiff/sore with the weather getting colder.
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Oct 24, 2012 06:45
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Radio! posted:Ugh, that's kind of what I was expecting. Ordinarily I'd be all over it just because JOB and stick with it as long as possible, but for some reason there's a one year commitment if you get hired because they're training you. That's making me more than a little wary. As others in this thread have said, it really depends on your store. Some stores have a really nice salon staff, and others have really shallow people who don't really care about the dogs, moreso about the money. Grooming itself isn't just dealing with animals either, you have to know how to talk to the owner and convince them that yes, it is worth spending $50 every month, more if they don't brush their mini yorkie-doodle (Hint: no one every brushes their dog) who needs to be muzzled when you put a brush near it or it'll bite the poo poo out of you because its coat is a solid (crunchy) mat. I had one PetCo hire me on as a grooming assistant which is minimum wage after I'd been grooming for 2 years and tell me that I was being hired on a groomer ergo, I'm not a big fan of the company itself either. Of course, you can always transfer but they don't always need someone at the store you want to work at. If you need a job it's bearable, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you go for it, make sure you get everything in writing, because they will bamboozal you.
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Oct 24, 2012 08:16
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Gotta admit the retired pigs kinda irritate me a bit, because that's exactly what I think of. You carefully bred this little guy and well just toss it off to a raptor when he's done winning prizes. I know they gotta eat and all, but jeez. Yeah, it's a lovely way to retire your showpigs for sure. Most of the ones she gets are culls, and it helps keep the pet shops and shelters from being flooded with unwanted piggies though. Once in a blue moon she'll get a real sweety pie and let it live out its retirement in her kitchen. Currently she has Show Piggy, a shaggy arthritic old guy who seems to really like being cuddled. He also has a not-so-tame buddy to keep him company. I'm probably going to borrow them for my education program in a couple of weeks. Unlucky pigs end up as dinner for birds like Diego the derpiest owl.  And Zike the African auger buzzard.  Liberty the peregrine falcon prefers to eat leftover pigeons from the local pigeon farm.  Fozzie the black-crowned night heron is not a raptor and does not eat guinea pigs, but does hope somebody has brought him fish. 
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Oct 24, 2012 08:45
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Riiseli posted:A Back on Track mesh jacket might be nice for him. Unfortunately they don't make them quite long enough for him, but if it turns out to be cold related he's certainly getting a warm as hell jacket for winter. Maybe one of those warming pads, too, to snuggle on while he's laying down. It's just finding stuff big enough/finding stuff people will make. Worst comes to worst, he gets an electric blanket and I get to shoo the girls off it for the next 5 months. (I will be getting two electric blankets because that will not work, I've already given in to this). He seems a thousand times better this morning after a night's worth of rest. Also, Fozzie is freaking adorable. I'd bring him a fish.
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Oct 24, 2012 12:25
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:
Riiseli fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 13:12
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So. That was...interesting. Bunch of xrays later and we've determined: yes, there is a little arthritis in one of his hips, but it's incredibly slight. Like, she doubts it even needs medication, kind of slight. The hips are well jointed into their sockets, so it's definitely not dysplasia. Knees? Great. Hocks? Wonderful. But there's swelling near the joints. Stick the swelling. Blood comes out. 0 fluid, just a little blood. So the current running theory is that he isn't having hip/upper leg trouble at all. In fact, she even checked his muscles over to make sure it wasn't some sort of muscle loss issue, and she said he's perfectly fine. It is very likely that the swelling around his hocks (but not the joint itself) is causing him to have some mobility issues with his feet. And.. then everything just kind of falls down. Which explains why he's fine once he's on his feet. There is the tiniest chance it's some sort of neuro issue at worst and it's just starting to show signs. But she thinks it's his hocks based on the xrays, his movement, what's tripping him up, etc, etc. So, anti inflamatories and antibiotics and we'll see where it takes him. But since we do have the beginnings of arthritis starting at seven and a half, yeah, once the swelling is gone he's going to have so many warm things. E: Oh, and they had kittens up for adoption. Balen was gleeful. Fluffy Bunnies fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 17:23
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WolfensteinBag posted:There is SO much stupid you're surrounded with, it grates on your soul. This, for certain. I've only been grooming for a year but holy hell some of the poo poo customers say. Like constantly getting asked for veterinary advice, and people who can't train their dogs worth poo poo, or think their dogs are trained/they are awesome trainers and the dog won't listen to simple commands. Glad I don't have any idiot co-workers though. We always complain about shih tzus though, because they are just gross ugly dogs with crooked legs, and are never trained, crap/piss all over, and have disgustingly smelly faces. Expect to mostly be grooming them, like 50-60% of the dogs you see will probably be shih tzus and little "whats-a-poos".
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Oct 24, 2012 17:57
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Poor Balen. What's this about kittens though, does he like them? That sounds adorable.
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Oct 24, 2012 18:03
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McDragon posted:Poor Balen. What's this about kittens though, does he like them? That sounds adorable.   That was Okinawa when we were fostering the little guys. He helped raise Sarah's kittens years back. Anything small and delicate, he will immediately decide to take care of and clean and be just amazing about. Little kids included. He really is a gentle giant. E: VVVV God don't say that, I almost walked out with a little black kitten already. The little guy wouldn't let go of me and kept purring so loud. Fluffy Bunnies fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 18:11
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I feel like you owe it to the world to constantly provide Balen with kittens and take copious amounts of pictures.
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Oct 24, 2012 18:27
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Scary Ned posted:
Is he a juvenile? He's adorable and if I had a fish, I'd totally give it to him.In lieu of a fish, please accept a photo of an adult black-crowned night heron. 
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Oct 24, 2012 18:49
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 We took Pickles to a specialist today for an pre-op exam on his leg. He gets surgery tomorrow on not one, but TWO, ruptured ACLs. We've known about the one leg since late summer and have been saving up for the surgery anyway, so money isn't really what I'm sad about.We weren't expecting to leave him there today after his initial exam, but the doctor said they could get him started on pain meds sooner, etc. So we were  ing all the way home.We pick him up at 10:20 am Friday morning, and we're being big babies about it because the only time he's been away from us over night was for surgery on his cherry eye two years ago and when he was lost in a snow storm for 2 nights. Wahhhhh.
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Oct 24, 2012 19:06
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Well, the GWS cookin' for dogs thread seems to be archived. This is the next best place to post some crazy. DOGPARTY is tomorrow (So says my coworker), and today was reserved for MEATCAKE. I'm fairly certain my involvement with this makes me The Worst Vegetarian, but I'm not eating it so whatevs. COOK. START! INGREDIENTS: CAKE 3/4 cup water 1 peeled, diced carrot (I used 1 and a half because my carrots are dinky.) 1 diced rib celery 1 3/4 pound ground meat. (Mine is 1 lb. ground lean pork, 3/4 lb. ground sirloin.) 1 cup oats 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 tbsp ketchup INGREDIENTS: TOPPING Your choice. I used Milk-Bones and spray cheese. (I originally considered liverwurst frosting, but reconsidered its spreading capabilities. Peanut butter was out from the start due to my coworker's horrifying nut allergy.) STUUUUFFFFFF. Now go set your oven to 350 before you forget.  This post sponsored by HEB. God knows I spend enough money there. Now that you've got all your Foodstuff, grab a DVD and pop it in. I chose the greatest movie ever.  Take the 3/4 cup of water and pour it into your pan. Let boil.  While that goes, peel your carrot(s)...  And dice them and the celery.  Better beat that egg while you wait.  VEGGIES INTO THE PAN. Lower to medium, cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Drain and let cool slightly.  While veggies are cooling, plop the meat into an ugly bowl.  ONWARD CAME THE OATS. 1 cup of 'em.  Plop in sufficiently cooled veg.  A tablespoon of ketchup...  And the beaten egg.  And then....By our powers combined.... WE ARE CAPTAIN MEATCAKE.  Wrangle it into a foil-lined circular tin.  INTO THE OVEN. 350 degrees, remember? Leave it there for about an hour.  Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.  Wrangle it onto a cake plate and let it continue to cool.  Toppings!  In my defense, it's hard to write with cheese. Also, the pattern is consistent all the way around because I wasn't gonna screw this up, dammit.  Meatcake now sits in my fridge waiting for DOGPARTY.....
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Oct 24, 2012 19:42
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At this point we are running out of PI dogs who don't have problems with their hind legs 
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Oct 24, 2012 19:58
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It seems to be a theme. Get better, dogs of PI!
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Oct 24, 2012 20:09
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notsoape posted:At this point we are running out of PI dogs who don't have problems with their hind legs Hey, the one leg Husker still has back there is in GREAT shape!
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Oct 24, 2012 20:14
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I interviewed to be a groomer trainee for PetSmart earlier this year but they went with someone with more recent experience (I haven't had anything to do with grooming for like 6 years). Aside from the obvious pluses and minuses of dealing with dogs/owners, I would have been required to refer to owners as "Pet Parents".
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Oct 24, 2012 20:15
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Union's legs are fine! But she did have a problem with her nails a while back and they all got messed up and/or fell off.
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Oct 24, 2012 20:31
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notsoape posted:At this point we are running out of PI dogs who don't have problems with their hind legs Knock on wood, the only problems my GSDs have (so far) is sore frozen feet in the winter, and Delta has a cracked toepad. I am always anxious about hips in big dogs, my childhood Akita had dysplasia
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Oct 24, 2012 20:42
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skoolmunkee posted:Union's legs are fine! But she did have a problem with her nails a while back and they all got messed up and/or fell off. Psyche's legs are fine, she just had a problem with her brain. 
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Oct 24, 2012 20:52
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