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Crooked Booty posted:This is a little dramatic. Everything I've read suggests that MDR-1 mutant dogs typically have the same duration and degree of sedation as normal dogs if the acepromazine dose is reduced by 25%. Many vets use such low doses of acepromazine in normal dogs that a dose reduction isn't even necessary in MDR-1 mutants. Not all the drugs on the "MDR-1 blacklists" floating around on the internet are equally serious. And benadryl and melatonin are both really crappy sedatives in dogs. He's actually been tested and doesn't have the MDR-1 mutation. So he's good on that. My vet recommended benadryl because its something I have on hand, although she warned me it doesn't sedate all dogs.
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Apr 17, 2013 20:20
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If you're able to take him on walks, maybe look into a weighted backpack? I wouldn't think it would tear anything, but ask your vet first.
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Apr 17, 2013 21:01
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Kerfuffle posted:If you're able to take him on walks, maybe look into a weighted backpack? I wouldn't think it would tear anything, but ask your vet first. Probably not a good idea to do something like that 'til the dog is fully grown. Not with any regularity at least.
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Apr 17, 2013 21:05
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Oh puppy, duh. 
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Apr 18, 2013 10:56
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My German Shepherd has recently began to limp slightly and hold his left paw up off of the ground. He doesn't whine at all and continues to be very active in play. To my knowledge he has not injured himself in any way, and I can't visualize anything on his paw. The first time we took him to a vet, before this started, she mentioned his joints looked swollen and suggested we take him off of his puppy food and start mixing it with adult food and then move to completely adult food. Because of scheduling we had to bring him to a different vet this time and this vet says that the swelling could have been early signs of elbow dysplasia, which he thinks may be the cause of the limping. We are waiting on him to be able to get x-rays, but in the meantime I'm trying to learn all I can about what this condition and its treatment entails. Any help is appreciated!
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Apr 18, 2013 11:47
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How old is your GSD? If it's a pup my first thought went to Pano, which is unfortunately very common in growing pups. If it's elbow dysplasia, here's a page to get you started. http://www.joint-health-for-dogs.com/elbow-dysplasia.htmlquote:Medical therapy consists of weight control, moderate exercise, and antiinflammatory medications.
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Apr 18, 2013 13:48
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a life less posted:How old is your GSD? If it's a pup my first thought went to Pano, which is unfortunately very common in growing pups. If it's elbow dysplasia, here's a page to get you started. http://www.joint-health-for-dogs.com/elbow-dysplasia.html He's coming up on 9 months, he's getting very big (even though the first vet said he was small)! Unfortunately I can't view that link on a government computer but does it say anything about how likely surgical intervention would be? That's the biggest thing I'm worried about, he absolutely hated the cone and recovery period just from being neutered, I can't imagine how he'd handle having to wear a cast. Either way, thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out when I get home.
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Apr 18, 2013 13:53
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Here's the treatment section of the article: quote:Treatment
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Apr 18, 2013 14:51
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a life less posted:Here's the treatment section of the article: Looking at the page, it really doesn't sound like that's what he has because he is still perfectly active and has no issues running, he certainly would not be considered lazy. I'm thinking he just hurt himself while playing with another dog, as we had a friend dog-sit for us while we went on a weekend trip and said friend happens to own our dog's best friend, so they were constantly playing and running around the house and outside the whole time. We also do not have very much carpet in our house (we live in Germany) so he does slide around sometimes. He started limping when we got back from our trip, after his three days of constant play. Of course, this could all just be wishful thinking, but I really hope it's just a sprain or something. I'll be sure to post an update when I know more. For reference, this is him: 
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Apr 18, 2013 17:03
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a life less posted:How old is your GSD? If it's a pup my first thought went to Pano, which is unfortunately very common in growing pups. If it's elbow dysplasia, here's a page to get you started. http://www.joint-health-for-dogs.com/elbow-dysplasia.html Pano was my first thought too. It's super super common in male GSD puppies for some reason. You should come post about your puppy in the GSD thread, we don't have enough puppy pics.
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Apr 18, 2013 17:18
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Both panosteitis and elbow dysplasia are common in German Shepherds. The radiographs should be able to tell which one it is. If it is elbow dysplasia, the prognosis and treatment is going to change depending on what exactly is wrong with the elbow. Is it always the left front that's lame or does it ever shift to other limbs?
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Apr 18, 2013 19:38
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So far it has only been the left front, and at varying severity seemingly based on how preoccupied he is with running around and playing. He especially does it when he senses he has done something wrong, like when he went up to a friend's little girl and licked her and she started crying.
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Apr 18, 2013 20:49
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I'm just going to assume all that green was pulled out of that pink toy. All of it.
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Apr 19, 2013 00:29
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Nope, his third bed. You can't even see the covering for it because he so thoroughly destroyed it.
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Apr 19, 2013 01:53
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CubanMissile posted:
Nobody believes me that she'll stop jumping if they cross their arms, but they're always amazed when she instantly does once they try it.
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Apr 19, 2013 23:16
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I was wondering if I could get some emergency puppy/corgi advice from anybody on here familiar with the breed, at lunch I saw an ad in the classifieds for a corgi puppy (been looking for an AKC pembroke corgi for a couple months now) and decided to contact the seller. I'm going to go to her home after work in a couple hours and was curious if anybody here thinks the ad looks shady in any way: http://secure.adpay.com/Albuquerque...be-123f8c159524 Does it seem odd that there is only one puppy and that it's below normal corgi asking price ($500-$800)? The seller told me the dog is 6 weeks old (too young I think) and that it is not registered but the parents are (red flag?). This isn't my first dog, in fact my parents used to breed dachshunds growing up, and I've never had to worry about getting my own dog until now.
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Apr 19, 2013 23:25
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Black Dynamite posted:I was wondering if I could get some emergency puppy/corgi advice from anybody on here familiar with the breed, at lunch I saw an ad in the classifieds for a corgi puppy (been looking for an AKC pembroke corgi for a couple months now) and decided to contact the seller. I'm going to go to her home after work in a couple hours and was curious if anybody here thinks the ad looks shady in any way: Pass on it.
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Apr 19, 2013 23:30
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Black Dynamite posted:I was wondering if I could get some emergency puppy/corgi advice from anybody on here familiar with the breed, at lunch I saw an ad in the classifieds for a corgi puppy This is always a giant red flag. Never buy puppies through ads like this.
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Apr 20, 2013 00:20
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Cool, thanks. I'm gonna instead wait for a real breeder who has me on a list.
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Apr 20, 2013 00:39
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Black Dynamite posted:Cool, thanks. I'm gonna instead wait for a real breeder who has me on a list. Much better idea 
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Apr 20, 2013 01:28
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GoGoGadget posted:Looking at the page, it really doesn't sound like that's what he has because he is still perfectly active and has no issues running, he certainly would not be considered lazy. I'm thinking he just hurt himself while playing with another dog, as we had a friend dog-sit for us while we went on a weekend trip and said friend happens to own our dog's best friend, so they were constantly playing and running around the house and outside the whole time. We also do not have very much carpet in our house (we live in Germany) so he does slide around sometimes. He started limping when we got back from our trip, after his three days of constant play. Update to this, he's no longer limping at all but we still have an x-ray scheduled for today. We were told by the owners of the doggy day care we take him to that the particular vet that said he may have knee dysplasia is apparently well-known for being "over-zealous" in saying dysplasia is the issue in order to get more money out of a surgery. So we'll definitely have to get a second opinion if he says that's what it is. I would think the military vets would be pretty knowledgable with GSDs just because they deal with so many of them. Then again, the other vet is German, so...
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Apr 23, 2013 12:50
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Mr. Furious, I'm not sure if this article is listed in the OP, but if it isn't, I would recommend it. Don't Socialize the Dog! http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3953
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Apr 25, 2013 14:38
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I am going to be receiving two dogs today that are essentially rescues. My half-sister's grandmother is too elderly to take care of her five dogs and so my sister is helping her get rid of them. Two of them we are taking, a 2 yr old male Shih Tzu and a 1 yr old female Pug. From what I understand they don't have paperwork for them as it was lost. My questions are as follows: 1. What is the best thing to do in terms of vaccinations since they have no paperwork? I assume just take them to the vet for a check up? 2. The Shih Tzu is matted as it was not groomed so I assume the best course of action will be to get it shaved/cut at a groomer? 3. The Shih Tzu is a male, and is fixed, but the Pug is a female and is not fixed. I am not 100% sure on the age of the dog, but ideally I'd want it to get spayed. Is 1 year too old to do this, and if I do not get her spayed, what sort of things will I be expecting in terms of behavior (from both dogs) and spotting/heat cycles? 4. I will not be able to get crates for the dogs for another 2 weeks. The Shih Tzu is house trained as far as I'm aware, but the Pug may have issues with it. What recommendations do you have for a temporary solution until I can get the crates and begin crate training?
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Apr 25, 2013 16:05
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a life less posted:Mr. Furious, I'm not sure if this article is listed in the OP, but if it isn't, I would recommend it. Obscurity posted:I am going to be receiving two dogs today that are essentially rescues. My half-sister's grandmother is too elderly to take care of her five dogs and so my sister is helping her get rid of them. Two of them we are taking, a 2 yr old male Shih Tzu and a 1 yr old female Pug. From what I understand they don't have paperwork for them as it was lost. My questions are as follows: 1. You're better off talking to your vet about this. Explain the situation and they can advise you properly. 2. I'm generally against shaving dogs just because I think it's weird, but it won't actually harm them. Talk to a good groomer and find one that isn't going to be overly harsh, because this is not likely to be a pleasant experience for your dog. 3. The evidence actually suggests that by waiting until now you're at slightly higher risk for breast cancer. Talk to your vet, but you should be able to have her spayed now and I would strongly encourage you to do so. 4. If you have some sort of pen you can use, do so. Your other option is tethering. Tie a long leash around your waist or get a hands-free leash. You don't want to tether out of sight, so while maybe a table leg is acceptable, that's only the case if you're actually AT the table. This should be covered in the housetraining guide in the OP, but if you have questions speak up.
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Apr 25, 2013 16:31
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Has anyone had any luck combating motion/car sickness in a puppy? I have a 4 hour trip coming up tomorrow and my poor little guy drools all over the place and throws up stomach acid on 15 minute rides. 
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Apr 25, 2013 18:44
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Try a thundershirt (they work for some dogs, not all). Maybe talk to a vet about Gravol or some other sort of med. There are training things you can do, but nothing that'll help in a day's time.
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Apr 25, 2013 18:55
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My parent's dog gets really carsick too and their vet recommended dramamine for long car rides. You'd need to talk to your vet about dosage though.
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Apr 25, 2013 19:07
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Thirding talking to the vet. Dexter had pretty bad car anxiety and we have made a lot of progress with constant treats + melatonin (I know treats don't help your situation but maybe melatonin?) The thundershirt also helped, but we stopped using it in the warmer months because he seemed to overheat easier in it.
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Apr 25, 2013 19:23
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cryingscarf posted:Thirding talking to the vet. Dexter had pretty bad car anxiety and we have made a lot of progress with constant treats + melatonin (I know treats don't help your situation but maybe melatonin?) The thundershirt also helped, but we stopped using it in the warmer months because he seemed to overheat easier in it. The melatonin will just make the dog sleepy, which can help if the nausea is anxiety based - IE he works himself up and gets increasingly agitated until BLARF. If it's really just a motion sickness thing it's unlikely to help unless the dog is actually sleeping. Worth a discussion with the vet though, all the same.
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Apr 26, 2013 00:08
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Thanks for the tips! I ended up getting dosage and a recommendation for dramamine from my vet. I guess this will show me if it's anxiety or motion sickness related. He's a German Shepherd around 4 months old and what I've read and heard so far this is pretty common in younger dogs until their ears fully develop. Most seem to grow out of it. Hoping this 4 hour car ride isn't complete hell for him now. I feel bad for him 
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Apr 26, 2013 01:22
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Why is it that you have to wait two weeks after the final vaccination jabs before taking out a pup? Does it take two weeks for them to kick in or something? I can't find anything online. Would it be safe to take my pup out at 11 weeks when she's had her second injection? Fraction fucked around with this message at 11:50 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 11:24
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Fraction posted:Why is it that you have to wait two weeks after the final vaccination jabs before taking out a pup? Does it take two weeks for them to kick in or something? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_B_cell
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Apr 26, 2013 12:48
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Fraction posted:Why is it that you have to wait two weeks after the final vaccination jabs before taking out a pup? Does it take two weeks for them to kick in or something? The thing with puppies and vaccinations is that they are born with some immunity (a short-lasting type of antibodies) from their mothers and also acquire more after birth through nursing. These antibodies start to decline between 6-8 weeks or so after birth and should basically wear off by 12-16 weeks. The time in between this is a vulnerable time, so that's when we begin the vaccine series. However, there is some level of inherent biological feedback such that the puppy's immune system will not fully respond to the vaccinations due to the continued presence of the immunity from the mother. Since both generation of immunity and the wearing off of the maternal immunity are continuous processes, we can't really say that the puppies are fully protected during this time despite receiving the vaccinations. So that's a part of the reasoning behind the historical recommendation that puppies not be taken out until after the final vaccines. Another part is what Rixatrix said, and still another part is that to a point, each set of boosters causes an exponential increase in immunity due to different types of antibodies being formed. So there are a lot of factors that go into that recommendation. As others have noted, many behaviorists are challenging this idea and the compromise for now seems to be that puppies should definitely be socialized during this critical time but should only interact with other dogs and people in a 'controlled' environment where you know the vaccination and health status of any dogs the puppy will contact, or they are other puppies at the same vaccination stage. So dog parks, pet stores and other places like that should probably be avoided but taking your puppy to your friend's house for a play date with their vaccinated puppy and vaccinated healthy adult dog in their yard is fine, etc. I think if you do some digging you should be able to find some research recently published on this that is aimed towards veterinarians and promotes 'puppy classes' (it was actually done by some professors at my school and so I knew about it prior to publication and edit: Ian Dunbar talks about the research I mention in a recent blog entry - it was published last month. Topoisomerase fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 16:49
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I'm planning to take my pup out a lot in my arms so she can meet people, but the dogs thing will be somewhat of an issue - I don't have many friends with dogs, though those that I do have I'll certainly be visiting. The puppy training classes around here are pretty terrible, too (dominance theory based); they exacerbated Lola's anxiety issues, so I'm very wary of taking Kalli. That does limit my options more though. I was wondering if she'd be able to go out on the ground in places that are very low dog-traffic? There's a whole lot of countryside within easy walking distance that I've visited loads and never even seen one other dog. If that would still be too high risk though (letting her explore/play on the grass), she won't be able to be on grass until she's about thirteen weeks old, which seems really late to me. Nobody I know has a yard with grass.
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Apr 26, 2013 17:02
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Fraction posted:I was wondering if she'd be able to go out on the ground in places that are very low dog-traffic? There's a whole lot of countryside within easy walking distance that I've visited loads and never even seen one other dog. If that would still be too high risk though (letting her explore/play on the grass), she won't be able to be on grass until she's about thirteen weeks old, which seems really late to me. Nobody I know has a yard with grass. I wouldn't. A lot of the pathogens aren't just dog based. Rabbits, rats, etc can be carriers too. If it's outside and not an enclosed area, it's likely to be trafficked by some sort of animal.
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Apr 26, 2013 17:06
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I'm not as familiar with the infectious diseases in wildlife in the UK as I am with the ones in the US obviously, but at least here, some of the viruses that we vaccinate dogs against can also be spread by coyotes, raccoons and other wildlife so I personally might be a bit concerned but it's a risk vs benefit decision that you have to make as the owner.
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Apr 26, 2013 17:09
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Fraction posted:I was wondering if she'd be able to go out on the ground in places that are very low dog-traffic? There's a whole lot of countryside within easy walking distance that I've visited loads and never even seen one other dog. If that would still be too high risk though (letting her explore/play on the grass), she won't be able to be on grass until she's about thirteen weeks old, which seems really late to me. Nobody I know has a yard with grass.
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Apr 26, 2013 17:27
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Riiseli posted:Can't speak for UK, but over here I'd definitely do this. I don't even worry about the amount of dog-traffic a place gets, unless there is a lot of parvo going around. The issue here is that there's app been cases of it in this area recently. I'm not sure exactly how many, but for there to be cases plural in a TINY town is worrying for me. I have rang the vets to get her appt bumped forward though, so it'll be two weeks until her second injection rather than three. I don't want to risk her health but hng.
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Apr 26, 2013 18:18
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Anyone have any suggestions on how to teach my dog that children shouldn't be barked at? He's a year-old mini schnauzer/poodle/various terrier mix kind of thing and for some reason kids just really rile him up no matter the context. This is of course made twice as awful by the fact that children tend to make lots of loud noises when a dog barks at them which only makes him want to be even louder than they are, like some sort of shouting match. He's not being aggressive, but it's pretty universal that anyone under about 4' tall running/playing/making noise in his vicinity gets a talking to. He's a big talker in general too, his first reaction to anything is usually to make noise at it to see how it reacts. I've sort of worked on it on an individual basis with kids he sees often like my nephews by having them give him treats for doing the usual sit/lie-down/stand and playing with the rope toy (he loves tug of war). This hasn't really changed his attitude about children in general, but at least they can come over and he doesn't spend the first five minutes alternately barking and sniffing them. It's getting really embarrassing at this point. I've had him since he was about three months old and as far as I know he hasn't had any negative interactions with kids. The only thing I can think of is that he just prefers tall folks since I'm pretty tall (6'4"). This is backed up by him absolutely adoring both one of my friends who is also my height and my brother who is 6'7". Dogs don't work like that, right? Obligatory picture for your trouble: 
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Apr 29, 2013 09:22
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From your post I'd guess he's scared/unsure around children. A lot of dogs are that way if they haven't been socialized properly when they were puppies. (This includes my youngest dog who is absolutely terrified of babies. They look like people but weirder and they have the stare of death in their eyes!) A dog doesn't need to have negative interactions with kids to be scared of them. It's enough that he hasn't had interactions with them, period. Work on simple desensitization and counterconditioning (DS&CC). Figure out how far your dog needs to be from a kid just before he starts reacting negatively. Move a little bit back from that threshold distance and give your dog lots of the bestest treats while hanging out near the kid. Then take your dog further away from the child to give him a break. Rinse, repeat. There's a lot in this thread and the training thread on DS&CC, search for it. Your dog would probably also benefit from the Look At That game, which is also frequently mentioned. Your goal should be to make your dog comfortable enough around children that he is able to perform a nice polite behavior for you instead of barking and then get reinforced for that behavior. The DS&CC work is just to change your dog's state of mind so you can work on training that nice behavior (heeling, sitting at your feet, whatever you choose). Edit. It's also possible that he just gets excited when kids run around. My advice stays the same regardless.
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Apr 29, 2013 13:22
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