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 I need help figuring out what to do about this cat... It showed up at my house yesterday, it was a little skittish but turned out to be really sweet and social and talkative. We gave it a bowl of food. It seemed really hungry and quickly ate a third of a large bowl (probably close to a meal worth). We guided it around the back of the house, away from the street, and it ate another third of the bowl. We set out a box with towels under the cover of a table in case it needed shelter. It definitely went inside the box for at least a little while We couldn't decide if it was a stray or an outdoor cat, so we left it alone. In the morning around 6:45 I checked and it was gone. It was gone most of the day. Around 8pm today it came back, eating the last third of the bowl of food we left out. Now it's snowing. I'm not sure what we should do. It sort of seems like somebody's pet because of how sweet it is, the fact that it was out all day, it doesn't seem to have any mites/worms/fleas, and also because today it seemed better groomed than when we first saw it. It might be a stray because: -It was fairly filthy when I first saw it (in the picture) including paws covered in grey dust. Today it was overall cleaner but the paws were still dusty. -It has a very large bald spot on its back where it looks like another cat ripped out its fur -Its front-right paw is very scraped up -It's not neutered and it has no collar I checked on it a little while ago and it was resting in the box. It didn't seem to notice it was snowing. If it's still out there in an hour I'll probably get our cat carrier and bring it inside. Is there anything I should do to be sure it's a stray? Is it okay to leave it alone overnight in the box? Should I be more concerned about bringing it inside where my two indoor cats live? I'm worried about the little guy 
Deus Rex Machina fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Feb 4, 2014 06:50
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If you take him to the vet they can scan for a microchip. If you want to take him in with your kitties, make sure he's defleaed and dewormed and passes a vet check.
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Feb 4, 2014 06:57
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Does your town/county have a local facebook group for buying/selling or a lost pets facebook page? If so toss the cat up there with the general area where you found him and see if any one claims him.
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Feb 4, 2014 17:58
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Uhh so I'm fostering two cats right now and one of them really doesn't like my cat, Fussy. He growls and hisses at Fuss and Fuss just meows like an idiot, then Hunter, the foster, will occasionally get into a fight with him. I introduced all the cats gradually, and there were no problems for over a month, these issues have just arisen over the past week or so. A few days ago I came home and Hunter, the foster, was pissing on my leather sofa. Cleaned it up, tossed him in the litterbox to finish up, no big deal. A few days later, there was a full-on pee on the couch that I cleaned up again, and moved one of the boxes to the living room so that he has somewhere to go if he needs it and is too angry to head to the other boxes that are on the other end of my house. I've been using Nature's Miracle, so luckily there isn't any lingering stink. Earlier today, the cats took a nap together and there was a little growling, but not much at all and no fights. Later, Hunter was sitting on the cat tree in my spare room and I heard him growling, so I went in there. He was sitting on the top of the cat tree growling at Fuss and urinating. He wasn't spraying, he was sitting there, chilled out as gently caress, and just letting loose with his urine. What the gently caress is that? Should I take him to the vet? I've looked at the pee every time, and it's not bloody at all. It might be a little yellow, but I don't have any other cat urine to compare it to, colour-wise. I know I can just contact the rescue and ask about taking him to the vet, but I don't want to worry them if I don't have to. Ninja edit: There are no problems between Hunter and the other foster, or Hunter and my other cat.
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Feb 5, 2014 04:31
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We have 2 humans and 2 dogs in my house Myself, the boss, a 10 y/o (adopted 2 years ago) Beago (beagle + golden retriever mix) and a 4 y/o(adopted 1 year ago) Lab mix (lab + mutt) Pack hierarchy is me then the boss and the beagle think they are on the same level and then coco at the bottom get told what to do by everyone. As long as we are at home enjoying our little portion of the planet everything runs mostly smooth with the occasional challenge by the beagle but I outweigh her by 110 lb's so that is remedied by some timeout time in the corner. However, my dogs are superbly antisocial with other dogs when they are not at home if we go to a dog park or on a walk. CoCo (the 4 y/o lab) runs from other dogs, puts her tail down, head tucked in and goes and hides in the smallest most closed in safest spot she can find (or curled up around my leg.) We've tried introducing dogs (calm ones at first then exited ones all friendly of course) to CoCo at our friends houses and around here and she wants nothing to do with them. She will hide until they go away. We've tried leash training as they walk past in the park, freerange training with fenced in yards ect. She shuts down and this makes me sad as I want her to run and play with the other dogs. Does anyone have any training ideas? Is it even possible to bring her back from this at the 4-5 y/o point? I have no idea how she wants to play with the beagle all the time other than coco recognizes her as above her on the pack tier. Is there something I am not doing as the owner or something I should teach the beagle to do so that CoCo can socialize with other dogs? My dogs do everything they have been trained to do (sit, stay, beg, paypay, down, find muma, find yahsista, somebodyhome ect) but they don't play well with others and its kinda putting a damper on taking them places.
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Feb 5, 2014 18:53
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Minclark posted:However, my dogs are superbly antisocial with other dogs when they are not at home if we go to a dog park or on a walk. CoCo (the 4 y/o lab) runs from other dogs, puts her tail down, head tucked in and goes and hides in the smallest most closed in safest spot she can find (or curled up around my leg.) We've tried introducing dogs (calm ones at first then exited ones all friendly of course) to CoCo at our friends houses and around here and she wants nothing to do with them. She will hide until they go away. We've tried leash training as they walk past in the park, freerange training with fenced in yards ect. She shuts down and this makes me sad as I want her to run and play with the other dogs. Does anyone have any training ideas? Is it even possible to bring her back from this at the 4-5 y/o point? First, pack theory and dominance are mostly outdated when it comes to dogs. Dogs aren't wolves, and feral dogs don't exhibit the same pack structure. Many trainers and experts who explain things with pack theory also advocate methods that can exacerbate soft dogs' issues. Coco sounds a little shut-down. I would recommend switching your ways of dealing with her to be obnoxiously positive, and work on confidence-building. For me, that would involve clicker training and a lot of treats. At home this might be doing free-shaping exercises like 101 things to do with a box (link). On the road it may be something like Look at That (link), staying at a distance from the other dogs where she doesn't paste herself to you. A well-run training class would also be a good low-pressure way for her to learn to work around unfamiliar dogs. Don't push for a dog-dog intro until she can work with you in close proximity to other dogs. Even at that point, limit it to calm dogs who would ignore her. When she's relaxed and loose with uninterested dogs, then you can start mixing in the higher-energy dogs. Engineer Lenk fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 21:34
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Could someone possibly do a write-up/megathread for the following breeds? Pit bull, Husky, lab/golden retriever?? Also if anyone has experience training guide dogs I'd very much be interested, as I would like to train one of the above breeds to be my guide dog.
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Feb 6, 2014 06:46
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Karmakazi posted:Could someone possibly do a write-up/megathread for the following breeds? Pit bull, Husky, lab/golden retriever?? Also if anyone has experience training guide dogs I'd very much be interested, as I would like to train one of the above breeds to be my guide dog. I think the trend of PI is moving away from breed focused megathreads, but there are some bully breed megathreads in archives that might help you learn about pits, and the primitive breed thread can help you with huskies. What do you mean by guide dog exactly? Like as a seeing eye dog? A therapy dog for a physical condition? Mental condition? I can tell you now that a husky would make a pretty rough therapy dog as they are on the more independent side.
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Feb 6, 2014 14:01
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Yeah, what sort of task are you looking to train the dog to do? I know a good trainer who used to train service dogs that might be interested in helping you out, or at least pointing you to some good groups.
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Feb 6, 2014 17:29
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How do you know when a dog is comfortable and feeling safe? I ask because my dad recently discovered that when his dog Mickey(chihuahua) is being a yappy rear end in a top hat, if you plonk him in a big Rubbermaid tote he shuts right up and just sits there. This came about from my brother having friends over, one of whom Mickey absolutely hates. Half hour of solid barking landed him in the tote. Repeated again last weekend when my husband and I visited. When he's barking he seems to be a combination of overly confident and "oh god don't eat me" with lunges forward with tail windmilling followed by cowering. Once he's put into the tote, he just sits there and looks around for a bit before laying down until someone calls his name and he gets let out. There's no lid involved and the tote is large, about 14 gallons. His reaction is about the same with a small dog crate though it involves far more grumbling and fuss to convince him to go inside. I'm pretty crap with small dog body language, so I was wondering how okay Mickey is with this? Are we terrorizing the dog? Because I can have a stop put on this if we are. Also, Merle, the havanese I brought up earlier, may have already found a loving home with my sister's in-laws. They're having Merle over for an extended play date to see how he adapts. So far the only issue is that my sister's cat goes searching for her little buddy and cries when she can't find him.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:25
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It would be a guide dog, I'm legally blind and it would assist in my navigation, particularly at night when it's harder to see. Aside from B.A.R.T. here in the bay area, I walk primarily everywhere I go and it's not uncommon for me to cover 10-15+ miles in a day and i want a dog that can can handle the distance/weather with a small "backpack" while maintaining focus on guiding and team safety. Ideally it would also be a great family dog, good with children/smaller animals. I know the temperate/behavior is really a case of socialization and training and I believe any dog can achieve a canine good citizen with proper training.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:11
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Karmakazi posted:It would be a guide dog, I'm legally blind and it would assist in my navigation, particularly at night when it's harder to see. Aside from B.A.R.T. here in the bay area, I walk primarily everywhere I go and it's not uncommon for me to cover 10-15+ miles in a day and i want a dog that can can handle the distance/weather with a small "backpack" while maintaining focus on guiding and team safety. Ideally it would also be a great family dog, good with children/smaller animals. I know the temperate/behavior is really a case of socialization and training and I believe any dog can achieve a canine good citizen with proper training. Temperament does vary considerably between breeds. There's a reason most seeing-eye dogs are Labs or Goldens. Huskies as mentioned will tend to be too independent for the work. Pits in general have fairly high prey drive and many grow into some level of dog aggression so they wouldn't be a good choice to have around smaller animals. Canadian Bakin posted:How do you know when a dog is comfortable and feeling safe? I ask because my dad recently discovered that when his dog Mickey(chihuahua) is being a yappy rear end in a top hat, if you plonk him in a big Rubbermaid tote he shuts right up and just sits there. This came about from my brother having friends over, one of whom Mickey absolutely hates. Half hour of solid barking landed him in the tote. Repeated again last weekend when my husband and I visited. When he's barking he seems to be a combination of overly confident and "oh god don't eat me" with lunges forward with tail windmilling followed by cowering. Once he's put into the tote, he just sits there and looks around for a bit before laying down until someone calls his name and he gets let out. There's no lid involved and the tote is large, about 14 gallons. His reaction is about the same with a small dog crate though it involves far more grumbling and fuss to convince him to go inside. I'm pretty crap with small dog body language, so I was wondering how okay Mickey is with this? Are we terrorizing the dog? Because I can have a stop put on this if we are. It's a management strategy. If he's comfortable he should flop down on the floor of the tote with loose posture. If he's really stiff, keeps a paw off the ground or shakes he's probably uncomfortable. It doesn't sound like the tote would address the underlying reactivity. If y'all want to change his reaction to visitors, have visitors ignore him and toss him treats. No eye contact will make him less likely to get upset, and treats raining from the sky has the double whammy of giving him something to do that's not barking and creating a positive association with visitors.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:38
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Engineer Lenk posted:have visitors ignore him and toss him treats. No eye contact will make him less likely to get upset, and treats raining from the sky has the double whammy of giving him something to do that's not barking and creating a positive association with visitors. We can do this, easily. There's even a nice little ledge by the door where a treat jar can go. Would it also work to have siblings throw treats before people get inside? He'll sometimes start barking if he notices the doorknob turning.
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Feb 7, 2014 00:02
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Engineer Lenk posted:A well-run training class would also be a good low-pressure way for her to learn to work around unfamiliar dogs. Thanks for the response I am going to try it this way what should I look at as far as choosing a well run training class. I know pet smart has some classes but I'm fairly sure that not the right choice. Just not sure how to grade a class and pick a good one.
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Feb 7, 2014 00:07
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Canadian Bakin posted:We can do this, easily. There's even a nice little ledge by the door where a treat jar can go. Would it also work to have siblings throw treats before people get inside? He'll sometimes start barking if he notices the doorknob turning. Minclark posted:Thanks for the response I am going to try it this way what should I look at as far as choosing a well run training class. I know pet smart has some classes but I'm fairly sure that not the right choice. Just not sure how to grade a class and pick a good one. You could start by searching for trainers through the APDT. PetSmart is a mixed bag in what you get - some trainers are good, others are useless or worse. Their classes are usually in the middle of the store, and that might be overwhelming for CoCo. A good class for CoCo would mean that everyone has control over their dogs (particularly when entering and leaving), they use reward-based methods (like clicker training), and enough space from the other dogs so that you think she won't completely shut down. If you can observe a class, take in the atmosphere and noise level and go with your gut - you probably have a good idea of what would constitute a challenging environment for her versus an overwhelming one. The shelter where I take most of my classes has a dog manners class specifically for shy dogs, but that's not terribly common. Since it sounds like she already knows a lot of behaviors, you could look into one of the mid-level or more advanced classes; this usually has owners who are a little more aware of their dogs. Something that's designed to prepare dogs for the Canine Good Citizen test, an entry-level Rally Obedience class, a Control Unleashed class or even entry-level agility training would work.
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Feb 7, 2014 00:35
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Minclark posted:Thanks for the response I am going to try it this way what should I look at as far as choosing a well run training class. I know pet smart has some classes but I'm fairly sure that not the right choice. Just not sure how to grade a class and pick a good one. Look for places that talk about being positive and using science based training methods, avoid ones that talk about dominance and pack leader stuff. Then ask to sit in on a class and make sure all the dogs and owners look happy and relaxed and things are under control. If they won't let you sit in on a class I wouldn't go there. I've been to a lot of training places that looked great on paper but then I saw dogs completely shut down or dangerous situations that the trainer was oblivious to and was really glad I sat in before signing up.
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Feb 7, 2014 00:36
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Is it worth it to get pet insurance? We're wondering if it'd be cheaper in the long run to pay for vet visits using pet insurance vs. straight out of pocket. I assume it works similar to human insurance, but I really am not well versed in either subject. If it is worth it..anyone had good experience with any, and if so can you recommend to me a good company? Edit: Male Shih-Tzu, neutered, around 4 years old, no known pre-existing conditions aside from a skin irritation we want to get looked at.
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Feb 8, 2014 00:36
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Obscurity posted:Is it worth it to get pet insurance? We're wondering if it'd be cheaper in the long run to pay for vet visits using pet insurance vs. straight out of pocket. I assume it works similar to human insurance, but I really am not well versed in either subject. If it is worth it..anyone had good experience with any, and if so can you recommend to me a good company? I looked into it a couple years ago and the consensus on consumer reports was that it only paid for itself if your dog ended up an absolute train wreck of health problems. Which means in retrospect, I should have gotten it.
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Feb 8, 2014 01:28
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So my 9 month old pup is eating her poop a lot, and it's pretty gross (her breath, noxious gas...). It's really cold where I live right now so following her out every time, especially early in the morning to pick it up isn't all that appealing, but my secretary was telling me she had these pills she gives to her dog tht makes eating poo less appetizing to dogs. I'm always a little hesitant about things like that, but I don't want my pup to get sick from eating it. Has anyone had experience with it or recommend a solution? We tried hot sauce but a) she liked it b) if I'm going outside to put hot sauce on poo poo I may as well pick it up.
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Feb 9, 2014 03:01
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The pills can work. Pineapple can work. It can be a bitch to deal with though, so picking it up is always the first line of defence.
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Feb 9, 2014 13:49
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Coprophagia is the loving worst. Tater gets into this laser focus mode at the dog park where he'll stalk dogs that just came in or are heading to one of the dog-approved pooping areas. I've had some success luring him away... ... but often as not the power of poop outweighs cheez-whiz he almost always manages to sneak a bite or two while we're there and a minty-fresh after-dog-park dental treat is always in order. Pumpkin or pineapple will help your dog with eating her own, but it won't keep her from eating others if she interacts with other dogs outside regularly. Some dogs just really like the taste of poop  The good news is that poop-eating is relatively harmless according to some unfortunate researchers, as long as your pup is properly medicated (heartworm in particular). Dogs in theory grow out of it by nine months but try telling that to Tater. He's lucky he's cute, the little bastard.
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Feb 9, 2014 17:37
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By the way, when I asked the vet about controlling it while at the park they suggested a muzzle. Think about how that would play out 
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Feb 9, 2014 17:38
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Just get one of these: http://www.outfoxfieldguard.com Not actually saying you should, a client asked if they should have their dog wear one due to foxtails constantly and I felt I should share.
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Feb 9, 2014 19:07
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a life less posted:The pills can work. Pineapple can work. It can be a bitch to deal with though, so picking it up is always the first line of defence. Yeah it's more or less for the convenience of not going outside when its -35. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it by Jesus wept, her gas is weaponized because of it. Maybe I'll give them a try. Thanks all.
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Feb 9, 2014 20:12
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HelloSailorSign posted:Just get one of these: Point being he'll still smoosh his face in the dogshit cuz he's an idiot. Now you got two problems 
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Feb 9, 2014 20:51
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My friend's standard schnauzer used to snack on poo poo, it was horrible watching him run towards you with at all smeared into his beard.  We're looking at adopting a chillaxed Shar Pei, but I had a query about the damage done to the top of her ear where they fold over from multiple fly bites? It's left the area all pink and raw (now healed, but hairless) - and it has apparently been like that for a little bit now. Is it now scarred and the hair won't grow back in those spots, or will it be okay in time? EDIT: Bonus picture of her on a Pomeranian's bed with damage visible. 
crowtribe fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 05:10
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I guess eating their own poop is better than eating goose poop. That's what my Basset loves to do, walking her is a battle against her trying to find "snacks."
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Feb 11, 2014 06:52
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Okay, so, I adopted an amazing little furry buttface back in July. He's aweomse; however, he is quite an urpy little guy. He throws up quite often, a few times per week. Mostly it's clear and a little foamy, sometimes it's just food, but that doesn't really concern me. He farts a lot, too. Should I be concerned? He doesn't seem lethargic or in pain. He eats twice a day, grain-free soft and hard food mixed together. Kibble is from Blue and wet food is California diet. I've never seen him eat his own poop or my cat's poop. I've done minimal internet research because I feel like it would be akin to trying to research a side pain on webMD, where it would tell me I have a brain tumor. Should I be alarmed or concerned? I just don't know if I need to take on the cost of a costly vet visit if I don't need to. If anyone has experienced the same thing, I would love to have some feedback! His name is Otis and from what I know about his background is that he's 3 years old, he was in the shelter for around 3 months, and is part short haired Chihuahua aaaand something else! I think part Beagle, but he doesn't bark a ton like a Beagle. He is super fast and can jump really high, though. Anybody have any thoughts? He's great with my cat, but will chase furry little creatures with reckless abandon until they are out of reach (until the squirrel runs up a tree). But he once chased after a full grown buck for over 20 minutes.  Here are some bonus pictures of the little fart face:  
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Feb 11, 2014 10:11
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Braki posted:Your vet should be able to tell apart the two, although sometimes it can be quite tough unless they actually take time to dilate the pupils. Nuclear sclerosis doesn't cause blindness though, so if you feel that there is impaired vision, then something else is definitely going on. She probably can run up and down the stairs really well because she's home and she knows where everything is. Do you notice if she's worse in an unfamiliar environment? So, an update. I took her to a new 'regular' vet for a second opinion since her opthalmalogist appointment isn't until next week. They said she might have maaaaaybe the faintest beginnings of a cataract in one eye and a tiny possible beginning of a mineralization spot on the other, but they were pretty confident she can still see just fine. I'm still going to the eye specialist so we can confirm, but the new vet thought it was insane anyone would consider eye surgery on Luna. She also suspects arthritis and wants me to try a low dose of tramadol when she's stiff to see if we can isolate the cause. She's hesitant to try anti-inflammatories in a dog her age until we retest her liver enzymes at her dental next month, because they were slightly elevated at her last blood work. So. Yeah. Looks like I'm going to have to fire my old vet. They've fear-mongered me one too many times.
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Feb 11, 2014 20:12
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I've been trying to think of a way to wear out Artemis who seems to have an unending supply of energy, since it's cold and dark outside and all wintery. My thoughts are on a spring box kind of thing, does anyone have any thoughts? Basically, get an industrial sized metal spring, attach it to a heavy base, put some sort of box/separator around the spring so it doesn't catch any hairs/toes, and then attach a rope toy to the other end of the spring. Presto, tug toy extraordinaire! Haven't been able to get to the hardware store to look at parts, but I wanted to get the hiveminds thoughts on this kind of thing.
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Feb 12, 2014 17:31
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Don't know where else to post this? Found my cat in the yard playing with a very small mouse. It wasn't moving much and cat didn't seem bothered when I took it off him, so I'm wondering if it was just something he found rather than caught. It's pretty obvious it's not going to live, I'm just not sure what to do. It's small, even for a wild mouse, and it uh... seems to have no eyes. At first it looked like the eyes had grit stuck in them but the little eye holes actually seem to be *empty* and what I thought was dirt is like dried eye gunk or something in and around the lids. There was an ant crawling on its head, frantically trying to get in the eyes. The mouse itself just hunkers down and doesn't like to move so it's probably in pain, and when it tries it kinda jitters and staggers around, so something's not right in there anyhow.I've put it in a box, with some water in a bottle lid, but I think that mouse is just gonna sit there, not moving, until it finally dies. It might be kinder to just kill it, but I'm horribly squeamish and I wouldn't even know how.  I've put the box up high where the ants won't find it, but I dunno what I should be doing, or what I'll do if it's alive in the morning.
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Feb 13, 2014 14:07
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Corridor posted:Don't know where else to post this? Found my cat in the yard playing with a very small mouse. It wasn't moving much and cat didn't seem bothered when I took it off him, so I'm wondering if it was just something he found rather than caught. It's pretty obvious it's not going to live, I'm just not sure what to do. Cervical dislocation is considered "humane" in lab settings, so if you'd like to humanely euthtanize the mouse, consider that.
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Feb 13, 2014 18:41
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My dog got in a small fight with our friend's dog over a toy, his paw pad got bit or scratched, and it bled quite a bit. We washed the wound and have placed a home-made bandaid over it. A quick googling shows that dog pads apparently "don't heal like other skin." I'm not sure what this means, but do I seriously need to take him to the vet over such a small cut?
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Feb 14, 2014 23:54
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I am not a vet but I've never taken my dogs to the vet for small pad cuts and they've all healed fine.  I'd probably just keep an eye on it if I were you, and if it doesn't seem to be healing well then go in.
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Feb 15, 2014 02:16
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Bella's been licking at her dew claw on her front leg for a few days. Tonight I've noticed it's a little swollen. She was just in the vet's a couple of weeks ago for a couple cracked nails + her shots. Should I wait and see if it settles on its own?
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Feb 15, 2014 02:59
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Writer Cath posted:Bella's been licking at her dew claw on her front leg for a few days. Tonight I've noticed it's a little swollen. She was just in the vet's a couple of weeks ago for a couple cracked nails + her shots. Should I wait and see if it settles on its own? Was there anything done about the cracked nails? When I see multiple cracked nails and/or nail bed inflammation or infection, I worry about an auto-immune disease of the nails. Sometimes, if it's just one or two nails I just have people watch out, but if some nails, as this dew claw may be, become clinically affected then treatment may beneficial.
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Feb 15, 2014 03:17
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HelloSailorSign posted:Was there anything done about the cracked nails? When I see multiple cracked nails and/or nail bed inflammation or infection, I worry about an auto-immune disease of the nails. Sometimes, if it's just one or two nails I just have people watch out, but if some nails, as this dew claw may be, become clinically affected then treatment may beneficial. We've had absolute tons of ice and snow here, and the vet said it wasn't uncommon for them to crack their nails as a result. Because Bella's so fussy with her nails, they actually trimmed them all down in order to make sure they'd regrow properly. Like I said, she was in for her shots/check up and the vet said she was in great shape otherwise. I mentioned the nails offhand and she suggested getting them trimmed.
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Feb 15, 2014 03:48
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I have a livestock guardian Pyrenees dog named Mork. I dont really know how old he is, we got him with a large purchase of goats. The guy we got him from guessed his age and that puts him at 12 if he is close. That makes him a pretty old guy. He has always been very dignified and tolerant of people, but not really a people dog. We feed him twice a day and sometimes he will let us pet him. A couple days ago we found him down in the pastures and brought him inside. Vet diagnosed pneumonia and gave us a course of antibiotics. We are running through that course but running into secondary problems like constipation (possibly an antibiotic side effect?), refusal to eat, and he occasionally appears to want to stand but can't. We are working with the vet on these issues, but does anyone have ideas about making him more comfortable or supportive things that aren't really something a vet would think of? We have him on a (changed daily) old blanket close to the stove, and I have a blanket folded so he lays with his head slightly elevated and his spine is a little higher than his stomach. He is drinking, but has only ate a little bit of cooked chicken and chicken fat so far (less than a handfull). I have offered lots of meats and eggs (and his regular dog food), but he just sniffs them and turns his head. I realize he may just be at the end and I want to make him as comfortable as possible at minimum, or hopefully have some more time with his goats if he pulls out of it.
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Feb 18, 2014 02:29
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Do any of you happen to own a miniature pig that you keep indoors as a pet? My girlfriend and I are considering getting one in the future but before she brought up the idea to me I honestly had no idea that pigs came in various sizes like that. Just wanting to know if they make very good indoor pets.
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Feb 18, 2014 07:37
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| # ? May 16, 2024 00:24 |
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There are rather few true mini-pigs, and even then, I've never seen one, just read about them and how those "true" ones cost anywhere from $4k-$9k. When you consider the "normal" pet pig as the pot bellied pig which are still pretty big, a lot of "miniature pigs" are just regular pigs that will grow into mammoths but there's not really any repercussions for the sellers to mislabel. They can show you the parents, but since pigs can breed at 6 months, which is well before complete full size maturity, you can easily be fooled. Pigs are VERY big investments of your time. If you do not train and train hard you will end up with an intelligent monster who bites and fights and destroys your home. Interesting things like... never feed by hand otherwise they will bite your hand... never let them see where food comes from because they WILL destroy the barrier to the food... oh, and pig poo poo is literally the most foul smelling thing ever. The only thing I've smelled that has actually made my nose and throat HURT while smelling it is pig poo poo. All pigs upfront cost as much or significantly more than dogs - about $1k for the cheap pet ones. That's if they're local. Tack on another thousand for shipping. That's also assuming the person actually breeds them correctly and so the piglet doesn't die in a few days when it gets to you due to the breeder not giving a gently caress about pigs. THEN you need to find a vet that sees pigs. In a major metropolitan area? Congratulations, you get to drive an hour to see a vet. With an angry squealing piece of poo poo in your car. Oh yeah, their squeals wake the dead. Mind you, I've never owned a pig, and I've worked with them only a handful of times. However, this is what other vets who see pigs say, so I repeat it here to save you. As one of the pig vets on a forum I read says: "OMG just get a dog"
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Feb 18, 2014 08:05
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