MaggieDog

I have a friend who helped a neighbor with a dog that basically had pano of the jaw bone (growing pains) - the vet diagnosed it and put the pup on watered down soft food to limit chewing and he's doing well. Maybe this is the condition that the vet suspects??

Lots of good thoughts! I've known several dogs who had mammary tumors, sometimes multiples, and all did fabulously after surgery to remove the tumor(s).

Yea I would NEVER use it to sedate a fearful animal by itself as it is a paralytic with no anxiolytic (anxiety relieving) properties. Ace used by itself to address problem behaviors due to anxiety can actually worsen the problem because the animal cannot get away from the situation and thus can get increasingly agitated/frightened with no relief.

That's just scary...

I like Simple Solution - didn't have very good luck with the "new" Nature's Miracle when I tried it.

Z learned her weaves at around 13-15mo and she's doing wonderfully on them. Kes is starting open channel weaves right now and 9mo, but we'll wait until at least 14-16 mo to start him on actual close to in line weaves because he's still growing at a high rate. Z quit growing at between 10 and 13 mo.

Also keep in mind that dogs can tie through a crate, so make sure there are at least two levels of "protection" between her and your intact boy. That would something like two doors, a door and a crate, a leash and a fence, etc. You may also want to refrain from walking her around your neighborhood as a female in heat can leave a trail for males to follow back to your house, thus causing major issues even for potty walks in your own yard. Also, see some of pansmoms threads about what her vet said about spaying females too close to the end of a heat cycle - apparently you can end up with some funky hormonal stuff if you're not careful.

I've used the Urban Trail Harness from Alpine Outfitters for blading with dogs in the past - I really like the design and the quality is outstanding.

OMG how scary - soooo glad Scooter was a good boy!

Well I have a very drunk dog here at home now. They sent her home as soon as she could wobble around well enough since she freaks when she's kenneled and then I had to give her a dose of metacam when we got home, so she's pretty dopey and probably will be for a while - I think last time she was dopey until about 8-12 hours after the surgery itself. The vet and techs said she did well and she should be back to most normal activities within 2-5 days, with bone chewing as she's comfortable after that. She has dissolvable sutures in her mouth, so no follow up needed to remove anything. Now, to keep her from staggering around the house instead of relaxing in her comfy crate!

(((hugs))) Know you've tried your best - that's all any of us can ever do for our animals.

Thanks guys - we're getting ready to head out in about 15 minutes - the good wishes and success stories have me feeling better, even if Maggie's ticked she's not getting fed this morning. lol

Maggie's tooth repair from last summer ("patch" for a broken carnassial molar) failed last week and so we are having the tooth extracted tomorrow by our regular vet (not the crazy dental vet thankfully). Since she'll be under general anesthesia and it is a major tooth, we'd love to have some good vibes if we could. This surgery is a great thing for Maggie as it means that after a full year of no heavy chewing allowed she'll be able to go back to her favorite nylabones after she's healed up. Ever since the repair failed and thus I started allowing her to have bones again, Maggie has been obviously less stressed and happier in general - it makes me feel bad that she's been unhappy for the last year (and that I spent so much on a procedure that caused undue stress, too), but we do *know* we're doing the right thing in having the tooth removed this time around. The vet says she'll need to have mushy food for the first day or so after, but should be back to normal within a week. Thanks guys!

Your SO's not going to like it, but I have to say that his dog should be losing his offlead privileges NOW given what you've described. I don't care how friendly a dog is (and yours isn't to puppies at all), it needs to be under complete voice control before it gets off leash privileges. If this dog came running up to my Maggie, no amount of "he's friendly"s is going to make her less likely to react to him nor reduce my stress levels AT ALL. Like Lenajo I'd be pretty ticked if it happened and not just if I had a pup, just in general. I don't think DH should have a choice in the matter - it's either longline or leash until that recall improves because his lack of training is not just affecting his dog, it's affecting others who happen to be walking in the same area. Off lead dogs without owner control are the reason we're losing dog friendly spaces every day imo.

I tried one because I had a coupon and liked it. The only thing that gave me pause was the soy in the ingredients list. None of mine are allergic, but it still made me wonder about its use. All the animals liked it; I fed it as half of Kes' ration for a week because he seems to do really well on homecooked and he seemed to do equally well on the FreshPet. It does remind me of ham and cheese loaf I gotta say, smells a bit like bologna, too.

If he's offleash around pups he needs a better recall - it'll ensure that he doesn't run up to them to practice this behavior, it'll prevent people from getting annoyed/scared by your dog's rude behavior, and it'll give you and you DH something to ask him to do *instead* of interacting with pups. If he's onleash, just give him something else to do as you walk past the puppy - it's not an interaction that needs to happen and the more you take charge of the situation, the better.

My dad used small pieces of adhesive velcro or similar thing (moleskin? maybe) on the points where rattling occurs and swears that it makes the crate completely quiet. Might be worth looking into.

My pups ride in 30" crates and sleep in 36" crates. Ziva would be fine in a 28" crate, but I already had the 30s and 36s so she does the same as the two bigger dogs, who are both about 20" and 32-34lbs.

Maggie's not a full BC, she's likely an even mix of ACD and BC instead, and she chose me vs. me choosing her. Her entry into my life has changed it's course and set me on a path that I will always be grateful for. I was 13 when Maggie found me, volunteering at my local shelter, in love with ACDs and dogs in general, and sadly having been told "no more dogs" by my parents. Maggie was 9mo when I met her, a shy ball of speckled fluff bouncing off the walls of her run. She and I soon became fast friends and she got the special privilege of going with me to the "Back 40" at the shelter: a large fenced area where the dogs could run off lead. I remember her making huge zoomie loops around the field and through the bit of woods on the edge, incredibly happy to be out of that kennel. I walked her almost every other day it seemed for 3 weeks until she was adopted. I had asked my parents if we could adopt her and they said no, so it was bittersweet: three weeks was incredibly long for a dog at the shelter so I was happy she got adopted vs. the alternative. Unfortunately, 3 weeks later, a 10-11mo Maggie was returned for chasing the dogs and cats in the household and because she was afraid of traffic and they lived on a busy street. She and I picked up where we left off and all was well for a week. I emailed the shelter director, a close friend at the time, to just give her a heads up that I was looking for a placement opportunity for Maggie. That evening she called me at home (very unusual) and basically said that Maggie was going "kennel crazy" and was going to be euthanized if I didn't take her - she was alternating between being aggressive to potential adopters and hiding in the far corner of her kennel and it wasn't humane to keep her like that. After a loooong evening of heartfelt talks with my parents they granted me permission to add Maggie to our family. She came home with us 24 hours later and we began the journey through escape artistry, dog-dog aggression and undersocialization rehab, agility, therapy work, and herding that has made me who I am today. She has made me a true herding breed person and while a BC isn't on the horizon for a long while, that half of her has influenced some of our journey and the acquisition of my other two dogs. I'll never be without a herding breed and I always hope that at least one will be part or all BC.

dog.com is the cheapest I've found: $60.99 for 6mo of Frontline Topspot for 25-44lbs; shipping was a few dollars on top of that, but it's still cheaper than anywhere else online.

Congrats on taking the step to find a qualified vet behaviorist!! Please keep us updated on how it goes!

This might be seen as attitude, but heck, I'll still try to help. I think you need to take the time and money and invest in a session with a *professional* not just some trainer that's local. Ideally you'd find a veterinary behaviorist who can actually give you solutions vs. obviously missing the mark like the local trainer has. I don't think I've ever heard any behavior specialist recommend not doing stockwork because it gets the dog too aroused, often I've heard the opposite. You DO need help, you've just not found the right match yet - please don't give up after just one visit with a trainer with limited credentials! And between now and then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE muzzle your dog if you insist on taking him into public - I don't think he should be out there given his past history you've described here, but at least keep everyone safe if you go that route. You should look for a plastic basket muzzle that allows him to pant and drink to avoid heat related problems that "grooming" muzzles can create. I would not be very forgiving if your dog was allowed to approach me, I was encouraged to pet him, and then I was bitten. You and your animal would be reported to animal control at the minimum - I know I'm not the only one who sees biting as an incredibly serious offense.

I've penciled the date in on my calendar; depending on what the plans work out to be, I might bring Ziva and Kes - Maggie would find the idea of other dogs she doesn't know and crating at times abhorrent, those two are much more flexible. I'll prob come up for most of the trial that day and then cap it off with the get together - sounds like a perfect day to me.

Hey that's less than 3 hours from me - we might be able to swing it on the Sunday of the trial weekend. Would anyone care if I brought two unentered dogs as long as they didn't cause trouble?

I think it gives them a better tugging angle lol. Kes hasn't tried to tug from on high but he does like putting his feet on me for leverage if I pull the tug up too high.