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LeeH

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About LeeH

  • Birthday 02/18/1960

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    formulaleeh
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    http://www.havemann.com/lee
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  1. Each of my dogs is different. Daisy- Until nearly 2 years old never gave a hoot about storms. Didn't bother her at all. But the summer we lived in Myrtle Beach, we had 3 tornadoes one afternoon, one an F3 that swept right behind our house. Since that day, she has been terrified of storms. I thought time would help, but we just had a severe storm a few nights ago, and I had 80lbs of dog shaking on top of me for 3 hours. I felt awful for her. I normally don't coddle a fearful dog, but I understand her fear, so I just let her huddle with me and try my best to soothe her. I just wish I could explain to her that not ALL thunder means another twister is coming. Dale- He doesn't mind much. But if it's loud, he gets a tad nervous. As long as he's in the same room with you, he's fine. Ari- He's a typical Golden. Just like Daisy used to be, he snored all the way through our 3 hour adventure the other night. And it was a BAD storm. We lost power for 9 hours, and even our 14 year old son got scared and curled up on the floor by our bed for the night. But Ari just snoozed away as though nothing was going on. Sometimes I think air pressure has alot to do with it. Our storm the other night was constant lightening and thunder...some so close it was deafening, for 3 solid hours. Dale and Ari weren't affected by it. But yesterday we got another bad storm... this one was much shorter and less intense...yet all 3 dogs were up my butt for the duration. :confused:
  2. I thought about a clicker. Even bought one. But then I realised that my current training methods were working, so why change? I never use treats or food or toys. I simply communicate my pleasure to my dogs when they perform the task I have asked of them. So far it's worked wondefully, and I don't have dogs that become irritated when a treat isn't produced for good behavior. Although, I do reward for two things. Our BC hates his nails being trimmed, so after he lets me do it, I give him a biscuit. Also, when I clean my Golden's ears out (they hate that), I will give them a treat afterwards. More of a "Thanks for being a good sport" gesture.
  3. LeeH

    Food?

    I've had numerous vets tell me Science diet is "pushed" on them to sell. I will not feed any of my animals that synthetic crap. The only time SD gets into my home is the ID formula because it works wonders on the dogs if they get a case of the "trots". And even then, it is only fed for 1-2 days. When Daisy was very young, I tried Pro Plan with her for about a month. It was awful! She became very itchy, hot spots, and her coat looked awful. She's on the BARF diet now, and looks great. But Dale and Ari are both on Nutro. I switch the kind of Nutro every month or so for variety. Right now it's one of their "Natural" kinds. I also love the Wellness brand food, but money is tight right now, so I had to go back to Nutro.
  4. Not insane... just concerned. I certainly didn't mean to come across as attacking you, I just wanted to let you know how much it costs. I missed the sarcasm of the comment about college fund and thought you were serious. If you do decide to breed her, I can recommend a wonderful board full of people who are very good at this stuff. They saved my sanity a few times when I was awaiting our first litter. But they too will ask lots of questions about her clearances, just a heads-up.
  5. Just had to chime in here... If you think you will make money...think again. Just as an example... My Golden had her first litter last November. How much did this cost? Before the pups were even born, we had already incurred over $700 in vet fees. Extra feeding for her ran another $300. This was $1000 before she even WHELPED. Post-whelping, we had another $300 in vet fees, $700 stud fee, and an average of $150 per week to feed Daisy and her pups. Now we were LUCKY!! Why? Because Daisy whelped a perfectly healthy litter, and a HUGE litter to boot (14 pups...yes, we broke records). That does NOT normally happen. After all the pups were gone to their forever homes, I sat down with receipts and figured it all out. The whole adventure cost us about $4000 out of pocket. From the sale of pups, we made about $7000. That's $3000 profit. Sound like alot? It sure does! But we had 14 puppies. First of all, you won't have 14 pups...I assure you. Second, 14 pups was an unbelievable chore. I literally had to quit my p/t day job just to care for them. So if you figure in lost wages, and the sheer STRESS of 14 pups, I didn't make a damn penny. Sure, 14 pups cost alot more. But that's my point... the numbers are relative. Our out of pocket money spent wouldn't have been much less...just minus the extra food. Even if we had a "normal" litter of about 6-8 pups, our vet bills would have been the same, as would the stud fee. So if we had a "normal" litter, we probably would have LOST money in the whole thing. And let me repeat... this was a PERFECT litter! No abnormalities, no whelping problems, etc. You can't count on that!! In fact, it is highly unlikely. Even my vet, who has been a vet for 40 years was astounded at how well everything went. If you plan on doing it the "right" way, don't count on making a single penny...and count on losing money.
  6. LeeH

    Euthanasia

    I can't help you, as my eldest dog is only 4 1/2 years old and in fantastic health. But I know the day will come...and I dread it. But many friends have had to make this decision, and they all say the same thing... You will just know in your heart when the time is right. I am sorry you are having to decide this, my heart goes out to you. You are both in my prayers.
  7. Yeah, it's true. Women living in close quarters will cycle together, as will bitches.
  8. Nope. Dale hates water. HATES it. Hates it so much in fact, that he makes life hell for my Goldens when they try to swim or play in any kind of water. He will actually BITE my Golden as she heads into the water...if he is brave enough to chase her in. My Golden loves to be shot with a water pistol, and Dale gets so upset over it, he goes into a frenzy and eventually runs and hides.
  9. No worries. Each bitch is different. My Golden was 15 months old before her first heat. Since then, they run about 10-12 months apart. I don't complain....she's a heavy bleeder, so it's nice to not have to deal with it every 6 months. The only time I griped was when she missed on her first breeding and I knew I had a long wait for her next heat (but she was kind...that was the shortest gap between heats she's had so far). But if you're not breeding, SPAY HER!!
  10. Only two? We're at 3 now and just waiting to move to a bigger home before we add #4. (we're crazy though)
  11. I am so happy to hear you've decided to tough this one out! I think it's a good decision for your dog's sake! As I said before, Dale was hard for the first few months, but he's a great pup now! As for medicating him... I wouldn't worry too much. I've seen many dogs on Xanax and Valium, and they don't get all goofy on it. I have given my Golden Xanax a few times (4th of July usually...she has a fear of the flashing lights...not the noise.) It worked well...almost TOO well! She became so calm and happy about it, that she suddenly decided that fireworks were cool... so cool that she thought she was supposed to retrieve them. After a few chases after the bottle-rockets, I had to leash her for the rest of the fun, lol! Dale didn't do well on Xanax though. It had no effect on him at all. I guess like people, some meds just have no effect on some dogs. Talk to a vet, I am sure he'll know what to give your pup if you choose to go with meds.
  12. I find all of this very interesting reading! By what most of you describe, my Golden and her pup would be candidated for S/A, but they aren't destructive in the least. Daisy has always been my "shadow", and follows me room to room. She also whines pitifully if I close the bedroom door on her (although she has allowed me to shower alone now for about 2 years, lol!). And god forbid I leave her in the house while I do something in the yard. Also makes frantic attempts to get in the car with me if she suspects she isn't being invited. When I get home, she is so thrilled she can't hardly hold it all in. But she doesn't destroy things. On the occasions that I leave her alone with someone else, they say she simply whines for a few moments before settling down somewhere to sleep until I return, and I assume that is what she does when she's alone as well. Now her pup is doing all the same things. Only he still doesn't allow me to shower alone. He actually tries to get INTO the shower with me sometimes, other times he just sits in the bathroom, waiting for me to get out. And I loved the comment about 4 dogs helping you go to the bathroom!! I swear, they must all think I'm going to fall in, because I always get a 3 dog escort into the bathroom, LOL! So maybe I am just lucky that this S/A doesn't manifest itself in home destruction? Or is it just mild? They certainly don't seem to get terribly agitated...it's more of a dissapointment in not being included in the "fun". Mr. LeeH just thinks they all adore me too much and just want to hang out with me as much as possible. I don't really know. I do know that I've never added to a possible S/A development.... I never make a big deal about leaving and when I get home I also don't make a fuss. I always heard that's a bad thing to do to dogs....
  13. I agree with this too. Dale had some serious problems as a pup (food agression, anxiety), and we almost returned him to the breeder. But we kept toughing it out and now we're so glad we did. He's a fantastic dog (even if he is still a big pansy half the time)
  14. I'm with BigD- get rid of the hubby! (sorry, but some days I'd really rather hang with the dogs than the hubby) It's also true about the breeder. If you got this dog from a breeder, contact them!! I have it in my sales contract that any pup I sell is to come back to ME first if they are unable to keep it for any reason....no questions asked. Any good breeder will be more than happy to take your dog in. Good luck!!
  15. I applaud you for admitting the problem and doing the right thing. I hope you don't hear any crap from anyone here...some can be a bit harsh at times. BCs are indeed tough. While our BC doesn't have the issues you're dealing with...he does have his own problems from not being in an appropriate environment for a BC. But we can hang on for now, because we know in the near future we will be living in a much better situation for him. We hope within a year to be in a home with a few acres and can then provide him with a handful of sheep or goats to herd and keep him occupied. I'm sorry you're having to do this, I am sure it is very hard on you right now.
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