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urge to herd

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Everything posted by urge to herd

  1. Forgot to mention this ~ some pain medications become less powerful as a dog's (or human's) body becomes used to it. Ask your vet if the particular medication your girl is on might be one of those. In which case, your vet may suggest another pain medication. Ruth
  2. Check in with your vet, her pain level may be increasing due to changes in the discs. Ruth
  3. Echoing what Lawgirl said in her post. There is soooo much we still don't know about genetics and what influences what. I had 3 at one time. One had not been treated well before we got her. She came with itchy skin that would not relent. Did the organic food only, did the allergy elimination testing, and finally put her on a daily steroid, with my vet's approval. She never had any detrimental side effects from the steroid. Shonie wound up outliving the other 2 border collies!!! It is so very painful to lose them. I hope the loving memories you have of your boy are a consolation. Ruth
  4. border collies are AWESOME dogs! In total agreement with you. You've got a good plan going, please let us know how it goes. Ruth
  5. No ideas about exercise but I've got a supplement that I personally use that has made a HUGE difference. I have severe arthritis in my right foot from some long ago injuries. Somehow I discovered Glucosamine & MSM and it's really helped me. I've got a home with a tile floor and was limping around until I somehow found this stuff. The brand I use is NOW. Check with your veterinarian before starting w/your girl. Best of luck and let us know how you get on! Ruth
  6. If this is an allergy it can be managed but will NOT go away. If it's seasonal, like pollen drifting around in autumn, then your dog will stop itching after the pollen stops. If the environmental cause is not seasonal but all year around, you'll be giving a pill every day, it's simple & quick. And the itching might not have anything to do with what she's eating. Just because your previous BC never itched doesn't mean ALL border collies won't itch. Dogs are individuals and sometimes have individual medical needs. Just re-read your post and checking in with your vet is a good idea. First, because you need a prescription for the prednisone. Second, because your vet might have some remedies that you haven't tried yet AND your vet might have prescription strength versions of the over-the-counter things you've already tried. I understand about financial issues BUT if your girl is continuing to itch intensely she could get an infection. You have tried everything you can and now you NEED to see a vet. Please let us know how you and your girl get on. Ruth
  7. Yes, she was on the prednisone, or whatever it was, for the rest of her life. As I mentioned, she outlived the other 2. My other 2 bc never had any allergy issues at all and they did eat anything! Hope this is helpful. Ruth
  8. ^^^^ What Journey said! About the itchies, I went through the same thing w/my dear and quirky Shoshone. Tried every single protein available, every herbal supplement, every damn thing and nothing worked. I fed her organically 'grown' chicken. Nada. This was over a few months. Finally gave up and my vet put her on prednisone, (I think, could have been another steroid, this was many years ago). She stopped itching within a week or so. There might be better stuff available then there was before. The prednisone was inexpensive and my vet sent the prescriptions to a local Costco, so it was even more inexpensive. I know long term steroid use can have some unpleasant side effects. Never had a one with Shonie. Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
  9. He's playing ball with his rules, not yours. Agreeing w/gcv. and will add that some border collies, not all, may take it further. 'Oh, you want me to come to you/sit/be quiet? Nah, not gonna.' Ruth
  10. I live in Northern CA and I've seen on tv/read in the paper a couple times about pets being involved in serious accidents. What I remember is that law/safety personnel call County Animal Control and they are responsible for dealing with pets involved in auto crashes. Those pets are taken to the County Animal Shelter. They are kept at the shelter, minor wounds attended to by shelter staff, until their humans are able to make decisions about their care. If the dog's injuries are severe, Animal Control tries to get in touch with the owner so that the owner makes the decision of treatment or euthanasia. In your example of the Anatolian Shepherd guarding his owner, the first responders would immediately contact Animal Control, who would arrive as quickly as possible. AC officers would restrain the Anatolian and take it off to the Animal Shelter. I don't know if they would try to bandage an injured dog. You may have some similar system where you live. Ruth
  11. beachdogs that's awesome ! Hooray!!!! In my above post I think I wasn't clear that I cut the tip off the fish oil caps then squeezed the oil on to their kibble. They gobbled their kibble all the same. No issues. Ruth
  12. Terrecar I am so sorry to read the Hannah has passed away. Losing a beloved companion is incredibly painful. I'll be thinking about you and Hannah in the next weeks.
  13. A long shot, but your dog may be inherently anxious. If that's the case, slowing down & backing off can help enormously. For example, when you praise/reward, do so calmly and briefly. Do one minute of training and stop. If your pup does get anxious for any reason, calmly & briefly soothe her. If that doesn't help, put some space between you and ignore her for a while. Remain calm, as well. I know it can be difficult but makes a difference. I had a bc years ago, Shoshone. She had been badly abused/neglected and had been in a good foster home for a while before we got her. Her anxiety was intense, she was afraid of everything. She'd leave the room when we had friends over, hated getting into the car, etc. Got my vet to prescribe prozac for her, which did nothing. Asked the vet if there was any other medication that might work. He prescribed clomiprimine. A few weeks after starting clomiprimine a dog-loving friend of mine dropped by. Friend got down on the floor to say hi to Shoshone. I went into the kitchen to get something or other. When I got back to the living room, Shoshone was on my friend's lap, soaking up some love. Your girl may not respond to medication, but if she were mine I'd give it a try. I think the medication was inexpensive, but this was at least 15 yrs ago. In any case, please let us know how it goes for you and Luna. Ruth
  14. Loved reading about Digger, D'Elle, he sounds like a great dog! It's hard to let them go but needful for them and for us. Ruth
  15. Label on these says, 1400 mg naturally formed triglycerides, 1000 mg of Omega Fatty Acids, and sustainably sourced. Sourced in USA. This is Kirkland, which is Costco's brand. As for human use, last year at this time I was leaving a snowfall of dry skin flakes everywhere. I started using fish oil, 2 caps in the morning, and the dry flaky skin is not totally gone, but at least 80% less. D'Elle, I can not eat seafood, literally makes me vomit. My Mom was that way, too. Taking the caps is soooo easy. beachdogz maybe mixing it in with kibble, which is what I did, made it tolerable for my dogs. Shoshone's coat was oily, nasty oily. It does seem counterintuitive to give a dog with an oily coat fish oil, but I believe it helped.
  16. I started Gibbs on fish oil caps, first used one daily for a week. Just cut one end of the capsule off and then squeezed fish oil into his kibble. After a week with no unpleasant side effects I started using 2 caps daily. Gibbs' coat got very shiny and soft in a couple weeks. People complimented me on his coat frequently. I think I used it for Shoshone as well and it did some good. For humans ~ I take 2 caps daily. My skin the last couple years has been very dry in winter. If I skip the fish oil for more than a day my skin starts to flake and I get a bit itchy. Hope this is helpful. R
  17. Sooo, supplementary to the above posts ~ a few years ago I started acknowledging myself when I did something difficult that I'd been avoiding. I was always ready to scold myself, but never thought to notice when I did something right. So I started doing that for ME as well as the dog(s). It has made a difference. If you give it a try please let me know how it goes.R R
  18. All my dogs have liked fruit. Gibbs would stare at me and drool if I was eating an apple or some cherries!
  19. Soooo adorable ~ I can almost smell the puppy breath from here! R
  20. Stella is BEE YOU TI FUL! Hope you have a great time with her!!! Ruth
  21. Just thought of this about the peanut butter ~ it's not that easy for dogs to eat. It can get stuck on their tongue which might feel weird to them. A bit of cooked chicken or a piece of whatever your guy really loves is best. A couple of my dogs have loved fresh fruit. I couldn't cut an apple without wagging tails magically appearing. R
  22. D'Elle, no apologies necessary. We, (all of us who have dogs) know that dogs don't last as long as we want them to. It's never an easy decision to make, but my head and my heart know it was the right one. R
  23. Journey gives great ideas! Work on one thing at a time, until you've got Parker kind of 'blah' about whateveritis. Start by simply picking up, or even just touching a paw, reward. When Parker's response to that becomes, 'fiddling with my feet again, ho hum . . .' Haveve the first couple things you work on be the most simple for Parker. As for treats, if peanut butter is not a good enough treat, then up the value ~ scraps of chicken or whatever he loves. DON'T give that type of treat in any other circumstance, only when you're working with him on an issue. Keep your own attitude sort of ho-hum, too. That might help, too. Good luck and keep us updated! R
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