aljones

Mandakay eventually chose to euthanize Chance, the dog discussed in that thread. But I cannot remember her reasons for doing so...trying to search now to refresh my memory. ETA: If I'm reading/remembering correctly, Amanda was not able to obtain a definitive diagnosis and successful treatment for Chance here locally. Here is a thread she started about her experience.

I am sorry for you and for Sammy. I hope your remaining days with her are filled with all the love you've shared for her long life.

Although I don't have experience with that particular antibiotic, Ody had two teeth extracted and some dead gum lasered off shortly after we got him. Poor guy also had two other procedures done while he was under (neutering and tumor removal from his hip). Oh, and he sliced his tongue snapping unexpectedly at the clippers the tech was using to shave the area around the tumor. In other words, he was one hot mess when I picked him up at the clinic. Because he's a decade old and had all those procedures thrown at him at once, I thought it would take him a long time to act normally again. But I was happily surprised at how quickly Ody recovered. We did keep him crated a lot, as his balance isn't that great even on his good days, and basically let him rest in peace through the next few days. I hope Buddy starts to act like himself soon so that you can both feel better!

I've been learning a lot about allergies since adopting Ody last fall, and it sounds very probable that Ozzy is reacting to something in his new food. I would definitely switch him back to the Innova right away and see if he quits itching. I'm not exactly sure how quickly you could expect the itching to quit (just this week, I've started the "challenge" part of figuring out what exactly Ody reacts to), but my vet said we should expect to see any returning allergy symptoms (like itching) subside in a couple of days. Folks with more experience might know if it takes longer for them to stop itching if they've been on the allergic-reaction-producing food longer.

I am so sorry for your loss, Kathy. There is no good way to lose a treasured companion and partner, but there is something especially hard about it happening so suddenly. Rest in peace, Jag.

I'm sorry to hear that news, Mary. My BC William was also 11 when an ultrasound revealed a large mass (about softball-sized) on his liver. I opted to have it removed, but it took some work to find a surgeon who would take William as a referral, given his age and the size of the mass. The good news is that, after his surgery and recovery, William had two more good years. We were fortunate. I will keep a good thought for your friend that she gets answers to her questions and can then make a plan that she's comfortable with.

I am so sorry to read this update. I had been following your journey with Pan, too, and cheering from the sidelines when it seemed you were making progress. Thank you for everything you did for her, and I hope that, in time, you will be able to remember Pan for what she taught you and not for all the painful challenges you faced. With every good wish for you, your husband, and Pan at this extremely difficult time, Angie

Just fyi, I grew up on a farm in central IL (near I-70, which, for natives, is the southern border of the "central" part of the state). My folks are still there, and I'd be happy to answer any questions about the area if you end up considering an offer that direction. We ran sheep (my 4-H/FFA project), goats (my brother's 4-H project), and cattle and raised a variety of field crops (corn, beans, sunflowers, wheat, etc.) and hay (timothy, clover, alfalfa).

Since discussion in this thread has turned to qualifications and what makes one an "expert" in the field of dog training and behavior, I decided to share some information I recently read about people's attitudes toward dogs and children. I thought a brief summary of a report published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association relevant here. Granted, I have only read the summary, not the full report (since the summary was published in DogWatch, a monthly publication out of Cornell's College of Vet Med, and I subscribe to it). But I think most of us would agree that the JAVMA is an "expert" source, and perhaps some of our members in that field would be able to share a fuller explanation and/or critique of the report itself (it is in vol. 233, no. 9, just fyi). Title of the report: "Effects of gender and parental status on knowledge and attitudes of dog owners regarding dog aggression toward children." Summary as presented in DogWatch (vol. 13, no. 3, March 2009):

With sympathy to you and your family on the loss of Nala. Many of us here have been in your shoes and can empathize. I hope you have many happy years ahead with Emma.

That is such great news! I am so glad to hear that Torah will be receiving all the treatment she needs, thanks to your believing in her! I will gladly send a little PayPal donation along to add to the fund.

Great news--congratulations on being reunited!

So glad to hear that Torah's paralysis went away after her hundreds of parasites were removed. She both looks and sounds like an absolute sweetheart. But the HW news, of course, tempers the positive. Have you and the vets decided what's next for her?

Sorry, Kim--that was not my intent at all! I first saw the title of this thread right after Pam posted it this morning but had been hesitant to reply to it because I didn't know if I should or not. So I guess I was trying to hedge my bets with my response, along the lines of "not sure if you care, but I'm going to chime in anyway."

Since you placed this "Under the Handlers Tent," Pam, you're probably looking for folks with 30+ years' experience working dogs. But I'll mention that I've had border collies since 1977, first as kind of all-purpose farm dogs growing up and then as pets as an adult. And the first two BCs I had as an adult were actually out of a bitch you bred--one of them had washed out of a working placement, so we were an especially good match.

The most recent dog I had neutered was a 10-year-old who had been used as a stud at a puppy mill. So I was delighted when these were the differences in him after his neuter: * no more "marking" in the house! * no more leg humping of people! * less picking fights with my other (male, neutered) dogs! However, with younger dogs who haven't had a chance to develop these bad habits, I haven't really noticed a difference in the dogs' behavior after neutering. I hope Jax has an easy surgery and a speedy recovery.

I had a puppy I was transporting & overnighting break w/ parvo at my house about a year ago. When I talked to my vet about my own dogs' risk, she said it was very minimal because they were all UTD on their vaccines. Happily, none of them had any problems, and I hope that's the case for Birdie.

I thought I recognized Tobey's adorable face from the GHF website. Congratulations on adding him to your family, and it's great to hear that he's settling in so well. I look forward to hearing about your adventures with Izzy and Tobey.

Have you considered adding a young adult dog instead? If so, I encourage you to contact Mo-Kan Border Collie Rescue; those good folks always seem to have a lovely assortment of dogs available and would work with you to find the right fit for you, Tommy, and Ellie.

Oops--sorry I made that assumption. It just means "private message," which is kind of like an email that board members send through the board. It's a way to continue off-topic discussions. I'll send you one just so you can see what I mean. Yes, making sure Angus has all the water he needs is definitely key, isn't it? I just thought you sounded like you'd prefer to have him in the house at night if you could, and this medication might make that easy to do--so I wanted to offer it as a suggestion to consider. It has saved my sanity by letting me sleep through the night after many months of having to get up and take Johnson out!

Apologies in advance for the hijack, but this part of Bill's post jumped out at me: My dog Johnson (also a rescue, btw) also has diabetes insipidus, so I feel your pain! We have had great luck giving him a small dose of desmopressin at bedtime to allow him to go throughout the night without having to make a trip outdoors to urinate. (We had no luck giving him the full dose each day, but that's another story.) If you are interested, I can share a lot more info about what I've learned in figuring out a treatment that works for Johnson and us--feel free to PM me. And thanks, everyone, for your contributions to this thread. As a person who grew up on a farm in one of those "little or no training" situations Pam mentions, I have enjoyed seeing the perspectives presented here.

Well, since I believe this comment is directed at me, I'll respond briefly. The quotes I included, while from the thread on Cody, were comments you had made quite recently about Taffy. I included them here because they seemed not to match with your current concerns about her behavior, so I'm not sure why they were "unproductive." After all, in your original post on this thread, you included this statement: And concluded with this statement: To me (and obviously to at least some other readers), these two sentences do express concern about Taffy's bonding with you and fitting in to your home. However, because you have since said that was not the intention of the thread.... I wish you luck in resolving whatever it is you see as the main problem or issue you and Taffy are having.

I think Kim makes an excellent point here! After all, if you decide to devote a week to worrying about your bond with each of your dogs, it doesn't seem to leave much time or energy to enjoy your time together. Plus, in the thread you started about Cody being too "clingy" with you (just 7 days ago), you say and

I'm glad to hear that you've had improvement in some of those areas that were tough right at first, especially with the dynamic among the dogs themselves. I would think it would be overwhelming to bring two new dogs home in such short order, but I'm happy that, with your help, they have worked out many of their problems. That, at least, must make day-to-day life easier. I guess if this is really the bottom line, I would then have to ask why aren't you planning to rehome him? I do think the suggestions to give him more time and try different training techniques with him are excellent ones, but if you don't want to do those things, what is to be gained by keeping Codee? He will just keep behaving as he is, which will aggravate you and make you want to spend less time with him...so it seems like a pattern that benefits neither you nor him. Am I missing something?

I am finding this thread really interesting reading because I've had experiences all across the spectrum in terms of how quickly or slowly my dogs and I have "taken" to each other. My three current dogs are all foster failures, so I obviously did not intend to keep any of them. However, at some point, I realized that I couldn't adopt them out. Although none of them is a dog I would have gone out and picked for myself, I've been fortunate that it's worked out for the best. And, as others have noted, it sometimes takes quite awhile to feel a connection to a dog--my Kate, who arrived as a puppy, and I were at loggerheads for the first couple of years we lived together. However, this part of your recent post really stuck out to me (I've added the emphasis): I think there's an important distinction to be made between "not liking" a dog (as in, the two of you just don't connect for some reason) and and "not liking" a dog's behavior (the way it acts). The behavior, after all, can be changed! I remember, shortly after you got Codee, that you posted about his behavior on the rescue board. At that time, Mary (of Starfish BCR) gave you some information about resource guarding and ways to address it. I wondered, then, if you'd tried any of these or other strategies to help Codee behave in ways that are more acceptable in your home?