aljones

My sympathy on your loss of Dallas. She looked like a grand old lady, and how fortunate you were to have 15 1/2 years with her. I hope those memories bring you comfort.

I am so sorry for your loss, Anna.

Hey, that sounds quite promising! I'll add my hope that it's something really simple and easy, like a short-term increase in his water consumption.

Yes, I think there are several of us with red dogs here...maybe we're just not frequent picture-posters? I have to admit that I've started noticing red BCs more since acquiring one myself last year. Like Shoshone, my Odyseuss is red and white with blue eyes...but, unlike Shoshone, I don't think anyone who saw him would ever call him "very pretty." He has a lot of damage to his muzzle from his first decade of life (before we rescued him), and my vet wants to do reconstructive surgery on him to repair it. But we're tackling the quality-of-life health issues first. ETA: I'm enjoying seeing beautiful dogs in this thread, so I'll add a photo, too. Here is the best picture I have of Ody--it makes him look almost normal!

Karen and Erin's points about water intake are great ones--and, since our poor dogs are deprived of outdoor water sources, things I hadn't even considered. Well, for what it's worth, Johnson's urinary problems originally presented as an ongoing combination of stones and UTIs. It was only after a few months of not making progress eliminating those conditions that we started looking for an underlying cause, which eventually led us to the DI diagnosis. But you are right that very dilute urine is a poster-child of a symptom for DI (Johnson's is essentially water, in terms of its specific gravity). So if Bill's urine is normal-colored and just increased in quantity, I would not be thinking DI right off the bat. Hope you get answers on Monday and that Bill is back to normal soon.

Hi, Betty, In this case, I would cross my fingers and hope like heck for a UTI. The reason I say this is because another cause for a lot of urination is diabetes insipidus (not "sugar diabetes," but the other kind, where animals cannot concentrate their urine). From my experiences with Johnson, DI is difficult and expensive both to diagnose and to treat. Let's just say that I ran by the pharmacy this morning to pick up a refill of his daily meds, and the tech handing me the bottle apologized for the cost. (And Johnson is on the generic. And this pharmacy has the cheapest price for it in town.) Plus, getting him on meds and regulated cane at the end of about a year of going not-so-slowly mad and driving to UT for consults with specialists and an MRI. But I really don't want to be the voice of doom. There are lots of other possible causes, and I hope that Bill just has something simple like a UTI.

Happy Gotcha Day to Buddy and Mary!

Oh, how scary for you and Grady. I don't have any experience with dog eye emergencies, but DH did have one of his own in December, so I have an appreciation for how stressful and worrisome they can be. I hope you get the best possible news as soon as possible.

I am so sorry you and Nikita are facing this, and I will keep you in my thoughts. I do know it made things much easier for me and for my Kate last fall when our vet came to the house, so I hope that will allow both of you to be as comfortable as possible when the time comes.

Exactly--our shelter here is between the river and the interstate, in an industrial drive-by district. Plus, I know several people who just flat-out refuse to go there ("it's so sad--I couldn't possibly look at all those animals in need" or fear of disease). The RePets store, on the other hand, is in a strip mall with several popular restaurants and shops--it is also open in the evenings when people are visiting those restaurants. As a result, it seems to attract a lot of walk-ins who are browsing around, including (which seems strange to me) people who won't set foot in the shelter. Even if they're not actually adopting a pet, they are (I hope) being educated a little more about pet overpopulation and becoming more aware of adoption as a future option.

Our local shelter here in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has collaborated with a local businesswoman to create a variation on this theme: she has created a retail store in a busy strip mall that supports the efforts of the shelter. Not the same model as the CNN piece (or at least what I could tell from the video), but a similar idea of taking adoptable pets to a "pet store" setting in a higher-traffic area. So far, it seems to be very successful. The few times I have stopped in, after dinner at a neigboring restaurant, there have been several people looking at the available pets and buying pet supplies. And I know the shelter appreciates having another location to feature its animals. For anyone interested, here's the store's website (its name stands for "RecycledPets"): RePets. The "About Us" link explains more.

Since my house seems to be developing into a border collie retirement home, I'll be interested in what other folks respond to your question, too. But here are my initial ideas: 1. The poop issue is not related to Jackson's response in this situation, although you might want to talk to your vet about Simon, esp. if he does this again right after coming in from outdoors. 2. Finding a way for Simon to eat in peace and undisturbed is very important for both his physical and his mental health. Therefore, separating Jackson and Simon at mealtimes seems like a good strategy, both so Simon can eat calmly and so that Jackson doesn't have other opportunities to act like this. Can you crate one or both of them? (That would be my first choice.) Feed them in different rooms, separated by a door?

I would guess the same kinds of people as those she's sold her other dogs to. Ryott, for example (mentioned on the "Testimonials" part of the new website), was advertised very heavily on Craigslists across Tennessee and north Georgia for at least several weeks, and for something like $500, if I remember correctly.

Definitely glad to see both East TN and West TN Border Collie Rescue recommended here, as I have had nothing but positive experiences with both those organizations. And really relieved to see books' catch on the sham rescue and Eileen's edit on that point...so my head didn't have to explode. As other folks have already said, there are uncountable border collies in the mid-south (I can't remember if you are still in TN or have moved to KY) that need homes, but if you decide not to go the rescue route, I hope you are now recognizing that there are much better breeders from which to obtain a dog.

Good point. And we mustn't forget her brother, as well. It was a whole family affair, as I recall.

Oh, am I ever sorry to see that what I'd hoped was only a fantasy life of breeding has turned into reality.

I'm glad you asked this because Ody has become a soil-eating fiend in the last few weeks. Now he has Spirit interested in his new hobby, too. I asked our vet about Ody's backyard snacking at his last appointment, but we have so many other things to worry about with him that I don't think it's on really on her radar. And I've been hearing from friends in Tennessee and Alabama that their dogs who have never previously shown an interest in eating dirt or mud have started doing it recently. None of the dogs in question has had a diet or known health change, and we are collectively baffled by the new behavior.

Thank you for sharing that tribute to Stinky. She was obviously well loved in her long life.

I'm interested to hear if other folks have had luck with this system (I know I read it in an online guide--by DoberDawn, I believe--when I bought my dremel). I tried it with Spirit, my pyr mix, with really bad results. I thought he was extremely freaked out by the dremeling itself, but the first time I tackled his nails without the nylon, he was much calmer--turns out, it was having the stocking pulled over his foot that was bothering him the most. Spirit has some serious toe fur, so I usually trim it with scissors before dremeling his nails. If I'm lazy, though, I just use the fingers of my non-dremeling hand to extract the nail from all the surrounding fur, holding the fur away from the nail I'm working on. His furry feet have actually turned out to be less of a problem when dremeling than I expected them to be.

I am very sorry for your loss, Billy. Last fall, when Kate received a totally unexpected and terrible diagnosis, I learned that a sudden loss brings its own particular variety of heartache. I am thinking of you.

Thanks for that clarification, Patty. I guess I didn't even realize there was an original, quality product--had just been reading a lot about people's unhappiness with the Petipaws that has been so heavily advertised lately. Maybe I should have gone with the Peticure and its guard, too, since I always seem to skin up my own nails while grinding down the dogs'!

Like Kim, I have given up cllipping in favor of dremeling; I aim for every week, but it's usually every 2-3 weeks, depending on how much walking on concrete the dogs have been doing. I have one really noise-sensitive dog, so it is taking him longer to relax during his sessions than the other two, but I don't see going back to clipping anytime soon. I've never been that good at clipping with any animal (grew up trimming sheep and goat hooves, in addition to dog ones), and I can get the nails shorter and smoother with the dremel. BTW, everything I've read about the Pedipaws (or whatever that mini-dremel-gadget is called) says it's a waste of money. If you decide to go that route, I'd just buy a dremel instead.

I am so sorry, Sue. What his life lacked in length, it sounds like Bute more than made up for in enjoyment. I love the picture of him on the bale--it seems to capture many of the characteristics your affectionate tribute highlights.

What a relief! So glad to hear that it sounds like a very easily managed situation, and I wish you and Holly all the best!

I've been following your journey with Pan but not posting because I haven't had any insight to add...however, mojo I can do, so best wishes for all of you for tomorrow's appointment!