OurBoys

Well said, Sue and Julie.

Right or wrong way, the thundershirt isn’t going to work for all dogs. Jake got to the point where he associated the thundershirt with thunder and would start stressing more when I would pull it out. Like Jennifer, Alprazolam/Xanax has worked for Jake better than anything we’ve tried over the years. All of the others things I tried helped a little. He went from eyes glazing over, heavy panting, lots of drooling and inability to walk to heavy panting and a lot of pacing and trying to find cubby holes to crawling into. (If we had afternoon storms for a few days in a row, he would give himself diarrhea.) Because of the meds, if I can get a pill into him an hour before the storm in over us, he lays calmly on the floor now when we have a storm. In the past, trying to get him to go out to use the bathroom soon after a storm passed used to be a headache. Now it’s a battle of the wills because he wants to go out the front door instead of the back door. Where Jake used to start stressing out at the first sound of thunder or saw it had started raining, he now barks at it. (I’m not fond of barkers but if that’s his way of dealing with the thunder I’m ok with it.) Depending on the dog, sometimes medication is the key.

Have you tried changing your training technique? When Jake wouldn’t get something after the 3rd time I showed him I knew it was my fault. I wasn’t communicating to him in a way he understood what I wanted from him. Everybody's given good advice. I like Sekah’s suggestion in regards to recording your sessions and the timer idea though I would still end on a happy note even if was just putting Camden in a heel (or whatever command he knows).

I think that would be a beautiful gesture, Mara. I think they would appreciate knowing they gave Kipp a few more days of quality living.

I’m so sorry for your loss, Julie. The day I read about Willow I cried for you. How do you say good-bye to someone who changed your life as much as Willow did? You were so lucky to have had her in your life. Run free, Willow.

I am so sorry for your loss, Mara. Run free, Kipp.

^^This. A couple of years ago Jake came up lame with one of his back legs. When he would first stand, he wouldn’t put any weight on his back right leg. After a few moments he was walking around as if nothing was wrong. I found out if I massaged his leg he would use it quicker so for a few days I gave him baby aspirin, leg massages and made him rest. He didn’t get over it so I took him to his ortho vet. He found out Jake had a pinched nerve in his back. Three laser treatments and 5 trips to the chiropractor fixed him right up.

Good luck, Bridget! That sounds like a wonderful home!

Jake came up limping Saturday evening....left front leg. I tried to find out where he was hurting (paw, leg, shoulder) but couldn't. When DH got home from work, he tried to figure out where he was hurt but couldn't either. With baby aspirin and rest Jake was feeling much better by Sunday night. By Monday morning, he was back to his old bouncy self. I'm still watching him but he isn't showing any signs of his leg bothering him again.

Our dogs get bordatella vaccines/boosters. There have been 2-3 times over the years I’ve pulled dogs from shelters that ended up having KC. Thankfully, none of mine got it. Was it because of the vaccines or was it because they were in good health to begin with?? I don’t know. But with JJ being almost (best guess) 12 yrs old, I’m not going to take any chances.

http://theilovedogssite.com/urgent-dog-cat-food-recall-issued-may-14th-2014/

Awwww....What a cutie pie!

That was my first thought too. I have a feeling JJ’s vision isn’t as good as it used to be. He’s still an ok Frisbee catcher but he’s missing more throws than he used too. He also doesn’t particularly like going down the 11 steps to get into the side yard after dark. During the day he’s fine. He has no problem going down the steps in daylight. Night time is a different story. With that said, he doesn’t have a problem going down the 3 steps off the front porch day or night. He also doesn’t like going out back after dark without me. If I don’t go outside with him after dark, he won’t leave the back deck. And when he does, he’ll look back to see if I’m still standing on the deck. The changes are real subtle. There’s the possibility Quinn could have just been having a bad day. The next time you take him to work with you do an experiment. Give Quinn the impression you are leaving and step out for a few minutes and see what he does.

As you can see from my 3 I'm not very imaginative when it comes to naming dogs. The only "different" names I can come up with is... Grit Squirrel (j/k. That's Josie's nickname. For some reason it suits her.) I think it's harder to come up with names when you haven't seen the dog/puppy in person. When I was on my way to get Josie I was wondering what to rename her. DH liked Jessie and I liked Jasmine. As soon as I saw her both names flew out the window and the name Josie popped into my mind. When DH got home from work that night I told him "I'm sorry, Sweetie, but her name is Josie". DH tried his best to name her Jessie. He admitted later "You're right. She's a Josie". I think when you finally get to see the little man (ok, pup) in person the right name will come to you. ETA: Bae

I'm not suggesting not taking your pup to the vet but I have a dog that can't eat pork. Dogs are also lactose intolerant (once they're weaned) so cutting out the ham and cheese might help.

When I had Tobi she would pick on the dogs. When Josie first got here I would stop her from chasing Tobi until I realized Tobi wanted her to. When Tobi died Josie grieved like I never saw a dog grieve before. It broke my heart a second time. I know not all dogs and cats get along but it's awesome when they do.

My heart dropped when I saw this thread. I'm so sorry for your loss, Kristine. Run free, Sammie.

Our dogs have never been on a specific schedule but if I haven't taken them out for their last potty trip by 1:30am, Jake will usually remind me.

Congrats!

It's been a while but we like to take our dogs hiking but it's always on designated trails and they are always on lead. Personally, I believe some people don't belong out amongst the wildlife. (I'm not referring to anybody on the boards.) Several years ago DH & I went to Pigeon Forge, TN. While there, we decided to drive over to Gatlinburg one day. There were about 4 cars in front of us when a cub ran across the road in front of the 1st car. There was a pull off so naturally everybody started pulling over. Before DH could bring the car to a stop, the lady in the car in front of us jumped out with her camera. I yelled "LADY! GET BACK IN THE CAR!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE MAMA BEAR IS!! Later, when I realized what I had done, I apologized to DH for yelling in his ear.

Sending Kipp lots of mojo and keeping you both in my prayers.

Gibbs, I don't think that's what Ruth had in mind when she told you that you had to work for your treats.

Josie was 6 mos. old when she came into our lives (so I was told). I could tell when she would start picking on JJ's and Jake's last nerve. I knew if she just had a chance to calm down she would take a nap so whenever she would start picking on the boys, I would stuff a Kong with peanut butter and toss it in her crate. Before she could finish with the Kong she would be sacked out. She was so cute falling asleep with the Kong between her paws. Do you have a toy like a Kong you can put PB in? FWIW, Josie would need 3 naps a day initially then graduated to 2 then 1.

Welcome back. I'm so sorry for your loss and the difficult times but I'm glad to hear life is better for you now.

Is the litter box located in an area with a door? (Ex: bathroom, utility room/mud room/ whatever they are calling it nowadays.) If so, a cat flap works great. Just make sure you keep the door closed. Of course, if you rent you would need to get your landlords permission. A baby gate might work but I can see a determined Border Collie easily jumping over a baby gate.