courtnek

the only complication that I know of is a possible allergy to the anesthesia, and the vet can test for that beforehand. I got Free spayed at 4 months, the worst side affect was that she acted drunk from the anesthesia for about 5 hours. she was up and about in 2 days. with girl dogs its a bigger surgery, so for the first couple of days they should be kept relatively quiet, but other than that its a no brainer. now dont get upset, but make sure they are doing the whole thing. its basically a hysterectomy, if done right. some vets only tie tubes, and that does NOT always prevent pregnancy, and it also doesnt afford the protection from uterine and fallopian tube cancer.

[quote name='Lucky Chaos']I was thinking of getting one of those for Riley. Being a border collie he has tons of energy to burn. And I don't much fancy being pulled off my bike because he sees a squirrel. :wink:[/quote] the better springers use metal poles to attach the dog on a harness to your bike. it prevents them from running in front or in back of you, and if he saw a squirrel while he may lunge, the metal poles are very strong. you just have to watch him while you're biking

my sons cat, Ford, is an escapist. I came home, and called the cats to feed them. he didnt come. this is not unusual, he shows up when he wants to and eats. Laurel the foxhound was antsy, looking and baying at the door. after 15 minutes, Ford still hadnt eaten and Laurel was still antsy...I searched for Ford. he's not in the house, and Laurel is still wanting to go outside, out front. I take Laurel out on her lead, and she starts dragging me down the street. this is not like her, she is very good on the leash. around the corner I see 3 dogs, no owners in site, thrashing at a bush. I hear a "mew" Ford cannot meow, all he does is mew. I know that mew, its Ford.I let Laurel go to the extent of her lead, she takes the other dogs on. I have never seen her angry, she is as gentle as snow, but she is growling, snapping and threatening every dog there, HER cat is NOT prey and they better get used to it. she drives them off. Ford comes out and I carry him home. Laurel follows and sniffs him every opportunity. they are both now laying on my bed. bottom line, hounds are not always bad with 'PREY ANIMALS" under certain home circumstances they will protect them.

mine have a huge yard to run in, and thats most of their exercise during the winter. in the summer, I walk them at night, to give them something differnt to smell, or take them to the river and let them run.

get "green wood"..the kind that is used for outside fencing. it resists absorbtion from liquid. get it wet, and rub black pepper into it. one chew session and they'll hate it. I did this with my privacy fence and shed. it doesnt look pretty, but it does the job. it will ahv to be re-coated with pepper after it rains... until they learn to leave it alone.

:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: I have an 18 yr gear head...my yard is a pig sty...engines, tractors, pieces of metal tubing...at least its behind the shed.... racial slurs are not acceptable in my opinion. no matter what...

I agree with the 6 ft fence, for the safety of your son and the dogs, but as far as that ill-mannered heiffer goes YOU GO GIRL!!! how incredibly rude, and vicious of HER. to not like or be afraid of the dogs is one thing, but that is no excuse for the racial slurs she threw at X. I would be equally as PO'd as you are...and may not have handled it as calmly up front.

Free taught Laurel that she should bark/bay and go ballistic every time someone comes to the door and especially when the mail comes. Laurel taught Free to countersurf. Free taught Laurel to NOT bother her while she's eating, even though Laurel eats three times as fast. Sharing is NOT an option.... Laurel taught Free that the first one to get to the water bowl gets to drink first, so she waits while I fill it and put it down. She taught the cats this as well. Poor Free always drinks last.... Free is trying to teach Laurel to NOT countersurf, by tattling on her every time she does. Laurel does not however tattle on Free. I have to catch her in the act.... Laurel taught Free how to rip open the dog food bag if I neglect to put it in the vittles vault immediately. Free taught Laurel to not bother the old PushyC@t, by snapping at her right after PushyC@t swatted her. Free taught Laurel to NOT insist I get up at 4:00 am, by running her out of the room and pushing the door closed with her nose...(I couldnt stop laughing....) all and all, I think they've both shared all their bad habits.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I too am sorry for your loss, and I wish you much luck in our future endeavors. you did what needed to be done. I believe he could have been rehabilitated, but not everyone can do that. it takes a lot of work and total consistency, which is hard to do with a baby. since he couldnt have been rehomed, and I feel that you felt you could no longer trust him, then this is best. good thoughts coming your way.

that, or possibly he doesnt like the smell of the gas...their noses aremuch more sensitive than ours..he was a rescue right? maybe he remembers something bad about a grill, or the gas smell.... :o

right now they are both on NILIF..which I live by for top dog control purposes. she sees the treat, and obeys the command, whether it be dinner, or going out, they both have to DO something for priveledges., I am breaking her into smell/treat..she is not blind yet, but will be. my command are now smell/sit...where I hold out a treat, or dinner, or open the door. opening the door is smell/out. I am hoping to train her early, so that when she is completely blind she will respond to these commands... is this bad? does anyone with a blind dog have suggestions? please? I WILL NOT give her up!!!!

aw darn....I thought you wanted us to NAME him...LOL I was going to suggest HeavensGrace, from where he was found.... you could call him "Heavi" :lol: anyway, those nose markings me think spaniel, but its hard to tell at this age on any dog.... he sure is a cutie though....gonnabe BIG too, by those paws. :D

actually, I reported "Save Toby" to the IRS... if he really IS raking in that much cash (probably not, but who knows) I am SURE Uncle Sam would want to know about him..... even if he isnt, being called up for an IRS audit ought to just make his day....the guy I talked to said mine was not the first report, and they were seriously looking into it after seeing the "cash counter" on the web page...hee hee! I'm evil, I know.... :evilbat: edited to say Some jokes just ARENT funny....

I am VERY fortunate that all of my neighbors but one have dogs, and they all do barkfests with each other thru the fences.... the police have been here twice because of Laurel however...she is a hound and her bay made the neighbors think she was being abused (if you dont know any better you'd think it was a howl/cry). can you talk to this neighbor?ask them to bring their concerns to you first? if possible introduce the dogs to them and get on their good side. good luck

how old? what were the circumstances? does she normally not like this neighbor? did the neighbor do something? did you actually see it? need more info please in order to help you.

Laurel - came with that name. means either literal "Laurel" tree (like a Laurel wreath) or a pet name of Laura. I dont care for either, but she was too old when I got her to change it. I've been calling her Lauren, I like that better. Freebee - self explanatory if you know her story. she was an "ooppss" pup between a purebred yellow lab and who-knows-what? The mother was literally indistinguishable. My ex went and got her while I was asleep, or I would never have let him. the lady was selling them as "purebred GSD's"....(with floppy ears? not in this lifetime) but he saw through it and she gave Freebee to him for free. He named her. it was cute soI kept it. I went and saw the mom a few weeks later..she could pass herself off as almost a coyote....

Laurel was a hunting hound before I got her. I dont understand the specifics, but the lead vet (who is good at diagnosis but bad at bedside manner) said he has seen it before in hound dogs. maybe a nourishment problem, or maybe because her eyes run through heavy brush? she has scars on her from thorns, and other dogs, and heavy brush... *sigh* he just pissed me off so bad..... Free is helping out. she's a healer, and doesnt like anything out of place. with her people, the cats and Laurel.... I am teaching her "blind dog" commands, for the eventual outcome. she now comes in (on NILIF) and looks for her treat before obeying a command. I am now teaching her smell/sit. smell/laydown/ etc. I hold the treat out, and let her smell it, or her dinner. the tell her to do the command, and she does. its taken a bit, she doesnt understand the additional "smell" command. but she's learning. she's a smart dog. If I had had her from a puppy, theres no telling what she could have done.

Free has hit on me a few times, for things she didnt like, like getting her nails clipped. Laurel hit on Kyle once, because she was sleeping and he startled her awake badly. she grabbed his hand and then let go immediately. his hand was red, but uninjured. the dogs and cats do it to each other as well. its just a warning gesture, as I explained to Kyle.if she had wanted to damage you, she could have easily. she could remove fingers if she wanted to....both of them could.

yea Laurel the Foxhound was called a Pit Bull as well... :o

ok my take, from having broken a number of much more aggressive dogs over the years. your pup has a possesion issue. she seems to think that once its hers, no one else can have it. you need to be the top dog in your household, and you should be able to take ANYTHING from your dog, including her dinner, whenever you want to. that means that if you want to stick your fingers in her bowl while shes eating, she better just accept it. put her on a short 2 foot leash, and leave it on her whenever you are there to watch her. If you go to take something from her and she objects, pull her away from the object with a strong tone of LEAVE IT! then pick it up and put it up high where she cant get it. the next time she gets it is on your terms, and if she doesnt give it up willingly, she loses it for that session. keep this up till she learns that she gets nothing without your say so, and if you say give it up thats what happens, or she loses it. the leash will prevent you from being bitten in the process. these are pack animals, they know pack rules instincively. YOU have to be the top dog. once you have established that rank, she will no longer try to best you over possesions. you are alpha, EVERYTHING belongs to you, whenever you want to take it.

she was diagnosed originally with bad peripheral vision...so we just learned to not approach her from the side without a verbal Hey! hows it going? but it is getting worse. closing in from peripheral, and starting to affect frontal vision as well..its funny some of you mention Free. At first she was only barely accepting Laurel, until the ear infections. she got to clean, she was happy. (if I could teach that dog to clean the house I'd have it made. she licks my feet if they're dirty, my sweater, my clothes, no mud is allowed. no cuts, bruises ot skins can get past her. even a ZIT will make her want to lick it! whats with that? my son is a teenager, she drives him nuts trying to lick his occasional pimple clean...) she is being very understanding. she stands back and lets Laurel out first then nudges her into the yard. she can still see somewhat, but Free seems to know there is a problem. I call them in, and Laurel runs up first but Free stops her at the door and goes in first,so Laurel can follow her scent. I honestly think she knows....the furniture in here will never be moved, since its so small theres no where to move it to. I often wonder if this was meant to be? she was returned twice due to her fear...I wonder if this was part of it...losing your vision, even in a scent hound, must be weird since no one can explain it to her. thank you all for all the good wishes. I dont like th lead vet, and ahvent for a long time, and if it wasnt that our arguing was upsetting Laurel I might just have smacked him. He told me I was being "irrational" in my responses. I said "you just told me to give up my dog!" he said "so you want to keep her although she will end up permanently blind?" and I said WOULDNT YOU? or are you so callous you dump an imperfect animal at the first chance? thats when he stormed out and said "you're on your own then.." the lady vet (who I adore) mouthed very quietly "feel lucky you dont have to WORK for the jerkwad...." and I just CRACKED UP. She will help me, whether he approves or not. she's done so on a number of other issues all along. we keep them "underwraps" :)

it will happen gradually over time, but she will end up blind...shes a scent hound, it wont impact her too badly.my house is so small that moving th furniture is not an option. she'll be fine. I only noticed it because Free is a healer dog...she wants everything right. she has been licking Laurels eyes like she licked her ears when they were infected... when I saw that, I did eye recognition tests, she failed.

and they cant stop it. she has acted weird for a while...its a thing that sometimes happens to hounds who were hunted. her eyes were somehow damaged, and will eventually fail. I am looking into a second opinion, but I knew here eyes had issues.. what pissed me off was that they said "she will never hunt again" like I CARE!!! and that I should find a rescue group to take care of her... I yelled NOT GONNA HAPPEN and the lead vet said I should shut up... and I said SHE'S MY DOG. I WONT SHUT UP!! and he said "then you'll have to deal with it. "I WILL. THANK YOU. WHEN I WANT YOUR OPINION I'LL *ASK*... I dont like him..and the lady vet doesnt either. she said she will help me with whatever I need..I know I can trust her. :o :o

its not just beagles, its scent hounds in general...their noses, and ears, help them to do their job, but it works against them in a home. they hear and smell and intuit better than we do. they are very sensitive, bred that way to "read" the huntmasters every wish. most huntmasters treat them as "assets", not pets. they live in a kennel with other dogs, who do the "loving" part with them. so its kinda hard for them to adapt to a hojme, especially when one member makes them feel they arent performing up to par... my hound was very scared of me in the beginning. I learned to be gentler with her, lower my voice and not yell (yelling at Free is the only way to get thru to her sometimes) and she responds. My son does not understand that at all.

by "baying" I'm assuming he's a hound. hounds are very gentle creatures, in some just a nasty look will send them off with tail between legs...my hound still bays at my son, because he wont take the time to show her he's not a monster. her husband may be the same way, not abusive, but not encouraging either. if you dont see signs of abuse I wouldnt assume that. its a hound thing. they are very sensitive animals, more so than most dogs, and sometimes men just dont understand that. they usually have their pack to rely on....they know their place. baying at a male is usually just a way of relating....their hunt master expects them to bay in greeting and during the hunt. it would be better if he would relate to the dog, but if not, baying is to be expected. both in self defense, and in greeting.