courtnek

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: for two days now, I have been going out and finding water on the kitchen floor. Lots of it. Laurel is a lazy drinker, I thought it was her. nnnoooooo....its Ford!! She sticks her paw in the water bowls, and swirls it around and throws water all over the floor!! I didnt have any film in the camera. I'm going to load it now and try to catch her at it again....

p.s. yuo can actually use any floor wash you want. thoroughly wash out the swiffer canister, in very hot water, and let it dry. you dont want to mix chemicals, so you have to wash it until you cant smell it any more, and then let it dry. Then you can refill it with whatever liquid floor wash you want. I make my own, using pine needles from the blue spruce in the back. It smells like a pine tree (not like Pine Sol, which I feel smells too strong, and "checmically") but rather like a fresh cut Christmas Tree. :)

I have a swiffer with spray. They actually arent toxic DAL, that was one of those urban myths that got started, like the Febreeze one. There is no antifreeze in the swiffer floor wash. It's thought that both of those myths got started by people who were protesting the company. If its just hair, and not dirt, the regular swiffer picks it up wonderfully. And to make the pads last longer, throw them in the dryer and let them tumble for a few minutes. They work using static force. The pads are "electrified" which makes them attract hair and dirt. you can re-static them in the dryer. So you can use the same pad, with lessening effects, 2 or 3 times before you have to throw it out. a vacuum with a hose works too. the part that does the drapes is good for hair.

he is gorgeous. And his name fits so well. Taurus-the-Bull...with those outstanding eyes and that stare, he looks a little like a bull. I can see someone feeling a little intimidated by that stare. His eye color makes it look that way. Huskies always look a little more intimidating too, because of the eye color, and the stares they have.... MY Taurus was a GR, looked about as intimidating as tree sap, but underneath it all he was easily as stubborn as a real bull.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

my bathroom is small, and with 4 of them the rule is stay out til I'm done. Ford has sometimes been in there, checking out the tub before I went in, and all she does is watch me go and play in the tub with the soap that she knocks off the edge.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

crawling babies and dogs, any dog no matter how gentle, can easily become an issue. The dog has not yet determined that the baby,no matter how small, is higher than him on your family totem pole. When Kyle was a baby, I had a malamute mix named Jarvis. The two were never allowed alone in the same room. Kyle was either in his swing (up above the dog) or in my lap or on the couch (again, above Jarvis' head) if he was on the floor, he was in his playpen. If he wantedf to crawl/explore, Jarvis was put in the basement or locked out of the room. Jarvis never once did anything even remotely aggressive to Kyle, and actually saved him once from falling down the stairs. (They had been seperated by a door, which the cat managed to open). I guess my only advice is to simply not let the dog and baby share the floor. I have heard of too many instances where a baby sets a dog off, the friendliest ones in the world, and no one really knows why, or what happened. It's just safer this way. You cant move as fast as the dog, you already found that out. I had people tell me I was mean for not letting the dog and baby interact, but Jarvis was 90 lbs. and stubborn. I didnt want to give him up, so my compromise was to keep them apart. Jarvis would lay under his swing, lay on the floor by the couch when he was on it (in his baby seat) and commune through the walls of the playpen, but never really any direct one-on-one until he was much older. and none of this was even allowed if I wasnt in the room as well, where I could watch them interact with each other. I almost had heart failure when his dad laid him down on Jarvis' back and took a picture. Nothing happened, but I had visions of horror running thru my head. Anyway, as both Jarvis and Kyle got older, their favorite game was to put Jarvies harness on, attach his leash and let him pull Kyle up and down the sidewalk on his roller blades. Yes, they became the best of friends. Yours can too, with special considerations towards both baby and dog. Good luck.

if she heels perfectly off lead, and I hate to say this, maybe she was actually punished with a lead. or even a halti of sorts. Who knows? as long as she is getting better, I;m sure you're right. It's just a trust thing. glad to hear she's doing better. :angel:

[quote]I've heard this stuff before about "all dogs have e coli in their systems," so why are MINE sick from it?[/quote] there are many different strains of e-coli. it is not unusal to find it in dogs, or other animals, GI tracts. However, only some (and according to the article, looks like only a few) actually cause illness. I would guess the one(s) that make you sick are like super virulent forms of the same general bacteria. bacteria can evolve from its original state into stronger, harder to kill forms. that's where the huge red flag about antibiotics has been raised. They have been finding that todays AB's are not working as well at killing strains of bacteria, because the bacteria itself has become immume to them. Through evolving into another strain. Some say its because dr's were giving ab's for things that werent bacterial, and others say its because the meat and poultry industry routinely give ab's to their livestock to prevent illness and boost health and growth. either way, its now believed that the "bugs" are getting ahead of us in the bacterial war... I'm your your doc told you this, but make sure you finish all the ab's, even if they are getting better. you have to kill the entire strain, or it can come back as a stronger, more virulent version. glad they're getting better!! :)

I give my dogs rawhide, when I am here to supervise the chewing. it helps their teeth stay clean, and as long as someone is watching, its not a bad thing. I would NOT give it to a puppy tho...

I would agree with that. with sewage in the yard, you may never know exactly.

ok in my years of owning dogs, I have found two things. The smart ones can often be too smart for their own good, and the dumb ones are generally very laid back but slow in their training. I dont think Peaches is dumb, or too smart. I think she's stubborn. My guess is that people have required less of her because she is disabled. "Awww, look, she only has three legs, go easy on her". what they dont seem to realize is that a three legged dog is just as able to get around as a four legged one. They quickly learn to adjust and really dont even seem to care. I dated a guy in HS who;s dog had three legs. And he was out on the farm with his dad every day, running along side the tractor. They didnt treat him any differently than the other 4 dogs, and that's the trick. She needs to be unspoiled and unstubborned. I have found with Free, who is a leash monstor, that a no-pull harness works the best. You can get them at petco and Petsmart. It wraps around their front legs and comes together in the back under the collar. When they pull, it puts the pressure on their legs and chest, not their necks. It wont stop her in her tracks, but it will make it easier for YOU to stop and let her hang herself. It only took 3 walks to get Free to stop pulling. They still pull a little, but when you stop dead. so do they. They dont like the feel of the pressure on their front legs. You can also use it as a training tool. NO PULL and then stop dead. Free learned quite quickly this way.

What is E. coli? Although E. coli has been often in the news as a foodborne pathogen, the vast majority of E. coli strains are harmless, including those commonly used by scientists in genetics laboratories. E. coli is found in the family of bacteria named Enterobacteriaceae, which is informally referred to as the enteric bacteria. Other enteric bacteria are the Salmonella bacteria (also a very large family, with many different members), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Shigella, which many researchers consider to be part of the E. coli family. E. coli bacteria were discovered in the human colon in 1885 by German bacteriologist Theodor Escherich. Dr. Escherich also showed that certain strains of the bacteria were responsible for infant diarrhea and gastroenteritis - an important public health discovery. Although the bacteria were initially called Bacterium coli, the name was later changed to Escherichia coli to honor its discoverer. Soon after its discovery, E. coli became a very popular lab organism because scientists could grow it quickly on both simple and complex mediums. E. coli can grow in air, using oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor (aerobically) or without air, by what is called fermentative metabolism (aerobically). The ability to grow both aerobically and anaerobically classifies the E. coli bacteria as a facultative anaerobe. E. coli O157:H7 bacteria is believed to mostly live in the intestines of cattle,1 but has also been found in the intestines of chickens, deer, sheep, and pigs. E. coli O157:H7 does not make the animals that carry it ill; the animals are merely the reservoir for the bacteria. Meat typically becomes contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 during the slaughtering process, when the contents of the animal's intestine and feces are allowed to come into contact with the carcass. Unless the carcass is sanitized somehow, the E. coli bacteria are eventually mixed into the meat, as it is ground into hamburger. Because the bacteria is mixed into the meat during the grinding process, and not just on the surface, thorough cooking (greater than 160 degrees) is required to prevent E. coli O157:H7 poisoning when the ground beef is eaten by the consumer. Contaminated meat looks and smells normal. Although the number of organisms required to cause an infection are not known, it is suspected to be very small.

I would say the raw meat as well. Now before all the BARF people get upset, not all raw meat has e-coli in it. A lot of it depends on how the meat was handled, refrigerated, how long it sat out before being refrigerated or frozen, etc. The plant where the animals were slaughtered could have strains of it. You always hear about e-coli popping up in fast food places. and store recalls because it showed up. It's a nasty bugger, that's for sure. Frozen food is usually not suspect, but refrigerated food can be. I think dogs are resistant or more resistant to botulism and salmonella then we are, but e-coli is nasty. I think if Rocco was carrying it, you would have seen him being ill as well. I dont think theres such a thing as a Typhoid Mary for e-coli...I could be wrong, but have never heard of that possibility.

Freebee, PushyCat and Ford are hogging my bed. Laurel is on the floor mad at me because she has pantyhose on her head...I need a room for myself... :lol: :cry: :cry: :lol: :lol: :lol:

is it Saturday yet???? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: he's a cutie. I liked the shaved look myself... 8)

until they get used to each other, seperate them with a baby gate. let them commune thru the gate, where neither one will feel powerful, or threatened. I have introduced all of my pets thru baby gates (except Ford, the kitten. She walked in and just took her place - lol) :)

can you send some of your dogs excess health to Laurels' ears???? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :o

correct me if I'm wrong (and I am, quite often it seems) but isnt a "true" Pittie somewhere between 30-50 lbs? the big ones are mixes, like K mentioned arent they? I cant see a dog with legs that short weighing 90 lbs. It just seems wrong somehow....completely out of proportion.... :o

Oh Amber...how sad. I remember reading in a book I have, written by a behaviorist, who brought their dog in to him because it had turned on two exec-busy-working-on-their-careers parents who got their son a dog to keep him company while they were gone. They had a nanny, who looked after him as well. The child was resentful, lonely, had little parental interaction, they let the dog and the nanny handle him. The dog somehow picked up on the childs anger and bitterness towards his parents, and turned on them. Dogs are wonderful companions, but they cant replace a parents love. I hope this isnt turning into a similar situation to that little boy.... :o :o :o

obnoxious is good when they've been sick, it will get old by tomorrow however... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: glad little Chico is feeling better. :angel:

[quote]She made a St. Bernard roll over and pee on himself. It was very sad. [/quote] I will NOT eat or drink at the computer.... I will NOT eat or drink at the computer.... I will NOT eat or drink at the computer.... I will NOT eat or drink at the computer.... :o :o :o :o :o :o :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: yes it is very sad, but at the same time the visual made me spew dinner... 8)

where can I get gentian violet? and pellidol? The pellidol one sounds ideal, because it stays in there and soaks everything up. I cant seem to find the stuff anywhere though.

thank you Loki, that helps. some of the ingredients for the blue stuff are used to kill cockroaches. i dont want to use that unless I know its safe in her ears. some of the other stuff is active in eye/contacs usage..I cant seem to find this stuff not mixed with other things, for other purposes... :( :( :(

someone PLEASE answer? I need help here everyone. her ear infection is BAD, antibiotics are not curing it, and I cant find any pharmacy with the ingredients that I trust for the "blue stuff".. PLEASE!! :o

1 1/2 part peroxide to 1 part water?