Horsefeathers!

You ended up mentioning it, but I was wondering about having her give the dog melatonin, too.

[quote name='polly']Are you truly trying to claim that the media makes all this up?!!!![/quote] Sensationalism doesn't necessarily mean "made up." However, it does tend to be very misleading and deceptive. Here's only one example out of many: In my own small town, about a couple of miles from my house, a small boy was killed two years ago. The media was all over it in the papers and on television as a "pit bull" attack. It turned out to be a purebred Great Dane puppy (13 months). When the Great Dane was revealed, the news story dropped from the public eye. So... Pit Bull attack = media circus... Great Dane attack = *insert crickets chirping here* NOTHING. Dead silence on the part of the media. Still, there was one very dead seven year old boy. I don't imagine his parents felt any better knowing it wasn't a pit bull that killed their kid. Since the general public has no idea what a pit bull really is, nearly any dog can be identified as one depending on who's making the distinction. Since there's so much hysteria and media sensationalism surrounding pit bulls, it's easy for someone who doesn't know dogs well to just say "pit bull." [quote]I live in Italy and I read stories every week about pitbull attacks in Europe and the United States. These attacks earn the title 'pittbull' instead of dog because of their peculiar violence, not because of a prejudice against pitbulls. [/quote] I can't help wondering who's making the distinction and what makes them qualified. [quote]I do not believe that people should have the right to own animals which have the power of doing such horrible things to people. [/quote] To believe this would be to believe dog ownership should be banned, period. Any dog of any breed has the power to do "such things to people." For example, the Great Dane I mentioned proves GD's are capable of killing people, but we aren't banning them. Two weeks ago, again in my area, two Labrador Retrievers (those "perfect" family dogs?) were involved in the near fatal mauling of another seven year old boy. That means Labs are also capable of creating the damage you fear. I see no effort to ban them. ANY dog can be lethal. Using your logic, we should ban ownership of all dogs. [quote]I do not believe that the media is responsible for exaggeration in these cases:[/quote] I am not familiar with how the media works in Italy, but I can promise you that exaggeration and sensationalism and sometimes outright lies are fairly frequent in the US, if not "normal." [quote]The media can't exaggerate enough the terror of being attacked visciously by a dog, nor can the media exaggerate enough the danger of these breeds of dogs.[/quote] Yes, they can indeed. It is hard for me to imagine trusting the media so implicitly. [quote]We should only keep dogs that are sensibly sized and not capable of doing the damage pitbulls do.[/quote] Define "sensibly sized." Who gets to make that distinction? Pit bulls are not large dogs. Are you familiar with the breed standard and can you pick a pit bull out of a line-up? There are many, many breeds of dogs way larger. The Great Dane incident I brought up is only [u][b]ONE[/u][/b] example of the media misleading the public with irresponsible reporting. Surely you don't think that's an isolated incident? Not being argumentative at all. I'm not a pit bull owner, but no one has ever presented evidence to me that banning them will create a safer society. It will take much more than the BS that the media spoon feeds the masses for me to see any sense in it.

Have a peaceful journey, Pushycat, when that time ultimately comes. Hugs to you, Court. All I ever wish for any of mine is that, when their time comes, they go peacefully in their sleep. I think that's normal and if it's not, we're "weird" together. I'll keep you and Pushy in my thoughts.

It is surgical glue, very similar (if not identical) to super glue or crazy glue (don't know what it might be in Oz). To be perfectly honest, I keep a tube of unopened super glue in my house for doggie (and human) emergencies. For clean cuts (clean as in not having jagged edges of flesh hanging, or not being a gaping hole... clean like a slice), I just open the fresh glue and seal the cleaned wound. My vet is ok with it. If your vet will sell you some surgical glue, all the better, I suppose, but I've never had a problem with plain super glue. The biggest foreseeable problem I can think of is using it inappropriately for an injury that SHOULD be seen by a vet. I mean, if it's a cut to the bone, or if it's just a gaping hole, you wouldn't want to try gluing that. I reckon it's a judgement call, like any other, but you do need to be aware of when not to grab that glue.

Wow, thanks for all the well wishes. No surgery for Peanut, though she's had some very intensive (or should that read expensive :oops: ) care. The piece of shoe apparently just tore its way through her causing some damage, but she should be fine when it's all done and over with. We'll know a little better when she's allowed to eat again (starting tomorrow)... very small bits of soft/bland food every couple of hours or so until we work to regular meals. Will take a few days. Here's hoping that when she's able to eat again, it'll stay down. Thanks again!

My little Peanut Poodlet is having some problems. I may as well 'fess up to my most recent mistake. :oops: Nearly a week ago, I was at my best friend's house with Peanut. Now, her dogs get to chew up whatever junk is laying aroud. Old shoes, old rags, whatever she doesn't need anymore becomes a dog toy and it's never been an issue for her dogs. I'm always obsessive and paranoid and never let my dogs have anything I think they ought not. My friend always calls me paranoid. Well, one of her dogs was chewing up an old shoe last week and Peanut got a piece of it. I reached to take it from her, but thought, well, it's fairly good sized and she NEVER eats anything she ought not, so I'll just let her chew it. Wrong. She ate it. :-? Anyway, my vet is a wait and see kind of guy, so we've been watching closely. Peanut had been acting ok, pooping, no sign of problems, so I thought she was fine. Last night and this morning, she started acting like she had to poop and wasn't passing anything and today she started puking... a lot. She's also passing a bit of bloody... goo (ok, I'll spare the graphics). We've done several barium x-rays today, each about 15-20 minutes apart and, if she's blocked, it's only a partial blockage, but we just can't tell for sure if anything's still in there. Some stuff is passing, but there is a questionable area on the x-ray. She's having one more x-ray early in the morning and, depending on that, may be going in for surgery to see if the piece of shoe is still in there and retrieve it. Please wish my girl luck. Peanut is my constant companion and goes with me everywhere. Even if you hate little foofy frou frou girly dogs (which, by the way, Peanut is not... she's a rough and tumble kind of girl), I'll take whatever I can get. Best case scenario is that it has passed and just really scraped and irritated her innards. Worst case scenario is that we're going in tomorrow to retrieve the shoe. She got sub-q fluids this evening and is under strict orders not to ingest anything at all, even water. Stupid, stupid, stupid. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XQAAAModYZ0aL9hNK8RP64ui!zjH56mA!dqQQVcp7lq495ZgCn7iCositkqzDUQ5Qnl9YWC3Noq!e1FBp3Wnj4UdkMPopLvfnrRb5eZrvqJaHHzpwZAILDEEyjRYM5wWUyaPja8Neks/give%20up.gif?dc=4675483731229224342[/img] [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZwAAALwhcRM*tEKwtiSolRWTluVnqmerbm5AydK6*k45RG8WfbOf14WvlK9V92sJ2nVFXRSuVHKlnTunSyhFMsBfFpfevXTrS!avfObiYvW6Nj94twiopPuQLRYagLQQXsiYuLHgh3Z1WQ!TxN0mbQ/Peanut%20waterlogged.JPG?dc=4675382843209681874[/img] :(

Can't wait to buy me a little patch of land out in the country. Will for sure have some Guinea hens, the noisy little buggers they are. 8)

Hmmm... you have Guinea hens?? I would really love to have them once we live somewhere else. I've known them to be a better watch dog than a... watch dog. You can't sneak into a yard that has Guinea hens without them letting someone know. :o Anyway, they help control fleas? :o

I'm with Mouse... whatever works. 8)

See what I started? Now we have JM shooting at her dogs. :P

I think we found the culprit! I do believe it's my Tucker Lab. I've been sending the dogs outside one by one and Tucker took the smell with him. He's not typically one of my more gassy dogs. Time to treat him for upset tummy. These are no regular stinky poo dog farts.... these are "oh wow, someone really has an upset tummy" emissions. I do have one farty dog that nearly runs us out of here, but I believe Tucker has her beat tonight. I don't think I've ever smelled anything like this coming from any live being. :o At least the mystery is solved. :-?

Just my own little personal disclaimer just because it's what I do... When I post to these threads, I'm only offering input on the face value of what I read. With this thread, as well as in threads of the past, I had no idea there were underlying issues that contributed to others' input and opinions. Admittedly, I don't always read every single thread and I'm sure it makes a difference in things I miss that may seem blatantly obvious to others. I say this in all sincerity, so if it sounds smart*ssy, it's not meant to be... I'm very sorry DAL is in the position she's in, regardless of what's brought her there, and I also hate that Hillside feels... dissed (work with me... I couldn't think of a better word :oops: )? I feel right like crap about that because I apparently missed some very important things by "skimming" threads, and I wish I had caught on and been more supportive, myself. :( Anyhow, that's all. Peace. 8)

No, not the logistics of hurricane evacuation. No, not all the mouths to feed. No, not the fact that one gets sick, they all get sick. No, not all the hair, snarky windows, signs of wear on the furniture, etc.. blah, and so forth. Someone has the power farts tonight and I can't figure out who. Usually, I can tell, but not tonight. I don't have enough lavender oil and candles to put a dent in the fog. It's not your typical yuck the dog farted smell. I swear there's a toxic cloud. It's so bad, I'm looking to see if there are undetected sloppy poopies somewhere. Someone obviously has a very upset tummy and if I knew who it was, I could do something for it. Or put the offender outside for some r & r. Or something. Yuck. It's giving me a headache, it's so bad. :-? That's all. You're all dog lovers. I knew you'd understand. :angel:

That does happen sometimes. It could really be nothing to be too concerned about. I'll send well wishes that next month's testing shows that there's nothing to be worried about.

Oh crap, now I see it! Maybe I am crazy after all. :oops:

I'm NOT crazy! I'm NOT crazy! I'm NOT crazy! :o :o :o I know I posted to this thread last night. I was gushing about how pleased I am that Pooh is doing so well. I remember saying that animals don't see "handicaps" the same way we do and usually just work right on through them. I'm very pleased Pooh is doing so well. Can't imagine what the heck happened to my post. Hope I didn't hit the back button before submit, or some such thing. :oops:

Oh, that is such good news! He seems to really be showing a strong determination to overcome this obstacle. Dogs just don't view "handicaps" the way we do. They just do what they can to keep plugging along. I'm so pleased that Pooh is already working so hard to get better.

I know I'm in the minority, but from all I can read, even in the other thread posted by Drew, I don't think that sending Zoey to live with the in-laws is the worst thing that could happen to her. She would be living with people that she's already comfortable with as opposed to complete strangers, and I believe she would probably adjust fine to being away from the other dogs. From what I perceive in the past thread, Zoey doesn't seem that closely bonded to DAL as she is to Justin. I've never been through a divorce or had to fight out "property" with a significant other, so I can't possibly offer input on that. Unless y'all know something I don't (which is entirely possible since I'm always the last to know anything), I'm just not convinced it's going to be that devastating for Zoey to live with Justin's parents if they're agreeing to care for her properly and Justin still wants her, especially since she's already well acquainted with them. The divorce issue aside, it looks like a suitable arrangement for everyone, especially Zoey. :niewiem:

Well, here's a bit of a follow-up. The story about the little boy has been all over the news and reported all sorts of ways. I saw one report where he passed out in the yard and that's where his mother found him. Another says that he made it to the door of his house. Who knows? That's not to take anything away from the h*ll this kid and his family endured. I truly feel for them. I almost want to cry with the mother as she tortures herself about the little boy getting hurt and her not being there to protect him. I feel so bad for her. Anyway, on to the natural progression of things. I can see how easy it is for BSL to get started in some places. Now that the esteemed animal control people in that area are telling people to be super cautious and report any "aggressive" dog (chasing chickens, squirrels... if it chases anything at all, it's vicious), people are getting super paranoid. Here's a follow-up report about a cop that just happened to roll up on a dog fight in progress. This fight involved two Pit Bulls and even more dangerous quotes from people in authority. This was reported as a follow-up to the boy getting mauled. Boy mauled. Pit Bulls fighting. Dangerous & vicious dogs. See how it's playing out? I haven't seen a report yet of overzealous Labs being dangerous even though two of the four dogs involved in the attack were Labs. No Pit Bulls involved (only a "bulldog mix") and already the focus is being shifted to Pit Bull fighting. They see dog fights all the time around here. Now it's big news? We need to be afraid? [quote]Officers say fighting dogs and training them to fight is a sure fire way to turn a canine into a vicious dog. [/quote] [quote]Animal control officers are still investigating the attack, but they say breeding fighting dogs, keeping them on a chain that's too short, and abusing them makes them dangerous. [/quote] Now, I'm not coming out in favor of fighting dogs or keeping them in any of the conditions mentioned above, but Pit Bulls are the sought out dogs for back street thug fighters. Since they are the favorites and most likely to be involved in fights, wouldn't it be likely that folks will just want to get rid of the "risky" dogs with "information" like this coming from people in authority? Wouldn't treating ANY kind of dog in that manner potentially have dangerous effects? See the implication? I don't know what to think. It's not so much the media in this case that's fueling the fire, though the potential for it is there, but the authorities that are giving blatantly erroneous or at least misleading information. After all, these are the people in charge, so they know these things, right? Three of the dogs (two Labs and a "bulldog" mix) have already been euthanized because they didn't have proper rabies vacs. They are waiting for a court order to euthanize the "Doberman pincher" (their spelling). It's late and I'm rambling, but I'm just wondering how long it will be before someone starts proposing legislation about banning "dangerous breeds" in this area? I've always thought it would be unlikely here because it's such a rural area and so many people have Pits and Pit-ish dogs. Now I'm sensing a growing hysteria and enough people around here are truly ignorant enough to buy into the dangerous dog thing... heck, a lot of people I've met still virtually dive into the bushes when they see Peaches (Dobe) even though she's never made a menacing gesture. People already expect certain dogs to be vicious and now their suspicions will, to them, be validated. Even though Labs were involved in the attack, I'll bet you'd never find a Lab on a BSL list. [url=http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3337690&nav=5kZPZnNr]The story.[/url]

That is such an incredible story. I think of what a different outcome it could have had for that dog if someone had seen her dragging that baby and misperceived it as an attack.

I loved it! :lol:

Yay for Pooh! I'm glad he came through it ok. He'll get to rest for a minute or two and then it'll be time to work, work, work. Keep us updated on his progress. We've already done one FHO on Tucker, but may still have to consider it for Devin in the future. I always love to hear of others' experiences. Sending all my best wishes that this is the "magic bullet" Pooh needs to feel better.

Will keep Pooh in my thoughts.

I saw this on our local news tonight. It happened in the county I work in. While I do certainly believe the dog owner(s) should be held accountable for their loose roaming dogs, ESPECIALLY since three of these dogs apparently attacked a child before, I strongly disagree with this statement: [quote]"People have to call us and tell us if a dog attacks another dog, chickens or anything like that because once they get the taste of blood, they're going for something else," says Wells. [/quote] That was the animal control officer involved. Many dogs that have high prey drives would not attack a human just because of "the taste of blood." Peaches killed a squirrel a few weeks ago and is still the most docile, submissive dog I know. Heck, many of my dogs would kill a mouse or squirrel or possibly chickens if they had the chance, but I don't believe it necessarily makes for the potential of human aggression. We are always saying how animal aggression doesn't equate to human aggression. I think more focus needs to be made on the negligence of the dog owner(s) involved. This is the kind of thing that leads to hysteria and ultimately to BSL. There were two Labs involved, A Doberman, and a "bulldog mix"... I'm totally surprised they didn't outright say "Pit Bull," but that could still put a feather in the cap of people who include "Pit Bull types." One of the dogs they showed on the news looked more like a Chow mix to me, so I don't know which one that was in regard to this story. I don't know if that was their "bulldog mix" or not. The Dobe looked pretty much like a Dobe. That county is a very rural farm area. I believe I heard last year that it's the state's top agricultural producer, so it's pretty much all farmland. The general mindset around there seems to be that dogs run loose; that's just what they do. I'd definitely like to see penalties for the people that let their dogs run loose and get into trouble, but heck, that county doesn't even have a shelter director at this point. That shelter/animal control has been incompetent and in turmoil for years. Notice that another county's animal control, separate from where the incident happened, is handling it. I can only assume that's why. I'll find out tomorrow when I go back to work. While you're checking it out, notice the picture labeled "dog attack" on the left. Isn't that a Rottie they are using to pimp the story? There was no Rottie involved in the attack. I imagine Rottie owners would be furious at the unfair portrayal of their breed in this attack. I honestly can't tell if it's a Rottie or a Dobe from the way it's shown, but it looks Rottie to me. Again, I certainly do hate that this kid was attacked. I hold the owner of those dogs 100% responsible. However, I am really uncomfortable with some aspects of this story like the "taste of blood" and the graphic photo used to pimp the story. I'd hate to see some of the inane legislation pop up here like I've seen elsewhere... if a dog runs down a fenceline barking at someone or chases squirrels, it's considered aggressive. That sort of thing. Then again, it's entirely possible that with all the talk of BSL everywhere I look, I'm just reading more into is than there really is. Thoughts? Here's the link to the news story. [url=http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3321262&nav=5kZPZeAr]Dogs attack boy[/url] I think I'm going to write a letter. I don't know yet what I'm going to say, but I guess I'll feel better if I just say something.

AAP, I totally agree. That's why I work so hard on controlling my dogs and will hopefully never be faced with a decision like that. That I know of, my neighbors have never complained of my dogs barking. However, the guy DID end up in court and was faced with the decision. It does suck that he didn't control it beforehand.