Horsefeathers!

Good for Zaphod! The one time I ever tried to put a Halti on Peaches, she flipped and flopped and alligator death rolled from the very second it crossed her face. I was too scared to ever try acclimating her to it after that. :oops: Good for you for sticking it out and succeeding. 8)

Well, I hope that's all he needs... just a change to help him put on weight. I was hoping it wasn't anything too terribly serious. He's old, but I've seen cats live to be much older, so perhaps he's just in a bit of a slump, you know? Here's hoping the canned food turns out to be just the thing he needs. Thanks for checking in! :)

I can only say ditto ditto ditto to most of what Cassie, ShatteringGlass & Junebugz had to say. About this school... I'm not at all familiar with it, but I did browse the site. A few things kind of raised my hackles, so I'll mention them and maybe you can check it out. I mean, it may be an A-OK school, but I have a very inquiring mind... especially now that I kind of know what to look for. You don't often gain that insight until, well, after you've spent all that money. First of all, I don't like their Terrier grooming at all. While I admit that my monitor is wonky, I kind of played around with it to try to view the photos and the Terriers just don't look "correct." It's hard to tell about the Poodles since they don't show the profiles. All the Poodles I see are sitting down. Hard to tell about their Poodle grooming without being able to see a profile. Granted, they aren't grooming show dogs, but IMO for the money they're asking, you would hope to learn proper breed trims and profiles. This also concerns me (taken from the "about us" section of their website): [quote]Most of our instructors have over 20 years of experience in the field as professional groomers, grooming shop owners and as breeders. Our staff is also comprised of master certified groomers.[/quote] First, it mentions their experience as "breeders," but I don't know if that necessarily means they were also exhibitors involved in showing. It's GREAT to find people who are breeders/exhibitors to teach grooming because no one knows proper breed grooming better than them. However, anyone can be a "breeder." I think I'd ask about it. Also, it mentions that their "staff is also comprised of master certified groomers." I don't see any mention of certifying organizations. That's a huge red flag to me. Certification is optional and I'd certainly hope that anyone who runs a school would seek out national certification, but it's only done through a handful of certifying organizations. I don't see any mention of any of these organizations like NDGAA, ISCC or any of the other major certifying organizations. These organizations have their own titles like "Master Pet Stylist" (ISCC) or "National Certified Master Groomer" (NDGAA). It's not a general term, but a very specific one relating to the certifying organization. It's very unethical and misleading to label oneself as a "master certified groomer" if they don't have the certificate to back it up. Be sure to inquire about this. They are wanting a LOT of money, so you should be very willing to check them out and have them show you why they are worth what they're asking. If they say they are certified master groomers by some state or local authority, don't bother spending your money there. States and local laws don't certify "master groomers". At most, the only licensing (not at all the same as certification) requirements are kennel licenses and that's only in some places. Please do ask them about their "master certified groomer" credentials and ask to see the certificates. H*ll, for that kind of money, I'd be demanding proof. It may be an ok school (or not), but please do be sure to check them out before shelling out that kind of money. It also seems to me like their pricing for equipment is awfully high. I think I could do better if I bought the equipment on my own rather than buying it through them. If nothing else, please do inquire about their "master certified groomers." I'd be very interested in learning what they tell you, so how about passing along any info you get on that :) ? If they are indeed certified through one of the national certifying organizations, it would probably be a good thing for them to make reference to it on their site.

What did you find out about PushyC? How's he doing today? Waiting to hear... (Mods, please make an exception and leave this here even though it's in the "wrong" place. I don't think Courtnek very frequently gets to visit the other sections and I really want her to update us on PushyC. Please? :oops: )

My Tucker Lab seems to be losing his hearing. This is the dog that went through therapy dog training and certification and has always been the most obedient and eager to please dog we could ask for. Usually, you only need to ask something of him once and he very promptly and politely complies. No begging, threatening, pleading, or yelling. You can talk to him almost like he's human. Lately, I've been having to repeat requests more than once (or twice or three times) and do it Louder and LOUDER. He isn't acting defiant as such. He'll stand there smiling and wagging, but I'm having to repeat myself and often LOUD. Sometimes, when he finally does "get it," he'll slink off like he thinks I'm mad at him. I don't want him to think I'm screaming at him out of anger. I'm catching myself relying on body language more and more lately. :-? Tucker is about eight years old which isn't ancient, not even for a Lab. He isn't exposed to any kind of persistent noise and has never suffered damage from ear infections... never had an ear infection in his life. I don't think he's ever even had dirty ears :o . Could he just be suddenly losing his hearing? Any clue why? I'm wondering if anyone who has experience can pipe up here. What I'm really wondering is if it's possible he may lose SOME hearing and then level out, or does hearing loss usually just get progressively worse until they're deaf? I've had a deaf dog before, so I can cope, but that dog was deaf when I got him and he was already about 9000 years old. I've never had one lose SOME of their hearing. Thoughts? Of course, I'll be speaking with my vet, but I just thought I'd fish for some personal insight or experience. :( [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZwAOA04hJelCzck4wMXF*!gsZsen01tJ1KA0BvotR64bcZzFLl8i55ibBaVuKbsGs4Z8xsRz1U00L6AiKmjPMAh4gnadk!tMsi12ovxySBqhiFVIEiep0CuKeaKHn2QgjvTMd*mIo*srXAuCstMWhA/Tucker%20and%20Penny.jpg?dc=4675379078317348851[/img]

It's hard for me to make the pictures out really well because my monitor is all screwy (truth is I need a new computer :oops: ). However, best I can tell, it's pretty cute. A Yorkie, right? Again, I'm struggling here since my monitor is soooooo dark. Just remember on your Yorkie to trim just the tippy tips of those ears. Also, here's a quick, almost no fail tip for doing feet. Turn foot up (pad facing you) and trim off hair between pads and sticking out around the foot. Then turn the foot over (pad facing down). Brush all the hair to one side of the foot and scissor off excess (anything sticking out past the foot). Brush all the hair to the opposite side of the foot and do the same. Voi la! Insta-foot! After that, you should only have to do a quick neaten, scissoring off any pokey outies (shouldn't be many), and you will almost always have perfect feet. It takes practice, but is a good guideline. Good luck with your kids and have fun. I only wish I had a better computer where I could see a bit better.

OH! And apology accepted. 8)

[quote name='treizi']However you seem to be quite content in being rude. [/quote] Call it what you want. Reading back, I was clear and concise and responded no differently to you than I would anyone else, regular, newbie, oldie, or whatever. My post wasn't nearly as "fueled" as it was the first time I tried to post it three days ago, so if anything, the "time out" gave me time to form a more leveled, non-inflammatory response. Just because it's not what you want to hear doesn't make it rude.

Ooooohhhhhhh, a Belgian Sheepcat! I always wanted one of those!! *snicker* Jesse is such a distinguished gentleman, aye? I love the older guys.

Ooooooooohhhhh, you mean puppies. Well, then we agree. I don't reckon I would ever NOT vaccinate a puppy. I just won't be vaccinating any of my older dogs again. 8)

We used to bury ours in the backyard, but since our vet acquired a cremator burner thingy, we now have them cremated. I don't keep the ashes, though. I do keep the collars and I kept Rocco's boots. I could never leave mine with the vet for disposal. I don't know what they do with them elsewhere, but around here, dogs left with the vet are picked up by the city workers and hauled off to the landfill and dumped just like the other garbage. Most people here aren't aware that that's what goes on when the vet staff asks if they want them to "take care of it," but since I know, I can't do it. Even if I don't keep the ashes, I just can't bear the thought of my critter's body being dumped from a trash truck like common rubbish. :(

Why is it wrong to share information that is correct? Maybe I'm misunderstanding. Do you mean never vaccinate as in people who don't even give the puppy series, or people who go through the puppy series and one adult set and then no more? I quite honestly believe my dog would have died way earlier from vaccine overexposure than she will otherwise since she spent her first few years as a weak, sickly dog. Aurora, I guess it's just surprising to see you take this stance when you are otherwise such a staunch "naturalist" and there are so many sources that address the issue of vaccine related problems. It would seem to me to kind of defeat the purpose to try so hard to keep your dogs as healthy as possible through natural dieting and then not even consider information that addresses the problems associated with overvaccination. I'm not being a smart*ss at all. I'm just kind of surprised.

There's no need to get your feelings hurt or to go into lurking. Giving your two cents and opinions are absolutely hunky dory with me and I'm sure anyone else. However, statements like this: [quote]a groomer typically has limited time to be patient[/quote] are NOT opinion and do leave the implication of abuse or mishandling wide open to an entire industry. [quote]I would have hoped that people would not take my post and apply it to all situations[/quote] It is not a matter of people taking what you say and misinterpreting it, but rather the generalized, sweeping statements that were stated as if they were fact. Such "information" leads ME to feel defensive, but not enough so to go into hiding and not post (you said you didn't want to have to defend yourself). You can post all you want. I'm not a bear and I won't eat you and I don't reckon anyone else here will, either, and the fact that others haven't answered whatever questions you have may simply mean they haven't seen them yet. Some of us don't read every board on this forum and then it's been a long holiday weekend, too, so many people may not have been online, anyway. Also, the board has been very screwy lately and many people haven't been able to post to some boards. It took three days for me to finally be able to post to this one thread. :oops: No reason to tuck tail and hide. This may be a pretty close knit group, but we don't just sit around and shout out from the amen corner. We very frequently and sometimes vehemently disagree, but at the end of the day, no one loses sleep over it. The short version... it's nothing personal. =============== Edited to add: [quote]Especially since the couple of questions I have posted have not been responded with as much help as I anticipated[/quote] I was feeling kind of bad that maybe something you posted had gotten overlooked, so I went back over your posts to see if it was something I might be able to help with. It looks to me like your questions were answered adequately. I'm unsure what you mean about not getting enough help? :-?

Solid Gold makes it? I don't know what their "version" is, Cassie, but I buy green tripe just at the plain ol' supermarket. TDG was telling me it's wonderful for many reasons like the enzymes, the chewing benefit, the calcium to phosphorus ratio and such. I'm sure she'll elaborate more. I just didn't realize that Solid Gold sold green tripe. :o

[quote name='TDG']if i were you, i'd talk to all the other dog people, form a dog owner's association and fight. good luck.[/quote] Dog Owner's Association! I love it! 8) I have never understood why it is so desireable for some people to live in places that restrict everything from what kind of fence you can have to actually what color your house can be or even what color curtains you can hang in your windows. Not talking about you, OG, but the people who actively seek out these places and actually agree to these kinds of ludicrous rules upfront. I've always wondered this and maybe someone here can tell me... Since you buy and OWN your home, what feasibly can these HOA's do if you break the rules? I mean, if you decide to paint your house Barbie doll pink with purple polka dots and put up a chainlink fence, what can they do to you and how do they have that power since they aren't an actual entity of the law? I understand they're trying to keep property values up (I reckon?), but still, how do they have the power to enforce it if you OWN your home?

DAL, it sounds to me like Boonie is barking at normal doggie things just from excitement. Does he continue to bark bark bark bark after the cause of his excitement is gone? For continuous "nuisance" barking, I do the Bitter Apple thing. I don't remember if you saw where I posted it before, but it goes basically like this: I give them the first few barks "free." I mean, they're dogs and that's what they do. I want to make sure there's nothing wrong, or that they aren't trying to tell me something I need to know. However, I have some knuckleheads that basically bark because it feels good and some other knuckleheads that will try to outbark them. After the "freebie" barks, I say, "ok, thank you," or "that's enough." Whatever verbal cue works for you to let Boonie know that you heard him and he can now knock it off is fine. At that point, any additional barking is "rewarded" with a "treat" of Bitter Apple (or whatever taste deterrent is available to you). You have to get him basically in mid bark, but just kind of pinch up his little lip and give a spurt of Bitter Apple in his mouth... just a tiny bit is good since you aren't trying to strangle him. Most dogs hate it (which is why it's used as a taste deterrent for chewers :wink: ). I don't approach it as "punishment." I let my dogs believe that I'm interpreting their barking as a request for a "treat." I'm always happy and upbeat about it... "okily dokily, here ya go!! :D *spurt*" It has worked for us like a charm. Now, most times, once I say, "ok, that's enough," they'll pucker right up and not make a sound. It takes a little time and you have to be consistent, but maybe it'll work for you. It's been a life (and lung) saver for us since we don't have to try to scream over them anymore. For no more than the cost of a bottle of bitter spray, it's worth a try, anyway, right?

For what it's worth, when I stopped annual vaccinations of one of my allergy dogs, most of her allergy symptoms disappeared. This dog stayed sickly, itchy and sore for most of her life. We'd spent a fortune in allergy testing, shots, shampoos, even raw natural dieted her (this is the dog that got ill from salmonella several years ago) and nothing seemed to help. We haven't vaccinated her in years and most of her allergy symptoms have subsided. There is still some occasional foot licking, but none of the clawing, gnawing and misery there used to be. She's healthy as can be and, as a matter of fact, is one of the ONLY dogs that didn't succumb to the recent outbreak of e coli in our household. I don't know the particulars, but I do know that yearly vaccines - sickly dog, no yearly vaccines - healthy dog. I am positive overvaccinating was suppressing her immune system. Most of my dogs (all but one are over five years old) will probably never be vaccinated again except rabies as required by law. Even my vet respects my decision in regard to boarding requirements (assuming I ever get a vacation). I never would have imagined it, but I am fully convinced that overvaccinating is doing more harm on a large scale than any benefit.

[quote]so I came to my senses and figured the groomers wern't too patient and they probably teamed up to hold onto him and went off on his paws. [/quote] This irked me. I tried to post to it for two days and just kept getting errors, but here I am after two or three days to still bitch about it, anyway. Did you ever contact the groomer you are basically accusing of abuse? I mean, even if I didn't think they'd own up to it, you can bet that I'd be confronting any person that I thought was abusing my dog. You didn't say your dog was acting funny when you picked him up from being groomed... only that however long it was later that you decided to do his nails, he had fits. I can think of about a gazillion reasons why a dog might suddenly (or not so suddenly) decide it doesn't want its nails done. If I had a dime for every person that told me that their dog was a flailing, screaming terror at home and couldn't imagine how I got them groomed, or thought I was lying when I said they were fine for me, I'd be rich. Little secret here... dogs are a lot like kids in that they often misbehave at home, but are quite well mannered in the care of others. It doesn't mean they are abused into submission. [quote]but you can put up with the fuss and a groomer typically has limited time to be patient.[/quote] Tell me what makes you an expert on how much time groomers "typically" allot for their dogs and how you know their time is "limited." A PROFESSIONAL groomer (not just some hack who hung a shingle one day and decided they were a groomer) will allocate plenty of time for each and every dog. It's not an assembly line, or shouldn't be (the exception, IMO, being salons with multiple employees each with different functions... they CAN be fast and good if [u]everyone[/u] is competent... I am a single groomer salon). Here's the thing... some people want to bitch about price. Wellllllllll.... GOOD service isn't cheap or shouldn't be. I cringe when I see relatively decent groomers with rock bottom pricing because they often end up burned out and out of business because they were beat down by the people crying the poor mouth. I find in dealing with the public that people want Mercedes service at Ford prices. I'm more than happy to allow plenty of time and keep a very low stress environment for me and the dogs in my care. However, my clients pay me dearly for it. I make a very healthy living AND get to enjoy my work rather than rush from one dog to the next in an effort to get as many done as possible just to keep my prices low for the crybabies who want to top knotch service for their "babies" and then balk at the prices. Get it cheap or get it good, but you'll very rarely be able to get both unless you aren't very concerned with making your dog look like a proper example of its breed... truth is that most consumers don't know the difference and are just as happy for their dog to be clean and relatively neat... not a problem for me. I just set the standards much higher for myself and my clients. My prices are nearly double my competition's and yet I'm still no longer taking new clients and have a waiting list a mile long of people wanting to get on my schedule. Fortunately, plenty of people are willing to pay my prices for the one on one attention their dogs get and to know that their dog will look like a proper example of its breed when I'm done. Those that want cheap or don't mind cookie cutter grooming where every dog of every breed is groomed virtually the same can go elsewhere. To be honest, it also weeds out the pain in the *ss people who want it all and want it cheap. [quote]restraint is going to be much more stressful for the pup and they'll end up hating it even more.[/quote] Define restraint. A simple loop to keep a dog from jumping off the table, or someone virtually sitting on the dog? "Restraint" is open to interpretation. Some restraint may be necessary. If you choose to groom your dog at home, more power to you. I'm all for grooming at home as it can (in the hands of a competent owner) help strengthen the bond between dog and owner as well as save money. No problem with that. However, don't imply or outright say that it's to save your dog from the evil groomer. While there are crackpots in grooming just as in any field, most groomers are in it for the love of animals... NOT because they're bloodthirsty abusers. If it's your opinion or it makes you feel like a hero for "saving" your dog from the bad old groomer, you're entitled to it, but when it's spouted off as fact, it's dangerously misleading. Abuse happens, but it is not as "typical" as you seem to want to imply.

With Yorkies, you want to trim just the very tippy tips of those ears. :wink:

Leave my Poodles out of it!! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YQDrAocfPDyPoHbo*VO*k6YkVsjsui1KYGfqoPb3PGet0mEYsc71EksSfApXuugKjHdt1Ms4!cD27pQV8nrn8eGFAsZtQLNNXKjD2r4GkamopYnFlocgBqczhAoYvn9velUnJkIw14er*9gmASx*dQ/crying%20girl.gif?dc=4675436072349453090[/img]

YUCK and... oh yeah, YUCK!

[quote name='Cassie'] First before every one thinks I am a horrible dog owner I will explain how it happened. [/quote] Well, I for one am certainly glad you explained. I would have thought you pushed him or kicked him off or something otherwise. :o No, really, dogs would be perfectly safe living in bland, confined quarters all their lives. What a great life it must be to get out and do the things your dogs get to do. Accidents will happen no matter how careful we think we are. I'm just glad it turned out ok in the end. 8)

Sure, I threaten them to within an inch of their lives all the time. So what's your point? *snicker* Favorite threat- "I'll beat you to sleep and then beat you for sleeping!" Also like- "I killed the last dog that did that..." Sometimes- "Come here and let me kill you!" Of course, the offender and his merry band of misfits usually merrily trots right on over to me and awaits the "killing." Goofballs. My dogs don't care WHAT I say as much as how I say it. I could call them stupid and ugly all day long and as long as I'm perky perky perky about it, they eat it up. Disclaimer: No dogs were beaten to within an inch of their lives, beaten to sleep, beaten for sleeping, insulted, or killed in any other manner for the production of this post. 8)

Maybe *SUPERSTAR* is a bit overstated... :oops: Unless you're in our little corner of southwest Georgia, nobody will see it. It's for my vet's newly opened pet boutique (no live animals, but AWESOME gift stuff for pets and their people) and will air locally on the one station that's filming it. It's kind of going to be a fashion show and there will be a French Bulldog (Mona Lisa... LOVE this little dog), a Wire Fox Terrier, a Hound (of some sort... don't know who), a Great Dane, some other dogs I don't know and, of course, Peanut is the obligatory Poodle. :D

[quote name='Seijun'] The alpha roll is a perfectly permissible form of language for the dog provided the dog understands it. ~Seij[/quote] This confuses me and yet tickles me. I'm imagining someone tapping Poochie on the shoulder and saying, "hey, do you know what an alpha roll is?" Poochie replies, "yes, of course," and then WHAM! down on the floor goes Poochie when the lord and master owner disciplines her. Sorry, I'm not making fun and I think I do get the idea of what you're saying. Just that tickled me. Cut me some slack... I'm tired and silly. I guess the part that's kind of confusing is how to determine which dog "understands it" and which dog doesn't. I don't know a thing about the always's and nevers in regard to discipline, but I know that I once tried that almighty alpha roll on one of my dogs and it freaked him out so badly that I vowed never to do it again. I want them to respect me, not fear me, and this dog was obviously way traumatized and didn't trust me for quite a while. It was like a knife in my heart to see him cowering away from me for weeks after that. I never, ever want my dogs to fear me or not trust me. It was one of my early lessons in not believing everything I read on the internet (was following the advice of some dog "experts"). I kind of bought into that "must dominate them" thing because so many "experts" said it was so, but I've really evolved away from that type of thinking. I'm still top dog in this house, but I like to think of myself as more of a benevolent leader rather than lord and master. I'm not getting into the whole "alpha roll.... always/never" thing, but I'll betcha I won't be doing it ever again to any of my OWN dogs. I'm fully willing to step up and say that we probably did it wrong, goofy owners and all that, but I can't imagine how many ways there are to flip a dog over onto its back to show dominance and since I'm not trying to "dominate" anymore... I still have one dog that would still challenge and try to call the shots, but we've had [u]much[/u] better luck with NILIF and being calm and consistent. Battling with him and demanding compliance at all costs got us nowhere but snapped at and my husband bitten. We don't have that problem since we stopped trying to strongarm him. One side note... with all the dogs we have in the house plus the fosters that come and go, we've had some scuffles and brawls, but I've never once seen one of my dogs flip another dog onto its back.