Horsefeathers!

It will depend on the food, of course, and the individual dog, but I'll give you an example of how we feed ours. My littlest is Peanut (7-9ish lb range). If you saw what we feed her, you'd swear we were starving her :oops: , but she only gets a few bits of kibble at a time. Probably what will fit right into the palm of my hand (not even a handful) and she gets that twice a day. She gets even less when we add other things like yogurt. I imagine it comes out to about two tablespoons (perhaps a little less) of food per meal twice a day. The other small dogs don't get much more than that. We have been feeding Canidae and if we feed more than that, they gain weight and start looking a bit rotund. My dogs' ages are pretty close to Boonie's... with the exception of Devin, they range from 5-7 years old and aren't extremely active. Devin gets a bit more food than the rest of the smaller dogs, but he's still pretty young and much more active. If I fed the amount recommended on the bag, I'd have some very fat dogs. :oops: Remember, the serving suggestions on the packages are just that... suggestions. Much will depend on Boonie's metabolism and activity. It will probably be just a matter of finding what's best for [u]him[/u]. I have one dog (my Tucker Lab) that we are constantly adjusting his feeding amounts. He either gets fat or puny and it's been hard keeping him at a good, consistent weight. Just trial and error. :) Good luck!

If it were me, I think I would let them air out, anyway, once she's done with shaking/swabbing the excess out. I don't see what it could hurt. Poor girl. I hope this is the ticket to get her some relief.

Court!! Be aware that if she slings it (and she probably will), it can stain fabrics (couches, curtains, carpet) & skin :P . I don't know how you're putting it in, but we bought the tippy bottles... you know, like ketchup and mustard go in with the long tips on them. It's easier to get it right down in the ear like that. Remember to shake well first since the boric acid tends to settle at the bottom. Good luck! :D

When I first saw the Swiffers, I thought it was about the dumbest thing I ever saw. I told someone, "who in their right mind would buy a paper towel on a stick??" :o Now I love mine. :oops: They're excellent at getting up fluffballs and fuzzbunnies. I don't have any use for the Swiffer Wet Jet thingy, though. It's just too easy to take a spray bottle with cleaner and spray the floor myself and go over it with the wet pads than spend the money on the Wet Jet. If you have to squeeze a trigger to get a spray, anyway, I'd just as soon use a $1 spray bottle as spend +$20 for the Wet Jet when the wet pads on a regular Swiffer work just as well. :P

Mine's purple. :oops:

I add yogurt and cottage cheese to my dogs' food! :D

Congrats! He looks like he should fit in quite well! 8)

Good luck! I hope everything works out. The first time I became involved with the Poodle rescue group I dealt with, I emailed the crap out of them. It never crossed my mind that I might be bugging someone. No wonder it took so long for her to finally give up her phone number. :oops: Still, it worked out great and that group gives me awesome references to other groups. I've been able to get other dogs without the usual home checks and other references based solely on the glowing reference of that first rescue group. Sometimes persistence pays off! :o Good luck to you!

[quote name='scotty_lvr']Did the vet say if you could just be proactive about giving antibiotics to the whole lot to prevent any further outbreak or recurrance[/quote] We asked about this and he said at this point it's probably better to just let the remaining dogs get it if they're going to and THEN start antibiotics. He said by allowing them to get it, perhaps they'll build that resistance to it. So we're still waiting on 8, 9 & 10. :oops:

I'm not ready for a prong collar :oops: . Peaches is just so.... well, sensitive (which might sound stupid, I know). Since she was taken from an abuse case (though I don't know the nature of the abuse), we've been trying to make it as easy on her as possible even if it's not so easy on us. ANY time she perceives something to be a punishment or anger or even a tug, she'll just flop right down and quiver and that's the end of that. She's a sweet girl, but she's easily intimidated. The martingale is working pretty good and if it comes down to it, I might try a no pull harness like Court is talking about. I've seen those, but have never used one, so if I need to, I can. I won't be trying another face halter, I don't care the brand :-? ... I have never seen a dog freak out so bad in my life :o . I just knew she was going to get hurt and we weren't even doing anything... it was just on her. I found out that Peaches has a perfect heel OFF lead :o . Someone has spent some time with her somewhere, or she's just faster than I thought, but off lead, she'll stay right by my side and stop and sit if I stop. So why she pulls like crazy on a leash is beyond me, but she is improving. The snack grabbing is improving as well. We've been doing a lot of one on one, so it's much easier for her not to get excited when there are other dogs looming nearby. The open hand thing works well, thanks. :) We're doing a little clicker stuff with her, too, and she's responding to it (thanks, newf, for the resources). We're just trying to figure out what makes her "click" (no pun intended). She's smart as can be... she just has to feel comfortable with you.

We aren't thinking it's contagious in the sense that one dog can catch it directly from another :-? . I think it's more along the line of one dog shedding it and another coming into contact with it. :-? Courtnek, thanks for the article. Kendalyn... I don't know. I'll ask. I don't know if they had to find out what kind of e coli it was or what the deal was. I have the lab report, but it looks like Greek to me. It basically says it's e coli and gives a list of drugs that it's susceptible to or resistant to. After the first few dogs, we knew it was something "going around," but by the time he decided to do a culture, we had to wait for the next dog to get "it" so we could send "it" off. I do know he said something to the effect of hoping that's all it is and that maybe there's not something else going on that wasn't picked up. I'm wondering, too, if e coli is supposed to be normal in their systems, would the presence of it have raised a red flag if the vet saw it, anyway? I've heard this stuff before about "all dogs have e coli in their systems," so why are MINE sick from it? I try to be open minded about stuff and realize that vets don't know everything, but then again, it's hard to decide what to believe when some people say e coli is normal and won't make a dog sick (not saying you... just in general) and nearly all of mine got sick from it. We're wondering, too, it it could have come from standing water when the hurricanes came through. I guess we'll never know, but it suuuuuuuuuure does make you paranoid wondering. It took years for me to get the courage to give JUST the chicken & turkey necks after another dog got salmonella a few years ago and now I'm scared of it all over again whether it's the culprit or not. :oops:

The lab report is in on what has been making my dogs so sick. It's... *big drumroll* E. Coli. :-? According to the lab report, we have a really nasty strain of e coli making its rounds with our dogs. We have NO clue where it came from, but my vet blames it on either Rocco's appearance (he was very well cared for prior to us getting him, but I suppose he could have picked it anywhere between where he lived in VA to where we live in GA), OR the raw chicken & turkey necks we've given them. I'm confused... I didn't think dogs were very susceptible to things like e coli infections. It would be a little easier to understand if, say, one or two of my more compromised dogs (like Devin who constantly battles to be healthy) got it, but ALL of them? There are only about two or three of my gang that haven't gotten sick yet, but we're waiting. I've had dogs getting sick that have cast iron stomachs and virtually NEVER get sick, so I'm kind of confuzzled. I had one dog several years ago that got salmonella, but she has some health problems (allergies) and over the years, I've been worn down by some raw enthusiasts who tell me that it wouldn't have made a healthy dog sick, so just as soon as I decide to give them raw chicken/turkey necks, they all get sick. Maybe I'm just not understanding. If it didn't come from there, then WHERE? My yard is fenced in and there are no strays coming through. :-? ? The good news (I think? if I'm understanding right) is that hopefully the dogs will get over this and have a resistance to it. From what I understand, once the dogs are over it, it should eventually just go away without any other drastic measures. Anyone more experienced in these matters, please feel free to set me straight if I'm wrong. So that's what "it" is. If anyone has any input, please feel free to share it. TDG? Anybody? If it were you, what would you think? It really is frustrating to try so hard to do everything right and it all goes to h*ll. I know people who just toss down a bucket of Ol' Roy to their dogs every day and whatever scraps they toss from their plates which include cooked chicken bones (big no no, right?) and they've never had any problems. Maybe I'm trying too hard. :-?

Our newest foster (Peaches) has a heart of gold, but could REALLY use some work on manners (lunging on leash, severing fingers with treats, darting out doors, no clue what "no" or "stay" mean). I was beginning to think she's kind of a well intentioned dim bulb, but we see that she has amazing problem solving skills where it suits her. For instance, she learned very quickly how to unlatch a gate with her nose if she thinks she's been on one side of it long enough. :o I'm trying to decide if it's easier dealing with a not so smart dog (which I have a couple of :oops: ), or a dog who seems to have brains, but no desire to use them. We HAVE to get this leash thing under control. With my recently broken ankle, I can't be jerked all over the place. She lunged me the other day and something popped in my ankle and now I have to have it seen about again since it's very, very sore (and it was healing so well) :-? . Usually, when I've had pullers in the past, I could plant my feet firmly and not move and they got the message, so I've not had to deal with pulling dogs for very long. However, I can't really plant my feet that firmly right now to keep from getting pulled over. Despite the whole three legged thing, this dog has amazing strength. I bought a halti thing the other day and not only did she not like it, I thought she was going to hurt herself. I don't know the nature of the abuse she was taken from, but apparently "restraining" her freaks her out. It took a long time to get her still enough to get it off of her as she was spinning, thrashing and doing alligator death rolls. Scratch that idea. Now she has a plain martingale collar. We really don't want to do any kind of aggressive training because she seems to panic and shut down if she thinks she's being "punished." She's very food motivated, but hasn't quite grasped the idea that fingers are attached to those treats. :-? It really would be easier to deal with if we thought she was just a total moron, but the girl has smarts enough to figure out how to do things that benefit her. We're just going to have to figure out how to make that work for us, I reckon. :o

Oh, so sorry. :(

[quote name='Beautiful Border Collie'] I also own a poodle.[/quote] Errr... what kind of Poodle? Huge difference between Standards and Minis and Toys. There's not supposed to be, but the others are all bred down from the Standards which are the original "real" Poodles. I think it depends on who you want to believe. Not every single source I've read has listed BC's as number one. High, but not always number one. Some list Poodles, some list Retrievers and I'm sure there are others. I think these lists are just generalizations and don't intend to reflect the intelligence of every dog in every breed (so I don't get why people sometimes get defensive and think their dog is being dissed when it's JUST a generalization :oops: ). Good thing, too, because of my two Standards, one is sort of a dim bulb, but the other one... I'd put his trainability up against any dog anywhere. I'm glad there was a thread somewhere that gave a nod to Standards as being more than fluff 'n stuff. They are real dogs with real work capabilities. DP, my Perry has that very demeanor you speak of. "Stay? Okily dokily, I'll just sit right here until you get back." I could probably go out go lunch, have the car detailed and come back and Perry would still be patiently waiting in the same spot.

[quote name='courtnek']Laurel is on the floor mad at me because she has pantyhose on her head...[/quote] That made me laugh. Anyone who didn't know what was up with that would think you were nuts. :P

Oh, DAL, I can feel your excitement. You need about 7 more dogs, so you can get excited shopping in the dollar store. :P decorative ceramic dog dishes with pawprint designs: $1 or stainless steel dishes: $1 plushy squeaky toys: $1 decorative collars and leashes with pawprint designs: $1 each I'm a regular killjoy, I know. I'm glad you're excited and having so much fun. I stopped being able to afford to shop at PetsMart a long time ago. All I could think of when I read your list of things was "ack, all that money!!" :P

[quote name='kendalyn']When there are so many good dogs being put down everyday, I think it's ludicrous to give a known biter another chance. :x I realize the dog came from bad circumstances, and in a perfect world it would be nice to try and rehabilitate the animal, but this is just not the time for that.[/quote] I totally agree with this. When there are so many good dogs languishing away in shelters, I can't justify "rehabilitating" one. I'd love to see all dogs have a second chance, but the awful truth is that there aren't nearly enough resources to save all the dogs that need saving. IMO, the "good" ones are where the resources should be going since it would have a greater impact on the sheer volume of dogs going through shelters and rescues. I hate to think of any dog being put down simply because there aren't enough resources, but I shudder to think of how many good dogs will likely die in the time it would take to try to rehabilitate one aggressive dog.

I'm so glad Chico is feeling much better. Now my little Peanut Poodlet has "it." :-? She isn't acting sick and ate fine this evening, but I went to clean away what I thought was a dingleberry :oops: , and noticed blood. Now she gets to start on antibiotics. I'm just glad I noticed that before she got really sick and lethargic like the others did. :-? Oh, good grief, puh-leeze hurry with this culture! :o

Dog issues aside, it just makes my head spin that a five year old kid can be left outside unattended to just wander around the neighborhood. What are people thinking?? :o

Some people are so self absorbed. "It's all about me." They can't be bothered to spend time with their kid and expect a puppy to babysit her and then, to top it off, they are obnoxious neighbors who can't be bothered to wonder if all that yowling *might* actually be disturbing someone. It's also sort of disturbing to know that a young child is going door to door seeking companionship. How scary is that? Poor kid and poor dog. Perhaps in the far off future, this daughter will repay her mother's devotion and attention when she (mother) is old and frail and gets shipped off to an old folks' warehouse (state run nursing home). Perhaps the daugher will get her needy mother a puppy to keep her company, not that I'd wish that on any dog. :x

[quote name='courtnek']obnoxious is good when they've been sick, it will get old by tomorrow however... [/quote] It's getting old already. :x Part of me wants to tell him to get somewhere and be still and the other part of me is glad to see him up and moving around. His brand of obnoxious is just being vocal. :roll: Cautiously optimistic at this point. I'm sure we're between crises and we're still waiting for the results of that culture. :o

Oh, how sad. So sorry. It has to be frustrating.

Oh, and a Chico update... he's eating and being obnoxious, so I suppose he's going to be fine! :)

Thanks, DP! :)