Horsefeathers!

Not exactly the same thing, but... I have some "tattlers" in my gang. If someone is doing something wrong, there are those who will come and tell it. Again, I know I'm anthromofartisizing and assessing human logic and actions on dogs. Still, you figure it out. If someone is cruising the trash can, chewing on something, counter surfing, or whatever, one militant little tattler in particular (Missy) will come to me and tell it... especially if it's one of the cats. She comes up to me, stares intently, and if I ignore her, begins stomping her front feet impatiently and snorting. She does this ONLY when she's tattling on someone. If she were a kid, she'd be a hall monitor and the most beat up kid in class. It's neat that Freebee will help Laurel out like that. Mine will help each other out if there's something in it for them. Mine will "remind" me that it's time for someone's medication, but only because they ALL get treats.

Here's the reason I think the religion thing was a crock. I mean, I'm sure some people have religious beliefs that are consistent with this, but it took these people a couple of days to decide it was against their religion. They went along with arranging to have the spay/neuter truck meet them there and then at first they said don't fix the puppies because people won't buy them like that and then they started muttering this and muttering that before FINALLY saying, "AH! It's against our religion!" Unless they got religion overnight between the time they agreed to have the truck meet them there and the time it actually got there, these people are just plain ol' bybs/millers and a couple of scammers, IMO. If I'm not mistaken, some of the older dogs did get altered. If it was so against their religion, what made it ok to alter SOME of the dogs and not the others?

Thanks, DP. I remember you talking about it. I had already been giving Devin (and a few others) glucosamine/condrointin/msm just because I didn't like the way he was moving (just had a hunch). I am holding off the glucosamine and stuff until we find out if the Adequan is going to help and then I'll probably pick the routine right back up. Thanks. :)

As much as I would love to help her out, I cannot personally take her for several reasons. I don't have a problem with the idea of discreetly removing her from that yard, but there is nothing I can do with her if I do. I can't keep her here and there is nowhere I can place her. Again, dogs like her are a dime a dozen in our area. Literally hundreds of Pits and Pit mixes in shelters nearby are needing homes. Also, there is the issue of what to do with the puppies, who look just about old enough to be weaned. My yard is nearly adjacent to these folks' yard and there is no way I could keep her and the puppies hidden if I took them. Besides, and I'm sure this is likely to stir up a debate, but I am not going to bring another Pit or Pit mix into this household. I have nothing against them, personally. I'm just not prepared, emotionally or physically, to handle all that goes with it and I owe it to the dogs already here to keep them safe. Maybe I'm just a bit bitter after the ordeal with Penny. While this was a sweet dog while she was in my yard, she was way too interested in one of my other dogs who came to see what was going on. Not interested as in, "hey, who are you, sniff my butt and say hello..." but interested as in, "hey, back off, bitch! take one more step over here and I'll break you in half!" Maybe it was because she was eating or pregnant, but I'm not going to go through it again. I wish against wish that there was some safe haven I could take this dog to, but there just isn't. I would gladly remove her if I had somewhere to take her. I do like the idea of calling animal control again since the puppies are there. I have called them regarding this dog in the past and they said there was nothing they could do as long as it looks like she has food, water and shelter. Maybe now that it's so cold at night and there are puppies involved, they *might* do something. I seriously doubt it, but I will certainly call them again. I do so hate to see this sweet girl and her babies in the cold with no one to care for them.

We tried, HNM. The powers that be have said that as long as she has shelter (a makeshift "house"), food and water (which she has occasionally), there's nothing they can do. Dogs like her are a dime a dozen around here and there are very limited resources available for them. :(

I'm so glad Zebra is healing well! I hope that it goes as smoothly on into the future when you get to do it all over again. Zebra is surrounded with so much love. I believe that has a lot to do with recoveries. :wink:

Good work! :angel:

Anyone remember her? [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZADeAtIg0Lh2l1vy3badVt!u6rDGh1aaxxghrd!TfO79liAPWXniptIS*T2PRZAnd6JqfLp9cgkquZv6yZoJA1iDGqJOjkJraY1zzl2T9NkrwJEsnElp8Zk5tUGgkTvaHsDI5P5Qe5V2yMN5UTb4lQ/doggie%20visitor.jpg?dc=4675448300126031089[/img] A few months ago, as I was unloading groceries, this dog just came bounding up to me full speed, dragging a chain behind her. Apparently, she belonged to a neighbor. She was just as friendly as she could be and we gave her a bit of food just because that's what we do when dogs wander up around here (don't ask why... I really don't know). After we played with her for a bit and fed her, my husband took her chain and walked her back home. The lady that came to the door couldn't be bothered with her. This lady was downright nasty, "just tie her to the steps or something!" This dog spends her life tied to a tree in the back and we NEVER see anybody paying her any attention. Whenever she sees my husband or me in our yard, she goes nuts. This girl really cries out for attention and it kills me to see her tied up, day in and day out, to that tree. :( Here's the update... first I heard them. Then I saw them. She now has puppies. We've seen two, but I would think there should have been more. It's been really cold here at night lately and I'm afraid to think what might have happened to the rest. Anyway, I just thought you'd like an update (mainly K). :(

[quote name='Mei-Mei']Poor little Devin! When will you find out more about treatment options?[/quote] Doc said that we should know within four weeks whether the Adequan injections are helping. It's more of an effort to keep him comfortable. If the Adequan helps, we can put off considering anything more serious... at least for now. If it doesn't help, we'll have to consider more drastic options like surgeries. :( [quote name='courtnek']oh HF!! I'm SOOO sorry. Poor little Devin...but he's in good hands now, I know that. I just found out Laurel is partially blind, (bad/no peripheral vision) so I can sympathise, believe me. In her case it's easier, nothing needs to be done. Poor little Devin...know he's in my thoughts...[/quote] Oh, poor Laurel. From what I understand, dogs rely so much on peripheral vision. It's why dogs like Schnauzers/Bouviers/Wheatens and the like can wear those clips with the hair over their eyes. If you ever notice, the outward part of the eyes is trimmed away. So many people wonder how these dogs can wear these clips and be able to see. Peripheral vision. I hate that for Laurel, but I'm sure she'll compensate well since they don't rely SOLELY on it. You guys are great. I'll be sure to keep you updated (of course :oops: ). I just get a little discouraged sometimes. It seems like if it's not one thing, it's another... in the last year and a half, we've lost one very old dog with every possible ailment imaginable (seizures, no jaw, blind, deaf, etc., etc., etc.), we've had one major abdominal surgery (Perry), one FHO (hip) surgery (Tucker), put down a dog with serious "issues" (Penny), dealt with allergies (Missy, Simon AND Devin), had two cats with urinary blockage issues, one cat with a serious heart murmur, a ferret with a tumor, as well as the regular, everyday aches and pains (this one has an upset tummy, that one is limping, another one has an eye infection, etc., etc., etc.). Some days I have to wonder if it's worth it. :-? Then I look around and can't imagine who I could ever part with if there was a way to keep them with me forever. I'm hopeless. I'll never be rich (dog poor, for sure), but hopefully my life will have been enriched by the company I've chosen to keep (hey, it sounds good, anyway).:oops: Thanks for the virtual hugs. :angel:

Starfox, I've had similar things happen. :oops:

Y'all remember Devin? The little Devin monster? The fellow that took a two day vacation and had everyone so worried, found yet another home, didn't work out, back with us Devin? Well, if it ain't one thing, it's another. My husband was just saying the other night how glad he is that Devin came back to us after all he's been through and all the homes he didn't work out in. I mean, he really is such an absolute joy... especially since it's been so long since there's been a "baby" in the house. Devin is a year old, but Lhasas are slow to mature and he's still all puppy. He's such a ham and now I couldn't imagine life without him. The things that made him not work out in other homes are the things I like about him. He thinks for himself. He has good intentions, but he's certainly a free spirit and I love to hear him talk (seriously... he just rattles on like he knows what he's talking about). I've been thinking Devin might have some hip problems. He does that familiar bunny hop and he's very sensitive about his back end. He doesn't like his rear legs manipulated. I had the vet take a look at him today and he confirmed my worst suspicions. Devin has hip dysplasia AND a bad knee. It's not like he's a bit dysplastic. No, he's holy moly, good golly, look at those hips bad. On his right side, there is virtually no hip socket at all and it's like his hip is dislocated and the left side isn't much better. My poor baby! He's only a year old :cry: . He is going to get weekly Adequan injections for four weeks and then we'll discuss other options. This poor kid. I just hate to see someone so young have such a rough start (he also has allergies we are trying to treat). No one would ever think to dump off their perfectly healthy, sound, good temperament dog on me. As soon as they arrive here, we find that something is wrong. I'm beginning to think it's me. :-? [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XwD6ApgeM!SU2yctCMP0hPsgg90q2rZ8qQmVmwmOyPQHoitSKYPSJOYN!jqCOMrYFWhHG1KXks3NODx3VkTJknhu34PaqSg9RMBSCXmKXd2*92kuP47X0zAbcO4C0GgPRjvKYwCOATo/Devin%20aww.jpg?dc=4675446487304893809[/img]

Not to sound argumentative, but tea trea oil can be toxic to cats.

Perry & The Gang say Happy Birthday, you lot! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZADiAl0gv5IhJNSjCczJkNm!m*l!f*iaN0A4jk6b7LN49r29Plrnn86gI8wMzXYPrXNPToHxvaUvpd3PHPvLCFUO3uevDTs2VCb5zJgp8!wGUhFzicNtvshdHKeTtKWRYpvcTMfYzCKjdnoBI*Gajg/Perry%20birthday.JPG?dc=4675445991146613099[/img]

[quote name='guestme']maybe the shampoo really makes dogs smell great- you don't know, so spare your "farts" and "lemon pledge" sarcasm. nasty, negative freakin people[/quote] Are you trying to illustrate how upbeat and positive you are? :lol: If it smells to me like someone sh*t in a lemon tree (note: no FART comment), that's my opinion. If you like that smell, hey, that's your preference and I certainly won't call you names for it. To each's own. 8)

[quote name='courtnek']relax HF - they are only responding to the feel of wind and air that they couldnt feel before....they'll get over it and the coats will grow back out. sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...they'll be fine, trust me. [/quote] Oh, trust me, I know. You can't begin to imagine how many times I've had this conversation with clients. I had one lady client last year who called me later to ask if I had recently hired some help, someone who might have traumatized her dog, or if *I* had done something to the dog. I was totally flabbergasted (it's the only time in nearly five years I've ever had anyone think I hurt their dog :-? ). You see, it was a little Poodle that had always had a full coat, but had gotten matted to the bone. I told the lady the dog would need to go short and took it down. The dog had never been clipped that short before and went home and sulked and hid and wouldn't come out from under the bed. I knew that it was from the air hitting her skin and that it had to feel weird (now THIS is where people often assign "reason" to dogs... she said the dog was embarrassed... no, she was just plain bare as*ed, not to be confused with embarrassed). I told the lady about the skin and hair thing and how it must feel like someone following you around, touching you, and she must have been satisfied. I had been grooming that dog for four years, so hopefully she had to have known I didn't just pick a day to beat the hair off her :-? . Oh well, she still comes every six weeks, so I guess she's comfortable. Anyway, yeah, I've had THAT talk (they may act funny) many, many times. It's just shameful when it's my own. :oops: I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow. :oops: :-?

Character and personality and no need to be clingy, but able to express themselves and tell you just how they feel, whether it might hurt your feelings or not... I like that in a dog. He sounds absolutely delightful. :)

[quote name='kendalyn'][quote]Dogs head has a skull shape... [/quote] Shouldn't all heads be shaped like a skull?[/quote] Actually, this made me laugh out loud. I'm sure I'm misunderstanding it, but I can't help wondering about those non-skull shaped heads. If it's a head, isn't it skull shaped by default? Is there a breed of dog with a mushy, moldable head (Play Doh head?)? I dunno, but it sure made me laugh to think about it.

No, trust me, you don't! :oops: :P

The holidaze came and went with the usual rush of holiday doggers needing to get beautiful. I do not take new clients during the holidaze, but for some reason, I still end up crazy busy (primarily fielding phone calls from irate people because I won't take new clients). Soooooo I've done my part to help beautify this small town. I swear I groomed every dog here. At least it feels that way. However... My beloved Standard Poodles that are so used to being primped and preened were neglected in the craziness that is the holidaze. I kept meaning to set time aside for it and didn't and now... I'm shaving off those beautiful, foofy coats that I worked so hard for! :cry: :cry: Pauly is already nekkid (not naked but nekkid as can be). Perry gets it today. The coats were salvageable, but I just refuse to put my dogs (or me) through dematting when it was my fault for letting them get in this shape, though I am saving ears, tails and topknots (geez, give them SOMETHING to make them look like Poodles). Pauly looks so tiny. I didn't realize how much hair he had. Poor dog felt so funny after being nekkid. He ran and romped for the longest time like it felt sooooo good, but when it came time for him to go to sleep, it was like he was paranoid. :-? He would just spring up and start scratching and stomping at the floor like a chicken, looking worried, and he's so clingy. He won't leave my side. It's like he thinks I was punishing him for something and he's trying to redeem himself (I know I'm anthromofartisizing... assessing human emotions and reasoning on a dog, but just go with it). He's getting used to it, but now I get to go through it today with Perry (he has a LOT of hair and I'm sure he has eyes somewhere... I have to smack him in the middle and get him walking to know which end is which... he hates it when I poke treats at the wrong end of him... and here I just thought he had a surprised look on his face when it really wasn't his face at all :oops: ). Oh, the shame! I think I'm going to just have the back windows in my car tinted even darker so no one will see them. Most people comment on how beautiful they are. Now they have pogo legs! :oops: :-? :cry:

Y'all sure do talk neat. I wish I knew what y'all were talking about. ? :-? ?

Day 2 and already marked improvement on the gas issue. We've made a few changes in the way they're fed based on a lot of the info I've been reading on that site (TDG, that has kept me reading for hours and hours... so much info!). We're adding water and a bit of wet food to all the dogs' food. One thing I like is that it slows down their eating (no wolfing it down), but it makes sense that it keeps them from wanting to pound down water after eating. Also, it makes sense to me that it would keep from pulling so much of the body's water to digest the food. The "problem" dogs are getting acidophilus twice a day, the rest, once a day. I have an order in for some Oxy-Drops and Nzymes. If it does nothing more than help with this holy moly gas issue, it's worth it, but I'm really going to try to diddle around until I find something that helps at least a little with my allergy dogs. When I BARFed my one allergy dog, I did use some supplements with her as recommended, but it didn't help in regard to allergies. To be fair, neither has anything else (then again, nothing else made her so sick). I guess I should not have sounded in my last post like I have a problem with supplements because I don't. I used them when BARFing (though admittedly not when feeding kibble except adding natural foods as a supplement). I guess my problem is OVERsupplementation of a "natural" diet, but I digress. I'm still learning and I'm FINALLY hearing stuff (that makes sense to me) I hadn't already heard before. I just can't tell you how excited I am about all this. Just on day two and very little gas where a couple of days ago I was seriously considering sleeping in my car!

So my dogs aren't conspiring against me? That means I'm just paranoid and the medication isn't working!! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YQAUA3UfJDqPoHbo*VO*k6YkVsjsui1KYGfqoPb3PGet0mEYsc71EksSfApXuugKjHdt1Ms4!cD27pQV8nrn8U2m1B5QlMRNPCVoy5FZJXxm9G*C3R5zxjSjGgkui3GZB**iMPAy0pTnxOfRjHomDQ/crying%20girl.gif?dc=4675436072349453090[/img]

Thanks so much. I just now ordered the Oxy-Drops and Nzymes treats. Most of my dogs will likely do fine on a decent food as they always have. I really hope these supplements are a step in the right direction for Perry and Pauly with their tummy problems and perhaps the ones who have been diagnosed with allergies. Treating the allergy symptoms the traditional ways haven't worked, nor did BARF, so I'm willing to try just about anything that doesn't involve longterm use of drugs. Will certainly update as time passes. Thanks again!

TDG, thanks so much for those links! I have bookmarked them. I am planning to order the Nzymes and Oxydrops, particularly for Perry with the bacterial overgrowth. It certainly sounds like just the thing to try for what ails him. I also have three "allergy" dogs here that I can't wait to try the Nzymes on. I have also read how candida and overgrowth of yeast is very often misdiagnosed as allergies in dogs. One of my allergy dogs was the one that I put on BARF some time back in an effort to help those allergies and it didn't work. Two dogs are on temaril and I do NOT want to have them spend their lives taking prednisone to relieve itching. I feel so much more optimistic. The most I've been able to get from many sources is that my dogs only need a natural (raw) diet and if that doesn't fix it, it can't be fixed (which explains a lot of my frustration with the whole BARF hype). I've natural (cooked) dieted my dogs to death, but I still have a problem with "allergies" and the two Standards with digestive problems. I've always been so skeptical of supplements, supplements, supplements in these "natural" diets when dogs wouldn't naturally be eating this stuff in the wild (which "the wild" is what a lot of these diets are supposed to mimic). Anyway, I digress. THANK YOU for helping me suss this stuff out. Whether it works or not, I'm much more optimistic. One other question. IF the acidophilus is going to help with the gas (green fog) floating around here, how long will it take to notice a difference? Is it something that needs to build in their systems for a while, or does it act pretty much instantly? I can't thank you enough! :angel:

This particular store is one of a small chain of stores... most located about an hour south of me. These stores virtually never carry the same products. For example, all the Tallahassee stores carry Three Dog Bakery (a food I would have tried), but not this one. At first, we had to basically beg and plead with them to keep the Wellness in stock as sometimes they had it and sometimes they didn't and when they got it, they'd have to have it shipped up from one of the other stores. I frequently see new faces in this store as management and staff (it's a small store). I think sometimes they transfer them from the other stores. It's mostly run by kids. I'm thinking the guy (I'd never seen him before and I'm there nearly weekly) may have been recently transferred up here from another store that DID carry the Canidae and he just has it shipped from there for his own. They have always said they will not carry food that doesn't sell which was why Wellness was so hard for me to get. At one time, NO ONE else in my town was buying it, but I went on a campaign and had several acquaintances start buying it so they would carry it. For example, I tried to buy Wellness cat food today because I know they used to carry it, but they said no one was buying it, so.... Did any of that make sense? :oops: :-?