Peng1zrule

Gypsy always gets a humongous handful of beef sausage from papa john's. (the pizza chain) if you go through the bank window with your pup, they'll give him a dog cookie. I love the fed-ex lady that delivers my stuff now--she'll get out with a handful of dog treats.

You'll need, of course, tie outs, (stakes and chains/leads) collar or harness, ID tags, rabies tag. Maybe a rabies certificate. Two bowls--one for food, one for water. Plastic baggies to help keep the area clean (picking up after her) Her usual food, and either water you buy from the store, or gallon jugs filled with your own water. Two drops of bleach per gallon will keep it drinkable but sterilized. Bring a collapsible bowl for hiking, you don't want her drinking "wild" water. Bring her chew toys and a blanket that smells like home. Bring treats, not only because it's a great idea to have her do obediance in strange situations, but you don't want strangers pushing whatever into her mouth just to give her a treat--you'll have treats you approve of for them to feed her. IF she were to get lost, stay in the same spot she last saw you at--she'll come back to there. If you have to set out on foot, have people call AND listen--she may be crying or howling to find you. She may also stop making noise if a stranger calls her name. Two color photos-one close up, one full body as if in a show pose-should be taken whenever you travel, as a just in case. I hope you have a great time! I love camping with my dogs.

It's supposed to be cotton balls and half-and-half, something real heavy. the liquid and the cotton attract the little shards--once gypsy ate a porcelain mask. I gave her two half-and-halfs and cotton balls and you could never tell she'd had the porcelain

It might benefit you to check out your local laws regarding found pets--in my state, if you find a dog, running loose, no tags or collar, and you keep it for three days, it's considered yours. You might consider tying up the poor loose pup and seeing if her owners come after her. If they do, explain you like the dog and when it comes to you, you're just going to keep confining her to prevent her from being struck in the road. At the least, they'll learn to tie her up. (I'm sorry you have to deal with such rotten people)

Being up in a dog's face is a very "offensive" thing to a dog--watch dogs--they almost NEVER do that to each other--fights, accidents, and playtime is about the only time they go face-to-face. Dogs that are closely bonded sleep back-to-back, not face-to-face. A dog that wants to nap with you will rest his back against or near you, not his face. I think he recognizes you as his alpha, his better-let-her-do-what-she-wants-or-else boss, but everyone else is either only a little bit higher than him, definately lower than YOU, and maybe equal to him. I train my dogs to be used to people putting thier faces close to them, but I don't allow people to do it--the training is a precaution. Dogs are usually very uncomfortable, no matter how much they love you, with you kissing thier face. Sometimes them kissing your face is a demonstration of thier subordination.

I have chatted with a rottie owner--four of 'em--who hooked up his regular webcam and called it the rottie cam. He has it running on his website 24/7 and has all his friends and online buddies view it daily and email him at work if things seem to be going not quite right.

I would advise crates--they'll solve two out of three of your problems--dogs LOVE having a space they call thier own and will willingly sleep in thier crates, doors open, tongues lolling, bellies exposed, feet in the air. they'll store toys in there and prefer to be fed in there with the door shut--no competition from others when they are locked in with just them and thier dinner. Your in-laws will also appreciate that the dogs are given a private space, not running willy-nilly in thier house, potentially destroying items. But as for petsitters...you'll have to pay more, but it won't be much bigger of a hassle.

I have six dogs. I haven't had less than four for two years, and it's been five years since I've had less than three. Three is not an extravagant amount of work, but it is a bit extra. If you have two dogs, you've got one hand to walk each. Now you have to train three to not pull at all, or you're on an impromptu iditarod. You also can break up a fight between two if you have two people there, or if you have one leash and a stable post. When three's in the fight, things get hectic, and you're almost sure to get bitten or nipped, or scratched, just because it's such a big row. But three (or more) has it's advantages...such as an extra head to pet. Another face to kiss. Another little heart to love you. Another personality altogether in your house. When I had just my three, Sandy, Buddy, and Gypsy, it was idealic.(sp?) They were extremely well trained and things ran like a well-oiled machine. When I got up in the morning, they formed a respectful line. Every night, they wrestled until they dropped. When I headed toward bed, I would call out, "it's bedtime, guys" and they would walk, single-file, to thier beds. Another advantage to three...if you have to take just one, such as a special trip to the petstore or a vet visit, there are two at home, keeping each other company. I found they actually learned MORE when all were there during a training session. Gypsy is the ONLY one of my dogs that I taught to shake hands. Buddy learned from her, and India from him. India is the ONLY dog I taught to clap--gypsy and buddy clap from her. Calliope and buddy both crawl, and I'm not sure who taught who. Brat (a dog I had temporarily) learned to paw at your knee for a petting from watching Sandy. And there's the touching scenes of teamwork--such as the mutual conspiracy to tip a whole ham off the table, and NO ONE fought over it as it was wolfed down...I just found the empty platter. There's also the pack mentality--if your dominant dog is well trained, you'll most likely have a well-trained trio ...the key to running a multiple dog household is a sense of humor (a very good one) lots of patience, and a lot of training. A LOT of training. Good luck with whatever you decide, I know I could never have less than three dogs...maybe two if things got dire...but I don't know if I could ever, ever, have just ONE.

sounds like he just realized a way to make a big impact in the world! Don't react to this. (yes, hard, I know. and probably painful) just keep walking, or standing still, or whatever you were doing. If it gets really unbearable, get a water bottle and fill it with plain water. give him a spritz when he gets too aggressive toward your tootsies. Or, give him a "workout" several times a day--have him play fetch or tug of war (some people won't play TOW because they feel it fosters aggression) to tire him out, and maybe he won't make a game of hunting your feet.

I hope everything turns out okay...

Mine talk. I encourage it, because I'm so scatter-brained I tend to forget things. (I have a lot of "cat moments"--you know, where you go urgently out of one room, arrive in the next, and completley forget your original errand) Anyway, Fang talks back if I scold him. He also mutters to himself if he's unhappy with the current situation. He's teaching Calliope to howl (oh no! a howling pitbull. sadly, it sounds just like it is--a pitbull trying to howl. kind of pathetic) Gypsy tells me to come to bed, Buddy tells me when he has to go out. Sandy lets me know if I forget any of her creature comforts, like leaving lumps on her part of the bed, or if the blanket is mussed, or if she doesn't have a huge cool bowl of water before bed. My neighbor's dog, a german shepherd, talks all the time. She almost never quits whimpering, whining, yapping, or groaning. When she gets going on a high-pitched groan, usually a sign that she wants some sort of action, usually play time or a petting, I can induce her to howling if I howl too. No, I'm not *completley* insane.

if you read a little bit on the history of bull breeds (sometimes, you have to search for the right books, some just fluff over this grisly bit of history) you find out at first they were just kind of general looking, it was until fairly recently (considering the history of the dog) that dogs were bred to look specific, including apbts and bull terriers and bulldogs. Bulldogs used to be leggy and really BIG! And they would torture and chain bears and bulls for the purpose of watching the dogs kill them. In africa and asia, buffalo and big cats were used, in europe, bears were. They cut off animal parts (such as the paws or hoofs of the bull/bear) to make the fight last longer and give the dog a bit of a chance. The purpose of the bigger animal, was, ultimately, to die. The dogs used for this were scaled down in size when bear-baiting and bull-baiting was deemed illegal and inhumane. The reasons for this were two-fold: one, the dogs were less expensive to feed, and it was easier to pull a smaller dog from the ring during a fight. Pitbulls are supposed to be around thirty pounds...

I got so caught up in my story I forgot the "helpful" part of my post...when dogs sniff another dog, and especially if it's a male examining an in-heat female, he will sometimes foam excessively in his excitement. Some dogs get so excited over food that they foam....it really is just an excitement based thing. You'll read in "horror" stories about dogs that were attacking and frothing at the mouth...that's all it is, a reaction to excitement.

bufo toads can kill dogs with thier poison. otherwise, the plain brown toads release a poison too, but it just makes dogs sick. One time, I was taking care of a dumped pup named Brat, and she found a toad. i saw it first, and tried to urge it to go under the house. She came to see what I was poking at and started looking at him. I went to sit on the steps in hopes she would come and drape herself over me, but this toad was a great source of amusement for her as he starting hopping around and around and around the shrub-bush. Pretty soon, he figured out that she liked to see him hop and decided to sit still. She started poking at him with her nose, and he would hop. She was also stepping on his hiney with her front right paw to make him move. It's a wonder she didn't squash him. After two rounds of nudge-hop around the bush, she started picking him up when he leapt in the air. Nudge, hop, grab, drop. Nudge, hop, grab, drop. I was laughing now, and trying to make her leave it alone without using the "leave it" command because I doubted she would, and then she would know that leaving it was optional, which at that time, she thought was mandatory. Finally, I cried out, "Brat, leave it!" and flung a tennis ball. She was half way to the ball when she turned around--she was foaming like she had rabies! She came racing up to me and I had to flush water over her tongue to make it stop.

I don't know about Bahrain, but over here, Eukanuba and Iams are anything but cheap...they are known as good quality foods, and many people use them exclusively. Eukanuba used to be rather expensive, but they changed their recipe and brought the cost down a little...

Is the baby already born? If not, start now. Set up the baby's room, and let the dog know he isn't to be in it. (on the concept that young children and dogs should NEVER be alone together) You can put a screen door in place of the regular one, or just a baby gate. Also, get the dog used to walking, if he is taken for a regular walk, beside the stroller. It's best to have furniture (such as high chairs, playpens, and swings) in place well before the baby has arrived. Toys should be introduced and the dog taught that some toys are his and some toys are not. When the baby is born, bring home a blanket or t-shirt that the baby has slept on or with, so that the dog isn't introduced to an entirely new smell--he'll have smelled the baby's scent before. Also, never leave the baby laying where the dog can reach him--such as a couch or chair, as the dog can (and most likely, will) jump up for a sniff and may scratch or land on the baby by accident.

I'm sorry you had to encounter that awful woman...almost everyone in my neighborhood is exactly like that..."we'll just take the pups to the pound, they'll take 'em!" Just about the only time a dog is spayed around here is when she was hurt during the birth or breeding. Even then, they usually just dump her or have animal control pick her up. Some even shoot thier dogs. There's this poor black lab mix up the road...EVERY litter she has dies within the day. And they STILL WON'T SPAY HER!. It drives me nuts...

I am sooo sorry for your loss! You'll be in my thoughts...

I raised my cat kind of like you raise a pup...I found my squirt bottle to be invaluable so long as no immature humans got their hands on it. My cat is very vocal and will sit, come, sit up, and shake hands. A scratching post will be needed...most people forget to get one, and then they end up with the cat scratching the furniture.

when she is out of milk, and it may take another month or so, her teats will probably tighten up. Not sure about the scars. If they are old scars, you may be stuck with them, although an apbt owner once told me about a product available from Omaha Vet Vaccine that is "garunteed" to heal scars and regrow hair. If they are still wounds, and not scars, keep them clean, apply lots of neosporin, and keep your fingers crossed!

LOL! I have pet turtles...I had to train the dogs to leave them alone...although, since these are wild turtles, they hibernated, and Gypsy disobeyed me the day before I buried the turtles...I thought they were dead 'cause i picked them up and couldn't get them to respond to me. Gypsy was pawing and whimpering at the terrarium, so when I went to pull her way...lo and behold...the turtles were awake. Can you imagine if she HADN'T disobeyed me?

At a year old, I think there should be some puppyness, but not a lot...except for calliope, (who's two this month) none of mine have puppy playfullness. They rarely even wrestle anymore =(. The heat outside may be what's causing Zebra to not play. I can get mine to play with me a little (most of mine have been abused and are terribly afraid of hurting me) by play-growling and shaking a toy with limbs on it. By limbs, I mean arms and legs...I grab the body, shake it, and play growl. If I have to, I'll play bow. Almost always works. I can also change a confrontation between two of my dogs from tense to playful by playgrowling...it's weird, but it works.

[quote name='diamond']Thank you for your help I will tey these and you are right she is only 6 months but the younger the better! Also she is a female and she is fixed, but she wants outside to pee all the time is that normal??[/quote] I had to train mine not to bolt out the door....as for the peeing, is she actually peeing? Do you see pee? If so, get her checked for a urinary tract infection. If she is going out, squatting, not straining, and either just going a few drops or not at all, I'd say she's either in the habit, or quickly fooling you, into letting her out to play by guise of a pee break!

I just now was able to check on the update on Rowie...soooooooooo glad to hear she was doing better (I actually couldn't stop thinking about her!) I know it's hard to see her with all her fur gone now, but she really is better off without it for the time being...I had to cut my long-haired dog's fur short to take care of the fleas, and with the ticks, it's so easy to remove them as they attach themselves...no ticks stay on long enough to actually transmit diseases because I find them so soon. I enjoy fall and winter most, because then my little dog has her beautiful, full coat back!

My dogs all know a little something. Most of them know all the basics by heart--sit, stay, come, down. Then, collectively, they clap, rollover, crawl, give me four, sit up pretty, dance, spin, shake hands, fetch, and get the cat (they just follow her on command, no touching!)