DogPaddle

Waste of effort people. She thinks she's right, she doesn't give a crap about overpopulation, she doesn't give a crap about producing quality dogs, she doesn't even understand what your talking about.

Snout may be red from worrying it against cage or if he was sedated it could be irritation from the ventilation tube which is often taped to the snout. It could also be a reaction to aenethetic so watch for other symptoms. I fostered a dog with 4th grade hip displasia and early oesteoarthritis related to the hip displasia. We put him on glucosamine and chondroitine, made sure he had something soft to sleep on and excercised him regularly but lightly and kept his weight appropriate. He showed great improvement on the glucosamine/chondroitine. He rarely required an aspirin for pain (I understand that yucca may have eliminated this altogether.) All in all, it was not so big of a deal and I would have no problem fostering HD dogs or adopting one for myself later.

I just got a brand new bed, and am reallllly enjoying it. The boys aren't allowed to play on the bed and they only come up for about 10-15 min before I fall asleep and 10 min in the morning and then they have to be on their blanket. Its been 3 years since I insisted on a bed to myself and I kinda like it. I may relent later though. For now I have made the boys each their own bed - 10 inch thick fairly dense foam block, easily large enough for them covered in washable material. They actually seem to like them a fair amount although they insist on swapping beds and Kavik's is a little small for Zaphod.

Canidae Merick Wysong They can all be found in the small shop here in town so you probably wouldn't need to buy in huge volume either, maybe?

Horizon dog>

Yes, Zaphod is only part lab and his nylon covered bed has a shiney spot and I bath him once every 6 weeks (I think) unlees he gets into something.,

That is great! :lol:

Good to hear your taking it to the vet, hope everything goes well.

I will always be willing to adopt a Lab, paticularly a black one, but never buy one from a breeder - here is why. These are the listings for labs on Petfinder: Labrador Retriever 10765 Chocolate Labrador Retriever 614 Black Labrador Retriever 3763 Yellow Labrador Retriever 1358 and some of these are probably labs too Retriever 786 That is about 17000 Labs for adoption. They account for the bulk of the dogs on Petfinder, just under 3 x more than the number of pits or similar breeds. The next highest breed is GSD at over 12000. After that its border collies, beagles and rottweilers - under 3500 of each. Labs are slow to mature, high energy, shed, have oily coats and many have a genetic predisposition to obesity. However, with the right handling and careful food management they make excellent pets for the right family/person.

What a clever boy, I'm sure he'll find a good home.

Maybe your Dad is just worried your going to become a collector. :lol: When I took Tyr in as a foster my dad was worried, when I had to take him back from his first placement he had "a talk" with me. :roll: He meant well. Anyway, you it sounds like at least you have the time to place them properly and interview folks well. As you can't keep them I hope you find the best possible homes for them so at least you can rest easy.

Where did you get the pup from - pet store, breeder etc? How old was the pup when it was seperated from mother? What are you feeding it? Are there any airborn irritants such as smoke or scented products that may be affecting the pup especially any that might have been present in its home before you obtained it? Does the pup have any other symptoms? If the eyes are constantly watering the pup may have an eye infection or cold or could have a condition causing eye irritation. If this has been occuring for a week straight you should probably see a vet unless the source of irritation can be located and eliminated.

I would probably never own one of the super dominant breeds like the caucasian shepherd class of dogs. I would go so far as a GSD or Dobe but not yet, more experience with dominant gaurding breed needed. I'm not afraid of them but I'm a bit of a softy and sometimes allow the boys to get away with things they shouldn't and also I alow a small amount of mouthy games and as I understand it these sort of things are not the best idea with gaurding breeds. The last thing I would want is to take a wonderful dog and to, through my permissiveness or lack of diligence, give the breed a poor name or worse. I'm not so fond of really small breeds - like under 25lbs but there are a few exceptions. I could see myself with a whippet, border terrier, sheltie or maybe a hairless.

Zaphod starts by jumping up, such a goof enthusiastic door scrabble, but he will switch to barking if that doesn't work. So far today we have been making OK progress. He makes me laugh, sometimes he can be pretty bright and sometimes well . . . I caught him staring into the projection tv light today just standing there blinking. :roll:

People here are not opposed to mix breeds, generally they are oppossed to deliberately breeding mixes. Mixes should ideally be adopted , much like your Cinco was.

Good plan, just one hitch, my boys get 1 and 1 only bark outside and then they must come in because I don't want them pestering neighbours, this has stopped Zaphod from barking at neighbour children almost altogether. So if I let him fuss at the door I may be giving him mixed messages. I'm thinking I may feed him before I let him out if he doesn't seem to be too much in need of a pee.

HB - I am sort of impressed with his smarts, even if it is inconvenient. Pyr - Your right of course. I wonder what method he'll develop to work around me next. :roll:

Zaphod is a food hound. I usually get up, let the boys out and then feed them. Later, if I've been out, I get home, let the boys out and then feed them. You see the pattern, Zaphod did. I go out, then I get fed. So now in the morning he goes out, comes in minutes later because he wants to be fed and then has to go out again to actually do his business later - not convenient if I'm busy in the morning or running late. Additionally if he feels that he requires extra feeding, he asks to go out, spends 30 seconds outside, zooms in and acts like a goof, freaking out around the food bowl. :lol:

Pantene

A purebread dog from two dogs with weak genetics is going to be unhealthy. A mongral or mutt dog from two dogs with weak genetics is going to be unhealthy. A crossbread dog from two dogs with weak genetics is going to be unhealthy. For instance a sheperdoodle from a shepherd with HD and a poodle with Addison's is not going to have anything of so called "hybrid vigour." Healthy dogs are most reliably produced from a well researched, carefully executed breeding program that does all appropriate health tests. Or possibly from a pariah dog situation where survival of the fittest still has a play in the dogs life -almost all mutts, mongrals, crossbreads would NOT benefit from this.. And not all purebreads are properly bread.

[quote]Think about this rationally for a sec. Let's say the enimal control people listen to your complaint and take the dog to the shelter[/quote] The dog will not be taken to the shelter based on the complaint unless the people flat out refuse to comply with city bylaws when the agent comes to speak with them. Chances are they won't even get a fine. They will be told what the bylaws are and why they are the way they are and possibly even given some helpful advice. Its really no big deal.

You could set shaker-can "pit traps" too, worked sort of ok for Zaphod and not much dissuades him in his quest for food.

Take a breather Cassie, you don't want to be run down and sick for the holidays. BTW hawthorne and CoQ10 rock, my mum has a hereditary heart problem and is taking them with excellent results (along with conventional meds) and I take it as a heart health preventative sort of deal.

We will be here for you when you become a basketcase, enjoy Pushy for now and don't worry about it if you can.

Well ok Cassie, you may have had the name first but I had it second. :lol: