kendalyn

Sounds like a great time! The doggie restaurant sounds awesome! I wish they had that here

That's awful. Poor Bubba. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable he must feel all the time because of his excess weight. :cry:

It is possible for a person to get ear mites. It's not common but it can happen. As far as I know there is not any treatment for it in humans. DO NOT take this as a final word though. I would call your doctor and tell him both your symptoms are persisting in case there is something you can do about it. Be insistant that there is something wrong. Good luck, that sounds like no fun!

Poor Felix! I bet it hurt having his little tail run over :( Too bad that guy wasn't very apologetic. Some people's manners suck. :x

[url]http://www.softouchconcepts.com/index.html[/url] A friend e-mailed me this link to ask if it would work. I have no idea. I've never seen anything like it really. I mean, it's kind of like a harness, but not really... I've never used any special kind of collar or harness so I really have no idea how effective it would be. I prefer a flat collar but I don't have a super puller type dog either. Everyone else's thoughts? :-)

Looks Good :-)

[quote name='ebkelsey'] I don't plan on breeding him though[/quote] You may not be planning on breeding, but accidents happen. Is it really worth the risk? If you want him to have a better chance of being friendly to other dogs, neutering him is the way to go. Also, he has a much smaller chance of developing certain cancers and other medical problems if he is neutered. There really are a lot of advantages to having a neutered dog. I encourage you to consider it. Your pup won't even know they're missing!

What?? Why would they want to take her away from you? How strange that they are actually going out of their way to take her back! What would they do with her if she were taken away anyhow? Geez, you must be really frustrated. You have put so much love and time and understanding into getting Laurel out of her shell and these people have the gall to say, "No, sorry it's just not possible."!!! I don't know what your adoption agreement says, but hopefully they can't remove her from you. What good could possibly come of it? I just don't understand why they need to get involved when there haven't been any problems. If it ain't broke, don't fix it... Do they just have way to much time on their hands??

hehe, I think you mean KookieSista18 :lol: I haven't said anything yet :-) And I agree HF, an older dog sounds better for her. A terrier puppy is too much for me and I'm still a young'n

Once in a while Buck gets clingy and whiny when Scott comes over, so I kind of know what you're going through. I think you're probably making it worse by paying him attention when he is being a big pain. I would give him something to occupy him while you're busy, but don't pay him any attention when he is vying for your attention by being obnoxious. When your friend comes over, give him something like a peanut butter stuffed kong to play with. When he is done with the kong and comes over to you guys, pet him a little and say hello again, then ask him to lay down and ignore him. Even if he starts being obnoxious. Either ignore it, or you could have him lay down again. I ignore it usually though and Buck stops and lays down next to us. This is pretty much what I do with Buck when he seems particularly clingy while Scott is over. It works for us. Maybe someone else has some better suggestions though :-)

Yeah I don't know where she got some of that information. The Standard Poodle according to her is 33-42 lbs and 13-15 inches. I've never seen a Standard Poodle that small. And she describes their hair at one point as "napy" :roll:

That's a really tough situation you've got there. Has she been off the phenobarbitol since the day you forgot to give it to her? That may be the problem... Otherwise, does your vet allow you to do a payment plan at all? I would go there and talk to them in person about your troubles. They might allow you to make payments if they understand your situation. Definately take her to the vet though. If the vet suggests an MRI, or another expensive test you can't afford, tell him/her. They might be able to suggest another treatment plan that isn't so costly. Just be honest and tell your vet what's going on and what you can and can't afford to do. Good luck!

[quote name='wackytail']I really hate spakin her or shoving her face in her poo so she gets it through her block head that that's wrong[/quote] Please stop doing this to your dog. It doesn't help her learn not to go in the house. She won't connect poop on the floor to the concept that she shouldn't go to the bathroom inside the house. It's really just cruel. How regular are your feeding schedules? If you feed on a regular schedule, the times when she needs to poop should be fairly regular. This will really help with her training. It's easier if you can predict when she'll need to go. It sounds like your dog realizes that outside is better than inside since she tries to get to the porch. So that's a good thing. And you said she uses the training pads so it really sounds like she is getting the hang of it. If she goes to the bathroom near the sliding glass doors, than obviously she had to be standing by them before she went. This is really your fault because she was trying to get to an OK area. She can't open the door on her own... If she really can't last longer than 2 or 3 hours without going out, I would take her to the vet. She's still a puppy so she'll need to go out a lot, but she should be able to hold it for a few hours. It's a good idea to make sure everything's working OK. [quote]Is there anyway to get her to let us know when she has to go?[/quote] Try having her sit before you let her out the door, or you can hang a bell on the door and ring it everytime you let her out. She'll catch on that this is a way to tell you she needs to go out. BUT, you really need to be paying close attention for her own signs that she needs to go. These include sniffing around, circling and generally looking like she needs to go. Standing by the sliding glass door may be her sign. You just need to be observant.

I hope so! Once in a while we'll come across a dog that Buck just doesn't really like for some reason. I can't really tell what it is all the time. But I hope it's based on something more than randomness :lol:

Mine are pretty accurate :-) Golden Retriever Labarador Retriever German Shepherd Dog Old English Sheepdog I love labs. I've never considered a Golden. I am a bit afraid of GSD, but that's something that could easily be fixed. I've always wanted a sheepdog! I was hoping Standard Poodle would be on the list though!

Oops! It was a crime of passion.. :lol:

[quote]For instance, if you're dealing with a grown dog, of any breed/mix, you have to wonder what kind of impact it's previous environment might have had on it's disposition. If you're getting a mix puppy from a shelter, you've even less info to base your decision on.[/quote] Many rescues foster their dogs in people's private homes. Those foster people can tell you more information about the dog's disposition than you would ever be able to guess about an 8 week old puppy. They really get to know the dog and can decide what kind of home the dog needs. With any pet there are some unknowns, but it's not accurate to say that adopting a rescue animal comes with no information at all. [quote]If breeding was as rare as you people seem to want, prices would skyrocket to the point where potentially great dog owners would be unable to afford a dog that might actually work well for them and would be forced to take shelter/rescue dogs...that may well end up right back where they started. [/quote] Again you're assuming a dog from a shelter/rescue wouldn't be fit for a "great dog owner". That's ridiculous.

[quote name='Mei-Mei']Her next article will probably be entitled "How Fruits and Vegetables Are Bad for Human Beings." What a total flake[/quote] :lol: :lol: :lol:

This is the strangest article I've ever read. The author is a total wacko! If you read it at first you'll wonder what the heck it has to do with dogs, but just keep reading :roll: [url]http://www.american-partisan.com/cols/2003/wade/qtr4/1204.htm[/url] Here is a rebuttal by another author. It's really good. [url]http://www.lewrockwell.com/decoster/decoster81.html[/url]

Wow! What a crazy morning! Poor Sandy must have been terrified :( Good thing you found her before it was too late. If firemen can get cats out of trees than they can get dogs out of pools! :lol: Give your dogs some hugs for waking you up! :P

No, she's not throwing up to get attention. The yellow liquid is bile. Bile is a combination of bile salts, bilirubin, cholesterol and phospholipids. It is the only way cholesterol is eliminated from the body and is critical in eliminating certain waste fluids from the body. Bile is concentrated in the gallbladder and is produced in the liver. Sometimes when a dog throws up only bile it is because the stomach is empty and bile has washed back into the stomach. The bile is irritating to the stomach and as a result your dog throws it up. It's called Bile Gastritis when this happens. How often do you feed your dog? Some dogs can't go long intervals between meals. There are other causes of frequent vomiting of bile though. I would take her to the vet to be looked over because it isn't normal for it to happen so frequently.

Yeah, it really won't help to yell at him when you find the mess. It's too many connections to make. He may understand that poop on the floor is bad thing, but he probably won't make the connection that he shouldn't put it there. It sounds logical to us, but that's not how dogs think. Try and keep him in your eyeline all the time. You need to catch him doing it. You can buy a 10 or 20 foot leash and just keep him leashed to you whenever you're home. It'll make it a lot easier to look for signs that he's going to go. Sniffing around, circling and stuff like that. Take him out when you see those signs. When you do catch him going inside say no or whatever negative word you're going to use and take him outside right then. If you can pick him up do it, but it sounds like he may be too big to pick up. And of course praise him like crazy when he goes outside.

Quite a few people here have mutts! I have an awesome lab/mix named Buck :-) They do make great pets. Patience and consistency is the way to go with housetraining. Are you crate training? This is a good way but it's certainly not the only way. What have you tried so far?

Check out this thread: [url]http://forum.dogomania.com/viewtopic.php?t=8961[/url] There's some good information in there :-) Somebody posted a rating system for dog foods but I'm not sure where it could be...

Thanks for so many replies! If anyone else out there wants to speak up, don't be afraid :-) I will see Amber next week and I'll have the replies ready to show her. Do you guys know any good educational links for her to visit? Maybe we could sit down and visit a few websites.