dee lee

I could not agree more. And it saddens me the time and money that is spent on retraining difficult cases that could be redirected towards saving more dogs with no problems. I hate to take a hard line, but with all the thousands of dogs in the pounds, I feel the ones with no issues should come first.

Isn't StarAnais involved in SAR with her Malinois? I'm sure she can provide some good insights if she pops in here.

I can barely leave my house without someone commenting on Honey or wanting a pat. I find Golden Retrievers are huge people magnets, I imagine because they appear so beautiful and non threatening and most people have one in their lives or past somehow. I even had one guy pull his car over, jump out and ask for a pat! Luckily Honey is an absolute tart, she loves the attention and will sit calmly and take a pat from anyone.

PF is saying that people should get their dogs from rescues. The rescues get the dogs from the pound and then put them in foster homes. People then adopt the dog from the rescue. Why is this a better approach? You *can't* tell what a dog's behaviour is going to be like in a pound environment. When a dog is living in a foster home, the foster carer gets to see what the dog behaves like in the real world and can find a suitable family for it. For example, my girl would shut down in a pound enviroment. People would think she was sweet and shy. In the real world, however, she can be very aggressive. I imagine that a young family would see her in the pound and think she is soooo sweet and would be so gentle with kids. The kids would pay the price for this mistake. The pound I got my girls from let me spend time with each of them in the pens to get to know a little about them and their behaviour. Fair enough it is not as good as what foster homes can offer but I think the comment by PF was uncalled for-just my opinion is all. Many of us have seen or experienced the fallout from adoptions gone wrong. PF is expressing a view many of us hold. Rescue organisations spend time assessing the temperaments of pound dogs and (ideally) determining a good match with a prospective owner. The OP is another of a multitude of stories we have all heard over the years, where a dog is adopted from a pound and is unsuitable for a certain home. Often these stories end in tragedy. In truth rescuing a dog is russian roulette. I think Megan's example of her dog is a perfect one.

My kids are allowed to walk Honey to school (5 min walk). However, she is very well behaved onlead & I am right there ready to take charge if necessary. I think it's a good thing to teach them to walk her safely (so when they are old enough they are able to have "effective control") but they are never allowed to do it without me. Most if the time they don't want to anyway because Honey spends the whole time looking for me!

That's just gorgeous dee lee My dogs couldn't give a rats about me if ever I am upset or unwell, they think of themselves and only themselves :D Now that sounds like my KIDS! Thank god for the dog!!

With breed specific rescue organisations, I think they vet the new owners very carefully before placing the dog. I know that my name went right to the top of quite a long list of possible homes because I already owned three dogs of that breed and am involved in a breed club and have access to all the knowledge and help I could need if it comes to that. Yep that is so....And we get the troubled ones .........I full agree though with LizT, but we have been doing this for many years and i am really into dog training and behaviour. And I have the back-up of a couple of awesome Trainers. And I have never been afraid to ask for help Alas not everyone is as well equipped. I have only ever owned rescue pets, the majority have been wonderful - my current dog & cat are divine- but I have also had a bad experience with a dog that ended up DA. Sentiment, hard work & caring is sometimes not enough to save a dog.

Lol, if you have to ask, then it's not the anal glands!!! Sorry, the smell makes me gag. Seriously, it's like a baaaad fart but also a little sweet smelling. Its REALLY funky- like something is rotting. Weirdly though, I can never see any leakage or smell where it comes from. Well except when the vet relieves them- My vet is a saint- he didn't charge me to do it last time...

I havent noticed Honey behave more sooky to me when Im sick or unhappy, she is always very snuggly. However, she does get quite frantic when my daughters get upset, particularly my youngest. Being of primary school age (6 and 8) it happens frequently that one or the other will get upset sometime during the day. Honey MUST make sure they are ok, usually by trying to heave all 27kgs of her big fluffy butt onto their little laps and snuggling in for a hug. She is very insistent and gets a very worried look on her face. Its very sweet and most times is much appreciated by the drama queen of the moment. All kids should have a big fluffy butt to cuddle when they have "the meanest mum EVER". I know my dog was the only one who understood me when I was a kid.

I happily use them once daily as a goodbye treat for my dog. They dont last long but she gets so excited when I get ready for work and chews gently on them as I leave. I guess I'm lucky she doesn't gulp them.

OSS, what are the symptoms to look for? I've been googling my little heart out and think I might change Honey's food- I've read several accounts where that has made a difference. Interestingly I changed Honey from Artemis to Nutro (due to supply issues) just before the leaking started. It would be wonderful if it was diet based & could be reversed if I change back- it's a long shot though. Also I might see if I can find some soy based treats- apparently the plant oestrogens may help. eta: Just looking through old posts on incontinence and I found an intriguing quote NoisyMina linked from another article. It made me laugh, but I'm going to try it!! Alternative Treatments for Incontinence I don't know if your dog would be amenable, but when our spayed female started leaving puddles when she was sleeping we started her on a tail-wagging program to increase the strength of her pelvic floor muscles (like Kegels for dogs). We taught her to wag her tail on command by shaping the tail wag using a clicker and treats, and eventually got her to the point where she could wag vigorously when we asked her to. She stopped leaking about a week after the regular wagging exercises began. Now she does 3 sets of 30 wags every day, and she has never leaked again. Just a thought for you and anyone else who might want to try a non-drug option for spay-incontinence. Our vet was so pleased with this program that she gave us a free set of shots when we taught her about it!

48 hours from memory.

Kirty, I feel for you. One more issue to deal with, you poor thing. I'm going through something similar, so I get that there is no simple solution. Honey's accidents are linked to an incontinence issue which does make it a bit trickier, but at least I know what is going on. Her toilet routine is completely shot as is her ability to hold on. We are trialling some medication but its a frustrating process. Honey has toiletted on our kitchen floor about 5 times in the last week, last night she refused to wee when I took her out at 8pm, 10pm and at 3am. 6am I came downstairs to a puddle and a poo. I have mopped with vinegar today just in case it helps. The last 2 nights I have resorted to keeping a towel near the backdoor to soak up any mess, I may upgrade to a pee pad and work with her tendency to use the same spot. At the very least its less cleaning up when not much else seems to help. The sense that I get is that Honey is generally confused by her situation and its affecting her behaviour. Perhaps this is Pia's problem? Also we changed her food a couple of months ago (due to supply problems) and I suspect that this food makes her thirstier. I'll be changing back to see if it makes any difference. Ugh, if its not one thing its another, isnt it? Lucky we love them so much.

Meh, ignore it. You are on the right track. I used to get that all the time with my GR- actually I haven't for a while ... Better put her on a diet!!! ;) It's like when my grandma used to tell me I was looking well- I knew I must have put on too much weight! Some people just think overweight means healthy. It's wrong wrong wrong.

I'm really conflicted on this. When we adopted Honey she was 2 and a half, she has been an absolute delight & we have bonded amazingly. I was overjoyed not to have to do the puppy thing again. However.... She does have little quirks that I struggle to manage (obsessed with skywriting, storm phobic, toiletting fussiness to name a few). I would be tempted next time to get a pup so I could start from scratch and train it into the dog I want it to be. But then, I'm terrified of stuffing it up AND I do love older dogs better than pups. See- conflicted!!

Oh ok, I wondered if that was it. I'll ask my vet about the trial when I've nearly run out of the Stilboestrol. Interesting... PF, Honey was started on it the same way as your girl. ST, I hope I dont have to use it everyday. Poor luv is so young. . I'll start with every second and see how she goes. The vet did say that she will need several months on it before we can be sure of a result. He was optimistic, I shall try to remain so. Its only been one month.

A Vizsla would be my pick. High on my list of next dogs (oh that lovely short fur.... sigh...). Taking a dog for a 30min run with you is pretty intensive exercise- I'd guess all exercise requirements would be covered by that. Plus the hour at night, you'd be fine. I'm always amazed at the obviously unfit, slow walking owners who amble around my offlead park with their "high energy" breeds. They still seem to manage. All 6 of the Viszlas I know are owned by full-time workers, one with 3 kids under 9, and are happy lovely dogs. Though they only care for their owners. Boxers. Hmm, I like them in principle but I've had bad experiences with quite a few- they seem to be a real handful as young dogs & because of that I'd probably not recommend them to a novice owner. These difficult you g dogs I've met were owned by idiots who had no idea, so it wasn't the dog's fault. And they are VERY bouncy- as in all feet off the ground kind of bouncy!! I agree with Nekhbet too, both those dogs are large- why restrict yourself? You backyard sounds more than big enough- I have a very fit and happy Goldie in a tiny house & courtyard. Edited to add: I only just saw the last couple of posts! If you don't mind the shedding- GO THE GOLDIE!!! I jog with mine, she's the perfect hug monster for my 2 daughters & would be a great adventure pal for a boy. And you just cannot beat the lovely temperament!! They are divine happy gentle creatures.

Boxagirl, hopefully it is just the Bowen treatment. That would be far preferable!! Oh wow, so there is an implant? How did you get on the trial? Do they need more dogs? Id be keen!

Yes exactly- I wonder how many of those wet patches that I assumed were from Honey's post drinking drool were actually her leaking. She doesn't always leave a big mess either, she has a big fluffy butt and occasionally I had noticed it was damp- I had just assumed she'd sat in water. Since her diagnosis I can see that she has just leaked a little. :D ETA: Just had a call from hubby, wet floor and dog. Bloody meds will have to be upped- twice a week not cutting it. I imagine this is not a good sign... I wonder why there isnt a once a year hormonal implant for this if its so common?

It was quite sporadic with Honey too, which is why it took us a while to take her to the vet- we kept thinking it had been a one (or two) off. She went a week without a leak then she leaked several times in one day. After that I knew I had to face that we had a problem. For Honey, I think the irregularity may have had something to do with exercise and/or how much water she was drinking. I noticed she leaked after we had been for a long run & she had drunk a lot. The muscles are weak, even more so after a run, so can't hold in the excess water. I found frequent forced toilet stops helped until the meds kicked in.

Sounds like my 4 yo desexed girl's hormonal incontinence. Just started up from nothing a month ago. She is on hormone tablets twice a week for 3 months in the hope it will fix it. Crossing fingers. Is the liquid smelly? UTIs are generally very smelly. Hormone Incontinence is odorfree, its like the dog leaked water. It sounds exactly as you described and is very common in desexed females. Perhaps the therapy has loosened the muscles, but if it is HI, a quick visit to the vet and some pills will stop the leaking, which is a total PITA.

Has he been running in wet grass a lot? My GR once developed brown spots on her tum, from me not drying her properly after early morning walks. They went away once I started religiously drying her tummy. I surmised that they were some kind of fungal reaction.

I am so envious of all of you!! I work for a big company in an office block, no pets allowed. Its probably a good thing as lots of people in my dept have a dog- it'd be bedlam. But if I was the only one allowed it would be great! :rolleyes:

Its hard when there are so many rare breeds around now. To be honest, there are so many oodly doodly crossbreeds that unless a particular dog looks like its owners might know something about dogs, I generally assume a dog with curly black fur of large size is a crossbreed/doodle. Sorry. ;) I certainly wouldnt pick a Russian (Terrier?) You cant win sometimes, there is a puppy at my local dog park that looks just like a very young ridgeless ridgeback- nup, its a slightly older ACD x SBT. ;) I did get brownie points for guessing a couple of Tollers though. I find it weirder that I cant count the times I've been told my GR is a labrador retriever. Funny thing is people usually say the whole name quite proudly like they are experts! ;)

I really feel for you. ;) Living with a dog that requires such a high degree of management is extremely hard emotionally. Comes a time when you have to ask who is benefiting from it and if it wouldn't be kindest to say goodbye. Hugs. ;)