Rascalmyshadow

Thanks for the replies I guess it's getting to me more because my oldest cat is 13 and has been with me since he was born, he is a big gentle softie and is my 'heart' boy. The thought of losing both of them is very hard even though we have other cats and dogs. I will definitely start taking lots more pics.

I'm sure this topic has been done plenty of times before but I am now the situation. My old poodle girl is 12 and is really starting to show her age, in the last four years she has had surgery for stump pyometea, both cruciates done ( one needing fixed 12 months after the original surgery) and was diagnosed with PRA. Mostly until a couple of months ago most people thought she was a young dog as she has kept her black colour exceptionally well, her teeth are still beautifull and in daylight hours would happily run around the park like a silly puppy. She has her cartrophen injections every 3 months and is on metacam every day so she is very mobile and comfortable. But her eyesight is now almost gone and she is starting to become nervy about sudden noises and will flinch when you go to pat her. We can no longer walk her from dusk onwards. She has been by my side for her entire life, including coming to work everyday ( now I work from home) she loved her car trips which are now uncomfortable for her, she was always ball obsessed but can no longer play fetch. I am having a hard time watching her suddenly age so rapidly, overall she is a very happy content girl and still has her 'young moments' but I know my time with her is getting shorter. How do others deal with it all?

I have not read through all posts but I think there are too many do gooders making issues for no reason. If the dog is comfortable with shade and water why should anyone make a problem for the owner??? The same people would carry on if the dog never got out of its yard. I wouldn't do it because I have little dogs but years ago with our big dogs we had no problem tying them outside shops and oh we are such bad owners we used to even take then on the train to the city. If more people took their dogs everywhere we would have less anti social dogs.

I really hope the breeder isn't doing the dodgy on you. We purchased a 10 month old Samoyed from a well known interstate breeder a couple of years ago, within a couple days of arriving I knew something was wrong with him. Fast forward a week later he was put under a GA and turned out he had such severe hip dysplasia the vets advised is not to wake him he was PTS. Never did get any compensation.

Bella our old girl has only one annoying habit: cocking her leg continuously on walks, takes forever to get anywhere. Rascal rolls in anything he can find at the park usually something dead and rotten or other unknown disgusting substances. Astro yaps at me if he feels he's being ignored, at 2.5 kg he is rather high pitched and very hard on the ears. Muttley is a thief, he steals tomatoes and cucumbers out of the veggie patch just before they are ready to pick. He will take food off the dining table if we leave the table. He finds all sorts of things to eat on our walks, I am always taking weird stuff off him. Yesterday he was running around the backyard with a live mouse in his mouth, no way was he giving it up. Once it was dead he hid it under a toy in his bed to I was able to dispose of it.

The shape of his face in the last pic reminds me of a maremma even though he's short coated.

Our afghan was only 18 months old, we thought she wasn't right from the time we adopted her from her breeder at 10 months old but he assured us her behaviour was normal for the breed. We saw improvement when on a drip and pumped full of drugs but as soon as she was home she lapsed, this happened 3 times in just under 3 weeks, we had her on a combo of 5-6 medications in that time frame. The last night we had with her she looked like a walking skeleton and couldn't move without screaming (we had ruled out injury) her eyes were so sunken. We ran out of treatment options and vet advice was PTS. We have her ashes and are planning on scattering them at hanging rock, it was the first place we went with her, she fell asleep at the top and my husband had to carry her down.

That is great news. We lost our afghan to what the vets were sure was meningitis all the symptoms were similar to what your describing.

Try the green morning fresh dish washing liquid but only in that spot then wash thoroughly.

I suggest a vet visit ASAP, your dog might have a grass seed stuck down the ear canal. I have also found the PAW brand gentle ear cleaner to be better than any others on the market.

This might seem a strange question but do you have poultry or aviary birds?

Both issues you are describing are major and if it were me I would run a mile. Bad jaw alignment means expensive vet visits later on and a weak temperament can't be fixed. $2000 is a lot of money for any dog especially one that already has problems.

Our oldest girl has had both cruciates repaired (18 months apart) we gave her two days of strong pain killers and 100% rest. After that we started doing 3 x 5 minute walks per day and gradually increased the length of the walks over a few weeks. Not once did we crate her just gave her the lounge and bedroom to move around in and supervised toilet breaks. Once the vet gives the all clear swimming is another great way of building strength back up without as much risk of injury. Make sure all exercise is on lead.

Looks gorgeous! Great idea.

I really can't understand anyone getting so upset about people telling the truth about a product wether it be good or bad. The only reason I spoke up is over the years I have tried many foods and some didn't agree with one or two of the dogs ( Artemis being one of those)but were fine for the others but this is the only food I have ever used that has affected all the dogs do badly and so quickly. I want other people to know incase they have the same thing happen and don't think of the food being the cause.

+2 great post. I'm sorry but I'm another that will never use or recommend it again. I have never seen any of my dogs condition go downhill so quick on any food in all the years I've had dogs and that includes all the rescue dogs that have come through our place. I was actually embarrassed by their condition and it made me feel like a neglectful owner which I'm not. It took about 3 months for them to look good again and to clear up my old girls dandruff. Good luck to the ones that are successfully using it but IMO it is the worst food I've ever used and I would rather feed them home brand.

So I'm not the only one with a girl that cocks her leg lol. We have 3 boys and 1 girl, the boys will occasionally do it on walks but my girl drives me nuts stopping at every tree post etc. she has also been known to stand on her two front legs to pee higher.

Crickets thanks for your reply it is so nice to hear other groomers that care I have worked with quite a few that don't. I also groom many senile, problematic or terrified dogs mostly due to other bad groomers manhandling them. I was in a vet clinic in a room on my own so it was nice and quiet, I would do usually about 8 dogs a day on my own. Now I work from home I do 4 dogs a day many love coming so much their owners leave them longer so they can play with my own dogs although I only groom a few big guys, I have gone so much out if my way for the dogs my body has suffered. The reason for my post is to let the general public know that some of us groomers do care about the animals we work with and we do our best to keep them comfortable. Simply grand the groomers are correct I know from working at the vet clinic this can be a problem but I still allowed my clients out the back when dropping their dogs and the occasional owner would stay. Also having other people around watching often upsets all the dogs which then creates a lot of extra stress and tension.

Can other groomers explain to me why tethering is necessary at all??? I have never needed to use any form of one in 18 years I put my table in a corner and use my body to block dogs from jumping, I never take a hand off the dog the whole time I'm working on it. I also groom cats and rabbits without a problem. I think a huge majority of groomers severely lack handling skills and because they want to make as much $$$ as possible they don't work slowly and calmly and get to know every individual dogs needs. I also think too many groomers are very quick to use muzzles when there's no need of they just had half a brain and used relaxation techniques instead. Another major problem is cage drying this is something I do not agree with under any circumstances. I have seen many horrible things while working with other groomers which is why I work alone and by one on one appoinent. My advise is to anyone is to stay away from big busy salons the noise alone is enough to cause stress and they are often handled by mutie people which is also hard on the dog.

Realistically why would anyone bother contacting the company when it's easier to change to a better product.

Has a similar look to the family dog I grew up with she was a dobe x pointer. I would guess dobe, ridgeback, greyhound

This is our youngest boy Muttley, he is a cairn x dashi. The photo is not a set up he loves to sit at the table with us any chance he gets, cracks me up every time. resting on the dining table (I know I shouldn't let him but he looks so cute).

I have already posted my condolences earlier on but after reading your last post and finding out what happened I am so much more sickened and angered. I would be out for blood, I hope you take them for everything you can and hopefully shut them down for good. The owner is as much to blame as their idiot employees. I hope at some stage you can publicly shame them so none of them are ever able to get their hands on anyone else's dog.

Sorry for your loss that is appalling. I would be suing them for as much as you can. I have been a groomer for 18 years now and there is a good reason I don't use any form of restraints, a good patient groomer shouldn't need them.

I haven't read all the other posts but 12 months is very late to start going to the groomers, I advise all new clients to bring their puppies to me as soon as they have settled at home that way they get used to the grooming before the fear/teenage stage kicks in. Your dog will need clipping at least every 8weeks and face, feet, bum trimmed every 4 weeks. Even if you have been handling her/him that is very different to a strange environment with unfamiliar people doing things that can be quite scary. Where in Melbourne are you located?