Serket

Well I now have squeaky toys being pushed into my lap, and she's gone back to carrying the foot rest around the house (new favourite toy) so I think she's feeling a lot better. She did eat some grass earlier, but no vomit, and I can feel the breakfast bulge moving through her digestive system, just waiting impatiently for it to come out the right end

That's the plan. Yesterday's vomit was her breakfast (5 minutes after she ate it), and then piles of completely undigested grass + water. ETA: One pile of vomited grass in the yard from yesterday is mucous-y She actually barked at me while waiting for her food to cool down and after she ate it she decided to 'attack' my leg and play tug of war with it while I was cleaning up the stains properly from yesterday, so she's definitely feeling much better. Now let's just hope she keeps it down, and it comes out the other end

She's never had a marrow bone (too paranoid about really hard bones and teeth, since her mum snapped a tooth on a bone), so hopefully that rules that out, but thanks for the idea. She's much brighter this morning , not back to normal, but bright enough to jump up on the bed and lick OH's face at 6am with a wagging tail, which is her normal "feed me now" trick, and enough to wag her tail and do some play bows at me when I got up to cook her breakfast - she doesn't want to play though, so still not right, but at least she's awake and alert compared to yesterday. She doesn't seem to have any real pain while moving - jumping up, stretching, rolling over all seem ok so hoping that's a good sign it's not an obstruction Chicken & rice is just cooling now, so we'll see if she's actually feeling ok to eat, rather than just hungry but not when the food is actually in front of her. She did search the floor for leftover kibble from yesterday and found one piece and ate it

Entire Had a season from 1st week of January, not due back in for a little while yet (although getting closer, time flies). Wasn't at all sooky or have any issues last time. No thermometer here at all for either humans or dogs, but I'll grab one tomorrow (never think about it until you need it), gums are pink and normal looking She's a really stoic dog - if I step on her tail or paw accidentally she doesn't yelp or whimper, I've only ever heard her yelp twice ever. The fact that she is so flat is what is concerning, she's normally very energetic and active, esp. at night. At the moment she seems more exhausted than in pain, she was 'grumbling' (verbally, not her stomach) during the day OH said, and didn't seem able to get comfortable. She's been lying quietly sleeping for a few hours though now, but she can get up easily, walks normally, and even jumped up on the vets when she was there - so she can muster up some energy, but she may not have slept well last night either (since this morning she was already refusing food), so I'm thinking (hoping) she's just really tired now and sleeping it off

10.5 months. I wasn't at the vets, only know what OH has said (tried to call him and make him put me on speaker phone during the consult, but couldn't get hold of him until they were done.) According to OH, Vet said temp. was slightly elevated but said she didn't seem dehydrated OH says she had a big drink when they got home from the vets, and was drinking before that (but less). She was drinking water this morning and while we were gone (watery vomit), but she hasn't had a big vomit since lunchtime when I came home to check on her, although OH says she did a little one when he got home. I haven't seen her go out to the toilet (I've only been home two hours though, and was only home for 5 minutes at lunch). Since I've been home she's just been lying in the lounge room with us asleep, hasn't been outside.

I feel awful for her. I walked in the door and knelt down to say hello, and she sat down and just leaned her head and whole body against me and closed her eyes. She looks utterly miserable, such a change from the hyperactive "play with me play with me play with me NOW" dog I usually have when I get home.

Sorry, been home for a bit. I didn't make it to the vet in time, but according to OH they gave her an injection (he doesn't know what it was), and was sent home with some tablets (metrogyl) and instructions not to feed her for 12 hours, and watch her carefully. Then, give her the tablets in the morning, and only feed her in the morning (chicken/rice) if she looks better. If she hasn't improved, bring her back in. OH said they couldn't feel any obstructions/blockages and weren't especially concerned (yet), they just thought it was a stomach irritation from something. After she came home she's been resting and trying to sleep. OH said she didn't seem able to sleep during the day once he came home due to discomfort/pain, but she seems more comfortable after the injection - still really flat though, she's never been so quiet in her life. Poor thing

I do have to agree with persephone .. Hopefully there is someone you can get to check on her? I didn't have a choice, unfortunately. No neighbours who are home or we'd leave keys with, and family not close enough/at work themselves - I don't have a job where I can call in sick without causing huge problems. I went home at lunch and checked on her - no change, more vomit, undigested grass and water, she's not happy but not worse from this morning. OH left work early @ 1pm and is with her now. The vet didn't seem concerned and made an appointment for 4:45, even when OH told them she might have eaten something she shouldn't have. Off home via the vet now (meeting OH there, if I can get there quick enough) She digs the rocks out of the ground - we remove them as best we can but she finds more anyway, sigh.

Last night Gypsy hesitated before eating her dinner, but ate it. I thought she was just confused since OH keeps using a different release word to let her eat (another story). This morning, OH got up to feed her, and she refused to touch her food (Artemis, normally she inhales it). I got up to see if it was a confusion issue, but nope, didn't want to eat. Seems bright enough, tail wagging, jumping on and off the bed (naughty dog!). We go outside to find 2-3 piles of very grassy foamy vomit. Then she started to pick at the food a bit - picked up a piece, then dropped it again. I checked her mouth for cuts, broken teeth, etc, but seemed fine. Then she ate about 2/3 of her food and I went off to continue getting ready for work. However, when I came back out I found she'd vomited it all back up (inside, this time). Both OH and I absolutely HAD to go to work this morning/today. OH is going to try to leave and go home early to check on her, but I'm stuck at work until 4, home at 6:30 at the earliest. This is extremely unusual for her to refuse food, or have an upset stomach at all, and I'm really worried about leaving her alone all day. There's nothing she ate that was unusual over the past two days, no poisons around the house at all (no cockroach baits, nothing). The only thing she had yesterday (I think, or the day before) was a Capster tablet because we've had a mild flea problem over the past two weeks, but she's had them before and been fine, no upset stomach. I woke up this morning to find her eating a rock on my bed () and I took it off her, my worry is always that she'll eat a rock one day she can't pass (yes, she swallows them ) but if there was a blockage I assume there would be a) pain (she didn't mind me pressing on her stomach/abdomen) and b) she wouldn't be vomiting? I can probably go home, check on her and come back to work before my next class, but it's an hour each way (150km round trip) and I do have things I should be doing, am I worrying too much?

If all males were desexed, females wouldn't need to be, I don't understand your argument. Males don't have seasons, mess and temperament changes in season as an entire female does. Seasonal cycles are best eliminated in the family pet IMO. I agree with you about the temperament changes and season, it's a tough time I think the post is about desexing to reduce unwanted pups though and males are equally responsible for this This really depends on the dog - and why is always females who are considered to be the problem? Not to go anthropomorphising but seriously, I barely noticed when my GR came into season, and we have cream carpet throughout the house and she has free access inside/outside. She's not desexed yet because she's not finishing growing, and her breeder is completely supportive of waiting to desex. I want to do agility with her, and even if I didn't, from what I've read I believe it is better for her to finish growing in any case, and I'm responsible and educated enough to keep her safe when she's in season. I can also cope with the dreaded "mess", even if she wasn't as clean as she is. learn to raise/train the dog properly. Realise that desexing pups early can have health problems and imo desexing a large giant breed early is irresponsible - and is putting fear over sexual organs over and above the health of the animal. Especially the girly messy bits Now I'm going to go and be hypocritical, but give me girly messy bits once every 6 months over a male dog getting his penis stuck 'out' and so on (there have been at least half a dozen threads on that in the past year). In reality seasons are really not that bad- Not all bitches will have temp changes and I wouldnt even know when all but one of my girls are on season because they are clean freaks!! So shy can't someone keep their pet the way they want so long as they have been properly educated?? You can't legislate against ignorance, stupidity and greed, it just makes everyone else's life harder while the people who did the wrong thing will still find a way to do it.

It's not about costs (I guess that's a bonus though) - it's about the dog being able to fit into small spaces, e.g. on public transport, in the foot area of a car, without getting in the way/being uncomfortable - the dog has to be able to fit with the owner wherever they go One of Gypsy's littermates (a boy) was going to become an assistance dog, the breeder said they've taken a few of her puppies in the past ETA: I did think though that when they did crosses (GR x Lab) they did them 'in-house' - wasn't there a Lab breeder on here a while ago who was contacted about letting their dog be used over a GR bitch? (might've been Vic though...). Wherever they get them from I'm sure they've done the health testing though - they're very strict from what I've heard about only taking puppies from parents with very good scores for hips/heart/eyes not just good temperaments

Treat balls are great - we've got the normal ball type with the opening, and a 'bob a lot' which is also very popular. After recent destructive incidents, we also got her a Kong Time that dispenses 4 kongs over the space of 4 or 8 hours. She seems more hyped up when we get home though if we use that - probably because she sleeps all day normally once she eats her treats, but this keeps her amused the entire day (so be careful what you wish for!) I wouldn't leave her alone with a bone, I'd rather be paranoid than get home one day to something gone wrong. (Have to say I'd heard bad things about kongs too, and tongues getting stuck, but can't see it happening for Gyps and the large kongs, her tongue isn't that thick)

On my way to and from the station each day when living in Japan, I'd see golden retrievers, labs, St Bernards (i.e. medium and large/giant breed dogs) in crates too small to turn around in, with no bedding or toys, kept outside in the car ports of so many houses I'd go past It was heartbreaking - left outside in a crate all day (and possibly all night) in the freezing winter cold and heat of summer too. Never saw many of them walked, or interacted with, except for one St Bernard who was almost the size of his tiny little owner, and was allowed inside (saw him follow the owner inside one night coming home from a walk). I hope their lives were different to how it appeared to the observer walking past every day. Dogs aren't generally kept inside unless toy breeds (and even then, mainly in crates), even despite the harsh weather, so the majority of dogs are outside in the snow chained up, with a kennel if they're lucky. Puppies are kept inside for a few weeks if lucky, then turfed outside to fend for themselves, even in the snow. The attitude towards pets and the value given to their lives is very different to here in general, although there are exceptions, of course, but it generally seems that dogs fall into two main groups - cute and therefore seen as accessories, or working dogs - and both are often seen as disposable.

What?! Rottie x poodle?! I'm too horrified to google.

You forgot these ones.... NO she's not a Labrador. NO she's not a "long haired Golden Retriever" NO she's not a "long haired Labrador" either and NO she's not a Lab x Golden cross. Yes Labs and Goldens are similar in shape and size, and colour to an extent, but surely they're common enough to know the difference?! Ooo, and the best one "My friend has a chocolate golden retriever" (or replace chocolate with black). Uh huh.

That they're actually really good watchdogs (or mine might be broken). She's got one hell of an alert bark for anything she thinks isn't right, and she won't stop barking until I come and check it out. No barking at other times though (thank gods). Oh, and she doesn't love everyone, despite the usually-deserved breed reputation, just most people (unless you're suspicious and dodgy looking in her eyes, and then she'll steer clear, and won't let me approach either).

I saw the most recent article, but hadn't read the extensive backstory that's just appalling, and such a tragedy.

Good point, so like the nail is the same size but because the dog is smaller it appears larger I know I've seen some dogs where I've thought "oh god, that's an awful accident waiting to happen" looking at the dew claws, but other dogs where I'd never even noticed they had their dew claws still. It is an issue if you can't trim her claws easily though. Gypsy and I have a rather inefficient system where she gets a small (very small) treat for every nail I clip, otherwise she yanks them away once the clipper is half-closed, which is going to end badly one day. It's a slow process but we have an understanding now, at least, and she'll come over and lie down at my feet when she sees the nail clippers, so she is quite good in many ways, just demands payment per nail She won't let anyone else touch her nails though, food or no food - the vet tried to clip her nails one day :D for about 10 seconds but she turned into a giant wriggling squirming dog

I've also noticed on breeds like JRTs they tend to be larger (proportionately) and stick out more - so look more likely to cause problems. On the goldens (for example) that I've seen, they're quite tucked in and don't stick out or catch on things

Gypsy has front dew claws and they haven't caused any trouble at all, despite the frequent zoomies and general stupid behaviour they haven't been injured My understanding is that surgery on dew claws at an older age is much more painful (if not more difficult) as they have fully grown into a toe with bone and connecting tendons and what have you, unlike when they're a few days old and removed at that time. As for agility, the only thing I could find said that IF you dog's dew claws touch the ground while they're running, removing them could disadvantage them in sports like agility where speed/quick turns are required.

It's hard to overcome that feeling, but I'm comforted by the fact that so many other people are suffering from infestations as well, despite preventative measures. Fleas aren't that disgusting to look at, it's the stigma of having fleas is so much worse. Can't say it's information I've told anyone outside of DOL Oh no, did you use enough flea bombs for the size of the house? I had an awful wait of a few days because for some stupid reason I bought my flea-killing arsenal online and had to wait for it to arrive, vs going to the shop myself (I think it was late at night when I discovered them and I wanted to do something then and there to fix it - not the most logical decision of the week)

If only that were true Huski, ours seems to be the higher you go, the more you paddock bash. Likewise - I can't do agility (proper agility, once she's old enough) at my obedience club unless we pass the next level of obedience classes from where we are now (no agility unless you've done formal obedience), and I don't think you can trial until a certain point either. You also have to start from the bottom and earn you way up even if your dog has prior training (so we spent 8 weeks 'revising' in class and trying not to get too bored while everyone else learnt sit/stay/drop/heel/recall on long lead) At our for-fun agility classes I often go up the end of the oval before/during/after class and do a short heeling pattern or some stays etc just for 5-10 minutes max, and I get 100% focus, she ignores the dogs running around nearby and I don't need food. If I try to do it for an hour like we're asked to in class, I get a 9month (7 months when we stopped going) old who switches off entirely and won't even look at me anymore once she's over it - no matter what food is on offer. So, compared to the 'won't take her eyes off me for a second' dog I get at other times, I'm not keen on forcing the issue once she's switched off, I think that training in those circumstances can be detrimental - as the dog is learning NOT to obey.

I think it's safe to say that the majority of us did this with our first dog, as how were we to know better? But it has a good side, it showed us the foundations of how to train and showed us what not to do next time!! Some of us were lucky enough to learn from other's experiences some things to avoid, and pick up some good tips for training (although the paddock bashing is still the norm at our obedience, and we've stopped going for a while). Between 8-12 weeks Gypsy learnt sit, drop, stay, wait, and come when called between 12weeks-9 months (timeline starts getting blurry) we did heel, roll over, commando crawl, high 5, high 10, 'speak', fetch pegs from a basket and return them on command - i.e. mainly tricks + loose lead walking (except my club calls heeling "loose lead walking" and I call "don't care where you are if the lead is slack" loose lead walking - so I'm using my definition here). All done with (one or more of) luring / clicker / free shaping In terms of classes, we did puppy school from 8-12 weeks, basic obedience from 12-16 weeks, a 2nd round of basic obedience at a more formal club and now we do basic (puppy-appropriate) agility weekly, and we're taking a break from obedience classes because I was a bit peeved that they expected her to already know how to do a flip finish & a proper sit after recall etc (not learn in class, already know and demonstrate) in the first 'intermediate' class after finishing the basic 8 week course - if we're supposed to do all the teaching and learning at home before showing up to demonstrate, then fine, we'll do that on our own schedule and attend classes again later on. It's an interesting topic though, since lately I've been pondering the different between dogs and horses - where horses are broken in, then often turfed out into a paddock for a while to finish growing up and then brought back into work. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to doing some reasonably intense (but fun) training before 6 months, and then having a break from the really serious obedience stuff (while not letting the dog turn feral and disobedient), and then come back to it at an older age

And we have DEAD fleas at last! Capstar is my new best friend - dead fleas in minutes. I love having a dog that will eat anything you give her if you pretend it's a treat - smear peanut butter on tablets, ask her to heel/sit/stay/shake hands/etc and give her tablet as a reward She's a clever dog but the stomach always wins - two pretty big tablets whole one after the other (Capstar & Program). Now, :D for the total eradication of the nasty critters in the next few days

Hearing about the flea infestations everywhere I'm worried about never getting rid of the nasty things now though, they all die quickly. I was reading the instructions for a flea bomb and it made a point of saying "don't exclude the pet from the home after using the flea bomb, otherwise the dying fleas will attack people instead" - poor pets used as decoys, but at the same time, yuck!