Polgara's Shadow

My mothers new dogs gets car sick, but we now seem to be getting on top of it (touch wood). Jackie is 2yrs old. Mum brought her home in October and she threw up most of the hour long trip, poor darling. She's fine in short trips from mum's home i.e. to dog park etc.. Mum's been to my place a couple of times since then (about 25m min trip) and she's been sick each time. I'm caring for Jackie at the moment as mum's away, so we've done the trip to and fro from mum's house three times now in two days - no sick. I'm putting it down to anxiety whilst in the car. On trip one, I had her on my lap and in her bed. We stopped three times when she started getting yawny/chop smacky and let her out of the car (on lead) for a couple of minutes to snif/walk/smell/be on solid ground. I also noticed she became more anxious going round corners. We managed to avoid a spew. She gets fed twice a day, we didn't feed her her morning meal before the trip which was at 6pm. On trip two, I had her attached to a dog harness that attaches to the back seat belt - in her bed again. I stopped once when i noticed she was getting a bit yawny/chop smacky did so the snif/walk/smell/be on solid ground thing. She fell asleep in her bed after that. She only had a couple of kibble biscuits after trip one before trip two (next morning). I think the harness helps her feel more secure, relieving her anxiety a bit. On trip three, She was in harness attached to the back seatbelt again and we made the whole trip without stopping. She has a full breaky and i picked her up at 5pm. That was this afternoon I think each trip without being sick is building up her confidence about being in the car. Once you have ruled out a medical issue with your boy, (and if its still a problem) perhaps try something like we've done..giving frequent breaks at the start (and with-holding one meal) to see if you can build up the amount of time he can manage in the car... before your get to Easter. Good luck its awful to see them suffering so much.

If he's a cross-bred - I'd pick SBT X Amstaff..he has a very stafford look, but I wouldn't say typical for either SBT or Amstaff. He's certainly maturing into a very handsome boy He could very well be purebred Amstaff (I'm presuming from your posts your worried he's a cross?) Staffords do have quite a reasonable amount of variation in type naturally. My boy (in siggy) is pure SBT. In comparison to the 'typical' looking SBT he's narrower of chest, more lightly muscled and has his cute floppy ears, he's also slightly taller than the breed standard. I guess these are all reason's he wasn't going to be a good show prospect and was available for us . We're often asked if he's an Amstaff. Although Vulcan doesn't have the classic SBT boofhead look, he's still a very handsome and healthy boy and we love him to bits :D . By the look of your boy he's also very well loved.

Yay Pearl She's looking fab Kelscats! Her muscle tone in particular looks much improved . Hope the desex goes well. Carlo11 - that area sounds like it has some intense social issues. So glad you got her outta there

Olaf - SBT 9 yrs heart issue (best guess - no autopsy). The most mellow and loving dude - still very much loved and missed every day. Helped many overcome their dog phobias. Love you little guy

Vulcan seems to like our bed so much I've been thinking of getting him his own memory foam to sleep on... I presumed they'd be way expensive but now I know theyre only $30 he might be getting one before winter arrives... He has a canvass kennel in laundry where he sleeps at night (has trampoline style floor) with a snooza futon mat in it - plus blankets too when its cold. In the lounge he has a faux fur donut bed (curled up in it now..naww). An a trampoline bed outside, which he pretty much uses for bone gnawing time.

That's what I understand people were disagreeing with... that being on your bed and being dominant are not linked.

Handsome dogs I hope the OP comes and tells us all about it if they get one.

Thank you :) Good point and well articulated - will take that on board for next time. Nice one dog fan You articulated beutifully what I was having a brain fart to come up with

People were disagreeing the link between allowing them on the bed and couch and this leading to a dominance/equality problem - as your post stated. Having clear rules and boundaries, being consistent and firm is the important bit, not whether or not they are allowed on your bed or couch for snuggle time at all. Other posters are saying by all means let you Stafford up on the bed and couch with you - if that's what you want - just make sure you spend time teaching them to get off at your command.

I prefer honesty and cannot stand the sugar coated dribble that some people like ;) The person was rude IMO - why should I have to lie to make that person feel fluffy on the inside? Honesty? Your really think you were being honest to your child in that situation? Wow. I'm actually dumbfounded and don't know how to respond to that.

Yep agreed - haven't generally seen anyone make that statement on here. However, in saying that I have experinced in the Supermarket the odd person (with no child in tow) glaring at my daughter who's always seated in the trolley and as we shop we chat about the products I'm buying, not one of those loud obnoxious children. Sadly she has noticed once and when she asked why that person was glaring at her I simply told her that they were a "rude and ugly inside" to which they had the decency to blush and hurry away. How about teaching your child about tolerance and compassion? Surely fighting rudeness with nastiness isn't what anyone should be teaching their children :rolleyes: I can just hear your daughter now at the playground telling some kid theyre rude and ugly on the inside.

Nawww too cute. Was beautiful animals you have

I reckon theres Stafford in there...particularly in her expressions and ears. If she weren't so small I would have thought some great dane too, proably some lab 100% gorgeous regardless of her heritage

Keep it up for a few days at least and let us all know how you get on with it.

What does "treated as child" mean to you LizT? Sleeping inside? Wearing jumpers? Patting them? Calling them 'human' names? Being allowed to chuck a tantrum in a supermarket? Having a savings account for their care? Where is the divide between treating them like pets and treating them like children?

I don't think any reasonable person would condone truly rude behavior from anyone for any reason. I don't know if this lady actually was being incredibly rude, or if you've taken affront to her decision not to be sat next to your child - and have perceived rudeness when there was none. An observer may have thought she was perfectly polite in her request to be moved to another seat. Would you have been offended even if she has used lots of pleases and thank-you's?

Another plug here for Calendula tea after reading one of Erny's recommendations two years ago. Cheers Erny. After much trial and error we discovered Vulcan has reactions to lamb, pork, sardines and most non-native grasses. Calendula tea along with the odd spot application of Malseb (he had yeasty feet for a while) has worked wonders for us. Calendula doesn't always cut it for some of Vulcan's really persistent flare up's, but we've always been able to manage these with the Malseb. Vulcan scraped the top layer of skin off a small patch of his belly the other day it was weepy and sore looking when I found it. We've been using 2x daily applications of Calendula and its now healing nicely. I've found grabbing a handful of the steeped Calendula bits into a square of disposable paper towel is really handy for these spot applications. Flea allergy would be a pain to manage! The can only think to suggest flea bombing everything, washing all their bedding with eucalyptus, and switching flea treatment brands to something with a different active ingredient to the one your currently using.

My Staffords have always been invited onto our bed while we read at night and while waking up in the morning. If Vulcan wasn't so wiggly he'd be welcome to stay all night. My Staffords are also welcome on the couch and my lap :laugh: . No dominance problems for us. Just be consistent and firm when you want them to get off or move. In my opinion its a good thing to let your Stafford have plenty of up close and personal time with you...they are very human oriented and I think this time hanging out close together is beneficial for my Stafford's sense of well being and belonging. It gets freezing in this part of Victoria and Staffords with their fine hair and skin feel the cold. Vulcan sleeps in a canvas kennel inside the laundry with plenty of blankets too over winter. I wouldn't recommend sleeping your Stafford outside.

Reason's for people not adoring children are myriad, this thread has revealed a whole spectrum of reasons 'why' individuals feel this way. I hope this thread has given the OP (and others) new perspectives about the variety of reasons 'why' individuals don't or choose not to surround themselves with children. I hope too that understanding brings greater empathy and tolerance Sure, there's a whole philosphical debate about the ethics of owning animals at all, and I have my opinions on that debate also... but we were talking about reasons why individuals aren't into children, not reasons why we choose to have pets.. and my own reasons for each are not the same :)

Why? (Dons flame suit) Because we have overpopulated the planet and the last thing we need is yet another first world child consuming more than its fair share of resources while millions less fortunate starve.

Fun thread Vulcan - after Spock from Star Treck who was a Vulcan Olaf - RIP - my partner used to work lighthouses. One of them has a gravestone for an Olaf who perished when his ship went down on the lighthouse rocks.

Gosh..she's come a long way these past weeks . Lovely pics, the second to last pic of her looking up at you is adorable.

Vulcan has an access all areas pass - when we are home. However at night and when we are away he's confined to the laundry, which has a a doggy door to outside. At night, coz otherwise he's on the bed with us and he's a doona hog When we're out, coz we've come home too many times to nibbled on records, munched snowboarding boots and mangled sunglasses :laugh:

Kelscats..her skin is looking much improved..the new medication routine seems to be working well Carlo11..I'm going to echo everyone else...you have done a fabulous job with Pearl..it was your vet who was at fault, they are the ones trained to know what to look for and are supposed to provide you with treatment options. You have done everything you could have and i applaud your for it

So glad Carlo11 found her and got her out of that situation and onto the road to recovery!!!! I don't understand how people can have dogs and let them get into this state...the poor darling that all her issues are now known and she makes a speedy recovery. kelscats, looks like you took on more than you bargained for... your terrific for ensuring she gets the best helath care possible