Divine Angel

I was doing OK til I read Roiley's post. Then I lost it. No other furry companion (including your husband!) will ever be a replacement for your loss. I think of it as adding to the family, not replacing a member. Sending you a thousand angels to heal the grief and to help you adjust to your new friend. Your little boy still visits you, close your eyes and you'll see him. Many blessings to you, Renee

After her vet visit on New Year's Day, I started adding oil to her dinner at night. We've had no more problems. (Although, it must be a miracle, given what she chews when no-one's looking!) Thankyou everyone for your insights. Every dog I know goes toilet when on a walk, but not Jas. She may learn that its OK for her to do that but in any case, there's nothing to be worried about.

The "peeing on command" thing isn't happening. She still hasn't picked it up yet. On New year's Day, we took her to the vet cos she was constipated, and even though the vet gave her an enema, she waited 45 minutes til she was home to poo. I can't imagine the tummy ache she must have had!

Not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes... I have just begun taking Jasmine (the great big 7 month old Maremma!) on walks. Not too long and not every day. But whenever she is not on her own home turf, she won't go to the toilet. She stops to sniff where other doggies have gone, but she doesn't do anything. I've also taken her to my partner's footy games (now THAT is an experience!) and we could be there all day and she doesn't do anything. Is that normal? (EDIT: at home, her toilet habits are prefectly normal and regular. I thought that maybe she'd gone before we went walkies, but it doesn't seem to make a difference).

Samson- I still have that photo of you pinching my toast when I was young and defenceless. My earliest memories of you are you running away, but you always came back. A German Shepherd showdog. My first doggy companion. Scamp- You little rascal, you! You liked beer, chasing kangaroos, bullying everyone around you, and you wouldn't go out in the morning unless you were given a Chocolate Monte biscuit. You were a brat, but you were the first dog I could call my own, and I loved you. I was so upset when you died, but I was more upset at dad because he didn't put the leash on you. The only comfort I have, is that you didn't suffer at all. An Irish Terrier cross, killed by a car. Magellan- If I thought Scamp was a brat, she had nothing on you! You stole things from everywhere and had a nice little collection of socks, toys and general pieces of junk. The funniest thing you brought home was a Tickle Me Elmo toy. We had to do a letter drop around the whole nerighbourhood to find out where you'd pinched it from. Mostly a red heeler, died a horrible parvo death. Sammy- what a character! Saved from Death Row, you were everything a country dog should be. Your tail was HUGE and destructive. My lasting memories of you are those farts you constantly did whenever you were in a car. Oh look, car- fart! Ongoing HP problems but eventually you dislocated your shoulder. Big and boisterous, but you were loved. It's the only time I've ever seen my father upset, when he had to put you down. Another German Shepherd. Patchie- what can I say about you that hasn't been said a thousand times before? Perfection in a little brown coat. A little person with fur. Taught me everything I know about love and accepting one's self. Gone too soon, at age 14, but I thought you'd be here forever. Scamp's sister. Chiyo- OK so you weren't a dog, but you're still included in the list. You chose the day of your death so well. I marvel at how you could have known that this was "the perfect day" (as if there is such a thing). But you knew, and you let me know as well. You were given to me for my 21st birthday, a present from Phil whom I'd met just 4 days earlier. I understand now why you had to go- Jasmine would have been way too much for you to handle! I can understand that. I am so sorry that she found your remains- it broke my heart a second time.

My dog Patchie was sensitive to it. She would go quiet for about two days after I put it on her. She didn't get a rash or anything, she would mope around and not eat, that kind of thing. I thought it was the smell or something until I saw another dog on Dr Harry that had the same problem. My puppy Jasmine has no worries with it at all.

Don't be upset with yourself. Most people would be distressed to see a puppy in that condition, and as we turn to vets for advice, thinking they know what's best for our pets, we trust them. Put it aside and you'll have learned a lesson for the future. Don't feel upset or guilty

Oh Amarada- that angel! I'd love to know where you found it! Caryl and Andrew- Chloe doesn't want you to be sad, she wants you to remember all the happy times you had together. She wants you to know that she had to move on to allow another pet into your home. This one is very bossy (she says) and their personalities would have clashed. This new dog will arrive when you least expect it. Know that Chloe is safe and happy and healthy once more :rolleyes:

Just thought I'd add an update on Jasmine's health. She is doing just fine now :rolleyes: I have added oil to her diet, am trying to put fur from her brush out of her reach (!) although stopping her chewing oin sticks and bark is still a challenge. She is pooing regularly, it looks healthy, she's happy, crisis over. As for changing the vet, we're moving soon anyway so I guess its now a non-issue. Although the vet in the town that we're moving to is a bit old-school so they may not have heard of BARF either... In that case, it's my job to inform them, isn't it?!

YAY!!!

Oh Rozzie, not another one! Many blessings to you and the family.

Hmmm, I'm intrigued now! I have the feeling that the puppy needs healing, have you thought about alternative healing methods? Just the gut instinct I'm getting...

The pain eases and life goes on. You never really stop missing them though. Remember that the angels are with you and Fudge, helping to heal you heart and lessen the grief. Huge hugz for all of you.

LOL!! My dog, Patchie, was TERRIFIED of water. I think she was traumatised by a hose held by my dad when she was a pup... Anyway, if I had water, anywhere, she would run a mile. If she saw me filling a bucket to wash the car, she'd hide. When I turned the shower on, she'd bolt outside, praying I didn't see her and bring her in with me! We usually washed her in the bath but we once lived in a house that had a detachable hose in the shower, so we bathed her there when we lived there. In fact, the only time Patchie would go anywhere near water was her water dish! I've even seen Patchie use a plank of wood as a bridge in order to cross a small creek!! The other dogs just pounced their way through it, but poor Patchie couldn't stand getting her feet wet! Jasmine has no such problem, loves water, loves baths.

Cyndii: I am sending you a thousand angels to be at your side to heal your heart and give you comfort. When the time is right, they will send you another little angel with fur to you. Be blessed, Cyndii. Your heart will eventually heal, but you never stop missing them. With loads of love, light and hugz, Renee

OK apologies for the vet-nutrition comment, but I would think that as an animal doctor, they would need to know more about nutrition. As a vet in training, do you do specialities? Do all vets learn how to treat stress in farrowing pigs? (as if I know what that is!) The only reason I feed Jas cooked pasta ATM is because she normally gets dry food with her meals (yes I know, not strictly BARF but my dad got a 20 kg bag for free) Based on this morning's antics, lack of exercise isn't a problem. In the last twenty minutes, she's nicked off with: pack of batteries nail care kit beer bottle stubby holder "Picnic" wrapper Harry Potter themed playing cards

really interesting replies here. I didn't think many people owned their own hydrobaths... I thought if you used one, it would be rented.

Just curious

OK this seems a bit strange to me. Vets-in-training only do about 100 hours of nutrition? EEK!! I did more than that when doing my Diploma of Massage Therapy. A vet is supposed to know what is best for our animal, and if they don't know, they need to be able to ask someone who does know. The vet recommended Pal food because, in his opinion, it was the best food on the market, being nutritionally sound etc etc. Obviously I had told him that Jasmine was on a barf diet (and I told him what she ate- you shoulda seen his face!!). I don't think he was recommending Pal just to rid her of constipation. Still, and this I think we should ALL remember: 1) he is entitled to his own opinion without people thinking he's a complete moron, and 2) I only found out about BARF about a week before I actually got Jasmine. Although I would expect a vet to at least KNOW about BARF and its basic ideas, not everyone in the world can be expected to know about barf.

Twas the only one open on New Year's Day!

OK- will add more fish to her diet. Gave her some cooked pasta last night to make up for the lack of dry food. The vet gave her some Coloxal to soften the poo. She takes one, twice daily. (I should mention that the poo wasn't all that hard to begin with, wasn't backing up in the colon, and the vet removed a poo which was 'plugging' up the bottom so nothing else could get out. Yes, the enema worked. (funny story about that- the vet said to take her outside for a couple of minutes for it to take effect. Jasmine did nothing but sniff around and growl at a poor Blue Heeler would had hurt his paw and was in so much pain that he barked at everything that moved. Forty minutes later, Jasmine had done a couple of huge farts but no poo. The vet came out and said, "Take her home, she'll probably feel safer in her own environment." So we did. As soon as she was in our yard, she did a big poo (wasn't too runny but I bet it felt good for Jasmine!) and since then, I haven't seen her do a poo which is not to say that she hasn't. I don't follow her outside at 4am to see what she's doing.) Jasmine is happy and playful and bouncy and eating and drinking and doinf all the things she normally does. Her tummy isn't hard anymore and I would say that she's near-100% again. What I have learned from all your posts (thankyou BTW) is that I need to give her more meat, less bones, more oil and more fish. And mash up some overripe fruit as well. But no grapes, raw potatoes, tomatoes etc. AND: will try to keep her away from fur, hair, and birdseed. And bark. (The poor tree in the yard is devoid of bark and boy, does Jas love to chew it!!!)

What kind of fruit? The vet didn't stock Pal (unless its on their website) but they did have Eukanuba and another brand in a white packet that I've never heard of. The symptoms of the constipation: she was trying to go but nothing was coming out. She would move from place to place in the yard and try again. She wasn't yelping or in too much discomfort- she was still eating and drinking although she was restless when trying to lie down. My main concern was that she wasn't passing anything although she had been trying for 15 hours.

LOL I'm starting to think I need my own forum: Trials and Tribulations of Jasmine Maremma!!!

well, pewithers, at least you learn from Jas' experience- they eat their own fur and end up with pooey problems!!!

Such a beautiful doggie... May he dance with the angels and bathe in the sun, always. With love, Renee