Her Majesty Dogmad

My old terrier x girl (my Avatar) was diagnosed with Cushings over 3 years ago. It's a tumour on her pituitary. The first 6 months were hell, many vets' visits and several thousand dollar in bills. She is on chemo tablets, half twice a week and if she goes off them, her hair begins to fall out. A year ago, she had to go off them for sugery on her teeth, they have to be off them for about 3 months before surgery can happen. Anyhow, she had to be on a drip beforehand (due to chemo and Cushings) my vet cleaned her teeth, removed a couple ($950) and then she went back on chemo. 3 months later another vet saw her and said "her teeth need surgery". VERY depressing, considerign what we'd just been through. Tests have to be done regularly and initially it was recommended to have them every 3 months, as they were around $600-$700 each time, I'll be honest and say I couldn't afford it. I've had them done on occasion but not every 3 months. I've also changed vets and they would not have put an elderly dog through this whole process. Mind you at the end of the day, I've probably had a much longer time with the most wonderful dog anyone could ask for and you can't put a price on that. From her point of view though, she now simply hates going in the vet and until she underwent the first 6 months of Cushings treatment, it was never an issue. She's now about 15 and has gone past the vet's estimate of 3 years' lifespan. She does have small fits where she loses the ability to walk but they only last a few minutes at a time and are infrequent.

He should go to the vet if he's eaten potting mix - read the bag. 3 of mine were hospitalised for an afternoon and put on a vomit inducing drug after we visited a friend and it was in his backyard. How long are you walking him for in the morning? I've always walked puppies for an hour in the morning and they are still fairly destructive. Very hard to stop until they mature.

Dogs grieve, just like humans. This poor dog is lonely and distressed - he needs help asap. Could they consider fostering if they aren't ready to adopt. I would also recommend buying some Rescue Remedy, not expensive - availabel from most pharmacies, and it will help. It helps people too and is harmless for animals. I use the drops for my rescue foster dogs, they don't like the spray. Use it several times a day. Also, leave a radio on for him so he has some company of sorts. See if there is a neighbour's dog to spend time with or something.

In desperation, one of the things I did do was put my girl's face close to the other's backsides so she could smell what they were doing in the garden. She's the only dog that had me sitting and crying because she was still pooping and peeing all over the place after such a long time. Most unhousetrained dogs still poop in the house. Wee only is probably about something else.

No punishment please. She couldn't possibly be as bad as the abuse case it took me 2 months to train. No punishment involved there either and patience/love won out.

Once you've eliminated a medical cause (it's hard to get the total picture from the description), I find the best thing to do is train them to go on command, they will still go when they need to but when you want them to - eg bed time, long car trip etc, you can ask them to "go wees" and they will. Here is the method I use and I pass it on to my foster carers and people who adopt dogs from Doggie Rescue. Girls are harder than boys because boys tend to mark territory (some girls do of course) so it can take a little longer and some breeds aren't as bright as others. HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

Older female dogs can get a loose bladder. Often happens when they are asleep or get up. Easily fixed by meds but you need to consult a vet. Bladder infections often turn the urine darker and they wee little and often. Get a sample of urine and get the vet to test.

Has there been a change or a trauma (thunderstorm)? One of my fsoter dogs regressed following a storm. Went back to basics and 2 days later she was fine.

I have trained many dogs using the following system but please note - you need to be diligent about this for 3 or more days in a row. If I get a call from a foster carer saying it didn't work, it is usually because they didn't keep going, tried it for a day and gave up. I recently trained an 8 year old abused silky terrier who'd had 3 homes. The final home tried for 6 months to housetrain her without success - God knows what they did because folllowing the method below, it took me 4 days. Most dogs have got it after 2-3 days. I would also agree with cutting off her access to extra rooms such as bedrooms/bathrooms etc. Also important to properly remove the scent from before, I use a Napisan mix or baking soda and water mix. Others use vinegar successfully. HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

Please note the word "terrier" - this is what they and many other puppies are like. I was walking around a yard at the weekend with a fox terrier puppy hanging off my pants. This little dog had also been mouthing people so they didn't want to adopt the dog. This is normal for a puppy, it's called nipping.

I'm devastated because yesterday I lost my second dog in 2 weeks. I rescued Gloria from Renbury in April last year and she went to Karen in SA where she found a new home. Karen rang me in Sept to say Gloria had been dumped in the pound. Gloria was an old Beagle cross Shepherd with a loving and sweet nature. I did not want her to die in the pound so brought her back to Sydney where she fitted right in with me and my other old dogs. Within a couple of weeks of arrival she came on heat. I could see she'd had loads of puppies in her life but you would have hoped she'd have been desexed somewhere along the way as she was about 13 years. My vet desexed her after 3 weeks but bleeding continued so further surgery was undertaken a couple of weeks later. After that she was fine until 3 weeks ago when she strangely started bleeding again and acting like she was on heat. Tests were done and a hormone implant put in but then on Monday, the bleeding became heavier. My vet operated yesterday and found that although she'd cut out some tumours last year, a huge tumour had grown in a different place and spread everywhere, it was not treatable. So with great sorrow I had to let her go. Gloria gave me so much love in the last 6 months, she always had a smile on her face, she acted like a 5 year old and could outrun, outwalk many dogs half her age. She was so calm and placid, just a delight. She enjoyed the simple things, rolling round in the garden, walkies and dinner time. She loved cuddling up with all my other dogs at one time or another. When I lost the Wonder dog, 2 weeks ago, she sat in front of me and tried her best to comfort me. The rest of her health including her teeth were amazing for her age and I'd hoped she be with me for a few more happy years. Gloria - run free with the Wonder Dog :rolleyes:

I have to provide small amoutns at a time to my dog or he eats it all and then vomits it up!!!

On Thursday I had to make an awful decision to let my Wonder dog go to heaven. Wonder was a foster dog firstly and then I adopted him after 9 months. In total he's been with me for 3 years. He was a foxy x aged about 7. Wonder was never an easy dog to have around but I loved him deeply. He had many behavioural problems, some due to past abuse. He had inappropriate dog behaviours and had been locked up for a long time before I found him. He growled to communicate and it got him into trouble with other dogs sometimes. About 6 months ago, he started having strange episodes and more recently, some incontinence and fits and I consulted 2 different vets, both of whom believed it was a brain tumour or some other serious neurological problem. Combined with his allergies to grass which I tried so hard to manage, life for him was becoming a real challenge so after a long conversation with my vet, I made one of the toughest decisions of my life. Wonder - you made me laugh so much, I decided to keep you on the day you were on my lap and tapped in some extra letters on the keyboard. You were so smart, you always got me to follow you when you'd lost your ball and you could almost point so I could retrieve it for you from under a particular cupboard. You loved to clean anyone's ears (man or dog) if they got close enough to you. You were perpetual motion - the garden hose would send you into a frenzy. My house is quiet without you and my little shadow has disappeared, life will never be the same. See you in heaven my darling boy.

My dog had this symptom among others and it was inflammatory bowel disease, took ages to diagnose. Once he was on medication and the special diet, he's been a lot better most of the time.

At DR we see a lot of fluffy types where this hair has grown too long, gotten matted and they struggle to walk properly - must be awfully uncomfortable when it gets to that stage. Some of them have awful lumps and infections underneath it all. As long as the dog's good I'd try doing it myslef but most of mine won't tolerate me looking at their nails. I'm sure a vet would do this - I'm about to take a dog to mine for an all over groom as you can't even brush her without her going mad!!

Unfortunately this is very common with hairdressers too!! An occupational hazard I think.

Your daughter is really irresponsible to bring a new pet into the household without asking first. No way in the world would my mother have allowed it, no matter how cute a puppy was or how much it cost. Your cat was there first, whenever a new pet comes along there has to be careful integration, even if they are the same species. Some dogs are gentle with cats but this situation is not a workable one in my opinion. 3 dogs in a pack will kill or severely injure a cat quite qucikly if play gets too rough or out of hand, they could even have lived together for years but you've added something different and unknown to the equation now. It has happened to other people I know - either keep the cat completely out of harm's way or remove the puppy.

3-4 times a week for walks is not at all suitable for young dogs in my experience. Walks should be daily and for an hour or so, preferably to include off leash exercise. I have found that in spite of that amount of exercise, young dogs under 2 years of age, still need a lot more in the way of mental stimulation and play. Edited to add that this is where most owners of young dogs go wrong, insufficient exercise/stimulation and then all the bored behaviours start. It is why the pounds of Sydney and indeed Australia, are full of dogs under 2 years of age.

Oh how sad, feel so bad for him and you.

What a beautiful girl, truly tragic when one so young is taken away, you never know in this life, we have to make the most of them while we have them ....

What a darling girl, so sorry for you and Mr R

So sorry Rozzie, you are having a tough year .... dear old boy, thanks for giving him love at the end

My condolences, it's so terrible to see sick children and so tragic when a child dies before they've had a chance to experience a life at all. So sorry for you and the family.

My dirty little foxie has his anal glands and worming done but loves to scoot his botty and sniff what comes out, thankfully it's on the grass but he looks very pleased with himself when he's doing this - GROSS.

I live in this area and put my dog in a kennel in Arcadia. My dog was manic when I picked him up but clean. He stayed that way for quite a while so I wondered about whether or not he'd had any running around as they said. I would now rather drive half an hour to a fantastic kennel I had recommended at Duffy Forest called Woodcroft. My two dogs stayed there and came back very happy and my foxy wasn't manic at all. Marendale is also supposed to be very good in Terrey Hills.